Simple Inspirations

I spent the morning volunteering at the girls school, making Candy bags for school spirit day Friday.  Those kids are getting WAY to much candy.  It was interesting, Abby who is ANTISOCIAL all in capitals was actually playing when this littel girls was too aggressive and Abby fell off the 4 inch tall toy and got MAD, also all in capitals.  She cried for about an hour and twenty minutes while I held Asher, who the same little girl wanted to carry everywhere ( she was only 3..not a great idea, think bag of potatoes) and put candy in bags.  Everyone kept telling me how patient I was and how I am such a good Mom, and all I could think was "Okay Abby you can stop now."  But I didn’t give in, finally at 11:30 I packed up and left them to staple my full candy bags feeling good that I at least helped a bit and that I am doing my part to help Abby past her ANTISOCIAL attitude.

 On another note…As part of the Mom Central community I was introduced to this awesome site..http://saybootoflu.com.  ITs got a ton of great information about immunization programs, tips about avoiding the dreaded condition, and some really cool family fun tips (I love the reward chart and bug cakes).  Its set up by Families Fighting Flu, an organization for those who have lost family members to the flu.  Make sure you drop by and check the site out, it is WAY useful and has tons of great information on it that you NEED TO KNOW.

Here are a few of the tips they share:

• Sing & Scrub
  Make sure kids wash their hands frequently with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds. That’s the time it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song twice. That will clean off any germs that they may unknowingly pick up throughout the day and keep them from passing them on.
• Do the Elbow Cough
  Cough into elbows, not hands where it’s more likely to spread bacteria and viruses through touch.
• Disinfect Hot Spots
  Disinfect the surfaces kids touch most frequently with disinfecting products.

I have had the option put before me to get a hysterectomy in the past, due to some some complications following the births of several of my children and other wonderful problems of the feminine nature that have plagued me over the shprt 28 year span of my life.  The idea of never having to wear another pad seems sooooooooo wonderful, especially considering the fact that I got my period YEARS before normal girls.  Like elementary school early.  But still I hesitate..I fear the idea of being sliced open and having to go through healing up. I watched many women around me go through this rather torturous event and its left an imprint on me.

Through Mom Central though I heard about less evasive options explained by the AAGL… procedures that once meant intense surgery are now available through much less evasive procedures.  What does this mean for you and your body?  The reduced risk of infection, minimized scarring, less blood loss, decreased post-operative pain, and generally a quicker recovery period.  Sound good so far? It is scary to think that we rely on information from our doctors who may suggest the outdated approaches because they lack the skill to perform the newer, less invasive ones or even because new endoscopic procedures bring less income to the doctor or hospital. I think its rather sad that according to the US News and World out of the quarter of the female population who will undergo hysterectomies nearly 85% still get traditional open abdonment surgury rather than lapriscopic procedures that leave the ovaries and cervix in place. There is even a link at the AAGL website for you to search out a doctor who will perform these procedures should your doctor refuse your right to these minimal procedures. 

These options are available to women in so many different circumstances besides heavy bleeding….fibroids, stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.  Its a fact that nearly 1/2 of us ladies will experience one of these issues in our life time, mostly due to pregnancy and childbirth.  Relying on your doctor alone to make sure you take the path that is right for is a scary thing, committing your health into someone else’s hands in blind faith doesn’t sound like my idea of a good time.  So…EDUCATE YOURSELF by clicking here and reading about some of the options open to women and the different conditions they can treat.  Check out the AAGL website that I linked above or click here to learn more.  Education is power, and its yours for the taking.  So make sure you know your options before you talk to your doctor, make the decision that is best for you, you owe it to yourself.

Today there is a two for one deal…two great recipes….

The first is the yummo looking salad to the left..its actually Taco Stew leftovers on a salad..but it was SO GOOD!  The second recipe is for the country bread to the right….

Easy Taco Stew

To serve you can 1) scoop onto a plate and top cheese, sour cream and some chopped green onions and scoop with Dorito’s

To make your salad cover plate in salad top with 1 1/2 cups of stew, cheese, sour cream, and chopped green onions.  Crumble chips on top.  EAT!!!!!

Country Bread

•  3 cups of flour
• 4 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/4 cup of melted butter
• 1/4 cup salsa
• grated cheese

Mix flour, soda and salt well.  Stir in wet ingredients except cheese.  Mix loosely with hands until combined.  Should be rather moist.  Roll into a ball and place on greased cookie sheet.  Top with cheese. Score an x on top.

Cook 40 minutes at 400 degrees f.

There are so many things out there in the world that you just don’t think about, and then one day…its upon you.  Being educated is one of the most important things you can do for yourslef and your family.  One of those things is MRSA.. wondering what it is?  I took this form the Stop MRSA website (http://www.stopmrsanow.org) because I feel it all relevant and important information for mine, and yours, families.

MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a type of Staph bacteria found on the skin and in the nose that is resistant to antibiotics. More than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly MRSA infections every year and in 2005, nearly 19,000 Americans died from MRSA infections. More deaths are linked to MRSA infections than AIDS.

There are two known types of MRSA. You may have heard of Healthcare-Associated (HA-MRSA), which occurs in hospitals and nursing homes, but a newer type of MRSA is Community-Associated (CA-MRSA), which has recently begun to spread in public settings like gyms, locker rooms, households and schools.

