Random thoughts about Vaccinations. And my Stance.

As a parent, you pretty much don't have a choice but to have some opinion about vaccinations.
It is a sad reality that most pediatricians do not fully discuss vaccinations with parents.
They shove a consent form in your face, then shove 4 needles in your kids legs, full of at least 4, sometimes 6, 7, or 8 vaccination concoctions.
Doctors utilize many scare tactics to make you believe you are doing the right thing, protecting your child, and protecting others.
Children may lose government assistance (could they? I don't know. That was a scare tactic used against me- if I didn't get my baby her shots we *may* lose our WIC), they may not be allowed to enroll in public school (it is possible to get an exception, but from what I understand it's kind of up to the discretion of the school board or principal or superintendent to accept it-their hands are rarely as tied as the parents). They may not be allowed in daycares. They may not be given specific medical treatment (someone I know has been bullied into getting 3 vaccinations or her surgeon will cancel her very important back surgery.. who says they wouldn't do that to a child??).

Thanks to the internet, I've had the pleasure (most of the time) of chatting with a great many mothers (and some papa's) that I never would have had the chance to meet or know otherwise. And in many groups the discussion eventually comes up about vaccinations.

Like any other medical procedure there are pros and cons. There are benefits and risks. Taking Tylenol has both benefits and risks. Undergoing surgery has both benefits and risks. And getting vaccinations have both benefits and risks. It's up to us as adults to decide which is greater- the benefit or the risk.
If I take an Ibuprofen or receive a shot of Toradol, I will have an anaphylactic reaction. Therefore I have been warned against taking any kind of anti-inflammatory medication. I may be ok. I may struggle to breathe for 10-20 minutes. Or I may die. Those are the risks. The benefit of the anti-inflammatory medication is that I should feel a little bit of relief in my lower back pain. The amount of relief I feel is unknown. It could stop the pain almost completely. It could ease it from a screeching banshee to a dull roar. It could do nothing.
So I have to choose. Do I try out a different anti-inflammatory and see what happens? Do the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks?
In my specific case, no. Hell no. No way will I ever willingly or knowingly take an anti-inflammatory. True, it could only cause some mild irritation for a short period of time. Or it could kill me. Not sure I'm willing to play Russian Roulette with a pill just yet.

The exact same scenario is given to every parent when it's time to get their shots.
The benefit of the vaccination is that it SHOULD protect the child from contracting whatever virus they are vaccinating against. Assuming the immune system of the child can create the antibodies to kill the virus in the vaccination.
The risks of the vaccination are kind of a mystery. You can expect your child to have inflammation at the injection site, and possibly a fever for the next 24 hours. Assuming their immune system can create the antibodies to kill the virus in the vaccination... and the rest of the crap in the vaccination doesn't harm or kill the child.
Vaccination risks include, but are not limited to allergic reactions, swelling, severe flu/pneumonia, developing sensory processing disorders, heart failure, brain damage, and death.

So as parents we have to look at this information and decide what to pick. Yes, give your child the chicken pox vaccination and hope for the best, or let their own immune system learn how to battle it out and not worry about those risks.

It's a tough choice. And as parents we always feel guilty. There's never a perfect answer.

Here's what I don't understand about "the vaccination debate".
 
Most of the time I see a vaccination debate it goes something like this:

Vaccinations save lives. You are killing our babies, children, and future by not giving them.
VS
Vaccinations are poison. They are killing our babies, children, and future by being given.

But the thing is I have never seen a non-vaxer tell someone who vaxes that they shouldn't do it unless they are asked their thoughts and opinions. Most of the non-vaxers I know are pretty content letting other parents shoot their kids up, so long as they have done their research, it's their choice as parents. And as long as our rights to not vaccinate are not infringed on, then we're pretty mellow about the discussion. We like to say things like "I won't do it to my children." "MY children will not be vaccinated."
Whereas the other side tends to get pretty heated. They like to use the same scare tactics that the doctors do to try and convince non-vaxers how horrible they are and how they're going to destroy the world or some such nonsense. We're killing our kids. Our kids are not safe. Don't drink after our kids.
They like to say things like "It is imperative that you vaccinate your children." "YOU should vaccinate YOUR kids."

