Rotavirus - Don't take it lightly!

I regretted not giving my infant Rotavirus Vaccine! Today is the 6th day since my baby girl was infected and is still having diarrhea, vomiting and fever. It's too late to give her the vaccine now.

The worst is she won't take her milk or her medicine. She is always lethargic and is sleepy just an hour after she's woken from her last nap where normally she'll refuse to take her nap and stays active after 3 to 4 hours. We haven't seen her smile or liveliness for almost a week and our only worry now is if this continues, she will suffer from dehydration and might need to be hospitalized.

I had decided against giving my baby the vaccine as I thought I'm always careful and clean when handling my baby's food and I wash and sterilize her toys, mats and stuffs, so the virus won't have a chance near my baby... I was so confident I didn't even bother to read up on the virus despite the doctor's advise to do so. But no matter how careful or hygienic I try to be... I still won't be the only one holding my baby, feeding her or playing with her all the time...

I strongly urge all moms to go for the vaccine or at least do some reading up on the symptoms and prevention. The vaccine is given orally in 2 or 3 doses, 2 months apart and it has to be given to your baby by 32 weeks or 8 months of age according to the doctor.

Prevention is always better than cure! Don't live to regret it like I do.

Go Green! Save The Trees

Wanna study up on how to stop getting phonebooks?

If 10,000 of you opt out of a phonebook, you'll keep about 620 trees standing.

The Benefits
* More paper for textbooks. About 540 million unsolicited phonebooks arrive at American doors annually - takes a lotta trees to make those.

* Majoring in waste reduction. Phonebooks make for about 660,000 tons of trash every year.

* Extra credit: less annoyance. Just lugging phonebooks into the house when you know you'll never use them is a pain.

None of you have used a paper phonebook since the advent of Google SMS (send a text message to 466453 with business name and zip code, and you'll get the number and address sent to you).

Don't cheat yourself or the forest. Sign up and you'll never receive another paper phonebook.

* YellowPagesGoesGreen - enter your info here to get your name off the mailing list.

* Earth 911 - recycle your old phonebooks (if you have curbside recycling, just toss them in there).


Source from http://www.idealbite.com

Pass it on!

"Lego" Frame for My Baby's Keepsake

Remember my baby's clay footprint which I mentioned in an earlier post that I had no idea what to do with it? Think I've found just what I needed...

The amazing "Lego" Frame!!

It's easy to use too! Just remove the top & bottom of the frame.

Open up the case with the transparent film.

Put the clay footprint in between the film.

Press it together (see how the film stretches).

Put back the top & bottom of the frame.

And it's done! Perfect!

You can even use it for your precious collections, be it photos, toys, or your favorite rings & watches etc...

The film is quite stretchable so you can actually frame any item that fits within the frame (except for sharp items that might puncture the film). And if you decide to replace it with other items, just place the frame over warm water & the film will shrink back to its original shape again.

The frames comes in 3 different sizes (S, M, L), in 5 colors, and they are stackable too just like Legos! That's why I call it the Lego frame.. Got it! (*･.･)ﾉ

Help Fight Breast Cancer

Support the Atlanta 2009 3-Day Walk or the Philadelphia 2009 3-Day Walk.

Without a cure, an estimated 5 million Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer - and more than 1 million could die - over the next 25 years. That's a pretty startling statistic. No one should have to face this disease, so in order to create a future without breast cancer, please support Karen's walk in the Breast Cancer 3-Day.

Karen walked 60-miles over the course of three days in 2007 in Atlanta and raised over $12,000. That was her first year and she walked in honor of her mother’s three sisters and niece. She never knew then that she would be walking for her own sister in 2008. Her sister Louise was diagnosed with stage one lobular carcinoma and just began radiation. Without the research that this walk allows she may not have caught it early enough for treatment. She had walked in 2008 in Washington DC and then 3 weeks later in Atlanta. This year she rose $10.000.00. Her mother was at the walk in DC when she crossed into the holding area at the end. She turned 80 that day.

Karen & her mother.

Karen coming to the finish line.

Karen's mom overwhelmed at the finish line.

In 2009 Karen will walk with her sisters in Philadelphia.

