Tuesday, October 13, 2009
6-Year-Old Scout Suspended for Bringing Knife-Fork-Spoon Utensil to School - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com
Monday, October 12, 2009
World won't end in 2012 Mayans insist
MEXICO CITY (Oct. 11) — Apolinario Chile Pixtun is tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the Mayan calendar supposedly "running out" on Dec. 21, 2012. After all, it's not the end of the world.
Or is it?
Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. "I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff."
It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood's "2012" opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.
At Cornell University, Ann Martin, who runs the "Curious? Ask an Astronomer" Web site, says people are scared.
"It's too bad that we're getting e-mails from fourth-graders who are saying that they're too young to die," Martin said. "We had a mother of two young children who was afraid she wouldn't live to see them grow up."
Chile Pixtun, a Guatemalan, says the doomsday theories spring from Western, not Mayan ideas.
A significant time period for the Mayas does end on the date, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years.
But most archaeologists, astronomers and Maya say the only thing likely to hit Earth is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials such as one on the History Channel which mixes "predictions" from Nostradamus and the Mayas and asks: "Is 2012 the year the cosmic clock finally winds down to zero days, zero hope?"
It may sound all too much like other doomsday scenarios of recent decades — the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, the Jupiter Effect or "Planet X." But this one has some grains of archaeological basis.
One of them is Monument Six.
Found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico during highway construction in the 1960s, the stone tablet almost didn't survive; the site was largely paved over and parts of the tablet were looted.
It's unique in that the remaining parts contain the equivalent of the date 2012. The inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.
However — shades of Indiana Jones — erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible.
Archaeologist Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University interprets the last eroded glyphs as maybe saying, "He will descend from the sky."
Spooky, perhaps, but Bernal notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 — including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.
And anyway, Mayas in the drought-stricken Yucatan peninsula have bigger worries than 2012.
"If I went to some Mayan-speaking communities and asked people what is going to happen in 2012, they wouldn't have any idea," said Jose Huchim, a Yucatan Mayan archaeologist. "That the world is going to end? They wouldn't believe you. We have real concerns these days, like rain."
The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy
Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and the 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, 2012.
"It's a special anniversary of creation," said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin. "The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six."
Bernal suggests that apocalypse is "a very Western, Christian" concept projected onto the Maya, perhaps because Western myths are "exhausted."
If it were all mythology, perhaps it could be written off.
But some say the Maya knew another secret: the Earth's axis wobbles, slightly changing the alignment of the stars every year. Once every 25,800 years, the sun lines up with the center of our Milky Way galaxy on a winter solstice, the sun's lowest point in the horizon.
That will happen on Dec. 21, 2012, when the sun appears to rise in the same spot where the bright center of galaxy sets.
Another spooky coincidence?
"The question I would ask these guys is, so what?" says Phil Plait, an astronomer who runs the "Bad Astronomy" blog. He says the alignment doesn't fall precisely in 2012, and distant stars exert no force that could harm Earth.
"They're really super-duper trying to find anything astronomical they can to fit that date of 2012," Plait said.
But author John Major Jenkins says his two-decade study of Mayan ruins indicate the Maya were aware of the alignment and attached great importance to it.
"If we want to honor and respect how the Maya think about this, then we would say that the Maya viewed 2012, as all cycle endings, as a time of transformation and renewal," said Jenkins.
As the Internet gained popularity in the 1990s, so did word of the "fateful" date, and some began worrying about 2012 disasters the Mayas never dreamed of.
Author Lawrence Joseph says a peak in explosive storms on the surface of the sun could knock out North America's power grid for years, triggering food shortages, water scarcity — a collapse of civilization. Solar peaks occur about every 11 years, but Joseph says there's evidence the 2012 peak could be "a lulu."
While pressing governments to install protection for power grids, Joseph counsels readers not to "use 2012 as an excuse to not live in a healthy, responsible fashion. I mean, don't let the credit cards go up."
Another History Channel program titled "Decoding the Past: Doomsday 2012: End of Days" says a galactic alignment or magnetic disturbances could somehow trigger a "pole shift."
"The entire mantle of the earth would shift in a matter of days, perhaps hours, changing the position of the north and south poles, causing worldwide disaster," a narrator proclaims. "Earthquakes would rock every continent, massive tsunamis would inundate coastal cities. It would be the ultimate planetary catastrophe."
The idea apparently originates with a 19th century Frenchman, Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, a priest-turned-archaeologist who got it from his study of ancient Mayan and Aztec texts.
Scientists say that, at best, the poles might change location by one degree over a million years, with no sign that it would start in 2012.
While long discredited, Brasseur de Bourbourg proves one thing: Westerners have been trying for more than a century to pin doomsday scenarios on the Maya. And while fascinated by ancient lore, advocates seldom examine more recent experiences with apocalypse predictions.
"No one who's writing in now seems to remember that the last time we thought the world was going to end, it didn't," says Martin, the astronomy webmaster. "There doesn't seem to be a lot of memory that things were fine the last time around."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Or is it?
Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. "I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff."
It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood's "2012" opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.
At Cornell University, Ann Martin, who runs the "Curious? Ask an Astronomer" Web site, says people are scared.
"It's too bad that we're getting e-mails from fourth-graders who are saying that they're too young to die," Martin said. "We had a mother of two young children who was afraid she wouldn't live to see them grow up."
Chile Pixtun, a Guatemalan, says the doomsday theories spring from Western, not Mayan ideas.
A significant time period for the Mayas does end on the date, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years.
But most archaeologists, astronomers and Maya say the only thing likely to hit Earth is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials such as one on the History Channel which mixes "predictions" from Nostradamus and the Mayas and asks: "Is 2012 the year the cosmic clock finally winds down to zero days, zero hope?"
It may sound all too much like other doomsday scenarios of recent decades — the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, the Jupiter Effect or "Planet X." But this one has some grains of archaeological basis.
One of them is Monument Six.
Found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico during highway construction in the 1960s, the stone tablet almost didn't survive; the site was largely paved over and parts of the tablet were looted.
It's unique in that the remaining parts contain the equivalent of the date 2012. The inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.
However — shades of Indiana Jones — erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible.
Archaeologist Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University interprets the last eroded glyphs as maybe saying, "He will descend from the sky."
Spooky, perhaps, but Bernal notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 — including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.
And anyway, Mayas in the drought-stricken Yucatan peninsula have bigger worries than 2012.
"If I went to some Mayan-speaking communities and asked people what is going to happen in 2012, they wouldn't have any idea," said Jose Huchim, a Yucatan Mayan archaeologist. "That the world is going to end? They wouldn't believe you. We have real concerns these days, like rain."
The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy
Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and the 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, 2012.
"It's a special anniversary of creation," said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin. "The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six."
Bernal suggests that apocalypse is "a very Western, Christian" concept projected onto the Maya, perhaps because Western myths are "exhausted."
If it were all mythology, perhaps it could be written off.
But some say the Maya knew another secret: the Earth's axis wobbles, slightly changing the alignment of the stars every year. Once every 25,800 years, the sun lines up with the center of our Milky Way galaxy on a winter solstice, the sun's lowest point in the horizon.
That will happen on Dec. 21, 2012, when the sun appears to rise in the same spot where the bright center of galaxy sets.
Another spooky coincidence?
"The question I would ask these guys is, so what?" says Phil Plait, an astronomer who runs the "Bad Astronomy" blog. He says the alignment doesn't fall precisely in 2012, and distant stars exert no force that could harm Earth.
"They're really super-duper trying to find anything astronomical they can to fit that date of 2012," Plait said.
But author John Major Jenkins says his two-decade study of Mayan ruins indicate the Maya were aware of the alignment and attached great importance to it.
"If we want to honor and respect how the Maya think about this, then we would say that the Maya viewed 2012, as all cycle endings, as a time of transformation and renewal," said Jenkins.
As the Internet gained popularity in the 1990s, so did word of the "fateful" date, and some began worrying about 2012 disasters the Mayas never dreamed of.
Author Lawrence Joseph says a peak in explosive storms on the surface of the sun could knock out North America's power grid for years, triggering food shortages, water scarcity — a collapse of civilization. Solar peaks occur about every 11 years, but Joseph says there's evidence the 2012 peak could be "a lulu."
While pressing governments to install protection for power grids, Joseph counsels readers not to "use 2012 as an excuse to not live in a healthy, responsible fashion. I mean, don't let the credit cards go up."
Another History Channel program titled "Decoding the Past: Doomsday 2012: End of Days" says a galactic alignment or magnetic disturbances could somehow trigger a "pole shift."
"The entire mantle of the earth would shift in a matter of days, perhaps hours, changing the position of the north and south poles, causing worldwide disaster," a narrator proclaims. "Earthquakes would rock every continent, massive tsunamis would inundate coastal cities. It would be the ultimate planetary catastrophe."
The idea apparently originates with a 19th century Frenchman, Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, a priest-turned-archaeologist who got it from his study of ancient Mayan and Aztec texts.
Scientists say that, at best, the poles might change location by one degree over a million years, with no sign that it would start in 2012.
While long discredited, Brasseur de Bourbourg proves one thing: Westerners have been trying for more than a century to pin doomsday scenarios on the Maya. And while fascinated by ancient lore, advocates seldom examine more recent experiences with apocalypse predictions.
"No one who's writing in now seems to remember that the last time we thought the world was going to end, it didn't," says Martin, the astronomy webmaster. "There doesn't seem to be a lot of memory that things were fine the last time around."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Baby snatched. Yikes!
News Alerts
The latest updates sent straight to your inbox.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 1) - Eric Peterson heard a bang on his door in his quiet Nashville neighborhood and opened it to a woman covered in blood.
She pleaded with him to go rescue her children. She said she had left them at her house a few doors down to get help after a woman stabbed her with a kitchen knife. By the time Peterson got to the home, the baby was gone.
A woman posing as an immigration agent snatched a newborn from a Nashville, Tenn., home and repeatedly stabbed the baby's mother when she tried to intervene, authorities said Wednesday. Maria Gurrolla, 30, told reporters she had never seen the kidnapper before. "I need my baby back," Gurrolla, shown, said in Spanish.
Authorities are searching for the baby boy and the woman his mother says was posing as an immigration agent and snatched him from her home.
Maria Gurrolla told reporters she had never seen the woman before she showed up at her door Tuesday evening. She said the woman got a knife from the home and stabbed her several times.
