Chronic Hepatitis C and My Mom

For three months, my Mom endured the treatment for her chronic hepatitis C. She underwent chemo therapy, and it was really difficult for her that she lost 21 lbs in three months. She had been very tired, and her cognitive function seemed to have slowed down. Every week, she would have blood tests as her red blood cells would always go down. She experienced loss of appetite and depression. Last week, she got the result of her latest blood test. After many fervent prayers of family, relatives, friends, even strangers, and effective medical treatment, she has been cured of her hepatitis C! Thank you, Lord! Our greatest Healer! :)

Back To Zero!

Being away too long, unfortunately, had caused me to forget how to blog! LOL! :) I have to learn again how to change or customize template, layout, edit html, add links, add tags, etc., mainly the technical aspects. Hopefully, I pick up things fast and soon. You Tube, Google, I guess you will be my bff's for now! :)

And if you have any great tips for me my blogger friends, please feel free to share by leaving a comment below. I feel like a newbie! LOL! I guess I am! :)

I Am Back!!!

Yes! I am! I can't believe it's been four years since I've been gone from the world of blogging! :) What a long time and what a journey for me as well! A lot has happened in the four years that I was gone. I don't even know how to begin. Well, it's been challenging, humbling, rewarding. During those years, I was able to achieve my goal of becoming a Zumba instructor. I taught at two venues. One was at a health fitness club, and the other was for a non-profit organization. I loved it as I had always loved dancing! Pay was good enough for a part-time job, but more importantly, my health and body improved. After having two C-sections, I thought my belly pooch would never go away. I was wrong! It did disappear when I was teaching Zumba. My arms, waist, hips got leaner. It is effective, in other words. However, I had to make a decision at one point. Teaching Zumba was both fun and rewarding for me, but it took too much time away from my family. I have a full-time job in a hospital, a family with two small boys to love and take care of. No regrets! It was still a goal that I got to achieve even though it didn't last for a long time. Family remains a priority. My passion can wait. :)

CuteKid?

Kaiden eats his first BIG pretzel while on a trip to see the Statue of Liberty in NY!

Hi there, friends!!! Do you like my picture? :) If you do, please VOTE FOR ME! :) But... if you don't... it's OKAY... it won't hurt my feelings. :P

Hugs and kisses to everyone!!! ::D

Merry Christmas!

Our Trip to The Grand Canyon

It snowed in Grand Canyon! It only lasted for a few minutes. It stopped, but it was still freezing cold up there! The sight was truly majestic! :)

Back From Vacation!

After a long absence from the blogosphere, here are some pics to share with everyone. We left on Thanksgiving day itself. I thought the airport would be busy, but to my surprise, it wasn't the case. The flight went on smoothly. We stayed at a friend's house in Sedona, AZ for 3 days. My boys had a great time with their 2 handsome boys. This is their youngest, Tai with my Noah playing the Leapfrog Scribble. We brought along with us another Leapfrog toy called the Text and Learn. Tai was enjoying the toy so much that we decided to give it to him as a Christmas gift. He loved it! :)


They have a very sweet dog (I forgot the name, unfortunately) which little Kaiden adored so much! (as you can see :) )

Surviving Cancer

A week before we left for the Thanksgiving vacation, my uncle, my Mom's eldest brother passed away. It was a painful struggle for him. He just had surgery in the prostate before the death. It was believed he had a prostate cancer. My aunt, who took care of him, found him lying down on the bathroom floor. She found out that he died from a stroke. Cancer patients mostly die from complications. There's a type of cancer which affects the protective sac surrounding one's internal organs. It is called Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is rare, but still it is cancer that is deadly. Asbestos is the culprit for such disease. Gladly, there has been research that you can actually survive from it. This is based from Paul Kraus's experience, a cancer survivor himself. He has a popular book called, "Surviving Mesothelioma", that is considered valuable by every cancer patient.

Golf Vacation

Whew! I can't believe that Christmas is just 10 days away. And, I 'm not yet done with my Christmas shopping yet! lol! :) Well, I got a couple of gifts for my little boys, and that's it. What's worse, I have yet to send Christmas cards to our family and friends. We have been pretty much busy lately, and we just got back from a vacation on top of that.

