solving our bib problem

Thanks to Pinterest, I found a way to solve our bib problem. Usually they are kept in his top drawer, along with socks and hats. The problem is that I have a little piggy who gets super impatient when he knows it's time to eat. The minute that it takes me to walk across the house to his nursery and back to the kitchen is like 1000 baby years. Trust me, none of you want to hear his pitiful whining signaling that mommy is taking too long. 

To solve our problem, I bought a trusty command hook. Lucas has 2 cabinets completely dedicated to him. First is the extra formula and snacks cabinet and then there is the baby food cabinet. We chose that one. Made the most sense. Stick the command hook on the inside of the cabinet door, and TADAAAAA! Bib and food storage in one place. No more mommy taking too long to get everything together. :)

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin

Bacon. It is the perfect food. If I had to choose one thing to eat for the rest of my life, it would be that delicious, mouthgasming bacon. I had some turkey tenderloin and friends coming over for dinner, so I needed to figure out something that wasn't so... cliche. Sure, I could have made a stew in the crock pot, but then I saw the bacon. 

Ingredients:

Turkey tenderloin 1.5lbs

6 (or more) slices of bacon, thin slices work best

softened green onion and chive cream cheese

green onions

red bell pepper, diced

salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil. Place tenderloin on the foil and rub with salt and pepper to taste. In a small bowl, mix cream cheese, onions and red bell pepper together. Carefully slice a pocket into the tenderloin and stuff with cream cheese mixture. Wrap bacon around the stuffed tenderloin. Lay with seam side down, or you can keep the bacon in place with toothpicks. Cover tenderloins with foil and cook for about 40 minutes, until turkey reads 170F. Remove toothpicks if you used them and enjoy!

This is a family approved meal! We will be adding it to our recipes for the future.

Happy Adoption Day, Sirius

Nearly one year ago, on July 8, 2012, we rescued our fur baby. He was infested with fleas, had mange and worms, sank to the ground at the slightest movement and was so malnourished you could see all of his ribs. His name was "Bruno" and he lived in a medium size cage with his sister, who was even worse than he was. Someone had tried to halfway crop their tails. You could tell they rarely got out of the cage. It reeked of urine. I was very pregnant and knew my husband would be leaving in just a few months for a tour in Afghanistan, but there was no way I could walk away and leave him there. I really wanted to take his sister, too, but I knew a toddler, infant and one dog in need of lots of TLC was my limit.

He was very reluctant to get in the car. He'd never been in one before. He whimpered the entire drive. We stopped at WalMart and bought a large kennel, food, treats and toys. When we got home, we coaxed him into the house slowly. Once he was inside, we let him explore. He didn't look like a "Bruno", so we renamed him Sirius. Yes, after Sirius Black. It made sense and if you know my family, you know we're nerds. Sirius took to his new name right away. That evening we set up the kennel and put him inside. The first night was so hard. He was so used to being in a tiny cage with his sister, that being in a huge cage alone was terrifying for him. We gave him a blanket that smelled like us.

The next morning I brought him to Dr. Beatie. The people we picked him up from claimed he had his shots, but could not provide paperwork. We estimated his age, about 6 months, which would put his birthday in January. They were very concerned about his low weight, coming in at just 23 pounds. He did so well with shots. Didn't react at all. He was also very friendly to all of the staff. We got some medication to treat the worms and mange, some flea medication and his puppy shots. He was warmed up to us in less than 24 hours, even though we brought him to the vet and had him stuck with needles. 

We had to flea bomb our house, spray our yard and treat him several times before the fleas went away. They did and he was MUCH happier to not be constantly chewing on himself from them. He ate like he'd never eaten before (pun not intended) and loved playing fetch and getting lots of cuddles. His favorite person was our son, Conner.

Fast forward to today, July 2, 2013. Six days until his adoptiversary. He's now 46 pounds with a clean bill of health. The mange, fleas and worms are gone. He does have a little bald spot on his head where fur won't grow back because of the mange. He still loves Conner and has added another favorite tiny human, Lucas. Sirius was actually the reason my water broke the night I had him. He was making me laugh with his doggy head tilts. He still loves fetch and runs the back yard in laps. In the entire year we've had him, he's only had 3 potty accidents in the house and only gotten in trouble a handful of times for chewing something up. He knows how to sit, lay, stay and catch treats/balls when they are thrown up in the air. We are still working on shake and speak. He now sleeps wherever in the house at night instead of being kenneled. We are still in the testing phase of keeping him out while we run errands. He literally loves everyone. He's never shown any signs of aggression towards humans or animals. 

