ASTHMA IN CHILDREN

Why I was so dumb to think that asthma in children had become an illness of the past much the same as polio and red measles would strike me as funny except that dealing with asthma is anything but fun. My older brother had asthma as a child but I was too little to remember anything about it except that my mother accused my father of being the cause of it because he smoked his pipe in the house.

As you can imagine, when my daughter starting presenting symptoms of asthma, the most noticeable being a persistent cough at night it came as a shock. Of course, that was before I did my homework and found that asthma in children was not only alive and well but very common in babies with allergies and eczema which made my infant a prime candidate for RAD (reactive airway disease which is a fancy, modern name for asthma) in spite of my diligent reading of vacuum cleaner reviews to see which models got the best consumer product ratings and reviews .

Her uncontrolled (and misdiagnosed) allergies early on made it impossible to manage her asthma symptoms and along with her MRSA and frequent upper respiratory infections kept me on edge to the point of exhaustion. I’m glad to report that as she has gotten older and her allergy triggers have been pinpointed, treatment has gotten more effective.

And the support network for parents with a child who suffers from this condition is fantastic! There are online screening quizzes to help parents identify the symptoms of asthma in children and information on asthma treatments for children so that you will be well educated and prepared to discuss whether or not your baby’s allergies and asthma symptoms with your doctor during your next visit.

HOW TO CLEAN A TOILET

Modern homemakers don’t just need to know how to clean a toilet. They should educate themselves as to the environmentally friendly way to clean tough toilet stains that won’t unnecessarily pollute our water supply or accidentally poison the family pet or even worse, the kids! I'm not the only person whose baby has mistaken the commode for a water park, am I?

TANK CLEANERS

Tank cleaners that come in the form of tablets or hanging capsules were all the rage for awhile. The belief was that if you properly cleaned the reservoir tank that those stubborn toilet rings would never show up in the first place. Now we know that this is wrong thinking in that we found out that this was not the magic cure it was held up to be. Plus, if you had a dog or a cat that enjoyed a refreshing drink from the commode from time to time we realized that toilet cleaner did little to enhance this experience. Even if you don’t have an animal to worry with, why do we think it is a good thing to pour an unending supply of chemicals in our water? We should be more concerned with REMOVING chemicals from water rather than dumping more in.

HOW TO CLEAN A TOILET THE GREEN WAY

The facts are that there is no magic cleaner or tip that I can share with you for how to clean your toilet while never having to go into the bathroom. I CAN tell you how to clean the commode and never get your hands dirty; wear gloves! Ok, I know that was cruel but let’s get real.

NO HARSH CHEMICALS NECESSARY

Cleaning the toilet is an unpleasant task that takes some elbow grease and a cleaner helps. But chemical toilet cleaners are not part of how to clean a toilet in a safe, green and environmentally friendly fashion.

DISINFECTING

Did you know that plain soap and water do a very good job of killing germs? The only problem here is that pesky ring in the toilet bowl. That is a little harder to get rid of so here are some safe toilet cleaners that might make the job a little easier.

(1. Reduce the water level in the bowl and sprinkle it liberally with baking soda. Dash some (cheap) vinegar in the bowl and scrub with one of those green scrub pads or the toilet brush of your choice.

(2. Take one cup of Borax and add enough lemon juice or vinegar to make a paste. (I prefer lemon juice for its safe bleaching properties) Smear the recipe on that ugly toilet bowl ring and let it sit for two hours then scrub.

(3. Drop two denture cleaning tablets in the bowl when you go to bed at night. Scrub the bowl first thing the next morning.


So, that is how to clean a toilet without poisoning the family pet or our planet. If you use any of our green household cleaner recipes, please come back and give us a review as to how they performed.

Return to Home and Baby Parenting and Family Issues to find more tips on how to clean a toilet and green household cleaner recipes.

INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS IMPROVEMENTS

Recently there has been an increased focus of national attention on the improvement of industrial environmental standards. As the USA attempts to rebuild its economy, we must be focused on not only restoring industry, but restore it in such a way that is not environmentally destructive. Perhaps the economic slowdown could give us an opportunity to improve all aspects of industry, including hazards among workers in their place of work and the health hazards affecting citizens residing in the surrounding areas that in the past were all too common.


What many do not realize is that not only does the health of our planet earth depend on improved industrial environmental standards, but the health of humans as well. The far reaching health complications caused by irresponsible industrial practices can essentially be divided into two categories, namely the direct and the indirect.

