2013 Highlights

Before we close the door on another year, I just wanted to take a minute to share a few things we did in 2013.

 Soccer!  It was amazing to see Anthony improve in just two seasons.  Watching him practice and then seeing his hard work paying off made me so proud.

 

There was a flow constant flow of Foster dogs this year

Haiku.  She started a love for huskies in Alexanders heart!

Bruce Wayne the Dane

Sweet baby Marie

My niece Jamisen turned one.

Jam Jam.  <3 her!

We had some awesome adventures this year.

Exploring at the park

Despicable Me 2.  Both boys actually watched the whole thing!

I have a crush on Ballapeno.  Clearly he likes me too :)

Road trip with the boys and dogs

Poncho met some cows

Hayrides at the Rio Cibolo Ranch

Anthony started making dinner once a week.  Lots of homemade pizzas and spaghetti this year.

And I realized that my baby isn't a baby anymore. In 2 weeks he will be 5!!

It was a great year.  My family is happy and healthy.  The boys are growing into little men.  With opinion and ideas of their own.  David was finally put on a better work schedule which meant he was home for dinner more than just a few weeks this year.  I made friends.  Last year I made a goal to be more social and not let my illness hold me back and so I did.  It might seem silly to some, but being pretty much house bound gets super lonely at times, so its a big deal to me.  I said I would not let my illness stop my boys from doing things they wanted to do and with the help from my family and friends, we did so much more this year.  Specifically Soccer.  That was pretty much the highlight of the year.  We are blessed.

As for me, health wise, I have been doing great.  Stable is what the doctors call it.  My liver function is still ok.  The nodules on my liver have not grown.  I have not had any major problems with my blood disorder.  I did have a scare, but and early mammogram showed us there was nothing to be worried about.  And I have been able to stay on top of my Encephalopathy so my head has been foggy but nothing too bad.  All this together means, less lab work and more time off in between doctor visits!  WIN!

Now we look ahead to all the new year has in store for us.  This is the year that Alex starts school.  That will be the big thing for us this year I think.  And soccer!   Here is to a year full of good health and lots of laughter.  To new friendships and more adventures.  I'm so ready for this!  Hello 2014!

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Taking some time to say Thank You! #HAWMC

Day 14 (April 14) – Spread the Love

Thank a few of your fellow Health Activists for what they have done. Call them out by name or twitter handle. Share your love.

Today is a good day to say thank you to a few friends who have come into my life just when I needed them. These ladies have always been full of inspiration and support whenever I needed it.  Like virtual shoulders to lean on.  I had no clue that this blog would bring me a whole new kind of family.

This mom is amazing.  I can always count on her to reply to my crazy twitter rants.  She gets my sarcasm and her daughter Anna is my hero.  She was one of the first people to reach out to me when I started sharing my life on the transplant list.  Paula is the blogger behind Our Transplant Journey.  Following their road to Annas liver transplant.  And now the road after transplant   Anna got her new liver in September last year and I am beyond happy for her.

Jamee from A New Kind of Normal is one strong and amazing lady.  She has been though just about everything imaginable and always comes out fighting.  Through her blog I have found so much hope and inspiration.  If you have read any of the "Sharing our Spoons" posts, that is all Jamees doing.  I have so enjoyed doing them too.  They give me a sense of direction and goals to reach for.  Thank You Jamee for being such an inspiration to not only me but so many others out there dealing with Chronic Illness.


Rhiann over at My brain lesion and me is a great example of what a Health Activist is.  She shares her life with a long standing brain stem lesion and spastic paraparesis.  She starting blogging in hopes of finding someone else out there dealing with the same diagnosis.  Sound familiar?  To me yes.  Rihann is amazing at making me not feel alone out in the crazy world of Chronic illness.  I usually stay in touch with her on twitter but I stopped by her blog recently and saw that she has started a spoonie book club.  This has my name all over it!!

Ricki was one of my very first liver buddies.  And there are not even great enough words to tell you all how amazing this woman is.   She is a wife and mom and a TWO time transplant recipient.  She answered all my questions and was always there for support when I needed it most.  Her blog Rickis Journey is full of information and advice for those of us dealing with liver disease.  These days shes not on twitter as often as she used to be, but guess what, that makes me happy!  Because she is out there living her life to the fullest.  I still keep in touch with her mostly though FB now.  Seeing pictures of her and her family now give me the hope and faith in life after transplant.  She is such an inspiration and I am blessed to have found her!    

