Generated by All in One SEO v5.0.0.1, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Mama Sick ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://www.mamasick.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [Summer Reading](https://www.mamasick.com/2018/06/summer-reading/) - I read all the time but in the summer I go for a little lighter content. Below are three books that I have read so far that say summer to me! The reviews are from my Goodreads account. I'd love for you to follow/friend me! Ruthie Beamish has her dream home, located near Long Island's - [May is Mental Health Awareness Month...](https://www.mamasick.com/2018/05/may-is-mental-health-awareness-month/) - ...It's also the month that has Mother's Day and, for Tyler, the end of his school year. Due to physical and mental illnesses, summer can be a tough and guilty time for me. I don't always feel well enough to take Tyler out. We have missed so much. This summer it is going to be - [New Diet, New Life](https://www.mamasick.com/2018/05/new-diet-new-life/) - Almost two weeks ago I started a new diet which is more like a new lifestyle in an effort to control my Diabetes Type 2. The diet is designed to lower you weight and get your blood sugars in a normal range until you don't need medication any more. I'm not going to tell you - [Follow-ups at the PCP and Pulmonologist](https://www.mamasick.com/2018/04/follow-ups-at-the-pcp-and-pulmonologist/) - I had been out of the hospital for two weeks when I went to see my pulmonologist. I was still on the oxygen. A technician took me off the oxygen at my appointment and we waited for a few minutes to see how I would do and I was taking in air normally. Then we - [A Hospital Stay](https://www.mamasick.com/2018/03/a-hospital-stay/) - It's been a long while since I was hospitalized for something other than my mental health. In late February Tyler was just getting over an earache when I started to have earaches and a sore throat. After putting it off for a few days I decided to go to urgent care. The day I went - [Uncommonly Good!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/11/uncommonly-good/) - Although this is a Sponsored Post the opinions here are all my own. When I was first approached by Uncommon Goods to do a sponsored post for them my answer was a resounding yes! I have known and shopped with them for years and their catalog was the only one I didn't toss out. Now - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2018/02/book-reviews-11/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #3. Book Reviews! It's been ten years since Abby Williams escaped her small town roots. Now, as an environmental lawyer she comes back to Barrens, IN to investigate a complaint about the town's plastics factory.As she investigates, Abby finds connections to the mysterious disappearance of popular Kaycee Mitchell - [Falling For Him](https://www.mamasick.com/2018/01/falling-for-him/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 6. Write about a time you fell down. When I saw this prompt only one famous fall came to mind. My boyfriend and I were at a bar so there must have been some amount of drinking being done. We had a fight, I don't even know what - [An Intimate Evening](https://www.mamasick.com/2018/01/an-intimate-evening/) - I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company. Recently I had the opportunity to try Legatto, an Intimate Massage Oil for Her - [My Favorite Reads of the Year](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/12/my-favorite-reads-of-the-year/) - I read about 150 books this year, which is easy to do if you love reading and are disabled! What follows are a few of my favorite reads of the year, and are not necessarily published in 2017: Susanna Owens tries to protect her three children from whom they really are, witches. They are related - [More Trouble for Tyler](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/12/more-trouble-for-tyler/) - Thankfully Tyler is on winter break and if anyone deserves the time off it's him. There have been more incidents of bullying and a couple of times of Tyler expressing the wish to kill himself. One that sticks in mind is him telling me, "If everybody hates me, maybe I shouldn't be here." I said,"You - [So Someone Beat Up My Kid](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/11/so-someone-beat-up-my-kid/) - Yesterday I got a call from school telling me to pick Tyler up because he was beaten up on the playground. We've had a rough month with him. The first event was that some girls beat him up after he got off the school bus. At school about two weeks ago some girls were teasing - [Gluten-Free: One Year Anniversary](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/11/gluten-free-one-year-anniversary/) - When I found out from my doctor that I had Celiac disease I shocked him by being really happy! I had been sick for well over a year, too nauseated to function on most days. After test after test, including a visit to an oncologist and a surgeon, to find out that what I had - [It Only Takes One](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/10/it-only-takes-one/) - October 10th was World Mental Health Day and no surprise, I was too depressed to write anything inspiring about it. But the next day I received an email from someone who reminded me that one conversation, one honest way of speaking about mental illness and one connection can make a big difference. "Hi Emily - - [To My Son on His 11th Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/09/to-my-son-on-his-11th-birthday/) - Dear Tyler, This birthday post comes a couple of days late because you have been sick all week. We took you to the doctor yesterday and you were diagnosed with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. You've been out of school all week and we are trying to make up all your schoolwork. You felt particularly - [What is Dysthymia?](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/08/what-is-dysthymia/) - Dysthymia is also known as Persistent Depressive Disorder. A person is diagnosed with dysthymia after having a continuous depression of more than two to three years. People with dysthymia may not remember a time when they felt joy in their lives. It is a milder yet longer form of depression and affects women two to - [TBT: My Biggest Champion](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/07/tbt-my-biggest-champion/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt # 1. Throwback Thursday: Share an old photo and let it inspire your blog post. This picture and post of Tyler and I come from July of 2011, when Tyler was four and a half. The post was about how ever since Tyler was able to understand my chronic - [A Spoonie Gone Too Soon](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/07/a-spoonie-gone-too-soon/) - Monday night we in the Spoonie community lost a young woman who personified joy and compassion. Twenty-eight year old Gwendolyn Weidman choked to death while eating dinner. Gwen suffered from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Dysautonomia One of the symptoms of her illnesses was difficulty swallowing. Many Spoonies knew Gwen better than I. I got to know her - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/07/book-reviews-10/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Some clever thieves steal some priceless manuscripts from F. Scott Fitzgerald. The scripts are flipped over from many interested parties but there is reason to believe bookstore owner Bruce Cable of Camino Island, FL is currently in possession of them. Approached by an organization specializing in recovery is Mercer - [My Last Concert](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/06/my-last-concert/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #2: Tell us about the last concert that you attended. I hadn't attended a concert in years but when I heard Lady Gaga was in Cleveland in 2014 I knew I had to be there! I never thought much of Gaga until she was on the Howard Stern - [Christmas Whine](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/12/christmas-whine/) - How was your Christmas? Mine was a mix of good and bad. Besides my chronic challenges I had a miserable cold and had somehow managed to strain my back. I was in a lot of pain, and walking, even sitting, was absolute agony. If it wasn't for Jacques, I think Christmas would have been quite - [What if I Stayed in Here Forever?](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/06/what-if-i-stayed-in-here-forever/) - My son and boyfriend are at the pool and I have yet to get there this season. Instead, I am in my bathrobe, showered (you gotta give me credit for that) and have woken up from my second nap. My back was hurting so I cancelled my therapy appointment. Which was a really bad idea - [Book Review!](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/06/book-review-2/) - With special thanks to Mama Kat's Writing Workshop. Eleanor Oliphant may be a little odd and "a little bit mental" but she thinks she has it altogether. Little by little the book gives you clues about Eleanor and you learn that she is anything but fine! I was so freaked out at the end! In - [Family Reunion, Spoonie Style!](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/06/family-reunion-spoonie-style/) - A couple of weeks ago I had thrown my back out. Jacques had to push me in a wheelchair for my doctor's appointment. My x-ray was normal so I am going to start PT next week. We had planned a trip to see our cousins but I didn't know if I could stand the pain - [TBT: Farmer's Market](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/05/tbt-farmers-market/) - Special thanks to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. 1. Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous May and write a poem or a blog post. From May to October is our town's Saturday morning farm market. This photo was taken May, 2013. As you can see, there's fresh fruits and vegetables, Mennonites, baked goods, plants - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/05/book-reviews-9/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. These reviews are from my Goodreads page. I'd love for you to follow me! I heard Dan Rather on an old Howard Stern show and thought it would be interesting to read his biography. I wasn't disappointed. Covering the assassination of JFK, Vietnam, Watergate and the Gulf - [TBT: Disney Vacation](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/04/tbt-disney-vacation/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #1 Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous April and write a poem or a blog post. It was three years ago this month when my husband, whom I am separated from, my son and I went to Disney World. Although we are separated Grant and I are amicable - [The Mountain](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/04/the-mountain/) - On Sunday I planned to take my son to the park, it was going to be a beautiful day. On Saturday night I prayed that I would be well enough to take him to the park. On Sunday morning I wished upon my "Best Mom" necklace clasp that I could take Tyler to the park. - [Oh, Fudge](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/03/oh-fudge/) - This year my fourth grade son Tyler has gotten into trouble four times for using profane language. He's had to miss recess a few times because of it. Truth be told (I know, I'm a horrible mom), Tyler has been swearing since he was probably five years old. Hearing it on the school bus, and - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/03/book-reviews-8/) - Inspiration provided by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. I've been reading a variety of books lately and I want to share them with you! I probably read this in junior high, but it's worth a reread as an adult. 13 year old Anne Frank along with her family and another family spent two years in an - [So My Psychiatrist Went Off On Me](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/02/so-my-psychiatrist-went-off-on-me/) - I've been seeing my psychiatrist since last August. She is a resident but I picked her because she was under the supervision of a psychiatrist who has a good reputation. The resident can't do anything without her final approval. When I met her this summer she said I was on too much medication (which I - [Book Review!](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/02/book-review/) - Thursday is Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop day! What if there was a drug you could take that would erase the memory of a trauma you experienced? 15 year old Jenny is given the drug to erase the memory of her brutal rape, but Jenny still has the feeling that something isn't right. All is Not - [Five Years of Surviving](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/01/five-years-of-surviving/) - Today is a special day for me. Five years ago I attempted suicide and I am celebrating that I wasn't successful. I suffer from Bipolar Disorder, a disease that is characterized by extreme lows and extreme highs. The risk of suicide is high among those with manic-depressive illness; approximately 10-15% of people with a bipolar - [Rhymes With Nice](https://www.mamasick.com/2017/01/rhymes-with-nice/) - Late last year my psychiatrist recommended that I up my dosage of one of my medicines. Pretty soon after I did this my scalp started to itch. I looked up the drug's side effects and sure enough scratchy scalp was one of the side effects. I called my psychiatrist and told her what was going - [No Grant in 2017](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/12/no-grant-in-2017/) - For the past two years I've had my co-pay for my hypersomnia medication paid by a non-profit agency. Even the generic of the medication is expensive, with my co-pay being over $300 a month. In October I got a letter from the agency saying that I would have to apply for a grant for 2017. - [Organic Aromas: Pure and Simple](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/11/organic-aromas-pure-and-simple/) - (This is a sponsored product that I was given without cost. The opinions expressed are all my own.) The Nebulizing Essential Oil Diffuser by Organic Aromas offers the most effective dispersal and the most complete rendering of both the natural scent and the therapeutic properties of 100% pure, organic essential oils on the market. This - [Diagnosis!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/11/diagnosis/) - After over a year of chronic nausea I am very happy to say I have finally been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Celiac is an autoimmune disease. When wheat, barley and rye are eaten a person's body mounts an immune response that attacks the small intestine. These attacks lead to damage on the villi, small fingerlike - [I'm Out](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/10/im-out/) - This blogger is asking for your help. She is not asking for money, she is only asking that you take a look at her book, and if you find it interesting, to please buy it. Her story really got to me. I'm "out" too until my next disability check but luckily I have a boyfriend - [More Ways to Help The Spoon Lady!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/10/more-ways-to-help-the-spoon-lady/) - Christine Miserandino, creator of the Spoon Theory, is at the halfway mark towards her Go Fund Me Goal. Years of steroid use for controlling her Lupus have caused most of her teeth to fall out. Her dental and her medical bills are enormous and she still needs more dental surgery. Christine's Go Fund Me Goal - [The Best Book I've Read This Year (So Far)](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/10/the-best-book-ive-read-this-year-so-far/) - This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 3. October is National Book Month, tell us about the best book you’ve read so far this year. The best book I've read so far this year has got to be a book I recently read. Author Megan Miranda is a Young Adult writer and - [From the Prep to the Results](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/10/from-the-prep-to-the-results/) - If you are a bit squeamish, you may want to skip The Prep part! My gastroenterologist moved over to the main campus of the Cleveland Clinic and it turned out I was abled to be scheduled for an endoscopy/colonscopy on the 29th of last month. The Prep If you've ever had a colonoscopy you know - [One of Our Own Needs Our Help](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/09/one-of-our-own-needs-our-help/) - If you have a chronic, invisible illness you more than likely have heard of or even refer to yourself as a "spoonie". If you haven't heard the term "spoonie", it came from Christine Miserandino's The Spoon Theory as a metaphor for showing healthy people what it's like to be chronically ill. The basic idea is - [For My Son on His 10th Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/09/for-my-son-on-his-10th-birthday/) - If you would like to see other birthday messages to my son, you can click here. Dear Tyler, I am three days late in writing this and for that I do apologize. It's been a year since I have been sick with nausea and a low grade fever and the doctors still don't know what's - [Last Day of Summer Fun](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/09/last-day-of-summer-fun/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 5. If you had more time, what is one last summer excursion you would plan for your family? My soon to be ten year old son, Tyler, has had crushes on girls before but this is the first time he has one on a girl in our neighborhood, - [More Doctors, Less Answers](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/08/more-doctors-less-answers/) - All of my test results are back from my appointment with the Hematologist/Oncologist. My blood tests results that were only slightly out of range previously have returned to the normal range and my CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis were normal. While I am pleased that I do not appear to have a serious - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/08/book-reviews-7/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. I've been enjoying some great reading this summer. Here are three books I've really liked. These reviews are taken from my goodreads account. I hope you will follow me on there! Best friends Jessie, Claire and Gabriela all made decisions the year they turned 40 that they regret. Ten - [My Favorite Summer View (So Far)](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/08/my-favorite-summer-view-so-far/) - Linking up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. 6. Your favorite summer view so far. This was taken about two weeks ago at the Headlands Beach State Park's Summerfest in Lake County, OH. The festival consisted of live bands, food and amazing kites but I've always loved and been fascinated by sand sculptures and my son, - [Pets of the Past and Future](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/07/pets-of-the-past-and-future/) - (Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.) 1. Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous July and write a poem or a blog post. This photo goes back to July of 2011 and is a picture of my cat, Lizzie, who threw my husband out of bed and slept with me all night. Lizzie and - [A Week of Doctors' Appointments](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/07/a-week-of-doctors-appointments/) - Linking up with Being Fibro Mom's Friday Linkup. Based upon the advice of my Rheumatologist and blood test results I had my appointment on Monday with the Hematologist/Oncologist. I liked her a lot. She told me that although I had some results that were out of range they were only out of range a bit. - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/07/book-reviews-6/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. "I was born twice: first as a baby girl on a remarkably smogless day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petosky, Michigan in August of 1974." That's the first line of this fascinating and wonderful book, which relates the - [Doctor's Visit and Blood Test Results](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/06/doctors-visit-and-blood-test-results/) - Linking up with Being Fibro Mom's Chronic Friday Linkup If you have been a regular reader you will know that I've been experiencing nausea and a low grade fever since last September with no doctor being able to tell me what's going on. I was finally able to see my Rheumatologist. When I explained my - [Epic Fail](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/06/epic-fail/) - I was looking forward this weekend to meeting people from one of my Facebook groups at a state park. The group is made up of people in my county who help spread the word when a pet goes missing and I thought they would be a very nice group to meet, with all of us - [Big Day Out?](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/06/big-day-out/) - This weekend I am scheduled to go to a party in a state park thrown by my county's lost pets' Facebook page members. They were very helpful to me when Max was missing. The people in the group are really cool and we all have our love for pets in common. It's a bring something - [Religion and the Chronically Ill Parent](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/06/religion-and-the-chronically-ill-parent/) - This post is inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #1. Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous June and write a poem or a blog post. This picture dates back to a post written in June of 2011, when my son was four and a half years old. We had picked up this - [Results of My Memory Test](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/06/results-of-my-memory-test/) - Linking up with the Chronic Friday Linkup at Being Fibro Mom and the Weekend Blog Share at Hannah Spannah. So many of us, whether it be from a disease or medication, experience impaired memory and concentration so I decided a couple of months ago that I needed to know why or where my problems were - [The Neuropsychiatric Test, etc.](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/04/the-neuropsychiatric-test-etc/) - After waiting five months, I finally took my neuropsychiatric test also known as a neuropsychological test. For the last couple of years, I have been having difficulty with memory, including forgetting what simple things are called, forgetting conversations and losing the thread of a conversation if there was a pause. I don't know how I - [Anxiety!!!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/06/anxiety/) - Linking up for the Chronic Friday Linkup at Being Fibro Mom. For the last few months I've been experiencing overwhelming anxiety, just in time for my son's summer vacation. I know I have to take him places and do things with him but I fear going outside. I feel like I am anxious about everything. - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/06/book-reviews-5/) - This post is inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. These reviews are taken from my goodreads profile. I hope you will follow me on there! I read this book as a part of the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge. This book centers on two characters, Anna Karenina, who gives up her marriage and son to live - [My Son and His OCD](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/06/my-son-and-his-ocd/) - (This post contains strong language and may be upsetting to some. However, it is a true representation of what happened with my son this weekend.) Tyler has been in therapy and on medication for his OCD for a while now but it only seems to be getting worse. Lately one of my nine and a - [The Phrase That Bothers Me the Most!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/06/the-phrase-that-bothers-me-the-most/) - (This post is part of Chronic Link-up Friday hosted by Being Fibro Mom!) Most people who are chronically ill have heard something along the lines of "But you don't look sick?" at LEAST one time in their lives but the phrase that bothers me the most is when I am on the telephone discussing my - [Psychological and Emotional Self-Care](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/05/psychological-and-emotional-self-care/) - This is a sponsored post from the Self-Care Movement website. Although I suffer from various conditions such as Lupus, Diabetes and Asthma, by far my hardest battle has been with my mental diagnosis, Bipolar Disorder. This condition causes extreme mood swings, from mania to depression, and I have been hospitalized four times, twice for mania - [My Blogaversary!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/05/my-blogaversary/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Also part of my first time Friday link-up with Being Fibro Mom! 1. Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous May and write a poem or a blog post. On May 19, 2009 I wrote my very first blog post and seven years later I am still chugging - [Contest: Win an Adult Coloring Book!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/05/contest-win-an-adult-coloring-book/) - Adult coloring books are everywhere right now and I am very pleased to be giving away a coloring book from artist Robin Maria Pedrero! I've been a fan of Robin's for several years now. The birds and butterflies,flowers...the colors she uses…just seeing her art makes me feel peaceful. You can enter in three easy ways: - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/05/book-reviews-4/) - This post is inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 4. Book reviews! These reviews are taken from my goodreads profile. I hope you will follow me on there! No spoiler here, this book starts out with 11 year old Kammie Summers stuck in a well. The rest of the book is taken up with - [One of a Chronically Ill Parent's Worst Fears](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/05/one-of-a-chronic-parents-worst-fears/) - I had a pretty good Mother's Day. Jacques made chocolate chip pancakes and other goodies and Grant came over and of course there was Tyler with his precious Mother's Day gifts! I had hoped to be able to go for a walk after brunch but I was too nauseous. With me being nauseous since September, - [I Am More Than My Diagnoses!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/05/i-am-more-than-my-diagnoses/) - I am participating today in the linky #besidesmydiagnosis. If you would like to link up you can do so at The Girl With the 5 Lads. You do not have to be a blogger to participate! As I was answering the questions I realized that I wasn't participating in some of the best things or - [Throwback Thursday!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/04/throwback-thursday/) - This post is inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #1 Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous April and write a poem or a blog post. Okay I'm taking some liberties with this prompt in that this post appeared March 31st of 2014 and there was no picture. But I was glad to - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/04/book-reviews-3/) - This post is inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 2. Book review! Here are a few books I've read recently that I really liked. I keep track on goodreads and I hope you will follow me there! Retired English man Harold Fry lives a quiet and unassuming life until he gets a letter from - [Patty Duke: A Spokesperson for Bipolar Disorder](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/03/patti-duke-a-spokesperson-for-bipolar-disorder/) - (Trigger Warning: Patty Duke had bipolar disorder. Some of her symptoms discussed in this post may be upsetting to some.) When I heard that Patty Duke died earlier this week at age 69 from sepsis of a ruptured intestine, I felt we had really lost a great actress and a spokesperson for mental illness. Since - [Right! Click! Paste!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/03/right-click-paste-2/) - This post is courtesy of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. 2. Open a blank blog post and “right click paste” in the body of the post…what was pasted? Explain it. I am rereading a few of Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery series, but most I have not read, and plan on going through them all. The woman - [Max is Back!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/03/max-is-back/) - After five weeks, my kitty Max has come back to us! Jacques was looking out the window and he said, "There's Max". He was on the street looking at the house. I ran outside and cried, "Max!" and he ran to me and practically leaped into my arms! He looks good, well fed and clean. - [F*ck This Sh#t!