Looking To Binge Watch Something? Manifest: The Complete 1st Season On DVD

The 411:

I was so excited to sit and watch this. It starred Josh Dallas from my beloved Once Upon A Time and I love time travel premises. 

The pilot aired September 24th 2018 and I did watch it when it was on. I loved the mystery surrounding it but my life doesn't allow me to sit with a series. I cannot schedule my TV time and feel lucky when I get to watch so I never got a chance to finish the Season until now.

Basically the story is about the passengers and crew of flight 828 who left the airport on April 7, 2013. They hit some turbulence and are diverted to Stewart Airport. OK...sounds basic right?! These things happen. NOOOOO my friend 5 1/2 years have passed. Life went on as if they were all lost.  While the confusion mounts the plane explodes on the tarmac.

NSA asks the passengers and crew not to talk to the media and when one does they are murdered.  Some of the passengers start hearing voices one even is able to save a child. 

I enjoyed the back and forth which kept the story moving and allows us to catch up on what happened before the passengers board and while they were all gone. 

I am so excited to see that Season 2 has been green lighted and can't wait to hear more. 

If you enjoy drama/supernatural shows you will enjoy this show.

Getting Over Some of The Scariest Days Of My Life - Watching My Son Try To Walk And Our Diagnosis

I write this for myself and anyone interested in reading. I use my blog as a journal and print it out every year. 

There is nothing scarier then when something is medically wrong with your child. The past few days have been horrifying. I don't know how I held it together watching my son go from a healthy teen on Monday to a weak, frail boy who couldn't use his legs. I truly can't even type the things that were going through my mind as we headed from doctor to doctor for a diagnosis. Here is our story.

My son woke on Tuesday morning telling me he was feeling dizzy. He asked for breakfast which he ate at his desk and seemed okay but quieter and weaker than normal. He spent most of the day in bed or playing a game on his computer. I assumed dehydrated and pushed fluids.

He ate his lunch when he woke still complaining about feeling dizzy and said he was going to lie down cause "that is all I can do." I assumed that maybe he has been burning the candle at both ends on Summer vacation. He plays, goes for walks, goes to sleep about 2 waking at 9ish to do it all again. 

When he threw up his dinner I told him we would be going to the doctor in the morning. 

My husband came home and said, check his because I heard a bang last night at 1 that woke me from my sleep. Maybe he was doing something stupid and hit his head. 

I headed into my son's room with a thermometer to take his temp for the 100th time of the day. As I handed it to him I started feeling for bumps and asking if he hurt himself last night. He said, "I felt dizzy and hit into the wall with my ankle." I asked if he hit his head he said no. I didn't feel anything and once again there was no fever. 

The next morning, Wednesday I headed to his room and asked him how he felt. He said horrible. It was only 5 and I wanted to take him to the hospital. He wasn't for it but I told him if we wait for the doctor who doesn't open until 9 we may not get in but if we go to the ER he would be seen and we could know something before 9. I asked him to go to the bathroom before we left but when he went to get up his legs couldn't hold his body. He was shaky, weak, and looked totally off balance. I yelled for my husband and told him that he can't even walk. He needed complete support to walk. My husband had to hold him around the waist and my son's arm was around his neck. It was the scariest thing to watch. Worse than when he was a baby learning to walk. 

We ended to the emergency room and after a few hours was sent him with a Vertigo diagnosis, medicine for motion sickness and some exercises. I asked for Lyme tests and inner ear issues. They saw a teen with balance and weakness and ran a complete drug panel. They of course were all negative.

He spent the day sleeping and I set up a follow up appointment for the pediatrician. In the morning, he was no better and needed 100% support to walk. I watched his legs and it seems they couldn't hold him up. He was unsure of his steps and looked like he would fall at any moment.   He couldn't walk at all. Each step was a knife through my heart. It was as if he was trying to walk. How could this just happen?

The pediatrician was wonderful. His chems all checked out. There was nothing in his blood to say he was fighting something but he is confused, can't focus and can't walk. Her only concern was there were crystals in his urine which she said was from dehydration.  This wasn't normal, a healthy kid doesn't just stop having the ability to walk so she got paperwork ready for an MRI. On our way home we got the call to head over to a center for an MRI. 

