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.

So, Couch to 5K....

Here is a little more about my new program.

Tomorrow I am going to do the week one workout, which is as follows:

***Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.***

I am trying to figure out if this would be better on a treadmill at the Y or if I should try running through the neighborhood. I really dislike treadmills because the time goes by so slowly... the good news about this is that people won't be looking and pointing at the girl who can't run, haha.

As far as eating goes, my problem is that I tend to eat one big meal a day. I need to make time and force myself to eat multiple small meals a day, and NO late night eating. That is clearly my weakness... getting off of work at 11 is absolutely no good.

So, here is my attempt at keeping myself honest with the blog world.

Breakfast: Uncrustable Sandwich
Lunch: Morning Star (pretend) Chicken Patty w/ whole wheat bread, and pineapple
Dinner: Salmon, Baked Potato, and side salad.

Oh, yes my other weakness is water. I tend to drink too much of the bad stuff, such as coffee. I really don't drink much soda anymore, but coffee has become my drink of choice. So, today I made sure to drink about 50 ounces of water. Hey, it is a start =).

Bad Blogging Kelly!

Well, we are back home from our DC trip and we had a blast!

We (Dustin, Coltan, and myself) went to DC to site see and meet up with some people I have been talking with online since I found out I was pregnant with Coltan. It was so fantastic finally meeting these families, they all have a special place in my heart. Thank you to all of you DC Pies for letting us come visit, you are all absolutely wonderful!

School is a bit busy this quarter, but I knew it would be since I am taking 3 classes. I did not know it would end up being this busy, but I keep reminding myself that in a short while I will be done with school and doing something I am very excited to do!

On a not-so-great note, Sally said something the other day which reminded me I totally dropped the ball on getting in shape and doing the half-marathon. Bad Kelly! So, I may not make a half marathon (by running it) but I am officially starting the C25K program. For those of you who are not familiar, this is the Couch to 5K program. Sounds like my type of plan!

So, this blog is going to assist in keeping me honest and on top of my game. I am going to force myself to post every day and be honest about my work-outs and all that a healthy lifestyle entails, haha.

Well, now that all that serious stuff is out of the way here are some (or a bunch) of pictures from this weekend:


Car ride home, Coltan and I were playing while Daddy was in the store.



These are all of the toddlers we were able to meet in DC. They are all such special and fabulous kids, their parents kick butt too!



Coltan may have a little crush on the adorable little girl, Eva. Yes, he went in for a little kiss =).



Coltan and Kalil:

PANDAS!! Yes we made it to the National Zoo, and I was thrilled to finally see Giant Pandas!



The best way to explain this is how Dustin said it... you know how there is the weird kid in class, well this is the weird Monkey at the zoo:

2 Orangutans kissing, how sweet:

I was shocked Coltan wore sunglasses, but he learned they really do help when the sun is incredibly bright.

Coltan and Dacia:

Coltan and Miss Jackie:

Coltan and Noah:

Coltan, Noah, and Titus:

The Metro rail in DC... I am definitely not a fan, but it is incredibly convenient.

WWII Memorial:

Lincoln.... and Coltan!

Coltan and the WWII Memorial:

I really loved these pictures that Dustin got of the Lincoln Memorial, so I had to share them:




Now that I have flooded you with pictures I hope everyone is having a great week, and I will be back tomorrow =).

The summer is flying by!

So we are all still here, still healthy, and still enjoying this busy summer!

In less than 2 weeks Dustin, Coltan, and myself will be traveling to Washington DC and I am so excited.

So far this summer we have..... just done normal things. School is back in session, which I am going full-time, so that keeps me busy. I have been trying to take the kids to the parks and do some fun things. Oh, last Friday we went to Red, White, and BOOM! That is our city's 4th of July celebration, and it was so much fun. I will post those pictures as soon as I get them, but here are a few pictures of our trip to Schiller Park. It was a really beautiful park so I can't wait to go back, hopefully on a day with a little more sun haha.


Here is Cory & of course he is wearing those boots. This same day I took him to try and find some new shoes he would love, since nothing is as cool as these boots, haha. We found some new crocs and he bought one of those pins to go in the shoe. The only way to make these Crocs cooler was to get him the Bumblebee (Transformer) pin for the Crocs.
Coltan & Nana:





So we are all still here, still healthy, and still enjoying this busy summer!

In less than 2 weeks Dustin, Coltan, and myself will be traveling to Washington DC and I am so excited.

So far this summer we have..... just done normal things. School is back in session, which I am going full-time, so that keeps me busy. I have been trying to take the kids to the parks and do some fun things. Oh, last Friday we went to Red, White, and BOOM! That is our city's 4th of July celebration, and it was so much fun. I will post those pictures as soon as I get them, but here are a few pictures of our trip to Schiller Park. It was a really beautiful park so I can't wait to go back, hopefully on a day with a little more sun haha.

Oh, we also got Coltan's haircut last Friday so I will post new pictures soon. He looks like SUCH a little boy now, it is crazy!!

Hope everyone had a fantastic 4th!!