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/03/fck-this-sht/) - If you have been following along, you will know that I have been nauseous with a low grade fever since September and no one has been able to find the cause. A couple of weeks ago, I had an Upper G.I.series which came back normal and it's like my Gastroenterologist has washed her hands of - [February 29th is Rare Disease Day](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/02/february-29th-is-rare-disease-day/) - Did you know that there are approximately 7,000 different types of rare diseases and disorders, with more being discovered each day? That 30 million people in the United States are living with rare diseases which equates to 1 in 10 Americans or 10% of the U.S. population? And that 50% of those suffering from rare - [A Memorable Date](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/02/a-memorable-date/) - This prompt is in response to Mamakat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 1. A Memorable Date I was a freshman in college and had a crush on a sophomore whom I was in a play with. "Peter" was handsome, talented and smart, but I was very shy and, while friendly with him, I didn't know how to - [Missing Max](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/02/missing-max/) - I don't want to think the worst, but Tyler's cat, Max, has been missing for over two weeks. I feed and shelter a feral cat on my porch and Max is scared to death of her and lately has been having trouble coming to and going out my door. I have never had an indoor-outdoor - [When I Look in the Mirror...](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/02/when-i-look-in-the-mirror/) - This is my first time posting with Finish the Sentence Friday. If you would like to link up or check it out you can do so here. Today's prompt is "When I Look in the Mirror..." My first thought is ...I see nothing good. Before I became chronically ill with conditions such as Lupus and - [Half of the Answer](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/02/half-of-the-answer/) - I have to credit my aunt with telling me that my sweating could be the start of perimenopause. I've been dealing with sweat pouring down me to just a bit of physical activity working up a sweat since the summer. I looked it up online and in addition to the common symptom of sweating, nausea - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/02/book-reviews-2/) - This is based on a writer's prompt from Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. I review all my books on goodreads. I hope you will follow me! This book is of the young adult genre but don't let that stop you. The principal of Opportunity High School ends assembly and the kids find out all the doors - [A Walk With My Son](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/02/a-walk-with-my-son/) - Every Sunday, on the weekend day I have Tyler for the whole day, I'm usually too sick to do much of anything, let alone get outdoors with him. He winds up spending most of the day on the tablet and I wind up on the couch, feeling guilty. On Saturday night I asked God if - [Disability Review Update](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/01/disability-review-update/) - When I received a letter from Social Security on Friday I told myself I wasn't going to open it until Monday because it had the potential to ruin my weekend. But on Saturday when I was by myself I suddenly thought I have to know NOW. Basically it said that although they told me that - [Trip to the Surgeon](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/01/trip-to-the-surgeon/) - I saw the surgeon yesterday to see about my gallbladder issues and he told me that in the absence of pain he did not believe that my gallbladder was the cause of my problems. Part of me was disappointed because I cannot deal with having this debilitating nausea with no cause and no effective way - [My Little Brony](https://www.mamasick.com/2016/01/my-little-brony/) - If you're looking for New Year's Resolutions, you're not going to find them here! I'm not sure when my nine year old son and I started watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic on Netflix. The show differs from past generations is that it shows how important friendship is and moves away from the "girlie" - [Health and Holiday Update](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/12/health-and-holiday-update/) - So I am still experiencing nausea with a low grade fever. You can also add to that periods of excessive sweating and mega thirst and urination. The thirst and urination could be blamed on high blood sugar, except my blood sugar levels are normal when I test them. I went to see my Gastroenterologist and - [The Worst Gift I Ever Received](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/12/the-worst-gift-i-ever-received/) - I am taking part today in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 4. Best or worst gift you've ever received. It was the Christmas season of 1983, the year Cabbage Patch Kids were so hot people were fighting each other for them. I had just turned 13, but I thought they were so cute and I - [A Quote I Love](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/12/a-quote-i-love/) - This post is in response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 1. Share a quote you love. This quote is from a book by Kiersten White. It is in the fantasy genre which is not my taste but it does remind me of my relationship between my boyfriend, "Jacques", and I. My then-husband and I - [Nausea!](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/12/nausea/) - So, I've been nauseous since the beginning of September. I had a low grade fever and after a few days of being so sick I couldn't stand up I went to the doctor. She diagnosed me with a stomach virus and said it would run it's course. Two weeks later it was back, the same - [Having My Head Examined](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/11/having-my-head-examined/) - I have been concerned for awhile about my memory. I don't remember conversations that I had and if there is a pause in conversation for more that a few seconds I have completely lost the subject of the conversation. I forget words that are common and find myself saying, "I don't remember" at least twice - [Contest: Win the Book "How to Live Well With Chronic Pain and Illness"!](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/11/contest-win-the-book-how-to-live-well-with-chronic-pain-and-illness/) - Toni Bernhard was a law professor for 22 years when she got sick in 2001 with what doctors termed an acute viral infection. She has never recovered from it. In her third, brand new book, "How to Live Well With Chronic Pain and Illness", Toni uses Buddhism-inspired teachings to help those with chronic illness and - [Disability Update Report](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/10/disability-update-report/) - The thing that has been causing me a lot of anxiety has come, my SSDI Update Report. It's been three years since I won my disability case although I did not receive my benefits until March of the next year. I truly feel that I still cannot work. I experience depression every day and am - [The Decision to Medicate Our Son](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/10/the-decision-to-medicate-our-son/) - After thinking it over for over a month and seeking a second opinion Grant and I have decided to put Tyler on Zoloft. It's a very small dosage, to be raised slowly until there is some improvement, and we have an appointment in about three weeks with the nurse practitioner to assess how Tyler is - [30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/10/30-things-about-my-invisible-illness-you-may-not-know/) - Welcome to all who are seeing this blog for the first time coming over from the Invisible Illness Awareness Week website! My blog seeks to let sick moms know that they are not alone, as well as educate healthy people about those of us with chronic, invisible illnesses. Besides answering this year's topic "What Are - [What Am I Fighting For?](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/09/what-am-i-fighting-for/) - Welcome to all who are seeing this blog for the first time coming over from the Invisible Illness Awareness Week website! My blog seeks to let sick moms know that they are not alone, as well as educate healthy people about those of us with chronic, invisible illnesses. The topic this year is "What is - [For My Son on His 9th Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/09/for-my-son-on-his-9th-birthday/) - If you would like to look back on some other birthday messages here is Tyler's 8th birthday. Where did the year go? You've waited months, weeks and days and now your birthday is finally here! You got up early to open up your presents as if it were Christmas! You got the Spider-Man villains Carnage - [To Medicate or Not Medicate My Son](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/09/to-medicate-or-not-medicate-my-son/) - Last week Grant saw the nurse practioner at Tyler's psychiatric practice. I was home sick with a virus. Due to Tyler's OCD and Anxiety he recommended that Tyler be placed on Zoloft. Grant and I have been agonizing over this decision. We always said we would medicate Tyler when his problems interfered with academia and - [Disinterest](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/08/disinterest/) - My depression has been increasing of late, although not at all to the point of suicidal thoughts. Add to that anxiety with a little agoraphobia thrown in and it makes for one useless human being. I'm okay when Tyler is home, I can manage to take him out, but when he's with Grant I stay - [Throwback Thursday: School Days](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/08/throwback-thursday-school-days/) - This post inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #1 Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous August and write a poem or a blog post. This picture is from August 2011, back when we still lived in New Jersey and school began after Labor Day rather than in August here in the midwest. - [A Semicolon is a Pause, Not an Ending](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/08/a-semicolon-is-a-pause-not-an-ending/) - When I first read about Project Semicolon I really liked it's mission. President Amy Bleuel started Project Semicolon in 2013, ten years after her father committed suicide. "Project Semicolon means continuance", Amy says. "In literature a author uses a semicolon when they chose not to end a sentence. You are the author and the sentence - [The Worst Boss](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/07/the-worst-boss/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #2: Write a post where the first and last sentence contain any form of the word “boss.” I will never again make the same mistake I did at my last job; not interviewing with my direct boss. I was interviewed by the owner of the recruitment company and - [Update on My Son's Health](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/07/update-on-my-sons-health/) - Grant and I have decided to switch therapists for Tyler. We had gotten as far as we could with this therapist and have now opted for a psychologist who specializes in OCD, phobias and Tourette's Syndrome. The doctor practices Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which has been shown to be an effective treatment for the issues Tyler - [Contest: Win the Book "How to Be Sick"!](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/07/contest-win-the-book-how-to-be-sick/) - Recently I read the excellent book, "How to Be Sick, a Buddist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers" by Toni Bernhard. Previously a law professor for 22 years, Toni got sick in 2001 with what doctors termed an acute viral infection, which she never recovered from. When I read "How to Be Sick" - [I Thought Depression Was Supposed to Improve in the Summer?](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/06/i-thought-depression-was-supposed-to-improve-in-the-summer/) - With the longer days and the extra Vitamin D3 from the sun I thought I would be feeling better but if anything I've felt a little more depressed. And now that Tyler is home for the summer my depression is making me feel guilty. There are some reasons why I may be feeling worse. At - [Book Reviews!](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/07/book-reviews/) - This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #3. Book review! I've been reading a lot of good books lately, I couldn't pick from just one so I decided to choose three that have stuck with me. My reviews come from Goodreads and I hope you will follow me on there. This nearly - [Results of My Challenging Week](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/06/results-of-my-challenging-week/) - I first wrote about this here. Last week Tyler had full day summer camp and Grant and I decided he would spend the whole week with me since the camp's location was closer. The week passed quickly, thankfully, and Tyler really liked his camp! After camp on Monday I took Tyler to the pool so - [Looking Back](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/06/looking-back/) - This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. My original post can be found here. Prompt 1. Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous June and write a poem or a blog post. This picture comes from June, 2011, and is my son's pre-school/daycare graduation picture. When I lost my job in 2008 - [Six Reasons Why This Will Be a Challenging Week For Me](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/06/6-reasons-why-this-will-be-a-challenging-week-for-me/) - There are six reasons why this coming week will be a challenging one for me and I am going to try not to let my depression get the best of me! 1) Tyler has camp all next week and Grant and I have decided that he will spend the whole week with me since the - [The Summer Project](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/06/the-summer-project/) - There are many hopes I have for Tyler this summer. He's taking private swimming lessons and learning how to ride his bicycle without training wheels. His Occupational, Physical, and Speech therapists have given us a number of exercises to help continue his improvement. But the biggest thing I am hoping for is to finally have - [Finally Ready to Tell Our Story](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/finally-ready-to-tell-our-story/) - This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Tell us about a day you were sure you wouldn't get through. When I saw this writing prompt something immediately came to mind, the worst day of my life. I didn't know if we were far enough away from this nightmare, but I knew that someday - [Brown Baggin' It](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/05/brown-baggin-it/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop Prompt #6. Tell us about a time you were sent to the Principal’s office. I was a really good kid, a goody-goody, straight as they came. I always played by the rules and I never got in trouble. But there was one thing that other kids did that was - [Still the Best Mom in the World](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/05/still-the-best-mom-in-the-world/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writers' Workshop. 1. Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous May and write a poem or a blog post. When I found this post from May of 2013 I was really glad I saw it because I need to be reminded. It's part of Tyler's Mother's Day card from when - [May is Maternal Health Awareness Month](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/05/may-is-maternal-health-awareness-month/) - Since May is Maternal Health Awareness Month I thought I would write about my postpartum experiences. The symptoms of postpartum depression are fairly well known: A feeling of not bonding to your baby, wondering whether your baby would be better off without you, and crying for no reason. This was not my experience and I - [A Different Career Path](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/05/a-different-career-path/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writing Prompts Prompt #3. You HAVE to go back in time and choose a different career path for yourself. What do you choose? For as long as I could remember, my father always wanted me to be a teacher or a nurse. He reasoned that the money was decent and that - [My Blogiversary](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/05/my-blogiversary/) - May marks the sixth year I have been blogging at Mama Sick. This year I am finding the challenges of mental illness difficult to deal with. Due to being depressed, I have had long occasions in which I did not post on my blog. I lost a lot of readers and advertising. I am angry - [Trap, Neuter, Release!](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/05/trap-neuter-release/) - I am very excited to tell you about a project Jacques and I have been doing. There are a number of stray cats in our neighborhood so we decided to do a Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) program that's been very effective. You can learn more about it at Alley Cat Allies but it's pretty simple - [Telling Tyler My Truth](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/04/telling-tyler-my-truth/) - I've hidden my mental illnesses from Tyler because he simply hasn't been old enough to handle them. But yesterday when he teased me again about always wearing pajamas, I felt the time was right to tell him about my depression. I described depression as feeling sad and that sometimes there wasn't any reason why I - [In a HEAP of Trouble](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/04/in-a-heap-of-trouble/) - Last November I applied for Ohio's HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program). I called three weeks or so later to find out the status but was told it could take up to 12 weeks to hear back! That made it February. When I called them they told me they did not have an application for me, - [Getting a Break and Other Stuff](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/04/getting-a-break-and-other-stuff/) - I'm not sure if it's the longer days, adding another medicine or making a change in my diet, but my depression is improving! The first day I felt better I cleaned my bathroom and I cleaned the cat box. I finally put away the clean laundry. I am showering and getting out more and I - [Isolation](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/04/isolation/) - I moved to Ohio almost two and a half years ago and have yet to find a girlfriend. I have Jacques to love and support me and even Grant but I miss getting together with my girlfriends. My three best friends are out of state. I consider the people I meet online friends, some of - [On Track?](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/04/on-track/) - This post is inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #3 Update your readers on your 2015 goals. How are things going? Are you staying on track or facing some challenges? I wrote my New Year's Resolutions on December 31st. Let's see how I'm doing. 1. Exercise/Lose Weight: Unfortunately, not much happening here. I've been - [The Awful Truth](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/03/the-awful-truth/) - A couple of weeks ago eight and a half year old Tyler asked me if the Tooth Fairy was real. After much stalling and deliberation I decided to tell him the truth and he was okay with it. He didn't ask me about the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus and I was relieved. But this - [Right Click Paste!](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/03/right-click-paste/) - Prompt: 2. Open a blank blog post and “right click paste” in the body of the post…what was pasted? Explain it. Spoon Theory mentioned on MTV! http://www.mamasick.com/2015/03/the-spoon-theory-gets-a-mention-on-mtv/ … #SpooniesThankMTV I am really happy that this was my last cut and paste because it gives me a chance to write about a subject that is meaningful - [The "Spoon Theory" Gets a Mention on MTV!](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/03/the-spoon-theory-gets-a-mention-on-mtv/) - I've known Christine Miserandino via on line for over 10 years and her Spoon Theory and her But You Don't Look Sick web site has helped save my life. I'm celebrating today with Christine because her name and The Spoon Theory were mentioned on MTV news! Special thanks also goes out to Deepa Lakshmin who - [Tyler's Troubles](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/03/tylers-troubles/) - I haven't talked about Tyler in a while, mostly because I've been too upset to write about what has been going on with him. If you don't already know, Tyler has been diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and OCD. Lately his tics have really been apparent at school and at home. One of the girls who - [Today is Rare Disease Day!](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/02/today-is-rare-disease-day/) - The last day of February is Rare Disease Day. There are approximately 7,000 different types of rare diseases with more being discovered every day. 30 million people in the United States are living with a rare disease which is 1 in 10 Americans or 10% of the population. About 50% of the people affected by - [Health/Life Update](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/02/healthlife-update/) - I haven't written in a while, mostly because I've been in a state of limbo with my depression. Nothing has improved with the med change. I saw my psychiatrist yesterday and she increased one of them. In addition to the depression, these last few days I've developed an extreme anxiety when I am outside. It - [Depression's Voice](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/01/depressions-voice/) - I go for my gym orientation this Monday. After that there will be no more excuses not to work out. But depression is like a voice in my head telling me, "No! I don't want you to go there! I want you to stay on the couch, not shower and stay in pajamas!" Then there - [The Thing I Can't Change](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/01/the-thing-i-cant-change/) - This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 2. If there was one thing you could change about yourself, what would it be? Why can’t it change? If I could change anything about myself it would be my mental health. My problems began shortly after I had Tyler and since then I have - [Betty's Back!](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/01/bettys-back/) - On Monday night our cat, Max, scratched at the door as if he wanted to go out. I opened the door and there was Betty, after a week and a half of being missing! She was afraid to go into the house because we have a porch cat that is possessive over the heated A-frame - [Missing Betty](https://www.mamasick.com/2015/01/missing-betty/) - Last Thursday night my cat, Betty, walked out the door and never came back. Ordinarily she stays indoors during the winter but it was a bit warmer. I saw her last Saturday across the road by my neighbor's shed. Since then, though, there has been nothing but bitter cold and sub-zero wind chills and snow. - [New Year's Resolutions](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/12/new-years-resolutions-2/) - Normally I don't make New Year's resolutions with the thought that I'm probably going to break them all within the first few weeks anyway and I am just setting myself up to fail. But this year I'm going to strive for a better 2015. So here in no particular order are my New Year's Resolutions: - [Christmas at Our House 2014](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/12/christmas-at-our-house-2/) - We had a very nice day yesterday. Life is far from perfect but I am grateful for so many blessings; a roof over my head, enough food to eat and my unique family that consists of Tyler, Jacques, and Grant. I feel fortunate that Grant and I get along so well that he is able - [Tyler's Confession](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/12/tylers-confession/) - Tyler made his Sacrament of Reconciliation, or first confession, this past weekend. I've been a really bad Catholic mom, normally not taking him to church. Being depressed, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around getting ready for mass, dressing, hair, makeup, and getting Tyler ready. We usually call Sundays our "lazy Sundays" or - [Help a Disabled Woman in Poverty This Holiday Season!](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/12/help-a-disabled-woman-in-poverty-this-holiday-season/) - I've known Amy for a few years and I think we met on Twitter due to having Fibromyalgia in common. Amy, like myself, has many diagnoses including Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Hashimoto's Disease and Epilepsy. She also, like me, suffers from Bipolar Disorder. Of late she's become a great help to me because I feel she really - [Just Can't Get There](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/11/just-cant-get-there/) - I have free membership to my local YMCA. My pulmonologist says I should walk twenty minutes every day. My diabetes nurse educator says exercise and weight loss will lower my blood sugar. My therapist says walking will help with my depression. If that isn't enough motivation I saw my endocrinologist a couple of weeks ago. - [The Silver Sneakers Program ](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/11/the-silver-sneakers-program/) - On disability and can't afford a gym membership? You may be eligible for the Silver Sneakers Program. The Silver Sneakers program was designed for retirees but if you are part of a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement Health plan due to being on disability you may be eligible for a Silver Sneakers membership. To find - [Light Box?](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/11/light-box/) - The increasingly darkening days have led me into greater depression in winters past. That, and the fact that Northeastern Ohio has very few sunny days in the winter have me thinking about SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Some people brush it off as the Winter Blues but experts say SAD really exists. According to the - [Universal Orlando Resort: Flash Sale!](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/11/universal-orlando-resort-flash-sale/) - (My partner, Destinations in Florida, has a very special offer for you. Universal Orlando Specialist Veronica Mazarelli tells you what you need to know!) Starting tomorrow, November 4, for 72 hours ONLY, you can take advantage of Universal’s BEST OFFER of the year! So let’s plan your amazing vacation, right in the heart of Universal - [Finally An Answer](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/10/finally-an-answer/) - I had my sleep studies on September 22nd and September 23rd. It took the tech 45 minutes to hook me up to all those bells and whistles and then I simply went to sleep without much difficulty. The daytime, multiple sleep latency test, was a lot more challenging. They woke me at 6:45 and I - [How to Get Co-Pay Assistance ](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/10/how-to-get-co-pay-assistance/) - A couple of weeks ago I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy, or excessive daytime sleepiness. What a relief it was to have an answer and to know there was a medication out there that could help me! But when I ran it by my pharmacy I found out that that my co-pay was $239.00 which wasn't - [To My Son On HIs Eighth Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/09/to-my-son-on-his-eighth-birthday/) - If you would like to look back at some other birthdays here is Tyler's seventh and sixth birthdays. Dear Tyler, Happy birthday…not sure what to call you because you really hate it when I call you baby, and you ask for me to please not call myself Mommy. It's "Mom" not "Mommy." This was the - [With Robin Williams Gone I Feel I Can Tell My Story](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/08/with-robin-williams-gone-i-feel-i-can-tell-my-story/) - (Warning: Triggering for suicidal behaviors and thoughts.) I'm not sure why but it has taken the suicide of comedian/actor Robin Williams to finally allow me to tell about my suicide attempt. I skirted the issue when I came back from a long state of depression and suicidal ideation in my September 4, 2012, "Dropping Back - [Disney Releases Vacation Package Pricing For 2015!](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/08/disney-releases-vacation-package-pricing-for-2015/) - I am pleased to be working with Destinations in Florida Travel, the top 2009, 2011, and the 2012 Disney Destinations Sales Performer and the 2010 & 2011 Universal Studios Travel Agency Partner of the Year! Let's hear from Mama Sick's own personal travel agent, Veronica Mazarelli: Hello everyone! Have you heard? Disney has released their 2015 - [Health Update ](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/08/health-update-3/) - While some of my health issues are getting answered, other questions still remain. At the gynecologist's, it was determined that my birth control, ParaGard, is the cause of my long, heavy, painful periods and that I need to take it out. I'm trying to make sure that insurance will pay to have it removed, although - [Depressed…Again](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/07/depressedagain/) - In the middle of all of the tests I have been going through, I find myself in another episode of depression. All I want to do is watch mindless t.v., if that. I can't concentrate on anything, I feel like I have absolutely NO interest in doing anything and so I have been sleeping a - [The Wait is Over](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/07/the-wait-is-over/) - After several weeks of waiting, my doctors' appointments and tests begin tomorrow. I see the Infectious Disease Specialist, who hopefully will determine if I have Lyme Disease. This is my third try for a definitive answer. On Thursday I see my new gynecologist. I have been having heavy, painful periods, plus it has been a - [My Fantasy Super Mom Power](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/07/my-fantasy-super-mom-power/) - If you could have a super mom power, what would it be? - [Guest Post: A Mom Dealing With Rheumatoid Arthritis](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/07/guest-post-a-mom-dealing-with-rheumatoid-arthritis/) - A mother juggles Rheumatoid Arthritis with raising two children. - ["So What Are You Doing For the Fourth?"](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/06/so-what-are-you-doing-for-the-fourth/) - The holidays can be a difficult time for those with chronic illness. - [Godzilla in 2D?](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/06/godzilla-in-2d/) - It's time for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop! Prompt 2. The last movie you saw in a theater. I don't see a lot of movies in the theater, it's just too expensive and I can wait until they come out on Netflix. The only movies I do like to see in the theater are the action - [Chronic Mom, Chronic Summer](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/06/chronic-mom-chronic-summer/) - How are other chronic moms dealing with summer vacation? - [Throwback Thursday: My First Bloggers' Night Out!](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/06/throwback-thursday-my-first-bloggers-night-out/) - This picture was taken in November of 2008 and it was from a meet-up of the then New Jersey Moms Blog. - [Health Update…Waiting](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/06/health-updatewaiting/) - A lot of questions with few answers. - [The One Who Makes Me Laugh](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/06/the-one-who-makes-me-laugh/) - There is no one on earth who can make me laugh like my seven and a half year old son, Tyler. - [Great People to Work With!](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/06/great-people-to-work-with/) - I'm very pleased to be working with Destinations in Florida Travel, the agency that I used to help plan my Disney World vacation. My travel agent, Veronica Mazarelli, is an authorized Disney vacation planner, a Universal Orlando Specialist and a Sandals & Beaches Resorts Specialist. Destinations in Florida is the top 2009, 2011 and 2012 Disney - [The Contest is Still On!](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/06/the-contest-is-still-on/) - I have picked several winners for the Robin Maria Pedero piece of art, "Pink Poppies in Paradise" and no one has come forward to claim their prize! Today I picked Deb Schaefer, at random. Deb has until 9:30 a.m. on June 6th to get in contact with me. So keep watching this space, perhaps I - [It's Finally Spring Art Contest!](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/05/its-finally-spring-art-contest/) - Even thought we had a frost warning a couple of days ago here in Cleveland, I think it is safe to say that spring is finally here! And to celebrate, I am so pleased to be working again with artist Robin Maria Pedrero! I love Robin's art; the birds and butterflies, the colors she uses…just - [Burnt Out!](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/06/burnt-out/) - It is possible for someone with Lupus to achieve "burn out". - [If I Could Have Done Things Differently...](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/05/if-i-could-have-done-things-differently/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 2.) You HAVE to go back in time and choose a different career path for yourself. What do you choose? This is a question I have asked myself many times. In my mind I do go back in time, chose something different and then flash forward as to where - [I'm Going to Disney!](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/04/im-going-to-disney/) - I can't believe that tomorrow I will be taking my son to Disney World! Grant and I have been very amicable during our separation, so although it sounds crazy, the three of us will be going together! Ever since Tyler was born it has been my dream to take him to Disney. I never thought - [Bedridden, Day 10](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/04/bedridden-day-10/) - I got back from Disney World on April 17th and was so excited to tell you about the wonderful time we had there! I was psyched to put up our pictures and to offer my tips for chronically ill moms thinking about a trip to The Happiest Place on Earth! I had pretty much expected - [But Then Some Other Stuff Happened](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/05/but-then-some-other-stuff-happened/) - I was totally psyched to write about my Disney World vacation, to post my pictures and to give my tips geared towards chronically ill mothers. But then some other stuff happened. I used every prescription that I had to get me through the trip. I didn't want Grant and Tyler to be out having fun - [Stupid](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/03/stupid/) - The idea for this post came to me about an hour ago and I knew I had to write it quickly for fear it would fall out of my brain. Be it depression, physical symptoms or a combination thereof I have been feeling "stupid" for quite some time now. Often I feel I have nothing - [Positive](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/02/positive/) - So I decided to go to my Rheumatologist appointment despite having very little symptoms of Lyme Disease or any of my diseases such as Lupus, and I want to thank those who commented here and on Facebook who convinced me to go. I saw the doctor at the Cleveland Clinic and explained to him my - [Thinking About Canceling My Appointment, What Do You Think?](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/02/thinking-about-canceling-my-appointment-what-do-you-think/) - Last month I was having extreme fatigue. The kind where if you could even make it to a shower, that would be your only "event" of the day, you were done. Where it hurt to life your arm. Where you can't get off the couch and you just have to let your laundry pile up - [Struggling](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/01/struggling/) - There has been nothing more upsetting than losing the ability to be able to