1. Adam Lambert

2. Jasmine

3. Johanna

4. Kristen

5. Danny

6. Tatianna

7.Daniel

8. kai

9. (can’t remember her name: sounds like kelly clarkson)

10. Alexis

These are my personal top ten predictions. I will not change my predictions through out the show! I like to do this every year, and see how right, or wrong I was. So When the top ten are picked, we will see how accurate my predictions were!! For fun, I am going to show my husbands choices as well. Here they are:

1. Anuk

2. Adam

3. “blind guy” (need to look up his name)

4. Allison

5. Danny

6. Matt

7. Brent

8. Jackie

9. AnnMarie

10. Oil rigger guy last name “sarver”

Stay tuned, and check back to see how accurate we were, and let me know what your predictions are!

Some of you that visit my blog, might have been wondering where I have been, or rather why I haven’t been posting the past few days. I just got home from the hospital with my soon to be 8 month old.

A few days ago, I noticed a bad sounding cough and I was a little worried, so I called the doctor, who told us to go to the emergency room. When I got to the e.r, they immediately sent us to see the doctor because my sons breathing was bad. After being given a breathing treatment and a steroid medicine they sent us home.

The next morning my son started sounding very bad at around 3a.m, he was making grunting, grasping noises between his coughing. I felt it inside that something was wrong. So off to the hospital again we went. Once again they rushed him right to the doctor, and started breathing treatments again, after two treatments they realized he was sounding bad, and not getting better, so they decided to admit my son. After a nasal test, they confirmed he had RSV, this is comparable to bronchitis, and can be deadly for babies.

So for the past few days my little one has been in the hospital, having breathing treatments done, and taking Prednisone, a steroid to help the swelling of the lungs.

Finally, today the doctor decided he sounds good enough to come home. So here we are, back at home. We have to continue to give our son breathing treatments at home, as well as give prednisone. Hopefully if he stays well, we won’t have to take him back to the e.r.

I want to say to all you parents out there, please watch your little ones very carefully. A cough, or cold can turn into something way worse in an instant. The sooner you catch it, and seek medical attention, the better off your little one will be.

Thanks, for reading about my son, and RSV. For those of you that believe in prayer, please keep my son in yours.

I ran into my husband almost 8 years later, at a baseball game. He was playing, and he caught my eye. A few days after that, we spoke on the phone and decided to meet. To keep a long story short, we haven’t been apart since then, we got married and had a baby boy.

Now, to get to the moral of this story. My husband has 2 other children, due to circumstances he was never able to be around for the majority of the pregnancies, and never seen any of them be born.

So, our baby boy, he is now 8 months old, and this time he was around for the entire pregnancy, and for the birth. It was such an amazing thing for him to be a part of. All through the pregnancy, my husband was so nervous. He wasn’t sure how he would handle seeing a baby being born, and he didn’t know if he was going to be a good birth coach. It was really kind of cute how nervous my husband was.

The day came, to give birth to our son, it was around 3 in the morning. I woke up and knew right away that the baby was coming. My husband was sleeping, and I tried to wake him up, and didn’t have much success. There had been a few pre term labor hospital visits, so we got used to false alarms! Anyhow I had to have a friend scream in his ear on the phone, to wake him up. We didn’t get to the hospital until around 6 or 7 in the morning, and by that time I was in full blown labor, and in pain!

Labor was pretty fast, my husband made it through, and did a great job standing by  my side and helping me through the contractions. After the birth, he even took care of the baby and let me rest. He looked so happy, and proud to be a daddy again. But unlike any other time, he got to be a part of it all this time.

Our son

What I’m going to tell you next, is the point of this story. After getting to go through all these amazing things together. My husband was talking to some family and friends about the whole thing. I over heard him say that, he loved and cared about me all along, but after seeing me give birth to our son, he has a whole new respect for me, and sees me a whole new way.

That was one of the nicest things, he has ever said and I will always charish those words. I wanted to share this with you readers because I think it is so important for dads to be a part of pregnancy and births of their children. Even if you aren’t going to be in a relationship with your unborn childs mother, you still need to be a part of it, because your child being born is a huge deal. I like to say if you can take the time to make a baby, then you can take the time to be a part of the rest of the steps.  I think this story speaks for itself, as to how it affects a man, to be a part of one of lifes greatest miralces……….Life!

My husband and our son.

Today, getting a tattoo has become very popular. All across America, people of all ages are paying big bucks to have a tattoo artist put anything from, names, to graphics, to symbols all over their bodies.

Getting a tattoo is, legal for ages 18 and older, throughout America. However, it has become quite easy for teens to get a tattoo done by a home made tattoo gun, and by an unprofessional. In some cases, a teen is allowed to get a tattoo, if a parent is present and with signed consent.

