Trying to change the world& Domestic Violence

It seems to simple to be sitting here doing nothing about the people that need help in our community. It seems so simple to turn away from someone holding a sign trying to get food; and it seems so simple to help people in another country; when we have starving children here in America every day. About 2 weeks ago I got a phone call that changed my life. My mother told me that a family member ( who I will leave un named) was injured in a domestic violence situation. Her husband held her down and sliced her throat. He told her that she was going to die. He watched her as she bled out. She was able to get to the phone to call 911. The reason that this affected me in the way that it did; is because it seems like a generational curse- my moms mom was abused at some point in her life, my mom and my aunts and my cousins- these tragic situations seemed to be repeating its self; over and over again generation after generation. I was at one time in a violent relationship. I knew that it was not what I wanted for my life- yet I stayed until it got too bad. So my cousin and I were driving in the car, and we thought what a good idea it would be to try and get to the children that are being affected by domestic violence, child abuse ect...So we thought about the Mother House Crisis Nursery...because when I was 15 I recieved a crib from them for my son; because I could not afford one at the time because I was so young...and my cousin and I thought how neat would it be if we could help them help the children that are coming into the nursery. So, we thought about having a run/walk for this benefit....we had things rolling with this event...we had every thing except for the permit....I called the Rockford Park District, who said that the permit would cost about 40 bucks...hey, not a bad price right? Wrong, they also told me that we had to have 2 million in liabilty insurance. I thought hahaha yea let me just get out my check book and get right on that!! LOL. So I started calling insurance companies- well go figure I could not for the life of me get the event insurance to do the walk- bringing awareness to domestic violence and raise money for the Mother House. So we thought what a good idea it would be to have a dinner- benefiting the mother house as well as the family member that was affected by this. We had every thing except the place. A local church said that they were pretty sure we could have it there- turns out because of liability issues- we could not have it there either. It really makes me wonder, how all of these people hold events- I mean its not like we have two million dollars to throw down on an event. So right now we am in the process of finding a new place to throw this dinner. I know that things are going to work out, but we have less than three weeks to get all of this together.

Are the children in America being over immunized??

Are our children in America being over immunized?
By: HollyAnne Petrie

Ok, let me begin with the statement that I am not a doctor, I am not a licensed anything; I am not an expert in the field of human health- I am a graduate from the University of Phoenix with a degree in Criminal Justice. I am just a person and a concerned mother. With that being said; I have some serious issues with the vaccinations that are being given to our children. As a mother, I only want what is best for my children. In America children are required to be vaccinated if they want to enter into school. There are a few exceptions to this: religious beliefs, moral and philosophical views. What if your child was vaccinated and you followed the entire rules and regulations to get your child into school? The phone rings, it is the school nurse telling you that there was a problem with your child’s immunization records. “What could this be?” you ask. Well, they hate to inform you that unfortunately your child was immunized with the MMR shot 10 DAYS before their 1st Birthday. What do you say when the nurse tells you that your child will be kicked out of school in less than one month if they are not re- vaccinated? So you ask yourself, “What in the world is wrong with this system?” We are not talking about months before this 1st Birthday. We are talking about 10 days. According to the vaccine website at http://www.geocities.com/fishstep/ILVaccineLaw.html it stated that the, “Illinois school code section 27-8.1 requires all children entering into school to provide proof that your child has been immunized.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I do not have a problem with immunizations. I have a problem when the state steps in and forces people to have more vaccinations even when they had them previously. According to the CDC website located at http://www.cdc.gov, people who have previously had the MMR shots should not have them again. The website advises against this. It states exactly this “People should not get the MMR vaccine who have ever had a life threatening allergic reaction to gelatin, the antibiotic neomycin, or people who have previously had a dose of MMR vaccine”.
My 6 year old son will be kicked out of school in October if I do not comply with the state of Illinois request to re-vaccinate him. What is wrong with this situation? I was absolutely floored when I got the call from the school nurse of the Harlem School District telling me this absurd news. I could understand if he had never had this shot before. Anyone who has children knows the controversy behind shots- but specifically the MMR vaccine. It has been said, but not proven that it can cause children to become autistic as well as develop ADHD. At Generationrescue.org the proven side effects to the MMR vaccination are as follows: Atypical measles, arthritis, encephalitis, death, aseptic, meningitis, nerve deafness, as well as ear infections (http://www.generationrescue.org/evidence-science/06-pediatric-vaccine-ingredients-and-side-effects.htm.)
Now, what it does not state is that your child can have a fever, as well as have all of the symptoms of having the flu (as my son did). Is that a risk that parents are willing to take; if giving your child one shot can cause that many side effects? What would the second set of shots do to a child who has already received this shot? According to the Green Health Watch website- the children who had the MMR vaccines were 45% more likely to have developed autism compared to the children who had not had the MMR vaccine. I am sorry, as a parent who loves her children more than anything in the world- would I be such a great parent if I allowed the state to come in and re-vaccinate him? He had the shot- I complied with the state’s request- why is a 10 day period before the first birthday being brought into light as such a big deal. If I re-vaccinate him, and he gets sick from it again, runs a fever, and throws up, I am going to feel, as a parent, that I have failed him. I am his mom; I am supposed to be able to protect my children. What do you do when you have no choice and people look at you like you are a bad parent for not re-vaccinating him with something that could potentially be dangerous? The CDC warns against having this shot administered once the person has already received it. There is a reason for this, why can I not get anywhere with the state of Illinois? Why should my son have to be kicked out of the 1st grade over a mistake that the doctor made? Should his pediatrician have caught this? If they are administering the shots- should they not know the regulations of the state? Was this even a regulation when my son was vaccinated? My son would not have to worry about leaving the 1st grade had his doctor adhered to the regulations of the state. How, as his mother, am I going to fight the state of Illinois, who is withholding my child’s education because of a perceived 10 day mistake?
If I never had him vaccinated, would he be penalized for having his immunization too late? I think not!! As long as his body has produced the necessary antibodies from receiving this vaccination, why should it matter when it was administered? So the first step for me was to call the doctor’s office and request that he draw blood from my son to see if he had the antibodies built up against these diseases. That request was denied. Step two, is to contact the public, this would be you the reader. Requesting that any parent in the state of Illinois who is having or has had this problem please contact me, at a special email set up for this reason. keepourchildrenfree@yahoo.com At this time I am working on building a website with friends to allow links for information and research on the MMR vaccinations. Please be patient.
Once we have a group of parents, proving that the State cannot and will not be able to isolate us to force us to comply with something that may hurt our children. We can then work together to make this a safer place for our children. We are AMERICANS, we are supposed to be free, we are supposed to work together with one another to make this a safe and free place for our children to grow. United we may be able to make the difference it will take to do this. I ask that you join me in the fight to protect our children and not let some official in the State of Illinois School board tell us that it does not matter what our doctor says, they know best for our children.

