Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Friday and Happy Valentine's Day! The sun is out today and I am feeling a little bit better. Still coughing and have not a lot of energy, but am better than I was. 

Today the kids are home from school for a teacher work day (actually they have a 4 day weekend as they are off on Monday for President's Day as well). That meant that yesterday the boys had their Valentine's Day parties at school. Thankfully, they did their class valentine's last weekend (and it should be no surprise they picked out WWE wrestling ones!). This was good as I have not felt well all week. However, we did have to do Valentine's boxes and those got done on Wednesday night right before they went to bed. Both boys wanted a wrestling theme and both decided to decorate their boxes as a wrestler. 

Jacob made a Hulk Hogan box.

Ben made a Rey Mysterio box.

They had a lot of fun at their school parties although Jacob ate way too much sugar and was dealing with an upset stomach all evening. When the kids got home, I made them get their snow suits on and go out and play in the snow. We had gotten about 2 inches the night before. It was perfect packing snow. Rebecca and Ben decided to make a snowman. Jacob had fun throwing snowballs at people. 

Today, we have just been hanging out at home. I surprised Bill with a card and a Reese's heart when he came home from work this morning. Bill surprised me with some fun gifts-- a sloth, chocolate, a nice warm blanket for relaxing, a puzzle and a sweet tea.

It has been a good day so far. I am going to attempt to make heart shaped pizzas for the kids for dinner. I think Bill and I are going to get subs from the nearby pizza place for dinner. I hope that wherever you are you are having a good Friday as well!

Sick again

SOURCE

Just a quick note to say that I am still sick. I was feeling better for about a couple of days and then Sunday my throat started hurting again and last night I woke up with ear pain. Back to the doctor this morning. Diagnosis: Upper Respiratory Infection, Lower Respiratory infection AND the beginnings of bronchitis! Ugh. Hopefully this new (second) round of antibiotics will do the trick. Doc also told me that I need to rest. Hope everyone else is having a healthy week!  

Sickness, History Day, Basketball, and Snow Days

Happy Saturday night! Well it has been a week and a half since I last posted. At last post, I was sick as was Bill. Here we later and I am still dealing with a sore throat but all other symptoms are gone. Bill ended up getting the flu last weekend on top of the other stuff he had going on. He is doing better thankfully but being sick has sucked. The boys have had runny noses but thankfully nothing beyond that. Rebecca somehow has stayed healthy. 

There is so much sickness going around. Schools around us have been closing due to excessive absences in kids and staff. At the boys' school, they are averaging 12-15% of the students out each day. Last Thursday they had 69 kids out of the school! The middle school has been averaging between 120-150 kids out each day due to illness. Strep Throat, Flu A and Flu B are running rampant. I know so many people that are sick it isn't funny. 

With all the sickness life has gone on. Last Friday evening I took Rebecca to her middle school for her History Day fair and judging. Each child had to do a project on a person who took part in "Breaking Barriers." Rebecca earned a Superior on her project and judging and gets to move on to the district tournament which will take place in a few weeks at the Statehouse in Columbus. We are super proud of her. 

Last weekend was basketball games for the boys. I took them as Bill stayed home as he had a fever. Both boys had lots of fun.

This week was super hard with Ben misbehaving and just being a terror. He is going through a HUGE defiant stage and there has been lots of yelling from both him and I. He reacts poorly to being told what to do by me AND he has been picking on his brother. I have been in tears several days this past week due to his behavior and it has been very stressful. 

I was only able to tutor one time this week due to illness to other clients. It was just an odd week. 

Yesterday, the kids had a snow day. We got about 2 inches of snow and ice and they decided to close schools. I think they were looking for an excuse so that they could clean the schools as well. The kids were able to go out and play for the first time this winter. 

Today was another basketball Saturday for the boys. Today Ben made his first basket! He was so excited. Jacob didn't score today, however he did foul out of a quarter of his game. (If a player gets 2 fouls in a period he has to come out of that period.) Jacob ended up having 4 total fouls today! 

Tomorrow we have church, PSR and the boys will work on their Valentine's cards for their classes. I am hoping to maybe get a nap in tomorrow as well! LOL Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far! 

Pink Eye, Strep Throat, Oh my!

Sorry for the lack of posting since last Thursday. (By the way thanks for all the great Vacation ideas!) So what has been going on? 