"I need my baby back," the 30-year-old mother said Wednesday through an interpreter outside Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Gurrolla said she did not see the woman take the baby because she ran to Peterson's home. Peterson told The Associated Press she was "covered from her head to her toe with blood" with gashes on her neck and upper chest.
She asked him to save her children from the "lady in the kitchen" who had a butcher knife. When he got there, he saw a woman speeding away from the home. He brought Gurrolla's 3-year-old daughter back safely to his house, but found no baby, he said.
Gurrolla, who had a long scratch on her face, said the woman, whom she described as white and "robust", did not say anything about wanting to take the baby, who was on the sofa.
"She said she was an immigration officer and she was there to arrest her," said Gurrolla's cousin, serving as interpreter. It was not clear if Gurrolla was an immigrant, but police said she has lived in Nashville for at least 10 years. The cousin said the family did not want to discuss her legal status.
Police issued an Amber Alert with a picture and description of a 30-year-old woman. They questioned a woman matching the description in Buffalo, N.Y., but determined she wasn't involved.
Dr. William Dutton said Gurrolla had a penetrating chest wound and her lung had collapsed. He said she also had deep stab wounds to her neck, but was in stable condition. He said she still has physical signs that she gave birth recently. He described the birth as complicated but declined to elaborate.
A blue yard sign outside Gurrolla's home in the community of mostly single-family brick houses in south Nashville announces, "IT'S A BOY!" Police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford said she doesn't know whether Gurrolla was targeted because of the sign.
Peterson said as he was making his way to Gurrolla's house, a woman with a ponytail was behind the wheel of a gray 2-door Honda that sped away from the home.
As he approached Gurrolla's yard, a young girl in a diaper walked from around the back of the house. He left her with Gurrolla and the woman he lives with and headed back to look for the baby.
He sent his pet pit bull in first to check things out, then went in through the back door.
"As I preceded into the kitchen, I saw a puddle of blood, a big puddle of blood," he said.
He searched everywhere but found no baby. When he told Gurrolla, that's when she first started to cry. Police said the baby's father was at the home later Tuesday night, and Sharon Kimble, who lives with Peterson, said the toddler's father came later to pick her up.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said investigators were interviewing Gurrolla and her family again about the abduction.
A sketch artist is working to come up with a drawing of the kidnapper's face.
"We don't have any indication at this point that this is anything but a stranger child abduction," Mumford said. "We're not ruling out anything, but we have no reason to believe that the family is not being completely truthful."
Mumford said police are retracing the mother's activities before the attack, such as a visit to a local Walmart. Hoping to find a witness, police released a photo of a car that was parked near Gurrolla's at the Walmart and later followed her down the road.
Aaron asked the public for tips on the case and said it was a top priority for police in the area.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-09-30 11:04:32
The latest updates sent straight to your inbox.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 1) - Eric Peterson heard a bang on his door in his quiet Nashville neighborhood and opened it to a woman covered in blood.
She pleaded with him to go rescue her children. She said she had left them at her house a few doors down to get help after a woman stabbed her with a kitchen knife. By the time Peterson got to the home, the baby was gone.
A woman posing as an immigration agent snatched a newborn from a Nashville, Tenn., home and repeatedly stabbed the baby's mother when she tried to intervene, authorities said Wednesday. Maria Gurrolla, 30, told reporters she had never seen the kidnapper before. "I need my baby back," Gurrolla, shown, said in Spanish.
Authorities are searching for the baby boy and the woman his mother says was posing as an immigration agent and snatched him from her home.
Maria Gurrolla told reporters she had never seen the woman before she showed up at her door Tuesday evening. She said the woman got a knife from the home and stabbed her several times.
"I need my baby back," the 30-year-old mother said Wednesday through an interpreter outside Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Gurrolla said she did not see the woman take the baby because she ran to Peterson's home. Peterson told The Associated Press she was "covered from her head to her toe with blood" with gashes on her neck and upper chest.
She asked him to save her children from the "lady in the kitchen" who had a butcher knife. When he got there, he saw a woman speeding away from the home. He brought Gurrolla's 3-year-old daughter back safely to his house, but found no baby, he said.
Gurrolla, who had a long scratch on her face, said the woman, whom she described as white and "robust", did not say anything about wanting to take the baby, who was on the sofa.
"She said she was an immigration officer and she was there to arrest her," said Gurrolla's cousin, serving as interpreter. It was not clear if Gurrolla was an immigrant, but police said she has lived in Nashville for at least 10 years. The cousin said the family did not want to discuss her legal status.
Police issued an Amber Alert with a picture and description of a 30-year-old woman. They questioned a woman matching the description in Buffalo, N.Y., but determined she wasn't involved.
Dr. William Dutton said Gurrolla had a penetrating chest wound and her lung had collapsed. He said she also had deep stab wounds to her neck, but was in stable condition. He said she still has physical signs that she gave birth recently. He described the birth as complicated but declined to elaborate.
A blue yard sign outside Gurrolla's home in the community of mostly single-family brick houses in south Nashville announces, "IT'S A BOY!" Police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford said she doesn't know whether Gurrolla was targeted because of the sign.
Peterson said as he was making his way to Gurrolla's house, a woman with a ponytail was behind the wheel of a gray 2-door Honda that sped away from the home.
As he approached Gurrolla's yard, a young girl in a diaper walked from around the back of the house. He left her with Gurrolla and the woman he lives with and headed back to look for the baby.
He sent his pet pit bull in first to check things out, then went in through the back door.
"As I preceded into the kitchen, I saw a puddle of blood, a big puddle of blood," he said.
He searched everywhere but found no baby. When he told Gurrolla, that's when she first started to cry. Police said the baby's father was at the home later Tuesday night, and Sharon Kimble, who lives with Peterson, said the toddler's father came later to pick her up.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said investigators were interviewing Gurrolla and her family again about the abduction.
A sketch artist is working to come up with a drawing of the kidnapper's face.
"We don't have any indication at this point that this is anything but a stranger child abduction," Mumford said. "We're not ruling out anything, but we have no reason to believe that the family is not being completely truthful."
Mumford said police are retracing the mother's activities before the attack, such as a visit to a local Walmart. Hoping to find a witness, police released a photo of a car that was parked near Gurrolla's at the Walmart and later followed her down the road.
Aaron asked the public for tips on the case and said it was a top priority for police in the area.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-09-30 11:04:32
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sick Kids Make Me Sad.
I love my friends and I want the best for them. I love being a mom and I want the world for my children. We have so many friends who have beautiful children that are not blessed with good health. It makes me sad. We know someone whos baby just had surgery at like 3 months for a heart condition. A small boy at our church was diagnosed with Moyamoya a very rare brain disorder.My bosses daughter has Ausbergers. We know someone who has a daughter with MD. Another just had a baby tested for Cistic Fibrosis. I can't even tell you the number of friends with Autistic children. My sister in law has a nephew that was born with Downs Syndrome. My brother's 17 year old best friend just got diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. Ack! The craziest part? So many of these children are under the age of five. When we got the call about my brother's friend I hung up and with tears in my eyes had a serious conversation with my husband. Do we have a right in this day and age to have our children grow up healthy? Is it to much to expect our kids to reach adulthood unscathed? Maybe because so much of this is fresh in my mind I am overreacting. I am a girl after all. I just really am a little shaken by the fact that so many of the sweet kids we know are starting out their lives with such a big issue over their heads. Childhood is about chasing butterflies and frogs and eating ice cream not doctors visits and therepy sessions.
I feel a little helpless sometimes. I want to help but don't know how. I wish I could start a foundation or fund research. Rainbows in Wichita recently filed bankruptcy. Can you believe it? A lot of my friends lost their kids school funding. Someday, when I win the lottery (haha) I am going to work on helping children with disabilities. I have this incredible pull towards these families. My thoughts and prayers go out to you. I love you and want you to know that there are people out there willing to fight the fight with you. I got your back ladies!
I seem to blog about this a lot. I promise I am not all sadness and gloom. It is just something I am very passionate about. Especially recently. I should really proofread this but I probably won't so I am sorry if it is rambling and scattered. Love you but I should get back to work.........
I feel a little helpless sometimes. I want to help but don't know how. I wish I could start a foundation or fund research. Rainbows in Wichita recently filed bankruptcy. Can you believe it? A lot of my friends lost their kids school funding. Someday, when I win the lottery (haha) I am going to work on helping children with disabilities. I have this incredible pull towards these families. My thoughts and prayers go out to you. I love you and want you to know that there are people out there willing to fight the fight with you. I got your back ladies!
I seem to blog about this a lot. I promise I am not all sadness and gloom. It is just something I am very passionate about. Especially recently. I should really proofread this but I probably won't so I am sorry if it is rambling and scattered. Love you but I should get back to work.........
Friday, September 11, 2009
Everyday life and changes
Yes, I know, I have disapeared. I went back to work and life got crazy. School, jobs, kids, schedules, apparently my family still requires food. I don't know how you working moms do it. I am EXHAUSTED!!! Big V and little V are great! Valerie has been going to school half days but soon switches to full days. Nessa gets to start after her birthday and can not wait to go to big girl school with sissy. I am working half days right now but after they are both in school I am going back to working full-time. It makes me really sad. I love having my afternoons with the girls. When I am at work all day I miss them like crazy. ugh! BUT we need the extra income for now and I have a great boss. I work in the same building as my husband. We are right acroos the hall. So I can't complain too much, I suppose.
I have been planning Nessa's party. We decided on rice krispie treat cake. I am going to make it pink. Yum! My baby is getting so big so fast.
We had my husband's family reunion last weekend. It was a blast. We stayed out too late and when we got in the car I heard a little voice in the backseat..."Whew, I am so tired. It is almost bednight already" MIDnight was quickly appoaching so we whisked them home. We got to see his grandparents. They live a few states away and so we only see them about once or twice a year.
The Fair is coming! We take the girls every year. They are really excited even if they can't remember what exactly it is. I get fifty questions a day.....
"when are we going to the circus again?"
"the Fair, baby"
"whatever"
"What day is the parade?"
"it isn't a parade, it is the fair"
"whatever"
That is my four year olds new favorite word by the way.
