FIRST VEGAN - NOW HOW ABOUT GOING FREEGAN?

I posted a while back about how peeved I was that a whopping big ass floor fan that we had only used a season or so bit the dust, while my mom's fan from years back worked like a top. Well, I figured that pitiful piece of equipment that was made so cheap as to be laughable filled up our garbage dump unnecessarily.

I am not religious about being Vegan, but I try. Begin FREEGAN is something that I feel I could really be passionate about. The less crap we consume, the less fuel that gets burned to make the crap, right? But, some things like fans are necessary. Baby heat rash on a hundred degree day (especially when one of them has MRSA) does not make for happy faces if you know what I mean.

Isn't it just as important to make quality items rather than throw away plastic? Does it do any good for people to jump on board the Freegan band wagon if our necessities are of such poor quality that we have to throw them away at three times the rate that our parents or grandparents did?

NANNY CAMS are NOT LIFE SAVERS! WAKE UP!

The talk at the moms coffee group this morning was a show that some of the ladies had seen about nanny cams. Nanny cams are not your typical digital wireless video baby monitors or audio baby monitors that may have been broadcasting your next door neighbor's personal conversations into your home via your cordless phone.

These hidden cameras are spy ware, equipment for moms and dads who leave baby at home with nannies that they apparently don't trust. Why else would these people be spying on the hired help? My thoughts are that these parents are leaving their tiny babies with people they barely know and to make themselves feel better about it, they go out and buy electronics so they can spy on them and have them arrested if need be AFTER the evening is over.

I've seen the shows on television where baby monitors or the stuffed animal with camera lenses for eyeballs picked up appalling film footage of the babysitter beating the tar out of newborns and toddlers that couldn't defend themselves, but what good is it to catch them after baby's brain is damaged from shaken baby syndrome?

I don't believe that the most high tech spy equipment could ever take the place of parenting. There is no event, evening out or party that would make me leave my children with a person that I felt the slightest need to spy on. The sitters that I use probably need me to nanny cam the kids for possible babysitter abuse rather than the other way around! I wonder if it ever strikes some parents that they may need to stay their butts at home rather than entrust people who might abuse their babies with their care?

I'm not slamming all sitters or nannies by any means as the case of poor Lattie McGee proves that some parents should be watched and not just babysitters. God knows that there is no punishment strong enough for those people on this earth for what they did to that child. May that poor baby find peace in God's arms.

I just want to bring to mommy's and daddy's attention that a hidden camera is not going to protect their child if an unscrupulous person is left in charge. If you have doubts, don't leave the house!

IS WATER THE NEW OIL?

In our household, we've been doing our best to follow the "If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down" practice. The results are dubious but I've managed to save a gallon or two from the sewage lagoon.

Yesterday I read that Georgia who is suffering from extreme drought is believed to have invaded their neighbor, Tennessee's, water supply. This is pretty scary. In any number of old western movies entire communities were wiped out by cattlemen who strong armed the local water supply.

I decided to search a little further on the subject to see if Georgia is the only person/state/entity that's been accused of poaching water. The entire south is suffering from water shortages so is there any more moisture being taken from aquifers without proper authorization? Lo and behold people, what do I find but an article saying that Mississippi had alleged that Tennesse had been tapping into their water resources!

This is big stuff people. Am I the only one that sees water becoming the new oil? We have alternative fuel possibilities, but we can't survive without water.

More Antibiotics and I'm Scared

We just finished a round of antibiotics and lo and behold a fever of 103 last night. This time that lovely pediatrician of mine is saying it has to be a sinus infection because her ears look fine and her chest sounds good.

Am I wrong to worry that this little lady is going to run out of effective antibiotics before she's in preschool? The MRSA thing literally keeps me awake at night worrying. We get her the flu shot because the doctor says that with her history and her asthma that it could be very dangerous for her not to get it in spite of my worry about vaccine safety and autism. Then I see in the newspaper that the darn flu shot didn't exactly hit the lottery on the number of strains that it's effective in fighting.

It's to the point that I'm obsessing and developing a raging case of insomnia. I think I may consult a counselor to help me through this so that I can get a handle on my fears. I'm no sissy and have had hardships in my life, but this is just about to beat me down into a state that's having an adverse effect on our family life. I know that my fears are real as the ped has pretty much laid it all out for me. It's my lack of ability to cope that I'm beginning to worry about. A good night's sleep would do wonders, but with my mind whirling in circles....what if, what if, what if ...... I don't really see that happening tonight, but I will pray hard that it does. If you have a empty slot in your prayer list send some thoughts my way because it's been a bad day, friend.

SCARED OF ANTIBIOTICS - DEALING WITH MY FEARS

For anyone that's a regular visitor to this blog, my baby has MRSA. The stomach virus is crawling through our household and the minute one gets better, another family member goes down for the count. Since we got the news that MRSA had made its way into our world, I've lived in fear of any illness that may come our way that would require antibiotics.

This may seem unreasonable to some, but MRSA means that only a limited number of antibiotics work for this child and I don't want her to become resistant to more meds. The tone in my doctor's voice when he spoke the words that she will have to deal with this for the rest of her life, rings in my head at times. It almost seemed that he was issuing a death sentence even though he backed it up with how huge a percentage of the population is infected or carrying this bug.

I'll be glad when the weather is warmer and cold and flu season is over!

CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES, DENTAL PROBLEMS GETTING ME DOWN

This time of year I expect the common cold to visit at my humble abode. I might even accept that an off brand version of the flu virus might slip in under the protective covering that I've laid upon my little ones in the way of the latest round of flu vaccines. But I was not expecting dental problems. That's right, one of my kids has CAVITIES!

I've been so careful and mindful of letting them fumble around with the toothbrush to get the feel of it and then taking matters into my own hands for a good scrubbing. Up and down brushing as well as carefully prizing their little jaws apart for a half baked flossing. Apparently my efforts towards dental hygiene were all for naught because the oldest girl woke up with a toothache yesterday.

After a trip to the dentist, it was confirmed that indeed she had a rotten tooth. Or to be kind, she has a cavity in between two of her back teeth which was the reason I had not spotted the evil sucker. At least she didn't embarrass me by having a mouthful of cavities which would be a sure indicator that I was a complete failure as a parent. A few buzzes of the drill and some magic tricks with the hypodermic needle performed by my dentist and his technician and we were out of there.

Then to make things even more fun and fanciful, the youngest woke me up at two am. having thrown up in the bed. Cavities and viruses! How lucky can I be?

So what do you do for children's stomach virus symptoms but wipe up vomit and clean up diarrhea but wait it out? That's about it other than to give them Pedialyte popsicles and pray that feel like sleeping in between episodes. That's where we are right now, the little one is peacefully napping and I'm catching up on my mommy blog and hoping that the other two miraculously immune to this particular strain of stomach virus.

So what's your method of alleviating stomach virus symptoms in your kids? Please feel free to share!