During the MRI my son was amazing. He did everything that was told to him. Answered all questions. Endured many pokes with a needle and lied still in the MRI so we could get a good reading. 

The whole time I was texting my daughter who was not answering me. She had been asleep when we left. I mentioned what we were doing to which he nodded but I didn't know what she had heard. So now I was worried about two kids. 

We waited in the waiting room for someone to read our scans and get back to the pediatrician. After an hour we were called to the phone. The pediatrician wanted us to know there was an abnormality in the cerebellum and that she was contacting a Neurologist for us. She would call us back. 

An abnormality! What?! I was crazy with worry. My boy has an abnormality in his brain! I was scared for his future. Worried about our next steps and praying for answers. 

We got home. Took our shoes off and before I had time to think the phone rang and my pediatrician told me that there was a Neurologist at Maria Ferari Children's Hospital in Westchester that wanted to see my son. 

Thankfully my daughter already had a scheduled sleep over at a friends. I asked her to over pack and bring the house key in case she had to come back to feed the cats. I asked a friend to pick her up and was beyond thankful that I didn't have to worry about her. 

We got to the hospital. Filled out forms in the ER and were in an ER room within 15 minutes which is where we sat from 4 PM to 9:30 PM. In that time, my husband started getting a fever and my son slept, got poked more with needles, answered the same questions 500 times, and was asked "can I see you walk?" 300 times. He is a rock star. I was never more proud. He answered all their questions. Tried to walk for anyone who asked and never complained. Way better than dad and I who were so tired and done. None of us had eaten. My son ate toast for breakfast at 6, Burger King between the MRI and going home for 5 minutes and now it was going on 9 and we were so DONE! 

Each time someone new asked for the story I started at Tuesday and ended at the hospital. I found out later they are looking for consistency. They want to make sure the story is always the same and that nothing is being added or missed. We were finally told at 9:10 that we were staying for observation not being admitted but they wanted to watch him. I asked for an IV because everyone was saying he was dehydrated and he hadn't gone to the bathroom since we left the house in the morning. 

The room was okay but for spending the night really sucked. We had our own bathroom with a shower, my son's bed, a love seat, desk and two hard back chairs. We were too tired to care. The nurses and doctors were great and made my son smile. We were given blankets and toiletries. Told where the snack drawers were and sent to bed. We were hungry. My husband headed out to find a convenience store and I headed to the drawers. I found crackers and juice. My son eat 4 crackers, a graham cracker and drank 2 apple juices. My husband called 15 minutes later saying he got lost and was on his way back with nothing. I got him so crackers and a juice. He brought my son a package of chips from the snack machine and an apple juice. 

Sleeping was awful and if you ever stayed in a hospital you know it. They come in for vitals a few times. The love seat had the air condition right on it so you froze and the chair didn't recline. We took turns on the various seats to sleep. My husband had an obvious fever at this point and was freezing and sweating. UGH! One more thing to worry about. 

In the morning I headed down for breakfast sandwiches, coffee and medicine for my husband. My son ate his breakfast and my husband's breakfast and also 1 full IV but had not gone to the bathroom yet which was a concern to me because I was told his urine was very dark. 

Eventually the team came in and assessed him. I was told that the ABNORMALITY on the MRI is believed to be  "artifact” and now believe the reason is he may have had a viral infection. The Neurologist sat nose to nose with my son and put both hands on my sons head. He told him "do not stop looking at my nose. Never take your eyes off my nose." Then he turned my son's head right then center repeatedly. Next he did it with the left side. As he was doing it he said to the team "did you see that?" They all said YES!  He asked us and we said no. He had us move center and did it again right then left side. My husband didn't see it but I did. It is so small but there. On the right side my son could keep his eyes on the doc's nose. On the left; the tracking was off by a millisecond. But off. 

