Author Archives: Carrie Ann Alexis

B12 Boost of Energy

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I had to do get my B12 shot today. Usually older people have to get B12 shots, but a couple of years ago, my doctor found out that I was B12 deficient. This is how it happened.

I usually didn’t see a regular doctor routinely, I saw my gynecologist yearly, but that was it. Once my dad had his by-pass surgery and was diagnosed with heart disease, my siblings and I knew we needed to be tested for high cholesterol, and the things associated with heart disease by the time we were 35.  At that time my brothers and sister were that age, I had a couple of years yet. They all got tested, and had high cholesterol. I put mine off until I was 38, praying I inherited my mother’s genes. So I went in and my doctor did all kinds of blood work. In addition to my high cholesterol (242 ugh!!) She also found that I was B12 deficient. When I went in for my check-up, I did mention to her how tired I was all the time. Usually when I told people that or my gynecologist, the response would be, “You have 4 kids, you should be tired!” I would then think, yeah, they’re right. But deep down I knew this wasn’t a normal tired. I could get 9-10 hours of sleep in a night and still take a nap in the afternoon. Plus day to day tasks seemed overwhelming to me, it was like my mind was bombarded with all the things I needed to do, and then I had a hard time getting things prioritized. So I was very grateful that my doctor was able to figure this out. She suggested the B12 shots. So to start, I had to get 3 shots within 1 week and then I would get them monthly after that. So I systematically set them up for the week before my little guys 1st birthday. We were having a huge cookout since he was born on the 4th of July, inviting a bunch of people. My husband was working as a truck driver then, so he was on the road for the better part of that week. So I knew I had a lot to do, not to mention it would also be “my time of the month.” When I got the first shot, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t remember feeling this good. By the third shot, I was unstoppable. The energy, the clarity of mind and thought, and the restful sleep I had once I got the shots was unbelievable!! My husband even noticed the difference right away. When I told him how good I was feeling, it brought me to tears. Because all those years I was having problems, I just thought it was me. It was never said to me directly, but I always felt like it was implied by different ones that I was lazy or lacked motivation. After awhile, I just started to believe I was, because there was nothing I could do to change it. Looking back, I feel this contributed to the bouts of depression I dealt with. At that time I didn’t think I was depressed, just thought I was stressed over different circumstances I was dealing with. So after talking with my husband and just being relieved that there was something physically wrong with me, he actually apologized for not getting me to a doctor sooner. We as women and moms take care of everyone and we are always the last to go to the doctor. We need to be in the best health we can be, because it affects everyone around us. Also, with our spouses, we need to urge them to see a doctor, if something doesn’t seem right. We know when something just isn’t right!! Don’t be afraid to ask questions and talk to your doctor. Keep going until you find one you like and who’ll listen. In that first check-up of mine, I talked with her about different things, and almost didn’t ask her this one last thing, I was too embarrassed, or thought I was being too vain. Even though it had been a year since I had last given birth, I just felt like my stomach seemed too big. When I wasn’t really holding it in, I felt like I looked like I was 5 months pregnant. So that’s what I told her. So she had me lay down and she had me lift up like I was doing a crunch, while she felt down the middle of my stomach. She knew right away what it was, Diastases Recti. That’s the separation between the left and right side of the rectis abdominus muscle which covers the front surface of the belly area. Multiple births and repeated pregnancies increase the risk in pregnant women. So she gave me some exercises to do, and that cleared up as well.

Every month I go in for my B12 shots. I can tell when I need one, my sleep isn’t as sound, and it takes me longer to wake up. When I just get the shot, I can sleep or take a nap, but once I wake up, I’m awake. It’s strange how something that gives you energy and alertness can also give you sound sleep. I plan to continue to get these shots, I have tried talking B12 in pill form, it just didn’t work as well as the shots. So I encourage you as a woman and a mom, if you just don’t feel good or are tired all the time, if you can, see your doctor, and ask questions, am so glad that I did!!

