Links for 2007-08-27 [del.icio.us]

• Monkeys Use Baby Talk With Infants
  via ParentDish
  

  "Humans aren't the only animals to use baby talk when speaking to offspring—rhesus monkeys also go "gaga" over babies, new research says.
  "Puerto Rico's female rhesus monkeys make unique vocalizations to interact with infants to get their attention, the study finds."

• Outrageous Oreo Crunch Brownies Recipe - Culinary in the Desert: How much for that brownie in the window?
  
  These look intense (brownies with oreos baked in), and the recipe makes a big batch of brownies. I think I need to wait for a big event with potluck to try this recipe out.
• Dreena's Vegan Recipes: Banana Oat Bundles
  

  "A cross between a cookie and a mini-muffin, these bundles are a tasty, wholesome treat that are fast to prepare and can be enjoyed hot from the oven, or cooled to pack in lunches!"

  These are wheat free too. They sound a little like a more grown up version of the cookies I made for my daughter when she was just starting to eat and banana and oats where two of her few foods.
• Wheat Free Chocolate Chip Cookies :: Vegan Recipe Database
  
  I like to have some wheat and dairy free recipes around so that I can make treats for all my friends so I plan to give these a try. I like that the recipe doesn't require lots of obscure ingredients in place of wheat flour (just oat flour, and there's also a little flax meal).
• Study Shows Infant Intuitive "Mind Reading" | Scientific Blogging
  

  "The findings indicate that the mental structures and the psychological reasoning skills allowing us predict other’s behavior are in place at a very young age and their development does not entirely rely upon the environment or associative learning mechanisms."

• Why Is Heart Disease Prevalent In Diabetics? Maybe Abnormal Fat Metabolism | Scientific Blogging
• Why We Have Trouble Distinguishing Faces Of Other Races | Scientific Blogging
• Organic veggies: are they really better than conventionally grown? | Scientific Blogging
  Well, yes. That's basically the answer, although some are more better than others!
• Domesticating Biotechnology in the 21st Century | Scientific Blogging
• The Fenton Reaction, Bad Iron And Alzheimer's | Scientific Blogging
• Does a Summertime Baby Mean a Myopic Child? | Scientific Blogging
  

  "If your child is born in the winter or fall, it will have better long-range eyesight throughout its lifetime and less chance of requiring thick corrective glasses, predicts a Tel Aviv University investigation led by Dr. Yossi Mandel, a senior ophthalmologist in the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps."

Links for 2007-08-24 to 26 [del.icio.us]

• The Meal Assembly Network
  I've heard of this meal assembly thing before:
  

  "A meal assembly kitchen is the ultimate partner in helping busy families get healthy, tasty dinners prepared. The typical kitchen has 12 to 16 stations that look like salad bars. Each station includes all of the ingredients necessary to put together a main entrée that serves 4 to 6. The ingredients are already chopped, sliced, and/or cut. Customers follow detailed instructions at each station and assemble the ingredients into freezer-ready bags. Buying and preparing the ingredients, as well as cleaning up the mess, is the responsibility of the meal assembly kitchen. The customer typically assembles 12 meals, and takes them home in a cooler or a laundry basket for storage in the freezer. Actual cooking happens at home."

  I like the idea but I don't think I'd actually do it -- but if I had more freezer space and could clear the time it'd be good to try and put stuff together like this at home sometimes for those nights when I don't want to cook but I don't want to eat take-out.
• He has your... fear of veggies | Health & Fitness | Reuters
  

  "In a large study of identical and fraternal twins, researchers from University College London found that nearly 80 percent of children's tendency to avoid unfamiliar foods was inherited."

