Kristopher turn 8!

Today my son Kristopher turned 8. I can't believe it. It's so true about all the people who say that time with your children flies by so fast. He's becoming his own person full of his own beliefs, ideals, and interests. Even though I get a little sad when I look at baby pictures of him I can't wait to see what kind of man he will turn out to be. He is very intelligent and loves to build his Lego sets. I'm hoping he will become an engineer or something along those lines. I also pray that he is happy and that we can continue to provide the best education we can and a safe environment to grow up in. He has helped me so much with our twin girls and I don't know what I would do without him. Since Brian works so much me and kids spend a lot of time together and are extremely close. I hope that doesn't ever fade away but I know it will take a lot of effort on my part as well. I love being a mom and I can barely imagine what my life was like before I had kids.

Love ya babe!

Since this was the first time I have ever voted I was extremely involved in this election. I couldn't watch enough debates and coverage of the race. I am so happy that Obama won the presdential race. I'm also very excited that California voted yes for Prop 2. Hopefully industrial farming will start to be run differently and there will be less harmful treatment of the farm animals and our food will be safer.

Miss you Daddy

Today is the one year anniversary of losing my dad, Richard. Today (especially this morning) was very hard. But as the day has gone on I am also so thankful that God gave me such a wonderful dad. My dad was amazing and he never hid his love for us. I have never met someone who fought so hard for life. He understood that family, friends, and most importantly faith in God is all that mattered in the world. He always wanted the best for us and did just about everything in his power to make sure that we were always taken care of. There have been little things this past year when I missed him most like my twin girls first birthday, my niece being born, and for my son Kristopher who misses his papa Richard. I can't believe a year has flown by and I constantly feel his presence in my house, not in a scary way but in a comforting way. I know he is my guardian angle and I can't wait to meet him up in heaven. He has taught me so much and I will make sure that my children will know what an amazing man their grandfather was.

I love you daddy.

Oprah: How We Treat The Animals We Eat

Today is the day I have been looking forward to watching the Oprah show. If you did not get a chance to see today show please visit http://www.oprah.com/dated/oprahshow/oprahshow_20081008_animals

Oprah discussed along with farmers on both sides of Prop 2. It was interesting to see the industrial farmers trying to rationalize the horrible confinement of most farm animals. Before I read Skinny Bitch I really had no idea of what industrial farms were about. I was completely naive I'm sure just like many Americans of where our food comes from. It was amazing to me to see the difference between the free range chicken, pig, and veal farms as opposed to the industrial farms. I still can't believe to this day why anyone in the world would even eat veal! I truly believe in, you get what you pay for. As a mother I am willing to pay extra for my organic groceries knowing that it is not only free of pesticides, chemicals, and artificial colors and flavors but it is also good for the environment and humane treatment of animals.

Oprah for me is the queen "hail Oprah" lol. She has so much influence over many women that I believe today she truly has brought more awareness to this issue and would not be surprised to see the demand for free range eggs, poultry, beef, and pork on the rise.

I love you Oprah.

So little time, a million things to do

This weekend I was hoping on getting some projects done around the house (cleaning the stains out of carpet, cleaning out my fridge, working on craft projects). Plus I have my usual chores like laundry, bills, dishes, etc. Since we had no plans I was looking forward to getting these things done but of course Felicity got sick. She has some sort of virus that started with a fever and now a light rash. Alyssa got something similar a few months ago but she did not get it this bad. Felicity just cries and cries on and off all day. Plus Alyssa is constantly "escaping" from the family room and getting into everything (dumped the dog food in the dog's water, pulled everything off the dinning room table, playing with the computer)...it's funny because everything she gets she's hand over to Felicity in the family room...lol. So as you can imagine I don't think I'm going to get all of that done this weekend. Oh and I got my absentee voting ballot and OMG it's like freakin studying for the SAT exam. There are pages and pages of the props you have to vote for, explaining all of the facts, pros and cons....ugh. I only got up to the 4th prop and started to fall alseep..lol
I'm also trying to read 3 books and have a ton of magazines to catch up on in my spare time....hilarious...yeah not gonna happen.
Anyways I swear I could rant and rave in this blog several times each day every day...lol
I can't even remember what I did with my time before I had kids. Oh wait yeah I was working full time and getting my degree...just as busy but in a very different way.