Ciao, Scrabulous

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The Scrabulous website is no more. About a week ago, I heard something about the creators being sued. But last night, I saw it on Nightline. I actually didn’t know that it started on Facebook. I always played at the actual site. So Hasbro sued them, and they were forced to remove the game from Facebook, and now the site is down as well. Hasbro also launched their own Scrabble site. So I went there today, looking for an online game, when you click on the play online button, it takes you to another page, and on the side you click to play online at a whole different site. So you cannot actually play Scrabble on the “official Scrabble site.” You can get all kinds of info about all their other games, and play some other games on the site, but no Scrabble. After I finally found the online version at the other site, I was highly disappointed, there was a picture of the board, and it was no where near as nice as the Scrabulous game, so I didn’t go any further. I have read that the creators of Scrabulous have launched a new game called Wordscraper, which is already available on Facebook, the actual site is coming soon. The rules have changed, and the board has round tiles instead of square, and the point system is different. I don’t know how well this new version will go over; I’ll check it out. I really enjoyed the different types of games they had on Scrabulous, and will miss it dearly. So it is with great sadness, that I have removed the link to Scrabulous from my Favorite Links. (sniff, sniff).

Scrabble in the Dark

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Last night the twins and I decided to play a game of Scrabble. Just when the game was getting good, the lights went out. We had some pretty bad thunderstorms in our area, a lot of wind, rain and lightening. This was the first time in a long time that the storm sirens were going off in downtown Chicago. The Cubs game had to be evacuated. In the suburbs, we were just left in the dark. The little guys were a little scared at first, but once I lit all the candles and found the flashlights, we all sat in the hallway, and made animal shadows on the wall. The little guy was pretending to be a monster, and had so much fun seeing his shadow on the wall. The storms lasted for a good while, I was glad when the power went back on around 9:30. That’s when we finished the Scrabble game. It’s quite challenging playing with the twins, it’s hard playing when your opponent puts down 2 or 3-letter words, but they are getting better. My daughter actually had the highest scored word at 39 points. The word was ZIG. It’s amazing how those little words can add up on those triple word squares. In the end, my son won the game. Like I said, they’re getting better. I think we will play PayDay another day, so that my other little guy can play. He wanted to play Scrabble, thinking because he knows how to spell a couple of words he can play, but he is only seven. Even though it was storming, it was a fun night. It’s nice to slow down, turn off the TV and enjoy some board games.

 
On another note, I am very happy with the progress of my blog, and appreciate everyone who has checked it out. Keep checking back, I’m going to be updating more frequently. Any suggestions or comments are welcomed.

Thought for the Day

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For the last couple of days, when I sign in on the Internet I see that the Yahoo page comes up with school supplies all around its logo. I usually enjoy their little graphics for the different seasons and holidays, but I must say I’m not quite ready for school supplies. As I write this I am sitting in my backyard enjoying the nice weather, there’s a slight breeze that is making it very pleasant. Recently the days have been so hot we spend our time out in the early evening. The little guys play in the sandbox while my husband and the twins shoot some hoop, or we’ll take a ride on our bikes. The long days are nice, but as I look at the calendar, I know the beginning of school is fast approaching, so I must begin preparing.

The first thing I do is make my list of what books I need to purchase. We always start our school year the day after Labor Day, and those four days are spent on reviewing things from last year, and just getting back into the routine. So I can usually wait to purchase my books at the end of August. I also make a list of school supplies they’ll need and start picking them up here and there as they go on sale. One thing nice about homeschooling is that we don’t have those extensive school supply list I hear so many parents complaining about. Every year at Wal-Mart, I see a couple of parents with their lists in hand and a frustrated look on their face discussing products on the list compared to what is on the shelf. I secretly envy them, a school supply scavenger hunt sounds like the most fun. But then again, I’ve never had to do it.