DIRECT

Direct health conditions have been documents to be on the rise as a direct result of the use of fossil fuels. A perfect example of this may be the increased asthmas rates in areas with high smog indices. Even the mildest case of asthma can deteriorate respiratory capacity over time and leave breathing seriously diminished with unimproved air quality. The continuous release of chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere has shown to increase ultraviolet light exposure by lowering our filtered sunlight. And as we are aware, this same ultraviolet light has been conclusively linked to skin cancer. It should come as no surprise that skin cancer cases in countries like South Africa and Australia, where the atmosphere is most affected is much higher than in other areas of our planet.

INDIRECT

Indirect industrial health consequences include those which can be attributed to old industrial infrastructure, including toxin exposure to employees. Workers in oil refineries, for instance, have been proven to have a much higher chance of developing mesothelioma, which is a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure, than those fortunate enough to work in cleaner industries. Even though asbestos was banned in the 1970s for most uses there are several refineries and factories that continue to use equipment manufactured in the pre-ban years which expose workers to cancer causing asbestos fibers.
We see then, that there is a clear advantage to improvement of industrial environmental standards, implementation of sustainable energy policies and healthier environmental attitudes for the health of the planet and of the world’s population.

Return to Oooh Baby Green Living and Parenting Ideas to read more about the need for improvement of industrial environmental standards.

Dangers of Baby Slings

I am announcing my intentions to ignore the dangers of baby slings that I have seen mentioned in various consumer reports recently. Being a cautious person by nature, I take each and every study that comes out very seriously and have the utmost respect for the integrity of said reports and the professionals who oversee and conduct them. However, this time I’m taking a few grains of salt with the results of the baby sling report.

For those who are considering this valuable attachment parenting device, the study states that in a time frame of the past five years there have been at least four babies who died from being carried in baby slings. And there are even more reported incidences of injuries to babies’ heads, skull fractures and bruises and contusions.

Most of the problems occurred when the babies tumbled out of the sling. To that, I have to reply that I have carried three (soon to be four) newborns in ring slings and have not had one fall out of the carrier yet! I do not jog, cook or do aerobics while carrying an infant in a sling. The moments are rare when my arms have not been wrapped around my babies when they are inside the sling carrier or wrap. It is my opinion that perhaps the dangers of baby slings have more to do with learning the lack of skill and common sense of the user than the danger of using a sling.

The study goes on to say that there are no safety standards for baby slings and I agree that since many moms believe it's alright to make your own baby sling using free patterns that they find on the internet that there is room for error. But again, in my opinion, that fact alone doesn’t make them dangerous.

The truth is that any squirming baby can wiggle out of your arms if you are not careful. I’m not telling anybody to take risks when parenting their babies. But, a little common sense goes a long way when assessing the dangers of baby slings.

By all means pick a safe baby carrier with a good track record and before you put your baby in any stroller, carrier or swing; learn how to use the thing. The same dangers of baby slings apply to any kind of baby gear, gadget or seat. Practice with a baby doll, read the owner’s manual and learn how to use the belts, straps and restraints before using the product with a real infant. And perhaps the best advice I can give to new mothers is to never allow yourself to become distracted by anything when caring for your baby. Make a solemn vow to not let anything short of a nuclear explosion pull your attention away because in my experience, the little sweethearts know the exact moment that you are not watching and will take that opportunity to injure themselves or their siblings. And nothing is worth sacrificing the safety of your precious child.

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting and Environmental Issues to see more of my opinions on expert studies.

OPINIONS ON HOUSEHOLD NECESSITIES POLL

I saw a story about how American families’ opinions of what they considered to be basic household necessities had change significantly since the year 2006. The report seemed to focus on appliances and a few h not so necessary household items atellite television and microwaves, not the bare essentials.

Some of the report’s findings were encouraging to me as they indicated a rise in green living practices. As an example, 16% (or somewhere close to that number) of the people polled said they didn’t’ consider clothes dryers to a necessity. This number is considerably higher than the number reported in 2006.

The most disturbing and probably misleading number was associated with dishwashers. The number of people who consider dishwashers to be unimportant rose significantly. People, the reason dishwashers have fallen off of the list of household necessities is not because of a rise in green living practices and above all it does not indicate that family members have suddenly taken a shine to washing and drying dishes the old fashioned way.

