Visit the Shaks

After reading a lot of information on products containing BPA (Bisphenol-A), I ended up deciding to replace all of my sippy cups. They were due to be replaced anyway as they were showing a lot of wear.

I started researching cups made of material that did not contain BPA. During the first stage of my research, I was quite disturbed. The cost of BPA free sippy cups were utterly ridiculous! It was quite obvious that some manufacturers were taking advantage of this scare. Some cups were as high as $17 a cup! Um, sorry.... no way will I pay that much for a sippy cup.

Finally, my search led to an old standard when it comes to baby products. Playtex makes a sippy cup called the Playtex Baby Coolster Tumbler. It costs a reasonable $4.99. The Playtex store is out some of the colors but a lot of other sites carry these cups. I bought mine on at Toys R US and Amazon carries them too.

There are more advantages to these cups. They do not have a spout. This helps train kids better for drinking from a regular cup in the future. Also, a cup without a spout is better for speech and is recommended by speech therapists. I was not sure how my 21 month old would do without a spout but I had no need to worry. He loves this cup and drinks from it just fine!

The cup does not leak. Now, we all know that if you hold a sippy cup upside down and shake it, a few drops will come out. That is true about this cup too but what cup doesn't? This cup is definitely one of the better ones when it comes to not leaking. Overall, I love these cups and so do my sons! If you are interested in BPA free cups that do not cost an arm and a leg, I highly recommend these!

A 13 year old girl committed suicide in 2006 after receiving a series of cruel messages through MySpace. Megan Meier thought she was talking to a teenage boy who had befriended her on the social networking site. After three weeks of friendly communications between the two, he turned on her and told her that the world would be a better place without her. Megan took her own life shortly after receiving that last message.

The horrible twist to this story is that there never was a teenage boy. The MySpace profile was created by a grown woman who wanted to keep tabs on what Megan might be saying about her daughter. This adult woman was responsible for fooling a young girl and making her think that these nasty messages were coming from a cute boy.

This woman, Lori Drew, was indicted yesterday for her role in the suicide. Apparently, Lori Drew even started a blog called "Megan Had It Coming". Wow! I truly hope this woman is put in prison for a very long time. Her actions were horribly disgusting and irresponsible. The video below is from CNN and contains a phone interview with Tina Meier, Megan's mother. This story really makes me sad.

Two days before Mother's Day, Michelle Duggar announced to her family that she is pregnant with her 18th child. The family of soon to be 20, has children ranging in age from 9 months to 20 years old. This famous family was on The Today Show and you can watch this video from the show. Wow, I cannot even imagine having so many children. The Duggar family seems to handle it with ease and is something really special.

Although April is almost over, I wanted to mention that it is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Childwelfare.gov has a resource packet on preventing child abuse and neglect. The resource packet "Includes information on supporting families, protective factors, public awareness, community activities, positive parenting, prevention programs, and more". (This information is free to use in reference to National Child Abuse Prevention Month or the availability of the packet.) You will find an outline below of the information contained within the packet:

Overview
Understanding child abuse prevention and what to do when children are at risk. Includes frequently asked questions and links to related Federal and national organizations and State contacts that work to prevent child abuse.

Promoting healthy families
Information on how to enhance protective factors in families and ways to support and partner with parents. Includes a calendar of family activities and parenting resources.

Public awareness & creating supportive communities
Tools for sharing a child abuse prevention message with your community and building community support.

Prevention programs
Standards for prevention programs, research on what works, information on the role of related professionals, and resources for specific types of programs.

Developing & sustaining prevention programs
Developing a prevention program, conducting a community needs assessment, finding and sustaining adequate funds, and collaborating with community partners.

Evaluating prevention programs
Evaluating program effectiveness and performing cost analysis. Features the Evaluation Toolkit and Logic Model Builder.

If you are interested in learning more about Earth Day and finding some fun crafts, activities and interesting information, check out the Earth Day page on Kaboose.com. In the meantime, here is a brief Earth Day video that tells us a little bit about the history of Earth Day.

Through Blog Catalog, I have met a blogger named Shirley. She is a very ambitious blogger with high ideals and goals to help children. Her blog is titled Proof Positivity and she sees it as "an opportunity for children of all ages to find their voice through positive news".

Shirley's vision: "For every child to have an opportunity to write or report no matter what their grades are."

She explains why: "A child sometimes needs to develop a love for something before they are motivated enough to bring their grades up."

Shirley's goal: "My goal is to put a studio in every school and for that, equipment is needed. I hope to eventually be able to go to my schools and discuss: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?"

