Us And Our Little Ones

Another new addition to our family is Felix...Felix the cat! In October 2013, while at work one day with Addyson, I was petting a kitten in the kennel. It is very strange for us to have kittens up there, unless for surgery or sick or abandoned.....  So, I asked Ashley, another employee, what his story was?? She said he was boarding. I was kind of disappointed because he was tolerating Addy petting him and holding him so well.

Well, a few days later when the kitten's owners were picking him up Ashley jokingly told them that a little girl up here was eyeing her kitty and that if he needed a home she probably would take him.

 Honestly, I have enjoyed our "pet-less stage".  I have enough little girls to keep up with, take care of, feed and everything else.  But, I was getting that "itch".  But, it was going to have to be JUST the right pet....more preferably just the right kitten!  I definitely do not want to be potty training or manner training a puppy right now.  Not sure I will be ready for that at all anytime in the near future.  This "perfect" cat would have to tolerate little girls holding him, playing with him, be social and be laid back.

Well, a few days later, the owner of this kitten actually called back up to the clinic and talked to Ashley and told them their story.  Apparently she and her husband had rescued this kitten from a homeless man who couldn't feed him.  So they took him home and cared for him.  They were having to overcome a few problems doing so.  First of all, they had 2 small dogs and a doggy door.  The kitten learned to use the doggie door, but they hated the idea of him getting outside the fence and in front of the house in the busy street or to neighboring dogs.  Secondly, they couldn't have a litter box inside because her husband was next on a waiting list for a kidney transplant and was taking medicine to keep his immune system down in preparation of the transplant.  So after a lot of thought, the lady decided it would be best if the kitten could have a different home. But it had to be the right home.  Last problem was she was already attached to the kitten.  She had lost her old kitty several months ago, and had bonded with this new kitten.

So, I called her and talked to her and ended up going to their house to visit with them and the kitten to check out his personality one more time.  He was the same cat at the house as he was at the clinic.  Laid back and playing with the dogs.  I promised the lady that he would be so well taken care of, my pets are just like my children! And I would send pictures.  She offered to pay for his vaccinations and neutering, but I wouldn't let her.  So, I finally scooped him up and put him in a carrier to take him to the clinic.  She had already bought him 2 cat trees and lots of toys, so she packed those up, too.  And off we went to the clinic! The girls would be SOOO surprised!!

I had him tested and checked out and declawed at the clinic.  And I let him recover for just about a full week up there before bringing him home.  And the girls still at this point have NO idea! Addy had been back up to work that week with me and I let her sit on the floor and hold him - but she still didn't know.  She kept calling him "her kitty" and all we could do was laugh!! If she only knew!!

So, I had Ashley pack him up in a carrier one night and had Brad stop by and pick him up on his way home.  He walked in the garage door carrying the pet carrier with Felix inside.  The girls were just looking at him and asking question after question.  "is that a cat?" "Why do you have a cat?" "Are we cat sitting?" "Why do you have a cat?" "Why did you being a cat here?" "who's cat is that?" --so this is what Jaycie and Kaylie were asking... all the while Addy is proclaiming "That's my kitty!!" So we let them go on and on until they finally settled down.  And I told them Felix's story. And I waited til the very end to tell them he was now our kitty!
 He was just at 12 weeks when we brought him home!



 This snuggling to watch TV with Felix is pretty much an every day occurance - a girl has to have time to wake up and snuggle with her kitty!! :-)

So, let's talk about how we got to where we our in our natural/food/Young Living essential oil lifestyle we are living!!  It all started probably about the time Brad and I started thinking about growing our family....I was a Mountain Dew junkie, frequent fast food visitor, Coke addict, I was scared of the oven so I was not a good cook, was a rather picky eater (think your typical school age kid) and often took over-the-counter medicines for headaches and sinus/allergy issues.

First big step for me, I weaned myself off of Mountain Dew...that was HUGE!! My boss would greet me in the morning with a fresh Mountain Dew. And if he didn't, I was rather grumpy til he went and got me one...Yes, he had me rather "spoiled"!

Next step I weaned myself off of an OTC med for my sinus headaches.  As I did this, I really felt like I was more addicted to the drug vs the drug helping my headaches.  When I weaned myself off, the headaches miraculously disappeared!!

I slowly started becoming interested in whole food eating, vitamins, and generally trying to take care of my family in a better way.  I was blogging back then, so I would get led on by another blog to find most of this information.

When my oldest was about 5 years old, she started having headaches.  We went to the doctor, had a CAT SCAN done, went to the eye doctor, but no one had any real answers. I started searching and looking on-line.  With this search came all the real food finds, coconut oil, supplement/vitamin suggestions, chiropractor care stories, essential oils stories, green smoothies....So in this search came my real desire to feed my family differently and our first Chiropractor visit for Jaycie and her headaches. We finally started to see some relief for her with the chiro visits. I discovered Green Smoothies and the Green Smoothie Girl.  I started then making myself a smoothie for lunch. Started giving my girls regular Vitamin C, Vitamin D, multivitamins (not Flinstones) and probiotics.  After this, all these little small changes were made... Well, about a year after that, my smoothie became my breakfast every day.  Then I started making my girls (Jaycie and Kaylie at the time) drink some every day.  My taste buds FINALLY started changing...I was much more open and wanting to eat vegetables, beans, different foods..... This is when my fattoush salad became part of my daily lunch!

