It has been a rough few weeks moving into our new digs. Part of the issue was getting the kids registered for school. The process was so tedious I thought we would be asked for DNA samples. AND getting my preschooler back into a special needs preschool was like pulling teeth. They were all but ready to refuse him because they wanted a doctor’s note saying he was healthy despite our decision not to vaccinate… which I am pretty sure violates the law since I had given them a copy of a form stating that I was invoking the philosophical exemption law guaranteed by the state of Ohio.

BUT I decided to take him to a doctor to speed up the process and that was yet another disaster. The doctor told us he would be happy to fill out our paperwork but would never see us again because we refuse to vaccinate. Then the man held the paperwork hostage for 30 minutes or so until he could lecture me about my poor choices. I related to him that my oldest had been injured and almost killed by a vaccine and that this was confirmed by two pediatric neurologists AND we were told not to vaccinate him again. This new doctor, who has never met my older son and has never looked at his medical history said this was all lies. Either I was lying or these doctors were quacks.

I was quite angry after that and went on tirade about vaccine risks. The doctor replied that vaccines have NO risks. ZERO risk. At that point I started to think the man was a blooming idiot. I politely asked why it was that each vaccine comes with an insert outlining all the CONFIRMED risks associated with each vaccine as documented in drug trials. His response… the flyers are full of made up stuff so that vaccine companies can cover their bases. Really? Death is listed as a risk just for kicks and giggles? Yes, despite this man’s medical degree he was an idiot… who had clearly never researched vaccines beyond the one week he went through them in class or the indoctrination he managed to absorb at medical conventions.

I asked why he felt that refusing to see unvaccinated kids was ethical. Did they not deserve medical care? He declared that medical doctors are banding together and refusing to see these families because they feel it will force parents to reconsider their bad choices. Oh blackmail? No, he said with a smug smile, it isn’t blackmail if what they are doing is BEST for the children. Wow…

Of course by that point I knew the guy was a total creep and never wanted my kids to see him again either. Yet this is the second time we have been booted out of a practice for failure to vaccinate. This is definitely an alarming trend.

I still want to establish a relationship with a family doctor so my kids can participate in organized sports and other recreational programs that require annual physicals. And since medical society is steadily leaning towards the idea that non-vaccinating parents are neglectful parents, it never hurts to make sure you have one your side to establish that you ARE in fact making educated choices and that you do care very much about your kids health. We may just look for a family doc instead of a pediatrician and Dr Sear’s web site has several suggestions for my state.

The whole experience had me feeling kind of low, as I am sure this man intended, but then I remembered all the ways I am working to keep my kids healthy:

* By not injecting them with chemical cocktails called vaccines!

* By letting food be their medicine.

* By feeding them a nourishing diet that is short on grains and refined sugars, and full of things like pastured eggs, pastured milk, grassfed meat, daily batches of dark leafy greens and fruit in green smoothies, healthy fats and proteins from nuts, seeds, seaweed, and cultured and living foods like fresh yogurt and kefir.

* By feeding them local foods and raw foods that have more of their nutrition intact and organics that do not have pesticides whenever I can.

* By avoiding processed foods that have preservatives, dyes, and other chemical nasties that do not belong in food.

* By providing them with daily opportunities to play out in the sun and fresh air.

* By treating illnesses and injuries with homeopathics.

* By not sterilizing their environment with antibacterial products. Kids need to get sick and build a good immune system!

* By providing them with a green and natural home that does not use toxic cleaners or other products that leach into the air as pollution or into their food.

After remembering all of that, which the doctor had no knowledge of and frankly didn’t care about… I finally remembered that Mom does know best. My kids are very healthy and that is precisely because we choose NOT to go along with conventional wisdom in regards to food and medicine.

Related Reading: He’s Not Autistic, But… How We Pulled Our Son From the Mouth of the Abyss & How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor

Most natural mamas are concerned with cooking or creating the healthiest meals possible. We may have our own ideas of what constitutes the optimal diet.. macrobiotic, vegan, vegetarian, raw, nourishing traditions, primal… but most of us all have a basic start place in creating our meals and that place is usually with good quality pots and pans. Okay maybe not so much if you are 100% raw. ;)

There is much more to consider when buying pots and pans beside how well they heat food, how easy they are to clean, or how pretty they look on your range. We also have to consider the safety of these pots and pans as they are essentially the surfaces upon which our food will sit. No one wants to cut veggies on a dirty cutting board and no one would want to cook if they thought that nasty chemicals were leaching into their food as it cooks. But yet many conventional pots and pans do just that… they leach and they potentially contaminate the food they cook and the air in our home.

