To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

My four-year-old woke up this morning with a fever and stomach pain.  That led to vomiting a short time later.  Poor thing.  I thought flu season was over with!  I don't think it's anything that needs to be seen by a pediatrician unless she gets worse thankfully. 

I do need to think about whether to get my four-year-old all the vaccines due before kindergarten.  Our state requires chicken pox vaccine now.  I don't think that should be a requirement - it should be optional.  I had chicken pox as a kid as did all my siblings.  Other than a few small scars from itching, it was just an annoyance more than anything. 

I'll have to talk to the pediatrician for all their well-checks this summer.  For the last two years, they've been pushing the Gardasil vaccine every time I am there for my oldest.  I am totally against that vaccine after doing much research (my Healthy Me blog has some information on that).  They have me craning my neck for the exit signs when they get going on that one. I tell them no every time and they bring it up again at each appointment. 

They'll want me to sign a form on my kindergartener's vaccines (my refusal for some of them) but I've already seen their form.  No way will I sign that one.  If you haven't seen it, you should look it up.  My sister sent me a different one to use.

Reminder: Check Out Weight Loss Reviews First

This is just a reminder to moms out there.  I know after each baby, I wanted to lose the weight and after the fourth, it just became impossible to take off.  Just make sure that before you take any weight loss supplements, you check out the reviews, side effects, etc. online.  For example, google adipo-x version 2.0 side effects if you're interested in Adipo-X. Remember to check for interactions between medications (even over-the counter medications) and any weight loss supplements you consider.  If not for yourself, then for your child or children. 

Teens Are a Whole Different Species

By the time all six of our kids are adults, I am going to be in some serious need for some intervention to remove wrinkles. Teenagers are like a whole other species!!  I remember being a teenager and the things I went through so it's not like I've lost touch with what they go through.  They just seem different nowadays.  So are they really that different or is my level of patience anc ompassion just lacking? 

Three of our kids are teenagers right now.  Three more to go! 

Though my baby turns five in a few weeks.  That makes me a little sad.  Kindergarten is around the corner and then it's all over.

Mommy Weight Around the Middle

Today was my four-year-old daughter's mommy/daughter lunch.  Before we left, she put on a skirt and wanted me to put a skirt on too.  I told her no so she asked me why.  I told her I wanted to lose a few pounds first and then I'd wear a skirt again.  She innocently said, "You mean around here?" and she pointed to her waistline. 

Yes, sweetie, around there. 

Even a four-year-old can see what just doesn't look healthy and that I carry extra weight around my middle - where my four kids used to be. 

I've been looking up about diet pills reviewed since I wouldn't know where to start. It's hard to go from a size 2/4 all your life to a size 10 with a lot of the weight around the middle like a lump.  My husband excuses it all with, "Well, you've had four kids." 

Yeah but still.  I don't want to look like I'm still pregnant!  I'm thankful he doesn't care about the added weight, but I do.

Men Obsessed

If you are here and a mom, it's most likely because all the boy parts worked, right (well, unless you adopted)?  Why are men so obsessed with their boy bits?  I don't understand but they are. 

I am one of the lucky women, married to a man who is so attentive and unselfish in the bedroom that I have no complaints at all.  14.4 years of marriage (and six kids total) and still shaking the chandelier.  Maybe it is the movie industry that skews a man's idea of what is normal or maybe for women, it is the thighs/stomach but for men, it's their boy parts? 

My husband brings up, every now and then, supplements like vigrx. I guess it's a really big industry. I don't know a whole lot about it.  Do any of you?  I am curious to hear more about it, other than those late-night television commercials.

My Thyroid Blog

I forgot to mention in my last post that if you have thyroid disease or think you do, I have a thyroid blog called Thyroid Hell that you should read.  It gives my story as well as links on where to go for more information (better information that most doctors don't know or won't give by people who have been there, done that). 

I have found huge amounts of disappointment for most of the years I've had thyroid disease in my doctors.  They just don't know how to treat it well.  I finally found a good doctor now and have lost 19 pounds so far.  Who knows how far he will take me.  I hope he gets me totally symptom-free to where diet supplements like Lipofuze are just research but I just don't know yet. 

If you have thyroid disease or know somebody who does, my other blog may be able to point you in some direction.  At the very least, you will know you are not alone in the thyroid struggle.  Who knew such a little organ could cause so much frustration?

Thyroid Disease and Pregnancy

It is common for some women to develop thyroid disease soon after a pregnancy.  It must have something to do with the whacky hormones or immune system.  I developed Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Hypothyroidism with goiter and multiple nodules after my third baby was born.  It started with neck pain and when I checked, found swelling.  Turns out that was the goiter.  Blood tests determine what type of thyroid disease I had.  A biopsy determined whether the nodules could be cancerous.

For almost nine years now, I've struggled with thyroid symptoms (brain fog, cold, weight).  The memory lapses and weight has been the hardest to deal with.  I was always skinny no matter what I ate.  Now I am always large no matter what I eat (or don't eat).  I considered weight loss supplements like clinicallix but so far, I've just been dragging my way through doctors trying to find one who treats thyroid disease to where the symptoms actually go away. You would not believe, if you do not have thyroid disease, how hard that actually is!

No Whacked Out Momma

I am such a procrastinator! Yesterday I was teaching my four-year-old how to make heart emoticons on Facebook when I was supposed to be working and doing some of our shopping online.  I need humidifier filters badly and we couldn't find them in the stores (well, duh, winter is over with). I know winter is over with but with our guitars, we need to keep the humidifier running on automatic to keep humidity levels even at all times.  Besides my horses, learning to play guitar is like another stress reliever for me.  With 4 - 6 kids, managing my stress levels is important.  Otherwise, my kids would have one crazy mom.  Who wants a whacked out mom?