Back on the Menu Planning Train

 

Meatless Monday: Tilapia Baked in Couscous served with brocolli 

Tuesday: Beef Stir Fry with onions and string beans
The beef was already cooked and frozen in some kind of sauce (I forget what kind), so I'll just be cooking up the veggies and adding the defrosted beef.  I'll be sure to set some of the beef (with the mystery sauce washed off) and string beans aside for Twin A, who does not like sauces or food that is mixed up.

Wednesday: Tuna Noodle Casserole
Easy Peasy!  Make boxed mac and cheese, stir in tuna and peas. 

Thursday: London Broil served with rice and sugar snap pea

Friday:  Shabbat dinner at my parents

Saturday: Mish Mash Leftoverpalooza

Sunday: Dinner at my in-laws'
 

On the Bright Side

This week is going to be a better week.  I'm not taking a chance and making the obvious joke that it just HAS to  be better than this past week, because we all know that's not true.  That being said, these are the good things:

My ILs bought DH and me a new fridge as an early holiday present to replace the one that was making the constant LOUD humming noise and whose freezer not only was no longer working but was also pouring water out onto the floor for us to clean up each morning.  It got delivered today and It. Is. Beautiful.

We got Twin A to the cardiologist on Friday who confirmed the Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome diagnosis and scheduled the cardiac ablation for mid-November.  The best part is that they will give him medication to put him to sleep before they even put in the IV!  He will need to stay over night, but the procedure will only take five hours instead of the possible twelve hours that I had read about on-line.  I'm just so relieved to have a plan to deal with this issue.  The doctor also assured me that Twin B is okay to use his ADD meds since no WPW showed up on his EKG. 

Physically I am finally feeling better.  My breathing is still not 100% but literally every day brings improvement.  The biggest problem I have now is that I will almost forget I'm still recovering from pneumonia and will walk somewhere at my normal fast pace until I suddenly realize that I have to stop and catch my breath.  However, since when I came back from the hospital I had to stop three times just to walk up the stairs, I think I'm doing pretty good.

There is still a lot of stuff going on around here making me feel overwhelmed, but I am trying to focus on what I am going to do about each situation instead of just feeling paralyzed.  I plan to make a fresh To Do list for this coming week and do what I can do.

An Important Reminder

I have been at the computer all day yesterday and all morning working on ways to solve or at least alleviate this major financial crisis in which we find ourselves.  Every idea I come up with turns out to take four times longer than I expect.  After working so hard for all that time, all I have managed to do is:

1)  Reduce the APR of one of the three credit cards (29% to 12% for the next year!)

2)  Complete the on-line application for state assistance

3)  Gather almost all of the paperwork I will need to submit to the county office to verify the information I submitted in the application

I got the dreaded phone call around 11:00; the school nurse called to let me know the Princess wouldn't stop coughing.  Yay.  I took her right to the doctor where she was given a breathing treatment in addition to a serious talking to about not allowing the cat in her bedroom - ever.  Woo hoo.  Tonight should be fun.  But you and Daddy get to share a room and Twin A and Twin B get to share a room and now I don't get to share a room with ANYone!!!!  This should be an easy bedtime.

When I got home from the doctor's office, I checked in with my friends' on Facebook.  The first thing I saw was the sign I put up top.  Things are pretty overwhelming right now, what with the lots of bills to pay and the not a lot of income to pay it with plus needing to take Twin A to the cardiac specialist tomorrow morning.  I think I needed to remember that even though it doesn't feel like it now, everything is happening the way it is meant to happen.  I need to take a breath, let it out, and remind myself that this too shall pass.

Sigh.

STRESS

Stress is:

