Thyroid Update:

That saying, "When it rains, it pours" has never been so true. A few days before NYE I woke up to some crazy swollen eyeballs. They water constantly at night and have been swollen most mornings but this was a different swollen than what I was used to. My right eye was slightly larger than the left eye and my vision was a little blurry. With Graves' there is something associated with the eyes called Thyroid Eye Disease and it's just as bad as it sounds. As soon as I was diagnosed with Graves', I bought a book that was recommended and read all about TED (thyroid eye disease) and was terrified and knew for some reason that I would be affected by this. Don't ask me how, I just was like, I'm going to be one of the few that this will happen to. So as the days went on my eye stayed larger than the left eye. My sweet sweet husband, bless his heart. I would come to him and complain that my eye made me look "CRAZY!" or when we would talk I would say "stop staring at my crazy eye!" He would just tell me that I was overreacting and that it "wasn't even noticeable until I pointed it out" "You look fine babe." he would reassure me almost daily. But I knew something was wrong and wanted to catch it before it got any worse. Of course, when I realllllly need to get in to see a Dr. there is always a waiting game. I called my optometrist first because he's just wonderful and really knows his stuff. I've been seeing him since I got my first pair of huge coke bottle glasses in the 6th grade :) Yea, picture that. I couldn't get in to see him for almost a week. Then I proceeded to call my endo. OUT OF THE COUNTRY for another week. Go figure. So here I am, walking around feeling like a cyclops...secluding my self from friends, family and public as much as possible. I have never in my life been one to feel sorry for myself, EVER. I believe in the hand that I'm dealt and deal with it because I know I'm NOT in control. But for almost two weeks I was in a funk and worried about my "looks" ( I know that sounds so vain) but really concerned about my health as well. Then I got hit by the STREP sickness. AWESOME, not. I was miserable and laid in bed all day Saturday. With the sinus pressure I had, it made my eyes or EYE feel even larger and more blurry. So at this point, I'm a bawling, sickly, crazy, feeling sorry for myself, hot mess. Thank goodness we know people who work in a clinic. Walked in Sunday and got a shot in the bum. I had my eye appointment yesterday and it went better than I expected. Got some fancy eye drops and I see my endo today. Hopefully I will get the answers that I need. I can report today that my eyes feel much clearer (not 100%) and my right eye has gone done some. And I'm done feeling sorry for myself :)

Oil Pulling...?

Has anyone ever heard of oil pulling? I first heard about it a few months ago because I saw a pin on Pinterest and it had me intrigued... so I opened the link and read a little about it but never "pinned" it. Last night scrolling through Pinterest, I saw that one of my friends had pinned it so I opened it once more. I used the power of Google, I love Google and did some more research. You can "oil pull" with various different oils but I just so happened to have extra virgin coconut oil, like a two year supply because I use it for everything. It truly is amazing!! It's a wonderful moisturizer, lotion, you can cook with it, swallow a teaspoon full and it helps with digestion, your immune system and leaves your skin very soft and glowing.

http://www.naturalnews.com/028266_oil_pulling_detoxification.html

I have to admit, the first 2 minutes or so of having the oil in my mouth was terrible! I hate the texture and the oil is solid and weird. I had to hold my nose ;-) but after that it's tolerable. Swish it around for a good 15 min, (I know that sounds like a long time and my jaw did kinda hurt before the 15 min was up) you can do it in 10 min intervals. Spit the oil OUT, don't swallow because the oil now contains all the toxins it "pulled" from your body. I have been wanting to do some sort of detox but the majority of them that I've found are very expensive, maybe a little dangerous and some leave you running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. NO thanks!!


Benefits of Oil Pulling:
* Brighter whiter teeth
* Pinker healthier gums
* Helps with sleep
* Clearer skin
* Helps with PMS/menstrual symptoms
* Headaches
* Helps with asthma
I'm a sucker for anything that calls for EVCO -extra virgin coconut oil so I had to try this.

It says it's best to do this in the morning on an empty stomach. So I started this morning and will try to keep it up and blog my results!

We did it!!!!!!!

Emily, Erin and I completed the Jingle Bell 5k and it was so much fun. I think I'm addicted. I think there were close to 300 people who participated. Not exactly sure of our time but I think it was close to 37 minutes when we crossed the finish line. Now, for someone's first 5k, two smokers and one who hadn't ran in almost two years, I was proud of us all. It was a chilly start but we had our long sleeves, leggings and cute elf shorts. We kept getting compliments on our outfits so that's always fun :)

I want to keep record of all the 5k's I do, so I kept my number and wrote what event it was on the back. I am so excited for the Color Run in April!!

