A Cold Stinks...

I contracted a cold this past weekend, yuck, I hate being sick. However, it reminds me that I need to take better care of myself so I don't get sick and that my good health is not to be taken for granted. Generally, I'm healthy. However, after visiting with my disabled daughter last week, and she had a horrific cold, so I guess my body was run down because my immune system couldn't fight it off and I got a cold. Yuck.

Today, I'm downing the vitamin C and garlic capsules, a remedy from my good old Mom and lots of liquids, mostly herbal teas. I'm resting, the best I can with twin boys, and trying to get rid of this dang cold. Being sick reminds me how good it is to be healthy. I suppose I need a reminder every now and then so I don't take my good health for granted. I just hope my little guys and husband don't get sick, my boys have not been sick yet, other than the occasional runny nose when teething, so...I hope their immune systems can fight off this 'bug' I have.

Other than having a cold, the positive thing is that it's not ungodly windy today, it's calm and warm, so I'm going to take the boys for a walk. What purpose does wind, horrendous whipping wind, have anyway? I can't stand real windy days, but that's March & April in Colorado it seems. Walking outside is our favorite thing to do, get some fresh air and needed exercise for this gals flabby body. Hee-hee. :) I'm in pretty good shape for having 7 children, or so my children & husband tell me, but, I have a lot of 'toning' to do so that I feel good about my shape again. It will come, I just need to work at it. Take care of yourselves, take a walk in the fresh air if you can, and be grateful for your many blessings in life. Thanks for reading. :)

My Twins Turn One!

It's simply amazing how quickly this year went by with my twin boys, whoosh. But the first month of their life was very intense. They were in NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for a month after birth because they both had to gain weight, maintain their weight, eat well, and maintain their body heat. They never really needed a ventilator, but they had a little O2 hooked up and giving them some extra because we live in Colorado at a fairly high altitude. Babies born here do better with a little oxygen to begin with. I'm so grateful I've been able to nurse my babies this last year, they've been healthy and strong.

We had a little birthday party to celebrate their 1st birthday, family and friends come over to celebrate. We have a tradition where the babies get their own piece of cake with whip cream to eat or do with as they please. I'm rather anal when it comes to messes, so I struggle with this ritual, but the babies think it's pretty cool and the observers get a good laugh. "Just relax Mom, they're suppose to get messy," "Oh Mom, leave them alone, don't worry about the mess," but..."I" will be cleaning up the cake and whip cream that has been flung, smashed and wiped all over the place.

My husband and grandparents take pictures and videos, and the boys have a grand old time. We get them cleaned up when they're obviously done with the cake and are madly flinging it from side to side and whining. OK next, the presents. Once again, being allowed to rip up paper...what is going on Mom, you always take paper away from us? The ripping of the wrapping paper and the revealing of the gifts; the cars, trucks, balls, and stuffed animals, all are pretty neat, but the bows and paper are the BEST! :) They seemed to thoroughly enjoy the party, they hadn't had cake before, just a bit of ice cream occasionally. So they really liked the sweets and the chance to really dig into their cake. They stayed up longer than usual playing and enjoying our company, so when it came to nap time, they went down without much of a fuss.

I just look at my boys and my other children in amazement, and I'm so grateful that I've been blessed with this large family and the additional babies with my present husband. I truly enjoy being a mother, it's challenging and tiring, but I'm happiest at home with my boys at this time in my life. I'm more calm and I know I'm doing the best I can do with my children. I'm a better mom this second time around because I know I don' t have to be perfect and that my love and attention is what my babies need the most from me. When I was younger, I was trying to do everything right. Now I know I'll make mistakes, but I'm doing my best, and the boys are healthy and developing well, so I'm doing a good job. Being more mature is less stressful for me, I know it's important to take time to play with my boys, try to keep them on a good schedule, but I don't worry if things don't go perfectly as planned. The boys seem happy and that's the main thing. Being older helps me realize I know I'm not perfect, I'll do my best with my babies, and it doesn't matter what other people think. People will always judge me for whatever reason, but that is their problem, I don't need to make it my problem. I love my children and they love me.

Life is good, I'm grateful for my blessings; my husband, my kids, my health, our home and the comforts that we enjoy in our life! :)

More Publicity for the Octuplet Mom-Not Right!

