Most of you already know that Andrew has been diagnosed with ADHD. We were expecting an adjustment from Kindergarten to 1st grade, but after the first month and a half, things continued to go downhill. Academic wise, we couldn't ask for better performance from Andrew, it was the behavioral issues that kept getting out of control. The more he got in trouble at school (it was never anything major), the more things we would take away from him at home. The cycle only became worse each time we took something else away. After the second time his teacher used the word, impulsive to describe him, we knew it was time to talk to his doctor.
The day that Andrew's doctor told us we needed to get him evaluated with a psychologist, it felt like a flow to the gut. What his doctor was most worried about was his self esteem. He had gotten to the point that he didn't believe he could stay out of trouble and was accepting the fact that he stayed in trouble. I felt overwhelmed with the information that I was reading and started to feel sorry for myself at times. It finally got to the point where I got mad at myself. I have friends and relatives that have lost a child, had a child with cancer or rare diseases, plus thinking of all the health issues mom and dad had to deal with Weldon. It was time for me to suck it up and figure out the best way to help Andrew.
So far, we've had some luck with the non-stimulate that Andrew is on. The main problem now is he has traded not getting work done in class for being too hyper to daydreaming in class. His teacher has been wonderful to work with during this time. Some days, I'm sure she mumbles under her breath when she seeing an email from me asking what she is noticing in the classroom because I'm trying this or the doctor has changed his medicine dosage. I'm not sure if we are doing the correct things, but at least Allen and I are trying to help. We've tried to educate ourselves without overloading with too much information.
Today, was an especially hard day for us. Andrew is in the Cub Scouts and was looking forward to the camp-in at the Space and Rocket Center. He and Allen were going to sleep under the Saturn V rocket in the Davidson Center and he had talked about it for months. Andrew started running a fever, along with a runny nose and cough. Finally at 3:30, we had to tell him that he couldn't go. You could tell it broke his heart, but he didn't cry or throw a fit. It was like another day, another disappointment. You get at a point thinking, can he get a break? Just maybe if one thing could go his way, we would start to see a more happy child, instead of one coming home off the bus to say a kid took the shoe off of his foot and then threw it back at him. I cried more about today than he did. We promised we would make it up to him, but you can't make up every hurt. As one of his aunts said, he is going to have great character.
I figure I'll be blogging more as we go on this journey. It will be one that God will teach us about patience, along with appreciating the small things in life. The biggest lesson will be learning to finally grow up and realize it's not always going to be easy. If we didn't have these bumps, how could we ever grow.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Hitting the Diet Wall
After three months and 18 pounds, I have hit the diet wall. It seems like I can't get motivated to get serious to finish out my weight loss. The problem started when I took a mini-trip to St. Louis with my friend. I decided that week, I was not going to keep track of my food. I did gain a pound and a half that week, but thought that was good considering I really didn't watch what I ate.
Last week, I couldn't get on track with my exercising. Granted, I did spend a lot of time in the pool, but it only equaled to .6 lbs lost. My water intake was less than it had been and my diet Cokes were almost back to pre-diet levels. When I am having the best weeks in weight loss, my diet coke intake is at two a day.
This week, I am doing better on getting to the gym, even with a five year old taking swim lessons, daily. It also seems that I have discovered the root of the problem that I'm facing now. Six years ago when I lost my weight, I only had about 20 lbs to lose. I have hit almost hit the 20 lb mark to realize I still have at least 15 more pounds to go. It has become a challenge to get going again. The lesson that I have learned is that you can't give yourself time off. If you are making good progress, don't derail yourself by letting up. I had gym clothes with me in St. Louis, but I didn't take the time. For me to get the next 15 lbs off, I have to do it with exercise and keeping track of what I eat.
Last week, I couldn't get on track with my exercising. Granted, I did spend a lot of time in the pool, but it only equaled to .6 lbs lost. My water intake was less than it had been and my diet Cokes were almost back to pre-diet levels. When I am having the best weeks in weight loss, my diet coke intake is at two a day.
