The church we are attending sponsors a music and drama camp each summer and this year Sean went. In addition to many other things, they learned a musical in five days. Sean had a brief part in a duet which I taped below. The whole group did a wonderful job. They had approximately 85 campers.
Owen and Seth are Sean’s and Sierra’s best friends. They live to play with them. They are lost when they are not home or cannot play. This weekend they enjoyed some fun on the Slip-N-Slide. Can you tell my kids haven’t been out in the sun much?
This pretty much sums it up. Great presentation if you have 18 minutes to listen. Make time to get informed.
Yesterday was June 8 and we have already made a trip to the ER. I think we have our quota in for the summer.
I think half the people in Columbus needed the ER last night. We were there 3 1/2 hours.
This picture is from last year, but you can see how much fun the slide can be with some water on it.
Problem would be if you come to the top too quickly and slip, flying off the side and landing on your back. That is what Sierra did yesterday.
They checked her urine for blood since she landed on her kidneys and did x-rays and everything was okay but they said she would be sore like she’d been in a wreck.
This picture was earlier in the day when they were climbing on the slide.
Everyone be safe this summer. Hidden dangers and not so hidden ones await us when we spend so much more time outside.
I wonder if sticking a for sale sign in the yard down the street would subliminally result in the family wanting to move. It probably would be a bit too obvious.
The father who lives there got upset with me because my child told him that I didn’t want their son playing with them. This is true but I didn’t expect the boy to show up in our backyard, uninvited, refusing to leave. He wouldn’t leave when asked by my kids and before I could go outside to supervise their play, my child had already solicited the help of the father who was less than happy about the whole situation. He felt very angry that we were excluding his son. My children are almost 9 and 7 and two of the other kids playing are almost 9. His son is four and acts like he’s two.
He smarts off to adults, throws tantrums to get his way and cusses regularly. He tries coming in the house, drives his power wheel in everyone’s yard between here and their house over half a block away, tried to run over my kids in our driveway and ran his power wheel into our gate repeatedly the other day. I explained to the dad that we have a problem with his language and how he smarts off to us if we ask him to stop doing something. His best comeback was to ask if I thought my kids behaved at his house. They have played in their driveway a few times with other kids. My first thought was yes, I think they behave, but instead, I told him if they did not, to please send them home and let me know. He didn’t have a response to that. I hope he thinks about what I said and tries to deal with it. I have a feeling the boy will be back down here again soon and we won’t be over this situation. I have no problem laying down some ground rules for him to play here, but I do not expect it to work since he smarts off to us when he hears us talking to our own kids about something, as if he thinks we are talking to him.
Storms came through here yesterday. Winds lifted a building into the air and smashed it right behind my parents’ garage, knocking down their privacy fence and spilling concrete blocks and shingles into their yard. A couple miles away, a tree was uprooted from the ground, taking the sod up around it and another tree broken off.
Below is an article that gives me hope. It’s been about 3-4 years since we figured out that our teen had issues with food dyes. Red #40 was the one we discovered to be a problem at first, but now we believe they all are. Actually we are now dye free in our household. That really isn’t a totally easy thing to do as food dyes are in things that you would not expect.
While watching children at gymnastics or some other organized event, I see kids that remind me of my daughter when she was the same age and I want to warn the parents to get rid of food dyes in their child’s diet. Dyes are made of petroleum. I think how different my child’s life might have been without them. Behavior problems at school, unable to go to sleep at night, etc. The teachers complained that she was highly distractible. The only thing they knew to do was move her desk to different places until she was sitting completely isolated from everyone else. She would act so silly on the playground that other kids would egg her on and try to get her to do stupid stuff. She was totally out of control.
Today, with red #40 out of her system, when she does accidentally digest it (which happens most often in prescription meds or when she eats at a pitch-in), we can all tell. And so can she. It’s horrible. She acts intoxicated and it causes her anxiety to go high.
Not all reactions to food dyes are the same. Other reactions could include skin issues, inability to concentrate, bed wetting, mood problems, and the list goes on.
But, red #40 is not the only culprit. Remember, they are all made from petroleum. Our same daughter with the red #40 issue was having breathing issues…. from any activity. Unable to catch her breath. An inhaler did not work. She had an echocardiogram done to rule out heart issues. We started on the Feingold diet soon after and the main thing eliminated from what she ate/drank was Powerade Zero the mixed berry flavor (the only one without red #40). Instead, it has blue dye. After cutting out the dyes, her breathing went back to normal and she has resumed regular activities, like walking. Anywhere.
Anyway, if you haven’t begun to do so, begin reading the labels of your foods, especially those targeted at children. Look for Red #40, blue 1, yellow 5 and 6, and others with color names. I get angry when I see how much this junk is being used in our foods.
Good news from Australia
The Australian branch of the Aldi supermarket chain has announced
they are ditching food dyes.
This is important to consumers
world-wide for several reasons:
First, it brings awareness to the fact
that petroleum-based food dyes are
harmful. Second, it shows that food
can be colorful and delicious without
the need for fake dyes. This makes it
harder for markets in other countries
(and for the US FDA) to continue to
turn a blind eye to the enormous
amount of research showing the damage
they cause. Finally, it puts pressure
on governmental agencies to take
action to protect consumers, especially
children.
In 2007, following the landmark
study from the University of
Southampton (showing that food dyes
cause harm to all children), the major
British chains announced they would
be getting rid of the dyes.
The effort that started in England
with Jamie Oliver, and the 2004
and 2007 Southampton studies,
resulted in the removal of most of
the synthetic dyes from the food in
Europe! Let's hope this trend
makes its way to North America!
Leading the charge were Marks &
Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury's and
ASDA (which is owned by
Wal-Mart.) ASDA was especially vocal,
promising their customers a "no
nasties guarantee."
The chain's "no nasties" policy did
not sit well with Ajinomoto, who currently
makes the synthetic sweetener
aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet). The
Japanese company initiated a law suit
against ASDA that has gone on for
several years.
Ajinomoto seeks to defend the integrity
of its controversial sweetener,
which has generated more health complaints
to the US FDA than any other
additive in history.
In addition to aspartame, Ajinomoto
is the major manufacturer of MSG
(monosodium glutamate), which has
an even longer history of reported
health problems.
Reprinted from Pure Facts, the newsletter
of the Feingold Association of
the United States, www.feingold.org.
Sierra learned how to ride her bike without training wheels last month. It took just a short time of practicing. Soon she was zooming around the circle and I was afraid she would crash and burn and not try again until she was 16, so we made her stop. She was so excited that she came inside, got paper and wrote a story about it.
