Emergency Room Scare

My heart was beating so fast. I yelled to my husband to call 911. In a matter of seconds, Jack went from enjoying an apple to choking on it. I immediately grabbed him and leaned him over, patted his back so he can vomit it out.  At this point he was crying, gagging and every couple of minutes gasping for  air. The paramedics arrived, my heart slowed down a bit knowing help had arrived, Jack however started to scream in fear with all these strangers trying to touch him. Even though he was no longer choking it did seem to me,  a piece of apple was still lodged in his throat. His face was red, his eyes blood shot red, he was still gagging and pointing with his tiny index finger inside his mouth to tell me something was still there. The paramedics reassured me he was fine because he was crying but still wanted to take him to the hospital just in case. I went inside the ambulance with him as many of our worried neighbours looked on in shock and offered to babysit our older two boys.  In the ambulance, Jack sat on my lap looking quietly around in amazement until he started to vomit. The vomit was clear and mucusy and no sign of any apples. Inside the hospital the nurse checked his pulse as the nice paramedic gave Jack a teddy bear.  She asest the situation as minor and moved us to one of the Emergency rooms. Seconds later my husband arrived and Jack couldn't be happier. Although he was calm and active  he still wasn't himself, face and eyes were still red, tiny dots covered his chest and back, and he continued to gag every couple of minutes and still pointed inside his mouth. The doctor came and reassured George and myself that he probably swallowed the apple and it was mucus from all the crying that was making him gag, he suggested to go home and give him a bottle of milk.  Neither my husband nor I were convinced he was out of the woods. I thought something was still there and if he continued to gag the apple might move and get further lodged in his throat. The doctor looked in his mouth and stated that when a child is choking 99.9 % of the time, their reflexes (eg. gagging and coughing) will remove the object .  As we pulled in the driveway to pick up our older boys, who'd been crying and praying for their baby brother, Jack started to gag and vomit once again but this time voila ... the piece of apple! Almost immediately his red face and eyes, tiny dot covered chest and back returned to normal.  I now felt confident my baby was fine. Thank you God and your angels for looking after my little angel!

Bullying Stops Here

Bullying: The repeated exposure of an individual to negative attention by one or more other individuals. Bullying is often physical, but victims can also experience verbal or social bullying

Bullying has become a very serious issue in not only schools but even in the workplace. I've recently started to worry about bullying since Alex will be going into grade 1 and will now be going out for recess with the rest of the school. Although in kindergarten  Alex was very popular and a great leader, I fear because he's very outspoken and tends to gravitate toward older children that he might get picked on.

Bullying can affect a child's self esteem and scar them for life. Talking to your child about bullying and how to get help can prevent a serious problem.

Statistics on Bullying

• Experts estimate 1 in 5 children in an average classroom experience some form of bullying

• An estimated 30% of teenagers in the United States are involved in bullying either as a victim or a bully

• At least 10% of children in the United States are bullied on a regular basis

• In the United States, in one day up to 160,000 children may skip school to avoid bullies


• The effects of bullying are seen in the bully as well as the victim. Of middle school boys who bullied, 60% received criminal convictions by age 24

        PLEASE VISIT

 http://www.guidetohealthcareschools.com/library/bullying

 FOR MORE INFORMATION AND WHERE TO GET HELP

       

Black Bean Brownies

As our "Health Makeover" continues, I've been cooking up plenty of healthy and nutritious  meals. However my entire family has a sweet tooth and I've been searching for delicious  desserts without the guilt. I found this recipe and tried it right away. My very picky boys that can detect "healthy" from miles away LOVED these brownies and I will just keep the main ingredient a secret from them. The black beans are totally undetectable and the nutrients as still there. Happy mommy...happy family.

Ingredients

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

3 eggs

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup white or brown sugar

1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)

 1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds or nut of your choice (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.

Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

( You can add baking powder for a more cake like brownie)

Health Makeover Week 0

We went to the beach last week and I realized how far away my body is from wearing a bikini or even a one piece with a t-shirt over it for that matter.

Last year after having Jack I blamed it on  baby fat but a year later it had multiplied. The white Calvin Klein bikini I bought last summer is far from fitting but will be my inspiration. My goal is to get into in by August. I joined a gym and I'll post my results weekly.  Even though a bikini is my inspiration, I'm planning to make over my families health as well. We joined as a family and will get fit and healthy together.

Germ take over

As I sipped my wine and immersed my body deeper into the hot water filled tub, I finally felt peace, comfort and relaxation. I was proud. I have gotten through the longest and smelliest week of my life.  I felt challenged this week and although I felt so many moments  wanting to give up, I couldn't. I knew there was nobody else that was going to do it, I had to. I had to take care and  comfort all three of my children while all of us where sick with the stomach flu. The worst was watching them suffer. It broke my heart to feel so helpless. My husband and I had the worse symptoms for about 48hrs but still took a good week to get back to normal. Alexanders worst symptoms lasted for about 72 hrs but Jack and Eric were sick for a week. I often worried about them getting dehydrated. Jack at least drank the electrolytes but Eric was impossible to convince.  I easily did 30 loads of laundry. Everything and everybody got puked on including the babies car seat and the van.  Once everyone got to normal the real cleaning began. The carpets were shampooed, walls were scrubbed, mattresses were cleaned, 2 bottles of Lysol were used. Thank God it's over and I hope none of you get it. The only good things that came of of this is I lost a few pounds (and made up for rather quickly) and I did get a head start on spring cleaning.

Keep Your Sick Kids At Home

    This morning the kids winter jackets and hats came out. That dreaded time of year is here....the cold and flu season. I have already made an appointment for my family to get flu shots next month. I have also stocked up on cold and flu medication, but I do think prevention is the key.

     I start by building up my boys immune systems. The kids get multi-vitamins every morning. O.J. is the juice of choice and I cook with a lot of garlic. Soups are great because thanks to my Magic Bullet, I can hide tons of veggies in them. Everyday I can't stress enough to my boys about washing their hands to kill the germs. I try really hard to keep them healthy but even with all I do some selfish, arrogant, careless parent WILL send their sick child to school! I know it can be tough taking a day off work to stay home with your child but if you send them to school about 20 or more other parents would have to potentially stay home as well.  Once Alex brings home a cold from school it will be passed on to his brothers and my husband and I. I worry about Jack the most. Being only 7 months old, a simple cold can be more dangerous.

   If my child is sick, I will keep him home in bed to rest  and I beg other parents to please do the same especially this season with the scary risk of H1N1 flu.  Please teach your children to cover their coughs and wash their hands. If everyone does their part our children have a better chance of staying healthy during the cold winter months.