I am so thankful that we took a chance on him, knowing he may not survive, and nursed him back to health. Our lives would not be complete without our fur child. He was meant to be a part of our family. My happy, healthy, energetic and loving Sirius. Happy adoptiversary, buddy!

pro-life vs pro-choice

Don't let the title scare you. I'm here to get my feelings out. Because it's my blog and I can. And I will post it to Facebook because it's my Facebook and I can. I will probably upset some people. I'm okay with that. Will I lose some friends? Maybe. If I do, sorry that they felt they couldn't accept me for me. I want to talk about pro-life vs pro-choice. Particularly, what they both mean. Before you jump to conclusions and say this is a stupid post since one obviously means life and the other death, hear me out.

Pro-choice =/= Pro-abortion. Simply stated, just because I consider myself pro CHOICE, does not mean I want someone to run out and get an abortion. What it means it that I do not have the power to tell someone what they can or can not do with their body. I don't think the government should be able to tell anyone what they can or can not do.

Pro-life =/= Pro-life. Huh? Yep. 9 times out of 10, any person I speak to who considers themselves pro-life are actually just anti-abortion. What do you mean by that, Amber? Let me give you a few examples of why I say this.

Example #1: Susan calls herself pro-life. She is your typical woman in almost every aspect, except that she is completely against homosexuals*. The thought of them absolutely disgusts her and she considers homosexuality a sin. She thinks homosexuals do not deserve to live like the rest of us. They shouldn't even be allowed to be in the public eye, because they might pass the gay on to someone else. Susan gets pregnant. Of course, Susan is going to keep this miracle. God** gave it to her, after all. He chose her to be the mother of this child. Fast forward 16 years. Susan's son (or daughter) tells her (s)he is gay. She is appalled. Susan will do one of two things here - the first being that she's fine with it, but her son/daughter shouldn't get to do the every day things like she has been able to, like getting married or having children OR she completely disowns her son/daughter. Ms. Susan... you are NOT pro-life. You are anti-abortion. If you were pro-life, you would still fight for your son/daughter's rights to live like a human being. In either choice you make here, you are not allowing your child to have a life of their own. Only a life that you WANT them to have.

Example #2: Susan calls herself pro-life. She is your typical woman in almost every aspect. except she is also pro-death penalty***. Her argument is that a embryo/fetus/baby is innocent, and someone on death row is not. Ms. Susan, you are NOT pro-life. You are anti-abortion. First, let me point out that many people are put in prison, and even on death row, who are completely innocent. Second, how incredibly contradicting that you believe that a woman shouldn't have the choice to remain pregnant or not, as you believe she would be taking a life, when you also believe that you and your peers (jury, judge, justice system, what-have-you) have the choice to condemn someone to death, thus taking a life. Seriously just take two seconds to look at your two claims side by side. Pro-life/Pro-death penalty. See the flaw?

Now, of course I know that there are plenty of people who consider themselves pro-life who are also for equality for all and against the death penalty. Like I mentioned before, 9 out of every 10 people I know who are "pro-life" are not TRULY pro-life.

*I am an avid supporter of equality for women, children, men, homosexuals, heterosexuals, transgender, half person/half alien. Whatever. We're all here, we all are humans (minus the alien half breed) and we all deserve to be treated equally.

**I am not religious. I used to be. In my personal experience, I have found MOST religious people, no matter what denomination, to be very hypocritical. I found myself questioning more practices, scripture, faith in general. So I choose to not practice in any religion. I believe in nothing. I find it all interesting, but I don't have that faith required to believe. That would be like me trying to convince you that the Doctor is real, which you probably would think I am crazy for, and telling you that you have to have faith that he exists. You would tell me that I'm being ridiculous and I can't PROVE to you that he exists. (That's a joke, btw)

***I am against the death penalty for two reasons. 1. I do not have any power to decide that someone should be put to death.**** 2. A lot of people who truly are guilty would prefer you put them to death. For them, it's the ultimate freedom, the ultimate escape. They will no longer have to be physically here to see their consequences of whatever they did. I'd rather them die naturally and have to think constantly of whatever it is they did.