Home improvement projects have been piling up for some time now. About two weeks ago my husband and I sat down and had a long talk about what we needed to get done. Then, we did it. Well, we are in the process of doing it. Steven has been amazing. He has fixed both of our toilets, a bathroom sink, tore out the kitchen cabinets, a ton of sheetrock removal, put up insulation, etc....We also replaced our bathroom vanities and our oven. Our bed fell apart and we knew someone with an extra in storage. What a lifesaver. Still on the agenda is rehanging a TON of sheetrock and then replacing all the kitchen counter tops and cabinets. After the begining of the year I think we are planning on replacing the floors. Then we should be about done with all the house projects on the inside. YAY!
So life in our house is crazy as always. How about yours? Anybody know any good maids that work for free? I need one. hahaha. Well, it is my bedtime so good night all!
I have been planning Nessa's party. We decided on rice krispie treat cake. I am going to make it pink. Yum! My baby is getting so big so fast.
We had my husband's family reunion last weekend. It was a blast. We stayed out too late and when we got in the car I heard a little voice in the backseat..."Whew, I am so tired. It is almost bednight already" MIDnight was quickly appoaching so we whisked them home. We got to see his grandparents. They live a few states away and so we only see them about once or twice a year.
The Fair is coming! We take the girls every year. They are really excited even if they can't remember what exactly it is. I get fifty questions a day.....
"when are we going to the circus again?"
"the Fair, baby"
"whatever"
"What day is the parade?"
"it isn't a parade, it is the fair"
"whatever"
That is my four year olds new favorite word by the way.
Home improvement projects have been piling up for some time now. About two weeks ago my husband and I sat down and had a long talk about what we needed to get done. Then, we did it. Well, we are in the process of doing it. Steven has been amazing. He has fixed both of our toilets, a bathroom sink, tore out the kitchen cabinets, a ton of sheetrock removal, put up insulation, etc....We also replaced our bathroom vanities and our oven. Our bed fell apart and we knew someone with an extra in storage. What a lifesaver. Still on the agenda is rehanging a TON of sheetrock and then replacing all the kitchen counter tops and cabinets. After the begining of the year I think we are planning on replacing the floors. Then we should be about done with all the house projects on the inside. YAY!
So life in our house is crazy as always. How about yours? Anybody know any good maids that work for free? I need one. hahaha. Well, it is my bedtime so good night all!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Where do parents rights start? End?
A Florida mom tried to rein in a new school-dismissal policy -- literally.
A new parking policy at Crystal Springs Elementary School in Jacksonville, Fla., requires parents to wait in line, inside their cars, while the students are released one-by-one. Fed up, one mom showed up on horseback, citing fuel costs and time spent waiting as the reason for her four-legged mode of transportation.
"I don't have the funds in my budget to sit in lines for an hour to two and a half hours to wait for my daughter," said the woman, identified only as Deidre by news station WJXT.
Deidre, who said she and her daughter often ride horses together, was prevented from taking the child home and was ushered off the property by police.
"Our first priority is the safety of our children, and during our arrival/dismissal, their safety is first and foremost a priority on campus," said Principal Jaime Johnson, according to WJXT.
Deirdre said Johnson refused to release her daughter, and in fact, pulled the girl back from her mother. "(Johnson) would not turn loose of my daughter's hand," Deidre told WJXT.
The principal stated that she did not think it was safe for the child to ride on horseback through the streets around the school, many of which are under construction.
Instead, a police officer drove the girl home, where she waited alone until her mother arrived.
Should the school have released the girl to her mother on horseback?
A new parking policy at Crystal Springs Elementary School in Jacksonville, Fla., requires parents to wait in line, inside their cars, while the students are released one-by-one. Fed up, one mom showed up on horseback, citing fuel costs and time spent waiting as the reason for her four-legged mode of transportation.
"I don't have the funds in my budget to sit in lines for an hour to two and a half hours to wait for my daughter," said the woman, identified only as Deidre by news station WJXT.
Deidre, who said she and her daughter often ride horses together, was prevented from taking the child home and was ushered off the property by police.
"Our first priority is the safety of our children, and during our arrival/dismissal, their safety is first and foremost a priority on campus," said Principal Jaime Johnson, according to WJXT.
Deirdre said Johnson refused to release her daughter, and in fact, pulled the girl back from her mother. "(Johnson) would not turn loose of my daughter's hand," Deidre told WJXT.
The principal stated that she did not think it was safe for the child to ride on horseback through the streets around the school, many of which are under construction.
Instead, a police officer drove the girl home, where she waited alone until her mother arrived.
Should the school have released the girl to her mother on horseback?
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Random Thoughts Everyone Has.......
Too funny not to share.......
Random Thoughts of the Day:
I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
That's enough, Nickelback.
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger..
The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.
Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
There is a great need for sarcasm font.
Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can recognize their own image.
How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
Was learning cursive really necessary?
Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say"..
I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.
Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
I love the sense of camaraderie when a n entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories.
Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.
I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.
Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.
Random Thoughts of the Day:
I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
That's enough, Nickelback.
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger..
The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.
Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
There is a great need for sarcasm font.
Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can recognize their own image.
How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
Was learning cursive really necessary?
Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say"..
I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.
Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
I love the sense of camaraderie when a n entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories.
Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.
I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.
Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Autistic Man Hacked Into American Gov't Systems
I am back to posting news stories. I thought this one was a little crazy. I have heard a lot of negative feedback on this story written by Kaiser Hwang. So much of it fueled by ignorance of the autistic condition. Let me know what you think.
Forty-three-year-old Londoner Gary McKinnon is facing extradition to the U.S. (as well as up to 60 years in a U.S. prison) if convicted of hacking into government computers, reports the BBC. He also has Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism disorder. After numerous failed attempts to have her son tried in the U.K., McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp is pleading directly to President Obama for help, having sent him a letter signed by 40 Members of British Parliament asking him to "bring this shameful episode to an end." Speaking outside the High Court last week, she added, "I'm just praying, please hear us, Obama, because I know you would do the right thing."
McKinnon claims he was simply looking for suppressed UFO-related documents, and that the attacks were in no way malicious. Still, laws were broken, and two judges found that extradition was the proper response, but also admitted that extradition and prison in the U.S. for the handicapped McKinnon might be "very difficult indeed." With the U.S.-U.K. extradition treaty recently failing to get a revision, it's unknown exactly what Obama's choices are in the matter. But Sharp is hopeful. Outside the High Court, she told reporters, "Obama wouldn't have this. He doesn't want the first guy extradited for computer misuse to be a guy with Asperger's, a UFO guy." [From: BBC News]
Tags: aspergers, government, hack, international law, InternationalLaw, law, top, ufo, uk
Forty-three-year-old Londoner Gary McKinnon is facing extradition to the U.S. (as well as up to 60 years in a U.S. prison) if convicted of hacking into government computers, reports the BBC. He also has Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism disorder. After numerous failed attempts to have her son tried in the U.K., McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp is pleading directly to President Obama for help, having sent him a letter signed by 40 Members of British Parliament asking him to "bring this shameful episode to an end." Speaking outside the High Court last week, she added, "I'm just praying, please hear us, Obama, because I know you would do the right thing."
McKinnon claims he was simply looking for suppressed UFO-related documents, and that the attacks were in no way malicious. Still, laws were broken, and two judges found that extradition was the proper response, but also admitted that extradition and prison in the U.S. for the handicapped McKinnon might be "very difficult indeed." With the U.S.-U.K. extradition treaty recently failing to get a revision, it's unknown exactly what Obama's choices are in the matter. But Sharp is hopeful. Outside the High Court, she told reporters, "Obama wouldn't have this. He doesn't want the first guy extradited for computer misuse to be a guy with Asperger's, a UFO guy." [From: BBC News]
Tags: aspergers, government, hack, international law, InternationalLaw, law, top, ufo, uk
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
New study on Autism
Hey blogger moms! I read this study and was curious. Do you think that what your children eat affects their behavior? My children do not even have autism and I think it makes a difference. I would be interested in your opinion. Thank you!
Jenny McCarthy is wrong, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic.
Diet does not contribute to autism.
The autism activist who started her career as a model and Playboy playmate has made a crusade out of her belief that food allergies and childhood vaccines are major contributors to the rising number of children diagnosed with the neurological disorder.
However, Mayo Clinic researchers tracked 124 kids with autism for more than 18 years and compared them with "typical" children. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC News' senior medical editor, was emphatic in reporting the researchers' conclusions.
"These findings are very conclusive," she said on the "Today" show following the release of the study Monday in the journal Pediatrics. "There is no link between illnesses of the gut and the signs and symptoms we see in children with autism."
This is good news for parents, she told viewers. "Because its means if you're putting your child on a restricted diet, or if you're doing colonics (which is a type of enema), if you're using extra vitamins and nutrients, and you're spending a lot of money and putting your child through that, there is no reason to," she said.
Children should only be put on wheat- or dairy-free diets after undergoing diagnostic tests, Dr. Samar H. Ibrahim told The New York Times. She is a pediatric fellow in gastroenterology and an instructor in pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic, as well as one of the principal authors of the report.
"There is actual no trial that has proven that a gluten-free and casein-free diet improves autism," she said. "The diets are not easy to follow and sometimes cause nutritional deficiencies."
Physicians listed with the advocacy organization Defeat Autism Now stick to their belief in the link between food and autism.
Dr. Rochelle Neally, a chiropractor at the Long Beach Autism Center in California questions large-scale medical studies. They are often backed by the big money of monolithic pharmaceutical companies," she said.
"What they call 'scientific' are these expensive double-blind tests," she said. "I tend to believe what I see in my office and what I've seen at the autism conferences I've attended for the past 10 years."
What she sees, she said, are often dramatic improvements in children's behavior when they are placed on a special diet. "The proof is in the pudding," she added.
The gluten-free pudding, that is.
That's the problem, according to traditional researchers. Practitioners such as Neally base their conclusions on anecdotal evidence rather than hard scientific investigation. "I think there's room for both," said Neally.
However, she said parents with autistic children are increasingly unsatisfied with science that comes without answers. "Parents are rebelling against traditional medicine," Neally said.
Dr. Eileen Comia, M.D., in Bloomfield, Conn., is another physician allied with Defeat Autism Now. She said smaller-scale studies are needed. "Any doctor who says there's no link between diet and autism hasn't read a single article on the subject," she said.
Actually, believers in the link between mind and tummy have read too many articles -- inaccurate ones, Dr. Patricia Manning Courtney, medical director of the Kelly O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told US News and World Report.
A new study shows that Autism and food issues are not linked.
