Financial Wellness

So they say the first step is admitting you have a problem, so here it goes....

I have an addiction- I am addicted to shopping...with a little (tiny) bit of help from my husband and a couple of friends I realized I could (maybe) have a problem...one of which I am ready to talk about.

I realized there could be a problem when I would have things shipped to work so that my loving hubby would see my walking in with yet another shopping bag...I also realized that even though the "new" items sat in my car for weeks- they are still considered new.

So here I am admitting my problem and putting myself into shopping/financial rehab allowing myself an allowance per week and leaving my debit card at home...I was so proud of myself that I immediately called Michael to tell him the news...his response "Honey that is great, but doesn't it defeat the purpose of leaving your debit card behind when you have your number memorized?"

Crap, he is right...and I have my work cut out for me...I am one week in and of course feel great about myself and my choices (but again it is week one)...the huge struggle for me will be of course the fact I work a block from a mall and also that I am hounded everyday by sale and boutique emails screaming at me..."Look at all the clothes and shoes that are at least 50% off"...talk about a slap in the face...

I am holding strong...my goal is to save money for the two trips we have planned this year the first to NY City in May and the second to Vegas in Sept...talk about two places where I will spend no money :)

So here is the last purchase I made before I put myself in rehab...well worth it

Holidays

Hi All,

I am vowing to start doing better with my blogs in the future since there are so many things to discuss as far as fitness and wellness are concerned. This becomes even more important as folks are making New Year's Resolutions to either start exercising, exercise more, or losing weight.

I am going to be providing helpful (well at least what I think is helpful) info to help get through the holidays and even creating a new you for a new year!

<3

Amber

McElla's Dramatic Entrance

Update...

I know it has been a while since my last post due to the fact my little angel decided to come 4 weeks early!

Well we went into the hospital on April 15th because I was having pain in my right kidney, they were just going to admit me for a couple hours and give me some pain meds then send me home to sleep it off. Little McElla had a different idea...

Once in the hospital my pain got increasingly worse, I was passing a kidney stone with no stone being there. The urologist decided to put me under and place a stint in my right kidney to relieve the pressure so at 7:30pm I went in for surgery when they woke me up at 9:30pm I was in so much pain that I blacked out. Poor Michael was wondering when enough was enough sinced I was in so much pain and when that was going to effect our little princess.

The doctor finally looked at me and said are you alright with a c-section and of course by that time I was fine with anything as long as the pain went away. So here I go into surgery number 2 within hours of each other and out comes McElla Lynn at 12:20am on April 16th.

So needless to say she wanted to come into this world dramatically to Momma and everyone else and has been a pistol every since and couldn't love her anymore!!!

Getting Close

So we are really in the final countown :) McElla is due May 10th, however, we go in on Tuesday for our next appointment and an ultrasound. This ultrasound is very very important, she has been measuring about 1 1/2 weeks small (at least she did at the ultrasound we had on week 31). This is to see if she is still running small and if so, we figure out next steps.

Well that was the plan until last week when I had a midnight run to the ER. Apparently this little one is stubborn and already causing trouble (imagine that with Michael and me as her parents- stubborn). I am having issues with my gallbladder and right kidney and luckily the pain comes and goes I have good days and bad days.

So with this wrench thrown in, Tuesday becomes a lot more important- if she is small the doc is just going to take her out so there could be a baby next week or in a month. Needless to say I am getting very nervous and excited for Tuesday almost like a little kid on Christmas Eve.

Obviously, with news this huge I will make sure to keep all of you posted :)

It feels like Spring is officially here thus puts me in the mood to blog :) I also thought an update on PT is needed. So far I am feeling much better thanks to Liz my physical therapist- she works wonders.

We are now in the official countdown phase 7 weeks to go and I think this little girl is getting excited and ready to come out. The nursery is completed all except for the crib- had a few issues with broken pieces so had to take it back and research to find a new crib. But don't fear it is in the process of being delivered to our house hopefully this one comes in better shape (shame on you Bright Star- shoty packaging causes broken crib pieces).

You can check out the pics of the nursery on my facebook page- I have posted them on there. Also, this little girl could be arriving early we have an ultrasound on April 13 to see if the rest of her body has caught up with her head and weight she is running a little small. Based on the ultrasound we will have a few options: if she is sized where she should be then we just wait until she is ready, if she is not moving along where she should be then either we deliver early or I go on bedrest.

I will keep you updated, so right now I am in final final countdown poor Michael he doesn't know what hit him. So I am now trying to get everything done and ready based upon early delivery date- at least it will all be ready when the crib gets here!!!

Back Pains

The pain in my back became so intense I finally had to break down and call my dr. She said that I needed to go to physical therapy. So off I went...during the assessment found out that my pelvis was shifting in two different directions (not how is was supposed to move) and was in fact causing too much pain on my lower spine.

Now after a week of PT and multiple stretches and exercises a day, I have made some progress. Pain is now not so bad- at least tolerable. In the end, I know these pains are all for something amazing (I just have to keep telling myself that).

Until we meet again....

Body Pains

On top of the everyday battle of telling my body that yes, you are full comes the fabulous pains associated with your body adjusting for baby number 1. Don't get me wrong, this is a fantastic miracle that is happening in my body right now especially since it is just nature and your body is moving along how it should but man!

Now that I am starting to show comes the back pain! If I ever thought I had pains in my back earlier, I was wrong! These are excruciating! So on top of all the doctor's visits, all the baby stuff you have to buy, the body pillows so you are actually comfortable at night comes Physical Therapy.

I guess I just need to keep telling myself, this is the miracle of birth. This is what your body was made for, suck it up.