What this finding may indicate is the amount of junk and fast food that families are eating. If you shop for meals at the local drive-through restaurant, there’s no need to wash the dishes or the environmentally unfriendly Styrofoam containers. I admit to feeling a tingle of excitement over the number of moms hanging their organic cotton baby diapers on an outdoor clothesline, but the thought of losing the happy chuckle of the dishwasher filled with dirty dishes after a home cooked family dinner is disturbing.

Return to Oooh Baby Family, Parenting and Environmental Issues to see more opinionated rants and raves from Claire.

THE GOOD SIDE OF RECESSION

Don’t attack me when I tell you that there is a good side of a recession. And no, I’m not one of the executives of AIG that got a huge bonus for poor performance. I’m just a frugal stay at home mother who has watched families buy carloads of unnecessary stuff that was bought on credit for years and who is now watching those same people drowning in debt with a FOR SALE or a FORECLOSED sign in the front yard of their homes.

The upside of hard times is that it brings out the "we can do it" attitude that makes America such a great place. Excess has made us fat, lazy and according to the rest of the world, very difficult to love and respect. Oh, and let’s not ignore that many resorted to less than admirable tactics to mound up cash to float their unrealistic, wasteful lifestyles. I wonder if this is the reason that I hear some say that we needed a recession?

Whether it was needed or not, there are difficult times ahead. Anybody who thinks that the economy is going to be fixed overnight is delusional or may be privy to a method of debt reduction that probably would not hold up under close legal scrutiny. For those of us who like to live on the right side of the law, difficult times call for tightening the belt, trimming the fat and working on a frugal household budget or under the worst of conditions, asking for assistance.

One good side of recession is not only the fact that an economic slowdown might give our planet a much needed cooling off period, but that many libraries are reporting a 30 percent and better increase in their book circulation and an approximate 20 percent increase in patrons overall. Nobody wants to lose a job, their home or be without sufficient food and clothing. But when searching for positives in a sea of negative news the fact that our children may be reading more might produce a generation of kids who are competitive in the world’s job market of the future and if we had to suffer a recession to get the job done maybe we will have learned a valuable lesson.

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting and Environmental Issues for more comments on the positive side of recessions.

How to Help Children Cope with Death

I’m at the computer for therapy as well as to search for clues on how to help children cope with death. The signs are there, the appetite is failing, the meds have obliterated that cutting wit and at times over the top but always entertaining personality.

As far as I’m concerned, the stages of grief kicked off for me between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I give thanks to the Lord every night (and during the day when I can’t stop my mind from drifting in that direction) that it wasn’t in his plan to take her to be with him during that time and that we were given one more holiday season where we were once again shamed by her acute sense of knowing what the perfect gift for each and every child might be.

Now, I’m fielding requests from the kids wanting to know why I’m going to visit and they aren’t included. After telling them that the reason is that she’s in the hospital, their reaction was that she needed their comfort and company even more so than when she was at home. I’m at a lost as to how to help the children cope with death since coping with death is not something that I’m so very good at myself.

Maybe the way to cope is not to cope at all, but just to do what we can do to stay busy and productive. Making kids feel productive is a pretty tall order. They want to feel that they are doing something to help. The oldest said she wanted to make cookies so I picked up a tube of chocolate chip cookie dough and let her slice them and put them on the cookie sheet. I suggested to the littlest one that it might be a good idea to draw a picture for me to decorate the walls of the hospital room and as I’m typing she’s enthusiastically drawing a picture of a purple cat because according to her, purple is such a happy color.

If purple kitty cats and burned cookies are helping the children cope with death who am I to question the results?

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting and Environmental Issues to read more of my learning experiences in dealing with what life throws at you while raising kids.

MISUSE of ANTIBIOTICS - CHEAPER THAN EVER!

Has anyone else read about a drug store that is promoting what in my opinion is a misuse of antibiotics? According to the what I've heard, the pharmacy is offering free antibiotics in a push to promote better health for its customers stating in a promotional poster that as people don’t pay for germs, why they shouldn’t get free antibiotics.

As a stay at home mother, I’m all for freebies but not free medicine when I don’t need it. And that’s what bothers me about this campaign. Could there be people who might otherwise weather their way through a nasty cold (that wouldn’t respond to antibiotic treatments anyway) just fine without meds that might ultimately create a resistance to antibiotics that get the drugs just because they are free?

I would never want anyone not to have medicine when they have a real need. But I would like to know what precautions the stores might be taking to prevent the misuse of antibiotics to avoid problems in the future. Apparently the experts are concerned about this just as much as I am.

