Adventures in Motherhood

Lightbulb Moment:

Is there really a point to picking up toys...they just keep appearing! :)

It's worth it:

The other night I read a book to James in which the names of many rear animals were named. At the end of the book it showed how many where endangered and or extinct. We then spent the next hour on the computer researching and reading about the most endangered animals. As I was tucking James in bed when he asked if we could say a prayer for the endangered animals. I said sure. He then said a prayer blessing the endangered animals to get on the non-endangered list and that people would stop killing them. It brought a tear to my eye. After he asked if I thought that some people would stop killing. I said I think so.

Bless his heart!!! I am so glad that he shares the same love Sean and I have for animals.

Adventures in Motherhood

Status:
all alive
Kitchen mopped
Load of laundry started
Dishes done
1/2 the kids are dressed for the day


Lightbulb moment:
"While the cats away the mice will play!"

Laughter is not always a good signs of getting along......more often it's the sound of a hurricane flooding the bathroom while attempting to drench stuffed animals in the sink. :)

Latest clean-up crew is reporting tragic 7 partial drowning. All are respected to recover after spending some time in the local dryer. The area is now closed to all foot traffic until the clean-up crew has finished the daunting task at hand. Locals say it was the work of
a couple category 5 hurricanes by the names Jaime & Brendando that collided.

Adventures in Motherhood

I watched the movie Julie and Julia last night. It inspired me to write. I thought what could I write about.....of course my Adventures in Motherhood. So here it goes. I'll write a little bit about my adventures as often as possible. I hope you enjoy and to all the other mothers I hope it helps you fill you are not alone in this crazy, exciting rollercoaster ride. :)


December 22, 2009:

Status:
Number of Spills: 2
Diaper Changes: 2
2 Kids on their 2nd change of clothing
Breakfast done (Egg Nog & Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
Drove Carpool
Injuries: just normal bumps and bruises from trips & slips / Jessica's is doing well healing from a fat lip and scraped up chin from trying to jump out of the cart (like brother) @ Home Depot

To Do:
Empty Dishwasher
Do Load of Laundry
Finish presents for nieces and nephews
Jess's Dance Class

Lightbulb moment:

"Plumber's Putty is not 'Silly Putty' and will make in into your childrens' ears and hair and is infinately harder to remove."

Thank goodness for future doctor uncles and their skills with a crochet hook!


It's all worth it!:

Brendan was talking to Jessica about James' friend coming over after school. He told her to "not be so cute around him 'cause he is a boy". I think he just wanted to let her know that James' friend wouldn't be interested in girl toys but it was so cute anyway and hopefully a foreshadowing of her brother protection when they are older. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

School Days are Here Again

Well it's hard to believe that summer is coming to an end once again. On the 20th James will begin the 2nd grade. This year he has a male teacher and is super excited about it! I hope he will help motivate James to try harder at his reading. :)

Brendan will begin Kindergarten on the 27th. I can't believe he's that old. I'm hoping things go okay. He has said all of 4 words to his Sunday School teacher at church, so I'm just hoping he'll talk to his Kindergarten teacher.

Jess is enjoying her beautiful newly pierced ears and flower earrings. (Mom convinced Dad because Jessica decided to cut her hair and Mom had to fix it with what Dad called the "English Boy cut".)
She's still every bit a princess though!! :)

Bryce...well...at 9 months he's completely content with just sitting up and making no effort to turn to his knees :)...and you know what...I'm okay with that. :) I figure the more time I don't have to worry about baby proofing again the better. lol :)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Dad, Dad

Dad, Dad
We LOVE you!!!

What a happy day
It is to You

On Sundays we go to church
On Mondays you go to work
On Tuesdays you work in the office
On Wednesdays you drive your package car
On Thursdays you turn on movies for us
and Friday we help you in the yard
On Saturdays we play with you.

Dad, Dad
We love you!!
One day we'll be like you.

by James Orullian

Happy Mother's Day

Tis the Season for Birthdays

So far we've hit Jessica's 3rd Bday & Brendan's 5th Bday....James' 7th is coming Friday!

It's been a lot of fun!!! I can't believe they are all growing up so fast. :(

Thanks to Aunt Linda...for doing an excellent job on sending out birthday greetings...your cards are always so darling and the kids love the Golden Dollar. :)

...& thanks to all for the Birthday Wishes!! We love you all!!

Defending God's Creatures

Recently a disgruntled neighbor captured our cat and encouraged a citation. I was issued a citation for one of our cats "Running at Large". This feud has been going on since we moved 3 years ago and were graciously greeted by this neighbor with "your cat is running in our yard and I will trap your cat if you don't contain it...and you need to put it in a cage." We now own an underground invisible fence which attempts to contain our cats to our back yard through warning beeps on a collar followed by a brief shock if they continue through the line. It has proven effective for one of our cats...but unfortunately Kenya the one who was trapped learned a way to beat the system. We have done all within our power to be a good neighbor, repairing any damage our cat may have caused and giving her chicken wire to protect her garden and still she maliciously entices Kenya to her yard with tuna to trap him. Knowing her intent we feared that she would capture our cat and remove their collars so they would be abandoned at the pound and euthanized; we micro-chipped our cats.

Please help support our cause to fight the city on the "running at large" law being applied to domestic, immunized, spayed/neutered cats.