This week, I am doing better on getting to the gym, even with a five year old taking swim lessons, daily. It also seems that I have discovered the root of the problem that I'm facing now. Six years ago when I lost my weight, I only had about 20 lbs to lose. I have hit almost hit the 20 lb mark to realize I still have at least 15 more pounds to go. It has become a challenge to get going again. The lesson that I have learned is that you can't give yourself time off. If you are making good progress, don't derail yourself by letting up. I had gym clothes with me in St. Louis, but I didn't take the time. For me to get the next 15 lbs off, I have to do it with exercise and keeping track of what I eat.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
What I have Learned from the Tornado Outbreak
It's been over a week since the tornado outbreak hit Alabama. Where we live, we were under a tornado watch from about 2:30 a.m. until about 9:00 p.m., non-stop. A good portion of that time, we were under warnings. The following are a few things I have learned that hopefully will remembered the next time Mother Nature strikes.
1. Be prepared: Okay, I knew we could be prepared for being out of power for a few hours, but what about days? The only time I think about being without power for a couple of days is if there is a possibility of an ice storm. I wasn't thinking about a tornado taking out the TVA lines that supply our area with power. Lucky for us, we had enough gas in the car to make it the Shoals area and a few dollars on us until we made it to an ATM machine. Sometimes, we get too dependent on debt or credit cards, so we have to remember that you don't always have electricity for those things to operate.
2. Battery powered TVs: This is one I was kicking myself over. I had a battery radio that we used during the storms, but would have loved to had the battery TV that I had seen in either Sam's or Costco. When I was looking at it, my thought was that we wouldn't need it because we could use the computer instead. It's hard to do that if you can't access your Internet provider. I want to be able to see where the storms are moving. Radio stations around here do carry the TV feed when the storms get close to the area, but you are not able to see the radar.
3. Battery powered lights: We have already corrected this issue. During the storm and after, we had oil lamps, flashlights and candles, but wanted more light. We picked up a couple of lights on our way back to Alabama in case our power was not on when we returned home.
4. Clean house and do laundry before storms. I use to make fun of myself for doing housework the day before or of a predicted storm. I would make the joke that if a storm hit, I would have wasted my time. Well, this time, I have spent a couple of days cleaning after being gone for five days after the storm. It was hard to pick up without power, then on Thursday morning, we were busy throwing away things out of the refrigerator, packing and getting out of town.
5. Be thankful for what you have: As we learned last week, it only takes a few seconds to lose everything you own. When I started to complain this morning about the garage door not working, it dawned on me that there were a lot of people in our area that wished that was all they had to worry about. I've been about to see all the people volunteering to go out and help people that they do not know. I've taken time to go help our church in serving the volunteers food. We always have to remember to be helpful and serve others.
1. Be prepared: Okay, I knew we could be prepared for being out of power for a few hours, but what about days? The only time I think about being without power for a couple of days is if there is a possibility of an ice storm. I wasn't thinking about a tornado taking out the TVA lines that supply our area with power. Lucky for us, we had enough gas in the car to make it the Shoals area and a few dollars on us until we made it to an ATM machine. Sometimes, we get too dependent on debt or credit cards, so we have to remember that you don't always have electricity for those things to operate.
2. Battery powered TVs: This is one I was kicking myself over. I had a battery radio that we used during the storms, but would have loved to had the battery TV that I had seen in either Sam's or Costco. When I was looking at it, my thought was that we wouldn't need it because we could use the computer instead. It's hard to do that if you can't access your Internet provider. I want to be able to see where the storms are moving. Radio stations around here do carry the TV feed when the storms get close to the area, but you are not able to see the radar.
3. Battery powered lights: We have already corrected this issue. During the storm and after, we had oil lamps, flashlights and candles, but wanted more light. We picked up a couple of lights on our way back to Alabama in case our power was not on when we returned home.
