Month: June 2018

For years, we have been hearing about Rocking Horse Ranch and for years we have wanted to visit. We finally found the perfect weekend to head up, which was this past Father’s Day. This wasn’t all that we had given him for this special day. Before we set off, the kids gave their father a custom photo wallet that had a family photo on the front. I thought this was very thoughtful and something that we know he’ll use. He definitely looked like he enjoyed receiving it. With future father’s day gifts we will have to look to do even better. Our man of the house deserves it, he always goes the extra mile for us so we will need to get him a thoughtful gift every year. To help us keep the standard high on father’s day gifts we started brainstorming a gift idea for father’s day for next year already. Anyway, back to the trip itself. This family of 5 with a 16 year old, 13 year old and a 9 year old, need space for our road trips. We were thrilled when we had the opportunity to test drive the new Chevrolet Equinox, which made our ride extra comfortable and allowed me to relax too.

When we arrived at the ranch, we were welcomed by an outdoor barbeque with a country western band. Immediately, we felt like we were in the wild wild west with the sounds and smells of this gorgeous ranch. After lunch, we toured the property and the kids didn’t’ know where to start first.

We kicked off our activities with a dip in the pool, followed by a banana boat ride on their lake and then a mini golf game. After drying off, it was our turn to saddle up and take in a trail ride. We have a horse back rider in our house, so this was her turn to shine. She got right on her horse as if she just rode yesterday (even though it had been months). She asked for more time, so we were lucky enough to schedule a quick private lesson.

After the Horseback riding, we were back in the outdoor pool which was then followed by bungee jumping and then the indoor pool which was like a water park with obstacle courses and splash areas. Bungee jumping was an experience in itself. Although this was something I wanted to tick off my bucket list, I was still so nervous. It is the idea that anything could happen while you are up there. It is understandable as to why sites like https://www.moneyexpert.com/life-insurance/ advise you to take up life insurance for high risk activities, in case anything was to happen. It sounds scary, but this is definitely necessary. You just never know, so it is better to be safe than sorry and know that you did all you could to protect yourself and even your family. This year round resort also offers wintertime fun and activities that include snow tubing, skiing, sledding, skating and I hear the best hot chocolate around.

Then came time for our Fathers Day dinner set in a gorgeous western décor dining room. Our Fathers Day dinner turned into a date night for us as the kids ate in record time and left us alone to take on the arcade. To be honest, we didn’t mind the alone time. During this meal, I was finally able to present my husband with the gift of attending the Cotswold Gin Pantry. As we are already planning on a trip to the UK soon, I thought I might as well add this to the to-do list. I’m so happy that he loves the gift. I knew he would anyway.

After the busiest day ever, we headed back into our Chevy Equinox and drove back to Manhattan. The vehicle is quite impressive with the warning seat vibrations. When you don’t drive often, these extra safety features are an added comfort when driving around a family. Of course the kids loved the Apple Car Play and 4G LTE Wifi, and what Mom does not love that for a long car ride!

We rocked our Fathers Day weekend at Rocking Horse Ranch thanks to Chevrolet and everyone at the ranch. Maybe this will be our new Fathers day tradition, if not, we are more than happy to take on another adventure soon with the Chevrolet Equinox.

Denise Albert is co-founder of The MOMS media company. She is a cancer survivor and the mom of two boys, Jaron, 13, and Jaylan, 10. She speaks and moderates panels at many breast cancer-related events and was the recipient of the 2017 Susan G. Komen NY Impact Award. She lives in New York City.

I am a survivor every day. I remind myself that every day. I may be cancer free, but the diagnosis and continuing medications and decisions are forever.

I began my cancer journey in January of 2015. I was finally happy. I was a happily divorced mom of 2 boys, happy with my boyfriend and building my business, when I felt a lump and was diagnosed with breast cancer just 3 months after a clear mammography.

I had a lumpectomy, aggressive chemotherapy for six months, radiation daily for six weeks and immunotherapy infusions for a year. When my treatment ended a year ago, I called it #MyBreastYear (though it was 2 years of treatment).

Just like there’s no parenting manual, there’s no cancer manual. Everyone’s journey is different. For me … I tried to live my life. I threw parties and planned trips with my kids for the end of each phase to have something to look forward to.

Sharing my story helped me each day, and speaking to my new cancer-community friends across the country each day gave me more inspiration to keep sharing and hopefully helping others.

I hosted one of our Mamarazzi events with Jennifer Garner just an hour after shaving my head. I went to a Bruce Springsteen concert the night before chemo began. Some days, walking my kids to school was all I could do. I lost my taste and had no appetite, lost 10 lbs., lost all my hair everywhere. I couldn’t look in the mirror – with no hair, no eyebrows, no eyelashes it was impossible to think I would ever look healthy again.

Denise Albert:
On my first business trip to California after chemo ended, I was mistreated by the TSA – you may have seen the video. I then volunteered my time to shoot a public service video to make sure every one knows the best way to travel with cancer and to remind their agents of the protocol.

My hair is now growing back, though I prefer the wigs (no hair drama ever!). I have gained the weight back and I’m finally back to a normal lifestyle.

