Birthday Shout Out!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY little Brother!

Today is Brant's Birthday. He is 26, I think. Brant is the youngest of four kids and the third of three boys. Growing up he really took the brunt of ALL and I mean ALL of the teasing that Kent, Aaron and myself felt the need to dish out. It's no wonder he would usually loose his temper and throw things (like knives and forks, anything that could inflict serious injury) at us, and call us all kinds of made-up names.(Kent remembers a few and they are pretty Awesome!) I don't blame him. We deserved it.

Being the youngest made him Tough. Really tough. He learned how to stand his ground and get what he wants and it has helped him in life.

2009 has been a BIG year for Brant.

-He celebrated his 5th wedding anniversary with his lovely wife Kacy. -Love you Kacy!
-He graduated from ASU with a degree in Electrical Engineering and scored a great job.
-He bought his first house. (and finally moved out of the ghetto!)
-He and Kacy are expecting their first baby in February. A girl!

I have to say I am a pretty proud big sister! I really do have great brothers and even better is that they all married great ladies. And they have really cute kids. I can't wait to see Brant's baby girl, I'm sure she will be gorgeous just like her mama!

Happy Birthday Brant! I hope you have a wonderful day.

Oh, and Brant. You don't have to thank me for leaving out the picture of you and the picture of mom that look so identical it's scary! Maybe someday. People would be amazed.

Guillain Barre' Syndrome vs. The Swine Flu

Are you getting a Swine Flu shot?

My family WILL NOT be getting them.

I wonder how many of these people, after getting the Swine Flu shot will come down with Guillain Barre' Syndrome?

In 1976 President Gerald Ford ordered a National Campaign to get the whole country immunized against the Swine Flu, in fear of a national Swine Flu outbreak. The US ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine and on October 1, 1976 started immunizing people. In December of 1976 a halt was put on the immunizations, no more were to be administered.

Why?

Because more people were being diagnosed with Guillain Barre' Syndrome than the Swine Flu. The feared Flu epidemic never came, only 1 person died, but more than 532 people came down with GBS, 25 of them died.

I have been doing some research on this issue for obvious reasons, and it's interesting what I have found out. Some articles down play the severity of GBS while others give it the credit it deserves.
Here are some tidbits of what I have found;

CBC Canada
Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a form of paralysis that is usually temporary and can occur after some common infections, may be associated with seasonal influenza vaccine in about one per million recipients. It is expected that a similar pattern may be seen for the H1N1 influenza vaccine, say health officials.
CBC News, Canada

(Is this seriously all they could say about GBS? For some reason they are trying to downplay the severity of GBS. I hope people in Canada do a little more research and find out the truth about GBS.)


The Reporter Online
Glen Beck, a conservative talk show host for Fox News, raised the possibility that the neurological disease Guillain-Barre Syndrome would break out. "How much do you trust your government?" Beck asked. "I think that's the main question."Think about it for a moment. Glenn Beck? Bill Maher? Or the best scientists in the country?

The Reporter Online.com



Washington Post
Why did the previous swine flu vaccine cause Guillain-Barré Syndrome?
A complex question! First, its not clear how much of an increased risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome was associated with influenza vaccination, partly because its not really certain how many cases of GBS occur annually in the United States. Most rigorous studies have suggested there was either a low or no risk of developing GBS after immunization with the 1976 H1N1 vaccine when compared to the general population. GBS has not been convincingly or consistently linked to any other influenza vaccine before or since. So the link between GBS and influenza vaccines remains controversial but it is a relatively low risk, if any.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/29/AR2009092902800.html


New York Times
The feared swine flu epidemic of 1976 never materialized. And several hundred people, including Ms. Kinney, who is now 68 and lives in Gig Harbor, Wash., developed Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological condition that causes temporary muscle weakness or paralysis. More than 30 of those people died.
Many experts say they do not think a vaccine for the new flu strain, called H1N1, would raise a similar risk for Guillain-Barré. But answering that question is difficult because to this day, no one has figured out why the 1976 vaccine caused the disease, in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the nerves.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/health/09vaccine.html



This is not meant to scare anyone, more to inform. It is just something that has been in the forefront of how we approach vaccines these days.
In my opinion, getting the Flu/Swine Flu is better than getting Guillain Barre'. If a family member ever dies from the Flu I may change my mind, but after weighing the risks and having been through the GBS experience with my own child, I'll take the Flu.
It will be interesting to see the statistics on the side effects of this new H1N1 vaccine. I won't be surprised to see an increase in GBS. We were told that Cameron can never again have a flu shot or many other vaccines because they all carry a potential risk of GBS. While I know that the risk of any of the rest of us getting Guillain Barre' is very very small, it still makes me nervous to vaccinate my kids for anything, not just the flu.


You weigh the risks for yourself, Guillain Barre' vs. The Swine Flu.

