Well, I am not exactly sure I should be admitting this, but names have been changed to protect the innocent, and I use that term loosely. A few years back, an adult relative told one of my children that she had cancer, just days after we lost my aunt Joanne to cancer. My son at the time was only about 5 or 6, and this is a family member who he loved dearly. With further prodding I learned that her ‘cancer’ was really pre-cancerous cells that were found during a pap-smear. She did not get cancer, the cells were frozen and she went on to lead a normal healthy life. My son however lived in fear for years that he would loose another loved one to cancer. I am not sure I will ever forgive her for using so little tact with my innocent baby. Well, a few months ago, I ordered this bracelet from MakeTheConnection.org, an educational website that teaches how a virus, HPV, can lead to cervical cancer. I got my free bracelet today. If I was not afraid of Karma biting me in the rear end, I would order an information kit for this person so they can know the truths about abnormal paps and how common HPV is, how it is spread and how one abnormal pap does NOT mean you have cancer and have the right to tell an innocent child that you do…. ok, the last part would not be in the information packet, but one could hope that one would draw that conclusion. Anyways, I am NOT having the information packet sent to her… but don’t tempt me! Lord please forgive me, for I am sure I have sinned!

So last night we went over to a potluck at our friend’s house. It was us, them, and another couple; we all have our kids at the same taekwondo center. Well we were having a great time hanging out and playing dominoes and Chris came up to our friend, the owner of the house, and asked how old their cat was.

Chris: “How old is the cat?”

Owner: “He is 13″.

Chris: “OH NO!” He gets a horrified look on his face.

Chris: “That means he only has about 2 more years until he dies!”

We all started laughing hysterically, all 6 of us, even the owner of the cat. Chris totally did not understand what was so funny, but we reassured him that some cats live to be much older.

Anyways, we had a blast and plan on having them over next weekend…

Last night I spoke with a friend who had sleep apnea, until her tonsils were removed. She was was being tested later that night to see if her tonsilectomy and sudden cease in snoring had caused her sleep apnea to disapear. This got me thinking about sleep disorders, my mom has always wondered if my dad suffered from sleep apnea. Well, in my search I found an article on Drooling In Sleep. It was interesting to see that drooling bothers some people enough to seek medical treatment. Drooling in your sleep is not a serious condition and is usally caused by sleeping position, illness, or dental conditions.

I am almost out of shampoo. Usually this is no big deal, except I have been using a new brand that is only available in a hair salon. See, about 9 months ago in a moment of weakness I went to Toni & Guy to get my hair cut. They did a great job, and I loved it, but I HATE the idea of spending $100 for a friggin hair cut!

I also hate the idea of spending $37 for shampoo and conditioner. The brand I use is Bed Head (not to be confused with Kevin’s bed head gallery which you need to check out), and even though I love it, I am not sure it is worth it.

Here is where I am torn… I need more shampoo and I love this brand, but I am nor sure I have enough self control to keep from letting them cut my hair. I went to Overstock.com where they had some really good deals; but their quantities were unclear, so I was not sure if I was really getting a good deal. Maybe I will try Amazon.com… where of course the conditioner qualifies for free shipping if I add another $6, but I will have to pay for shipping on the shampoo. So I added some other things which ALSO do not qualify for super saver shipping.

I noticed on other websites they have themes… things like Thankful Thursday and Photo Friday, etc.  I have pondered doing something like that, but I am not sure I am ready to commit.  I would like to get some kind of style down before the unveiling so this blog does not turn into a PSA, or bitchy blog.  Maybe I will work out a theme and try to work on committing.

Thanksgiving is over and I think we are all feeling a sort of ‘hung-over’ and tired from all the turkey. We all worked very hard to make this all come together without a hitch. Bobby helped a lot with the final cooking… the part where everything is coming together at the same time and everything needs your full attention and you only have two arms. Austin and Christopher helped a ton with the clean up, and I really appreciate all they did.
So today we are all having a lazy day. I refuse to leave the house on Black Friday, I am not one of those crazy shoppers who is willing to get up at 4am to get a sale at 5am. In fact I imagine 75% of my shopping will be done online. We need to get some stocking stuffers still at Barnes & Noble, and probably the rest will be done at Target and Best Buy.
So in celebration of “Black Friday” we are all doing our own thing today; Austin and Chris are playing their Nintendo DS’s, Bobby and I are watching TV and Matthew is now napping.
When this picture was taken, he was watching Sesame Street. Between Sesame Street, the Dog Whisperer and Signing Time, this boy gets engrossed. Other than those three shows, he could really care less about the television. Sometimes I can get him to lay in bed with me and watch Veggietales in the morning.

Last night I had a very strange dream. I was at church and someone was telling me that I needed to watch the Catholic Show. They went on to tell me how they were personally responsible for all prayers to St. Anthony, and people all over the world would write them letters of what to pray to St. Anthony for for them. This was kind of funny for me in a few ways… first of all, I had never heard of Saint Anthony. Second because Bobby and I were just talking about the Saints about a week ago (St Jude, St Joseph, and St Gerard) and how I believe that even non-Catholics can pray to the saints. Where Bobby believes more so that ALL prayers need to go to G-d. This was kind of a funny conversation just because neither one of us practices a religion, but we have been debating trying to chose a place of worship.

