Joy

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Just a Cotton Pickin' Minute

What glorious weather we've had the past two days! So much so that I let Claire skip her nap so we could enjoy the afternoon together and take in the season's beauty.
These days, I am trying to take the days slowly and savor every bit of them. I drive past the mailbox, just so Claire and I can walk to it at a later time. We park far away from stores so we can point out what we see as we walk. We walk EVERYWHERE so that we can use up some of the time that each day provides. We stop along the way to look at bugs and imitate their sounds, we say "hi" to doggies, and "bye" to cars that drive by. We stop and smell the flowers. Most flowers in our neighborhood smell 'yucky' though. I am trying to teach Claire to skip. It makes her laugh and usually fall. She definitely has a long way to go. A successful skipping practice! No tears!

Behind our house there is a dairy and "the" small canal/greenbelt that runs all through Laveen. To the east of our development if a cotton field. Today, we decided to pick some cotton. Claire carried it all the way back to the house.
The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies...
-Laura Ingalls Wilder

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A Serge of Joy!

Introducing.... the best thing since sliced-bread....

My new serger!!!!!Beautiful

Easy color-coded threading!

After our yard sale on Saturday, we counted and divided the money appropriately between me, my parents and Bryan. I looked on Craigslist in hopes of a new serger ad and lo and behold, there was one! *angelic music* Not only was it only $50 which I had in cash from the sale but the lady selling it lived in Gilbert! My mom and I promptly drove to her house and tried it out. I was in awe that such a wonderful machine even exists let alone that I might even own one. It came home with me that day and I have been in love ever since. To celebrate, I made a shirt dress and it took half the time!

Josh was happy for me since he knows how much I have been wanting one. His only question was "where are you going to put it?" He is constantly picking up my crafting/sewing area that has now been banished to our bedroom. It is a hopeless cause - the moment I start a new project the cluttery mess of threads, fabric scraps and patterns is strewn across the floor, far outside the 5 by 3 ft boundaries he has set for it.

Yes, indeed, I am one happy girl.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Baby Leggings

Well, I have been reluctant to post anything because we no longer have Uncle Corey's camera and we are left with our regular-not-so-good-one. I don't like putting up mediocre pictures but I'll have to get over it.

I got sick from Claire, who got sick from the church nursery and so far Josh hasn't come down with it. It is just a snotty head cold but annoying.

I have been sewing like crazy this past week but not the usual girl clothes. I want to have a booth at the Laveen pit BBQ this year to sell the clothes and hair bows I make but I also want to add these to the list:Introducing: Baby Legs (but I have to come up with a different name because Baby Legs is the original company that sells them for $12 and up. ) Mine will be for sale for $5. Apparently they are all the rage - at least according to the blogs that I read

Here are some of the advantages with these leggings.
1. They can be worn under jeans for an extra layer of warmth.
2. Cuter than pant leggings since they hug the leg.
3. You don't have to take them off when you change diapers.
4. Great to keep legs warm during nakedy butt time.
5. Perfect for crawlers. They aren't bulky and protect the legs.
6. Since they don't have feet, your child won't slide on the kitchen floor and hit their head on the tile.
7. They grow with the child (at least to 3 or 4 years) unless your child is a midget like mine - then they will last until she's 10 or 12.
8. Great for winter potty training.
Okay, that's enough. I have a ton of different patterned and solid leggings for any occasion. Now if only it were really cold enough to wear them...My family is having a yard sale this weekend so I am going to have a test run of how all of my things sell. I understand that yard sale people are less likely to buy things like this then Laveen BBQ people, but it will be interesting to see what sells and what doesn't.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Seizing the Morning

I took Claire for a little walk this morning to take some autumn pictures. It was so beautiful out and Claire loved walking through the tall grass. Don't ask why I gave her apples to hold, I just thought it would be cute - now she probably thinks that apples grow on the ground in middle of weeds. The photo sessions ended right here - when Claire reached for the apple a little far and slow fell face first into the dirt. Oh well.

Life is so much more pleasant now that she is a little more "grown up" she still isn't talking very much so we went ahead and taught her a few key things in sign language. She currently knows: more, please, thank you, and all done. Not bad considering we've only started about a week ago. It is so cute when she comes up to me and says "More please" with her little hands. She is very precise with her 'more' sign which is precious. She rubs her tummy for please which I'll let slide for now.

I have been very busy the past few days working on new sewing projects. I am really excited about them and will do a little giveaway here shortly. (it's what all the popular blogs do so I thought I'd join in.)

