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My Keurig cure

Posted on December 13, 2010 7:56 am by TheAngelForever

Just before I met TechyDad, I gave up caffeine over the summer. As a college student, I had become overly dependent on Mt. Dew for breakfast and any other time of day. This constant influx of caffeine (and likely sugar) had caused my body to crave it and resulted in massive headaches. The week I stopped drinking caffeinated beverages was VERY difficult.

Once the caffeine was out of my system, my headaches stopped for many years. Over the last year or so, I noticed the headache pattern was returning. Mr. Migraine was back in full force! One of my doctors suggested some migraine medication, but I was not a fan. A prescription that I tried years ago literally made it so TechyDad was not sure if I was alive. It scared both of us. The doctor then suggested trying something like Excedrin Migraine. I was hesitant because of the caffeine content, but became a believer because it worked!

Soon after that, I tried some coffee at my parent’s house. They had a nifty new Keurig machine and it intrigued me. I noticed that on days where I had a cup of coffee there, the headaches stayed away. Hmmmm…. Although I was not a fan of the caffeine, the small amount keeping away the larger pain seemed well worth the trade off.

There were days when I would run over to my parents house to visit their machine because I could feel the headache coming on. Most of the time, if I caught it quick enough, the coffee would work. TechyDad does not like coffee. We have a coffee machine that we have never opened. I secretly wished for my own Keurig machine, but could not see spending the money on something that would mainly be for me. Each time I heard about Keurig giveaways on blogs, I would enter.

Most of the time there would be hundreds of entries and I never once thought too much about it. Then last weekend I was looking in my spam e-mails. There was a message from Jennifer of The Dirty t Shirt. After reading the note, I ran to tell TechyDad. Yes, I won Jennifer’s Millstone Coffee and Folgers Gourmet Selections K-Cups and Keurig Single-Cup Brewer! Much to my surprise, a rather large box was waiting for me when I arrived home on Friday. Inside was the following:

My parents joke that they will never see me again now that I have my own Keurig. I laugh at them and blame them for making me like the machine so much. I will say, I really enjoyed waking up and having a cup of coffee at home whenever I wanted it. Certainly made for a nice Sunday afternoon.

So, on this Monday morning I ask you, are you a coffee drinker? If you have a Keurig machine, I would love to know tips on places to purchase K-Cups.

Categories:
bloggy friends family interesting looking back me moments pain photos

Doctor visit and Dr. Seuss B-day celebration

Posted on March 2, 2010 9:51 am by TheAngelForever

About a month ago we were told that NHL had to dress up as his favorite Dr. Seuss character. With everything that went on before/during/after the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and my nephew being born time was short. Since we were away this weekend not a lot of planning/buying was done. NHL remembered being called Thing 1 and JSL being called Thing 2 by us. He liked the idea and said to come up with something.

Yesterday, JSL and I went to Michaels to pick up some supplies. I bought a white foam sheet to make the Thing 1 circle to go on a white sheet. Then I noticed the t-shirts on sale and the iron on transfers. With my 40% off coupon we could make 5 shirts for a good price (thinking ahead to BlogHer).

When NHL went to bed last night we told him the plan. Sad to say things changed rather quickly. JSL came into bed and fell asleep. Suddenly he bolted up and howled. I am not exaggerating, it was loud and not a good sign. TechyDad had been working on a design for the iron on transfer. After over an hour of screaming I told him to forget it. I would do my backup plan in the morning.

It was a very long night. JSL screamed every 30 minutes. I think the longest stretch of quiet and sleep we had was about an hour. When we asked him what hurt he said his hair. As time went on he said his hair, head and ear. On Saturday he was complaining about his hair hurting and had a low grade temperature. Aunt M looked into his ears and could not get a look at the one thanks to so much wax build up. This morning when we took his temperature and it was 101 (his normal temperature is about 97). Right now he is sleeping peacefully and we go to have things checked at 10:15. Can not fool around with his febrile seizure tendencies.

Meanwhile NHL went to school today and was quite pleased with his Thing 1 costume. I gave him his red turtle neck and went with plan 2 of the logo. Here is the big guy all ready to go:

Do schools near you celebrate Dr. Seuss today?

