Welcome back!

As you noticed, I recently took a break from the blog world but I'm baack! Aren't you excited? Ha! Life has continued on at rapid speed and we've had much life happen as we have bumbled along which I will share with you in the future.

I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that I haven't forgotten you or lost interest in writing about our adventures. Right now we are enjoying the changing seasons from the bright, beautiful fall colors to the first flurries that are tickling our noses.

Stay tuned...

Blindsided By Bubbles

Do you ever have those moments while you are out shopping and you find something that appears really fun for the kids so you get sucked into buying it? Well, I've had many of those occasions. I'm sure I'll have many more. I'm feeling impelled to share one of those lovely experiences with you.

I was recently perusing the local Target store which is one of my absolute favorite stores to do this in. I can very easily lose track of time there. I happen to come across these cute little bottles of bubbles. The kids absolutely love bubbles. Bubbles are a fun anytime kind of activity.

These bubbles were a very special kind. They happen to come in many colors. Have you ever seen fun colored bubbles? Crayola Colored Bubbles. They sounded like so much fun. I could envision the beautifully colored bubbles floating through the air with the lovely sounds of squeals of delight coming from all the kids. Oh how very fun these were going to be!

First, as a mother whose gone through many trying

moments of panic because a kid had ingested a fun product and/or had ruined a few pieces of clothing, made sure that they were non-toxic and washable. Check. Second, as a mother who has many children who tend to fight over whose toy is whose, made sure that she got each child a different color so we would know whose was whose. Therefore, hopefully bypassing a few squabbles. Now I realize they could potentially fight over the color but we are thinking good thoughts here. Check. Third, as a mother whose bought many items through the years, made sure it was a good, tried and true product. Bubbles have never let me down. Check

I happen to have had to be gone all the next day and the kids were anxiously awaiting the time when they could test out these very fun bubbles. It is no fun waiting and waiting when you know there is something you just need to test out. How can you resist fun? Why would your mother make you wait so long?? Apparently, the kids were nagging their father to be able to play with them. It was just too cold for them to do them outside so he suggested they go down and blow them in the basement.

During the day, I get a phone call telling me that the landlord and the washing machine repairman are coming over around 5:30 p.m. I come in the door around 5:00 p.m. and just happen to glance down the stairs as I was flying into the house to throw dinner together. All of the sudden, it hits me that what I saw was pure madness of color....everywhere. I went back to take look and found colorful bubble splotches everywhere. When I say everywhere I mean everywhere. Ceiling, floor, walls, shelves. I hear they were having a bubble race and Aaron won. They also mentioned they didn't like the color of the walls and they decided they were going to help with that.

All I could think of is that the landlord and the repairman were going to be there momentarily and that is what they were going to see. So after asking my husband what possessed him to suggest the kids blow the bubbles in the basement, I asked my oldest son to help me clean it up rather light speed like.

Thank goodness the floor is laminated and the walls are also so it was a fairly easy clean up. It was just a rather big area with little bits of time to do it in along with it not really being the best time for it to have happened. But is it ever? I wish I could have gotten a picture because a picture is worth a thousand words.

To top off this little experience, the next day, early in the morning, while the parents were still sleeping, the cute little kids decided to go at it again with those lovely bubbles. This time I got a picture but it just isn't the same because they had used most of the bubbles up the day before. Hopefully, you will see a small glimpse of the fun they had.

I have since seen the commercial for this product. I see all the kids running around outside blowing the colorful bubbles having a grand time and I think to myself, perhaps, they should have consulted my husband and had the next scene show a dad telling the kids to blow them downstairs in the basement and then enters the mom....

To Immunize or Not to Immunize....

This is quite a controversial topic. I know people who are very passionate for both sides of this issue. I, for one, go through these 'am I doing the right thing' moments from time to time and have to reevaluate our choices on many different topics. This is because I don't want to make a mistake. Isn't that a question that most parents fret over in the decisions they must make for their children? Am I doing the right thing? How will this affect them in the years ahead?

It's tough being a parent. Much has to be decided and with all decisions, there are consequences for the good and for the bad. I get tons of information sent to me regarding the topic on immunizations/vaccinations. I get this information from both sides. All say they have the real facts and the real statistics. Who do you listen to? How do you really make an informed choice? How do you know their opinions aren't based on political agenda's and how much money they are making or being supported by others who have a certain agenda? One side is trying to sabotage the other and in the midst of that war, what is best for the children get's lost. It really is tough to know the truth.

On one side, I know personally families who have been greatly affected by the choice to immunize. Their childrens lives have been forever changed. I also have a child that was affected by an immunization. Even though it was a brief reaction and didn't have too much of a lasting affect, it was scary. Not having a supportive doctor also affected the situation greatly. So where do you go from there? If one is affected, will your other children also have a tendency towards reactions? Do you risk it? It's like Russian roulette.

On the other side, if you don't immunize, is it of greater risk to possibly catch these diseases? What if your child gets something later down the road? Will they survive? There are even people out there who would love to sue the shirt off your back for you not immunizing and putting others at risk for catching something you have. Some even claim that not immunizing is child abuse. There is a possibility that these immunizations can cause cancer, autism, abdominal issues, neurological diseases, narcolepsy and even death. Which is worse, the disease or the side effects? Which do you choose?

And why oh why, are people so worried about exposing your children to lead, formaldehyde, mercury and other poisons so much so that they place certain laws in place to keep them from it in the environment but willing sign off on it for vaccinations stating that it is perfectly healthy to put it into shots for babies and toddlers. How do you justify that? It's not ok to breathe it but it's ok to shoot it into your child's leg via a shot? Something just isn't right about that.

So here I am again, revisiting this awful choice I have to make. I feel much like no matter what choice I make, the outcome isn't pretty and it's not the right one.