"A couple of highly publicized cases of autism and loose stools in the 1990s led to an impression that children with autism had a higher rate of GI [gastrointestinal] dysfunction," she said. "It wasn't well characterized, but that got the story onto the national scene."
There is a link between diet and autism, Ibrahim said The New York Times, but not the one McCarthy and Defeat Autism Now physicians believe. Children with autism are often picky eaters. With limited diets, they often have more cases of constipation.
Restricting their diet choices even more than they do themselves only makes the problem worse, she told the paper.
"We did find that two specific problems -- constipation and feeding issues -- were more common in children with autism," Ibrahim told WebMD Health News.
Jenny McCarthy is wrong, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic.
Diet does not contribute to autism.
The autism activist who started her career as a model and Playboy playmate has made a crusade out of her belief that food allergies and childhood vaccines are major contributors to the rising number of children diagnosed with the neurological disorder.
However, Mayo Clinic researchers tracked 124 kids with autism for more than 18 years and compared them with "typical" children. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC News' senior medical editor, was emphatic in reporting the researchers' conclusions.
"These findings are very conclusive," she said on the "Today" show following the release of the study Monday in the journal Pediatrics. "There is no link between illnesses of the gut and the signs and symptoms we see in children with autism."
This is good news for parents, she told viewers. "Because its means if you're putting your child on a restricted diet, or if you're doing colonics (which is a type of enema), if you're using extra vitamins and nutrients, and you're spending a lot of money and putting your child through that, there is no reason to," she said.
Children should only be put on wheat- or dairy-free diets after undergoing diagnostic tests, Dr. Samar H. Ibrahim told The New York Times. She is a pediatric fellow in gastroenterology and an instructor in pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic, as well as one of the principal authors of the report.
"There is actual no trial that has proven that a gluten-free and casein-free diet improves autism," she said. "The diets are not easy to follow and sometimes cause nutritional deficiencies."
Physicians listed with the advocacy organization Defeat Autism Now stick to their belief in the link between food and autism.
Dr. Rochelle Neally, a chiropractor at the Long Beach Autism Center in California questions large-scale medical studies. They are often backed by the big money of monolithic pharmaceutical companies," she said.
"What they call 'scientific' are these expensive double-blind tests," she said. "I tend to believe what I see in my office and what I've seen at the autism conferences I've attended for the past 10 years."
What she sees, she said, are often dramatic improvements in children's behavior when they are placed on a special diet. "The proof is in the pudding," she added.
The gluten-free pudding, that is.
That's the problem, according to traditional researchers. Practitioners such as Neally base their conclusions on anecdotal evidence rather than hard scientific investigation. "I think there's room for both," said Neally.
However, she said parents with autistic children are increasingly unsatisfied with science that comes without answers. "Parents are rebelling against traditional medicine," Neally said.
Dr. Eileen Comia, M.D., in Bloomfield, Conn., is another physician allied with Defeat Autism Now. She said smaller-scale studies are needed. "Any doctor who says there's no link between diet and autism hasn't read a single article on the subject," she said.
Actually, believers in the link between mind and tummy have read too many articles -- inaccurate ones, Dr. Patricia Manning Courtney, medical director of the Kelly O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told US News and World Report.
A new study shows that Autism and food issues are not linked.
"A couple of highly publicized cases of autism and loose stools in the 1990s led to an impression that children with autism had a higher rate of GI [gastrointestinal] dysfunction," she said. "It wasn't well characterized, but that got the story onto the national scene."
There is a link between diet and autism, Ibrahim said The New York Times, but not the one McCarthy and Defeat Autism Now physicians believe. Children with autism are often picky eaters. With limited diets, they often have more cases of constipation.
Restricting their diet choices even more than they do themselves only makes the problem worse, she told the paper.
"We did find that two specific problems -- constipation and feeding issues -- were more common in children with autism," Ibrahim told WebMD Health News.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Cabin Cottage Cabbage
We left Wednesday to go to South Dakota. We go every year for a family reunion on my Dad's side of the family. It was a blast. We swam and played washers and ladderball. We ate and laughed and had an all around good time. We stay at a beautiful camp ground right by a huge dam. There is beautiful scenery and cool water. We stay in small cabins with a big deck looking out over the lake. Every night we have a campfire complete with smores, guitar music, drinking and family.
My darling daughter Valerie had a talk with my aunt Donna who was talking about the cottages we were staying in. We have always called them cabins before. She walked around for two days telling people about how nice it was to stay in a cabbage. She got the top bunk in our cabbage. Where was Nana and Papa's cabbage? Was their cabbage like or cabbage? We laughed every time.
She also was old enough this year to participate at the KartTrax trip. They have go-carts, bumper cars and boats and the big kids go every year. The minimum age for most of their rides is four. So, this year Valerie drove her own bumper car. She was barely big enough to reach the levers but she did it and I have never heard her giggle so hard.
Today is our first day back home. I am exhausted but invigorated. I loved it and can't wait for next year.Now, if you will excuse me I have 20 loads of laundry that need done so we don't smell like campfire and dinnertime is sneaking up on me.
My darling daughter Valerie had a talk with my aunt Donna who was talking about the cottages we were staying in. We have always called them cabins before. She walked around for two days telling people about how nice it was to stay in a cabbage. She got the top bunk in our cabbage. Where was Nana and Papa's cabbage? Was their cabbage like or cabbage? We laughed every time.
She also was old enough this year to participate at the KartTrax trip. They have go-carts, bumper cars and boats and the big kids go every year. The minimum age for most of their rides is four. So, this year Valerie drove her own bumper car. She was barely big enough to reach the levers but she did it and I have never heard her giggle so hard.
Today is our first day back home. I am exhausted but invigorated. I loved it and can't wait for next year.Now, if you will excuse me I have 20 loads of laundry that need done so we don't smell like campfire and dinnertime is sneaking up on me.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
I love stories like this.....
It is nice to hear about communities banding together and helping each other out. Love it!
CLARE, Mich. (July 4) - "Cops & Doughnuts" is more than a punchline. It's now a bakery in Michigan — owned by nine full-time employees of the Clare Police Department.
The newly renamed bakery opened Wednesday, offering doughnuts, cookies, muffins, brownies and bread. It also has mugs and T-shirts bearing the "Cops & Doughnuts, 100 Percent Cop-Owned" logo, and phrases including "You Have the Right to Remain Glazed" and "Handcuffs and Cream Puffs."
Officer Al White says the officers were concerned when the Clare City Bakery's owners decided to throw in the towel. The 113-year-old bakery would have become the sixth empty storefront in Clare's three-block downtown.
The officers were on hand for the grand reopening but have hired a manager and will employ local students as staff.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-07-04 13:48:18
CLARE, Mich. (July 4) - "Cops & Doughnuts" is more than a punchline. It's now a bakery in Michigan — owned by nine full-time employees of the Clare Police Department.
The newly renamed bakery opened Wednesday, offering doughnuts, cookies, muffins, brownies and bread. It also has mugs and T-shirts bearing the "Cops & Doughnuts, 100 Percent Cop-Owned" logo, and phrases including "You Have the Right to Remain Glazed" and "Handcuffs and Cream Puffs."
Officer Al White says the officers were concerned when the Clare City Bakery's owners decided to throw in the towel. The 113-year-old bakery would have become the sixth empty storefront in Clare's three-block downtown.
The officers were on hand for the grand reopening but have hired a manager and will employ local students as staff.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-07-04 13:48:18
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The dress I wore to the wedding
So many people have asked me about my dress that I thought I would blog about it. I wore it to the wedding in my previous blog. It is by the brand London Times. It is sooo comfortable as well. I bought it at an ebay store. Pamela Rae Premium Fashion Outlet. She always has the prettiest dresses. If you know what size you are then I definitely recommend her site. All the dresses are amazing quality and so pretty. I have bought from her probably 5 or 6 times and never been disapointed.
http://myworld.ebay.com/pamelarae228
http://myworld.ebay.com/pamelarae228
Monday, June 29, 2009
Photobooth
We went to a friend's wedding and they had a photo booth at their reception. You got to go in and take as many pictures as you want. They print them out and hand you a copy and then at the end of the night, the bride and groom get a cd of all the pictures of their guests. I thought it was the CUTEST idea! Here are some of our pictures. It was an outdoor wedding so we may look a little warm. Yes, my little ham went in and did some herself.
NOTE: For some reason Blogger is cutting these pictures in half. If you click on the pictures it will take you to the page where you can see all of them and other photos from the wedding.
NOTE: For some reason Blogger is cutting these pictures in half. If you click on the pictures it will take you to the page where you can see all of them and other photos from the wedding.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Valerie strikes again....Pow!
So, we have been working on Father's Day cards and getting them out. The other day I was having them write one out to a gpa that lives farther away and I told Valerie that she could put it in the mailbox. So she runs out there and Steven lifts her up so she can reach. She opens the front flap, slides the card in, sticks her little face in there and says, "Please send this to my papa!" Then hops down and runs off.
We were sitting at dinner last night and talking about our pet fish. We had just told the kids about a fish we got to put in Valerie's nursery before she was born. Steven stuck it in the window and it died. Valerie asked us what we did with the fish. I said Daddy had flushed it down the toilet. She looked at Steven with a confused look on her face and says, "You didn't eat it?" He chokes on his food a little and says, "No, you don't eat fish that small baby." I said that when we were kids I had a fish that died but we buried it in the back yard. Valerie whips her little head around and says "Gross, mom. That would make your fish taste like dirt!" I don't think we got through to her....
In other news, Valerie has decided to follow her father around the house and call him old. A LOT! He will yell from the bedroom "I can't find my pants!" Valerie walks by and tells him "Thats cause youare old daddy" He got a pretty wicked sunburn Thursday. He was hobbling around and bumped his knee. "AGH! My knee is killing me." "That is cause you are getting old Dad" I laugh every time. Hasn't stopped being funny yet.
For Father's Day my Mom got my Dad the original Batman movie, with Adam West. Valerie asked if they could watch it too and my dad said that was fine. They could have a movie night.(It is all my kids have talked about for three days by the way!) Valerie grabs the dvd case and says "Oh My Goodness! Is he naked?!" I grab the case and check. "No baby he is wearing tights and a body suit." "Oh, well he kinda looks naked." God help us all.