In other news. Our church started up the handbell choir again and I am beside myself with joy. I absolutely LOVE to play the bells and I hope it continues on after the holiday season. I don't know what it is about them but they are just so magical to me. We had our first practice on Sunday and it was so much fun. We were already pretty good if I do say so myself:)

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Fall Gathering

This weekend was very busy and fun for us. Mr. Dan Cain (aka Papo) hosted a Fall Gathering at his home on a beautiful lot- it must be 2 acres but I could be wrong. Everybody brought a food item and we just ate and hung out with some church friends.

My friend and co-worker, Sara, found an ancient pinata is their attic and we filled it with candy for the kids. It was Claire's first pinata experience and we should have let Keyara go first so Claire would understand what she was supposed to do.She was reluctant to hit it but she looked like she was going to a couple times. Claire watched as Josh and I got some candy for her off the ground. She was confused.
Then Keyara (Claire's friend) had the great idea of putting the cone of the pinata on her head and a trend was born. (This is the best one Sara.)
After that, Claire joined in a game of badminton. She didn't want to leave poor Joel and Nicole alone. Joel is very patient though and let her play and he tried and tried to get her to hit the birdie but it was just not going to happen.
We then moved on the a little rope swing. Bigger kids were doing it so Claire wanted to also. Waiting her turn and wondering why she has to wait in the first place. (only child syndrome)
She hung on really well!
She wasn't as impressed with the Harley as Dadda was. Haha
Last but not least, there was a little pony and cart hooked up and Claire got to pet the pony and then we went for a little ride. She was very tired at this point and we had to leave and get her down for her nap. We had such a good time!

Could have told you this years ago....



Here is the latest article confirming my beliefs. It is only a matter of time before they find this to be true with MOST vaccines. Don't even get me started on the H1N1 vaccine.

Hepatitis B Vaccine Triples the Risk of Autism in Infant Boys
Posted by: Dr. Mercola
October 08 2009 | 31,010 views

A new study has shown that giving Hepatitis B vaccine to newborn baby boys more than triples their risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder.

The study’s authors used U.S. probability samples obtained from National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 1997–2002 datasets.

The conclusion states that: “Findings suggest that U.S. male neonates vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine had a 3-fold greater risk of ASD.”

The authors also noted that an earlier study by them found that hepatitis B vaccination was associated with receipt of early intervention and special education services.

The new study used a different database than their earlier study, and they found same results, suggesting a validation of their findings.

Sources:

Dr. Mercola''s Comments
Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Routine use of the hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns began in 1992, despite the fact that there was absolutely NO logical argument for it. It should never have been included in the immunization schedule, and here’s why.

Do Newborns Really NEED the Hepatitis B Vaccine?

Folks, hepatitis B is about as difficult to catch as AIDS. Namely, you nearly always need to have blood or sexual contact of some sort.

That is why the main risk factors are IV drug abusers and those who engage in sex with multiple partners.

In addition, vaccine-derived immunity is thought to be short lived. Up to 60 percent of persons who initially respond will lose detectable antibodies within 12 years. So that means that these vaccines will provide little to no protection to the real risks of acquiring hepatitis B, namely promiscuous sexual behavior and IV drug abuse.

The Vaccine Harms FAR More Children Than it Helps

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) was developed by the government to report vaccine reactions. Many experts believe that only 10 percent of the adverse reactions are reported though, as reporting is not mandated by law. (Some surveys puts this number closer to ONE percent.)

Even with only 10 percent of the problems being reported, there were nearly 25,000 VAERS hepatitis B reports from July 1990 to October 31, 1998 (prior to adding the Hep B vaccine to the immunization schedule), showing 439 deaths and 9,673 serious reactions involving emergency room visits, hospitalization, disablement, or death.

Now, hepatitis B is a rare, maiHenly blood-transmitted disease. In 1996 only 54 cases of the disease were reported to the CDC in the 0-1 age group. There were 3.9 million births that year, so the observed incidence of hepatitis B in the 0-1 age group was just 0.001 percent.

Meanwhile, in that same year VAERS received 1,080 total reports of adverse reactions from hepatitis B vaccine in the 0-1 age group, including 47 deaths!

Put in simpler terms: for every child that contracted hepatitis B there were 20 immunized babies that were reported to have severe complications. Let us also remember that only 10 percent of the reactions are ever reported, which means traditional medicine is harming about 200 children to protect one from hepatitis B!

It is simply inexcusable…

The Vaccine-Autism Links

Despite the assertion by conventional health experts that no link has ever been found between vaccines and autism, there are plenty of links, if you know how to look. And as the article in The Age of Autism states, you cannot come to a conclusion on the vaccine-autism issue by looking at studies that examine just one type of vaccine, or one type of ingredient.

Children today receive a whopping 48 doses of vaccines before the age of six. For a chart showing the various types of vaccines included in the childhood vaccination schedule, you can download this flyer from NVIC.org.

