09.29.07
SiCKO
We watched Michael Moore’s SiCKO today and all I can say is WOW…
I don’t want to link to it cuz I’m sure its an illegal copy, but you can watch the movie in its entirety on YouTube in 11 parts – (Its the full version in English, subtitled in Italian).
**Do a search on YouTube for “sicko sottotitoli”**
**OR do a User search for “Atemat”**
I HIGHLY recommend everyone watch this, honestly, I think what Oprah said is true, everyone in the country should see this film. I really do. I don’t care if you like Michael Moore or not (I personally have thoroughly enjoyed all his documentaries), things he brings to light are very important for us to be aware of. Its sickening what’s going on and what is the potential for anyone who gets sick…
09.27.07
Field Trip
Ally had her first field trip today – we went to Tuttle’s Orchard. It was short, but fun and let me just say – they have the BEST apple cider I’ve ever had!!!!!
We got there an HOUR before the bus though, because we didn’t know they were going to stop at the park and run some relay races first… it was ok though. (Dorothy came up to help out w/ Trey and because she loves orchards – she was going to take me to the movies for my bday, but she went home early cuz her head was hurting.)
All in all, it was a good day… (Until after school and the kids came home and were acting psychotic, but that’s another story… lol)
Just 45 min until the CSI season premiere!!! I still can’t decide if we are gonna watch it tonight or tomorrow on demand and watch Grey’s Anatomy tonight. I better decide soon lol.
09.26.07
Hmmm….
Either my counter is broken or I’ve bored everyone to tears and nobody has visited this site since July……
I’m hoping the counter was broken lol… Hopefully I fixed it – I mean granted, this is kind of just an online diary, but I get excited to know that somewhere out there in the world people are reading what I have to say haha. If nobody was ever reading anything I post about then – GASP – I can’t even bear to think of it!!
Have I really become that boring??? Geez… I need to take it up a notch or two, then, huh?? ^^
On the News tonight:
The possible connection between thimerosal, a mercury preservative that was widely used in childhood vaccines through the 1990s, and autism, the common developmental disorder, is a difficult story to report. Autism leaves many children unable to communicate with the world, including their parents. Often the children are disabled in many ways. Caring for an autistic child is one of the greatest burdens any parent could face. Because mercury can indeed be a poison to the nerves and because children are often diagnosed at the time they get vaccinated, it is easy to understand why many parents would make the connection.A federal study, out today in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at the connection between a mercury-based preservative and children’s vaccine. It does not directly concern autism, but it is very closely related to the ongoing dispute. Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control headed the effort where 1,047 children, aged 7 to 10 years, underwent a battery of tests measuring language, verbal skills, intelligence and fine motor coordination. Because the children were enrolled in large health insurance groups the scientists had good data on how much themerosal they had been exposed to earlier in life. For the vast majority of measurements the scientists did not find any correlations between thimerosal exposure and these neurophysiologic outcomes.
Many scientists outside the study say it would be difficult to see how thimerosal could cause something as severe as autism without causing huge changes in these measurable parameters.
You can see the study itself at content.nejm.org.
Two things to note: This is certainly not the end of this argument. Until researchers truly understand the cause of autism, no hypothesis can be ruled out. And parents who are now getting their children immunized should realize that, with the exception of some formulations of flu vaccine, there is no more than the smallest trace amounts in thimerosal remaining in any childhood vaccine.
**SIGH**
Well, I’m still not convinced…
09.25.07
Books
I finished a few books this week:
Jenny McCarthy – Louder then Words
James Siegel – Derailed
Jane Hamilton – A Map of the World (Honestly, I started reading this a while back and I could NOT finish it – I got 3/4 of the way through and it just really lost my interest… Then I watched the movie and it sucked so bad I lost any remaining desire to finish the book.)
09.24.07
Listen…
Yeah, this is the song used in the preview for the season 8 premiere of CSI … lol Every time I hear this song it gives me goosebumps. (As for CSI, I can’t imagine the show w/o Sara, but I’m sure she’s leaving the show… It won’t be the same – and poor Grissom ; 
The lyrics are pretty intense – everyone has a situation where you feel EXACTLY like this… So go ahead, listen and remember and cry if you need to… (I’ve put the lyrics under the video – the song is pretty old, so I’m sure you’ve heard it before.)
