Kindergarten Boot Camp - For Parents!

If your oldest child is starting Kindergarten this Fall, you probably know what school he/she is attending, worked on some basics they need to know, and prepped your child in some way for the exciting year coming up.  But have you prepped yourself?  As I sit here searching the web for Kindergarten and school prep techniques for parents, I'm finding that the majority of articles and information out there is for how to prep your child for Kindergarten.  Quite honestly, my kid is ready.  I think I am going to need the most prep!  Whether you work or are a stay at home parent, the schedule and prep work involved will most likely be a big change to your current schedule.  Here's what I am doing to help myself be prepared for Fall.  I usually write blogs after I've completed a project or process, but this time I am writing this beforehand, to give you enough time to schedule something like this into your calendar over the summer.

A few other moms at my child's preschool decided to have a Kindergarten Prep Night/Moms Night Out once a month, from May through August.  Each night a different mom will host and there will be a different subject on the table.  The host will research the topic of the night and present some inspiring and practical ideas she found.  Others will also bring ideas and we will discuss things we can do to prep, share recipes, family schedules, tips and tricks to make our lives easier in the coming year.  We also have in attendance some experienced moms who already have a child in elementary to help guide us and perhaps tell us the truth about rumors we've heard.  For example, even though we may get more of a break because the kids are in school, is life actually busier?  Do kids really start sleeping in instead of waking up early like they currently are?  Things like that.

Some topics we will cover (plus we will probably find more!) include:  Taking care of ourselves/putting our oxygen masks on first, making sure we get enough sleep, healthy snacks for parents, healthy & easy lunch packing ideas, breakfast ideas, homework/afternoon/evening routines, weekend activities to spur curiosity & imaginations, not over-scheduling, summer to-do's (like buying school supplies, clothes, uniforms, stocking up on freezer meals, etc.).  I'm sure we'll work some fun & wine in there somewhere too. 

I'm Back! . . .When Neat Doctor Needs a Doctor!

My last blog post was in January. Many of you may be wondering, what happened to Neat Doctor?! Sometimes life has a way of taking us by the hand & sitting us down for a while so we can re-focus & realign our priorities. Or, in my case, life just gave me a swift push in the tush to rest a little! I'm currently in a stage of life with 2 toddlers where I am go-go-go all day every day. I got to a point where I was over-caffeinated, under-rested, under-nourished, over-stressed, and just plain not taking care of me. I was not living out the concept of "put your oxygen mask on yourself first so you can better help others." Ever since my daughter was born in 2010, I have been sick very often. I think part of it comes with having kids - they run into germs here and there, and I'm taking care of them all day, so I'm bound to get sick more often. But I seemed to be getting sick not only more often, but with more severe ailments.

February 2012 was a wake up call for me. In the late afternoon I was giving my kids a bath and I felt like when I smiled I wasn't able to move my mouth fully. Then my cheek didn't feel like it was moving. I asked my husband to look at my face when I tried to smile, and he commented that it looked a little strange. I called my health insurance's nurse hotline. After describing my symptoms, her advice to me was to "hang up and dial 911." Huh? I was shocked, and scared. I've never had to call 911! I even tried to downplay it and say, I feel ok, I can walk around just fine, can't I just go to urgent care? She again reiterated her advice to call 911 right away. So we did, and the fire truck and ambulance came and got me. My kids at first thought it was pretty neat to have firemen at our house, until they saw them carrying mommy out on a stretcher. I'll never forget hearing my daughters cries as I was being lifted into the ambulance. After CT Scan, another ambulance ride to another hospital,a long night in the ER, and a MRI, it was determined that I did not have a stroke, but a condition called Bells Palsy.

Bells Palsy occurs when one of the facial nerves is inflamed. The nerve goes through a very narrow canal in the skull and basically turns off because of the inflammation. Doctors believe it to be caused by a virus that settles in the nerve. Many patients are under a lot of stress when this happens. The left side of my face was completely paralyzed. I was so grateful it was not a stroke! I was actually glad I only had to deal with the annoyances of Bells Palsy, and nothing more serious. I had it for 2 months. The most annoying things about this condition were not being able to use my tongue when eating on that side, and having to manually blink my eye. You don't realize how great it is to have involuntary reflexes like blinking until you have to do it by hand! I also had to put gel in my eye and tape it shut every night to prevent it from drying out. To this day I still find that I need some eye drops during the day and gel at night. Besides a little eye dryness, I have made a full recovery.  Here's what my smile looked like:

This was a wake up call like I had never had before. It was so frustrating! I realized how important my health was if I wanted to give my all in taking care of my family and enjoy life to the fullest. It really made me take a step back and finally strap on that oxygen mask. I am still fighting my tendencies to do too much every day, but it's getting easier. I took this as a very strong warning to change my ways, and I'm chipping away at it every day. To kick off my journey back to blogging, I will be focusing on health topics for a while. I truly believe living a healthy lifestyle is the root of being able to reach our dreams and goals. I am excited to share some of my a-ha moments & even my stumbles along the way! Cheers to good health!