According to David Kirby, author of Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy, of the 11 different types of vaccines administered, only the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) shot has actually been studied in association with autism. But where are the studies of all the others in relation to autism?

And where are the rigorous studies demonstrating the cumulative effect of several vaccines administered simultaneously , or within a short time span?

It is illogical, and downright ignorant, to state that the current vaccination schedule is a-okay and vaccines have nothing to do with the rise in autism, based on the studies that have been done so far.

Autism Rates have Risen to New Heights

For a number of years the accepted rate of autism was about 1 in 150, but the most recent statistics suggest that autism rates in the U.S. have now conservatively increased to 1 in 63. And this number is TWO years old.

This is the shocking conclusion from the 2007 survey results from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), which reveals a 100 percent increase in parent-reported cases of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), compared to their 2003 survey.

A similar British study puts the current U.K. rate at 1 in 83.

Clearly, something is going on; something is going wrong! And to simply dismiss the vaccine link with a blanket statement that has not been verified by rigorous scientific study is unconscionable.

If we want a healthier world, we must all become citizens for sanity and logic, and demand a more rational approach, where safety comes before profits.

After all, just like there were links between smoking and lung cancer long before conventional medicine changed their tune, there’s enough proof today to call a complete halt to our excessive vaccine program, and ban any level of mercury in vaccines.

But just like the case of Big Tobacco, Big Pharma refuses to do what’s right and protect you and your children from unnecessary harm, because it would mean a drastic reduction in profits.

Hepatitis B Vaccine and Increased Risk of Neurological Disorders

Using datasets from 1997 to 2002, this latest study found that newborn boys more than tripled their risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder after receiving the Hepatitis B vaccine.

The increased use of the Hepatitis B vaccine also coincides with the original rise in autism. According to the CDC's National Immunization Survey, 8 percent of infants received the Hep B vaccine in 1992. At the time the ASD rate was 67 in 10,000.

Four years later, at which time 82 percent of infants received the Hep B vaccine, the ASD rate rose to about 100 in 10,000.

At the time, the Hep B vaccine contained 25 micrograms of thimerosal – a mercury-containing ingredient that has long been thought to be a contributing factor to autism due to its potent neurotoxic effects.

According to the FDA, new thimerosal-free pediatric formulations of hepatitis B vaccines were licensed in August 1999, (Recombivax-HB by Merck) and in January 2007 (Engerix-B by Glaxo SmithKline). (For a listing of thimerosal content in current U.S. licensed vaccines, see this link.)

However, despite the fact that the Hep B vaccine no longer contains thimerosal, recent research have shown that the Hepatitis B vaccine can still damage myelin in those with certain genetic factors.

One recent study found that children who received the Hepatitis B vaccine were 50 percent more likely to develop "central nervous system inflammatory demyelination" than children who did not receive the vaccine.

GlaxoSmithKline’s Engerix B brand of the vaccine was shown to be the worst of the bunch, increasing the risk of demyelination by 74 percent. It also nearly tripled the risk of developing multiple sclerosis in genetically susceptible people.

As I mentioned above, Engerix-B was licensed as a thimerosal free version of the vaccine in January 2007. However, all formulations contain approximately 0.5 mg of aluminum per mL of vaccine instead, which may be even worse than mercury…

As you can see, there are likely a wide variety of potential factors involved; not just one vaccine or one ingredient.

We need to know what all of these exposures in combination mean to the health of our children if we ever want to turn this tide of autism around.

The Evidence Against Thimerosal

Again, newer studies dispute initial industry-funded findings that thimerosal is safe to inject. For example, a study published in the journal Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry in June this year, showed that the mercury-based compound used as a vaccine preservative -- known as ‘thimerosal’ -- induces neural damage similar to that seen in autism patients.

According to the study, thimerosal-induced cellular damage led to:

  • Concentration- and time-dependent mitochondrial damage

  • Reduced oxidative-reduction activity

  • Cellular degeneration

  • Cell death

Even low concentrations of thimerosal induced significant cellular toxicity in human neuronal and fetal cells. Thimerosal was also found to be significantly more toxic than the other metal compounds examined.

Four years ago, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wrote a must-read Rolling Stone article exposing the truth about the drug industry's greed, and the secret gathering where a plan was hatched to cover up the dangers of thimerosal.

According to Kennedy’s account, in June of 2000, a group of top government scientists and health officials -- including high-level officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the top vaccine specialists from the World Health Organization (WHO), and representatives from every major vaccine manufacturer -- secretly gathered to discuss the use of thimerosal in childhood vaccines.

Data indicated that the toxic heavy metal appeared to be responsible for a drastic increase in autism and other neurological disorders among children.

