Fun Craft: Make Sand

I love doing arts and crafts with my daughter so the other day I was loving the warm weather and bummed we couldn't go out since my baby doesn't have her 8 week shots yet. Then I thought if we can't go to the beach why not have the beach come to us. So we made sand and with the shells I had in our house from our last vacation to the Hampton and the Cape we decorated the sand.

To add new memories I told my daughter every time we go to the beach this summer we will get to add a shell to our collection.

What you need:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup used coffee grinds cooled
• 2 cups hot chocolate powder

Mix all together and pour in a nice vase or pail.  

Have your children feel the sand, the coffee grinds add the texture like real sand. Add real seashells.

 Simple, yet creative!

Spring Into Color With Pampers and Enter for a Chance to Win $5000

What would you do with $5000?

Starting on Monday, April 29th, Pampers is kicking off the season of Spring with a celebration of the ways babies color our lives! Check out their "Spring into Color" tab on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pampers ) for chances to win daily prizes that enhance the colorful and delightful ways in which the wonderment of babies brighten our daily lives - all including Pampers wipes and diapers.

Here's where the $5000 comes into play: each entry will also enter you into the grand prize giveaway, a $5,000 gift card. Be sure to enter before the sweepstakes ends on May 28th.

I know what I would do with $5000...buy lots and lots of diapers. Good Luck Readers!

*FTC Disclosure: Coupons are being donated to me by Pampers for my participation in this blogging program. These items were not intended as payment for any favorable opinions.*

Say Thank You Quote

"We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives " John F. Kennedy

Happy 110th Birthday to the 8 original Crayola Crayons!

Wow 110 years is a reason to celebrate! Just like you whenever I think of crayons these 8 original Crayola crayons come to mind:

 


8 Original Crayola Crayons

 *FOLLOW the crayons on their adventure, LEARN more about each color and enter to WIN a trip for 4 to celebrate their birthday and the Grand Opening of the all new Crayola Experience this coming May, 2013! The new Crayola Experience features four floors of new interactive exhibits and one-of-a-kind attractions that will bring the magic of color and your child's creativity to life!

Want a chance to win, then join in on the fun today! Learn More Here

* Content provided by Crayola*

Plan Ahead...Post Partum Solutions

I have a wound on my neck and a wound on my stomach and the first week I was alone with my two girls all I wanted was to make an egg sandwich. Once the baby was fed her bottle and my daughter had her breakfast, dogs went outside and I check my bandages it was time for lunch.

Don't be like me...plan ahead.

The smartest thing I did on that following Sunday was went grocery shopping alone. I came home put the groceries away and while the girls slept I made a ton of food. I made an egg frittata, chicken salad and washed lettuce. I knew that the next day was Monday and in order to have a good week I needed to plan ahead.

Monday morning came and instead of making an egg sandwich , (which sounds so simple but you have to toast the bread and fry the egg and clean the pan which is too many steps when you have two little ones needing your attention) I just warmed up a piece of the frittata. For lunch I had a salad with a scoop of chicken salad. All I had to do was plate these items. I didn't have to wash dishes or make anything. And my girls needs didn't stress me out while I was trying to fulfill mine.

Moms plan ahead. Pick a day on the weekend when you husband can watch the kids and plan for the week ahead. You are NOT SUPERWOMAN! We can not do it all and we should not have to. But if you plan ahead you can make a world of a difference in your day.

I still get my egg sandwiches, I just now get them on the weekends when my husband is home to help me make them.

Reaching Happiness Quote

"Once you reach your true happiness everything else in life becomes very simple."

Accomplish Something Big...Start With Saying Thank You

I feel like I need to accomplish something big. Since I feel like I have been given a second chance in life and my purpose isn't yet fulfilled that I need to do something big , something good for people, give back to society. So in my search of fulfilling my life purpose I had to start by saying Thank You!

Along my journey of healing I constantly thanked those who helped me, who brought me food, watched my children, helped me around my house, brought my daughter to school and drove me to appointments.  But there was one last person on my list that needed a big thank you, my  Doctor who did her job in making sure her patient got the right care, my OBGYN 

When I failed my one hour glucose pregnancy test my OBGYN insisted I see an endocrinologist. At first I asked if I could just retake it she said since due to my history of being insulin resistant she was not comfortable with me retaking it until I saw one. That's what started this all!  When I thanked my OBGYN she said don't thank me thank that baby girl of yours for coming into your life, I agreed but also thanked her again and said she was a great doctor. The expression on her face was priceless. She kissed me on my cheek and said "thank you for taking my advice and really went to see a doctor, many patients don't take my advice and you did and it saved your life!"

