After two trips to the ER and a short ride in an ambulance back in 2006, a neurologist at Shands diagnosed me with migraines.  I was perplexed because the people that I had known with migraines all had terrible head pain, vomited, and had to lie down in a dark quiet room until their migraines passed.  This was not the case with me. I first became plagued with migraines back in September 2006.  While walking around my classroom, the ground would become squishy under my feet.  An arm or leg or maybe just my thigh would go numb.  Sometimes my lips would go numb.  The most troubling symptom was not being able to get my words out.  The strange thing was that 9 times out of 10, my head didn't hurt- just pressure.  The symptoms mimicked a stroke, which was frightening. The doctors gave me an EEG, EKG, and a CAT scan, and all came back clear.  The neurologist prescribed me Topamax, which is an anti-seizure medication, and it worked.  After three months of living in a trance like state and asking myself daily-Are those really my arms?  They look so weird.  Those can't be my arms.- I was feeling like my self again (depressed and anxious, with a dash joyfulness- I'm a real pleasure to live with.). After 8 months of taking Topamax, I stopped abruptly which threw me into a crazy two weeks of putting milk in the pantry and stopping at stop signs for a ridiculously long time.  It was pretty comical but worth the craziness because the medication made me feel terrible.  These days I am not as scared when I feel the migraine trance coming on because I know that the weird sensations will pass.  Each fall the frequency of my migraines increases.  Most everyday from September-November I will experience one or more of my weird sensations and sometimes so much so that it feels like I might pass out from the pressure in my head.  It makes me wonder- are my migraines caused by the stress of a new school year or are they seasonal?  If you have similar type migraines, please leave me a response.  I would love to hear what you have to say on the subject. 

I went back to Dollar Tree today and picked up a few more Halloween decorations.  It is beginning to look like a "for reals" haunted house up in here.  The kids are super psyched about Halloween, as am I.  They haven't decided what they want to be yet, but I'm sure whatever they pick will be awesome.  I made this video today, and to my surprise, it turned out rather spooky.  My voice drags at the end because I set the video to slow motion. It sounds a little creepy but mostly it just sounds silly.  I think it will make you laugh.  When Matt watched it he looked at me like, "This is what you have been doing the last hour and a half?"  I had to laugh because when I watched it with him, I was thinking the same thing.  I apologize for my weirdness beforehand and I do hope you enjoy.  Happy Halloween Everyone!  (I know it is way too early to be saying that but whatever)

Matt is mowing, the kids are watching cartoons, and I am sitting here trying to decide what I want to paint first.  There is Josie's wicker dresser that is in desperate need of a coat of paint, but then there is my fireplace.  I painted the brick a pretty shade of gray-green, but now I want to paint the wall above the mantel the same color.  If I paint the wall above the mantel then I will need to paint the other three walls in the living room a color that compliments the color of the fireplace wall.  Then I will need to paint the dining room because the living room and dining room are only separated by a half-wall.  I can't paint the dining room because the walls need major repair.  We have cracks in the plaster and the walls are covered in a horrible pebbly texture that we ourselves painted onto the walls to try the hide the imperfections.  Really, we need to just remove the plaster walls or dry wall over them.  Too big of a job for today, and too big of a job for me.  What's a girl to do?  I did hit Big Lots this morning for some fall decor.  I thought everything was a little overpriced.  I'm sure next weekend it will all be 50% off.  I probably should have gone to Hobby Lobby.  They have the cutest decorations and there is always a sale.  I know the sale price is actually the real price, but it makes me feel good to see 75% off or buy one get one free.  The weather here in Florida is definitely not fallish and the leaves are still a vibrant green, but I feel it.  If you are a Floridian, you know what I mean.  It's like suddenly the mosquitoes just disappear.  Then one day you realize that you just walked to the mailbox and back without sweating profusely.  The grass starts growing a bit more slowly.  And my favorite clue that fall is near, the sun begins setting during the evening news instead of prime time.  I can't magically make fall happen, just like I can't magically be a size 5, but I can pretend.  So I will dress my house in shades of gold and burgundy and bejewel it with pumpkins large and small.  *Oh I could drink a case of you AUTUMN.  Still I'd be on my feet.  I would still be on my feet.*

Inhale-1, 2, 3. Exhale- 1, 2, 3.  This has been my mantra for the last 3 weeks.  I'm teaching a new grade this year (3rd) in a new classroom with new standards and my husband is the new assistant principal of my school.  That is a whole lotta new.  I'm adjusting, although I did call Matt "Babe" in front of my students the other day-Oops.  Hayden and Josie love having their daddy at school with them.  Some afternoons they stay late with Matt and hang out in his office.  All 5 Bergens are at Browning Pearce this year.  It is comforting knowing that we are all so close.  I like it.  I like it a lot.  Josie is having attachment issues this year.  She has cried several times at school because she misses me.  She did this a few times last year when she had a substitute teacher.  I try to remind her of how lucky she is to have both her mommy and daddy right down the hall, but I think that might actually be why she is feeling so sad. She knows that we are only steps away, but yet she can't be with us.  It is hard to see her so upset, but I know she will get through all this just fine.  Lucas is loving the nursery, and he was glad to be back with all his friends from last year.  Hayden has been picking him up for me in the afternoons which has been an enormous help.  I can't believe Hayden is old enough to perform such an important task.  Before I know it, I'll be sending him to the store to pick up some milk.  I love my innocent little Hay Man.  I wish sometimes I could just put him in a bubble and protect him from all the nonsense that he will encounter over the next few years.  What am I talking about FEW.  Third grade is the just the beginning of the social gymnastics he will participate in for the rest of his life.  Luckily, he is not as introverted as I am, but he has an extremely tender heart.  The other morning he cried about going to school because some kids were saying that he had buck teeth, which he doesn't.  I wanted to cry when he told me,  but I didn't want him to see me so affected.  I fought back tears as I squeezed him tight and reassured him that his teeth do not stick out.  I tried to give him the "Those kids are jerks, don't listen to them!" speech, but I don't know how effective it was.  Everyone wants to feel accepted and at that age no one wants to feel different.  I wanted to tell him to sock the next kid in the jaw that says he has buck teeth, but I don't promote violence, so instead I equipped him with a few lines to use in case those kids make any more remarks.  I thought about teaching him a few "Your Mama" comebacks, but I think I'll save those for when he is in fourth grade.  Kid drama is tough.  It is hard to know when we as parents should intervene, and I know that it is only going to get more difficult from this point on.  One day I will be living in a house with three teenagers.  I can only imagine the drama that will unfold daily beneath our roof.  It shall be interesting...