#MMM Joining the January #Fitness Rush

Hello, January Fitness Fiends! Hubby and I have decided to join the "New Year's Resolution" crowd and joined Planet Fitness this month. I am (somewhat) excited because I would love to have a nice, toned body again. I don't want my 20-year-old body back...maybe 25... I would, however, like to have less jiggle and a little more definition. Not necessarily a bikini body, but to look good and not have a muffin top! LOL. I'll have to post a photo of myself before I start working out. My current weight at 5'1" is 133. Hubby would be upset if I put his stats, so I'll tell you he is 6'1" and hates his weight. His goal is weight loss. Fingers crossed we'll be able to meet our goals and I will be able to keep from hurting my hernia in the process.

Wish us luck! And perseverance!

AAAhhhhh! #TripPlanning with #Toddlers

Anyone else have this problem? We have just found out the official date for my BIL's wedding. Yay! So excited!! The problem? The wedding is in California and we are in West Virginia. 5 hours. In a plane. With a toddler. Actually, after driving 9 hours (which inevitably turns into 10 because around hour 6 Fuss decides to potty every 20 minutes) to my Dad's, a 5-hour flight shouldn't really be all that bad. My dilemma there? The car seat. I have a rather bulky seat, but it is an awesome seat for the price and goes up really high in weight limits. The issue is that it might be too wide at the base to fit in the airplane seat correctly. The average seat width is somewhere around 17.2" (Source) and my seat is 20.8" wide. I asked on a Facebook group what the solution would be and the answer was to lift the arm rests. Okay, I can manage that. What about the weight of the seat carrying it through the airport? (It weighs about 15 pounds.) Well, I can cart it. My other option would be getting a new, but cheap, car seat for the trip. Bonus: That second seat would end up going to my MIL for use when she baby sits Fuss. The second seat is only about 1" less wide, but is 4 pounds lighter!

Secondly, we have to consider entertainment for Fuss. She gets bored easily and when she gets bored she, well, fusses. She will either scream or fight or wander. (Insert reason #1253 for taking car seat here.) On the other hand, it is only 5 hours. I don't want to be "those" people with the screaming kid, but I don't want to have to lug around more than necessary. She HAS to be harnessed according to FAA regulations. So, I can probably take some crayons and some snacks, but what else would you take on a plane ride for a 3-year-old?

Once I get all the planning sorted out in my head, I will be a LOT less stressed about this. Of course, I don't have just 1 trip to plan. Hubby and I also have to plan a trip for my baby sister's graduation! These events will be just a couple weeks apart, so that should be interesting.

Have you traveled with your kids? What did you do to entertain them?

Three Things Thursday

So, I found this great idea posted by April from Mama On A Green Mission and Bri at Eco Baby Mama Drama called Three Things Thursday. Basically we just post 3 things to help our readers get to know us a little bit better. You already know the obvious...but let's hit the less-than-obvious stuff now!

Favorite TV Shows:
1. Once Upon a Time
2. Law & Order: SVU (but really missing Stabler aka Chris Meloni)
3. Supernatural

Piercings: 
1. I have 3 holes in each ear. 
2. Used to have a belly piercing but let it close when I got pregnant. 

Places I Want to Visit:
1. Alaska (all 50 states, actually, but Alaska is the biggie for us)
2. England
3. The Grand Canyon


That's just a few of the smaller things about me. I have lots more to share, so stay tuned! And if you are a blogger, feel free to link up with Bri and April every week!

 

Thinking About #Montessori

Fuss has been literally BEGGING to go to school. Since she will be 3 in April, Hubby and I have started talking about preschool. Naturally, she will only be in school 2 or 3 days a week for a couple hours. I really think she will do well and could use the social interaction. Right now, she really loves going to her sitter 3 days a week and has officially adopted her friends there as her "brother" and "sisters".

The biggest question for us at the moment is should we go with the Montessori school that is about 10 minutes away and more expensive or the United Methodist Church that is only 2 minutes away and cheaper? I know people who have sent their children to the church and know it is a good school. I just keep thinking, though, that Fuss will be better off and do much better overall in the Montessori school.

The key thing is that in the Montessori school, Fuss will be able to explore outside her age range, which we have always encouraged. She will also be able to interact with older and similar-aged children at the same time. Of course, that could be good or bad since she could learn some bad habits from the older children. She already knows numbers 1 through 13, and for some odd reason the number 35, as well as her alphabet by sight. She can spell the first 3 letters of her name. I'm just not sure she will do well in the traditional "sit and learn" school setting. However, the question remains should I put her in a school like that in order to prepare her for "real" school at age 6?

