New Generation of Feminists

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5heUgjHB3X0

There is no embedding available, but this is the URL for Part 3 of 5 of a YouTube video of Gloria Steinem when she spoke at a Lecture series in 2007.

There are 5 parts, and several of my friends asked questions. I can't remember if I ever got questions out of my mouth or just sat there alternately crying and in stunned silence.

The little girl is my daughter, who was allowed to play hooky from first grade that afternoon. After all, Ms. Steinem is 73, and by the time my child is a grown woman, the opportunity to hear her speak may be long gone. There is much life learning to be had outside of school, too.

Although this post is more personal than informational, I share it with you, readers, to encourage you to encourage all the woman in your lives to use their voices. "Use your words" may take them places we could never expect.

Scholastic has April sweepstakes for parents

Scholastic is offering an online sweepstakes for a bundle of Baby Einstein brand goodies this month. Enter to win the Baby Einstein sweepstakes, Thai Kitchen sweepstakes, or "Tale of Desperaux" contest by visiting their home page.

Online Resource for Caregivers of Children with ADHD

Internet savvy moms are now all over social networking sites such as Facebook. All parents need to reach out and create a social support system.

McNeil Pediatrics, a division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., sponsors the "ADHDMoms" group on Facebook. All parents and caregivers of children with ADHD are invited to join the online community. Parents and pediatricians provide insight and encouragement about raising a child or children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Hear from others what has worked for them in coping with and managing their children's ADHD diagnosis, and share your story.

Celebrate Spring with Snack Mix

Does your pantry look a little bit like a pastel marshmallow barnyard right now? Either the Easter Bunny left a few goodies behind, or you found a great after-the-holiday sale at your neighborhood grocer. What are you going to do with all of them, besides using them in hot cocoa or rice cereal treats?

How about pouring some trail mix into snack bags (make your own with granola, dried fruits, and sunflower kernels) and then including the marshmallows for a touch of sweet with the salty?

We also added yogurt-covered fruit bits (Kellogg's brand Yogos Bits) for more color and a different texture, but you could also use yogurt-covered raisins.

My little one called ours "Hopping Down the Bunny Trail Mix." If you want the mix to be a mouthful but can't wrap your mouth around that long of a name, you could call it "Peter Cottontrail Mix." Or make some "Chicks Mix" for your brood!

Piggies, Pennies, and People Make CHANGE

As a side note, someone once got their cliches confused (He claimed!) and asked what I was thinking about by saying "A penny for your two cents." Hardly seems like a fair trade...

Unbeknownst to my daughter, we are going to be making a piggy bank out of a 2-liter soda bottle and paper towel tubes. Or we are going to make 3 or 4 small piggy banks out of 20-oz bottles.

(For instructions to this craft, Google "soda bottle piggy bank craft" or "soda bottle piggy bank craft(s) project(s)" and use whichever directions work best for your supplies on hand.)

I came across a sidebar on page 116 of the April 2009 Ladies Home Journal that, in combination with the piggy or piglet banks, will help reinforce a few financial and life lessons:

1. One can and does make a difference. One penny, one person, one vote, one kind word.

2. Helping others feels good.

3. Spending money is instant gratification and feels good at the time but may not have long-lasting effects or rewards. Saving money is delayed gratification, which is even more delicious.

These groups were mentioned by LHJ:

Common Cents Penny Harvest
School kids give their pennies to help support community organizations. Kids choose which groups receive the contribution.

Pennies for Peace
Central Asia Institute's Pennies for Peace uses donations to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan for kids with few opportunities for education, particularly young girls.

Penny Lovers of America
This organization, in celebration of its 25 years in existence, is sponsoring the National Penny Recycling Campaign. The money collected will be used to fund college scholarships for disadvantaged kids.

Other organizations that I believe have coin-based fundraising include March of Dimes, United Way, and UNICEF. If you can think of any others, feel free to tell us about them by leaving a comment!

commoncents.org
penniesforpeace.org
pennylovers.org

Campbell's Soup Seeds for Future Farmers of America

Campbell's Soup is joining forces with Future Farmers of America (FFA). Click on the "Grow" button at HelpGrowYourSoup.com/FFA (only once per day per IP Address) and Campbell's Soup donates 50 cents per click to FFA. If you request a packet of complimentary seeds (details to follow), Campbell's will donate an additional 50 cents to FFA!