blog because of my depression. The ideas that used to inspire me to put up three to four posts per week are gone. It is too difficult to get my thoughts together to write something cohesive. It is hard to write - [The Loss of Mommy](https://www.mamasick.com/2014/01/the-loss-of-mommy/) - Right around Christmas it happened. "Mom?" "Mom, I just got my highest score ever!" MOM MOM??? How did this happen?? Where would you learn such a word?? I called up Grant and told him Tyler was calling me "Mom", and he said he was sorry. Then he got "Dad". Ever time Tyler calls me "Mom" - [Christmas At Our House](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/12/christmas-at-our-house/) - Jacques, Tyler and I had a lovely Christmas. Grant and I have been getting along very well so I had him over too. A very modern kind of family! J - [Bed and Breakfast Experience](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/11/bed-and-breakfast-experience/) - For my birthday, John and I decided to take a one day getaway to a local bed and breakfast in our town. We stayed at the Homestead Bed and Breakfast right in our downtown city of Willoughby. We stayed in the Victorian Rose room: We dined at Lure Bistro and dined on Maine lobster and - [Halloween 2013!](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/11/halloween-2013/) - The weather for Halloween night was rainy and windy but a brave Dark Knight remained undaunted. A cowardly mom followed in her car while dad butler Alfred accompanied Master Bruce. All was right in Gotham as Batman took in quite a haul of candy. Happy Halloween to all! - [So I Guess I'm Just Depressed](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/09/so-i-guess-im-just-depressed/) - This "thing" has been hanging on to me for sometime now and I have finally decided that I am simply depressed, rather than there being a physical reason for the way I am feeling. This has been going on since about mid-July. It is by far not the worst depression I have ever had; the - [To My Son on HIs Seventh Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/09/to-my-son-on-his-seventh-birthday/) - Dear Tyler, I cannot believe you are seven already! Where does the time go? You have had a lot of changes this year, the hardest being the fact that your daddy and I have separated. You do seem to have adjusted well to it, spending part of your week with me and part with daddy. - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Summer 2013 Part II](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-summer-2013-part-ii/) - Continuing with Tyler's summer: This was our view of the Lighthouse of Fairport Harbor. Tyler and I climbed to the top! You can see a tiny Tyler at the bottom of the lighthouse: Here is Tyler with a picture of a Coast Guard officer. If you look closely you can see that Tyler has unzipped - [Losing That Loving Feeling](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/09/losing-that-loving-feeling/) - When I first started going out with Jacques, I had a strong desire for him. My body ached for him. I couldn't wait to get home. Then, the antidepressants kicked in. I feel dead inside. When I try to masterbate, there is absolutely no response "down there". Jacques is also on antidepressants so that makes - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Summer 2013, Part I](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-summer-2013-part-i/) - I hope I was able to give Tyler a great summer. He has been back to school for a week now. I figured I would post some pictures of him and I enjoying. Tyler went to camp at the Y for eight weeks, but in the middle he took a break to go to soccer - [Tuesdays With Tyler - First Day of First Grade!](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-first-day-of-first-grade/) - Tyler started his first day at his new school today. He was a little nervous and worried I wouldn't be at the bus stop to pick him but he was smiling. I am a little nervous about how Tyler will do in the first grade, how he will be able to sit at a desk - [Health Update #369](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/08/health-update-369/) - On August 8th I had my first visit to the endocrinologist due to having low bone density and what I thought was osteoporosis. She said I couldn't have osteoporosis because I wasn't in menopause, so that's one disease out of my repertoire. She ordered urine and blood tests to see if there was an underlying - [Feeling Stupid](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/08/feeling-stupid/) - I don't know what's going on but for a few weeks I can only describe what has been going on with me as I feel stupid. There is nothing going on in my brain! I can't get my thoughts together and I don't remember things I have always remembered. I also am finding it difficult - [Back From BlogHer'13](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/07/back-from-blogher13/) - I'm still recovering from BlogHer'13 in Chicago. Jacques and I got there on Wednesday night. It took us about six hours so not bad. I was exhausted so we did room service. On Thursday we visited the Art Institute of Chicago. I don't know if BlogHer was the place for me. I felt like everyone - [Justice For Karina](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/07/justice-for-karina/) - I was touched by the story of twenty-four-year-old Karina Hansen because I too suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or M.E. (myalgic encephalomyeltitis) as it is called in Europe. On February 12, 2013, five policemen, two doctors, two social workers, and a locksmith came to her home and forcibly removed Karina from her bed and transported - [At the Urogynecologist](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/07/at-the-urogynecologist/) - In the last few weeks I had been experiencing vaginal pain. I had an appointment with my Primary Care Physician and she tested me for yeast and other infections. The tests were negative. That left only one alternative; my Vulvodynia was back. I went to the Urogynecologist. He seemed like a good doctor, was easy - [Voices](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/07/voices/) - I have been coming out of my depression. But last week I had something happen that shook me to the core. Tyler gets up early, way before we have to get up for camp. I settled him in with the television and a juice box and went back to bed. I laid down to sleep - [Part-Time Mother](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/07/part-time-mother/) - Grant and I have worked out an arrangement for Tyler where he spends about half the week with Grant and half the week with me. This seems to be working out for all three of us. It is an odd feeling being a part-time mother. On the one hand Jacques and I enjoy our time - [Health Update #352](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/health-update-352/) - (In this post I write about specific medications I am taking. I do not endorse any of these drugs for anyone else. You may not have any of the side effects I have if you are taking these medications. What may be a bad drug for you may a good drug for me, and what - [Depression: Here We Go Again](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/depression-here-we-go-again/) - I can't believe it but I am going through my third period of depression this year. I get a few weeks where I feel good and then the depression comes back. Depression for me feels like I am dragging a ball and chain. I've been fighting it but the ball has gotten too heavy. I - [Over-scheduled ](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/over-scheduled/) - Ah, those lazy days of summer...relaxing by the pool, sleeping in, the ice cream man... Not at my house. Grant and I said we were never going to do this but we have over-scheduled Tyler. Next week he starts camp at the 'Y'. Then on Thursdays he sees his counselor and has yoga. On Saturdays - [Boyfriend Material](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/boyfriend-material/) - It has been hard knowing when the right time was to tell this to my readers, but I hope you will share in my happiness. Grant and I have been separated since December and I have been seeing someone. I actually met "Jacques" (he picked his own pseudonym) on the day I left Grant. He - [Lovely In Her Bones](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/osteoporosis/) - I have been dealing with either Osteopenia or Osteoporosis for four years now. When I had my first bone density test I was classified as having Osteopenia. Despite calcium supplements, my next test (two years later because insurance won't pay for having it done sooner) revealed Osteoporosis. I was told I couldn't go on drugs - [Bra](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/bra/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt #3: Write a post inspired by the word: bra When I saw this prompt, a bra story from the tales of my youthful indiscretions immediately came to mind. It was, at the time, my most embarrassing moment. Being alone together with my long term boyfriend back in my - [Sundays In My City: Little Italy](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/sundays-in-my-city-little-italy/) - Visit Unknown Mami to see what Sundays In My City looks like all over the world. This weekend I headed into Cleveland to the city's historic Little Italy section for their annual art walk. We enjoyed browsing the galleries and had a delicious lunch. Now that I have had my first "taste" of Little Italy, - [Fat](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/fat/) - Thanks to my psychiatric meds I've gained about thirty pounds this year. I feel so hungry all of the time and I never seem to feel full. The worst has been my binges on sweets. I know I have to take my psych meds but I hate this side effect. I battle with depression and - [Incontinence?!](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/incontinence/) - Yep, at the ripe old age of 43, I've got it. It may sound funny, but it's mostly whenever I hear or see water, I feel like I have to go to the bathroom, like when I run the sink or the shower. I've wet my pants a couple of times, luckily when I've been - [Sundays In My City: Kleinfeld's Restaurant](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/06/sundays-in-my-city-kleinfelds-restaurant/) - Visit Unknown Mami to see what Sundays In My City looks like all over the world. This week I chose to visit Willoughby's oldest restaurant, Kleinfeld's, open since 1928. We chose to sit at a table but you can always sit at the counter for some great food and coffee. It was a bit like - [Update on Tyler's Health](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/05/update-on-tylers-health/) - Yesterday Grant and I took Tyler for a mental health assessment. Tyler has so far been diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and OCD. In school he has been getting Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Counseling. He also has low muscle tone and is delayed with his gross and fine motor skills. I know there are more - [Sundays In My City](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/05/sundays-in-my-city-2/) - With special thanks to Unknown Mami. On Saturday I went to my first Willoughby, Ohio Farmer's Market. It was a chilly start to the day and I warmed up with coffee and free samples of baked goods. It was a wonderful time and I hope to make the Farmer's Market a regular part of my - [My 4th Blogiversary](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/05/my-4th-blogiversary/) - My fourth blogiversary finds me very introspective with a feeling of uncertainty. It is not like my second anniversary post where I wrote with a feeling of empowerment and excitement of what was to come. Mental illness has been the worst of my diseases since Christmas 2011. My depression forced me to take an eight - [Sundays In My City](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/05/sundays-in-my-city/) - I'm pleased to be participating in Unknown Mami's Sundays In My City for the first time! It has been a dream of mine to actually be able to live in a place that has a quaint downtown and I realized that dream when I moved earlier this month to historic Willoughby, Ohio. The Cleveland suburb - [Monday Morning Mother's Day Quarterback](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/05/monday-morning-mothers-day-quarterback/) - A lot of mothers with chronic illness have enormous feelings of guilt that they cannot be "Super Mommy". That instead of doing things with their children they have to nap. That they often end up just watching their children instead of participating with them. In the days before Mother's Day I wondered, "Is the way - [Just Call Me Trailer Trash](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/04/just-call-me-trailer-trash/) - Yep. I have purchased a manufactured home. This differs from a trailer home in that it is made to stay put. The price was so good and the home was so nice that I quickly got over the "What are people going to think?" mentality and signed on to become queen of the trailer park. - [Back!](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/04/back/) - My last post on February 11th about how bad my depression was was pretty grim. And things got worse as on February 13th I went in-patient at a Behavioral Health Care facility (that's what they are calling the mental institutions these days). I was in for about two weeks where my depression did not get - [Mama Sick's Beat the Winter Blues Art Contest!](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/02/mama-sicks-beat-the-winter-blues-art-contest/) - What better way to beat the winter blues than to win a piece of artwork from the beautiful and talented Robin Maria Pedrero! I discovered Robin's artwork in 2011 on Twitter. I don't like to use many cliches but her art back then spoke to me: This was no news to Robin who said, "I - [From My Very Depths](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/02/from-my-very-depths/) - I am not even sure how to start this post off, how it will form or if I will publish it. I have fallen into a deep depression, not just a depression, a kind of stupefying of my brain, where for sure my writing is not flowing, nor is my thinking. Toward the end of - [It is With Deepest Regret](https://www.mamasick.com/2013/01/it-is-with-deepest-regret/) - To my amazing readers, It is with deepest regret that I inform you that Grant and I have officially separated. Tyler and I left our home the second week of December but I did not want to let you know then because I know for so many of you who follow us that this would - [The Newtown Shootings: A Possible Explanation](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/12/the-newton-shootings-a-possible-explanation/) - It is Wednesday, December 19, 2012, five days after the Newtown, Connecticut shootings which left us with 27 children and adults dead at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. I have wanted to get this post out since the day after the shootings, but due to circumstances beyond my control, and the fact that I have - [Chronically Ill and Displaced by Hurricane Sandy](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/12/chronically-ill-and-displaced-by-hurricane-sandy/) - When I ask people in my Cleveland suburb if they know that many people are still homeless or unable to access their homes due to Hurricane Sandy's damage, they are shocked. I say to them, "It's on the news, everyday", and they say they either don't watch the news or pay that much attention. During - [Too Sick to Be Seen?](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/12/too-sick-to-be-seen/) - Since August/September I have had a bad cough. I thought it was my usual seasonal allergy thing, where every year I cough, especially at night, and have to spit up what looks like clear liquid (sorry to be kind of gross there). I thought when I moved to Ohio, to the Midwest, that maybe my - [Way to Get a Sweet Pair of Pants and Underwear! ](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/12/way-to-get-a-sweet-pair-of-pants-and-underwear/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 3. What was the last thing you bought? On Saturday, Tyler and I set out with two objectives: To get an Advent Calendar (or a Countdown to Christmas Calendar) as it was December 1st, and to do some grocery shopping at Marc's. I figured that at the most we would - [A Post Impossible to Name, Part 3](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/12/a-post-impossible-to-name-part-3/) - Before you read this post, you may want to start at Part 1 and then go to Part 2. The following post will be the last post in the series for 2012 because this should be a time of joy and peace. This post was originally written in May of last year. I am rolling - [Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 2.) Ask your child to draw a portrait of you and share it with us. (Inspired by Scary Mommy) When I asked Tyler if he would do a portrait of me he said very seriously, "Yes, but you will have to model." I agreed, at the same time wondering how - [Prostituting Myself](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/prostituting-myself/) - After some successful Black Friday shopping, Tyler and I headed to Marc's to do our weekly shopping. Marc's is, to me an Ohio wonder as their groceries are about 50% less than the local Giant Eagle's and a third of the prices that I paid back in New Jersey. You do get what you pay - [On Black Friday](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/on-black-friday/) - I used to think the people who shopped on Black Friday were insane. Camping out days before, fighting for the last toy, spraying pepper spray at their fellow shoppers...I couldn't understand it and certainly would never be a part of this mind-boggling ritual. Today I am shopping on Black Friday for the first time. Not - [Thankful](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/thankful/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 2.) We're going around the table and it's your turn to share what you are thankful for...go! To say that I am thankful for my husband, child and I being able to be together after being apart for six months is obvious. And so something happened to me on - [Mama Sick's Hurricane Sandy Relief Post!!](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/mama-sicks-hurricane-sandy-relief-post/) - "I've been having more difficulty than normal sleeping since Sandy came to town. My sincere hope is that even if you cannot read this, you are all in a warm, safe place with all of your loved ones and that you have not lost hope. Hopefully, very soon, power will be restored to those still - [My Gamble](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/my-gamble/) - I read The Headmaster's Wager as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy of this book. This post is inspired by the book. Welcome to all of my fellow book club members or anyone coming here for the first time! I am a chronically ill mom - [I Went to the Cleveland Clinic's E.R. and All I Got Was Slipper Socks](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/i-went-to-the-cleveland-clinics-e-r-and-all-i-got-was-slipper-socks/) - We had a wonderful Halloween, delayed a couple of days due to Hurricane Sandy. For the first time since Tyler has been trick-or-treating I was well enough to walk with him, after either being pushed by Grant in a wheelchair when he went trick-or-treating in the Freehold Raceway Mall when we lived in New Jersey, - [A Post Impossible to Name, Part 2](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/a-post-impossible-to-name-part-2/) - Dear friends, Thank you for coming to read my blog. Before you read this post, you may want to read this post as this is part of a continuing series I am just starting. I wrote this post in December of 2011. It was meant to be a stand alone post that I wanted to - [A Post Impossible to Name](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/a-post-impossible-to-name/) - Dear friends, What I am going to write to you about, what has happened to my family, has been to me so shocking, disturbing and upsetting that to put any title on it would make it seem like it was out of a tabloid, but it is the truth and I hope that you will - [My Dinner With Tyler](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/11/my-dinner-with-tyler/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt # 1. Your first born child gets to choose where you eat for dinner...what would they pick and why? Tyler has been feeling like a real star lately. Last Thursday, Mama Kat and friends wanted to know what he was wearing for Halloween, this week they want to - [Approved!](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/10/approved/) - After a three year fight I have been approved for my Social Security Disability Insurance !!! For so many who get approved there are a lot of mixed feelings involved. To be finally declared disabled, that you are truly sick enough physically, mentally or both, can be extremely depressing. I have to say I didn't - [Wearing the Latest in Monster Fashion](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/10/wearing-the-latest-in-monster-fashion/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt #5 Halloween is coming! Show us what your kids will be wearing. When I saw this week's prompts I knew immediately this was the one for me. Any excuse to have his costume on and Tyler is there! He even helped me with the poses! After three years - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Losing My Religion](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-losing-my-religion/) - I am raising Tyler as a Catholic, like me. I had him christened at three months old...and that is the last time he or I have ever been in a church. For many years due to chronic illness I have been unable to attend Mass. By the time Saturday evenings rolled around I was exhausted, - [Someday I am Going To...](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/10/someday-i-am-going-to/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 5. Someday I am going to...(Inspired by Marcy Writes) Someday I am going to build my blog back to where it was. The day before my last blog post on January 11, 2012, I had been the Featured Blogger on the SITS Girls website. I had nearly 60 - [F*cking Interstitial Cystitis!](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/10/fcking-interstitial-cystitis/) - After having increasingly worse vaginal pain, I went to my primary care practice on Thursday. Since I have only just started taking care of my health again in August, I don't have a gynecologist. I was seen by an intern, who had to call in the doctor. So I had two strange men peering into - [Results of Disability Hearing: The Do-Over](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/10/results-of-disability-hearing-the-do-over/) - (Disclaimer: The following account is my personal experience with a disability hearing and should in no way compare with anyone else's experience. I do my best to research what I write, and seek to provide correct information to my readers; however I do advise one to do one's own research when it comes to a - [My Disability Reconsideration Hearing is on Friday](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/10/my-disability-reconsideration-hearing-is-on-friday/) - Nearly three years to the day I applied for Social Security Disability, and 15 months after my initial hearing, my Reconsideration hearing is here. When a person is denied at their initial hearing, one is allowed to appeal the decision. My lawyer wrote an appeal outlining the faults he found with the judge's decision. It - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Not Special Enough](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-not-special-enough/) - Tyler has some special needs but often they are not readily apparent. Because of this, I find that people like to declare that he is fine and I am making too big a deal about minor things. This, is for them: When you see my six-year-old son have a temper-tantrum that is more suitable to - [Tuesdays With Tyler: The Selflessness of Children](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-the-selflessness-of-children/) - A couple of things I have learned from our current situation is how observant and caring children can be. Tyler gets "doctor prizes" or "dentist prizes" because of how hard it is for him to make it through the appointments. We find that having the gift in front of him, his "eye on the prize", - [When Do I Tell My Child We're Poor?](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/09/when-do-i-tell-my-child-were-poor/) - As many know, chronic illness often brings about chronic poverty. My husband and I have been dealing with this since 2008, when I got laid off from work and found myself too sick to look for another position. We qualified for WIC right away, when Tyler was two-and-a-half years old. As he became older he - [Six Word Memoir](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/09/six-word-memoir/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. 1. I spent this past weekend in Dallas at Bloggy Boot Camp with SITS. As part of the Writer's Workshop Francesca and I conducted we resurrected the Six Word Memoir. Add an image to your own Six Word Memoir based on...well anything. Motherhood: No nervous breakdowns ever allowed. Photo - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Birthday Party With Pictures!](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-birthday-party-with-pictures-2/) - When we first moved to Massachusetts in March, Tyler was five and a half and I couldn't begin to wrap my mind on a birthday party for him in September, with none of his friends and his daddy not being able to come. Tyler also had his heart set on one of those bouncy places - [My Hope is You](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/09/my-hope-is-you/) - September 10-16 is National Chronic Illness Awareness Week. In my posts I hope to comfort those who are first experiencing chronic illness and those who continue to live a life in chronic pain and with chronic illness; as well as educate those who do not know what it is like to live with an Invisible - [For My Son On His 6th Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/09/for-my-son-on-his-6th-birthday/) - Dear Tyler, I am already tearing up as I write this because of how drastically our lives have changed. You have been through so much this year. My hospitalization for two weeks when you told daddy you forgot what I looked like, our move from New Jersey to Massachusetts, and now being apart from daddy - [My Son, My Hope](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/09/my-son-my-hope/) - September 10-16 is National Chronic Illness Awareness Week. In my posts I hope to comfort those who are first experiencing chronic illness and those who continue to live a life in chronic pain and with chronic illness; as well as educate those who do not know what it is like to live with an Invisible - [When I Was Younger](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/09/2702/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 2.) Write something that begins and ends with the words “When I was younger”. (inspired by writingfix.com) "When I was younger" is a phrase that runs through my mind from time to time. When I was younger I had lots of boyfriends, life was so exciting! When I - [Dropping Back Into Life](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/09/dropping-back-into-life/) - Let me start off by saying how sorry I am to have made you worry. I received so many emails, tweets and comments on my blog from concerned readers. After eight months, I finally feel ready to talk again. It takes a lot of things to make a person drop out of life for so - [The Day After SITS: Thank You!](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/01/the-day-after-sits-thank-you/) - It is impossible to thank everyone personally for their visit to my blog yesterday on my SITS Day. What can I say, my SITStahs made me feel like a queen for a day! It was so great to meet so many new friends and get such encouraging comments. There were many moms with chronic illness who - [January 10th is my SITS Day! ](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/01/january-10th-is-my-sits-day/) - Welcome to all! I am the Featured Blogger today for the SITS Girls website. For my regular readers who don't know what SITS (The Secret to Support) is all about, I am part of a group of more than 10,000 women bloggers dedicated to supporting each other by leaving comments and learning about blogging. You may - [Tickets Still Available to See Jane Goodall at the State Theatre](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/01/tickets-still-available-to-see-jane-goodall-at-the-state-theatre/) - (I am working with SmartTalk in exchange for the opportunity to see these speakers at no cost to me, and for promotional opportunities for my blog. I am not being monetarily compensated.) As a part of the SmartTalk Women Connected Conversation series, tickets are still available to see the world-renowned Dr. Jane Goodall at the - [New Year's Resolutions???](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/01/new-years-resolutions/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 5. What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2012 and how did 2011's resolutions work out? (Technical Difficulties note: My blog comments are not coming to me via email. I hope to resolve this soon but this may result in me not being able to comment back to you.) - [Please Tell Me I am Not the Only One](https://www.mamasick.com/2012/01/please-tell-me-i-am-not-the-only-one/) - It is really hard for me to write this, it has been really hard for me to do much of anything. Usually I write to let people know that they are not the only ones suffering from an illness and the problems that result from it, but today I am writing in hopes of your - [Happy to See 2011 Go, Especially This Week!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/happy-to-see-2011-go-especially-this-week/) - Poor Tyler. He has been home all week for Winter break and what a week it's been for me healthwise. He has been great through it all I have to say. As I have told you, I have been going through a rough time mentally. At the root of my mental issues, especially for this - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Christmas in Pictures](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/tuesdays-with-tyler-christmas-in-pictures/) - Total amount of stress, preparation, ordering toys: 10 days, 5 hours, 37 minutes Total time it took to open gifts: 15 minutes Worth it to see your child's delight: Definitely - [Tyler and Santa: Through the Years](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/tyler-and-santa-through-the-years/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 4) Santa of Christmas past. Share the previous years Santa photos...what has changed over the years? Tyler was born September of 2006 and seeing Santa has been hit or miss for us over the years. Nothing could be cuter than an infant Tyler in Santa's arms, right? - [A Child's Goodness to Our Family](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/a-childs-goodness-to-our-family/) - About a month ago I met with a friend whom I hadn't seen since college. We had kept in touch over the years and he works very close to where I live so we went out to lunch. It was like 20 years had not passed as we fell right into step with each other. - [O Christmas Tree: A Family Affair](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/o-christmas-tree-a-family-affair/) - This year between my physical and mental health I could not be the driving force behind getting the tree, putting up the lights, decorating it, etc. It is probably the latest I have ever done it, but the Christmas tree is up, done! And my shaggy dog of a child has a haircut! Instead of - [The Appeal](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/the-appeal/) - I had news about my appeal the day after I was denied disability, but it has been difficult for me to write anything about this process, good or bad. This rejection has really taken it's toll on me and I've had to question how I need to move forward with my life. I realize that - [For Women With Curves: Win Some Fashion For the Holidays!