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Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Is That My Head Cracking Open?

It starts with a warning of the pain yet to come: my vision starts to blurr. When this happens, my heart plummets because I know what is soon to follow.
The waves begin. Small at first, then building. They start in the back of the head, rush to the front and briefly subside before the next wave of pain starts.
Lights become too bright. Sounds become too loud. I am no longer able to focus, barely able to function. My daughter laughs, wanting me to come color with her. But her laughter sounds unbearable to me, and I cannot come color. Instead, I turn on the TV for her, low volume, give the Guppy a couple of rattles to play with, and lay on the couch with a blanket over my head.

I miss out on so much during these times.

I've had a migraine every single night this week so far. Every single night. My mother gets migraines, my sister gets migraines, and so do I. I haven't had one since the beginning of my pregnancy with the Guppy, and I thought maybe they had gone away for good. No such luck.

I've tried increasing caffeine, cutting caffeine out, going to be earlier, going to bed later, yoga, changing my diet, pain meds, meditation, pressure points, even praying.

Thank heavens for the Knight, who every night this week has taken care of the girls, cooked dinner and cleaned the house. Without him I would've been overwhelmed.

So, anyone have any good remedies for migraines?
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Monday, February 26, 2007

Five Month Letter

Dearest Guppy,
Today you are five months old. No, wait, that can't be right....can it? September, October, November.....Oh my, that is right, you are five months old. I can't believe how big you are getting in such a short time! You are too young to be five months old already!

This month you have accomplished some milestones. You now roll easily from your back to your tummy. The first time you did it, I missed it, and walked back into the living room from the kitchen to find you on your tummy, so proud of yourself! But since you love rolling around, I've been able to watch you do it more than several times a day.

You also reach for everything within sight. If you can see it, you want to touch it, hold it, taste it. You are really good at grabbing things, turning them around, holding them just so. Your favorite toy to grab and hold is your duck rattle, and at times it is the only thing that will keep you from being fussy!

You've started to take increasing interest in your father. You've always been interested and fascinated with your sister, and it is so nice to see you show the same interest with your father. While I enjoy seeing you get to really know your father, it's nice that you still are a mommy's girl. I know that soon you will become as much as a Daddy's girl as your sister is, so I am enjoying every moment I can in this stage that you still prefer your mommy over everyone else.

You smile more. You laugh more. You try so hard to talk! You've gone beyond "ahhhhh" and "oooohhh" to forming the letter B, so now your favorite sound to make is "baaahhhhh". I call you my little lamb and you smile up at me, proud of your cute sounds!
I thank God every day that you are here in our lives. You make me smile, you make me laugh, you and your sister make me happy to be alive. I can't wait to see what this coming month brings, to see you bring even greater joy in our lives with each passing day. I love you, Guppy!


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Sunday, February 25, 2007

MySpace Anti Breastfeeding!

A month or two ago I put up a picture of me nursing the Guppy on my MySpace page. Within a week it was taken down because they considered it obscene. Well now they are taking down nursing pictures left and right. You can see the news story here. So, if you are a nursing mom and have a myspace page, go ahead and put up some nursing pictures. And while you are at it, if you are a nursing mom or want to support nursing moms, sign the petition that asks Myspace to allow women to put up nursing pictures.
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Lookie Lookie

Look what I made, a pocket diaper for the Guppy!
Inside of diaper
close up of outside

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Saturday, February 24, 2007

Basketball Hall of Fame

The Knight and I took the girls to the Basketball Hall of Fame today. We had a great time. Click on the picture to see the whole set.

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Friday, February 23, 2007

Homebirth in the News

I haven't been writing in this blog as much as I would like to. I have committed to a goal of writing at least one post a day. We'll see how that goes. But in the meantime, some of these articles may be a little outdated. That is just because they've been sitting in my "things to blog about" folder a little too long and now I want to get them out in the open.

Midwifery has been in the news lately in South Dakota. According to state law, in order for Certified Nurse Midwives to practice, they must enter into a signed contract with a physician. This, of course, puts limits on how much freedom the midwives are allowed in their practice, and can often leave the midwives and their clients at the mercy of the judgement of said physician. Currently midwives are rallying to try to get this law changed, but so far they haven't had much luck.

Midwives are also facing opposition in Pennsylvania and Utah. Pennsylvania currently allows only midwives who are licensed with the state to attend homebirths. Those who aren't licensed risk being charged with practicing without a license, such as in the case of Diane Goslin. Goslin is certified with the North American Registry of Midwives, which is recognized in 28 states, but not in PA. In Utah, new legislation is being considered which would specifically define what would be considered a "normal" pregnancy, one which would be allowed to participate in a homebirth. Opponents of the proposed bill state that if this definition of "normal" pregnancy were to pass, 96% of all pregnancies would be risked out of homebirth.

