Round round baby round round, like a record baby...

Hi all, Well, I am sorry for the long delay. I have been having technical difficulties...everytime I try and upload pictures to the blog, it sort of quits working. So meanless to say, it has been a tad frustrating and discouraging....I mean really, who wants to read my blog without pictures? I wouldn't. I had this whole blog out about how Kendall is on the verge of being a fashionista, based on some recent clothing choices she has made....but the blog isn't any good without the pictures. So I just have this wierd belief in circles. Karma is one of the biggest, in that what comes around, goes around. (I won't even get into the political implications of that kind of thinking..) But I also have these wierd instances in my life that things I have said or done, have come back around years later. Many many years ago, I wrote something about wanting to be an HIV researcher. I had no idea or memory of writing it, but a couple of years ago my mom found it. Well, yes, I did do HIV research. Well, the same thing happened the other day. I was checking out one of my favorite mags, The Scientist and there was an article about Niemann-Pick Type C. (SIDE NOTE--I would link the article but now it says you have to be registered to look at it...damn technology).... NPC is a disease where your cells cannot regulate the amount of fat going in and out of the cells. It is more complex then that...but neurologically it is very devastating. ANYWAYS, the article was discussing how NPC is being looked at because it shares very similiar characteristics to Alzheimers. So the wierd thing is that I worked on NPC when I was in college. I was a volunteer in Dr. Erickson's lab and we were trying to find the gene for NPC1. Ara Paraseghian the famous Notre Dame football coach, had three grandchildren with the illness and that eventually passed it away because of it. They lived in Tucson when I was in college. So the article was about two little girls (sisters), that have NPC1 and how they are using the data from them to look at NPC1 and Alzheimers. What is so inspiring is how much their mother(Chris Hempel) has done to get researchers to focus on this disease. She threw a fundraiser that raised over $500,000. She got together with other parents to start a collaborative study looking for NPC biomarkers--which could be done because they were able to provide samples from the children that have the illness. The other cool thing in this is article is who the NPC research is being helped by a new company called Collabrx. Collabrx is a "virtual biotech" company (as quoted from the article)...they help connect researchers with funding sources, as well illness populations that might normally be left out of the NIH big money funding. This allows for research to move quicker, and the hope is to find therapies faster. It helps to cut away all the extra crap that gets in the way. How cool is that....... It's just interesting how things come back around because the other part of this circle is that I have had relatives that have had Alzheimers. Let's all hope that something works out in favor of both illnesses. I will try and post some pictures soon. Sorry!

Just being grateful.....

Josh and I kind of joke that I have bad luck. I never win on scratch tickets or pull tabs, I constantly enter sweepstakes and never win. BUT then we remind ourselves that both of our kids are healthy and neither had myotonic dystrophy (there was a 50% chance)---and have since decided we are the luckiest people on the planet.

So apparently ya'all don't care for the teratomas....

I did have one person that was interested....but all in all the concensus was---NO MORE TUMORS. As an apology, I will post some pictures of the Tatorator and the Masonator. Lately, the two of them have really enjoyed the ever-important laundry basket. Who needs LeapFrogs and doll houses when you can just give them a laundry basket?

Who says you can't wear a shirt as a hat? I think Kendall is a fashionista at heart.....she is unconventional (upside down vest over footy pajamas) and she thinks outside of the box.

Here is the awesome cupcake hat I ordered on etsy....some other children I know may be getting this for christmas. My cupcake looks pretty cute in her cupcake hat.

So disturbing and yet soooo interesting and still soo

GROSS!!!!! WARNING THIS IS A GROSS POST AND YET SCIENTIFICALLY/MEDICALLY STIMULATING!!!! I heard about this article while driving in my car....so when I had the chance, I went over to it. The NY Times has this article about teratomas. A teratoma is a type of cyst. (Read on...this is going to get crazy!) So this true story is about this young woman who goes in to the hospital with migraines and ends up in a coma and they can't figure out what is wrong with her. So they do a bunch of tests and "The only thing that showed up was a tiny cyst on her left ovary. One resident suggested that this tiny cyst, known as a teratoma, could be the cause of her coma. Clark had seen teratomas. They were common in the reproductive tract, often found accidentally in the course of an operation or on a scan done for some other reason. These strange cysts have been a source of fascination since their discovery in the 19th century because, although smooth and normal-appearing on the outside, on the inside they often contain hair and teeth and other tissues not normally seen in the reproductive system. " COME TO FIND OUT--teratomas can make brain cells (and some reports show rudimentary hearts..)--"Somehow the immune system mistakenly identifies these cells as “foreign” and makes antibodies to destroy them. These antibodies go on to attack the same kind of cells in the brain. " So as a result, that is why they think she was having migraines and went into a coma. CONCLUSION: they removed the hair and teeth containing teratoma and she was fine....all was good in the world. IS THAT JUST EWEY GOOEY????? WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING....I am about to show you a picture of a teratoma. It is gross, don't look if you will be sick.