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/for-women-with-curves-win-some-fashion-for-the-holidays/) - This is the third time I am pleased to be working with the fine women from Fashion to Figure, a site that carries very trendy and fashionable clothes for the plus size woman at great prices! Wouldn't it be nice to have something new to wear to jazz up your holidays? Fashion to Figure will give - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Another Meeting With the School](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/tuesdays-with-tyler-another-meeting-with-the-school/) - In follow-up to our October meeting with the school, Grant and I again met with the child study team last week. We have agreed to have Tyler evaluated. This would include being evaluated for "academics", speech, occupational, social and psychological. I thought Tyler was doing better in school as we have had no calls from - [Disability: Denied](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/disability-denied/) - After waiting nearly five months for a decision on my disability trial, in yesterday's mail I received an "unfavorable" decision. I don't know how well I will write about this because in my heart I felt that I would get my disability and that the reason it was taking so long was that they were - [My Favorite Christmas Ornaments](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/my-favorite-christmas-ornaments/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 1) Have you decorated your Christmas tree? Share a favorite Christmas ornament. I always feel a week behind during Christmastime! My mother is coming in next week and we plan to get our Christmas tree next weekend, so no, no tree up yet. As for the ornaments, they - [Tuesdays With Tyler...And Santa!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/tuesdays-with-tyler-and-santa/) - Despite my worries about how I would be able to handle the normal rites of Christmas while being sick and in the middle of a bankruptcy, our trip to see Santa was a success! I even got a handicapped parking spot at the mall! As we waited in Santa's Enchanted Forest on line, Tyler - [Chronically Stressed During the Holidays ](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/chronically-stressed-during-the-holidays/) - Every December for me is always the same. What should be the season to be jolly is looked upon as a season of dread, depression and the feeling that I am not living up to what is expected of me as a wife, mother and friend. Is it just my imagination or am I sicker - [The Advent Calendar That Will Probably Doom Me to Hell](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/12/the-advent-calendar-that-will-probably-doom-me-to-hell/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 3. The first day of December is upon us! Describe an Advent calendar or a special way you count down days until Christmas (past or present). Inspired by (Classy Chaos) For years, long before Tyler was born, I had a cute wooden fireplace with numbers that as each - [The SmartTalk Women's Series: A Great Holiday Gift, Plus Contest and Discount!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/the-smarttalk-womens-series-a-great-holiday-gift-plus-contest-and-discount/) - (I am working with SmartTalk in exchange for the opportunity to see these speakers at no cost to me, and for promotional opportunities for my blog. I am not being monetarily compensated.) If you are looking for a unique, unforgettable gift for a woman who is special to you, SmartTalk Connected Conversations is a series - [Flannery O'Connor: A Woman With Lupus Who Accomplished Great Things](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/flannery-oconnor-a-woman-with-lupus-who-accomplished-great-things/) - It is thanks to the comedian Norm MacDonald and his twitter bookclub @normsbookclub, that I for the past few months have been expanding my mind and reading things I would have never read before if it wasn't for Norm and his book club. Unlike most book clubs, Norm's is unique in that the club mostly - [Awkward Thanksgiving Day Moments](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/awkward-thanksgiving-day-moments/) - The following was heard at and around the Thanksgiving table where we went for dinner: 1. "You do that again to me and I will take this knife and stab you!" At the table, said by a man to his five year old daughter. 2. "It would be cool to get one of those 3D - [My Thanks to You](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/my-thanks-to-you/) - It gets hard to write a meaningful Thanksgiving Day post when one tries to be meaningful and thoughtful every day. You read my blog, you know I am grateful and thankful for my family and friends (mostly) all of the time. So this year I thought I would do something a little different and thank - [Review and Contest For "Lost Edens"](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/review-and-contest-for-lost-edens/) - (I read Lost Edens as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy of this book. The opinions, however, are my own. If you would like to read the post that I was inspired to write after reading this book, you can go here.) Lost Edens by Jamie Patterson is the true - [Why I Just Said No to NaBloPoMo](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/why-i-just-said-no-to-nablopomo/) - Every November (okay a few Novembers, I'm not quite sure how many) thousands (maybe millions I'm not sure) of people take part in NaBloPoMo. For most of the world who do not know what this adorable abbreviation means, NaBloPoMo is short for National Blog Posting Month and was inspired by NaNoWriteMo, or National Novel Writing - [Holding My Son's Hand](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/holding-my-sons-hand/) - Tonight you sleep next to me because you spilled water all over your bed. You have trouble getting to sleep because something I have read to you has scared you. It amazes me what actually scares you and what I think should scare you. You want to sleep with the lights on but I offer - [Scared the Hell Out of Me](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/scared-the-hell-out-of-me/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 3) Something that scared the Hell out of you when you were a child. I guess this is the one I am choosing since this was an idea for a prompt that I had sent Mama Kat. Yay and thanks, Mama Kat! She chose it due to it's - [A Kitty Wedding Proposal ](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/a-kitty-wedding-proposal/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 3. Married? Tell us how the question was popped. The story of how Grant and I met is so unique it was written about in different countries. We have told it so many times, one day Grant told a shocked guest at our table at a wedding, "I-I can't do - [Tuesdays With Tyler: When Girls Attack!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-when-girls-attack/) - Ever since Tyler has been in kindergarten he has told me he has not liked a fellow student I will call "Drizella". This is unusual because Tyler has been in love with ladies big and small ever since he saw women in bikinis on the beach...at not yet two! How embarrassing to have one's baby - [M is for Methadone](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/m-is-for-methadone/) - On and off, depending on the severity of my pain I have been taking a time-release narcotic in pill form. It is a pill that is stronger than morphine and is given to me under the care of my primary physician. I take it in two doses, a high dose three times a day and - [Forgetting Everything I Knew](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/forgetting-everything-i-knew/) - I read Expecting Adam as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy of this book. This post is inspired by the book. Welcome to all of my fellow book club members or anyone coming here for the first time! I am a chronically ill mom married to a - [Tuesdays With Tyler: A Mother's Agony, A Son's Anguish](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-a-mothers-agony-a-sons-anguish/) - On Thursday I came clean about what was going on with my son. It wasn't really a matter of "coming clean" as it was the right time to write about it. Tyler no longer sleeps in bed with me but occasionally he will spend a night. Now that it doesn't happen every night I can - [What You Don't Know About My Son...](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/what-you-dont-know-about-my-son/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt # 3: Write a post that is eight lines long. (inspired by Mommy Nani Boo Boo) 1. That ever since he started kindergarten things have been a disaster. 2. That he is seeing a psychologist because of the things he does. 3. That twice he has beaten - [Tickets Now Open to the Public For the SmartTalk Women's Series!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/tickets-now-open-to-the-public-for-the-smarttalk-womens-series/) - (I am working with SmartTalk in exchange for the opportunity to see these speakers at no cost to me, and for promotional opportunities for my blog. I am not being monetarily compensated.) Tickets are now available to the general public for the 2012 tour of SmartTalk Connected Conversations! The series of five speakers at five - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Halloween! ](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-halloween/) - For the first time ever, I'd be willing to bet, school was closed on Halloween. Due to the storm, some schools still didn't have power and roads were still closed. I'd also bet that it was the first time the school's Halloween parade was cancelled on account of the snow! Because of the sidewalk conditions, - [My Birthday: Good times!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/my-birthday-good-times/) - Thanks to God and my friends' and familys' wishes for me to have a good day, I managed to have a nice, low pain birthday! October 29th will go down in history as a record snowstorm. Neither my mother nor I could ever remember it snowing on my birthday. States of emergency have been declared - [Another Birthday...At Least I'm Still Here??](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/another-birthday-at-least-im-still-here/) - Today is my birthday and it just happens that it looks like we are going to set a record in NJ for we are expecting up to three inches of snow, which never happens here and is never happened on my birthday, and I should know. Today I am 42, and it's not the age - [Vacation Lost](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/vacation-lost/) - Due to Grant getting his disability and us now having a small nest egg, we decided to do something with Tyler we had never done...take him on a vacation. It was going to be a mini-vacation to Hershey Park's "Halloween in the Dark" in Pennsylvania. We were supposed to go last weekend, but things were - [Why I Stay](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/why-i-stay/) - (I read Lost Edens as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy of this book. This post is inspired by the book. Welcome to all of my fellow book club members or anyone coming here for the first time! I am a chronically ill mom married to - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Halloween at Tyler's House!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-halloween-at-tylers-house/) - I say Tyler's house, because he has been the main thrust of our Halloween decorations. I have collected plenty of decorations over the years but if there were no Tyler, neither Grant nor I would have been motivated to put them up. So after a few days of "When are we going to put up - [At the Endocrinologist's: Confusion Reigns ](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/at-the-endocrinologists-confusion-reigns/) - Before you read this post you may want to read The Walking Dead in which I describe my first trip to the endocrinologist. I am so confused I find this a very difficult post to write! Earlier this week I had my follow-up appointment to my first visit to the endocrinologist. I had been praying - [Review and Contest for Cleopatra, A Life](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/review-and-contest-for-cleopatra-a-life/) - I read Cleopatra A Life as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as a member of this book club, however, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. When I signed up to read Cleopatra A Life by Stacy Schiff, I have to admit I - [What is My Current Profile Photo on Face Book?](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/what-is-my-current-profile-photo-on-face-book/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 4) Share the story behind your current Facebook profile photo. Unlike most bloggers out there I do not have a Facebook for this blog. It's something I've had on my "to do" list for, oh, six months now. (I do have a Google+, Emily Cullen, if you care to - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Spookley the Square Pumpkin!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-spookley-the-square-pumpkin/) - When Tyler was a month old, five years ago, Grant eagerly bought our son a couple of Halloween books. The only problem was they were for toddlers, at least. "We can't read these to him!" I said, laughing. "Oh, I didn't know, they just looked so cute." One of them was Spookley the Square Pumpkin - [For Alexa](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/for-alexa/) - This is my first time writing a Memorial Post for someone, and I can only pray that my writing and thoughts will be able to portray the wonderful woman Alexa was. I asked for her help, too. Yesterday I was looking at one of my friend's Face Book pages and I saw Alexa Simmon's Memorial - [The Meeting With the School](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/the-meeting-with-the-school/) - On Wednesday Grant and I met with a child study team after receiving a call on Friday that Tyler was being disruptive in school, had speech delays, and fine and motor skill delays. I first lamented the fact that I have grown too heavy to where nothing anywhere near appropriate would fit me for the meeting - [The Easiest Speech Ever!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/the-easiest-speech-ever/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 3) Speech! Tell about a time you had to speak or present in front of a group of people. For being a college graduate who majored in Communications, I have never had to give a speech or a presentation in front of anyone since! After I graduated I - [Tuesdays With Tyler: The Fall Festival!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-the-fall-festival/) - One of the things I love about living where we do is that you can be in New York City one weekend and down on the farm the next. All of you people who make fun of New Jersey think about that one! The Fall Festival at our local farm is a mostly annual tradition. We - [The School Called](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/the-school-called/) - Yesterday afternoon I woke up from my nap about half an hour before Tyler gets home from school. Grant was just sitting on the couch. "You better sit down", he said. I didn't get my disability, someone has died, are the thoughts running through my head. "Tyler's teacher called", Grant said slowly. She said that - [Losing, Keeping and Making New Friends](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/losing-keeping-and-making-new-friends/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 5) This message has been floating around Facebook for a couple of weeks: "If someone wants to be a part of your life, they'll make an effort to be in it. So don't bother reserving a space in your heart for someone who doesn't make an effort to - [Tuesdays With Tyler: The Trip to the Big City](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-the-trip-to-the-big-city/) - On Friday we took Tyler in to New York City for the first time. If you want my take on it, you can go here. This post is about how the trip went for Tyler. We decided to go to the Museum of Natural History where they were having some special exhibits, including the biggest - [The Day After the Day After](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/10/the-day-after-the-day-after/) - No, I did not survive a nuclear explosion, I just feel like I did. I'm talking about when a chronically ill parent decides they are going to give it their all, usually to do something stupid if not impossibly beyond their body's capabilities, for their child. On Friday, Grant and I took Tyler into New - [Fishing Trip and Other Tales](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/fishing-trip-and-other-tales/) - Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt 2. A memorable fishing trip. I've only been fishing one time so right there that's pretty memorable. But this isn't so much about a fishing trip as it is a story from my youth. I was 16 and I had my first job. I was pretty but I - [The Walking Dead](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/the-walking-dead/) - The Social Security Disability Doctors said it, some of my friends on Twitter are saying it, and my last psychiatrist was suspecting it; maybe I am indeed bipolar. I thought the two extremes would have to come at the same time, and I have been depressed much longer than I have been manic, but after - [On Being Remembered](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/on-being-remembered/) - (I read Cleopatra A Life as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy of this book. This post is inspired by the book. Welcome to all of my fellow book club members or anyone coming here for the first time! I am a chronically ill mom married - [Results of the Social Security Doctors' Exams - It Ain't Pretty](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/results-of-the-social-security-doctors-exams-it-aint-pretty/) - Before you read this post, you might want to read my first post from last month, when I went to the Social Security doctors that the judge asked me to in the middle of my disability trial. It has been over two months since my trial and I am trying to believe that no news - [Wondering About My Son's Future](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/wondering-about-my-sons-future/) - (I read Carry Yourself Back to Me by Deborah Reed as a member of the From Left to Write Book club. I was given a free copy of this book. This post was inspired by the book.) The thing I like most about our book club is that you do not write a review of the - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Birthday With Pictures! ](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-birthday-with-pictures/) - Tyler's fifth birthday (and LAST birthday extravaganza!) was this Saturday and a good time was had by all. I was so scared that I would not get through it. The day before, my fever was 100 degrees before I stopped it with a fever reducer. I was having my period which makes all of my - [Planning Ahead With SmartTalk and the State Theatre of New Brunswick! ](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/planning-ahead-with-smarttalk-and-the-state-theatre-of-new-brunswick/) - (I am working with SmartTalk in exchange for the opportunity to see these speakers at no cost to me, and for promotional opportunities for my blog. I am not being monetarily compensated.) I am pleased to announce that I have partnered with SmartTalk Women and the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ to bring you - [Mama Sick's Handy Guide For the Healthy Person](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/mama-sicks-handy-guide-for-the-healthy-person/) - (This will be my final contribution to Invisible Illness Awareness Week. If I have helped one new chronically ill person find strength, one chronically ill mom say "Me too!", if I have educated just one person when it comes to better understanding those of us with Invisible Illness, then I will consider my efforts a - [You Are NOT The Only One](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/you-are-not-the-only-one/) - (As Invisible Illness Awareness Week continues, I am dedicating my posts to those with Chronic Invisible Illnesses, and to helping those who may know of someone with an Invisible Illness better understand them. It is an honor for me to be a part of this cause!) Not only do I blog about chronic illness, I - [Chronic Illness and Our Children](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/chronic-illness-and-our-children/) - (In honor of Invisible Illness Awareness Week, I am dedicating my posts to those with chronic illnesses and to helping those who may know someone with a chronic illness to better understand them. It is an honor for me to be a part of this cause!) Tyler will never know a day in his life - [Take a Breath](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/take-a-breath/) - (We interrupt our regularly scheduled Tuesdays With Tyler in honor of Invisible Illness Awareness Week. For the rest of the week, as much as I can, I hope to concentrate on comforting those who are first experiencing illness, those who continue to live a life in chronic pain and with chronic illness, and educating those - [For My Son on His 5th Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/for-my-son-on-his-5th-birthday/) - Well, my darling, you have hit the "big 5!" Today after school we will take you to Toys r Us to pick something out and we are going to have a cake, a small celebration, just the three of us, plus Lizzie and Scotty! What would a birthday be like without the kitties, right? You - [September 11th: Through a Child's Eyes](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/september-11th-through-a-childs-eyes/) - I started tearing up yesterday. My friend, who had lost his father on September 11, 2001 on Flight 93, had put up a tribute to one of our classmates who had worked in one of the Twin Towers. Today I got up and I felt so upset. But I have a little boy who is - [9-11: Never Forgotten](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/9-11-never-forgotten/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt #4. 9-11 Memories Like most people who were probably aged 20 and older, I will never forget where I was when I first realized what was happening on 9-11. Mine isn't the most "exciting" story of where I was, in fact it is probably pretty average. I am going - [Win a Beautiful Piece of Art!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/win-a-beautiful-piece-of-art/) - Robin Maria Pedrero happens to be a fellow Tweeter that I follow. I honestly don't remember following her, I have followed over 2,200 people, but one day I went to Twitter and at the top of the page was her tweet listing a piece of artwork called "Social Network": I had to click on a - [Tyler's First, First Day](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/tylers-first-first-day/) - Monday night I could not sleep. It was nothing new really; when I wake up, whether to go to the bathroom or I hear a noise, I often awake in pain, and then I need to take something for the pain to go away as it is too much for me just to dose right - [The Summer of Chronic](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/the-summer-of-chronic/) - About ten minutes ago (around 7 a.m.) I got my first sense of "back to school" dread. Even though I was a good student, I was a girl who loved her summers. I was a tom boy; a tree climber, a child who tried to prolong bathing as long as she could, and a fish - [Wrong Bus](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/09/wrong-bus/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt #1.) Write a post about a childhood memory as if you're in that moment again...from the perspective of yourself as that child. I am in kindergarten now and I am going to be five in October! Kindergarten is really fun! My school is really big though and there are - [Tuesdays With Tyler: You're in the Army Now](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-youre-in-the-army-now/) - (On my husbands laptop, again. You know, the one where his possessive/quote key doesnt work? Sigh. I am hoping this is no big deal but it seems that MY computer will not take a charge. I am trying not to think about it but...ahhhh...not again, this will be like the third problem in three months - [I Was the Stalker](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/i-was-the-stalker/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 1.) The Police said it best when they said, "Every breath you take/And every move you make/Every bond you break, every step you take/I'll be watching you". Write about a time you believed someone was watching you. When I saw this prompt I became very sad. Alas, I have never - [My Most Recent Awkward Moment](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/my-most-recent-awkward-moment/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 3). An awkward moment. My husband and I call our awkward moments "Larry David Moments". Larry David is the billionaire who along with Jerry Seinfeld created Seinfeld ("George" was modeled after him). He also created and is currently starring in my favorite show of all time, Curb Your Enthusiasm. We get - [A "Mom Fail" Moment ](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/a-mom-fail-moment/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 1.) A mom fail moment. When my son was born, our cats were already considered senior citizens in the lifespan of the domesticated feline. My cats, Lizzie and Rosie, were nine-years-old and Grant's cats, Scotty and Spanky (yes, my husband named them after The Little Rascals characters, even thought they - [Almost Wordless Wednesday...Drowsy](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/almost-wordless-wednesday-drowsy/) - Does this doll look familiar to you? If you were a little girl in the '70 like I was, you are probably saying "Oh my God! It's Drowsy!" If you are older or younger, you missed out! As you can see this is one tired little Dolly, who is so sleepy. If you notice she - [The ShutMyMouth Diet](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/the-shutmymouth-diet/) - That's right. I am officially on a diet. If I write it here for God and all to see then I have to stick with it! When women have chronic illnesses, it often is very much out of our control what we weigh. Medications, our diseases, and not being able to exercise because of the - [At the Social Security Doctors - The Horror, The Horror](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/at-the-social-security-doctors-the-horror-the-horror/) - (I am sorry to keep you waiting so long. I wrote this over the course of two days, starting on Monday overnight. I am sorry it is so long but I felt that it is a story that HAD to be written. You may want to take it in bits, or perhaps you will find - [My Name is Emily and I Have a Depressed Son](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/my-name-is-emily-and-i-have-a-depressed-son/) - I have known this for a while, but how much can you write...right? I will not talk about how Tyler has described his depression to me to a 'T' without saying "depression". Let's just say he told me that he is sad with life most of the time. Depression runs big in Grant's family and - [Tuesdays With Tyler! Wheel...Of...Fortune!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-wheel-of-fortune/) - Having very little money, our family has been quite active this summer in our wonderful library's programs. Our library's activities are so sought after, that people are constantly checking your ID to make sure you live in our town, it is crazy! This is the first summer Tyler has taken part in the Summer Reading - [BlogHer Conference 2012: Looking Ahead and Wondering](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/blogher-conference-2012-looking-ahead-and-wondering-2/) - For those uninitiated, the BlogHer conference 2011 is coming to a close. To read my devastation over not being able to go BlogHer's past click here and here. This year I was only able to once again, watch from the sidelines. Next year, God willing, I will have the money to go. We will have - [Wake Me Up Before I Go-Go](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/wake-me-up-before-i-go-go/) - You know that title isn't even funny? Even though it is? If you read me regularly, follow my tweets, or are on my Google+ (as Emily Cullen), you pretty much know what's going on in my life at all times. Lately I am starting to have as much trouble as Job himself. As you can gather - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Future Shock](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-future-shock/) - (Usually this is the time where I write a light piece about something funny Tyler has said or done. However, this time isnt it, so if you are looking to have a smile or a chuckle, you may want to skip this one. However, it is a post that must be written and read, particularly - [Being Neighborly](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/being-neighborly/) - I read The Costume Trunk by Bob Fuller. As part of a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by the book. I eagerly awaited my copy of The Costume Trunk because it was a children's book and I could not - [Women Bosses? Ugh!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/women-bosses-ugh/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 5.) Write a post where the first and last sentence contain any form of the word "boss." Words of advice: never take a job without taking an interview with whom your direct boss is going to be. That was my mistake when I took my last job as a recruiter - [Tuesdays With Tyler: The Biggest Champion, The Smallest Child](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/tuesdays-with-tyler-the-biggest-champion-the-smallest-child/) - (If you have been keeping track of me via Google+ (Emily Cullen), Facebook, or Twitter (@mamasick), you will know that I went to the E.R. again today. For the second time in four days, if you are counting. I do plan on writing a full blog, but today is Tuesday, and that always means "Tuesdays - [A Personal Best: Calling 9-1-1 Twice in One Day](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/a-personal-best-calling-9-1-1-twice-in-one-day/) - I think if I were a reader of this blog, I would start to wonder: Is this stuff really happening to this woman? This woman has got to be getting this life out of a book or just has SOME imagination! I know I would be wondering. Anyway, on Saturday I took Tyler to a - [In Search Of...Sex Ed.](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/in-search-of-sex-ed/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 4.) Sex education! How old were you when you learned about the birds and the bees? Who taught you? Describe that experience. I don't know how young I was (four? five?) when I asked my mother where babies come from, but I remember asking her over and over again and - [My So-Called Disability Hearing, Part I](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/my-so-called-disability-hearing-part-i/) - First off, I am sorry that I have not been able to blog sooner. The mere act of skipping a nap on Monday and packing Tyler and I s' clothes, the drive to the hotel, etc. has left me extremely ill. Right now Grant and Tyler are at a library program, Reading to a Therapy - [My Disability Hearing Is Tomorrow](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/my-disability-hearing-is-tomorrow/) - So of course I am up at 4:30 and cannot go back to sleep, thinking about all of the things I have to do for it, which includes packing a bit of stuff for Tyler and I, Grant can pack his own stuff, as we have decided to stay in a hotel overnight because I - [And Then There Are Those Who Eat Their Young](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/and-then-there-are-those-who-eat-their-young/) - Warning: There is some rough language here, not as bad as some other posts, but a little. You could always stop if it gets too much for you because it is some important stuff. My life is at a good news/bad news sort of place right now. The good news: my disability hearing is this - [All in the Family: A Joke Fondly Remembered](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/all-in-the-family-a-joke-fondly-remembered/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt #4) Share a joke that always makes you laugh. I remember hearing this joke several times when I was a child and it really stuck with me. It was told by one of my uncles who had married into my father's side of my family, as one of - [Almost Wordless Wednesday: Can't Get a Break in the Bedroom](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/almost-wordless-wednesday-cant-get-a-break-in-the-bedroom/) - I finally get a night where Tyler actually does not sleep in my bed, and instead of my husband spending the night there, my best bud decides to take over the empty spot. Well...I've known her the longest so maybe I owe her? Her purring IS a lot better than Grant's snoring! - [Story and Contest! Win a Beautiful Anklet for the Summer!