Digital Diet Anyone?

Apparently Britney Spears has resorted to digital dieting for her most recent video. This pisses me off on so many levels...main one being, was she fat to begin with? For god sakes, I should hope to look that good after having 2 kids. And because of todays' society, she felt it necessary to digitally alter her body for all of the assholes out there who call her fat? Like it isn't hard enough on girls today to have the so called "perfect body"? I don't know how many times I've heard my rail thin, never eating niece call herself fat and my gorgeous willowy cousin say she has a big butt and had to hold myself back from wanting to slap a hamburger into their mouth. When is this obsession going to end?

**rant over**

Are You Ready for a Baby?

Cross posted from Love Shak, Baby ....

I thought this was such a wonderful post, I had to steal some of it and post it here. Check out the entire post here.

"Kids will break your heart like you never imagined. They'll make you angrier than you have ever been in your life. They'll make you think you need to take a trip to the funny farm. They will embarrass you so badly you'll want to be struck dead on the spot. They'll gross you out so badly you'll run to the bathroom, gagging.
But kids will make your heart soar to heights you didn't know existed. They'll make you laugh harder than you have ever laughed in your life and they will make you sing with pure joy. And they'll make you dance- even if that dancing is because you had to take a 5:51 dance break because they're driving you nuts.
Kids will spend all your money, eat all your food, steal all your favorite toys and demand more. And they'll give you flowers from grubby little hands and they'll draw you pictures that are more beautiful than the Mona Lisa. Even if you're not sure what, exactly, it was that they drew.
They'll give themselves a haircut right before you take your Christmas pictures and pick out the most garish outfit you have ever seen to wear to preschool. And you'll think they look adorable anyway.
Prepare to never sleep again. They'll wake up 42 times a night as babies and crawl into your bed, sick when they're preschoolers and then pee in your bed. They'll wake you in the middle of the night when they're in grade school and tell you they puked on the floor. They'll keep you up past your bedtime in middle school, working on a school project they've known about for three weeks but is due tomorrow. Then they'll come in after their curfew when they're teenagers and you'll be pacing the floor, picturing fiery car accidents when really, they just lost track of time. And you'll buy them a watch and they'll lose that watch. And then, when you think you'll finally get some sleep, you'll send them off to college and you'll lay in bed late at night, hoping they're not at some frat party. And then they will become parents and they'll call you at 3 AM worrying about their own babies. Oh, no, you'll never sleep again.
Little kids will make you feel like the smartest person on earth and that will scare you to death because you don't realize how little you DO know until you have kids. And then you'll try to share your wisdom with your teenagers and they'll tell you that you know nothing. And that will scare you to death because you know what will happen, but you have to give them the gift of letting them make their own mistakes.
Yep, having a kid is going to change you like you never imagined. But it's a good kind of change. Except the not-sleeping part, that is."

All I Wanted was Clean Teeth!

I went to the dentist today for a check up and teeth cleaning and walked out 3.5 hours later and $2200 lighter. I knew I had cavities that I had been neglecting since I had stopped going to the dentist for 2 years after I became pregnant and had the Pea. I finally went back when my teeth began to hurt and discovered that I had not 1, not 3, not 5, but 10 cavities!! I swear to you that I do brush my teeth and practice good hygiene. Apparently I am lucky enough to have very groovy teeth; and that doesn't mean they wear little tie dye shirts and smoke weed - they have lots of grooves and indentions that bacteria can lurk in and a regular toothbrush can't do much about it. I also still had my wisdom teeth that were nice enough to be growing in sideways and trying to kill of the teeth beside them. Because of that, I had to get those suckers removed before my dentist would do any of the cavity work. You can read about that here.
I did all that crap, which was loads of fun and went back in today for what I thought was going to be an innocent cleaning and subsequent scheduling of appointment for all of the little cavities scattered around. Well one of said cavities had been very busy and eaten a hole into my tooth down to the nerve. So yep - I had to get the sucker drilled. It actually wasn't bad at all. The worst part is the god awful screeching of the drill on your tooth and the bill you have to pay afterwards. Anyway, I have a nice little temporary cap on my tooth and a lot less money but my teeth are otherwise in good shape. Next month I get to go in and get the rest of those suckers filled. Great Christmas present huh?

Question of the Week

Vanilla or chocolate?
I'm lazy today and I love vanilla.

Non Toxic Tots

I subscribe to the Non Toxic Times Newsletter from Seventh Generation which is a very interesting read. I am obsessed with all of the toxins that go into skin care, shampoo, and especially things that are used on The Pea so when the Environmental Working Group sent me a survey a few months ago asking about every product I used on my son, I jumped on it. They have since released their findings which I found out about on Seventh Generations' newsletter and you can read about them here. It covers everything from baby shampoo to diaper rash cream. You even have the option to print the entire thing out for reference. It's amazing all of the crap some companies put into stuff especially the stuff that goes on our body! You can go to the database and search everything here.

Finally!

I got my Wii - I am a happy dork. If anyone is curious, this is how I found it: go to wiialerts.com .
They will email you or send you a text on your cell phone and let you know when and where a wii will be available. Go ahead...I know I'm a dork; are you?

Question of the Week

Ok, so here is my stupid question of the week:
Where in the crap can I get a Wii and is it really worth all of this hysteria? I am not standing in line at Best Buy for 4 hours to get one of these things!

