Samantha Pierce

Yeah I know it's Saturday but still I'm thankful for/that: The rain stopped long enough for us to not get soaked during the hayride on Friday night. Ethan got to roast marshmallows. I was able to intercept the flaming marshmallow that Ethan wanted me to blow out before it touched anyone. The trees are putting on their fall finery. Chef Ethan helping dad make dinner. Isaiah goes to bed when we tell him it's bed time. I wish he would rub off on his brother and sister in that respect. The opportunity to speak with law makers about autism and disability issues. What are you thankful for?

It seems that autism is on people's minds again. I've been made aware of two up coming opportunities for central New Yorkers to discuss the topic with local politicians. I'm planning on taking advantage of both opportunities. Any suggestions for what I should say/ask? Assembly Republican Regional Forum on Autism Awareness Thursday, October 2, 2008 10 AM- 12 Noon Onondaga County Legislative Bldg 401 Montgomery Street Syracuse, NY The public is invited, BUT YOU MUST CALL TO RSVP first: contact Bernadette VanDeinse-Office of Public Affairs (518) 455-5073. Meet the Candidates Forum on Disability Issues When: Thursday, October 23, 2008 1:00pm to 4:00pm Where: Rosamond Gifford Community Room 518 James St., Syracuse Sponsored by ARISE- Consumer Council, ADAPT/Disabled in Action of Greater Syracuse and Self-Advocacy Association of NYS. Program: 1:00pm – 2:00pm – Candidates for U.S. Congress 2:00pm – 2:15pm – Break, refreshments 2:15pm – 4:00pm – Candidates for NYS Senate and Ass...

Fall off the wagon last week but I'm back this week. Today I am thankful for/that: A combination of hubby's supper geek computer skills, his near pathological patience and persistence with electronic equipment, and God's grace and mercy saved us from a very expensive data recovery process. Ethan and Sophia building a time machine on the back porch. Isaiah: Pennygon. Pantygon. Pantygon. Pentagon! Pen Ta Gon! Pentagon! Apparently there was a discussion about pentagons in his classroom sometime this week. Sometimes he reminds me of those language translator gadgets/programs that you see on scifi shows trying to learn a funky new language that is nothing like anything the show regulars have encountered before. The program/gadget struggles to learn the new language occasionally spitting out a word here or there that the regulars understand with the rest being unintelligible. Isaiah's going to take a bit longer than one episode to figure out this whole spoken language thing ...

Seven years seems like so long and at the same time not so long at all. Seven years on the edge of the shock, anger and sadness has dulled a bit. But there are still times when it feels like it is all happening right now. We can't ever forget what happened that day seven years ago lest we relax our vigilance and the ravening horde strikes again.

A lot of um, stuff, has hit the fan since the announcement of Sarah Palin as John McCain's vice presidential pick. One doesn't expect someone to carry their political opponent's water but this is a bit much. You can keep track of the worst of it at the blogs below. Sarah Palin Sexism Watch Palin Rumors ( backup site in case the main one goes down) If I find more such sites I'll post them. Technorati Tags: mccain , palin , rumors Generated By Technorati Tag Generator

Now here is an interesting argument. A pro-life stance is the lesser of two evils when the other choice is aborting a particular segment of the population based on their genetic profile. The linked post is a call to support McCain/Palin because of the demonstrated pro-life stance of the Republican ticket. I have noticed a certain cognitive dissonance in the online autism community on the issue of abortion. For the most part it seems that abortion is okay unless the individual to be aborted was selected for termination based on their genetic profile. Armed with the knowledge that upwards of 90% of babies who test positive for Down Syndrome are aborted autistic advocates and advocates for autistic individuals rightly fear the development of prenatal tests to detect the potential for autism. The post I linked to above generated the following comment that illustrates the conflict between wanting to protect the life and rights of the unborn autistic individual and wanting to continue abort...

