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Posts Tagged ‘Life’

Inspiration and Energy…

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

I have none.

It’s been a good month now that I have felt completely uninspired to do anything more than what I have to.  And by have to I mean, I have to take care of the kids so they, you know, survive.  I have to do laundry since none of us have anything to wear and I have to once again unload the dishwasher.  This is basically all I can muster up energy for.  Really, I think I would live my life in my bed if I could.

I know how completely pathetic this sounds.  How completely pathetic I sound…but, it’s how I feel…

Surviving the Flu…

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

So the Newman family survived the flu.  It started last week Thursday when Travis complained that he just wasn’t right.  Then Blake started having intestinal problems, but I just chocked it up to teething, until…

Sunday -

Holy Cow!!!  Brook and I both got sick within minutes of each other.  I had problems keeping anything down and Brook was all upper-respiratory.  We got tested the next day and you can imagine my lack of shock when we found out we had the flu…

And even though we didn’t get tested for H1N1, the doctor was fairly confident that it could very well be that strain.  So, we loaded up on medication, Gatorade and Ramen and we stayed in all this last week recovering.

Brook Trying to Eat Ramen

Brook Trying to Eat Ramen

Brook thought it was awesome that Mommy would let her eat Ramen for breakfast…hey, I figure anything in her tummy was good during this time.

Blake had the hardest time getting back to health…it makes sense seeing that he is just starting to develop an immune system.  Really the hardest part was tricking the kids into taking their medication, getting Blake to drink fluids so he wouldn’t get dehydrated and taking care of the kids when I was sick myself.

But, Travis was a saint and helped out when I couldn’t get my head off the pillow and once we found out Blake developed an ear infection and he got some anti-biotics…everything started to get better.

Brook and I were on Tamiflu and that fixed us right up and luckily Travis didn’t get hit too hard, so his recovery was swift.

I do have to show you the medication that got us through this time though, it was hilarious!

All the Medication the Newman's Were Taking

All the Medication the Newman's Were Taking

I can now say we all survived the “scary” flu and came out healthy on the other side.

Mommy’s Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Get Sick…

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

On Sunday afternoon at 4pm, Travis packed me up and sent me off for some alone time.  It’s a new thing we are trying out to help my sanity.  So, I went to our local coffee shop and did some work on the computer.  At 6pm, they closed up shop, so I crossed the street to the burger joint across the street and sat outside to enjoy reading one of my magazines and to eat a gourmet burger.  But….something wasn’t right.  I wasn’t really enjoying myself and I didn’t feel right.  I only had a couple of bites, packed up the rest and headed home.

I was back around 6:30pm and Travis was wondering why I was back so soon…well, little did I know…

I was about to get sick…really sick.  It was basically like having food poisoning on steroids…but, it wasn’t food poisoning, it was the flu.

Blake had been battling it for a couple of days and Travis was complaining of a stuffed up nose.

Then I got knocked down with stomach stuff, a fever, chills, aches and all that comes with that.

That night Brook got a fever too.

Four sick Newman’s in the house is not fun and Mommy’s really should never be sick.  Travis helped me out yesterday, but today he gave me a fair warning of only helping out a bit…”I have to make money dear.”

Um…well, this house can’t run if I’m knocked down by the flu dude!

I remember those times when the hardest part about being sick was getting to the grocery store to get all of the remedies I needed before I hunkered down in my bed for three days.  I miss those days.

Good news though, we are on the mend and hopefully Brook will be able to get back to school by Thursday…even though she is sick, she is going stir crazy and I honestly don’t have a lot of energy to entertain since I’m trying to get better too.

There should be a rule that Mommy’s are not allowed to get sick…because the family just doesn’t work when she’s down.

Hopefully tomorrow my family and I will feel healthy and terrific…here is to hoping!

The Grateful Game…

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

The past couple of weeks I have been in a really low place.  It feels as if my world is collapsing under my feet.  The only way I can describe my emotional state is by using the restaurant term “in the weeds.”  I have been emotionally and physically in the weeds and I don’t know how to get out.  But, when you are a server and you are in the weeds, you ask some of your co-workers to help you to get out of it.  Someone will get drinks to table 12, while someone else runs your food over to table 16.  And before you know it you are no longer in the weeds and you are able to control your station.