Santa got dissed

I'm sure the guy is used to getting the snub from hundreds of kids but that still didn't keep me from feeling bad when the Pea gave him the cold shoulder this weekend. We got up Saturday with great plans of going to sit on Santa's lap (my son, not me) and telling him the long list of things that were wanted for Christmas. Pea even picked out the clothes he wanted to wear when we saw Santa and got dressed, talking about Santa the whole time. He started to get a little worried then but got over it when we reminded him of all the things he wanted for Christmas. So we made it to the mall and stood in the short line and that's when I knew it wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't even look at Santa or wave to him and told my husband that he didn't like Santa and didn't care if he got nothing for Christmas. When we finally got to the end of the line, we walked to Santa and Pea grabbed onto my husbands' neck with the strength of a 20 year old and would not let go. I refuse to be one of those parents that force a screaming child onto the poor guys' lap so we got a Santa coloring book and hightailed it out of there. Poor Santa - you gotta give a guy props that can sit there for 8 hours a day and hold screaming children in his lap and still smile at the camera. We love you Santa!

Blog Tag, I'm It!

So I have been tagged in a game of blog tag - I logged on to Blogger to find this in one of my comments: You are IT in a game of blog tag! Find out the details of the game by visiting the post that you were tagged in http://www.loveshakbaby.com/2007/11/i-turned-on-my.html
Looking forward to seeing your blog tag post!
So this is how it works:

"Post these rules on your blog.
List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
Tag seven random [?] people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting on comment on their blog."

Let's see....
1. I am a huge makeup addict even though I hardly ever wear the stuff. I'll go on Sephora and spend $100 easily but I won't wear half of it. I have a huge drawer full of makeup that has never been worn, yet I still keep shopping and buying!

2. I have a slight case of OCD. Very slight, but it's there. For instance, when I wash my face I have to rinse a total of 10 times but if I feel like my face needs more rinsing, I increase it to 12 or 14...it has to end on an even number. Also, when I put deodorant on I have to swipe it the same number of times on each underarm. I promise I'm not a freak.

3. I'm a huge germaphobe - public restrooms frighten me. Purell is my friend.

4. I am terrified of clowns. Any kind - if the face is painted, I'm running in the opposite direction. Just the word clown makes me nauseous. I get shaky, sick to my stomach and feel like crying if I see one.

5. I simply cannot fall asleep before 10 p.m. Early bedtime for me is 10:30. I'm usually up til 11 or 11:30.

6. If I had the nerve, I would dye my hair black and blue. I've always wanted to do that but never did get up the nerve. Now I'm probably past the age where it would be acceptable.

7. I have 4 tattoos and I'm going back for more!!

Go check out the cool people I tagged:

blkitalianpride75 at http://blkitalianpride75.blogspot.com/

PB&junk at http://www.pbnjunk.com/

Mommy of the Record at http://mommyofftherecord.blogspot.com/

blondemomblog at http://www.blondemomblog.com/

Dallas Meow at http://listentomeandlistengood.blogspot.com/

Stephanie at http://www.1badmom.blogspot.com/

Super Mommy at http://www.super-mommy.com/wordpress/

Question of the Week

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and ate way too much food like I did. So here is my question: Have you started your shopping yet? Are you doing most of it online or do you prefer brick & mortar? I think I'm going half and half.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Old School Sesame Street

I came across an interesting article in The New York Times today about Sesame Street in it's first years, the pre-Elmo time when smoking a pipe meant you were cool. We all remember the rumors that Bert and Ernie were gay, but a diabetic Cookie Monster? Depressed Oscar the Grouch? Hallucinating Big Bird? Yep, it's all there in season 1 and 2 of Old School Sesame Street, straight out of the slums where the group all lived.
You can check out the entire article here. It makes for a pretty entertaining read.

Somebody Loves Me!

I received an award today from http://blkitalianpride75.blogspot.com/
Thank you! Rewards are awesome!

Question of the Week

I still cannot believe that the holidays are upon us and Thanksgiving is this week! I am so not ready to fight the crowds everywhere for the "best" Christmas present. So my question is this: do you fight the crowds on Black Friday or do you sleep in? Is it worth it?

I'm Flipping the Bird!

Nope not that bird - my Thanksgiving turkey! It really just hit me tonight that Thanksgiving is this Thursday and I need to figure out how I'm going to cook my bird. I know the basics; wash it, remove the stuff inside, throw it in a pan and stick it in the oven; but I needed a recipe of what to add to the bird itself. So I did some searching and came across this site:
Mom's Roast Turkey
The basics of it are, stuff your bird with some veggies and roast the sucker breast side down. Apparently doing it this way makes for a very moist turkey with some bonus rack marks on the boob. So it's not as pretty when it comes out but it also won't be as dry. I've always roasted my birdies boob side up but I think I'm going to try the flip side this year. I'll let you know how it turns out. If anyone else decides to try it let me know how it goes!

Wordless Wednesday

Tag, I'm It!

I got tagged for my first meme by http://blkitalianpride75.blogspot.com/! Being somewhat of a meme virgin, I hope I'm doing this right!

4 dishes I like to cook:
* Spaghetti
* Mac and cheese in my crockpot
* Pot roast
* Grilled cheese


4 movies I love to watch over and over:

* Overboard
* Mean Girls
* She Devil
* The Incredibles

4 qualities I love in people:

* Big sense of humor
*Loyalty
* Patience
* Lots of money (just kidding!!) hard working

4 TV shows I enjoy watching:
* Survivor
* King of Queens
* Dr. Phil
* Miami Ink

4 places I have been:
* Italy
* Florida
* Switzerland
* Vegas baby!