I also got word of another movie on birth in America, called Pregnant in America. From the website:
Pregnant in America examines the betrayal of humanity's greatest gift--birth--by the greed of U.S. corporations. Hospitals, insurance companies and other members of the healthcare industry have all pushed aside the best care of our infants
and mothers to play the power game of raking in huge profits. His wife pregnant, first-time filmmaker Steve Buonaugurio sets out to create a film that will expose the underside of the U.S. childbirth industry and help end its neglectful exploitation of pregnancy and birth. Pregnant in America is the controversial
story of life's greatest miracle in the hands of a nation's most powerful interests.

This is definitely a film that all women who are giving birth should watch. You can view the trailer here.

That's all for homebirth in the news.
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Nurse In Video

If there is one thing that I regret about this past year, it was that I was unable to participate in any nurse ins. I am absolutely floored by how much success breastfeeding moms have had with coming together and showing their support for each other through nurse ins. Even if you are not nursing, I would encourage you to attend a nurse in anyway. You will be showing your support for nursing moms everywhere.
With that in mind, I was given the heads up on this great video of a montage on the nurse ins that have occurred in the past few years. Enjoy!


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Again On Car Seat Safety.

I know that I have posted on car seat safety a number of times, including on the importance of a five point harness and on extended rear facing. Carolyn at Dakota's Natural Blog brought this great video to my attention, which stresses the importance of extended rear facing. Feel free to share the video with other mamas!

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Fantastic Friday: No More Excuses...

Well this week I didn't make much progress, but I didn't go backwards either.

Weight: For my Future MILF post: Once again, no loss, no gain. However, I did notice something interesting. Although I didn't lose any weight, I was still able to fit into a pair of jeans that I was unable to fit in before. So I think what is happening is that I am losing fat to muscle due to my exercising every day. Which is a good thing. However, I am still not doing so well following my WW points. I did join a yahoo support group for nursing moms who are on WW's, so hopefully that will help. No more excuses!

House: This week, I didn't do too hot. I skipped all my daily decluttering sessions and for most of the week, the Knight ended up doing the dishes and picking up the floor for me. I can hear the FlyLady saying "tsk tsk." I kind of fell into a slump, but since yesterday I've been working my way out of it. Yesterday I did manage to get all my floors washed, my sheets cleaned, my mirrors cleaned, and my house dusted. So let's hope I can get back into my routines.

Finances: Still doing good in this area. We're really sticking to our budget and not doing any unnecessary spending. We are also both still looking for jobs. Still on step 1 of the Total Money Makeover.

Environment: So far so good on living the Compact Life. I haven't bought anything new except those things which are necessary. Our recycling center is still going strong.

That's it for this week. For the week coming up I hope to follow my diet with no excuses and work better on the house.
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Thursday, February 22, 2007

Mommy to this Mommy

Stephanie over at Adventures in Babywearing has challenged us to post a Mama to Mama Blogger post on our blogs. We basically have to post a picture of our mom and talk about her, then link back to her blog so we can all read. So, this is my post about the mommy to this mommy blogger!

Remember when you were little and there was always that friend in your group that had the "cool" mom? The mom that everyone wanted to hang around with because she was different from other moms? The mom that you could go talk to about stuff that you would die from embarrassment if you tried to talk to your mom about? I had that mom. My mom was definitly not a "conventional" mom. She was a cool mom. A fun mom. And she still is.

Honestly, my mom is one of the strongest people I know. She married my sperm donor at a young age and had two children very close together (my sister and I are a year and six days apart). She had absolutely no help at all from my "father" and was froced to work two jobs and take care of both us girls all on her own. Then she some how found the courage to leave him and become a single mom with two young girls. I go crazy a lot with two kids spaced well apart and with a lot of help from the Knight, so I honestly cannot fathom how she found the strength to keep going all those years, but she did and I love her for it.

My mom has a very saracastic and honest sense of humour. If you fell flat on your face on stage in front of thousands of people, she would laugh at you. Loudly. But her personality is extremely generous, so she would also take you out for ice cream afterwards and help you plot evil plans on how to get revenge on the person who invented six inch heels. She's very honest, to the point where the truth can be painful. If you ask her if you look fat in something, she'll give you an honest answer, even if it does hurt to hear, "You look like a cow, go change into something else."




My mom and I are very close, even if we do get along better when we aren't living together. I never had a problem discussing topics that were considered "taboo" with her, such as sex, drugs, etc. She wanted the best for us and would always listen to what we had to say then offer her advice. She was always there for us when we needed her but at the same time didn't baby us and expected us to learn from our mistakes.





Well, that's my mom in a nutshell. And now for some pictures:

She's the little girl on the far left, rolling her eyes and scowling


High School portrait

Holding the Mermaid the day the Mermaid was born.

