Call me a slacker!

I completely let my blog go the past few months, I have just been so overwhelmed with school, work, and for the past month being sick. Well, being sick for so long has won me this weekend long stay in the hospital and allowing me to catch up on my blog. Oh the joys =).

School has been going well, so busy with this Anatomy class but I also have actually been applying myself being as this is the most important class going into a medical field. Speaking of medical field, I think I just MIGHT switch to nursing. After looking at the plan of study it looks like it would be SO much easier because I have already taken a ton of the courses in the curriculum. The other concern is I occasionally look for a nuclear medicine job and they are few and far between, but nurses are needed all the time. I figure at least become a nurse gets my foot in the door and if I want to change at a later time I can do so.

The children & family: We had Cory's 5th Birthday on October 1st, 2009. I am going to end this post with a bunch of pictures from his family birthday celebration and then his party at the Ultimate Kings Island!! It was the perfect day to do an amusement park, no waits at all! I think it was a day for the books, great time with the family.

Coltan turns 2 in a few weeks, how absolutely crazy is that! Emma and Chloe are both growing like weeds, I cannot believe how mature they are getting. Dustin is not a child, most of the time (haha), but he is doing great.

My Hospital Stay: Well, just to clear up why I am in the hospital. I have been sick for over a month with, what was at first, a cold and then that turned into Bronchitis the beginning of October. Then after medicine I thought I was getting better, went to Louisville last week (Oct 19-21) and felt just fine. Get home and THursday it was all downhill. I could barely breathe and went to Urgent Care right before they closed, where they said I had pneumonia so I grabbed more medicine. Friday I still couldn't breathe, I tried walking to the bathroom (15 feet away) and by the time I got back I nearly passed out. That is when my mom brought me to to Emergency Room where they said I was having some type of Asthmatic episode, loaded me with fluids, steriods, and breathing treatments and let me go. Saturday I was still feeling terrible and coughing all the time, well all this coughing sent me into SVT (Supraventricular Tachycardia), and because I couldn't breathe deep I couldn't get my heart back into normal rhythm. So, mom raced me back to the ER where they had to administered adenosine. Here is that I learned that adenosine actually stops my heart in hopes that when it starts back it will be in normal rhythm. Well, is was a success! Then a few more breathing treatments and then an hour of heliox (70% helium, 30% oxygen). Finally they admitted me because my heart was still in sinus tach (beating about 120 bpm) and my lungs were still so yucky. Well I have slowly been feeling better after a few days in the hospital, but still cannot manage to move far at all and after some beta blockers my heart is down in the 80s. I am hoping to go home today, but the docs say it will be a slow(er) recovery.... fun!

Back to fun stuff with the kids! We also did Leeds Pumpkin Patch with Cory and Coltan, and that was a really fun day. They had a big bouncy thing for Cory, slides, hay rides, zip lines, corn boxes (like sand boxes but with dried corn), petting zoo, corn maze, and so much fun for the kids. If you are in the Columbus area, I totally recommend this farm, it was a blast!!

Here is my picture overload!



Cory's Cake, my first total cake success!



He was thinking so hard on this wish:




Kings Island, here Cory comes!!
Chloe, Emma, and Cory after the Scooby Haunted House:





Cory and myself on the Fairly Oddparents flyings ride:


Coltan watching his siblings and Nana on the mini drop tower:

Coltan trying to squeeze through to see his siblings and Nana, haha:

Chloe, Cory, and Nana.... look at who is screaming the most. Love you Mom!!
Mom and Emma on mini drop tower:

Dustin and Teri skipping around the carousel, these 2 just keep me laughing.

Coltan, and myself, on the carousel:

Birthday boy on the carousel:


He is such a little adrenaline junkie... He is so tiny when he raises his arms though we are all afraid he is going to fly out!
Coltan, just hanging out...

He wanted to go... over there...
Cory winning big at the arcarde:

I finally tried a rollercoaster, here we are going up!

Twisting:


Cory waiting in line for the bungee/bouncy/flippy ride:

Here is my big boy jumping:

Still jumping and preparing to try what the other kids had not tried, before him:

First, not so successful, attempt at a flip:

No worries, he is brave and shall try again!

