Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Library Shelf


I just finished reading "Mother Warriors" by Jenny McCarthy. (What? You're in the middle of moving and you've got time to read? Hey....I've ALWAYS got time to read.)

Anyway......From the front jacket cover, "When Jenny McCarthy's son was diagnosed with autism, she refused to give in without a fight." This book tells a bit about her journey to help save her son and "how she ultimately healed him through an intense combination of behavioral therapy, diet, supplements, and other biomedical interventions."

The book also shares the stories of several other parents who navigated through many therapies and roadblocks to heal their children.

The stories that are shared indicate that these children all became autistic after receiving well-child vaccines (most from MMR and Chicken Pox). I had no idea! It seems that babies/toddlers which are given vaccines when they are already sick, have weak immune systems or other factors that their little bodies can't fight the live viruses that are in the vaccines, many times become autistic. These parents (and doctors) are saying that vaccines CAN trigger autism. It could be preventable if babies and children were tested BEFORE they were given their shots. WOW!

So, this book brings to light two things: Autism might very well be preventable (in a lot of cases) AND many children can be healed from autism instead of left as having "no hope at a normal life". Very interesting read as there seems to be an epidemic of autism diagnoses among this country's young people.

It is a very inspiring book and shows just what determination can accomplish when the whole world is telling you "it can't be done".

On the moving front.....DD and I packed up the last load, swept out the garage and drove down the gravel driveway for the last time today at noon. We're finished! (On that end anyway). We went for shakes at Jack in the Box to celebrate!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Hanging Mini Blinds



That's exactly how I felt when DD and I were hanging mini blinds this morning!

You see, there is this 72" window in the bedroom of the old house that had broken mini-blinds that needed to be replaced so that I can get my full deposit back. I didn't want the landlady charging me $100 when I knew that I could get them for less than $25 and do it myself. Well, I thought I could do it myself. Why not? How hard could it be?

DD and I took off the old blinds. Took off the old brackets because wouldn't you know it they were a different size than the new ones. So, we put up the new brackets. Dropped the little screws I think about 8 times! Go up and down the stepladder to retrieve the screws. Try to put up the new mini-blinds. Try to open the new mini-blinds. Crash! Down they came. Try again, and again, and again. OK, when all else fails, let's read the directions. Hey, I always read the directions, but I tried to win it this time. WRONG MOVE! Read the directions. Moved the brackets to where they were SUPPOSED to be hung. Snapped the new mini-blinds in place and VOILA! They actually look like a professional did the job.

OK......now onto the vertical blinds in the dining room.......Actually, after the bedroom mini-blinds, the vertical blinds were a piece of cake except that they were 104" long! And, I'm only 5 foot nothing!

Oh, and we took out the trusty glue gun and glued a knob back on the closet door. Secret weapon that glue gun of mine! Shhhh.....don't tell the landlady.

So, yes, we are still moving. It takes a LONG time when you move all the boxes in a Chevy Malibu trunk. I think we have two more loads and then we'll be done. And, it's a good thing because DD's teenage attitude is beginning to show.

P.S. Because I know that at least one person that is related to me is going to ask if that is Bently....No, it's not.....I don't know whose cat that is. I "borrowed" the picture from Google Images. (It's not our window either.)

Friday, March 6, 2009

Oh What Fun!



Wanna help?

We've been moving. We didn't ACTUALLY move the house, but it sure did feel like it last Saturday as DS and I carried furniture up the stairs to our new home.

We're still moving boxes from the old house and still need to finish cleaning there too. Hopefully, we'll be all done by this time next week so we can start concentrating on setting up our new nest.

Don't forget to watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition this Sunday to see the episode that we saw being taped.