Rattled Mind

I don't know if it's because we have a big presidential election coming up or what, but many things keep swirling around in my mind. The main issue is our economy. I have heard a couple of times on tv from financial "experts" that this is the worst in modern times since the great depression. The GREAT DEPRESSION. That is some scary shit! When I think of the Great Depression I imagine everyone out of work, people living in shelters, families being torn apart. I hope to God that does not happen to us. But hopefully our government won't let it get that far. They had to have learned from the mistakes of the past, right? I hope so.
Right now I am a stay at home mom and my husband works in the car industry. But since his salary depends on commission sales, times are rough. My husband said more and more dealership are closing! He's working more hours and bringing home less $$$, ugh! I know right now is the time when I should be working to help him pay the bills but I just don't know how, with unemployment being up so high and plus having to pay for school and day care for 3 children. I'm not sure of what all of our futures hold but I know several people that have lost their jobs recently and it just scares the crap out of me.
Regardless of who is elected our next president, they have a hell of job ahead of them. Everybody is going to look to him to change and improve everything. So God bless who takes that position of running our country...he'll need all of our prayers!

Who am I?

Today after school we (kids and I) went down to the Ontario Mills Mall to book Kristopher's birthday party. After that Kristopher wanted a snack, a Cinnabon! I said sure and was going to get 2 (1 for him and 1 for me and girls to share). On the way walking over to the counter to place my order I started thinking about all the crap (fat, calories, etc) that were in just one of those delicious Cinnabons. Now let me explain normally I would devourer one of these in a matter of minutes. But to my surprise when I took a bite I didn't want to keep on eating it. Then I took another bite just to make sure and I honestly did not want it. I did not think that it was worth putting more fat into my body. It wasn't because I wasn't hungry...that never stopped me before. A few weeks ago I could have just eaten a meal at the food court, stomach stuffed, and would still stuff my face with one of those in a matter of minutes. I would force my stomach to eat the entire thing...before. I don't know what has happened to me. I don't know if I am truly adopting a whole new lifestyle or if it's just those all those horrific facts in Skinny Bitch or television shows that just keeps circulating in my head. But whatever it is I really hope it does last and my life is changing for the better. Let's face it's I'm in my mid 30's and not a young pup anymore. I NEED to take better care of myself. As as all mothers know that is usually the last thing (our health) that takes priority in our daily life.

Register and vote

I'm embarassed to say that I'm 33yrs. old and I have NEVER voted in a presidential election before. But as I have matured and now am a mother of 3 children alot more issues seems to matter and be more concerned about. I can't remember our economy being this screwed up and we really need to voice our encouragement for change. Think of your family's future and vote!

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/10/breaking_news.php

Prop 2 commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqPJsfjjyZU

Prop 2

Please vote yes on California Prop 2 on voting day.
Visit http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/09/prop_2.php


Celebrites like Ellen and Oprah are encouraging voters to become more aware of the farming and food industry and the cruelty treatment of farm animals as well as the safety of beef and pork. Reading the book Skinny Bitch gives an awful description of the American farming industry, but seeing footage like this just makes it all more real. Please think about what you buy on a daily basis as a food consumer and if you can't give up meat then try to buy organic!

Organic eating

Well so far I have not had one diet coke and I have a ton of it at my house. I bought 5 liters of it on sale before I read Skinny Bitch. Plus I have 4 cases of it that I'm donating to the school for a fundraiser. But I have been good and have resisted temptation (so far). As far as the milk thing, that's no problem whatsoever. I have never been a milk drinker but I do love cheese (all kinds of cheese from cream cheese, brie, to nacho cheese). So that's going to be really hard to give up if that's what I decide to do. I just bought soy cheese but I have not tried it yet. I have also recently bought organic products. I bought some organic frozen waffles, whole organic maple syrup, crackers and cookies (the oreo kind, yes can you believe it). I can tell the difference like in the waffles for example; normally I would eat the Eggo brand and would eat about 3 at a time with the "fake" Aunt Jamima syrup and crave more. But these were organic blueberry waffles and they were nice and filling (maybe cuz they are made whith whole organic wheat flour).