Has enough been done to educate people that these drugs are to fight bacterial infections only? One of the mothers I came across in a play group the other day had no idea that antibiotics have no impact on the common cold or the flu. Her reasoning was that you give them to the kids to be sure that viral infections don’t morph into anything else. I wonder if she realizes that she may be creating antibiotic resistance and doing her child’s immune system more harm than good. When Cass was diagnosed with MRSA as an infant, she was lucky to have several options to treat it. What will happed to overmedicated kids whose parents have made a habit of the misuse of antibiotics?

LEAD POISONING DANGER from OLD BOOKS

Books published before 1985 might be a lead poisoning danger to your children. Now there's something new to worry about. Why publishers would be printing kids' books with lead based inks in the late 80s when they had long before pulled lead based paint off the shelves is beyond me.

The bottom line is that before you buy those old books for a nickel you may want to figure the long term cost of treating your kids for lead exposure. Not to mention that you may have to deal with the inconvenience of criminal behavior and low IQ which are all symptoms of prolonged exposure to lead.

So, we need to toss these mind melting tomes in the trash, right? Wrong! Not only can these vintage treasures cause lead poisoning, if they go in the landfill the lead may get into the groundwater and come back to haunt you right out of the tap. And you can't burn the things because that will taint the very air we breathe. First there's the lead laden toys from China and now when you want to share the classics with your kids you're guilty of knowingly exposing them to lead.

So what's a mom who has gone to great lengths to stock her bookshelves with children's favorites from back in the day? Or what about the local librarian who certainly doesn't have time to monitor each and every baby and book? Well, the only answer is paying close attention to the dates that books are published, watch for lead poisoning symptoms and (you're going to love this) break out the old lead test kit and test each book that was published before the cutoff date mentioned in the report.

Is there any wonder that as we speak, people are hosting lead test parties all over the country. I can imagine the invitations say something like: Come for an afternoon of fun, frolic and swabbing to test your kids' reading material for lead.

As you know I'm a careful mother and that I've often had to err on the side of pure paranoia because of my daughter's illnesses at times. So, I hope you don't think I'm careless when I tell you that I'm not rushing to quarantine the books on my bookshelves. It's just that I have bigger fish to fry than what statistics dictate is more than likely a small risk factor.

I'm going to pay close attention to the books that the littlest members of my household read because they might think it's a good idea to lick the page if there's a picture of ice cream on it. But for the older girls, I worry more about lead poisoning from pencils, toys and our water supply more than exposure from print in an old book.

Return to Oooh Baby, Family Parenting and Environmental Issues to find more stuff to worry about that will keep moms from sleeping at night.

REUSABLE BAGS - MY GREEN LIVING FAUX PAS

If you are a regular reader, you know I truly try to live green and make good chemical free decisions whenever possible. However, management of my reusable bags is one area where I struggle.


Sadly, I am a spur of the moment kind of girl that is often wagging one baby on the hip, one in the belly and pulling another along behind in protest for one reason or another. For that reason, when the lady at the checkout counter pops out the question, "Paper or plastic" I'm often left with my environmental underwear hanging out. I have a bad habit of neglecting to pack my sturdy reusable fabric bags that I vowed to use as my small part in saving trees. My mantra is "Today a tree. Tomorrow the world".

But all too often I'm left standing in the checkout line at the discount store resisting the urge to yell NEITHER at the lady who in my mind should be pushing reusable bags instead of environmentally un-friendly options. In a weak moment with an unhappy toddler and a sleeping baby I little choice but to meekly murmur that I'd like paper as paper sacks are the least offensive of the options offered. Plus, I can always reuse the paper bags for different purposes at home that will keep them out of the landfill.

Alas, going green is a process just like weight control. You can't give up just because you have one unfortunate slip. It helps me to remember that as unorganized and overwhelmed as I am most days that I still remember to pack my homemade shopping bags made of sturdy organic cotton and reclaimed burlap.

Return to Oooh Baby! Parenting and Environmental Issues to read more of my trials and travails in my efforts to go green for the sake of my family and kids as well as the planet.

Natural Pesticide Remedies for Your Garden

Wishful thinking tells me that we may have an early spring. I thought this year I’d look for natural pesticide remedies for your garden before we actually need the natural fly and bug repellent and before the caterpillars start chomping on those tasty green leaves in your vegetable garden.