We were sitting at dinner last night and talking about our pet fish. We had just told the kids about a fish we got to put in Valerie's nursery before she was born. Steven stuck it in the window and it died. Valerie asked us what we did with the fish. I said Daddy had flushed it down the toilet. She looked at Steven with a confused look on her face and says, "You didn't eat it?" He chokes on his food a little and says, "No, you don't eat fish that small baby." I said that when we were kids I had a fish that died but we buried it in the back yard. Valerie whips her little head around and says "Gross, mom. That would make your fish taste like dirt!" I don't think we got through to her....
In other news, Valerie has decided to follow her father around the house and call him old. A LOT! He will yell from the bedroom "I can't find my pants!" Valerie walks by and tells him "Thats cause youare old daddy" He got a pretty wicked sunburn Thursday. He was hobbling around and bumped his knee. "AGH! My knee is killing me." "That is cause you are getting old Dad" I laugh every time. Hasn't stopped being funny yet.
For Father's Day my Mom got my Dad the original Batman movie, with Adam West. Valerie asked if they could watch it too and my dad said that was fine. They could have a movie night.(It is all my kids have talked about for three days by the way!) Valerie grabs the dvd case and says "Oh My Goodness! Is he naked?!" I grab the case and check. "No baby he is wearing tights and a body suit." "Oh, well he kinda looks naked." God help us all.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sad that all of my blogger friends have left me.
I am sorely disapointed in the lack of posts and comments lately ladies. I need my daily belly laughs to get me through the monotony that is my week. Come on now. Post!!!
Friday, June 19, 2009
World Refugee Day 2009
I am looking for the rest of her speech but this moved me to tears and I just had to share.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Recital and life
Haven't blogged lately. My girls had their recital this weekend. They did pretty well. I thought their little costumes were to die for. Went to fight night. Loved it. Rented Rocknrolla and watched it at my Daddy's house on his new big screen. Yay! Came home and watched Underworld:Rise of the Lycans on our 37" tv. Oops, did that a little backwards. Steven ripped out half of our kitchen cabinets so we can tear out the old nasty sheetrock. Ugh. Mostly just hanging out and doing the normal mommy/wife stuff.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
For all you Monty Python fans
NOTE: the offering of sacred shrubberies in front of the sacred word.....
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Why?
Have any of you moms ever had this conversation?
Setting the scene: Driving down the road, a few minutes late(I won't lie), trapped in the car with your kids and nowhere to run.....
Vanessa-"Mommy, what's dat?"
Me-"Daddy's shoes"
Vanessa-Why they Daddy's shoes?
Me-Because he wanted them
Nessa-"Why he want them?"
Me-"He needed them so he asked me to get them"
Nessa-"Why daddy get shoes?"
Me-"he had to have something to wear on his feet"
Nessa-"Why he need somfin' on his feet?"
Me-"Cause everyone wears shoes baby girl"
Nessa-"Why everyone wear shoes?"
Me-"To keep their feet protected so they don't hurt their feet"
Nessa-"Why people hurt their feet?"
Me-"Sometimes people step on something without shoes and that can hurt their feet"
Nessa-"Why they step on somefin'?"
Me-"Ahhhhhhh!!! No more why questions!!!!"
Nessa-"I got boo boo on my feet....."
Setting the scene: Driving down the road, a few minutes late(I won't lie), trapped in the car with your kids and nowhere to run.....
Vanessa-"Mommy, what's dat?"
Me-"Daddy's shoes"
Vanessa-Why they Daddy's shoes?
Me-Because he wanted them
Nessa-"Why he want them?"
Me-"He needed them so he asked me to get them"
Nessa-"Why daddy get shoes?"
Me-"he had to have something to wear on his feet"
Nessa-"Why he need somfin' on his feet?"
Me-"Cause everyone wears shoes baby girl"
Nessa-"Why everyone wear shoes?"
Me-"To keep their feet protected so they don't hurt their feet"
Nessa-"Why people hurt their feet?"
Me-"Sometimes people step on something without shoes and that can hurt their feet"
Nessa-"Why they step on somefin'?"
Me-"Ahhhhhhh!!! No more why questions!!!!"
Nessa-"I got boo boo on my feet....."
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Response to my previous blog
.....This is a response to my previous blog written by my dear friend Lindsay. I really loved what she had to say and wanted to share it with my readers. Please, please feel free to also comment and share your thoughts.....
*Please read everything before commenting or getting upset. I realize that this only represents my side, and that is because it is the only side I can rightfully represent.I just want to say first and foremost I don't think my friend meant all pro-lifers, just the one I mentioned who is very prominent in the community and said something that is vile and disgusting while in the same breath saying he was against the murder, his words didn't sound much like he disagreed to me. So I'm sorry if what she said on my post offended you, and had I thought it was offensive I would have said something but I really agree with her message. From the other side of all of this, when all I really want to hear from anybody is how disgusted they are at the heinous murder of an innocent man, on this I can agree with you this is certainly NOT the time for politics, all I seem to hear is how afraid that the conservatives are that the liberals are going to use this against them. (Not that all conservatives feel that way, but the ones who get on the TV sure seem to). That is upsetting and offensive to me. I feel like a man is dead and a new game has already begun over how we are allowed to grieve. I feel like those comments back me and others into a corner where we can't say what we feel and express our immense sadness and outrage without it being some political mess. I think after a tragedy like this many people will say things they don't mean, but lashing out is often a part of the grieving process, I feel like I have the right to be angry, to be upset, and more importantly to be sad, and I feel like that is being taken from me. On top of that to hear leading pro-life orgainzations issue statements that are so backhanded as what Randall Terry from operation rescue said, it really does make the "pro-life" side of the argument look bad. (I used quotations because I don't believe there are only two sides to any argument, I think the vast majority of people who are "pro-life" don't fit into the same group as Randall Terry and those people who say such horrible things, but it gets difficult to express things coherrently if I start seperating the groups out because there aren't any other widely used terms) I agree that not all people who are "pro-life" even begin to agree with each other (especially with the radicals or those who are saying hateful things) as I wouldn't agree that all "pro-choice" people agree with each other, but that is what the devicive political game tells us to believe, and when it gets emotional sometimes that is the first thing that gets forgotten, on BOTH sides of the issue.To me, right now, this is a really hard time. For those of us that have our reasons to be "pro-choice", on an aside I hate the designations pro-life and pro-choice, it is reasonable to question our safety for speaking our mind. I've seen some pretty terrible things at rallies and protests, and I've known people who have been injured volunteering at Tiller's clinic. This is definately not the first time that violence has ocurred during this debate, this isn't even the first time somebody has tried to murder the man. Do I think that all pro-lifers engage in this type of behavior? No, not even close, MANY of my very close friends are "pro-life" and I know that they would never hurt anyone, and that they really do value life and are respectful in the disagreements, but I think that there will likely be a backlash toward the radicals, who tend to be more vocal and prominent than the sane people with good morals and values. I also don't think this backlash will be out of hatred or anger, but fear. Not that the fear is new, but now somebody is dead, so the fear is stronger. (Note: I don't mean a physical backlash, just verbal, and I don't agree with it, but I do understand it.)Also, we lost a strong, dedicated, upstanding, member of our community. A man who stood up for what he thought was right, and never wavered in his dedication to serve the members of not only our community, but the women of this entire country who desperately needed him. This is a time of grief, and sadness, and sometimes people say things in grief that they wouldn't normally say.So in short, I don't agree with anything anybody is saying at this point, other than that we need to focus on healing the wound left by Dr. Tiller's loss, first and foremost by showering his family in love and support, showing respect to them while they heal by not speaking ill of the man before he's even been burried, and by healing our community which has been shocked by a terrible tragedy.I don't want to start any arguments today, just share how I feel right now. I support a woman's right to choose and I think almost all of you know that by now. It is not my goal to change anyone's beliefs, and I can promise you will never change mine. I have heard all of the arguments, I've been called all the names. I made my choice based on the facts at hand. I've talked with many women who have been faced with an immensely difficult decision and chosen both ways, I know in my HEART that they had the right to make that choice for themselves. I also know in my HEART that every person has the right to choose for themselves whether or not to agree with me. I wrote this in response to an amazing woman with whom I tend to disagree politically, but who is as open-minded and loving as the day is long. I want to share what I'm going through (and lots of others like me) with her, and with everyone who truly wants to know. I know that she may disagree, but she does it respectfully, and that she cares about all people and their well-being no matter what they believe. If it wasn't for you Amber I don't think I would have had the strength to say what has been weighing on me these last few days, for that I must thank you.That being said I welcome constructive comments and thoughtful conversation, but any hatefulness from either side will be deleted and ignored. My heart is too heavy from this tragedy to deal with any more hatefulness.
My response- I really appreciate what you are saying and I do not disagree. In fact I whole heartedly agree with most of what you are saying. I was not attacking your friend. I have had that point of view expressed to me (or in front of me, or I read it in reference to the situation) by no less than 10 people. It was really starting to frustrate me. Because I am someone who is openly pro life, there have been days this week where I have been made to feel like I was somehow partly responsible for this tragedy because of my political and relious beliefs. I think that you are simply, and more eloquently I might add, expressing my argument from the other side. As always, I love hearing what you have to say and I love you!