I would like to know what YOU think, of teens getting tattoos. Should it be legal? Should it be ok to get one with a parent consent? Do you think in most cases people regret tattoos?

I will let you know my opinion, and I hope you will comment back with yours.

I think most tattoos are regretful. In that certain moment, based on what you are feeling, you pick that perfect tattoo. Who is to say, that later on in life your views and likes won’t change? What if that sexy tattoo that you got on your chest, or back, or for a woman on her breast, turns to mush, when you grow old and your skin starts to sag? And what if that name, of that boy, or girl whose name you got a tattoo of ends up being your worst enemy? You see what I’m saying! I mean, for the most part I think it’s incredibly stupid to get a tattoo, because it’s too permanent, in an unpredictable life that we live.

As for teens getting tattoos. This is a bad, bad epidemic! Teens are way too young to get something so permanent put on their bodies. I mean, I can look back when I was a teen, and what kinds of things I liked then. I most certainly would not appreciate, having a tattoo of something from the 80’s, that I’m not into now, or a design or graphic, that I was into then. If that was the case, I think I would be walking around with peace signs, and hearts with swords through them. I would totally regret that now!

All this being said, I do have two tattoos, and I regret them both! I have a heart with a snake wrapped around it ( I, at the time said I was never going to love again, and so the snake was to guard my heart from loving again ) and after 5 years in a relationship, I got a mans name on my arm, in old English ( I’m divorced from that person now and it has been a task to cover it up ).

So, if you are thinking of letting your teen get a tattoo, or maybe you are a teen, you might want to think twice about getting that ever so permanent ink put into your skin. People change their minds too much, and you never know what you are going to be like in ten years. Think long and hard about whether getting a tattoo is a good idea or not.

I was quite torked when they let that comedian guy through, you know the guy who said to Simon “you hurt me where it hurts to get kicked”. I mean come on! This is almost as bad as when they let Sonjraya through, and yes I’m pretty sure I am spelling that wrong. Anyhow that guy could not sing.

Simon seems to be a little softer this year, he even called a girls employer to make sure she could get her job back, since she didn’t make it on to hollywood.

Paula seems to like having a 4th judge, so much to the point of attempting a make believe, make out session with her! I was a bit shocked to see her do that.

Randy is looking quite well, his surgery did him well, he looks healthy and alot thinner.

My husband and kids are, excited for hollywood time to start. It has been fun so far, gathering as a family, laughing together, and sharing our opinions on the contestants.

I hope you all are enjoying my posts and continue to stop by and read about my views, thoughts and information on all aspects of parenting and kids of all ages.

More American Idol talk next week!!

Go to this link:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm#Brownie

The latest recall covers peanut butter, peanut paste, peanut meal and granulated products, as well as all peanuts - dry and oil roasted shipped from the factory.

Topics on this Page
Brownie Product Recalls
Cake Product Recalls
Candy Product Recalls
Cookie Product Recalls
Cracker Product Recalls
Fruit and Vegetable Product Recalls
Ice Cream Product Recalls
Peanut Butter Product Recalls
Peanut Paste Product Recalls
Pet Food Product Recalls
Pet Food Peanut Paste Product Recalls
Pre-Packaged Meals Product Recalls
Snack Bar Product Recalls
Snack Mix Product Recalls
Download All Recalled Peanut Butter Products

Brownie Product Recalls
Avanza Supermarket
Chef Jay’s
Econofoods (excluding Wisconsin stores in Sturgeon Bay,

Clintonville, Marquette, Holton and Iron Mountain)
Family Fresh Market
Family Thrift Center
Food Bonanza
Pick’n Save (Ohio stores in Van Wert and Ironton only)
Prairie Market
SunMart Foods
Wholesale Food Outlet

Cake Product Recalls
Avanza Supermarket
Econofoods (excluding Wisconsin stores in Sturgeon Bay,

Clintonville, Marquette, Holton and Iron Mountain)
Family Fresh Market
Family Thrift Center
Food Bonanza
Pick’n Save (Ohio stores in Van Wert and Ironton only)
Prairie Market
SunMart Foods
Wholesale Food Outlet

Candy Product Recalls
Blanton’s
Hy-Vee
Landies
Rain Creek Baking Company
Rain Creek Baking Corporation
Sinbad
SinbadSweets.com
South Bend Chocolate Company
Wegmans Swiss Recipe

Cookie Product Recalls
ABC
Archer Farms
Arizona Gold
Avanza Supermarket
Baker Jo’s Peanut Butter
Best Brands Corp.
Chef Jay’s
Classic Breaks
Cub Foods
Dough-to-Go
Econofoods (Excluding Wisconsin stores in Sturgeon Bay,

