New Year Refocus

The last year or so has been an unfocused jumble. I have not stuck to a routine like I should and it has shown.

It does not matter what label the doctors put on me or whether I am considered to have issues. First and foremost, I am me. God made me just the way I am.

What my family knows is that I need structure and I need to learn discipline. Along with that, I need to refocus my exercise and dietary needs. When looking at what needs to be done written in black and white, the realization is that this will not be a small task. Fixing my diet will not be that hard because we haven’t strayed too far, the problem areas are the exercise and structure.

I was in Tae Kwon Do, but I quit last year. I had some problems I needed to work through and now I don’t want to go back just yet. So, we need to find something else to replace that structure and exercise.

As far as my health, my heart is stable. I have a bicuspid aortic valve with stenosis. Right now it is considered mild stenosis. This is nothing short of a miracle considering after the surgery for my coarctation we were told I would probably have to have at least an ablation by the time I was two.  

Dietary wise, I am hypoglycemic and my body does not process any artificial sugars. This means all natural for me. Plus, I have a few interesting allergies and sensitivities that make life interesting. Lactose intolerance, red and yellow dye allergies, and the list gets odder from there.

Here is to a refocused new year!

It's a New Year with High Hopes

I am so excited! First and foremost mom is trying to see what she can do about getting tickets so I can see TobyMac on my birthday. I love TobyMac and he is doing a concert in Clarksville the night of my birthday. Since it is 'unplugged' we think with my sunglasses and headphones it won't be a problem. I am just really hoping I can go.

Other than that, I am trying to talk mom into homeschooling me. She laughed because of my reasoning, but I have really thought it out. If I were homeschooled I could sleep in, we could do lots of field trips, and she wouldn't have to worry about if the teachers or classmates gave me things to eat that I shouldn't have. She did say she would think about it for the fall... so I need to convince her. :)

I have belt testing in Tae Kwon Do next Saturday, this week is pizza party where we celebrate the birthdays of the month. My brothers started tkd this week.

I did have a boo boo yesterday. Got a goose-egg at school that resulted in me going to the nurse. I'm okay, but it hurt. It did upset me that mom kept me with her at church instead of going to kids church, but I was tired and after playing fruit ninja for awhile I took a nap.

Enjoying FALLing into Routine… and then…

Benji in Point Park,
Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, TN

School has been going so well, mom forgot we needed to blog. Seriously, there were a few shaky days but all things considered I have done quite well. My first grade teacher has a good idea about me, she even managed to get me to read! Can you believe that?
Mom and Dad did have a parent teacher conference with Ms. H to make sure they were on the same page. Turns out that they were pretty close to it. Ms. H is really understanding about my sensory issues and my food allergies. (Even my heart!)
Other than school things have been so – so. I quit going to Tae Kwan Do for about three weeks. It was a combination of I was getting over heated and it was wearing me out, plus there was the whole issue about sparring. Went back Thursday and the Dojo Master was impressed that I still remembered the forms. (Basic 1-3) I seemed to have a lot more focus too.
Adjusting to my “habit breaker” has not been fun. Thought I had been sneaky and was able to suck my thumb anyway, but then I had to go back to the dentist to have it checked. The dentist made it where I couldn’t suck my thumb and told me that when I come back if I am still they will put another piece in that makes it hurt to suck the thumb. That doesn’t sound like fun.
Lastly, the picture is from Pointe Park on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN. We went there last weekend while we were visiting my Godmother for her wedding. I was excited to see the big cannons! I was sad I ended up getting sick and wasn’t in the wedding.
That’s all for this time. Hopefully posting will be a bit more regular. HaHa!

Wordless Wednesday - July 20, 2011

Benji with Grand Master Shin

Tae Kwon Do, Hard Work, but Fun!

Back in March, I started working out at Shin's Tae Kwon Do in Dickson. Mom and Dad were thinking it would help with my coordination and possibly prevent me from having to get more physical therapy with my pending growth spurt. (Part of the hypotonia, seems every growth spurt I have to re-learn how to control my muscles.) I suppose the one thing they didn't think about was my level of fatigue. It took several weeks for me to be able to do a full work out without flopping.
I have worked hard, but to be honest I was starting to give up. I had my first belt testing on May 14th, but I didn't understand how it all worked. It was exhilarating when we got to break boards though! When we left testing, I was upset with myself because I had a lot of anxiety with the Basic 1 Form 1 and messed it up.
Mom and Master Ogburn encouraged me though and I kept going. I am glad I did now! Did you see yesterday's post? That's me with my brand new Yellow Belt! I can't wait to get my stripes and move on to green!

Wordless Wednesday - June 1st