2011: Our Year in Review
It was a CRAZY BUSY year.
The twins and I accomplished a lot.
We spent tons of time together reading books, playing with Legos and blocks, laughing, dancing, learning the “fine art” of fair trading, playing hide and seek, preparing food, sprouting, fermenting kefir, going to local parks, learning how to share, spending time with family. . .
This year the boys learned how to:
Filed under Twin Mommy
My Depression: A little Background.
I suffer from severe clinical depression and social anxiety disorder. Although I experienced some emotional trauma in my childhood, my depression primarily stems from an imbalance in my brain chemistry.
An imbalance that no number of visits to my therapist could ever begin to treat.
I was first diagnosed by a neurologist when I was 21, although I’m pretty sure I’ve suffered from this all of my adult life and MUCH of my childhood.
If you’ve just stumbled upon this post, you might want to read this one first.
SSRIs
My first experience with an SSRI was with Paxil at age 21. It was a horrible experience. . . and I ended up getting off of it within a week.
Filed under Depression
5 Immunity-Building Foods for the Winter
With the flu season upon us, it’s more important than ever to be mindful of what we put into our family’s bodies.
Nutrient-rich foods help fortify our bodies and keep them strong, whereas nutrient-poor choices tend to deplete our bodies and make them more prone to illness.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, eating a diet rich in the following 5 foods will boost our immune system and help keep us well.
Pizza, American Children’s Favorite New “Vegetable”
Now that Congress has declared pizza a vegetable, I’m even more determined to feed my boys well at home—and teach them about the importance of good nutrition.
I’m dismayed, but not *surprised* by Congress’s decision, which, of course, was made after significant lobbying from the food, beverage and restaurant industries.
“It’s an important victory,” said Corey Henry, spokesman for the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI). AFFI, by the way, is a trade association that lobbies on behalf of frozen pizza sellers like ConAgra Foods Inc and Schwan Food Co.
Yes, I’m sure it’s a huge victory for the packaged food industry.
But is it a victory for American kids?
Filed under Health
Almond Sunflower (& Fruit) Cereal
This morning, I made a delicious new cereal for the twins. It’s a recipe I adapted from Jennifer Cornbleet’s RAW FOOD MADE EASY FOR 1 OR 2.
If you’ve been reading this blog for very long, you know how much I love Jennifer and her recipes.
It took about 5 minutes to prepare. . . and the boys LOVED it!!
Filed under Whole Food Recipes
What You Should Know Before Giving Your Child the Gardasil (HPV) Vaccine
To vaccinate or not vaccinate is certainly a hot topic today—with Merck’s Gardasil, the vaccine for HPV (which can lead to cervical cancer) being one of the most controversial.
On the surface, anything that promises to protect our children from any type of cancer sounds like a good thing, but when deciding whether to vaccinate or give your child any type of drug, it’s important for parents to do their own due diligence and weigh the potential benefits against the risks.
Having twin toddlers of my own, I did my homework on this vaccination and the facts below helped me make my own decision about Gardasil.