****But you are pro-choice! How can you say that you don't have the power to decide if someone dies. Erm, read above. Pro-choice =/= Pro-abortion.*****

*****I know there are some reading this who know me and are yelling "You had an abortion, though!" Yes, I did. Doesn't mean I want others to run out and have one done. Do I think about it? All the time. Do I feel bad about it? Sometimes. Do I ever wonder what would have happened? No. I know what would have happened. I would have died, and the cluster of cells inside me, that would eventually become a fetus and then a baby, would have died along with me. You don't know someone's situation. You don't know what they go through to come to their decision. And you do not have the power to dictate what someone can/can't do with their body. If you would ever like to ask me about it, I am comfortable talking to you about it privately. I will tell you why, how I came to my decision, how I felt, how I feel now, how others involved felt, etc. Anything you want to know. I will understand if you want nothing to do with me, and I will be happy if you decide to still be in my life. If you choose the former, I'll be sad to see you go, but I will not let myself become depressed over it. I've learned that people come into your life for one reason or another. Some for a short time, some forever. I am completely okay with both.

I would also like to note that if you have gone through or are currently going through any of the above situations, you can talk to me. Completely confidential. Now bring on the backlash.

How to Properly Store Produce: Take 2

Hello friends! Back for round two of storing produce. This week our basket included some new things. Squash, fresh corn on the cob, cauliflower, cantaloupe, carrots and oranges. The rest in this picture was previously discussed in the original post, which you can view here. So, let's start, shall we?

Squash: There are many kinds of squash. The storage is slightly different. First we will focus on summer squash (zucchini, yellow, spaghetti). One key thing to mention is that summer squash has a thinner skin than winter squash and should be handled more delicately. Squash needs cool temps and high humidity. They can be stored in the refrigerator as is or in an open bag for air circulation. Be sure to gently clean the outside so that there isn't any dirt. Dirt promotes decay. It will hold up for about a week like this. If you prefer to cut up your squash before storing, place the pieces in a plastic bag in the fridge. It will last about 4-5 days. To freeze, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, steam for four minutes, drain and store in an airtight bag in the freezer. Will last up to 10 months. Now on to winter squash. It has a tougher skin and can be stored in a cool area, such as cellar or basement steps, for up to a month. Stored in the refrigerator as is or in an open bag will last about 2 weeks. If you would like to cut it up before storing, place into an airtight plastic bag in the fridge for 2-4 days. You should cook winter squash before freezing it. Pureed, mashed or chunked in an airtight freezer bag, it can last up to a year.

Fresh corn on the cob: Place corn, unwashed and still in husk, in a plastic bag that has been perforated, into the fridge as soon as possible. The corn needs the refrigeration, which will extend it's life, and air circulation to remain fresh. Use the corn within 3 days of storage this way. Takes the husks off just before cooking. If you would like to freeze the corn on the cob for later use, it takes a bit more time. You will need to take the husks off and removed as much of the silks as possible. Blanch the corn for approximately 10 minutes. Take directly from the boiling water and place into a bowl of ice water. This will prevent overcooking. Drain off the excess moisture and place into airtight freezer bags. They will keep up to 8 months this way.

Oranges: Oranges need air circulation. They are best kept in a fruit basket, away from direct sunlight. If your oranges are not bruised of damaged, they will last for about a week. To store longer, wrap each undamaged piece of fruit individually in paper. Place into a cardboard box in a cool, dry, dark area, such as a garage or shed, that will not reach above 60 degrees F. These will last for 2-3 weeks.

Cauliflower: Just like broccoli, mentioned in the first post, cauliflower can be store for up to a week in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator. You want to keep them separate, though. Broccoli accelerates the spoilage of the cauliflower.

Carrots: Carrots are awesome! Fun fact: carrots increase in vitamin A content over the first 4 months of storage, if they are stored properly. So let me get this information to you so you can reap the benefits! First things first - remove all of the greens from the carrot. They draw the moisture away from the root. Tightly seal the carrots, unwashed, in an airtight bag. Put them in the coolest part of the refrigerator. Wash them just before use. If you wash before storing, the moisture in the bag will cause them to spoil. Keep them away from any fruits or vegetables that expel ethylene gas (apples, potatoes, pears) as the gas will cause the carrots to become bitter.

Cantaloupe: Just like with all melons, you want to keep these on the counter or in the party until they are ripe. Once ripe, they will last 2-3 days on the counter or in the pantry. If you move them to the refrigerator after they are ripe, they will last an additional 7-10 days. Store them as is in there. To freeze, cut the cantaloupe open and remove all rinds and seeds. Slice/cube/ball the cantaloupe and put into airtight freezer bags/containers. The cantaloupe will last 10-12 months in the freezer.