My sister from another mother!  When Marissa first reached out to me about being featured on her 12-12-12 project, I cant lie, I was thinking, is this lady for real?  A year later, and I can tell you with out doubt, this chick is legit.  Last year, she decided to focus a whole year to learning about others conditions instead of her own.  Last February, I was featured on her blog Abledis.  And all year long I was blown away by the time and effort she put in to learn and share each new diagnosis with us.  When I say I love this girl, I mean it.  She sends me random messages to let me know that she is thinking of me.  And she rocks my Hope for Kim bracelet like its a Rolex!  She does so much all while dealing with her own hidden disability.  Amazing!

I just want to say thank you ladies for always being here.  Your never ending support means the world to me!  You are all so wonderful and I am so blessed to have found you. You are doing so much for our health community!  I can't say it enough, THANK YOU!!  

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Change! It's whats for dinner!

Growing up, dinner at the table was mandatory.  You were to be washed up and ready to eat as soon as Dad called.  The food was brought to the table.  Us kids would set the table and we would eat as a family.  The picture perfect family.  Well at dinner time anyways.  

I remember the very first time I had dinner at Davids house.  His mom had made tacos.  She made our plates What!?!  And then we took our plates up to his room.  Yes to his bedroom!  This was crazy!  You cant eat in your bedroom.  But we did.  And even more insane was they had soda with dinner.  Not that I hadn't had a soda before, but I always had to buy my own soda.  And my dad would most certainly have a fit if I had it with my dinner.  He flat out refused to spend his money on that sugar crap, as he called it.  

So when David and I left home and moved in to our first apartment we did things his way.  I served him his plate from the kitchen.  Made my own and then we sat down and ate together. Usually in front of the TV. Don't get me wrong, I love this.  I was more than happy to do it, but it was a little strange not sitting at the table and passing the food around.  But it worked for just the two of us.  

Thirteen Years and two kids later, I find myself longing for the way things were when I was little. The truth is, dinner time was one of the few things I looked forward to as a child.  It was when our family was normal and happy.  Most of the time.  We were together.  And I want to give that to my kids.  I want them to remember sitting as a family, talking and eating and just being together.  Even if its just them and me.  And my sister.  I think she missed out on this goodness too.  David is usually working but on the weekends, we can totally do this right?

Right now dinner time for us goes a little something like this.

• I make the boys plates and take them to the table.
• I go back to make my own plate.  
• Someone needs a drink, so I stop making my plate and get drinks
• I finish making my plate and go to the table
• Someone needs seconds or a napkin or something so I get up and get it
• I sit down and my plate is cold
• I microwave my food and go back to the table
• Everyone is done and its bath time, so
• I put my plate in the microwave, if I even made one and eat when David gets home.

Some days I don't even bother to make a plate and just wait for David.  Sometimes that means 8pm and sometimes 11 or 12.  Which yes I know, is WAY to late for me to be eating.  And some days he gets home and doesn't eat and I forget to eat myself.

Last night Melisa and I brought all the food to the table and we all sat down together.  There wasn't much talking though because we were sorta busy stuffing our faces with ribs.  Anthony ate 3 servings of ribs, when he usually doesn't eat meat at all.  And Alex took a few bits then had a meltdown.  That's a whole other story in its own.  

This morning on our walk to the bus stop Anthony asked.  Can we bring dinner to the table again tonight?  When I said yes, he smiled and told me that we should do it like that every night.  It looks like change is coming to the Munoz house for dinner.  And it looks like its a change that everyone will be OK with.  

What is your dinner routine?  Do you serve your family or is it everyone for themselves?  Is food kept in the kitchen or brought to the table?  

Oh one last thing, because it was always my favorite part of dinner and Anthony asked about it this morning. Do your kids have friends over for dinner or is this just something we did back home.  We always had friends over for dinner.  And they ate things they would never have at home.  One kid at up her meal and when my dad asked her how she liked octopus she replied "I don't eat Octopus"  You should have seen her face when Dad told her "Well you just did!"  I'm sure some of you that ate at my place have your own stories, so feel free to share them here.  I'd love to hear them!

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