So, let's hear it. What about your momma?


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Friday, February 16, 2007

uh oh..

Now you are all in for it.

I figured out how to upload videos.

Don't worry, I won't bombard you. But I thought I would share my first uploaded video of the girls. Enjoy.


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Foto Friday

The Guppy and I.
It's 9:30pm...why isn't this baby tired?


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Fantastic Friday: Not Again, I Hope

Well it's Fantastic Friday, time for the weekly recap.

Weight: For my MILF update: I didn't gain, didn't lose. Again. I really hope this isn't going to be a pattern. Although I didn't put in as much effort in my exercising as I normally do, so maybe that was the problem. And I really find it a lot harder to follow my WW points when I'm not going to the meetings. I really have to get my butt in gear when it comes to following the points.

House: I didn't do as good this week as I normally do. Although I stuck to my FlyLady routines and my house was always clean, I didn't declutter at all except today. Today I went on a rampage in my bathroom and cleaned everything, including the walls. Now that the girls are starting to finally feel a little better I hope to be able to start doing my daily decluttering once again.

Finances: We've actually paid more than half our bills on time this month. And next month we will be paying them all on time. We're a bit closer to finishing step 1 in the Total Money Makeover. And last night I went to a job interview. I'll know by Thursday whether I made the cut to the second stage of interviews, so wish me luck.

Environment: Our recycling setup is going strong. I'm looking into getting some cloth bags for grocery shopping. And this weekend I plan on sewing up some replacements for disposable products, such as cloth paper towels and some more cloth nursing pads.

Well that's it for this weeks recap. Not bad, but not great either. Tomorrow starts another day, another week, another chance to strive to be a better person.
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Thursday, February 15, 2007

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Well today marks my two year anniversary into Blogdom.

I started out on AOL blogs. My first post ever was on February 15th, 2005. The Mermaid was 5 months old and we were living in our old apartment.

I've been through a lot since then. I've posted about how frustrating it is to be a full-time Student and a full-time Mommy at the same time....I have total respect for those mothers who work full time while trying to raise children. I've posted through moving into our current residence. Thanks to blogging, with one click I can relive the Mermaid's baptism....her first steps....her first birthday....her first cloth diaper ;o). I can relive our wedding, and what I felt when I finally graduated school. About when I found out when I was pregnant with the Guppy. And of course, the Guppy's birth.

In my opinion, there has been a definite change in my posting style. I've gone from posting daily occurrences to posting more of my thoughts and feelings and what is in the news. From "today we..." to "This is why I cosleep/breastfeed/cloth diaper....". I don't know if it's because I have more time to explore how I feel about current events and parenting now that I am not in school, or if my interests just became more passionate and more of a part of my life than it was.

As I was quickly scanning over the past two years of my life, I realized that I am a very lucky woman. I have an education. I have a dear sweet husband who treats me like a queen. I have two beautiful, healthy daughters. I have a future filled with possibilities. And although I may have some regrets, like I wish I had had a homebirth with the Mermaid, or I wish I had used cloth diapers from the beginning, all in all, I'm happy with the way things have turned out.

Here's to the upcoming years. I hope they are as fulfilling and as happy as these past two years have been.
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Don't Assume, Because I DO Cook!

One of my Christmas presents from my Sister-in-Law was a cookbook entitled "Don't Assume I Don't Cook! Recipes for Women's Lives." This book is put out by the National Organization for Women, and is filled with tidbits of information on the history of women's rights as well as fantastic recipes. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is for women's rights and who also cooks.
One poem that I especially like is presented at the beginning of the book and is titled, "The First Supper."


My sister Native American,
I reach out to you,
For yours is the way
of respect for the earth,
My sister Africa,
you I embrace,
For yours is a
compassionate race,
My sister Asia -- I look
deep in your eyes,
Let us be strong together.
Yes, sisters Chicana,
Latina, Muslim, and Jew
I am white and
I am woman
And I am tired of
watching for centuries
While my husbands, sons,
and fathers,
steal and pillage,
Here, I give back
what I can,
It is not too late
to make a new world
together.
-- Jane Evershed.

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Sewing Heaven

It's been crazy over here in sewing heaven. At least that is where I am right now. Let me explain. This is what I came home with Tuesday from my LLL meeting:
That's eight, count 'em, eight bags of fabric, including TONS of fabric for making diaper supplies. I'm on cloud nine. This was all given to me by a wonderful fellow LLL member. How cool is that?This is all the fabric arranged in piles in my living room. Can you find the baby? There's a wool pile, fleece, velour, sherpa, flannel, PUL solid, PUL print, and other misc. non-diapering fabrics. So far I've made a wool soaker for the Mermaid out of one of the wools sweaters and I also finished the wool soaker I was knitting for the Guppy.

The Mermaid in her new wool soaker.