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/story-and-contest-win-a-beautiful-anklet-for-the-summer/) - First, the amazing story. In February I did a contest with Michelle of Hope in Bracelets. The winner of the contest was a woman named Caren who wrote to me about whom she would be giving the bracelet to: "My daughter’s good friend was diagnosed this fall with an extremely rare form of Non-Hodgekins Lymphoma. - [Friday Fragments!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/friday-fragments/) - I fell asleep drinking a cup of coffee, it's 2:30 a.m., technically Saturday. Let's see how this is going to go! “Friday Fragments" are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard,” instructs Mrs.4444 over at her blog, Half-Past Kissin’ Time. Last 4th - [Mama Sicks Favorite T.V. Shows Ever, no Arguments from Anyone!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/mama-sicks-favorite-t-v-shows-ever-no-arguments-from-anyone/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop (Laptop update, oh, dont even ask! I got my laptop back and the same problem is happening again! It works at a smails pace. I used to love Apple but they are not delivering for me, no way! Its so hard being sick, and to have to drive to - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Pre-School Graduation](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/tuesdays-with-tyler-pre-school-graduation/) - In true Mama Sick or other chronically ill person fashion, I am really late in putting up Tylers graduation pictures! Tyler graduated June 22nd! I want to thank all who came to the graduation, my brother and his wife, Tylers godmother and her daughter and my oldest friend, who is heavily pregnant, God bless - [My First Friday Fragments!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/07/my-first-friday-fragments/) - I am linking up for the first time ever over at Mrs.4444's Half-Past Kissin' Time's Friday Fragments! "Friday Fragments are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard," instructs Mrs.4444. This should be easy since my whole brain is a bunch of - [My Last Date](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/my-last-date/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop 1.) Describe a memorable first date. This prompt is the perfect opportunity to tell you about something that I have never written about on my blog; how I met my husband. It is, actually, a very interesting story. We have told it so many times that we are bored - [Each to His Own But Someone is Always Doing Something](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/each-to-his-own-but-someone-is-always-doing-something/) - I read The Unxpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People- Part 1 by Christi Grab as part of a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by the book. (Laptop update, yep, I am still using hubby’s. The good - [Resentment: What Ive Feared the Most is Already Happening](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/resentment-what-ive-feared-the-most-is-already-happening/) - (Laptop update, yep, I am still using hubby's. I finally dragged myself back to the store where I had to leave my laptop again with them. I hope they will take good care of her. They told me she would be ready in 24 hours, fingers crossed. What happened there and this afternoon is a - [Tuesdays With Tyler: On the Eve of My Sons Graduation](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-on-the-eve-of-my-sons-graduation/) - (After having just a precious 2 days with my beloved laptop, there is a problem with the new hard drive they put in, so once again, I must bring it in to the shop. Things have been so crazy, yeah its crazy being poor and sick!, I have had to reschedule twice; Im thinking Friday - [Sweating Stuff Big and Small](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/sweating-stuff-big-and-small/) - (After having just a precious 2 days with my beloved laptop, there is a problem with the new hard drive they put in, so once again, I must bring it to the shop this weekend, yeah, Happy Fathers Day to you too. ! I am writing this post on my husbands laptop. His has a - [Alien Summer Campers! ](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/alien-summer-campers/) - (After having just a precious 2 days with my beloved laptop, there is a problem with the new hard drive they put in, so once again, I must bring it to the shop! I am writing this post on my husbands laptop. His has a possessive/quote key that works about 25% of the time. As - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Gaining My Religion, at the Book Sale](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-gaining-my-religion-at-the-book-sale/) - (After having just a precious 2 days with my beloved laptop, there is a problem with the new hard drive they put in, so once again, I must bring it to the shop! I am writing this post on my husbands laptop. His has a possessive/quote key that works about 25% of the time. As - [If I Had Never Had My Child...](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/if-i-had-never-had-my-child/) - (I am writing this post on my husbands laptop, as mine has crashed. His laptop has a possessive/quote key that works about 25% of the time. As he is a professional writer I do not know how he can stand this, but there it is. I write this to let people know that my grammar - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Tyler’s Twitter Account!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-tyler’s-twitter-account/) - (I am writing this post on my husbands laptop, as mine has crashed. His laptop has a possessive/quote key that works about 25% of the time. As he is a professional writer I do not know how he can stand this, but there it is. I write this to let people know that my grammar - [At a Snails Pace](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/at-a-snails-pace/) - I read The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey, as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by the book. (I am writing this post on my husbands laptop, as mine has - [My Life In Six Words](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/06/my-life-in-six-words/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 1.) Six Word Memoir: Write about a significant time in your life in just six words. First asked why. Found the purpose. http://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/my-2nd-blogiversary-the-mission-continues/ http://www.smithmag.net/community/people.php/MamaSick - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Memorial Day Weekend!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/tuesdays-with-tyler-memorial-day-weekend/) - (On my husbands laptop again. As we speak my Genius Computer Guy is trying to recover my data from the old hard drive, and then hopefully put it on my new hard drive, please God! Please note that my husbands possessive/quote key does not work (I dont know how he stands it!), I do not - [My Mother and I, and The Ways We See Parenting](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/my-mother-and-i-and-the-ways-we-see-parenting/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 2.) Not your mother's daughter...how do you parent differently than your mother did? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? When I saw this prompt, an overwhelming sense of dread came over me. I do not want to write it, I do not want to think about it, - [My Grandmother and I](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/my-grandmother-and-i/) - I read Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away, by Christie Watson as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by this book. (I am writing this post on my husbands laptop, as mine has crashed. His laptop has - [My 2nd Blogiversary! The Mission Continues](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/my-2nd-blogiversary-the-mission-continues/) - (I am writing this on my husbands computer because mine is temporarily out of commission. His plural/quotation key does not work, I do not have that bad of a grammar problem. Okay, on with the show!) I have to say that I am pleased and proud of myself for making it thus far and thank - [NJ Moms: Win Tickets to See Barney Live in Concert!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/nj-moms-win-tickets-to-see-barney-live-in-concert/) - Kids and Barney go together like macaroni and cheese! And now, the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ along with the Vee Corporation presents "Barney Live in Concert - Birthday Bash!" A brand new, interactive live stage concert, this show features more than 25 fun songs, including old favorites like Dino Dance, Baby Bop Hop - [Tuesdays With Tyler: At the Dentist or “Marathon Man*”](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/tuesdays-with-tyler-at-the-dentist-or-“marathon-man”/) - Earlier this month, I took Tyler to the dentist. Tyler does not do well with doctors or dentists, or even haircuts for that matter. He does worse that your average child because of his Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, and Anxiety. Whenever Tyler goes to the doctor or is sick he gets a "Well" Prize. This time - [How I Met My Best Friend](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/how-i-met-my-best-friend/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 4.) Describe how you met your best friend. I first moved out on my own for good when I was 26 years old. I had moved in with a co-worker and towards the end of the lease she told me that she wanted to try to get her own place, - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Mother's Day Weekend: Chronic Illness Style!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/tuesdays-with-tyler-mothers-day-weekend-chronic-illness-style/) - Mother's Day weekend was kind of a mixed bag for me, of good, bad and ugly. My mother is here visiting until tomorrow and we both attended Tyler's school for the annual Mother's Day "Muffins With Mom". We were the first to arrive to Tyler's class and one of his teachers asked if either my - [Review and Contest for the Delightful Book "29"](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/review-and-contest-for-the-delightful-book-29/) - I read 29 as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. However, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. In Adena Halpern’s 29, Ellie Jerome, on the occasion of her 75th birthday party, wonders where her life has gone. When - [Can You Help?](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/can-you-help/) - I have had been friends with Karen through Twitter, ButYouDontLookSick, and she is also a reader of my blog. She is temporarily in trouble and all I can do is ask for your help. She has Fibromyalgia so badly that she is wheelchair bound. She lives with her mother and three cats. They are in - [My Teenage Crush...Where is He Now?](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/where-is-he-now/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 3.) A Boy You Had a Crush on...Where Is He Now? I was a "late bloomer", dating no one and kissing just one boy in my four years of high school. I "blossomed" into a very attractive young woman my senior year of high school, but I wasn't any where - [Mama's At..](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/mamas-at-10/) - ...Technorati today, talking to a former classmate of mine who's father died in 9/11. Chris had some powerful views on the death of Osama Bin Laden and he wasn't afraid to get his opinion out there. I hope you will take a look at this courageous man and if so moved, comment and share this - [Trip to The E.R: The True Story!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/05/trip-to-the-e-r-the-true-story/) - I don't think I have written a lot (or anything, who remembers?) about what has been going on with my back so here's a quick summary of the past three months or so. The pain is located right around my left sacroiliac joint, that joint right above your tush. When it started I didn't think - [You Can Find Mama...](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/you-can-find-mama-2/) - ...at Technorati today, talking about a proposal by a Michigan State Senator to allow foster parents to buy clothing for the children they care for ONLY at used clothing stores! You can probably guess what my reaction was! Maybe you feel differently. I hope you will take a look and leave a comment if so - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Easter Time!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/tuesdays-with-tyler-easter-time/) - Well this sick mama managed to live through another holiday and make her little boy a happy kid. How many more years will he believe in the Easter Bunny, I wonder? I figure he will hold onto Santa a little longer! Tyler and I hard at work dyeing our Eggs. For the first time ever, - [Food Stamp Recertification - Not Going to Make It](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/food-stamp-recertification-not-going-to-make-it/) - I had my Food Stamp recertification interview on April 4th. As much information and hours of work it took to get everything together, it wasn't good enough. It figures, Social Services will pick apart anything in order to shut down your food stamps. It seems they do not believe that we are living on the - [A Phone Call I Will Never Forget](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/a-phone-call-i-will-never-forget/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. 3.) A phone call you won't forget. Warning: Intense, emotional theme. During the late 90s I was working in radio on the air doing the night shift. My shift would end at midnight when "Chris" would take over until 5:30 a.m. I never worried that Chris would not show up - [You Can Find Mama at...](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/you-can-find-mama-at-4/) - Technorati today. Calling Easter eggs "Spring Spheres"?? Political Correctness rears it's ugly head once again! I hope you will take a look and give me some comment lovin'. I am really proud of this one! - [Tyler's Lucky Break!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/tylers-lucky-break/) - Today was the day we took Tyler to the pediatric orthopedic surgeon to see how Tyler's elbow was healing from when he fell. On Tuesday night at the E.R., we were told that Tyler's elbow showed swelling and that in this type of injury 80% of children have a broken elbow. We has some trouble - [Contest: For Women With Curves, Spring Into Fashion!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/contest-for-women-with-curves-spring-into-fashion/) - Last year I did a very successful contest with the fine women at Fashion to Figure, a site that carries very trendy and fashionable clothes for the plus size woman at great prices. Looking for something new to add to your spring wardrobe? Fashion to Figure will give one lucky winner the chance to choose - [A Meal in the Mail Ministry](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/a-meal-in-the-mail-ministry/) - I first learned about Cooking Up Faith from my friend, Monica, over at Paper Bridges who nominated my family to become a "featured family", which shows families in many different situations who need help from others. "Big Fat Mama", developed her Meal in the Mail feature when she decided to use her blog to help - [Little Man Down!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/little-man-down/) - Tuesday at around 11:00 we got a call from Tyler's daycare, telling us that he was running in the playground and had fallen on his right arm, on the grass. Tyler wanted ice and the staff was moving his arm and he seemed to be okay. No more calls so I stopped worrying. When Grant - [Happy To Have Grown Up in The Time I Did](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/happy-to-have-grown-up-in-the-time-i-did/) - I read 29 as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by this book. In Adena Halpern's 29, Ellie Jerome, on the occasion of her 75th birthday party, wonders where her life has gone. When she - [For My Cat's 14th Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/for-my-cats-14th-birthday/) - Unlike the post where I wrote a eulogy about my cat, Rosie, I decided to celebrate her sister, Lizzie, on the occasion of her 14th birthday. The number '14' may not be a significant birthday per se, but Lizzie is a bona fide senior citizen and each birthday is precious. I got Lizzie and Rosie - [If You Really Knew Me, You Would Know That...](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/if-you-really-knew-me-you-would-know-that/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 3.) If you really knew me, you would know that... I wasn't always the nice, average looking, sometimes unshowered, sick person I am today. If you do not want to know about my torrid past, if you would prefer to think of me as an angelic mother, wonderful wife, - [I Can't Cook, I Mean it I Really CAN'T](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/i-cant-cook-i-mean-it-i-really-cant/) - I read Lunch in Paris as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by this book. Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard, is the story of a young American woman who falls in love and marries - [Better Know A Blogger! An Answer to Why We Look](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/04/better-know-a-blogger-an-answer-to-why-we-look/) - With title courtesy of Stephen Colbert’s “Better Know a District”, liberties taken. Welcome to the second in an occasional series on Mama Sick! On March 21st I wrote a post called You Know You Want to Look!, in which I came right out and said that I know I get stared at, but that I was okay - [I Think My Mother's Husband is a Friend of Satan](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/i-think-my-mothers-husband-is-a-friend-of-satan/) - Warning: Strong Language to come. I must use, it but honestly they haven't even invented language to begin to describe the horror that is my mother's husband. I must write this before my throat closes up and my own husband has no other choice but to commit me due to the damage this beast has - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Better Education Through Mooning!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/tuesdays-with-tyler-better-education-through-mooning/) - Last Friday I picked Tyler up from his pre-school. Before I got to him I was stopped by his teacher. "We had to write up an Observation on Tyler", she said. Oh no, what now? A new Tourettes's tic? Another threat to cut a child's head off? "Tyler pulled his pants down and showed another - [Better Know a Blogger!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/better-know-a-blogger/) - With title courtesy of Stephen Colbert's "Better Know a District", liberties taken. Lucky you, you have come to the very first of a series of the brilliant "Better Know a Blogger"! So, this idea for me to expose my readers to new thoughts and ideas from other bloggers is forming in my mind and I - [A Journal Entry Long Forgotten](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/a-journal-entry-long-forgotten/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt #5: Share an Old Journal Entry When I saw this prompt I got so excited! I had kept a diary or journal from age eight to about 30! What would I PICK? I finally decided to take a post that was from my wicked young to mid 20s past; - [You Know You Want to Look!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/you-know-you-want-to-look/) - One of my past posts was entitled Longing to Fit In, in which I wrote that I longed to be in the "healthy mom/people" crowd. (Which you can pretty much figure out on your own, but if you chose to read that post too, I'm not saying no!) Anyway, Tracey from Just Another Mommy Blog - [An Hour to Kill on the Telephone](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/an-hour-to-kill-on-the-telephone/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 4.) You have an hour to kill on the telephone. Who do you call and why? With no offense meant to friends or other family members, the person I would call if I had the time, the energy and the health would be my cousin, "Denine". Growing up, there - [Mental Illness: Breaking the Stigma](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/1542/) - Yesterday I was getting my groceries wrung up by a young man who seemed to be coughing a great deal. He was using the "vampire" method to keep me away from his cough as much as possible, but immunosuppressed me was a bit uncomfortable. "Bad cold you got there," I remarked. "Yes, and I can't - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Young Love](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/tuesdays-with-tyler-young-love/) - Today I saw the cutest thing. I was so glad to have been the one to have dropped Tyler off to school today, and I hope I can do the story justice in my writing because it was a truly visual moment. We put Tyler's hat, coat and back-pack into his cubby and I took - [GlassesUSA: A Great Way to Buy Glasses + Discount!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/glasses-usa-a-great-way-to-buy-glasses-discount/) - I was compensated for this post. Certain links inside my posts were required as well. I was approached by GlassesUSA.com to write a post about buying discount eyeglasses as well as prescription sunglasses online. What a great way for a chronically ill person to get their glasses! After all, don't we buy everything we can - [A Song With Significance](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/a-song-with-significance/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 5.) A song with significance. The following is written tongue and cheek. I have no plans to hurt myself, nor do I wish to offend anyone. I think that if I lived my teens and twenties in the 1970's, I never would have made it out alive. All those - [Maxed Out](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/maxed-out/) - What we have worried about for so many months has finally happened. Grant and I s' three largest credit cards are all maxed out, leaving us with department store cards and some smaller cards they give to people with bad credit. Some credit cards, seeing our pattern, have shut their cards off to us, others - [Win Green Mountain Coffee!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/win-green-mountain-coffee/) - (I am being given a box of K-cups from Green Mountain Coffee) A funny thing happened a couple of weeks ago while I was Tweeting: mamasick Emily: Having my last Caramel Vanilla Cream from Green Mountain from my Keurig. It's my favorite flavor. I really should be a spokeswoman. GreenMtnCoffee Green Mtn Coffee: Sounds like - [Longing to Fit In](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/longing-to-fit-in/) - I read Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by this book. Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, by Natasha Solomons, is the story of a German-Jewish couple and their baby daughter - [On the Anniversary of My Father's Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/on-the-anniversary-of-my-fathers-birthday/) - Anniversary, Birthday, Father, Dad, Daddy, Death, Funeral, Cancer, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Grandpa, Heaven, Tyler - [Tuesdays With Tyler: The Dada Artist](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/03/tuesdays-with-tyler-the-dada-artist/) - A couple of days ago Tyler had re-discovered one of his Spider-Man books patterned after a Where's Waldo type of book. He then became inspired to create his own Dada art by piling everything he had that was Spider-Man related into a carefully thought-out heap on the floor. While Mom was dead asleep, the Artist - [Never Been So Proud and So Mad at Him](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/never-been-so-proud-and-so-mad-at-him/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 2.) What did they get into now? Describe a time your toddler got into something they shouldn't have. Tyler was 14 months old. He had been doing the "holding on from one piece of furniture to another" bit, but he had not yet fully walked. That day he finally - [The Bracelet Contest: A Story of Hope](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/the-bracelet-contest-a-story-of-hope/) - I had 22 entries for my Win a Beautiful Beaded Bracelet Contest. When I went to choose the winner with the help of random.org, #22 popped up. "What are the odds of that happening?", I thought. The winner was "Caren", whom I emailed and remarked to her as well how strange it was. Here is - [Tuesdays With Tyler: At the State Theatre's Puppet Show!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/tuesdays-with-tyler-at-the-state-theatres-puppet-show/) - (I was given tickets to see the puppet show by the State Theatre) Yesterday the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ celebrated "Family Day". Activities included storytelling, making a butterfly mobile and a warm Herr's Hub City Big Top tent! Here's Tyler meeting "Blue" from Blue's Clues and "Pablo" from The Backyardagains. Yes, I know - [The CoQ10 Experiment](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/the-coq10-experiment/) - I started taking CoQ10 about two days ago. For the uninitiated, Coenzyme Q10 is a substance like a vitamin, that, among many things, claims to increase your energy. From asking around, CoQ10's results have been mixed, with some claiming it's a miracle, some saying it did nothing for them and some saying they felt a - [Exploiting My Baby's Conception](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/exploiting-my-babys-conception/) - I read Exploiting My Baby as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by this book. Exploiting My Baby by Teresa Strasser is a very...frank book about the author's experience from conception to birth, and I - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Valentine's Day!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/tuesdays-with-tyler-valentines-day/) - Valentine's Day was never a big deal for Grant and I, especially now since we can no longer afford to eat out, but we do enjoy living it through Tyler's eyes. Tyler's teachers said his favorite part of the day was passing out all his Batman valentines. He also made a Valentine for Grant and - [Win a Beautiful Beaded Bracelet!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/win-a-beautiful-beaded-bracelet/) - I discovered Hope in Bracelets when designer Michelle followed me on Twitter. I'm usually not into following product sites but when I took a look at her beautiful bracelets, I instantly became a fan. The bracelets were very reasonably priced and when the one that I ordered came, I realized that they looked as good - [Tales of a Rookie Mom](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/tales-of-a-rookie-mom/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt #2.) You know you're a rookie mom when you... Grant and I were nervous about the whole car seat thing. We had a policeman who had taken a 40 hour class on car seat installment put the bases in our car. We were all set. I even practiced with - [Cancer Scare For My Husband](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/cancer-scare-for-my-husband/) - For a while Grant had been complaining of pain in his torso, front and back. His CAT scan revealed three healed broken ribs, which he most probably got from coughing due to his asthma...and some "spots" on his lungs. This was about a week and a half ago. You try not to think about it, - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Red Light](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/tuesdays-with-tyler-red-light/) - Although I'd like to pretend that life with Tyler is all smiles and sunshine, (wouldn't we all with our kids?) we do go through some rough times with him. In the last few months Tyler has developed a temper which I have definitely connected to lack of sleep. Boy, is he moody in the morning. - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Afternoon Out](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/tuesdays-with-tyler-afternoon-out/) - On Saturday I felt well enough (finally!) to take Tyler to the mall for boots (finally!). I didn't think we'd be lucky enough to actually find boots this late in the season but I at least wanted to get his feet measured so I could find some online. The sales associate looked at me like - [A Letter to My Future Teenage Son](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/02/a-letter-to-my-future-teenage-son/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt #4: A Letter to Your Future Teen Dear Tyler: I know that this is going to be a hard letter to write and at the end I will probably be bawling my eyes out. You are only four-years-old right now. You call me Super Mommy and still need help - [Win Tickets To See The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the State Theatre in New Brunswick!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/win-tickets-to-see-the-very-hungry-caterpillar-at-the-state-theatre-in-new-brunswick/) - (I was given tickets to see the puppet show by the State Theatre) President's Day (February 21st) is Family Day at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ! If you are home with your little ones that day there are a lot of activities going on at The Crossroads Stage, The George Street Playhouse and - [Review and Contest For The Swan Thieves](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/review-and-contest-for-the-swan-thieves/) - I read The Swan Thieves as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club but this review is totally my own opinion. The Swan Thieves, by Elizabeth Kostova, is the story of a famous painter, Robert Oliver, who attacks a painting in - [I Always Feel Left Out](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/i-always-feel-left-out/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt 3.) Describe a time when you felt left out. When you suffer from chronic illness and pain, there are a lot of celebrations that either you can no longer attend, or, if you force yourself to, you will regret it, be miserable at the event, and maybe need up - [When Kids Attack!