I believe in Omega-3

I am not a naturalist.... I do not hit up stores' health supplement isles but this thing is truly great! Omega-3 is an oil found in many fish and some plants/seeds as well ( I know my research is astounding). It helps our brains function better and all sorts of things like breaking down the plaquey fats in our blood stream. Pregnant and nursing moms should take it to help their little ones' brains develop even stronger. In the old days they'd give their kids all sorts of oils including Omega-3 fish oils. Anyways, if you want to read up on it then I recommend you simply Google it -some stuff is really factual and reserved and other stuff swears it heals everything- a bit over the top.

Here is my personal testimonial...Angeli started talking really early on and she was saying her words really well. But then it all sort of stopped. Looking back it was when she stopped taking her DHA, aka omega 3, fortified formula. Months and months went by and her speech continued to be at a stand still. At her 18 month doctors appointment they said if she doesn't get more words soon then we should take to be evaluated at the Early Intervention Services. I was so annoyed. I was not going to have to take both of my kids to speech therapy and I knew deep down that she was just fine. I was complaining to my sister about it and she told me I needed to start giving her the Omega-3 supplements. She said her son did the same thing; he was an early talker but then it totally dropped off until she started giving him the Omega-3 supplements. So I broke our budget and bought a bottle of kids chewy Omega-3 "candies".

They smell like fish but it has worked like a charm!!! She is learning so many words all of the sudden. Her speech is so much clearer. It is like night and day. Studies have shown that it also really helps kids with behavioral problems...well, Bridger really has been so much more behaved. When I took Bridger to his speech group last week his speech therapist was in awe with his speech progress.

So anyways, there. I have born my testimony about Omega-3 and my conscious can be clear that I told people about the wonderful thing I found in my life so that if they are so inspired they can put it to use in their lives too! :O) I know I am such a dork!!!!

P.S. It's supposed to help varicose veins too! who knew?!?!? If only it took care of bad skin, flat hair, and weight gain. :)

Woe Is Me!!! :)

I just need to complain. Here is a list of my physical woe's that I have suffered through today. I usually have two or three of these at a time:

- TERRIBLE Varicose VEINS!!!! It is so bad that sitting doesn't even bring me relief. Laying down with my legs elevated is the only thing that makes them stop hurting. And you can imagine how often that happen for me during my day.

-Heart Burn! I have terrible heart burn. Hate it!

- A Very Sharp Hip Pain. It is caused by my wiggly hip bones pinching a nerve. It hurts when I lift things (like my children), sometimes when I walk or attempt to walk- its more of a limp, and when I lay down is when it hurts really really bad. Thus when I lay down to relief my veins my hip kicks in double time! ugh!

- Shin Splints. If you have ever had these before then you know how terrible they can be. I remember the first time I got them in high school I started crying...and I am pretty dang tough.

- Braxton Hicks. I started getting these last week. Whenever I am doing a little heavier activity I get them and these aren't the worst pain ever but they certainly are not comfortable. Plus they make me have to pee. :) Which is annoying to be running to the bathroom every 15 minutes.

- A Sore Knee. I walked a little too intensely the other day and my knee has been really lose and tender ever since. It hurts most all the time. I will be happy when all my tendons start to work again!

Needless to say I am pregnant and not getting through it with the most grace. In this moment I have hip pain, heart burn, and shin splints. But I guess nothing very wonderful ever came free. Now you can all say poor Emily and make feel a little better. ;) LOL

Busy and not much to say...

I feel like I should post something but I have nothing to really say so feel free to skip my rambling efforts to try and create a post. :)

We are alive, busy, and happy. Stew is back in school. Stewart's load will be heavy and well, it already is. I think he is glad to be back but a little overwhelmed at the same time. The looming Board exam seems to make everything more stressful. He is also starting an ambitious gym regiment with his buddies and that should help him break up the "longness" of school and study. On the side ;O) he is a wonderful husband, part time Timeless Treasures employee (he is my glaze assistant. he is so dang good at it he really is better then me.), doing all his church duties (giving a talk this Sunday even), champ home maintenance man (it seems like everyday I have something broken for him to fix - today it was the blinds) and of course a terrific father.

I am busy growing a baby, raising two kids, planning and going to play groups, running my business (tomorrow is my first day this week without a client, it will be a nice break), doing my calling, trying to be a good neighbor to my sickly neighbor across the street (she fell again yesterday and she was too embarrassed to call me because she was in the bathroom not fully dressed, thus the entire 911 response team was there to help! I wish I could do more.), starting a pre-school with some gal pals, trying to exercise so I am not obese by the time I have this baby, getting my children to their doctors (Bridger is going to have to get some dental work done and they have to sort of put him under for it...it adds up to a lot of hoop jumping for insurance), getting myself to the doctor, re-applying for welfare (so fun!), trying to keep up with my family members who are as busy as me and twice as hard to get a hold of, and getting Bridger to his speech stuff. Oh, and on the side I try to keep us fed, clothed, and my house clean enough for my clients to see. Yup, that is what we are up to. Life is busy, at times quite stressful, but all of it is very happy worthwhile stuff. Wish us luck, it is going to be one crazy semester!!!

