Saturday, August 29, 2009

To Xango or not to Xango?!

Motherhood is such a wonderful experience. The ability to put a life before yours, one that you'd die for, a soul in your care until completely raised. The love and sacrifices seem petty in comparison to the love in return these little creatures give with their undiminished views of us they carry through life. Being a mother is the most important thing I had become. Everything else seemed trivial, completely without meaning.
With that said, those that know me, have seen my home go though a transformation. First started with water conservation, aka the 5 minute shower and the post it reading, 'If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down'. Rain barrel landed outside my home to catch rain for the gardens. We stopped wasting water and energy where ever we could. Quick cold water cycle on the washer, and hung the laundry on the line, (1/4 the recommended soap), you name it we tried hard to conserve it. Our share was done. Lights off, engines off at long lights, the list is endless, but we could always do more.....
Next we said good-bye to bleach products for the home. My cleaning skills got to an all time fanatical high when my oldest started to crawl, and you could have eaten off my floors up until my youngest started preschool. The switch from toxic cleaning products to non toxic products for the safety of my kids was a no brain er.
Then came the organic foods. This was a gradual transition, being that the cheap in me had to still find good deals, and I managed to find stores that carried the products I needed without taking out a second mortgage on the house! My favorite organically grown meat and the biggest difference I notice was chicken. Once you cross that line, its hard to go back. Where before I could eat an endless amount of my moms fried chicken, with organic, 1-2 pieces and your stuffed!
The veggies and fruits also came gradually. We put in a bio-intensive organic garden to use up the compost I'd been religiously collecting in the back yard for years. The soil turned out beautifully, and our garden was pesticide free. Any critters or issues, I looked them up online and found organic solutions. For instance my squash leaves had a mildew I treated with chamomile tea, Epsom salt, and a drop of organic soap! It may take longer than the harsh products, but I am rest assured knowing my kids are eating chemical- free fruits and vegetables from my garden.
Water barrel, no chemicals, no pesticides seems like it is all under control right? Wrong. The chemicals I couldn't do anything about were the ones from our shampoos, conditions, baby products, make up...these had the highest levels of toxidity and what could I do about it?
So I tried to clean our family from the inside out. Xango was the anti oxidant of choice, made from the Asian Mangosteen, has the highest level of anti-oxidants found in nature. We discovered this whole food drink when Alfonz Sr. was diagnosed with Bladder cancer in 2007. He went for a routine check up, and after blood work and prostate issues, they discovered a lump. They did a scrap, and couldn't take any more out without rupturing the lining. A panel of doctors, recommended the only way to save this man from death was to remove the bladder and prostate. My father-in-law said it wasn't an option. Life would not be worth living without penile function! Some would agree.
Without resign, we embarked on a mission to find natural alternatives. I researched everything I could on these seemingly crazy drinks, concoctions, and pills all claiming to be the end to cancer. The more I learned the more I discovered a common thread. Feed the body the nutrients it needs to heal itself. I loved the belief that the body has what it needs to cure itself of disease. I love the idea all disease starts from inflammation. So keep your body fed, alkaline, inflammation free and disease cannot grow! Sounds simple. Isn't there a law that the simplest answer is usually the correct one?
I purchased the 21 day cancer challenge. $750, a small price for my in law's life, and he started taking it daily, on schedule without fail. His body went through an amazing transformation. Nourishing his body, healing itself. Alfonz's arthritis improved, his skin became younger less wrinkled, his spirits started to lift. And one month later the doctors went in to check on the progression of the cancer, and it was gone. Just like that. Alfonz Sr. had done it! Miraculously his body had battled the cancer and won. Alfonz had his one year check up June 2009 and he's still cancer free. Not a single cell! Pretty amazing.
Now I use Xango juice for my whole family especially my kids. Alfonz Jr. and Mom take the X51 for stress, and I use the skin care line. Even Pericarp oil for topical remodies, scrapes, cuts and bugbites.
In the fall the new line will be released including shampoo/conditioner, body cleanser and lotion. All Toxin Free. If the products we use have cancer causing agents in them, we need to eliminate them immediately. And we need to push the toxins out of our body. This is the next step in my journey protecting my family. I am one person, but the message is clear. Going green is the wave of the future, natural products must become our staple not the exception, and each of us can learn from one another. Toxins are not a made up gimmick to sway the skeptical through fear to buy our products, it's a real cancer causing additive in every day products that saturate our lives.
My journey continues. Xango is just a small part of it. My next step is an Infra-red Sauna. Coming in the fall to our garage. Also a good way to rid bodies of toxic chemicals through sweating.
If you would like more information about Xango please let me know.
Sincerely, my kids mom,
eva

