I’m getting ready to spend some of the Christmas money my in-laws gave me. Here’s what I’m picking up:
Joy of Cooking: All About Vegetarian Wood Finish from Willow Toys so I can treat all of Jude’s wonderful wooden toys (including his kitchen from Willow Toys).
What happens on Tuesdays is we all wake up a little earlier than Josh and I would like. Josh gets Jude ready for the day while I stumble around the house mumbling about coffee. On Tuesdays, Josh goes into work a bit later, so he’s able to sit down and have breakfast with Jude and me. On Tuesdays, Jude and I eat oatmeal. Josh does not.
Josh leaves for work. At 9:15 on Tuesday mornings, Jude and I meet up with our friends for a play date. On Tuesdays, I get to engage in some nice adult conversation, drink coffee, and eat a breakfast treat. During our Tuesday morning play dates, Jude plays with his friends and shares my breakfast treat.
What happens on Tuesdays is we nap. Jude and I lie down together, snuggle up under the covers, and sleep for at least an hour. On Tuesdays we play for a while after nap time, and then we eat lunch. On Tuesdays we eat simple meals.
What happens on Tuesdays is we spend too much time watching videos. On Tuesdays we like to play in Jude’s ball pit, put puzzles together, and cook. On Tuesdays, Jude cooks pancakes and eggs for me. On Tuesdays, I cook soup and bread for Jude.
What happens on Tuesday evenings is we eat dinner on the couch. I load the latest episode of Heroes on Hulu, and Jude and I watch while we eat. On Tuesdays, I shovel soup and bread into Jude’s mouth while he’s paying attention to the show (and not me!).
What happens on Tuesdays is Jude has an early bedtime. I hold Jude until he falls asleep, and then I make my way out onto the couch to watch Castle and Gilmore Girls until Josh comes home. What happens on Tuesdays is Josh works late. Sometimes I fall asleep on the couch. Most of the time I send him annoying texts asking for updates and an estimated time of arrival.
What happens on Tuesdays is a lot of fun.
This blog post title and format were inspired by What Happens on Wednesdays
If I had a million dollars, I’d use about $100 of it and buy these books:
Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants
How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor
Naturally Healthy Babies and Children: A Commonsense Guide to Herbal Remedies, Nutrition, and Health
Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves: Transforming Parent-child Relationships from Reaction And Struggle to Freedom, Power And Joy
Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason
For those of you who are wondering, my birthday is in early November, and I’m always happy to receive a “Happy Tuesday” present. Just sayin’…
Well, okay, not exactly evil, but today I employed the use of the almighty DVD so that I could finish (re)reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There. I admitted it. I used VeggieTales as a babysitter. Guilty as charged.
But back on the topic of Harry Potter, I have to say that even after this, my fourth read-through of the final installment of the HP series, I still feel unsatisfied. The Dumbledore of book seven didn’t read like the Dumbledore of the previous six. The final battle, while grand, didn’t unite the houses, though the Sorting Hat asserted that harmony between them was crucial in this, the fight against evil. We saw little of Snape and even less of Ginny, who I think we all assumed was going to be a great asset to Harry in defeating Voldemort. *sigh* The magic just wasn’t there for me this time around.
In non-HP news, Jude and I had another really nice day together. We read and cooked; napped and walked; hugged and wrestled. I’m relieved that, for the time being at least, Jude seems to be feeling good–well-rested, well-fed, and well, heard. My goal for tomorrow is, weather permitting, to get out to the park right after breakfast. We spent just a little time there this afternoon, but the number of kids there (especially older kids) overwhelmed this mama, and we abandoned the playground quickly in favor of a walk around the neighborhood.
How did you spend your Tuesday?
Upon our arrival home from our trip to PA, Josh came down with a wicked sinus infection. He ended up staying home from work all of last week, and even today, he’s not feeling fantastic.
I had really, REALLY hoped that Jude and I wouldn’t catch any bit of what Josh had, but hoping is for suckers, I guess. My throat has been sore for the past few mornings, and today I feel horrible. Jude has had some goopey eyes for a few days, but had been fine otherwise. Until last night, that it. I’ve never really heard Jude cough before, but last night he coughed more than he has in the past two years combined. Okay, so he had two coughing fits. It wasn’t a ton, but it was a lot for him. Also, he went to be at 5pm yesterday and didn’t get up until 7am today. I think it’s safe to say that both he and I are a bit under the weather.