The first of the natural garden solutions on my list is a smelly one. Apparently gardeners in the old days believed that insects had the same sense of smell that we enjoy and are perhaps naturally repelled by stuff that stinks just like humans.

As there should be no environmental dangers or health issues involved, you may want to give this cheap and easy (and hopefully harmless to humans) natural pesticide a shot. Mind you that I’m not giving any guarantees as I’m forwarding recipes for natural bug killers or repellents from old gardening journals filled with tips I have not experimented with personally. If you see that any of the natural pesticide remedies for your garden work or for that matter if they are useless, would you please report back and leave your opinions on its efficacy?

This natural garden solution makes use of the potato plant. The information in this handwritten journal of old, natural gardening tips states that the juice is of great value as a bug and insect killer. It’s certainly easy to brew up a batch. All you have to do is:

• Cover the leaves and stems of the potato plant in enough water to cover, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes.
• Allow the liquid to cool and then fill the container of your garden sprayer with your homemade natural pesticide and spray on the garden plants or flowers that you want to protect from green and black flies, caterpillars and gnats that are enemies to your flower and vegetable garden.

With any luck and a green thumb, you should have less bugs and a bumper crop of produce.

There is a note that there will be a lingering odor (I’m thinking a rotten potato smell) that will have no detrimental effects on the growth or production of the plants. The journal further states that this is one of the best natural pesticide remedies for your garden and that the effects are long lasting.

I’m always in the market for cheap, natural garden solutions that kill those pesky bugs so let us know how you come out with this one.

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Natural Parenting and Environmental Issues

BODY CHEMISTRY OF LOVE and ATTRACTION

If there is one thing I want my writing to convey it’s that messing with body chemistry is not a good idea. I believe that we are so finely tuned that even something as innocuous as fragrances can knock us out of our comfort zone. Chemicals can make us sick either with an allergic reaction or by putting some slow moving malady into motion that takes so long to make itself known that we may have no clue as to what caused it.

This of course might make many companies very happy as they might otherwise be held accountable if we could actually pinpoint the exact product that poisoned us. If there is ever a method of locating the exact concoction that had an enough of an effect on our body’s chemistry to cause problems, you might expect more care being put into the research and testing phase before releasing new medicines, cleaning products or anything containing chemicals intended for use in our homes and especially around our kids. I would not be surprised to see some of the old stuff that has been around since before we were born getting a second glance either.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner I wanted to drop a little hint on how chemistry can affect your love life and who use choose as your mate. Yes ma’am, I heard a disconcerting report on the chemistry of love and attraction. Or it may be more accurate to say how modern chemistry may have bearing on whom you choose to love.

Who would have ever dreamed that birth control and attraction might be connected? Well, as it turns out they are. Apparently nature in all her infinite wisdom designed us to be naturally attracted to people who are biologically different than ourselves. This was probably a defense mechanism to prevent humans from producing children born of incest, having miscarriages and fertility problems which we know is a good thing. Now we know after decades of using birth control pills which we know alter our body chemistry.

But what we may not have known was that they may cause us to bypass nature’s natural body chemistry of love and may cause us to choose mates who are MORE similar to ourselves. Who knows what the repercussions of this phenomenon might be (if the report is accurate), but I have filed it back as just another bit of evidence that we should never consider tampering with our bodies safe or advantageous nor should we do so without careful consideration.

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting and Environmental Issues to see more of my opinions on unnecessary chemicals and toxins in our homes.

WAYS TO RECYCLE CHRISTMAS CARDS, ORNAMENTS and the TREE!

Merry Christmas! I just wanted to drop a reminder to recycle your Christmas cards and decorations. You will be rewarded many times over for taking a few additional, easy steps while opening your gifts and taking down your decorations.

RECYCLING YOUR CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

It only takes a few minutes to tuck your ornaments into a box to reuse next year while you are taking down the Christmas tree. Wrap the breakable items in tissue paper to cushion them and wind those endless strands of lights around a paper towel tube or an old broomstick that you were smart enough to save when the broom itself was past repair.

WAYS TO RECYCLE CHRISTMAS CARDS

Here are some tips to keep those beautiful greeting cards from going to waste.

• Snip the names and handwritten greetings off the card and save the beautiful art, graphics and Christmas poems on the cards for craft projects for the kids to use in their crafts projects next fall. They can enjoy cutting out the pictures and threading a pretty ribbon through a hole to decorate a children's tree in their bedroom.
  
