"Strange" NEWS..

Ok so the weather is acting up again. We had a beautiful 40+ degree day yesterday and it looked as if spring was on it's way... but wouldn't you know they are calling for MORE SNOW!!! This time the snow started this morning and is expected to continue until tomorrow around 7pm. In our area they are expecting up to 36 inches of snow!! It started this morning as a light snow and continued all day and was melting as it reached the roads but made walkways slippery. By the time we were home from work it has now started to get colder and now it is snowing pretty steady and starting to accumulate now. I think we have about 4 inches now that has not melted. So we will be watching for the school closings in the morning. Hopefully they will stay on top of the plowing and keep the roads clear. No matter what, Sean & I have to work. Heaven forbid someone didn't get their newspaper or packages! Why couldn't one of us be a teacher!?!?!

So on to some more news....
After taking the Chantix for a month now, Sean & I Have quit Smoking! We even had a true test this weekend since we went to a casino, gambled, had a drink or two and dealt with all the smokers around us without even having so much as one puff! We did it!! And all without really "craving" one! :) :)

But the downside is that I have been EXTREMELY tired lately. To the point where I have slept entire days only to get up to go to the bathroom~ Sean, a bit worried, mentioned to me that there should be some reason. I just kept saying the the Chantix says it may cause drowsiness. Sean says "drowsiness" not "Comotose" (sp?) I called the dr and made an appointment after realizing that I've been having very strange feelings the last few weeks. Extreme fatigue, frequent urination, achiness, headaches and just a sense of "daze". The last few days I've had a strange pelvic pain and decided it was time to get a dr opinion. I explained the pelvic pain as a sort of mild pressure like ones I would have when I had "braxton hicks contractions" during my pregnancies. When I got there the dr immediately did a urine test. One for pregnancy and one for a Urinary tract infection and guess what.... Pregancy was negative!! (ha ha, thought I would say positive didn't you??! LOL) no, all joking aside, no pregnancy and no UTI, but the test did show billirubin in my urine which is an indicator of liver function problems. Meaning that the Chantix needs to be stopped immediately. Dr said this could explain the fatigue, the achiness, pelvic pain etc. So she sent me for more blood work and will be scheduling an ultrasound also. With my history of ovarian cysts, they want to rule out anything like that also. They will also be looking for gall stones, polyps etc. But she is really thinking it is the Chantix causing some liver dysfunction and that stopping it will clear it up on it's own. I had planned on having my cholesterol re checked but she told me to hold off till this comes back first. So now I will have to go it alone without the Chantix while Sean happily takes his "magic pill". Hopefully it will have been long enough to stay smoke free and do it on my own now since cravings are all gone anyway. It really does get easier every day and pretty soon we will have no idea what we were thinking. But it does make it easier that I have done it on my own without meds before and I can do it now. But before it was different. And it was really hard not to start again when Sean was still smoking. So the trick is to keep him smoke free! Any advice to us greatly appreciated.

So, we'll see what the snow brings for us tomorrow and pray that all my aches and pains will subside soon!

We'll keep you updated!

SMOKE FREE....

So we have been smoke free for almost 1 week!! Feeling a little sluggish but we're sure it will pass and it is all worth it. The withdrawal was minimal, but the "habits" are hard to break. Sometimes it just feels like you are forgetting something especially when you leave the house. It has even become so much of a habit to have a lighter in our pockets, that we find them end up there all the time. It's all just a reminder of how our lives were ruled by them. So our official quit date was February 14th, Valentines day. A day that will be easier to remember. We do not celebrate Valentine's day since we both agree that there should not have to be a holiday to remind each other to say "I love you". We feel it should be a part of EVERY day life. It's receiving flowers or a card on the random days that makes us awwe even more. The unexpected signs of love to keep us going. Those are the best reminders, not some silly holiday that some believe has nothing to do with love, but of death. here's an interesting link... http://www.crewsnest.vispa.com/valentine.htm
So anyway, so we will be celebrating "quit day" from now on!
It's a lot of work but it's worth hearing something like Andrew just said to me this morning "mommy, you smell like the laundry" I laughed and he said, "no like the dryer".... It's nice to know that I smell like the fabric softener in our clothes than the smoke from cigarettes! We have noticed that certain piecies of clothing and jackets still smell, so we will have to get them cleaned and rid them of that nastiness!

Aside from that, we've been trying to eat healthier and rid our bodies of toxins. I know, a long stretch in this day in age... but we are really going to try to eat more sensible. It's been hard with all the temptations, and having the boys who love their "snacks"... but we've been trying to encourage the healthier snacks which Andrew does not have an issue with... he just loves any food, but Matthew is a junk food junkie and will do anything to get a piece of chocolate, cookie or candy. But we're trying to stand our ground and detest the junk.

This weather has got to stop!