That's all  for this week, friends. Hope I've been able to help you out again! Until next time - Happy eating!

How to Correctly Store Produce

So, how many of you just put most of your produce in the fridge in one spot? Yeah, me, too. Until tonight. I did not realize how extremely wrong I was putting them away. No wonder all of my stuff spoiled way faster than it should have. Today I went and picked up my first Bountiful Basket. I will go over the proper way to store all the items I received in my basket, as well as some common ones. By the way, these baskets are SO worth it! If you want to see if there is one near you, check out www.bountifulbaskets.org

First things first – do NOT put fruits and vegetables together. Did you know that fruits ripen faster, and in doing so, make everything near it ripen faster? Me either.

Strawberries- These delightful berries, I am unfortunately allergic to. I’ve heard they are delicious. My three year old loved them. DO NOT wash them until you are ready to eat them. They soak up water fast and will rot much quicker if you do that. If you plan to eat them that day, leave them on the counter at room temperature. The best way to store strawberries to be eaten with a few days is to cover a plate with a paper towel and lay them in a single layer. The paper towel sucks up excess moisture. If you aren’t planning to eat them within a few days, you can freeze them. I’m told that this scenario makes for some killer smoothies.

Watermelon- Oh, summer’s best, naturally sweet little treat. Uncut watermelon needs to be stored at 55 degrees or higher. In other words, keep this sucker on the counter. They will keep for 7-10 days in room temperature. Watermelon tastes better cold, so a few hours before you want to chop it up, put it in the fridge. Once you decide to eat it, be sure to wash the melon to rid it of any dirt. If you only eat a little of it, put plastic wrap over the remainder and it will hold up in the fridge for an additional 2 days.  Not going to eat the rest in two days? No worries! You can freeze watermelon, too! (I’m REALLY excited about this one) Cut the watermelon in half and remove the rinds and seeds. You can cut it into slices, wedges, cubes, or even break out the melon baller. Spread the pieces in a single layer and freeze until  firm. Move the firm pieces to freezer bags or containers. Leave ½ inch at the top for expansion. Thaw the watermelon in the fridge before eating. Or be cool like me and before you freeze them, shove a popsicle stick in it and then eat it frozen. Watermelon pops! Frozen watermelon is good for 4 days.

Romaine lettuce- That’s the really big leaf ones. Not the heads you buy in the store. That is iceberg and must be prepared and kept in a different way. I’ll get to that in a moment. For romaine lettuce, take the leaves apart. Fill the sink with COLD water and soak your leaves for half an hour. Dry the lettuce very well. I used a crapload of paper towels, but apparently there is this nifty kitchen gadget called a salad spinner that I need to invest in. Much quicker and a lot less expensive over time if you eat a bunch of salad like me. Anyway, once your leaves are dry, take two paper towels (attached) and lay it flat. Put the dry leaves in the middle and wrap them up in the paper towels. If the leaves are too long, rip them in half. Take your mummified lettuce leaves and put them in a gallon zip lock bag. Press all of the air (or as much as you can) out of it and seal. Place in your fridge. This method should keep your romaine nice and crunchy for at least a few weeks.

Iceberg lettuce- The difference in the iceberg vs romaine is that the iceberg lettuce is wrapped super tight, not allowing much room for dirt to get on the inside. Dispose of the outside layer of leaves and rinse the entire head of lettuce. Shake to get water out (it will seep in as you are rinsing) and then dry the outside with a paper towel. Wrap the entire head in paper towels and store in a zip lock bag. Once you need to use the lettuce, just take some leaves off (or cut a chunk off) and then wrap it back up and place it back in the fridge. Should keep good for a few weeks.

Celery- I really love celery. Who doesn’t have fond memories of eating ants on a log as a child? However, I have been storing my celery in the wrong way. Well, technically not the WRONG way, but in the way that makes it die the fastest. So, to prolong the life of your celery stalks, break out the tin foil. You want to wash your celery really well. I personally take the stalks apart so I can make sure to get all of the dirt from it. Bad experience in the past. I went to eat a stalk that I had previously cleaned (and left fully attached to the rest of the stalks) and there was a bug on it! Ewww. Ever since, my celery comes apart. Back to the storing. Once your stalks are all sparkly clean, wrap them in tin foil. This method will keep your celery good for weeks! The other way is to keep it in the plastic bag you buy it in (unless you buy it fresh from a farmers market). That way keeps it good for 7-10 days.