Kudos to Shirley for her love of children and her strong desire to help them. Take a minute and check out Proof Positivity for yourself.

Do you or your teenager have an account on Facebook? If you do, you might be aware of the tracking and displaying of personal information that occurs with Facebook Beacon.

Facebook Beacon creates cookies that collect information and in turn, informs that user's friends about his or her purchases. This is done by tracking information of Facebook Beacon users on third-party partner sites. Shortly after the release of Facebook Beacon, quite an uproar occurred once people realized the serious violations of privacy this system imposes.

For example, you buy a book entitled "How To Save Your Marriage". If that book was purchased through a Facebook Beacon partner site, then all of your Facebook friends will know you purchased that book which could lead to an uncomfortable situation. What if your teenager has a Facebook account? You might purchase acne medicine for your teen and through cookie tracking, the acne purchase could be broadcast to all of your teen's Facebook friends.

Computerworld.com explains it further "New plug-in gives Facebook users another way to dodge Beacon":

"The groundswell of criticism began when a security researcher said that the ad system tracks user activities on third-party partner sites -- including the activities of people who never signed up with Facebook, who deactivated their accounts or who were not signed on to the site."

A new Facebook plug-in has been developed that will allow users to monitor and delete cookies created by the Facebook Beacon advertising system. The toolbar provides an updated list of Beacon retailers which allows you to decide which sites you would like to block. This free plug-in was developed by Flugpo (a social classifieds network) who has always been an advocate on Internet safety and privacy.

The free plug-in can be found at MyDataIsMyData.org along with detailed information.

If you have a moment in your day, you can help raise money for Autism Speaks to fund research. I did it and it really only takes a quick minute. Here are the details:

From the Autism Speaks website:

Chevrolet has teamed up with Autism Speaks to drive home the message of autism awareness. During April – Autism Awareness Month – visitors to the Autism Speaks website (www.autismspeaks.org), can click on the “Help Chevy Help Autism” icon and take a virtual test drive of the 2008 North American Car of the Year – the all-new Chevy Malibu. Chevrolet has committed to a minimum contribution of $500,000, but every virtual test drive taken gets Chevrolet closer to its goal of donating up to $1 million to Autism Speaks to support its mission of increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research. Those who complete the virtual test drive will receive a free 30-day online trial of XM Satellite Radio. Read more and visit the Autism Speaks home page to take the virtual test drive.

QUICK AND EASY WAYS TO SPREAD THE WORD:
1. Add the link to your e-mail signature.
2. E-mail everyone in your address book about the promotion and encourage them to do the same.
3. Post it on your social network home pages.
4. Post it on your blog, and encourage those who have blogs to do the same.

We need as many people as possible to view the video PRIOR to April 30. Please watch the video and spread the word. Link to video: Help Chevy Help Autism

If your husband (or wife) was caught up in a mess like New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, would you be able to stand by him/her? The political world has different rules than our normal lives do. I for one, would not be able to play by them.

Fist Full Of Marbles raises this question in a post called "Stand By Your Man":

"I'm sorry but in my opinion when the politician is caught in something of this nature I don't believe the wife should have to stand by his side and act like she's above doing and feeling what every other wife in America would be feeling. That it is NOT okay, that she is ashamed, and even if she chooses to stay with him it will never take away from what she feels at that moment - the desire to be as far away from him as possible at that moment."

I feel very bad for Mrs. Spitzer and the tough situation she is in. She is caught between her "wifely political duties" and being a woman who has been wronged. I wish her the best of luck in this tough predicament. How would you handle this if you were in her shoes?

On Sunday, March 9th at 2:00 a.m. we will begin daylight savings time. This is the second year that we have practiced doing this in March rather than in April.

When I was younger, I used to love switching to daylight savings time. It was a sign that spring was here and the smell of fresh cut lawns always came to mind.

I still like making the switch but I preferred it when we changed our clocks in April. Now when we spring forward, it does not have the "spring" feel to it. It is still cold!

Shakadoo celebrates its first birthday today! Time flies and it is hard to believe that a year has already passed since the start of this wonderful site.

Shakadoo has grown in many ways over the past year. The most recent addition of Animal Shak has given readers one more reason to get their daily dose of the Shak!

Congratulations to Kathylynn and Kathy H. on the one year anniversary of Shakadoo! It is a great site that many people are happy to have as part of their daily routine.

My son is just getting over the flu. I was talking about it with my dad on the phone yesterday. He asked me if I knew what factor lowered the body's immunity the most. To my surprise, he told me it was sugar intake.

