Asthma.. I hate you

I am tired of my body being a drama queen about allergens. You want attention drama queen? Then stop freaking out about little irritants and we'll work out more. Working out more we can ditch the weight we packed on from the multiple steroid treatments from the drama queen episodes. 

I wasn't diagnosed with exercise and allergy induced asthma until my teens. As a teen it rarely bothered me at all. I kept my inhaler for the 4-5 times a year I had an issue. I usually only needed it on days the PE teacher made us run the field when it was windy and full pollen season for pine trees. You could watch the clouds of pollen bursting off the trees as the wind hit them.

As I have gotten older and had more children my asthma has become a lot easier to trigger. I've never needed asthma maintenance medication before.  I am now on my second trial of medicine types. The unpredictable periods I got from taking Advair made me hate life as well as anemic. Getting your period every 4-5 days will do that to a woman. My doctor switched me to Singular pills and Qvar inhaler.  The Singular puts me to sleep within an hour of taking it. I can deal with going to sleep after taking my pills. The problem now is that the Qvar makes me have an asthma attack every time I use it. I am prescribed to take two puffs of Qvar twice a day.  Being that dependent on rescue treatments puts me back into the category of having uncontrolled asthma again.  Plus they have done nothing for me when I get triggered in the middle of the day.  Sitting in church if a woman with a strong flowery perfume sits too close, then I start wheezing. 

I really need to make another appointment, but I hate the whole doctor's office experience.  Sitting in the waiting room and wondering what illness is lurking on the chairs.  Last time my kids went to the pediatrician for shots we left with the stomach flu. I mostly hate going to the doctor as I am always afraid they are going to want to give me a shot or draw some blood. I REALLY hate needles.

Time to put on my big girl panties and just do it.  I really miss working out and with my asthma as bad as it is I can't even make it through the warm ups.

It's not Cancer!

I spent the summer just enjoying my family. My recent cancer scare made me take time to enjoy the moments I had with my kids. I was grateful all I experienced was a scare.  There are so many families who cancer is their scary reality.

I went to my doctor appointment only to have the doctor chew me out for not getting it checked sooner. The doctor even told me that it looked like cancer. (I didn't tell any of my family members this as it was scary to hear that.) I waited in silence for two more weeks. Then one morning I got the phone call.  My results were in and it was a non cancerous growth.  I admit, I cried.

After experiencing that scare I want to spend the summer with my kids. My oldest daughter is turning 18 in the Spring and entering her Senior year. My youngest enters kindergarten in the Fall of 2017. The cancer scare made me realize that time is passing far quicker than I want. I need to step away from everything and just enjoyed being a mom for some time.

In some ways this scare was draining but also a wake up call to do more things that fulfill us as a family.  It has made me more grateful for the moments when they are driving me crazy. When the toy boxes upended with toys spread everywhere or music blaring with a single song on repeat; I remind myself there is a mom somewhere that would give anything to have this moment again.  

Mom Not Taking Care of Herself

As a mom I don't pay enough attention to my own health.  It was brought to my attention by my doctor that in 10 years I've seen a primary care doctor only two times.  All my other medical care has been pregnancy related in that time frame.

Now for the scary part of this blog post.  I have two questionable spots on my skin, one is a pinkish spot on my chest with a raised border and the other is a brown flaky spot on my arm.  After forcing myself to go to the doctor for my asthma I got a referral for a Dermatologist to check out this spot.(overpriced HMO hoop jumping)  I've had this spot for far longer than I should admit to, all while mostly ignoring it broken up by moments of panic during middle of the night hours when I can do nothing about it. (insomnia)

I don't know what the spot really is and google is not my friend. Skin Cancer! Just reading that possibility made me think back on all the many times I got a sunburn.  Living in Las Vegas for most of my life, I mostly ignored my skin as a kid. As I got older I applied sunscreen constantly.  It may not have been enough with the damage may have already been done.
As parents we need to impress upon our children the need to wear sunscreen and not just when we apply it for the pool like I was taught. It needs to be a healthy habit, just like brushing your teeth.

I finally made the appointment to see a dermatologist about the spot. The appointment is not for 3 weeks though.  With the end of the school year upon us I really struggle with making time for me. With only 2 weeks left in school my kids are starting to feel the struggle to pay attention and stay on task.

Math Work Sheets

Ever wonder what the overachiever in school did on school break?  I can tell you as I was that kid who always had the answer or ruined the curve by scoring 98% on a test. As a kid I used to play school forcing my little sister to do math problems over the summer. I used to painstakingly write out worksheets for her to complete and then grade them.