  I was interested to hear the part about fear of new foods, and the idea of just keeping giving children a new food until it's a familiar food and then they may find it's ok, or even that they like it! I know that for me (somewhat picky eater that I am) I've gotten more able to stomach foods through forcing myself to take a few bites. My mum always used to do this with vegetables we didn't like. We had one bites worth on our plate that we had to try then we could have more if we liked, or not. It hasn't got me to like swede but I could eat it if needed!
• Breakthrough in obesity battle - 25 Jul 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news
  

  "The scientists have shown that if a mother is undernourished, her children's bodies are set up to cope with a life of scarcity.
  "But the energy-dense "hamburger and milkshake" diet of modern Western society is likely to result in children who are likely to become fat - unlike those from mothers who eat a balanced diet during pregnancy."

• Neonatal Doc: Loss
  A wonderful post from a neonatologist - a quote:
  

  "After years of seeing various types of pregnancy and newborn loss, I have decided that there are really no good words of comfort at such a time. The loss is so final, so absolute, so irrevocable, that only time can lessen the wound and even then often not completely heal it. We can express our condolences to the family and offer to do anything we can for them, but beyond that we seem relatively powerless."

  Some great comments too. Made me cry, but in a good way. I'm so glad we also had wonderful staff at the hospital where our first daughter was born, and died.
• Craving for junk food ‘begins in the womb’ - Times Online
  
• not martha - more tiny kitchen storage
  a neat idea for storing utensils -- a good way to keep them out of reach from little hands!
  
• Pattern for “Chunky Braided Scarf” « Butterfly Morning
• Bust Alteration
  A handy how-to on altering sewing patterns to fit your bust size.
• SO busy sewing › Red Instead BLOG
  
  Found the link for bust alteration at this blog post, there are some other handy links there too.
• Six weeks without a wash: The soapless experiment | the Daily Mail
  An article about a woman who decided to try an experiment which I think was recorded for a tv show:
  

  "for 40 days and 40 nights, there has been no showering, no hair washing, no teeth cleaning and no deodorant.
  "She has ditched her make-up and hair styling products, and allowed herself access to just three outfits (her running kit, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and one summer dress)."

  I found this interesting; I think she went a little overboard, but still. It's good to hear what was good and what was bad about cutting all that stuff out. Clearly she felt all the chemicals she'd been putting on and in her body as part of her daily routine were not doing her a lot of favours (her IBS symptoms improved during the experiment, and her skin seemed much healthier), but at the same time). It was interesting to hear that as long as she was away from other people (and societal expectations) she felt " felt really healthy and good about [her]self" and that when she was tested at the end of the experiment she didn't show a great increase in bacteria and suchlike which confirms we probably don't need to be sanitizing our hands every five seconds!
  
  The article ends with her summing up:
  

  "the experiment worked in that I proved to myself there is no need for all these beauty products on which I've been frittering away so much money. My desire for them was all in my mind, not an actual physical need.
  "It showed me that for years I've been using excessive amounts, and, at the same time, potentially putting my health at risk because of all the chemicals they contain.
  "I was amazed to find that the point when my skin looked its best was after a month of not using anything at all. As a result, I've become far more moderate in what products I use and what I am prepared to spend money on.
  "A bar of soap, organic shampoo and conditioner, and a basic moisturiser are all I need now. I no longer wash my hair every day and I no longer feel self-conscious if I'm not done up to the nines.
  "If people didn't notice when they had me standing next to them during the experiment, I'm sure they won't be aware of small things that would once have got me down, such as a bad hair day or a minor skin outbreak."

• Knitty: Fall 2006 - red herring
  
  Another CookieA sock pattern for my to-do list -- I've been wanting to try colour work again. I'm intimidated by it because of the tension issue but love all the possibilities that would open up if I could master it.
• Choc Fudge Shortbread on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  This sounds tasty, need to make fudge first though!
• eat me, delicious: Chocolate Orbit Cake
  This looks so incredibly chocolaty and rich, mmmm.
• Vanana Cookies (Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookies) » vanesscipes
  These look yummy. [I made some - posted on flickr]

And a couple more tasty looking recipes to try some time:

• Sausage-stuffed portobello mushrooms - The Boston Globe
• Creamy corn chowder with very little cream - The Boston Globe