It's like 20 degrees outside today! Nice little cool December day, FINALLY! I think we have a percentage of snow but doubt seeing that happen. I'm sure tomorrow it will be back in the 70's. We are debating on taking Huddy to Polar Express this weekend in Lubbock. That all depends on if there are tickets available. He seems pretty interested but for the price of tickets, I want him to be ALL about it!!! We took him to Ice at the Gaylord last year and that had to have been one of my all time favorite trips. He still talks about having lunch with Shrek to this day. :)

5K Jingle Bell Run

This Saturday the girls and I are participating in the Jingle Bell 5k run for Junior Achievement! This will be my very FIRST 5k. I know I know, I work for a non-profit who has 2 5k's every year! But being the coordinator, I kinda sorta don't have time to run or even walk the 5k because we're so busy planning and running everything. There have been numerous 5k's in the area that I've wanted to participate in but I'm chicken and never have wanted to go by myself. And my friends, let's just say, they really aren't the "running" 5k type. :) But they are working on it. And Laurel, there's just no hope for her. She will not run to save her life but we love her anyway! This 5k is just going to be a stepping stone...

                                                          We want a fun jingle bell outfit!

We are participating in the Color Run in Dallas next April!! We've all registered (finally EM) and there's no backing out!!! If you haven't heard of the Color Run, check it out here http://thecolorrun.com/dallas/
So fun right?!?!

We're not too serious about the Jingle Bell run, so we'll be running some and walking the majority I'm sure. Let's just say, there will be NO medals waiting on us this go around.

I can't believe it's already DECEMBER!!
We've tried the whole Elf on the Shelf to keep Hud in check this year but that was a big NO GO. He's terrified!!! We showed him the book and found a video on youtube and he is just so scared of a little (creepy) guy who comes to life and watches how he behaves and reports back to Santa. I can't say I blame him. Maybe next year...
I can't wait to see him on Christmas! This year he really understands and we are trying not to let him get all caught up in the presents and gifts. Christmas is SO much more than that and he knows it's all about Jesus and his birth day.

I've got to start working on Christmas cards!!!

Merry Christmas!

Horseshoe Bay gettaway

This evening we are off to a fun filled wedding weekend for one of our dear friends. The wedding is Saturday at the beautiful Horseshoe Bay Marriott.

I've only been to HB one time when I was in high school. My bff has a lake house on LBJ, which is not far from HB and we drove down for a wakeboard tournament one summer and I fell in LOVE. We just stayed the day and were on one part of the lake but it was so pretty. I'm excited we get the whole weekend there this time. We are driving to Brownwood the first leg of the trip to stay with Murray's parents at their gorgeous ranch house. The guys have an early tee time in HB Friday morning, so we thought instead of leaving super early Friday, why not go half way and stay in Brownwood?? So excited for Cole and Kayla!! Our sweet boy is getting spoiled, I mean staying with his Chita. She is taking Friday off to have a Hudson day :)

I have my blood test today to check my levels to make sure this medicine isn't lowering my blood count. Still feel pretty good and can't complain. I was given a recommendation of a Dr. in Lubbock that I may call and get a second opinion. It's always great to have a few options and a few different opinions eh?

Hud had his first experience at the Circus and had such a fun time. My mom had tickets and wanted to take him on a Mia and Hud adventure. He rode an elephant for the first time!! My mom bought him a "life-saver" that's what he calls a litesaver.

Happy November to ya'll!!!

October!

I can't believe we are already in the middle of October. One of my very favorite months, not only because my birthday is the 2nd but it means Halloween, candy, costumes, pumpkins and FALL. I had a wonderful birthday. The girls planned a shopping trip to Lubbock the weekend before my actual birthday. We shopped, laughed, ate and just had a wonderful time! I have said this before but I TRULY have the best friends and family. They made my day so special. The best birthday gift of all had to be my little monkey singing me "Happy Birthday!" So precious.

Last year for Halloween Hudson was the Fruit of the Loom Grape! So adorable, even with the banged up face from face planting on the slide at Fiddlesticks Farm :( Still one of the most scary accidents we've had.

                                         Audrey Hepburn (Cameron) Grape and Bam Bam (Deacon)
                                                                        Halloween 2011
I've never been one for store bought costumes. They are over priced and the kids normally wear them a total of 3 times and it's a waste of money! Hud's first Halloween he was Handy Manny because he was OBSESSED with the cartoon and kinda looked like Manny :) That was a cute costume but even for a 1 yr old, I think I paid almost $40. But it was such a cute costume ....