4. Clean house and do laundry before storms. I use to make fun of myself for doing housework the day before or of a predicted storm. I would make the joke that if a storm hit, I would have wasted my time. Well, this time, I have spent a couple of days cleaning after being gone for five days after the storm. It was hard to pick up without power, then on Thursday morning, we were busy throwing away things out of the refrigerator, packing and getting out of town.
5. Be thankful for what you have: As we learned last week, it only takes a few seconds to lose everything you own. When I started to complain this morning about the garage door not working, it dawned on me that there were a lot of people in our area that wished that was all they had to worry about. I've been about to see all the people volunteering to go out and help people that they do not know. I've taken time to go help our church in serving the volunteers food. We always have to remember to be helpful and serve others.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Time to get serious
For the people that have only known me for the past couple of years, there's a side you have never seen, the skinny side. When I graduated from high school, I weighted about 97 lbs. I didn't want to be that skinny, but with playing basketball and being a picky eater, I couldn't gain weight. The last two years of college and graduate school, I became a little too familiar with beer drinking, which actually got myself into the weight range where I needed to be. I figured when I moved to Paragould, my weight would decrease because I was dropping the alcohol, but instead, I learned that people in Paragould loved to eat and about everybody was a good cook. My weight topped out, after dad and Weldon passed away, around 150. I was able to lose 15 lbs for the wedding, but within about four years, it was up to 160-165.
In February 2005, I had a miscarriage. I knew I didn't need to be pregnant the next time at the current weight, so I started to follow Allen as he was on Weight Watchers. With a person with a degree in Health and Human Performance and a Master's in Kinesiology, you would think I would know about eating healthy. I did, but it was something that I didn't want to do. At the time that I found out I was pregnant with Andrew, I was at 140 and maintained a healthy weight until we moved to Madison. The last doctor's appointment before Andrew was born, I was at 195. The lowest I've been since then was 157, the highest was last week at 177.
I'm writing this to start making myself accountable. It's time for the weight to come off and the excuses to stop. My first weight goal is 167. I started the online version of Weight Watchers, yesterday. I think it's going to remind me what I need to be eating and hopefully, start making better choices. I'm wanting to exercise 5 days a week, sometimes at the wellness center, others at home. The last thing is to reduce the amount of diet cokes I'm drinking. Some day I figure I drink at least 5-6 cans a day. My first goal it to cut it down to three, but yesterday, I only had two.
There will be updates on my success and failures. I figure I'll lose a couple of pounds this week, just from the fluids, but I can't get down on the weeks that I don't lose anything. It's just time for me to take care of myself because others depend on me.
In February 2005, I had a miscarriage. I knew I didn't need to be pregnant the next time at the current weight, so I started to follow Allen as he was on Weight Watchers. With a person with a degree in Health and Human Performance and a Master's in Kinesiology, you would think I would know about eating healthy. I did, but it was something that I didn't want to do. At the time that I found out I was pregnant with Andrew, I was at 140 and maintained a healthy weight until we moved to Madison. The last doctor's appointment before Andrew was born, I was at 195. The lowest I've been since then was 157, the highest was last week at 177.
I'm writing this to start making myself accountable. It's time for the weight to come off and the excuses to stop. My first weight goal is 167. I started the online version of Weight Watchers, yesterday. I think it's going to remind me what I need to be eating and hopefully, start making better choices. I'm wanting to exercise 5 days a week, sometimes at the wellness center, others at home. The last thing is to reduce the amount of diet cokes I'm drinking. Some day I figure I drink at least 5-6 cans a day. My first goal it to cut it down to three, but yesterday, I only had two.