The doctor turns to us and says, "This is very treatable he has Vestibular neuritis. It is inflammation on the vestibular. This is why he has been experiencing severe vertigo, dizziness, balance problems, and confusion. He will get a treatment of Prednisone.  I can't tell you how long it takes to go away. If I give you a date you will get nervous if it isn't gone by then. If you talk to people who have had this they will tell you that they still experience it once in a while. 

When I googled Vestibular Neuritis I found that it is a condition that causes vertigo and dizziness. It results from inflammation of your vestibular nerve, a nerve in the ear that sends information to your brain about balance. When it’s inflamed, this information isn’t properly communicated, making you feel disoriented and confused. 

OMG...it makes sense. I have a diagnosis and medication. It is horrible watching my son try to walk but he walks better today than he did Tuesday and he was able to walk out of that hospital with assistance instead of being carried along. These were the scariest days I have ever faced in my life. I wish I could wave a magic wand and it would all be better but at least we are going up a hill and not a mountain. 

Oh My God Summer Is Flying and I Am Feeling Guilty.

I don't know about you guys but we live in New York and just got out of school the end of the last week of June. July has flown by and I know August will do the same. The kids will go back to school and I will return to work. I miss my preschoolers and have only worked one day since leaving work the last Friday of June but I love being home with my kids. They will both be in high school in September and I know that high school are the fly by years.

So far we haven't done much except spend a few days at a pool, have a sleepover, go out to lunch twice, and volunteer at the animal shelter but when I look at everyone else's social media everyone is doing something with their kids. I have seen beach visits, cruises, out of state trips, camping, camp, family get togethers,  movies, zoos, etc., and then there is my family. My husband works long hours and is in college so we don't have a lot of time to get together as a family. He has so much to do on the weekends that he cannot go anywhere.

Does anyone else feel like they are wasting their Summer? If money wasn't a problem, I would plan more day excursions but being out of work for the Summer means zero money coming in.

I remind myself daily that my parents did they best they could but they both worked and we were on our own. It wasn't their job to make sure we made the most of our Summer but it was a different world too. Kids are inside way more than when I was a kid and most of their time is spent online.

UGH..tell me I am not alone! Are your kids spending a lot of time online? Do you feel guilty in the Summer?

My Life In Pictures - July 8 - July 14

July 8 - This was me for many years. I allowed people to treat me poorly. After years of loss, abuse and abandonment I felt unworthy of a better life, a voice or respect for myself. I was conditioned by my past to not expect more. After years of crying alone, beating myself up and feeling unworthy of more something happened to make me really look at myself. To see who I was and to see how far I had come; ALONE! Hell I was a bad ass and it was time to change. I picked my head up realizing it was me who held me back. Me who allowed poor treatment and Me who could change it. I no longer sit back doing things I don’t want to or listening to others blast negativity without saying something to defend myself or others. I am all cried out. Tears that so easily would run down my face no longer exist. Maybe one day I will find a balance where I can be a sensitive bad ass who cries and snarls but for now I will settle for bad ass. If mascara ever runs down my face it will be because of the rain! 

July 9 - A friend and I took our daughter's to the park. While her friend felt awkward and weird because of her height my daughter waved to me from one of the slides. I pray she never tires of the park like her mama.

July 10 - My son loves jumping off this cliff into the pool below. I would never because I am certain my spleen would end up in my throat. He spins like a cat each time which I find hysterical.

July 11 - Finally getting together with a friend without the kids and had an hour to kill so I drove around, stopped and took photos along the way. It was a glorious day and she is such a special person that it was a great start to the day.



July 12 - Okay...ever since I started trying to coupon I can't stop shopping. Is this normal? I mean it is not like I go out every day or every week because it takes time and money. What I have learned though is that it is best to shop for certain things when you don't really need them. See a good price, pick it up especially if it is something you will use.

July 13 - The colorful deck garden! Ahhhh...it is my happy place.

July 14 - Sage was stargazing or maybe looking at a bug but how cute. She was staring out the window without moving for about 10 minutes and I just had to grab a shot of her.

A Blast From My Past - Making Plastic Balloons

It is a workout and we eventually opened the sliders and then outside because the smell is extra but it
 was fun!