------------------------------------

Trapping cats in violation of an “Animal Running at Large”(code 5-1-10) does the following:

-Control Disease throughout the animal/cat population
Problems with this argument:

1. Immunized cats do not spread disease
2. Domestic cats keep feral or wild cats at bay. (Example our street in Orem.)
3. Control the rodent population which carry diseases especially harmful to humans
   Make bird population stronger, killing slow/sick birds (which can also spread disease to humans; particularly with the bird flu scare which may spread to local birds)
4. Some cats also help control the insect population
   

-Controls the cat population
Problems with this argument:

1. Cat that are Neutered & Spayed as kittens will never reproduce
2. They help control population by scaring away reproducing males & female in heat, and feral cats
3. 5-6-1. Allowable Number of Dogs and Cats. (Already controls the domestic pet population)
   

-Helps protects neighbors and their property
Problems with this argument:

1. There are other laws that protect neighbors & owners from the nuisances or harm of domesticated cats which allow rights for the animal and it's owner & and resolve problems in a more peaceful manor:
   5-1-11. Sanitation. (making an owner responsible for their pets defecation)
   5-4-2. Control of rabies and rabid animals.
   5-4-3. Quarantine and disposition of biting or rabid animals.
   5-1-9. Nuisance animals. (opening up the situation to an objective investigations...not 1 sided)
   

-Encourages cats to be contained
Problems with this argument:

1. Cat by nature stock and evade making it nearly impossible to contain them
2. The Benefits of rodent control and disease prevention for the surrounding neighborhood far outweigh the cons (See 1. Exceptions)
3. There are no leash law for cats
4. Con: Caged cats become untrusting and feral…becoming unadoptable…leading to euthanizing to animal (Causing psychological trauma that could otherwise be prevented is abusive)
5. A cat cannot be trapped without baiting a trap
   -Tuna or chicken is the encouraged bait
   -This attracts the cats by their amazing sense of smell to coerced onto a neighbor’s property having an adverse affect of a neighbor wishing to keep away from their yard
   

-Entices a feuding Neighbor to kidnap another neighbor's family pet
Problems with this argument:

1. 5-1-3. Cruelty to animals prohibited. States: It shall be unlawful for any person to maliciously secret or impound an animal belonging to another person.

In Closing:

The legal trapping of a known neighbor’s pets (using the Animal at Large citation) is in violation of Animal Cruelty and Animal Nuisance laws of Orem City. It allows for just one side of a situation. Neighborhood feuds with neighbors pet should take the proper channels of the Nuisance law allowing for both sides to be heard and the protecting of rights for the animals, owners.
(A complaint about another’s neighbors pet… should be handled by a formal complaint under the Nuisance Law of the Orem City Animal Control Municipal code.)

Happy Earth Day!


Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir

Poor Man's Acai Diet/Cleanse

So I've seen a bunch of things about the NEW acai diet cleanse. Sure they offer free trials of the products but when doing some research...pretty much any diet pill that promises energy has some form of caffeine and usually at high doses. Not real energy just drug induced energy. I guess I say this because I've personally seen the effects of caffeine intake in high amounts (not chocolate). It is addicting and whether it be from soda or Green Tea it isn't good for you. I'll get off my preacher box now. I researched the ingredients from the Famous Acai Berry coupled with Colon detox and with that information and information from Fit for Life a book that when followed has delivered every time with weight loss and increased energy; and come up with the poor man's version, that will offer the same results as the FAD diet.

For Weight Loss and Detox:

Fruit only until Noon.

Drink a Homemade 100% Fruit only smoothie
-or-eat whole fruits (I prefer the smoothie, it's my food fast :) )

Example Smoothie Combinations (serves 1):

8 oz. 100% Cranberry Juice
Handful of Froz. Blackberries
Strawberries (Fresh or Froz.)
1 ripe banana

8oz 100% Apple Raspberry Juice
handful of froz. peaches
1 ripe banana

8oz. 100% White or Concord Grape Juice
Handful of Froz. Strawberries

8oz. 100% Orange Juice
Handful of Froz. Strawberries
1 ripe Banana

Essentially the combinations are endless just blend them up in a blender. (Sean & I recently invested in a middle to higher end model with a smoothie dispense spout and we love it!)

Just keep in mind a few essentials:

-8oz of 100% Juice
Cranberry is a fav because of it's tartness and it's UT (urinary tract) benefits :)

-a handful of raw fruit

*berries are great in any season and can be purchased froz. plus they are high in antioxidants *bananas help smooth your smoothie and help fill you up
*add some papaya to help with the cleansing but make sure you are near a bathroom :)

So that's it, simple, truly natural, and effective.

Caution: the first few days you start this your stomach may be upset and you might need frequent trips to the bathroom (eating a banana will help with the stomach uncomfort) just stick with it after a few days your body will adjust and your digestive tract will become more regular.

To help aide in the cleansing I recommend Fiber choice tablet once a day. They taste great and
don't bloat your stomach.

Happy Easter!!

May we all remember the real meaning of Easter

and celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S!!

Happy Valentine's Day...

from Our Ship to Your's!!!!

Happy NEW YEAR!!!

Here's to a new year....new memories to create...new experiences...and new fun to be had. (Especially with our new addition. :) )

It's exciting to think of this beautiful blank slate of a year we have before us. It's our chance to create a wonderful new masterpiece with life experiences.

I love the final address of Elder Wirthlin and I hope to have a lot of laughter in this new masterpiece no matter what the circumstance. :)

'The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable. ... The way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life. ... As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my mother, “Come what may, and love it.”'

-Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Come What May, and Love It,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 26–28


May this new year hold many blessings for you all!!