4 things in my bedroom:

* my comfy bed
* my laptop
* burts bees lip balm cause my lips are chapped!
* a humidifier for my bad sinuses

4 favorite foods:
* mac and cheese
* chicken
* cheesecake
* spinach & artichoke dip

4 dirty words I like:
*Shit
* crap
* slutbag
* dammit

blogs I'm tagging: Sadly, I have no idea who to tag with this. It may die right here on this page. :(

Belated Question of the Week

I feel like such a slacker. I swore to myself that I would keep up my weekly questions and post them every Monday and I remembered at exactly 10:30 last night that I needed to post one. Obviously that did not happen as I was way too lazy and comfy in bed to move over and drag my laptop up into bed with me. So here is my belated question:
My son is 2 1/2 and has been going thru the "terrible twos" for approximately 2 years and 5 months. Ok, I'm exaggerating but it does seem like that. Anyway, this week has been particularly trying with the hitting phase he is into now and I'm trying not to lose my temper when I get smacked one in the face, but rather just walk away from the situation if I feel the blood pressure rising. Of course there are times when my temper takes over and I yell at him. How many of you let your temper get the better of you? What do you do? Walk away, yell, punish the pillow? I swear I look back at his newborn and 1 month pictures and wonder ... where did my sweet child go?

Love Thy Neighbor

We are lucky enough to live in an area surrounded by quite a few nice neighbors. They are all respectable dog owning, fence or leash using, fabulous people. However, there always seems to be one person in every neighborhood who either 1. Has a dog that barks all night every night or 2. Has a dog that is allowed to roam the neighborhood, thus depositing poo in every yard but it's own.
Case in point:
My husband and I have been together for 8 years. When we first decided to move in together, we rented a house from a coworker of mine that was perfect for us. (yes we lived in sin, big no-no in the bible belt where we live!) The house was perfect, that is, as long as you weren't a big sleeper when the sun went down. Our fence backed up to a fence where apparently a vampire dog lived. Vampire in the sense where he would sleep all day and stay up all night barking. We tried everything we could think of to shut the damn thing up, short of rat poison in a steak. I won't tell you what other things went through my mind as I lay in bed at midnight listening to the nonstop barking. We tried peanut butter filled bread, hoping to keep the four legged idiot quiet so I could at least fall asleep (my husband has never had a problem falling asleep, regardless if a dog is barking or a helicopter is landing on our roof). We tried putting literature about why dogs bark relentlessly at night (they're usually just bored; imagine that!) in the offending neighbors' mailbox. And last of all, we tried a screaming match at each other over our fences, threatening to call the cops for disturbing the peace (which we just couldn't bring ourselves to do). Finally, we had to move. We had originally been planning to buy this house, but the dog totally squished that idea.
So, after we got married, we started the house search. On the list of wants was a nice house in a quiet neighborhood. It didn't take long to find the perfect house in what seemed like a really nice, upcoming neighborhood. The first night there was a dream. Silence! No doggie solos to keep me up all night. I woke up the next morning totally in love with the house and neighborhood. That was the one and only night that would happen. The next night, the house directly across from us became the proud owner of an all night lab. So we were back to square one. This dog didn't bark all night, rather he would pick and choose certain times that he found best to interrupt my sleep. There were some nights I got to sleep and some nights I didn't. The kicker was, we also had a house at the end of the cul de sac that owned 2 labs that apparently paid the taxes for everyone because they got to poo in everyone's yard. Strange thing was, I still got a tax bill. It was really nice when said owner of tax paying labs would let his dogs out at 4 a.m. so they could stand directly under our bedroom window and bark until my husband had to get up and chase them out of our yard ... while avoiding their poo of course. So after a couple of screaming matches with those neighbors and two years of land mines in our yard, we got pregnant and decided to move again.
The next move, (and our present house today) was a fabulous choice for about 1 year. Then, the Twat, as we so lovingly refer to her, moved into the house directly across from us with her 1 cat and 2 annoyingly yappy, furry, small dogs. She has a nice 6 foot privacy fence that she chooses to ignore while she opens her front door and sends her menagerie out into the world alone and directly into our front yard. Being the seasoned poo yard neighbors that we are, we immediately chased one out of the middle of the road, narrowly avoiding being hit by a speeding car, and walked up to her to tell her that her dog was almost smooshed into a hairy stain on the asphalt. Her response? She calmly ushered her dog into the house and slammed the door in my face. Not to be outdone in the maturity game, I flung her dogs' poo that was so kindly left in my yard into her yard, up onto her front porch. I have since done this 5 more times because it makes me feel so damn good! So now there have been precisely 2 screaming matches between the Twat and my husband, as well as between her and a few other neighbors.
In closing, and thank you to anyone who has read this entire post, I would just like to ask ... is it horrible for me to not want dog poo in my yard when it doesn't belong to me? Is it so wrong for me to want the owner of the dog to remove said poo from my yard when it doesn't belong to me? And am I stupid for wondering why someone would let their defenseless animals roam into a street that is a major cut thru for Walmart ( you know how busy that makes a road!)?
Thank you. Rant over.

Hello November, Thanks for Bringing the Snot...

I live in SC where it takes a while for the cooler weather to hit. Fall in this state lasts for about a week and after that week, it will either jump back to 80 degrees or drop to 30 degrees. This is an excellent state to catch and keep colds in. If I could own stock in snot, I would be a rich girl. My husband has now been sick for a week and had to go on antibiotics; he tried passing it on to me but I took some cold-eze and managed to fight the worst of it off, however I was lucky enough to get some snot. Now my son has joined in on the snot love and is enjoying a nose full. A few hours ago, my throat began to tickle again so I'm breaking out the cold-eze. I am determined not to get sick. I'm not ready for all of this! Before I was a parent, I loved the cold weather, using the fireplace, hot chocolate, you know - the whole 9 yards. Now that I have a 2 year old, I dread the onset of winter and spending every other week at the pediatricians' office. So for now, we are a house of snot and used tissues. God I love November.

My Question of the Week

I'm still determined to keep up my question of the week even though I haven't had any answers yet. :( C'mon people, help me out!! So here is my question: How did you drive traffic to your blog? Plain and simple. Any advice would be appreciated. I would love to have more readers and hopefully get answers to my endless questions.