  

Children's Book On My Radar From Scholastic

The 411:

I think this book would benefit from a different cover. Not that the graphic isn't wonderful because it is but it makes it feel more like a book for elementary school kids which could turn off some Middle School readers.

The story of Evangeline really spoke to me from the very first paragraph. "There was always an empty seat oon the school bus next to Evangeline Reynolds. It wasn't because she was mean, or had a frightening appearance, or because she ooze poison from her pores like an Australian cane toad. No Evangeline was a kind, plain-looking person with run of the mill pores, which people would have found out if they got to know her. She was never around long enough."

Evangeline and her mom move a lot! She is always the new kid and oddly enough snow seems to appear whenever she is upset, worried, or excited.

Everything changes when Evangeline finds a forgotten box and a photo of her mom wearing a beautiful icy-blue gown, smiling and standing in a snow. Strange! Her mother hates snow. Odd yes but more interesting is the message that appears in her bedroom mirror, like someone is writing it from the other side.  If that isn't strange enough, life changes and will never be the same when Evangeline slips through the mirror and runs into Sir Paw On Thrown who thinks she is Princess Desdemona.

The perfect read for kids who love mystery, science fiction and wonderment. I loved it and I think kids will too. Without giving too much away, Evangeline's life has been a lie and nothing will ever be the same. Think Frozen, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Alice in Wonderland. It was a great read.

My Life In Pictures - July 1st - July 7th

July 1 - Tomato Flowers!

July 2 - Goddess art! I love this so much!

July 3 - Jinxy loves to steal hay from the guinea pig then throw it up. Yup...that is always fun. This time I caught him before he took it.

July 4 - Happy 4th of July from my deck! This is where I spend most of my time! It is my Happy Place!

July 5 - I took a shot of my daughter's woodwork quote. I love this quote and it is totally something that I have taught her. Always find the positive. It is there if you choose to see it. At graduation from 8th grade these sit on a table for parents to take home with them. I have my son's from last year as well. It is such a wonderful memento from the night of graduation.

July 6 - I love taking photos of nature's diamonds on my plants after a rain, or morning dew or in this case a watering from the garden master.

July 7 - My screened in gazebo is by far my favorite purchase from last year.  It is where I spend all my time.

Looking For A New Desk? Look No Further!

I wish this were my desk. It isn't! We got it for my daughter for her birthday this year. It is amazing how a corner desk gives her extra space in her room but also so much more room for storing her things than her last desk. She has the smallest room in the house but the most things in it. As an artist having a place to do her thing was important to my husband and I. We want to help foster her love of art and that means she needs her things accessible not in bins or drawers hard to get to or stored elsewhere especially given the size of her room.

When we removed the hand-me-down desk we found on a local tag sale site and stated putting this one up we were amazed with how much extra floor space she had. It changed the layout of her whole room and there really is not a hint of extra space.

Setting things up is fun for me but since it is her desk I left it up to her. She was stressed because she wanted to utilize the space as best she could while also showcasing some of her favorite items.

I love all the shelving and the magnetic wall in the back.

She now needs a better light, she is using her dad's old office lamp which is a basic desk green lamp as well as a new chair. This was handed down as well years ago. She does digital art as well as using a sketchbook and this desk is perfect for her. When she wants to use the sketchbook she can move her computer toward the back and do her thing!

Check Out My Dollar Tree Haul

I had a doctor appointment today and since the kids weren't with me to tell me they wanted to go home, I headed to Dollar Tree. Mostly I wanted to see if they had the Sunday paper and some things for my classroom but ended up spending $50+ on various things. It was worth it!

My Life In Pictures - June 21 - June 30

June 21 - Took the class on a walk in the rain. They really needed to walk.

June 22 - Our first family dinner on the deck for the summer season.  My husband's idea of getting Chinese food was wonderful. I wasn't in the mood but enjoyed that we were all at the same table.

June 23 - Weekend project. Free shelf from work that will now be part of our deck furnishings needed a waterproof coating.

June 24 - S'more's bar set up for the 8th grade Graduation party. I assisted in set up but the whole idea was by one mom who does this for parties. It looked amazing. There were about 15 of us on hand to help move chairs, tables, set up lights, backgrounds, etc.