I needed to catch up on sleep last night so I skipped the RNC broadcast. Anne Althouse live blogged the whole thing though. Technorati Tags: mccain , palin , rnc , election , obama , biden Generated By Technorati Tag Generator

Today I am thankful for/that: The first day of school. Although I don't think I'm as thankful for it as the kids are. Ethan was ready to go back on Tuesday. Apple picking season. In a few more weeks I should be recovered enough to take advantage of it. My church family. They are keeping us well fed as I recover. Jewel is diligently working on growing a double chin. All babies should have a double chin. What are you thankful for?

I wasn't planning on staying up for the convention but the baby intervened. Since she refused to sleep I'm still up and watching. I caught some of Michael Steele's speech, "Drill Baby! Drill Baby!" Yes please! I also caught most of Romeny's speech, not bad. Now I'm listening to Huckabee. It was worth losing sleep to hear Huckabee drop a Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure reference with regard to Obama's trip to Europe and the comment about Palin getting more votes running for mayor of Wasilla than Biden got running for president. 10:09 PM EDT Oh Giuliani is being rough on Obama. He's got the crowd chanting, "Zero! Zero! Zero!" with regard to Obama's experience. That whole voting present business will be hard to dodge. "Change is not a destination just as hope is not a strategy." Ouch. 10:20 PM EDT "If I were Biden I'd get that VP thing in writing!" Oh Giuliani is merciless! 10:27 PM EDT That whole busines...

Diane Rehm just confirmed that Alaska governor Sarah Palin will be McCain's Vice Presidential pick. I'll post the audio when it becomes available ( here you go ). Maybe this election season will be interesting after all. I wonder what the debates are going to be like. A lot of people are asking who Sarah Palin is. For those of us who have been following the election this year she is a pretty good pick for vice president for the GOP. Blog Reactions NBC Confirms Gov. Sarah Palin As McCain VP Choice McCain Hits It Out of the Park With Palin (UPDATE: ABC says Palin is not the pick -- still in Alaska, UPDATE: CNBC says it is Palin, now confirmed by many sources) The McCain VP choice: Not Huck, Romney, Pawlenty, or Palin(?); Palin buzz alive, multiple sources confirm Palin for America: A true conservative It's a girl? It’s Official! Sarah Palin is McCain’s Veep! McCAIN CHOOSES Brilliant (UPDATED) McCain-Palin Ticket: Reaction By A Swing Voter Instapundit News Reports Alaska Gov....

Hey it's Thursday! Almost forgot. Today I am thankful for/that: Lots of things that escape me right at the moment. Mom finally made it into town this evening despite a few break downs of the bus on the way. Hubby ended up picking her up on the highway between our house and the bus station after the bus finally give up the ghost so near the end of its long journey. I remembered to pack a spare change of clothes for baby in the diaper bag. Of course baby's first blow out happened in the car on the way to the grocery store but we were prepared. Sophia, the most helpful little big sister in the world. She's a little too helpful sometimes but she's never been a big sister before. She's patiently waiting for Jewel to get bigger and play ball and dress up. What are you thankful for?

After this experience this is rather unwelcome news, Mumps Outbreak in Vancouver . There are more details and commentary on the story here . The resurgence of diseases that were previously controlled by vaccination could make one consider questioning people about the vaccination status of their children. If we were more social types I might consider it. But it raises the question of, Mixing unvaccinated children with vaccinated children: Whose rights prevail? . For my part I'd really rather not run the risk of having an unvaccinated individual pass something on to my newborn or to one of the older kids who's vaccines didn't quite take. But how many people say, hey just in case you're immune-compromised or something, we don't vaccinate our kids? This response from the comment thread has a certain amount of appeal: Personally I solve the problem very simply. Simple scenarios. 1) Me: Do you vaccinate you children? Parent: UM, why? Me: Out! 2) Me: Do you vaccinate you...

