Book Review: The Word of the Lord

My son loved Katie and Meg's previous book "Cloud of Witnesses", so when we received "The Word of the Lord: A Child's First Scripture Verses", he was excited to read it.
  It is a board book.  So it's very durable and would hold up to the young children in the house getting their hands on it.  The content is straight from scripture, so obviously not necessarily at the reading level of a typical three year old.  I think this is actually a good feature of the book because all age levels can enjoy the book (and the younger sibling can't easily destroy it).  I also think that many children's books underestimate the intellectual capacity of kids.  My 5 year old enjoys listening to some books that are at the middle school and high school level, and as far as I know, he's not a child prodigy.

As a mother, I really love that we were having a little discussion about obedience and lo and behold, I opened his book to the scripture verse about honor your father and your mother.  Straight from the scripture.  My son didn't have much to say after that.

My five year old put in his own review of the book that he likes it even better than "Cloud of Witnesses".  He is learning to read and is excited to read some of the verses he hears at Mass.  It also will be a great addition to his "Play Masses."  We've tried to find a good and holy, but lightweight and readable he can use for his Liturgy of the Word and this fits that role perfectly.

The Word of the Lord: A Child's First Scripture Verses is a great way to introduce young kids to scripture have as a spiritual resource for them even as they grow older.  My son, the five year old has requested me to read it over and over.  It is mom and 5 year old- approved!





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New Years Topic

It's that time of year where everyone is talking about New Year's Resolutions.  A lot of people it's weight loss, a healthier diet or cleaning and organizing.

I have been witnessing my gym is super crowded (not sure if there's a lot of new members or this is just the time of year that EVERYONE decides to use their membership).  I have noticed that there's not really a time of year that we focus on our pets.

In all honesty, I would say about 70% of the pets I see and maybe an even higher percentage of the cats I see are overweight.  There are very few that are underweight and it's normally because of a medical issue or a neglect or lack of education problem.

The range of obesity is pretty broad and quite frankly, unless I'm asked or there is a medical issue that would benefit from weight loss, I don't really mention or go at length into pets that are 10-20% overweight (if you look at human doctors, a lot of times they don't mention this either).  There's a certain amount of being understanding (maybe something happened where the owner is not able to exercise the pet as much, either a physical issue or change in household).  These conversations can be very awkward and difficult to do, especially if your veterinarian only has 20 minute appointment slots.

You can do your own assessment on your pet's weight by looking up "Body Condition Score" for dogs and cats and looking at the graphics.  Some of the features veterinarians look for is, does your pet have a waistline, is there a "tuck" or a point where your pet's waist is narrower than their chest.  You should also be able to easily feel your pet's ribs (but not see them) and be able to feel their hip bones and spine without pressing in an inch.  If you can balance a soda can on top of your pet's back, your pet is most likely too big.

There are many factors in obesity in pets, very similar to the factors in humans.  They can have thyroid and metabolic issues, arthritis and other factors that can predispose them to obesity.  The biggest factor though is overfeeding and feeding things they shouldn't have.

3 out of 5 pet owners say begging is a problem.  Begging is a learned behavior.  If you don't give your pet extra food or treats in response to begging, they won't do it.  It is a very hard habit to break.  My cat is a beggar and so historically my family dogs have been.  My current dog is not, partially because he's only lived with my husband and I and also because he has a sensitive stomach.  If he gets things he's not supposed to have... Well, let's just say, cleaning up a mess is a deterrent for me whenever I would want to share food.  He also doesn't get many treats.

There are Treat Alternatives:

Playing, Petting, Grooming, Walking or other Exercise

Pets that are an appropriate weight are:

More active, more playful, less anxious, more interactive, enjoys life more, live up to 2 years longer


If your pet is overweight or you suspect they could be overweight, formulate a plan with your veterinarian to manage their weight loss.  Some techniques we can use are:

Treat underlying thyroid or metabolic issue

Reduce the amount of food that is fed.  With weight reduction we look for about 1-2 pounds of weight loss per month.

If we aren't able to reduct the amount of food (either due to owner's preference or the behavior of the pet or other factors), prescription food may be used.  This food is formulated so you may feed a larger quantity but it is formulated to be less calorically dense and higher in fiber.

Looking at environmental factors.  Are their children in the house or other family members who are feeding extra?  Is there a way we can increase exercise.  One under-looked problem can be if there are multiple people feeding the dog and the dog is able to get "double" meals because there isn't communication whether the dog has already been fed.  Pre-portioning the food, or in the case of my family, filling a scoop in the morning and leaving the half scoop for the second meal helps my husband and I know if the dog has been fed or not.  We have found that my dog is a pretty good actor and can try to act like he hasn't had a meal- when he really has.

A More Intentional Season

There are differing views whether Advent is a time of penance, I believe the Catechism says no, several websites say yes (I consider the Catechism the final word).  Whether or not there is a penitential component to Advent, it is definitely a time of preparation.  I tried to be more intentional this year.  I focused more on my prayer life and just being present for my son.  One writer has said, "your kids won't remember if you had a pinterest perfect Christmas but they will remember if you were cranky and full of tears."  I took this to heart.

It helped that the main water line ruptured under our house and my cell phone died, simultaneously.  Yep, there's nothing like adversity (and I'm talking the first-world kind, not the third-world kind) to put some things in perspective.  I had already sat down with my husband and son well before the Christmas season and went through a list of things they wanted to do, things they definitely wanted to do, things/events they could do without and things they were just meh on.  I was surprised at some of the answers, but I went with them.  I mean, it's really not necessary to make 10 different kinds of cookies and family traditions evolve.  I also was getting exasperated decorating and turned to my husband and said, "You know what, I just don't feel up to doing wreaths on all the windows, how about just one?"  He was fine with that.

I tried to get some things done earlier in the year and even before the Christmas season started.  From my mom, I got the habit of buying presents and deals throughout the year (the only problem is I forget what I bought and where I hid it).  I tried to do cinnamon rolls as presents for many people in our lives and I made a batch or two a week and just kind of stretched the Christmas season out.  I also have tried to get together with friends during the Season of Epiphany, when quite frankly we are all more pleasant and relaxed.

As the season of Advent and Epiphany has now closed, I see room for improvement, I see things I did better, and quite frankly ways I could improve.  I do feel though, this Christmas season I did grow a little closer to our Lord and I will take solace in that.  I also am grateful that though my son has a wide range of behavior and sweetness, multiple times throughout the season he said, "The Spirit of Christmas isn't about presents, it's about Baby Jesus' Birthday.  Yep, thank you my five year old for that reminder and may I take the intentionality I have practiced this season into the New Year.