Thursday, December 17, 2009

Adorable Inexpensive Christmas Gifts


I recently came across a mama blog where she prints paper dolls for her children to play with. I was so excited about this and is a wonderful cheap gift. I had Adam buy some card paper to print the dolls and clothes on. I'm making a few kits to give as gifts to some little girls we know. I'm also making some for my girls for cute stocking stuffers.
How cute will that be with a few pages of dolls in a cute envelope with a pair of scissors attached? Oh I love crafting.


Here are some links to them.







There are many more, I found mine on google.



Friday, December 4, 2009

Assurance

I was struggling for a while (quite a few years). I finally trusted a friend enough to ask for her help. I wanted to share the lesson. She took the time away from her family to help me and I will be forever grateful.

We were asked at Chruch last Sunday to share the Gospel with others this week. I'm hoping my blog will reach more than I can in person, since I am not feeling well this week.

From my friend Michal, a wonderful woman of God:

I would like you to for a moment forget your religious background and just come to the bible as a child... with no preconceived ideas. I am going to talk to you as if I did not know your back ground as well... and just let the bible speak to you and you decide whether or not your name really is written in the book of life or if you need to do something about it now. :)

1. The first and most important thing is that you know GOD loves you. Remember that some of the things I am writing you KNOW... Just go over it again to reassure your faith. :)

John 3:16-17 Say:

3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.


2. The bible says that our sin makes it so that WE CAN NOT ENTER INTO HEAVEN.

3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:


Ok so all that this is saying is that... WE CAN NOT GET TO HEAVEN by doing good deeds.... There is NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT so, God Loving us so much sent his perfect son to die on the Cross to pay for our sins. So We HAVE ALL Sinned. So we can't get to heaven. BUT though Jesus we are Justified. (Bare with me, I know this is just a reminder)

Another verse that says we can not get saved by works is Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast.

So... That means that if we can not do anything to get to heaven.... WE ALSO CAN"T DO ANYTHING TO LOOSE OUR Salvation right? :) let me show you.

BUT FIRST: here is the payment for our sin...

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 6:23

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Rev 20:14


So we see that because of our sin we are condemmed to the second death. and whoever is not saved will be cast into the lake of fire. (LITERAL not like some religions try to make it)

3. Jesus IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. John 14:6-7

The truths to get from this verse is that, JEsus again... is the only way to heaven.... and that JESUS is GOD. The father and Jesus and the Holy Ghost are one. He says you have seen him already... but no one has seen the father right? Well... He is saying right here that he is the father. Do you believe this?

HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS EMAIL. HOW THE BIBLE SAYS WE GET SAVED.

Romans 10:8-13
10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.



* So the bible says we need to recognize that we are sinners condemned to go to hell

* We cant get to heaven by works (Like going to church, reading our bible, helping the poor, "speaking in tongues*, getting baptized or anything else) all these are types of Works... YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING!

* The only one that could pay for our sins was Jesus.

* IT IS AS CLEAR AS WATER, that if we believe with are hearts and confess with our mouths that JESUS IS GOD (LORD) and we believe He died for our sins and Rose on the 3rd day, we are saved!

So... Do you believe these things?

Have you confessed with your mouth?

I don't mean get baptized in some church, I don't mean go down the isle and have some weird experience or feeling that you were "FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST"... I mean have you specifically taken the time to out loud with your mouth Ask Jesus for salvation. Have you told him that you believe HE IS the only GOD. Have you told him you believe that he came and died on the cross to pay for your sins? Have you told him that you believe He rose from the dead?

Have you asked him to come into your heart and save you?

If you do not remember a specific time when you did this. .. it's like not remembering when you married your husband.

So, before He asked you to marry him, you both loved each other right? BUT it was not until it was official and you spoke it out loud in some type of wedding ceremony that you became his wife.

The same with Salvation.

You may believe and that's good... that's the first thing. Then you need to confess with your mouth like the verse says... and ask him to come into your heart and save you.

I John 5:7-13 says

5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

5:9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.

5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.


He that believeth on the son (jesus) has the witness in himself! SO that is why we need to really remember a time when we asked him to come in. He has given us a free will and if we don't ask him it does not matter what we do... He wont come in unless you ask him.

and GOD CAN NOT LIE... so if he says you are saved by doing these things only YOU ARE! and he gives us eternal life. (That means we don't experience the 2nd death, remember that verse?)

5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

5:12 He that hath the Son hath life (how can we get the son, he needs to be in our hearts); and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

5:13 These things have I written unto (INSERT YOUR NAME) you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that (YOU) ye may know that ye (HE/SHE) have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.


I asked Jesus to come into my heart when I was 6 yrs old. So many things have happened since then... and I am a wicked sinner! BUT WHEN Jesus comes into your heart, God can no longer see the sin in us, that is how we can get to heaven. We become righteous in His eyes through Jesus who covered our sins with his blood.

So... all you have to do is believe, which you said you do! and confess... if you do not remember this step then you need to ask him it's that easy. And once that happens you never have to ask again, because He can not lie and he has sealed us with the Holy ghost.

Remember you CAN NOT LOOSE YOUR SALVATION EVER!!!! ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED!

John 10:28
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.


In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,


Ephesians 1:13

Here is an example of what I prayed as a little girl and when I go tell others about Christ and explain the gospel I have them pray this prayer after the asure themselves that they believe.

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I deserve to go to hell. Lord I believe you are GOD and that you died to pay for my sins and arose on the 3rd day. Lord Come into my heart and save me. Thank you Lord for sacrificing yourself in my place and thank you for the assurance of my salvation. In your precious name I pray. Amen.

This is just a sample, there is no magic to these Words, its just talking to The Lord with your heart. If you have already done this. Great, what about your girls and your husband. Just because you are saved does not mean they are. They need to make a personal decision themselves to trust in Jesus. And Going to church and been good little girls is not enough, even believing is not enough, they need to confess with their Mouths.

Do you know where you're going?




IN GERMAN

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

God ALWAYS Provides.

WARNING: Possible Christmas spoiler in this post. You may want to read without your kiddies around.


7 years ago Santa brought Kiley and August a play kitchen. It was a nice one, but not the one that he was originally going to bring. The much wanted kitchen was wood (particle board), with a stove, oven, microwave, dishwasher, fridge and freezer. It had a real nice 50's look to it. It was beautiful. I ordered it online, and after 3 weeks of waiting, I received an email stating they were sold out and wouldn't get anymore before Christmas. I was so sad. I rushed to Costco, where I knew they also had these, and they too were sold out. I was just devastated, and prayed a silly prayer, "Lord please please make this kitchen available, somehow". I ended up settling for a plastic kitchen. It was cute but just not the same.

Kiley and August loved their kitchen for about 3 years.

Two weeks ago I saw a similar kitchen in the Target Ad on sale for $99.00. It was close to the one I wanted years ago, but smaller. I told Adam, I'm buying this kitchen for the little girls' Santa gift this year. He told me we really can't afford that this year, but he just saw one like that, only bigger that someone was giving away. "REALLY?" Our friend Leslie was getting rid of her daughters old play kitchen.

I called as quick as I could. She said she was ready to destroy it, and couldn't wait to get it out of there. It needed a little work, and some parts replaced, but I could have it. DEAL. She brought the kitchen by last Friday.

AND

GUESS

WHAT?????

IT IS THE EXACT SAME KITCHEN I wanted for Kiley and August years ago!!!

