April

April is National Child Abuse Prevention month.

Millions of American children suffer and fall victim to abuse or neglect everyday.

Here are some statistics:

courtersy of childhelp.org

• A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds.
Almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4.
Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
In 2007, approximately 5.8 million children were involved in an estimated 3.2 million child abuse reports and allegations.

Child abuse is a vicious cycle.

Education is a huge preventative.

Therefore, in my Child Development class I will be implementing weeks worth of lessons on child abuse.

Most young teen mothers and fathers do not even know what counts as neglect and abuse.

And one of the main causes of abuse is emotional immaturity.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with signs of abuse, whether it is physical, verbal/emotional, or sexual.

Gettin My Nutrition ON!

Once upon a time,

not so long ago,

I acquired a bachelors degree in Dietetics.

Now I'm a teacher after reassessing my goals and what I wanted from life.

But my love of nutrition has stayed.

I saw this book in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

I checked it out at my local library as something to help me make more simpler meals that take less time.

(Let's face it, I'm exhausted after raising and teaching 65 different kids a day! And cooking....well...)

But this book is SO much more!

It is about improving your diet so that you are healthier.

It teaches you about getting away from the packages and wrappers and going back to where food once came from.

It compares our epidemic of weight related diseases to what cigarettes were 50 years ago.

All the "easy way out packaged meals" and "fast foods" are packed with ingredients that ARE NOT EVEN FOOD!

The book basically teaches you step by step how to begin incorporating whole food items into your processed diets.

I know we are not that bad off, since afterall I know a good bit about this kind of stuff.

But it has been 7 years since I graduated, and new information is presented to us everyday.

So don't follow diet gimmicks, don't avoid certain foods, eat items in moderation.

And as a guide, pick up this book:

"Simple Foods for Busy Families"

By: Jeannette Bessinger, CHHC and Tracee Yablon-Brenner, RD, CHHC

Another plus, the authors are moms as well, so they incorporate tips for children who tend to be picky.

Oh, and those readers who are in my area, I have the only copy available amongst our libraries. If you want, I can let you know when I'm done!

Happy Reading and Learning!



Kids Say the Darndest Things

My son has been quite the artist in wording lately.

Not necessarily the words he has learned recently.

(Like things smell refreshing, not just "good").

But more or less the context and actions he adds to it.

For example:

The other morning when I was getting him to get dressed, he pulls down his underwear to moon me, and says, and I quote "How ya like that?"

Now, I have no idea where he could have gotten that from.

I assure you I do not walk around the house mooning my child, saying such things.

Another example:

Last night we were having a popcorn snack.

My son and husband were sitting next to each other on the sofa, and their conversation went as such:

Cy: "Hey Daddy, look at me."

J: Turns head in response "What?"

Cy: Breathes two puffs of breath in my husband's face and says

"And that's what popcorn breath is!"

I wanted to roll on the floor laughing :)

Little Rascal

Sorry about the red eye folks. My computer didn't want to fix it!

Friday Finds!

So it's a Friday morning,

the sun is shining,

and I am off of work still for our Mardi Gras holiday.

And I had the urge to go thrifting.

Look what I found!

I hit up 2 of our local thrift shops: Goodwill and The TARC Cedar Chest.

Just for knowledge, TARC stands for Terrebonne Association for Retarded Citizens.

It is an institution that was developed in our local area for mentally challenged citizens by a couple in 1952 who's daughter suffered brain damage from a high fever.

They create jobs and teach skills to the people so that they can live fulfilling lives.

When I have stuff to donate, I drop it off at their store instead of Goodwill, and I frequent often to shop.

Any little bit helps!

Anywho, I spent a total of $16.61!

At Goodwill, I got:

The bird cage candle holder for 2.99.

The other bird thing (not sure what to call it!) for 1.99.

A shirt and pair of shorts for Cy for 1.99 each.

And a shirt for me for 3.49.

I cannot guess what this would be, but I plan on finding some bud vases and putting flowers in it.

Besides, I just couldn't pass up the cute little bird!

Then at The Cedar Chest, I found:

A school uniform shirt for Cy for 1.50.

A race car book that you put a picture of your child in for the faces of the characters for $ .10

And the two bunnies were $.75 each.

I couldn't pass up the cute couple!

So here are my finds! I think I might start making the rounds once a month to see what treasures I find!

Have a great weekend!




EDIT: Duh! It's a condiment holder! And the freckin' bird came off! Super Glue to the rescue!