Shakeology... It's Not Another Protein Shake

One of the most common misconceptions about Shakeology is that it's another protein shake. Well that is not the case. Shakeology is my daily dose of dense nutrition! Created from super foods all around the world...packed into one easy to make and nutritious shake. Now does it have protein in it...YES!

Shakeology comes in regular and VEGAN options. The regular flavors have 17 grams of protein per serving. The Vegan flavors have 16 grams of protein per serving. But as you can see from the chart below....the Proteins and Amino Acids groups is just a fraction of what is actually in Shakeology.

Take a look for yourself!

So not only is there protein but you see vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, adaptogen herbs, prebiotics, probiotics and digestive enzymes.

Okay...okay...so what does all that mean?!?!

Thanks to Shakeology I have been able to lose weight, improve my energy level, become regular, and help fight off cravings!!!

Who likes dancing?!?! This is for YOU!!!

Enter for a chance to win a FREE copy of Cize!
http://tinyurl.com/CizeforFREE

I am SO excited about this program because #1 I LOVE DANCING!! #2 I LOVE Shaun T!!!

I see a dance party going down at my house this summer for sure!!!

Healthy Teeth...Healthy Heart

As a CHD patient it is SO important we keep Arianna's teeth in tip top shape! That means we don't mess around with cavities! A cavity left untreated could turn into endocarditis which is an infection in the heart. Especially since she has a conduit for her pulmonary valve this makes her even more susceptible. So we premed with antibiotics before any dental procedure. 

Thankfully I remembered last minute to get the antibiotics! 

Remembered after my double workout so I went in all my workout glory! LOL!

The fact that we are now able to do these dental procedures in the dentist office is HUGE!!! She used to have to go to the OR and be completely put under for all her dental work because of her heart and risk anesthesia placed her under. Now that she had her 2nd heart surgery in 2012 we have been able to do things in the office which is nice. Last time she was in was back in 2013 and it went beautifully. So she was not too anxious going into todays appointment.

She was feeling the happy gas! :)

 Unfortunatly this time around the numbing shots HURT and she was VERY anxious throughout the appointment. Lots of tears shed but she was such a trooper! We have the BEST dentist in town, Dr. Powell, and the staff at General Dentisty for Kids on Speedway/Kolb are amazing with Arianna. We managed to get through the 2 fillings.

 Out came a happy girl and now this Heart Mom can breathe a little easier knowing her mouth is free of cavities!

HEALTHY TEETH = HEALTHY HEART
Something I have always told Arianna since she was little.

Of course you can't go through all that without a treat at the end. Since she has a numb mouth and was SO brave she got a Cookie Dough Blizzard from Dairy Queen. I had will power and refrained from ordering anything for myself..but I did take a couple bites from her blizzard! :-P

My Patient & Student Today

Last week Devin had a sore throat and sniffles. He was so nice and shared that with Arianna. Of course I ran out of the On Guard oil (protective blend). which is what helped her stay healthy and IN school last time we have a bug in the house. Don't worry it is going to be ordered this week! ;-)

So now the nasty post nasal drip made its way to Arianna's lungs. The night before last I heard the coughing but not too bad so she was able to make it to school yesterday. However, last night was much worse and she did not sleep very well. The cough was pretty junky this morning and her temp was slightly elevated --- put that together with her poor sleeping --- gave her a ticket to stay home.

After a few hours she was feeling much better with the help of Breathe diffusing continuously for her today! Now she is doing some homework :) She is such a good student!

Approved for Arianna to use by her pulmonologists! I always recommend you talk to your doctor before trying oils.

I'm just so thankful we have found a NATURAL way to help her decrease her symptoms and improve her quality of life!

Arianna's First Poster Board Project

As we are wrapping up 2nd grade...I'm blown away by the progress my girl has made. Not only has she done well...she has been on HONOR ROLL all year with NO modifications!!! She had a big adjustment period at the beginning of school...as did mom & dad. She has worked hard despite her 2 month absence due to her pneumonia & RSV attack. Guess having homeschooled the past 2 years made it easy for us to keep her up on her studies. 

But tonight I was blown away by her excitement and determination to do her first poster board project for her book report this week.  

I had laid the pieces out on the board to see if they would fit. She came in and was like, "No Mom..this is how they need to be." 

I love that she had a vision of her OWN and made her board come to life!

 With just a little guidance from us to help stencil in the letters -- she had the confidence to write out the title. A once very timid little girl...scared to make mistakes...is now EAGER to take on new challenges!

Managing Depression

Raw & Real Video at the moment I was struggling with depression but using every ounce of my strength to overcome it!

Listen to this podcast - Click HERE!

These monkey bars were a big obstacle for her at the beginning of school. But with practice and friends helping her learn. She is doing great! She really wanted to show me this today! 

Smile..even when you feel like crying

I am so glad I did

Learning to use the online catalog at the library

She would get so excited when she would find the book!

Waiting for her FREE personal pan pizza she earned from reading!

We bought one for Devin too ;) 

I typically diffuse the Balance Blend oil for anxiety but since I don't have the other oils yet so I will try this out this evening to see if it helps with depression as well.

Click HERE for doTERRA website

Since I started using lavender to help Arianna with sleeping I got the Balance for my anxiety since I deal with that more often than depression. But I think I need to get the other 2 oils as well. This is a great visual for how oils can improve your mood!

Sleep Study Results

Ha ha.. So yeah I have the interpretation from the neurologist on Arianna's sleep study but the pulmonologist that reads them and than calls us...is out of town till next week. So I get this new diagnosis and can't really tell you much of what that means as far as treatment. But I can explain it to you a little.

Arianna has Central Sleep Apnea, which is a disorder where your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. She had 19 central sleep apnea events during her study. Central sleep apnea occurs because your brain doesn't send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing.This is less common than Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which most people hear about. But that's our girl...always has to be a little different thanks to that missing piece of chromosome.

So the typical treatments from what I've read is using a device to assist breathing such as CPAP or supplemental oxygen.

They also noted she had increased end tidal CO2 levels. Which basically is the measurement of how much carbon dioxide she breathes out. I'm honestly not sure if CPAP would help that or not. Again..we have to wait and see what the doctor says.

The notes mentioned she had 19 accounts of respiratory effort related arousals (RERA). Often times it is hard to differentiate between RERA and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). For people with OSA, breathing stops on a number of occasions during the course of an hour due to a partial or complete obstruction of the sufferer's airway. People with RERA labor to breathe due to RESISTANCE and hence this disease is also known as upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS).

The nurse called to tell me about the possibility of an upper airway resistance so we started Arianna on Flonase tonight, which is a steroidal nasal spray.

She did have 3 events where she was significantly under breathing.

So the conclusion was noted that she has decreased sleep efficiency with decreased REM sleep as well as increased awakenings and arousals at night. Plus, significant elevations of end tidal CO2.

So we finally have some answers...now we just wait for the direction on how to help her. I wont lie..it's been a little difficult last night and tonight putting her to sleep and not worry about her breathing. Several times in her life I have gone up to her and she was NOT breathing and I freaked out!! I literally thought she died in her sleep. I yell and shake her and she wakes up looking at me like, "WHAT THE HECK MOM!" But at least now I know why this has happened.

Thank you God for always watching over her and protecting her...now I specifically pray for this protection while she sleeps.