Twice is Nice

We actually had family scripture study and family prayer in the morning before Tim goes to work two days in a row. That in itself is a miracle. I'm gonna go back to bed now and wake up at a more decent hour.

Stress Factor

Here is an idea for a reality show. Instead of seeing what people will eat or do for $50,000 (not enough in my book). Give people two kids (one of them has to be a really good whiner) a husband who works twelve hours and has an important calling like EQP. Put them in back to school time give them no car and tell them they have to go grocery shopping, hem pants, make doctors appointments, get to them, help their inlaws get ready to move, work out, eat right, pay bills, clean house (difficult task all on its own because inlaws are constantly bringing over stuff that you have no room for), blog, start up a new business, laundry, plan an enrichment pratically all by themselves, sub in Sunday school, watch the neighbour's kids, do a food drive for over 100 houses, and all of the regular mom things that one does in a day to keep from beating her children. Put them in this pressure cooker and see them crumble and for what a mere $50,000. This is my life. I chose to commit myself to these things. I shouldn't be complaining but I think I really need to learn to say NO once in a while.

What Dreams May Come?

Two nights ago I had a dream that my husband and I were splitting up and that I lived in this huge apartment with all of the room mates I have ever had before. I dreamt that neither Tim nor I could find an apartment that would take children so my son Dakota had to live with my mom. If I wanted to see him she would send him over in a cab, because in my dream she couldn't drive. I woke up shortly after that with this tremendous urge to get back together with my husband (still in dream mode because we are fine) I hate it when dreams seam so real and it takes a while to get out of them. Well I called my husband at work and told him that I loved him. Then I told him about my dream. He thinks I silly. Apparently this isn't uncommon in our marriage. I have a dream that is not real but feels real and overreact. You should hear about my poligamy dream.

A Little More Me.

I'm thinking of personalizing my blog. I got some good advice from plastic obsession (she said to copy my original template in a word document unless I totally screw up so that I can copy and paste it back together) but I was wondering if anyone else out there has some more advice. I'm not looking forward to ripping out my hair so if anyone who has gone through this before please help.

I Tune, You Tune, We All Tune...

Yesterday Dakota, Ethan and I went school shopping at Chinook Center. After three hours of trying on pants at various stores we finally found a pair that fit him. In desperation to find a pair of pants that will fit his tiny waist and that we both liked we walked in to the Gap. They had a $10 off promotion on jeans so what could it hurt. The jeans had adjustable waists. Yea! They we still long but I can hem those. As we came out of the dressing room a girl handed us a card for a free download from itunes.

Tim and I haven't downloaded music since Napster because we are cheap and we rarely buy cds because its pretty rare that all of the songs are good on a cd. After much consideration we decided to download "Lets get it started in here." by the Blackeyed Peas. It turns out that its one of Dakota's favorite songs right now (we'll see how long that lasts with only one song in our library). Also he was the one who tried on the jeans and has the skinny waist that made it necessary to purchase pants there.

this morning I broke the news to him and he and Ethan we ecstatic. We have played it 5 times already and had a bit of a dance party, a scene that is common in our house to the point that a neighbour bought us a party light for Christmas last year. I admit I am a little tempted to go back a few times to try on jeans so that I can get more cards but what happens if I find a pair that I like? And what songs would I download?

What Was Lost is Now Found

Eureka! I found it! I was cleaning my kitchen and found my ring by the toaster. I must have taken it off. I don't know why it would be there but hey who cares I have it. Thanks to all who prayed for me to find it. I'm sure it helped.

I Am NOT A Great Date, But Maybe I'll Get Lucky

Last night I took myself out on a date. I think I am pleasing to be around and good company so why not? I was going to see a movie and got there a little early and decided to walk around the mall. Because I am always trying to get back that inner goddess I lost (see I not a bum I'm a mum post) I thought I would cease the opportunity to do a little research on what was new for fall. Why not I neither had kids with me or money so there was no danger.

When it was time to go see the movie, I made my way back to the theater all the while appreciating the irony that I was a married woman by myself going to a movie about divorce (Must Love Dogs). As I sat by myself I noticed that the theater was full of couples and I imagined that they were thinking how pathetic she is, all alone. I shrugged that off because I knew I was wearing a wedding ring. The symbol that I belonged to someone. That I was in a relationship and that I was a confident woman who could go out and see a movie that I wanted to see, by MYSELF.

10 minutes into the movie...... AAAAARRRRRGGGGG!

I LOST MY WEDDING RING! Oh the irony.