I was doing so good this morning. I had a banana, organic waffles, and soy breakfast saugage. Then after breakfast I started baking for the school social and of course I had to tast test the cookies and brownies. Ugh, I ended eating so many that I didn't even eat lunch. My stomach was so jacked up after that. I really think I'm addicted to sugar! Sweets are my biggest vice! But thank God according to the book you can still eat sweets as long as they are made with natural "raw" sugar and other organic ingredients. Yesterday I bought the Skinny Bitch in the Kitch and it's loaded with all kinds of receipes like french toast, mac n cheese, and desserts! I can't wait to try out these recipes. Oh and those organic crackers and cookies I bought (at Target of all places) are pretty darn good. So after I finish eating all my Smart Ones and Lean Cuisines and sugar free crap I'm slowly going to replace my kitchen with healthier and organic products. I know this is going to be a slow process but it's one that I'm becoming quickly passionate about. In high school I remember reading literature like the slaughter house and gave up red meat and pork. I have not eaten it since. Since reading Skinny Bitch I am feeling that passion about animal rights and the food industry again and I'm sorry I haven't been very active in it since. I started college as pre-vet medicine before I changed my major to small business management. It's so easy to lose touch with what you are passionate about when you get married so young and have children. But I'm excited to see what the near future and my health that follows.

Mother Warriors

This lady's name is Monica. She is a mother of two and her story was on the Oprah show today (God bless the person who invented TiVo). Monica suffered a severe infection after her c-section from her second baby. The doctors had to remove major organs, including both arms and legs! She endured over 40+ surgeries. I immediately started tearing up after they showed her in the hospital after her amputations. I was so moved by her spirit and her will to quickly recover and return home to take care of her newborn and older daughters. It's stories like this that puts my life and my complaints and stresses into perspective. When I learned I was pregnant with twins I completely freaked out. But people reminded me that God does not give what you can not handle. So true. Even though being pregnant with my girls was very painful and exhausting. At least my body was able to carry them up to six weeks of my due date and both me and my babies were and are healthy. It was very scary when my water broke and I had to have an emergency c-section but God was looking out for all of us.

I will pray for Monica and her family. I look up to her and the strength of all mother warriors out there who will stop at nothing for their children.

Dear Lord thank you for getting me through this day

Today is one of those days that I either start the day with begging Jesus for the strength and patience to deal with the day ahead of me. Well today is a day where I said a silent prayer thanking Him for getting me through this day...

Today was Kristopher's first trip to the dentist. Yeah I know I should have taken him before while he was younger or before he got a cavity...I know. This was something I have been putting off for the fear he would freak out...or I would...I don't know. Plus this is the first time we have had family dental insurance. Anyways to make things easier we had our appts. together so he could see that mommy was going through the same thing and the dentist isn't so scary. Keep in mind I have a very low level of pain tolerance and have not been to the dentist in years! So I was scared about tyring to be tough because Kristopher was there with me. Anyways Kristopher did great but of course we both need tons of dental work! Kristopher's cavity is so bad that he basically needs a pediatric root canal, ugh. Plus the idiot dentist that did my root canal did not make me a proper crown and now I have a big gap in between the crown and my gums so now I need the old one removed and a new one in it's place. This alone is going to costs from $750-$1,000!!! That's with freaking insurance! Ugh. So needless to say we both have about 2 to 3 more visit each for all the crap we need done. So lesson learned, don't neglect your teeth. I get it. I saw pamphlets about a healthy mouth leads to overall health. Again....baby steps.

Oh I neglected to say that before the appt. I had to drop off the girl (my twins) off at my mom's house. Could you imagine tyring to go to the dentist with two 20mn. old babies running everywhere....not gonna happen.

Anyways after the appt. I had to rush Kristopher to school hoping that we make it in time for his reading test. By the time I dropped him off it was already 1pm and he gets out at 3pm. But he had a test, P.E. class, and had to get his homework and books for the week. So then I had to drive up to my mom's to get my girls, feed them lunch, then turn right back around and pick up Kristopher. So I made it one time and happy to find out that he made the test, did not have to make up a missed P.E. class, and got his homework and books for the day. Whew! Well not really I sensed something was wrong and after some lying (on his party) and probing I found out he got his first detention. 7am tomorrow morning....yeah. So needless to say he's grounded for the day. As the afternoon went on I then completely lost my temper with him for 1-getting detention, 2-spilling choc late ice cream on the dinning room chairs and carpet, 3-losing his library book which is due tomorrow. It's time like this where I look back at myself at the end of the night and feel guilty for the yelling and cursing and losing my patience.

But there was some light at the end of evening which makes all the other crap disappear. Felicity pooped in the potty....yeah. The small but huge milestone for all mothers.