Here us the scoop on what to use and what to pass up as far as healthy kitchenware is concerned:

Aluminum - This material has really lost its luster in recent years as it has become aware that aluminum reacts to acidic foods like tomatoes and causes leaching. Since aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease and we already get doses of it from other sources (soda cans, vaccines) we don’t need to add even more of this potentially toxic substance. FAIL

Cast Iron – An old classic that has been used for generations. It is durable and easy to use if you have a nicely seasoned cast iron pan. There are some varying opinions on whether or not the iron leached into the food is helpful or harmful but either way it has been used for many decades without any connection to ill effects so this option is likely to stick around. PASS

Clay – Clay is made from earth and how much more natural can you get? You soak the pot or tangine with water first and then you heat low and slow until the food is steamed or lightly cooked through. They are very safe and pretty easy to use. Plus I just love the whole earthenware concept and the idea that women in tribal areas probably make their own cooking pots from mud in their area… its all very basic and simple. If you get a pot with a glaze make sure it is made with safe materials and no lead. PASS

Copper - Copper looks lovely in kitchens and it gives off this whole Julia Child vibe. It also conducts heat very well. Yet it is hard to care for and keep looking nice and it leaches as well. We need copper in our bodies but we get sufficient amounts from our diet and overdoing it can cause problems. Copper would be nice for occasional or decorative use but not for every day cooking. NEUTRAL

Glass - Glass is awesome for baking and oven cooking, perhaps the best material to use for these purposes even. It is safe and easy to use and cleans up very well. There are also colored glass options that give us decorative options to. And while there are some glass pots and pans for stovetops… glass doesn’t conduct heat all that well so in the oven cooking is your best bet. The best thing about glass is that it is EASY to find at yard sales and thrift stores and know exactly what you are getting and its not to expensive to buy new. Enamel pots would fall under the glass category as well, since its made from powdered glass. PASS

Silicone - This material has really made a splash in recent years from baking sheets to muffin tins and cupcake pans. The attraction is mostly due to the fact that it is a non-stick surface that isn’t Teflon. It is said that Silicone doesn’t leach but it is also suggested that you don’t use it at 420 degrees or above or it could melt. Personally I find the material unattractive feeling and stinky sometimes when you cook with it. Its not for me but it is relatively safe. NEUTRAL

Soapstone - This material is pretty heavy and thick since it is made from quarried granite or marble usually.. also expensive and not as easy to find as the others. I can’t remember ever seeing any in conventional stores… just online and at Pampered Chef parties. It is durable, heats well, and stays hot. I would love to have a nice Soapstone pot one of these days. PASS

Stainless Steel - Safe for cooking but perhaps not the easiest for no-stick cooking. Cooked on scrambled eggs are going to require some serious soaking in my experience. It can also become scratched and dingy looking very fast but safety comes first right? It may not be the most convenient but it certainly works where it counts. PASS

Teflon - Everyone came to love the non-stick surface of Teflon but quickly it lost its luster in our eyes as studies showed that toxic PFOAs can leach and they have been linked to cancer, birth defects, and obesity. In addition Teflon has a tendency to scratch and chip easily making the pot or pan unusable. Teflon is sooooo yesterday. ;) FAIL

There are also new materials coming out all the time. I own a couple “green” pans that claim to be safe and non-stick alternatives to Teflon and they are okay I guess but perhaps not as good as some of the traditional favorites. I use my little GreenPan skillet for eggs usually once a week and I have a new ceramic skillet from Xtrema that I will be breaking in over the next few weeks.

What do you prefer to use?

If anything can get me riled up and hotter than a brushfire in Texas it is the idea of vaccinations being required or forced on us. We are a non vaccinating family so I like to keep up to date with what is going on in the vaccine world and this issue came up on the radar recently. According to Mike Adams at Natural News:

A new bill, the “Pandemic Response Bill,” S. 2028, has passed the Massachusetts state Senate and is now awaiting approval in the House. This bill suspends virtually all Constitutional rights of Massachusetts citizens and forces anyone “suspected” of being infected to submit to interrogations, “decontaminations” and vaccines.

It also sets fines up to $1,000 per day for anyone who refuses to submit to quarantines, vaccinations, decontamination efforts or to follow any other verbal order by virtually any state-licensed law enforcement or medical personnel. You can read the text yourself here.

It is outrageous that the government can force anyone to inject themselves with any substance but especially a potentially dangerous one.

According to the Organic Consumers Association, a leaked memo revealed that the swine flu vaccine has been linked to paralysis. It also contains contains novel adjuvants, including dangerous squalene which was in all probability responsible for Gulf War syndrome.

Visit the OCA web site to send a message to legislators that this NOT acceptable. They have a letter for MA residents and those in other states.

Have a great weekend all!

My weekend looks pretty uneventful. My hubby works every other weekend so that explains it. I will just be chilling with the kids +one. My niece will be spending the weekend with us. And I will of course be sending lots of virtual love to my new nephew who just arrived in America from China last week.