Alphabetty

I saw a couple of bloggers who I follow decide to attempt Bella Dia's Encyclopedia of Me meme this month. Each day in August a new letter of the alphabet and a word (relating to the writer's life) beginning with that letter as the subject/prompt for a new blog post. A way for readers to get to know more random info about the blogger, a way for the blogger to think of new things to write about. Good idea I thought, I should do that. Not so much thus far obviously. I have been working on an alphabet/encyclopedia of me though as I started to think about what words were candidates for each letter of the alphabet. Perhaps I'll post that and add to it as things come to me, and then at some point actually do the whole posting project.

Coincidentally Secret Agent Josephine (whose blog I know I've visited in the past but in this case I came back to via Parentdish) has her own current alphabet project which is most excellent and I think my daughter will enjoy if I can get my act together with the printing and pasting and so on.

I ordered pattern cards from weewonderfuls before going to bed on Monday night and they arrived in the mail today. (What service, I don't know how she does it with two small children and all.) They're so cute! I wasn't sure whether to get them or not, after all I can't keep up with all the things I want to/need to do these days as it is. However, one of the things I have been doing recently is knitting and that's partly because it's something I can put in my handbag and pull out when I'm in the car, or we're out and the girl is otherwise engaged. These pattern cards are for little soft toys that are hand stitched so I can hopefully do the same with them. Also, as I mentioned, they're cute so how could I resist?

Links for 2007-08-23 [del.icio.us]

• Design*Sponge: bloggers' guide to online shopping: part one
• Design*Sponge: bloggers' guide to online shopping: part two
• BBC NEWS | Magazine | Is stealing wireless wrong?
• Peace+love+pants= my fav bolero!*TUTE!!! lotsofpics!*
  via Craftzine
  
• TUTORIAL: Singlet Style Shopping Bag (like the plastic shopping bag)
• button shirt to toddler dress recon *NEW MINTY FRESH TUTORIAL*
  via Craftzine
• Radical Cross Stitch » Blog Archive » Easiest Baby Hat Ever - Tutorial
  found Craftzine
• My Weblog: Mousey and his bed
  found via Craftzine, a cute little toy idea to make
• Craftzine.com blog: Brother CS-6000: Good Beginner Sewing Machine
  
  A very timely post for me, with a link to a roundup of sewing machine recommendations/reviews from last year. Been thinking for a while of buying myself a new sewing machine but deciding which to buy is keeping me stalled and procrastinating.
• How to Make Freezer Jam - Instructables
  I'd never heard of freezer jam before, intriguing!
• Make/recycle your own paper! - Instructables
• Make your own onestringbag - Instructables
• Lazy Line Dry - Instructables
• Recycled Mini Dry Erase Board - Instructables
• Secret Agent Josephine » Baby Bug Flash Cards
  
  Secret Agent Josephine has been inspired to make alphabet flashcards, inspired by/for her daughter and very generously she is currently sharing them with people who visit her blog (though eventually they should be available for purchase). Wonderful artwork (she does this professionally as well as out of love after all).

Links for 2007-08-22 [del.icio.us]

• BBC NEWS | World | Europe | The secret history of the Nazi mascot
  
  Fascinating story of a Jewish boy who escaped into the forest when the rest of his town was massacred by the Nazis. After he was handed over to police a soldier helped him by introducing him to the other soldiers as a Russian orphan and he was adopted as a kind of mascot:
  
  "To this day, Alex Kurzem has no idea why Sergeant Jekabs Kulis took pity on him. Whatever his motives, it certainly helped that Alex had Aryan looks. And together, they kept the secret.
  
  "'Every moment I had to remind myself not to let my guard down, because if ever anyone found out, I was dead. I was scared of the Russians shooting me and the Germans discovering I was Jewish. I had no-one to turn to.'
  
