I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We actaully had a great one despite all of the stress we’ve been going through lately.
I was so happy to have ALL of my siblings in town for Thanksgiving! I have a sister who lives in Connecticut, a brother in Georgia and another brother in California. It was so fun to have them all here. It had been about 18 years since we’d all been together for Thanksgiving!
My mom has had Thanksgiving dinner at her house with all of her siblings and most of their kids for as long as I can remember. It’s so sentimental to me. It makes me sad to see my extended family getting older and I always wonder how many more Thanksgivings we will have with everyone altogether.
My darling dad has Alzheimer’s and some of my aunts and uncles are getting old and aren’t in the best of health. It’s so hard, but I’ve definitely learned to cherish the time we do have and the memories we make together.
I love my family so much!
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Well guys, if you read my last post, you know my life has been soooo crazy the past couple of weeks! This past week has seriously felt like a month.
As you know, Kev was in the hospital. That’s been so hard and stressful for our family, but I’m happy to say that Kev is now out of the hospital and doing okay. He was initially in the hospital 2 days. I brought him home last Friday night. However, within an hour of him being home, I could tell he didn’t look good. When he came home, they didn’t send him with any pain medication and for whatever reason as soon as the pain meds that were in his body wore off, all of his symptoms came roaring back.
Soooo, Saturday morning I brought him right back to the hospital. 🙁
That was a sad day for us. I was so encouraged that he looked so stable and seemed to be getting better so quickly and it was so hard to see him so sick again. It was a harsh reality check. My relief and optimism quickly turned into fear and worry.
So he went back to the hospital Saturday morning and stayed until Tuesday. On Sunday they started him on a drug called Remicade and I think it’s really been helping him. He said he felt quite a bit better on Monday and he’s seemed to just get a little bit better every day since then.
I sure hope he can make a full recovery soon and stay in remission for a very long time. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Remicade and I’m hoping it continues to work well for him. I have a niece who also has Crohn’s disease and she told me that her doctor told her he thinks there will be a cure for Crohn’s within the next 15 years! I’m not holding my breath, but I think that would be soooo awesome!
When Kev was first diagnosed, I had no idea how serious and debilitating Crohn’s could be. After reading a TON (too much!) of information on the internet about Crohn’s, I was scared to death. It can be a horrific disease for some people. One of Kev’s doctor’s told me to NOT look on the internet for information about the disease (except for reputable medical sites.)
There is a lot of wisdom in that advice.
I’ve learned that when researching any health ailment, there is always a disproportionate amount of negative and scary stories out there. I believe that’s because the people who are suffering severe symptoms are usually the ones looking for help and sharing their stories on the internet. The people who have mild or no symptoms, don’t have a need to seek help on the internet!
Kev’s Crohn’s has been kind of interesting. He was diagnosed about 12-13 years ago. He had mild symptoms and it wasn’t a big deal for him. Then he got very sick 10 years ago (I wrote all about that in my last post), but he’s been relatively symptom free since then…until now.
The thing that drives me absolutely batty about this disease is that you never know what the future holds…it cannot be cured and it’s just always looming. Ugh! However, I’m hopeful and optimistic that Kev can get and stay healthy for a very long time, especially since he’s on Remicade now. I’m sure grateful for modern medicine!!!!
I’m a fairly happy and optimistic person, but I think I’m also a worrier. Soooo, I’ve been trying to train my brain to “chill” and hope for the best. Worrying doesn’t do a dang bit of good, so I’ve been trying to replace my fears with faith.
One thing I’ve learned through any trial is that it could always be worse. We’ve definitely gone through a lot of hard things over the years, but I’ve learned to be grateful for all the things we haven’t had to deal with and haven’t had to go through! Life can be rough, but there is always so much to be grateful for!
I will say that I’m so happy Kev is doing so much better and I’m so grateful the past couple of weeks are over! He hasn’t been able to go back to work yet, but is hoping to get back there soon.
I will also share this darling picture…
It was actually quite sad because when we’d pull into the hospital parking lot, my baby would say “Yay daddy!” AND when we went to go pick up Kev and take him home, the baby said, “You all done dada?”