I know a lot of elementary schools around here do. The teacher in me can not wait to hear what other kids dressed up as, if they bothered since there is a field trip today

Categories:
doctor jsl nhl pain photos school sick kid

Head + concrete = trip to ER

Posted on September 26, 2009 4:09 pm by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

Yesterday afternoon was filled with a lot of crying, panic and rushing about. We were having a great day. We spent time with Nana and Papa. After a while we went to BJ’s to do some shopping. You slept while we shopped. Then you woke up in time to have some potato chips for lunch. Soon it was time to head to school to pick up your big brother. I was excited to hear how he did on his first ever spelling test. You were still pretty tired, but I could not take the stroller out of the trunk.

NHL came out of school and we were walking back to my car. Another teacher stopped us to ask a question. You and NHL were right next to me, my back was turned ever so slightly. Then I heard a sound that haunted me in my sleep. It was a horrifying THUD and it echoed like nothing I have ever heard before. There was a pause, time seemed to stop. . . and then I heard you scream. My heart sank as I quickly realized that terrible noise was your forehead making a B-line for the cement.

NHL’s kindergarten teacher saw the entire thing. You just slipped on your own feet and went down hard. I knew we had to go into the building. I rushed right into the nurses office. When we arrived in there you were screaming even louder. I moved your hair back and saw blood and started to freak. I imagined the worse. You never passed out, but were quite woozy. All I can say is thank goodness the nurse was right there. The nurse kept an ice pack on your head and kept you focused and listening to her. Meanwhile I called Nana and Papa to come quick. Then I put a call in for the doctor and called Daddy to meet us at the ER.

When Nana and Papa arrived we quickly moved out of the school to the car and went to the ER. I had to stop myself from recalling the past visits there, but it was not easy. After what seemed like forever they took us back and two doctors looked at you. By the time I took the first photo in the ER the swelling had gone down a little. The second is when we were finally back home.

After a while they said that you seemed fine. They did not think that you had a concussion, but we were to keep a close eye on you. We went back home and you ate a little dinner and some chocolate seemed to make you a happy little guy. Then it was time for bed. You fell asleep quickly, but were fussy several times during the night. No doubt you had nightmares of what had happened like I did.

I hope that the rest of the weekend goes more smoothly. I am not sure we can handle much more excitement. As it is, Daddy and I are seriously starting to think about buying you full hockey goalie gear to protect you.

Love,

Mommy

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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.

Categories:
bad news Dear Kid Saturday doctor jsl ouchie pain photos school

I Give Up – Sickies Win

Posted on March 25, 2008 6:14 am by TheAngelForever

Would someone PLEASE give the message to all bacteria and viruses that I officially give up?!?! They win and can go the H-E Double Hockey Sticks away! Seriously it is now technically spring (not that you would know from the weather here) and we can not seem to shake being sick here. OK – so technically we went about two weeks without anything, but now BAM it is back in force.

Saturday night NHL was not feeling well. He woke up throughout the night with a barking/hacking croupy cough and fever. We gave him meds and kept him quiet most of the day. Sunday I was in agony. Before going to bed Saturday night I told JL that my right breast was killing me. It felt a little warm and if anything brushed up against it I was ready to scream. I went to bed and hoped for the best. JSL woke up during the night thanks to NHL being sick and nursed on it (something he never does in the night) and it was horrible. The shooting pain just kept getting worse all day and I ached all over. Needless to say we were quite a group on Sunday. Sunday night JL helped me to hot compress my breast to try to help it in case it was mastitis starting to settle in. At this point I was ready to try anything since I was in tears and had chills.

Yesterday we took NHL to the doctor. His fever would not stop climbing if he did not have Tylenol or Motrin in him. We got there and got a virus diagnosis, but he did have fluid in his ears. *sigh* I went to my doctor to have myself looked at since they wanted to see me. The NP said that she could tell from me still being swollen that there was definitely a very clogged duct at one point. She was very happy that I was able to keep the mastitis away at least at this point. She told JSL to stop biting me and causing the cracking on my poor body and told me she would look into something else for me. She also gave me a prescription for an antibiotic just in case I need it for mastitis if it comes back.

