Would you allow your kids to play with unvaccinated children? I would.

And I'm quoted on MSNBC.com saying just that!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26269069/

My girls are up to date on vaccines, as per the American Academy of Pediatrics. The chance of contracting a disease even being vaccinated is slim. Why would I worry that my girls would get one of these diseases from a friend, when they can just as easily contract it from a seatmate on an airplane - especially those international flights?

I believe strongly in vaccinating, I would encourage parents to do so. I would also encourage the medical community to look at how many vaccines children get at once and over their lifetime. I know my kids will get quite a few more than I do - especially the flu vaccine, which I've never gotten. There has to be a link between autism and vaccines; the sooner someone admits it and fixes it the better off we'll all be. There's some nasty stuff in those shots, but what makes it any worse than the things we eat that are loaded with preservatives? I don't know.

Here's what it comes down to for me - what if the one kid in the class who's not vaccinated could be my child's best friend for life? Who am I do deny that kind of relationship over a vaccine? And what if that un-vaccinated child could never have been my child's friend because a vaccine made them sick?

I'm not God, I'm just a mom, one of billions around the world, who have to do the best they can, every hour of every day for their children. We have so many choices, many of them will be wrong. In my book ostracising an un-vaccinated child or their parents is wrong. Simple as that.

Cleaning

I feel like I'm always cleaning and that the house is never actually clean. I've been having trouble trying to figure out why that is. This morning I had an epiphany - it's not that I don't clean enough, I just clean the same things over and over.

In the past two weeks I've cleaned the bathroom twice, washed the kitchen floor twice, vacuumed about 5 times (not counting the constant Dustbuster hum), emptied the dishwasher a good 10 times, changed sheets, wiped off the couches 3-4 times. All of it needs to be done again in the next day or so.

What I have not done is pick up a dust rag, pick up the odds and ends tucked around the house, put together Charlee's new picnic table (the box is still in the hall). Thank goodness for closet doors, cause I need them! Before kids it was not my issue - the husband, well that's another lost cause! (LOL - he is right now saying he cleans - ask him how many clothes are next to his side of the bed, what is covering his bathroom floor, and how much laundry he has to do) Clutter, not DIRT is making the house a disaster.

Basically, had I not vacuumed once, and not wiped the couches once, I probably could have dusted. You wouldn't want to enter my house had I made that decision! Oh, well. Toys, well that's just a lost cause. Clutter, yeah, same thing. Because once you figure in cooking 2-3 meals a day, changing diapers, showering, doing laundry, pulling the kids apart, Facebook time, phone time - who has time to dust!?!

The house looks like a disaster, and it drives me crazy. At least I know I'm cleaning even if no one else sees it!

All grown up?

The big day is here, the high chair is being packed away. I handled putting away bottles, the baby swing, little socks and shoes, even the infant car seat very well. This one, this is painful. Once this is gone the last bit of baby stuff in the house is Catie's crib - which just got dropped to the lowest level last week.

This feels like finality. And that's very strange because there is no way in hell I'm having more kids - ever. I think I've got the look in response to the very abundant comment, "the next one will be a boy," down pat, so much so that the last person to say that quickly said two is a good number! I have no desire to be pregnant again, to wake up every 3 hours for feedings or anything else. I love babies, don't get me wrong, I just love handing them back to their parents more!

My girls are walking and talking toddlers - I'm quite pleased with that! So why is removing the high chair so hard - I think it's just that I have to admit I'm getting older. As my girls grow up, I age, and it happens very fast. And it's not so much the numeric age, I'm sure younger parents go through the same thing, it's the "I'm old enough to" thing we all do and kids make that line more finite.

Looking forward, the next thing to do away with is diapers. And my plan after that is to enjoy the time between diapers and tampons - I'm going to age extra fast when those are in the house for the girls. I'm thinking of investing in a cabin in the woods to go with Carl when that happens - heck this is all his fault, I should leave him to handle the PMS!