Being a stay at home mom of my son and my twins is by far the hardest job I have ever had. Some days (like this) I just want to run away and scream. But it is my choice to stay home and raise my children to the best that I know how. I truly believe that this is the most important job I will ever have in my life and I will continue to pray to God for strength and patience to take it day by day.

So all the kids are now in bed and I'm venting in this blog having myself and cocktail. Yippee.

Milk

This morning me and the kids walked (yes walked) down to Stater Bros to do some shopping and get some exercise. Anyways I bought the soy product Silk to try. I figured since I'm not a big milk drinker except with my cereal why not give it a try. I bought the vanilla low fat flavor. I tried it with my strawberry Chex cereal and besides the consistency I could barely notice the difference and it tasted pretty good. So giving up milk, not a problem. According to Skinny Bitch we are the only species on earth that drinks the milk of another species...pretty gross when you think about it. I'm going to try the other soy products to replace the other dairy in my diet and see if the are decent or not. Just reading about the dairy industry was also appalling in this book. Read, read, read this book!

Baby steps toward a healthier lifestyle

Well today was the first day after reading Skinny Bitch. It was crazy, I was thinking of every bad thing that was in everything we ate today. I want to have a healthier outlook on the food that I put into my body. So today I decided I would start with giving up Diet Coke. I love Diet Coke, it is the only thing other than water that I drink on a regualr basis. I usually only drink about 1 to 2 glasses a day but I love the taste of it when I'm eating my lunch and dinner. But according to the book diet soda and sugar free products contain Aspartame which have been found to cause arthritis, birth defects, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer's, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes, yikes!!! I figured since I'm not obsessed with Diet Coke I could easily give this vice up. We'll see how it goes. So farwell to my diet coke.

Skinny Bitch

Please go out and get this book, "Skinny Bitch". It's hilarious yet very informative and eye opening. I read the entire book yesterday and just could not put it down. I was impressed how much research was put into this book and kept laughing my ass off because of the way she uses her sailor mouth to get points across. For example "Say goodbye to soda and hello to a sweet ass, coffee is for pussies, you cannot keep eating the same shit and expect to get skinny". Lol!!!!

I thought I knew some things about food and what we eat everyday but I was honestly shocked about most of what I read. It not only got me thinking about what I put into my body but what I'm feeding my children as well. This was horrible (experts taken from the book Slaughterhouse) "I personally have seen rotten meat-you can tell by the odor. This rotten meat is mixed with the fresh meat and sold for baby food".!!!!!!!! So fucking gross and shocking!

This book is really about a lifestyle change but if you are not willing to change your diet you should still read to gain knowledge about the FDA and our food industry.

I don't know to what extent I will take this book as a lifestyle change but I do know that I need to at least make baby steps toward a healthier lifestyle for myself and my family.

Brian's birthday

My husband Brian is an very good and avid golfer, it is his hobby as well as his passion. He has always wanted a set of golf knickers to wear golfing. I have always thought it was ridiculous and have always told him no way, that's embarrassing, etc. Well this year I surprised him on his birthday with the whole set; knickers, socks, hat, the works. He loved it! He was so happy that he put the outfit on right away so I can take his picture and he could show it to everybody. As you can see the big smile on his face that he loved it. He kept saying I can't believe you got me this.... But I figured hey I don't golf with him so it won't bother me, plus I knew he's been wanting them for so long. Our son Kristopher kept making fun of him. When he pulled the socks on Kristopher got this strange look on his face asking him if he was a ballerina and where was his tutu... I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants! Well that Sunday (his golfing day) he sent me a picture from his phone wearing his outfit with a text "enjoying my kickers", lol. Apparently his brother and buddies made fun of him which pushed him to play a great round of golf so they would stop.

His birthday is Sept. 11th which is still a very depressing birthday to have so I try my best to do what I can for him. My birthday is great, Valentine's Day where everyone is happy and tries to make an effort to do something nice for the one they love, so I consider myself fortunate.

First school picture

Here is Kristopher's school picture for the school year. His papa told him to smile big to show his missing two front teeth!

Getting Started

I have only blogged a couple of times on myspace so this is all very new to me. It is kind of weird to think that it's like a public journal for the whole world to read. Anyways I'm not sure of what the point is to blogging but like I said this is all new to me and I'm sure I'll get into to it soon.