From Terrible Two's to Terrible Teen's

"I forgot". This seems to be the new phrase as of late around my house.


Did you finish reading your book? "I forgot."



Did you unload the dishwasher? "I forgot."


Did you bring your dirty laundry down to the laundry room? "I forgot."


Did you feed the dog, the cat, the other dog? "I forgot."


Okay, you get the picture. Teenagers' brains are on one speed. "ME". The world revolves around them. They are just checked in their room at Hotel Spoiled (insert your last name) for the next 5 to 7 years of their life.





After receiving a wake up call every morning, they are served breakfast of their choice. Then, the bus-mom, clears the table and the dishes while teen is getting dressed for school in her own bathroom, filled with all the hair products, flat irons, crimping irons, curling irons, (no clothes iron) and Bonnie Bell lip gloss and OPI nail polish than any 13 year old should need. I think my teen is a rep for Bare Escentuals. She made a great pitch on the fact that it would be good for her skin since it is all natural, she wouldn't look "made up", and it contains spf. She also told me that she thought I would benefit from it as well. Umm, didn't you hear, make-up now has cancer curing properties..... heh. that was sarcastic, so you know.

I have to admit, it is great, but this isn't an ad for it. Unless, Bare Escentuals, you would like to overflow a cancer-ridden, and I'm not exaggerating when I say ridden, mother of two's make-up bag full of your product... *wink* It really does help with my hollow eyes and dark circles. The concealer works wonders on the radiation "+'s"! I would also love, love, love me one of the new "HEROE's" collections! anybody hear me over there at i.d. bare escentuals? Get it.. Heroe's...I'm a cancer survivor..hopefully twice!....awwww you're not listening....... and I don't like to beg.



Anyway........


After said teen has slipped into her freshly pressed clothes and bounces downstairs, I have packed two lunches, put my tween's hair up in the usual ponytail and straightened her "side bangs". (Why am I still a hairdresser to an 11 year old?) I have washed the sink full of dishes from breakfast, ran the dishwasher, it was too full to hold the breakfast dishes..someone "forgot" to run it the night before-remember, and started a load of laundry. I also had a cup of coffee, if not two, while watching Matt Lauer and the headlines of the day.




Then the chauffeur, um, that's me, drives them both to school.




I feel as if I need to wear some Lycra catsuit with a cape and thigh high boots.




I envision the color red and black boots. But I will settle for another couple of cups of coffee or a sugar free Red Bull instead. Same power and energy and I don't have to wear the suit. Thank Gawd!!




When I walk back in the house from dropping the girls off, I get a whiff of my SC1's Juicy Couture, yes, a splurge on her instead of me...and I realize, this is my life. I look around at all the smiling photos and you would not know the entire story reflected back in the smiles. I have done my job. I am at peace.




The death of my husband, cancer once and cancer twice, and I would not trade it for another life.




So on I go, after a breathing treatment, a self injection, pop a tamoxifen, and finish cleaning Hotel Le Spoiled, make a batch of cookies for "after school talk" and know that I am spoiled.











spoiledmom

Cancer, with a Scent of Baby Magic

I think I am going through a mid life crisis at 36. Maybe a nervous meltdown. Maybe it's the Cancer. Maybe, just maybe, its this little thing called 'Life'.

Everyone is having a baby. I want a baby. I want a brand new, Baby Magic smelling, onesie-with-a-cute-saying-wearing, baby. I, however, can not have one. I should say, I can not have another. Ten years ago, a hysterectomy (from Cancer, part one) took that ability away.

I am very blessed for my two daughters. They are straight A students. Okay, there is a high B in there every once in awhile. I didn't say they were perfect. They are not. They are messy, they don't pick up their clothes and want to get out of doing their chores. But that aside, I couldn't have asked for better girls.

I know there are women out there who are aching for a child who can not have children. Their situation is different from mine. I am fortunate to have had the experience of childbirth, twice. What I am feeling does not compare to what women that are unable to conceive go through. I can not begin to imagine, much less say 'I know how you feel'. I do not. My heart goes out to all the women wanting so desperately a baby. Hearing the word infertile. Undergoing fertility treatments and all the waiting, and sometimes, disappointments. I know none of that, and my heart aches for you, truly. I admire these women for their strength.

After writing that paragraph, and thinking about it all, I almost feel selfish for my wants. Like I said, I already have two daughters. I feel guilty for saying I want another baby, knowing there are other women out there who would give everything they have to experience pregnancy, birth, the baby years, and the loving and goodness of it all.

Yet, there will be no new baby. Instead, I have radiation treatments, medications that make me everything from giddy to grumpy to a grade-A bitch, and I have truly began to lose my memory...(that's kinda like pregnancy, right? the hormones and memory part )... and not to leave it out, chemo's coming up for a visit soon. (that's kinda like the visitor who comes to your house the second you get home from the hospital and won't leave, no matter how tired you tell her you are) I

Here I am again, just hoping to get through this for the sake of my family.
It would be nice to have a new little bundle of joy. But I want to win this fight.
My life is blessed as it is. In addition to my daughters, I have a fiance, a cat, a dog, and Daisy, my shih-tzu, that my fiance gave me for Christmas. He knew that even though it wouldn't take the ache away, Daisy would love me and need me and I immediately loved and needed her, too.