*Please read everything before commenting or getting upset. I realize that this only represents my side, and that is because it is the only side I can rightfully represent.I just want to say first and foremost I don't think my friend meant all pro-lifers, just the one I mentioned who is very prominent in the community and said something that is vile and disgusting while in the same breath saying he was against the murder, his words didn't sound much like he disagreed to me. So I'm sorry if what she said on my post offended you, and had I thought it was offensive I would have said something but I really agree with her message. From the other side of all of this, when all I really want to hear from anybody is how disgusted they are at the heinous murder of an innocent man, on this I can agree with you this is certainly NOT the time for politics, all I seem to hear is how afraid that the conservatives are that the liberals are going to use this against them. (Not that all conservatives feel that way, but the ones who get on the TV sure seem to). That is upsetting and offensive to me. I feel like a man is dead and a new game has already begun over how we are allowed to grieve. I feel like those comments back me and others into a corner where we can't say what we feel and express our immense sadness and outrage without it being some political mess. I think after a tragedy like this many people will say things they don't mean, but lashing out is often a part of the grieving process, I feel like I have the right to be angry, to be upset, and more importantly to be sad, and I feel like that is being taken from me. On top of that to hear leading pro-life orgainzations issue statements that are so backhanded as what Randall Terry from operation rescue said, it really does make the "pro-life" side of the argument look bad. (I used quotations because I don't believe there are only two sides to any argument, I think the vast majority of people who are "pro-life" don't fit into the same group as Randall Terry and those people who say such horrible things, but it gets difficult to express things coherrently if I start seperating the groups out because there aren't any other widely used terms) I agree that not all people who are "pro-life" even begin to agree with each other (especially with the radicals or those who are saying hateful things) as I wouldn't agree that all "pro-choice" people agree with each other, but that is what the devicive political game tells us to believe, and when it gets emotional sometimes that is the first thing that gets forgotten, on BOTH sides of the issue.To me, right now, this is a really hard time. For those of us that have our reasons to be "pro-choice", on an aside I hate the designations pro-life and pro-choice, it is reasonable to question our safety for speaking our mind. I've seen some pretty terrible things at rallies and protests, and I've known people who have been injured volunteering at Tiller's clinic. This is definately not the first time that violence has ocurred during this debate, this isn't even the first time somebody has tried to murder the man. Do I think that all pro-lifers engage in this type of behavior? No, not even close, MANY of my very close friends are "pro-life" and I know that they would never hurt anyone, and that they really do value life and are respectful in the disagreements, but I think that there will likely be a backlash toward the radicals, who tend to be more vocal and prominent than the sane people with good morals and values. I also don't think this backlash will be out of hatred or anger, but fear. Not that the fear is new, but now somebody is dead, so the fear is stronger. (Note: I don't mean a physical backlash, just verbal, and I don't agree with it, but I do understand it.)Also, we lost a strong, dedicated, upstanding, member of our community. A man who stood up for what he thought was right, and never wavered in his dedication to serve the members of not only our community, but the women of this entire country who desperately needed him. This is a time of grief, and sadness, and sometimes people say things in grief that they wouldn't normally say.So in short, I don't agree with anything anybody is saying at this point, other than that we need to focus on healing the wound left by Dr. Tiller's loss, first and foremost by showering his family in love and support, showing respect to them while they heal by not speaking ill of the man before he's even been burried, and by healing our community which has been shocked by a terrible tragedy.I don't want to start any arguments today, just share how I feel right now. I support a woman's right to choose and I think almost all of you know that by now. It is not my goal to change anyone's beliefs, and I can promise you will never change mine. I have heard all of the arguments, I've been called all the names. I made my choice based on the facts at hand. I've talked with many women who have been faced with an immensely difficult decision and chosen both ways, I know in my HEART that they had the right to make that choice for themselves. I also know in my HEART that every person has the right to choose for themselves whether or not to agree with me. I wrote this in response to an amazing woman with whom I tend to disagree politically, but who is as open-minded and loving as the day is long. I want to share what I'm going through (and lots of others like me) with her, and with everyone who truly wants to know. I know that she may disagree, but she does it respectfully, and that she cares about all people and their well-being no matter what they believe. If it wasn't for you Amber I don't think I would have had the strength to say what has been weighing on me these last few days, for that I must thank you.That being said I welcome constructive comments and thoughtful conversation, but any hatefulness from either side will be deleted and ignored. My heart is too heavy from this tragedy to deal with any more hatefulness.
My response- I really appreciate what you are saying and I do not disagree. In fact I whole heartedly agree with most of what you are saying. I was not attacking your friend. I have had that point of view expressed to me (or in front of me, or I read it in reference to the situation) by no less than 10 people. It was really starting to frustrate me. Because I am someone who is openly pro life, there have been days this week where I have been made to feel like I was somehow partly responsible for this tragedy because of my political and relious beliefs. I think that you are simply, and more eloquently I might add, expressing my argument from the other side. As always, I love hearing what you have to say and I love you!
Pro-life and Pro-choice, doesn't matter
I read this today.."Who could be ''pro-life'' yet feel that killing someone for being ''pro-choice'' is justifiable? Hypocrites."
Every day for the last 3 days all I have been reading is more of the same. "How dare the pro-lifers take such a valuable man from us"
"Just remember all of you who oppose abortion, two wrongs don't make a right"
I would just like to say that just because you are pro life doesn't mean you justify violence as a means to end abortions. Or that we are ok with Dr. Tiller's murder. Why would you not say that about the individual who killed him. Must you really lump everyone who is prolife into that? How is that different from lumping everyone together based on skin color. Everyone who is white wanted Martin Luther King dead? Really?! How could you actually think that? Are you so blinded by ignorance that you must stoop to outrageous stereotypes? If you really think that of all pro-lifers then you must know, that if all we cared about was furthering the cause, this would hurt us more than help us. "We" have just given the pro lifers a martyr. A way to rally for their beliefs. How does that help "us pro-lifers" again?
I am very saddened by this tragedy. The family had to witness what happened. Our prayers go out to them. Regardless of what you believe, this was a horrible terrible act. A wife is without her husband today, a daughter does not have a father. Regardless of what your beliefs are, THAT is what should matter. That is what we should be dwelling on this week. Go with God Dr. Tiller, I pray that your family finds peace in the wake of this horrific tragedy.
Every day for the last 3 days all I have been reading is more of the same. "How dare the pro-lifers take such a valuable man from us"
"Just remember all of you who oppose abortion, two wrongs don't make a right"
I would just like to say that just because you are pro life doesn't mean you justify violence as a means to end abortions. Or that we are ok with Dr. Tiller's murder. Why would you not say that about the individual who killed him. Must you really lump everyone who is prolife into that? How is that different from lumping everyone together based on skin color. Everyone who is white wanted Martin Luther King dead? Really?! How could you actually think that? Are you so blinded by ignorance that you must stoop to outrageous stereotypes? If you really think that of all pro-lifers then you must know, that if all we cared about was furthering the cause, this would hurt us more than help us. "We" have just given the pro lifers a martyr. A way to rally for their beliefs. How does that help "us pro-lifers" again?
I am very saddened by this tragedy. The family had to witness what happened. Our prayers go out to them. Regardless of what you believe, this was a horrible terrible act. A wife is without her husband today, a daughter does not have a father. Regardless of what your beliefs are, THAT is what should matter. That is what we should be dwelling on this week. Go with God Dr. Tiller, I pray that your family finds peace in the wake of this horrific tragedy.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
My girls have been busy
My kids have both been pretty busy in the last few weeks. Valerie finished up her first year of preschool and we are nearing the end of the dance year. We are a week away from recital. Life has been going full steam ahead.
Mondays are our chill days. The girls and I have a tendency to stay in our pjs all day and don't leave the house until it is time to go to the gym in the evening. So, the girls were downstairs watching Dora and I was at the table drinking tea and reading a book. Now, all you moms of young children will understand this next part. They got to the end of their episode and Dora and Boots are talking about everything that happened on their adventure. Then they look out and say, "What was your favorite part?" Which is followed by about thirty seconds of silence and then, "I liked that part too!" This particular time Dora asks her question and then looks expectantly at my children. My darling Nessa looks at her and says, "My favite part waas Dora's hair!" She is sooo my little girly girl.
Today I went to a luncheon for a sweet wonderful lady at the church. We ate a lot of delicious food and then when my children got a little restless we decided to take off for naptime. I put both of the kids in the car and told them to sit in their seats. I buckled Nessa and then went and climbed in on the driver's side. Valerie started screaming from the backseat, "Mommy!! Mommy! You can not drive yet!!! I am NOT buckled!" I hopped out and went to strap her in. "Sorry baby, Mommy forgot you weren't buckled yet. Silly me." "I know", she says, " That's why I like Daddy better. He never forgets things."
OUCH!
Mondays are our chill days. The girls and I have a tendency to stay in our pjs all day and don't leave the house until it is time to go to the gym in the evening. So, the girls were downstairs watching Dora and I was at the table drinking tea and reading a book. Now, all you moms of young children will understand this next part. They got to the end of their episode and Dora and Boots are talking about everything that happened on their adventure. Then they look out and say, "What was your favorite part?" Which is followed by about thirty seconds of silence and then, "I liked that part too!" This particular time Dora asks her question and then looks expectantly at my children. My darling Nessa looks at her and says, "My favite part waas Dora's hair!" She is sooo my little girly girl.
Today I went to a luncheon for a sweet wonderful lady at the church. We ate a lot of delicious food and then when my children got a little restless we decided to take off for naptime. I put both of the kids in the car and told them to sit in their seats. I buckled Nessa and then went and climbed in on the driver's side. Valerie started screaming from the backseat, "Mommy!! Mommy! You can not drive yet!!! I am NOT buckled!" I hopped out and went to strap her in. "Sorry baby, Mommy forgot you weren't buckled yet. Silly me." "I know", she says, " That's why I like Daddy better. He never forgets things."
OUCH!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Award time!
So my lovely friend NeedSleepy gave me a blog award. I love her! So now I pass it on. I must say that these are the ones I have been reading lately.
-How to Survive Life in the Suburbs -Winn Photography
And to my handsome husband I bestow this award
Warrior,daddy,pushover
Thank you for reading my blog! I know I love reading yours!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wordless Wednesday
Thank you Engrish.com for making me laugh every day. Stores I won't shop at any time soon.....
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Marriage comes with serious decisions.
So Valerie decided to talk marriage with me again. I must say it disturbs me a little that my four year old and I have regular discussions about her wedding.
She asked me if you got married at Disneyworld. I said that some people do. She asked if she could. I told her if that is what she wanted to do she could but there were lots of options. She could get married at our church or in a park or on the beach. She said, "What about Nanna's church?" I said sure she could get married there. She decided that was the place for her.
Then she says, "But I don't what boy to wear on my wedding day. Oh, I mean what boy to have there on my wedding day"
I told her she could worry about that when she was a little older and it was closer to time to get married. She said ok and walked off leaving me contemplating a serious question. Did she mean a groom or a designer. Her favorite show is Say Yes To The Dress, you know.
Either way, I think I am in trouble.
She asked me if you got married at Disneyworld. I said that some people do. She asked if she could. I told her if that is what she wanted to do she could but there were lots of options. She could get married at our church or in a park or on the beach. She said, "What about Nanna's church?" I said sure she could get married there. She decided that was the place for her.
Then she says, "But I don't what boy to wear on my wedding day. Oh, I mean what boy to have there on my wedding day"
I told her she could worry about that when she was a little older and it was closer to time to get married. She said ok and walked off leaving me contemplating a serious question. Did she mean a groom or a designer. Her favorite show is Say Yes To The Dress, you know.
Either way, I think I am in trouble.