Goodbye October

I'm having a hard time believing that October is over and it's time to start planning for Thanksgiving. Time is going by way too fast for me to comprehend. For some reason I feel like we should still be back in June or July. I don't remember going thru those months!
I hope everyone had a safe and fun trick or treating night. We definitely did. Pea dressed as a punk rocker complete with mohawk and Sex Pistols shirt. His favorite activity was ringing everyone's doorbell, mine was catching up with neighbors I hadn't seen since last Halloween. We all had a blast.


Getting the 'do done


Trying to get something into his stomach besides candy


Rock on!


The Pea and his cowboy friend


Time for all punk rockers to go to bed

Another post of Random

So I stumbled across this site from Goodyblog. Seriously, this is hilarious. If you need a little pick me up go to http://planethiltron.com/ and check out the photos of celebs faces photoshopped onto other bodies. Damn I love photoshop! Make sure you check out Clay Aikens' pic.

Cold and Flu season are back again. Check out these tips to help ward off a few germs this winter:
Home Solutions has a great article on the differences between the common cold and the flu and how to treat each here and Lysol has some interesting facts on the nasty germies around us here.

I subscribe to an email service called Daytipper (see Places I like to Visit at right) and here are a few of my favorites tips I've saved from them:

Stop those annoying credit card offers in the mail
Credit card offers that aren't properly disposed of can lead to identity theft. By logging onto www.optoutprescreen.com you can stop credit card companies from checking your credit and sending those offers. You have the option of stopping the offers for five years or permanently.

List of work at home sites
Ever wanted to make extra income while at home? There are multiple sites where you can find positions from Data Entry to Virtual Assistants. Some sites are Workplacelikehome.com, Whydowork.com, Ready2gain.com, telecraig.com and ratracerebellion.com. All these sites are free to become a member. Remember you should never have to pay for an at home position.

And one of my favorites since I am self employed:
Pay your kids and get a tax write-off
If you are self-employed, you can pay your children to help in your business and write this off as a business expense. They must actually do the work you are paying for (such as sweeping the shop, washing your equipment), and it must be a reasonable amount. Pay them by check for your records and they can use the money for treats, clothing, or whatever they choose. They develop a sense of accomplishment and you get a tax break on money that you've been handing out anyway.

Happy Trick or Treating tonight!!!

My Question of the Week

So my husband and I have been living in our current house now for 3 years and have already discussed that we would stay here for 2 more years, then start looking for the house of our dreams that we would live in for the majority of our lives. That all changed when a friend of his mentioned a house on a huge lot that sounded as if it had everything we wanted and was listed at a price that was hard to pass up. I figured we would look, decide that it was really pretty but stick with our 5 year plan. Unfortunately, the house was gorgeous and we both immediately fell in love. We have decided to go ahead and put out current house on the market and see what happens. That being said, my question to you is this: if you were looking to buy, what would be the main thing that would turn you away from buying a particular house? I would love any input! Please comment and let me know! Thanks!!

Another Recall - pretend to be shocked!

That's right people; yet another recall from toy maker Mattel. These include the Go Diego go! Rescue Boats, some garden tools, a halloween treat pail, etc. Check out this newest recall as well as some others from the entire month of October here. I don't even know what to write about this anymore, it just sickens me.

The Flu Shot - yes or no?

So our pediatricians' office is having a flu shot clinic this Saturday and I'm planning on taking my son but I started to wonder: what are the reasons for not getting the flu shot for your child? This will be my sons' third time getting it as well as mine and I've always wondered if it's the right thing. So for any of you that do or do not get the flu shot for your kid or yourself, what are your reasons?

With that said, I think I'm going to make this question asking a weekly thing. I have so many things running through my head that I would love to get opinions/answers on. I think I'm going to start in on Monday though instead of Wednesday so if anyone happens to stop by (thank you!) chime in if you feel the urge. I would love to hear from you!

Funny or Tasteless?

I have to go with funny on this one. Gotta love Bill Clinton...



I deleted the caption that went along with this picture but I think it was somewhere along the line of "8 years after Clinton left office". Something like that. Hope it brings a smile to your face.

Morbid Read for Monday

Want to read something really morbid? Apparently scientists have been studying what it's like to die and you can read about it here. Sounds terrible but it's like a train wreck - you gotta look.

I Love Halloween

So I have to post more on my fave holiday, Halloween, before it flies past and it totally lost in the silver bells and tinsel of Christmas which has become the sad fate of Thanksgiving (my 2nd fave holiday). I've done some searching around and wanted to show a little link love to some of my favorites.

Does your kid stink? If so, dress him as an air freshener for trick or treat night. Your worries are over! After Halloween is over, just hang him from your rear view mirror and get that smell out of your car.

I love this cute little Halloween tree. Hopefully it will still be there after the big day so I can buy it on sale!

Ok, I was out shopping the other night and ran across this blow up Halloween house in person - it is insane. I couldn't imagine putting this in my yard. I had fun running thru it although my 2 year old was terrified of it and didn't want me to go anywhere near it. Make your house the most popular one in the cul-de-sac and inflate one of these babies in your front yard!

Cool pumpkin carving templates for the non artists out there (me). Slap one of these guys on your pumpkin and carve away!

And finally, go ghost hunting with your ghost finder camera. Scare all your chicken friends into thinking your house is haunted! I'm sure the kiddies will love this one.

Oh, and turn off all the lights and watch The Evil Dead. That should get you in the spirit. Just make sure you put the kids to bed first.

Get your wig on!

I had to post about this one. The Baby Toupee was recently featured on Mom Finds and I can't quite decide if it's hilarious or totally cruel. At any rate, it would make a great blackmail picture for the future. Personally, I'm digging the Bob. Pick one up for Halloween - at least 10% will go to charity. I think I'll skip this one but if any of you guys out there reading this end up buying one, let me know! I would love to post some of your cuties' pics up here sporting the Bob or any of the other toupees!