So, who is Saint Anthony? Apparently he is the patron saint of lost things. Hmmm, as often as I lose my keys, wallet, sanity, important papers, maybe I need to keep that thing in mind.

Ask me again in 30 minutes when I am making mashed potatoes, putting in the green bean casserole, pulling out all the food, making the gravy and baking the bread and carving the turkey. However, of all the Thanksgivings ever, this one has been the most relaxed ever.

I think a lot of it had to do with preparing beforehand and being able just to pop it in and move on. I think the other part of it has to do with it just being the 5 of us. Last year we adopted 3 single soldiers, and a young married soldier and his wife. Cooking for that many people and making dishes I don’t eat, but they liked (sweet potatoes) for the first time, it was pretty damn stressful. I opted to have family only this year before I made a new tradition of ordering takeout.

Also, the kids are older so they are out of my hair and can entertain the baby. Nothing worse than trying to cook a huge dinner with kids underfoot.

Well, the Turkey is stuffed and in the oven, the stuffing is chilling in the fridge and my pies are both done… I made the pecan pie last night (the damn thing spilled in my over, I KNEW it would be the first thing to christen my oven). I bought frozen rolls, but last night Bobby brought home some butter flake rolls, like these ones, in the bakery for my roast last night and he got two dozen, so we have tons of rolls already… I am trying to decide if I just want to use them another time, or thaw them now and let them rise, shape and cook them. I am not exactly chomping at the bit to bake bread, but what is Thanksgiving without fresh bread, so I just got up to go thaw them.

Now I need to decide how I want to shape them…

Today I read a very moving article in Parenting magazine called “ The 5-Second Tragedy” about Shaken Baby Syndrome. Even as a mom of three, there were some facts that I did not know, such as how quickly a baby can suffer permanent damage, or even death; the average time is 5 to 15 seconds. I also did not know how often a baby or child is diagnosed, about 12,000 to 14,000 cases each year, with 25-30% of those children dying as a result of the trauma. Experts also believe that many more cases exist, but are not diagnosed because of the lack of external trauma to alert the parents or doctors.

The signs or shaken baby syndrome vary, which sometimes makes it hard for a parent, caregiver, or physician to find out the culprit and range from mild symptoms like irritability, tremors, vomiting, and lethargy (sounds like the flu, right?) to major symptoms like seizures, coma, stupor, or death. Please take your baby to the doctor even if there is a possibility they were shaken if they exhibit flu-like symptoms. SBS can cause long term disabilities, handicaps, learning disorders, behavioral problems, to severe problems like profound developmental and mental retardation, paralysis, blindness, the inability to eat or permanently being in a vegetative state.

If you suspect your baby has been shaken, a CT Scan or MRI can be ordered to rule out or confirm SBS; early diagnosis is important because it is proven children who suffer from SBS can make significant leaps and bounds with early intervention and physical therapy. It is also important to know that playing rough or short falls cannot cause enough damage to mimic the violent shaking motion that causes brain damage (http://www.dontshake.org/).

Anyone is capable of shaking a baby under pressure, even people who are well educated and well trained. However it is important to know the warning signs that may trigger someone to shake a baby. I found it interesting how often it is a man who is the culprit; one study found that the baby’s biological father was the shaker in 37 percent of the cases, and the mother’s boyfriend being the shaker in 21 percent of the cases.

Here are some guidelines from this website with valuable information about:

People who are at highest risk for shaking a baby are those who may have been abused as a child, may have problems with drugs, alcohol, depression, mental illness, or a poor support system.

And this website has some great coping skills, which include:

Coping skills that may help prevent child abuse include getting information about child development, health, which may help a parent or caregiver understand how to deal with crying and meet the baby or child’s needs. Parenting classes can be accessed through local hospitals, or Child and Family Services.

A support team is also important, friends, family, neighbors, all can offer advice or even a break when you are feeling overwhelmed is important.

Nap with your baby, or use that time to gather your bearings or relaxing so you feel refreshed when you baby wakes.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help; contact your support team, or if you are lacking a support team, call your local Child and Family Services, or Hospital to find resources, or counseling. Some towns even have a crisis nursery where you can take your child temporarily so you don’t become overwhelmed.

Babies use crying as their primary means of communication to tell you that they are hungry, tired, wet/soiled, lonely, scared, etc. Sometimes babies will cry for 15 minutes to an hour for no apparent reason at all. An average babies cried 1-5 hours each day for the first we months of life. At 6 weeks of age, crying may peak, and gradually lessen over time. Understand that colic, teething, stress, or illness can aggravate a baby and make the crying increase.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, call a friend or family member and ask them if they can come relieve you for a little while. Or put your baby in a safe place, like his/her crib and go to another room and take some steps to calm yourself. There are also hotlines you can call, like the ChildHelp hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) that you can call and discuss your feelings; sometimes just venting or having someone to listen can give you a new perspective.

If you shake your child, call 911 immediately. Sometimes the difference between a child living or suffering permanent injury, or death, is early assistance.

Please make sure you have a plan on how to cope with a crying baby, don’t be afraid to walk away if it means saving the life of a child. Also, never leave your baby with a caregiver when your caregiver is stressed or showing the warning signs above, or if your baby is under a lot of stress from colic, teething, or illness. And NEVER shake your child!!