Athena Bee's

More Crib Stuff

2009-11-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

So I have a thing for blue and brown. My mother in law searched the globe for me to have the perfect blue and brown bed set for myself.

Do you think there'd be any way you could accept a blue and brown room as femenine if need be? If there were, say, blue and brown dresses and things of that nature on the walls?

I really heart the brown stuff, and I don't think we're going to be finding out the sex of this one.

P.S. This set is usually $250 and I found it for $75.

Your Opinions on Crib Bedding

2009-11-14T15:46:00.000-08:00

I want to paint the walls brown and white. We have a white crib and dresser, so I think it will look groovy.

These are all on etsy:

D. None because brown is ugly.

Nothing is going to be that over the top. I'm just going to use white sheets and then I'll decorate the walls based on whatever blanket I choose.

I still feel like this...

2009-11-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

... so I have nothing to say that doesn't include things like "misery", "gag," and "vomit."

I'll spare everyone that randomly checks in here the details of my sorry plight.

Freaky Baby Widget

2009-11-04T05:07:00.001-08:00

Has anyone else noticed that it has gone from hot dog bun to manatee to whatever this may be:

6 Weeks Pregnant

A newt perhaps?

Well, whatever it is that baby looks like right now, it's making me sick as all bloody hell. Dry heaves are horrid. Laying in the chair praying the barf goes back down is only made worse by the toddler rolling all over me, elbowing me in the stomach, and rocking my chair.

Unless Louis can carry the next one, we're never doing this again.

Here's what the baby's up to:

This week starts a period of rapid cellular development for your baby-to-be, who looks like a mini tadpole, with a tiny head and tail. His or her eyes, ears and mouth have begun to form (though they're a little more Discovery Channel "creatures of the sea" documentary than Gerber Baby at this point).

Other exciting milestones include:

Your baby's heart is now beating to a regular beat, although it's still too faint to hear.

His or her arm buds are just beginning to, well, bud. They look like teensy swollen bumps at this point. In a few days, they'll resemble itsy-bitsy flippers.

Why isn't Athena's Blog updating on blog rolls??

2009-11-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

You're missing sweet pictures.

Super Fun Halloweekend!

2009-11-02T05:21:00.000-08:00

Heading out for Point Place preschooler daytime trick or treat.

Other little cuties.

Love dogs in outfits.

Go Bucks !

I think I've given the wrong impression to some.

2009-10-29T05:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not anti-vaccine. Take a peak at what people go through in Africa with disease. We'd be there as well without them.

I'm just not comfortable with the AMOUNT of vaccines that "they" say babies and children should get at one time. Athena has been vaccinated against everything she's supposed; just on a slightly different schedule than the doctors prefer.

Friends, please lend me your ears for some sobbing

2009-10-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

It's been like this for my parents since the day they got together; always being knocked down and tested. While it's ALWAYS been better since Tom, my step father, got us away from my biological dad, my parents have NEVER had it easy. So I suppose this is just par for the course. Tom was diagnosed with advanced Hepatitis C very recently, and it is completely ravaging his body. The treatment that he is on is extensive and makes him feel similar to someone going through chemo, therefore he can not work. He can barely get out of bed some days. Well, my mom lost her job at the university today and in 2 weeks loses her pay and health insurance. Tom's weekly injections alone will cost $46,000. Needless to say, they are in trouble.

I hope I haven't exhausted everyone we know with my charity work before I start working on the most important benefit of my life: The one to save my parents

There are worse ones than me

2009-10-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

RE: helicopter parents

Time magazine tells of a child abuse case in Italy. It centers on the overprotective mother and grandparents of a 12-year-old boy known only as Luca.

Prosecutors say that:

• Luca was not allowed to play with other children, go to church, participate in sports, or leave the house before or after school.

• He was sent to school with his snacks already cut into bite-size portions for him.

• He was both physically and psychologically stunted from such around-the-clock doting.

• He didn't know how to run.

• He had the motor skills of a 3-year-old child.