• Trying to figure out how to pay for this month's expenses when it is apparent there will not be enough money to cover it all
• Waiting until Friday to get Twin A seen by a specialist for his newly diagnosed cardiac problem when the doctors all stressed that he should be seen ASAP
• Knowing that Twin A will probably require a cardiac ablation, which sounds really scary
• Realizing that Twin B, whose EKG did not pick up any problems, might also have the same cardiac issue that his twin does - and we started him on the stimulant medication to treat his ADD, the same stimulant medication that Twin A's doctor stressed that we absolutely should NOT put him back on due to this condition
• Receiving confirmation from my doctor that I have been having Premature Ventricular Contractions (meaning that I keep getting an extra really forceful heartbeat every once in a while) and the medication for it may cause fatigue - not good for someone who already suffers from constant fatigue due to Narcolepsy
• Still not being able to figure out the best treatment for my Narcolepsy, but knowing that I have to try taking Xyrem once again to help me get more restorative sleep each night, even though it keeps causing severe headaches that should get better after a week - hopefully
• Slowly, oh so slowly, recovering from pneumonia
• Listening to my refrigerator as it goes through its death throes
• Knowing that I need to complete a number of on-line courses in order to make my teaching certification active again but not being able to make completing those courses a priority due to my own health, the boys' health, and our finances
• Needing to get the house back on track after being out of it for so long from the pneumonia, but the recovery from that pneumonia taking so long that I'm not able to do too much on the house each day
• Arguing with DH that opening a fourth credit card because the other three are maxed out is NOT the solution, but also not being able to propose an alternative to cover my unexpected hospital expenses, the cost of his tuition that won't be reimbursed since he is working without a contract, and the upcoming expenses we will be incurring with Twin A's (and possibly Twin B's) potential procedure
• Seeing no other alternative but to apply for state assistance to hopefully qualify for help, and hoping against hope that we actually qualify for free school lunches and food stamps
• Beginning to fill out the on-line forms to apply for that assistance and realizing it is going to take a lot of time to finish them

I don't have any cute clip-art to insert here, and am too stressed to include any links.
I'm usually an extremely optimistic person, trying to look at the positive side of things.  I'm sure there is a positive side to all of this, but I can't find it right now.  I am going to bed and hopefully will be able to see things better in the morning.

May You Live in Interesting Times

I would really like to have a boring month.  Maybe two.  I have had enough of interesting.  Really.  If life gets any more interesting I think my head might just explode.

As I mentioned in one of my last posts, I'm recovering from pneumonia.  It was bad enough that I had to be hospitalized.  The recovery is taking FOREVER, but at least I am improving and at least I have been out of the hospital for a full week now.

While I was at home recovering, DH took Twin B to the Developmental Pediatrician for an appointment to look into starting him on medication to treat his ADD.  At the appointment, Twin B mentioned that his heart sometimes feels like it is racing.  DH told the doctor that Twin A has also mentioned that his heart feels this way too.  DH also pointed out that I had been wearing a heart monitor for the last three weeks.  The doctor decided based on all this information that both twins should get an EKG before we started Twin B on stimulant medication.  And even though Twin A, though he has not been on any meds for the last two weeks because we were trying to figure out a new one for him, had been on meds for the last year, she figured we should go ahead and get an EKG for him too.

So Friday morning my dad helped me take the boys to a nearby facility to get their EKGs.  It was the most activity I had since before I got sick, and knowing that Twin A often freezes up/melts down at the sight of various Halloween decorations and during various medical procedures and tests, I thought it would be helpful to have another adult with me.  The EKGs themself went well.  Twin B volunteered to go first so Twin A could see that it didn't hurt (aaawwwww!) and Twin A got to watch the tech work the laptop that was recording all the information (and teach the tech more efficient ways to maneuver through the software using the function keys), so Twin A's turn was relatively uneventful, too.

Afterwards we drove the boys to school, my dad dropped me off at home, and I settled onto the couch with my laptop and a mountain of paperwork to do some work.  About two hours after I got back home, the Developmental Pediatrican (DP) called:

DP: I just finished talking with the cardiologist who reviewed the boys' EKG's.  Twin A apparently has a heart condition known as ......

At this point, while I know she continued talking and I heard actual words, the sound washed over me almost as if I was in a Charlie Brown cartoon and the teacher was talking.

Me: Um, okay, hang on, let me get a notebook so I can write this down.

And because it helps me process information, I wrote down Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome and immediately began researching it on the internet as the telephone conversation continued.

DP: After speaking with the cardiologist, he feels that we should get Twin A seen by the pediatric cardiologist who specializes in electrophysiology as soon as possible.

Whoa.  Red flags began waving all over inside my mind as the phrase "as soon as possible."  And then there's that word "electrophysiology" which sounded so strange it was almost as if she just made up that word.  Then I researched what "electrophysiology" was in relationship to cardiology and discovered this doctor specializes cardiac catheterization.  That's right, this doctor was talking about the need to get my baby seen by this specialist as soon as possible.