Clintonville, Marquette, Holton and Iron Mountain)
Evening Rise
Family Fresh Market
Family Thrift Center
Famous Amos
Food Bonanza
Food Lion Bake Shop
Gigi’s
Gourmet Cookie Dough
Grandessa
Hy-Vee
Jimmy’s Cookies
Keebler
Lofthouse
One Smart Cookie
Ovens of Ashley
Parco Foods Chuck’s Chunky
Parker
Pastries Plus
Pick’n Save (Ohio stores in Van Wert and Ironton only)
Prairie Market
Sam’s Choice
SunMart Foods
Trader Joe’s
WalMart Bakery
Wholesale Food Outlet

Cracker Product Recalls
Austin Quality Foods
Cambridge
Keebler
Little Debbie
Meijer
ShopRite
Weis Quality

Fruit and Vegetable Product Recalls
Eating Right
H-E-Buddy
Ready Pac Cool Cuts
Trader Joe’s

Ice Cream Product Recalls
Meijer
Perry’s
Private Selection
Shurfine
Wegman’s

Peanut Butter Product Recalls
GRANDE GOURMET
King Nut
POCO PAC
Parnell’s Pride
Peanut Corporation of America or Parnell’s Pride
Unbranded for further distribution

Peanut Paste Product Recalls
Peanut Corporation of America or Parnell’s Pride

Pet Food Product Recalls
Carolina Prime
Carolina Prime Pet
Grreat Choice
Happy Tails
Healthy-hide Deli-wrap
Salix
Shoppers Valu

Pet Food Peanut Paste Product Recalls
Peanut Corporation of America or Parnell’s Pride

Pre-Packaged Meals Product Recalls
Dinners Ready
Sure-Pak

Snack Bar Product Recalls
Arbonne
Avanza Supermarket
CLIF BAR
Can Do Kid
Chef Jay’s
Econofoods (Excluding Wisconsin stores in Sturgeon Bay,

Clintonville, Marquette, Holton and Iron Mountain)
Evening Rise
Family Fresh Market
Family Thrift Center
Food Bonanza
GNC Triflex
Health Valley
Isagenix
Isagenix IsaLean
JamFrakas
Jenny’s Cuisine
LUNA
LÄRABAR
MOJO
NUTRILITE
Naturally Preferred
Nestle
NutriPals
NutriSystem
Optimum Energy Bars
Pick’n Save (Ohio stores in Van Wert and Ironton only)
Prairie Market
Promax
Promax 70
Shaklee
SunMart Foods
SunRidge
Supreme Protein
TITAN
TWISTED
Think Thin
Trader Joe’s
Whole Foods
Wholesale Food Outlet
Zone
ZonePerfect

Snack Mix Product Recalls
Avanza Supermarket
Econofoods (Excluding Wisconsin stores in Sturgeon Bay,

Clintonville, Marquette, Holton and Iron Mountain)
Family Fresh Market
Family Thrift Center
Food Bonanza
Pick’n Save (Ohio stores in Van Wert and Ironton only)
Prairie Market
SunMart Foods
Wholesale Food Outlet

This list gets updated daily so check it often! You can watch a video and read about the latest recalls also at this link:

cbsnews.com

With Valentines Day coming up you will want to be careful and check labels very carefully ( for peanut paste, granulated,peanuts roasted and dry, and meal ) watch the chocolates that have any thing to do with peanut butter!!

Stores are supposed to remove all of these products but sometimes mistakes happen, so please be very careful.

The Peanut Corporation of America in, Georgia has had 12 deficientcies between 2007 to present. There have been 2 strains of Salmonella found on the floor of the plant, and the sanitary conditions were of concern.

Please stay away from all peanut butter products until this issue is figured out. I mean everything from crackers to cookies, icecream, paste, spreads ect.

Be safe!!!!!

Recently, I heard a pretty heated discussion about young teens doing a pledge with their parents, to agree to stay a virgin until marriage, and to signify the agreement, the teen recieves a ring, which they wear until given a wedding ring.

As I listened to the discussion on this, I came to realize that there are alot of views on this subject. Some think it is a great idea, others think it sets your teen up for failure, some mentioned parents being hypocrites, and then there were those that said it was more important to educate our teens on sexual activity, rather than try to prevent them from having it, like it was a better idea to educate, rather than in a sense isolate our teens.

I personally think that all of the above ideas are important. I think with the rise of teen sex, it would be a good idea to talk openly to our teens about sex, and relationships, and to make sure they understand all aspects of the outcomes, and consequences of having sexual relations. I also think the purity ring idea is wonderful! I think that around the age of 12 or 13, I would want to do this with my teens, boys and girls. I would leave the choice up to them, and if they agreed I think it’s a great way to stay involved in our teens lives, and help them make the best choices possible.