We have come even further with our changes in our diet, but it has all been gradual over the past couple years. My oldest is still my pickiest eater, but she didn't get a fair start the way my youngest did.  My youngest did not want to eat anything as a baby, only wanted to nurse, but at about 10 months, I jokingly put the straw of my green smoothie up to her mouth...She TOTALLY went for it! Made me happy and the doctors happy...she was the smallest of my small girls, and we were going thru ECI trying to find ways to get calories into her little bitty body! I had gone thru the same thing with my oldest as far as being tiny, but back then, we just added the wonderful Carnation milk breakfast things to get extra calories into her! But I was really trying to stay away from anything processed for my youngest...she eventually started eating real food and putting on some weight and made the doctors happy!

So for now, we try and stick to a "real food" diet and we are dairy free because 2 of my 3 girls are intolerant (pretty sure my 3rd is too, but again didn't know what I know now to have made the changes back then). We are definitely not super strict or prefect in our diet, but we try to do our best and eat the best we can while still working on the pickier eaters at our house.

Well, along with all this research into headaches, foods, vitamins,, etc came essential oils.  In 2012, I finally tried purchasing some oils from a local store.  I tried them and used them for various little things that I had seen others use them for....And I think we had all gotten a flu bug Christmas 2012. So I pulled out the oils and (thankfully) the oscillococcinum to try and treat all of us.  I really think the oscillococcinuum helped us the most. I didn't feel the oils did much at all this time or for the other few things I had tried them for. But in my readings and searching of health, I kept hearing about this "Thieves oil".  I didn't know anything about it or the company, I just kept hearing people suggesting it or using it and having such wonderful success using it for various things.

Then, next thing you know, I had a friend who was hosting a class for Young Living Essential Oils in October....this was the company who sells that "Thieves oil"!! So, I was going to go!!!  Well, problem was I am a stay at home Mom with 3 little girls, and Daddy ended up having to work late that night..... No problem, she hosted another class in November!! Well, here we are again....Daddy got stuck at work, AGAIN!!! Well, she invited me to another class at the end of January.  At this point, I had done some more reading and searching and I already knew I was going to purchase some of that Thieves oil!! Well, I FINALLY got to go to the class! The class was wonderful! I got to hear all the wonderful things about several of  the oils, hear about the purity of the oils, sample the oils AND ( the most important thing for me) hear testimonies and success stories from people I KNEW and trusted who had been using the oils.  It is great to be able to get on the internet and read testimonies, but it is even better to be able to hear them from people you know and trust! I heard testimonies of people using the oils for their allergies, for their children with autism/ADHD, blood pressure, snoring, sleeping and colds/coughs.

So I pretty much came home and told Brad about it and we ordered our starter kit! That was in January 2013....never once have I regretted this choice! In fact, I find new reasons everyday to be thankful for it!! We are able to treat all of our everyday ailments with our essential oils. The more I learn and read I am even more thankful we chose Young Living.  They have been around the longest, have the Seed to Seal guarantee, their oils are 100% pure therapeutic grade oils (most essential oils are perfume grade and not anything you want to be putting on or in your family),  are always researching on how to better their products and have the best customer service.  Before I knew too much about oils, I never realized how important the continuing education portion of your journey was so important.  Again, I am so thankful I signed up with the team I am on.  These ladies are the best as far as mentoring, educating, leading and praying for you as you are on this journey! The private FB pages and the classes they put together just for our team are just amazing!

Another big thing we are doing is making our own Kombucha!  I had heard about this, too, and happen to go to a friend's house who was brewing her own! She sent me home with a scoby probably about March 2013 and we are still brewing our own! Kaylie is the only one who really likes it, but I also make little Popsicles and gummies with the Kombucha for the other two girls!

So, yes, we are that family that eats a little different, lives a little different and treats our families ailments a little different.  But I am happy we are on this road and thankful for coming down this path! It definitely takes a lot more work in the kitchen and time to plan and prepare meals, but it is for my family and our health- I'll just about do anything for these special people!!

Well, it has just been way too long since I have even visited this poor, abused and neglected blog of mine!! I don't even recognize these sweet little girls in this page anymore!! But I have decided to yet try again...try again to post pictures and add in all the things my family does to try and stay healthy!!

So, We will just start with some updated pictures of my sweet family and go from there! We moved in November 2012, and there is a railroad track that runs back behind our new neighborhood.  So we gave it a whirl and tried to catch some photos back there....turned out pretty good!