I can't believe it. After a few repairs and some new plexiglass, this wonderful $300 kitchen will cost us only about $30.00.

Praise God!!!

He may not answer our prayers with the timing that we think He should, but He is always on time. Even with things as silly as a play kitchen.









THIS IS THE BEFORE PICTURE. Adam has some work to do on it before Christmas. I already got the new plexiglass. I'm SO excited. GOD IS SO GOOD.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

LOVE


And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV)



Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Before They Meet Prince Charming

Graduating elementary school was a huge step for Kiley and August. It takes them to the next and probably most difficult time in their lives. "The Middle School Years". Welcome strange feelings, puberty, desires for independence, learning how to become a woman and many other things, all wrapped up in about 3 or 4 very very loooong years.


The very last week of elementary school brought a special assembly in which girls and boys were separated and taught about puberty and body changes, periods etc. We decided that all of these subjects are going to be taught to our girls, by us. The schools have left out a very very vital thing in their teachings of sexual education. They have forgotten to teach the fragility of a child's heart. The physical aspects are all covered. They are taught how to do it and what to use to avoid getting pregnant and diseases. Heck, they are even provided with the supplies. They are told to be abstinent to avoid these things all together. What they are not told, is how this will effect them emotionally after and for the rest of their lives.

Parents are shut out and the school becomes the one take the place of the one who truely love this child. My daughter can now do all sorts of things without my knowledge or consent.

My main focus is that of my daughters' hearts. Their physical well being and their future marriage and children. It is my mission to do whatever I can possibly to do ensure my daughters are nothing like I was. I don't even want them to experience one iota of who I was as a teenager. The extreme shattered heart and emotional baggage I experienced was very damaging for a long time.

The responsibility God has given to me to raise these girls is an honor. I want to do everything I can to make sure I do it right and do it the way He wants.



I gave them each a book for graduating elementary school. Before You Meet Prince Charming, By Sarah Mally. It was recommended to me as a tool to use to help show and train young women to guard their hearts and keep themselves pure for the one that God has for them, while using Biblical principals and scripture. Sounds rediculous in this day and age, doesn't it? I say, why not dream big? Why not hold high standards? Women before the last 30-40 years didn't date like women do today. This is a new consept that doesn't seem to be working very well. There are so many unwed mothers, teenage pregnancies (despite the freebies available), abortions and divorces and broken relationships. Each decade gets worse, the divorce rates increase and more homes and children are broken.

Is it possible to raise a daughter who will remain pure until marriage? We are certainly going to teach her. It will be my prayer that she will develop a conviction in her heart to guard it and keep it safe.

I'm enclosing and excerpt from the above book. It is a beautiful illustration. The Princess is walking with her father the King to the Royal Rose Garden, she thought her father was being overly cautious with her and too protective.



"Look at this, What do you see?" her father questioned.


"A lovely rose," she said.


"What color?"


"White."


"Pure white," her father emphasized. "What else do you notice?"


"Well, it is closed. It is just a bud."


"What is the inside like?" he inquired. "Open it for me."


"I can't open it for you!"


"Why not?" he asked


"Because it has to open by itself," she stated.


"But I want to see the inside," repeated the king.


"Then you will have to wait for it to open when it is ready. If I force it open, you will never see it's beauty."


"But are you not overly cautious?" teased the king. "We'll only open a few petals."


"The rose is very delicate," she answered. "The petals will tear, and it will never be the same."


"And so it is with many fair maidens," the king explained. "Their beauty is never fully seen, for they wait not until the proper time. They are handled and played with my too many a fellow. Their heart is open prematurely. The fragrance and beauty that was intended for the perfect time is lost or damaged forever"


"Yes, I understand now, Father," said the princess.


http://www.graceandtruthbooks.com/listdetails.asp?ID=1431










Monday, October 26, 2009

The Controlling Husband

I read the enclosed post on a blog a while ago. Some recent conversations I've had made me think of it. I had to search to find it. Again, I know that it is impossible for everyone to run their lives the same way, or for every woman to be home. A conversation I had yesterday, about a single woman not ever wanting a man to control her by her being home, led me to find and share this post below.

I used to be the woman who never wanted a man to control her. I was the woman who would never ever say home. I was the feminist type, until I learned how to be more feminine. I don't think a lot of women realize that their job has more control over their lives than a husband would. I have much more freedom now that my husband is in "control" than when my job was. And, at least I know my husband cares and loves us more than anything, and he's working to take care of us, rather than an employer who can fire me at a moments notice.

Not all of the post below supports my feelings or opinions, and it may be a little extreme in some parts.

This is the original source: http://stevenandersonfamily.blogspot.com/2009/06/not-your-typical-father-day-post.html


From what some people have written and commented, it seems that my life comes off as perfect, and even more so that my husband must just be the greatest and most wonderful guy. But let's face it - he's human.

So for a different kind of Father's Day post, I thought I'd put my husband in the right light by telling you all the negative things you never suspected much less knew about him.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For starters, he forces me to get up early every morning. Me and all the kids have to be dressed and presentable enough to leave the house by no later than 8 am. He tells me what to wear (and what not to wear). The style he dictates can best be described as "business casual", although on Fridays (go figure) he lets me wear whatever I want.

Since he is into the alarm business, and we have surveillance cameras for safety, he uses those to check on me via the internet throughout the day, making sure I don't have too much "idle time". He is pretty much okay with me taking one 15 minute break every 4 hours, and about 30 minutes for meals. I am not allowed to talk on the phone with friends and relatives unless all my work is done, which never happens, so I have to call them without "getting caught". I am not supposed to use the computer recreationally during the day.

He doesn't like having the kids around much, and often forces me to leave them to be watched by people who I don't know all that well (although they did come with good references). Some days, they are only home for breakfast, dinner, and bedtime. I have to come up with the money to pay the babysitter, and also paying half the bills. It can be so stressful. Worse yet, he has told me that anytime he doens't like the way I act or do things, if I don't obey exactly as I am told, or if I don't get all my work done, he can just leave me and find somebody better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyone who even knows my husband remotely, knows that NONE OF THE ABOVE IS TRUE, and I hope you read down this far to figure out I was just joking. I especially hope my husband's mom did!


I wrote the above to illustrate the life of today's "liberated women" who have a career rather than staying home to raise children. If all the above statements were true about my husband, everyone would think he was a total jerk. Yet if I had a job that brought with it all the things I mentioned, that would be considered normal by our society.

These women are the ones who must get up early day in, day out, even when they don't feel like it. They are the ones who are told what to wear, and the ones who are watched on CCTV (think anyone in retail, banks, etc). They are told when to eat and when to have a bathroom break. They are forced to pay to surrender their kids to near strangers, and to be raised by government schools. At the end of the day, they have hardly seen their children. Working women are expected to shoulder the burden of the family finances, and all too often are also left with all household-related chores.

For all that, they make hardly any profit by the time they pay for taxes and work-related expenses, and by not having the time to shop for bargains and save in other ways such as cooking from scratch, gardening, etc.

Anytime they mess up, or the boss doesn't like them, or the economy takes a hit, they can be let go without second thought. Those dear co-workers that they traded for raising children will not even remember their names any more in a few years. Their life's work and fulfillment is wrapped up in something that has no eternal value whatsoever.

I am not talking about women who are forced to work due to circumstances outside of their control, such as being left by their husband, or a husband who forces them to work. Nor am I talking about moms who find enjoyable employment from home, or ladies who cannot have children and want some "outside" interaction.