I'm appalled at the publicity Nadya Suleman, the Octuplet mom is receiving. People are actually donating money to her. It's to help raise her 14 children, but she will squander so much of it away on unnecessary toys for her other 6 children, clothes, fast food, manicures & pedicures, and who knows what else. She is obviously mentally unstable, yet we entrust her with all these innocent children and premature infants. It's not fair and it's not right. We, the tax paying citizens of the United States of America will be paying for her medical bills through Medicaid. We will be paying for her through the welfare system too. Of course the children need care, but should we just GIVE her money to toss around mindlessly? I think someone with wisdom should be managing her finances and it should be put in a Trust Fund to care for the children only!

I think of all the needy people in this country who truly put forth an effort to work and provide for their families. Yet, this woman now lives off our tax paying dollars and donations of kind hearted people who care about the babies. I don't think the children should be taken from her, but she definitely needs help raising them if they're to become decent human beings. They need their mother, as crazy as she is, and she seems to honestly love them. But just throwing money at Nadya is not the answer. She needs to be supervised and someone needs to advise her on money matters, or be in charge of her finances so she can't just spend all the money and have nothing left to care for her 14 children. I hesitate to post a photo of Nadya, because I don't want to ADD to her 'fame,' but I will post one photo so you know who I'm discussing. The health and well-being of the 14 children are my number one concern. I read today that she fired the 'Angels in Waiting' nonprofit nursing group because she thought they were spying on her and reporting her to social-child services, which they did three times. If she's caring for her children appropriately, she has nothing to worry about. She's going to hire another group of chosen nurses that she said will be trained by the Hospital staff (oh right, when will they have time to train these nurses, that is specialized training that took months and years of training to be efficient as a NICU nurse). My goodness, I just hope these children get the love, care, and support they need to be healthy, happy and balanced little people.

Octuplets: Irresponsible & Overwhelmed Mother

After watching the "Oprah" show Tuesday, I was disappointed in the situation that caused these poor 8 babies to be born to a greedy and selfish woman. I say that because she already had 6 children before she implanted 6 embryos that were fertilized by Donor Sperm (which was by different sperm donors at 1st, now Nadya says it's the same sperm donor for all 14 children) . She isn't married & no Father to the children, she isn't employed, she lives with her Mom, she is 33 years old, and she was allowed to go through with Infertility Treatments to transfer 6 embryos? I'm amazed that an Embryologist allowed this to occur.

This very situation gives Invitro Fertilization a bad rap and makes it more difficult for struggling couples to conceive using this very expensive and risky method to get pregnant. How did any qualified, professional Fertility doctor ever accept this Nadya Suleman, with 6 children already, for Fertility Treatments? How could she afford the treatments, as they are extremely expensive, $8,000 to $30,000 for each Invitro Fertilization (IFV) treatment? Now, because this woman got away with getting pregnant through IVF with these 8 babies, and being irresponsible to herself + her other 6 children, dangerous to her health (which put her other 6 children at risk of losing their mother) and to her unborn babies, it jeopardizes Fertility Treatments for couples who cannot conceive without IVF or costly Fertility Treatments. This is not fair!!

IVF is for couples who have the emotional, physical and mental capacity to support their child/children in every way. It's not for people who just "want to have a large family to fulfill their own childhood insecurities." This woman is not married and doesn't even have a job! So who will support her and her 14 children? Our tax paying dollars will support her. Who will pay for her extraordinary hospital, doctor, and medical bills? We will, the American tax payers, as she will qualify to receive Medicaid for her 'large family.' This is very frustrating to me and so unfair to her 8 babies who are needing Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) medical attention. The children should not suffer for our irresponsible actions as their parents, but...these babies will. I hold the Fertility doctors who allowed her to receive IVF treatments responsible for this "failed IVF treatment." Dr. Oz and the other doctor, De Janie Grifo, director of the NYU Fertility Center, said this would be considered a 'failure' of

My husband and I had to turn to Fertility Treatments to get pregnant with our twin sons. I'm an older mom, and we had other issues that made it impossible to conceive naturally. We are responsible adults who saved and saved to go through fertility treatments to conceive our 2 boys. If we couldn't afford to support them financially, emotionally, and physically, we would not have had them. I'm so grateful that we had the option of fertility treatments, but some people should not qualify for fertility treatments if they're not mentally and financially not capable of supporting their children. I hope and pray that these Octuplet babies will receive the health care they deserve.