Hello Halloween!

So my favorite holiday is fast approaching and I am still totally in shock that it is already October! Fall is in the air, even though it's still 85+ here in the south during the day. At least the nights are getting crisper. I've already decided that the Pea is going as a skate rat for trick or treating but I'm having a problem finding a skateboard small enough for him to tote around. I think I'm going to have to scrap that idea and just focus on the outfit itself. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Check out GooGhoul for all of the Halloween activities going on around you. Don't miss something cool!

Holy Recall Batman!

More recalls for ya. As if there haven't been enough, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled more toys for possible lead paint contamination. There are too many to list, but it does include Thomas the Train and a few really cute rakes and shovels from Target. Read the full list on the cpsc home page. As for me, I think I'll be getting my son some 2 x4's and a saw* for Christmas so he can make some wooden toys himself. It will probably be safer that way.


*(ok, i would never really do that, so don't worry!)

I'm Going Pink!

As I'm sure you are aware of, October is breast cancer awareness month. I know many many people have been touched by this disease, me being one of them. My mother in law is almost a year survivor and my aunt has just found a lump in her breast. Raising awareness for the disease is very close to my heart. Therefore I am going pink!! You can read more about the going pink movement here and here.

My Friday Randomness

Goodyblog is one of my usual daily stops and I had to post about a story I just read on there. It addresses the very serious problem in schools today of bullying. I remember getting picked on once or twice in middle school and just those few times were horrible. I can't imagine getting picked on all the time. It's a horrible problem that I think has definitely gotten worse since I've been in school (I won't tell you how long that has been!) and it's nice to see there are still people out there that are willing to stand up for others. That's how I came across my best friend in middle school - she was getting picked on by the "in" girls over her boy haircut and I stood up for her saying I thought the cut was cute. I'm still pretty proud of myself over that seeing as it was my 2nd day in a brand new school and I was only 9. It's pretty insignificant considering what these boys did in the Goodyblog story but every little bit counts right!

I wrote a post about Whymommy and her fight with Inflammatory Breast Cancer back in August. I'm just posting again about TeamWhymommy for all the bloggers out there on how to join the team. Join the team and post the button on your site with pride!!

Educate Yourself on Meningitis

I recently found out that one of my son's friends had been diagnosed with meningitis and realized after hearing this that I knew zero about the disease except that it was a pretty bad thing to have. I myself was thought to have had meningitis when I was 9 months old but after a spinal tap it was diagnosed as septicemia which nearly killed me. So after hearing the news, I took it upon myself to read up on something that I as a parent should probably know more about. I also decided to post about my findings on here to hopefully educate others on this getting rare, but very dangerous illness. In my research, I discovered that there are basically 2 forms of meningitis; bacterial and viral. Bacterial is the big daddy, almost always killing the victim within the first 48 hours if it is not diagnosed and treated in time. Viral is the more common of the two and while less fatal, is still just as dangerous if not caught in time. 90% of people diagnosed with meningitis have the viral form of it and are treated with antibiotics and cured usually about 2 days after diagnosis.
I also learned the meningitis is not necessarily something that you catch from someone else. While it is a very contagious illness, some unlucky people are just predestined to have it. It can start out as a very common sinus or ear infection but if the bacteria manage to pass over into the brain membrane, it causes meningitis. Another interesting fact is that some people are exposed to the illness and never even get meningitis. The immune system successfully fights the germ off and gets stronger because of that fight.
The most important thing is to learn what the symptoms are and spot them as quickly as possible. Some of the more common symptoms are fever and/or vomiting, severe headache, rash (anywhere on the body), stiff neck, dislike of bright lights, very sleepy/vacant/difficult to wake, confused/delirious, and seizures.
As with most things, the best prevention is to wash your hands. Vaccinating your children is also a great preventative measure although I know some people choose not to vaccinate which is totally their decision. These include shots for measles, chickenpox, Hib disease, and pneumococcal infection. There is also a vaccine for kids 11-18 years of age that can last up to 10 years which the CDC strongly recommends.
So I hope I've passed on some needed info to parents and others. Check out the links for more in depth information. Thanks for reading!

Green is the New Black

So all of this talk lately on plastics leaching nasty chemicals into your food and drink has tossed me right up on the new living green/screw plastic bandwagon. I went on a freak out cleaning spree yesterday, throwing out half of my son's sippy cups and tiny plates and plastic-ware. Now I'm trying to figure out exactly what I'm supposed to replace the trashed stuff with and even though going green is getting to be a big thing right now, I'm having a really hard time finding anything. So anyone that happens to stop by and read this, could you pass on some tips if you have any? So far, this is what I have found:
I'm having no problem finding cleaning products for my home. One brand that I have heard great things about is Seventh Generation. These products seem to be very readily available as I have found them at Publix, Target and my local health food store. After my trashing rampage the other day, I made a visit to my local health food store and scored a few of these products. I purchased the Free and Clear Fabric Softener and have used it a few times and so far, have no problems with it. This is coming from someone who breaks out if I even smell the laundry detergent Gain. So I have to be very careful what I put in my washing machine. I also purchased the Free and Clear Dishwashing Liquid since what plastic did survive the trash out day, is now being handwashed in cooler water instead of fried in the dishwasher. Think I'm a fanatic yet? My last purchase of this product line was the Free and Clear Automatic Dishwashing Powder. I'm a little hesitant about this one since I've tried other dishwasher detergents and none clean as well as my Cascade Complete with Bleach. So I'll let ya know about this one.
Ok, so after that shopping spree, I moved on to baby products since I read that most of the stuff we use on our little people are very harsh and made by companies that conduct animal testing. (bad bad stuff) If you want to read up on what stuff goes into the things we put on our bodies, check out Skin Deep's database. Very very informative. Anyway, I found that while the wipies I have been using (huggies extra sensitive, no fragrance wipes) on my son had a very low hazard, the diaper rash ointment, soap and lotion I was using (all Aveeno) had a moderate hazard. I picked up the Tushies unscented with Aloe wipies and went with Nature's Gate Organics for the lotion, diaper rash ointment and soap/shampoo.
So as far as the whole living green thing, I don't think I've hardly made a drop in the bucket. But trust me, if I could afford a hybrid car, I would totally do it.