Kate Bush – This Woman’s Work
Pray God you can cope.
I stand outside this woman’s work,
This woman’s world.
Ooh, it’s hard on the man,
Now his part is over.
Now starts the craft of the father.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I should be crying, but I just can’t let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can’t stop thinking
Of all the things I should’ve said,
That I never said.
All the things we should’ve done,
Though we never did.
All the things I should’ve given,
But I didn’t.
Oh, darling, make it go,
Make it go away.
Give me these moments back.
Give them back to me.
Give me that little kiss.
Give me your hand.
(I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.)
I should be crying, but I just can’t let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can’t stop thinking
Of all the things we should’ve said,
That we never said.
All the things we should’ve done,
Though we never did.
All the things that you needed from me.
All the things that you wanted for me.
All the things that I should’ve given,
But I didn’t.
Oh, darling, make it go away.
Just make it go away now.
09.23.07
Movies
This week we’ve watched a few movies..
Fracture: I think I posted when we were in the middle of watching this, and it turned out to be pretty good. The ending was a little predictable but not in a bad way.
I Think I Love My Wife: Funny, funny, funny, but the VERY end was TERRIBLE!!!!! Way beyond terrible…
09.21.07
More feelings about Trey…
Since Dorothy thought I was terribly worried about Trey, I wanted to restate what I said the other day… “worried” is not a word I would ever use to describe a feeling I’ve had about Trey. I have no doubt that he will grow up to be fully functional, and completely able to contribute to society in many ways. I really honestly believe that he will talk eventually, and so I’ve never been “worried”. My feelings about Trey’s speech situation are more along the lines of frustration with other people because they don’t understand, sadness (in a self-centered sort of way) because he can’t tell me he loves me, etc. (Well, that’s not ENTIRELY true – when he wants to say he loves someone, he says “Me momma uh-huh” or “Me Sinny uh-huh”.)
BUT – anyone who is around him for more than a few minutes honestly can’t help but fall in love with him because he says more by saying less than one could ever imagine.
Dorothy, you are right, we all love Trey no matter what, cuz he’s ours, and he’s exactly what we all needed.
I did talk to the RISE Special Services intake person today and he is scheduled for his evaluation on 10-29/10-30. Its an intensive 2-day (5hr) process in a mock classroom setting with a speech therapist, a psychologist, and a teacher. They will be giving him a COMPLETE evaluation, not just checking out his speech. I am SO grateful for this opportunity because now we will know more about exactly where he stands and where to go from here. After the evaluation, we go back 2 weeks later for the conference to discuss treatment options and a diagnosis, etc. Needless to say I’m VERY excited about this – hesitant, but excited. Trust me when I say that I’m prepared for whatever they say as I have my own thoughts about exactly what’s going on and I really believe they will tell me the same things my “mommy instincts” have told me for a long time. I won’t go into all of that here for many reasons lol – but I promise to keep everyone informed of how things go.
09.20.07
OMG OMG OMG!!!!!
Who was on OPRAH todah???????
SEAN PENN!!! ^^
Of course he was doing the interview to promote his new movie:
Into the Wild
I can’t wait to see this movie, I mean really – written by Sean Penn (adapted from a novel), starring Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, and Marcia Gay Harden… Gonna be good…
Wow…
I was doing some research online about speech delay, etc. and came across this:
4 YEARS: A four-year-old can follow two-step directions such as “close the book and give it to me”. She also knows her first and last name, can answer reasoning questions such as, “What do we do when we’re cold?”, and can tell a short story such as, “two kids played ball.” Sentences are usually 4 to 5 words long. By four a child is giving directions such as “put my shoes on” and asking many questions. A four-year-old understands 1500-2000 words and can use the following pronouns: he, she, you, me, I, mine.
This makes me sad… Trey is almost 4 and isn’t anywhere near this. I knew it was bad, but living with him day to day sometimes makes a person forget how severe his delay is, you know?