The Guppy in her new knit wool soaker.

I also sewed another soaker for the Guppy out of one of the other wools sweaters I got. I'll post a picture when I can.


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Monday, February 12, 2007

Round and Round the Virus Goes...

When will it stop? Soon Please!!!

The Knight was home sick from work on Friday. Then the Mermaid got sick. Then last night the Guppy started to get congested and I started to get a sore throat.

Oh boy.

Thankfully the Knight was well enough to go to work, the Mermaid seems to be better, my sore throat went away, and the Guppy's congestion is only slight.

Meanwhile, I made some delicious sugar free apple walnut muffins and was able to sew up a Mama Bird pocket diaper for the Guppy using materials I got from Diapercuts.
And, proof that dreams really do come true....both my girls are taking a nap at the same time. I haven't had a moment to myself in so long I don't know what to do!! ;o)

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Vaccinations, Part III

In my first post on vaccinations, I talked about the safety of vaccines and why parents should educate themselves on the vaccines that their children receive. In my second post, I talked about the ingredients that go into vaccines and some things that parents can do to lower the risk of reactions should they decided to vaccinate their child.

In this third post, I am going to talk about vaccines from a slightly different perspective. I am going to talk about the connection between the origin of the AIDS virus and the development of the polio vaccine.

Here's a summary of what I discovered. Basically, after the United States began its mass immunization program against polio, Dr. Koprowski went to central Africa to develop another polio vaccine, an alternative to Salk's vaccine. Basically, the theory goes, he used chimpanzee tissue to develop the vaccine. Chimpanzee tissue that was infected with the monkey form of HIV, called SV-40. This vaccine was then given to to over a million people in 1957-1960 in central Africa. Two years later, the first case of HIV was diagnosed. And that is how the HIV virus was transferred from chimpanzees to humans.

Now, this is just a summary. If you are really interested in researching this theory, then I have a lot of sources for you.
Here are a couple articles written about the connection between vaccines and AIDS virus.
Polio Vaccines and the Origins of AIDS: Some Key Writings
AIDS Linked to Vaccines

There is also a very compelling documentary about this link available on YouTube. The documentary is broken up into several segments, I think the longest segment is ten minutes long. This was helpful to me because I could watch small parts of it when I knew I wouldn't be interrupted for several minutes. Here is the first part of the documentary:



You can find the rest of the documentary here:
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4a
Part 4b
Part 4c
Part 5

I think this theory gives parents a lot to think about. How safe are these vaccines? What is the guarantee that the ingredients of these vaccines, or even foreign objects that are introduced through the production of the vaccines, will be harmless? There is no guarantee. And that is why it is imperative that each parent make their own informed and educated decision on whether or not their child should be vaccinated.
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Sunday, February 11, 2007

Updated Blogroll

I've added a few blogs to my blog roll.

Quarter Acre Woods is a fabulous blog about a family in Texas.

New Mama's Blog is where you can read about a new mama's thoughts and feelings on motherhood.

Changing Rhythm is a fascinating blog about a family and their decision to downsize. If you too are fed up with consumerism, then this blog is worth a read.

Weezy Doo and Icey Too is a fabulous blog about an AP mama and her two kids. Go say hi.

Paxye's Rant focuses on AP parenting in a mainstream parenting world. Go check her out.

Rixa's Page focuses on the "the true face of birth: raw, powerful, ecstatic." A great read for every mom.

And finally, Carolyn at Dakota's Natural Blog is fabulous. If you are interested in natural parenting and saving the environment, then grab a cup of coffee and read her blog.

Well that's all for the newest blogs on my blog roll.
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Saturday, February 10, 2007

Should You Let Your Baby CIO?

Should you let your baby cry it out?

I always become alarmed when a mother of a young baby talks about how they are "sleep training" their baby by letting them cry it out.

To me, parenting does not stop at a certain time. I am a mother no matter what time of day or night it is. I am not willing to let my child feel abandoned and alone simply for my convenience.

I think this article sums it up nicely. A number of pediatricians, and sleep experts agree that letting a baby cry it out can lead to a feeling of abandonment. From the article:
Desmond Morris, the author of Babywatching, says that just being alone can make babies insecure and they will cry unless they are 'scooped up in parental arms'. Before about eight months of age, babies have no idea of 'object permanence'.
This means that if they can't see something it doesn't exist. A baby does not know the parent will be back in five, ten or fifteen minutes. All it feels is abandonment.

In his book The Prehistory of Sex, Timothy Taylor
says that typical behaviour of young mammals and birds is to signal distress and wait for a response. If there is no response, the juvenile understands that it has been abandoned, and will die unless it conserves energy. Crying expends energy so crying must be stopped to ensure survival. This leads to 'learned
helplessness' where the baby whose needs are not met detaches from reality, and numbs itself into sleep.