When Mommy Is Sick

Honestly? Nothing changes. Hubby worked this evening, so I get to take care of Fuss while I'm feeling miserable. At least it's only sinus and a sore throat. I have a sinus headache and am a little nauseated, but it could definitely be worse. So, tonight it looks like I'm going to be letting Fuss take over the television and watch anything she wants (within reason) as long as she's quiet. Hubby is home for the rest of the week starting tomorrow, so I hope that if I get worse it isn't until tomorrow and it is before he starts work again for the week.

I will be using my SinuClens pot tonight after Fuss goes to bed in the hopes that I can get some of this cleared out. Fingers are crossed that I am not fighting strep!

Back at it!

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm very glad to be back to "normal" around here at last!

When I went to the hand surgeon in December, he told me that I only had a chip fracture of the knuckle where the ligament attaches. I was extremely lucky that all it was happened to be a severely strained ligament and a chip. No surgery and I was able to go back to work. That being said, I was still only able to do half my regular workload and nearly unable to type after work was over, so I decided to stay off blogging for a bit. **Side note: The doctor sent me my own medical transcription and it made me laugh. I guess he really liked me! lol.**

SIL's Amore Tiles Afghan

Over the break, I had a couple of projects get finished up. I made my SIL an afghan (well, I *finished* the afghan) as a replacement for one my nephew pulled apart. I also made my BIL an afghan.... Honestly, I just tucked in the ends of the one I had made and hadn't managed to get to him a while ago, but SHHH! Don't tell! lol.

BIL's Stained Glass Window Afghan

 Since Fuss had asked for a "purple teddy bear" before Christmas when I wasn't able to do it, I made her this bear in just a couple days' time. She didn't like the face, so I'm going to re-do that, but she picked the yarn color out herself and told me she liked it. If I make another, I might try to make him bigger...

Fuss's Bear

I think I just needed the time away from the computer to focus on my family and enjoy our time together. It was nice, but I look forward to adding content here for the rest of the year, including several giveaways and product reviews (some even from my sister!) of great products. I can't wait to see what this year brings to our lives!

#GuestPost #Coping with #Cancer

Today's post was sent to me by Heather, who reached out to me as a reader interested in sharing her story. I am happy to help her reach out to others who might be facing cancer as a new parent.

Coping With Cancer at 36

I knew that something was wrong. I was always tired after giving birth four months before, but I was still shocked when my doctor looked straight at me and told me that I had cancer. More precisely, he was telling me that I had pleural mesothelioma cancer, which is typically caused by asbestos.

When I tell people about my experience, I always get two questions. First, they want to know if asbestos is banned, and second, they want to know how I was exposed. The first answer is easy. Asbestos is actually not banned at all. The second question is more complicated; essentially, my father exposed me to this substance. He worked in construction, and he did plenty of drywall installation, mudding and sanding. The dust that fell down on him was full of tiny asbestos fibers, and that was in turn caught in his clothing, in his car, and on his work clothes! Whenever I went to hug him, I was being exposed to something quite dangerous.

When I was diagnosed, being 36 with mesothelioma was almost unheard of. The type of person who got this disease was typically an older man who worked with his hands. It was common for the sufferers to be plumbers, electricians, military men and mechanics. Young mothers were new. However, I was just the start of a heartbreaking trend. There were more and more young mothers who were being diagnosed, and young wives as well.

It make sense, and this second wave of sufferers are typically known to have received their exposure through secondary exposure. Children are being diagnosed, and it is too easy to imagine those kids jumping up on their fathers when they come home from work, putting on their jackets to run outside for just a little bit. In the course of doing household chores, anyone in the family can be exposed to those little white asbestos fibers. As I get more and more involved in the mesothelioma community, I see men and women who are just like me. They are young, they are just getting their jobs off the ground and they are starting their families. All of this is brought to a screeching halt when they receive their diagnosis. However, there is more hope as well. We’re seeing more survivors of all ages

The truth of the matter is that cancer is rough. It brings your life to a halt, and it does put you in danger. However, instead of being scared or being upset, I have decided that I want to try hope. It helps me talk with other people, and as time goes on, I realize that hope is contagious!

I am positive about my diagnosis and about my story. I want to see more awareness for this type of cancer, and I want to give hope to those who need it. I am ready to help other people stop living in darkness. This is now my life, and I have decided to make it help others in their time of need.