My Life as a Mom

Feel free to contact me: shirleykeeldar@poetic.com

With 6 happy kids, life can be really fun around here! This blog is dedicated to the joys and sometimes chaos of having a large family. Okay, so it's always chaos around here, but fortunately, it's almost always fun, too!

Saturday, August 14, 2004

With the high-carb food we put our pets on, it is no wonder that so many cats and dogs become diabetic.

These carnivorous pets are really physically designed to eat MEAT - not grains. Yet dog food and cat food is generally full of high-carb grains.

If you are concerned about pet diabetes, check out these links:

Pet Diabetes
Pet Diabetes


Friday, August 13, 2004

Also, regarding nutrition - especially protein, carbohydrates, and fats -

Adelle Davis really gives great advice.

Raise Healthy Children

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Good, easy parenting really has a lot to do with agreement between the parents.

I have studied more health and nutrition than my husband has, as I was always the one to arrange meals and do the shopping.

Lately it has come about that my husband is taking on a lot of the cooking and shopping, and there have been some disagreements.

So, I found my Adelle Davis books, and had him start reading. He started with "Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit" - the second chapter, on the importance of protein in breakfast, has helped him to understand my viewpoint!

Here is some advice about Family Advice.

Also, you can read about Good Communication in Marriage.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Wow, there was a comic in the paper the other day that really surprised me.

I can't remember the name of the strip (I almost never get a paper and even more rarely read the comics), but it had a family with 3 little kids, going to a restaurant. The hostess says, "wow! Three children and one on the way!" (The mom was pregnant.) "You must have your hands full!"

(At this point, I realized the comic strip writer must have "been there, done that" as that is something we with large families hear a hundred times a day!

The mother says, "Yes, we're blessed, and actually we're having twins." (During this short conversation, the mother is also trying to keep the kids from climbing all over the table.)

The hostess says, "Haven't you figured out what's causing that yet?"

And the mother replies with some snide comment about, "I love to talk about my sex life with people. And are YOU getting some lately?"

Which was kind of funny, having been asked that question myself so many times, and have been tempted more than once to answer snidely!

The questions are ALWAYS the same, and the jokes are always the same few jokes. ("Don't you have a tv?" is my favorite.)

But the truth is, when people ask these questions, or say they don't know how we manage with so many kids, or when they make these jokes, they almost always mean it kindly. And it is truly a rarity - a family with tons of kids in a city, especially, is not something one sees every day!

So when I get these comments, I smile, and answer with a kind answer.

And, if you're a mom with lots of little ones, just know that any negative comments will go away as your kids get older. I really only got them when I was pregnant (maybe a throwback to the days when pregnant women were supposed to stay at home and out of site?)

If you would like to see my kids: Kid Universe