Raggedy Ann

Last year, my sweet Peanut was a skunk for Halloween. See?


This year I chose an little Raggedy Ann costume that I found online. I loved the costume when I found it and I loved it even more when I put it on her. She loved it too. Especially the face paint. Okay, it was actually just black eyeliner and red lipstick, but in any event, she loved it.

Okay, I'm admitting that this post was totally an excuse to share these pictures because I secretly (or not so secretly) think that she is the cutest Raggedy Ann that I've ever seen. Which isn't saying much because I've never even seen another real, live Raggedy Ann, but still. I know she's mine, but she's just cute, right?

I'm done now.

Carry on.

A Homemade Christmas

Is homemade one word or two? I'm too lazy to go look it up.

Anyway, as you can guess from the title of my post, I'm working on a slew of homemade presents for Christmas this year. My "favorites" are overflowing with links to great tutorials for fabulous DIY stuff. Here are a few of my favorite things:

A beaded fabric flower necklace
How gorgeous is that?


Fabric snack bags
These would be adorable in a little set with coordinating fabrics!


Flower purse
I'm thinking of a few little ones on my Christmas list who would love this little bag!

Patchwork kitchen mat


Camera strap cover

There are quite a few tutorials for making these, they are so easy!


Fabric Flower Brooch
This is screaming "Gramma!" to me!



My blue jeans shawl
This one is already in progress. I'm not sure who it's for yet...


Crochet Giraffe
How cute is that? I'm thinking about a little collection of crocheted animals for Peanut's stocking.

And of course, lots of people on my list are getting gifts straight out of my Etsy shop. I just perfected a new mitten pattern and they make such cute sets! This set went out in the mail yesterday:


I'd love to hear your ideas for a DIY Christmas! I have over 30 people on my list, so I'd love some new suggestions and patterns! Please share!

Tornado Warning!

My little Peanut is a tornado.

She completely destroys every room she walks into. Her bedroom is in a continual state of disarray. She makes a habit of dumping the living room toy basket first thing in the morning. She recently discovered Mommy's dresser and enjoys emptying entire drawers and hanging tank tops, underwear and bras around her neck and then discarding them in random places. Which explains how my underwear ended up on my welcome mat.

And she's so quick! I leave her unsupervised for just a minute and I can count on a disaster area.

Case in point: The other night while I was making dinner, she went on a rampage. Once dinner was on the table, about 20 minutes later, I stood back and assessed the damage.

It is unbelievable to me that a two and a half foot tall little person can completely destroy a room in no time at all. Take a look:

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Okay, so I actually took the "before" picture after I cleaned up the mess she made. But I swear, it looked just like that before she got a hold of it.

Let's take one more look:


And my husband wonders why I can't keep the house clean.

So my house is continually under a tornado warning. If you ever come by my house and my whole house looks like the "after" picture, you'll know why.

You've been warned.

Me and Madeline - WINNERS!

Congrats to #16 and #39! You both won a $20 credit to my Etsy shop!

I wish I could have picked all of you! I'm still offering FREE shipping now through the end of the month!

And...

If you mention "Momma Molly" in the comments when you make a purchase, I'll refund an additional 15% of your purchase price. This offer is good for this week ONLY (10/12-10/17).

The H1N1 Vaccine: What you need to know

"It’s time to wake up from our advertisement-induced collective slumber and begin to review the folklore of conventional vaccine recommendations with a more critical eye." - Dr. Mercola

When it comes to vaccinations, I don't believe there is an easy answer. I have come to my own personal conclusions about what I will do for my family, but I am not so pig-headed (pun intended!) that I can't see the flip side of the argument for vaccination.

However, I stand pretty strongly against the H1N1 vaccine.

Instead of droning on and on about why I have come to this conclusion, I'm just going to point you in the direction of several articles and videos that I found extremely helpful in making my decision. Below each link, I'll give you a few of my thoughts on each article.

Article #1

This article includes opinions from three doctors - all strongly against the H1N1 vaccine. The video includes the opinion of a credible infectious disease doctor who claims he will not vaccinate his children. Be sure to scroll below the text to read what Dr. Mercola has to say about the swine flu. All the information is great, but I was most disturbed by this statement:

"I also learned at the conference from Dr. Vickie Diebold who is the consumer representative on the federal vaccine panel, that the CDC has budgeted over 12 million dollars to BLAST kids this fall on TV with characters such as Elmo from Sesame Street to propagandize them to be afraid of the swine flu and make sure that they get their vaccine. This is over 50% of the total amount ($21 million) they have budgeted to determine if the vaccine is even safe." - Dr. Mercola

What? HALF of the budgeted funds are going towards TV propaganda instead of testing the vaccine? Frightening.

Article #2

A big part of making an informed decision is reviewing information from both sides of the argument. Article #2 is Dr. Sears's take on the vaccine. He does recommend both the seasonal and the H1N1 vaccines, but only if you feel comfortable with them. He takes time to explain the spacing between the shots (the H1N1 vaccine requires two doses, one month apart)

However, he is very clear that he does not think that pregnant women should receive the swine flue vaccine or ANY flu vaccination. There has been NO testing to see how the vaccinations affect the unborn child and that is not a risk that should be taken.

"The bottom line is that the swine flu is about the same level of seriousness as the regular flu." - Dr. Sears

Article #3

Another great article by Dr. Mercola. This article pertains to all vaccines, not just the one for H1N1. This section makes so much sense to me:

"Less than 100 children in the U.S. die each year from seasonal flu viruses.[iv] If we use Australia’s math, a very rough estimate would be another 100 children could potentially die of swine flu in the United States in the coming year.

If children are the first target group in the U.S. per Sebelius, that means we’re about to inject around 75 million children with a fast tracked vaccine containing novel adjuvants, including dangerous squalene, to prevent perhaps 100 deaths.

I’m not overlooking the tragedy of the loss of even one child to an illness like the H1N1 flu virus. But there can be no argument that unnecessary mass injection of millions of children with a vaccine containing an adjuvant known to cause a host of debilitating autoimmune diseases is a reckless, dangerous plan."

For me, it's all about weighing the benefits versus the risks. What's the risk of NOT getting the vaccine? Death. People do die from the swine flu! What's the risk of TAKING the vaccine? Death or long-term illness or neurological problems. I believe the risk from the vaccine is greater than the risk from actually contracting the virus.

I'm not just leaving everything to chance. I know that H1N1 is potentially deadly, just like the seasonal flu. So I'm taking steps to protect my family. This winter, more than ever, we'll be eating healthy, getting plenty of rest and I'll continue to breastfed Madeline.

I'd love to hear from you. What have you decided to do about the H1N1 vaccine? What helped you make your decision?

I love fall!