Who'd a thunk it?

We've all heard old wive's tales...but I found one that actually works! Seriously! I burned myself on the oven this morning. After about an hour of endless burning I put toothpaste on it. I read in my mom's book of old wive's tales (yes, they actually have books about this kind of stuff) that toothpaste makes a great salve for burns. So, I put toothpaste on my burn...and it took the heat out of it INSTANTLY. I know what you're thinking...toothpaste? On a burn? YES! My burn is not burning and now smells minty fresh. So, if you ever find yourself burned by a hot surface...remember...TOOTHPASTE.

Bumper Sticker Wisdom

I was almost home yesterday when I stopped behind a car at a stop sign. Normally I tend not to pay attention to bumper stickers unless their the size of a billboard, but this one caught my eye...

"Guns Kill People Like Spoons Make People Fat"

Now, I'm not Pro-NRA or anti-gun...but the sticker made sense to me.

My Journey to NOT Being Diabetic

No, I'm not diabetic...yet. I have a very strong family history of diabetes though. My mother takes a medication twice a day to lower her blood sugar when she eats and my father was insulin dependent. Clearly genetics are not on my side. I had a physical and blood work done about 2 months ago and the results came back that I am insulin resistant. Which means, I'm on the road to diabetes. So, the doctor prescribed a medication (the same one my mother takes) to help lower my blood sugar and hopefully stave off diabetes by jump starting my pancreas. Since that time I have also seen a nutritionist, and who knew that a donut can be better for you than muffin? Go figure. Anyway, I've been making better dietary decisions which has led to what is the beginning of weight loss. I'd like to say that I've been working out every day...but I haven't. I haven't worked out at all other than taking the dog out. Maybe it's all the stairs I've been climbing in the process. Regardless, I've started to lose weight. How much? I don't know. I'm not getting on a scale to find out either. What I do know is this...I've had a shirt that I could BARELY fit into (and when I say "BARELY", I mean I could barely get it over my head, and I surely could not sit comfortably in it) in my closet since the end of the summer. Today, I'm wearing that shirt to work...and I look good in it. My jeans...well, good news there too. I accidentally dried my jeans the other day and as we all know, that's the kiss of death for many of us when it comes to clothing our lower halves. Today, those jeans that I just knew I was going to have to rid of actually FIT! And we're not talking "kind of". We're actually talking about kind of almost too big! I have to keep yanking them up! How cool is that??? It seems strange to say, but I'm excited about the choices I'm making when it comes to eating. No, I'm not surviving on lettuce with a bit of black pepper on it. I'm eating just about everything I want, just not in the same amounts. I know eventually I'm going to have to exercise on a regular basis. It's not an option, and of course it's going to have to happen sooner than later...but for now, I'm content to lose weight by controlling what I eat. I don't know if all my efforts will all be in vain...I may end up a diabetic in the long run, there's no way to tell for sure. But at least I'm giving myself a fighting chance to outrun it for a while.

Some times it just gets to ya...

Bear has allergies; both food and outdoor (along with asthma, yeah...good times). We've been dealing with this since he was a baby (he's 9 now). People ask me how I do it. I read labels, have meeting with everyone who comes in contact with him, medications, trips to the ER...it never ends. I don't have a choice. I just do it. Somewhere along the way I must have learned to compartmentalize the roller coaster of emotion that goes along with a child that has medical issues. When I go into crisis management mode I'm calm and collected. I don't overreact when Bear has an asthma attack or an allergic reaction. I administer his meds and take appropriate actions. I remember thinking that it would get easier as he gets older...but it doesn't. It actually gets harder. When he was little it was easy, I controlled everything that he was exposed to. Now he's in the third grade and I don't get to control who stands next to him in the line for the bus. Just recently a child who ate a chocolate candy with nuts grabbed him by the arm...now this child, including the entire third grade, yes, it's that serious that the entire grade was educated about food allergies; knows that Bear can't be touched by someone who has eaten nuts. So, what happened? Thankfully, nothing because the nurse was notified immediately and she gave him some Benedryl to head off the reaction. I had no control over that child and what she did. It's frustrating to say the least. And for the most part, I deal with it (emotionally speaking)...but sometimes it's just too much. Once in a while I'll sit down and think about everything that Bear has been through and I'm reduced to tears. I don't cry for me, but for him. The stress that goes with having a child with issues like Bears is a mother's burden. I know it could always be worse; and I'm truly thankful that it's not...but he will have these issues for the rest of his life. Knowing that my child doesn't know what it's like to not be this way is sometimes heart breaking. Sometimes just finding out that someone I know has a child that has been diagnosed with food allergies is frustrating to me because I know what they're going up against. It's an incredibly long road...