Road Tested: Dyson

Yes I did it. I finally broke down and bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner. I've been fighting the urge ever since I first saw the Dyson commercial who knows how long ago. My main problem was trying to figure out how to justify forking out $400 for a vacuum. What makes this one so special that it's $150 more than the top of the line Bissell? So I held out and kept looking. I finally decided on the Bissell Healthy Home and was all set to buy it until the Target ad came out this past Sunday. A pink Dyson. Not only does Dyson donate $40 from the sale of every one of these pink lovelies to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, but Target was giving away $100 giftcards to everyone that bought one. And it was pink. That was it for me. I came home 2 days later $400 poorer with a pink Dyson vacuum cleaner. I let it sit in the box for 3 hours, almost scared to open it and dirty it up with the job of sucking up dirt off my floor. How could I do that to such a lovely piece of machinery? I finally broke down and opened it to try it out. I vacuumed the area rug in front of my couch that had previously been vacuumed only the day before and I was shocked at all of the dirt this thing sucked out. Dirt that I was glad to see go but also grossed out that all of this was coming out of a rug we practically lived on. So to sum up this story, the price tag on a Dyson Vacuum is well worth it. There are more expensive models than the one I bought, but I think it's safe to assume that they are worth it as well.

Here we go again people!

Another recall has just been issued by Mattel. Wanna take a guess where the toys are coming from? I'm terrified now everytime I buy my son a toy. When is Walgreen's going to start carrying the diaper bag lead tester kit? Because everyone sure as hell better invest in one - it doesn't look like this is going to end anytime soon. You can read about the latest recall on Mattel's website or check out CPSC's site for this and the other many many recalls. Also, check out this blog for tons more info on the whole lead/recall thing. Very interesting read!

Things I Want

This too cute lunchbox for my son.
Any of these cute beanbags, just because they're so flippin' adorable!
This cool backpack for my son so he can carry all of his random things with him instead of sticking them in my purse. Too bad it's sold out. :(
The new ipod nano. I have the old ipod mini, but this new nano plays video, has longer battery life, which is my main complaint for the old ipods, and is very affordable.
The Flip Video. It doesn't get much easier than this people and you can use your cd burner on your laptop to create custom dvds. I have to have this one!

Germaphobes Unite!

I am a self professed germaphobe. I open doors with paper towels, have purell all over my house and freak out when someone sneezes in an elevator. I have been known to hold my breath when someone coughs near me and I wash my hands in scalding water after touching raw meat. So I am always on the search for germ killers and sanitizing products. I wanted to share a few for fellow germaphobes.
I really really want the personal germ eliminator. It says it kills 99.99% of bacteria, viruses, yeasts and molds in seconds, including influenza, salmonella, staph and E. coli. using UVC lights. But I have to wonder, does it really truly work? I'm sure I'll end up buying it and trying it out.

Ok, this next little thing is called the Handler. It's some little strange contraption that opens door handles instead of you touching the handle or using paper towels to do it for you. Personally, I think I'll skip this one, but maybe it's for you. I dunno. Check her out:

And for all of the moms and dads out there who have heard of the whole alcohol in hand sanitizers making kids drunk, may I introduce Cleanwell. No alcohol, easy spray hand sanitizer safe for kids. Order some up!
These are actually some cute cuddly germs. Cozy up with one tonight!
Ew! Here is a list to freak some of you guys out so you never touch anything again!
So have I freaked you out enough? I'll keep updating with more cool germ killing stuff as it comes along. Stay clean!

Who loves Random?

I do, I do!! So I have a few random things to post about. First off, my mouth still hurts. I had my follow up with the surgeon yesterday and apparently everything looks good. He also said I would be sore for a few more weeks because of my age. That made me feel pretty old. I really wish I had done this at 17 instead of 30. He also gave me this weird syringe thing to rinse out the holes until they heal. It's pretty disgusting.
On another thought, I had to post about another post I found on why it's called babysitting when Dads watch their own kids. This is a huge pet peeve of mine! When you contribute 50% to making a kid, you do not babysit!! It's included in the dad duties you signed up for. Am I right? Check out the post here.

Does my mouth look fat?

So I think the swelling may be totally gone on the outside. On the inside, it still feels like I was attacked by a cheese grater. The bottom of my mouth is much more sore than the top but they both still hurt. I had to break down and take one of my painkillers last night, even though I was terrified it would make me sick again. Luckily everything stayed down and the meds knocked me out. Xodol is some good stuff. Apparently it is very habit forming and the doc gave me 5 refills. Scary. So I am still really sore and my gums are still a little swollen and very raw. The rest of my teeth are aching a bit too - I'm thinking it has something to do with all of the room they have in my mouth now; almost like they are stretching out after being all jammed in together. I'm still popping advil like candy since the pain keeps coming back. It gets really bad at night too, almost like how a cold seems to worsen when the sun goes down. I can't wait to be able to eat normally again; everytime I eat something more solid than applesauce, it makes my mouth very sore. I'm starving!

On a totally random note, how many of you guys have a phobia? If so, you should research it; it makes for some very interesting reading. Here's mine: coulrophobia. You won't catch me at a circus.