The boy's mother and grandfather have already been convicted of child abuse and are appealing the verdict. The grandmother is still facing charges.

In this case, do you think overparenting equals child abuse?

http://www.momlogic.com/2009/10/is_overparenting_child_abuse_luca_time_magazine.php##ixzz0UbnvoZCD

H1N1 Clinic we attended + Pictures + I'm a Know it all

2009-10-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

CRAZY long lines. It was surreal.

Frick. Why didn't I think of masks??

Would you believe I vaccinated myself and Athena against the swine flu? Well, I did and I'm relieved. I began researching this shot with the goal of proving that it was a horrible idea to inject us with this stuff. What ended up happening was I got a new appreciation for this horrible strain and a look at how flu shots are made. Yep, even though many would have you feel differently, it's simply a flu shot.

Q. How is the H1N1 different from the seasonal flu shot?
A. The only difference is the strain that's in it. There's a different variation of the H1N1 in the seasonal shot, but they had already started making the seasonal one when this one turned up, otherwise this strain would have just been in the seasonal one and no one would be making outrageous claims about it.

Q. Isn't it too new to be safe?
A. Every year the seasonal flu shot is a "new" vaccine. They put new strains that have mutated in it, but the basic method of making it is the same every year. Just like the swine flu shot was made the same way.

Q. But they didn't have time to test it like they test new vaccines. Is it safe?
A. The main components aren't new. It went through the same tests that ANY flu shot go through. It wasn't rushed through. It didn't bypass safety testing. It went through EVERYTHING the seasonal shot did.

Q. I heard it has 10,000 times the legal amount of mercury in it. Is that true.
A. Yes, yes it is. And we will all become human thermometers after we're injected. Seriously. Like that's even possible. If you're so concerned about the Thimerosal, get the one without it. Simple as that. And if you DO get the one with the Thimerosal, you'll be fine. I was joking. You won't really become a thermometer.

Q. Is it really made out of HIV and animal cancer??
A. Now I'm just starting to think that people are morons. What in God's name would be the point in making something out of HIV and animal cancer?? This was made in the same labs where all vaccines are made, not in the garage of your meth-head neighbor 'mkay?

Q. Isn't this just a way for "Big Pharma" to get us out of a recession by forcing people to get shots?
A. I suppose it MAY help the economy if people had to pay for this but guess what? These are free clinics. YOU DON'T PAY FOR THE SHOT. THE GOVERNMENT DOES. So I can see where taking MORE money from an already struggling government would totally work... wait. No I can't.

Now let's stay away from the blogs and sites written by people wearing foil helmets and keep our heads here.

Don't get the shot if vaccines in general make you nervous, but don't NOT get it because you're seriously un/misinformed.

Ah yes, one more question from the lady in the back?
Q. Who died and made YOU an expert.
A. I have a blog. That makes me a loud-mouthed professional authority on everything. Duh.

'twas a lovely fall day for a swine flu clinic.

H1N1: A love story

2009-10-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

In case you don't read her blog, or in case you didn't see it on Facebook, or in case I haven't shoved it down your throat enough:

H1N1: A love story.

by barefootfoodie on October 21, 2009

Ok, so here is the deal.
I seldom get all mommy up in here.
This is my place. For my life stories.
Sometimes the stories are about me being a parent, mostly they are about me being an asshole.
In fact, not a week ago, I would have written some scathing post about that ballsack of a father that creepy, Village of the Damned balloon kid has.
Or about my dad’s recent decision to conduct his daily business in denim overalls.
Or even about this old boyfriend I had that I caught in bed with a stripper named Shauna, whose entire upper lip is now just one giant, oozey herpe sore, and I am pretty sure his dick fell off.
But today, I can’t.
I’m gonna take a moment, as a mommy, to tell you…the last thing you should have to do, as a mommy, is to sit with your sick kid in a quarantined hospital room, with needles coming out of his arms. And, the only contact he has outside of his mommy is with people in scary masks and full body rubber suits, who treat him like he has the plague.
And, there are all these other kids, just like him. Equally sick. Equally miserable. Totally fucking freaking out.
And to think. If the vaccine would have been available sooner, this all could have been prevented.
Get yours.
Share and Enjoy.