I cant believe it is finally happening, I beat the statistics!

Wow, I cant believe it is finally happening. I beat the statistics! I am graduated from college with a associates degree in criminal justice. Wow, I am so beyond proud of myself! A little history for everyone. I found out that I was pregnant when I was 15 years old. I figured that my life was pretty much over with. The day that I found out, I was with my mother, who then sat me down and explained to me that I had one of two choices, give my baby up for adoption and go on living a semi normal life...Or have the baby and keep him. It was a very difficult decision because I was only 15. I decided when I was 4 months pregnant that I was absolutly going to keep my baby, and I knew what that meant for the rest of my life. There would be no more cheerleading, no more volley ball, no more hanging out with my friends...That meant no home coming dances, no spirit nights, no prom, no graduation in a normal college.That meant growing up to an adult status even before he was to be born. So much weight was dummped into my lap, because of the decisions that I made for myself. When my son was born, it was amazing. My mother helped me as much as she could..but with her working a full time job, helping me take care of a new born was the last thing that she wanted to do. The father of my son, he and I did not live in the same place, so the help was not there from him at that time. I was faced with a coliky baby who cried all of the time, no matter what I did to comfort him. I was so exhausted...My mother later down the line when my son was about 4 months talked me into going back to an alternative high school to graduate a year later than my class. I did go back, and I was taking classes while my son was in the day care at the high school. A month after starting school again, I got into a car accident that required me to have surgery on my back, which was a long recovery process...Heck, I am still trying to recover all of the way from that....I then was declaired disabled by the government because of my back. ...I moved out of my moms house at the beginning of 2005, and got my own apartment with my son and his father. It was a learning experience, let me tell you. There no longer was my mom to turn to for the help with asking questions...I was still young and trying to figure out the type of mom I was suppose to be. He was 2 going on 3 at that time...I found out that I was pregnant again andb.My daughter was born in october of 2006. I just turned 20- 5 days after she was born..So I knew what to expect..The problem was that my daughter was born 8 weeks prematurly. She only weighed 5lbs. When she was born, I could not see her. The nicu team was in my room and rushed her away, the minute she was born. I was in labor and having contractions for 5 days before I actually had her. The hospital staff was trying to stop the labor..The 5th day my daughter did not want to wait any longer and after active labor for 8 hrs..she was here in the world. I finally got to see her 2 hours after she was born, and it was one of the scariest and happiest days of my life. Being wheeled into the nicu not knowing which baby is yours had me in tears right away, I just wanted my baby in my arms. I finally got to hold her. She was so beautiful and so very tiny..Campared to my son who weighed 8 almost 9 pounds when he was born. ..After 3 days in the hospital I got to leave and my daughter had to stay for an extra day. It was very hard leaving the hospital with a ton of ballons, and gifts and no baby. In 2007, I was encouraged by the love of my life and the father of my children to get back into school once again and graduate this time. For mothers day, I was presented with a gift of enough money, to get back into school. I graduated with my High school diploma that June. That October I enrolled into an online college, The university of Phoenix...If you ould have asked me at the beginning of all of this did I think I would ever be a high school graduate, I would have looked at you and cried and said no. If you would have asked me did I think I would ever be a college graduate, I would have cried and walked away from you. I beat the statistics...I have been through hell...The point of this story is that If you think that you have it hard, someone has it 10 times harder than you do. Someone faced with the same circumstance may never graduate college and stay a statistic because they choose not to work hard enough, to get to where they are going. Just because I had a messed up start to life- I am right where God wants me to be now. It was a scary, out of this world ride to where I am now, but I made it and any one faced with some of the same things can make it too!! I pulled me and my children out of the ghetto- and put us in the most amazing neighborhood, and school district. I am going to give my kids a chance in life, a chance that I took too soon in life.