I got back to work and I met this friend of mine who told me about her experience about the Myrtle Beach Golf vacations. I never learned how to play golf. I tried several times but I just couldn't hit the ball right on. I felt it just wasn't the sport for me. Anyway, she mentioned it was a fun and wonderful time with the whole family especially if you avail of the Myrtle Beach Golf Packages that you could find online. If you're into golf and would like to experience a great vacation as well, Myrtle Beach Golf or Golf Myrtle Beach is definitely for you.

Christmas!

Yeah, I know it could be too early for Christmas decorating. Thanksgiving hasn't been celebrated yet! lol! :) We're leaving for Arizona on Thanksgiving day itself and spend a week with relatives and friends. By the time we're back, we might be too exhausted, or not have much time to decorate the house for the holidays. I'd rather do it now when I got some spare time. Besides... I love Christmas! I love the joyful feeling that it brings. I love seeing Christmas lights, and listening to the holiday songs. I love everything about it! :) My boys, especially my 2 yr old Noah is always in awe whenever he sees our Christmas tree. He wants to have the colorful lights on all the time, and can't resist touching the ball ornaments. As expected, him and lil Kaiden kept on pulling them that one already got broken. Oh well... Anyway, I surely can't deny the fact that the big Christmas tree brings sparkles and joy in my lil boys' eyes.

Christmas Decor

Oh, I like this unique decor for the holiday. I saw this online through Just Address Plaques, and I thought they have a lot of cool and pretty stuff to offer. They mainly cater to address plaques, home address plaques, address signs, etc. The photo shown at the left is an example of their seasonal plaques. It is called Snowflake Oval Plaque-Red with Silver. It would be lovely to put it in your yard with snow flakes falling. It is rust free and fade proof. You don't have to worry about the colors fading out through the years of usage. Aside from that, you can also choose the colors, whichever suit your taste.

Just Address Plaques are well known for their excellent product quality and customer service. You are assured that you're getting the lowest price for the highest standard of workmanship. If, for example, somewhere you see an address sign priced lower that what they're offering, simply call them and they can match it up for you.

The Locker

A classmate of mine in high school posted some pictures of our alma mater few days ago in Facebook. Boy, that brought back a lot of fun memories for me! It made me miss my high school friends, teachers, even the place itself. She visited our school recently and basically snapped photos of the classrooms, cafeteria, including the lockers. Those included the metal gym lockers which we seldom used, and also the wood lockers placed inside the classrooms.

I remember a friend of mine who kept her pair of sneakers inside the locker. Those sneakers were popular those days and kinda expensive. One day, when she was about to use it for our PE class, for some reason, she couldn't find it anymore. Later, we saw it being worn by one of our classmates, our class President. My friend herself, including the whole class were very sure it was hers. She complained about it and brought it to the attention of our principal. But, the principal took the side of our class President. Why? She just didn't believe her. She thought she was just making it all up. My poor friend. That time our President was vying for the Valedictorian spot, which she actually got.

Flying For a Vacation

The positive side of not making to the playoffs is having to spend more time, more weekends with the family. My hubby's team unfortunately didn't make it to the playoffs. The teams competing for the championship are on their last few games. We just get to watch them on TV. A week from now, my hubby will fly to Seattle to receive his award for MLS Trainer of the Year. The boys and I would want to be with him on that special day. But then, it wouldn't be a wise idea to fly there with the kids, come back and fly again the week after for our Thanksgiving vacation in Arizona. It would be taxing for all of us especially the kids. Besides, I can't take any more time off from work. As a wife, I would want to be there to show him my love and support.

Anyway, speaking of vacation, Oceanfront Myrtle Beach Resorts offer a fantastic vacation experience that you wouldn't want to pass up. There are actually 6 Myrtle Beach Resorts to choose from. All of them a fabulous! Grande Shores, Seaside, Prince Resort, Towers on the Grove, Horizon, Avista Resorts have holiday packages that would truly be memorable for the family. Beach Resorts Myrtle Beach provide spectacular views and feel of the ocean that are relaxing and pleasing to the senses. Truly enjoyable!

A Relaxing Bath

My boys love taking a bath. I guess most kids do! After eating lunch, which leaves them messy oftentimes, I clean them off by giving them a bath. They get excited every time I'd say "bath", and they get more excited when I pour some bubble bath in the water. Oh, it works like magic especially if one or both them are having tantrums. Their mood suddenly changes. Since they use bubble bath or baby wash often, the tub floor could get slippery. And I have to be sure that they don't stand up, or try to reach something that could cause them to slip or fall. There have been a number of toddler injuries and deaths related to bath tubs that have been reported over the years. It's pretty scary for every parent to think of.

