Samantha Pierce

Today I am thankful for/that: * I got Isaiah to the bathroom before he threw up. Now he's busy devouring a book of dry rice chex. Hopefully they will agree with him better than the fruit and gelatin did. Baby Jewel's first laugh. She's only done it once so far despite my best efforts to evoke another cute little giggle from her. With Halloween almost upon us I don't have much longer to endure all of the silly horror Halloween TV programming. All of this "spooky" television is getting on my nerves. The end of this seemingly unending election season is almost here. I hope and pray that we don't have to put up with any of the foolishness that we've seen of late. What are for thankful for? * Halfway through this list I went to investigate the cessation of the satisfied crunching noises coming from Isaiah. I found him standing on the kitchen counter in front of the cabinet where we keep the cereal. I got him to say/sign, "I want cereal." I guess h...

Today I am thankful for/that: The new furnace. Never before in this house at this time of year have I had to wonder, "Why is it so warm in here?" Home mad apple pie. Small children crashing through piles of autumn leaves. Although, the kids aren't all that small any more. Books! I forgot two more for this week: The kids aren't waking up at 6 o'clock in the morning any more. The sound of a happy baby with a full tummy. What are you thankful for?

Hubby: [Looking out the window] Is it snowing?! Sigh, yes it is. You know you live in central New York when the question is not will it snow by Halloween but how much will it snow by Halloween. Nothing is sticking but it got Sophia excited anyway.

From Left Brain/Right Brain : An email from Amy Pisani – a thoroughly charming lady who runs the organisation Every Child By Two – made me nod appreciatively today. I’ll quote it in full: It has been quite some time since Every Child By Two (ECBT) has asked you to take action on an issue related to immunizations. I write to you today with an urgent request for your assistance in reaching out to the Oprah Winfrey Show to urge that she dedicate a show to the science behind the question of whether vaccines cause autism. More than fourteen credible studies have been conducted worldwide exonerating vaccines and yet the media and entertainment industry continue to frame this as a debate. ECBT and our public health partners have reached out to Oprah’s producers countless times without success. However, I recently had a lengthy conversation with one of the producers who recommended that we initiate a letter writing campaign by commenting within the Oprah.com feedback section of the website....

Today I am thankful for/that: Hot running water. I finally got the last of the paint off of me from last week's painting. Just in time for another round of scraping, patching, sanding, priming, and painting. Autumn leaves. The bright colours never fail to amaze me. My computer is back in good working order. Modern medicine, particularly those lovely pharmaceuticals that do away with the microscopic critters that like to take up residence in the human body and cause trouble. What are you thankful for?

What, does the autistic population of North America have a sign on their collective backside saying "Kick Me"? Dennis Leary seems to think so and takes aim with one of the usual sticks used to beat autistics these days. According to some book he wrote most autistics are just dumb and lazy with bad parents. Dude, put or shut up. Where's the evidence to support your claims? It doesn't help that there are those who screech (yes I said screech) about how vaccines and "toxins" poisoned and/or stole their child from them pouring their money into unproven treatments and cures. I think most carefully thinking people know a scam when they see one. Especially when so many of the people pushing the idea that vaccines are involved in autism (despite all evidence to the contrary) are so conveniently also pushing cures and treatments for what they claim is wrong with autistic kids (autistic adults don't seem to exist in their minds). People are right to push back aga...

When I was a kid (alright I was a teenager) I wanted a purple bedroom. That never quite happened so I gave my daughter a purple room for her birthday. I had to talk her down from a deep dark purple but she's happy with the colour she got. She insisted on a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and purple sprinkles. I couldn't find purple sprinkles so I got some extra purple icing instead. She was so excited about her cake that she sampled it before I got to icing it hence the odd shape. More pictures of the festivities are at My Picture Blog .

Check it our. I'm actually posting this on a Thursday. So today I am thankful for/that: New friends. Old friends. Family. Warm blankets on cool nights. A sleeping baby. Cute chubby knees on said sleeping baby. The creative talent of my children even if it means I've got to clean up whatever creative mess they sneak off to make. Love. The election season is almost over. What are you thankful for?

This installment has been a bit over due but I've been busy ya know. Anyway, here are a few things heard in the house since early August. *** Ethan: [ Curled up in a blanket on a hot summer evening. ] Do not distrub. Me: I think you mean disturb . *** Hubby recorded this exchange: Context: I was trying to get information out of Ethan about the song he was playing on the organ, and I eventually got out of him that it wasn't something he sang at school but was the dance practice song from Mickey Mouse. I asked him something else (I can't remember what), and he was his often-unresponsive self. Sophia chimed in, "Daddy, he doesn't hear you. You should talk to me about it." *** Sophia: Daddy! I'm busy! Said as hubby plucked her off of Ethan who she was using as a trampoline. He was a willing trampoline but we had to stop her on principal. *** This exchange took place while I nursed Jewel. Ethan: She's eating your skin! Me: No she's drinking milk. E...

Hubby and I are tuned into the VP debate tonight which I may come to regret. Althouse is live blogging the debate. Well that wasn't so bad. Civil and instructive.

Today I am thankful for/that: I remembered on Thursday to do my Thankful Thursday post. Sleep, can't get enough of the stuff. Cheerful happy kids crawling all over grandma and grandpa and having a grand old time. Helping hands. Friends, new and old. Baking weather is here! This week alone I've made two batches of muffins, a loaf of apple bread, and a batch of apple crisp. I probably say this every year but, the dance of brightly coloured autumn leaves on eddies of wind. The opportunity to present a different more hopeful message about autism. What are you thankful for?

Well, I made it through today and made a few new friends. There were the expected mentions of vaccines. One woman even gave the panel a copy of Jenny McCarthy's latest book. There were also much more useful suggestions like getting better dental care for kids with disabilities and more social skills training opportunities for children and adults. Here's the text of the speech I gave at the New York State Assembly Republican Regional Forum on Autism Awareness. I made only one deviation to point out that a forum on autism awareness should seek out more autistic individuals to teach them about autism. Two of my four children are autistic. Every day my children make me proud to be their mother. I am continually amazed by the effort and creativity my autistic children display in trying to navigate a world that is so foreign, and sometimes hostile, to them. I am amazed by the compassion and understanding (traits so often lacking in adults) displayed by my children. Autism presents ch...

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?