Of course, I know that sugar is bad for you. I really did not realize how much it weakened your immune system. I decided to research it a little and discovered that my dad was right. (Dad, I never doubted you for a second, you are always right, lol.)

Geocities.com explains it very well in "TO Arms With Your Immune System:

"Refined sugar is nothing but pure carbohydrate stripped of any nutritional value. It is what we call empty calories. Like a recreational drug or alcohol, sugar affects the brain first, is addictive, and causes your energy to bottom out. Sugar depresses the immune response and is toxic to immune cells. Sugar lowers our resistance. Think of sugar as lowering the walls of our fortress, letting the invading army march over the top. One teaspoon of sugar can inhibit natural killer (NK)cells and macrophages for up to six hours. "Sugar clogs the system. It hinders the working of the living machine."

The flu season is in full swing. Widespread flu activity has been reported in 44 states. In the state of Maryland which is where I live, the flu is running rampant. In fact, the University of Maryland is experiencing their worst flu outbreak in 10 years, with more than 400 flu cases being reported.

Two of the three main types of flu bugs now in circulation were not a match for the this year's flu vaccine. Also, a significant percentage of this year's type A flu bug have become resistant to one of the two flu drugs. Flu viruses have mutated so much that The World Health Organization suggests that next year's flu vaccine be completely changed.

One of my sons came down with the flu last Friday. His symptoms have been a horrible headache, sore throat, slight cough and high fever. His fever has been 103 to 104 degrees each day. Luckily, he has not had any vomiting or diarrhea. Today he woke up fever free for the first time, so I am hoping he is on the mend. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of us don't get it as well.

I used to do a lot of buying and selling on eBay. Mostly, I sold my kid's stuff once they outgrew the items. I would also buy a lot of their clothes on eBay. It has been a long time since I have listed on eBay due to the rising prices to list an auction.

I just learned that there is a planned week long strike by eBay sellers. Apparently there have been many changes on eBay that have upset a lot of sellers. These changes include the way searches are ordered and the rating system.

I am curious to know if this is mostly a "Power Seller" type of strike or if it includes regular moms that periodically list on eBay. What is your take on the turmoil surrounding the site?

You can't miss it. When you walk down the aisles of the grocery store, more and more labels are screaming out at you "Made With Whole Grain"! One might think that their local grocery store has turned into a nutritious health food store.

This new whole grain craze reminds me of the low fat craze. Consumers are being misled to believe that many foods are healthy, because they claim to contain whole grains. Keep in mind, just because a product advertises whole grains on its package, that does not mean it is necessarily a healthy food.

Healthscience.org helps to shed a little light on the subject regarding cereals "More Whole Grains? Or More Hype?"

"Unfortunately, most are far from 100 percent whole grain. Nor are they necessarily healthy foods. In the cereal aisle, for example, you’ll find products like Trix, Golden Grahams, Rice Chex, and Lucky Charms with the words “WHOLE GRAIN” emblazoned on the front of the boxes.

But few of these reformulated cereals have more than 1 gram of fiber per serving, indicating that there’s not a whole lot of whole grain in the box. Sure enough, in the ingredient list you’ll find refined white flours, often described as “wheat flour” and “enriched flour,” in addition to the heavily advertised whole-grain flour."

Buyers beware. Don't fall for the pretty packaging with the misleading advertising. The best way to determine if a product is actually healthy is by reading the whole ingredient list. 

One of the most famous daddy's of all is admitting that he made a mistake. On January 5th, Dr. Phil made a visit to Britney Spears while she was in the hospital. His visit was prompted by a request from her family to intervene.

The real controversy is the statement that Dr. Phil made to Entertainment Tonight. He told them that Britney is in "dire need of both medical and psychological intervention." This has landed Dr. Phil in a little bit of hot water According to MTV.com:

"A complaint was filed against McGraw earlier this week that accused him of violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The complaint alleges Dr. Phil practiced clinical psychology without a license and further violated doctor-patient privilege by discussing the pop star's case with the media."

The Dr. Phil episode where he apologizes is scheduled to air today. He has concluded that his "visit was not helpful to the situation".

Have you heard about the Scientology video that shows Tom Cruise rambling on in a rather incoherent way? I checked it out and I must say that it didn't make much sense. He seemed very creepy to say the least.

Most of the videos were pulled off of the net already by Scientologists. I found one this morning here that is still running. If you have not seen the video yet, check it out and see what you think.

