Adopted?

Isaac: Mom, Dad, was I adopted?
Aukai: Of course. Can't you tell you look nothing líke us?
Isaac: Cool!!!
Aukai: We're just joking, you weren't adopted. Mommy made you in her tummy. How do you feel about that?
Isaac: Wierd!

Potty Tales

1. I was at a public restroom with Isaac and my mother. While my mom was using the restroom, Isaac proudly announced to her, "Hey Grandma, that is the same potty I used!"
"Well , it must be a particularly clean potty, then," said his ever-validating Grandma. (Although, I must admit, I didn't quite follow her logic.)
"Oh yes, Grandma. I peed on the seat, but don't worry . . . I wiped it up!"

2. Ashton blocked Grandma into his bedroom and said, "Grandma, you can't leave until you say the secret password."
"Hmm, Ashton is wonderful?"
"Nope, that's not the secret password."
"Ashton is handsome?"
"No, that's not the secret password."
"Ashton is adorable."
"No, that's not the secret password."
"Please?" I chime in.
"No, that's not the secret password."
"Well, what is the secret password, then?"
*chuckles* "Poo-poos-pee-pees."
"Well, I think it should be Ashton is wonderful," Grandma affirms.
"Nope, that's not the secret password."

I had to leave for school at this point. I am not sure how long it took for my proper mother to escape her captor or bend down to saying "Poo-poo-pee-pees." If only I could have enjoyed it longer. :)

A case for vaccination

So I realized something important yesterday. Vaccines are like airplanes.

I have to be careful here because many of my favorite people have not vaccinated their kids. Why? Because they love their children very much and don't want to do anything to hurt them. There are many theories about the 'badness' of vaccines. Most of them are unfounded 0r disproved (like the autism theory); however, there are also very rare but very real instances of serious complications from vaccines.

I have a friend who is petrified of flying. He climbs, skis, mountain bikes, and kayaks, but you get him on a plane and it takes 3 shots of vodka before he is sloshed enough to sit still. It doesn't take his PhD to know his flight over the Atlantic is much safer than his every-day activities, but he cannot stand the feeling of being out of control should something happen.

The truth is, the risk of developing serious Chicken Pox is much greater than the risk of developing a serious side-effect from the vaccine; riding in a car is much more dangerous than boarding a plane, but few people have phobias of car rides. Just like riding in a car, illness feels familiar. We all know people who have gotten chicken pox, and most of them did fine. Besides, we have medicines, so we can control the outcome, right?

Well . . . kind of. Just like we can try to regain control of a spinning car.

When Isaac was born I did a lot of research on vaccines. I was terrified about knowingly giving him something that had even a small chance of HURTING him. And in truth I felt empowered by the idea of saying 'screw you, I've researched this' to my pediatrician. But in the end I decided to vaccinate because the evidence overwhelmingly showed its importance. Besides, I felt like I was doing something for the greater good. After all, the reason small pox virus is now extinct is because of a simple vaccine. Measles and polio could go the same way . . . if people would just universally vaccinate.

Answer to Yesterday's Riddle

Question decoding:

1. It fights white blood cells.

2. It gets inside your body.

3. It is really tiny.

Answer: A virus.

(Yes, he came up with this himself. This is the unfortunate side-effect of a mom as an (almost) doctor.)

Can you guess it?

For show and tell, Isaac brings three clues to help the class guess what his object is.
Here are the clues he wrote (by himself) for tomorrow:

1. It fits whiy blud sels.

2. It gits insid yuur bode.

3. Its rele tine.

Any guesses? (Hint: Tomorrow is "V" day.)

Sigh

My sister took this pic recently on a cabin trip in Utah. Oh, how I miss the mountains.

Reality Check

Today I sat through a lecture on military trauma in Iraq. I looked at pictures of children treated for injuries and thought about my conversation with Ashton. He wants a forcefield to protect himself from an imagined danger. These children need a forcefield to protect them from a real danger. The irony made me feel very small.