Did you know April is Autism Awareness Month? Today we are sharing a book by an author with autism as well as night-blindness and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS). She wrote a picture book sharing a bit of what it is like to have these "invisible" disabilities based on her own experiences as well as to get kids imaginations going. The book is Eliza Dee's Universes by Rebecca Finch Vitsmun and illustrated by Victoria Mikki. It is recommended for ages baby through 12.
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am working with the Children's Book Review and Alexa Palmer to participate in this virtual blog tour and will receive a small stipend. All opinions are my own.
Do you have a picky eater? I know so many kids who only like junk food. It can be so hard to get kids to eat healthy. Today I get to share an award-winning book that teaches kids about healthy eating in a fun way! The book is Jolene: Adventures of a Junk Food Queen by Alexa Palmer and Catharine Kaufman and illustrated by John Martinez and Hayden Mills.
The unthinkable happened. Yesterday the stacked Supreme Court overturned a law. Not any law but a law the Supreme Court put in place in 1972. A law women fought for and a law women will fight for once again. Now no matter where you stand on abortion it does not matter. No one has won by this overturned law. Personally, I realize that by outlawing any medical procedure that can save a life (yes, abortions can save a mother's life), the Supreme Court has now made it so private decisions between a person and their doctor may no longer remain private. Yes, the privacy of every American can now be brought to the government to decide. You can no longer expect the right to privacy with your health matters. Because if someone does not agree with your decision, they can now use the precedence of this overturning of a LAW to make your decision one that should be decided by the government.
Now I have read many things about pro-life people being about the babies. However, let us be honest here--the abortion issue is NOT about the babies for the government. If it was about the babies then pre- and post-natal care would be free, delivering a baby would be free, meeting with a lactation specialist would be free, there would be at least a year of paid parental leave for both parents, there would be free preschool. The list can go on. There also would not be the misses by overworked social workers for the foster care program because each foster child would have their own social worker, or each social worker would only be in charge of a very small number of kids. No, by overturning Roe vs. Wade the Supreme Court has put it back to the states to determine whether a woman can have an abortion. Now let's just remember gun control is also controlled by the state governments. The states have not been doing a great job keeping kids alive when it comes to guns. We have decades of mass shootings happening at schools to show us this. The states that are making abortion illegal are taking back control over women. Honestly if you are female and live in one of these states, I hope you vote out the awful, sexist politicians and if you can't move!! The white man is afraid. They are afraid of the people of color asking for more rights. They are afraid of the women asking for rights. They are afraid they are going to lose their power as white men. And the truth is they are and should. White men should not be treated any differently than any other person. Most white men do NOT realize they are, but they are.
When Texas passed its new abortion law, doctors had to turn women away from care. These women were losing their babies, but the doctors could not (and still cannot) help the women get through the difficulties until the women's bodies are already miscarrying the babies. Now let's be honest women can travel to another state for the abortion. However, the woman needs money to travel and has to be healthy enough to travel!! Everyone has heard the horrible stories about late term abortions. But let's be honest, most late term abortions are not because the woman has decided she doesn't want the baby. Most are due to a health issue for either the mother or the baby. Now the states that are making abortions illegal are making it illegal to help these mothers live and survive a bad pregnancy. Many of these women already have their nurseries set up and are picking out names for the baby. They do NOT want their babies to die. They are morning their children and their bodies are suffering in ways that doctors can help ease, but they are not allowed to in some states. This is what making abortions illegal.
Making abortions illegal will not stop abortions. They will still happen whether the woman travels or has an illegal one. Have you heard the stories of the illegal abortions? Perhaps you have read about Margaret Sanger? If not you should. Years ago I shared the book, She Takes a Stand, by Michael Elsohn Ross. It shares the story of Margaret Sanger and her fight to educate women about contraception and abortion. The illegal abortions kill more because not only the baby dies but often the mother does or she loses her ability to have future children. This is what overturning Roe vs. Wade will do.
Overturning Roe vs. Wade is not about the babies. It is about white men trying to hold onto power. They realize in our melting pot of a country the white men are losing control. They are not willing to give it up, but they seem to forget that women are the backbone of the country. We are the mothers, teachers and more. Women need to stand up and take back our power. This is far from over. The war has begun again.
Oh, and for those celebrating the overturn please note that this Supreme Court has set precedent for laws to be overturned whenever the court sways in one way. Today our court is conservative, but this conservative court just came in and overturned a 50-year-old law. This means no law is safe. It is now precedent for the change of court to get rid of laws they don't like. Since three of the six justices that overturned this law were put there by a president who wants to rule the world, I truly hope everyone in the country realizes what a scary place America is now.
Please make sure you vote! Vote in every election and primary. Make sure you know where the person you are voting for truly stands. Do NOT let these white men maintain the power. If we cannot vote them out we will have to get more drastic and I'm not ready to stop taking care of my family but if we cannot vote them out women will have to take a stand and show these backwards men who really has power.
Happy National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day! Do you let your kids take over your kitchen or do you have them cook beside you? Hazel takes over the kitchen when baking but when cooking she usually still needs my help. Since it is a national holiday it seems the perfect time to share with you a new children's cookbook! The book is Green Kids Cook:Simple Delicious Recipes & Top Tips by Jenny Chandler. It is recommended for ages 7 to 14 or with adult supervision for younger kid. This book provides healthy recipes, promotes eating more vegetables and also has information about being green as well as some green craft projects.
How is the weather where you are? We have been having a warm stretch and I have been enjoying it and not on here writing the posts I had planned. Sorry! However November is Native American Heritage Month and I love Native American culture and what to share it with you!! This year instead of doing research on Native American history and finding books, etc. I have changed it up by sharing Native American business owners and their businesses with you. This year has been tough on so many of us and especially on our small businesses. I am hoping by sharing these businesses with you, you will help support them! Last week we learned about Diane Tells His Name and her dolls and for Indigenous Peoples' Day I shared some of Aaron Carapella's posters from Tribal Nations Maps. Today I want you to meet Rachel Sage Carapella. She owns Native Sage Nutrition. In this post you will learn a bit about Rachel and her business and she provides some tips for us to stay healthy as flu season starts up among the Covid-19 pandemic.
Do you know that 50% of mental illness start by age 14 and 75% by age 24? (Source) How about approximately 1 in 5 adults in the United States suffer from mental health issues? That's about 43.8 million people and nearly 40% of them do not seek any treatment or help. (Source) And then add in the pandemic and how things have gotten worse for people's mental health. There is a lot going on here. There is a stigma around mental health issues. People don't like to talk about it and many don't want to get treatment for it in fear of being shamed. It is something we need to talk about and we need to educate the next generation about it and what resources there are to help with treatment so we do not continue this stigma. Let's face just about everyone would take medicine for diabetes or cancer, but many people are ashamed to take antidepressants or antianxiety medicines or even seek therapy. Today's novel is about one middle school girl and her family's experience with a bipolar disorder in the family. The book is My Life in the Fish Tank by Barbara Dee. It is being released next week! (We have also had the pleasure of reviewing another of Barbara Dee's books which we categorized as a must read for all middle schools.)