  
• Package them up and recyle Christmas cards by mailing them via UPS "ground" or "bound printed matter" to the St. Jude's Ranch that collects and reuses old Christmas cards: St. Jude's Card Recycling, 100 St. Jude Street, P.O. Box 60100, Boulder City, Nevada 89006.
  
  
• Trim them into sizes to use as gift tags next year.
  

CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING PROGRAMS

The most important item to recycle is the Christmas tree. If you cut down a tree to decorate, please take advantage of one of the free programs to recycle your Christmas tree. Here are some ideas of how to get this taken care of:

• Contact your town's street and water department to find the address of facilities where you can take your tree to be ground up to make mulch for your yard.
  
  
• Check with your local fish and wildlife officials to see if they are taking trees to put in ponds and lakes to provide breeding spots for fish.
  
  
• The most environmentally friendly, green way to have a tree for the holidays is to have a potted, live tree that can be planted outdoors after the decorations have been removed.
  
  

While your family is involved with unwrapping gifts, don't forget to remind them to save those ribbons, boxes and bows. When we recycle Christmas cards and holiday items we save trees and in the long run; our planet.

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting Recycling and Environmental Issues to see more ways to make the Christmas holidays more green.

SOUTHERN FAMILY CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Some Southern family Christmas traditions stem rode over on the boat with my ancestors from jolly Old England, Scotland and France. I’m not sure how my folks picked and chose the ones to keep and which ones to toss to the side but I see more than a few right out of some of Charles Dickens’ stories.

Maybe when my kin decided to flatboat down to Natchez and New Orleans they had to make do with what they had on hand and thus the southern aspect of the holidays was born. Whatever the origin of their festivities, Southerners have their own way of celebrating Christmas. Contrary to popular opinion, not all of them involve discharging firearms into the night sky or sitting around a still waiting on some unsuspecting Yankee to happen by to have a little fun with.

Most of my favorite holiday traditions involve food. For the main meal, the meat has to be impressive. A huge, golden turkey or ham decorated with pineapple slices and red maraschino cherries are the optimal choices. However, one year when I was a kid we had a standing crown rib roast. I can remember wondering if the decorations on the ribs were edible. These Christmas menus could not be categorized as southern family Christmas traditions as they date back centuries.

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting and Environmental Issues to see more Christmas menu ideas and how we are spending the holidays.


However, there is one unique family Christmas tradition that may be completely southern or at least American in origin. That would be our Christmas breakfast menu.

Here is what was on the breakfast menu on Christmas day every year when I was growing up.

• Quail
  
• Angel or Bride’s Biscuits
  
• Gravy
  
• Homemade Preserves

At times the quail were smothered in gravy and there were times when I seem to remember that they were southern fried kind of like chicken. Perhaps the reason that this meal stands out in my memory is because it was never repeated at any other time of year. I will list more of my southern family Christmas traditions after I mark a few items off my list of Christmas details to take care of before tomorrow.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

Did you hear more homemade Christmas gifts will be given and that sales of craft items are up even in the midst of the financial crisis? Well, that's what the newswires have reported. The increase in sales was impressive enough to merit a press release stating the numbers.

The reason for the spike was reported to be that more people are having to make their own Christmas gifts because of a lack of funding for store bought items. If you are a crafter, you know this is a big bunch of bull.

Before you come at me with paint brush loaded for bear, let me explain. Homemade Christmas gifts are BETTER and if you are smart (shall we say crafty?) you can save some money. However, you know as well as I do unless you have been crafting for awhile you can go broke buying supplies and end up spending more than if you had just gone on and bought perfume and neckties as in holidays of the past.

But you would have to kick off your plan to make your own Christmas presents much earlier than late October or November, my friend. That is unless you have only one person to buy for on your list. Homemade quilts, knitted sweaters and crocheted afghans take more than a little time to complete.

What I would like to believe is that people are turning to handmade gifts because
homemade Christmas gifts are unique and personalized, not because they are cheap.

CHRISTMAS DINNER MENUS

I have been suffering over possible Christmas dinner menus. Somehow the thought of basting a turkey and stuffing myself with dressing so soon on the heels of Thanksgiving is not appealing.

I have polled the kin who will be attending to see if they will be sad without a traditional Christmas dinner. You might be wondering what a traditional, southern holiday meal might include. At our house that would be a combination or all of the following:

• A golden brown basted turkey to serve as a centerpiece and an extra baked turkey breast so nobody gets mad if the white meat is gone before they get a slice.
  
