10 Survival Tips for When Your Child is Sick

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  Don't worry, this won't cost you any extra!

Cold and flu season are just around the corner!  Yay. *insert sarcasm here*  

So far, we haven't been hit by anything, but I know it's coming especially with school starting back up again soon.

To make things a little bit easier, I thought I'd share with you some of tricks I use to prepare for and survive when my kids get sick.

What You Need to Know About the Truth of PTSD

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  

When you hear of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, what do you think of?

If a soldier returning from being deployed is the first thing that came to your mind, you're in the majority.

Here's a definition of PTSD from the Mayo Clinic:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event -- either experiencing or witnessing it.  Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

Any traumatic event can trigger PTSD.  Obviously, war is a big one, but there are so many others as well.  Traumas such as the death of a loved one, having a medically complex/fragile child or one who spent extensive time in the NICU, abuse, surviving a natural disaster, and more can cause PTSD.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What you need to know about the truth of PTSD: http://bit.ly/2wxeXl2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PTSD is isolating.  I try to keep my struggles with it to myself because very few people understand that it's not something I can control in the moment or just "get over."  The worst is when someone else has been through a similar experience and came through it without suffering from PTSD.  There's no way to predict who will end up with PTSD and who won't, but I can tell you that just because you're one of the ones who does, that does NOT mean you're weak.

Etsy Finds: 15+ Educational Toys that Kids Will Love

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  

Most of my kids' toys are in the play area of our basement.  The kids aren't allowed in the basement because the last time they went down there, they dumped ALL of the toys out.  ALL OF THEM.  That happened just about a month after I spent countless hours painstakingly organizing all of the toys into labeled boxes.

I may have cried a little.  

Since Toypocalypse, the kids only get to play with the toys that were already in the main level of our house.  That's about 10% of their toys.  They have legos, playdough, the sensory bean box, tractors, Shopkins, and a few other assorted sets and random toys.  It's been about 6 months (because I just can't bring myself to go downstairs and face the insanity), and they have barely noticed.

What that tells me is that it's quality, not quantity that matters when it comes to kids' toys.

So guess what?  I'm going to be having a garage sale (or rummage sale or tag sale depending on where you're from) and selling a LOT of toys!  Also, I'm going to be a lot more selective about bringing toys into the house.  (Unless they're for me...I collect Vintage Fisher Price toys)  As far as toys that the kids play with, I have a few requirements.

Any toys in my house must be educational and non-annoying (to me, not them because we all know that kids don't care how annoying a toy is.)

With that in mind, I put together a list of awesome educational toys I found on Etsy that kids AND their parents will love.  Bonus: not a single one of these toys needs batteries!

What Chronically Ill People Want You To Know

Just about everyone who has a chronic illness fights not just their illness, but the preconceptions and judgments of their friends, family, and even complete strangers.  Stories like this or this happen way too often.

I asked people on my Facebook page and in several chronic illness Facebook pages what they wish people knew about their chronic illnesses.  The answers were pretty eye-opening.  

If you love someone with a chronic illness of any kind, read this. For them. You'll come away with a greater understanding of what they are going through everyday.    

For me personally, I wish people knew that I feel like I have the flu just about everyday.  Imagine that...waking up in the morning aching intensely all over, so exhausted that you can barely put one foot in front of the other and that it gets worse throughout the day.  Now imagine waking up like that every single day and knowing that it will never get better.

How to Conquer the Laundry Monster

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  

Around four years ago, I conquered the laundry monster.  It was awesome.

Aaaand, then it came back to life.

Long story short, I had my fourth baby who ended up being medically complex, we moved to a new home, my two oldest kids, the baby and I were all diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and I've spent the last three years at doctors' offices and in hospitals.  My world was turned upside down, and I totally lost control of the laundry.

That baby is now three years old and doing amazingly well.  We're slowly getting past the newly diagnosed stage of having a genetic syndrome and moving on to the maintenance stage.  We've lived in our home for three years now and everything has been unpacked, spread all over the house, and multiplied x 2000.  (Seriously, where does all this junk come from?!?)

It's time to tackle the laundry.  *insert scary music here*

Do You Really Have to Treasure Each Moment?

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  

As parents, we've all heard statements like these...

"Enjoy your kids now because you'll never get these days back."

"They'll never be this little again."

"Treasure each day with your child."

It seems that I always run across one of those blog posts or memes on days when I haven't had too many good mommy moments.  Days when I'm literally counting down the minutes until bedtime and simultaneously dreading the usual bedtime battle.  Days when the kids weren't the only ones yelling around our house.  Days when I wish I was done with diapers or potty training for good.

Thanks for making me feel guilty for having "wasted" another day with my kids that I'll never get back.