Cameron, February 2009.

To see more pictures and read about Cameron's experience with Guillain Barre' you can click here, here & here.

Or just go back in my archives to Feb. 09. There are too many posts to link to all of them.

Hayden, Cameron & Colby

I'm kinda sad. Our plans to ride the Haunted Train tonight had to be cancelled. My cousin's little boy was sick, and we are all still sick at our house too. Hopefully next week we will be able to ride the train.

Below is a recap of our week.
I hope it doesn't stress you out as much as it did me!

When Hayden saw this picture he said, "Hayden. Taking a nap."
I took a picture because I thought he looked so darn cute.
This short 5 minute nap happened to be pretty much the only nap or sleep for that matter that he has had all week. And if he was not asleep he was crying and wanting me to hold him. He didn't want to sit down though, he wanted to walk around the house. I'm pretty sure that my back is permanently damaged.

36 pound 22 month olds with the flu are not so easy to take care of. This has, hands down, been the longest, most stressful week of my life! But, I'm still alive and so are all of my kids and my husband and so are all of the deer that he was hunting for!

This is Cameron, entertaining himself and making us all laugh. He came home from school sick on Tuesday with a fever, coughing, body aches, etc... After a couple of doses of Oscillococcinum and lots of EmergenC, he was ok to go to school the next day and still so far so good.

Crazy Hair Day at school.

This do was his version of an "Umpa Lumpa."

Colby stayed home from school on Thursday because he was tired and coughing. Gave him a couple doses of the O stuff and EmergenC, and he was feeling much better by mid-morning. With this kid I am not sure if it was the medicine and the rest that made him feel better or the fact that he realized that he really was successful in his attempt to fake sick and was going to get to miss the whole day of school?! He was pretty upset when 3:30 rolled around. All his friends were home from school and he realized after numerous attempts to convince me that he was not sick at all anymore, that I really was not going to let him go play.

Whats really amazing is that this morning before school he tried to play the "I'm really tired" card. We told him that he was going to school, but if by lunch time he didn't feel any better he could call me. Sure enough right after lunch recess I got a call from Colby, saying that he was "so so so tired and needed to come home. So I went and got him and made him lay down with out TV and rest. But yet again, I swear this kid is the most stubborn kid I know, at 3:30 he was asking if he could go play. Seriously Colby!

over & over & over

Does anyone else ever feel like they are living this movie?

Well, I do.

Especially this week with a sick little boy. Sick with the nasty flu. I mean really nasty flu. I so hope that none of you get it. Prevention is so so worth it. I know that with other kids in the house actually preventing it is not really possible, but we should at least try. Nasal spray, salt water gargle, oscillium at the first signs or symptoms, and of course, constant, constant hand washing. I think my husband and kids think I am seriously crazy because of how many times I tell them to wash their hands. They are sort of right though, I am crazy! This groundhog day life of mine is driving me crazy!

I guess what I am really saying is a need a vacation and there is not one anywhere in sight!!
Maybe I just need my mom. Yep that's it. Mom, come up here I need you......Hayden needs you.....

And after my mom comes, then I need a vacation!

I am excited to ride the Haunted Train this weekend with my cousin and some other friends!! That's something to break the monotony! Bring on the Train.

Monkey see, Monkey do

Hayden is living proof of how much influence older kids have on younger kids.
He does everything he sees his big brothers do.
At times like this, in the pictures, it's really cute and sweet.

The times when we are in Wal Mart and he demands to "go look at toys", or when he takes off down the street on his scooter because he wants to follow Cameron it is not so cute.
Hayden pretty much thinks he is 5 instead of almost 2. And he pretty much wears me out everyday. But I also can't kiss and hug him enough everyday either. And I guess with kids that's how it's supposed to be right?!

On TV

You all remember the airplane that crashed in my parents backyard last August don't you?

Well, if you don't then where in the world have you been?
It was BIG news! You can refresh your memory here & here & here.

After you refresh your memory set your DVR to record Oprah tomorrow. Thats tomorrow, Wednesday, October 7th.

I miss it already...

We won't be doing anymore of this, and I am kinda sad about it.

As much as I love Fall, I know that winter follows Fall and I am not looking forward to winter.

Hitting golf balls is a big part of summer life for our family.
Lucky for us we have quite a few great golf courses here in town to keep the boys busy.

This little boy loves it but is so loud and busy that he can only stay for a few minutes before he and mom have to go for a walk so he doesn't disturb the other golfers.
Something about Golf Etiquette...

If these two boys decided to play golf instead of any other sport I don't think I would be disappointed at all. They are really good at it already.

When Hayden and I go on our walks it's really not so bad when you have scenery like this. I think that Golf courses are some of the most pretty places there are.

At the Homestead there are lots of geese and fish to keep the little ones entertained.
Don't you love how they all walk in a line?!