Ok, so we've been snowed in AGAIN!!! Our weather man screwed up the weather last night!! Last Friday they predicted a HUGE Ice Storm. If anyone remembers there was an awful icestorm about 10 years ago that shut down the area with fallen trees and power lines for weeks. So with the prediction and cautions from state officials and weatherpeople, everyone got nervous. Last week was much warmer than it has been in months and just about all of our snow melted. We were finally seeing some tips of grass here and there in areas of the yard that we shoveled. Spring seemed to finally be on the way... then Thursday night got cold. It snowed through the night a little and was mixed with rain, then it started to rain and semi-freeze as it struck. But we saw no school closing for the boys and it seemed as though it would be a typical day. We dropped the boys off and slid our way to work... but it seemed to be turning to more rain as time passed. Then I got a call from the boys' school... they were sending them home and closing all local schools and that local businesses would be closing also. Even the Newspaper were sending people home... that NEVER happens. Even without power, there somehow has to be a newspaper or people freak out! So the boys' Nana & Grandpa picked them up at school. Unfortunately since I lived the closest of all my co-workers other than someone who walks to work, I agreed to stay longer to finish things up so that the others could make their way home before it got too bad out. We made our way home safely and watched as the rain turned to ice on everything. It still did not warrant school closing halfway through the day though! The worst of the storm was overnight and we were prepared if the power went out. We had our flashlights, gas stove and TONS of cereal (anyone with a child knows that you have lots of cereal!) Of course we had the essentials like bottled water, bread, etc. So we would be fine. I actually thought it would be some fun to be without power and be "unplugged" for a day. But it didnt happen and come morning all was fine.
The rest of the weekend warmed up and the ice melted. The beginning of this week was normal except for the occasional snow fall. But last night we were expected to have accumulated about 4 inches... BIG NO THERE... We woke up to about 6 inches and had to shovel and snow blow our way out this morning. Of course all the public schools were closed, but the boys' school was thankfuly open. It took us about an hour to get them there and they only go to school a block away from us. It woudl have been faster to walk... maybe not safer though since there was nowhere to walk with so much snow. They hadn't even plowed our road. I got stuck in the road by our driveway and again at the end of the road going onto the main road to school. Only about 6 houses down! When we finally got on the main road we were fine. So we dropped the kids at school and had a fairly normal day. But it snowed ALL Day!! I think we just got dumped another foot of snow and it is finally tapering off now a 10pm. They predict more snow on & off until next week. ughh. I am so ready for spring.

BTW Andrew LOVES the snow and was SOOO excited to see it this morning. Matthew all of a sudden does NOT like the snow because he gets cold. He's always had cold hands and feet even as a baby... he turns blue after a bath or changing his clothes. So he is really ready for spring. Although we're not looking forward to the mud!

Sean doesnt care either way. He doesnt mind the snow but just hates when his truck gets stuck. He goes to work no matter what and so do I. Unfortunately neither of us has a job that would close if there was bad weather. Everyone needs their morning newspaper and their UPS packages delivered. Those customers expect their service even if it were dangerous for us to make that happen.

Chantix....

Just a little note to let you all know that we both started taking Chantix... the stop smoking medicine. It is suppose to be a "wonder" drug to assist with quitting smoking. We have both gotten to the place in our lives that we know it's time to quit. I've quit a few times in the past and have just not been able to get over that hump. It makes it especially hard that Sean smokes and it's difficult to stick with it on my own. At this point it is actually really embarrasing that we smoke and have children. Years ago it was so common that no one batted an eye. But now, you are looked at as a bad parent if you smoke and they assume that you smoke in your house and car and are blowing it in their face. But we gave up smoking in the car and house before we even had kids or were even married. We did that when we had friends that had kids and when my nephew Kamden was on the way to being born.

So here's hoping this will work. So far it seems to be helping. We were told that when we start taking the pills that it will be about 2 weeks before the full dose kicks in and does what it is suppose to. Right now we are on week 2 and have a quit date set for next Monday, February 11th. Hopefully it will be a monumental day for us. A day we will remember forever as the day we took our lives back. For a $10 copay prescription a month for 2 months... it's worth a try.

We've heard good and bad about the drug but our doctors are monitoring us and we feel that it really is helping only a week & a half into it. It seems to help curb the nicotine craving for real. It's almost as if you forgot that you haven't had a cigarette until you look at the clock and hours have past and you havent even though about it. The hardest thing really is trying to break the habits. Today at work I didn't even really want a cigarette until I poured myself a cup of coffee this afternoon and realized how much I loved my coffee and cigarette... but then I looked outside and saw all that blustering snow and sleet and then found myslef not even wanting to bother... instead I made my way back to my desk and went back to work. Suddenly I found the day was over and I hadnt had a cigarette. It's amazing... so far.

So we will update our progress and hopefully you all could offer us some encouraging words to help us along. Wish us luck and strength. Now maybe we can afford to go to Disney next year with all the money we will save!!