La La La La La La La La La La La

Have you ever have one of those moments when you are just going through life, humming a little tune (maybe the theme song from The Smurfs?) and SCRREEEECH...the needle abruptly slides off the record player? By the way if you don't know the Smurfs theme song or what a record player is...I'm just gonna go ahead and say you are not old enough to have had one of those moments.

YET.

But your time's a comin'. And I would say not to bother reading this because it might depress you, but you probably won't believe it will actually ever happen to you...so read on in your delusion, my friend. Read on.

Anyway, back to the point. Have you ever had one of those moments when...

(and this is purely hypothetical, of course)

...you're looking in the mirror as your heading off to bed at night and you do a double take (with a slight look of horror) because you're not sure when that woman looking in the mirror became you?

or

...you're in the drive-thru at McDonald's with two kids in the backseat of your mini van (or SUV) that looks distinctly like the one from the "Mom My Ride" video you saw on You Tube and you're like...how.did.I get.here...exactly?

or

...you're having a nice dinner with a group of gals to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday and the waiter chuckles at the thought of this particular group of ladies talking about myspace?

(ahem)

or

(again, purely hypothetical here)

...you're having a conversation with a 20 something who is telling you that apparently his parents were actually cool way back when, but at some point they just stopped caring...and you can kinda relate. To the parents, that is?

or

(insert your moment here)

Anyone?

The Chiropractic Chronicles

Volume 1

I've decided to take a new angle with my blog.

Kidding.

I can already see your eyes glazing over. I don't really plan on there being more than one volume in the Chiropractic Chronicles. But I just couldn't resist that title. Don't you just love alliteration?

SO. I owe you all an update on my first adjustment. I've actually had two now. You'll get some indication of how it went when I tell you that at the second adjustment I actually said to my chiropractor "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?". And I meant it. I REALLY meant it.

When I arrived for the first adjustment, before showing me my x-rays, she took me to see a picture of a "normal" neck. A normal neck has a curve in it like this...


Then after showing me what my neck SHOULD look like she, she showed me the x-ray of what it ACTUALLY looks like. Instead of being curved my neck is straight and even slightly curved in the wrong direction. She said that almost all of the patients she sees for headaches/migraines have this "straight neck".

(See, I told you I was a freak.)

(I'm kidding.)

(Really.)

DISCLAIMER 1: This is not a picture of my actual neck...I found this picture of my long lost, "straight necked brother" on the internet.

DISCLAIMER 2: I also feel the need to admit that I did SERIOUSLY consider asking if I could bring my camera back to the next appointment so I could get appropriate documentation for the blog, but I didn't. I was too chicken. I'm still kicking myself over that one.

Moving on.

Basically, because my neck has no curve it causes undue stress on the neck and shoulder muscles and can cause headaches as a result. I can't tell you how much sense this makes to me. I have had tension in my neck and shoulders for a very long time. I even had tension on days that I should have been relaxed. This always baffled me. Also, my headaches were ALWAYS accompanied by tension in my neck, shoulders and back.

Anyway, after explaining all of this to me, she took me in for my first adjustment. She adjusted my back and then my neck. I didn't notice much from the adjustment she did on my back, but then she adjusted one side of my neck. It was then my turn to say "Holy Cow!". Not only did I hear it (oh my word, the cracking sound was SO LOUD), but I felt relief IMMEDIATELY. And I started laughing hysterically. I don't know what that was about, I think it was because it just felt SO much better. I could literally feel a difference between the side she had adjusted and the side yet to be adjusted. It was so strange.

Wow, this is really getting to be a long post. So sorry. Wrapping up.

The bottom line? The difference in myself last week was amazing. I felt SO much better in a number of ways. The tension was gone, I slept more comfortably, my energy was higher. It is unbelievable really. I did start to feel a headache coming on and some tension on Sunday night (almost a week later), but went to bed immediately and felt fine in the morning. I had my second adjustment that morning and I continue to feel good. I should be able to start stretching the adjustments out and eventually only go as needed.