Campbell's and FFA are also teaming up to encourage/fund urban farming projects (gardens in communities and schools).

After clicking, you get to find out how close they are to their goal. (After my click, it was 229,549 clicks away from the goal.)

If you have purchased Campbell's condensed soup, enter the codes from the bottom of the can (website explains which numbers to look for) and the variety of soup purchased, and you will receive a packet of tomato seeds just like those used to grow those in Campbell's soup!

(My mother and daughter and I are growing veggies this year and these seeds will be the ones used for our tomatos. If you are local to Tulsa and also growing your food this year, let me know...maybe we can do a veggies/greens/gourds exchange/harvest party later this year!)

Whooping cough is a Whopper!

Flash back to Labor Day weekend 2008. About 2 dozen of my friends and neighbors (that I know of) were sick sick sick, including 2 or three elementary-age children.

My daughter didn't visit her father that weekend. He and I talked about it and decided that it was best for her to stay home with me instead of exposing his then-newborn son to what was obviously some random virus.

I didn't take her to see her doctor because I was able to keep her fever controlled with medicine and cool cloths, and because there is not much one can do for a virus except let it run its course. (Antibiotics are for bacterial infections only. Over-use leads to antibiotic resistance or even the developing of antibiotic allergies.)

She was fever-free by the following Monday morning (Labor Day). So back to school she went.

I and at least 3 other adults stayed sick, though. Really, really sick.

In the second or third week of September, I went to my doctor, and after ruling out strep, etc., he said that it was as suspected when I described how it swept through the complex and how the kids got better but a few of the adults did not, combined with my symptoms -- I had pertussis. Whooping cough! I thought, "Isn't that a childhood disease?!?"

I asked my doctor if I should take my daughter to her pediatrician, and my doc explained that in vaccinated children, whooping cough lasts about 5 days and is contagious during that time, but then goes away. The contagious period in adults with whooping cough also lasts about 5 days. She had all her DTAP shots, and is only seven, so he said there really was no reason to take her to her doctor at that point.

In infants (who have not been immunized against it), and adults who had not heard they need a booster (like me!), and in the elderly, pertussis is much worse.

True to his prediction, I suffered the symptoms a total of 8 weeks. Mild whooping cough symptoms linger another 6-8 months!

So, heads up, parents!

Pertussis (whooping cough) is not just some childhood disease that has not been a problem since the beginning of last century. It still takes lives!

Babies may not be totally in the clear from being infected by the virus until their 3rd or 4th dose. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends a booster shot for anyone between the ages of 11 and 64. Parents are often the source of infant cases of whooping cough.

Don't know what whooping cough sounds like? You can hear it at DoItForYourBaby.com

A Class Act

The week of May 4th is Teacher Appreciation Week. It's only a couple of weeks away, so start planning now!

Even busy parents can send a card with a child (even better if your son or daughter makes the card) to let teachers know their intense commitment to our kids is appreciated.

I'm still brainstorming...

The Large Print Giveth

...and the small print taketh away.


The maxim is even more important to remember when making even the most basic financial decisions.


Keeping an eye on your family's financial health is important in any financial climate, but even more so in the United States' current economic situation.


One easy and basic step in attending to your personal and family finances is obtaining a copy of your credit reports. Besides allowing you to take an objective look at your financial health as current and potential creditors see it, checking your credit report is an important safeguard to identity theft.


Consumers are entitled to one free annual credit report per year from each of the major credit reporting bureaus -- Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, and to a free credit report (from the agency whose information was used) during a short period of time after having been denied credit due to information found in a credit report.


The official website to request your annual copy of the credit reports is Annualcreditreport.com. Any other website or service will cost consumers money, even if the word "free" is used in the name of the company.


Unfortunately, unscrupulous companies can manipulate even conscientious consumers by leaving out the details.


Most of them will provide the credit reports for "free," but only after the consumer subscribes to a credit-report monitoring service. While there are some advantages to being alerted anytime a change is made to your credit report, obtaining copies of it once per year is something consumers can do on their own.


Although not an outright scam, a credit-monitoring service subscription is a lot like a scholarship search service...charging a fee for something the informed can do for no cost at all.