I used to like Tom Cruise but lost respect for him some time ago. There are several actors that I feel this way about. They step out and talk in their self righteous way and impose their beliefs. I suppose since they are famous that this makes them right and important. Sorry, not in my book!

I am hoping to help autism research in any way I can. I signed up to get a charity badge in which all donations go directly to Autism Speaks. Click on the badge above and you can help by donating too. You can also help by copying the badge (to copy badge, click on "share" tab on badge) and placing it on your site to accept donations to Autism Speaks.

• AUTISM OCCURRENCE: One in every 150 children born in the US have autism. It is estimated approximately 1 million in the US have this disorder.

NOTE: This number does NOT include: PDD, Asperger's and other spectrum disorders. These statistics are endorsed by the CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics, and other federal organizations.

• U.S. FACTS: -A new case of autism is diagnosed nearly every 20 minutes -There are 24,000 new cases diagnosed in the U.S. per year -The economic impact of autism is more than $90 billion and expected to more than double in the next decade. -Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases. -There is no medical detection treatment, or cure for autism.
• AUTISM COMPARED TO OTHER DISABILITIES: Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S. today. Autism statistics source: TalkAboutCuringAutism.org

It is official, the holiday season is here. Why do I say this? I saw my first Christmas commercial yesterday so it must be true! I had better get in to the swing of things because it is upon us ready or not!

The Flugpo Blog is already in the holiday spirit. There are two particular holiday themed posts I would like to share with you. The first one We Want Your Best Holiday Recipes! talks about planning your holiday menu. They are also doing a recipe swap:

"Flupgo would like to compile an awesome list of great holiday recipes. This way cooking novices and veterans alike can find and share some tasty treats! Join the holiday recipe swap at Flugpo right here!"

The second post is about giving to others during the holiday season. Flugpo says Let's Start A Chain Of Good Deeds!:

During the holiday season, it is nice to think of giving and helping other people. Why don't we start a chain of good deeds right here on Flupo and help others in need? Now, who can keep the chain going and do a good deed? Add it HERE!"

Let's help add to the holiday recipes and especially to the chain of good deeds.

Once upon a time, you could buy a toy for your child and not give it a second thought. It was a time not that long ago, yet it seems to be gone forever.

As a parent, I am in shock and dismay at all of the toy recalls lately. It leaves me wondering if there is anything safe out there for my children. All of us are going to have to be choosier and do more research before buying anything for our kids. It might take some extra time to investigate before we buy, but it will be time well spent.

With the holidays quickly approaching, I decided to start looking up safer toy choices. I found several resources for toys that claim to be safe and lead free. Of course I cannot vouch 100% for their safety (as none of us can), but the companies that sell them do.

Back To Basics Toys issued this statement about their toys:

"While none of our products have been involved in the recent recalls, we realize that the impression is that products made in China are not safe. Back To Basics Toys utilizes independent laboratories for safety testing, and we feel strongly in the integrity, value, and safety of our entire collection - regardless of origin. We remain focused on making sure that products are made to conform to safety standards, and that our items provide the quality and play value that you expect.

For more information about general toy safety please see the Toy Industry Association web site at www.toy-tia.org. While we feel that our entire collection is safe and family-friendly, we realize that you may only feel comfortable buying an item if it is made in North America or Europe. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of best sellers made outside of Asia."

Here is my list so far of what I hope are safe toy choices:

Pick products manufactured within North America and Europe and enjoy them with confidence, using Back to Basics Toys new search feature!

CambiumLair- Made In The USA": Offers a variety of wooden toys made in USA

Maple Landmark- Made in USA: Offers a variety of wooden toys made in USA

American Plastic Toy Deluxe Housekeeping Set Made in USA: Offers a great variety of plastic toys made in the USA

ChessHeads Deck Builder by Wizergames Made in USA Fun For All Ages

October 30, 2007 will be a magical day for every Eagles fan. Their new album "Long Road Out Of Eden" will be released that day. This new album will be the Eagles first new album since 1979 and has been six years in the making.

The Eagles have played a huge role in my life. My dad has always been very into music and passed it on to both of his daughters. The Eagles were our favorite and basically became the theme music for our family. We started out every family trip by putting in an Eagles tape to start out our vacation right.

When I was a young girl, my sister and I decided that we were going to get the Eagles back together! We started writing them letters requesting a reunion. I like to think that our efforts had something to do with the "Hell Freezes Over" reunion tour. The little girl in me believes that anyway!

I was lucky enough to see the Eagles in three concerts during that tour. Silly as it might sound, it truly was a dream come true. Any Eagles song has the ability to sooth my soul. Hearing one of their songs makes me feel safe and happy. If I hear "Hotel California" on the radio, I just know that everything is going to be alright.

