This Week!

Wow! I've felt good all this week! No migraines whatsoever!! WHOOO! HOOO!

Maybe there's something to this old diet thing after all...lol! So far, the only foods I have taken out of my diet are chicken and flour tortillas. We do eat a lot of chicken! The only discomfort I have had is a little tension in my neck and shoulders at the end of the day. That is probably a combination of the fibromyalsia and just being tired from working all day.

Even as a child, I was on a special diets due to very bad allergies. I was extremely petite and very, very sickly as a child. In fact, I sucked a bottle until I was 7 years old!!...LOL! My stepfather made me a stool so I was able to make my own bottle. I was a picky, picky, picky eat. Most of the time, I fell asleep at the dinner table!

Thanks for the support and humor!

Positive thoughts and prayers!...they really work! :-D

Of a Blank Mind Lately

Lately, I haven't had the motivation or any thoughts to blog. That disappoints me. Things have been trying to settle down a bit. My cousin is doing much, much better. I visted him a week ago at which time we sat at the table and discussed his bills and the repairs that need to be made his house before he goes home.

The daycare is doing very well at this time. The bills are getting paid quite regularly and the mortgage is doing well so far. The cars are doing well. The Jetta needs an adjustment since having the transmission serviced. The motorhome is finally back home. I need to clean the inside really good. There are a few small repairs to the cabin that needs to be done, but no hurry.

I've been having lots of migraine lately. Making me really nervous. I looked up a few things about migraines last night. Apparently, it has a lot to do with diet. Foods to avoid are chocolate, chicken, processed sandwich meats, of course sodium, fermented foods like yogurt and cheese, citrus fruits, fried foods, etc. All of these things are regular items in our diets....even "chilled" beverages!

They suggested herbs like lavender and camomile for relaxation. Also vitamin B Complex and fish oil for the brain. There were other herbs that encourage oxygen to the brain too.

I will have to start monitoring, perhaps writing down, what I eat. Then checking to see if what I eat corresponds to a migraine. Simple enough.

Doing Better Today

I think I'm better today. The migraine is not as intense. It's lingering, but it's subtle. My stomach is a bit icky too. However, the good news is, she has arrived :-D!....Yay! Seven days...just seven days, all my pain will be gone...at least for 3 weeks! LOL!

I slept pretty good last night, which is always good news. Had a long talk with my aunt yesterday, through tears of pain from the migraine. She seems to think I don't relax enough. I truly understand what she is saying, but isn't that all of us? Who has time to relax. That word barely exists in today's vocabulary...lol!

My cousin is doing better. He is still being demanding about the food. He is doing better with the physcial therapy. I believe he is up walking now with a walker rather than spending so much time in the wheel chair. He has lost his cell phone, but they found it in his pocket. Not sure if it went through laundry or not. We will have to see if it charges.

I will be going down to San Diego to see my oldest son, you know, do the mom thing, take him some home cooked food and to pick up a few groceries :-). He's trying to do the grown up thing since dad put him out (dad was wrong, but it is a good thing that my son is doing his own thing now). He's being quite resourceful.

Well, I have kids to look after. The day care is doing well at this time :-D. I will talk to everyone a little later today.

Postive thoughts and prayers! :-)

Fight with Frustration

Last night, I ended up with a pretty severe migraine. I had been trying to turn it around for the past few days. I've had the nausea and the painful shoulders and neck. Finally, the sharp pain in my head came on. It's been there for the past two days.

I have been fighting it all night long, literally. I've had cotton in my ears due to sound sensitivity. Can you imagine being sensitive to sounds with a house full of children :-(. It's even worse today.

As I tried to sleep last night, I became fearful as I began to think about my cousin and his having had a stroke. Doctor said there are two kinds of stroke. One being caused by a clogged artery, usually in the neck area. The other by a blood vessel exploding in the brain. There are signs/symptoms that lead up to the stroke. I began to wonder, perhaps, that may be what has been happening to me. At one point, I became almost tearful, but it hurt even more to cry!

Today, I am still hurting, still on the verge of tears. I took pain pills last night that did nothing at all. I'm not sure what to do. I have no medical insurance, but I can go to the clinic. I plan to take the days as easy as I can in possible anticipation of PMS.