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/when-kids-attack/) - Tyler is a rough and tumble, energetic, typical four-year-old boy. It seems like he is always running around or jumping up and down. Sometimes, by accident he will run into me, or he will spontaneously decide to jump on me affectionately; maybe hurting my arm, shoulder or chest. In the chronically ill mom, this can - [A Letter For The International Day of Acceptance](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/a-letter-for-the-international-day-of-acceptance/) - International Say of Acceptance, disabled, chronic illness, challenges, Lupus, Person, Mother, Wife, Sick - [Tuesdays With Tyler: "What's That Smell?"](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/tuesdays-with-tyler-whats-that-smell/) - Okay, I admit it, the title was meant to draw you in. (It's my blog and I can call my posts what I want to!) The above though is true. But it was said to me by Tyler, in response to what I thought were lovely smelling heating pads. Well, they weren't lovely to him, as - [January 20th is The International Day of Acceptance](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/january-20th-is-the-international-day-of-acceptance/) - I am letting you know about The International Day of Acceptance early in case people would like to blog or tweet about it. I will also blog about it on that day. As people with disabilities we have rights, opinions, interests and lives. We can make a difference in the world and have a voice. - [Blognonymous](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/blognonymous/) - I am participating in The Daily Dribbles and Domestically Challenged Blognonymous Blog Hop. The post below is not my own post. I'm hosting a post for someone else, and in turn, someone else is also hosting a post of mine, all anonymously. Click through the links below to view all the bloggers and posts in - [I Told You So! Validation of a Sick Person](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/i-told-you-so-validation-of-a-sick-person/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. I have been sick since I was a teenager, and in my twenty-five years of being sick I have learned to become quite an advocate for myself. When I was in my early twenties nothing my gastroenterologist was giving me was working for my Ulcerative Colitis. He wanted to put me - [Obsession: I Live With It](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/obsession-i-live-with-it/) - I read The Swan Thieves as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by this book. The Swan Thieves, by Elizabeth Kostova, is the story of a famous painter, Robert Oliver, who attacks a painting in - [Some Good News For Mama!](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/some-good-news-for-mama/) - It's looking like 2011 may prove to be a better year than I had expected. I got a letter from my lawyer today that within the next few months I will be scheduled for a hearing! I don't know how long this will take but at least we are moving along! Also, Grant and I - [Drunk](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/drunk/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Well I have a lot of stories to pick from so I'll just start with the "best" one and keep going until I think this post is long enough. Before I was a sick, married, mom and lady, I had, uhm, quite the "youthful indiscretions". They would surprise you, they - [My State of the New Year Address](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/my-state-of-the-year-address/) - Fellow chronically ill, healthy and those simply passing through readers, my state of the new year is weak. (Thundering silence) No, seriously folks, I'm going to tell it like it is. 2011 is looking to be the year of the bankruptcy for us. We are over 30 thousand dollars in debt and have a little - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Didn't Think I'd Miss Him](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/tuesdays-with-tyler-didnt-think-id-miss-him/) - Normally, when Grant and I are faced with a holiday break, even if it is a three day weekend, we have an "Oh my God" attitude towards it. We adore Tyler but caring for him usually wears us out and by the last day, for myself at least, I feel like death. I was really - [So Who Made it to New Year's Eve?](https://www.mamasick.com/2011/01/so-who-made-it-to-new-years-eve/) - Having not slept well at naptime, I was exhausted. I laid down at about 8:00 and told my husband to wake me up at about 20 minutes until midnight, so I could listen painfully to Dick Clark's attempt to host his New Year's Eve show. Why do I tune in to watch his struggle? I - [Will Mama Make it to New Year's Eve?](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/will-mama-make-it-to-new-years-eve/) - Grant and I are wondering whether to keep Tyler up to midnight for the first time to celebrate the coming of the New Year with us. I can't make him take a nap. Or we could put him to bed, of course, and wake him up when it comes close to 2011. But what about - [Christmas Wrap Up](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/christmas-wrap-up/) - I have been having a pretty tough time lately. As much as I tried not to over do, it doesn't take much for me to do that! The fatigue is ever present and my Myofascial Pain and Costochondritis have started to flare, along with increased joint pain. Christmas was at my house thankfully. I could - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Tyler's Christmas](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/tuesdays-with-tyler-tylers-christmas/) - Pretty self explanatory! - [Your Help is Needed! One Last Christmas Miracle](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/your-help-is-needed-one-last-christmas-miracle/) - One of my faithful readers and I sometimes exchange emails back and forth. She is a disabled mom with a four-year-old little boy who has Autism. We were talking about our mutual tough financial times and she told me that she was not going to have Christmas this year. No tree, no presents, no nothing. - [Mama's At...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/mamas-at-9/) - ...Technorati today. Santa's gone, how do we control our kids now? Please take a look and I would love some comments. Thanks! - [O Christmas Tree](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/o-christmas-tree/) - I love our Christmas tree because every ornament is a cat and has been collected over the years. As many do, every Christmas I remember where I got this ornament or that one, such as two finely dressed cats from our honeymoon in Las Vegas, a couple from a business trip in San Antonio, the - [Chronic Illness, Chronic Guilt and the Holidays](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/chronic-illness-chronic-guilt-and-the-holidays/) - Is there ever a time of the year that chronically ill moms feel more guilty than the holiday season? It started for me right before Thanksgiving. I was attending Tyler's Thanksgiving party and some of the moms were talking about all they had to do for the holiday. Go to the supermarket, buy this, make - [Pictures from The Nutcracker](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/pictures-from-the-nutcracker/) - I was pleased that my contest winner of The Nutcracker, Monica Brand of Paper Bridges, happened to be someone I knew from the former New Jersey Moms Blog: Grant, Tyler and I before Tyler's "nap"! Thanks so much for the pictures, Monica! - [The Nutcracker at the State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ Enjoyed By Young and Old](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/the-nutcracker-at-the-state-theatre-new-brunswick-nj-enjoyed-by-young-and-old/) - I was given tickets to this ballet, of which I am extremely grateful for. When The Nutcracker ballet began, just the music filled my heart with gladness. What a great way to forget the stress of getting everything done before Christmas by seeing this perennial favorite. The Nutcracker at the State Theatre was performed by - [A Christmas Gift Not Well Received](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/a-christmas-gift-not-well-received/) - Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Being uncertain about any of my Christmas gifts being well received, I decided to write about a Christmas gift that scarred me for life. I was about 13-years-old when the Cabbage Patch Kid phenomenon began. In August I was at a mall and saw my first one. She had red - [Tuesdays With Tyler: A Step Toward Being a Big Boy](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/tuesdays-with-tyler-a-step-toward-being-a-big-boy/) - I wrote in November that Tyler did not want to let go of any of his toys, always finding new ways to play with them. He even had a heart for the broken ones! A couple of days ago, as we near Christmas and another toy explosion, Tyler turned to me and said, "Mommy, I - [Mama: 1, Food Stamp People 0](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/mama-1-food-stamp-people-0/) - I wanted to update you and let you know that we have wrapped up the food stamp battle! The doctor wrote the notes we needed to show that Grant and I are not working due to our disabilities and that we need to have Tyler in pre-K. After I had corrected the income they thought - [Off to See Santa](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/off-to-see-santa/) - Tyler and I started our trek at 11:30 to the mall to see Santa Claus and take holiday pictures. I felt like I was able to walk so we could go by ourselves. There was almost no line to see Santa! Tyler sat on his lap and proceeded to tell Santa his very long wish - [Enchanted](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/enchanted/) - Write a post inspired entirely by one of these words: 1.) Simple. 2.) Angsty. 3.) Excruciating. 4.)Enchanted. 5.) Bold. Inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. This week's assignment was a toughie. I don't do well with one word titles. Since nothing in my life is Simple, I suffer from anxiety so am always pretty much - [Tuesdays With Tyler: And Nights With Tyler](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/tuesdays-with-tyler-and-nights-with-tyler/) - We have never been 100% successful at getting four-year-old Tyler to sleep in his own bed ever since we made his crib into a toddler bed. For six months he slept in my bedroom on the floor in a sleeping bag. His Tourette's Syndrome would act up at night and he wouldn't be able to - [Contest for The Nutcracker at the State Theatre in New Brunswick](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/contest-for-the-nutcracker-at-the-state-theatre-in-new-brunswick/) - When I was four-years-old my mother took me to see The Nutcracker and I never forgot about it, the beautiful music, the scenery, the dancing... Now I am pleased to offer you your chance to win a family four pack of tickets to see the ballet at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ! The - [But What About MY Nap?](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/but-what-about-my-nap/) - If either family, friends or yourself has kids under the age of five, you know about "nap time". Those magic hours for kids usually being 1:00 to 3:00. Perhaps you have even scheduled an event around nap time. A birthday party at 11:00 or a dinner or holiday get together starting around four? As a - [ Lost Friends](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/12/lost-friends/) - Have you ever had a fight with a long time best friend and never made up? Do you think about her from time to time and think about contacting her? What would you say? What if it didn't work out? What if it did? Inspired by Mama Kat's Writers' Workshop. Actually I thought of this - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Tyler Changes His Mind](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-tyler-changes-his-mind/) - So with almost everyone being uncomfortable with Tyler getting a doll, he doesn't want one any more! Yesterday I asked Tyler if he wanted to look at dolls on the computer to see what type he wanted. So we started looking, and he asked, "Will I sleep with my dolly?" "Sure, honey, if that's what - [The Mystery of the Missing Outfit (Or, Another Brain Fog Moment)](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/the-mystery-of-the-missing-outfit-or-another-brain-fog-moment/) - Watching my budget this year, I only bought two outfits from Old Navy, so I could have something a little more dressier for the holidays. On October 16th, I wore one of the new cardigans and dressy tanks with jeans for a little boy's birthday party and I have not seen them since! I have - [Help "Save the Children" by Just Clicking](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/help-save-the-children-by-just-clicking/) - Kidfresh frozen meals was started by a dad with two young children when he looked for convenient, healthy meals for kids and discovered there wasn’t much out there. Most quick meals for kids are loaded with fat, sugar, sodium and artificial ingredients. So Matt Cohen, along with a top chef and a pediatric nutritionist, put - [A New Home for Mama](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/a-new-home-for-mama/) - This past summer the Silicon Valley Moms Group closed and I missed having the chance to get more people to see my writing. On my own blog I like to write about my life and experiences, but on a bigger blog I like to write about larger issues that affect many people, or educate people - [A Memorable Thanksgiving](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/a-memorable-thanksgiving/) - Describe a memorable Thanksgiving. This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. I had decided to visit my boyfriend (my husband to be) in Columbus, OH. How we met is a post in itself but we had a long distance relationship with me living in New Jersey. This would be the first time I would - [Tuesdays With Tyler: The Toy Repurposer ](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-the-toy-repurposer/) - As we near Christmas, I look at my living room and approach the holiday with dread. Already our living space is scattered with toys. Actually, it appears that someone has ransacked our home and decided there was nothing worth stealing so the mess remains. Tyler still plays with every toy that he has ever gotten - [Which is Worse?](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/which-is-worse/) - I have long debated what is the worst for me: Chronic pain or chronic fatigue. There have been times when I have been literally screaming and crying, a "10" on the pain scale, but for the most part my pain is such that I can get through the day with the help of narcotics. So - [Burnt to a Crisp!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/burnt-to-a-crisp/) - Why are you burned out? This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. I am completely burnt out on my quest for long-term disability. I used a mentor who helped me fill out these matrices which listed my illnesses and symptoms and how they affected my ability to work and live. It took me a - [Food Stamp Update](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/food-stamp-update/) - I think my food stamp problems may be coming to a resolution soon. I finally talked to the person who looks over your application and comes up with the dollar amount. I told her that nothing has changed and if anything we are doing worse so why were we decreased? She said, "Because you don't - [Tuesdays With Tyler: How Could I Forget?](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-how-could-i-forget/) - Last week as part of the ChronicBabe blog carnival I was asked to write about Gratitude. I decided to write about the people in my life whom I was grateful for, but after I sent it over to them, I realized I had forgotten the most important person in the world to me, Tyler! I - [Gratitude](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/gratitude/) - Inspired by the Chronic Babe Blog Carnival. They're kicking off their Thanksgiving holiday a little early this year. "Tell us all about the people, resources, services, sources of inspiration, etc., that you are grateful for and how they have changed your life as a ChronicBabe for the better." I am thankful for my husband, who - [What Depression is Like For Me](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/what-depression-is-like-for-me/) - Sara Silverman once gave an interview where she described her childhood depression as feeling homesick while at home. How would you describe it? This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. I have been sick with Lupus for around three years, before that, Rheumatoid Arthritis. In March of 2008, I was laid off and because - [Stealing From My Son](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/stealing-from-my-son/) - That's what it sure as Hell feels like anyway. It started about six months or so when we transferred the money from his savings account to our checking account. We needed it for bills, clothes for him, and food. We could not pay our bills without it. Now we just take whatever Tyler gets from - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Where is My Caillou?](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-where-is-my-caillou/) - "Im just a kid who's four, each day I learn so more, I'm Caillou..." If you haven't seen the show Caillou, it is centered around his wonderful family and wonderful life and is based out of Cananda. I've never seen Caillou's parents punish him or raise their voices to him, because they don't need to. - [Food Stamp Nightmare](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/food-stamp-nightmare/) - In September I had one of the dumbest conversations with a state worker ever. I wanted to blog about it but things and other topics came up. When you are on Food Stamps (FS) you have to complete an Interim Report after six months into the program. When I looked at the application, there were - [Britney, Madonna and...Emily!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/britney-madonna-and-emily/) - If you had made a career out of whatever you were passionate about when you ten...what would you be doing? This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. What, you mean you don't know the famous singer, Emily? When people always asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up (you know, how - [Tuesdays With Tyler: My Good Fortune](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-my-good-fortune/) - Last week I wrote a post inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop, entitled The Sunshine of My Life. How whatever life threw at me, Tyler was the one who kept me going, the one that was worth living with all of this physical and mental pain, just to have to the privilege of raising this - [Blogging Out Hunger in NJ](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/blogging-out-hunger-in-nj/) - I was honored to be asked to be a part of the Blogging Out Hunger campaign here in New Jersey this year, especially because, unfortunately, this comes a little too close to home. This year we qualified for the Food Stamp program, which is a mixed blessing because it means we are living under the - [Another Mommy Blog Where We Show Off Our Kids in Their Halloween Costumes!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/11/another-mommy-blog-where-we-show-our-kids-in-their-halloween-costumes/) - This year I was able to walk with Grant and Tyler from house to house. Last year I had to drive around following them because I could barely walk. Of course now I am paying for it, but at least I was able to be there with them which meant the world to me. Tyler - [My Birthday!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/my-birthday/) - This morning Grant told Tyler to say happy birthday to me and he said, "I don't want you to have a birthday, I want another one!" Couldn't agree more with that statement. We went to Tyler's school for Halloween festivities. I never minded having a birthday so close to Halloween. I always used to have - [The Sunshine of My Life](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/the-sunshine-of-my-life/) - "Keep your face to the sunshine and you can not see the shadow" - Helen Keller In what ways are you able to stay positive about something that sometimes brings you down? This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. With my husband and I both suffering from chronic illness and everything that goes with - [Health Update #174](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/health-update-174/) - I realized I haven't been writing too much about what's be going on with me. I was diagnosed in September with probable Bi-polar Disorder leaning towards Mania. The Mania was keeping me up late every night and getting me up early. It was like the Mania would take my tired body along for the ride, - [Tuesdays With Tyler: "The Pez Head"](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-the-pez-head/) - You know how when you dress your babies up in Yankee clothing or Dallas Cowboy clothing it is the first step in making sure your child will grow up to like "your team"? I'm not sure when Tyler got his first Pez, but he didn't need any more reinforcement than that. He was hooked! Now - [Review and Contest for Following Polly](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/review-and-contest-for-following-polly/) - I read Following Polly as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. Most people enjoy a certain genre of books, such as non-fiction, popular fiction, or true crime. Before joining this book club, I was very into cozy mysteries. These - [Kidfresh Halloween Costume Contest Plus Free Coupons!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/kidfresh-halloween-costume-contest-plus-free-coupons/) - Kidfresh frozen meals was started by a dad with two young children when he looked for convenient, healthy meals for kids and discovered there wasn't much out there. Most quick meals for kids are loaded with fat, sugar, sodium and artificial ingredients. So Matt Cohen, along with a top chef and a pediatric nutritionist put - [A Wardrobe Malfunction (or Two)](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/a-wardrobe-malfunction-or-two/) - A Wardrobe Malfunction This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. When I saw this prompt...less just say it conjured up some of my "youthful indiscretions". These wardrobe malfunctions happened in my early 20s. Kids, do not try this at home, or anywhere! I was very active in my college plays, doing 16 plays in - [Tuesdays With Tyler: A Doll, A Doll, Tyler wants a Doll](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-a-doll-a-doll-tyler-wants-a-doll/) - My four-year-old son asks me from time to time if he could have a "dolly". I think he sees the girls in his daycare playing with dolls and doll houses, or perhaps it is because he will never have a brother or sister. Anyway, despite protests of certain family members, I am getting my child - [The Only Favor I Have Ever Asked You For](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/the-only-favor-i-have-ever-asked-you-for/) - On Sunday Christine Miserandino along with thousands of others will Walk for The Cure for Lupus. For those of you who do not know Christine or have ever heard of The Spoon Theory, she has had Lupus for more than half of her life. She is married and has a three-year-old daughter, Olivia. In her - [How I See Myself](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/how-i-see-myself/) - Share a photo that represents how you see yourself. This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. When I saw this prompt from Mama Kat's I was drawn to it because this has been a post that has been in my mind and wanting to come out in writing form for some time. I would - [Contest: For Women With Curves, Win an Outfit!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/contest-for-women-with-curves-win-an-outfit/) - Last month I was contacted by the website Fashion to Figure, a site that carries very trendy and fashionable clothes for the plus size woman at great prices. Do you see what I mean? The sizes run from 12-26. And you have a chance to win one of the outfits pictured here. Entering is easy - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Lunches With My Son](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-lunches-with-my-son/) - Due to economic reasons, my son and I don't get to eat lunch out very often, so perhaps this is why I view our lunches together as special. If I am taking him to get his haircut, right afterwards I take my happy child with a lollipop in his mouth and a prize in his - [Would My Child Be "All Right"?](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/would-my-child-be-all-right/) - I read The Kids Are All Right as a member of the From Left to Write book club. I was given a free copy as part of the book club. This post was inspired by this book. "The Kids Are All Right" is the true story of what happens to four siblings when they lose - [Trip to the E.R., or No Sh*t](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/trip-to-the-e-r-or-no-sht/) - Okay so this whole post is mostly embarrassing and gross so if you don't want to read it I don't blame you. Due to all of the meds I take along with sometimes being just too fatigued, I often have constipation. It had been three or four days and so I took a couple of - [A Job I Would Never Want to Do](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/a-job-i-would-never-want-to-do/) - Describe a job you would absolutely never want to do. This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. When I saw this prompt I smiled because about a week and a half ago I wouldn't have been sure what I would say. But I was in the Cleveland airport bathroom the other day, waiting - [10 Reasons Why I Hate Fall](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/10-reasons-why-i-hate-fall/) - In homage to my blog sisters who wrote posts about why Fall is their favorite time of the year, I write this post: 10 Reasons Why I Hate Fall: 1. Every one loves the cooler temperatures of Autumn. I hate them, because the 30 to 40 degree temperature changes daily really do a number on - [Robert Schimmel: The Life and Death of a Comedian Forced to Become Invisible](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/10/robert-schimmel-the-life-and-death-of-a-person-forced-to-become-invisible/) - Comedian Robert Schimmel died last month at the age of 60. Whether or not you agreed with his lifestyle (he left his first wife for his daughter's friend, and married and divorced her), if you knew his work you couldn't help liking him. He was just so honest. I think of his life as tragically - [Review and Discount For the Big Apple Circus!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/review-and-discount-for-the-big-apple-circus/) - I was given tickets to see this show. When I first got seated last night and took a look around me under the Big Top of the Big Apple Circus, I have to admit I thought to myself "This circus looks really small", but when the show started I soon learned that big shows come - [...And Then I Panicked](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/and-then-i-panicked/) - This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. It was early summer of 2007 and Tyler was about nine months old. Grant had been put on a new medication and just wasn't feeling right. He was seeing "flashes" and was stuttering and shaking. It was all happening too fast to see a doctor. I was - [Win Tickets to See Curious George Live! ](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/win-tickets-to-see-curious-george-live/) - I have been given a four pack of tickets to see Curious George Live, although I have not seen the show yet. Curious George was a favorite of mine as a child and I couldn't wait to read the books to my son. When I learned about the Curious George series on PBS I was - [Tuesdays With Tyler: And Family!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-and-family/) - I didn't feel any better for the rest of my trip and wound up staying home on Sunday too. Still feeling sick now too, but that's not what Tuesdays With Tyler is all about! And this post is all about family! I felt so good knowing that Tyler got to be with his grandparents and - [Feeling Crappy in Cleveland](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/feeling-crappy-in-cleveland/) - After our flight being delayed for two hours we made it to Cleveland. Tyler did very well coping with the delay and loved the flight. Plus for our inconvenience the airline gave the whole plane Direct TV so Sponge Bob kept Tyler very happy and calm, even when the pilot said we would have a - [Over the River and Through the Woods...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/over-the-river-and-through-the-woods/) - Okay, so we aren't taking a sleigh, but we are going to grandma's house...and grandpa's! Tomorrow we are flying to Cleveland. My in-laws, who treat me like a daughter, have not seen my son in so long! I can't wait to see their faces! We'll take lots of pictures and plan to go to the - [The End of Invisible Illness Awareness Week, 2010](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/the-end-of-invisible-illness-awareness-week-2010/) - As we wrap up Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, 2010, I end with my part in this year's project, which I wrote about here. With the theme being "Each One Can Reach One", the idea was to put sticky notes in places where sick or even healthy people might find them, with the website's address. - [Things to Say and Not to Say to a Sick Person: Cheat Sheet!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/things-to-say-and-not-to-say-to-a-sick-person-cheat-sheet/) - I read a lot about what to say and what not to say to a person who is chronically ill. There are lists and lists of "Do's" and "Don'ts" and honestly, it seems like a lot to remember! So, from my experience of being sick for nearly eight years, I thought I would just talk - [Why Do I Blog? (Or Killing Two Birds With One Stone)](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/why-do-i-blog-or-killing-two-birds-with-one-stone/) - Write about what blogging means to you. Why do you blog? What purpose does it serve you and how have you benefited from sharing a piece of yourself online this way? This was one of the ideas for MamaKat's Writer's Workshop and it also just happens to work out perfectly for Invisible Illness Week. I - [Why I Believe People Cannot Grasp the Concept of Chronic Illness: A Post For Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/why-i-believe-people-cannot-grasp-the-concept-of-chronic-illness-a-post-for-invisible-chronic-illness-awareness-week/) - For those who don't know me, I have been chronically ill for almost eight years now with Rheumatoid Arthritis that "morphed" into Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, etc., etc. When I was a teenager I got my first Autoimmune disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and in my early twenties developed Costochondritis. Having lived with so many diseases and - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Birthday Party With Pictures!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-birthday-party-with-pictures/) - First of all, I would like to thank everyone who was thinking good thoughts that I would be able to enjoy my son's party. Not just get through it in pain, but actually have fun with him. Well, you came through! Adrenalin kicked in and I was too distracted to be aware of the pain - [I Really Didn't Want to See the Resemblance But...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/i-really-didnt-want-to-see-the-resemblance-but/) - I read Following Polly as a member of the From Left to Write book club. This post was inspired by this book. When I start a book I read the acknowledgements, as many people do. Author Karen Bergreen said she appreciated the support of her parents, Barbara and Bernard Bergreen, "who, thankfully, are nothing like Mother - [For My Son on His 4th Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/for-my-son-on-his-4th-birthday/) - Today you had your 4th birthday. A few thoughts come to mind. 1. I have kept a person alive for four years! and 2. Where has the time gone? You are still my little sweet pea, though. You call me "Mommy", tell me you love me and love to kiss, hug and cuddle with me - [My Dream Home](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/my-dream-home/) - This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Having lived in central New Jersey for over 30 years of my life, I have often thought about my dream home and even have my dream town all picked out, should I win the lottery. The town is one of the oldest in New Jersey, Cranbury, and was - [Invisible Illness Week 2010 is Next Week!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/invisible-illness-week-2010-is-next-week/) - Invisible Illness Week was started by Lisa Copen in 2002 as a way to help people who are affected by chronic illnesses that are not easily seen and as a way to bring greater awareness to those of us whose chronic pain and disease are not validated or respected. Lisa suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis and - [Tuesdays With Tyler...First Day of Pre-K!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-first-day-of-pre-k/) - Yes, this is going to be another one of the hundreds of posts you will read (or skip) from mommy bloggers about their child's first day of school. I can't believe that Tyler is in Pre-K! He has a new room and new teachers, plus a new cubby. His school is doing a Nick Jr. - [Review and Contest For "Cowboy & Wills"](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/review-and-contest-for-cowboy-wills/) - This book was given to me at no cost as a member of the From Left to Write book club. The opinions, though, are my own. I was a bit hesitant to read Cowboy & Wills by Monica Holloway, a memoir written from a mother's perspective about navigating the challenges of raising a child with - [Going on Oprah...In My Mind!