Thursday, April 30, 2009

Who do we believe?

On the Flu virus
The Vice President told us to avoid planes, trains and buses.
The President told us to cover our noses and mouths and stay home if we are sick.
The director of Homeland Security told us that we do not need to avoid public transportation.

On "torture" memos
The President's chief of staff (among others close to him) said that the President was not going to release the memos.
The very next day the President released those memos.

On the New York photo opp.
The police said they were not supposed to tell the public.
The FAA said that the White house told them not to inform the public.
The President claims that he did not order the secrecy and will find out who did (oh no, another task force will probably be created)

On Iran
The President, as a candidate, said that Iran is a small country with a small army and is not a threat to the US.
The very next day he did an about face and said how great a threat Iran is.

Is anyone else noticing the mixed messages?
Is this simply inexperience?
Considering how calculated everything the President does is, I have a hard time believing that these confusing signals are not coordinated.
There is a trend here.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

On the subject of torture...

I don't think the majority of Americans even care that we may have "tortured" terrorists in order to prevent a new attack.
I don't think most Americans think water boarding is torture when they consider that it is used as part of Air force training.
I don't think that most Americans think telling terrorists that we will not torture them will keep them from attacking us.
I do think that this new flip flop by our president is motivated by someone who is controlling him. Why else would he flip and flop on this issue?
Will I be put on a terrorist watch list by Homeland Security now?
Good, maybe they need to hear from some regular people instead of all the Washington Bureaucrats.


Check out this article on how we were saved by our so called "torture" of a terrorist.

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=46949

Monday, April 20, 2009

I'm Published

I was on Amazon the other day and decided to look up a book that I am published in. I found it. Through my Google searches I was excited to find that the book is used by schools to teach poetry to children. The book is titled Poetry Patterns and it was written by my 5th grade teacher Eleanor Orndoff. The book is a collection of different types of poetry and how to write them. My poetry is an example of seven poetry.



Here is my poem from page 43:
There were seven sisters sleeping in a bed.
The first fell off and bumped her head.
The second cried all through the night
The third was loudly snoring,
And the fourth wanted a night light.
The fifth wanted Mommy,
The sixth wanted Dad.
The seventh rolled all around and made everyone mad.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

No TV for My Baby is My Goal

I don't let my 11 month old watch TV. This includes Baby Einstein, Thomas, Sesame Street, etc. I have heard it said several times that there is no television that is appropriate for children under the age of three. Many DVDs have labels of appropriateness for children as young as 6 months old but I don't believe them. While the material may be age-appropriate the act of sitting and staring at a multicolored moving screen while hearing fake voices is not. A young child's brain cannot comprehend what is being seen. My opinion is that the age-appropriateness is a marketing ploy.

Now in all fairness, I only have one child, I do have the news on often, and my husband will often have sports on. Can I say that my child has never watched any TV? No. My goal is to allow no cartoon type, fake voice TV for as long as I can. If I find my child looking at the TV for more than a few seconds I turn it off. I also do not want him sitting in front of the TV when he should be moving and exploring to learn. This is my goal. So far, so good. There was one day when I fought really hard not to let myself pop in a Baby Einstein DVD. I didn't, but I know I will have a much harder time when I have more than one child.

Three years old is my goal. We will see. This is why I am a stay and home mom. So I have the will power and energy to do the things I feel are best for my family. I don't always succeed, but this is the goal.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

What I learned at my first protest.


People are angry.
People (media) support free speech when it agrees with their views. Check out CNN's so called interview of a man and his 2 year old at the protest in Chicago.
Older veterans are very angry at the state of our union and where it is headed.
Protesting is exciting!
Some immature people try to belittle others who do not support their views (on both sides of the issue).
People feel like they have no control.
People want to be heard.
People want to be represented.
People like my No More Pork sign best.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

No More Pork

Baby's Stroller Sign for the Tea Party Protest

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tax Day Tea Party

Friday, April 3, 2009

Tassimo, a good cup of coffee

I am the proud owner of a Tassimo coffee maker. The Tassimo is great because I can choose many different beverages like lattes, cappuccinos, hot chocolates, teas, and coffees. I even had some friends create mochas using the milk, espresso, and hot chocolate. It also has a water filter which is always a plus.

At first I was wary about the system because I have become accustomed to very strong coffee thanks to Starbucks. However, I read through the user guide and found that I can make the coffee as strong, or weak, as I like and I have noticed the Starbucks coffee is stronger than the others. To make other brands stronger just remove the coffee mug before the end of brewing because the strongest part comes out first.




I have also noticed that it can be difficult to get a large cup of coffee. There are different size T-dics and the morning blend is supposed to be 16 ounce, but I have not found this to be true when I make it. However, it is easy to brew two cups if I want more.




I am are also limited to the brands that make T-discs which are Gevalia, Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and Maxwell House. This is not a problem for me.




If I had to pick a favorite drink it would be the cappuccino. And the latte. Of course the hot chocolate. Who am I kidding? I like them all.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

What size do I buy?

Here is something I wanted to know when buying clothing for my child during the first six months of his life.

How clothing brands fit my child.
Clothing fit guide for babies.

My child was 75th percentile in length and usually 20-40th in weight.

GAP and Old Navy: onsies run big, pants and shorts run small—he always grows out of the pants in length earlier than the designated month

Gymboree: clothing runs big, pajamas run small—the clothing fits him well after the designated month, he always grows out of the length of the p.j.'s before the designated month

Carters: all of it runs big—he doesn’t start wearing it until the month after it is designated for

Circo at Target: runs small in length

Cherokee at Target: runs small

Jumping Beans at Kohls: I have only bought the shirts so far but they run big

Sonoma at Kohls: the onesies run very big

Chaps at Kohls: One pieces fit small in length, button up shirts fit large

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

How much do I feed my baby?

When I was ready to begin giving my baby solid food, other than cereals, I was shocked at the lack of good information. I found many great recipe books, my favorite being So Easy Babyfood, but nothing that helped me know how much to give him. As a first time mom, the task of providing the right foods in the right quantities was overwhelming and I soon found that many other moms felt the same way. I had trouble with the method of giving my child food until he showed signs of not wanting anymore because he would never stop. He loves food and I think he would eat until there was no food left in the house. I needed more to go on and I found a great chart at babyzone.com that gave me general guidelines to follow. I still use it now that he is 10 months old. Here is the link. I hope it helps you.

http://www.babyzone.com/baby/nutrition-chart.pdf