This is quite a scary experience. Usually, I can turn the pain around if I catch the symptoms early which I did this time. Even my eyes hurt being on the computer! I needed to write in my journal, but this is actually easier. With that said, I'm off the computer now so I can call the clinic.

Thanks for listening. No pity...just understanding. Positive thoughts and lots of prayers!

The Outcome

As you all know, I had a therapy appt on saturday. It went way better than I could have ever expected!

Though I won't go into details about the appt itself, I will brief you on how the outcome came to be. She gathered my history as to how I came to feel I needed therapy. After a lengthy explanation and her intense listening, she asked but one question...."Why didn't I go back to take my licensing exam?" Oh, I'd explain it away and she would come right back again and ask the same question. I did this several times, but, as a good therapist does, she wouldn't let it go.

After explaining the emotional, finanical and physical effects of having lost my job, she looked at me with this smurk on her face and made the most awesome suggestion I've heard in a looooong time!

Basically, she wants to help me get back on track with my career. She sugested that I get reinstated with the Board. From there, she had places that I could volunteer to gain my 3000 hours of internship in order to take the license exam again. She told me that she and her husband (they have this private practice) had applied for a contract with Child Protective Services that should be completed in May 2010. Then, I would also be able to volunteer in their office since my speciality is children. From there, I would go for the exam again.

Sure this plan will take some time, but it gives me lots of hope! Due to the economy, I truly thought my career was over. Most jobs in my field are for licensed therapist. In addition to that, I'd have to commute, at minimum, an hour in each direction if not more depending upon how far away the agency would be. If I worked with her, I'd be right here in my home town. Again, it's a long term plan, but I think it would work. She actually menitoned the possibility of me becoming partner with her and her husband. I'm not sure about that endeavor, but one can check it out when we get there! :-D

I'm pretty jazzed about it. I called the Board and left two messages today. The waiting is difficult, but it's worth it!

Postive thoughts and prayers!

A Very Good Weekend

I started today feeling really good. The weekend was very, very productive. I got so many things accomplished, I can't remember them all!...LOL!

My kids did very well this weekend. After having a family meeting and set up chores, they all stepped up to the plate very well. It feels really good to have the house cleaned....maybe not as clean as "I" would have done, but hey, it's a lot cleaner than it was. My kids really did a good job. Even though the front yard is pretty much dandelions, once it was cut, it looks really nice. I bought some weed and feed for the lawn and sprayed it down.

This afternoon, I had a new 4 month old baby begin in the day care. He seems to be a good boy so far. My grandson seems huge now that he is so much older at 17 months old. This new baby is adorable...as most babies are :-). He seems to be a good baby. Only cried cause he was hungry. He is happy and alert. Hopefully, he will work out well.

Well, I just wanted to share some good things with everyone.

Positive thoughs and prayers to all :-)

Much Anxiety

I have finally decided to take myself to get some counseling/therapy. My anxiety has been off the scale for the past two weeks. I think I can attribute some of it to pre-pms. Also some of it to my cousin's illness.

I did finally made a house cleaning schedule and had a talk with my children. We split all the house chores so that everyone is doing something major, rather than relying on "Mom" just because mom is at home....at home doing daycare, as if that means, doing nothing all day long.

For my daughter, who is pretty responsible, it was a piece of cake. For the boys, it was alot of moaning and groaning. The boys have a clause add to their chores. That is, if they fail to complete their chores on a weekly bases, they will receive consequences of being stripped of ALL electronics and no outings with their friends until chores are met. This really put a bad taste in their mouths. My oldest boy took to it right away and began doing his.

My youngest boy, well, he is a whole nother story. A few days after making the schedule, I received an email from his teacher showing me all of his class assignments and grades. Not good at all! This meant automatice restriction and stripping of the room of all the electronics.

To make things worse, while driving him to school this morning, he was being sassy with his mouth. Yes, I smacked him once in the face as I was driving. Oh, did he stop? He listened for a minute. Then, he became sassy again, so I smacked him again.

Yes, this sounds horrible, but he has been getting out of hand. I have tried everything to be patient and give him opportunities to comply. Nothing has worked. It's like the more patient I am, the more he takes advantage. I do realize, him being the youngest of my four kids, he is spoiled and not as well trained as his siblings, but to disrespect me is going too far.

I noticed he was a bit more humble and obedient when I picked him up from school. Hmmmm.....I just suppose sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I just don't like going borderline abusive.