Mommy Moments
May, 2016
Funny Things My Son says
Being the mother of two bright children has its challenges – and its laughs. A few years ago I started sharing (on Facebook) funny things that my son Paul says. This brought in a lot of positive feedback and a lot of, “You should write these down and keep them” and “You should make a top ten list.” So here we go. But in no particular order, because I really cannot decide what things are funniest (to me), here are ten “Paul-isms” to share with you. He just turned nine years old, so many of these “nuggets of wisdom” were uttered when he was younger.
- “Mom, you really don’t understand fun! I’ll give you fun lessons tomorrow.” (2014)
- “The problem with farting is you can’t get away from yourself.” (2014)
- Paul was filling out an “All About Me” questionnaire when he was the Star of the Week in First Grade. For about 3 years now, he has been saying he wants to be an engineer when he grows up. But when he got to that question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” – he wrote “A Milkman.” When Joe asked him why (considering a milkman is getting to be an antiquated profession), he admitted that he wanted to write “engineer” but just didn’t know how to spell it! (2013)
- Paul called his buddy Jason to wish him a happy birthday. On the phone, he said, “How old are you?” Jason, who was 4, said “I’m fourteen.” Paul, who was also 4, said, “No you’re not. I think you hit yourself in the head with two coconuts.” That was followed by a lot of laughing on Jason’s side of the phone. (2011)
- Yesterday Paul asked me, “How old do I have to be before I can start swearing?” I said, “Sixteen.” He says, “When I wake up on my 16th birthday, I’m going to say, “What the F? It’s my birthday!” (2015)
- A letter to Santa, placed by the milk and cookies. “Dear Saint Nick, Drink all the milk. We don’t want it to smell.” – Paul (2015)
- Yesterday as we were getting out of the car to go to music lessons, Paul says, “I really have to go #1. No, actually I really have to go #2! Actually, I’m just going to lay down a #3.” And then he ran to the bathroom. Creative. (2015)
- My daughter Stella and I were teasing Paul about a girl he might like. “No, no, no – I hate her,” he says. “Don’t you know I’m trying to sabotage her friendship with Stella…by always answering the door in my underwear?” (2015)
- “What’s that name for a lady penis again? Kaliva?” (2015)
- And Paul’s New Year’s Resolution, which he wrote on his name tag last night, was that in the New Year, he will “turn nuclear waste into a children’s toy.” (2015)
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Here’s Paul explaining the 3 most important things he learned in 1st grade. Or click on
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Krista Martinelli is the owner and publisher of AroundWellington.com, which has been around for over 10 years. She (not very well) juggles motherhood with running this online magazine business. She is the mother of two kids. She has been published in the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series, as well as other publications.
Have you seen Bootz Cultural Arts Center? It is a gem for Wellington and Royal Palm Beach residents. I was able to sit down with founder, Jeanne Bootz, to ask her about the origins of her business and what Bootz Cultural Arts Center has to offer.
Changes came to Bootz Cultural Arts Center with increased demand from the community for more fine arts classes. For instance, parents wanted Bak Middle School of the Arts and AW Dreyfoos School of the Arts audition prep courses for their children. And with the close relationship developing between Bootz Cultural Arts Center and the Wellington Art Society, the demands to bring in higher level art instruction and artist-focused gatherings instigated change. The Wellington Art Society currently meets at the Center.
I had never heard of “The Dot,” so I asked Jeanne. She told me it is a lovely book by Peter H. Reynolds about a girl finding acceptance as an artist by drawing dots. Jeanne loves the story because according to her, it is about making your mark and creating your own style or interest.
Jeanne Bootz sits on the Board of Directors of the Wellington Art Society and is Vice President of the Palm Beach County Art Teachers’ Association or PBCATA. Through the generosity of the Wellington Art Society there are some scholarships available for the summer camp program at the Center. Bootz Cultural Arts Center is also a unique venue for fundraisers and art shows. It is a space for artist development through workshops and gatherings. Bootz Cultural Arts Center is the only center for fine arts and cultural instruction of its kind in the western communities.
Lagoon of Life
Dr. Randall Laurich
How many times have you asked someone to rub your shoulders because they feel sore and tight and then they find a spot that feels like a knot? Well, that small, painful, hard knot they just found in the muscle is a trigger point. In a healthy muscle, all the fibers are long and even, however, a trigger point causes an unhealthy contraction, so that some of those fibers twist into a knot. When a knot appears in a muscle, it causes pain for two reasons. First, the muscle loses access to the nutrients in the blood, and second, without healthy circulation passing through, toxins tend to build up in the contracted area. The muscle typically shortens, as well, and will often restrict the range of motion and flexibility in the affected area. Once you have a trigger point, or several of them, you will no doubt alter the way you move, sit, or stand to instinctively protect yourself. At the same time, the muscle is contracting to protect itself. Unfortunately, all this makes the problem worse, your body begins to adopt poor postures that tighten other muscles, leading to additional or worsening existing muscle imbalances. This is one reason why some people have both nerve based back pain caused by muscle imbalances and tissue-based back pain caused by a knot or trigger point within a single muscle.
When we experience pain in our back or a joint we always immediately assume it was something we did that morning or the day before, however, unless it was a direct trauma, i.e. from a fall or accident that will not be the case I cannot over emphasize how important it is to look beyond the pain and find the cause. How many of us experienced back pain that lasted a few days and then the pain subsided. When the pain disappeared, rather than make an effort to identify and address the cause, we breathed a sigh of relief and got on with our life. Not addressing the reason for pain often means that later on down the road that pain will return but the next time around you may not be so lucky and it could either stay for a lot longer or become debilitating. Make it your goal to find the cause and address whatever it is you are doing that was responsible. Treating symptoms alone will never allow you a pain free life.
Talk to you doctor about the following options to alleviate some of your discomfort from arthritis pain: fish oil, glucosamine and chondroitin, or collagen. While I have found research supporting the use of fish oils for brain health, I have found less information supporting its use for inflammation. In fact recently, researchers have failed to prove the anti-inflammatory benefits of fish oils for obesity or atrial fibrillation (Root et al). But, DHA or Docosahexaenoic acid, a constituent of fish oil, was found to have anti-inflammatory properties through the induction of PGE2 or prostaglandin E2, an inhibitor of the pro-inflammatory COX 2 (cyclooxygenase 2) enzyme (Liu et al). And studies support the use of fish oils for global assessments of pain and activity of disease for those with rheumatoid arthritis (Proudman et al).
Most hookbills like to chew on things, and so need a variety of toys to keep them active and provide mental stimulation. The larger the bird the larger the toy, and large Macaws can go through a few toys in a day. Soft wood, hard wood like manzanita, rawhide, and cotton rope are some of the materials used to make toys.
Cantankerously Yours