The "Big latch on"

It is breastfeeding awareness week!

Where will you be?
What will you be doing?
Anything?
Nothing?

What will I be doing? ATTENDING the "big latch on" Yes folks its time for a new world record so all you nursing moms lets gather around the world at 10:00am (In all time zones) and register to be a part of this exciting venture! You can find your location here... http://lllusa.org/wbw/BigLatchOn.php#Events If you don't have a location close enough to you and you wish to participate you can create your own location here...http://www.biglatchon.org/create-a-location.html

If you are not a nursing mom nut want to participate you still can.. Show up at a location near you and help with registration or even counting the participants, If you know of a company that can sponser a group by providing drinks or even a fun cake then please contact them.

I will be attending:

River Road Foremaster Auditorium
St George

Arrive prior to 10 am in order to complete registration and to get comfortable in order to start nursing our babies. I hope to see you there!!

You can find the St George group on facebook right here;

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Big-Latch-On-St-George/246390108711963?sk=wall#!/pages/The-Big-Latch-On-St-George/246390108711963

Kindergarten Graduated into First grade!

Wow! Cody has graduated Kindergarten and is now heading into first grade. We were sad to say goodbye to Mrs Ekker but excited to meet Mrs Bali. It was a fantastic Kindergarten year and Cody has done amazingly well.
Parker starts Pre-School this year with Miss Kristy, Yup the same teacher Cody had. (My choice) He is excited yet sad because he will not be able to ride the bus. We still need to figure out his second year of pre-school that is still in the process of elimination since his allergies are so severe he is being declined left right and center.
Emily is almost 6 months old and doing great. Growing like a weed and already exceeding her milestones and rolling over and even a small attempt at crawling. She babbles constantly with her brothers and loves to chew on there fingers.

We just invested in a camp trailer (caravan) and went onour first weekend vacation to Marysvale UT, We had a great deal of fun even when Cody fell out of the bunk bed and landed right on top of me. That is as much of an update that I have at this time so have a great day and I will update as soon time allows.

Vacation time.

Carl and his family are currently flying over the United States Of America to visit for a few weeks, We travel to meet up with them on Saturday to bring them back to UT for a short while. Cody is extremely excited he has set up there beds in his room and has even designated who sleeps where. It is only a matter of hours before we hear from them.

Managing Gastroparesis while travelling.

Having a son struggling with Gastroparesis I often find myself searching the support sites for useful information. A friend of mine in the g-pact community had this in her blog so I have printed it out and will be using it this year for our trip to California in July.

Here is her article;

For those of us with digestive disorders, figuring out what to eat at home can be difficult enough; traveling often seems impossible. However, there are some steps you can take to minimize frustration and flare-ups while on the road.

1, As much as possible, stick to your regular routine in terms of what, when and how you eat. Unless you're prepared to deal with a possible flare-up, this is not the time to experiment. If you usually keep a food journal (something I highly recommend), continue to do so.

2, Regardless of how you're traveling, always bring plenty of your own food. Never assume there will be safe options along the way. A small cooler can be helpful for transporting meal replacement drinks, yogurt, cheese sticks, etc. [If you are traveling by plane, call the airline to inquire about the current rules for bringing liquids on board.]

3, If you rely on smoothies or protein shakes, invest in a small, packable blender, such as a Magic Bullet, to use when you reach your destination.

4, Before you leave, make a list of common foods that you know you can eat (i.e. grilled chicken, broiled fish, baked potatoes, chicken noodle soup, rice, etc.). When dining at restaurants, order from your own list to lessen feelings of frustration, confusion and deprivation.

5, Try to get some physical activity after meals. Many people find that walking helps to alleviate symptoms and improve digestion. It's also a great way to explore your vacation destination!

6, Because traveling can be stressful and stress further impairs digestion, it's especially important to take a few minutes just to breathe and relax before and after you eat.

7, While the limitations and demands of gastroparesis can seem overwhelming, especially while on vacation, try to focus on all of the things you *can* do. Having fun, laughing, and enjoying the company of your travel companions can only make you feel better!

You can follow Crystal Saltrelli's blog at:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs037/1103092623330/archive/1103507485072.html

Summer begins..