I am talking about women who of their own free will decide to pursue a career rather than motherhood because they find it "liberating" and "fulfilling". Who pop birth control pills like candy, even though it turns them into a walking, talking hormonal zombie just because they dread the thought of being "tied down" with a baby. Sadly, these women have been deceived by our society to think that they are free when they are really just obeying somebody else, in addition to missing out on the countless blissful moments that children bring.

In an attempt to stamp out "sexism", women are expected to act, dress, and perform like - men. If that isn't extremely sexist, I don't know what is. I don't want to be a man any more than I want my husband to be a woman. It is not a question who is "better" or has it "easier". Men and women are different (fundamental, I know), and each have certain strengths to suit the work that God created them to do. My washing machine and my dishwasher are both great at washing, but if I decided to liberate the washer by putting dishes in it instead of laundry, it wouldn't be pretty or functional. The same is true for the roles of men and women.

And just to set the record straight, yes, I do think that my husband is great and wonderful. He is the most generous, friendly, and loving person I have ever met, and a fantastic Dad. Because of his hard work in providing for our family, I am free to raise the children and have fun with them. Is he perfect - no. But he is the next closest thing to it as far as I'm concerned. And I am one happy, blessed, and liberated woman!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Funny Little Things, Friday!

My kids say some funny things sometimes.

August one day was asking how her pee came out. I began to tell her about how her kidneys worked and blah blah blah. She asked me if my pee went through my grown up knees.

I used to be a huge fan of the show F.R.I.E.N.D.S, there was an episode where Phoebe was trying to name the Taxi. Anyway, I always say, Relaxy Taxi, when my kids are getting crazy. Now when I tell Julia to do something, she says "okay, okay, Laxy Taxi"

Emily's new one is "Pass the napkins, geeze" (I probably should stop saying geeze)

Julia was crying. I asked her what's wrong. "I want to jump in the TV"

I'm sure I have more.I'm going to post more next Friday. If you have some you'd like to add, send me a message and I'll include them next week.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

But, how will they learn to socialize?

I will first begin with by saying that this entry is based on what we feel is best for our family. I'm not putting anyone down for their decisions. Our decisions were based on Adams and my own opinions. I also understand that some people can't avoid certain things. Kiley and August, out of necessity had to attend pre-school for a few months before Kindergarten.

Since Emily and Julia turned 3 I have been frequently asked when they would start pre-school. My usual answer is "They're not". More often then not people have seemed irritated or downright angry at my response. "Well how do you expect them to be ready for Kindergarten?" "How are they supposed to learn any social skills?" "How will they learn to write their names and read?" "How will they learn how to sit in a chair and be quiet?"

I have been puzzled by the notion that pre-school can better socialize your child in preparation for elementary school. I can't for the life of me understand how other children lacking social skills can help each other learn to be social. In every other aspect of learning, the one learning is taught by someone who is more experienced and educated on the subject. My children are learning social skills from me and my husband, their siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles etc. They have an opportunity to then use those skills with other children their own age, when they encounter them at the park, birthday parties or other kid friendly places. I think they have a greater opportunity for socialization because we are always on the go. They socialize with people at the store, at the library, the park, on walks.

In my opinion I think they have excellent social skills for being only 3 1/2 years old. They can communicate well. They can hold a fairly good conversation. They say hello and goodbye when they are talked to (most of the time).

I have heard all sorts of stories from people I know, who's children are hit, bit, pushed, kicked and hurt at pre-school or their children are constantly sick. I don't want my girls to learn these types of social skills, nor do I want to pay to have my kids catch the flu.

I know 5 year olds, 6 year olds, 15 year olds, 18 year olds, and even some 30 year olds who attended pre-school who have horrible or zero social skills.

In my opinion it seems like there is a greater increase in behavioral problems among children now. There is separation anxiety because children under 5 still need a lot of nurturing from their mothers.

I think Emily and Julia will have no problems fitting right into Kindergarten when they are 5. Without spending an arm and a leg, we have taught them many things a lot of which would be included in a pre-school.

It has been very easy to teach them how to sit. They eat at the kitchen table with us several times a day and have to sit in their chairs. They have quiet reading time on their blankets. Most of the time they do what they are told.

Maybe it helps that I really don't care if other kids read at 18 months or if they can write an essay at 4 years old.

In my opinion, suggesting that pre-school is a better alternative than one on one teaching by me and Adam, is ignorant. To say a stranger, stressed out by a bunch of children is more adept to teach my girls how to write their names, just confuses me. The joy Adam and I receive when we are teaching our girls is one of the best feelings. It's indescribable how it melts your heart when one of the kids looks at you after they just figured out how to do what you've been teaching them. I don't want any stranger to get those small precious moments that should be ours.

Again, my blog is mostly based on how we have decided to raise our children, along with our adventures, and a few off subject topics. I'm sure we make mistakes. I'm certain some decisions we make will not have been the best. We pay attention and learn from those who we think are successful at parenting. We also pay attention to and learn from those who we don't think are successful. Our hope is that we will train up, well rounded, respectful, hardworking, loving and successful members of society. Our desire doesn't differ from other parents. We love our children with everything we have, and only want what we feel is the best for our family.

Monday, October 19, 2009

TURN OFF THE BOOB TUBE!

I am borrowing this from another blog, here: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/09/ten-financial-reasons-to-turn-off-your-television-and-ten-things-to-replace-it-with/#comments (maybe someone can teach me how to properly add and name links)


TEN FINANCIAL REASONS TO TURN OFF THE TV- and TEN THINGS TO REPLACE IT WITH

Cable / satellite bills Our cable bill used to cost us roughly $60 a month. That adds up to $720 a year spent just to get more programming. Three years worth of that and we’re looking at a very nice vacation. Five or six years of that, put into a savings account, potentially replaces a car.

Electricity We had two televisions, and they would each be on an average of four hours a day. Given a cost of $0.10 per kilowatt hour, and the fact that the smaller television used about 100 watts and the larger one used about 160 watts, that meant we were using a bit over a kilowatt hour each day. There’s another $40 a year that vanished.

Guilt Television programs often create a glamorous image of a life that is far outside the financial capabilities of most people watching. When viewers watch such programs then reflect on their lives, it creates a set of negative feelings. For me, the most prevalent feeling was guilt – I can’t give my family this stuff, I would think. Thus, my sense of self-worth would go down. This would put me in a mindset to be more susceptible to the ….

Commercials Those wonderful short little programs that are designed to sell you stuff, period. Even better: they often work in concert with the programs to create a sense of guilt – and they offer a psychological way out. One commercial isn’t powerful, but when you’re inundated with them… very powerful.

Less time for other opportunities If the television is on for four hours a day, that’s four hours where I could be doing something more constructive with my time, like starting a successful blog (*ahem*) or starting a business or working on a novel or getting household chores done and so forth.

Stress When we spend a lot of time watching television, we put off other things that we should be doing, like paying bills, playing with the kids, and so on. After a while, these things build up and we begin to feel stress in our lives that wouldn’t be there if we didn’t spend so much time watching television. Over time, elevated stress leads to health issues.

Poorer dining habits Instead of spending time preparing a healthy, inexpensive meal from scratch, we would hurry up and eat an more expensive prepackaged meal (or takeout) so that we could catch certain television programs. These costs added up, not only on our wallets, but also around our waists.

