Joyful Mother

Cruise

Have you ever been on a cruise? My hubby and I went on one before the boys came along. It was a New Year's Eve cruise to the Bahamas that his mom took us on with the rest of the family. It was a great cruise but I think I would have picked a warmer time myself. It was warm enough to wear shorts but not really warm enough to swim. Still, it was beautiful being out on the ocean like that and like everyone tells you, the food is wonderful. I had for the first time something called fruit soup. It was delicious but not that I look back, it wasn't too different than a smoothie except that we ate it with a spoon out of a bowl! When we got back to the Atlanta airport, it was snowing. Now that was a little bit freaky! I would love to go on a cruise again but I would forever be worrying about the boys and the railing.

I've Had It!

This dialysis is making me gain more and more weight and I am truly worried! There's very little I can do about it. I am sure diet pills wouldn't work because this has very little to nothing to do with my appetite. The sugar and calories in the dialysis solution is the culprit. I can exercise and lose weight but I have been having very little energy these days. Some days I get so discouraged and then I get mad and just want to cuss or something, LOL! Aack!!

Provision

Since I was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease, I immediately began to worry how we were going to pay for all the bills that were sure to come. That's when I found out that all patients with kidney disease (on dialysis) automatically qualify for Medicare after the first three months. If you are doing home dialysis, you qualify from the first day you began. Even though that put me in a world of paperwork, trying to figure out which Medicare supplement plan I needed, and things like that, I was still very relieved that I would have coverage. It also put me in a strange world of now worrying when I hear the government talking about cutting Medicare for this or that program. I know where my true help lies - that is in God. I can't spend the rest of my life worrying about such thing. I am thankful that He provides - no matter HOW he does the providing!

Protection

Have you ever though of getting a home alarm for your home? I have thought about it before and how it would make me feel safer. It would also make me feel a little bit paranoid that it would always be going off. Why you ask? Why I have two little boys! LOL! They are just about as curious as they can be. They love pushing buttons. They love loud sounds. I would have the police at my house every night asking if we are all okay. Still, if I had one, I could make sure it was set after they go to sleep and turned off before they wake up. Sounds like a lot of work to me.

What's Been Happening

I've been doing very well with dialysis. I went through a couple of weeks where I got dehydrated and I felt really awful until I figured out what was going on. It's quite a balance to keep everything where it is supposed to be. You don't want to be fluid overload so you try to pull off enough fluid but if you pull off too much you get dehydrated. Sometimes it is very frustrating but on the whole, like I said, I've been feeling pretty good.

This weekend we are going to Atlanta so I am having to pack up all my supplies. It kind of reminds me of when the boys were younger and we had to pack up diapers and wet wipes and strollers (Bob stroller) and things like that. I made a check list so I wouldn't forget anything.

We finished school at the end of May and are enjoying are time off but really? The boys are ready to start again. We may do that and take a nice long break when it cools off in the fall.

Eating

You know what, kidney disease is a natural appetite suppressant. No kidding. I have struggled with my weight for years and even now that I am doing dialysis, the weight is staying the same - or going up. That's because of the sugar in the dialysis solution. Nothing I can do about that, I guess I am going to have to work it off! I dread that because of my energy level but the time is now. If I don't do it now, chances are I probably never will. But first - a nap!

Need A New Bed?

We actually do. We have a queen-size bed that is just about worn out. I've lost many nights of sleep because of how uncomfortable it gets. I tell my hubby I am like the princess and the pea - that I can fill just the slightest spring or roll in the mattress. We've talked about getting one of those sleep number beds but can't decide between it and the kind where the mattress doesn't move when someone is jumping up and down on it beside you (or so they say). Beds are expensive so we are taking our time and are hoping we don't have to take out a second mortgage just to get a new one. Think I'm kidding?

Gift Giving

I don't usually have a lot of graduations and weddings to attend but it certainly seems there are plenty of them this summer! I never know quite what to pick out for graduation gifts - I guess most people give cash, but I think a digital frame would be a good gift, even for the wedding presents.

Well, it truly is summer now. I walked outside after church and the heat just about knocked me down. Now truly, I think it probably isn't that hot but it was cool inside and that just made it seem hotter. So we came home to...Taco Soup! It's not the best food to eat on a hot day but it was delicious!

Well, it's another lazy Sunday afternoon around here so I think I will go take a nap. Yawn!

Memories

Don't you just love the questions that children ask. Right now my child is asking me about belly button's and how did they get there. I'm not ready to get into in-depth answers so I am usually very general. But at 8 years old, I know that he will soon be more demanding when it comes to his answers!

I can't believe how big my boys are getting. I'm used to them being toddlers and little guys but really, they aren't that anymore! They are really big for their ages anyway (my hubby is 6', 5" tall)so it just makes it all the more obvious to me that soon they will be young men - and maybe they already are! I'll need some digital cameras and compact flash memory to record all the memories.

It's Saturday

and you know what that means - Walmart day! I usually get groceries on Saturday for the week and Saturday is a good day to do that but it is usually a madhouse on Saturday's. The first thing you hear when you enter the door is (seemingly) a million barcode scanners beeping. I have a pet peeve before I even get in the door. I really hate going into the entrance and having to dodge people who are going OUT the entrance! It happens when I leave the clearly marked exit, too - people coming inside the exit. Grrrr! Lately my hubby has been getting the groceries for me because of a injury to my heel. I'm not sure what today will bring.