The before…

The during…

The after…

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1. A Walk Down The Aisle.. The Frozen Food Aisle That Is!

IT.

WAS.

SO.

SAD? AWFUL? HORRIFYING? I’m not even sure there was a word for what I felt in that moment. 

 I had bags under my eyes, my hair was a mess, the makeup I had on didn’t cover up nearly as much as I thought it did, and to top it all off I realized my butt, hips, and thighs were big.. like the biggest I’d ever seen them. Oh, and my three year old was crying while my nine year old was begging for TV dinners. I didn’t even recognize myself anymore.

 Who was that sleep-deprived chunky-butt girl with the whiny kids and ugly hair? Was it really me? I stared at the reflection of myself so long I think I went cross-eyed before realizing that hating myself wasn’t going to do me any good. My kids were just having a moment but what was MY excuse for looking like the walking dead with a bloated tush? I had none.

  That was the day I decided I would no longer be THAT girl and I began to do something about it. I couldn’t keep eating the way I’d been eating so I’ve been counting calories for a month, making healthier eating choices, and I’ve become more active and exercise regularly (as my heart allows me to of course). I’ve lost 8 pounds in one month and my pants are starting to fit differently. I feel like I’m in control of my out-of-control body now and I feel good about that. I don’t think I’m fat necessarily but I see problem areas and I realized I just needed to take better care of myself.. and invest in some better under eye concealer. It’s just too easy as moms to put ourselves on the backburner while we care for our families and it just took me a walk down the frozen food aisle to see that it isn’t just my family that is important.. I am too and I need to treat myself better. No more excuses.

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Start at the Top:  Ceiling fans, tall mantles and bookshelves, and the tops of door frames tend to subscribe to the “out of sight, out of mind” motto.  These areas often harbor dust, so it’s important to wipe them down regularly to help remove dust buildup.  Start at the top and work your way down, collecting all of the dust and dirt that falls to the floor while you’re cleaning.

 

Wipe Down Windows and Walls:  Don’t clean windows the old fashioned way – newspaper can cause ink residue and paper towels leave lint behind.  Your best bet is to use microfiber cleaning cloths and a professional window squeegee to get a streak-free, spotless shine. To prevent streaks on shower doors and walls, apply lemon oil to the door twice a month.  This will help repel soap scum and shampoo, while also adding a nice shine.  

 

Think Horizontally: Dust mites are nearly everywhere.  In fact, the American Lung Association estimates that roughly four out of five homes in the United States have detectable levels of dust mite allergen in at least one bed.  Reduce dust mites by encasing your mattress and pillows, and wash your bedding in hot water about once a week.  Also, since dust mites are microscopic, place strips of duct tape on the mattress case to prevent the dust mites from sneaking through. 

 

Clean the In-between: While cleaning what you can see, don’t forget to clean what you can’t see – the air you breathe.  Use a high performance air filter in the home, such as the Filtrete 1” Ultimate Allergen Reduction filter from 3M, to help capture particles such as pollen, smoke, dust mite debris and pet dander from the air that passes through the filter.  Be sure to change your filter at the start of every season, or every three months. 

 

Freeze the Fur:  Stuffed animals can harbor dust mites so it’s important to pay special attention to them.  Place stuffed animals in a large plastic bag and freeze them for four to five hours.  Remove them from the freezer and plastic bag, and use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to remove any leftover dust particles.

 

Finish With Floors: To keep floors in tip-top shape, vacuum and clean them weekly.  You can easily make your own floor cleaner by adding a few drops of mild liquid dish detergent to a gallon of water. Hot water can break down floor finishes after time so use water that is barely warm.  Finally, don’t forget to clean the floor under large pieces of furniture, which may require you to temporarily move them elsewhere.  Corners of rooms and the back of closets often are overlooked, so be sure to clean these areas as well.

