Raising Blessings

Mother’s Day 2012

Melissa — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:31:28 +0000

Last week’s Mother’s Day was wonderful. JJ made dinner on Saturday as well as both breakfast and dinner on Sunday. Sariah made me a card where she wrote “I love you mother” on it, so sweet!

Rebekah made a card in preschool. The teachers asked the kids questions and wrote their answers. Here they were: (Rebekah’s answers are in blue)

What is your mom’s name? Melissa

What is your mom’s favorite color? Green (that’s right!)

What does your mom do for work? Go on the computer.

What does your mom do for fun? Go crazy (what does that mean? ha ha!)

What is your favorite thing to do with your mom? Go to the park.

What is your mom’s favorite food? Banana’s (I actually don’t even like banana’s by themselves, I’ll eat them chopped up in cereal).

It was so cute and fun to read that.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be the mom of these four special children. I love spending time with them. They learn from me and I learn from them. They are each such unique people and I see the great potential that they each have. Watching them grow is a joy. I am so happy that my work as a mother will never end.

Joshua’s Blessing

Melissa — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:17:18 +0000

Yesterday Joshua James was given a name and blessing By Daddy. His brother’s Ryan (with his fiancee Symone) and Stephen (with his wife Kristina and baby Alex) came. JJ’s lab partner John also came with his wife and 3 daughters.

On Saturday I made a cake for Joshua’s special day.

That evening the cake was destroyed by Miriam. I was so upset but I just had to take a deep breath and move on.

The dinner turned out delicious though. I made a mexican style shredded chicken with Rice and toppings like red onions, diced tomatoes, guacamole, cilantro, lime and salsa. Something I will definitely make again.

Joshua is such a special little boy. It is so fun to see his personality developing. We can tell that he really loves his sisters, he smiles at them a lot. He loves to hear his name, play with daddy and snuggle with mommy. We are so happy that he is in our family.

SASS Yourself Slim. A Book Review.

Melissa — Tue, 01 May 2012 01:17:51 +0000

I was asked by one2one network to review “SASS Yourself Slim” by Cynthia Sass which is a follow up to “Cinch!“, a book that I reviewed a little over a year ago.

“SASS Yourself Slim” includes the same healthy diet plan that is discussed in “Cinch!”. It also includes weight loss stories from those who followed the Cinch! diet. The stories were very motivating and caused me to think more about food combinations and the way I eat in general. Even Vegans and those on gluten free diet can also follow it.

According to Sass each meal should include the following foods:
1. Produce
2. Whole Grain
3. Lean Protein
4. Plant-based fat
5. SASS (Seasonings, herbs and spices)

So far the only changes I have made based on the book is eating a handful of almonds for a snack each day. I got 5 tins for only 99 cents each using coupons with a Smith Sale! I also stocked up on Greek yogurt with almonds for 50 cents each. Almonds are so good for you and one handful keeps me full for a couple hours.

I also need to try some of the delicious recipes the book features.

There Goes the Washing Machine…

Melissa — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:09:57 +0000

On Monday my washing machine broke down for the second time and I have only had it for 2 months! While driving to the laundromat last night this song comes on the radio:

Very fitting, right

Now I am not out to spread hate or try to shut down someone’s business but if you are in need of a new washing machine I would suggest finding somewhere else to buy one other than Appliance Exchange in Orem.

I really thought I was getting a great deal on a refurbished washing machine – $200 with a 2 year warranty.

However taking it over to the shop to get fixed is not an easy task (especially if it is going to become a monthly task) and having the owner swear at me when I ask how long she thinks it will take to repair, certainly does not give me a good impression of the business.

Joshua’s First Vaccine

Melissa — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:07:14 +0000

I read about the Pertussis epidemic in Oregon and Washington and decided that I better get Joshua’s and Miriam’s DTAP vaccine quick since we are going to those states next month. Rebekah also needed another vaccine for her Kindergarten registration.

So JJ got off work early so we could get all that done. We go to the County health department and they told us that they don’t vaccinate children on BYU health insurance anymore. So annoying! I asked why they don’t have that information on their website or by the door so we can at least know before filling out all the paperwork and they said that it would confuse people and the BYU students 19 and over won’t come in. Really?

Anyways they said that we could go to Mountainlands and they are open until 7 pm and you can just walk in. It was 5:30 so we headed over there and they say that they don’t do immunizations after 4:30!

Well JJ gets off at 3 pm the next day and we go back to the clinic. JJ had Sariah, Rebekah and Joshua watching Finding Nemo with him and I just had one kid with me – Miriam. Even with trying to get her busy drawing and reading to her she still managed to give every child a hug and kiss (this was a week ago and happily she has not gotten sick). After waiting 2 hours we were finally called back (should have made an appointment).

Joshua was first and cried until I took him back to the waiting area to nurse him. JJ took Rebekah and Miriam. Rebekah came skipping back out to me after and Miriam came running over and excitedly pulled up her sleeve and said “look! I got an owie”

I’m glad we got this done because it looks like the epidemic is coming to Utah.

Hopefully people who have coughs stay home from church, work and school to help protect the newborns and other people who can’t get the vaccine for various reasons.