Babies cry for a reason. They don't know anything but that if they have needs then they can let us know that through crying. They are not trying to "manipulate" or "control" the parents.

Put yourself in your baby's place. You've spent nine months in a nice, warm, cozy womb, in constant connection with your mother. You are thrust out into a cold, bright world where your only means of communication is to cry, and then your cries are ignored. How would you feel?
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Cloth Diapering News

An article describing the benefits of cloth...and yes, cloth is better for baby's skin! From the article:
Comfort for your baby comes first, and with the menace of harmful chemicals in disposable diapers, cloth diapers seem the only solution. Comfortable, hygienic, eco-friendly, durable . . . with so many merits, it is no wonder cloth nappies are replacing disposable diapers everywhere.There can be no doubt that cloth
diapers are so good for your baby!

And for those who are interested, you can find the written history of cloth and disposables here, and an illustrated time line of the history of cloth diapers here.

Finally, I came across this article that describes the "benefits" of disposable diapers. According to this article, the chemicals in disposables are a good thing because they help prevent diaper rash. And the best part is when it states:
Since urine by itself is not irritating, mildly wet diapers do not need to be changed immediately. Industry studies show that most parents change a baby's diaper six to seven times per day on average.

Right. So now it's ok to let your child sit in his or her own urine. grrr.

That's all for Cloth Diapering in the news.
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Breastfeeding in the News

Some of these might be a little old, but here goes...

I found this great blog featuring nursing pictures. You can share your own photos, or just admire the ones put up.

This article describes a study that found that breastfeeding helps babies develop good vision. According to the article:
Children who are breastfed can be significantly more likely to have better measurements of stereoscopic vision than those who are formula-fed, according to a new UK study. The finding mirrors a growing body of evidence suggesting that breastfeeding is beneficial for visual development; Dr. Atul Singhal of the Institute of Child Health was cited as telling Reuters.
According to Dr. Singhal and colleagues, a proposal has already been made to explain the benefit, which attributes this vision enhancing effect to a higher concentration of DHA or docosahexaenoic acid in breast milk than in formula.
In Las Vegas, a woman nursing in public was told that she was violating the local nudity and lewdness laws. Luckily, this story has a happy ending, as apologies were made and she was compensated for their mistake.

That's it for breastfeeding news!
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World Breastfeeding Week Photo Contest

You can enter your breastfeeding photo in the WBW photo contest! From the site:
Feature your breastfeeding photos in this year’s Action Folder! We are organising a global breastfeeding photography contest for WBW 2007. 10 winning photos will be selected, and contributors whose photos are featured in the Action Folders will be awarded US$100 for each published photo. Send us your
photos by 15 March 2007. Tell YOUR story through your photos– Grab your camera and start clicking away!

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Beware of Gardasil

I'm sure you've heard in the news lately, or maybe you've seen the commercial, for the new vaccine against cervical cancer called Gardasil. Gardasil is manufactured by Merck and is said to protect against two forms of the HPV virus that is said to cause 70% of all cases of cervical cancer.

Now there is a lot of controversy over this vaccine. Many people, myself included, feel that it is too early to tell if the vaccine has any long term negative side effects and if it is safe. In fact, according to one article:

One would hope and expect that Gardasil has been well tested and is safe to inject into young girls and possibly boys.
BUT!
According to The Alliance for Human Research Protection (AHRP) this is not the case. AHRP say that the vaccine has not been proven safe and effective in clinical trials. The fact is that the FDA allowed Merck to use a potentially reactive aluminum containing placebo as a control for most trial participants, rather than a non-reactive saline solution placebo.They use this aluminum placebo because it can artificially increase the appearance of safety of an experimental drug or vaccine in a clinical trial.Furthermore the Gardasil vaccine contains 225 mcg of Aluminum and we know that vaccine aluminum adjuvants can allow aluminum to enter the brain, as well as cause inflammation at the injection site leading to chronic joint and muscle pain and fatigue.Around 60 percent of those who got Gardasil or the aluminum placebo suffered side effects such as headache, fever, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, myalgia and the Gardasil recipients had more serious adverse events such as headache, gastroenteritis, appendicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, asthma, bronchospasm and arthritis.


Despite these findings, Governor Rick Perry of Texas bypassed state legislation and made Texas the first state that requires the Gardasil vaccine to all girls entering the sixth grade. I, for one, wonder how much time he has put in into researching the side effects and safety issues concerning this vaccine. After reading this particular little tidbit, I am thinking the answer is zero time:

Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry's former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government. The governor also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.


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Friday, February 09, 2007

Fantastic Friday: Better Late Than Never

This post is a little late today because things have been crazy around here. The Knight was home sick from work and so I attempted to do all our week's errands in one day, which was crazy. Then between trying to keep the house from going into chaos, taking care of the girls, and taking care of the Knight, I just couldn't find the time to relax. When I finally thought I would have time to post...the Mermaid woke up crying and sick. So now I have two sick people to take care of.