My sister should be grateful that we grew up in a time without the Internet and access to websites with printable worksheets. The papers would have been flying!

I was introduced to a great math worksheet website.  www.DadsWorksheets.com
Unlike many printable websites EVERYTHING is FREE.

I am going to be spending a lot of time this summer on this website. No summer learning loss allowed here.  The average child 2.6 months of Math skills are lost during the summer. Only 2 to 3 hours a week in the summer are needed to prevent this summer skill loss. My family is going to use Dad Worksheets to prevent the loss and help us get ahead before the next school year.

Most websites are very focused on a specific learning age.  Dad Worksheets covers a vast set of math skills. There are worksheets from preschool to high school. My teenagers will not be safe from doing worksheets this summer along side their younger siblings.

We will be focusing on the foundation skills to strengthen their Math ability. With Dad Worksheets I will be spending less time looking for worksheets and more time working with my kids.

New Treatment for my Asthma

Warning!! This post has TMI  You were warned.
Recently I went back to the doctors for a new medicine to help manage my asthma. I loved how Advair helped kick my attacks out of my life.  The problem was the random bleeding.

There were times that in the middle of my cycle with no reason to bleed I would have horrible bleeding during sex.  Talk about a mood ruining freak out moment.  Kinda kills your sex life when you fear bleeding horrifically in the middle of it.

I ended up telling my doctor this during what is called a group visit.  You and 10 other people sit in a room and the doctor rolls around doing simple stuff. Things like referrals, Doctor notes, medications.  It's was great not having to put the horrible paper gown on. I felt like I got more care during this appointment than one where they have made me strip down and sit in a room alone.

Back to my new medicine.  I am now on Singulair and Qvar. Oh boy!  The Singulair leaves me sluggish and loopy for a few hours. It usually takes me about 6 hours to feel human again. I can deal with that side effect and adjust my time I take it. My asthma is improving!! My first night in months not waking up in the middle of the night with an asthma attack was the very first night I took it.

Fire Kid's Edition Review

I was not paid for this review or reimbursed/rewarded in any way. I am just sharing my opinion about a product I have purchased.

I bought a Kindle Fire Kid's edition for, Nadia, my 9 year old daughter.  This was purchased to replace the Nabi that was broken and unable to be replaced due to the fact that the serial number sticker wore off. My absolute favorite thing about this Fire is that there is a 2 year no questions asked replacement policy.  That means I wouldn't have had to explain any insane way my child may break it. Like the time one of them peed on a tablet... don't ask. Chalk that one up to the dangers of potty training.

I love how easy it was to set up controls to make my child read before being allowed to play. Not that she needs to be forced to read, but some days she needs the nudge to get her reading time done before playing. The parental controls can limit screen time hours as well. As a parent you can also set bed and wake times, leaving the tablet unusable after hours. You can set two different limit settings for weekdays and weekends.

I will be signing up for the Amazon Free Time Unlimited access to continue after our one year of free Amazon Free Time service is up. The access to kids books and videos, just kid's content, is worth the small cost to me. (Less than I pay for Netflix)

At only $99 (when I purchased) this tablet was much cheaper than an Ipad. It has much better kid mode function than the Ipad as well.  Now I can have my Ipad back, just as soon as I get the other two Fire Kid's Editions for my youngest children as well.

Out of control Asthma

I really need to go to the doctors for myself.  My asthma is not under control at all. It's hard to take time for me with so much going on in my life though.  As a mom to 5 kids I don't take good enough care of myself. 

We have had two bouts of croup in 2 months. Plus stitches in one chin. Then all three youngest have been sick with puking. Since going back to church regularly my kids have been sick a lot. I wish people would keep their outbreak monkeys at home. On top of medical emergencies we are moving soon. 

I need to find new options for my asthma treatment. I tried using Advair for my asthma but the side effects were bad.  It's not fun to have random bleeding as if menstruating every week. I need to see my doctor and find out other options to get my asthma under control. I'm back to using my breathing treatments multiple times a day. 

Welcome to 2016!

Happy New Year!

I hope this year is one of big positive changes for my family and yours as well.




As with every year, as family we are going to make resolutions for the year.

The 4 topics I encourage my family to make one resolutions each in are:
Health
Spiritual
Education
Personal

We will write our resolutions down on a big sheet of paper. Make sure to include smaller steps to help make the achievable. Then this will be hung where we can see it every day.