Who say's college wouldn't be difficult?

I am currently going to the University Of Phoenix online campus. I am taking a class philosophy 105 and Criminal Justice. I have found this class to be the hardest class I have taken thus far. One reason I have found it to be so rediculous is because I am a christian. Seeing view points from famous philosophers and having to do papers on why God can not be real is really getting under my skin. Having to deal with a instructor who does not help, and does not make any dang sense is impossible to pass. I still have not figured out how in the world I even have an A still. Next week is the final week for this class, and I have a 14 page slide due on is God real? He want's detailed speaker notes along with a bunch of other crap. I think that this class is pointless and I have no interest in it. How is philosophy going to help me in the Criminal Justice field? With having to take my son to school every day, going to physical therapy apointments 3 times a week and having dr. appointments 2 times a week, I seriously have no idea how I am even functioning. I havent slept well in day's and I am under so much stress. The kids can really tell that I have been under stress. I think they can just sense it. If that is not bad enough I am in the process of packing up my apartment. I do not own my own car because my car my mother took when she moved to Wisconsin because it was in her name, and I was paying half of the payments...thats a whole nother story,lol....I have to move because Management told me yesterday that I could not park the car in the parking lot starting monday because it will be towed. I have to have a sticker on the car, in order to park the car here. Mind you that I have lived here for going on 5 years. She tells me that I can not have it parked here, that I can not let my future husband in my apartment to take care of the kids when I am not home. Hmmm... Wow, government housing blows. Here I am trying to take care of my back, going to college, taking care of my kids and I just can not catch a break. I have to park my fiance's car 2 blocks down the street in order to take him to school every day. That means if I do not come up with the money to move not only am I going to be screwed in the winter, I can not have any more appointments ever; while I am living in Wildberry Village. This all started because back at the end of may my son was jumped by 3 kids out side. Mind you my son was only 4 then. Wildberry village stated that no criminal behavior would be tollerated on these grounds. Yet nothing was done about that incident. I am still mad that the manager here lied to me. I did what I was suposed to do. I filed the police report, I took my son to the hospital yet her promise that some thing would be done has never been full filled. I think it is messed up that she has people living here that have people living with them that sell drugs night and day...People out side throwing parties until 5 am. People fighting constantly. Don't think that I want to be here. If I was out of college at this very moment I would get us out of here. I am trying to better my childrens lives. I just hope that the generational curse, of constantly being broke and amounting to nothing does not pass on. It was stopped with my generation. I am doing every thing that I can do to get us up out of here. Calling the cops around here is pointless. Here I am going into criminal Justice, for what? What the hell do they do? Screw every one around them by not doing their jobs? Thanks to chet epperson the police chief, nothing is getting done any where. More irrisponsible spending by the Governor and the candidates for president arnt much better than who we have now. Just because they say that is what they want to change; means absolutly nothing once they are in office. I honestly do not even want to be apart of voting this year because we are screwed either way. Our economy is terrible and I can barley afford to feed my family let alone put gas in the car. The great depression does not seem that far off. Everyone is losing their homes to forclosure because people are losing their jobs because their companies can not afford to pay them. Shame on the Government of the United States of America for getting us to this point. I have been following the election this year, and I am not impressed.