There will be updates on my success and failures. I figure I'll lose a couple of pounds this week, just from the fluids, but I can't get down on the weeks that I don't lose anything. It's just time for me to take care of myself because others depend on me.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
A Helpful Guide for Attending the Class 2A State Tournament Part 2: Staying in Jonesboro Edition
Since most of you will be staying in Jonesboro, here are a few tips. Most of the restaurants and shopping are located on Caraway, Stadium, Nettleton and Highland Drives, along with several restaurants located south of U.S. 63 on Parker Road. Fairfield Inn, Hilton Gardens, and the Holiday Inn Express are off of U.S. 63 at the Caraway exit. For the most part, the streets in Jonesboro run a grid pattern, N,S,E,W and is easy to get around. Traffic can be heavy at times, but if your use to Ft. Smith, it shouldn't give you much trouble, except for not being as familiar with where you are going.
Depending on where you are staying in Jonesboro, you may either take Highland Drive out east of Jonesboro, which is State Hwy 18 that goes to Monette or take U.S. 63 to exit 39 (Commerce Drive) then go up to Highland Drive. Commerce Drive is also shown as State Hwy 18. I reccommend the U.S.63/Commerce/18 route because the less you have to drive on Highland, the better. It's like driving on Rogers Ave at rush hour.
Jonesboro will have a lot of the same types of restaurants as Ft. Smith, but I'll recommend some that I liked when I was in Jonesboro, and hopefully they are still as good. For Italian food, Lazzari Italian Oven, 2230 South Caraway Road, is very good. There use to be a wait in the evenings, but I don't know if that's still the case with all of the new places to eat. I mentioned Tamolly's Mexican Restaurant, 2506 East Highland Drive, in my Paragould post. Before I moved to Tucson, I ate at Tamolly's in Jonesboro about everytime I went down there. O'Charley's, 2312 East Parker Road, is a chain that I'm not sure if it's in NWA yet. We ate there several times when it first opened in Jonesboro. There is also a Shorty Smalls, 3000 E Highland Dr # 305, located near the Mall at Turtle Creek. I have not eaten at the location, but I love the Little Rock locations.
The Mall at Turtle Creek is the last indoor mall that has been built in the U.S. I have not been to it since it didn't come along until after I left the area, but by looking at the store directory, it has several nice stores. It even has a Build-A-Bear location.
The following is a list that my friend Myleea recommended for things to do in Jonesboro.
Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center
The Hollywood Malco
Downtown has some nice shops and eating places.
Arkansas State University
If anyone has questions, let me know and I'll see if I can find out the answer for you.
Go County Line!!!
Depending on where you are staying in Jonesboro, you may either take Highland Drive out east of Jonesboro, which is State Hwy 18 that goes to Monette or take U.S. 63 to exit 39 (Commerce Drive) then go up to Highland Drive. Commerce Drive is also shown as State Hwy 18. I reccommend the U.S.63/Commerce/18 route because the less you have to drive on Highland, the better. It's like driving on Rogers Ave at rush hour.
Jonesboro will have a lot of the same types of restaurants as Ft. Smith, but I'll recommend some that I liked when I was in Jonesboro, and hopefully they are still as good. For Italian food, Lazzari Italian Oven, 2230 South Caraway Road, is very good. There use to be a wait in the evenings, but I don't know if that's still the case with all of the new places to eat. I mentioned Tamolly's Mexican Restaurant, 2506 East Highland Drive, in my Paragould post. Before I moved to Tucson, I ate at Tamolly's in Jonesboro about everytime I went down there. O'Charley's, 2312 East Parker Road, is a chain that I'm not sure if it's in NWA yet. We ate there several times when it first opened in Jonesboro. There is also a Shorty Smalls, 3000 E Highland Dr # 305, located near the Mall at Turtle Creek. I have not eaten at the location, but I love the Little Rock locations.
The Mall at Turtle Creek is the last indoor mall that has been built in the U.S. I have not been to it since it didn't come along until after I left the area, but by looking at the store directory, it has several nice stores. It even has a Build-A-Bear location.
The following is a list that my friend Myleea recommended for things to do in Jonesboro.
Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center
The Hollywood Malco
Downtown has some nice shops and eating places.
Arkansas State University
If anyone has questions, let me know and I'll see if I can find out the answer for you.