I think I'll try to make a Baby Magic scented candle.

spoil yourself today...............

Seven Habits of Highly Successful Snackers

Take off your watch, strip the wall of its clock, switch off the blinking time display on your computer, and you can still pinpoint — practically to within nanoseconds — when 3:30 rolls around. How do you do it? Your stomach tells you, of course. Stuck in that seemingly interminable stretch between lunch and dinner, your stomach wants a little something. You could find a bag of M&M's or Doritos, wolf it down without even tasting it...and then get the urge all over again in half an hour. Or you could follow these commandments for snacking. You already know that thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Good & Plentys, and thou shalt not kill a canister of pizza-flavored Pringles. Here's what else you need to know — and chew — to get you through to supper.

1. Fix Your Own Food
Even if you need to be tied to the mast of your shopping cart to get past the tempting call of those cellophane-wrapped, curlicue-topped cupcakes in aisle 5, you must resist. Most ready-made snacks are low in vitamins, nutrients, and protein and high in calories, fat, sugar, and sodium, which can inhibit the body's retention of much needed calcium. (Sports and protein bars are a shining exception.)
2. Eat a Balanced Snack
A pear instead of Reese's Pieces — you think you're being so virtuous. And you are to some extent: That pear is largely carbohydrates, but the ideal slow-burn snack has carbohydrates, protein, and, of all things, fat. Carbohydrates are metabolized first and deliver their calories fastest — just ask anyone who has binged on a handful of Jolly Ranchers, felt a sudden and frantic spike of energy, and suffered an equally sudden crash. Say, for example, you grab a quick snack of saltines, which contain refined-flour carbohydrates: As soon as they're in your mouth, the enzymes in your saliva go to work. In about 20 minutes, the carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which peaks in your bloodstream, turning down your internal hunger alarm. Unfortunately, in about another 20 minutes, that glucose is completely burnt out or stored up, so the alarm starts ringing again. Fruit, which has more fiber than crackers, will take slightly longer to metabolize. To prolong the satisfaction, you need to add in protein and fat (they often go hand in hand), which take longer to metabolize. So eat that pear with a chunk of cheddar or some low-fat yogurt and you'll be set for a few hours.
3. Snack to Maintain Weight
Snacks can keep you from getting fat. There it is, even though it's the opposite of what your mother spent years nagging you about. According to a recent study in Scotland, eating snacks helps you control both your appetite and your weight, because when you don't arrive at the table famished, you're less likely to speed-eat, overeat, or just sit there emptying the bread basket into your gullet as fast as is humanly possible. (Another theory is that eating more frequently burns calories, because digestion requires energy, at least briefly.) Most women need about 2,000 calories a day, including snacks. Ideally, you would have five mini-meals of 400 calories, but that's not realistic. (Imagine riding roundup to get everyone to the table more often than you already do.) What's recommended is the traditional "big three," only slightly down-sized, plus two well-balanced mini-meals.
4. Keep Stress — and Hunger — In Check
You may recognize the symptoms of stress: fatigue, lack of concentration, short temper...a minivan floor littered with candy wrappers and sundae cups. According to a study from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, students ate more snack foods and fewer fruits and vegetables when they were under pressure. What triggers a stress case's need to feed is the hormone cortisol, say researchers at the University of California at San Francisco. Cortisol is released during physical or emotional stress, and that increases one's appetite for carbohydrates, especially sweets.
5. Once a Month, Allow Yourself More
Is it that time of the month? Women are most likely to binge or overeat in the two weeks prior to their periods if they've ovulated (most women on the Pill do not ovulate). Menstrual flow is triggered by the secretion of progesterone, which is thermogenic, or calorie burning. Thus, without so much as lifting an extra three-pound weight — or finger, for that matter — your body burns more calories than it does during the rest of the month and your hunger kicks in to compensate. In a study at the University of British Columbia, women ate an average of 260 extra calories a day when they were ovulating.
6. Crave Calcium and Shun Sodium
You need to start reaching for the right white stuff — the milk bottle instead of the salt shaker, calcium instead of sodium. The recommended daily allowance for calcium is 1,000 milligrams, and most women don't come close to getting enough. What's more, the more salt you eat, the less calcium your body retains. For instance, one 3 1/2-ounce bag of cheese puffs contains 1,000 milligrams of sodium, which will cost you 20 milligrams of calcium, something an osteoporosis-prone woman should think twice about.
7. Drink Lots of Water
You've eaten lunch. You've already scarfed your snack. And all you want to do is curl up and take a nap. When you find yourself lacking energy like this, make your way to the water bottle and down a glass. Studies have shown that fatigue is one of the first signs of dehydration, and when you're run-down, it's easy to confuse thirst for hunger. Airplanes, cars, and office buildings are especially arid and climate controlled, so you may need to make a concerted effort to drink even more water than you usually do. And, as you know, that should be eight eight-ounce glasses every day. Now, get chugging. I love, absolutely love the new pre-packaged water add-ins. They come in virtually every flavor imaginable and are just the right amount for the size water bottle you have. They come in fruit flavored water, fruit tea flavor, and white and green tea flavored to mix with the water. They contain zero calories, or, at the most, 5, and no carbs, and no sugar. Many now are geared to holistic health, such as antioxidant, immunity, energy, metabolism, etc. Whatever they claim to do, I love them. My favorite for about a year has been Crystal Light's White Tea Blueberry.


