My daughter, Madeline, weaned in early March.  She was five years old.  I know this might sound pretty crazy to a lot of people, since extended breastfeeding of this measure is somewhat uncommon.  And as an aside... mothering is not a contest and I am in no way saying this is the "best" way to parent a child.  It’s just what worked for us in our particular situation.  

If you haven't heard the story about Central Washington and Western Oregon's recent softball game, you have to watch the ESPN video over the fold.  

It's a fabulous story about a college softball game in which Sara Tucholsky hit a 3 run homer... her first home run of the season.  In her excitement, she missed tagging first base.  She turned around to tag it properly, and tore her ACL as her foot was planted and didn't pivot with her body.  She then crawled to first base.  What happened next, is an amazing story of sportsmanship.  The opposition asked if they could help.

It's the Blizzard of Aught-Eight here in Central Ohio!  The weatherman says we haven't actually met the criteria for a true blizzard (less than 1/4 mile visibility, 35mph+ sustained winds for 3 hours), but it will still be considered a blizzard.  Everything's closed, including malls, colleges, libraries, and other businesses.  The airport is struggling to stay open.  Our county is under a Level 3 Snow Emergency, which means that you aren't allowed to drive... only emergency vehicles and snow plows should out.

The debate on whether vaccines have a role in autism is being resurrected by a case where a Georgia girl developed autism after her 18 month round of vaccines in July of 2000.  Apparently, the girl had an underlying mitochondrial disorder and after her shots, she ended up displaying autism-like symptoms.  Her parents will be paid from the vaccine injury fund.  However, the federal government released this statement:

The government "has not conceded that vaccines cause autism," said Linda Renzi, the lawyer representing federal officials, who have consistently maintained that childhood shots are safe.

I’ve noticed something this primary season.    Even though we are told that a double standard doesn’t exist, it surely does.  There were obvious examples of sexism during this heated primary season... like Chris Matthews gaffes that ended with a public apology.  But there have been others.  Recently, my mother forwarded me an essay by Robin Morgan of the Women’s Media Center called Goodbye To All That #2.  Robin wrote Goodbye To All That (#1) back in 1970, when she and other feminists took over a counter culture magazine called Rat.  

After reading her most recent essay, I’m convinced that sexism is alive and well in this political primary season.  It’s hard for me not to copy and paste the whole article.  Here are a few highlights...

Yuck! I have been supplementing with formula, and I admit to being swayed by the "DHA/ARA" label on the can. Don't they all have it? What is a bottle-feeding mama to do? -Elisa

The Cornicopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm and food policy research group and corporate watchdog presented a report about the safety of DHA/ARA additives in infant formula recently along with the National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy.  

The findings are troubling.  According to the report, DHA/ARA (DHASCO/ARASCO) are causing many infants to become ill...  

Incidences of infants experiencing adverse reactions, including diarrhea, vomiting, bloating, and gastrointestinal distress, have been reported to the FDA’s MedWatch system. These reports suggest that a subset of the population reacts adversely to the DHA and ARA oils that have been added to infant formula since 2002.

I finally got a 2008 calendar over the weekend.  I always wait until after the new year to get one because they are always at least 50% off.  As I was writing in all the family birthdays and anniversaries in the new calendar, I also put in the school holidays.  I came across ‘kindergarten registration” for May 5th.  Yikes!  My baby will be starting kindergarten in 8 months!  

I am crestfallen. Thank you for the tribute, Hilary. -Elisa

Benazir Bhutto was just assassinated at a campaign rally at the entrance to the compound where the rally was being held.  Then, the killer used a suicide bomb which also added to the confusion of the scene.  

From the NY Times:

Ms. Bhutto was declared dead by doctors at a hospital in Rawalpindi at 6:16 p.m. after the doctors had tried to resuscitate her for thirty-five minutes. She had shrapnel injuries, the doctors said. At least a dozen more people were killed in the attack.

“At 6:16 p.m. she expired,” said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Ms. Bhutto’s party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital where she was taken after the attack, according to The Associated Press.Hundreds of supporters had gathered at the political rally, which was being held at Liaqut Bagh, a park that is a common venue for political rallies and speeches, in Rawalpindi, the garrison city adjacent to the capital.

Amid the confusion after the explosion, the site was littered with pools of blood. Shoes and caps of party workers were lying on the asphalt, and shards of glass were strewn about the ground. Pakistani television cameras captured images of ambulances pushing through crowds of dazed and injured people at the scene of the assassination.

CNN reported that witnesses at the scene described the assassin as opening fire on Ms. Bhutto and her entourage, hitting her at least once in the neck and once in the chest, before blowing himself up.

Farah Ispahani, a party official from Ms. Bhutto’s party, said: “It is too soon to confirm the number of dead from the party’s side. Private television channels are reporting twenty dead.” Television channels were also quoting police sources as saying that at least 14 people were dead.

At the hospital where Ms. Bhutto was taken, a large number of police began to cordon off the area as angry party workers smashed windows. Many protesters shouted “Musharraf Dog”. One man was crying hysterically, saying “O my sister has been killed.” Amid the crowd, dozens of people beat their chests, and chanted slogans against Mr. Musharraf.

Ms. Bhutto will be greatly missed.

I’ve been busier than heck trying to get my house in order the past few days before family arrives today.  And, right now I should be busy cleaning bathrooms... but I just had to share one last diary with you before Christmas tomorrow.  

Last week, I saw an article on MSNBC about our old classic Christmas cartoons.  According to Mary Beth Ellis, the cartoons are no longer fun to watch... but are wrought with terrible social messages.  For example:

Why were the Peanuts characters so hideously unsupervised? Why can't Frosty the Snowman get over himself? Why are the elves in "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" so in need of hypertension meds?

In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, not to mention DH’s birthday today, I often forget about the Winter Solstice.  I know some families celebrate the “turning of the year” and this has always fascinated me.  I’d love to incorporate some of these seasonal events in to our own family traditions.  

This afternoon, Grant came home from school and was eating a candy cane.  I asked him where he got it from and he told me his school librarian gave it to him.  I didn’t think much of it, as he began talking about how he thought he did well on his math test today.  

Later at dinner, he began to tell us about a book the librarian read to his second grade class during their library visit.  It’s called The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg.  Apparently, it’s a children’s book that tells a story about a little girl who befriends an older man who opens a candy store in her town.   He then tells the girl that there’s deep symbolism in the candy cane.  

I'm not one for celebrity gossip.  I used to get Entertainment Weekly years ago and followed all the happenings with the stars of the day.  But since I've had kids, I just don't really have any interest.  Every once in a while I hear an inspiring story about a celebrity that intrigues me.  Well, today when I was checking on the weather (it's a snow day and both kids are off from school) I happened to catch a blip about an upcoming story on Jennifer Love Hewitt.  Apparently, some paparazzi shot photos of her akin to the Tyra Banks photos that were taken last year which of course, ended up being posted on the internet.  She was in her bathing suit, and guess what... she doesn't look like Nicole Ritche.  She has CURVES.