Well, ever since last Wednesday I have been dealing with some head cold symptoms (runny nose, congestion). Saturday, I woke up with a lovely surprise in that I couldn't open my eye without wiping out a lot of crud. Off to Urgent Care and diagnosed with pink eye and an upper respiratory infection. 

I was kind of surprised they didn't give me an antibiotic given the fact that I was congested as well. Instead I was sent home with eye drops and 2 cough meds which really didn't help much except during the day. 

I stayed home from the boys' basketball games on Saturday and church and teaching on Sunday. Yesterday I still felt like crap but life goes on when you are a mom. And honestly Bill was feeling worse than I was so I made him go to the doctor. He got diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, lower respiratory infection, a throat infection, AND a bad ear infection. (He has been sick for like 3 weeks and his doc had put him on a z-pack for antibiotics but they did not work at all.) 

Well, late last night my throat starting killing me. It felt like someone was taking a fiery knife and stabbing my throat. This morning I took Rebecca to school and then asked Bill to take the boys to school so I could go back to Urgent Care. To let you know how much sickness is running rampant in this town, I got there at 7:55 (they open officially at 8). There were 3 people ahead of me and when they called me back at 8:20 the nurse said there were 10 people in queue behind me. Anyways.... the rapid strep throat test came back negative but I showed all signs of strep. 

So I am an amped up dose of amoxicillin for the next 10 days and a 5 day supply of presnidone to reduce the swelling in my throat. I took it a little bit ago and I already can tell a difference in my throat. It still hurts but not the stabbing pain. 

I just hope this medicine works and I am finally on the path of feeling better. I probably won't do any of my normal posts this week (goals post, etc). I am planning on resting as much as possible so maybe February can start out healthier. 

Hope everyone is having a great and HEALTHY Tuesday! 

Vacation ideas needed!

Source

So as I mentioned in my 12 goals for 2020, I would like to be able to go on a vacation with Bill and the kids. We are in the beginning processes of thinking about where we want to go. Basically some of our parameters are:

1. Within driving distance. We are willing to drive up to 12 hours from Columbus, Ohio. 
2. Family friendly-- remember we have Bill, myself, and a 13 year old, 10 year old and 8 year old. 
3. Budget friendly
4. Things to do like aquariums, zoos, nature hikes, etc would be great.
5. Timeline: Summer (after kids get out of school at the end of May and before they go back in the middle of August). Ideally we would like to go away for a week. 

We would love to go back to Indian Beach, North Carolina but not sure we can make the budget work. Some other places we have gone in the past include Gatlinburg (several times), Pittsburgh (several times), Indianapolis, Traverse City Michigan. I would love to maybe go to a state I have never been too--- Minnesota, Georgia, Alabama, New York come to mind. I am just not feeling inspired today. 

So I am asking for ideas. If you live in an area that you would recommend or have an area you have visited in the past that you would recommend could you let me know in the comments? Thanks so much in advance! 

Update #3 of 12 goals for 2020

Happy Wednesday! I am the midst of a cold, busy week but I thought I would pop on here for a few to do my update on my 2020 goals before I get to babysit "A". So how did I do last week? 

1. Read at least 5 chapters in a book a week. 

I am happy to say that I finished The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais. I started reading St. Rita of Cascia: Saint of the Impossible by Fr. Joseph Sicardo, O.S.A. (So far I am 68 pages in). I am finding time to read before bed instead of playing games on my tablet or watching T.V. And on another note, I added a page to this blog (up at the top under the header) to show the books that I have read this year. If you click on the heading it will take you to that page where you can see all the books I have read this year! :) 

2.Exercise 5 times a week. 

Um...back to 0 days :(   

3.Carb-cycle. 

I didn't do very well on this last week. By the end of the week I found myself snacking more and craving things like wheat thins on low carb days. Will try again this week.

4. Lose weight. 

I started at 256 pounds! Last week I was 254.4. This week I was back up to 255.6. :(  

5. At least 2 date nights with Bill each month. 

Nothing this week. Total for January 2020: 2 specific date nights so completed for January.

6. Self-care. 

Gave myself permission to rest on Saturday after waking up with a huge headache. 

7. Bake a treat for the family at least 2 times a month 

This goal was already completed for January entering this week. However, I did make a chocolate cake (which Rebecca decorated) and pumpkin bread for breakfasts. 

8. Declutter every room in the house. 

I decluttered and deep cleaned my desk on Monday. It looks so much better! 