I hate the winter.

Ok, so this post will be quick.

Weight: Good news. For my MILF weigh in: I lost one pound. Finally, after weeks of not losing, I finally lost a pound. WOOOHOOO. Of course, it's nice because now I am really determined to lose more this week. That brings my total weight loss to 10 lbs.

House: Broken record here. Even though the sick ones have been taking up a lot of my time, as long as I stick to my FlyLady routines my house stays clean.

Finances: The Knight and I are looking into taking on extra jobs. Right now we are still in Step 1 of the Total Money Makeover and this weekend we are brainstorming to come up with ways to save more cash. This month is the last month we have to pay my midwife, so next month we will have extra money to put towards bills, which is nice.

Environment: We finally set up our recycling system. Very cool. Still following the Compact Life. And I finally found some "used" PUL and other diaper making fabrics that a very cool person is actually giving to me, yay!

On another note, I know I haven't been posting here as much as I usually do. Things have just been crazy around here with the sick babies and now sick hubby. Seems like a never ending cycle of sickness. But I do have a HUGE list of things to blog about, and I haven't forgotten about the third part of my vaccination series. So even though it may be a while, stay tuned and when everyone is well here I will be back to normal, if a little outdated, posting.
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Thursday, February 08, 2007

Picture Perfect

Just some pictures of the girls.
The Mermaid and my sister
The Guppy chilling out on the couch
The two girls, grumpy in the morning.


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Monday, February 05, 2007

Scientists Offered Cash to Dispute Climate Study

Just got word of this article from one of my yahoo groups. I don't have the link but the full text of the article is as follows:

Scientists Offered Cash to Dispute Climate Study
By Ian Sample
The Guardian UK
Friday 02 February 2007
Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine a major climate change report due to be published today. Letters sent by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), an ExxonMobil-funded thinktank with close links to the Bush administration, offered the payments for articles that emphasise the shortcomings of a report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Travel expenses and additional payments were also offered. The UN report was written by international experts and is widely regarded as the most comprehensive review yet of climate change science. It will underpin international negotiations on new emissions targets to succeed the Kyoto agreement, the first phase of which expires in 2012. World governments were given a draft last year and invited to comment. The AEI has received more than $1.6m from ExxonMobil and more than 20 of its staff have worked as consultants to the Bush administration. Lee Raymond, a former head of ExxonMobil, is the vice-chairman of AEI's board of trustees. The letters, sent to scientists in Britain, the US and elsewhere, attack the UN's panel as "resistant to reasonable criticism and dissent and prone to summary conclusions that are poorly supported by the analytical work" and ask for essays that "thoughtfully explore the limitations of climate model outputs". Climate scientists described the move yesterday as an attempt to cast doubt over the "overwhelming scientific evidence" on global warming. "It's a desperate attempt by an organisation who wants to distort science for their own political aims," said David Viner of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. "The IPCC process is probably the most thorough and open review undertaken in any discipline. This undermines the confidence of the public in the scientific community and the ability of governments to take on sound scientific advice," he said. The letters were sent by Kenneth Green, a visiting scholar at AEI, who confirmed that the organisation had approached scientists, economists and policy analysts to write articles for an independent review that would highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the IPCC report. "Right now, the whole debate is polarised," he said. "One group says that anyone with any doubts whatsoever are deniers and the other group is saying that anyone who wants to take action is alarmist. We don't think that approach has a lot of utility for intelligent policy." One American scientist turned down the offer, citing fears that the report could easily be misused for political gain. "You wouldn't know if some of the other authors might say nothing's going to happen, that we should ignore it, or that it's not our fault," said Steve Schroeder, a professor at Texas A&M university. The contents of the IPCC report have been an open secret since the Bush administration posted its draft copy on the internet in April. It says there is a 90% chance that human activity is warming the planet, and that global average temperatures will rise by another 1.5 to 5.8C this century, depending on emissions. Lord Rees of Ludlow, the president of the Royal Society, Britain's most prestigious scientific institute, said: "The IPCC is the world's leading authority on climate change and its latest report will provide a comprehensive picture of the latest scientific understanding on the issue. It is expected to stress, more convincingly than ever before, that our planet is already warming due to human actions, and that 'business as usual' would lead to unacceptable risks, underscoring the urgent need for concerted international action to reduce the worst impacts of climate change. However, yet again, there will be a vocal minority with their own agendas who will try to suggest otherwise." Ben Stewart of Greenpeace said: "The AEI is more than just a thinktank, it functions as the Bush administration's intellectual Cosa Nostra. They are White House surrogates in the last throes of their campaign of climate change denial. They lost on the science; they lost on the moral case for action. All they've got left is a suitcase full of cash." On Monday, another Exxon-funded organisation based in Canada will launch a review in London which casts doubt on the IPCC report. Among its authors are Tad Murty, a former scientist who believes human activity makes no contribution to global warming. Confirmed VIPs attending include Nigel Lawson and David Bellamy, who believes there is no link between burning fossil fuels and global warming. Go to Original Exxon Mobil Posts Record Annual Profit By John Porretto The Associated Press Thursday 01 February 2007 Houston - Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) on Thursday posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company - $39.5 billion - even as earnings for the last quarter of 2006 declined 4 percent. The 2006 profit topped the previous record, also by Exxon Mobil, of $36.13 billion set in 2005. The record earnings amounted to roughly $4.5 million an hour for the world's largest publicly traded oil company, which produces about 3 percent of the world's oil. It also equals the approximate gross domestic product - a measure of all goods and services produced within a country in a given year - of countries like Ecuador, Luxembourg and Croatia. Also eyepopping was Exxon Mobil's revenue, which rose to $377.64 billion for the year, surpassing the record $370.68 billion it posted in 2005. "Exxon Mobil continued to leverage its globally diverse resource base to bring additional crude oil and natural gas to market," said Rex W. Tillerson, chairman of the Irving, Texas-based company. Still, it marked the first time since the third quarter of 2002 Exxon Mobil had a year-over-year quarterly earnings decline. Exxon Mobil's record annual earnings followed a year of extraordinarily high energy prices as crude oil topped $78 a barrel in the summer - driving up average gasoline prices in the United States to more than $3 a gallon. Prices retreated later in the year. The fourth-quarter decline reflects lower profits from Exxon's refining and marketing operations and a sharp dropoff in natural gas prices. The company said earnings from exploration and production were $6.2 billion for the quarter, down from about $7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005. Earnings also fell on the refining and marketing side to $1.96 billion in the most recent quarter from $2.4 billion a year ago. Oil production for the quarter was up slightly from a year ago, while natural gas production was off slightly. The company said it ended 2006 with $32.8 billion in cash, and debt of $8.3 billion. Tillerson and other company executives plan to meet with Wall Street analysts March 7 to discuss ongoing business plans. Exxon Mobil's results for the October-December period mimicked those of U.S. competitor ConocoPhillips, which last week said its fourth-quarter profit fell 13 percent - also primarily because of lower natural gas prices and refining margins. But hefty earnings earlier in the year helped Houston-based ConocoPhillips post its most profitable year on record, earning $15.55 billion. ConocoPhillips is the nation's third-largest integrated oil company behind Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp. (CVX), which is scheduled to report 2006 results Friday. Also Thursday, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) reported a 21 percent rise in fourth-quarter earnings, buoyed in part by high energy prices and the sale of some operations. Net profit came to $5.28 billion, up from $4.37 billion. But excluding divestitures and other one-time items, Shell's earnings from oil production fell 3 percent, while fourth-quarter sales were flat at $75.5 billion. The Anglo-Dutch company also said it had taken important steps to bulk up its proven reserves, which were revealed to have been inflated in a 2004 accounting scandal. At Exxon Mobil, profit for the fourth quarter of 2006 declined to $10.25 billion from the $10.71 billion Exxon earned in the 2005 quarter - a record quarterly profit for any U.S. public company. That best-ever profit came when the price of both natural gas and crude oil skyrocketed in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which damaged wells, pipelines and refineries in the key energy-producing Gulf of Mexico. Analysts largely have predicted declines in fourth-quarter earnings for the big U.S. oil companies because of the moderation in prices. Exxon Mobil's per-share earnings in the fourth quarter rose to $1.76 from $1.71 as the company reduced the number of shares outstanding. Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast earnings of $1.51 a share. Excluding special items, Exxon Mobil earned $9.84 billion, or $1.69 a share, in the final three months of 2006. Quarterly revenue fell to $90 billion from $99 billion in the year-ago period. For the year, Exxon earned $6.62 per share in 2006 versus $5.71 per share in 2005. Exxon shares rose 47 cents to $74.57 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. They have traded in a 52-week range of $56.64 to $79.
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Sunday, February 04, 2007

Vaccinations, Part II

In my first post about vaccines, I talked about how important it is for parents to do the research and educate themselves about each vaccine that their child receives.