Poor health / obesity Television is almost always a sedentary activity. Over time, it begins to show. Television is the big reason for the “obesity epidemic,” because Americans simply don’t get the natural exercise from doing non-sedentary activities that they once got. The health costs from this can be tremendous.

Less communication When the television is on for hours each day, it’s much more difficult to have real conversations with the people in your life. Over time, less communication means weaker relationships with the people you love, and this means that quite often you have to “supplement” the relationship with additional spending.

Less sex For a married couple, not only is it good exercise (and thus healthy), it’s free and it can help heal a lot of costly relationship issues. With heavy television usage, particularly in the bedroom, couples can fall asleep watching television instead of in each other’s arms. I know it’s true from experience.

Ten Things To Replace Television With

If you take a one week challenge to turn off the television, several things will happen, chief among them boredom and a sense of having a ton of “empty” time. Here are ten things to do to fill that time.

Start an exercise plan. If you didn’t watch Mad Money every night at six o’clock, you might be able to spend that hour walking around the block, doing leg lifts, or doing an aerobic workout. Most exercise routines cost nothing, though it can be more fun if you do something like a DDR exercise regimen (something I’d love to write about, but I can’t really conceive of how it fits on The Simple Dollar).

Prepare meals. Learn how to cook at home. Prepare some interesting meals. Get a good cookbook and dig in.

Read a book you’ve always wanted to read. Read something to educate your mind and your spirit.

Start a second business. I keep this blog running on less time than I used to spend watching television each night and it is earning some money. I also started a computer consulting business, where I fix people’s computers locally. This has opened up two solid revenue streams for me that, added together, approximate what I made from my job before. This has made me feel much less stressed about work – I do my job, but it no longer has the paralyzing “Oh my God what if they downsize?” fear that it used to have.

Be social. Have healthy, focused conversations with your immediate family. Patch up bruised relationships and friendships. Go out to community events and meet people. Find a group connected to the things you’re interested in and get involved (like a book club).

Take an evening class. Most universities offer degree programs towards a master’s degree (or higher) in the evenings. See what’s available and get into such a program. It will fill your evenings with food for thought and put you on a much stronger career path.

Learn a new skill or a new hobby. When my great grandfather died, my great grandmother spent her evenings learning how to paint, something she’d always wanted to learn how to do. She had a ton of natural skill, and as she learned the craft, it began to show. It was something that her married life and television watching had never left time for before.

Take on a major project. Do something huge that you’ve always wanted to do. I’ve done things like made a homemade bullwhip, learned how to speak Mandarin, and so on, just in my new found spare time.

Get things done. When I finally turned off the television and looked around, I saw literally hundreds of little things that needed to be done that I simply hadn’t done. So I started getting them done; I literally spent three days making a giant checklist of every task that would take longer than five minutes, then I just started going through them. I felt so productive while doing this that it was a huge endorphin rush just by itself.

Take care of whatever bothers you. For me, it was taking a little bit of time each day to meditate and get in touch with my spiritual side, and it made a huge difference in my life.
In short, by cutting out television, you can not only directly save money, but live a much more rich and fulfilling life.


AND JUST TO ADD A FEW MORE THINGS

Everyday things to do instead of watching TV

read the Bible or some other book
memorize Bible verses
take some quiet time to pray
go to the library
try a new recipe
learn how to play an instrument
bake cookies
cook a meal for someone in your church who is sick or just had a baby
relax with a nice cup of tea
keep a journal of funny things your kids say
spend one-on-one time with a child doing what they chose
search online for ideas for the next family birthday
balance your check book
take a quiet bath
answer your e-mails
clean out a closet
organize your recipes
make pizza as a family
get caught up on laundry
grow something in your yard/windowsill
pull weeds
sew matching PJ's for all your kids
work on a craft you already know
learn a new craft
listen to a sermon on CD
create/update a blog
make a gift for someone
make a scrapbook
organize photos
call someone on the phone
clean
go thrift store hunting
ride a bike
go for a walk
play board games

A Very, Very Busy Weekend (the long blog)

It was a real busy weekend. We decided to take the little girls to the mall Friday night to have their ears pierced. I originally decided not to have them pierced when they were babies, like their older sisters. I wanted to have them pick when and if they wanted them done. Lately, J has been obsessed with anyone who has "holes in the ears". She always asks to look at the earrings at the store and loves when she sees them on others.

I have been looking for clip ons for her. We have a few from my grandmother but they are pretty huge and hard for her to keep on. She knew that these were not the kind you put in ear holes. haha. She said we need to "take me down there to get holes" I don't know where she thought down there was, but it was cute to hear them say that. E didn't seem as interested in the earrings. When we asked her she would always change her answer. One day she wanted them, the other she didn't. So I wasn't sure if she'd get them or not. We just planned to take J and see what E decided.

THE BOOTS
I took all the kids to the mall Friday afternoon. We started our trip at Nordstrom so A could finally buy her long awaited Ugg boots. She decided a year ago she wanted genuine Ugg boots after having a cheaper version. She tried on the Ugg's last year and immediately fell in love. I'll admit they are wonderfully comfortable. She asked for her birthday and all other gift giving events for money so she could save. She did extra chores around the house and various other things to earn her own money. There were several times when she really wanted to take a detour in her saving to buy something else. I let her use her Ugg money to buy a new sweatshirt she wanted. I tried to explain that she shouldn't take her eye off the end of the race but she was adamant she wanted this jacket. About a week later she was bummed that she spent some of her Ugg money and now she had that much more to save.

I was secretly hoping she would give up the idea of saving to buy $150 boots,since her feet are still growing. NO way. It took her a year, but she saved that money. I'm very proud of her dedication to keep a goal for so long at her age. It's wonderful to see her show endurance. It's a wonderful character trait to posses.

THE PRE-TEENS
We had 2 hours to kill at the mall before Adam got off work to meet us there for J to get her ears pierced. The 3 big girls are getting to that "mall" age. They visited all the teeny ager stores and walked around the mall. It's cute. I remember loving to hang at the mall. I sat in the nice comfy chairs they provide and waited for them to finish oohing and ahhhing at the obscenely overpriced clothing.

THE EARRINGS
We chose The Icing by Claires to have the ears done. J went right in the store and got right up in the chair. E decided she would have her ears pierced. We had her go first, as we thought she'd be the hardest. They did both ears at the same time. E said "OUCH" and cried a bit, not much though. As soon as she got her sucker she was done crying. J was then ready to go. They did her ears and she cried and cried. The poor baby cried for almost 10 minutes. I felt horrible. She kept saying "that really hurt". By the next day she was in love with her earrings.


THE CRAFTS
I was checking out Martha Stewart On-Demand. She always has great craft ideas for the holidays. Most of which are always way too difficult or require some item that is only sold in New England during the month of November,only on Tuesdays between the hours of 8am and 8:15am, and costs a fortune. HA!

She made these adorable Ghost Trick or Treat bags from white pillow cases. It looked so easy. It was a great project for all of my kids to do. Here is the link to the project. http://www.marthastewart.com/article/pillowcase-trick-or-treat-bags? (I haven't figured out how to name links yet) Each of the girls picked out their face and we cut them out, ironed them on and put in the rope to sinch up the top. It was so much fun. All the girls had a great time and were very proud of their bags. This, I think will be an awesome gift idea in the future.











J




















K






























H













A














E










THE BIRTHDAY
Adam turned 31 on Sunday. We celebrated Saturday afternoon with dinner and a yummy homemade ice cream cake courtesy of my mother in law. We had about 20 people in our tiny little house. But it was much fun. I love having family over, and I love cooking dinner for them. I used my sisters Alfredo sauce recipe. I made Chicken Fettucini Alfredo. Sooo yummy.

