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So grateful for the Internet. I know that everyone is already aware of it’s benefits and how fortunate we are to have this vast, unlimited river of information, but this is my gratitude blog so you have to read why I’m grateful for it. :)

I was talking to a friend today about how we, as Mothers with Internet access, have no excuse to be ignorant about how to care for a child. When I have a question as to whether or not my baby can eat yogurt yet, I type in a few words online and can search through thousands of pages where people have asked the same question. If my hand goes numb after I eat tuna salad…or I burp a lot when I’m pregnant, I can probably find a reason why on the Internet. Sometimes it’s a challenge to see if I can type in the right search terms to get the results I am seeking, and when I succeed it is like…..EUREKA!

When I realized that my baby kept his thumbs tucked into his palms I immediately, of course, turned to the Internet to see if there was a “condition” or something associated with this. After much “play” with search terms I found that he had what was called “adducted thumbs” and that it was often present in certain genetic disorders. Of course I did what any good Mother would do. I FREAKED out! However, the Internet eased my fears as I read more about the rarity of the disorders and the many other obvious symptoms usually present, that he was lacking. All this study, though, prepared me for the genetic counseling and testing we had to go through “just to be safe”.

I’m grateful to live in an age where I can grow in knowledge indefinitely. We have been given this gift and must use it to further our knowledge, our talents, (and try not to waste too much time on it). It saddens me that some choose to use it to the detriment of themselves and others. If you are reading this blog, thank you for taking up some of your Internet time to read my ramble. (Don’t you have anything better to read about?)

TOP TEN Questions About Santa from the Huhtala Children

10. How does he get in when we don't have a fireplace?

9. Can we put a present for Santa under the tree?

8. Is that Santa? (a seemingly intoxicated santa holding a sign in front of a jewelry store...we assured her THAT was not Santa )

7. Has Santa ever been in a Turkish Prison? (Yes, that one was from my 5th and oldest child, a.k.a. my husband.)

6. Does he really watch me when I sleep? That’s kinda creepy!

5. Do reindeer like cookies or carrots?

4. Does Santa speak Spanish?

3. Santa is real just like Jesus...huh mommy? (Ouch that was a hard one)

2. Does Santa drink Soy Milk like me?

And the number one question asked about Santa by the Huhtala children this season is......

1. Is he coming NOW??? Then WHEN??? Can he come early?? How many more times do I have to go sleep before he's here?? Tonight??

Man, I wish the big man would just get here all ready...HE'LL GET HERE WHEN HE GET'S HERE! GO TO SLEEP!

Good Times

Tonight, Jay and I turned on the TV to snuggle down and watch LoTR for the googolplex time (Paytons favorite number) and we noticed a thin line going through our movie. Turned on regular TV, same thing. Our TV is going out!



We bought our little beauty back in 1999. I was pregnant with Payton and at the time all Jay could talk about was how our first official purchase of a TV HAD to be a Sony WEGA. I wanted to suprise him for his birthday so I bought it, and my sister and I tried to carry the thing up the flight of stairs to our apartment. Luckily, a gentlemen came by, noticed I was 7 months pregnant and carrying a 100lb. TV with my sister (who probably weighed about that much herself) and offered to help. I mean there's still chivalry out there! Needless to say, this TV has weirdly been kinda like a family pet. It has stood in our house through good memories and I'm sad to see it's getting old!

I secretly think Jason is trying to "pretend" he's disappointed, but deep down he's excited about the possibility of purchasing a new TV in the near future. I informed him, of course, as his financial advisor, banker, and manager that this TV had to have 15 such lines through it and be utterly and completely impossible to watch before we'd consider shopping for a new one. I mean even then we could knock out the glass, turn it into a fish tank and watch some pretty Siamese fighting fish duke it out. Or, I know! I know! How about putting a log in there and lighting it and pretending it's the Yule Log Channel?! Did anyone ever see that channel on TV at Christmas time? It was always on at my dad's house. It was just this log burning in a fireplace and every once in awhile a hand would reach out and throw another log on or poke it with a poker and we'd all squeal with delight. Man, those were good times. Good times.

Got Milk or Not Milk?

Ok, so just a little disclaimer first of all that I am the only member of my family (so far) with these liberal views on human consumption. My husband is in no part associated with this thinking and looks at me like I'm crazy every time I talk about this stuff.

I've been reading a little bit about this debate and it's quite interesting. We're the only animals on this earth who continue to consume milk after infancy. And we turn to another animal for the source. Is this natural? Then there's the nasty facts about growth hormones, possibility of spreading disease, and did you know that in every glass of milk your drinking pus? Disgusting, but do I want to give it up, AND do I want to just stop reading things that interest me so that I remain ignorant??

Half of my family drinks Soy Milk. The one child that doesn't has Asthma and behavioral problems. Would I be doing him a favor by eliminating dairy and anything else that contains casein from his diet? I'm not going vegan or anything (but I have researched it). I mean I love my meats in moderation, but do I really need milk? Can I train myself (and my son) to enjoy soy? Maybe I'll try it. Do a one week challenge and see how we feel. Nothing crazy like no ice cream or cheese, just milk. Maybe I'll create a new blog about it and have Payton post with me! That would be fun! K, just some thoughts today. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

P.S. Speaking of vegan..just for fun and to prove Lehi's teaching that all things must have an opposition I googled "vegetables bad for you" and of course got all sorts of articles on why we "shouldn't" eat vegetables. There's an argument for everything!