And he flips back:

and keeps going....
and he....
totally did it, over and over and over again!

The guy working this thing was so impressed with Cory, and so nice, I love his face in this one... just as much shock as me, haha.

YAY!!!



Last ride, I got brave and did the big drop tower.

We are at the top....

You can see by the time we got back down I was not relaxed like everyone else, I had my legs lifted so far up haha.

You are...

looking at the winner of the 1st week of our biggest loser!

I suppose all that hard work last week really did pay off. That just gave me enough motivation to keep eating well and exercising.

Today I did not make it to the gym but I did Bob's workout on demand, he does not play around. 30 minutes of doing his exercises makes me sweat like 3x more than the eliptical.

What is new in our house? WELL, nothing too much. Cory goes in for early entrance into Kindergarten this Friday. He is 1 day past the cut-off date so I am really hoping he is accepted.

Coltan is still learning more and more words. My favorite is "cheers."

Emma and I went shopping on Saturday. I cannot believe what a little lady she is becoming, we had a blast.

Then, Saturday night I surprised Dustin with a night out to celebrate our 3rd anniversary of our first date. We went to the same movie theater, Marcus Theater, and to the same restaurant, The Winking Lizard. It was so much fun to 1) have alone time with him and 2) reminisce about our first date. We went and saw District 9, holy cow was that NOT what I expected. It was really good but maybe a bit too much of people blowing up and seeing dead cows.

I have been so swamped with school this quarter, it is insane. Last night I had 2 quizzes due and a paper, today I had 2 quizzes due, and tomorrow I have a quiz due. I will so happy when this quarter is over, never again do I attempt 15 credit hours, full time job, and being a mom. Yowza!

Hope everyone had a wonderful & peaceful weekend =).

That was NOT easy!

So, I finally have the new layout completed. That was really a pain!

Today was rather uneventful, I have not been feeling well since yesterday so I did not make it to the gym. Emma and Chloe were so nice to me today to let me rest, and I do believe that helped, so thank you girls!!

Although I was not feeling well, I still ate well. I had some yogurt & fruit for breakfast, spicy szechuan for lunch, and some sushi for dinner.

Coltan is starting to understand the art of speaking, I am so excited! The other day I said pool and immediately he mimicked what I said and said "poo", I couldn't be happier!

new template

I can't find a template... anyone have any suggestions on a good place to get one? I will try and get this all fixed tomorrow so it isn't so dark.

I found one I really liked but it just didn't turn out right.... figures =)

Tuesday Schmuesday

I think I am going to find a new template for the blog. It really bothers me that the links at the top do not work.

So, this biggest loser competition is going to be fun. Even better, the real Biggest Loser starts again in a month. SO, I can watch the show and get tips on kicking everyone's butt! I have been eating healthy and working out, which is wonderful! I am pushing the C25K off for a little bit until I get into better shape and feel more comfortable. I think I am going to start taking some classes at the Y, like spinning or boot camp, something fun.

Our garden is officially a SUCCESS!! I pulled 4 or 5 cucumbers last Friday and then pulled 4 more on Sunday, all from 1 plant. We planted 2 tomato plants and I pulled 5 tomatoes and there are probably 40 that are waiting. I also pulled 3 bell peppers and we have one more on the way. The one I was worried about not making it was the cantaloupe but 1 is almost full grown! This may not sound exciting, but I really doubted the whole thing.

Vacation was wonderful, it was fabulous spending genuine quality time with the kids. I didn't get much time with Dustin, but I am sure we will make a date night soon. I have this new urge to, for the first time in my life, shoot a gun (at a shooting range). I do feel like I would end up being too chicken though, haha.

I will get some new pictures up soon, I don't have any here with me.

Oh, just so everyone knows the NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS are RANKED (preseason).... if that isn't amazing I don't know what is!

What a week!

Well this past week I was on vacation. I thought I would be able to relax and kick back but instead I kept myself more busy than usual.