Before

After

9. Go on a family vacation with Bill and the kids.

We have talked about this and may have an idea and dates to consider. Now to see if we can financially make it work. 

10. Be more social. 

I went out to dinner with a friend. I need to text another friend to find a date to have a game/taco night.    

11. Utilize Swagbucks to earn gift cards to help with gift giving costs. My goal is to get at least 20 Swagbucks a day. Last week I earned 505 swagbucks which averages to around 72 a day for last week! 

12. Write on this here blog at least 3 times a week. 

Including today I have written 4 times over the last week. :) 

So some good things and some bad things as far as progression this week! If you are working on goals for the New Year how are you faring? Hope you have a great Wednesday!

What we ate and what we will eat! (Week 3 of 52)

Happy Sunday! Today has dawned super cold-- wind chills are at -4 this morning. We were up and out early as it was my PSR classes turn to do the readings at 8:00AM mass. Then we had PSR class. After class, the kids and I ran a few errands-- Walmart to pick up a prescription, rubbing alcohol, and clorox wipes; Lowes to get a refrigerator light bulb; and Kroger to get milk, bread, hot dog buns and fruit. Now we are home and I made the kids mac-n-cheese for lunch. Later this afternoon, they will paint their pine wood derby cars and I will work on tutoring plans. I also hope to be able to do some reading and later watch the Packers/49ers game. But first I wanted to share our meal plan for this week. 

For those who may be new here: I mentioned in my goals post for 2020 that I wanted to lose weight this year and practice carb-cycling as one of the ways to achieve this. One of the easiest ways to get sidetracked from carb-cycling is by NOT making a menu plan each week. So I want to start keeping track of what we are eating and what I am planning on making for dinner for now.

I plan on carb-cycling my way. I am not counting specific amounts of carbs. Instead on low carb days I will be not eating processed carbs--ie. bread, donuts, candy, etc. I will also be limiting the amount of pop that I drink on those days. (ideally I would like to cut out drinking pop but I am being a realist!) I will not limit the fresh fruits and vegetables (with the exception of white potatoes) on low carb days. So with that in mind, let's talk about food. 

What did we eat last week? 

Sunday, January 12--Free Day--Soft tacos, corn, chips and salsa or queso

Monday, January 13--High Carb Day--Potato soup and crackers (got bumped from last week)

Tuesday, January 14--Low Carb Day--Alice Springs Chicken, salad, broccoli. Bill and the kids had leftover macaroni and cheese from Saturday night and mixed veggies instead of broccoli. I had leftover green beans from Saturday night instead of broccoli. 

Wednesday, January 15--High Carb Day-- Pasta bake (from freezer) and a veggie-- No photo-- I know the kids had the pasta bake. I think I had a sandwich. That was a really long day and I honestly don't remember.

Thursday, January 16-- Low Carb Day-- bratwurst, corn, french fries (for Bill and kids), sweet potato fries for me. 
This ended up being a LONG day. I cheated off the low carb day when I had a sandwich for lunch as I was feeding my niece and nephew. Oops. Also snacked way too much on m&ms and walnuts. Double oops! For dinner I didn't make the sweet potato fries as they had more carbs than regular fries. I just didn't eat any fries. 

Friday, January 17--High Carb Day-- Make your own pizza and salad. Kids and Bill had pizza. I went out to dinner with a friend at a local Mexican place. I had a chicken and sausage dish (which I didn't photograph) and a yummy frozen margarita.

Saturday, January 18-- Low Carb Day--Whole chicken in crockpot, sauteed green beans, stuffing (for Bill and kids), salad-- we had this without the salad as the bagged salad I had bought went bad :( I made corn instead. I was also craving chocolate cake, so I made one and Rebecca asked to decorate it! It was yummy! 

What we are eating this week....

Sunday, January 19-- Free Day--Chicken Tikka Masala, naan, and rice for Rebecca, Bill and I. Leftovers for the boys.

Monday, January 20-- High Carb Day--Chicken alfredo pasta bake with peas

Tuesday, January 21-- Low Carb Day--Hot dogs, baked beans and salad

Wednesday, January 22-- High Carb Day--Meatloaf, veggies

Thursday, January 23-- Low Carb Day--Sauteed tilapia, veggies 

Friday, January 24-- High Carb Day--Pizza and fruit

Saturday, January 25-- Low Carb Day-- ??? Not sure yet. 

What are you eating this week?