I tried to remember the last time I saw it. Did I take it off at home? Did I loose it in the mall? I checked my pockets, my purse. Nothing. I wasn't enjoying the movie and wanted to leave but under the circumstances I thought I should stay to the end to wait for the lights to turn on so I could search the area around me. Nope not there either. After searching my seat area I quickly drove home to check all surfaces in my apartment. Nothing. By then it was midnight and I decided that I should break the dreadful news to Tim.

Seeing that I was upset and that scolding wouldn't help (good choice). He consoled me and said that if we cannot find the ring I will get a new one but I didn't want a new one. I calmed down and we were lying in bed trying to go back to sleep and one of us joked about him being a married man (because he had a ring) with a single girl in his bed (because I didn't have a ring).

Well I have spent the last little while contacting all of the stores I was in and now I am waiting for a phone call to tell me either way, from the movie theater. I just don't see how I will ever get it back.

Strawberry Smoothie

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tbsp skim milk powder
1/2 cup frozen strawberries (sweetened)

yield: 375 ml

284 cal / serving (0.8cal / ml)
10g protein, 37g carbs, 12g fat

Chocolate Super Shake

Caution do not make unless you want to gain weight.

175ml (3/4 cup) vanilla ice cream
60ml (1/4 cup) cereal cream
15ml (1 tbsp) chocolate syrup
30ml (2 tbsp) skim milk powder

Makes 1 250ml (1cup) serving
489 cal/250ml or 1.9cal/ml
11g protein, 50g carbs, 29g fat

I didn't always have cereal cream so I used whole milk.

What is great about these is after your kid has leveled off and is not in such a danger zone you can lessen the bad stuff and replace high fat ingredients with a healthier low fat choice.

Eating Shmeating!

4.5 years ago Dakota was hospitalized for 5 days because he has a condition called "Failure to Thrive" which can be cause by many things but basically means you child has stopped growing and in some cases loosing weight. He endured a myriad of tests which included taking his blood at least 4 times. They evaluated his eating and came to the conclusion that he wasn't eating enough. That was what I told them before I went in but I was only his mother.

The problem with kids not eating has many parts.

1. Because of incidences like the previous we (parents) tend to put pressure on our kids to eat and get all worried making the problem worse.

2. Getting them to try a variety of foods

3. Getting them to gain weight so that their body doesn't feed on it self.

The first thing we I needed to do was stop putting pressure on Dakota to eat. I think kids not eating is a control issue, I have no degree in psychology and all of this info is purely anecdotal but, lots of things are happening in kids lives that they have no control over and eating is one that they can control. The more I pressured the more Dakota refused to eat.

The next thing I needed to do was to get the kid to gain weight. I had to beef up the calorie count to all his meals. He love milk shakes so his food was supplemented with ensure (or a store brand easier on the wallet) He was only aloud to have water once a day and never any juice. I guess it fills them up. No drinks until after he has finished half his dinner. The dietician specifically said this because they wanted his calories to come from food. I guess that's really important because kids have a hard time transitioning. Is easier if they can carry a cup around all day. My pediatrition gave me some recipes that are for milkshakes you can make at home in case the budget doesn't allow for the expense of piedisure. I 'll share some in the next few posts.

There is a lot of psychology behind getting a kid to eat and I guess you have to find what works for you but here are some helps that worked for me.

1. Regular meal times
***2. Eat at the table. Less distraction. Gone are the days of picnics in front of the TV.
3. No juice especially at meal times. If going to have juice it must be served 1 to 2 hours before a meal
4. Establish the rules and reduce the pressure. It pained me to see Dakota go hungry one night but the next day he learned to eat when served (this was the hardest) He could choose to eat what he wanted on his plate but I was not to make him a special meal and I left the choice up to him.
5. It takes about 15 times of offering something they won't try, to get them to try it. Just keep trying.

Its A Miracle

Yesterday was "Miracle Treat" day at Dairy Queen. Like I need another excuse to eat something I shouldn't, but it was for a good cause. I guess I'm willing to get fat or loose weight for charity. How philanthropic of me.

Shout Out!

I would just like to send a shout out to my parents who have been married 33 years now. Thanks for making this possible and necessary. Just kidding. Love You guys

Ready, Aim, Fire...

A few things have been bugging me this past week. I guess bugging is not the correct word, maybe concerning. Lately I have been hearing things about other people and sadly I have participated in some gossip. I know that this "sharing" has not been done out of a malicious intent to hurt but out of real concern. Unfortunately these snippits of concerned discussion don't paint a whole picture and people are making judgments, and what I mean by this is I have been making judgments, without being fully informed. I'm not saying that we need to get into one another's lives but that maybe if you are going to share some information be really sure that the person you are sharing with needs to know. If not don't pass it on. Its like we are putting the subjects before a firing squad and they don't even know it. So unless we are all prepared to walk around with our own "scarlet letters" or better yet targets on our backs, we need to stop firing our shots at people, one day they will back fire.