I was recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis and have also been living with rashes all over my body for the past two years. When I was diagnosed, I did a lot of research into rheumatoid arthritis and found that it can potentially cause pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints, (something that I wasn’t looking forward to). My doctor told me that rheumatoid arthritis and physical therapy often go hand in hand and it can really help with some of the joint pain and encourage me to keep my mobility. The last thing I want is to lose my freedom and not be able to move about when I need to. Plus, minimizing my pain is very appealing. I don’t think I could live with any more pain, and that is when my friend told me that I should have a look into something similar to these CBD oil UK brands and products to see if I can find a form of pain relief that could help me battle with this new diagnosis, as well as dealing with my cancer. However, I know that there are also CBD pain relief edibles too that could be easier for me to take on the go. My friend told me that you just have to buy CBD isolate and then it can be made into edibles to take whenever I feel any pain. That should help me to reduce some of the suffering, allowing me to live a little more comfortably.

I have scheduled surgery three times in the past nine months. I have cancelled it each time. The surgery is called a salpingo-oophorectomy. It’s an elective surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes. I asked my oncologist why some women decide to do this surgery. His answer was so simple. “Well, for women similar to you … if you keep thinking and worrying about cancer recurring there.”

I keep thinking about it although I have no evidence of cancer. The doctors don’t really believe I’m at increased risk for ovarian cancer but can’t say for sure. Because of the kind of breast cancer I had, I am on medicine for ten years and also get a shot every three months (also for ten years) to shut my ovaries down. I get another shot to strengthen my bones since estrogen is needed for that too.

The estrogen the ovaries make is what feeds my cancer, but not having the estrogen puts me at risk for other things like osteoporosis, mood swings, anxiety, depression, change in sex drive, and possibly pain during sex. Did I want to live my life like this? I was completely lost. I mean, I knew that things like CBD oil would help to control specific ailments like mood swings and depression, but do I want my cancer to continue being fed? This was one of the toughest decisions of my life. I didn’t know what to do.

I met with the gynecology oncologist surgeon last summer. After I asked him a million questions, he said it was a reasonable and good choice. I scheduled the surgery. Then cancelled it. I sent an email and asked my oncologist about it again. I scheduled the surgery again. I cancelled it. I then set up another meeting with the surgeon. I probably asked him the same questions. I scheduled it.

I don’t think my decision or emotions about this surgery has anything to do with the fact that now I really won’t be able to have kids anymore. It sounds so final but I don’t think that’s an issue for me. It’s more about my life now. I’m finally on a good run. But after further questioning and research I learned that ovarian cancer is hard to detect. It’s often caught too late.

Now I’m really beginning to think I should follow through with the surgery. Maybe I learn to live without my ovaries the way I’ve learned to live without my hair and with my wig. Newer, easier, better. And just keep living. Positively. Why would I keep my ovaries and tubes?

Maybe the surgery is just the next step in this journey.

Click here for the story on People.com

Check out the video here on the Brandless website.

Are you a mindful parent? I think as a parent we all try to be mindful. But I bet you didn’t know that meditation can actually make you parent better. Tapping into your spirituality is a wonderful thing. Some people do this through meditation, others do it through cannabis using tools like an American made glass bong in order to so.

I recently attended a beautiful luncheon hosted by Momtrends and learned that parents who practice meditation are more responsive to their children. A mindful parent can actually help a child learn to manage their behaviors and how they respond to you and also in the classroom. But it’s not just mindful parenting that attracted me to Headspace. It’s the lack of peace I have in my life.

My headspace has actually reached maximum capacity. Recently, I feel like I am on the edge of breaking down because of the amount of overload and the stress that happens to me as a working parent and especially during the end of the school year. You would think that we are all winding down but I feel more overwhelmed than ever. A friend mentioned I should try the best CBD Oil to try and overcome this sense of overwhelming stress and anxiety. Well, she actually said “beste CBD olie” given that she’s Dutch!

To be honest, CBD products seem to be more popular than ever before. In fact, most people I know seem to be talking about the potential health-boosting benefits of CBD at the moment. You see, there is a lot of research out there to suggest that CBD can be used to help people living with stress and that it can have a positive impact on your sense of wellbeing. Accordingly, CBD products are now available in a wide range of different formats. So, whether you want to get your CBD fix via Private Label CBD Softgels or any other CBD health supplements, the choice is totally up to you.

So, what could I do to tackle the stresses of my daily life? Yes, I exercise almost daily which is a great release and I try to take time for myself but to be honest those things don’t solve the underlying problem. I was left wondering about what I should do next; I didn’t know where to turn. But then my friends told me that I should consider taking cannabis for medicinal use, as they had heard that something like the gas monkey strain was meant to help with symptoms of stress. Don’t get me wrong, I had considered it because I had nothing to lose at this point. But a part of me was still wondering about the other options that are out there. How do I become less stressed daily and how do I find the peace in my everyday life?

With Headspace I discovered that I will be on a new journey. A journey that can hopefully help with my stress, happiness, work, parenting and so much more. The App allows you to try several levels of meditation and allows you to discover so many things about yourself you may not have even known. The App also has sessions for students. This is so helpful for all those stressed out teens who might be taking final exams right now.

Do you feel overwhelmed? Is your Headspace at maximum capacity? If so, I have a special gift for you.

You can try Headspace for 40% off. This offer expires July 4, 2018! Click the link below and upload the code. This will give you access to the full Headspace library.

https://www.headspace.com/buy/checkout/summary?voucherCode=THEMOMS

I know I am not alone here when it comes to feeling overwhelmed as a Mom. I am hoping the Headspace App can be my start to managing some of the stress in my life and hopefully this App can be helpful for you too.

Let’s all try to find some Headspace.

This is a Sponsored Post, all opinions are my own.