Saying Thank You doesn't take much effort but makes people feel so appreciative and it also makes you feel good knowing you made other people felt good. So in my quest to find my purpose I want to THANK all of YOU my readers. Thank you for coming to my blog and encouraging me to keep telling my life story and experiences. 

I also want to make this is a lesson to take your doctor's advice. If they suggest a type of treatment or to see another doctor DO IT! By me listening to my doctor and taking her advice it saved my life! 

Be at Peace Quote

"Let go of any people, place, or situation that does not let you be at peace."

Post Partum Funk...Go Shopping

For anyone who's ever had a baby I am sure you can relate to this. You have your beautiful baby and walk out of the hospital excited to be a new mom and to finally work on having your body back. Well if you are like me you don't walk out looking like you never even had a baby. Which btw I so envy those women. Anyway, if you are like me you struggle with what to wear after you have a baby, you think your body will just melt away the 40lbs you put on and look like you did before you even knew you were pregnant. You struggle if you should wear your maternity clothes because they make you look pregnant still yet your pre-pregnancy skinny jeans don't stand a chance yet. So you get into a funk and put on stretchy pants and your husband's tshirt and mope when you look in the mirror to see a pregnancy type body without a baby in it anymore. Yep, I did that alot with my first child and I was determined to NOT do that again with my new baby. Well let me tell you what helped me get out of my post partum funk, I went shopping!


The sweetest smartest thing my mom did after I had my thyroid out was handed me money and said I was going to buy you flowers but thought you may enjoy something else for yourself so go buy something nice. It was such a great gesture that came in handy for me. We had a wave of warm weather and I freaked. None of my clothes fit and I did not want to wear my maternity shirts so one day in my state of I "hate my body" I took the money and went shopping.

Round 1 in dressing room I brought shirts in the size I USED to be...they did not fit. Round 2 in dressing room I brought shirts in the size I WISHED to be... still no luck. Round 3 in dressing room I brought shirts in the dreaded size I actually WAS. Everyone argues that I just had a baby and should not be concerned yet with how I looked but I wanted my single digits back and skinny jeans and tank tops ect... The trip to the store was AMAZING for me. I did not buy expensive stuff but cute stuff that made me feel good getting dressed in the morning until I was able to shed this extra weight.

Ladies do it, go shopping, don't go crazy, but set aside $100 and buy clothes that make you feel good even though you know in a couple of months will be too big for you. I am not saying this to waste money, I am saying this because your body and mind went through so much and NO ONE expects you to look as perfect as you did before you had the baby even though that is what we want. But when you think you look good you feel good and it is worth it.


Plus I got to spend an hour to myself without my kids just to gather my thoughts and do something nice for me. For once do something nice for YOU too!

Feel Good Song: Alive By Krewella

9 Lives

I am starting to believe that Cats are not the only ones that have 9 Lives. After I received my results I was in shock. I could not believe what I had just been through and then I thought about it, it wasn't my first brush with death. Sorry I know sounds morbid but think about it. How many things have happened in your lifetime when after you thought, wow thank goodness I survived that and am still alive.

My twin sister and I are 28 minutes apart. Yes, 28 minutes, crazy I know. Well my mother never knew she was pregnant with twins until she was in the delivery room recovering from having my twin sister. See she was young, in her early 20's, it was in the 1980's, her doctor was not the brightest and thought she was having a "big baby boy." After she gave birth to my sister my father noticed a lump on the side of her stomach, that lump was me. 28 minutes later she gave birth to me. Now image 28 minutes after she was in trauma from going into labor with my sister I was still in her belly. Lucky to be alive, you betcha!

In 1986 swimming lessons at Norwalk High one of my sisters not so bright guy friends pushed me in, I did not know how to swim, I sank to the bottom. My mom's daughter's best friend saw me and dove in to get me. Lucky to be alive, you betcha!

In 2008 got onto Merritt Parkway on a rainy day and lost control of vehicle, ended up in front of a tree, my front bumper wrapped around a tree, the guard rail of my Pathfinder took the impact. I walked away without a scratch. Lucky to be alive, you betcha!

In 2013 pregnant, failed 1 hr glucose due to sugar problems doctor suggested see a specialist. Specialist felt a lump in neck, after blood tests, ultrasounds, biopsies then surgery discovered it was indeed Thyroid Cancer. As of my knowledge it took up most of my Thyroid and only 1 millimeter of tissue was Cancer free. Lucky to be alive, hell yeah.

See think about it. How many stories do you have?! I could even tell stories of family members who "cheated death." To me I like to believe that our true destiny was not yet fulfilled. We all serve a purpose here on Earth, maybe we get these "9 Lives" until we fulfill that purpose. I do not know. All I know is after the last experience I have encountered I am grateful, truly grateful to be alive.