We did the fair, the zoo, and then the Newport Aquarium... and I will update with pictures.

Some of the people in my family has decided to start a Biggest Loser competition beginning today. I am excited, and am totally going to take this bull by it's horns =).

I did some cardio today and ate nothing but good food, and I even did a bit of gardening to ensure I stay active.

Tomorrow I plan on getting up early, hitting up the Y, doing dishes, laundry, taking the girls to Magic Mountain, and then work...

Ok I need to run True Blood is on... hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Oh, and CONGRATS to my Pie friends Melissa & Allison on their new babies!

SVT

SVT, or Supraventricular Tachycardia, is a congenital heart condition that I was born with. Not many people know this about me but on many occasion my heart will beat over 200 beats per minute. It only lasts for a few minutes and I can usually stop it by "bearing down." To do this I have to hold my breath and push down, if that makes any sense. When I go into SVT my heart also has palpitations.

Here is a clinical definition of SVT:

"Tachycardia means a fast heart rate. Supraventricular means 'coming from above the ventricle'. During an episode of SVT, the heartbeat is not controlled by the SA node (the normal timer of the heart). Another part of the heart overrides this timer with faster impulses. The source or 'trigger' of the impulse in an SVT is somewhere above ('supra') the ventricles, but the impulse then spreads to the ventricles. The heart then contacts (beats) faster than normal. For example:

• A 'short circuit' in the heart's electrical pathways may develop. The most common cause of SVT is an abnormal extra pathway from the AV node to the ventricles. This can make electrical impulses go round and round this section of the heart.
• A small area in one of the atria may become more 'excitable' than usual and start to produce electrical impulses."

So, as my Doctors explained it, my heart has this extra electrical pathway that causes my heart to beat 200+ beats a minute. Mine becomes very obvious because when I go into SVT you can see my heart beating. Weird, yes I know, but my heart often has palpitations (without SVT) and always does when I have SVT. A palpitation is just when you can feel/see your heart beat. When I go into SVT you can see my shirt move and my heart beating over 200 bpm.

So, why am I sharing this?
Well, mainly because of MckMama's blog (http://mycharmingkids.net) and her son Stellan who has SVT but also because I have been experiencing a lot of this lately. Whether it be stress or whatnot, it is at the top of my mind.

I empathize with little Stellan and want nothing more than to see him healthy and not having this SVT rear it's ugly head.

God Bless Stellan, we are all thinking of you!!

One of those days.

Ever had one of those days where the best thing would be to just climb back into bed?

I am knee deep in one of those days.

I pour my heart into everything I do, and manage to give more of my heart than I ever take. (This post is in no reference to Dustin. In that sense I often feel like I do take too much because he is just that wonderful to me.)

Anyway, people talk about karma and I am really beginning to question that. If I do the right or nice thing all the time and these good things do not come back to me, then what the heck?!

Maybe the good things come back to me in the fact that I do have such an amazing family. Dustin, the kids, my parents, my sister, and all of my family. They are so wonderful and not a day passes that I don't thank God for that support system. So is that my karma? I have to endure all of these other things? I am not understanding this one bit. I also understand that I have little patience, so I think this "karma" should move quickly, haha.

I am the queen of excuses. Not necessarily for myself but I will make excuses for every action another individual makes. I try and find the best in people, no matter the circumstance, but it generally comes back to bite me in the rear. Too many bad things in one day can break a person, yet I am trying to convince myself not to worry too much. I have my family, my health, and their health. I am truly a blessed person to have these people around me. I am just not quite understanding why people that do things the sneaky/tricky/deceiving way acquire more than being honest and genuine?

I am going to end this with my favorite word..... I can sum Tuesday, June 28th into one big fat word....... OI!

Praying for Stellan

Good Monday =)

I am sure some of you follow, or at least know of MckMama's blog. Well Stellan has been in the hospital since last week, he has had continuous SVT.

As some of you may know I have my history with SVT but it has never lasted as long as poor Stellan's. So this little guy has been on my mind a lot. I just wanted to introduce you to little Stellan if you have not read her blog, and please pray for him.