Broccoli- My second favorite vegetable. I was the weird kid who loved veggies and preferred them over junk. You want to choose a broccoli head with tight green florets and a firm stalk. Talks should look fresh and moist. You do not want yellow florets or brown, dried out stems. Store your broccoli unwashed in an open plastic bag in the fridge. If bought fresh (i.e. from the farmer’s market), your “trees”, as my 3 year old calls them, will last about 10 days. Wash in cold water just prior to cooking or eating.

Mangoes- I have just recently dived into this tasty little fruit. Choose your mangoes based on smell, not color. The color is the difference in variety, not ripeness. Keep the firm mangoes at room temperature until they are slightly soft. If you can indent them slightly, move them to the fridge. They will be good for 2-5 days. If you want to save some of that for after the 2-5 day period, you can freeze them! This will give you an additional few days. If you freeze the whole mango, the skin will turn black, but the flesh will be fine. Just a bit softer.

Green herbs- This refers to green onion, cilantro, parsley and other greeny ones. Wash your herbs and dry very well. Moisture lessens the flavor. Line a small freezer container (I use Tupperware) with a paper towel. That will soak up any excess moisture. Chop as you wish and then freeze in the container. Do not thaw these before using them. Just toss it into whatever you are cooking while they are frozen and you are all good.

Potatoes- Inspect your potatoes. Any that have splits in the skins, soft spots or sprouts need to be used quickly. Those will rot fast and are not suitable for long term storage. For your perfect potatoes, place them in either a cardboard box or a paper bag. This will keep the ventilated. Ideally, you want to store these in a dark place between 50-60 degrees F. You want to check them often and remove any that are soft or sprouted. If you grow your own potatoes, allow them to dry completely before storing. DO NOT wash your potatoes until you are ready to cook them.

Tomatoes- Here was my big no-no. Do not store tomatoes in the fridge. They are best kept at room temperature. This actually boosts their flavor. Tomatoes need TLC. Move them around every day so that they aren’t sitting on the same spot and bruise. Bruising = rotting. They should keep good for about a week.

Bananas- Hands down, the best fruit ever. In the words of the Doctor, “Always bring a banana to a party, Rose.” Choose wisely when buying bananas. Green are not ripe. These are optimum for storing without freezing. Most bananas are yellow when ripe, but some are brown or red. Brown spotted are the sweetest. If there is more brown/black than yellow, they are over ripe. If bananas are gray or dull colored, they have been refrigerated and that interferes with the ripening process. Avoid those bananas! Never store in a plastic bag. Plastic bag = moisture = rotting. I am seeing a trend with moisture here. To ripen green bananas, place in a paper bag. If you want them ripe in a day, toss in an apple or orange. Remember my prior statement about fruits ripening faster? Here is where that comes in handy. Ripe bananas can hang out on your counter (preferably in a banana tree for air circulation) if you plan to eat them within a few days. If not, put the RIPE bananas in the fridge. The fridge slows the ripening, but doesn’t completely prevent it. They will be good for about 1-2 weeks. But the best thing about bananas? Yep, the freezer! Once again, pull out the popsicle sticks and make banana pops. Drizzle some chocolate on them, yum! You can also freeze it for other things, like baking some banana bread. The easiest way is to chop them into chunks before freezing. Separate into amounts you will need and freeze in a freezer bag or Tupperware. If you freeze it all together, they will stick together and make it much harder to get apart for recipes. Or you can always freeze the entire banana, peel included, and then just thaw them in the fridge for a bit before using them.

Apples – You can seriously store apples for like ever. Perfect apples, that is. You don’t want to store the ones with bruises for a long time. Those need to be eaten right away. If you have the perfect apples, here’s how to go about keeping them for a long, long time. You need some newspaper. Avoid color ink, as it contains harmful metals. Take your perfect apple and wrap the newspaper around it. Be gentle. Apples need love. Twist the paper at the top slightly, just so that it won’t unwrap. If you twist too hard, the paper tears. Don’t want that. Place the wrapped apples in a box. Not airtight, but tight enough that there isn’t insane amounts of air circulating through. Gently does it! Ideally, you want to store them in a cool, dark spot. However, do not put them near potatoes. Potatoes release a harmless gas that spoils apples faster. Apparently they have some lifelong feud.  These will usually stay good for months. Just remember to check them every once in a while. Remove bruised or spoiled ones.