I shall follow this up with a little Q & A based off of the things I have seen, heard, and been asked RE: The dreaded H1N1 vaccine.

I like this picture better - The Poppyseed

2009-10-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

Subtitle: The goings-on in my uterus - Week 4

In week 3, sperm meets egg, and voila: conception! Your little zygote sets off on a six-day trek through your fallopian tubes, dividing and redividing into identical cells as it travels to your uterus. (How exhausting!)
In week 4, now safe in your womb, the ball of cells (blastocyst) splits in two, becoming the embryo and the placenta. The amniotic sac and fluid are forming around baby, and will act as a cushion for the next eight months.

I have non-stop headaches, unreal exhaustion, and waves of nausea. Suh-weet.

According to this picture I'm growing a mushroom

2009-10-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

Your baby's body now has three distinct layers from which all of his organs will develop.

It seems like EVERYONE is pregnant. It took me 5 years to get Athena. How in the world did this happen so quickly.

I'm terrified.
I have SO many things swirling through my head.
I adore my compadre that is ALWAYS there the SECOND I need to freak regardless of the actual distance between us.
I have so many doubts about myself.
I'm glad that I have absolutely NO doubts about my husbands competency. (One of us needs to be a star.)

I think I'm going to be blogging full force again, as I will need some major support.

Shall I get a creepy baby widget too??

2009-10-06T12:25:00.001-07:00

Guess who figured out their blackberry!

2009-10-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Copying this from another website who copied it from another, etc.... It was written by a breast cancer survivor. Please read.

"The end of September is approaching and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month has passed, largely unnoticed by society. The rush to shower us with pink in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month is reminiscent of the crowding away of pumpkins and scarecrows by Christmas trees and snowmen. Except there's no pushing gold aside. The way is clear for pink. Even the American Cancer Society -- the outfit that professes to represent all cancers and provide support for everyone affected by the disease -- the organization for which we all come together and raise funds by holding a Relay each year -- has chosen not to recognize Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.Go to http://www.wqmagonline.com/profiles/blog/www.cancer.org and what do you see? The banner at the top of the page is pink and touts the ACS' commitment to fighting breast cancer.Of course, I, among all people, am grateful for the focus of so many foundations and researchers on breast cancer. I know I wouldn't be looking at a future that is likely cancer free (or free of breast cancer, anyway) without the research and the focus on breast cancer during the past decade. Still -- I'd rather have my son.
What if the focus that remains on breast cancer was turned to pediatric brain cancer? I know millions of women are affected by breast cancer. But almost all of them are effectively treated. Only thousands of kids are affected by brain cancer. But many -- perhaps most -- of them die. This is so politically incorrect, I am hesitant to write it. But, as I write, I am without breasts and sans colon. And one son short a full house. If anyone can speak to this issue, I think I can. I am grateful for the pink that signals the arrival of October in our day and time. I just wish there was a wave of gold -- more in terms of funding for research, but also in terms of awareness -- to usher in the pink.

If you are reading this, you know. You have traveled this tragic journey with us and you are aware of the impact of pediatric cancer on families. Will you spread the word to someone who doesn't know today? Send an e-mail. Copy this to your blog, your faceook, your twitter. Write a letter to a corporation or a legislator. Or to an editor.

Mmmmm... Baby Zombie Muffins....

2009-10-04T06:08:00.001-07:00

Is it just me? Am I being an oversensitive mom? The baby arm coming out of this really disturbed me and gave me raging baby-zombie nightmares.

It's from Rachael Ray's magazine

Creepy Snuff-Picture Taker: Lucy Schaeffer

Warped Idea Thought Up By: Clare Crespo

Kudos ladies.

This helped...

2009-10-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

I asked my doctor how he felt about it and he said he's getting it for his whole family, which includes a 3 year old with respiratory issues.