Kitchen Clean-Up

Certain areas of the home, especially the kitchen, can breed and harbor germs that not only cause odors but can spread to family members.  These low-cost cleaning tasks, when done regularly and properly, can be effective in making the home healthier for your family:

 

Trashcans: Trashcans should be cleaned monthly using a chlorine bleach and water solution.  Simply combine one cup of non-chlorine bleach for every three gallons of water and pour the solution into the trashcan.  Swish the solution around in the trashcan, and wait about five minutes for the chlorine to kick in and kill the germs.

 

Refrigerators: Cleaning the refrigerator monthly will improve the safety and quality of your food.  If you are tired of cleaning spills and food particles from your refrigerator, then cover shelves with washable shelf liners.  They will catch most of the food spillage, and will make cleanup quicker and easier.  Once a month, throw them in the dishwasher for a good cleaning, and then place them back in the refrigerator once they are dry. 

 

Sinks: Since bacteria can accumulate in cracks and crevices, pay extra attention to these areas when disinfecting.  Also, stainless steel sinks can be tough to clean and can look spotty due to water spots and lime build up.  To keep the sink shiny, use a soft buffing wheel to restore the luster.  Then, use a cloth to generously apply mineral oil to the sink.  Water will bead up and roll off the sink, keeping it shiny and helping prevent spots.

It never occurred to me to clean up the kids’ stuffed animals like that but it makes sense. With allergies being at an all-time high this year it seems really important to keep our homes extra clean and these tips are all simple things that we can do to ensure that our homes are clean and to provide a healthy home environment for those we love, especially for those in our families that have allergies and are more sensitive.

I know for me getting a really good vaccuum and cleaning often helps my allergies a little bit but my home tends to collect dust really easily and it’s a never-ending process of keeping things clean as I’m sure you all know.

3M has created the Clean Air Club for moms like me, you can sign up at www.Filtrete.com, so we can receive more home cleaning and living tips like the ones above, receive money-saving offers and also reminders of when to change our air filters – another important thing to take care of regularly to help avoid the particles like dust, pollen and pet dander from the air in our homes. In fact it’s already a great time to replace your air filters with all of the dust and pollen in the air with it being Spring and edging closer to Summer time. If you’re getting ready to do this, 3M is offering a downloadable mail-in rebate for $4 off the purchase of two Filtrete Air Filters with a 1000 Microparticle Performance Rating or greater and you can find that HERE. 

TIP: If you visit the Filtrete website be sure to enter the Rev Your Engines Sweepstakes and Instant Win Game. You could win some great prizes including a 2011 Ford Fiesta.

 I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour ca mpaign with Mom Central on behalf of Filtrete and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate. All opinions expressed here are my own.

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My dad was released from the long term acute care facility two days before Easter and allowed to go home!

As most of you know the doctors told us he would be there at least 4-6 weeks after his long and terrifying stay in the ICU and that he would probably require additional hospitalization as well. He amazed the doctors with his sudden turn around, amazed the respiratory therapists, and left the physical therapists in amazement. With that being said his recovery will still be long and it’s definitely an uphill battle BUT he’s beaten the cruddy odds he was given and he’s going to LIVE! Saying that leaves me so overwhelmed with happy emotions that I’m left with happy tears. It’s just such a relief to know that he’s going to make it and that we don’t have to watch him suffer so badly anymore.

It pains me to say it but I was really mad at God (and the entire universe to put it lightly) when my dad started to get worse after being hospitalized with pneumonia. I didn’t understand what God’s plan was in all of this. To be honest I still really don’t.. I mean, my dad was suffering so badly, struggling to live while being poked and prodded by so many specialists it was ridiculous. He was scared and said his goodbyes to us and we left that hospital ICU with heavy hearts after he was intubated. But in everything, even in all of the pain, I felt like God was still there… still holding us.. and still watching over my dad. I just prayed that God would let his suffering end quickly whatever road that might be and that if he lived through it that He would help him heal quickly.. and God did just that. That in itself leaves me in awe because according to the doctors they didn’t expect him to live. I’m also left in awe over the amazing support you have all provided for my family during this time. The amount of people that have prayed for my dad and for my family has really left us humbled. Saying thank you just doesn’t feel like enough. Your love for us has helped restore my faith and for that I wish I could give you all a huge bear hug!