• Two large jellyroll pans full of cornbread dressing with a pitcher of special gravy to pour over it which works wonders if for some reason the dressing is dry.
  
• Sweet potato casserole using one of several different recipes
  
• A crock-pot full of slow simmered green beans or green bean bundles
  
• Molded cranberry salad.
  
• Yeast rolls
  
• Gallons of sweet iced tea
  
• Desserts
  

Since we had turkey for Thanksgiving and the thought of doing it again is not appealing. I'm researching Christmas dinner menus for baked ham and all the trimmings.

Do you have a website that has a good recipe or some Christmas dinner menu ideas that include something festive besides turkey? Please let me know about it in the comment section, quickly. I need to make up my mind so that I can make a grocery list so that I can go shopping for the ingredients before tomorrow.

SMART CARS or GAS GUZZLERS ON PARADE

A friend of ours recently commented on how few gas guzzlers and how many fuel efficient "smart cars" that he was seeing on the roads. After this enlightening visit where he related his excellent environmentally encouraging news I could hardly wait to fill my semi-fuel efficient Honda with gas and hit the highway. I was so looking forward to riding with my eyes on bright hoping to see the first wave of the new age of consumers and automobiles on parade.

I knew that the earliest possible opportunity would be when we made a short trip out of town to deliver some Christmas gifts. We hit the interstate with high expectations and a carload of excited kids early. On the first leg of the trip there were very few cars or trucks sharing the road with us and there were more gas guzzlers than sippers by a long shot.

However, I still had high hopes as the church crowd had not joined us as of yet. Surely, the spiritual set would be some of the frontrunners for saving our planet for generations to come.

It was easy to see when the last hymn of the service had been sung as traffic increased by fifty percent or better. But I was very disappointed in the number of four wheel drive trucks and big SUVs over anything that could remotely lay claim to being a fuel saving model.

Let it suffice to say that my observations did not equal my friend's by any means. However, I have great hope for the future. Maybe everybody is just upside down in their loan and waiting (like me) for the day they can trade for a greener ride. Or else they think that the tree huggers made up the American gas guzzler myth to put GM, Ford and Chrysler out of business just for giggles.

RESISTING THE THROWAWAY NATURE OF SOCIETY

In the past I have touched upon the casual, unconcerned nature of society as far as keeping the world a safe and uncluttered space. It struck me this morning as I was running a load of pre-Christmas laundry that I had not touched on this subject recently.

You might wonder what washing clothes and the out of touch citizens of planet earth have to do with each other. If you had the opportunity to hear the clunking sound that my washing machine was making you would understand why my foggy brain made the connection.

Let me start by saying that my washer and dryer set is not ancient. They get a workout practically every day but at their young age they should sprint through my family's dirty stuff without sweating. They are not but five years old or maybe even a little less and they sound like they are ready to expire. Even if they happen not to be at death's door, they are gravely ill.

I am now faced with making the decision of calling the appliance repair service and hoping that the fix will be a quick and easy (read: cheap) one or biting the bullet and buying a new washer. The dryer seems to be heating and fluffing just fine. So, a replacement for the washing machine will be all that's required for the time being.

This hits me wrong as I am going to be stuck with a mismatched set for no telling how many years. If I were to follow suit and go along with the disposable nature of society, I'd kick them both to the curb, buy one of those cool front loading models and let future generations fend for themselves.

However, being an individual that is concerned with environmental issues I'll probably just call the repairman, let him replace a couple of gears and suffer with a noisy washing machine for a few more years. By that time I'll probably be so sick of the rocking and knocking that I'll succumb to the temptations and buy something new. Even environmentally conscious individuals such as myself show weakness in hard times.

It would also help if factories would stop manufacturing junk. I don't want new to keep up with the people next door. All I want is to be able to wash my family's sheets and clothes without the threat of going deaf or having to dip sopping wet clothes out of the tub that quit spinning before it was finished.

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting and Environmental Issues to read more of my targeted rants on the unconcerned nature of society.

BABY DEER HUNTING

Don’t let the title fool you, the term "baby deer hunting" is not about grown men out hunting fawns. At least not in this article. What I’m talking about is little kids out hunting deer with guns taller than they are. Allow me to say that I am not anti-gun nor am I anti-hunting. It’s my personal belief that there is a time and place for both. That being said, only an idiot could think that high powered rifles and kids are a good mix.