I was amazed at how observant he was, but it made me sad too. 🙁
On a brighter note, Kev did have an absolutely gorgeous view from his hospital room. Check it…
It was beautiful!
Well, since my blog hasn’t been particularly healthy or motivating lately, I do want to share a few positives in the health and fitness part of my life right now.
I’m actually in a very good place health-wise. I’ve found a very good balance for me and I’m actually seeing some results. Woot! I’ve gotten used to eating a lot of the same healthy things during the week and indulging a little on the weekend. The biggest difference for me has been my mental state.
I used to be an “all or nothing” kind of person. When I was ON, I was ON. But, when I was off, I really struggled to find the motivation to get back ON again. I don’t seem to have that struggle any more.
Macro counting really opened my eyes and helped me to adopt a healthy balance. It made me more aware of the nutritional content of the foods I eat and helped me to keep a healthy balance of protein, fat and carbs in my diet. Sooooo now when I splurge, I enjoy my splurge, but then I get right back to healthy eating because I know my body does so much better when I keep my macros in check.
I like to look at healthy living as kind of like a checking account. When I eat healthily and exercise, I essentially make a “deposit” in my health checking account and when I splurge or slack off on my workouts, I make a “withdrawal.” So, I’m okay with splurging once in a while, but I don’t want to keep splurging and slacking because I’m aware of my “health checking account” balance now.
Does that even make any sense??
I’m not actively counting macros right now (I just got burnt out from doing that and tracking everything!), but I’m just loosely following the principles of macro counting. I eat a lot of the same things and I’m quite aware of their macro content. I always plan my meals around my protein source since I think protein is the hardest macro to hit. Once I decide what my protein will be, then I pick healthy carbs and fats to go with it. It’s actually quite simple.
I’ve also been loving my protein shakes/green smoothies lately. I try to have one most days because I think it’s such a simple way to get a lot of good stuff in the diet. I also told you guys that I’ve been making kefir lately. Well, I’ve been adding kefir to all my shakes and I’ve been loving it! It’s such a powerhouse food (er, drink) and I’m happy to have it as part of my diet right now.
I’ve been drinking different variations of my Detox Green Smoothie lately and I’m loving it.
I also got some cute workout leggings that I thought I’d share!
A friend of mine actually ordered them from Zulily, but they were too long on her so she asked if I wanted to buy them from her. Well, since they were only $13 and fit me perfectly….I decided to get them. I think they’re kind of fun! They are made by Bally Total Fitness, btw.
I also bought that pink tank I’m wearing from Dick’s Sporting Goods a couple of months ago. I’ve really liked it. It’s comfortable, flattering and fits well. It’s Calia brand by Carrie Underwood.
I also thought I’d share this fun picture that my gym shared on their Facebook page…
That’s me in that weird pose perched on top of that black box. So cute. 🙂 I love my gym so much and love all of the workouts!! <3 <3 <3
Well, I think that’s all I will share today. I will keep you guys posted on Kev’s status (hopefully it will just continue to be good news!) I love you all! xoxo
Fingers crossed that your husband feels better soon…..
Thanks so much Karen! <3
Welcome to my life as well. I live one day at a time thanks to Crohn’s and Celiac and IBS and UC… That’s all you can really do because like you said… You have no idea what the future holds. I can feel absolutely amazing one day and the next, want to die from pain (even though I legit ate the same thing)… It makes absolutely no sense and I wish I could see what was going on in there so as to figure it out! I have given up completely on doctors. Ha! But I am not here to get all down and negative!! HAPPY POST THANKSGIVING!
GET AN AIR FRYER LOL!
I’ve thought about you a lot GiGi while Kev has been going through all of this crap. It is not fun and it’s so scary. His Crohn’s really has never made a lot of sense to us!???! It’s such an unpredictable and relentless disease. I’m so sorry about all you have gone through with your health, but I’m sure grateful for your happy and positive nature!!! I really helps me!
Your little guy is so cute it makes me just ache! All my best to Kev and your whole family.
I’m so sad how quickly my little guy is growing up! He’s sure been a fun caboose to have in our family. Thanks so much for your well wishes for Kev. I really appreciate it!