I don’t think the idea of a purity ring pledge should ever be forced. I also think that parents need to remember to let their teens know that they can be open and honest about their personal choices. For example if the purity ring agreement was in place, and at some point your teen decided to engage in a sexual activity, they need to feel comfortable coming to us, to get proper protection and preventatives. I’m not saying that us parents are supposed to be happy about this, but we need to remember that those teens, who couldn’t talk to their parents and had to be sneaky about sex, are the ones who end up pregnant, or with std’s. We need to be supportive, open, and understanding as parents.

I personally believe, that if we talk to out teens and show interest, that they will be accepting of the purity ring idea. I also think that educated teens are more prone to wait longer to have sex than under educated teens. In our current times, I think we need to act sooner and at a younger age due to the influence, and pressures of society, television, music, and peers.

So what do you choose? Purity ring pledge? Educate? Openess? Start thinking about these options concerning your children, because as we well know, they grow up so fast!

My son, he is 5 years old, and started Kindergarten this year. I was very happy, and thought it was going to be a great experience for him. He went to Head Start for two years, and did well, so I wasn’t expecting any problems for Kindergarten.

It all started about a month, or so into the year, I started getting phone calls from the principal. My son had been caught pushing another boy, so he was placed on lunch detention. I was a little shocked, but figured it was just a social adjustment that he needed and, everything would be fine. Then I got another phone call, he had been playing a game of touch football at school, and got angry at some point in the game, and with his anger focused at one particular boy, he demanded that another boy, beat up this boy that had upset him. Needless to say, this boy acted on my sons request and did beat up this other boy! So this time my son was suspended from school for a day, and got 4 days of lunch detention. This time I was very concerned, I didn’t know why my son was doing these things, and decided to have a talk with the principal, and also decided to take him to a counselor.

I tried to talk to my son, and he just didn’t understand, and he just said he didn’t know why he was acting out like that. During the time I was waiting to hear back form the counselor, I was contacted again, this time by the bus driver. My son had a conflict with the same two boys that the touch football altercation had occurred with, there was some shoving and such between my son and one of the other boys, this time my son was choked in return.  My son was suspended form the bus for a whole week! The other boy got no punishment because it was self defense.

Finally, me and my son meet with a counselor, after some time evaluating him, she decided he has ADHD, and ODD. These are attention deficit hyperactive disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. I wan’t too sure what to think of these diagnosis, and am still not sure what to do, as far as medication. I pretty much am thinking against medication, I mean he is only 5, and I don’t want him to take narcotic type pills.

I have been doing all that I can with my son, to help him learn new ways of dealing with his anger. I have been doing skills training, and teaching him brain gym. We have been doing smile face charts for good behavior, and rewarding good behavior. It has been hard, and a struggle, and there have been days where, I wanted to fall down and cry my eyes out. I love my son and, I just want him to be happy, and have a good time at school, rather than always getting in trouble.

For all the parents out there that have a child with some sort of disability, I want you to know that I know what you are going through, and I want you to know that there are people to talk to. Just remember, that underneath the diagnosis, is a wonderful child just waiting to break through and overcome.

Thanks for reading, and hearing me out. I don’t usually do diary type entries but today, I felt the need to talk about it. Keep on keeping on, and just be the best parents that you can!

Should spanking your kid be against the law?

Today, I once again watched Mike and Juliet, a morning talk show. They were talking about a woman, who was on an airplane, and spanked her kids for bad behavior. The woman ended up being arrested, and had her kids taken from her by children protective services.

I am personally outraged, by this! Since when , is it illegal to spank your child?

I know that the ” time out” is the punishment being promoted by everyone these days but, sometimes a good old fashioned spanking is in order. I use time out with my children sure, but sometimes I spank also. If I have to be worried that spanking my kids is going to land my but in jail, or cause me to lose my kids, yeah I would never spank them again. And if kids know that this is the case, I can imagine some might use it to their advantage. Such as ” you can’t spank me because you’ll go to jail”.

This is ridiculous! Law enforcement should be worried about abusive, drug abusing, sex offending parents, not innocent parents!  I can’t even begin to describe how sorry I feel for this woman who had her life completely turned upside down, all for a spanking.

I feel like us parents need to somehow, voice our opinions about discipline. We need to talk, and make our voices heard. Otherwise any of us could end up like this woman who lost her kids, and is sitting in jail.

www.mandjshow.com   Go to this link for more info

Make your voices heard, and comment about what happened to this woman, on the link above or on my comment section.