When I saw the latest in a number of pictures in the local newspaper of kids holding the heads of dead whitetail deer up by their horns, I gave one of my women friends a quick call that is known to have a trophy rack or two hanging over her fireplace. Being less than knowledgeable on the subject, my goal was to find out what was up with parents who were taking their five year old kids out to kill animals. Knowing that she is a responsible mother, I felt that surely she would consider kindergarten age children hunting with guns a severe safety hazard and I wanted to hear her opinions on the subject.

I told her the reason for my call and after a minute of silence, where in retrospect she was probably wondering if she might be risking losing her privileges at the camp house, she informed me that the practice was called by those in the know "Baby deer hunting." Before going any further, knowing that I maintain a blog, she made me swear that I would not mention her name or tell where I got my information. I could easily understand where she was coming from. When you are prone to hang out in dense forests filled with crack shots, you can’t afford to have a lot of enemies.

After I was sworn to secrecy, she started to unload on the topic of baby deer hunting. Here are the basics of what she shared with me. WARNING: if you are one of the guilty parents who have been hauling your kids under the age of 12 with you into the woods, her comments are not going to make you feel very good about yourself.

She said:

Kids who have never taken a gun safety course should not be hunting. There have been studies that baby deer hunters (under 19 years of age) are responsible for 50 percent or more of firearms accidents. Children have trouble making the distinction between real guns and toys and point accordingly. Furthermore, dads (and moms) who would put the gun on the shoulder of a their child so that he or she can kill an animal are irresponsible idiots.

And here’s another little tidbit of information; your fellow hunters don’t enjoy the company of baby deer hunters. The animals they kill or the ones that you bring down and say that they killed fail to impress. If you are doing this to make your friends think that you are a big man to have raised such a mighty hunter; please know that it has the opposite effect. Your fellow club members may not show it, but they dread the sight of you and who could blame them? Buying deer rifles for kids is not cool.

My friend said that she remembered one such incident where a man in her club pulled this stunt and while bragging in the clubhouse, the baby deer hunter seemed to reflect his father’s enthusiasm. Later, she heard the child crying in the bathroom. How traumatic would it have been if that same young person had accidentally killed another hunter?

The moral to this lesson is that it might be best to teach kids about deer rather than take them hunting while they are young. Spend time with them and teach them to appreciate nature. Take them into the woods and show them the scrapes, rubs and tracks and prepare them for the day that they will be old enough to join the hunt. Leave the guns at home. Your fellow hunters will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

If your toes have been stepped on, I apologize. You are welcome to your opinions and I wish you the best success with your parenting methods.

Return to Family, Parenting, Environment Issues and Kids to see more articles on the challenges facing the modern family.

THE BLACK FRIDAY WALMART STAMPEDE of DEATH

ATTENTION WALMART SHOPPERS


I was glad I stayed home after I read the news on the Black Friday Walmart death. How did we get here, people? Since when has a hot video game or baby doll become more valuable than the life of a human being? It's not unusual to hear of an angry mob leaving carnage in its wake during times of political unrest when blood is running high. But, a raging stampede to get to toys and electronics is hard for me to swallow.

This man was trampled not by scared individuals running from a Tsunami or taking shelter in somebody’s basement because a twister was on the horizon.
His life was taken by a bunch of maniacs looking for cheap DVD players and flat screen television sets. In case you did not notice, this might indicate that our society has become disturbingly and dangerously obsessed with STUFF!

Even one of the articles reporting the details of the Black Friday Walmart death wound up reporting on same store sales and how Walmart was benefiting from the poor economic environment. (Their sales are reported to have gained over 2% in October beating even their own forecast.) We can’t resist spouting percentages and sales figures long enough to stay on topic a few minutes out of respect for a person who died in a horrific and painful way. Has exposure to violence on television made us immune and desensitized to such a senseless tragedy?

A pregnant woman was also injured in the rush of bargain hunters. Remember the good old days when gentlemen would offer their seat to a lady who was expecting? These days that must only apply if she is not between you and that flat screen you wanted for the den. If that baby bump gets in the way, all bets are apparently off. American greed trumps a lady in weakened condition during the holidays, right?


I have wondered what kind of lessons are we teaching our kids when we are willing to get up at dawn to be first in line for some gadget that is at best a fleeting status symbol. Are we now willing to prove that it's ok to kill so long as you do it on Black Friday at Walmart defending your right to get the best buy on what you want at rock bottom prices?

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting and Environmental Issues to stay abreast of more Christmas miracles and acts of human compassion as they happen.