Go County Line!!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
A Helpful Guide for Attending the Class 2A State Tournament Part 1: Staying in Paragould Edition
I'm sure most of you were wondering, where in the world is Buffalo Island Central? Even I had to remind myself that it's located in Monette. Since I'm am somewhat familiar with northeast Arkansas, after living in Paragould for five years, I thought I would suggest some places to eat in Paragould and Jonesboro for those traveling up to Monette for the state tournament.
In part one, I'm going to focus on the town that I'm most familiar with, Paragould . Paragould is a town of about 24,000 that's located on Crowley's Ridge. The main roads that pass through Paragould are U.S. 49 and U.S. 412. If you are staying in Paragould, you will take U.S. 412 east into Missouri. The first road on your right once you cross into Missouri is State Hwy AC, which is next to Mr. T's at Riverside (Convenience/Package Store). Turn right onto State Hwy AC and follow it until it turns into State Hwy K. When you cross back into Arkansas, the road name changes to AR State Hwy 139, which you will follow until it intersects with State Hwy 18 (Drew Ave) Turn right onto State Hwy 18 (Drew Ave)and follow it until you reach 803 W. Drew Ave.
If you are needing a place to stay in Paragould, make sure you make a reservation. A hotel or two has been added since I lived up there, but they are still limited. Quality Inn, Best Western Rustic Inn and the Holiday Inn Express are your best choices. Avoid going with any hotel/motel in the area that is not with a national chain. The Quality Inn use to be a Ramada Inn and can be hit or miss at times. It use to have a nice indoor pool area and I'm assuming it still does. I've had good luck staying at the Best Western. It does not have an indoor pool, but does have a free breakfast. I've heard good things about the Holiday Inn Express. It does not have a pool, but does have breakfast included. The Holiday Inn Express and Best Western are both located on U.S. 49, south of the U.S. 412 intersection, while the Quality Inn is located on U.S. 412, east of Wal-Mart.
Most of the restaurants are located on 412 or 49. If you want to get off the main drags, head downtown to Red Goose Deli, 117 N. Pruett St.. It was one of my favorite places to eat when I lived up there. I also recommend the Brick Oven Pizza,
2410 Linwood Dr. (U.S.49). They have very good pizza and is one of my must visits when I'm in Paragould these days. I have not eaten at the TaMolly's, 1700 Linwood Dr., location in Paragould, but I loved the one in Jonesboro. Out west of town on 412, you have the BBQ Barn, 6115 W. Kingshighway. I usually get the catfish plate when I get there. You also have your chain places like Dixie Cafe, Chilli's, Zaxby's, McDonalds, etc. I'll list a couple of addresses for places to eat at the bottom of the blog.
One downside to staying in Paragould will be things to do, if you have some free time away from watching basketball games. Paragould does have a movie theater, Paragould Cinema 8. Also, if the weather is nice, you can visit, ,Crowley's Ridge State Park . Also, stop by Crowley's Ridge College and take a tour. I might even be around the college depending on what day I we go up. Jonesboro is a 20 minute drive south of Paragould on U.S. 49.
I will post some suggestions on things to do in Jonesboro in a day or two. My friend, Myleea Hill, that is a professor at ASU has given me some suggestions to pass along to you all.
Additional Restaurants
Kimono Japanese Steakhouse
1600 W. Kingshighway
Guy's Buffet
403 W Kingshighway
Grecian Steak House
210 Airport Rd.
In part one, I'm going to focus on the town that I'm most familiar with, Paragould . Paragould is a town of about 24,000 that's located on Crowley's Ridge. The main roads that pass through Paragould are U.S. 49 and U.S. 412. If you are staying in Paragould, you will take U.S. 412 east into Missouri. The first road on your right once you cross into Missouri is State Hwy AC, which is next to Mr. T's at Riverside (Convenience/Package Store). Turn right onto State Hwy AC and follow it until it turns into State Hwy K. When you cross back into Arkansas, the road name changes to AR State Hwy 139, which you will follow until it intersects with State Hwy 18 (Drew Ave) Turn right onto State Hwy 18 (Drew Ave)and follow it until you reach 803 W. Drew Ave.