I have always been very calm during medical crises.  I learn what I need to know, do what I need to do, and most importantly, remain calm and collected to help everyone around me stay calm.  But if I am going to be completely honest, this whole situation has caused my own heart to beat a little faster.

As luck would have it (because who said life was going to be easy) this doctor AND his nurse (the person who is in charge of all his scheduling) were in a class all day long on Friday at another facility.  Despite both the DP emailing the nurse and me calling and leaving a message on her voice mail, I will have to wait until Monday to schedule an appointment for Twin A.  We will have to get him squeezed in some time this week, from the sound of it, and the next step will probably be a cardiac ablation, which sounds really scary but hopefully will come with lots of sedation for Twin A, DH, and me.

So now we are in a holding pattern until Monday.  DH and I are trying to stay calm.  I am attempting to look at the positive side of things:

• This could have gone undetected until there was a problem.
• Twin A had been on meds for a while now, which could have ultimately been really, really bad.
• Ummmm...I'm out of work, which allows me to accept the first available appointment the specialist has.  It also allows me to drive out to the hospital on Monday to work with the nurse on scheduling if she decides that he won't be able to be seen until January.

Okay, that's all I can think of right now.

I am really looking for a possible do-over to this year.  And am hoping that the new year will be really, really boring.

Dear Narcolepsy

Dear Narcolepsy,
You suck!  I have to figure out a way to not give in to your seductive ways.  I start the day so good - today I even got up BEFORE my alarm clock (because the Princess' fan fell over and made her scream).  I ate breakfast, got dressed, was downstairs before the kids came down, kept them focused through their morning routine, even created a hair wrap in The Princess' hair (I know, I had no idea how to do that either, especially on her short, extra-fine hair, but I looked it up on-line and did the best I could) since I she had begged me for it for the last two days.  Apparently I CAN do anything.  I convinced Twin B that he would survive in school today despite being "up all night with the sniffles," though he did warn me that if he fell asleep in school, it would be my fault.  I told him I could live with that.  I managed to get all three out the door, all with clean faces, brushed teeth, school bags AND lunches.  Heck, I even remembered to check to make sure Twin A was wearing underwear (something he often forgets to put on).  I was alert, awake, on the ball.

Except, I wasn't.  Before I started being actively involved in creating a thing of beauty in the Princess' hair, I was wondering if I could go back to bed and squeeze in a nap before they had to leave.  You were already putting the seeds into my head.

And when they left, you forced that overwhelming fatigue through my body.  I went upstairs to take my meds and you convinced me that I could take a "short nap" which would leave me refreshed and ready to take on the world.  You LIE!  And you get me with the same lie every single time!  Why do I always think this time will be different?

I fell asleep hard and woke up from my alarm still ensconsed in my dream.  Despite the fact my alarm clock was out in the hallway, I still got out of bed, picked it up, reset it for another thirty minutes, and dove back into bed to finish the dream.  And I repeated that same scenario over and over and over again.  And I finally left my room at 12:30 this afternoon. 

N, this has to stop.  I threw away four hours of my day.  I have so much to do, so much I COULD do, and I'm letting you take it all away.  And I'm still not feeling @#$% refreshed, like you promised me I would!

So I'll say it again: you suck!  Tomorrow is another day, I still have some time before the kids get home, blah, blah, blah.  This cannot happen again, you hear me!

Sincerely,
Me

Should We Be Quarentined?

I know, I know, I never call, I never write, trust me - I can do Jewish guilt with the best of them.  And I have so many different things that I can (and will) write about.  But as FLYlady says, jump in where you are.  I have so much going on right now that is running around in my mind, and it helps me to write it all out, so that's what I'm going to do.

Twin A is pretty sick right now, though he is recovering.  He woke with a fever on Thursday which continued through Friday.  Things took a strange turn Friday night when he began complaining that his legs hurt and started refusing to put any weight on them.  He can be dramatic, and I didn't want to make too big a deal out of it and show him my concern, so I downplayed it.  I tried to get him to stand in a variety of ways, but even when I picked him up under his arms, he curled his legs up and refused to even straighten them.  After talking with the doctor a couple times during the day on Saturday and trying Ibuprofen and warm baths at home, we took him to the ER.  Ultimately they discovered he had something called Myositis.  Now I don't know about you, but I never ever heard about that before.  Here's what I learned:

In all people with myositis, lymphocytes (white blood cells) attack muscle. The body generates antibodies that attack healthy tissue in different parts of the body. These autoantibodies and some of the lymphocytes turn against the body’s own tissues and damage the muscles and skin.