Happy Day for Bridger

We have been battling the bureaucratic under funded system called "Nevada Early Intervention Services" for months to try and get Bridger some speech therapy. Today I felt like we finally had some meager success. We had another at home meeting today. Oh, heaven bless the speech therapist who came who actually seemed like she wanted to help my son. It went wonderfully. We now have a plan, we have goals, and we have some home therapy for our little man. It's not enough, but we will take it. It was all very positive and Bridger couldn't have been more behaved, charming, and an all around cutie. We are so grateful for all the state and government services that are making it possible for us to survive. From government subsidized school loans to the NEIS we are so grateful to our country and the help it offers people like us who need it while they struggle through school.

Just wanted to share my relief!

It's a Wonderful Life

That is my favorite movie of all time, It's a Wonderful Life. It's the story of a man who lives a life very unglamorous and yet so very important and blessed. He realizes in the end that he really has lived the life he really wants after all. He finds that he is living a Wonderful Life.

Those are my feelings about my life these days. I really am living such a wonderful life. I have everything I really want despite all the things I don't have. :) It's a happy place to be. Why am I writing this? The other day I was at Tahoe with some friends and as we watched our children playing on the beach one lady introduced me to her sister who's husband had just finished his long haul of med school, residency, and fellowship. I told her we were just starting out in med school and she looked at me with the most tired look on her face and said, "I never would want to be where you are at again. Good Luck." And then turned away looking even more tired and board then before. I am sure she is a great lady...this is not a slam on her, but it got me thinking.

What a depressing sentiment. I silently promised to never say that to anyone when we are done. It may very well be true but I hope I can at least appreciate the journey and joys along the way. As I sat there deciding what to make of her feelings I took inventory on how I really felt about my life and I decided I was pretty darn happy no matter what other's might think of my state. I like to think I am not one of those annoying people that gush all the time about how great their lives are... no, I rather like to think I am more like the man in It's a Wonderful Life. Grateful for the humble things. Lets face it, I am a extremely worn out pregnant mother of two very hyper toddlers, with almost constant ailments like terrible aching legs, a sore hip so every step is painful, nausea, heartburn,.... facing a budget of $100 a month to spend on my family's needs, trying to run my pathetic home business, trying to serve in my calling and feeling a little lame at it, and facing the looming threat of my husband starting a very challenging second year of med school and board exams! BUT, darn it, I am very happy! ;) I could be sad and live with my challenges or I could be happy and live with my challenges. I think it's evident which side I have chosen. Ultimately I believe in having dreams set in our "somedays", but I also believe in today.

And with that little tirade here are some 20 week pictures of me and my belly. I am getting excited to meet this little man growing inside me. I think he is going to be a beautiful little fatty. :() ) I thought his legs looked really chubby on the ultrasound, or maybe that really is just my hoping he is sharing more of my weight gain! ;) Anyways, there I be.

My Review..Breaking Dawn

If you have not finished Breaking Dawn you might want to skip this as well as if you don't care what I think. :O) But here is my review after a couple hours to process it.

The other books left me feeling enthralled, excited, eager for more and this one left me feeling worn out. I didn't crave for more of Bella-ness, I felt done. Not that it was super negative, I didn't dislike Bella, but it was like I had my fill. So, basically I was disappointed. I wanted to finish with the same fulfillment I had with the seventh book of Harry Potter but I just didn't. Maybe it was too long....to much dragging on...I don't know. But more then anything else I was happy to have it read and over with because Stew and I were totally forgetting our parental duties for three days and it was getting bad! :) I vowed to Stewart that I wasn't picking up another book for a long time when we were done. The book wasn't that disappointing, it's just that I re-realized I am not, nor will I probably ever be an avid reader. No offense to you big time readers out there. I am sure that makes me less informed or intelligent or something but I will stick to running as my self rejuvenation method of choice. One thing I really liked though was reading with my sweet hubby. Stew is one that cries when things touch his heart. When the book talked about motherly things I was all crying and Stew would have to take over the reading but when there was some male bounding going on Stew would get choke up a bit. We thought it was pretty funny how predictable we became by the end. Speaking of predictable... I thought it was. Few things really shocked me. Once I realized the Stephanie Meyer was letting Bella have her way in everything the book held little fun and suspense for me. It felt like she had written this book thinking too hard about what readers wanted to have happen and less about what really would happen. Everything went too well and by the time her dad was all happy and apart of her Vampire world I was a little bugged. Yes, that was a happy thing you want for her, but come on! Anyways, it was a good book and I think it was finished in the only way that Bella could truly have her happily ever after, but I guess I was looking for more. I wanted a cause other then their love. (Maybe Romances aren't my fav book of choice then, eh?!?!?!) I really wanted that epic face off that I read a hundred pages of build up for to truly come to pass. I wanted the world to be a better place by their sacrifice and bravery. I wanted a earth shattering victory for good and not just a lingering sex scene!!! There you have it. Sorry that was a bit depressing. :O)

Let me know what you think. Maybe you can shine the light on the greatness I am not really seeing. :O)

Reading...Reading

All I can say is that I totally called it, at least the first 150 pages! :O) I am not sure what I think of it yet though. hmmmm... only more reading will tell.