                                                                   Handy Manny 2010

This year there was no doubt about Hud being a DINOSAUR! He loves them. He knows almost all of the names, what they eat and all kinds of information. He's always pretending he's a dinosaur. So then I started thinking "how in the world am I going to make a dinosaur costume?" There are some cute ideas, thank goodness for pinterest and google. I found some cute ideas but then decided to look around online for kids dinosaur costumes and one of the first websites I went to had the most adorable...I mean SCARY costume. I had to get Hud's approval first. So I went home and showed him and asked if he wanted to be this dinosaur for Halloween. There was no argument, he LOVED it!!! $30 with shipping and everything, so I can't complain. And he wants to wear it alllllll the time

                                                                       Dinosaur 2012

        So excited to take Huddy trik-or-treating this year! Already have some ideas for next year's costume!

Thyroid:
I've been feeling pretty good. Besides the fact that the stomach bug hit our house last week. Hud got it early Saturday morning. Bless his heart, he has only thrown up 1 other time before that. This was allllllll day Saturday. Couldn't keep anything down. Finally Saturday night we were able to give him some 
phenergan (anti-nausea) crushed up in juice. Worked like a charm! He slept the whole night and had his appetite back. Sunday, I started feeling icky and it hit me Monday morning. BOO
We are all back on the healthy train! I have really been trying to keep track of what I eat and make it healthier. I've laid off coffee for a while, which is BIG for me. I love coffee. But it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be to give it up. I've substituted green tea and it's actually pretty delicious. I've been taking Greens, a product by ItWorks! since late September and I love them. Gives me the servings of fruits and veggies that I need and alkalizes my body. I can't tell a huge difference in energy but my body knows when I haven't taken them. A common side effect of the medication I'm on is itchy skin and that just started a couple of days ago. I have been using extra virgin coconut oil (yes, the stuff you cook with) as a moisturizer for the past 6 or 7 months, since it is all natural and great for your skin and it eases the itchiness. So far that's the only "side effect" I've had. I go back to the endo November 8th for blood tests to make sure my levels are ok. I've been keeping up with a friend who was also diagnosed with Grave's who had her thyroid removed  a couple of weeks ago. Taking it day by day :)



HOW VAST A MEMORY HAS LOVE- ALEXANDER POPE

.....................

I met with the endo on Thursday and he gave me the results of my scans and tests.....He confirmed I have Graves Disease - Graves disease is an autoimmune disorder that leads to overactivity of the thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism). Sounds terrible but it just means my thyroid is over producing hormones. I had three options, 1) Take medication twice a day for almost 2 years (it takes a while for the medicine to kick in and it's not 100%) 2) have the thyroid removed by surgery. Of course there are the risks that come with any surgery. 3) Swallow a radioactive iodine pill that attacks the thyroid. (I would pretty much be quarantined for at least 3 days and the pill is not 100%, no thanks!!! So I opted for the meds! Of course I googled and SHOULDN'T have. I started taking them on Friday. So far I haven't had any side affects. I can tell that my heart rate is slower and I haven't noticed any palpitations. Which is a good thing because when your thyroid is HYPER, it means your whole body is running a marathon 24/7.Graves Disease is actually way more common than I thought. I have had a few people reach out to me saying they too, have Graves. CRAZY! GD is more common in females from age 20-40. I have a friend (who I had no idea was struggling with the same thing as me) who is having her thyroid surgically removed on Wednesday! If you get a chance, say a little prayer for her. She is going to get back with me and let me know how it goes. Surgery was just too drastic for me. I thought I'd at least start the meds and if I didn't have any issues on them, just continue with them. I go back in 6 weeks for a blood test. One of the side effects if the medication lowering your blood levels. SO if I'm good to go, we'll continue on the same dose. Hopefully I can continue taking these and they will ease all the symptoms I have from Graves' and in the long run they thyroid will cure itself and stop producing as much hormone. The endo did suggest we hold off on getting pregnant. We were just getting ready to start trying to have another child and all of this happened. And thank the Good Lord that it did. If I hadn't gone for my yearly, I would have never known about any of this and I could have gotten pregnant and had complications. So when the dust settles and I'm in the clear, IT'S BABY MAKING TIME :)

Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers. I don't know who all reads this stuff, its mainly just my way of venting and writing things down and a keepsake for Hudson when he is older. But thank you all, it means so much!