I have failed

I was raised as a Catholic, my sisters and I went to Sunday school, Tuesday night CCD...of course we were all baptized, had First Communion and then Confirmation. It was some time after my Confirmation that I stopped going to church. I didn't stop believing, I just stopped attending. Seriously, it's not fun going to Catholic Mass. Stand up, sit down, kneel, Peace be with you... I'm not opposed to going, I just don't go. I think in the last 10 years I 've been to church maybe 3 times. Why am I bringing this up? Because I have failed. My sisters both carried on the tradition by torturing their children with the same up bringing that we had. I didn't. Out of my three children only Teenager is baptized and that's only because mother made it happen. Again, I'm not really into going to church.

All that being said...during the holidays Princess came running up to me and proclaimed, "Mommy! We're learning about Jesus!". Um...okay. I'll admit it. I was shocked. My kids go to public school, hello separation of church and state. Anyway, she was so excited to be learning about Jesus, so excited that she wants to learn more. Now, let me just say that I'm Mexican. I know, it's not big shocker. We Mexicans happen to have a um well, let's just say that we happen to believe certain things. So much so that this one Marine I worked with (yes, he was Mexican) once told me that the reason I was having such behavioral issues with Bear was that he is not baptized. Is there any truth to that? Maybe, I mean afterall, Teenager is baptized and I've never had problems with him. Okay, back to my story. I was having a conversation with Princess about Jesus when, out of nowhere, Bear turns around and says, "Yeah, and who is this "God" guy everyone is talking about???". There you have it ladies and gentlemen...my epic failure. I was raised Catholic and even though I have a relationship with God...my children have no idea who or what "God" is. I'm going to hell. Yes, I know I'll be in good company as all my friends will be there waiting on me, but that's not the point. Bear and Princess have asked me to start taking them to church...ughughughugh. Did I mention...I don't go to church.

Which way to the beach???

MEF and I have been friends for just about ever...I can't remember exactly when we met, but I know we've been friends for 20+ years now. Last night I was thinking about the time we were lost and looking for the beach. Okay, so we weren't really lost and we had already been to the beach (MEF, feel free to chime in if I get the details wrong...it's been a LONG time). But that's not what we told the officer that pulled us over for speeding. There we were in the car, wearing our bathing suits, sand covering the floor boards and looking like we had actually just spent the day at the beach, telling this officer that we were lost. I'm sure we thought we were clever..."I was speeding? Oh my gosh! We got lost on our way to the beach...". Seriously, who did we think we were fooling? I can't say for certain if the officer believed us, but we didn't get a ticket...and isn't that what matters? I'm sure the officer was thinking to himself, "Silly teenaged girls, I know you are not lost, I know you just left the beach, and stop looking at me with that please don't give me a ticket or my parents will kill me look." Whatever the case, we were told to lay off the lead foot and sent on our way. So, what did we do? We stopped along the road not far from where we got pulled over and took pictures of each other standing by speed limit signs and "buckle up for safety" signs. I'm going to look for the pictures tonight...and you can be sure that I find them they'll be on here tomorrow. I hope I can find the one of MEF mooning me at the beach. Yes, MEF...I love you too. :D