spoil yourself,
spoiledmom
chrissy

Chantix

I started Chantix last year. I started having wild vivid dreams that would awake me. I was told I was screaming at the top of my lungs. My Dr. told me that it could be related to the "cocktail" of Chantix (prescribed by my family practitioner) and my cancer meds (by oncologist) I am a former nurse, and made each Dr. aware of each med I was taking. Nonetheless, I came straight home and looked up any adverse reactions. At the time, I remember not finding anything about the "vivid dreams". During a conversation with my neighbor, she revealed she was taking Chantix. (We were both chain smokers, visiting each other at night, sitting on the porch , puffing away, drinking tea, watching the kiddos and the dogs play) We had talked about quitting on several occasions. Especially me, since my cancer has mastisized. I didn't know until that night she was on Chantix. She was getting a head start on me because she thought it would be harder on her, she is about ten years older than me, but I have been smoking longer than she.
I quit cold turkey with I was pregnant with both girls the moment I found out I was preggers with each. For the entire nine months, I never lit up. I never had the urge nor the desire. I suppose it was the fact that I was now responsible for two people's lives. However, after each was born, I always lit back up. I have quit several times since their births, the longest being for about a year and a half.
I don't know if the "dreams" are a fluke. I have spoken to several people who have them. If they are tolerable and you feel like you can quit smoking, go for it. That is the best for you. It feels so good to be able to take that big deep breath. No more hacking and coughing every morning. No more inhalers.
I also found Wellbutrin worked great (piggy-backed w/Paxil) about 5 years ago. I stopped smoking and lost weight, too. I really liked the Wellbutrin. that was when I quit for the longest. After the death of my spouse, I lit up and started again.
Congrats to all who are doing well on or off of it.
Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for you and your family.

Would like to hear what others have experienced on Chantix or Wellbutrin and your stories.


spoiledmom
chrissy
:)

Blog Blah Blah

Hello again, Just Daisy, Starbucks Frappe and Moi on this quiet Saturday morning. Before the hustle and bustle of Spoiled C and C2.

It's been a few days since last post. Had the blogging blahs, but sometimes I guess that is why we blog. To get the blah out. Or, to get out something so exciting you could burst blog.

Mine, however, is Blog Blah.
Rain, Rain, Go AWAY! Here in the Tennessee Valley we are up to our eyeballs in rain. We were in desperate need due to the drought of last Summer, but enough already. My SAD is returning! It has just been one of THOSE weeks. New meds from dr. and they are making me more tired than already. Don't know how long I will be able to handle these. Found out I'm going to start radiation, again. Then, our other dog, Roxie is hurt again. Oh, and the fridge.
It's just like they say, when it rains, it pours........

As mentioned in previous posts, my fridge has been out for over a week now. You never really know how well you have it until something breaks. I know we are all appreciative, but when something goes out, something major at that, we always say "how would we live without it"?
Well, we are right now!!! LOL


On the bright side, my refrigerator was finally delivered after 13 days. Yes, 13 days, 2 repair men and 60 dollars later. And, it was under warranty. Four years old at the end of this month. No, I do not celebrate appliance birthdays. But despite the blog title, or maybe hence the title, I am Not a perfect mom. I do have receipts of all major appliances and major purchases, along with their manuals and receipts in a folder where only I know the location. Doesn't everyone?


My absence has been due to doctors appointments and I have had the tedious task of getting everything back in order. Mundane things such as restocking the fridge. Why, oh why? It looked so pretty all empty..... sparkling glass shelves and that fresh "new fridge" smell.






Starbucks stash (gotta have it)








scratch 'n sniff....new fridge smell......




At least we were lucky, we have a dorm fridge upstairs in the media room. I have an older fridge in the basement along with a new stand-up freezer. It was just daunting going up and down the flights of stairs with my hip deterioration (read: cancer). But, spoiled child and spoiled child2, were good to help out.


After all the inconvenience, it finally arrived. I love the freezer on the bottom. I highly recommend it. Tons of space. And, it's Energy Star rated.


Well, time to go re-stock the fridge.............with caffeine.


spoiledmom
chrissy

:)