Am I really Super Mom?

I went to the Dr. Monday afternoon. I went to see a Neurological Surgeon for my back. I have been having problems with my back since 2004 when I was involved in a back end car collision. I have had one previous surgery that did nothing to help...So I go and see Dr. Freeman....Well actually I went to see a Dr. Crute but she had gotten called away for an emergency...So this Dr. Freeman comes into my room after me waiting for an hour( During my wait I kept thinking about all the stuff I am going to have to do once I get home) So he comes in and asked me where I hurt..(.If I could tell this man every place I hurt I swear he would think I am crazy..lol.).So I explain that I was mopping my kitchen floor and I went to sit on the couch after I was done and I was in instant pain..He looks at me,( I wonder what he is thinking?) and asked me what other Doctors have done for me? I tell him that they always send me home with medicine and tell me to rest..Ha! If you know me, you know that my kids have me on the go constantly. So I explain what was hurting and why I came to his office. After a small check up, he asked me...Do you want to know what is wrong with you?( Umm...Durrr of course...wait, there is something wrong with me?)He takes me into the hall way where there are mri pictures pulled up on a desktop...(please don't tell me that some thing is seriously wrong, I don't think I can handle this alone) He begins to explain to me that I have a large tare going through my L3 disc and the tissue around it is was torn as well.( This can not be happening to me again, how am I going to get through this one?) I felt a bit faint. That would explain the instant pain, the constant throbbing and my emotional state. The Dr. tells me to go home, with medicine and rest for 3 weeks. ( As I am walking out of his office, the only thing I could think about is...I don't have time for this...What about my kids?) He goes on to state that if I am not down for three weeks and I let my self get worse, than I am looking at surgery in about 4 weeks.( Gosh, can I please catch a break). I get to my car and I am thinking to my self: why this again? As I am driving I am starting to cry because the last time that I went through this I was completely dependent on my family for everything, especially to help me take care of my son. Even if I rest for the three weeks( which is impossible, especially because I have two small children) there will still be that chance that I may need back surgery again. See, I have degenerative disc disease and spinal scoliosis and also spinal steno sis. My disc's from my L1 through my S1 area, there are hardly any disc's left. I am only 21, how can I live like this. I strive to make it through a day to take care of my children. God and my children are what make me get out of bed every morning and pretend that I am not in god awful pain all of the time. I have been through so much, at such a young age. I can only hope that by me being a super mom, that I will get through this...( If I think about it, If I can be a darn good mom at 16 and then again for my second at 19 I know I can do this!) It will be a cake walk...Super easy because I am a super mom.

Children and the color of their skin? Should it really matter at such a young age? Should it matter at all??

At what age do children really notice the color of other people's skin? My son at 4 years old learned the hard way that not all children go un noticed. On may 31st, my son was held down by three children and beaten. He was screaming for me, and I could not get to him fast enough. When I got to him he was hurting pretty bad. Later that night my son asked me what the N word was. How do you explain that to a 4 year old? Why should I even have to? These children that did this to him were 2 years older than my son, and they talk like that? You have to be kidding me. My son is Bi racial. He is mixed with both white and black. He is of a liter complexion than other mixed children. I guess he takes after me. I do not understand how a child that young could even have heard that kind of language from a 6 year old? I can only hope that he did not learn that from home. My son now has been trying to scratch his skin off because he wishes he was a different color. When I asked him why he did not like his skin color he told me that the kids made fun of him. He told me that he wishes he was daddy's color. His father is african american and of a darker complexion. I told my son that he was perfect just the way he is. I think some how deep inside that I know it was not going to be ok. I hurt every time my kids hurt. I eats me up inside to know that at the young age of 6, those children are already acting out in such a manner. What is going to happen when those children are 5 years older and completly out of control. Who's falt will that be? Society's for not stepping up and doing something about it while they are still young? The child's parents for rasing their children to be racist towards other people at such a young age? Who do you blame for the troubled youth that people dismiss all of the time? Who do you turn to, to make sure this never happens to my son again? The police were called and my son was taken to the hospital. He had deep internal bruising. The police say that there is nothing that can be done to these children because they are not 8 years old. I guess in Illinois the child must be 8 years old to be taken to Juvenille. The parents still have not been notified so who is to really blame here? The justice system? The parents, maybe? Why should my son suffer because children are running around with no supervision being hellions....It is not right and I am going to fight this until I can not longer do so. My son will see justice for what happend to him. I will make sure that these parents will be held accountable for their childrens actions. I am stunned to know that this happend with children so young. I know there is something that I can do to stop these crimes from happening. Hold on Son, I am here to help.....