I am reminded of a statement someone said years ago in a gospel doctrine class "we never see where someone is aiming we only see where they are hitting."

Boom Boom Ain't it Great To Be A Leavitt Part 2

Before I continue I need to give some background. My grandfather was the baby of a large family (11 boys and 2 girls). So as you can imagine there are a lot of people there each representing one of the 11 brothers or 2 sisters. Every one walks around with these name tags that show how they fit in. My sister has a great idea for name tags next time, but I can't tell because someone else might snatch it up. Next come the competitions.

Before any of the games start the tally is posted and for every game or race won points are awarded. My grandfathers family is at a disadvantage by sheer numbers. There are 20 years between the oldest and the youngest so my grandfather was the same age as some of his nephews. Growing up I hated the tally. We were always last not because we couldn't win but because we didn't have a representative for each age group. We may have gotten 1st place in our races but one of the other brothers would get both 2nd and 3rd. This year wasn't any different.

The first event was the water balloon toss. This isn't just any ordinary water balloon toss. 200 to 500 water balloons are slingshotted from a hill, 2 or 3 at a time, onto a field of people holding the corners of blankets, towels, sheets or anything else that might aid in the catching of these water balloons. This is fun but you have to be on your toes because it really hurts when you get hit. It took a while but, Tim and I developed a rhythm and a technique and were able to catch 6 all on our own. We tied for first place because Eldon (one of the brothers) had more people out there catching balloons. Individually we caught more but they had more people out there.

Boom, Boom, Ain't It Great To Be A Leavitt Part 1

This past weekend my husband and I packed up the boys and we headed for my family reunion. I must admit I was a little nervous because this was the first one we had been to since I got married. I think it because, depending upon the person, Leavitts should be taken in small doses. Unfortunately we don't come that way. We are loud, competitive and we sure like our junk food.

Friday night we arrived in cardston and we camped at Lee Creek between two groups of bikers. It was great and they were really friendly. Best camping neighbours I ever had.

Saturday was the day of the actual reunion. We arrived just before 9:00am for breakfast just in time for the "early bird "draw. I quickly filled out four slips of paper, one for each member of my family< folded them in half and put them in the draw box. the first name called out was Dakota. The next name was Ethan. Then someone else. They picked another of our names but we told them to put it back. Who needs to start a reunion with a target on their back. Did I mention we are competative?

When I Loose We All Win

Last night I had the strangest dream. Maybe its because I am having guilt for eating ice cream 4 days in a row, but I dreamt that I was going to loose weight for charity. It was going to go on for five weeks and my goal was to loose 2 pounds a week. I dreamt that I had to get sponsors and everything. Crazy!

Dominion of Canada Under The Influence Of The Sith

My brother-in-law wrote this. I thought it was so funny that I asked if I could post it. Thanks Jon

CANADA has always been noted as a country with few natural enemies, easy to get along with never really in the forefront of controversy: until now. What has changed? New evidence points irrefutably to the fact that the Fathers of Confederacy are nothing more than a cabal of the Sith, led by non other than Darth Sidious himself His likeness (Sir John A. Macdonald, pictured at the right on a $10 bill) is proof. Another likeness, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, also bears an uncanny resemblance to the Sith Lord (on the $5 bill). Events from Canada's history seem to link this evidence to so-called Sithlike activities.
In 1868, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a founder of confederacy was silenced. Doubt still clouds the details of his death under dubious circumstances. Macdonald was PM at the time. Another noteworthy assassination during his time in power: George Brown, a journalist and senator from Quebec in 1880.
Then there was the famed Riel Rebellion in 1885. Again, Macdonald's opponent silenced under sinister circumstances. And lest we forget the National Dream - a railroad connecting the East to the West, uniting a grand dominion. And all the Chinese labourers (slaves, clones, whatever) sent to their death in the Rocky Mountains in order to complete Darth Flemming's grand project. The Evidence is before us: do we not see it?
Need we forget internment camps when Japanese were enslaved during yet another of this planet's wars, filled with hate crimes?
Most notable of all is the presence of a Separitist Faction in Canada opposing the Sith at every turn - The Bloc Quebecois. Former leader, Lucien Bouchard lost his leg to Necratizing Fasciitis, an infection undoubtedly spawned by the midi-chlorians. And now the Sith have queen: Belinda Stronach! A recent Confidence Vote in the House of Commons was overturned, ensuring that the Dark Ones would continue to rule, thanks to her unexpected seduction by the Dark Side of the Force, tipping the balance of power in their favour.
Canadians history has shown us time and again the price of power! Be not decieved! Where are the Jedi to save us when we need them most?