Monday, August 10, 2009

Obituary

Stephen Randal Leathem, December 11th 1948 - July 30th 2009, survived by daughter Nicole and son Scott, from wife Debbie, daughter-in-law Allison and her family, step kids George and Eva, from partner Margaret, grand kids Cameron, Diana, Daniel, Angelina and Mathew.
Steve lost his battle with cirrhosis after receiving a donor liver 3 months ago. He passed with peace and calm at VGH transplant ward surrounded by his loved ones. Steve's fight was a respectful and honorable journey. He will be missed, but never forgotten, living in our memories around the family table.
We love you dad.

Friday, July 31, 2009

My Pretend Dad



Last year, God heard a strange unfamiliar voice praying to him. The scene was graphic, an old man lay bleeding out at the foot of his son. 'Grant me one more year with the father I never knew.' It was a simple request. One line that stretched across the heavens and landed on the ears of our compassionate God. Granting the son one more year, God said, 'This journey will be heart wrenching, your patience will be tried, tears shed, laughter unyielding and every ounce of energy will be drained of your flesh. You will know your dad better, you will witness the honor of a dieing mans survival, the price to witness this fight may come high and when you think the journey is over, the waters will calm, and you will become the man your father always knew you were. Then, I will ask him home to rest with me once again.'

To Scott,
Love
Eva
------

Parents have a keen sense of what their toddlers are doing when they are little. On the phone, stirring dinner, and a hand miraculously reaches out a split second before the baby hits the ground, without missing a beat. This instinct as the kids grow change, but never forgotten. We still try to stop them from tripping along the way.

I met Steve when I was 16, he moved in with mom and I....all seemed pretty normal. Shortly after, his kids arrived, and then they bought the green house and moved us to Aldergrove. Steve not only took on our family, but our friends. Alfonz was around, Tammy, Billy, Jason, Clint, Danielle, Sterling....all welcome and often stayed their time in the Leathem/Giricz house hold. Not saying is was easy, but it stopped us from hitting the ground.

Steve would answer the door in the middle of the night when we came home. Eventually we climbed in the window, later still, we all got keys, and whenever we boomeranged home, there was always a soft place for us to fall.

Steve treated us well. I remember obscene amounts of presents under the tree at Christmas. Some years you couldn't even see the floor! He loaded us in the berry picking van up to Hope Falls where he taught us to shoot his gun. He travelled to Europe with mom countless times, and took mom and the kids around the states. Steve loved us. In his calm, laid back manor, man of few words, put up with kayos. 4 kids, endless amounts of friends, we were his clan. Steve belonged to us. And in return he stopped us countless times from hitting bottom as a dad does.

To witness the last year of Steve's life was an honor. To watch a man struggle to live, to endure pain, to realize what his life meant to him in all its raw glory, is the stuff that builds character, that teaches the living a lesson of love and humbling strength. We all must take this final journey, and hopefully with reserve, grace and dignity as Steve did.

His final year was truly a gift from god. He mended his ways, asked forgiveness, told everyone that loved him, he too loved them. I marvel at the peace he found. I remember his life, our family life with him, and that is how I will always see him. Around mom's kitchen table, surrounded by endless amounts of food, friends and family fill the chairs, laughter lifting high above. Our family made up of odds and ends, left overs from the modern family dynamic, we found one another, we loved one another, and he was the head of our table.

I love you Steve, my pretend dad. Thank you for being in our life. You will be missed but never forgotten.

With Love,
Eva

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Garden Love





So many different types of love in this world, there must be a separate category for garden love. Feet stained from dirt, dirt under nails, nails and knees grass stained.... it must be love! The payoff in the end is always worth it!

The idea is appealing. Step one -grow organic veggies. Step 2 -Pick from the garden. Step 3 -Feed the family. Simple right??