THE END
The big girls decided they wanted to participate in the church Christmas play. I think they are all shepherds and sheep. So cute. I had to work and really didn't want to. It was a long, tiring, but very fun weekend.

SORRY MY PHONE TAKES SUCH HORRIBLE PICTURES

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Needs new Menu Ideas

I am looking for some new, healthy, fresh and cheap recipes for dinner. I try once a week to cook something "new" that we've never had before. I have several cook books, but I'd like to get some ideas from Moms (or SAHD's), who's husband's (wives) and children enjoy the food you make. My kids and husband are not picky. This makes cooking much easier. If I make it and it's on the table, they will eat it.

We love all sorts of veggies. I usually substitute starchy foods with extra veggies, but will cook it if the recipe calls for it.

PLEASE SEND ME YOUR YUMMY RECIPES. I will try them and let you know how the fam liked it.

I'm also planning on starting a new dinner menu cateogory on my blog where I can post our family favs so others can try them.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Re-learning to Crochet

My Grandma Mary taught me to crochet when was a little girl. I remember I really liked it. I really don't remember how to do it anymore. Money is going to be really super tight for Christmas this year. I have decided to re-learn how to crochet. I'm heading out this week to get a few different yarns and the necessary needles. With the help of you-tube and some online articles, I'm hoping to crochet each of my girls a little animal toy and a hat and scarf for Christmas. I'd better get cracking.

I sure wish I had Grandma Mary here re-teach me instead of youtube. Things like this make me miss her so much more.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Ineffectiveness and Dangers of Flu Shots

Ineffectiveness and Dangers of Flu Shots
October 5th, 2009 7:40 AM

by Stephen Lendman


Believing what governments say can be hazardous to your health. It's even truer from corporate-sponsored studies on the benefits of their products. Thus, be very leery about the new CSL Ltd. one on the effectiveness of taking one Swine Flu dose. More to the point, any Swine Flu shot as, in single or multiple doses, they're all extremely toxic, dangerous, and must be avoided to protect human health from the pathogenic onslaught vaccines are designed to unleash.

CSL is "Australia's leading biopharmaceutical company (and) the only commercial manufacturer of influenza vaccines in the Southern Hemisphere." It's currently producing "a pandemic influenza vaccine called Panvax H1N1 which uses the proven technology that has enabled us to provide Australia with seasonal flu vaccines over the last 40 years."

The New England Journal of Medicine published "the welcome news," claiming to show one shot produced the same immune response protection as annual flu vaccines. More on their ineffectiveness and hidden dangers below.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (part of the US National Institutes of Health) also claims its early trials and studies confirm one dose provides protection eight to ten days after inoculation. Again beware - their advice endangers your health, especially about Swine Flu and the vaccines designed for it. They advise everyone take them voluntarily. Later, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius may mandate them if enough people don't comply, and individual states may follow suit.

Separating Facts from Government and Industry Disinformation

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), annual flu shots are advised for "all children from 6 months through 18 years of age," everyone over 50, pregnant women, and individuals with "long-term health problems" like heart, lung, kidney or liver disease, HIV/AIDS, other immune system diseases or persons with weakened immune systems, asthma, diabetes, anemia, certain muscle or nerve disorders, residents of nursing homes or chronic care facilities, and certain others.

Warning about "seasonal epidemics," the World Health Organization's (WHO) advice is much the same, adding that "Seasonal influenza spreads easily and can sweep through schools, nursing homes or businesses and towns....The most effective way to prevent the disease or severe outcomes from the illness is vaccination."

The WHO claims "Among healthy adults, influenza vaccine can prevent 70% to 90% of influenza-specific illness. Among the elderly, the vaccine reduces severe illnesses and complications by up to 60%, and deaths by 80%."

Information below shows WHO claims are false and misleading. So are the CDC's and NIH's and doubly so for the new Swine Flu vaccines.

All Vaccines Are Ineffective and Unsafe

Gary Null is a leading health and nutrition expert, author, documentary filmmaker, founder of the Progressive Radio Network, and syndicated host of the longest running health program in America, Natural Living with Gary Null.

On September 18, 2009, he interviewed Dr. Viera Scheibner, "arguably one of the world's most respected scientists and scholars on vaccine medical data....Her investigations uncover how the vaccine industrial complex (and complicit government regulatory bodies produce) pseudo-science that is fraught with inconsistencies, poorly designed studies, erroneous interpretations, and conclusions that are patently false" - by design, not chance.

She calls vaccinations "an illness industry," causing a "pandemic (of) degenerative diseases (and) behavioral problems."

From her research and writings on vaccine science and history, she said:

"Ever since the turn of the (last) century, medical journals published dozens and dozens of articles demonstrating that injecting vaccines (can) cause anaphylaxis, meaning harmful, inappropriate immunological responses, which is also called sensitization. (This) increase(s) susceptibility to the disease which the vaccine is supposed to prevent, and to a host of related and other unrelated infections."

"We see it in vaccinated children within days, within two or three weeks. (Most of them) develop runny noses, ear infections, pneumonitis, (and) bronchiolitis. It is only a matter of degrees, which indicates immuno-suppression, (not immunity). It indicates the opposite. So I never use the word immunization because that is false advertising. It implies that vaccines immunize, which they don't. The correct term is either vaccination or sensitization."

In addition, "Vaccines (can) damage internal organs, particularly the pancreas," so everyone vaccinated, including for seasonal flu, is vulnerable to contracting severe "autoimmune diseases like diabetes," Addison's Disease, Arthritis, Asthma, Guillian-Barre Syndrome, Hepatitis, Lou Gehrig's Disease, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Osteoporosis, Polio, and dozens of others.

Some can kill. Others produce a lifetime of disability and pain because autoimmune disease happens when the "body attacks itself," or more accurately "is attacked" by an unhealthy lifestyle, stress, and various harmful ingestible substances; that is, toxins in drugs, food, air, water, and other liquids. According to immunologist, Dr. Jesse Stoff, human health is compromised four ways:

-- by poor nutrition;

-- man-made environmental toxins;

-- disease-causing organisms and their toxins; and

-- immune system trauma from factors like x-ray radiation and stress.

Other factors include a lack of sleep and exercise, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and various excesses that throw the body out of balance, making it susceptible to a host of debilitating illnesses.

Known Toxins in Seasonal Flu and Other Vaccines

Millions voluntarily take annual flu shots not knowing their harmful ingredients. With variations by producer, they contain numerous stabilizers, neutralizers, carrying agents, and preservatives, including:

-- 25 micrograms of mercury (thimerosal), a known neurotoxin; one microgram is considered toxic; according to the NIH, "mercury and all of its compounds are toxic, exposure to excessive levels can permanently damage or fatally injure the brain and kidneys;" even "exposures to very small amounts" can also cause "allergic reactions, neurological damage and death;" it's also linked to autism;

-- aluminum hydroxide and phosphate, known to be linked to some neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease; the Office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports x-ray evidence of pulmonary fibrosis among workers studied; it also reports that patients undergoing long-term kidney dialysis develop speech disorders, dementia, or convulsions;

-- formaldehyde, a known carcinogen according to the National Cancer Institute; it's also linked to upper respiratory tract problems and effects on lymphatic and hematopoietic systems (relating to human blood cells);

-- gelatin, polysorbate 80 and resin - ingredients causing severe allergic reactions;

-- ammonium sulfate, a suspected gastrointestinal, liver, and respiratory toxicant and neurotoxicant;

-- sorbitol, a suspected gastrointestinal and liver toxicant;

-- phenoxyethanol (antifreeze), a suspected developmental and reproductive toxicant;

-- beta-propiolactone, a known carcinogen and suspected gastrointestinal, liver, respiratory, skin and sense organ toxicant;

-- gentamycin, an antibiotic;

-- triton X100, a strong detergent;

-- animal tissues and fluids, including potentially contaminated horse blood, rabbit brain, dog kidney, monkey kidney, chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg, pig blood, and porcine (pig) protein/tissue;

-- calf and fetal bovine serum;

-- macerated cancer cells;

-- diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue; and/or

-- other ingredients varying by producer.