9 Lives or Not Life is  Too Precious, Too Good and too Short, to NOT be Enjoyed! Enjoy life all "9" of them!

Yogi Tea GREAT For Thyroid Patients and Sore Throats

My sister bought me Yogi Throat Comfort Tea to help with my throat after my surgery and it really helped with the discomfort. I went through a box in 4 days. It was very soothing and even tasted great when it was cold. I HIGHLY recommend it for Thyroid Patients, when you have a sore throat or even just for Tea Lovers!

Learn More Here http://www.yogiproducts.com/products/details/throat-comfort/

Heal in Peace

I met with my endocrinologist yesterday who was able to get my results from Yale. All three nodules on my thyroid were Papillary cancer, however, all 8 lymph nodes were negative for cancer. When I heard the news it was like a rush of relief came over me. Now that I knew my cancer did not spread outside my thyroid I could now heal in peace.


I never knew how much pain I would be in. I just had a csection a month ago and still have discomfort from that and now I have my thyroid out with a neck dissection and am in pain again. My family has been great helping me at home and with the kids. My husband has been amazing with doing anything and everything possible to make me comfortable.  

I don't want to be in pain, and I don't handle pain well,  I want to get up make breakfast for my family, clean my house, cook, lift things etc without restrictions. I know this is temporary and I should just allow my body to heal but I also think my soul needs some healing. I have been through a lot these past 4 weeks and the emotional stress of not knowing what is happening in my body took a toll on me physically and emotionally.

I want to say to everyone out there who has had or has cancer or surgeries that I wish nothing but for you to be in peace. I wish away your pain and discomfort. I was lucky I had found my cancer when I did and I had my thyroid removed and after treatments and some follow up scans I can put this behind me. For the less fortunate my heart hurts for you and I wish you peace!

Thyroid Surgery...Recovery Day 4

I am glad to say my surgery on Monday went really well. Everyone at Yale were amazing. They showed compassion and understanding and did everything in their power to make me comfortable. My girlfriend works in the recovery room and I asked if she could let me sleep and thankfully she told everyone so I got to sleep alot after surgery. Once I was in a room my throat hurt so bad. It felt like a really bad sore throat, the kind that stings when you breath in cold air or even when you swallow your own saliva.

The nurses gave me ice chips, medicine, cold beverages and nothing worked. Finally we turned to tea, hot water and a throat spray. Slowly my throat started to feel better. The nurses were better than I could have imagined. They showed compassion and one went out of her way to make sure I tolerated liquids so she could put an order in for me to have real food, she gave me scrubs so I could walk around on the cancer floor to heal faster and she even shorted my IV because it was becoming uncomfortable for me in my hand well after her shift was over. She was a god sent!

 I ate soft foods and soup for lunch and dinner. I spent the night a Yale so they could monitor my calcium levels and breathing. It felt like every hour they were giving me something; pain meds, calcium, vitamin D, magnesium ect...

I had the hardest time getting comfortable. They wanted me to sleep elevated to prevent swelling, but no matter how I laid I just could not get comfortable. It was not fun and I am now on Day 4 and still uncomfortable. I feel like no matter how I turn my head the tape on my incision is being pulled. My throat still hurts a little and I try not to talk too much.  Luckily everyday I feel better.

I am relieved that my incision is only about 2 inches and next Thursday they will take the bandage off. During surgery they had a lymph node tested to check how far the needed to cut and luckily it was negative for cancer. I did have three abnormal nodules on my thyroid. 1 Big one we knew that was there and abnormal and 2 smaller ones we weren't aware of until surgery. I am thankful this surgery is finally over and every day I am feeling better. I am not allowed to pick up and walk around with my baby but I lay with her and that allow has amazing healing powers for me. I have been blessed and  have had family with me all week to help. I am very luck to have all this support in my life and know I do not have to do through this alone.

Tomorrow I get my levels checked again. I can not wait for this all to be over. I am not one to lay low and be sick, I like to be out and about and feel good. I know things will get better soon and need to be patient and heal. I saw this the day after my surgery and felt it was so appropriate. It applies to not just those who had Thyroid surgery but everyone who ever been scarred by something in their life. I know I still have a long road ahead of me but know I have to just live one day at a time and hopefully this scar will fad in time and if not it just will be a symbol of my strengthen.

Today's The Day...My Fight Against Thyroid Cancer

Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit, Happy 1st of the Month! Today is the day I have been waiting for the past 6 months, today I have my surgery for Thyroid Cancer. Today I finally get this cancer out of my body and look forward to a healthier me!