However, rather than taking every precaution to protect public health, they spent the majority of the next two days plotting how to protect the industry’s bottom line by getting rid of the troubling data.

Although thimerosal was eventually removed from the majority of childhood vaccines in 2001, it’s still used in some multi-dose vials, and is present in nearly all seasonal flu vaccines.

Many of the soon-to-be-introduced swine flu vaccines will also contain 25 mcg of mercury.

Another recent study confirming the link between low-level mercury poisoning in children and diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences in September 2008.

It was the first prospective, blinded cohort study to examine children diagnosed with an ASD using urinary porphyrin profile analysis (UPPA) to assess the physiological effects of mercury toxicity. They also used glutathione analysis to assess the children’s susceptibility to mercury poisoning.

Children with severe ASDs were found to have significantly higher levels of mercury intoxication in comparison to participants with mild ASDs. And glutathione -- a key biochemical in your body’s mercury detoxification pathway -- was significantly lower in patients diagnosed with an ASD in comparison with the control group.

I’d like to point out, though, that although this study shows a relationship between lower glutathione levels and greater severity of autism, mercury is not the only toxin that can affect glutathione levels.

There’s a plethora of toxins in your daily environment that contribute to your toxic load, so any number of toxins may be contributing to the problem.

For example, there’s strong evidence suggesting that toxic microbes, endotoxins, environmental chemicals like phthalates, and the influence of electromagnetic fields may be significant contributing factors to autism as well.

And vitamin D deficiency has recently been implicated as an underlying condition.

Moving Forward

It is becoming increasingly necessary to continue to educate yourself and your family on the issues surrounding vaccinations of all kinds. There are so many problems; no one article can possibly cover them all.

For example, if you missed my special report on squalene – yet another dangerous vaccine ingredient – please read it now. You can also search my site as I’ve written countless articles on different aspects of the vaccine issue. I also recommend you familiarize yourself with the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) web site. As a leader for vaccine safety, the NVIC offers information on everything from laws to informed consent to late-breaking vaccine news.

In addition, I'm collaborating with some of the leading experts in autism, including Dr. Klinghardt, and participating in the THRiiiVE think-tank to provide basic resources for those afflicted with autism. During the most recent THRiiiVE summit in October, 2008 we created the “Top 10 Prioritized To Do List” for people with autism. I have detailed the entire list in this past article, so please, if your child or someone you know has autism, take a few minutes to review it.

If you are interested in receiving important updates on matters relating to autism directly from THRiiiVE, you can sign up for their e-Alert by sending an email to Autism@THRiiiVE.com.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Eggplant and Explosions

Last week, when I was in Sprouts, I saw that eggplant was on sale and I thought to myself. "Hmmm, maybe I should try to like that" ( I had it once at a person's house when I was about 7 and it tasted like barf - not barf as in it was bad, but barf as in it really did taste like vomit)

So, I bought one and have been searching for a recipes to make with it. Josh is already against eggplant (and quite frankly, so am I) but I thought we should broaden our horizons so I found a recipes that was not too eggplanty and nothing we've ever had.Here it is. I do not even know if this is a good one or not. So I cut it open....
not what I expected but okay.
Umm, now I'm having second thoughts. Is this normal? Do you eat this part?
Oh, eggplant floats by the way.
I made some focaccia bread just in case the meal was disgusting so that we'd at least have something really yummy.
When I took the bread out of the oven I sat it on the stove top. The picture above was taken just before I noticed that something smelled like weird burning and I realized the burner I put the bread pan on was still on medium low (so it wasn't red) I have heard horror stories about what happens next from my brother. (Steve) so I quickly moved it to the only free spot on the stove which was the back burner which was cool. I thought I had saved it in time.

Nope.

It sounded like a gun shot and glass flew everywhere - including into the rest of the eggplant mixture that was simmering away. It was then that I decided we will be having tuna casserole tonight
The mess is still there. I am waiting for everything to cool before I clean it up.

Looks like it will be a while before we have our eggplant dish. Somehow, I don't think Josh will be too upset. But I do need to get a new pyrex pan ASAP.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Autumn Apples

Nothing says autumn like a pan of pumpkin bars and some caramel apples. Eager to hasten autumn along, we have had both this week. It was quite the occasion, seeing as it was Claire's first taste of a caramel apple. Yum! As you can she was quite pleased with this new taste sensation.

Farewell and Good Ridance

Dear Summer,

Please let this post be the last featuring sweaty little girls, popsicles and water.

You have over stayed your welcome by about 2 months and by 29 days of temperatures over 100 degrees.You have killed what few plants I have, cost us large amounts of money is electric bills...
and kept us sweaty captives to our own home for far too long. We are done with you now, please leave.Thank you.