Dirt Salad
Oh, Valerie has been doing so many funny things lately that I can't blog fast enough to keep up!
Lately, I swear she has morphed into a boy. (If you don't believe me read previous blog.) Yesterday the kids were playing outside and Valerie was using a stick to draw in the mud. All of a sudden she stands up, holds the stick n front of her face and says, "Wanna see me eat mud?" and before Steven could say no she licked it. Not a little lick either but one of those huge, I just got my favorite ice cream licks. Then she gagged a little and started spitting. Steven grabbed her and told her she needed to go in and wash her mouth out.
She was coming in and she said, "I really thought it would be delicious but it was disgusting!"
Really? Really?
Today Steven re-enlisted. We went along to see it and take pictures. It wasn't too big of a deal but exciting for us. On the way back out to the car Valerie grabs some leaves off of a hedge. She is studying them the whole way to the truck. I buckled her in and shut her door. Steven and I talked for a minute and then he got back in the truck to give her kisses. She was spitting out the leaves right as he opened the door. "Ugh, I thought they would be food!" Steven-"Stop eating stuff!"
Me- Why? Why Lord why?
Lately, I swear she has morphed into a boy. (If you don't believe me read previous blog.) Yesterday the kids were playing outside and Valerie was using a stick to draw in the mud. All of a sudden she stands up, holds the stick n front of her face and says, "Wanna see me eat mud?" and before Steven could say no she licked it. Not a little lick either but one of those huge, I just got my favorite ice cream licks. Then she gagged a little and started spitting. Steven grabbed her and told her she needed to go in and wash her mouth out.
She was coming in and she said, "I really thought it would be delicious but it was disgusting!"
Really? Really?
Today Steven re-enlisted. We went along to see it and take pictures. It wasn't too big of a deal but exciting for us. On the way back out to the car Valerie grabs some leaves off of a hedge. She is studying them the whole way to the truck. I buckled her in and shut her door. Steven and I talked for a minute and then he got back in the truck to give her kisses. She was spitting out the leaves right as he opened the door. "Ugh, I thought they would be food!" Steven-"Stop eating stuff!"
Me- Why? Why Lord why?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Welcome!
Hey Everyone!
My handsome hubby just got himself a blog! Go check him out over at WarriorDaddyPushover. I love him and I think he will provide a fresh and funny view of our lives.
My handsome hubby just got himself a blog! Go check him out over at WarriorDaddyPushover. I love him and I think he will provide a fresh and funny view of our lives.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Valerie the Valient
My four year old found a snake in the back yard this morning. She told me it was over there under those rocks. I figured she had found a worm. I told her to leave it alone and went back to reading my book. Then she kept messing with it. and playing over by said rocks. I told her to leave it alone again. She told me it was fine because she killed with that rock. I noticed my dog Thunder kept sniffing at it and pawing at the ground. Weird, I didn't think that a dog would care that much about a worm. Maybe it was one of those little green garden snakes. I decided a responsible parent would go over there and check. Ugh. So I put my book down and went over to check it out
OMFG!!!!! It really was a snake. Not anything huge but about 15 inches long. I picked it up with a stick and brought it up to the deck. Valerie is right behind me the whole way...
"I told you it was a snake. It was trying to bite my sister so I smooshed it with a rock. I did. It was at the zoo and it escaped. It got out of the glass and the cage and flibber flobbered over to our backyard. I think that is weird. But that is what it did all right. yep. It just flipper flobbered over here all the way from the zoo. It is a little weird. But I only ready killed it."
I went in to get my camera and when I come out, there she is swinging it around and picking it up and telling me how cool it is.
Steven came home for lunch and Valerie showed him her kill. He said, "What does that make you? Valerie the snake slayer?"
"No, Daddy I was just called Valerie the Valient"
Note: That is what I call her when she comes into our room in the middle of the night after a bad dream. We talk about Valerie the Valient, a beautiful princess who vanquishes monsters and is soooooooo brave that she can do anything she sets her mind to.
In doing this I may have inadvertantly created my own Monster. One who is afraid of nothing. Gawd I am so glad I didn't have boys. Girls are enough.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Oh Yeahhh!
Little Nessa has had us in stitches all day. A lot of stuff she does/says wouldn't really be funny if I just rewrote it here in blogworld. You have to see her little facial expressions and her wild hand gestures to get the full picture. But she has had some pretty hilarious stuff today that I had to share.
Tonight at dinner the girls put on a pretty spectacular performance. There was singing and dancing. Vanessa was mostly harmonizing with Valerie and echoing whatever she sang. All of a sudden she grabs her stomach and belts out "Yoooooouu don't want a tummmy ache! Yooooooou need my piiiiiiiggy tails!!" My piggy taaaaaaaails!" My mine piggies!" While rubbing her little hands on her head.
She has this cup that she drinks out of that is a kool-aid man cup. So, tonight she is drinking and she points to his face and says "This is mine porcupine and she says "OH YUM" in her deepest little two year old voice. I almost fell out of my chair. To my knowledge this child has never seen a kool-aid commercial. It was so funny!
Tonight at dinner the girls put on a pretty spectacular performance. There was singing and dancing. Vanessa was mostly harmonizing with Valerie and echoing whatever she sang. All of a sudden she grabs her stomach and belts out "Yoooooouu don't want a tummmy ache! Yooooooou need my piiiiiiiggy tails!!" My piggy taaaaaaaails!" My mine piggies!" While rubbing her little hands on her head.
She has this cup that she drinks out of that is a kool-aid man cup. So, tonight she is drinking and she points to his face and says "This is mine porcupine and she says "OH YUM" in her deepest little two year old voice. I almost fell out of my chair. To my knowledge this child has never seen a kool-aid commercial. It was so funny!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
For three easy payments.....
So this morning Steven was in the bathroom getting ready for work when Valerie comes in....
Valerie, "Daddy, what do you think you are doing?"
Steven,"I am just shaving baby"
Valerie, "The tv says you don't have to do that. You just go to the dotcom and order and then you don't do that again. You just rub on and rub off. You should go to the dotcom Daddy, then would never have to do this again! You don't ever have to worry"
Me- OMFG! I hate that NickJr has commercials during Dora. My daughter is an infomercial.
Valerie, "Daddy, what do you think you are doing?"
Steven,"I am just shaving baby"
Valerie, "The tv says you don't have to do that. You just go to the dotcom and order and then you don't do that again. You just rub on and rub off. You should go to the dotcom Daddy, then would never have to do this again! You don't ever have to worry"
Me- OMFG! I hate that NickJr has commercials during Dora. My daughter is an infomercial.
Monday, May 11, 2009
News, Breaking New Trends
I started this blog as somewhere to write out all the crazy news and stories I read about every day. I am a news junkie!! I love it all. So the next few posts are something I ran across that I found interesting and want your opinion about. They are about Body Modification. Please take the time to read and comment on what you think.
Pictures again. Body Modification
Yesterday I posted about new "piercing styles that our kids will probably think are so lame and not that big of a deal. Today, new tat alternatives. What you see here is called scarification. They cut your skin in an intracite design and then allow it to heal. I provideed a fresh picture and a healed picture. Also included is a tongue tat. I thought this was funny. There were others in interesting places but this one just caught my attention. Also, I saw some pictures of tattoo-ing the whites of your eyes. Another crazy place.
The spock ears are part of the body modification phase. People can get implants under their skin like ridges and shapes. They can manipulate the existing cartilidge as well. Some of it is very interesting and cool. Some people get magnets inserted under their skin. I don't really understand that one. Just some crazy new options in the world of body art.
So, do you think that there is appeal in these new forms or are they crazy. Is it just for those who seek extreme attention or will this be commonplace in ten years. Let me know!
Warning! Graphic images
I came across some crazy pics a while back and wanted to talk about body altering. I have no problem with most things. Tats and piercings don't bother me. I do think some take it to an extreme but everyone has their excesses. These, though, I thought were crazy! Today is piercing pics wait until you see tomorrow. I have tattoo alternatives.
So, the first picture is a uvula piercing. Said to be dangerous because of the danger of swallowing.
Next I have two examples of "lacing" which has become very popular with younger girls. I guess you can't leave the ribbon in all the time, you can only wear it for a few hours before taking it out. Last, but certainly not least, meat hooks. Some fringe body alterers hang for hours on meat hooks like some crazy form of meditation.
What is your opinion of all this? I would love for you to share. Insane or beautiful? Would you try any of it or stick to the more basic styles? Please feel free to share!
So, the first picture is a uvula piercing. Said to be dangerous because of the danger of swallowing.
Next I have two examples of "lacing" which has become very popular with younger girls. I guess you can't leave the ribbon in all the time, you can only wear it for a few hours before taking it out. Last, but certainly not least, meat hooks. Some fringe body alterers hang for hours on meat hooks like some crazy form of meditation.
What is your opinion of all this? I would love for you to share. Insane or beautiful? Would you try any of it or stick to the more basic styles? Please feel free to share!
Stellar outfit
So my sister was talking to Valerie last night at my parent's house.
Tasha, "Valerie you have dog hair all over your dress"
Valerie, "What?!?!"
Tasha, noticing that Valerie is fairly upset now, "Don't worry it looks stellar. You can hardly tell."
Valerie,"Stellar?! I have dog hair on my pretty outfit! Seriously....It's almost ruined"
Valerie starts madly wiping her dress. She gets all but the last few hairs. She then proceeds to lick her hand and wipe it along her outfit until it is clean again.
Valerie, " Oh, and Tasha. It is my jumper. Not just a dress. heeeelllooooo!"
and off she flounces, leaving Tasha and I in tears. Gawd, what am I going to do with her in ten years. I am doomed.
To all the Mommies!
So, being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. I don't need to tell you all of the side effects that go along with children. I have two beautiful little girls who are the biggest, most important job I will ever take on. Yet, it has been and continues to be the most wonderfully rewarding as well. I had an amazing Mother's Day yesterday. I have two happy, healthy kids and a pretty awesome hubby. I feel so blessed.
I have so many dear friends who also have beautiful children who are not healthy. Some have physical disabilities, others developmental. I can not imagine what it is like to have to see your child struggle every day to accomplish simple tasks. I don't understand what it is like to have to fight to get health care coverage or special funding for extra equipment for your baby. I don't cry the tears they do over the lives their children will never have. These brave amazing women who still love their kids fiercely, who can't imagine life any other way. What I do and the struggles I go through are nothing compared to these fighters. They are my heros and they are the example I live by when dealing with my two young ones.