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (NIV) Ecclesiastes 4:12

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (King James Bible) Matthew 18:20

My dad is currently resting and recovering in his own bed, eating on his own, and is extremely happy to not have nurses poking and prodding him every 5 minutes. He was lonely so I think being home is great for his morale. He still has a central line in “just in case” and he also has the feeding tube in still which will be removed within the next few weeks. He’s still in a lot of pain though and coughing like crazy as expected when recovering from ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) which in my dad’s case was caused by his severe pneumonia. The doctor isn’t quite sure yet of when my dad will be back to somewhat normal health or when he’ll be able to return to work but they do expect him to eventually. It’s still just a waiting game but so far so good. His lungs just need a lot of time to heal and that’s a slow process and leaves him feeling tired and sore and not able to talk much without coughing. He still has quite a ways to go but there’s a light at the end of this tunnel now.

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1. Update On My Dad; A Horribly Slow & Painful Recovery
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During the process of intubating my dad and doing a bronchoscopy to help remove excess fluids from his lungs they found that he had developed ARDS, also known as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. ARDS occurs when there is inflammation in the lungs that make it difficult for the lungs to function properly and they become stiff. It’s a form of lung failure caused by his severe pneumonia and it’s often fatal. However my dad is at the very beginning of an extremely long recovery now unless something goes horribly wrong and he develops a secondary infection or organ failure. This week the doctors operated on his lungs and inserted a drain, inserted a feeding tube, and did a tracheotomy which is supposed to be less damaging to the vocal cords and make things a little bit easier on my dad. Assuming all goes well he’s expected to move into a long-term acute facility within the next few days where he’ll have more access to respiratory therapists that will be working with him on a frequent basis as well as physical therapists. He’s expected to be in that part of the hospital another 4-6 weeks before being moved to a regular hospital room requiring more hospitalization time. Keep in mind that my dad has already been in the hospital about 23 days altogether. After the hospital stay is all over he’ll also have a very long recovery at home which will still involve doctor’s visits, therapists, and so on. It’s a long journey back to any kind of normalcy.

My dad is very ill and this healing process is ridiculously slow.. it’s hard to watch and has been absolutely terrifying with all of the ups and downs. It’s hard to see someone you love suffering so much and struggling this way yet having to be strong so they don’t see the fear in your eyes. It’s been traumatizing for me and my sister but has been even harder on our two younger siblings that still live at home (my youngest brother is 6 and my younger sister is 18 but still in high school and has a couple health issues of her own which require a specialist) and it’s been emotionally exhausting for my mother as well as she tries to keep things together and manage a household while worrying about my dad… she also worries about their financial future as the enormous medical bills are already beginning to roll in and the soon-to-be major cut-backs in their paychecks while taking in short term disability. Soon after their troubles really set in they’ll be considered long-term disability at which point the checks will become even less and they’ll lose their medical insurance unless they pay the enormous costs up front and my dad will officially be out of a job which he’s worked at for a really long time. Considering how much medical care my dad will still need for the months and years ahead of him this is extremely damaging financially for them. This all combined with the constant travel expenses for my mom to go be with my dad has been extremely overwhelming for her but my dad needs her too and doesn’t like to be alone.

My sister and I are arranging a fundraiser dinner to help cover medical expenses, living expenses, and travel expenses over this next few months as a way to help them. While the dinner will be held in their hometown we’re also going to be holding a fundraising raffle and the grand price will be a brand new laptop (graciously donated to our cause by my dad’s workplace) which will be open to everyone including all of you if you’re interested. I’ll let you know when we have all the details situated and we’re ready to accept entries.