The truth? It's a lot of work!! Double digging the garden for long roots was especially hard. I conveniently threw out my back and mom made her way though stones, plastic waste and clay. Our little 20ft by 10ft plot took her hour after hour to dig up. We added one large load of organic dirt, from a local farmer, to get it level. Then I mixed in our compost from our compost er. We have been saving the waste from the kitchen and garden and adding the beautiful soil it produces to the existing flower gardens for years. This was a very rewarding change in living more green. Just knowing that our clean food waste didn't end up in a land fill. Makes me very happy!! Then we started the plants inside the house from seed. Placing each seed lovingly in to the baby containers. We watched and waited for the magic to begin.

Disappointed, we lost all our fist seedlings. I paid a fortune for them via the inter net. The second round did much better. I figure by next year we'll have it down to an art form. Mom said we were too ambitious and should have done our first year from pre bought plants.....I think I would suggest that to any ones first year..

Alfonz made cold frames to keep the babies warm once they got too big for the deck stand-up hothouse. Long weekend in May they were still getting tucked in at night.
Here are the results of our project.....
Most from seed, we have tomatoes, lettuce along the side of the house by the water barrel. Our largest plot has beans, peas, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kohlrabi, a variety of squash, gourdes and a pumpkin, spinach, strawberries, dill, and cucumbers.
Our herb garden in the triangle shape, has Hungarian wax peppers, hot to mild, 4 kinds of oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, chives, lemon balm, peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, chervil, and a few others I can't recall....
It's so exciting seeing them take off, survive, and eventually eat. We have enjoyed salad each night for about 3 weeks now, from the herbs and lettuce mix we grew.

I can only hope this trend sticks. My grandparent from Hungary planted their fields, never wasting a thing. My parents in the 70's, a little hippy, but none the less, had beautiful gardens for the course of my childhood. I remember picking sun warmed tomatoes off the vine and sitting on the grass, juice pouring down my neck as I ate. I loved my food then as I do now. The fresher and more wholesome the better.
Happy gardening folks!!

What a year this has been!



Daniel's kindergarten and Angelina's first year of preschool is done. My kids are getting big! It's sad and happy all rolled into one. I can't help but cry my tears of joy whenever they reach a milestone. My love for them is unstoppable. A maternal primal thing, this mama love. I wish every women could experience it in all its vastness.
The ladies met over the last 12 months are welcome additions to our life. Between the Kindergarten moms and newly acquired White Rock friends, life just keeps getting better and better. To surround yourself with such amazing people keeps you growing and learning. I have learned a lot about parenting and patience. I couldn't ask for a more diverse and special group of people that I hope to know for a long long time.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Happy for RAIN!

Alfonz has given the best gift! No not diamonds, not a car...an eco wooden rain barrel! He set it up by my new biointensive veggie garden, and I stummbled across it while showing Tracy the garden over the weekend. It catches rain from the gutters off the house roof and down the water pipe, into my rain catching barrel. I then use the untreated water for the organics in my garden. Far more healthy then chlorine treated city water.
The next step in our overall health will be the infra red sauna. Still looking for a great price. Costco has a sale this month.....never know what's coming next...
eva.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Suma Designs!! New business idea...

My lovely friend Sue and her mother-in-law Ricky, have gone ahead and created a beautiful clothing line. It's a fusion, East meets West, Indian inspired pieces, that flow as you go, with an elegance rarely felt when dressing up. I look like a different person. Most of you know, I am not a fashion person, but the clothes looks great and is comfy. I get up and through on a kimono over my mother uniform (Lulu lemon pants and a tank) and I look polished and together.
At the adult social I wore an off the shoulder shall top and straight leg tie up dress pants, with a few gold accessories and never felt better. Hubby said or looked better!! Nice compliment at 35! Got to love the guy!!
Anyways,
she also make the Schwartzy Crystal flip flop seen in Spas for over $200, but hers are $65 and look exactly he same.
She also does hair extensions, bringing in a line from South Africa, using virgin hair and attaching using a gentle method, reusing the initial investment over and again.....
So....my life has become about fashion for the first time in my life! It's so funny, being this old and caring about what I look life, even wearing makeup at home!! What?!
My point was I hope to invest in her line. I love it that much, even trying to get government grants.....I will be posting a preview of the new line in the not so distant future, and hope to sell for this new and rising company!!!
Suma designs will be coming soon!!! But only cheap for a few more months. Price list and pictures to follow!!

Sunnyside Elementary, Montessori program!


