Kedrake18's Journal, 22 April 2019

Very nice pretty little girls you have Memories indeed!!! 😊 

Wishing you wellness ahead, but a bit of insight/advice ----> While having your own pool is great, they are a lot of work to keep up with ---especially if your already busy. I know these little ones would like it I'm sure as well, but it may be easiest to leave the cleaning and prepping and things to the professionals and just get a pool/gym membership somewhere if possible so that you may swim without all the hassles. PH levels have to be maintained just right or they get nasty quick in the heat or rain, or even when wearing sunscreen or tanning lotions. I don't want to rain on your happy thoughts or parade, but thinking of what may be easiest for you given your current situation. Keep us apprised of your health condition! God Bless.  

Your girls are so cute! And you know they’re going to love a pool, too! Chronic pain is no fun, so I hope PT works for you. Hugs! 🤞🏻🌸 

I just read wright2018’s comment, and they’re also very true. That may be a better option until your back gets better. 

Instead of buying a pool, I recommend just going to a community pool. Much cheaper and you don’t have to worry about maintaining it. You can go anytime. Gluck and I hope PT helps. Ask for manual and mechanical traction, they should help 

very positive post...beautiful young ladies you have in the pics..continue much success towards your goals:) 

All the comments and support made my day. :) My girls is what keeps me going. They're adorable, sassy, clever things. The little one has a mean streak to boot, but she's evens it out with lots of snuggles. Currently going through the 'No' and MIIIIIIINE' stage with that one. Had our first major store tantrum last Friday too, I wouldn't let her have or drink from any of the 'cuppy's on the display shelf....they were bottles of liquid soap.... colorful, some mildly fruit shaped bottles of soap that reminded her of her cuppy at home. -_- Just part of parenting, the sale staff thought it was hilarious. As for pool maintenance and upkeep. We had an above ground pool for 2 years before we bought a house. I still have the sand water filtration system in my detach garage. Also going to stick with salt water pool. Easier to keep the chemicals balanced. My husband does it all. And out 10yr old will probably be right there with him learning applicable science. (House of Geeks) I do have some friends I will probably call on to help level the ground, and pay them with grilled food and adult beverages. lol. We've been meaning to install a pool since we bought our home 2yrs ago. But I was pregnant the first winter/spring there and dealing with blood pressure issues. Our 2nd spring, I fell doing yard work and injured my sacroiliac joint. -_- Really wondering if that incident triggered the spine/nerve issues too. Found out Monday that I have a compressed root nerve and a herniated disc. I've been referred to a specialist. I'd rather have my own pool than go to a community pool. There really isn't anything like that here. Probably because the beach is about 30mins away and there are rivers and lakes to swim in if you don't mind snakes, and alligators... And if I really want to get some use out of the pool, having it in my backyard would mean I could go home and spend an hour in it before getting the kids, if I really wanted to focus on exercise. Or get the kids and spend an hour in it with them before starting dinner. My husband and I both work 40hr work weeks. And our afternoons go like this: 4pm get off work, get kids, home by 4:45- 5pm. Toddler gets a snack, maybe a cartoon. Oldest finishes any homework she has left. I start dinner, Hubby get home about 5pm. Eat dinner. Toddler goes down without fail at 7pm, she gets her blankey and drags you to her bed to be tucked in. Oldest showers, and preps stuff for the next day. She's asleep usually by 8:30pm. Our week days start around 5:20am or so. Some nights dinner is a quick thing. I put stuff in the crockpot on my lunch break 2 times a week or so. And prep quick dinner options I can get done in 30-40mins. There is no time for travel to go swimming close to home, so a pool at home is our best bet. Also Night swimming in my own yard!! Moonlight dip, some of those cafe lights on around the covered porch. ^_^ If the alligator comment didn't give it away. We live in an area that is warm enough to go swimming about 6-7 months of the year. And in the summer time we gain like 40mins because we don't have homework to contend with. Also talked to my husband some about paying someone to come out and level the ground, and put the pool up for us... meaning we'd just get to get in and enjoy it. There are quite a few such services around here. Anywho, back to work. Once again thank you for all the support and suggestions, it helps so much. :) 

You are so sweet to write back! And you have a great schedule going for you all, too. I really sympathize with your back issues, and it’s good you’re being proactive right now with PT and making plans for swimming. 😃 I inherited a genetic bone did order from my father, and I also have Ehlers-Danlos, which is a connective tissue disorder. I’ve had 4 back surgeries (2 were fusions: C5/C6, C6/C7, C7/T1 and L4/L5, L5/S1), both knees replaced, hip replaced, and a myriad of other bone/connective tissue surgeries—19 since 2005 and five within the past year. My back/health is the reason I retired as soon as I could from teaching middle school last May. I taught 6–8 grade—English Language Arts—for 27 years at the same school, and I loved it! I started having students whose parents I’d had my first years of teaching, and that was such an honor! I really miss the kids, but social media has been awesome for connecting with former students, and now I have time to actually take care of me, too. That’s where Fat Secret has been so helpful! I learn so much here, and I know it’d take me hours of researching just to find out half of the info/suggestions I’ve found here. And the support is priceless and so dear to me. 🥰 So, I’m sorry to be writing so much, and I definitely am not trying to minimize what you’re going through at your young age (I’m 54). I just wanted you to know that I can empathize with you b/c of my experiences (we also have 2 daughters), and that I care. Take care!😊🎈 

Laraae I wish I could tag you so you could see my reply. Please write as much as you like. :) I enjoy talking to people both in real life and via the computer. The first time I ever lost a substantial amount of weight was in 2010 and I had such a great support system on Fatsecret. But I haven't had that in the last several years and life just had a way of making me fall off the weightloss wagon. So please talk to me!! lol. I'm sorry for all the pain and surgeries you've had. I can only guess how hard that has been, especially while raising your kids. I'm hoping that I can get through with just pt, but I won't know til I meet with the specialist. I'm currently under orders from my Primary Doctor to take it easy. No lifting, bending, twisting... Going into week 4, I have a pretty good idea of which movements/motions bother my back and I try reeeally hard not to do them. But sometimes I have to pick the baby up, or stop her from falling off of things. -_- Someone save me from the terrible twos. lol. My oldest daughter is in 4th grade, she'll be in 5th next year. Unfortunately language arts is her worst subject in school. -__- We make her ready 40-50 pages a day at home, but her heart isn't in it. Her teacher requires her students to read a large volume of fiction stories, and that child is all about the facts. Planets, animals, microscopes, biology, robotics. She's great with those subjects, but throw a made up story and she has no interest in reading it herself. Science and math are her subjects of choice, she gets that from her Dad. I'm more geared towards reading, math, and art. Makes for an interesting household. I'm 32, so I'm probably the same ages as your children. How are you doing now after all the surgeries? How has recovery been? Any advise and/or tips that you can pass along would be welcome. ^_^