To treat Jude’s cough, I took a note out of Aviva Jill Romm’s
I’m planning a quiet day indoors for the boy and myself today. There’s a 60% chance of rain and with both of us feeling as crummy as we do, I think some videos, hot tea, and cuddles are in order.
After reading my last post on vaccinations, some of you may be considering (or reconsidering) the safeness and effectiveness of vaccines. Perhaps you want to do some research, but don’t know where to start. Well, today’s your lucky day! The lovely members of the Mothering Forums have compiled an outline of sorts to help organize each vaccine’s pertinent information.
For each VPD (vaccine preventable disease), research, research, research until you can fill in each part of the following outline:
1. Name of the disease
2. Description of the disease
3. Length of time from initial infection to end of all symptoms
4. Infectious period
5. Normal symptoms of the disease
6. Known serious consequences of the disease
7. Proportion of persons infected developing serious consequences
8. Transmission route of the disease
9. Prevalence of the disease
10. Treatments of the disease and efficacy of those treatments
11. Relevant research about the disease
12. Name of the vaccine
13. Company that makes the vaccine
14. Contents of the vaccine
14A. The significance of whether or not the vaccine is live
15. History of development of the vaccine
16. Known side-effects of the vaccine and rate of incidence of those side-effects
17. Possible side-effects not yet acknowledged by the vaccine maker
18. Relevant research into the vaccine
19. How effective is the vaccine at preventing the disease?
20. What is the vaccine meant to do? (Many vaccines are not meant to prevent infection or transmission.)
21. Number of cases reported each year
22. Number of deaths reported each year from the vaccine and natural disease
Here’s a list of resources to get you started:
Info from the CDC
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: download the current issue
CDC Pink Book
Reported Cases and Deaths from VPDs, United States, 1950-2007
Info from VAERS
Package Inserts- .pdf format
Videos
Dr. Sherri Tenpenny talking about vaccines
Are Vaccines Safe?
Books
Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent’s Guide
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children’s Vaccinations
Excellent Blogs with References
Inside Vaccines
We don’t Buy It–specifically, Laura’s posts labeled Vaccines
I don’t claim to know everything there is to know about vaccines, but if you have a question, post it in the comments section or shoot me an e-mail. If I can’t answer it for you, I should be able to point you in the right direction.
Happy researching!
Since moving to Rogers Park, Jude and I have been visiting the library at least once per week. I love reading and have been forcing myself to find more time to indulge in this worthwhile habit. In case anyone is interested, here is a list of what I’ve read over the past two months and what I’m planning to read over the next month or two:
Completed
Buddhism for Mothers
The Dark Is Rising Sequence
In Progress
Unconditional Parenting
On Hold/Reserve
Silver on the Tree
Both Eldest
The Amulet of Samarkand
And finally, two more parenting books:
Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves
and
Becoming the Parent You Want To Be
So, readers, what’s on your reading list?
It’s sad, really. I’ve lived in this city for more than five months now, and I *just* got a library card yesterday. I wasn’t sure I would be able to get one at all since I haven’t yet switched my license over and therefore don’t have an in-state picture ID. Luckily, a cell phone bill with my name on it and a local address along with my old PA driver’s license was enough.
I spend a lot of my online time over at the Mothering forums. I especially like reading the SAHP section, the Gentle Discipline section, and the Vaccinations section. From my daily perusal, I’ve compiled a fairly long a list of books I want to read-hence the need for a library card.
As soon as we returned home from our outing yesterday, I hopped on line to reserve a few (greatly coveted) books. The first is Sarah Napthali’s
I’m excited about these books. I’m excited to read and to learn. I’m hopeful that these books will help me become a better parent and homemaker. I’m not sure how quickly the books will become available to me, but I’m really looking forward to sharing their insights with you, the people of the internets.
Hey moms (and dads!)! Do you have a favorite parenting book you’d like to recommend?