Can you believe its summer? I know I can't! Its already coming to the end of June A lot has happened since my last post. Cody finished pre-school, Parker has gained half a pound, I started back at the gym after being told not to for the best part of 7 months Charlie has purchased at least 4 cars and sold 3, The house flooded (twice) painted the entire house (twice) and we planted a vegetable garden. Not forgetting Cody's new friend Lilyana. It set to be an exciting summer with playdates and general fun.

Carl and Michelle and there two children Charlie and Jess are set to arrive in 31 days. We will be meeting up with them on the 24th in California. It has been many years since we were together so its all kinds of exciting. lots of fun activities planned with also a hope to sit and do nothing but chat.

Yay for Spring!

It seems to finally be here! After having a freak snow storm at the end of April begining of May Spring finally seems to be upon us! Cody is a very active 5 year old and excited to be going on into Kindergarten (Reception for the Brits among you) this year. Parker is a very talkative active 2 year old wow really? 2? Well Thursday this week he will be! It only seems like yesterday that he was born. We are all doing great and excited to have Carl, Michelle and there two kids Jessie and Charlie come out to visit where we will be taking a trip to California to pick them up and head back here to Utah for 11 day's. All in all a very exciting summer awaits us!

Cody, Parker and I are in the middle of arranging our vegetable patch, We had problems with our indoor greenhouses a very well meaning neighbour gave them far too much water put the greenhouse lid back on and then proceeded to leave them in 7 hours of direct sun! Not a great combination for indoor plants. But fear less I bought plants this morning all 20 of them there are some fresh herbs and assorted vegetables the melons that are currently in the greenhouse (indoors) seem to have done just fine from the excessive sun and water damage and I am hopeful they will survive. I also have seeds for other plants that we have never had problems growing in the past.

Ok I am boring myself now so off I go to enjoy the sun.

Happy Spring folks.

Ode to Laundry!

Ode to Laundry
Oh you pile of filth
I see you mocking me
Taunting me as you grow
Didn’t I just wash you?
Your collection of grime and slime
It’s repulsive to my nose
You boast of freshness
Only to waft odorous tendrils after a day of wear
I must brave the stench
Touching each aromatic article
Unfolding arms and legs
Removing loose prizes I claim for my own
I stuff you in the washer
Pour that perfumed liquid over your rumpled mess
Praying that the ketchup will be coaxed out
Along with the sticky goo-Oh dear, is that a melted gummy bear?
Sigh
Oh, you chore that haunts me
Beckons to me
Shouts your displeasure of being ignored
You long to be worn again
Ready for a new day,
A new adventure, a new stain

I will conquer this beast
Perform this menial duty
Wash and dry you
Obligingly fold you
Put you in your various places and
Pretend this chore is over

Country bumpkin...

The beauty all around Cedar City is very extroadinary; The flower baskets that hang outside the main street stores, islands filled with flowers that are being taken care of by home owners instead of the city and then you have the Mountains! Today was a strange and welcomed day for the Flowers family, a day of no vomit and good spirits. So Cody, Parker and of course myself decided to take a drive up over the mountain to find Charlie who is camping for the deer hunt, Surprisingly I didn't get lost, Yes I took a wrong turn and we found ourselves sitting at the end of a lovely cinder path where a tree had fallen recently so we all got out of the car and just breathed the mountain air. The boys loved being outside Parker was no too happy about the dirt but played with all the pine needles, the beauty of being surrounded by nature is difficult to express. There is so much freedom the mountain holds so many secret trails, the road that just flows with the mountain the music as the wind blows through the trees and not forgetting the smell of fresh flowers and trees. after a few minutes we decided we had better go look for Charlie and we climbed back into our seats and drove back out of the trail. After just a few minutes we were on the right path and found Charlie we sat briefly watching a chipmunk steal the chocolate cake out of the window of one of the trailers opposite us and the wife come running out with a broom chasing him away only to realize he was quite content to sit on the roof of the trailer. That chipmunk had the right idea in my opinion.. Charlie caught a hornytoad for the boys to look at only to set it back down as Parker tried really hard to eat the poor thing, At least we know he wont starve if ever left alone on the mountain!
Afetr a few hours of being in the dirt and trees we decided to head home such a peaceful day and so much natural beauty all around it was tough coming home. I am a true country bumpkin. I would more than happily spend the rest of my life on the mountain!