Contrary to industry and government agency advice, annual flu shots are dangerous and ineffective. According to Croft Woodruff, president of the EDTA Chelation Association of British Columbia:

"Statistically, you'd be more likely to avoid the flu if you took nothing at all. So why are we subjected to the flu vaccine media blitz each year?" In a word, profits assured annually as long as enough people take them - for all vaccines (besides the enormous bonanza from the Swine Flu vaccines), billions of dollars in annual revenues, according to leading producer estimates.

On September 29, Wall Street Journal writers Jonathan Rockoff and Peter Loftus explained that the industry believes vaccines:

"will become an increasingly important source of growth to replace aging blockbusters that are poised to lose patent protection. Vaccine sales are growing faster than sales of other prescription medicines and are largely immune to the generic competition that is already cost drug makers billions of dollars in revenues on their top-selling treatments. Moreover, government agencies both in the US and around the world are increasingly reliable buyers of vaccines as they seek to stockpile medicines that could help protect the public in case of a major flu outbreak."

Or perhaps, in the case of Swine Flu, infect it as part of a sinister depopulation scheme through involuntary male and/or female sterilization and future deadly illnesses while rewarding producers with hundreds of billions in profits from global inoculations over the next few years. For what may be planned, it doesn't get any better than that. As a result, the public is cautioned to ignore media and official hype and stay safe by refusing all vaccines, especially the new Swine Flu ones that may, in fact, be bioweapons.

More Disclaimers about Flu Vaccine Effectiveness and the Truth about Their Dangers

First the worst news. Annual flu shots may induce one or more of the above-mentioned annoying to life-threatening autoimmune diseases, including severe allergies, diabetes, and the Guillan-Barre Syndrome (GBS) nerve disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness, paralysis, and at times death. They can also cause encephalitis, an acute inflammation of the brain; various neurological disorders; and thrombocytopenia, a serious blood disorder.

Now the bad news. Annual flu shots don't work, except to enhance producer profits, which is why the industry, complicit regulatory bodies, and the media tell unsuspecting people to take them.

Each year, government health agencies guess which viral strain(s) are most worrisome. Usually they're wrong. For example, New York Times writer Lawrence Altman headlined his January 15, 2004 article, "Vaccine Is Said to Fail to Protect Against Flu Strain" in reporting that the CDC said its most recent recommended flu vaccine had "no or low effectiveness" against that season's Fujian threat, based on study results from its first ever health providers survey. Other studies report similar findings, and so do reliable scientists from their research.

The Lancet reported that a 2008 study on "immunocompetent elderly people aged 65 - 94 years enrolled in Group Health (a health maintenance organisation) during 2000, 2001, and 2002" found that "influenza vaccination was not associated with a reduced risk of community-acquired pneumonia during the influenza season." Influenza predisposes individuals to contracting pneumonia.

In understated terms, the prestigious medical journal concluded that "The effect of influenza vaccination on the risk of pneumonia in elderly people during the influenza seasons might be less than previously estimated." Yet doctors keep recommending them based on misleading industry and government information.

In October 2007, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health reported on the "mortality benefits of influenza vaccination in elderly people: an ongoing controversy" and concluded:

"frailty selection bias and use of non-specific endpoints such as all-cause mortality have led cohort studies to greatly exaggerate vaccine benefits. The remaining evidence base is currently insufficient to indicate the magnitude of the mortality benefit, if any, that elderly people derive from the vaccination programme."

On May 1, 2003, The New England Journal of Medicine reported on the largest ever study to determine the effectiveness of pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine inoculations - based on medical data for 47,365 people aged 65 or older from 1998 - 2001. It found no significant association between vaccination and a reduced pneumonia risk in concluding:

"alternative strategies are needed to prevent nonbacteremic pneumonia, which is a more common manifestation of pneumococcal infection in elderly persons." In other words, flu shots don't work, so why take them.

An October 2008 published study in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine had similar conclusions based on doctor visits during the two most recent flu seasons. It reported:

"In 2 seasons with suboptimal antigenic match between vaccines and circulating strains, we could not demonstrate VE in preventing influenza-related inpatient/ED or outpatient visits in children younger than 5 years. Further study is needed during years with good vaccine match."

In September 2008, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reported that the Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alberta concluded as follows from "clinical, laboratory, and functional data" collected on 1,813 adults "with community-acquired pneumonia admitted to six hospitals outside of influenza season" in Alberta:

"mortality benefits of influenza vaccination" are "overestimated" even though the population inoculated increased from 15% in 1980 to 65% in 2008.

In the October 2006 British Medical Journal, Dr. Tom Jefferson wrote about "Influenza vaccination: policy versus evidence" and concluded:

"Evidence from systematic reviews shows that inactivated vaccines have little or no effect on the effects measured. (In addition), Little comparative evidence exists on the safety of these vaccines....The optimistic and confident tone of some predictions of viral circulation and the impact of inactivated vaccines, which are at odds with the evidence, is striking. The reasons are probably complex and may involve a messy blend of truth and conflicts of interest making it difficult to separate factual disputes from value disputes."

In other words, influenza vaccination programs are ineffective and worthless. They're also dangerous.

In 2006, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews reported on an Oxford University, Institute of Health Sciences examination of "Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children" and concluded from the results of 51 studies involving 263,987 subjects aged 23 months to six years that vaccines are little more effective than placebos. It added that:

"If immunisation in children is to be recommended as a public-health policy, large-scale studies assessing important outcomes and directly comparing vaccine types are urgently needed."

FDA-Approved Swine Flu (H1N1) Vaccines

On September 15, the FDA:

"announced today that it has approved four vaccines against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. The vaccines will be distributed nationally after the initial lots become available, which is expected to be within the next four weeks....Based on preliminary data from adults participating in multiple clinical trials, the 2009 H1N1 vaccines induce a robust immune response in most health adults eight to 10 days after a single dose, as occurs with the seasonal influenza vaccine."

The FDA warned that "People with severe or life-threatening allergies to chicken eggs, or to any other substance in the vaccine, should not be vaccinated."

Approved US vaccines are produced by CSL Ltd., Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Ltd., Sanofi Pasteur (a division of Sanofi-Aventis Group), and AstraZeneca's MedImmune LLC. According to the FDA, "All four firms manufacture the H1N1 vaccines using the same processes, which have a long record of producing safe seasonal influenza vaccines."

Meanwhile, other governments have placed large orders for Baxter's CELVAPAN A/H1N1 vaccine, Novavax's VLP, and GlaxoSmithKline PLC's versions to assure all the major vaccine producers share in the enormous profit bonanza.