All the publicity that Nadya is receiving is not right. She should not be rewarded with money, houses, and things for being irresponsible and selfish in her desire to 'have a large family so she can feel loved.' She is mentally unstable and will need tons of assistance to raise her 14 children to be healthy and well adjusted people. Thank goodness for the "Angels in Waiting" group of nurses and medical staff that will care for the premature infants once they go home. Someone who is wise and responsible with money, like Suzie Orman, should be her advisor on what to do with her 'donations.' I hope and pray the babies will be OK, as for Nadya, she sickens me. A woman gets pregnant with multiples so she can make money off the publicity. How sad. Someone in authority needs to be supervising Nadya's rediculous spending and time away from her precious children. She had plastic surgery done to look like Angelina Jolie, what??? There are before and after photos of her online and she called Angelina many times. The difference between her and Angelina is that Angelina & Brad Pitt can afford financially, emotionally and mentally to have many children. Nadya is mentally unstable and she has no business raising 14 children. I hope her children are cared for and provided for, because it's not their fault that their mom is irresponsible and selfish.

11 Tricks That Lead to Big Weight Loss

I'm not going to claim any credit for this article, but I thought it was interesting, so I'm sharing it with you. Some simple ways to cut back on calories to lose some weight. I don't know about you, but after 40 years old, my body just clings onto fat...and I have to work more to keep it off or lose it. Here's some simple tips on keeping the fat off or to get it off. Hope you have a great day! :)
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(Article from Men’s Health Magazine: msn news)

The following are tricks that can help you lose weight, simple tricks that lead to big weight loss:

1. Blot. Use a paper napkin to blot about a teaspoon of fat off a pizza slice. If you eat a slice a week, that's more than a whole cup of fat you won't eat—or wear—this year.
2. Drink more milk. Consuming 1,800 milligrams of calcium a day could block the absorption of about 80 calories. Fill your coffee mug with skim or 1 percent milk, drink it down to the level you want in your coffee, then pour in your caffeine.
3. Buy cut veggies. They cost more, but they'll pay up later—because you're more likely to snack on them than on junk food.
4. Get watered down.
A recent German study showed that drinking water burns calories. Drinking about two cups of cold water—no warmer than 72 degrees—burns up 25 calories. Drink a quart a day and you could burn up five pounds a year.
5. Go smaller.
Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. Studies show that when you have a smaller plate, then you will generally eat less because less fills up your plate.
6. Dilute juice.
Add water to your fruit juice to cut back on calories.
7. Make your drinks count.
Have a V8, tomato juice, or vegetable drink instead of a pop.
8. Have a power snack prepared.
Mix three different kinds of beans and sprinkle in some low-cal Italian dressing and enjoy it as a snack during the week.
9. Think about eating.
Focus on eating and eat at the table; don't watch TV, don't read and stop working.
10. Stop mindless snacking.
Especially when you're cooking, try to chew gum, it will deter you from tasting the food as you cook. 11. Tighten your belt.
If you feel like snacking, tighten your belt a notch and it should deter you from eating because it reminds you of the smaller size you'd like to be.

LINK:
URL: http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100214611

I read an article about replenishing your energy, "10 Ways to Go from Tired to Terrific," by Alicia Potter, Health Magazine. I'm including the link at the bottom of this post. It's so important to make sure we have adequate energy to get through our days.



Article:

http://health.msn.com/your-best-life/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100232160&gt1=31043

40 and Forward

We all lead busy and productive lives and I would like to hit on issues, concerns and opinions that mostly affect our population of 40 years and forward. I'm a mother, teacher, counselor, friend, wife, sister, daughter, and overall decent person. I will discuss and address current issues, parenthood, family situations, teachers issues, and general issues that are important to our human race. I would appreciate if you would respond to my articles with honesty and kindness (no cussing please) and share your thoughts. We all make up this wonderful and challenging country and I hope that we can offer support, humor, caring and concern for the issues that we face daily.

We will discuss wellness + health, weight-loss, maintaining a healthy weight, exercise/working out, how to deal with stress, family issues-babies, toddlers, school aged children, teenagers, and young adults, work issues, working from home, and how to be our best and make the best of the lives we lead. "Together we stand, divided we fall." So let's share, support each other, and help make our world a place to live life to the fullest.