I’m trying to find my co-worker help…I’m sick of feeling this way.  Travis and I talked for almost three hours about getting me back on track and I’ve had a few conversations with Shannon also.  Now don’t get me wrong…logically I KNOW that I live a blessed life, but as I always say sometimes logic and emotion never meet.  Now my goal is to get them to.

So today I declared it “getting out of the weeds day!”  This is the day that I re-connect with myself and my family.  I chose to keep Brook home from school  so she could be a part of this day too…We are going to take our time and enjoy each other.  Today I will re-learn how to be grateful.

I was reading Tabitha’s blog I Choose Bliss.  She wrote about A Grateful Heart, in which she talks about what she is grateful for today.  Well, this goes along with the Grateful Game that Shannon and I think Nicole started awhile back.  It’s a way to stop focusing on the negativity of your daily life and to find the small and meaningful joy in it.  It helps you to re-focus…to make a shift…This is just what I need, a shift.

So without further adieu…This is my Grateful Game.

I am grateful for…

  • Waking up every morning in a safe and loving environment
  • A body that nurtured and grew the two most amazing people alive
  • Finding the love of my life when I was only in college
  • The ability to run
  • My Nana and Tata and their health
  • My Mom
  • Tuesday Night Dinners
  • Cooking
  • My skill of bringing a community of people together
  • Dancing
  • My Music
  • Coffee
  • Children who give you the best smiles when the wake up
  • Security
  • Unconditional Love
  • Laughter
  • The people who fill my home
  • Best Friends

There are many more things that I am grateful for, but this is already a long list and I should focus on these first.  I have a feeling it’s going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day!

What are you grateful for?

Phoenix Run For the Cure 2009…

Monday, October 12th, 2009

When you doubt that people are giving, strong, peaceful, supportive and fantastic that just means that you are no longer looking in the right place.  So, what you need to do is go out and sign up for the Race for the Cure and my friends you will no longer be a doubter.  You will believe that people are great!

It breaks my heart to know that so many people are affected by breast cancer, but I am hopeful and amazed by what is being done on a daily basis to make sure that one day this cancer will no longer take any of our loved ones away.

Sunday morning I woke up both kids early, got them ready and headed out to the race with my two favorite women in the world…Mom and Shannon.  We got the kids strapped into the running stroller and made our way to the start of the 5k run…

Brook and Blake in the Running Stroller for the Breast Cancer Run

Brook and Blake in the Running Stroller for the Breast Cancer Run

As we got to the start of the race, we saw a sea of people here to support their Mom, Grandma, Sister, Aunt, Friend, Co-Worker, Daughter and any other person that was going through, went through or lost their battle with breast cancer.

Mom and the Kids...

Mom and the Kids...

I always get emotional seeing the names, pictures and stories behind this disease.  I saw a 87 year old woman walking for her grand-daughter and I saw a family of three young girls and their Dad with their Mom who fought the disease and won.  I really did see so many more people with their own stories…but, those two stand out in my mind.

The Start Line View

The Start Line View

There were company groups there, families and people who just wanted to support this great cause.  We are there because of the women in our lives just as much as for every other women out there too.

Me With My Shanny...My Best Bud

Me With My Shanny...My Best Bud

When we started the run, I thought about my girls…Mom Fermanian and Karissa Ma.  I also kept in mind Sara Sullivan who’s story has rocked my very core.  She had her whole family life ahead of her…Her husband and their newborn daughter and because of this cancer, she was only able to be with Chloe for a few short days.  It isn’t right…

Brook Running Part of the Race

Brook Running Part of the Race

On a lighter note of this race, Brook really wanted to get out of the stroller and run…The picture of her above captures her running in action.  I think she ran for about a 1/2 a mile total.  Some in the middle and some at the end near the finish line.  She would pump her arms and was very excited to be a part of the race.  Of course I heard a few people exclaim how cute she was while running and my heart swelled up with pride.  She may learn to love running, she may one day hate it…but, for now she is happy running with us and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Brook and Mommy at the Finish Line

Brook and Mommy at the Finish Line

So it was a magical and beautiful morning.  I spent it with some of the people I love the most and I did my part for operation “Second Base”.  Or you can say I was, “Running for the Jugs,” or doing my part to, “Save the Tatas.”  You pick.

All I know is these are the moments that make life wonderful…moments with family, moments with inspiration and hope, moments of joy.

Let’s all do our part to help Breast Cancer Research…