Plus this:

Q.: I see very little information available to the public about how the vaccines compare as the manufacturing process for each. Are they created using the exact same technique? If so, does that mean that the safety/risk profile is the same for each?
A.: A flu shot is a flu shot is a flu shot, according to the Food and Drug Administration, which licenses companies to make vaccines. "All flu vaccine manufacturers use essentially the same technique to produce the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines. They each produce a slightly different version of the vaccine, but all versions adhere to the FDA's stringent standards for safety and effectiveness," said Pat El-Hinnawy, a spokeswoman for the FDA.
Q.: I've heard 56 children have died since April from H1N1. Could you give me more detail about this figure? I would like to know of those 56 children, how many had underlying health care problems? How many of them sought medical attention? And finally, what is the age range or average age of the 56 children?
A.: According to the CDC, of these 56 children, 31 had a pre-existing medical condition such as spina bifida or cerebral palsy before they became infected with H1N1, 17 did not, and health authorities don't have data on the eight other children. Among the children for whom the CDC has information, 35 died in a hospital's intensive care unit, four died in the emergency room, three died on an inpatient ward in the hospital, and five died outside the hospital, such as at home or on the way to the hospital. The average age of the children who died is 10 years old. A September 4 CDC report has more details on the pediatric deaths.

I'm even more germ-focused than usual lately...

2009-10-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

Though you'd never know it since Athena can do this to a room in 3 minutes all by herself. It may be messy but darn it it's Lysol-ed like crazy!

6 Steps to a Healthier Home

A clean home makes a healthy home — but you might be surprised at what's most important when you're tackling your housecleaning chores.

The Germiest Places in Your Home

When it comes to cleaning your house, you don't have to go overboard. Just concentrate on the common spots where germs lurk and follow these housecleaning tips for a healthier home.

2009-09-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

Join Athena, Annabelle, and their Mommies for a walk!

Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's evening walk and fundraising event. It is the nation's night to pay tribute and bring hope to thousands of people battling blood cancers and to commemorate loved ones lost.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) funds lifesaving research that has contributed to major advances in the treatment of blood cancers and treatments for other types of cancer, such as chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. These treatments have helped patients live better, longer lives. New targeted therapies that kill cancer cells without harming normal tissue are providing drugs and procedures that are improving quality of life.

Be sure to check my Web site frequently to see my progress, and thanks for your support!

http://pages.lightthenight.org/noh/Toledo09/NBrocus

What do I do with this information, Mackenzie Phillips?

2009-09-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie Phillips: I Slept with My Own Father
Originally posted Tuesday September 22, 2009 07:40 PM EDT

"Don't hate my father," Mackenzie Phillips tells PEOPLE.

But in a tell-all book out Wednesday, the former childhood actress reveals that her dad, musician John Phillips of the '60s band the Mamas and the Papas, engaged with her in a long-term incestuous relationship. Phillips, 49, who has survived drug addiction, arrests and divorce, writes in the book High on Arrival that she was already a star playing a boy-crazy teen on the TV sitcom One Day at a Time when her father had sex with her on the night before she was to marry Jeff Sessler, a member of the Rolling Stones entourage, in 1979.
"On the eve of my wedding, my father showed up, determined to stop it," writes Phillips, who was 19 and a heavy drug user at the time. "I had tons of pills, and Dad had tons of everything too. Eventually I passed out on Dad's bed."
"My father was not a man with boundaries. He was full of love, and he was sick with drugs. I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father."
"Had this happened before? I didn't know. All I can say is it was the first time I was aware of it." Phillips' life began to spiral out of control. In 1980, she was fired from One Day at a Time because of her constant drug use. That same year, she went to rehab – with her father. Her sexual relationship with him had become consensual.

For much more from Mackenzie's book – including her fling with Mick Jagger, what her family said about her rape accusations and her fears that she was pregnant with her own father's baby – pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now

***

I feel ill. The Mamas and The Papas are one of my end all be all favorite bands since the birth of music. I don't want to know this. I don't want to think about it when I listen to my favorite album. I feel like a little kid that just learned that Santa is fictitious and that dude in the suit at the mall is a charlatan.