While we were in the hospital for Jewel's birth someone, or maybe several people, on staff was exposed to mumps ( wiki entry ). Everyone on the maternity floor, down to the housekeeping staff and the lunch lady, had to wear masks at all times. I was not thrilled. I wondered if the exposure came from someone who was not vaccinated. Who knows, but with a full patient load in maternity and labour and delivery one floor above the potential for an outbreak was, and still is, great. The whole episode reinforced my decision to make sure all of my kids get the recommended vaccines on time. At any rate, the media seem to be catching on that falling rates of vaccination put the public health at risk. Measles, Once Declared At An End, Makes A Return Jump in US measles cases linked to vaccine fears As Diseases Make Comeback, Why Aren't All Kids Vaccinated? It is interesting, no maddening, to note the comments of those insisting that vaccines cause autism on the Glen Reynolds article. Thes...

Today I am thankful for/that: Jewel Elisabeth (more pics of the peanut here ). Sophia didn't drop Jewel when she decided to pick her up to stop her from crying. I turned from Ethan's door to find her standing outside the baby's room beaming that she had stopped Jewel's crying. Sophia now has firm instructions to come get mommy if the baby cries. A new birth story to tell. All hail nap time! What are you thankful for?

A day late again but still I am thankful for/that: Isaiah's usual response to, "Bed time!" is to immediately head for his room. We always got a kick out of his reaction to being put to bed when he was a baby. Once we set him down he would take one look around the playpen and then do a face plant into the mattress. It was an amusing contrast to Ethan who would take forever (and sometimes still does) to fall asleep. Cooler than usual August weather. Despite a maddening reluctance to vacate the premises (namely me) baby is a-okay on the ultrasound. Modern cold medicines. Although they don't seem to be doing me all that good they are keeping Sophia happy. Her good humor lasts almost exactly as long as her cold medicine persists in her system. Warm showers. These days I feel like each one could be my last for awhile. What are you thankful for?

Sophia sneezed on me four times on Sunday. Then Ethan sneezed twice. By bedtime on Sunday Ethan had developed the sniffles. He's been sniffly the last few days and coughing on occasion. Sophia and Isaiah have so far not been afflicted. Hubby is almost always congested so there's no telling what's up with him. I have been nursing a stuffy nose and headache for the last couple of hours. I've never had to go through labour and delivery with a head cold before. Should be interesting, not. Update: 8/14/08 As of about 4:00 AM Sophia has a cough and stuffy nose (despite denying it when questioned about it in the daylight hours). Isaiah was coughing a bit as he was getting dressed for school. Now we're all sick!

As summer break winds down we're staring down the barrel of the start of the fall semester. Students living off campus are starting to trickle back into the neighbourhood. My advice to these returning students is simple. Cheerfully wandering through the neighbourhood during daylight hours smiling to others on the street and admiring gardens and such will get you a warm welcome and maybe a dinner invitation or a batch of homemade cookies. Wandering the neighbourhood after dark, especially way after dark, in a noisy and possibly chemically enhanced state just might get you on the business end of a super soaker that may or may not contain water. I'm just sayin'.

Today I am thankful for/that: A slightly cooler than usual August. The last time I was pregnant in August it was one of the hottest summers in recent memory. I'm rather relieved that I don't have to go through that again. The rain fed growth in my garden. Okay so it's all over grown because I haven't had the energy for yard work for the past month or so but the purple cone flowers are doing great this year. I'll try to get a picture of them up soon. Helping hands. Regular phone calls inquiring after my well being. Though I did answer one phone call this morning, "If you ask me if I'm still pregnant I'm hanging up." One can only tolerate hearing the question so many times before getting a little cranky. Caller ID so you know if it's safe to be cranky or if you have to try to be pleasant when you answer the phone, or if you shouldn't bother answering the phone at all. Back to school shopping! Although it doesn't hold the same excitement f...

I think this a bit much how about you? Technorati Tags: obama , politics Generated By Technorati Tag Generator

Alright Sis1 no need to freak out. The previously snake free (except for a few pets) island of Barbados now has its own native species. The smallest species of snake so far discovered by scientists. This species can curl up comfortably on a US quarter. Most regular folk would probably mistake it for a worm or a millipede . I have the feeling that Sis2 may have bashed some of these with a rock when she went through a creepy crawly hunting and bashing stage when she was little. Spaghetti-Thin Snake Is World's Smallest Technorati Tags: snake , barbados , caribbean , west indies Generated By Technorati Tag Generator