Celestia, Your embarrasing me!

http://celestialyman.blogspot.com/

Oh my gosh, who to thank. First of all my husband for his love and support...I mean puh-leeze! I'm so embarrassed! I'm in no way a super mom. I just feel like I should pay it forward for all those true Super Mom's who have gone out of their way to help me when in need. I've sooo had the days where I never want to cook again and I cry everytime someone spills milk! (Or juice, or pinesol, my box of baking soda, their stomach contents...) Thanks for your kind words and I'm glad I could help. Your really just so cool that I'm trying to find any way I can to socialize with you.

A day in the life of......

A homeschooling Mom once said to a non-homeschooling friend of mine "I don't know what mom's DO all day that send kids to school." At first, when I heard this it made me sit back and for a second think "What DO i do all day?? I'm such a loser!" I thought I was less than a mom because I send my kids to school. Then I realized, I DO A LOT! So here it is. A break down of what I did today (of course this was an extra busy day so don't think this is "the norm"). By the way, please just insert "Wipe a Butt" and "Clean up baby barf" every 30 minutes, on your own.

5:30am - Wake up and meditate for 10 minutes, get dressed for workout
6am - Work Out
6:40am - Scriptures, Nurse the baby
7am - Make Bed, Shower, Get kids making beds, getting dressed and picking up rooms before school
7:15am - Feed kids breakfast, Make lunches, Feed Baby Breakfast (try to run back and blowdry hair here)
7:45am - Get everyones teeth brushed, hair combed, out the door(without leaving shoes).
8am - Drop off kids, return home
8:05am - Pull out sourdough starter and give it a feeding to activate for rolls later (I mean you'd think I had enough things to feed)
8:15am - Clean up breakfast and "morning rush" mess
8:45am - Finish getting ready/Clean up bathroom/start laundry
9am - Breathe
9:15 am - Out the door for grocery shopping (After packing snack, water, diapers, burp cloths)

10:45am - Return home, put away perishables
11am - Nurse Baby
11:30am - Make lunch for self and toddler/Clean up
12pm - Put away more groceries/Start another load of laundry
12:15pm - Feed Baby Lunch
12:30pm - Finish putting away groceries
12:45pm - Read "Just one more...." book to toddler, snuggle baby, both go for nap
1:00pm - Blend frozen peaches and put in plastic baby food containers for freezing (Figured this one out after having to thaw out like 6 food ice cubes to make a full meal...I flash freeze the food in those plastic little Gerber stage 2 containers and once frozen, pop them into a freezer bag. Now I only need 2 for a meal! I'n so smart!!)
1:30pm - Start dough for rolls for dinner
2:00pm - Start Split Pea Soup (Yay! I had a ham bone!)
2:30pm - Pull babies from naps, pick up big kids
2:45pm - Make snack, talk about day
3:15pm - Homework, clean up from dinner making
4pm - Watch something I've DVR'd while I fold Laundry, listen to Katrina read for 20 minutes
5pm - Eat Dinner. Then the real madness begins
5:30pm - It's all a blur. Basically Cleaning bodies and household surfaces non-stop until 7pm.
7pm - Read/Prayer/Brush little teeth/books/bed
8pm - Crash on the couch, turn on the TV and eat a fudge pop
9pm - Brush Teeth/Wash Face, scriptures, bed

*Repeat Daily

I mean seriously. I know this day was a little extreme but I have a day like this at least ONCE a week. Some people like to homeschool their kids, Some mom's are crafty, (I certainly am not one of those), some do a lot of outdoors activities, some make babyfood, and some days (or weeks) we just try to keep our heads above water and stay afloat. The only reason I'm doing this post is because it wasn't one of those days for me. Otherwise it would have read as follows:

7:45am - Crawl out of bed, let kids dress themselves in shorts and t-shirts for the rainy day, give money for breakfast and lunch, take to school (w/out teeth or ha.ir brushed)
8:15am - Slump around the house in jammies and Count down the minutes till bedtime

My point is that we're all different but we're all great mom's trying to do the best we can. If your reading this maybe you could post on your blog what your day looked like today. You might be suprised and pleased to find that you accomplished more than you thought. I personally find it fascinating to know what occupies people's time so please let me know if you decide to do this :)

5 Years

I remember making clubs and forts with you and Scott when Amber wouldn't play with me anymore.

I remember catching you in the bathroom frequently raising your eyebrows and making kissy faces.

I remember your OBSESSION with your hair and how you'd always say "You wish you were this good looking."

I remember your crush on that Smith girl and how you and Scott would fight over who got to pass the sacrament to her family.

I remember your ability to make everyone laugh.

I remember you patiently standing next to the piano and singing over and over again for me because I couldn't hit the ranges of the songs I loved sung by male singers.

I remember you helping mom set up a picnic blanket dinner in our field for me and Jason on my 16th birthday. You rode this little bike out the 100 yards to deliver stuff to us making me laugh every time.

I remember you suddenly being a trouble maker

I remember you being withdrawn

I remember how confused I was when I found out you were sick.

I remember visiting you for the first time and not being able to hold back the tears.

I remember visiting you every Sunday that I could and wondering when you were going to "come out of it".

I remember playing card games and the disappointment when I didn't bring you Jack in the Box cuz it was Sunday.

I remember your obsession with eating.

I remember you shaving that beautiful hair and never taking care of it again.

I remember getting the phone call. Thanks to that morning and the morning of 9/11 my heart stops every time the phone rings in the early morning hours.

I remember walking into moms and seeing all our family and feeling closer to them than I have ever felt.

I remember the pain of having to all go visit Brandon as a family and tell him what had happened.

I remember singing at your funeral.

I remember laughing about the good times after your funeral.

I remember you, and I will never forget. Love ya Jon.