The next thing I do is create my calendar for the year. For our State in Illinois, the required days of instruction are 176 days. This is not mandatory for private or home schools, but I use this as my guide in planning my days off and breaks. I pretty much follow the traditional school calendar, having Christmas and spring breaks. I decide which federal or state holidays we observe, sometimes on that day. “It’s Casimir Pulaski Day, hey we’re Polish, let’s take the day off!!” Having a guide for the year like this helps me alter it easily. We can take an unscheduled day off if we want to visit with relatives from out of town, or if my husband has a day off during the week and we want to do something. Then what we can do is have school on one of the planned Federal Holidays like Columbus Day or President’s Day. The kids will get a copy of the calendar on the first day of school. The first thing they do is count how many days until their first day off.

I have read articles from other homeschool Mom’s who will go away for a weekend by themselves before the school year starts. I have done this once before, and I used some of the time to go over lesson plans, and review curriculum. I usually take a semester break in January or February and just stay at a hotel and do nothing but enjoy the time by myself. I do have an opportunity to get away for a weekend in a couple of weeks, which I am taking full advantage of. I haven’t always taken these breaks, I used to think wanting to get away was selfish, and a sign that I was a bad mother and wife. I would feel guilty wanting to leave the kids with my husband for a whole weekend. But I have felt the benefits of time away to re-charge my batteries. It doesn’t have to be fancy or far away, unless your budget allows it and you want to go to Hawaii. I just know how good it feels to get away and I highly recommend it.

Being that August just started, I do have some time left to enjoy the summer and that’s what I plan to do.

  

I know that different areas of the country may start their school year at different times. If you could have it your way, would you have school start before or after Labor Day?  You can add your opinion below.

                                                               

Lower Your Grocery Bill

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I’m not a coupon person, but I love to save a buck. Maybe people already know about this, but recently I came across a website where you can choose what coupons you receive. I don’t know how many times I have been in line at the store, and the person in front of me has a stack of coupons. I think to myself, where do they get all those coupons? Whenever I look in the paper for coupons, I rarely find what I’m looking for. Usually I find coupons for items I don’t buy or for items I can buy cheaper by getting the store brand. Because of the rising cost of groceries, I am making it my little project to really try and lower my grocery bill by using coupons and finding the best bargains.

The website is the Coupon Master (see link in Helpful Links to the right). This is their disclaimer: “Be advised that this site does not sell or buy coupons. A fee is charged for our services in acquiring, cutting, sorting and mailing of coupons, the coupons themselves are free. We are not associated with any manufacturer of said coupons.” This is how it works. You can go through the list of coupons available and request how many you want of each coupon. There is a minimum of 3 per coupon. Like they state in their disclaimer there is a minimal processing fee for them to clip, sort and mail them to you. Also there is a minimum required purchase of $3.00. You will also be charged shipping and an administrative fee of $.50. I received 36 coupons for a total of $4.04 including shipping and administrative fee. If I use them all, I will save $33.70. I ordered my coupons this past Sunday, and received them by regular mail on Friday. You can pay more for shipping to get them quicker, but I don’t know how much you would actually save in the long run. For my first order, I just purchased the minimum to see how well it worked. I was very excited about this new find and I plan to use it again.

Another site I found was http://thegrocerygame.com. This one takes a little more research in order to use it effectively. This site compiles a list of lowest-priced items at your grocery store, and matches them with the manufacturers’ coupons and weekly specials. The lists are colored coded with green items being free after sale and coupon; you just pay sales tax. Blue items are best deals for stockpiling, and black items are only if you need them. For me, I won’t be using this site as often, because it doesn’t include the stores that I normally shop. It did list the two pharmacies that I shop at, so I will check with it periodically for specials from those stores. New members can join for $1 for 4 weeks as a trial. After that, it is $10 for eight weeks for 1 store and $5 for 8 weeks for each additional store, if there is more than one store on the list for your area.

Most of us love a good bargain, so I plan to share with you the ones that I find. If you discover bargains you would like to share feel free to post them in the comments.