In conclusion I'd just like to pose this question.
Why do those on the vaccination side of the debate even care who is or isn't vaccinated?
If your kid is vaccinated shouldn't he be safe?
If he is protected, then why should you care whether my child is not?
If your child has received the chicken pox vaccination, then it shouldn't matter if he is in the same room, same bed, sharing a soda with my child who is currently infected.
So who cares?

Parents- just be sure you do your own research. Look into BOTH sides. Don't just research "why vaccinations are bad" because you will get a lot of misinformation. There's a lot of people who would wish that vaccinations didn't even exist and they have their own scare tactics and conspiracy theories. So be sure you research "why vaccinations are good" as well so that you have a better grasp of the whole story. There's just as much misinformation about why they are good as well, so try and read as many different sources as you can. Just make sure you don't believe everything you read on the internet, and make the best, most informed decision you can for your babies.

Elf on the Shelf.... Sort of

So I've heard of this Elf on the Shelf. If you're on facebook you've probably got at least one friend posting pictures of their Elf.
I finally decided to look into it this year. What can I say, curiosity killed the cat. It does look like a cute idea to see these little Elves getting into mischief.
So I found the www.elfontheshelf.com website. 
I haven't read the book, so I'm still not 100% informed, but here's what the main page says:

"The tradition begins when Santa sends his scout elves out to Elf Adoption Centers. Waiting for their families to bring them home, these patient elves hibernate until their family reads The Elf on the Shelf, gives their elf a very special name, and registers their adoption online. Once named, each scout elf will receive its Christmas magic and become a part of the family’s Christmas each and every year.  "

That is so cute :) The kids get to name it, it's Christmas magic, it's story time... it could be a really fun tradition!

The website goes on to say:

"Excellent listeners and even better observers, these scout elves are the eyes and ears of Santa Claus. Although they cannot be touched, or else they may lose their magic, the elf will always listen and relay messages back to Santa. Taking in all the day-to-day activities around the house, no good deed goes unnoticed; these scout elves take their job seriously."


I don't really understand why they can't be touched. Fear of breaking him? Maybe so that when the kids see the Elf in different places they won't question if mom and dad moved it? 


"Each night, after the family goes to bed, the scout elf uses his magical Christmas powers to fly back to the North Pole. Once there, the elf will make his or her daily report to Santa and visit with elf friends where they will tell stories about their beloved families, play with the reindeer, and of course, sneak some of Mrs. Claus’ cookies! "

From what I have been told, and what I interpret this to say is that the Elf goes back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa whether the kids that adopted him have been good or bad that day.
Let the manipulation begin. "Better be good today, Johnny. The Elf is gonna tell Santa you're being naughty and he won't bring you any presents."

"Before the family awakes each morning, their special scout elf will fly back to their home from the North Pole. However, since these elves like to play games, don’t expect to find them in the same spot!  While some like to hide in the freezer (probably because it reminds them of the North Pole) and others prefer to sit on the fireplace mantle or hang from the chandelier, these elves love to play hide-and-seek with their families. "

I thought the reindeer were the ones who played games? 
(All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, they never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games....)
I never knew Elves to be particularly playful or mischievous. They always seemed pretty serious to me. Just watch all 3 "The Santa Claus" movies. I know what I'm talking about here ;)

That being said, I think the cutest and best part of the Elf is the silly poses people put them in, and the stories they make up to go with the poses. And I do think that would be really fun to do with my kids!!

While I'm not for the using Santa against kids to make them behave thing, I still think the little Elf would be fun.

So here's my plan.