In line with bath tubs, I came across a site online that talks about walk in tubs. These kind of tubs are said to be safer and more relaxing to any user. It is even therapeutic. It offers health benefits such as elimination of insomnia, reduction of arthritis, hemorrhoids, etc. The photo below is a sample of a walk in bath tub called the Paradise. Getting in and out of the tub is a lot easier and safer than regular ones. If you want a relaxing bath, simply turn on the 16 jet warm air massage that goes along with the installation. Mmm...I would definitely love that experience.

Well-Deserved Award!

Congratulations hunny for being the Athletic Trainer of the Year! Me and the boys are proud of you! We love you! :)

Saving With Luvs and Aldi

We've been doing our best to save as much as we can especially in these trying times. I guess, (and I hope) few more months, Kaiden would be graduating from diapers. Diapers are pretty expensive and takes much of our budget. My kind of brand is Luvs which is of good quality and doesn't cost as much as the other leading diapers. For other grocery stuff, as what I mentioned in my previous post, I shop at Aldi. Oh, I'm glad I found that store! For special occasions, or if there's a thing I couldn't pass up, I look for online coupons first to see if there's one for that particular item I like.

My Sweet Lion and My Cheerful Bat

Here's my 1 yr old Kaiden in his lion costume which he wore last Saturday for Halloween.

Now, here's my 2 yr old Noah in his bat costume. Oh, how he just loved flapping his wings! :)

H1N1 Halloween Day!

It's an H1N1 Halloween day for the family! Sounds weird, huh? :) Early this morning, the whole family went to Mission Clinic for the boys' swine flu shots. Our county provided a free H1N1 vaccination clinic for selected groups. It was held from 9 in the morning until 2 pm, or while supplies last. Since most people wanted to take advantage of this like we did, as expected, when we got there around 8:15 am, there was already a long queue of people mostly parents and kids waiting. To add to that, it was freezing cold! Good thing though, Noah and Kaiden were in their costumes which were thick and warm. It was my hubby's idea to put them on their costumes since it's Halloween at the same time. Well, it's a "cute" idea I supposed.

The vaccines were given either as injectables or nasal spray. Noah and Kaiden are 2 and 1 yr old respectively, so they were given the injectable dose. Originally, we thought of just having the kids vaccinated. However, when we got inside the room, the nurse advised me that I could get one since I work in a doctor's office. So, I was given the H1N1 vaccine as well, but through nasal spray. It wasn't bad or uncomfortable. I was just instructed to "sniff" twice when she inserted the spray into each of my nostril. My husband didn't get the vaccine as he didn't meet the criteria for getting the free H1N1 shot. After 3 hours of waiting and getting done at last, we went straight to Denny's for a much awaited brunch. :)

More Baby Bloopers!

A good way to start your day, or even end your day! Here's another set of baby bloopers for you to enjoy! :)

TRAVELING PANTS
My husband needed me to bring his suit to his office because he had to attend a last-minute meeting. I told our daughter, Avery, 4, that we were going to deliver something to her father. As we walked out, she pointed to the hanger and asked, "Did Daddy forget to wear his pants today?"
Dana Hayes, Michigan

FOUNDING GRANDFATHER
Sophie, 2, misplaced the dollar bill we put in her play wallet. As I was looking around for it, she said, "It's the one with someone's grandpa on it!"
Jennie Brands, Iowa

BROTHERS GRIM
At dinner the other night Bryce, my 3 yr old, emptied his dish of bean stew into the family salad bowl. His 6 yr old brother, Jason, looked at the ruined salad, then at me, and declared, "And that's why we shouldn't have had a little brother!"
Ana Hotaling, Michigan

Courtesy of Parents Magazine

Love ALDI!

I can't say enough how much I love shopping at ALDI! I do most of my grocery shopping at that store for not only the prices are cheaper, but also because they really sell good quality stuff. Milk, creamer, cheese, cereal, fruit, are what I usually buy from there. Few days ago, their pineapple was only $1.19. Red seedless grapes were only .79 c/lb, and bananas at .39 c/lb. My family always has a supply of fresh fruit every day! For desserts, I normally use cream cheese. At ALDI, it's only priced at .79c compared to $2.00+ at most stores. I go home with bags of groceries without going overboard with my budget, and saving few more dollars for my next shopping. :)