Finally an Update

So I got a little slack on the updating on my wisdom teeth surgery and I have 3 days to catch up on. I left off on the day after surgery, Saturday, and things got bad that night. I didn't eat very much because my appetite was lacking, plus my mouth was killing me. I took 2 advil plus a whole painkiller and went to bed around 10. I woke up at 3 am with the room spinning and the nausea threatening. So I ran to the bathroom and barely made it to the sink. I spent the next 3 hours vomiting everything up in my stomach (which wasn't much) and then some. So I think that set me back as far as recovery went about a day. I woke up the next morning feeling like death and laid around all day. Needless to say, I have not taken any more of those pain pills and have been relying on advil for the pain. It dulls the pain but does not get rid of it entirely. So Sunday was pretty uneventful, I was still really swollen and everything felt raw and tender. I wanted to eat everything in sight but I just couldn't because it hurt to bad. So I was still eating mashed potatoes, pudding, smoothies, blah blah. Monday I woke up feeling a tiny better; the swelling was slowly diminishing. I ate my first "real" meal that night and my mouth got really sore afterwards. Now I am on Tuesday and the swelling is almost completely gone but I am still really sore. The advil is helping much more now but I am still having to take it every 4 hours. I think I can finally see a light at the end of this tunnel though, thankfully. I have my follow-up Thursday and I think by this weekend I will almost be 100%. I am so glad to have this behind me - I would not want to go through this again!!!

Day 2

So it's day 2 after my wisdom teeth surgery. I woke up this morning feeling like a semi had run over my face. Definitely more pain than yesterday. I had to stretch my mouth open which was excruciating and when I looked in the mirror, I looked like a chipmunk storing winter food. I immediately took 2 advil and went back to bed with my ice pack on my face. I finally got up about an hour later and rinsed my mouth out with warm salt water and that helped a little bit. My mom was nice enough to bring me a sunshine smoothie from Sonic because I couldn't imagine putting anything solid in my mouth. I'm feeling a little better now as long as I keep my ice pack on my face. I have to keep stretching my mouth open every once in a while which still really hurts. Hopefully this is as bad as it will get. If the pain gets any worse, I'll need some stronger pain meds! So now I'm off to rinse my mouth again, then take my pain med and more advil. That should help. More updates to come....

Like I Needed Another Hole in My Head...

Now I have 4 more. I wanted to update on the wisdom teeth surgery before I went to sleep for the night. I am so glad to finally have this over and done with. The relief is wonderful. So here is how it went:
Got there about 15 minutes early at 8:30. I was taken back for the most painful part; writing the check for $1340. That hurt. Then at 8:45 the nurse took me back to the operating room, which really just looked like a glorified dentist exam room with scary tools on a tray covered with a blanket. She laid me back, I asked a few questions while she took my blood pressure and put the heart monitor on my finger and a few sticky heart monitors on my chest and side. She then put a mask over my nose that is pumping out oxygen and we made a little more small talk. Then she moved behind me and I notice a different smell coming from my oxygen mask. Nitrous Oxide; now that is the shit. I recognized it immediately and in about 2 minutes, I am floating peacefully around the room. Finally the doc came in, made sure I was comfy and inserted the IV into my right arm. I asked what I was getting and he told me, after which I immediately forget because I am so high. I then asked him if this is the part where he tells me to count back from 10. He replied, "No, I'm just giving you something to relax you a little more." Next thing I know, I am in a wheelchair and the nurse is telling me I'm all finished and going home. Amazing! I go in and out after that. I remember asking for my teeth so the nurse wrapped up the 2 bottoms for me (apparently the 2 top were demolished), I black out, I come to in my husbands' car, then out again, he runs to the bank, then to Walmart, me, out again; then we make it home and I make my way to the couch and lay down. Luckily my mom was here and watched my son for me, then went to pick up my meds and a few groceries. I nap, peacefully, wake up starving and a little sore, so I take 2 advil which curbs the pain a little and eat some scrambled eggs. This is definitely a pain that is very tolerable. It's more like a tight soreness and rawness around the bottoms. The top part isn't giving me much grief. Just a little sore is all. So I am also on antibiotics because the bottom 2 were infected and I am on pain meds (which is just a glorified tylenol) as well as advil every 2 hours. I have stitches in the bottoms, none in the top. I can eat soft foods as long as I chew with my front teeth like a rabbit. The swelling is not bad yet; I have kept an ice bag on my face almost all day which has helped greatly. I have to make sure I stretch the bottom jaw every few hours so it doesn't tighten too much. All in all, the worst part of this entire thing was the anticipation before the surgery. Now I am just relieved that it is all over and I can focus on healing. I am curious to see how the swelling goes as time goes by. Apparently it is the worst on day 3. We'll see. I will update on day 2.

Great Stuff!

I'm a huge fan of Cool Mom Picks anyway, so you really need to check out their back to school finds. Super cute stuff to make your kid even cooler!
Click it!




How freaking cool is this? A pen that kills viruses and bacteria in water using UV light. Just stick it into your bottle, press the button, and the UV lamp renders all the nasties in your water ineffective in less than a minute. Do they make one for personal spaces?
Check it out! The Steri Pen.




And I'm totally thinking about getting one of these booster seats, even though my son hasn't even hit 30 pounds yet and won't be needing one of these for another 2 years. What makes them sound so great is the fact that they can be used with your car's LATCH system which every car made after 2002 has. Much safer if it can be used.



Cute huh?