Cucumbers-  Guess what? I’ve been storing these wrong, too. Cucumbers are not meant for the fridge. They are sensitive vegetables and are susceptible to cold injury. Don’t harm your cucumbers! They will usually last up to 3 days in there without starting to go bad. Cucumbers are best kept at room temperature in a plastic bag. Who knew? This will keep them for 1-2 weeks. And, they also have a lifelong feud with bananas, melons and tomatoes. Don’t store them next to each other, or those 3 will gang up on the cucumbers and bruise him up.

Lemons- No feuds here. Store them in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. They should keep good for up to 3 weeks. Helpful tip – lemons with thin skins have more juice!

Onions- Most onion, like the red ones, can be stored for up to a month in a hanging wire basket for good air flow. Cool temps turn their starch into sugars, so don’t keep these bad boys in the fridge.

That’s it for now, folks. Thanks for reading my newfound knowledge of how to prepare and store common produce. If you want to fact check me, do a little research. I got most of my info from DIY garden blogs and Wikipedia. I’m sure I will be back to update as I get more delicious food from the Bountiful Baskets co-op.

failure to thrive and GA law

Alright everyone. I felt the need to write this blog since there are quite a few of you who question why I keep going back to these weight checks set for Lucas just to hear them tell me he is not thriving. Simple answer: I have no choice. Yes, it is mandatory. No, it won't matter even if I end up getting switched off post. I will have to continue these checks presumably until he is at what they consider a proper weight/height ratio. I'm not just saying this. Let me show you why.

In the state of Georgia, any doctor can call child protective services if they feel that someone is neglecting the medical needs of their children. I've screenshot a page directly from the state of Georgia's website:

If I were to refuse to attend these appointments, they can simply make one phone call and have an investigation launched. All CPS has to see is that I blatantly refused medical services for my child and they can take them away from me. So will I continue to go to these useless, in my opinion, appointments and listen to them tell me that my child is not gaining enough weight and I should do this that and the other? Yes. You would, too, if you were faced with this information. 

What exactly is "medical neglect"? 

Medical Neglect: The denial or deprivation, by those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child, of medical or surgical treatment or intervention which is necessary to remedy or ameliorate a medical condition which is life threatening or causes injury. Medical Neglect includes not only serious, but mild and moderate medical neglect as well.

What exactly do they consider the sign so neglect?

Physical Indicators / Characteristics of Medical Neglect:

The indicators of child abuse and neglect vary. No child or caretaker will exhibit all of the physical or behavioral indicators listed, and some of the indicators are contradictory. The behavior of an abused or neglected child and other family members may be sporadic and unpredictable. Indicators should be used only as a general guide. The presence of multiple indicators or the pervasiveness of any one behavioral indicator warrants close scrutiny by the worker.

• Untreated serious physical or psychological illness or injury;
• Developmental delays (see Developmental milestones of children chart in appendix);
• Failure to thrive (see failure to thrive in appendix section).

But wait, there's more!

Other Factors to Consider

• Failure of parent to follow through on a medical professional's advice/instructions
• Failure to seek treatment impairs the child physically or emotionally
• Parent is aware of the child's condition and risk of further harm to the child
• Parent fails to seek adequate treatment despite financial or other reasonable means to do so

So exactly what evidence can they base this on?

Evidence is collected by law enforcement personnel, Children’s Division (CD) and multi-disciplinary team members and used as both physical and credible verbal evidence to document the worker's investigative conclusion. Evidence for reports of medical neglect may include any one or all of the following:

• Child's Statement;
• Licensed Medical Practitioner Report;
• Perpetrator's Statement;
• Witness' Statement.

What does this mean? That if I refuse to go to the appointments and refuse to abide by the advice given, all it will take is a simple phone call and a written report report by the doctor and nutritionist stating that I have done so. With just that little information, they would be able to launch an investigation against me. Do I think this is fair? Not at all. So I think they really have anything on me? Not in the least. Will I do everything it takes to make sure there isn't going to be a case against me? You bet. So I hope this explains why I continue to let these people make me upset over it.

For the record, I don't think there is a thing wrong with Lucas other than being MSPI. Conner grew exactly the same as Lucas is now, and if you were at Fort Bliss, you can probably remember that entire mess. CPS was called at Fort Bliss and I had to do a hospital stay with Conner to be under surveillance for 72 hours. It was ridiculous and heartbreaking and I WILL NOT be forced to go through that again. If you think you have the means to outwit the state of Georgia law, be my guest.