In the meantime many of you have asked me and my sister how you can help. First and foremost my dad needs prayers and lots of it. He has a long and hard journey ahead of him and it’s not going to be easy at all. Pray for him and pray for his doctors, that they’ll be able to make the best decisions that can help my dad pull through this and that they can help heal him. For those of you who want to help my parents financially (even if it’s just one dollar) my sister and I have set up a Chipped In fundraiser account as well.

I want to thank all of you who’ve been praying for us throughout this extremely difficult month. Your thoughts, your prayers, and your outpouring of caring and love have all been such a huge blessing to me and my family.

TUESDAY NIGHT UPDATE {for March 23rd}: My dad has been slowly weaned off the sedatives and is more alert now. He’s in pain and on tons of medications but is once again holding his own.. not getting worse (although not getting much better). However, he’s communicating with the nurses by writing on a board even though his hands are swollen which make it difficult and he’s using some facial expressions (smiling, silently laughing). He’s unable to speak with the tracheotomy. He’s spending more time awake and today he was able to watch a little television. Tomorrow the doctors have decided to move him to the long-term care facility where he’ll have just as much care as he does in the ICU where he’s at only now he’ll begin the slow process of being weaned off the oxygen and trying to breathe on his own without the machine doing it for him. He’ll have lots of respiratory therapy from here on out. Please keep praying for him! This is the most encouraging news we’ve had in such a long time but it doesn’t take much to have a set back or have it turn and go the other direction as far as getting worse goes. I get to go and visit with him next Wednesday or Thursday and I’m really excited to finally get to see him again and to have him be more awake and doing a tad bit better.

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As most of you know my dad was in the hospital in my hometown after he was diagnosed with Gram Positive streptococci pneumonia. He got sick about three days before his initial hospitalization and then it came to the point where he finally caved and told my mom it was time to head to the ER because he knew it wasn’t getting better like most colds typically do. After the ER visit he was admitted into the care of the hospital and needed oxygen and antibiotics. Seemed like an easy enough fix but it just wasn’t so. Antibiotic after antibiotic and test after test left nothing but confused doctors. Blood tests showed that the antibiotics should be killing the bacteria but inside my dad’s body it just wasn’t doing what it was supposed to. After 8 days in the hospital my dads oxygen levels dropped dangerously low and within hours he was transferred by ambulance to the ICU of a much larger hospital about 3 hours away and he was placed under the care of at least 3 different specialists.

I’ve spent much of the last week sleeping in a hotel room and staring at the walls of the ICU family waiting area. There are good days and bad days in the ICU.. we’ve had so many ups and downs it’s like our hearts are on a never-ending roller coaster. Some days it seemed as if my dad might just be heading in the right direction and other days it’s like for every 1 step forward he was taking he’d take another 2 steps back. After days of this, things got worse when my dad somehow managed to get out of bed, pulled off his oxygen mask and instantly his stats all began to drop. He experienced memory loss at which point the doctor immediately decided it was time to intubate my dad. As of right now my dad is heavily sedated, chemically paralyzed, and a machine is doing the breathing for him.

At this point in time my dad is in critical condition and not showing much improvement if any. My dad is hurting and my heart is hurting for him. We want him to get better.. we need him to get better.. but we also realize that he may not get better. I wish I could say the odds are in his favor but they’re just not and everything about this has been so terrifying and painful. We’re all confused and not sure how to carry on at this point. Our hearts are broken and having to leave my dad like that and my mom and younger siblings may just be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I feel so lost right now.

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So I did what any daughter would do… I freaked! That’s my dad! How can MY dad be THAT sick?! This is the man whom I’d never seen have more than just a head cold and yet here he was in the hospital on oxygen and hardly able to breathe. Within three hours we had the car loaded up, kids ready to go, and we were on our journey back to my home town.