This can be caused by a simple virus.  Woohoo!  They figure out if you have it based on the symptoms and by a CK test.  Didn't know what that was either, so here's what I learned about that:

Creatine kinase (CK):  A blood test to assess levels of creatine kinase will be ordered. CK is an enzyme found mainly in muscles. When muscles are damaged, it leaks out into the bloodstream, causing CK levels in the blood to rise. CK levels tend to go up with increasing disease activity and go down as the disease improves.

The CK is supposed to be around 100.  Twin A's CK was 2200.  Ouch.  Really, really ouch.  And I feel so bad for not taking him to the ER earlier, trying to make him put weight on his legs even when they clearly hurt.  Oh yeah, I'm a great mom. 

What I'm not describing is how hellish "challenging" it was for Twin A to even BE at the hospital, let alone getting blood tests, an IV, sleeping there, dealing with the change in his routine.  I'm still dealing with the trauma from trying to get him to sleep at all during the two day stay - he knew he would be getting a blood test each morning so was awake most of the night moaning, shaking, and crying out, "Nooooo!  No blood test!" 

One of the times Twin A had visited DH in the hospital, one of DH's monitors started beeping.  Unexpected noises seem to scare him the most, and when he something scares him, he generalizes that fear and expands it so it encompasses so much more than the original even that first scared him.  What that really means is that event made Twin A terrified of hospitals.  He was also now terrified of monitors and tubes and wires in the hospital.  Let's just say it was a fun weekend for us all and leave it at that for now.

So it's Tuesday.  We declared that today would be a "doctor-free-day" for Twin A, something that he has been repeating so many times I'm ready to scream a few times since yesterday.  I guess Twin B's body didn't get the message.  He woke with a fever, which, coupled with the major coughing he's been doing, made us take him to the doctor because I didn't think I could take it if his asthma escalated and made us go to the hospital yet again this week I am such a caring mom.  It turns out he has pneumonia. 

Are you @#$% kidding me?!!

And The Princess woke up early this morning complaining that she didn't feel well.  No fever, no major symptoms, but it was pretty clear she was crying out for some attention, so we let her stay home too.  That turned out to be a really BAAAAAD decision as she has been whining and crying MORE than her two brothers who actually ARE sick.

SERIOUSLY?!!

On the plus side:

• The Princess has not whined for the last hour (I hope I didn't just put a kinahera on it!)
• Twin A was just able to take tiny, straight-legged steps over to me - HUGE improvement!
• Twin B's pneumonia was caught very early, so hopefully the antibiotic we just started him on will knock it right out before it escalates.
• I was able to take this week off so I could take care of Twin A.
• DH was able to take yesterday, today, and tomorrow off to help with the house and taking care of Twin A.
• Twin B was thoughtful enough to get sick THIS week.  It might not feel like it, but this is a blessing in disguise.  Normally one kid is sick so DH or I have to take off until they get better, and by the time they are well enough to go back to school, another kid gets sick so DH or I have to take even MORE time off.  This way, the illnesses overlap.  See what I mean?  Very thoughtful.

And that's what is going on in this crazy lady's house.  Now let me make those three kids lunch, push some more fluids on all of them, unload  and reload the dishwasher, clear off the table and the counters, do some more laundry . . . . .

I'm Late!

There was a time, a long time ago, when time was my own.  If I wanted to get to my classroom early, I simply set the alarm for an earlier time.  When I woke in the morning, I could shower, dress, maybe make something for breakfast that I could take with me, and go.  I would often be in my classroom at least an hour before my contracted start time and would usually stay for two hours after my contracted end time.  When I arrived at home, DH would either have dinner made already or I would throw something together for the two of us and we would eat.  And that was that.