June 25 - My beautiful baby's 8th grade graduation. I had her hold a photo of her from kindergarten and while she hated every moment of posing she allowed me to take about 300 photos. I am so proud of her. She had a wonderful year at school.

June 26 - My beautiful baby waiting on the bus stop for her last day of school. I ended up driving her that morning but I couldn't miss the obligatory bus stop photo. It will be the last time she stand here heading to the middle school. I cannot believe she will be a high school in September.

June 27 - Goddess grabbed this shot of the sibs hanging out under the table.

June 28 - Summer Break is in full effect. Late nights means. A bit blurry but it was dark in the room except for a sliver of sun coming in.

June 29 - I love taking shots of water droplets on the plants in the morning.

June 30 - Today was the day we took down the trampoline. It was a big part of the kids life for a few years but they haven't used it in a year. Goddess rolled her ankle and never got back on and Handsome just said, it was too much work to clean it for the times he wanted to use it. I am sad to see it go but why leave it there when other kids could benefit from it. We posted on a tag sale site and got $90 for it.

My Life In Pictures - June 12 - June 20

June 12 - Goddess artwork makes me happy. The girl in the background is Goddess' friend who was drawing the other side of the hallway.

June 13 - The only photo I took was of some beautiful colored roses at Shoprite.

June 14 - I took this photo to show the sky. The morning started out as a totally different day full of fluffy clouds but on the way home it was a gorgeous blue sky.

June 15 - My son's newest haircut is a "modified Mohawk". He finally talked us into allowing him to have a Mohawk but the barber didn't understand us. I was happy with this instead. I am not ready to see him with bald sides.

June 16 - My daughter standing next to a tree my son brought home from a field trip. It was in a small pot and every kid brought one home to plant. Not sure about everyone else's tree but ours is doing wonderfully.

June 17 - Not a single photo! Wahhh

June 18 - I did this compilation of my daughter and her very first friend after their 8th grade semi-formal dance. The girls know each other since they were 3 years old in the same preschool.

June 19 - It may never work again but found a short goodnight animal animated video on You Tube. Narrator introduces the animal who is yawning. They shut a light while the narrator says Good night. At the end he tells you it is your turn. I shut it down and every kid went right to their mat. All 10 asleep within 15 minutes.

June 20 - We took the class on a scavenger hunt. They had to find grass, trees, a bird, a flower, butterfly, ants, etc. They loved it.

My Life In Pictures June 1 - June 11

June 1 - June 3 - It has been crazy lately. Semi Formal things, late nights, work and school coming to a close and volunteer work at the shelter. Soooo we didn't take a single photo which is crazy to me.

June 4- Our deck garden is growing. My husband is constantly shifting and re-potting as the plants grow.

June 5 - I started couponing and while I don't feel this is an amazing haul I was proud of it. My trip to Walgreens was to get these items specifically. The Total was $24.29. What do you think? I got those 4 paper products, 2 hair products, gum and a pair of socks.  

June 6 - While taking photos of a farm stand items this butterfly decided to land on this angel stone. I took it as a divinity sign as I had been thinking of my dad who was sick at the time and in the hospital. I was told that I may want to say goodbye.  He is since home and while not wonderfully healthy. HOME!

June 7 - My girl came to work with me and drew an adorable cat on my dry erase board. My toddlers noticed it immediately. They notice every "new" thing in the room.

June 8 - My Dollar General Haul ended up being way more impressive that my last haul and was done with digital and paper coupons. The total was only $21.78. Not as good as what I see online but I was proud.  

June 9 - Set up my office outside for the day. It was only about 6:00 am and the whole house was sleeping.

June 10 - Me in a snapchat filter always makes me smile. I wish my skin was as smooth.

June 11 - I took 100 photos of my girl before her Junior Leadership Dinner in this hand-me-down dress but they are mostly out of focus because she was so nervous about having to make a speech (she ended up not as they gave her a choice). Most of them were of her with her arms up to her face. Turning away or just whizzing by. This one is out of focus but I love it so much.