People can carry MRSA and not have any symptoms. These "carriers" can also transmit the bacteria to other people. MRSA can be easily spread through skin-to-skin contact and by touching contaminated items. 

MRSA, like other staph bacteria, can cause a skin infection such as pimples, rashes, abscesses, boils or what can look like a spider bite. These infections are usually warm, painful, red or swollen.

I know someone who had a MRSA infection, and she was so sick, and so young that I totally understand the serious nature of this type of infection.  At the website you can check out the testimonies of people who have ben there and experienced firsthand how terrifying this infection can be.  Veronic Bonds for instance, says her son Ashton, who loved school,  was sick and stayed home from school.  He was in pain and vomitting so his Mom rushed to the emergency room. They told her he had a virus, so she went home and did all things you would normally do, but he continued to get word until on October 7th he woke up hallucinating and breathing laboriously, he even needed help getting out of bed. She took him back to the emergency room and they admitted him and moved him to a larger hospital where he finally got the right diagnosis.  But by this time it was too late and the days spent in this hospital were his last.  He died. Now she is an advocate for education so other children don’t have die like her precious Ashton did.

The good news is there are SIMPLE steps you can take to minimize your families risk of coming into contact with MRSA:

Scrub up - Wash hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 15 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand rub sanitizer.   

Wipe it down - Use a disinfecting bleach solution to wipe down and disinfect hard surfaces. (1 tablespoon of disinfecting bleach diluted in 1 quart of water)

Cover your cuts - Keep any nicks or wounds covered with a clean, dry bandage until healed.

Keep to yourself - Do not share personal items, like towels or razors, that come into contact with bare skin.

Use a barrier - Keep a towel or clothing between skin and shared equipment.

To learn more you can check out the invaluable FACT SHEET   and don’t be afraid to share it with friends, family, your kids teachers, daycare workers, or babysitters….or download the PLAYBOOK which is a 13 page guide to MRSA; its origins, symptoms, the different types, how to decrease the spread and other important need to know information. You can even join the coalition.

So take the steps, help stop this deadly disease from taking more innocent lives.

Isn’t this just the cutest little guy ever???  He stand up all by himself now and managed to get 3/4 of the way on this toy all by himself, I only had to give him a little help figuring out where that second leg went….

I made homemade soup today, beef vegetable..YUMMY!  I even made some homemade yeast free bread, maybe I will post that recipe tomorrow with pics

• 1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 cups beef broth
• 3 cups v 8 vegetable juice
• 3 cups water
• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cups cabbage, chopped
• 4 mushrooms
• 1 (14 ounce) can cut green beans, drained
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice (garlic and olive oil flavor)
• 1 can frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 cup navy beans
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 bay leaf

Okay, admit it, how many of you thought I was going to tell you I was pregnant.  Especially you Mom …LOL ).

This is much less work, I got some nice black chairs for my living room, now all 7 of us have some where to sit and we can even have company.  They were on sale, so that justified me buying them.   Right.

It was so cute, Asher kept helping Wendell build the chairs.  He would point at screws and even try and turn the allen wrench.  He is already Daddy’s little helper, I could not keep him away.  He just kept going back.

My room finally looks like a living room, not just a misplaced couch in a random position.  I still need some plants and pillows and maybe a celery colored rug to match the walls, but its all good.

I realize the picture is very washed out but getting a good picture with all the windows and sunlight is proving to be hard.  But, you get the idea.   It will look great with my DVD stand..right Mom??????

Have you checked out this new Clorox company website..30 Days to Natural …if not, you should.  There is something almost revolutionary about what they are doing (even if only on a small scale). First you plant a daisy, with your name and state on it that you can watch for all 30 days.  Then you can go into the tools section and go over some reminders about recycling, a kitchen checklist to help you naturalify (my new word), sign up to get email tips sent to you…and even read some pretty entertaining diaries from real people (I totally related to a some of the things they shared, others just made me laugh..especially Pam. Follow their transition for 30 days and make your own changes.

The Green Works natural cleaners are a line of products that clean like your top of the line products but don’t contain all the harsh chemicals and are safe for your family. They are sustainable and totally biodegradable.  This may not seem like a big deal in the larger scheme of things, but after all the Environmental and Geography courses I have taken over the last 2 years..IT IS A BIG DEAL.  We need to stop treating the world like it is a renewable resource..we only have one! There are products for any dirty disgusting motherly job you can throw at it…..an all purpose cleaner, bowl cleaner, bathroom cleaner, glass and surface cleaner, even a dishwashing liquid. Most of the products are made with filtered water, essential oils, and are phosphorus and bleach free. They come in heavely fragrances like…water lily, simply tangerine, simply lemon or even free and clear. Also awesome is that they support the Sierra Club.

Check out the site and plant your daisy ( I did!!)

grAbby took this picture of me, it is not all that complementary at all, and kind of out of focu..but ont thing become clear to me…I may need a haircut.  I keep holding out on this..why?  because my hair grows when I am pregnant and since we are not planning any other babies (5 being enough) my hair will likely not grow as lon as this ever..and it is still growing.  Whatyathink??

here is to a tough year..but a letter that makes  it all worth while…You have to click to read it )