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/going-on-oprah-in-my-mind/) - This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. When I saw the five choices for this week's assignment I didn't hesitate as to which one I would pick. I actually wrote to Oprah a few years ago asking her to have someone on her show who has more courage and a greater voice than - [Sometimes the Right Pet is Waiting to Find You](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/09/sometimes-the-right-pet-is-waiting-to-find-you/) - This book was given to me at no cost as a member of the From Left to Write book club. This post was inspired by this book. Cowboy & Wills by Monica Holloway is the true story of a little boy with autism who is brought out of his shell when he finally gets the pet - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Sesame Place, Sick Parents' Style](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-sesame-place-sick-parents-style/) - Yesterday we took Tyler to Sesame Place for the first time. Luckily I had my handicapped placard that got us pretty close to the park entrance. We had reserved a wheelchair, actually we had to pay for it, which really irked me, because I have never had to pay for a wheelchair at any - [Five Images of a Perfect Summer](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/five-images-of-a-perfect-summer/) - This post was inspired by Mama's Losin' It!'s Writer's Workshop. When I started to think about this topic, I thought of how my ideas of a perfect summer have changed throughout my life. How in my early to mid 20s the idea of hanging out on the beach, getting a fabulous tan and meeting a - [I Was Scammed and Don't Want You to Be](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/i-was-scammed-and-dont-want-you-to-be/) - I take part in the Sponsored Tweets advertising program, which up until now I was very pleased with, and will continue to be if they pull this advertiser. I always believe in recommending or advertising to my followers only legitimate opportunities. This site had received 100% approval from other Tweeters. Normally, I do not even - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Carnevale Italiano](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-carnevale-italiano/) - I'm about a month behind in posting our summer activities! We went to this nearby annual event in July. I think we took Tyler once, though before he was born I used to go all of the time! You know how that can be! The food, rides and games are packed pretty tightly together so - [Contest: Elmo's Healthy Heroes!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/contest-elmos-healthy-heroes/) - Hey New York and New Jersey Moms, I am pleased to announce your family's chance to win a family 4 pack of ticket vouchers to Sesame Street Live's "Elmo's Healthy Heroes!" When Super Grover loses his superness, Sesame Street needs a hero! Never fear, Elmo and his team of Healthy Heroes are here. Teaching lessons - [Dear Mommy,](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/dear-mommy/) - This post was inspired by the writer's workshop from Mama's Losin' It! Dear Mommy, I know a few weeks ago you and daddy sat me down and told me that you had a "Disease", which is something that will never go away. That you are sick, but not "sick, sick" and that it doesn't mean - [Tuesdays With Tyler: To the Beach or Bust Part 2](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-to-the-beach-or-bust-part-2/) - So, we did it and I lived to tell the tale! Tyler woke up around 6:45 on Saturday morning and when I told him we were going to the beach he started crying and saying he didn't want to go. Weekend mornings are Tyler, Daddy and television time and the two of them look forward - [Just Another Static Monday](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/just-another-static-monday/) - I hate Mondays but not for the reason most people do as I no longer work, so I don't have what my husband refers to as "Sunday Stress" leading to Monday Morning Dread and Panic. For me, every Monday is the same. I wake up exhausting and hurting after taking care of Tyler all weekend - [To the Beach or Bust!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/to-the-beach-or-bust/) - Due to exhaustion, pain and the fact that people with Lupus shouldn't be out in the sun too much, I haven't been to the beach in about two years. I'm not feeling any better, in fact, I've been doing a bit worse lately. But tomorrow, my mother, son and I are packing up and driving - [Review and Contest for "The Stuff That Never Happened"](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/review-and-contest-for-the-stuff-that-never-happened/) - This book was given to me at no cost as a member of the From Left to Write book club. When I first saw the plot summary for The Stuff That Never Happened by debut author Maddie Dawson, part of me thought "Oh Lord, please don't let this book be another The Bridges of Madison - [You Will Only Wind Up a Loser in the "What If?" Game](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/you-will-only-wind-up-a-loser-in-the-what-if-game/) - This book was given to me at no cost as a member of the From Left to Write book club. This post was inspired by this book. The Stuff That Never Happened by Maddie Dawson is a book with a "What If?" type of plot. Annabelle McKay marries young and quickly, and finds herself having - [Sick About Not Being Able to Go to BlogHer](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/sick-about-not-being-able-to-go-to-blogher/) - I've been blogging since June of 2008, first with the Silicon Valley Moms Group. When BlogHer '08 came around I was barely familiar with what it was. I started this blog in May in 2009, and really wished I could go to the July '09 annual BlogHer conference in Chicago. But I couldn't because I - [Tuesdays With Tyler: At the Blueberry Festival](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-at-the-blueberry-festival/) - Tyler and I went to a blueberry festival at a Protestant Church a few weekends ago. It's funny, you parents drag you to these things that you complain about as tweens and teens as really cheesy and then you bring your kids to the same things! We didn't know a soul but the people there - [When One Starts Getting Jealous of Other Sick People, it's Fair to Say One Has Lost It](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/08/when-one-starts-getting-jealous-of-other-sick-people-its-fair-to-say-one-has-lost-it/) - Sometimes it frustrates me that people who have the same diseases I have are doing better than me. I'm not jealous of them, I don't want anyone to be sick. It just gets to me that some people can have serious diseases and are able to function so well. For example, I know a friend - [Families on the Fringe](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/families-on-the-fringe/) - This month was our first full month using the Food Stamp program. Applying for Food Stamps was very stressful for me because we were on the poverty borderline, so I really wasn't sure if we would get them. They only take in to account your income, rent and childcare. Credit card debt (which unfortunately we - [Mama's In...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/mamas-in/) - The New York Post today in an article written by Carrie Seim. The article is about banning gifts for kids' birthday parties. I'm quoted at the end. It is on-line and in the newspaper. Here is the original post that I had written on the subject: No Gifts For Kids' Birthday Parties? Anyway, I'm really - [Of Stupid Teeth, Hair and Husbands](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/of-stupid-teethhair-and-husbands/) - Last year I went to the dentist and wound up racking up a $3,000. dental bill, of which I have only succeeded in paying about a thousand dollars off on a dental credit card. I couldn't afford a six month check-up so I went on my year anniversary. I knew something was wrong with my - [Tyler Dealing With the Loss of Our Cat in His Own Way and Time](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/tyler-dealing-with-the-loss-of-our-cat-in-his-own-way-and-time/) - On Monday night Grant and I broke the news to Tyler that one of our cats had suddenly died. He hadn't said much more about her. Then this morning I was in the kitchen and I heard him talking to our cat, Scotty. "Are you sad that your brother died, Scotty? Don't be sad, it's - [On the Sudden Passing of Our Cat](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/on-the-sudden-passing-of-our-cat/) - On Sunday she was here and on Monday she was gone. The trouble started Sunday night. Things were hectic already. It was after 11:00 and we still could not get Tyler to bed, the result of a too long, too late nap. I noticed our 15-year-old cat, Spanky, just sitting in the litter box. Knowing - [Frustrated With This "Learning Experience"](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/frustrated-with-this-learning-experience/) - When I saw my Rheumatologist yesterday I told him about what had happened to me in the Social Security Reconsideration process. He was very frustrated for me and for all the hard work that I had put into the application. I know he meant well when he starting off with "The Everything Happens For a - [Health Update # 3779](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/health-update-3779/) - I went to the Rheumatologist today for my Orencia infusion. I have had really achy joints for three months now and for about a month my joints have been swelling as well. At the end of the day I can barely walk. I have been living with ice packs for best friends on my hands - [Why I am Giving My Child a Big Party When We Have No Money](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/why-i-am-giving-my-child-a-big-party-when-we-have-no-money/) - Because our apartment can't hold enough people. Because where we live, if parties aren't at people's large homes with Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear in attendance, they are at little gyms and bouncy places. Because my child has been looking forward to his birthday since his last birthday and a party makes him feel really - [And It's a Hearing For Me, Next on the Disability Agenda](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/and-its-a-hearing-for-me-next-on-the-disability-agenda/) - One week later, I finally spoke to my lawyer's paralegal about my Reconsideration Disaster. According to her, I am where I want to be. There is no going backwards, no matter how unfair my Reconsideration process was. She said the hearing is where most people win, where judges tend to be more sympathetic. Doesn't sound - [Review and Giveaway- If You Knew Suzy](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/review-and-giveaway-if-you-knew-suzy/) - This book was given to me at no cost as a member of the From Left to Write book club. Katherine Rosman's mother, Suzy, was in incredible shape for a woman of any age, let alone someone in her late fifties. She was a dancer and a Pilates instructor, health conscious, always moving and on the - [Tuesdays With Tyler...And Friends.](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/tuesdays-with-tyler-and-friends/) - Yesterday I finally got together with two of my best friends and their children. Friends who I met at work turned out to be so much more than that, and in 2006 after one of us went on maternity leave, we never were the awesome threesome at work but continued to keep in touch. We - [ Too Close to Home Yet Inspiring](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/too-close-to-home-yet-inspiring/) - This book was given to me at no cost as a member of the From Left to Write book club. When I first began reading the memoir If You Knew Suzy by Katherine Rosman, I didn't know if I would be able to get through it. The events, times, and dates were too close; I - [The Social Security Administration is a Sham! ](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/the-social-security-administration-is-a-scam/) - My husband opened up two very important pieces of mail on Friday while I was sleeping and just as he was about to pick Tyler up. It was 5:30. Bad news, and nothing I could do about it until TUESDAY! I have been denied by Social Security during my Reconsideration process, in their invisible timeline - [I Guess Crying Pays](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/07/i-guess-crying-pays/) - Well, really advocating for yourself does. It just happened that standing up for myself on the phone with my food stamp case worker was done in a matter of teary good points. She reopened my case and it is truly with mixed emotions that I can say that our family has received food stamps. My - [Tuesdays With Tyler...A Wonderful Pool Day](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-a-wonderful-pool-day/) - On Saturday I took Tyler to the pool for the first time this season. Prior tries had been a disaster, with Tyler being either too cold or too scared to go in or let go of me. But now at three-and-a-half, I figured if he didn't start enjoying the pool experience there was some kind - [Mama's At...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/mamas-at-8/) - ...New Jersey Moms Blog today, talking about our experience with Tyler at the Pediatric Neurologist. I hope you will take a look! - [Review and Contest For Girl in Translation](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/review-and-contest-for-girl-in-translation/) - Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the Silicon Valley Moms Book Club. Girl in Translation is loosely based on author Jean Kwok's family's experience in coming to New York City from Hong Kong. Eleven-year-old Kimberly Chang and her mother come to New York with visions of the Statue of Liberty - [Hope for My Son ](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/hope-for-my-son/) - I read Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok as a part of the Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Club. This post is inspired by this book. Eleven-year-old Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to New York with visions of the Statue of Liberty and Times Square. Instead, they wind up living in - [Visiting My Father](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/visiting-my-father/) - It had been a while since I had visited my Father. For Christmas and the date of his birthday it had just been to cold for me to stand outside but I know he understands. Today I took Grant and Tyler. I've taken Tyler before but he's been too young to remember going or sometimes - [What Silicon Valley Moms Group Meant to Me](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/what-silicon-valley-moms-group-meant-to-me/) - For those of you in the blogoshere who do not know yet, the blog I am a part of, Silicon Valley Moms Group, has decided to close it's network of 13 cities and over 400 writers. I am saddened, because for the last two years plus, I very much enjoyed being a part of this - [So, I Cried to a State Worker Today](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/so-i-cried-to-a-state-worker-today/) - I applied for Food Stamps on March 18th. There was a lot of paperwork required, just like any government-oriented program. I got a letter dated April 20th saying they needed more information and if I didn't get it to them in 30 days I would have to apply all over again. The information they needed - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Not to be Thrown Away](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-not-to-be-thrown-away/) - Tyler is a Spiderman freak and is pretty hard on Spidey and his villains. All of them have held up pretty well except what he refers to as "Shiny Red Spiderman", the one he plays with the most of course. We've have to buy him a few Spidermans. What happens to the figures is they - [When Patients Attack!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/when-patients-attack/) - Okay, not exactly, but I am sure as Hell pissed off! I have kept track of my referrals for my Orencia infusions. Two months prior to my last referral in May I notified the staff of the status. They're all like, "Yeah, we're aware of it." On my last visit in May I told the - [Mama's At...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/mamas-at-7/) - ...New Jersey Moms Blog today, talking about taking your children to the circus despite animal cruelty. I hope you'll take a look! - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Tylerisms](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-tylerisms-2/) - One of the joys of keeping a blog is that you have a record of the cute things your little ones say. Once again I bring you "Tylerisms" from my three-and-a-half-year-old : On the first warm summer night I put pajamas with shorts on Tyler. After we were watching television for about ten minutes he looked - [Health Update # 346](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/health-update-346/) - I haven't really written about my physical health lately, but in the past months I've been experiencing symptoms that had been under control for a while. Since March I've been having joint pain in my elbows, knees and wrists. I've been using heating pads three times a day. Last weekend my hands and feet started - [Mama's At...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/mamas-at-6/) - New Jersey Moms Blog today, talking about the special issues we are having with getting Tyler to sleep in his own bed. I hope you will give it a read! - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Make a Wish](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-make-a-wish/) - Tyler has got the "make a wish" concept down pat. The other day he was playing with a toy he has had since he was one, "The Learning Home" from Fisher-Price. It's really big and he reinvents the toy to suit his needs. Anyway he was hanging on to over one side and he said - [A Memorial Day Weekend With Nothing to Do](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/05/a-memorial-day-weekend-with-nothing-to-do/) - Weekends with my son home all day are hard, but a three day weekend is close to death! Okay, not literally. I love him SO MUCH but his boundless energy drains me so. To make matters worse, we have NO plans for the holiday. These are the times when being far from family and friends - [Tuesdays With Tyler - Our Own Mother's Day](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/05/tuesdays-with-tyler-our-own-mothers-day/) - Grant and I had decided to have our own little Mother's Day the weekend after because my mother was staying over and my brother and his wife came over on the actual holiday. It was your typical dysfunctional family holiday and I think Tyler just got his first taste of it that day! Whoa, what's - [Review: Nickelodeon Presents Storytime Live!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/05/review-nickelodeon-presents-storytime-live/) - Complimentary tickets were given to me by Nickelodeon. Grant, Tyler and I went to Nickelodeon Presents Storytime Live this past Tuesday at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. The show is four musical stories in one, with Moose and Zee as your hosts. It features Kai Lan, The Backyardigans, The Wonder Pets and the - [Two Other Places You Can Find Mama...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/05/two-other-places-you-can-find-mama/) - I'm on New Jersey Moms Blog talking about when "loveys" get stinky, and I am also proud to be a part of Chronic Babe's Blog Carnival #4: Parenting With a Chronic Illness. I hope you will take a look! - [It's My Blog-Aversary!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/05/its-my-blog-aversary/) - Okay it was really yesterday except my server was down. Here is my first blog written on May 19, 2009 should you be so interested: http://www.mamasick.com/2009/05/the-very-first-one/ I just read it myself, in fact. I think I have been true to most of the goals I set out in my introductory post. I like that all - [Weekends and Summers Can Be So Hard](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/weekends-and-summers-can-be-so-hard/) - Weekends and summers can be so hard for the chronically ill, especially if you're a woman. Every Sunday night I thank God I made it through another weekend and on Monday morning I feel like the walking (laying) dead! It's the same for so many women whom I know who are sick. Sick or not, - [I Put My In Contacts For This?](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/05/i-put-my-in-contacts-for-this/) - Yesterday was my son's Mother's Day Tea at daycare. I was determined to go, despite having had migraines for two days and a cold sore and some threatening to come out, along with the usual issues. I had gone to the eye doctor this week so I could get new contact lenses. I did my - [You Can Find Mama At...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/04/you-can-find-mama-at-3/) - New Jersey Moms Blog today. I'm raising Tyler my religion without anyone else of my faith around us. I hope you will check it out! - [Catch Up](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/04/catch-up/) - My computer was in the shop for a week which is why I have not been on here for a while. Lots of stuff has been going on. I think I'm going to take each crisis/happening per one entry. Last Monday I had my monthly appointment with my Rheumatologist for my Orencia infusion. Between months - [Laptop Down!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/04/laptop-down/) - I wanted to let you know that I must bring my computer in for maintenance. Who knows when I will get it back? So, if you don't hear from me, you know why. Oh, my beloved laptop, to be apart from you will be so hard to bear! - [Just My Luck](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/04/just-my-luck/) - As many of you know, I do voiceover work. This dates back to my former days as a radio personality and I just have one client. It just so happens that I am having my best year EVER so far. Normally in 12 years I have never made more than $5,000.00 a year, and that's - [My Son Just Made Me Cry...Happy and Sad Tears](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/04/my-son-just-made-me-cry-happy-and-sad-tears/) - This past week Grant went to the ER with a flare-up of his Crohn's Disease. He was released but being sick before and after has put a lot of extra stress physically and mentally on me. (Don't feel guilty, Grant.) I am more exhausted than ever but today Grant and I were determined to take - [We Interrupt This Chaotic Life For...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/04/we-interrupt-this-chaotic-life-for/) - ...some Easter pictures! I tried to get a picture of Tyler's face while decorating Easter eggs but his concentration was so intense he kept telling me, "No, I cannot": Easter is so much easier for a sick Mommy to handle! Playing Easter Bunny is a lot less stressful than Santa: And another satisfied customer: Hope - [Mama's At...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/04/mamas-at-5/) - New Jersey Moms Blog today. I'm poor, I'm sick, I have a wonderful son...and yet, I still want another baby. I hope you'll take a read. - [Good news!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/04/good-news/) - In today's mail has come the check for my voiceover work that I have been waiting for ! I can pay bills, I can eat, etc.! No April Foolin'! - [Can't Even Believe This...Or Maybe I Can](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/04/cant-even-believe-this-or-maybe-i-can/) - So today we were supposed to have access to our funds so we could be "liquid". There have been so many screw-ups with this, it's just unreal. I look in my bank account and the money is not there. The representative asks me to verify my account number and they have it WRONG, so the - [A Scary Time For Us](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/03/a-scary-time-for-us/) - For the past three weeks or so, Grant and I have been operating on very little income flow. I will spare you the details from this account to that account to another, but a transfer of money from my 401K (our last savings) has taken FOREVER for us to have access to. In addition, money - [Mama's At...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/03/mamas-at-4/) - New Jersey Mom's Blog today, talking about how much of my day is spent trying to find little pieces of toys, remote controls, etc. I hope you will check it out! - [Surrounded in a Sea of Paperwork](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/03/surrounded-in-a-sea-of-paperwork/) - Yep, that's where I've been lately. I just can't seem to get out from under it! After being denied Social Security Disability benefits, there's been paperwork for obtaining a lawyer, and then I almost REALLY messed up. Social Security says that you have 60 days to tell them that you are appealing the decision, but - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Three-Year-Old Rallies From Meltdown to Enjoy Trip to Liberty Science Center](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/03/tuesdays-with-tyler-three-year-old-rallies-from-meltdown-to-enjoy-trip-to-liberty-science-center/) - Courtesy tickets were provided to me by the Liberty Science Center. My family along with our friend visited the Liberty Science Center on Saturday. We headed first to the center's popular exhibition "A T. Rex Named Sue", which is a cast of the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil ever found. I liked that you could - [You Can Find Mama at...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/03/you-can-find-mama-at-2/) - ...New Jersey Moms Blog today, talking about no gifts for children's birthday parties in certain circumstances. Hope you will check it out! - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Feeling Like a "Normal" Mom](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/02/tuesdays-with-tyler-feeling-like-a-normal-mom/) - On Saturday Tyler had a birthday party to go to which started at 11:00. Ugh, mornings are very hard for me. The three of us were supposed to go but Grant wasn't feeling well. I think my depression and anxiety meds are starting to kick in and my pain wasn't too bad so I decided - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Results of Potty Training Boot Camp](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/02/tuesdays-with-tyler-results-of-potty-training-boot-camp/) - It was a rough three days but we all managed to get through it with Tyler having less accidents and Tyler coming up with gems such as, "Pee pee coming out!" and "I'm listening to my body." I sent him to school in Pull-ups today but spoke with his teacher and she said we should - [Potty Training Boot Camp, Day 1](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/02/potty-training-boot-camp-day-1/) - As this is a three day weekend, my husband and I decided to just put Tyler in underwear and see what happens. The score being 10 ACCIDENTS to 5 successful trips to the potty. This is harder than when he was a newborn. After a while we stripped him down to just his underwear, and - [Potty Training or Bust](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/02/potty-training-or-bust/) - My nearly three-and-a-half-year-old son is still not potty trained. He's been in Pull-ups since last June, sometimes he gets it and sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes he would make great strides only to regress. We've tried the stars leading to prizes, chocolates as rewards and ignoring it altogether to take the pressure off him. I wouldn't - [Tuesdays With Tyler: "Shut Up"](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/02/tuesdays-with-tyler-shut-up/) - The other day for no particular reason Tyler looked at me and said, "Shut up, Mommy." I was shocked at my three-year-old's language. Where had he learned that from? We didn't say "shut up" at home. Was a teacher at daycare telling him to "shut up"? I said, "Tyler, saying "shut up" to someone is - [Utter Frustration ](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/02/utter-frustration/) - On January 22nd my husband and I emailed our family doctor two letters that would help us with getting food stamps and appealing my disabilty turn-down and starting my husband's disability case. We literally wrote the letters for him, all he had to do was to print it out on his letterhead and sign it. - [Denied!](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/02/denied/) - One of the things that has kept me from writing and has added to my depression and anxiety that I had posted about prior is that I have been denied my Social Security disability benefits. So many hours or hard work, chasing doctors to get in their own paperwork, doing everything right as followed by - [You Can Find Mama At...](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/02/you-can-find-mama-at/) - New Jersey Moms Blog today. It gives a good explanation of where I've been for the past few weeks. Despite my struggle with severe depression and anxiety I am going to try to get back to posting here more regularly. - [Where the Heck I've Been Lately](https://www.mamasick.com/2010/01/where-the-heck-ive-been-lately/) - Absence is not the way one wishes to start off a new year of blogging but so it goes, my first post of the new year. We had a big storm the weekend of December 19-20th and after that I could not get on the internet. Grant could, but my computer couldn't. We were busy - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Meeting Santa Claus](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/12/tuesdays-with-tyler-meeting-santa-claus/) - Despite Grant not wanting Tyler to see Santa without receiving a H1N1 shot, I knew it would be pretty difficult to avoid the Big Man. I took Tyler snow boot shopping at the mall and we had to pass him on the way. "Santa's here". "Uh, yeah, we have to get boots", I said, hoping - [You Can Catch Mama at...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/12/you-can-catch-mama-at/) - ...New Jersey Moms Blog today, wondering how you are supposed to discard old toys without your child noticing and/or freaking out! I hope you'll take a look! - [Disability Decision Limbo](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/12/disability-decision-limbo/) - Waiting to hear if I will get disability is probably one of the most stressful things I have ever gone through. I know that it is responsible in a large part for an increase in my depression and anxiety. One of the things that has me stressed out in particular is that my Rheumatologist has - [Tyler's Visit With the Magic Lady](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/12/tyler-visit-with-the-magic-lady/) - Yesterday was Tyler's visit with the hypnotherapist to see if we could help him with the verbal and motor tics he has been experiencing. You can read the full story up until now here. All of us were nervous and I wasn't sure how Tyler would do with her. To our surprise, he allowed us - [Aggressive Salespeople](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/11/aggressive-salespeople/) - I went to the mall today, a small one-floor mall where I felt good enough to walk to the two stores I wanted to go to. Unfortunately the store where I had a gift certificate from for my birthday had moved out of the mall. I hadn't bought winter clothes in a couple of years - [Mama's At...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/11/mamas-at-3/) - ...New Jersey Moms Blog today. Grant's afraid of Tyler sitting on Santa's lap due to the Swine Flu. I hope you'll take a read! - [Fearing a Rough Holiday Week Ahead](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/11/fearing-a-rough-holiday-week-ahead/) - It makes me feel so guilty to say this but whenever I know we will have a long weekend with Tyler being home, I get anxious about how I will handle him and how I will feel doing it. I love being with my son but my body just does not want to cooperate. Laying - [Tuesdays With Tyler...Looney Tunes!](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-looney-tunes/) - Recently Grant got a double DVD of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons for all of us to enjoy. I was surprised by how much Tyler really likes them. He calls them "the funny cartoons". They are so different from the cartoons of today, no lessons to be learned, just funny for adults and kids alike. - [Longing for Normalcy](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/11/longing-for-normalcy/) - I wish things would settle down a bit so I could do some regular things, such as keeping a regular blog! Lately I feel like I don't even have time to eat. Due to some insurance changes, Grant has had a tough time finding a new Gastroenterologist as he suffers from Crohn's Disease. On Thursday - [Depression and Other News](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/11/depression-and-other-news/) - One of my doctors telling me that she would not support me in my disability and the death of my cat on Friday has officially put me into a deep depression, as if I wasn't depressed already. My physical symptoms along with these mental ones have made functioning very difficult. I feel like I am - [Tuesdays With Tyler...