Sanofi Pasteur's vaccine proved ineffective with one shot, and Medscape Medical News reported that while it will have fewer side effects it may not protect against the 2009 H1N1 strain.

Novartis' version contains its proprietary squalene adjuvant MF59, linked to annoying to potentially deadly autoimmune and other diseases, including paralysis, autism, Alzheimer's disease, and Gulf War Syndrome. Glaxo's ASO3 poses the same risks and will be available in America through CSL Ltd.'s vaccine.

Squalene in vaccines has been secretly used for years, but according to Dr. Rima Laibow, Medical Director of the Natural Solutions Foundation:

"Never before has (it) been (officially) approved for use in a drug in the United States. But once before, when it was allowed in certain military vaccines, more than 60,000 soldiers were hospitalized (by what became) known as 'Gulf War Syndrome.' (In Doe v. Rumsfeld, a) Federal Court in 2004, forbade its involuntary use by United States troops."

"This new (Swine Flu) vaccine has, literally, 1,000,000 time more squalene than the experimental military vaccine, known as 'Vaccine A.' The attempt to rush this dangerous vaccine into the bodies of the public without safety testing is a violation of US law, regulation and medical ethics and must be condemned."

Glaxo (GSK) will distribute CSL Ltd.'s vaccine with its own proprietary high potency squalene adjuvant MPL (monophosphoryl lipid A) system ASO3 that exponentially enhances its dangers as Dr. Laibow explained.

After being linked to Gulf War Syndrome, Army scientists concluded from over two dozen post-war animal studies that nanodoses dangerously compromise the human immune system and may also kill.

MedImmune says it FluMist is a "gentle nasal mist. It's a quick spray in each nostril, one of the places where the flu virus enters the body. (It) helps your body develop proteins called antibodies that help protect you from the flu."

Dr. Rima Laibow calls FluMist a "recipe for pandemic. (It) contains 3 live viruses. You shoot it up your nose and your immune system gets a chance to make antibodies to three live, weakened viruses while the manufacturer hopes against hope that one of these three actually causes a disease this year....Of course, if you are immune compromised or go near someone who is, you will get sick or infect them with the virus and they can get the flu."

Laibow and others also warn that Flu Mist risks potential brain damage, making it an extremely hazardous drug. The nasal passage olfactory tract is a direct pathway to the brain. Ingesting viruses through it risks encephalitis, a viral-induced acute brain inflammation.

British geneticist and bilphysicist Dr. Mae-Wan and biologist Joe Cummins add that:

"Vaccines can be dangerous, especially live, attenuated viral vaccines or the new recombinant nucleic acid vaccines, that have the potential to generate virulent viruses by recombination and the recombinant nucleic acids could cause autoimmune diseases."

According to Medimmune, "FluMist is a (nasal administered) vaccine approved for the prevention of certain types of influenza disease in children, adolescents, and adults 2 - 49 years of age," except for:

-- children and adolescents regularly taking aspirin or products containing it; or persons with certain:

-- sensitivities,

-- health problems,

-- illnesses,

-- malignancies,

-- immunodeficiencies,

-- nutritional deficiencies,

-- abnormalities,

-- allergies, or

-- infections - categories applying to the majority of the population, including many in it unaware it means them.

MedImmune's product information states:

"Administration of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine Live, Intranasal, a live virus vaccine, to immunocompromised persons should be based on careful consideration of potential benefits and risks. Safety has not been established in individuals with underlying medical conditions predisposing them to wild-type influenza infection complications."

"Appropriate medical treatment and supervision must be available to manage possible anaphylactic (life-threatening allergic) reactions following administration of the vaccine....Hypersensitivity, including anaphylactic reaction, has been reported during post-marketing experience with FluMist....Intranasal may not protect all individuals receiving the vaccine."

Each producer lists numerous adverse reactions to its vaccines. Those MedImmune reported included:

-- "Congenital, familial and genetic disorder: Exacerbation of symptoms of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy (Leigh syndrome);

-- Gastrointestinal disorders: Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea;

-- Immune system disorders: Hypersensitivity reactions (including anaphylactic reaction, facial edema and urticaria);

-- Nervous system disorders: Guillain-Barre syndrome, Bell's Palsy;

-- Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders: Epistaxis;" and

-- "Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: Rash."

The FDA has not approved nasal vaccine sprays for children under two, adults over 49, or pregnant women. Product instructions also warn that:

"FluMist recipients should avoid close contact with immunocompromised individuals for at least 21 days," that should include health care workers but it doesn't. It suggests the likelihood that the vaccine's live virus will spread among immune-weakened hospital patients and elsewhere through close contact with their providers.

In their article titled, Vaccines' Dark Inferno, Gary Null and Richard Gale warn that:

"The vast majority of scientists, physicians, nurses and public health educators' trust that the ingredients in a vaccine have been individually and synergistically proven safe and effective." So do most people, even though commonly held beliefs are wrong, including by professionals who should know better. Because they don't, their patients' are endangered by the array of above toxins that in combination with new ones can trigger "a pandemic of Vaccine Disease, manifesting in myriad illnesses (including the new H1N1) dependent upon each vaccinated person's genetic predisposition and the robustness of (their) immune system(s to withstand) any epidemic threat posed by wild infectious pathogens (that) could unfold in so-called developed, hygienic society."

Since most governments sacrifice human health for business profits, who are the guardians to protect us from the coming pathogenic onslaught that may weaken or destroy the immune systems of millions of unsuspecting people, and likely sterilize and/or kill them. Something to consider before submitting to dangerous vaccines that everyone has a legal, ethical and for many a medical right to refuse.

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/10/05/ineffectiveness-and-dangers-of-flu-shots

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Today's Blanket Time

I had to shower and pay a couple of bills and check some email. This is a dream come true. I wonder if they're only doing it for the candy at the end?


Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wait! Those are my children, sitting quietly?

After much searching I think I have finally found a regular church for us to attend. It's very small (very very small), and they do not have a childrens church during the regular service. The children attend the adult service. The Pastor prefers the children be in there, he likes them to be there and doesn't mind if they make a little noise or walk around. The thing is, they have never met my little children (insert Jaws theme music). I haven't yet had the little girls come with me to a church service. They will be attending with us for the first time on October 18th.

I was a little stressed out about how they would be acting in the church. They do not like to sit for very long, and they certainly are not quiet. I found a couple of stay at home mom blogs where they discussed training kids to sit in church. It's self control training and listening training. The term is "blanket training".

I researched blanket training and there are several ways this can be done. This is what we have done so far. We picked special blankets for blanket quiet time. We went over the rules.
1. When you sit on this blanket you have to stay on the blanket and stay quiet. (quiet means not screaming or yelling, it doesn't mean not uttering any sound)
2. You must stay here until the timer goes off or Mommy says to get up.
3. If you leave the blanket you don't get your treat.
4. You may have a book or a toy to play with quietly while you sit.

I made sure I talked in an excited voice so that they understood this was a nice fun game, and if they followed all the instructions they would get a candy treat after.

The instructions were to start the kids off with 5 minutes a few times a day then gradually increase in increments until they can sit on a blanket and play quietly for a longer period of time. Yeah right, I'm thinking. My kids will never ever do this.

We started off our first day with 5 blanket time sessions of 5 minutes each. They actually sat there quietly for the entire time. The next day we moved it up to 10 & 15 minutes. Still quietly. I tried out a 20 minute blanket time so I could shower. AMAZING! Now after less than a weeks time, they can sit there for up to 30 minutes quietly with their toy or book.