If you are needing a place to stay in Paragould, make sure you make a reservation. A hotel or two has been added since I lived up there, but they are still limited. Quality Inn, Best Western Rustic Inn and the Holiday Inn Express are your best choices. Avoid going with any hotel/motel in the area that is not with a national chain. The Quality Inn use to be a Ramada Inn and can be hit or miss at times. It use to have a nice indoor pool area and I'm assuming it still does. I've had good luck staying at the Best Western. It does not have an indoor pool, but does have a free breakfast. I've heard good things about the Holiday Inn Express. It does not have a pool, but does have breakfast included. The Holiday Inn Express and Best Western are both located on U.S. 49, south of the U.S. 412 intersection, while the Quality Inn is located on U.S. 412, east of Wal-Mart.
Most of the restaurants are located on 412 or 49. If you want to get off the main drags, head downtown to Red Goose Deli, 117 N. Pruett St.. It was one of my favorite places to eat when I lived up there. I also recommend the Brick Oven Pizza,
2410 Linwood Dr. (U.S.49). They have very good pizza and is one of my must visits when I'm in Paragould these days. I have not eaten at the TaMolly's, 1700 Linwood Dr., location in Paragould, but I loved the one in Jonesboro. Out west of town on 412, you have the BBQ Barn, 6115 W. Kingshighway. I usually get the catfish plate when I get there. You also have your chain places like Dixie Cafe, Chilli's, Zaxby's, McDonalds, etc. I'll list a couple of addresses for places to eat at the bottom of the blog.
One downside to staying in Paragould will be things to do, if you have some free time away from watching basketball games. Paragould does have a movie theater, Paragould Cinema 8. Also, if the weather is nice, you can visit, ,Crowley's Ridge State Park . Also, stop by Crowley's Ridge College and take a tour. I might even be around the college depending on what day I we go up. Jonesboro is a 20 minute drive south of Paragould on U.S. 49.
I will post some suggestions on things to do in Jonesboro in a day or two. My friend, Myleea Hill, that is a professor at ASU has given me some suggestions to pass along to you all.
Additional Restaurants
Kimono Japanese Steakhouse
1600 W. Kingshighway
Guy's Buffet
403 W Kingshighway
Grecian Steak House
210 Airport Rd.
Friday, October 29, 2010
A crazy month
I can't believe we're almost finished with October and this is my first blog post of the month. Between allergies and surgery, plus a trip to Arkansas for Allen's parents 50th wedding anniversery, it seems like all I've tried to do has been play catch up.
November will be another busy, but fun month. It looks like I'll get to go to the DC area before Thanksgiving. I was really hoping for October, but there is no way we could have gone with Allen. We have talked about going to Starkville for the Arkansas/Mississippi State game, but if the DC trip happens, we won't be able to go.
One good thing this week was I was able to get a couple of Christmas gifts bought for family. I'm trying to figure out where to go do most of my Christmas shopping this year since Opry Mills isn't reopening anytime soon. I thought about the new outlets down in Leeds, AL, but figure they are going to be busy with just opening up this week. Any suggestions would be appreicated.
November will be another busy, but fun month. It looks like I'll get to go to the DC area before Thanksgiving. I was really hoping for October, but there is no way we could have gone with Allen. We have talked about going to Starkville for the Arkansas/Mississippi State game, but if the DC trip happens, we won't be able to go.
One good thing this week was I was able to get a couple of Christmas gifts bought for family. I'm trying to figure out where to go do most of my Christmas shopping this year since Opry Mills isn't reopening anytime soon. I thought about the new outlets down in Leeds, AL, but figure they are going to be busy with just opening up this week. Any suggestions would be appreicated.
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