5 posts tagged “blogs”
I logged on today with the intention of talking a bit about the shopping I did last night for Christmas when a post on the "What's New on Vox" caught my eye:
Very good stuff, people. I love to read things like this. I think many in my family tend to go overboard at Christmas. Maybe not some in my immediate family, thank goodness, but those around us and I worry about its effect on my kids as they get older.
Each year, I develop a budget and stick pretty closely to it. I don't like clutter so I try to be cautious about the amount of things that find their way into our home. Add in the whole Chinese-made toys mess, and it makes it pretty easy to be even more careful this year.
I did a huge chunk of shopping online last night. I carefully picked out a few books for each kid, then a couple of toys that I truly hope are safe- a big lego set for the boy and a Little People house for the girl. I've already had personalized superhero capes made by an etsy seller. I think they'll be a big hit. My daughter loves dress up, so I have a tutu and matching ribbon halo on order by another work-at-home Mom.
Still to consider: a doll (I wanted a cabbage patch, but need to research their origins) and a doll stroller (likely to be the ugly Little Tikes ones that's made in the USA) and something else for the boy? We do have an advanced Doctor's Kit set aside for him, complete with a personalized bag and a light up torso model (purchased before the China concerns unfortunately.) Maybe a family game to top it all off?
Sound reasonable? Crazy? What's your method of controlling the craziness or don't you bother?
I spent a good bit of the morning giggling between twitters, emails and myspace comments with friends I've never met in person. I also waited anxiously for a dear friend to stop torturing us and finally tell us the results of her U/S today. (Yay for pink, S!) I'm lucky to have met some amazing women online and really do hope to save up the $$ to travel around the world to see them someday.
This blog entry about a friendship between two bloggers really says it all about the connections that can be formed online. Enjoy it, dear friends.
* Yes, I'm in a cheesy as all heck mood today. Suck it.
At least this one has a relatively nice ending.
Some days (ahem, a lot) when I have mush for brains, I enjoy surfing blogs and finding some laughs. Today was no exception.
Behold Electric Boogaloo's shopping expedition for a dress with 2 kiddos in tow. I know no mothers who cannot sympathize or say they've been there.
And yes, I have some comments to respond to but my mind is *OFF* today. And then I'm off in the morning for a short jaunt north. I'll be back, refreshed and all wicked smaht again Monday.
I hope.
This is a post by toddler planet who has Inflammatory Breast Cancer. As someone who has breast cancer in her family history, I found it a good reminder of other, not-so-known signs to be aware of.
To help get the word out, I'm sharing it here. The author has encouraged anyone who runs across this post to use it anywhere they'd like in the hopes that people who may not be so familar with IBC could learn a bit about the disease.
-Chris
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We hear a lot about breast cancer these days. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes, and there are millions living with it in the U.S. today alone. But did you know that there is more than one type of breast cancer?
I didn’t. I thought that breast cancer was all the same. I figured that if I did my monthly breast self-exams, and found no lump, I’d be fine.
Oops. It turns out that you don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer. Six weeks ago, I went to my OB/GYN because my breast felt funny. It was red, hot, inflamed, and the skin looked…funny. But there was no lump, so I wasn’t worried. I should have been. After a round of antibiotics didn’t clear up the inflammation, my doctor sent me to a breast specialist and did a skin punch biopsy. That test showed that I have inflammatory breast cancer, a very aggressive cancer that can be deadly.
Inflammatory breast cancer is often misdiagnosed as mastitis because many doctors have never seen it before and consider it rare. “Rare” or not, there are over 100,000 women in the U.S. with this cancer right now; only half will survive five years. Please call your OB/GYN if you experience several of the following symptoms in your breast, or any unusual changes: redness, rapid increase in size of one breast, persistent itching of breast or nipple, thickening of breast tissue, stabbing pain, soreness, swelling under the arm, dimpling or ridging (for example, when you take your bra off, the bra marks stay – for a while), flattening or retracting of the nipple, or a texture that looks or feels like an orange (called peau d’orange). Ask if your GYN is familiar with inflammatory breast cancer, and tell her that you’re concerned and want to come in to rule it out.
There is more than one kind of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is the most aggressive form of breast cancer out there, and early detection is critical. It’s not usually detected by mammogram. It does not usually present with a lump. It may be overlooked with all of the changes that our breasts undergo during the years when we’re pregnant and/or nursing our little ones. It’s important not to miss this one.
Inflammatory breast cancer is detected by women and their doctors who notice a change in one of their breasts. If you notice a change, call your doctor today. Tell her about it. Tell her that you have a friend with this disease, and it’s trying to kill her. Now you know what I wish I had known before six weeks ago.
You don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer.