Fast-forward to last night. NHL’s coughing woke up JSL. We decided to keep JSL in our room and not expose him any further to the night coughing of NHL. NHL’s fever was soaring high and Motrin and Tylenol are not controlling it – not even together. I ended up sleeping in NHL’s bed with him for 3 hours to keep him in bed. I am sure I am in for this next thanks to the coughing exposure. Right now (5:30) his temperature with Motrin (6-8 hour medicine) given at 2:00 is 101.8. We gave Tylenol and are hoping it kicks in. He has not had a febrile seizure since he was 11 months old, but the scare is always there. . . especially since I will be home with both of the boys alone today (JL was home yesterday).

On that note I am off. JSL just woke up and now he is coughing too. *sigh*

If you could please help me to reinforce the message to the sickies to GO AWAY!

Categories:
doctor losing my mind pain sick kid sickness vent

How did that table leg get there?!

Posted on January 29, 2008 11:00 am by TheAngelForever

First thanks to everyone for the comments on my Blogoversary giveaway. I am floored that there are over 200 comments already and it has only been live for a little over 24 hours! Keep them coming . . . who knows I may add something else for another person or two!

*sigh* Now it is time for me to vent.

Over the last few days my body is falling apart. Man, it is not like I am that old or anything. I just turned 31 last month and things are going downhill quickly.

Last Thursday I noticed that a bump in my left eye was still there and seemed to be getting larger. I tried to keep myself calm and went to look at it in the mirror. Prior to this I knew it was there, but it was not visible from the outside. Now it is. . . so I freaked! I showed my mother and JL and we agreed it would be a good plan to have a doctor check it out. I am going there Thursday morning.

I guess it is a good thing since I now have a ~~bitch~~ laundry list of things. Man I make it seem really bad. It is currently only three items long, but keeps growing by the day.

Friday afternoon I was doing something with the boys and I heard a pop in my shoulder and felt burning pain. By the evening I was barely able to rotate my arm/shoulder at all. Falling apart I tell you!

Saturday night I went out for a "Girls Night Out" with my friend H. She treated me to an amazing Italian dinner for a belated birthday gift (Thank you again H and J too for hanging out with the boys). We had a great time and by that point in time the surging/burning pain was mostly gone. I was even starting to be able to move my shoulder without screaming or thinking about it.

Sunday things were calm. JL took the boys out in the morning for a secret mission (I think related to Valentines Day). He told me to use the time to take a shower and not have to worry about them. So I shaved my legs. Who knew doing something like that could make a person feel so much better. A mommy living in cold weather does not do this grooming thing as often in the winter in order to maintain some warmth. My friend and I were talking pedicure and gynecologist appointments are items that will force the issue. Our husbands just learn to tolerate it.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon. Things were going well. I was having fun e-mailing people to thank them for comments on my giveaway (~~anal retentive~~ ~~over achiever~~ crazy me – I kept up with this for over 70 comments and then this happened). The boys were playing. JSL was started to get whiny and saying "Mama Mmmmmm" . . . which means Mommy Milk.

So I got up to head to him take him for a diaper change. Suddenly the table leg was rammed into my poor little toe on my left foot. I was ~~swearing~~ screaming and crying. JSL was looking at me like I was nuts and NHL just sat on the couch and continued to watch Max & Ruby. I felt so loved. Instantly my toe was turning colors and swelling. So in agony I managed to hobble to JSL to take him for a diaper change. Then I called JL to ~~whine/moan/yell~~ that I was hurt and I may need him home early.

Luckily the baby settled down for a nap quickly and slept for a little over two hours until JL was home. I allowed NHL to watch television more than usual because it allowed me to put my throbbing foot up to help keep the swelling down. Forget ice since my foot already felt like it was a frozen block. JL helped out with the boys last night a lot so I could keep it elevated and luckily it seems better today. If it is not doing well by Thursday it will be the third item on the list for the doctor.

Now I just need to get some sleep tonight. JSL was up for what seems like an every evening thing now. At 11:00 he wasthrew up all over his crib. I think it was excess saliva and bad nose congestion that started that. He went into our bed and could not settle since he was so stuffed up. I got out my pump to have some milk to use in his nose. Voila – all better. Within 30 minutes (at close to 12:40) he was sleeping in our bed. With him in bed and my toe throbbing there was not a lot of sleep accomplished.

Man it is rough getting older – whether it is from falling apart or teething!