I'm going to make an Elf. Cause that's how I roll. Then I'm going to pack him in a box with a letter. Then I will wrap the box up in brown packing paper and address it to our family. I'm going to leave it outside our front door, and then send the kids out for something like taking recycling out (one of the boy's favorite chores. No, really, they LOVE to recycle!!) so they will find it.
My kids are more older than younger. 10 (YES, 10!!! Aye!!), 7, 5, 3, and 1, and the older ones are going to wonder why all of the sudden Santa is sending Elves to houses. Which is the point of the letter.
My oldest 2 are always asking how Santa gets in when we haven't ever had a chimney. I never have a great answer. (Kind of like never having a great answer when asked if Santa is real) I thought about the key thing, but just never got into it.... maybe our Elf could bring one with him.
No, BETTER- originally I was going to say the Elf is scouting out the house to go back and tell Santa how to get in... BUT it might be COOLER to say that the Elf has to MAKE a key that will allow Santa access into our house... and that's where the magic key can come from! It can appear on Christmas Eve in the Elf's hands!
The letter could mention that Santa is sending Elves to houses that don't have chimneys, but since it's a new program at the North Pole he had to use younger, kid elves, not the older, adult elves who already have jobs, and they're still very silly and playful and like to play with Santa's magic.

Oh yeah. This is gonna be cool.

Tis the Season...

November, December... it's the holiday season.
Decorations.
Magic.
Joy.
Laughter.
Lights.
Music.
Food.

So why does it always make me so sad?
Why does it always make me so unhappy?
Why do I want to hide in my room til January?

I really thought that moving south would take this away. I thought the snow and freezing cold was a major contributor to my feelings. It's too cold to go out. It's too messy to go out. It's so gloomy outside.

But here I am. It's 80F in December. I have the air conditioner on. It's sunny out.
And I still feel like shit.
I still feel like hiding in a hole.

I try so hard for my kids. If it weren't for my kids I wouldn't decorate. There wouldn't be any magic. I wouldn't smile. I wouldn't laugh. The Christmas lights wouldn't matter. I wouldn't sing. I wouldn't cook. (OK I'm sure I would cook... but not like a family feast).

We decorated the inside of the house. Got the trees out. Decorated the TV shelf. I'm not sure what to do with all the crap I had to move to get the big tree up, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough. I don't really want to, or care. But it is kind of sloppy in here.

*Sigh*

I really do hate feeling like this. Which is why I try so hard to make my kids happy. I just wish it would just go away so I could be happy too.

Menu Time

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. It's been really stressful and hectic in the 7under1roof household lately.
But I really wanted to post today because I'm working on my menu.
After all these years of making menus, there is still something I struggle with.

Here's how I do my menu.
I browse through my cook books (cause I have a LOT) and pull out a few that sound interesting or have the themes that I am looking for (Crock pot, poultry, casseroles, etc). I also scour the internet (my favorite site is www.allrecipes.com, but I will many times just google and look around at blogs and other random websites) for recipes as well- but usually I don't have much trouble with those- I will print out recipes most of the time. Unless it's on allrecipes.com, then I tend to just save the recipe in my recipe box and forget to print it out. BUT I'm just going to focus this post on my cook books/magazines.

So I'll have this stack of books and magazines I go through for my 2 week or 4 week menu. I scour through and pick out several recipes that I want to put on my menu.
Here is where I struggle.



I have tried writing out a calendar (or using one premade for writing a lot of information in) with the amount of days that I am making my menu for, and writing the recipe name, book, and page in on the date I want to make it.


When I first started doing this method, I just used a separate piece of paper and wrote a list of items that I would need that I didn't already have.

After doing that for a while I realized that I wasn't buying enough of each item to cover all of the recipes, or I would forget what recipe the item was for and if I can't find it, I'd try and substitute it and screw up the recipe.







 So I actually started writing down the recipe next to the ingredients OR the amount required in the recipe to make sure I got enough.




So then when I get home and start working through my menu, MOST of the time the menu works out good at least for the first week. But once I get into the second week, or GOD FORBID I lose that menu sheet, I am screwed up. I either lose track of what books I am supposed to be using, or run out of ingredients prematurely.

I'm considering actually copying the recipe out of the book on my printer and filing them into sheet protectors into a binder. But OHMYGOSH how much MORE work would that be? UGH I really think it would wind up doing me a lot of good, but I then have to weigh the extra time and cost of the menu binder, and I haven't decided if it is worth it.

So I now pose a question to you-
What are your methods to writing out your menu? How do you coordinate your recipes and grocery list?