So what exactly is in these vaccines? Well, while the ingredients differ for each one, the basic ingredients for the most readily given vaccines are:
DPT — diptheria bacterium, pertussis organisms, tetanus toxoid, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, aluminium and mercury.
HiB — Hib saccarides cultured on cow's brains, crm protein, sodium chloride, aluminium hydroxide, mercury.
POLIO — 3 types of live polio virus, magnesium chloride, amino acid, polysorbate 80, purified water, neomycin, sulphate, streptomycin, penicillin and monkey kidney cell cultures.
MENINGITIS C — meningococcal group C oligosaccharide and corynebacterium, diphteriae crm protein (fails to disclose what vaccine is cultured on), aluminium phosphate, sodium chloride and water.
MMR — live measles virus, live mumps virus, live rubella virus, chick embryo, human foetal cells, neomycin, sorbitol, gelatine.
HEPATITIS B — Hepatitis B virus gene, aluminium hydroxide, mercury, formaldehyde. For the genetically engineered vaccine: aluminium hydrochloride, sodium chloride and mercury.
INFLUENZA — Influenza virus, haemaglutinin and neuraminidase antigens A and B strains, gelatine, mercury, formaldehyde, sodium chloride, mashed chick embryos, neomycin.

A lot of people tell me that vaccines no longer contain mercury and are therefore safe. However, vaccines do contain Thimerosal, a mercury compound. Even if the levels of Thimerosal in a single vaccine is low, children are now being exposed to higher levels through combination vaccines. For example:
The FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research (CBER) began by adding up the total amount of mercury given to children through vaccines in the U.S. immunization schedule. Thimerosal was present in over 30 licensed vaccines in the U.S. in concentrations of 0.003% to 0.01%. According to the agency's calculations, an infant six months old, receiving all vaccine doses on schedule, would receive:
75 micrograms of mercury from three doses of DTP,75 micrograms from three doses of Hib, and37.5 micrograms from three doses of hepatitis B vaccine;
for a total of 187.5 micrograms of mercury.

The presence of mercury in vaccines and the other foreign agents that are also introduced into the body through vaccines have been linked to autism and other autoimmune diseases.

If you decide that your child will still benefit from vaccines, then there are actions you can take to lessen the risks associated with these shots. These actions include:
- Giving your child certain vitamins the day before, day of, and day after the vaccine. (100mg. vitamin C, 500 mg calcium and 50 mg vitamin B6). - Giving your child only one vaccine per visit. If your child is to receive a combination vaccine, such as MMR, request that the single vaccines are given instead of the combination.
- Ask to see the insert label of each vaccine. Check for yourself to make sure that your child is not receiving a vaccine that is high in mercury.
- Give your child only the vaccines that are most necessary and omit the unnecessary and potentially dangerous ones.
- Continue to educate and research more on vaccinations and if they are right for your child.

Some great resources for research are:
Dispelling Vaccination Myths
Vaccination Liberation Site
Well Being Journal
Vaccination Classes
Yahoo Group on Vaccines
Should I Vaccinate My Child?
And finally, a funny video on ingredients in vaccines:



And no, I haven't forgotten about the connection between AIDS and the polio vaccine. Stay tuned for Vaccinations, Part III in which I will talk about this connection.
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Friday, February 02, 2007

Fantastic Friday: On a Plateau

Well, it's Fantastic Friday, week four, and things are not Fantastic.

Weight: You can basically take last week's post and repeat, except replace Doritos with Pizza. But this week I am trying something new. I have to lose this weight, I really do, and now I am fed up with myself enough where I am going to do something about it. So, for my Future MILF info: This week I gained none but lost none, and I ate pizza a lot and didn't follow my points. But I did exercise for an hour each day. Brings total weight loss to 9lbs.

House: Pretty easy, thanks again to FlyLady. Yesterday I got a lot of work done, including cleaning out the wood stove in the living room and wow what a difference! House is guest ready.

Finances: Right now I am applying like crazy to second shift jobs and the Knight is applying to deliver newspapers. If we get these jobs we will double our income and be able to attack our debt, as Dave Ramsey advises.

Environment: Still haven't gotten the recycling system down. But that is definitely on the list of things to do this weekend. As far as living the Compact Life, I still haven't bought anything new except for the things I've already mentioned but I've hit a slight snag. I know a really excellent thrift store where we could get great gifts for FIL and SIL, whose birthdays are this month. But the Knight does not want to get "used" things for his sister and his father. Since it is his family, I let him win this won. I still think we should have at least looked at the shop, but oh well.

Well this is kind of a short post but the Mermaid is wanting lots of cuddles today so it will have to do.
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Well, Duh!

Ever see or hear something and think, Well, Duh!

This morning on the AOL welcome screen this headline caught my eye:

"Global Warming Likely Our Fault, Scientists Say"

No Kidding. And here I was blaming the Giraffe.

From the article:

International scientists and officials hailed a report Friday saying that global warming is "very likely" caused by man, and that hotter temperatures and rises in sea level "would continue for centuries" no matter how much humans control their pollution.
The head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
Rajendra Pachauri, called it a "very impressive document that goes several steps beyond previous research."
And the video:



Am I missing something here? Can someone please enlighten me on why this is new news?
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