Plastic Sux

From Yahoo--this was a good resource When it says CODE down below, that is the little recycling symbol on the bottom of your bottle with a number on it. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) can leach phthalates, known male reproductive toxicants. It can be identified by code 3. One way to avoid it in the kitchen is by choosing plastic wrap made from polyethylene rather than PVC. If a box is not labeled, find a brand that is or call the manufacturer. Polystyrene is used in Styrofoam products. It may leach styrene (a neurotoxin) when it comes into contact with hot, acidic, or fatty foods. It's marked with recycling code 6. Polycarbonate can leach bisphenol-A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor associated with a long list of health concerns. Baby bottles, "sippy" cups, 5-gallon water jugs, and reusable beverage bottles are typically made out of this plastic. Products may be marked with recycling code 7 (also includes any plastic that doesn't fit into the 1 to 6 recycling code categories) and/or the letters "PC." In response to the widespread concerns about BPA, baby bottles and other items made from alternative materials are springing up. Experts say stainless steel is your best bet for reusable water bottles right now. ThinkSport and Klean Kanteen are two widely available brands. The following plastics are considered safest for food storage. Glass and stainless steel are also good options. Polyethylene terephthalate ethylene (PETE), code 1. High-density polyethylene (HDPE), code 2. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), code 4. Polypropylene (PP), code 5.

There is this certain store....

which we will call PBK. This store/catalog has really cute things, some affordable, many not. I have bought a few things there (on sale.) But what cracks me up is in the new christmas catalog--they have this kitchen, THE GOURMET KITCHEN:

It is super cute, right? Except for the friggin price tag.....you can buy the set for a bargain price of $897....but if you buy each thing individually, the frig, the stove, the sink---they are each $299.00 Yes, you heard me right, $299 each

So I truck it on over to sears.com and they have this:

Together you can get a real fridge and a real range for $800, which is till less then the play kitchen from PBK....and you can make real cookies, not those fake plastic cookies.

Goodness

When I think of voting today, I have a lot of pride. But what keeps popping in my head is this beautiful and powerful song by Mason Jennings: (I would put a video on but I can't seem to locate one of him actually singing it--but I did find one of this girl--not exactly the same thing, but you get the point....thanks kstewart214) The Ballad of Paul and Sheila Mason Jennings October morning, little plane on the forest floor Up on the tv between a rerun and another war Here in a hotel, trying to make some sense of this Two thousand miles from my family in minneapolis Hey senator, i wanna say All the things you fought for did not die here today Hey senator, i'm gonna do All the things i can to live my life more like you lived A story of a love undivided for thirty-nine years Strong when it counted through the hard times and the fears Together forever, that was always what it was about No hesitation, there was never any doubt Hey hey sheila, i want to say All the things you fought for did not die here today Hey hey sheila, i'm gonna do All the things i can to live my life more like you Hey senator, i wanna say All the things you fought for did not die here today Hey hey sheila, i'm gonna do All the things i can to live my life more like you

Little Boy Smell

It is sort of a combination of dirt, sweat, sweetness, cooties, goobers, boogers, bananas, gummed up cracker and cookie juice and bacteria---but boy, does it smell good. I know, I am a freak, but little kids have that little kid smell and it just smells so comforting.

Fall photos from the world's largest leaf pile

Thanks to Vikki, our neighbor, for taking the pictures and letting us bathe in her leaf pile. And good vibes going out to her husband, Barry, who is competing next week in the Ironman Triathlon Qualifer in Florida. Go Barry!!!

Ahhh, ain't they so cute.....

The Warty Hog....poor guy can't help it if he has warts.

"Kendall, I am pretty sure we are the cutest chicks in this joint."

Here is Mason enjoying the Flamingos, just like Damma.

Who says Monkeys and Lions can't be friends?

Who says the Grizzly Bear can't celebrate Halloween? Taken today at the Minnesota Zoo where we were celebrating Hallzooween. The Grizzly exhibit is fairly new and the Grizzly's were very happy to get some pumpkins today.