One mom described this as her play pen in a purse. The blanket can be taken anywhere and used whenever, and they know that if they are sitting on this blanket they must follow the blanket rules. We even took the blankets to the store with us and put them in the shopping cart. Usually, they are climbing in and out of the cart, from front to back, riding on the bottom etc. I placed one blanket in the back and one in the seat of the cart. They sat the whole time and read their books, and didn't once climb out. AMAZING AGAIN!

This may not be any big deal to some, but if E and J were your children, you would understand. Hopefully by the 18th when I take them to the service they will be able to sit most of the hour without disrupting.

I also read about teaching and training children to listen to instructions the first time and act immediatley. I read about an obedience game and we started to play. They love this game. First I give them a fun instruction and they, are supposed to say "Yes ma'am, it would be my pleasure" They say, treasure instead of pleasure, it's cute. Their instructions may be to go touch the bedroom door and count to 5 and then come right back. No chores or cleaning up is done during the game. It's still to teach them to do what they have just been asked to do. When they come back form completing the task they get tons of cheering and hugs and kisses. Emily and Julia are LOVING THIS GAME. While we are not playing the game I have asked them to do little things like put their shoes in the shoe box, and they go and do it right away.

In less than a week, these little monster children are calmer, quieter, they have been asking for things instead of scaling the fridge to get the stuff on top. They have had more self control and have not been terrorizing everything. I have been less stressed and it's been a lot more fun. They enjoy all the extra praise and games.

Adam noticed a change in then just after the first day. He has been totally impressed.

Here is the website for our new church. http://vbclivermore.googlepages.com

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

J's First Emergency Room Trip

Today we had our very first emergency room trip for J. With as brave and daring as these little twins are, I'm surprised we haven't and any before this.

I had just made the girls popcorn, and put it in a large mixing bowl, as soon as I set the bowl down J tried to pick it up. I told her not to carry the bowl and just sit at the table and eat it. Then I went into the hallway to switch the laundry over.

Of course as soon as I am starting a new load of laundry I hear the bowl hit the ground in the living room and then J screaming. Irritated, because I just told her not to pick it up, I went to get her. I picked her up to give her a lecture and saw the bridge of her nose was split open and bleeding. I inspected a little and decided this probably needed stiches. It looked like she hit it on the corner of the coffee table. I started to have some anxiety as things raced through my head.

Who do I call first?

K and A need to be picked up in an hour and a half. Do I call their friends mom? My mom?

Where do I go? Urgent Care? Emergency?

Get in the car and drive and then call?

E said "J need to go to the Dr." and she started to walk outside to the car. Such a smart kid.

Things couldn't have gone smoother.

I called Adam first, and he said he'd leave work right away. Then I called my mom, who just happened to have the day off today, to come get K and A from school. And finally got on the phone with Kaiser, they advised me to go to Walnut Creek Emergency. I called my best friend "D" on the way to WC and she was sweet enough to let me drop E off at her house on the way. E was totally excited when we got there and went with D no problem. I was worried because she is my clingy Mama's girl. Whew! I then rushed to the hospital.

My car was totally, gas light on out of gas, yesterday. I wasn't planning on filling up until today when I went grocery shopping. For some reason, I stopped real quick and put gas in yesterday. THANK GOD!

The ER at Walnut Creek Kaiser, was wonderful. They were so nice, it was clean and there weren't a bunch of weirdos hanging all over the place. They triaged her and took her right in. The nurse said she'd need at least a stitch. She was feeling a lot better by then and wanted to run around. She was quite entertained by the rubber glove balloon I made. Adam made it there in time. And the surgeon came in to fix her up.

The Dr. was worried about her squirming around so they wrapped her like a little burrito in a sheet and had a nurse hold her head steady. The surgeon decided to glue her instead of stitch her. He said it's a medical grade super glue. She was so good while they worked on her. She didn't move or cry or squirm. She closed her eyes and stayed real still. She was such a tough cookie. I was so proud of her.

As soon as they said she was done, she hopped right up and said "Yay, now we can go to D's house and play with E and the boys".

Here she is all patched up with her glove balloon.

God must have given mothers very strong hearts, otherwise we'd be dead from the frequent heart attacks children give us.

ARCHIVES: All the "twin" questions answered!

I posted this a long time ago on a myspace blog. I thought I'd dig it out and post it, because I still get asked some pretty stupid questions while I'm out. People need to think before they speak.

I've been a mother of twins for almost 11 years now. Over the years I have heard some of the most rediculous questions/comments. Well, add a second set of twins to our freak show and the questions get, well, annoying. I wonder if one thinks before they ask a question. Do they walk away thinking, "wow that was a dumb question, why did I say that?" Do they ponder all night about being a moron? Now don't get me wrong, some questions are normal, ie: are they identical? how old are they? etc. But some just baffle me!!!

All of your "TWIN" questions/comments answered. Some of these are answers I only wish I could give.

1. Are they twins? No. it was 2 for one day at the hospital. DUH!!!
2. Are they a boy and a girl? Um. 2 PINK blankets, dresses and bows in their hair. Hmmmm. That's a tough one.
3. You have your hands full!!! YOU THINK?
4. I'm glad I'm not you! ME TOO
5. Did you use fertility? Nope sure didn't. These are the result of drinking way too much beer. But, if we had used fertility, would it matter? This is actually a really rude question to ask someone.
6. Do twins run in your family? Actually there was one set, 80 years ago, they were fraternal ours are identical and identical twins are not genetic. (the every other generation thing is a myth)
7. Do twins run in your husbands family? I'm generally puzzled by this question. Twins are determined by the mothers, not the father. Fathers have no control over how many eggs are dropped during ovulation. And they have no control over a egg splitting.
8. (a day without the kids) Wow you have identical twins? Do they really look alike? *sigh* Actually, they look, well, IDENTICAL.
9. Which one is the good one? You watch way too many Lifetime movies.
10. Which one is the evil one? Which one of your children is the evil one?
11. Do they have their own language? Yes, boths sets did. It's quite cute actually, though I have no idea what they are saying, but they certainly do.
12. (someone said this to my mother) WOW!! You don't look old enough to be a Grandmother let alone a Grandmother to Twins!!! My forehead still hurts.
13. How do you do it? Well, just like you actually, but everything you do, has to be done again.
14. (just walked up and said) Vaginal or C-section? Quite taken back by this. How does one just say "vaginal" in the middle of a crowded store? And why do you care, they are out aren't they?
15. Which one is older? K is 31 mins older than A, and J is 1 min older than E.
16. Can they hear one anothers thoughts? Feel what the other one feels? I don't know (pinching Kiley), "August did you feel that?"
17. Are you planning on having more? I wonder why people care how many children you have or will have? If we get pregnant again, then yes, we will have more.
18. Oh I'm so glad you didn't give them rhyming names. I wonder what the response would have been if they did have rhyming names?
19. UH OH, Double Trouble. Wow, that was original.
20. Why don't you dress them alike? Why do you dress them alike? I can't win.
The next one takes the cake. I don't know if anyone will ever be able to top this one. And the Oscar goes to......
21. (loud) WOW!! YOU HAVE 2 SETS OF TWINS? DID YOU GUYS PLAN THAT? (she was serious).

Okay now, if you can think of any other strange/rude/stupid questions that I haven't covered. Please ask. I would love to add to my list.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...