Yesterday I awoke like any other day. After getting the kids off to school, my first cup of coffee and then looking at my calendar I realized that it was Thanksgiving in Canada. Being Canadian, loving another day to be thankful not to mention yummy food..... I thought I'd try to meet my brother for lunch to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Myke and I did have a delicious lunch over in Orange @ Panera. It was great to catch up with him and I just love hanging out with him, he's a great guy. On my way home from lunch I decided that I'd try to surprise the family with maybe not a 'traditional' Thanksgiving dinner but a Thanksgiving dinner none the less. Obviously I wasn't going to be able to cook a 'traditional' turkey...... I was running out of time. I headed to the store and picked up the last available like it was there just for me pre-cooked turkey. I was SO delighted. Then potatoes, ingredients for everyones favourite creamed corn (NOT the canned kind), salad, dressing, and in my books a definite Thanksgiving important food item...... pumpkin pie with whip cream. No, the pie was not homemade which I think are the best but time was an issue for me and this Vons bakery pie was quite tasty and two of my non-pumpkin pie eaters tried some and were surprised at how much they loved it.
My second oldest Hannah, helped me get dinner ready. She really likes working in the kitchen. Emma helped to set the table which she seems to enjoy and take pride in doing, very cute. We then sat around the table eating some deliciously filling food while taking turns around the table sharing what we were each thankful for. It seemed to go on and on and I'm very happy to say we have a lot to be thankful for! Though I've not celebrated Canada's Thanksgiving for the time I've lived here (mostly due to little ones and lack of planning) I took pride in a tradition I grew up with and hey, any day is a good day to reflect and be thankful. I wanted my kids to appreciate some of their herritage but mostly I want them to grow up in the habit of being thankful.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Little Pill Lots of Magic
Well for the last 6 years I have on and off (mostly on) been taking a little pill first thing in the morning. Let me back up a bit. Probably about 6 months after I had my 4th baby I was so absolutely fatigued, depressed, freezing cold in 100 degree weather amongst other symptoms. I just thought I was a failure and 4 kids was just too much for me.
After several people recommended that I go to the doctors, I finally did. The doctor pretty much suspected right away that I had a thyroid problem. He did some blood work and he himself called me a couple of days later telling me to come back in right away. When I did, he proceeded to tell me that he was shocked I wasn't in the hospital. My thyroid levels were SO wacked! A normal persons levels would be somewhere between 4 and 11. Mine were over 100. He also explained that I would have to be on a pill the rest of my life because I had hypothyroidism which means my thyroid is underactive. I didn't even know what a thyroid was or did. He just said 'basically it's what gives you your energy'. AHA, that would explain my lack of functioning. I was SO relieved I can't even explain it. Weird yes, to be happy something was wrong with me. BUT, at least it meant I wasn't really a failure.
Jumping ahead a little bit. It took roughly 2 years for them to balance my thyroid levels. After seeing a specialist and her telling me basically to ignore the instructions on my pill bottle which were telling me to take with a full glass of water. She instructed me to take enough water just to make the pill go down and then wait an hour before having anything else. I did that and within 6 weeks felt remarkably better and at my next appointment my levels were all normal. Praise God!
Why this story continues is because for some crazy reason, I have a couple of times taken myself off my meds..... forgetting what NOT being on them was really like. Well, this summer I again went off my 'magic' pills and let me tell you, it was NOT pretty! I basically just got my levels checked again and was back to where I started at +100 and feeling lethargic and quite honestly, pretty miserable. As soon as I got my new prescription I immediately took my pill. I've been taking them consistently and do not plan on messing around with them again. Now that I am again reminded of what not being on them is like I am truly thankful for them and like the magic they seem to work. Life with 4 kiddos is challenging already with the help of my magic pill, and take away the meds, makes my quality of life really go down to barely functioning.
Maybe down the road, when time and money are more accessible I will look further into a more natural way to supplement my thyroid meds. I would only ever do that if I had a professionals help and guidance. For now though, the doctors are helping me, what they have done for me is working and helping me. So, I'll take it!
After several people recommended that I go to the doctors, I finally did. The doctor pretty much suspected right away that I had a thyroid problem. He did some blood work and he himself called me a couple of days later telling me to come back in right away. When I did, he proceeded to tell me that he was shocked I wasn't in the hospital. My thyroid levels were SO wacked! A normal persons levels would be somewhere between 4 and 11. Mine were over 100. He also explained that I would have to be on a pill the rest of my life because I had hypothyroidism which means my thyroid is underactive. I didn't even know what a thyroid was or did. He just said 'basically it's what gives you your energy'. AHA, that would explain my lack of functioning. I was SO relieved I can't even explain it. Weird yes, to be happy something was wrong with me. BUT, at least it meant I wasn't really a failure.
Jumping ahead a little bit. It took roughly 2 years for them to balance my thyroid levels. After seeing a specialist and her telling me basically to ignore the instructions on my pill bottle which were telling me to take with a full glass of water. She instructed me to take enough water just to make the pill go down and then wait an hour before having anything else. I did that and within 6 weeks felt remarkably better and at my next appointment my levels were all normal. Praise God!
Why this story continues is because for some crazy reason, I have a couple of times taken myself off my meds..... forgetting what NOT being on them was really like. Well, this summer I again went off my 'magic' pills and let me tell you, it was NOT pretty! I basically just got my levels checked again and was back to where I started at +100 and feeling lethargic and quite honestly, pretty miserable. As soon as I got my new prescription I immediately took my pill. I've been taking them consistently and do not plan on messing around with them again. Now that I am again reminded of what not being on them is like I am truly thankful for them and like the magic they seem to work. Life with 4 kiddos is challenging already with the help of my magic pill, and take away the meds, makes my quality of life really go down to barely functioning.
Maybe down the road, when time and money are more accessible I will look further into a more natural way to supplement my thyroid meds. I would only ever do that if I had a professionals help and guidance. For now though, the doctors are helping me, what they have done for me is working and helping me. So, I'll take it!
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