Teeth aren't always a good thing

So tomorrow is the big day finally. My wisdom teeth are coming out. Part of me is actually excited - can you believe it? These things have really been hurting for the past 2 weeks. It's almost like they know that they won't be here much longer so they're really sticking it to me. To top it off, I have a sore throat again. I had to cancel my last appointment for surgery because of a nasty sinus infection. Can the brain bring on sinus infections? I haven't had one since winter, yet I get one the exact week I'm supposed to have surgery. Strange coincidence. I'm determined to get this done tomorrow!! I plan to document the whole thing starting with when I get home from the surgery tomorrow. I spent weeks researching the internet for stories on successful teeth removal and found some great ones as well as some horror stories. I plan to tell a totally truthful story which I'm sure will end happily. These teeth have needed to come out for over 15 years. Word to parents - don't let your child skip this. Get it done when they are young!! I wish I had done it when I was 15 instead of 30.
This is exactly how my 2 bottoms are coming in:


So you see why they must come out. My top 2 can't even come through the skin because there isn't any room in my mouth for them. Nice huh? Doesn't get much better than that! Watch for my updates!

A Very Important Read for ALL Women!

I'm stealing this post with permission from the author who writes here. It's about a very important but often diagnosed disease called Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I can't even begin to put into words what she is going through so I am reposting her exact words. Get well WhyMommy!!

We hear a lot about breast cancer these days. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes, and there are millions living with it in the U.S. today alone. But did you know that there is more than one type of breast cancer?

I didn’t. I thought that breast cancer was all the same. I figured that if I did my monthly breast self-exams, and found no lump, I’d be fine.

Oops. It turns out that you don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer. Six weeks ago, I went to my OB/GYN because my breast felt funny. It was red, hot, inflamed, and the skin looked…funny. But there was no lump, so I wasn’t worried. I should have been. After a round of antibiotics didn’t clear up the inflammation, my doctor sent me to a breast specialist and did a skin punch biopsy. That test showed that I have inflammatory breast cancer, a very aggressive cancer that can be deadly.

Inflammatory breast cancer is often misdiagnosed as mastitis because many doctors have never seen it before and consider it rare. “Rare” or not, there are over 100,000 women in the U.S. with this cancer right now; only half will survive five years. Please call your OB/GYN if you experience several of the following symptoms in your breast, or any unusual changes: redness, rapid increase in size of one breast, persistent itching of breast or nipple, thickening of breast tissue, stabbing pain, soreness, swelling under the arm, dimpling or ridging (for example, when you take your bra off, the bra marks stay – for a while), flattening or retracting of the nipple, or a texture that looks or feels like an orange (called peau d’orange). Ask if your GYN is familiar with inflammatory breast cancer, and tell her that you’re concerned and want to come in to rule it out.

There is more than one kind of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is the most aggressive form of breast cancer out there, and early detection is critical. It’s not usually detected by mammogram. It does not usually present with a lump. It may be overlooked with all of the changes that our breasts undergo during the years when we’re pregnant and/or nursing our little ones. It’s important not to miss this one.

Inflammatory breast cancer is detected by women and their doctors who notice a change in one of their breasts. If you notice a change, call your doctor today. Tell her about it. Tell her that you have a friend with this disease, and it’s trying to kill her. Now you know what I wish I had known before six weeks ago.

You don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer.

Cool Finds

Some cool stuff I found on the internet and in magazines:

Here's a good way to get your kids to do the dishes! The Bubble Scrubber!

I personally haven't tried this product but I think it seems pretty cool; the ReadiVac Power Pan functions like a regular dustpan but has a built-in vacuum that sucks up that annoying dirt line that always lingers behind through an opening under the lip.

Cute striped tshirt dresses! Super comfortable and easy. I bought the one from Banana Republic.

This would have come in so handy when my son was younger. A timer you can program to remind you of various baby activities, e.g. when he/she last napped, ate, nursed, etc. Very cool!

Cute shoes for your kids! I'm definitely getting a pair of these for my son.

Recall Mania

Sippy cup recall! Read on here if your kids are sippy cup addicts like mine is. Fortunately we don't have any of these.

Here we go again with China. This recall freaked me out at first because it involves Elmo toys which my son has a ton of! Luckily it only involves the toys made after May 1, 2007. We actually ended up having a bunch of the toys listed but they were all made prior to the recall date. Check out Mattel's site for the list of recalled toys. When will this end??

Sick Day

Tomorrow was supposed to be the day I get my wisdom teeth out. Instead I am stuck at home with a nasty sinus infection complete with nose full of snot and a sore throat that would make me spill military secrets. I never thought I would be bummed because of missing an appointment to get teeth ripped out of my head but I am. These teeth have been bothering me off and on for years now and while I can only blame myself for putting off the surgery, I am still pissed that when I finally decide to make the plunge and do it...I get sick. So now I have to reschedule and figure out a time when I can have a ride to and from the surgery as well as someone to watch my son and help me out during the recovery.
Anyway, I thought I would visit some of my bookmarks and see what I find interesting enough to stick on here and save.

Check this out. Kind of scary considering that this is something nearly every kid does over the summer. Who out there doesn't think water tastes better coming out of a garden hose?

Also, I'm sure everyone has heard of all of the recalls lately and a ton of them seem to be originating from China. Go here for more info on a few of them and a very interesting link to a timeline of some of the recalls coming out of China.

And last but not least, the best place of all for finding out about any kind of recall is CPSC's homepage. I signed up for the email alerts which really come in handy when you have a 2 year old.

Intro

I've been noticing for a while how blogs seem to have taken over the world. I started getting really jealous reading through other blogs and realizing what a cool concept it was, especially for someone like me who loves to write but hates keeping a written journal. So many random things pop into my head that I want to remember and share but they pop out just as fast when I'm chasing my 2 year old around. So I'm hoping that I can keep up with this thing and share some randomness and a few useful things with whoever wants to take a look.
The name of my blog is the Pea Chronicles, not the Peach Chronicles which is what I keep reading when I glance at the name. My son was nicknamed "The Pea" by yours truly at birth because of his perfectly round little pea head. The name has stuck through 2 years and since I will be writing a bit about his daily doings, I thought the name was appropriate. Anyway, thanks to anyone who is reading this so far and I hope I can bring something helpful here and there in your life.