If you need me I'll be fetal in my room weeping to Monday, Monday.

Vaccines and Disease - Thoughts Please

2009-09-16T05:52:00.000-07:00

It's well known that I'm leery of over-vaccinating the Bee, and it's also known that I'm absolutely terrified of germs and illness. (It's super fun to be me.) So I've been obsessively reading about the mortal dangers posed to your child by H1N1 strain of flu, and the mortal danger you're putting your child in if you vaccinate them against it. (Sigh.)

Contents of my morning readings here:
1 Classification
1.1 Influenza C
1.2 Influenza A
1.3 Surveillance
2 History
2.1 1918 pandemic in humans
2.2 1976 U.S. outbreak
2.3 1988 zoonosis
2.4 1998 US outbreak in swine
2.5 2007 Philippine outbreak in swine
2.6 2009 outbreak in humans
3 Transmission
3.1 Transmission between pigs
3.2 Transmission to humans
3.3 Interaction with avian H5N1 in pigs
4 Signs and symptoms
4.1 In swine
4.2 In humans
4.3 Diagnosis
5 Prevention
5.1 In swine
5.2 In humans
6 Treatment
6.1 In swine
6.2 In humans
7 See also
8 Notes
9 Further reading
10 External links

So which paralyzing fear do I let rule? The fear of her dying from swine flu, or the fear of her dying or having serious side effects from a vaccine? What are you planning to do this year?

Please give me your thoughts everyone.

Miss Annabelle - Days 2 & 3

2009-09-10T17:49:00.001-07:00

Jon M wrote on September 9, 2009 at 2:37pm
Surgery went well. A bit later than expected, but done. She came out with all of what the surgeon could see of the tumor, and 6 tubes in her body. Tuesday eve the cathader was removed, back to diapers. Weds AM we got rid of the ventalator. Weds PM we got rid of the stomach tube. We are left with the IV(2) and chest drain tube. Annabelle is in some pain from time to time, but resting most of the time. She really wants a bottle from what we can tell, and we are hopefully going to give her one sometime today. We are on another road of recovery, and hopefully this will be another short trip.Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!
Report

Post #2
Jon M wrote 8 hours ago
overnight the oxygen tubes in her nose were removed. The arterial line was removed. The chest tube was removed (kinda gross/kinda cool). It's looking like we might move to the Hemo/Oncology wing today.

Miss Annabelle

2009-09-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this post from her mommy so you can all be updated:

Nicole Lowry McKenzie wrote

Well as you may have guessed from the topic of this discussion Annabelle's surgery has been scheduled for September 8th @ 2:15 pm. So your next question is probably what does this mean? Well they are going in to remove all of the mass that they can (and heaven knows we want it ALL gone!) and then they will review the tumor's pathology (look at the cancer cells) to determine if she will need to undergo further chemotherapy treatments. If they are able to extract all of the tumor and if the majority of it tumor is comprised of dead cells she more than likely will not need to have any further treatment, she will however be monitored very closely (blood work, MRIs etc) for the next 5 years to make sure that she is doing fine and that there has been no re-growth. After that time she will be monitored bi-yearly most likely into adulthood. The upside is that typically once a neuroblastoma tumor is removed it does not come back so as long as we get it all we will have very little to worry about :)As always your thoughts and prayers are such a blessing to us and we ask that you continue to keep our little one, her family, doctors and nurses in your prayers as we continue down this challenging road.

Thank you all again for your love and support,

Annabelle & family

Free shipping all weekend!

2009-09-04T05:44:00.000-07:00

Oooooh I LOVE the clothes...

2009-09-02T05:54:00.000-07:00

I bought all of the pieces on the models. I.Am.In.Love. The clothes fit so well. I can make a million different outfits with them. They don't fit like teenager clothes. So in love. The t-shirt feels EXACTLY like a Juicy Couture shirt that cost $65.

Britt Bardo, you are a gem.