Calling it!

Hands up if you’ve had enough of this unpredictable weather that keeps cycling virus after virus around? 👋👋👋 Triple hands up for me!!! This winter has been long and painful. It’s been cold, windy and so up and down!! This week is our 6th week of someone in our house having some sort of virus or infection and I hate to say it but it’s taken me down too!!

6 weeks ago, Mia woke early hours of a Saturday morning vomiting, which took its turn through all the kids for the next week. Since then we’ve been hit one by one with something and some of us more than once. It’s seen Mia with an ear infection which has left her temporally with some hearing loss, Bailey had the most horrific sinus infection, Sienna now has a bad case of tonsillitis to the point of vomiting and I’ve spent most of this week curled up on my lounge as my chest and voice recover from the flu!

This has been our worst winter in a couple of years. I haven’t been this sick in a long time and when I do get a cold, cough or flu usually I can soldier on and get over it in a few days, but this time I had to call it! I started getting sick last Tuesday at the end of my working week. I ignored it for a few days and kept telling myself I’d be fine like all the other times I had a bit of a cold. I never felt bad enough to put myself to bed, but in an instant by Friday lunch time my voice started to fail! I know some of you must be thinking (that must of killed me lol) and by the time I got to Sunday and I kept telling everyone “I’m fine, I’m not sick”, by the end of Father’s Day I finally called it and said those two words out loud “I’m sick!!!”

I hated saying it, but for my own health and well-being it had to be said. My body was obviously telling me it was completely exhausted and needed rest. So that I’ve done, especially after I was ordered to by my doctor. This week I’ve been getting up each morning, getting the kids ready for school, dropping them off in the drop off zone and then coming back home to resume my spot on the lounge. This time forced my body to recover properly and truth be told if I had of done this a month ago, when I originally had a bad chest, I probably wouldn’t have ended up so bad. And I’m very pleased to say that after having the final season of McLeod’s Daughters sitting in the DVD draw for 5 years, I’ve finally watched it, enjoyed it immensely and cried many times like a big baby lol – oh Alex why did you have to die 😢😢😢!

Time like this always makes me reflect. Reflect on what’s important and what’s not. It’s eased away the cloud of smoke that’s been hanging around me for a bit. It’s recharged me and turned on that light bulb that I felt went out. It’s given me the energy I need to get through the rest of this year, which is always the most busiest time as we approach the festive season. This week has been a rough one, but we got through it together – and as for my husband…he’s awesome!

As a mum, we are always putting everyone first. We do to please. We plan in our sleep. We start a new job before we have finished our last. We are a taxi service, cook, cleaner, nurse, therapist and referee. We are everyone’s everyone, but sometimes, just sometimes we have to stand up and call it that it’s ‘that time’ where I need to rest and recover. Know your bodies mummas, know when to call it…you’ll thank yourself for it!

So as the winter months are now behind us, I prayer that this is the end of a long road of sickness for us and anyone else who has had the same sort of winter and by the sounds of it most of Brisbane have been living the same hell! Bring on summer I say and lots of sun, sand and swimming!!!!!

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My Direction Has Taken a Wrong Turn:/

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It’s quite ironic as I read my ‘Power of the Mind’ blog I wrote a week ago and my last few words read…..”I couldn’t be happier!” and now from my sick bed where I’ve layed for the the past 5 days I’m trying to be happy, but really I’m just feeling really crappy……

I was feeling so focussed, in control of everything I needed to be in control of! My job is so busy at the moment with reports and deadlines due before the school holidays. I was at the peak of my fitness and feeling really content in most areas of my life and then Monday night is where things took a wrong turn!

Of course my husband had a week of work to do away in Moree so it was single parent duties for me, but that’s ok I’ve done it before and I’m getting pretty good at it now:) I left work later than anticipated, but managed to pick Sie Sie up, got home cooked a big batch of bolognaise, bathed and fed the kids and myself, cleaned up, got all the school stuff ready for the next day and the kids and I were all sitting down by 6.30 enjoying cuddles and giggles together!

By 7.30 all were sound asleep in bed and then the time of day which I LOVE was about to be enjoyed. As I got all cosy on the lounge with my iPad and remote I suddenly felt cramps in my belly. I didn’t think too much about it as I thought I must have pigged out too much on dinner! I went to bed at my normal time after The Voice and the cramps were still there! Thankfully I fell fast asleep but then 1.30am approached and my wrong turn became a bad turn of events! I took some panadol and managed to get back to sleep until Mia woke up crying her little eyes out at 4.45am! When I looked at the clock I thought “Nooooooo!” Mummy’s cuddles got her back to sleep and I then went back to sleep and woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a bus:( I had an hour until I was to leave for work, so as much as my body was screaming “do not get up!” I knew I just had to do it!!!

So I did I got up did the usual – made the beds, got the kids breakfast, took one mouthful of my cereal and have pretty much been on my back since! I couldn’t stand up. I started shivering uncontrollably and once I made it to the lounge not one bit of soul in my body was able to get up! I was like this for 48-72 hours. I went from shivering to sweating, had severe body aches, fevers, cramps in my belly and of course the joys of gastro! I obviously didn’t go to work and thank goodness for my sweet angel of a mother, who came to my rescue until Kane came back from Moree, otherwise my poor kids would have done a lot of fending for themselves!

It’s day 5 now and I’m still not over this awful virus, better, but not a 100%! I’ve had a lot of time to think this week. This is the 4th time I’ve been sick in the last two months. Prior to all of this I hadn’t had anything bad since winter last year! I know it’s the season for it but four things in two months! And I’m the mum, I can’t keep getting sick. My poor little darlings ask me everyday “are you better mummy?” They are use to seeing mummy leading the pack, running, darting from here and there and the only time I reside on the lounge is after dinner at night!

I’m now left feeling weak, tired, drained and overwhelmed at the feeling of picking myself up and getting things back on track! I weighed myself….I’m down to my wedding day weight! Most people would be excited about this, but that wasn’t my goal! I was 24 back then and carried it better, now I look like a sick stick figure which is not what I was hoping to achieve! I have no reserves left and cannot afford to get sick again! I questioned: why me when I’m so fit and healthy? This is it….people who are fit are at risk to not being able to fight off germs and I look back now and I was always sick when I was younger and at the peak of my fitness! You can’t win really! I’ve gone from one extreme to the next where I’m now facing changing my eating and exercise plan to put on weight so I can get back to the fit and healthy me! So my advice is: when losing weight get back to a nice comfortable weight and have room for reserves if you get sick. I was that at my 60kgs, but I’m now playing with fire and have no reserves left!

I know I can do this and I will do this! My direction has taken a wrong turn, but I’m going to turn things around with all the strength and knowledge I’ve gained over the past 8 months and will be back in the right direction in no time!

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