Weekend Lists, at home and in the news

At home:


• I have a new motivation to declutter and clean house.
  
  I was on the phone with a friend and stepped into the dining room to look for a book she wanted to borrow. As I stepped back to see the shelves more clearly, my foot landed on something sharp. In the reflex of getting off it as quickly as possible, I managed to step on it with my other foot as well.
  
  At first I thought there were two or more sharp objects--maybe staples or something. But no. It was a circular rotary cutter that I'd bought on sale, still in the package. I thought it was just the frame, but obviously there was a blade in there too. It cut right through the cardboard and right into my foot. Don't ask me how, but I feel pretty foolish that I managed to cut both feet on a single blade.
  
  ##########
  
  I'm very thankful for two things: First, that it was me and not one of the kids that stepped on it. Secondly, that the mounting prevented the blade from going more than a quarter inch or so into each foot, maybe 3/8" at most. Each cut is less than an inch long and, of course, deeper in the center than on the ends. They're clean cuts and should heal quickly, I think, though it took a while for the bleeding to stop. One is on my left heel and the other in the arch of my right foot. The arch feels a bit itchy and tingly in the cut and in my toes, so I'm wondering if it was deep enough to affect a small nerve or something.
  
  The funny thing is that my friend didn't have a clue what I'd just done. I probably let out a gasp or squeak of some sort, but I must have continued the conversation on auto-pilot as I picked up the package, looked to see what had "bitten" me, walked into the kitchen, laid the rotary cutter package on the table, and ascertained that I was bleeding from deep cuts on both feet.
  
  I calmly said, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to go now. I just stepped on a razor blade and cut up my foot, and I need to go deal with it. I'll talk to you later." Then I hung up the phone, sat on the couch and applied pressure to the cuts, one hand on each foot.



• That reminds me a little of when Sis and I got into a pretty bad car accident, and I finished the sentence I was in the middle of saying first, and then paused before I reacted to the accident at all.



• I am working on clearing out the dining room tonight. Clutter is one thing; real safety hazards are another. Plus, we're having company this weekend; a friend I haven't seen in several years, along with her three little girls. You can probably expect to see some "after" photos to follow up these ones soon.



• Baby E is doing better today. Two teeth have broken through her gums and two more are close to emergence. She's mostly only coughing and sniffling now when she sneezes. She is still rather fussy and touchy, and is reigning Temper Tantrum Queen of the house.



• Baby E's other new favorite activity is communicating with gestures. She had been using various gestures sporadically, and occasionally repeating us when we did them, but this week something really seemed to click for her and she's using more of them, regularly and repeatedly in the correct contexts. She is so proud of herself, waving to say hello and goodbye, signing "milk" when she's hungry (although she uses it to apply to all foods), and signing "all done" when she's finished with something. She also covers her mouth with her hand when she sees me coming with something she doesn't like, and is delighted with the game of throwing things on the floor for us to pick up.



• Baby E is 10 months old today. MM will be 4 later this month. Where does the time go?



• MM is getting more proficient at reading. She can easily find words like Tylenol on a grocery list, and today she brought me a book and read me "One, Two, Buckle my shoe." She's also quite eager to help with things from caring for the baby to putting things away.



• AJ is becoming increasingly concerned about the happiness and comfort of those around her. She's often offering to share or give things to her sisters, comforting them when they're sad, entertaining them and expressing love to us all. It's very sweet.



• I really like my kids. Have you noticed?



• My husband is pretty great, too. He's been helping so much around the house lately. Today he took care of the kids while I slept, then brought me breakfast in bed (French toast and applesauce).



• I need to figure out what the kids and I are going to do for him for Father's Day. Any suggestions?



• Now that I've edited the relevant posts, I no longer seem to be getting hits from adult-oriented searches on my blog

In the news:


• A recent study suggests that a large percentage of autistic children had chronic bowel inflammation caused by the MMR strain of measles colonizing the gut. Most articles seem to be focusing on the MMR/autism link, but for me it brings up other questions. We know that the chicken pox vaccine among others can cause a chronic or recurrent low-grade infection of the disease it's trying to prevent; is this what we're seeing here? What would be the health implications of a vaccine that can result in a chronic underlying case of a disease like measles? Interesting questions.



• Here's a disturbing article about how many late-term abortions are performed for minor, easily-correctable defects such as club feet, extra toes, webbed fingers and cleft palates in the UK.
  
  According to a study by David Mutton, Roy G Ide, and Eva Alberman; Trends in prenatal screening for and diagnosis of Down's syndrome: England and Wales, 1989-97: "From 1989 to 1997, 92% of cases diagnosed prenatally and with known outcome were terminated" as a result of a positive test screening for Down Syndrome. It's relevant to note that probably 2% of the prenatal diagnostic tests are false positives, and only a very small percentage of people with Down's Syndrome end up with severe incorrectible physical abnormalities or severe mental retardation.
  
  On a somewhat related note, according to the pro-choice research organization the Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Women rarely report that fetal defects or potential problems for the baby motivated their decision to have an abortion." Somewhere between 0.1 to 3% of abortions performed in the USA are for reasons of fetal abnormalities (and only 8% of those giving "possible fetal defect" as a reason are cases in which doctors or test results suggested there might be abnormalities), and about the same number are for reasons of maternal health.
  
  I wonder how much the easy access to abortion changes peoples' attitudes toward less-than-perfect children and less-than-perfect situations into which they're born?