To all my wonderful mommy friends. I hope Mother's day was a great day for all of you. I want you to know that I love you guys and I love every one of your pretty and handsome babies. I can't imagine life without my amazing friends who share in the same circumstance and whom I can lean on for anything thick or thin. I can not believe that our children are growing up so fast! My kids are shooting up right before my eyes! God Bless Everyone of you, please know I am your biggest fan.
I have so many dear friends who also have beautiful children who are not healthy. Some have physical disabilities, others developmental. I can not imagine what it is like to have to see your child struggle every day to accomplish simple tasks. I don't understand what it is like to have to fight to get health care coverage or special funding for extra equipment for your baby. I don't cry the tears they do over the lives their children will never have. These brave amazing women who still love their kids fiercely, who can't imagine life any other way. What I do and the struggles I go through are nothing compared to these fighters. They are my heros and they are the example I live by when dealing with my two young ones.
To all my wonderful mommy friends. I hope Mother's day was a great day for all of you. I want you to know that I love you guys and I love every one of your pretty and handsome babies. I can't imagine life without my amazing friends who share in the same circumstance and whom I can lean on for anything thick or thin. I can not believe that our children are growing up so fast! My kids are shooting up right before my eyes! God Bless Everyone of you, please know I am your biggest fan.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Jesus
So I am finally writing a funny story about my baby girl. Vanessa is two and I love her sooo much. She is so sweet and a little more quiet. Either way, so the other day we were at lunch and she sat up on her knees and was talking to my husband about whether or not that particular day was a church day. (My kids love church days)
Then all of a sudden she said "Jesus died on the cross like dis" and spread out her little arms and scrunched up her eyes.
Steven said "That's right, good job! And then he came back"
Vanessa "To life?!?!"
Steven "Yep, to life."
Vanessa"WHOA! WOO HOO!" and throws her hands up and starts clapping. She was so excited.
She never ceases to amaze me. Kids soak up so much.
Then all of a sudden she said "Jesus died on the cross like dis" and spread out her little arms and scrunched up her eyes.
Steven said "That's right, good job! And then he came back"
Vanessa "To life?!?!"
Steven "Yep, to life."
Vanessa"WHOA! WOO HOO!" and throws her hands up and starts clapping. She was so excited.
She never ceases to amaze me. Kids soak up so much.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
I have been abandoned
To all of my wonderful friends out there.....
Where the hell are you??????????
I miss your funny stories, I miss your bad days, I miss reading about your crazy kids and that guy in your house. I have been waiting anxiously for new posts but, alas, none have come. I have posted a few myself in an effort to lure you back to blogdom. Come on, I live for your juicy gossip. I need the extra laugh. Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and tell me a good tale. I will give you rest and a giant margarita.
Where the hell are you??????????
I miss your funny stories, I miss your bad days, I miss reading about your crazy kids and that guy in your house. I have been waiting anxiously for new posts but, alas, none have come. I have posted a few myself in an effort to lure you back to blogdom. Come on, I live for your juicy gossip. I need the extra laugh. Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and tell me a good tale. I will give you rest and a giant margarita.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Kansas Considers Cutting Budget for Disabled Benefits
Several of my close and dear friends have children who have developmental disabilities. They are sweet kids and these families only just get by with what little help there is. There are long waiting lists and little funds. So many kids are not getting even close to the care that they need. Now they are talking about cutting this down even further. Please take the time to read this and contact your legislation. A simple email goes a long way. Thank you!!!!!!
-AMBER
The Kansas House of Representatives is set to consider a budget bill which will cut more than $20 million from services for Kansans with developmental disabilities. This represents a near 10% cut in funding for DD services in the state of Kansas.
What does this mean?
1. A complete loss of all discretionary State dollars that are used to support more than 2,000 Kansas children and adults with DD. Roughly 22% of all Kansans with DD rely on these dollars to live in communities across the state.
2. An almost 50% cut in Family Support Grants which are used to provide vitally-needed help to families who care for a loved one with DD.
3. A cut of more than $8 million in the HCBS DD Waiver, which was already critically underfunded, which will result in an even larger waiting list for help (current waiting lists already number more than 3,900 children & adults with DD).
How does this affect you?
These cuts will result in job eliminations in communities around the state, and potential wage cuts to direct-care staff who we know already make wages at, or near, the poverty line. One Kansas DD service provider has already calculated that 15% wage cut will need to be enacted in order keep the organization's doors open.In Sedgwick County over 300 individuals are served in residential, day programs or supportive home care through State Grant Funds. A reduction could eliminate some of these individuals from services and the remainder would have their services drastically reduced.The State Aid reduction of $1.2 million will impact the dollars utilized for crisis support and programs for youth that are provided by The Arc and Rainbows United.
What can you do to help?
Call your legislator right now. You don't need to be an expert on anything but your own experience at your job & your reaction to this news. Imagine how a cut like this would affect your life; your family's lives; the persons you serve & their families. Tell your legislator that IF they pass this bill it will affect the lives of individuals in their own community
Thursday, April 30, 2009
4 going on 14
So I keep telling people that my oldest daughter is a teenager in disguise. They always laugh politely and give me that face. You know the one, "Ya right lady! She is four, it can't be that bad."
Well, aside from the obvious tell-tale signs the big doosie just happened.
Valerie loves make-up, she loves jewelry, she loves going and getting her hair done. She is prone to having a fit about getting what she wants, she has an attitude the size of Texas,no joke!! She is my little gossip queen!, She says she looks ugly or stupid if I don't let her wear what she wants. She is a tad bit bossy and she thinks boys are cute. She talks about her wedding and getting married. She LOVES shopping and shoes. She loves to dance and shake her little booty.
Now, some of this stuff is funny, some of it drives us crazy. We have worried more than once about the crazy things she will do when she gets older. Tonight, though, I recieved my answer when my FOUR YEAR OLD snuck out her bedroom window! That is right, slid the window open popped out the screen and took off into ther great unknown. Fortunately she only really wanted to pick flowers in the front yard so I caught her quickly and then her night was over. I almost had a heart attack. It doesn't help that little sis wanted to come join in the fun but she had just gotten out of the tub. So I go down and open the front door to find Valerie walking around the flower beds and Nessa butt naked running acroos my front yard. AAAACCCCKKK!
What next? Will the little boy next door start getting smooches? Will she try and steal the car when she is 9? I need a drink!
Well, aside from the obvious tell-tale signs the big doosie just happened.
Valerie loves make-up, she loves jewelry, she loves going and getting her hair done. She is prone to having a fit about getting what she wants, she has an attitude the size of Texas,no joke!! She is my little gossip queen!, She says she looks ugly or stupid if I don't let her wear what she wants. She is a tad bit bossy and she thinks boys are cute. She talks about her wedding and getting married. She LOVES shopping and shoes. She loves to dance and shake her little booty.
Now, some of this stuff is funny, some of it drives us crazy. We have worried more than once about the crazy things she will do when she gets older. Tonight, though, I recieved my answer when my FOUR YEAR OLD snuck out her bedroom window! That is right, slid the window open popped out the screen and took off into ther great unknown. Fortunately she only really wanted to pick flowers in the front yard so I caught her quickly and then her night was over. I almost had a heart attack. It doesn't help that little sis wanted to come join in the fun but she had just gotten out of the tub. So I go down and open the front door to find Valerie walking around the flower beds and Nessa butt naked running acroos my front yard. AAAACCCCKKK!
What next? Will the little boy next door start getting smooches? Will she try and steal the car when she is 9? I need a drink!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
us old folks
So the other day Steven and I were getting things done around the house. We were talking and just hanging out. We were coming up the stairs when Valerie ran up behind us and yelled as she ran by "Hey! You guys remember your old, right? You aren't even new!" And passed us with her young spry legs. Ouch!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Pirates
So Valerie has been playing with her cousins a lot lately. They are really into pirates. They sword fight and say ARRRGGG! They are swashbucklers and pillagers. They have eye patches and tall black hats. The whole bit. So, of course, there has been an increase in pirate talk around my house as well. Now, I think it is so funny how many differences there are in how boys play and how girls play. At my house there aren't really "bad guys" or "evil dudes". There are ponys and princesses and babies and mommies and daddies and barbies. If it doesn't fall in those categories it pretty much doesn't exist.
So the other day after having a long sword battle with Josh and getting saved from the "evil bad guys" Valerie decided she wasn't going to be a victim any longer. She was a strong individual who was going to take charge of her fate. No more relying on boys to save her, she could take action on her own. She began talking to us about the most effective ways to dispatch villians. She was creating many a "what if" scenario when a brilliant idea came to her.
"Daddy, I could smack those pirates in the face with my dirty spoon. Yep!"
Then she smacked her lips and ran off with spoon in tow to vanquish all demons from the house.
That will show em!
So the other day after having a long sword battle with Josh and getting saved from the "evil bad guys" Valerie decided she wasn't going to be a victim any longer. She was a strong individual who was going to take charge of her fate. No more relying on boys to save her, she could take action on her own. She began talking to us about the most effective ways to dispatch villians. She was creating many a "what if" scenario when a brilliant idea came to her.
"Daddy, I could smack those pirates in the face with my dirty spoon. Yep!"
Then she smacked her lips and ran off with spoon in tow to vanquish all demons from the house.
That will show em!
She thinks my faucet's sexy...
So a week or so ago Steven was switching out the faucets in our bathrooms. He was laying on the floor with his head under the sink swearing quietly when Valerie walked in.
"Hey baby" he says. "What do you think of the new faucets? "
"I think they are sexy" she says.
My husband promptly drops his wrench, bangs his head on the sink, sits up and says "What did you say?"
"I think it is sexy"
"Do you even know what that word means?"
"You know Daddy, fancy"
"That word does NOT mean fancy. Don't say it again please."
"ok"
and off she goes skipping down the hall completely unaware of the damage she did to her poor father's heart.
"Hey baby" he says. "What do you think of the new faucets? "
"I think they are sexy" she says.
My husband promptly drops his wrench, bangs his head on the sink, sits up and says "What did you say?"
"I think it is sexy"
"Do you even know what that word means?"
"You know Daddy, fancy"
"That word does NOT mean fancy. Don't say it again please."
"ok"
and off she goes skipping down the hall completely unaware of the damage she did to her poor father's heart.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