Fast forward to the present time.  My time has not been "my own" for so long that I can hardly remember what that felt like.  If I wanted to go to work early now, too bad!   Not just am I a slave to the bus pick up time, I feel like I am a slave to each of their individual moods and tempermants.  I feel like I never really know what will set someone off to have a full-blown meltdown, the kind where the child has thrown himself on the floor sobbing because ______.  Yeah, it's the fill-in-the-blank part that makes it so tough.  Maybe it's the fact that someone's library book is not where they thought it was and now they just have to find it or they'll get in trouble.  Or someone has decided that they are "too sick" to go to school and is just going to flat out refuse to get dressed.  Or maybe someone turned off the TiVo accidentally the night before, which means there is a possiblity it will make a strange, apparently terrifying noise if it gets turned on now.  Never mind that we are not going to turn it on until after school, the thought that it MIGHT make that strange noise is enough to suddenly make it impossible for someone to even come down the steps.

The boys are both on the higher end of the Autism Spectrum.  The girl is six going on thirteen with all the moods associated with being a teenager.  This is an example of a typical morning:

I get up.  As I walk out of my room into the bathroom I tell the kids (all three are in front of the heating vent in the boys' room) to put their books down and get dressed.  I wash up in the bathroom and come out about ten minutes later.  I again tell the kids to put their books down and get dressed.  This time I actually go over and remove the distractions books from their hands.  Twin A begins screaming.  Twin B covers his ear.  The Princess goes into her room to get dressed.      

Me: Twin B, move away from your brother and get dressed. (He ignores me and begins to try to make his brother laugh.)  Twin B, go NOW.  (He reluctantly leaves his brother, still teasingly saying things like, "Is that a smile I see?  C'mon, I think it is!")

Me: Twin A, take a breath.  (He stops screaming and attempts to take a deep breath.)  And again.  (He is able to take a deeper breath this time, but has begun making a new noise that sounds almost like a high-pitched speed boat is taking off - b,b,b,b,b . . .)  When you're calm, I can talk to you.  (The noise slowly stops.)  Okay, now as soon as you are dressed down to your shoes, come downstairs and you can keep looking at your book.

Twin A:  Okay, Mommy! (He now speaks in a cheerful, bright voice, the tantrum completely behind him)

I continue on into my bedroom and begin getting dressed.  As soon as I put down the towel, the door begins opening.

Me:  Please KNOCK FIRST!

The door shuts and someone knocks on the other side.

Me:  Hang on a moment!  (I grab my towel again and open the door to see The Princess standing there, still in her pajamas.  I just KNEW it had been too easy with her!)

The Princess:  I sick.  (Yes, she's six, but she has started this annoying habit of talking as if she was two.)

Me:  (After feeling her head) Nope, you're a cool as a cucumber.  Go get dressed.

At which point The Princess throws herself to the floor, sobbing that I don't understand, that she's sick, she just CAN'T go to school, why am I being so mean, etc.

I shut the door, finished getting dressed, and step out of my room again.  I give The Princess a warning that if she doesn't stop screaming and gets dressed, she will have a time out.  She calls my bluff, so into her room she goes.  Even with the door shut, I still hear her sobbing all sorts of things about how mean I am and that she really is sick and how she doesn't understand why I just can't stay home with her.  Guilt, guilt, guilt.  And before you all start calling Children and Family Services on me, please understand that if she was actually sick, I would make the arrangements neccessary to stay home with her.  However, to keep things fair for everyone, my rule is no fever = no staying home from school.

I poke my head in the boys' room to see that Twin A has gotten distracted once again by another book.  I take that one away but am able to nip the tantrum in the bud.  Twin B is putting on his shoes at this point.  I head downstairs and begin getting breakfast.

On the one hand I feel kind of bad to even somewhat complain about this.  It took us five years to finally conceive our twins.  Had I read something like this back when we were trying to get me pregnant, I would have thought, "You ungrateful @#$%!  I would trade lives with you in a second if it meant I could finally get the chance to be a mom."  And I am so grateful that I HAVE children and am a mother.

On the other hand . . . .

It is nice to daydream once in a while that time is my own again.  And I know, before I know it, they will be grown and out of the house, and I can have as much of my own time as I want.  But for now, today, after another morning of running around the house trying to keep all three of them on target, meltdown-free, and ready to get out the door in time to catch their bus all while I am trying to get myself dressed, fed, and ready to walk out the door as soon as I know for sure they have caught the bus and I don't have to, once again, drive them to school, time is most certainly NOT on my side.

Winter Vacation

Actual size of bandaid on her big toe.

The Princess is resting on the couch is resting her foot with the injured toe on the coffee table.  You see the toenail has broken slightly and she refuses to allow me to trim the nail at all.  She would, however, allow me to put a bandaid on it.  Unfortunately we don't have any normal size bandaids, so I had to use a very large one and then tape it down on all sides, so it appears to be almost a cast on her big toe.  It's a shame she's not more dramatic.