Seeing my dad in the hospital was something I wasn’t even remotely prepared for. I walked into the room to find my dad laying in a hospital bed with a ghostly pale complexion, messed up hair, and on so many drugs he could hardly see straight yet he was still in horrible pain with each and every breath he took and my heart broke for him. I wanted to just trade places with him in that instant. I was reminded of how precious life is and how so often we take people for granted. I felt guilty for not being better about keeping in touch. It was just a wake up call. Having to leave to come drive back home Sunday night was the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a long time. I didn’t want to leave with my dad being so sick but life here was beckoning us.

My dad is still really sick and until now his body has been unresponsive to the antibiotics. He hasn’t improved but he hasn’t gotten much worse either so they are considering him stable which is good. It took three days for the doctor to figure out exactly what type of bacteria was causing the infection but as of right now the doctor believes this new antibiotic they’ve switched to will finally start to help clear his lungs and body of this infection. My dad will have to go in for yet another x-ray this morning to see if he’s improving at all. Please keep my father in your prayers this morning. He NEEDS to improve so that he can go home to his family and finally get some rest in a comfortable bed where he’s not being poked and prodded every 15 minutes by nurses.

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However, like any mom getting ready to send her “baby” to preschool my heart is breaking. I know it’s only for a couple of hours a day and only 4 days a week and I should just suck it up and go on with life.. and I will. But for now, I’m a little sad. I’m dreading the first few mornings of saying “goodbye.” I’m dreading the fact that if he hates it he won’t be able to really tell me so and why. I’m dreading the fact that if he hates it he’ll cry when I leave him with his teacher in the mornings… seriously, he knows how to work that lip! Here’s a picture for example:

I know many of you might be wondering why I have a picture of my son crying. Well, he wasn’t too happy while at his sister’s surprise party that we had over the summer and I wanted a picture of him. Usually the camera cheers him up too so I thought it was worth a try. Well, okay, I really wanted to remember his crying face too.  You know what, I have no good excuse, I just thought it was kinda funny because he was being a total drama king and he knows how to play us. I’m also a complete sucker who falls for the lip that usually comes after the crying and tears.

Do you see my problem now? I can’t just leave him if he does that… well, I guess I’ll have to and I’ll hate every bit of it. I suppose “But he was crying” won’t be a good enough reason for him to miss school. Once again, I’ll have to suck it up, be strong, and just leave him there. I know he’ll be in good hands.

On the other hand I’m REALLY excited to have him in a school that is so proactive about making sure that he has everything that he needs to learn to begin with and that they’re so on top of things. They’re also sending a speech pathologist to our home to work directly with him and to show us what we need to do specifically to help him reach his goals. Is that not totally awesome?! I’m really excited for him.

I’m thrilled for him, just sad for me. What will I do with myself while both of my kids are in school? I just need to prepare my heart for this coming Monday when I have to let my youngest baby go.

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In the middle of one of our appointments a couple weeks agomy son’s audiologist told us that someone had donated a certificate for a pair of hearing aids. We didn’t really know what that meant.. we didn’t know if they were used or new or what. She was busy and there wasn’t a whole lot of time to ask questions so she said she’d talk to her supervisor but she THOUGHT she could sell both of the hearing aids to us for $1,000. Of course we jumped at the chance so imagine my surprise when I got a phone call from her asking what color we wanted because these were indeed NEW hearing aids that she was ordering for my son!

But this is how I know that God has been by our side this entire time… yesterday I took my son in to the audiologist’s office for another hearing test and to get his very cool new blue hearing aids and was shocked to hear that she got it approved to sell both of them to us for only $600 total! In the land of hearing aids that is a smoking hot deal! It was crazy how this all worked out for us.

Now if only the ear molds didn’t coast $150 every time he has to get new ones due to a growth spurt! However, I feel like I can’t complain because this is such a HUGE blessing. I know lots of you were praying for us and I wanted to share this awesome update on my son’s hearing loss journey and thank you for your prayers.

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