Karen lost 3 aunts and a cousin to this disease and now she was faced with losing one of her five sisters also.

"I am just the vessel with which to raise the funds needed to find a cure for a disease that takes mothers from children, wives from husbands and daughters from mothers. The real hero's are the ones that fight this disease and beat it. They are our survivors and our warriors the ones that make it and blessed are the ones that do not." Said Karen to me in our email conversation.

Please make a donation to support her fundraising efforts. To make a donation, just follow the link below to visit her personal fundraising webpage at http://www.the3day.org/goto/kmcenheimer-Phil09 (or click at the title above). If you don't want to donate online, you can download and print a donation form from that page that you can mail in with your donation to:
Karen McEnheimer
PO Box 789
Lawrenceville, GA 30078

You can break the donations into 4 monthly payments, using the payment plan option available if you donate online at www.The3Day.org. Many companies have matching gifts programs, so please ask your employer if they will double your donation with a matching gift.

Please Support Karen In The Walk of a Lifetime!

Bible Art

These cool bible passage illustrations are one of the best I've seen so far. What I really like is how he can illustrate the verses better than I can interpret them. No wonder they say a picture speaks a thousand words!

Below are a few that I really like.

Mind Set (Colossians 3:2)

What is Faith? (Hebrews 11:1)

Real Treasures (Matthew 6:19-21)

These are drawn talented Mr Rick Green. There are lots more great drawings & illustrations on his blog and he does custom drawings too, do check him out!

Click on the title to visit his blog or go to http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/

And guess what, I had actually made a card on the same verse too!

To see more of my handmade cards, please visit my flickr Photostream.

Notebook

I use to keep about 2 to 3 journals going at the same time, one for notes, one for drawings and one for the random stuffs. I write everything down everywhere I go whenever I thought of a new idea, figured out how to go about doing my craft projects or when I see something interesting which could possibly turn into an inspiration for me.

I carry them with me all the time, but it’s getting quite difficult to do so now as my bags are filled with all my baby’s stuffs.Till I found this new notebook by Edward Monkton, which is slim, long, has both blank and lined pages.

Now I can make my notes on the lined page and do my drawings or mind mapping on the blanked.

And the front cover of the notebook itself.... is an inspiration already!

Click here to go back to Lit'l Brown Bird's Homepage.

Everything Is A Phase

Finally I can start sewing now after 5 months! She is able to play alone now, though for a while at a time. Still seems kinda unbelievable that my little one who so far seems to need my attention for every waking moment, is amusing herself with her little hands and feet!

Well, nothing goes on forever and just when you think you've reached breaking point, things will change again.

That's why I keep telling myself not to stress. Just take time to enjoy every moment I have with her even through all the feeding and vomiting, crying and fussiness and the sleepless nights because she won't remain baby forever and I know one day I will miss being close to her in that special way that I can only be when she is so little! So I'm trying to get as many cuddles as I can now.

This bit goes so quickly - everything is a phase - so make the most of every moment.

Baby Footprint Keepsake

Had a clay footprint of my baby when she was three months old. Made this from Amos i-clay, the world's softest clay which is soft and lightweight. It is also washable, crack free and feels like rubber when dry and won't break even if you drop it.

Haven't thought of what to do with this yet, probably make a two-sided felt frame one side for the footprint and the other for her photo.. just for keepsake.

Imagine the Possibilities

Joy of Being a Mom (Again)

Since becoming a mom, I’ve come to realize that there are so much more important things in life than ourselves and what we have going on. Being a mom also gives me the chance to relive things and appreciate things that I never took the time to appreciate.

My favorite part about being a mom is seeing little Megan grow and learn daily, amazed at every little thing, seeing her become her own individual and knowing that I’m responsible for teaching her about life and love. Sometimes I can just stare at her all day long in wonderment!

Since her 3rd week, she's been vomiting after every feeding and staying awake the whole night arching and crying almost every night. She's 4 months old now, though still has reflux but she's sleeping through the nights now waking only occasionally. But those were the countless sleepless and frustrating nights and I would never have surpass that stage without the support of my loving husband.

Being a mom has made me a more patient and loving person now. It's a true blessing to be a parent.