I realize this may have been more information than you wanted to know. My Mom and Dad are probably the only ones still reading this. Mom? Dad? You are still reading this, right?

Oh wait, I want to say one last thing. While, I am quite fond of my new friend (the chiropractor), I give God the glory for this! He is truly the Great Physician. And also I must say "thank you" again for your prayers on my behalf!

Happy Easter to our Friends and Family!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."

1 Peter 1:3

Holy Cow!

That was one of the many exclamatory remarks used today by the Chiropractor that examined me. As she was feeling my neck, shoulders, and back for tension, she said things like, "Holy Cow", "My goodness, girl", and "You poor thing".

It seems I'm a bit tightly wound.

And maybe a slight freak of nature?

I'm just relieved she didn't call anyone else into the office to see said freak. I had that happen once at the dentist's office. The dentist called in all the other people in the office to look at my dental x-rays because apparently they were that freak-like and rare.

Something like that can do so much for one's self esteem.

In all seriousness, though, I LOVE my new Chiropractor and she hasn't even done any adjustments on me yet. She did tell me that 95% of the migraine sufferers she takes on either get complete relief or see a marked improvement with their headaches. Yay!! I'll take either/or at this point. She took some x-rays to make sure there isn't anything wrong before she starts doing actual adjustments. And before I left she did some muscle treatment using electrical pulses on the main muscle in my back that runs up to the shoulders and neck. I think it is the trapezius muscle. That was interestingly good. I'm still feeling the effects of that. Afterwards, I felt like saying, "Um yes, may I have two of those little machines to go, please?" However, I am pretty sure not even one of those little machine would be in the budget. And need I even mention the trouble my rambunctious boys could get into with a machine that involves electrical pulses?

SO. I am scheduled to go back on Wednesday morning for an actual adjustment. Words cannot even express my eagerness for this!

I think this woman could become my new best friend. Although, my friend Shelley would also be in the running since she graciously watched my kids today during my appointment!

All that to say I am feeling hopeful about getting relief from these terrible headaches. Thank you so much for the kind, encouraging words you left in the comments section of my post about the migraines. And also for the prayers. I have felt the power of those prayers in a very real way the last few days. For that I am grateful and give God the glory!

I'll continue to keep you posted (no pun intended).

The Rookie

Today was surprisingly quiet considering the fact that we have two boys 6 and under in our household. At one point I looked at Rich and said, "Are we living in some parallel universe today?". That is...a parallel universe where our children play quietly and cooperatively WITH each other for an extended period of time.

Very strange, indeed.

I think it may have been their penance for traumatizing a rookie babysitter last night. We had planned an evening out with friends and (like usual) we were at the last minute looking for a babysitter. Rich finally convinced a sweet girl, who has babysat for us once before, to agree to babysit our children along with two others the same age. Now, the last time she sat for us it went fairly well, but I did say to Rich as we were leaving, "Is it just me or does she look scared?". And every parent knows that children (like wild animals) SMELL FEAR. During the course of the evening, she called a couple of times with slight problems. I talked to her once and was convinced she was about to have a nervous breakdown, but Rich assured me that she was fine so we proceeded with our evening as planned.

You guys, there are no words to explain the look on this girl's face when we returned home from our evening. I'm really not exaggerating when I say she was traumatized. While I'm all for using a few hours of babysitting young children as a form of birth control for young college students, I hope and pray our children didn't singlehandedly ruin her on children for life.

In all honesty, I don't think they were that bad, nothing a Mom or experienced babysitter couldn't handle, but clearly this particular young lady was not quite ready for the chaos that is 4 children under the age of 7.

Of course, our children were duly punished, but I can't help but wonder if I should send her flowers or a sympathy...I mean thank you card to further apologize.

Oh well, I'm sure someday, if she ever has children of her own, she'll look back on this day and laugh.

At least that is what I'm telling myself.

Pardon My Whining

Disclaimer: This post includes a considerable amount of whining. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I know I have not been around much lately. While I have had the itis problem, there have been a couple of other factors. One being migraines. They have been more frequent and more painful as of late. This week alone (since Monday ) I have had TWO! Can I just say that I am over it? I want relief from the pain. Last night I was a crying, weeping mess when my husband came home late from work. I have been trying to keep track of when they occur and in this last six weeks I have had six. I'm not brilliant at math, but I do know that averages out to one per week...and six too many!