One thing that's a little different, with Angelina in Preschool 3 days a week, and only working Monday and Fridays or Saturdays, it frees up my time to do some charity work. Volunteering at Daniel's school has been so rewarding, but more specifically fundraising. Although he goes to a specialty school, its publically funded, meaning us moms, and some dads, have to raise all the money.
The Adult Social was a blast, way too much fun, and didn't get home until 3:00am! The PAC commity raised $2500 holding back loads of donations for another fundraiser in September.....
So does anyone have any better ideas for fundraising?? I'd love to hear them, really love it....being that I just joined the Surrey Monessori Society, a non profit organization to help train our teachers, and provide materials to the kids to effectively learn this method. I am becoming a bigger fan of Montessori!! Watching Daniel excel naturally in English, and working with hands on tools for Math!! Our Kindergarden teacher happens to be one of the nicest people I've seen teach, makes learning a whole lot of fun!! Daniel goes into the official Montessori grade 1-3 split class in the fall....can't wait for the adventure to begin.
All kids in every economic back ground, any culture, and walk of life can reach their potential in this learning enviroment! Our school is smack dab in the middle of 2 low income housing projects, but our kids do not reflect this. All the children are getting a good footing for life, a great bace and love for learning, with noone left behind. Other schools with this accomplishment, and community feel, come with a $12,000 a year tution, but here its just a love of school that keeps it going. (And fundraising!!) Passed from one parent to the next, as each child finishes their time in the school, many moms still come out to help. Each class has volunteer moms to help the teacher make the Montessori classroom an intimate one.
I love this school. A true unique treasure. It feels like the pupils own their school and respectivily enter our community after as well rounded individuals....can we ask for more from our school?

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Going Greener


A quick update on the Hamori's....Our biointensive garden is being set up!! It's loads of work, but the second round of baby plants have sprouted in the green house!! (First round all died but mom helped me out, thank god!!)
Compost looks great from last year and learing all about canning. It should be an interesting change to the family. Learning all about veggies and fruit, hothouses, and sustaining throughout the year.... Big goal, but up until now we only have grown enough produce for about 3 months out of the year....
Also our desil vans from our recycling company are able to going greener!! Yes they can use biodesil...Alfonz has jumped on board. Poor guy, I keep asking the family to stop flushing the toilets and running the water when brushing their teeth and now this!! Oh well, green starts here, in our homes. An that is the true activist. One that changes what they can, now!!
I also have a new organic rule of buying from local farmers, around here. Why in the world did we travel outside SouthSurrey or WhiteRock or South Langley, when we have beautifully grown eggs, ethically raised beef just around the corner. I am also starting to support local businesses in the same fashion. Save on fuel, pay the extra cost, buy only what you need and we are still saving money!!
I have to say the garden wasn't my idea. I stole it from Sherrin from my mother's group...because my garden wasn't very efficient, too small to produce my plans. But the biointensive method allows the smallest garden to mass produce....oh yah and no chemicals....soap and water....and pulling the bugs off....not for the squeemish...

Okay people, photos to follow...
loads of hugs and kisses,
I'm Eva and that's Hamori!!

Monday, February 2, 2009

February 2 2009

The new year, so far so good!!
The Hamori family is always up for a new adventure! Alfonz sold both our 4wheel drive vehicles during that big snow fall last month. Good bye Ford Explorer and Lariate 150 and went in search of a CUV. SUV just didn't make sence in this economic climate with the gas prices and millage. At first we thought a VW wagon but couldn't find an all wheel desil. And then I really likes the Subaru wagon, an allwheel drive. But for the same price they had the Forester. The wagon would suite fine but it was just a little too tight and getting in and out of was a hard adjustment after the explorer. This left us without vehicles for 2 weeks, borrowing the work van and moms van until we finally decided on the VW Tiguan. The Forester was a close second. RDX was a far third contender. It's candy white, great fuel economy, full load at a steal of a deal, and they threw in a bunch of extras: like a tow kit, rubber floor mats, ipod, manicure kit!!! I guess it really is who you know in the car business..... pretty sure Alfonz knows everyone!! She drives like a dream , handles like a racecar, and the kids nick-named her EVE like in Wally. Awww so cute. I hope to get really attatched to this car. With some luck I will have her for a long time....so far the longest vehicle I have had since Alfonz and I hooked up in 2002 was my last Explorer and that was a lopping 6 months!!