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/11/tuesdays-with-tyler-3/) - ...for the complete story and latest on Tyler's battle with facial and motor tics please see my post on New Jersey Moms Blog today. - [For My Cat, Rosie](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/11/for-my-cat-rosie/) - Two weeks from the day we found out that my twelve-year-old cat, Rosie, had severe kidney failure I put her to sleep. Problems with her legs masked the fact that there were other issues going on and we thought she was in too much pain to get up. I was shocked when the veterinarian told - [So Did I Mention I Turned 40 Last Week...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/11/so-did-i-mention-i-turned-40-last-week/) - ...and it didn't really make a bump in the road of my life because I have bigger problems than turning 40, right? My cat is not eating and on Friday we have an appointment with the vet and I feel she is going to recommend we put her down. There has just been so much - [Update on Kitty](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/10/update-on-kitty/) - My cat was able to come home and today was the first day that she started eating on her own! The next ten days will be very critical for her. The home care is a bit daunting, but I know Grant and I will do it. The scariest thing is doing a portion of an - [My Fighting Kitty](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/10/my-fighting-kitty/) - This has been a tough, crazy month with my twelve-year-old cat, Rosie. She suffers from dislocated knees and arthritis, and this past week she didn't seem to want to move any more. We asked for pain medication for her, thinking that she just couldn't get up to eat, drink or move and when the pain - [Had My Disability Appointment Yesterday](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/10/had-my-disability-appointment-yesterday/) - After a ton of preparation and much waiting I finally had my disability appointment yesterday. I think it went very well. Because I had made an appointment I only had to wait for about twenty minutes in the crowded waiting room that was ripe for Swine flu conditions. The woman who interviewed me was nice, - [Insurance Companies, Referrals and Administrative Staff Can Kiss My Ass](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/10/insurance-companies-referrals-and-administrative-staff-can-kiss-my-ass/) - I recently had a changeover in my insurance where my COBRA ended and I had the option to private pay. The cost is pretty high, over $450.00 a month, but for continuity and because I have so much going on healthwise with so many doctors, Grant and I decided I would continue with my insurance. - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Sunday at the Fall Festival](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-sunday-at-the-fall-festival/) - For three years now the three of us have gone to a local fall festival and I think of how different Tyler is with every year. How at one he screamed in the petting zoo and how at two he liked riding a pony and how this year he had his first ever lemonade and - [Just How Early Do You Have to Buy a Halloween Costume?](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/10/just-how-early-do-you-have-to-buy-a-halloween-costume/) - ...My latest post is over on New Jersey Moms Blog. I hope you will check out the first Halloween season Tyler is beginning to understand! - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Good Mommy, Bad Mommy](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/10/tuesdays-with-tyler-good-mommy-bad-mommy/) - I once read that in order to get a child to do something or agree to something you should tell him or her that it is part of the "rules" of being a good parent. Tyler is starting to get better with potty training, with the help of candy kisses (yes, getting desperate), except he - [Cutbacks?](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/10/cutbacks/) - As it could be a few more months before our money situation changes, hopefully, with me receiving disability, Grant and I have been talking about what we can cut back on and what we probably qualify for now. We will definitely be applying for food stamps and heating assistance. The things I am scared about - [Kitty, Resurrected](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/10/kitty-resurrected/) - My twelve-year-old cat, Rosie, suffers from a condition called Luxated Patellas, where her knees dislocate. Lately, she has been very bad, limping around, mostly resting. We had an appointment for her to see the veterinarian on Wednesday. On Tuesday afternoon I mentioned to Grant, "You know, I have not seen Rosie all day today." We - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Visit to the Therapist](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-visit-to-the-therapist/) - Grant and I met with the therapist today for Tyler. From what we tell her, Tyler IS having tics which are still probably anxiety related. The tic thing can be good in that children do get tics and they can disappear as quickly as they came in about a year. Also, early onset tics tend - [Rescheduled!](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/rescheduled/) - In keeping with the theme of my life, my disability appointment was rescheduled for October 19th, three weeks from now! I feel so angry and sick of this. I couldn't wait to have my interview and drop off the ton of stuff I have and put it in God's (and the government's) hands. Now it - [Disability Interview Tomorrow!](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/disability-interview-tomorrow/) - The moment that I have spent a year of my life working towards is finally here. Yes, between being sick and other crises it has taken me a year to do the paperwork that my disability mentor has suggested I complete before applying for disability. I literally have more than a hundred pages of documentation - [Music Class](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/music-class/) - One of the few things I've felt okay about spending money on lately is Tyler's music class. We used his birthday money plus a small amount of his savings to enroll him. He has been going for two years, ever since he was a year old. When I tried to enroll him this time around - [Mama's at...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/mamas-at-2/) - New Jersey Moms Blog today talking about how her little baby is growing up way too fast! Check out From Elmo to Spiderman in Sixty Seconds. - [Tuesdays With Tyler: A Special Book for Mothers and Sons](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-a-special-book-for-mothers-and-sons/) - One book I love that features a mother and her son is The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, the same author who wrote the ubiquitous Goodnight Moon. Published in 1942, a little bunny decides to run away from his mother, who tells him she will go after him. If he becomes a rock, she - [Health Updates For Tyler and I](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/health-updates-for-tyler-and-i/) - As per our pediatrician, we have made an appointment to see the child psychologist. As Tyler is only three, the psychologist meets with the parents and tries to teach them some techniques in dealing with the child's stress. It seems like Tyler's anxieties morph into some strange actions. Yesterday he kept sort of shrugging his - [Stressed Out Three-Year-Old](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/stressed-out-three-year-old/) - We took Tyler for his three-year-old check-up today. While Grant and I had thought that Tyler was exhibiting "tics", our pediatrician says that since they manifest during signs of stress and are mostly voluntary, such as heavy breathing, it is more like anxiety. He has suggested taking Tyler to see a psychologist. Grant and I - [Tyler's Tics](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/tylers-tics/) - For a few months now we have noticed Tyler doing a series of things that made us look at each separately, rather than seeing them as a whole. From going to specialists and speaking on the phone to pediatricians and nurses, we now believe Tyler has Tics . It started in late April, early May - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Birthday Party!](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-birthday-party/) - Tyler's party turned out great, even though I am still recovering! We are still opening presents, one or two a day, otherwise it is too overwhelming! We had the party at a place that sells swingsets, PlayNation. Only about three stores in the country offer parties. Here's Tyler, the first to arrive: He was having - [Birthday Party Tomorrow For Tyler](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/birthday-party-tomorrow-for-tyler/) - Tomorrow is Tyler's birthday and his birthday party. My soon to be three-year-old is still up as of this writing (10:20 p.m.). It's the first birthday that he actually gets what's going to happen. Well, he seems most excited about the cupcakes and the goodie bags. Personally I am anxious to see how I will - [Mama's Thinking...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/mamas-thinking/) - ...about September 11th and how it affected New Jersey on New Jersey Moms Blog today. Take a look and see why for some it will always be personal. - [Tuesdays With Tyler: For Your 3rd Birthday](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/tuesdays-with-tyler-for-your-3rd-birthday/) - On Saturday, September 12th you will be three-years-old, I can't believe it! You were born on a Tuesday so it is fitting that I write this to you today. You are our miracle child, the child I didn't think I would ever be well enough to have. You will be our only child because of - [Sick Mom, Well Mom, Part II](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/sick-mom-well-mom-part-ii/) - I think the thing I wonder most about my mothering skills while faced with being chronically ill is: Where does normal frustration with my child end and where does my illness begin? I stayed home seven months when Tyler was born. I suffered from some of the usual issues; lack of sleep, on my part - [Sick Mom, Well Mom](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/09/sick-mom-well-mom/) - When you are a mom with chronic illness, I think it is only natural that you blame your child's faults or delays on yourself. For example: My child would be potty-trained by now if I was a well mom. My child wouldn't always run into my bed if I was a well mom. My child - [Money Worries](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/money-worries/) - They are my almost every free thought so I supposed I should write about them. I'm 2/3's of my credit card's limit, plus lots of other bills. There's no way we could ever pay that credit card off. We're still taking from our dwindling savings but then what? My 401K I suppose, not that there - [You Can Find Mama...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/you-can-find-mama/) - at New Jersey Moms Blog today, writing about her son learning about Mommy's illnesses as he gets older. Too much, too soon for a toddler? Please check it out! - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Hope](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-hope/) - Ever since I became pregnant I had become a fan of the Willow Tree Figurines, getting the first one of a pregnant woman, then a mother holding her little baby and a few more, until Tyler became able to smash things. He broke the one of the man and woman holding their newborn baby who - [End of Health Week!](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/end-of-health-week/) - Yesterday I had my colonoscopy. (Way to start a blog!) Maybe because I've been flaring this prep was the hardest on me, ever. My legs were so shaky and I felt so weak and nauseous. I couldn't take a shower, there was just no way, and I hate to go out like that, especially to - [Hump Day of the Health Week From Hell](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/hump-day-of-the-health-week-from-hell/) - So I have made it through one hurdle. Monday's dental work. The dentist filled one cavity and then took out six old silver/mercury filings and replaced them. I was in the chair for an hour and forty-five minutes! The dentist and assistant could not believe how well I did. I was like Please, I have - [Hell of a Week Ahead](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/hell-of-a-week-ahead/) - This week I am having major dental work, a colonoscopy, acupuncture and blood work! Yes, all in one fun-filled week! I made my colonoscopy appointment a couple of months ago and then my Rheumatologist told me that I could only have dental work done when my immunosuppressant drug was at it's weakest, which is this - [Tuesdays With Tyler: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-one-fish-two-fish-red-fish-blue-fish/) - Grant grew up with fish and little frogs all of his life so last week, Tyler for the first time got to pick out pets of his own. Deciding on Betta fish due to their reputation for heartiness, Grant took Tyler to the pet store and Tyler chose a red Betta and a blue Betta. - [The State of My Home](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/the-state-of-my-home/) - When you suffer from chronic illness it is likely you also suffer from a chronically messy or dirty home. I think this gets to women much more often than men and especially to women who have kids. For years I have had cleaning people that started when Grant broke his leg, and my RA started - [A Setback](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/a-setback/) - Sometimes I think I am just not meant to get well, as if someone, somewhere (God?) is punishing me. But logically I know that isn't true, it just feels like it. My Costochondritis has flared to the point where I have decided I must put physical therapy for my legs on hold and take care - [Tuesdays With Tyler: "Birth Day"](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/tuesdays-with-tyler-birth-day/) - This post was inspired by the Silicon Valley Moms Group's Book Club selection Birth Day by Mark Sloan, a pediatrician whose book takes you through the history of birth written for the layman or should I say laywoman? For more interpretations, plus the opportunity to comment with other moms and the author himself, please check - [Mama's at...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/mamas-at/) - ...New Jersey Moms Blog today, talking about her Shadow, otherwise known as her toddler! Hope you will take a look at something that's a little different than my blog posts here! Enjoy your Sunday as best as you can! - [A Great Time at the Fair!](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/a-great-time-at-the-fair/) - This week was our county's fair and I really wanted to take Tyler, even though I would have to contend with the pain in my calves and flaring Costochondritis. I just wanted to do something normal with my little boy! I tried to take a nap before I had to get ready but spent most - [It's Always Something](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/08/its-always-something/) - I have often described myself as an old car. You fix one thing on me and another thing breaks down. And so it goes. My first couple of sessions with my new physical therapist have gone well. But due to situations beyond my control it has been necessary for me to do more inside and - [Just Another Day in Paradise Over Here](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/just-another-day-in-paradise-over-here/) - For the past two weeks, Grant has been complaining of abdominal pain on and off, some of it bad enough to go to the E.R., which I have just told him GO, GO, GO! Don't wait for a doctor's appointment, then weeks to see a specialist with the pain you are having! He does have - [New PT Guy!](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/new-pt-guy/) - Well I am cautiously optimistic that I may have finally found a good physical therapist! As opposed to that other loser last month! He spent over an hour examining me, finding the various points where I say OW! Should I be flattered that he said he has never seen a patient with my complaints before? - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Tylerisms](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/tuesdays-with-tyler-tylerisms/) - Kids say the darndest things! Here's some of the things mine comes up with! On the differences between men and women: Tyler was watching Grant "pee" standing up. Tyler: Daddy, is that your penis?! Grant: Yes. Tyler: It's big! Grant: Go tell Mommy that. Another day. Tyler: Mommy, do you have a big vagina? - [Trip to the Dentist](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/trip-to-the-dentist/) - Today I went to the dentist for the first time in two years. Between having no dental insurance and having so many illnesses, my teeth weren't ranking high, although I know how important it is. But for a month or so my teeth were kind of always bothering me, not major pain, but a dull - [On Some Who Cannot Be at BlogHer](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/on-some-who-cannot-be-at-blogher/) - We all know that not all women bloggers made it to BlogHer this year, obviously they are more of us at home than in Chicago. Probably the biggest reasons that a woman who wanted to go but couldn't are financial, or their responsibilities at work conflicted, or they couldn't leave their children. Maybe some are - [Mama's Blogging...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/mamas-blogging/) - ...at New Jersey Moms Blog today. Please check it out for my take on "putting a leash" on your child! - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Rocking My Baby](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/tuesdays-with-tyler-rocking-my-baby/) - Although my son is going to be three-years-old in two months, I still rock him to sleep. It is a ritual that has so much meaning for me. If I'm there, it means I wasn't feeling too sick or exhausted not to do it, so I feel so grateful to God when I can do - [Tyler at the Pediatrician](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/tyler-at-the-pediatrician/) - We took Tyler to the pediatrician for his ears today and the doctor said they looked great. No infection, no water or fluid, totally fine. She said that sometimes normal things to us can sound very strange to children, such as an occasional ringing of the ears. Tyler is already focused on his ears from - [When Mama Doesn't Have Time to Be Sick](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/when-mama-doesnt-have-time-to-be-sick/) - I was going to blog tonight, if I was able, about how I was doing and how we fared through the weekend, but unfortunately my mind and body have had to turn to Tyler. I think it was Thursday night when we were eating and I saw Tyler touch his ear. I asked him if - [I Probably Shouldn't Be Writing This Right Now](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/i-probably-shouldnt-be-writing-this-right-now/) - I am still recovering from injuring myself in the pool (See First Pool Day). I start feeling better but helping Tyler get dressed usually makes me take a few steps back in healing. My Costochondritis flare has gotten worse as well. Having a Costo flare always freaks me out. Rest is the most important thing - [Tuesdays With Tyler](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/tuesdays-with-tyler-2/) - On Saturday I hurt myself playing in the pool with Tyler, with my right bicep muscle getting the worst of it. I have been slowly improving but I have had to limit the use of my arm. I usually put Tyler to bed but there was no way I was going to be able to - [First Pool Day](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/first-pool-day/) - On Saturday my mother, who is visiting, my brother and sister-in-law, and Tyler and I went to our apartment complex's pool. It was the first pool day for Tyler and I. Tyler has lived two summers so far (now on his third) and we have had a lot of trouble with him being fearful of - [Health Update # 3: A Shake-up ](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/health-update-3-a-shake-up/) - Today I saw a doctor who is a Physiatrist, or a Rehabilitation Physician. I like this doctor because she also has a through knowledge of Eastern medicine and has done acupuncture on me before when I could not find any relief for my Costochondritis. The appointment was difficult because she disagreed with a lot of - [Where is Mama?](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/where-is-mama/) - Mama is on New Jersey Moms Blog today. For the latest adventures in child-rearing, please check out "I Have a New Child In My Life, His Name is Only Me." - [Tuesdays With Tyler...The Days of Whine and Potty Training](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/tuesdays-with-tyler-the-days-of-whine-and-potty-training/) - It seems like a lot longer but we've been trying to potty train Tyler for a little over three months now. His teacher at daycare tells me he's doing pretty well there, but he's regressed at home. Now he either refuses to go to the potty or if he does get on there he tells - [The 4th and Other Stuff](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/the-4th-and-other-stuff/) - I am so happy to be in bed knowing I have made it through yet another long weekend! Grant, Tyler and I visited my aunt and uncle for a barbeque yesterday and we had a nice time. Tyler enjoyed playing with his cousins, meeting the newest baby of the family and broccoli (yes, weird child!) - [Health Update # 2](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/07/health-update-2/) - See Health Update # 1 for more background. This week, though technically still not over, has been tough. I've had three migraines in four days and have fallen really behind in...life. I had an Orencia treatment today and in my latest bloodwork, my Vitamin D level has still not risen. My Rheumatologist said the Hyperparathyroidism - [Tuesdays With Tyler...And Harold](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-and-harold/) - My husband, Grant, loved Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson as a child and was determined to pass on his passion to Tyler. And for better or for worse, he has succeeded. For those unfamiliar, "The Harold" series revolves around a boy who can step into an adventure by drawing with his purple - [Birthday Party For a Three-Year-Old](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/birthday-party-for-a-three-year-old/) - Grant and I escorted Tyler to a birthday party today. One of his friends at daycare had turned three. We drove up to what looked like a mini castle. The birthday boy, "Jack" had just woken up from a nap and was crying to his father, "Too many people." There were over fifty with tons of - [It's a Three Day Weekend, God Help Me](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/its-a-three-day-weekend-god-help-me/) - A few days ago I realized that Tyler's daycare was going to be closed tomorrow for a Teacher In-Service Day and the anxiety started because that meant a three day weekend with my son home. And then the guilt started, and the fear. When Tyler is at daycare I can sleep the 12+ hours I - [Health Update](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/health-update/) - Most chronically ill people see a few doctors per week, myself included. Three weeks back I had gotten a copy of my latest blood work. It still showed that I was Vitamin D Deficient and, a new one on me, that I was Calcium Deficient, diagnosed as borderline Secondary Hyperparathyroidism. That was a new one - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Child of Disabled Parents](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-child-of-disabled-parents/) - Of all of the guilt and worry disabled or chronically ill parents have over whether or not their children will turn out alright or hate them for life, from what I have read and heard from other parents, it seems their kids turn out just fine and in fact can turn out to be more - [Today...](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/today/) - I'm over at New Jersey Moms Blog. Take a look there for something a little different. Thanks! - [For My Father](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/for-my-father/) - A few days ago I read a post by Nancy on her blog One Stop Boy Shop lamenting that she was not able to eulogize her father at his funeral many years ago. I think it is extremely admirable that one can pull themselves together enough to be able to speak at their parent's or - [My Friend Has a New Baby and Almost All of Me is Happy](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/my-friend-has-a-new-baby-and-almost-all-of-me-is-happy/) - Today one of my best friends had a baby boy, to go along with her almost three-year-old daughter. She and I were pregnant together for her first time, and my first time and my last. A few months before Tyler's second birthday I was diagnosed with Lupus, although I had been becoming sicker months before. - [Tuesdays With Tyler...And Thomas](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-and-thomas/) - Today was our family's Day Out With Thomas at the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County, PA. Since it was a trip where the tickets were bought ahead of time, I was really anxious about how I was going to feel today. We had rented a wheelchair but there is still the possibility of pain, - [A Good Time Was Had By All](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/a-good-time-was-had-by-all/) - Today my brother and sister-in-law came over for a picnic in the park with Tyler, one of my closest friends, Francesca (not her real name) and I. An outing with my brother and his wife is always very interesting because the two of them both have Asperger's Syndrome and she also is mentally retarded. Asperger's - [A Hearing Test for Tyler, and Then Another Long Wait](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/a-hearing-test-for-tyler-and-then-another-long-wait/) - As soon as he was born it seemed as if Tyler were super-sensitive to sounds. If my husband would open up a can of soda, he would wake up and cry. A car going by would wake him up. It seemed to get better after the infant stage but when he began to be verbal - [Physical Therapist = Fail](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/physical-therapist-fail/) - Although I am not convinced that the cause of the pain in my calves that has been so debilitating is from Fibromyalgia, I took my Rheumatologist's advice and referral and decided to start physical therapy. I am not a fan of P.T. for Fibros because so many physical therapists do not know the first thing - [Tuesdays With Tyler: Who's On First?](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/tuesdays-with-tyler-whos-on-first/) - Lately some of my conversations with Tyler have resembled that famous Abbott and Costello routine Who's on First? This usually will go on doing dinner. Tyler: Is this (taco) mine? Me: Yes, honey it's yours. Tyler: No, it's mines! Me: Yes, it is yours. Tyler: You said it is mines! Me: Honey, when I say - [In Defense of a Poor Woman's Pedicure](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/in-defense-of-a-poor-womans-pedicure/) - Today I had a pedicure. The reason that I entitled this post like I did is because those who know me through Twitter or New Jersey Moms Blog, or anywhere else online; or even those who know me in real life might say, "How dare she spend her family's money on a pedicure!" I decided - [Baby Steps...For Mama](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/baby-stepsfor-mama/) - The last person to comment on my previous post, Liz of This Full House, mentioned taking baby steps towards recovery. I've never viewed my recoveries, meaning coming out of a flare-up, as baby steps, but that is just what they are. I have been in chronic pain, whether it was from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, - [No One's in the Kitchen With Dinah](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/no-ones-in-the-kitchen-with-dinah/) - For about five months one of my best friends had been being paid to help me cook dinners, provide care for Tyler when we needed a break, and to tidy up our home. A few weeks ago her father started having medical problems along with financial ones. So I can't say it came as a - [Tuesdays With Tyler](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/06/tuesdays-with-tyler/) - In a weekly feature entitled "Tuesdays With Tyler" I will post something Tyler says or does that is either unique or heartwarming. I hope this will serve as a record for me of the precious things my little one says, as well as hope to entertain my readers. The battle to get Tyler to go - [Can Toddlers PMS?](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/05/can-toddlers-pms/) - As crazy as last night with Tyler was is how peacefully it ended tonight. As mentioned before, we have been having a tough time getting him to sleep in his own bed. Last night we couldn't even get him to STAY in his own room, much less get in to his bed! If I get - [ Who Switched Kids on Me?](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/05/who-switched-kids-on-me/) - Tyler is hitting the terrible two and a halves, I guess, with almost everything that you could think of going wrong happening all at once. My baby, who proudly ate every food at his catered one-year-old birthday party, including swedish meatballs and chicken parmigiana, has suddenly turned into an I Want Macaroni and Cheese for - [Can I Refer You to My Swollen Middle Finger?](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/05/can-i-refer-you-to-my-swollen-middle-finger/) - Yesterday was supposed to be my monthly Orencia treatment that controls my joint problems from my RA/Lupus. The administrative assistant is about to take my payment when she says, "Your referrals have expired". Apparently, I had loads of visits remaining, but the referral for them had expired. The office said it I could get in - [I Guess Negative Comments Are Better Than None At All](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/05/i-guess-bad-publicity-is-better-than-none-at-all/) - With some of the negative comments I have received, I do feel the need not to defend each and every point made by a few people who know me only through Twitter, but to make a general statement. Lupus is a disease that is different for everyone. It can run the gamut from a - [The Very First One](https://www.mamasick.com/2009/05/the-very-first-one/) - Hello! After a few months of hemming and hawing along with many life and health crises that I hope will make this blog interesting, I have decided to say To Hell With It and just get going! I am just going to have to learn as I go because I just don't feel like ## Pages - [Book Review!](https://www.mamasick.com/book-review-2/) - With special thanks to MamaKat's Writer's Workshop. Eleanor Oliphant may be a little odd and "a little bit mental" but she thinks she has it altogether. Little by little the book gives you clues about Eleanor and you learn that she is anything but fine! I was so freaked out at the end! In case - [Book Review!](https://www.mamasick.com/book-review/) - Thursday is Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today! What if their was a drug that took away a trauma that you once experienced? An experimental drug is given to 15 year old Jenny to forget her brutal rape, but Jenny still has memories of some sort of horror. I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't put - [About](https://www.mamasick.com/about/) - Emily Cullen is a pen-name. I suffer from chronic illnesses and diseases which include Bipolar Disorder, Lupus, Diabetes and Fibromyalgia. I am separated from my husband,“Grant”. Our son,“Tyler” was born in September of 2006 and suffers from tics, anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and is also delayed in fine and gross motor skills. 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