I broke down last week and finally called the doctor because along with the migraines I have also had considerable (unexplainable) fatigue. I just generally feel unwell. The doctor sent me in for some blood work and it all came back clear. I am thankful for that, but at the same time I know that these headaches and fatigue are not normal for me and I'm not okay with feeling this way. I want it fixed. I refuse to accept that this has to be my normal. He did prescribe for me a migraine medicine. I took it on Monday and it did nothing. NOTHING. Did not even phase that stinkin' headache one bit.

So, I've decided that my next step is to visit a chiropractor. I have never done this before, but I have friends who have had great success. I hope and pray this will work for me. Would you please pray for me? It has come to a point where it is interfering greatly with my life, even in the care for my home and family.

Thank you, friends. I'll try to make the next post a tad bit more uplifting.

Meme One and Meme Two

Did you catch that little nod to Dr. Suess? And The Cat in the Hat?

Aren't I clever?

And modest, too.

I was tagged for "meme one" an embarrassingly long time ago by His Girl. So, I'll tackle it first. It is 6 Random Things About Me. I've done 8 Random things before here and here, and wrote 100 random things here. I guess if you add those all together that is 122 random things altogether. Probably 122 more things than you want to know, huh? Oh well.

1) I am currently addicted to Scrabulous. It is one "itis" I don't have. Scrabulous is an online Scrabble game. You can play via Facebook or email. I'm currently playing with Janelle, Carissa, Dawn, and Sparky. Anyone want to be my next victim? (evil, maniacal laugh)

2) Even though I get notified of comments on my blog via email, I still MUST go to my blog to read them. I'm very OCD with this.

3) If I wake up in the morning and realize that I did not remember to bring my blankie to bed, I feel the loss immediately. Those are sad, sad mornings.

4) I am an aesthetic eater. I eat first the food that looks most appealing to me. The plumpest strawberry, the french fry with no brown on it, the cookie with the most appealing shape. I will usually eat the others eventually, just not first.

5) I eat hamburgers with pickle and ketchup. No mustard. I ask for them with only pickle because I don't like how sloppily they apply the ketchup. I then apply the ketchup myself. Can you tell I have some food issues? It doesn't stop with ice rinsing, you know.

6) While most people get grumpy if they don't get their cup of joe in the mornings, I get grumpy if I don't get an ice cold bottle of water. If there are no cold bottles of water in the refrigerator in the morning, it is a sad, sad day. Only slightly less sad than waking up without my blankie.

There you go, folks. A little peek into my freaky psyche. Hey, that rhymes.

Okay, now for "meme two". I was tagged for this meme by Bethanne. Being a reader, I thought this would be fun. Here are the rules...

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next 3 sentences.

My book is...

Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life by Keri Wyatt Kent

I HIGHLY recommend it.

"Perhaps you've become aware that you never really look your children in the eye and listen to what they are saying. Perhaps your next step is to begin to change that, to show your love for them by paying attention in a new way. To humbly let go of your agenda for even a few minutes, to focus on others, especially your kids."

Is that powerful or what?

Consider yourself tagged if you'd like to try "meme one" or "meme two".

I have (Fill in the Blank) itis

Remember Senioritis? The last few months (let's be honest for some of us it was much longer) of high school or college when you just didn't care anymore?

Is there a point in your life when this hits again? Say when your 33, a housewife, and stay at home Mom? I wish I could pinpoint and say that it is laundryitis, cookingitis, bathing the childrenitis, cleaning the showeritis, packing the backpackitis, returning the emailitis, shopping for groceriesitis and dare I say even a little bloggingitis? But it is all encompassing. I just have no motivation these days and if it is possible I might even have Itisitis. Because I just don't really even care about the Itises either. Or should it be Itii (as in plural of itis or many itis).

Heaven help me, apparently I have grammar-itis as well.