Earth Day/Week was nice even if I didn’t get to see the new Earth movie from Disney. My stupid, bass ackwards little town decided not to show it at the local theatre so we hope to see in the city next week. My son was totally in his element for earth week at school. He brought in several books about recycling and the teacher read them to the class. He even brought in his favorite documentary about recycling and they viewed it in class. He brought home a lovely note from the teacher saying that he really made Earth Week special.

One of the books was Michael Recycle Meets Litterbug Doug. This is a sequel to the Michael Recycle book we got last year about a child hero who recycles to help clean up cities and towns. In this book he meets a boy named Litterbug Doug who has some serious clutter and litter issues. Is is a very cute book, just like the original. The teacher liked it so much she told Payton she will be ordering it so she will have it for Earth week next year.

We did end up making those pineapple spinach Popsicles and they turned out quite delicious. The color was amazing! With all the fresh juice and Popsicles in this house it is no wonder my 8 year old has been going around the house singing “I love my mommy!!!!” He is in heaven with all the new treats. LOL.

Interesting links this week include yet another vaccine link. This one is a post written by Jim Carrey about the vaccine autism connection and how the latest court rulings are no indication that vaccines are blameless in regards to autism. Here is a quote:

The truth is that no one without a vested interest in the profitability of vaccines has studied all 36 of them in depth. There are more than 100 vaccines in development, and no tests for cumulative effect or vaccine interaction of all 36 vaccines in the current schedule have ever been done. If I’m mistaken, I challenge those who are making such grand pronouncements about vaccine safety to produce those studies.

I also saw this very nice tutorial for a May Day Basket using recycled materials you probably have around the house. Looks like a great crafty project for the kids.

My raw foodie friend Kristen blogged about freezing raw foods and why she freezes a lot despite the nutrient loss. Its a great article with some points I never thought of…

Also, one of my new favorite blogs called Green & Crunchy had a great post awhile back on using glass straws for your green kids. Very cool!! I seriously LOVE Sheri’s blog! She has 5 raw vegan kiddos.

And in the off chance that you are looking for a good DSLR camera I reviewed my Nikon D60 on Squidoo.

That’s all for now!

TGIF! Have an awesome weekend everyone!

I am writing this in a hurry so I can get out the door and go to the city to look for places to live. We are checking out an apartment complex today…yeah I broke down and decided to go check one out even though I was dead set on a house or townhouse. I have never lived in an apartment before so I am kinda intrigued by them but I know for kids it may be tough…aka no yard. We shall see.

My son’s speech therapy went MUCH better yesterday. I basically took control of the situation, LOL. Right from the get-go I put him on my lap and did the puzzles with him. He ignored the therapist when she would say… “This is a cow.” She expected him to repeat the word to her but he had no idea what she wanted him to do. So I would then jump in and ask…”What is that?” And he would say “Cow”.  Sometimes he would still not say it so I would say “That is a cat” and deliberately get it wrong and he would immediately correct me and say “No, that is a cow”.

We played that game for 20 minutes and the therapist still never quite caught on to the fact that he won’t respond if you don’t ask or engage him in some way. For getting him to talk on his own the situation needs to be more social. He did speak a few sentences to other kids in the gym room.  The therapist was just happy to write down new words she heard him say when I was the one who did the work to get him to talk. Oh well.

When he started to break down again and get frustrated, after 55 minutes mind you, I decided to call it quits and the therapist agreed that we should. He tried to bite me again, three times, but I was hip to him this time and managed to get away unscathed.

Weekend plans include going to the zoo hopefully and breaking in our annual passes. And perhaps just driving around looking at various homes for rent. I would love to go back to Innniswood and take pictures of the tulips that are most likely in full bloom now. My main goal is just to enjoy the weekend and pray for sunny days. I need some sunlight and warmth.

Interesting links this week:

A great article by Healthy Child, Healthy World about taking your shoes off before you enter the home. It has lots of great info about why this is a good idea and healthier for us. We have a plastic tub that sits inside our door for this reason. That way we don’t have to worry about mud getting tracked across the whole house and we don’t need to worry about pollutants getting tracked everywhere either! We use a plastic tub because we have wet shoes often and our old cardboard box got wet through once and made a nasty mark on the hardwood floors.

I came across this article called Fourteen Studies last week, and it addresses the argument from vaccine pushers that 14 studies have been done that show no link between vaccines and autism. They use these studies as their “slam dunk” when they dismiss concerned parents.

This well researched article refutes those studies convincingly. It highlights little flaws such as the fact that of the 11 major vaccines given to children only one, the MMR, has been studied in relationship to autism. What about the other ten???? Also there are NO studies that compare vaccinated children to unvaccinated children…NONE. It is a great site.

Last, check out this video the kids and I did for earth day. Fun!