If I could choose anyone in the world to sing to me, it would be Don Henley. I absolutely love that man's voice. I think my favorite song that features his voice the best is "Best Of My Love".

I could go on about the Eagles forever but instead I will get back to the subject of their new album. Wikipedia has the track listing for the new album:

"Disc one

1. "No More Walks in the Wood" (Don Henley, Steuart Smith, John Hollander) - 2:00
2. "How Long" (J.D. Souther) - 3:20
3. "Busy Being Fabulous" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey) - 4:17
4. "What Do I Do With My Heart" (Glenn Frey, Don Henley) - 3:55
5. "Guilty of the Crime" (Frankie Miller, Jerry Lynn Williams) - 3:44
6. "I Don't Want To Hear Anymore" (Paul Carrack) - 4:25
7. "Waiting in the Weeds" (Don Henley, Steuart Smith) - 7:46
8. "No More Cloudy Days" (Glenn Frey) - 4:02
9. "Fast Company" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey) - 3:59
10. "Do Something" (Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Steuart Smith) - 5:06
11. "You Are Not Alone" (Glenn Frey) - 2:30

[ Disc two

1. "Long Road Out of Eden" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit) - 10:15
2. "I Dreamed There Was No War" (Glenn Frey) - 1:37
3. "Somebody" (Jack Tempchin, John Brannen) - 4:12
4. "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey) - 5:10
5. "Last Good Time in Town" (Joe Walsh) - 7:15
6. "I Love To Watch a Woman Dance" (Larry John McNally) - 3:11
7. "Business as Usual" (Don Henley, Steuart Smith) - 5:34
8. "Center of the Universe" (Henley, Frey, Smith) - 3:48
9. "It's Your World Now" (Glenn Frey, Jack Tempchin) - 4:20"

I wonder if this new album will be the Eagles last or if they will continue to release more music for their devoted fans? Only time will tell but but for now, I am thrilled to have "Long Road Out Of Eden" to add to my Eagles collection.

Eagles- How Long from "Long Road Out Of Eden"

I recently wrote a post about a staph infection called MRSA that is labeled a "superbug" due to its resistance to antibiotics. I would like to bring to your attention another antibiotic resistant superbug associated with ear infections.

This strain of bacteria is resistant to antibiotics used to clear up ear infections in children. It is called the 19A strain and can only be treated with the use of adult approved antibiotic Levaquin. The Science Blog has a full article on this new threat. The article "Ear infection superbug resistant to all pediatric antibiotics" speculates as to how this strain developed:

"The 19A strain was most likely created by a combination of the speed of bacterial evolution and the overprescribing of antibiotics, the authors said. They warn that, while it may very well never happen, the medical profession must now at least consider the prospect of a worse-case scenario: this multi-drug-resistant bacterial ear infection spreads to other communities, or invades the lungs and bloodstream, where it leads to cases of pneumonia or meningitis treatable only with unconventional antibiotics not approved for use in children."

So far, the cases of 19A have been discovered in Rochester, NY. However, researchers fear that it might start spreading to other areas.

I moved from Indianapolis, Indiana to Murfreesboro, Tennessee (just outside of Nashville) when I was 16 years old*, about to go into my senior year of high school.

Lots of things were different at the new school, including the fact that they cut my credits in half and made me take the same English class that I had already taken in my junior year because they didn't have anything more advanced for me to take, and I had to have four years of English.

But the thing I liked the most about the new school was the moment of silence they started each day with. We had never done this at my school in Indy, I had never heard of it before. It was years before someone told me you were supposed to spend the moment praying. I was thinking how great it was  to ensure that I'd have a quiet moment to start the day with, usually the only quiet moment I would get until I laid down to go to sleep at night.

So now the State of Illinois has mandated that all public schools start with a moment of silence. When one thinks about it the way I thought about it, it's a nice gesture. When one thinks about it being the time you are supposed to use to pray, maybe not so much.

It doesn't really bother me, though, if the schools are not telling the students that they have to use that time to pray. It seems to me that one could use that moment of silence any way they want to- praying, or just enjoying the moment of quiet (unless, of course, you're in Kindergarten, that moment of silence might not be too, you know, silent) or meditating or perhaps just working on your to-do list.

No, I don't think it's a bad thing- although I have to wonder why lawmakers are wasting time mandating moments of silence and not trying to figure out how to fix the real problems of public schools.

*Interesting side note: I have now lived half my life in Tennessee. Weird.