Not even close to the actual amount of Legos Twin A actually owns.

 Twin A is in the playroom putting together one of his fifty thousand Lego kits he received from my ILs for Christmas.  Yes, we're Jewish, but my ILs are not, so we stay overnight on Christmas Eve every year and then spend Christmas Day there as well.  And man, do the kids get presents!  In any case, Twin A has been having major, major meltdowns about being able to use the Wii, so we have been writing a schedule for him each day to show to show him when he gets his fifteen minutes of electronic time.

Twin B is in the dining room trying to grow crystals with his new chemistry set.  Every minute or so he tells me a fact about what he is doing or to read me a direction.  And then repeats it.  The same fact or the same direction.  Or the same question.  Over and over and over and over again.  I keep jumping up to make sure he has read the directions.  Or is not using his finger to stir the crystal solution.  Or is actually using a measuring instrument to measure out 1/3 of a teaspoon and not just pouring in what looks like it could be that amount.  Because in the back of my mind, I fear I will miss hearing him say this some day, and then it will be too late:

DH is resting upstairs after having spent most of the morning shoveling out the driveway.  And the sidewalk.  And one of our elderly neighbor's driveways.  Because he is just that kid of guy. 

We had attempted to take the kids sledding after he finished shoveling, but, BRRRRR - Baby, it's COLD outside!  I think it took longer to get our winter gear on than we actually ended up spending outside.  After a few minutes (literally) at the top of the hill with the wind so strong that it actually knocked the Princess down twice, the kids began begging to go home.  So much for "family bonding."

But ultimately, it's all good, because the kids will soon be heading over to my sister's for a sleepover.  Oh yeah, DH and I are going to the movies and then to a big book store (because that's what we like to do in our free time - hanging out in a book store is our version of geek heaven), and then back home without having to whisper or tiptoe or hold back any noises at all, if you know what I mean (wink, wink).  And then we get to sleep in as late as we want (as long as we pick up the kids by noon).  Oh yeah!      





















Who is this Teacher, Mom, and Crazy Lady, anyway?

I'm so glad you asked.

Just like the title implies, I am a teacher.  I'm kind of a born teacher, always knew I would be working with kids in some capacity.  I taught elementary school for about eight years before I had my own children.  Currently I teach Pre-K, a combined class of threes and fours.  The school is small and up-to-date with the current early childhood research so everything we do is developmentally appropriate and big on learning through play.  The hours are good (8:30-1), the kiddies are so cute, the director is wonderful, but the pay sucks.

After trying to get pregnant for about five years, I am thrilled to say that I am also a mom.  I have three children:

1. Twin A is an 8 year old third grader who is learning to live with Aspergers and his more recent diagnosis of ADHD.  He is our electronic genius and computer whiz and appears to have a soundtrack playing in his head at all time since he often will just burst into a song and dance no matter where he is.
2. Twin B is also an 8 year old third grader who is also learning to live with Aspergers and ADD, both newly diagnosed.  He is a sensitive science lover, and can tell you everything about any episode of Mythbusters whether you wanted to know or not.
3. The Princess is a six year old first grade girly-girl.  No matter how many times I tell the twins that she does not make the rules, they allow her to boss them around all the time.  She loves coloring and crafts and somehow has had the earliest and longest case of PMS I have ever heard of.

Lest you think I am raising these children all alone, let me tell you a little about DH, my husband for the past fifteen years.  We were cast as romantic opposites in a play in high school and were friends ever since.  Our friendship feelings gave way to love after my first year of college, and we got married after I graduated.  DH is also a teacher, and even if he gets on my nerves every once in a while, I'm happy to say that he is a really good guy.

There is more to me than being a teacher and a mom/wife, though it's hard to remember that at times.  I love to sing and act, though I haven't been able to perform in a show since I was pregnant with the Princess.  I read all the time, especially romantic suspense novels.  I talk a good game about eating right and exercising, though I realize I need to do more than talk about it to get myself in shape.  I have both major clinical depression and narcolepsy, and am happy to say that my life is an example of better living through chemistry. 

And so this is my life.  We laugh, we cry, and I let it all hang out for all of you to see.  Glad you decided to come along for ride!