  "Young Alex saw action on the Russian front, and was even used by the SS to lure Jewish people to their deaths."
• Neither Hip Nor Funky » Freezer Paper T-shirt Tutorial
  
  I've seen so many great freezer paper stenciled projects at flickr, and on various blogs, and would love to have a go myself sometime. This isn't the only tutorial out there, but it looks like a good one so keeping it handy for later.
  
• Simple and Elegant dress
  
  A tutorial for making one of those dresses that's got lines of elastic running around the chest/bust, but using lengths of elastic rather than elastic thread which somehow seems more do-able.
• Techniques with Theresa - Seaming knitting - knitty.com
  
  Seaming is not my strong suit so I figure I can never have enough resources handy when I need them.
• Toddlers are capable of introspection :: UC Davis News & Information ::
  
  Scientists have demonstrated that dolphins, monkeys and even rats can engage in some form of "metacognition," or an awareness of their own thought processes. But developmental psychologists have assumed that human children do not develop this capability before about age 5. Lyons and Ghetti have toppled that assumption by teaching 3- and 4-year-olds to communicate their awareness of their thought processes using pictures rather than words. "We've shown that even very young children can think about their thinking," Ghetti said. "The reason we haven't appreciated it before now is that the studies that have been used to test for it have been too verbally demanding."
  
  This reminds me of reading (and listening to a show on Radio 4) about early childhood memories a while back -- experts say lasting memories aren't formed until a child is verbal and can describe them. However in a survey of people in the UK a huge number of people reported pre-verbal memories. I know people who have really early memories - strong visual images in particular. I suspect the experts don't know everything!
  

All the following links I found via CRAFT:

• » Blog Archive » Winding a skein into a centre-pull ball
  
• Bella Dia: Doodling with Embroidery
  
  I so need to give this a try. Seems as though I could make something pretty a bit at a time without thinking too much -- exactly the kind of crafty project I crave these days!
  
• Naptime Knits: froggy
  cute knit and felted frog pattern
  
• SockPixie: Jewel (Free Baby Hat Knitting Pattern)
  cute little hat with a border of mitred squares
  
• DIY Shrinky Dinks. » Curbly | DIY Design Community
  
• Bella Knitting: Duplicate Stitch Tutorial
  
• How to Make a Gathered Skirt with Knit Waistband
  
• U-handblog: Pricing your bags or other crafts to sell.
  
  I don't know that I'm likely to be in a place to try and make stuff to sell any time soon (or ever) but this seems like a useful reference point if you or I ever are contemplating such a thing.
  
• The Knitting Zone - Easy Sock Blockers / Stretchers
  
  

Links for 2007-08-21 [del.icio.us]

• Online Etch a Sketch, interactive Etch-a-Sketch - Etchy.org
  found via ParentDish
  
• Speak & Spell Texas Instruments simulator - Speak and Spell - retro toy emulator
  also found via ParentDish
  
• Money tips for preschoolers - ParentDish
• Charlotte Mason Education - What is CM?

Links for 2007-08-20 [del.icio.us]

• Woolgathering: Mad Color Weave pattern now available
  sock pattern found via Needle Exchange's Saturday Pattern Day #9 post
  
• domesticrafts - Get your Drunken Bees here
  another sock pattern found via Needle Exchange's Saturday Pattern Day #10
  
• domesticrafts - Zephyr Socks
  and once I was at domesticrafts I saw this sock pattern that I like even more!
  
• Stitch Catalog - Stitch Count Listing
• Stashmina - knittywhipped: Wrap it up
  Idea for a wrap, love the fir cone pattern.
• Clapotis pattern at knitty.com
  Another wrap/shawl/scarf pattern I want to make. I've seen so many pictures of this pattern at flickr and it sounds simple and looks great.
• 1x umrühren bitte: Ein Brot macht die Runde: Hokkaido Milchbrot
  this bread looks very tasty (I especially like the idea of the variation with Nutella, and guess I could alternatively use some kind of ganache and chopped nuts perhaps). Just need to brush up on my German so that I can understand more of the recipe!
• Culinary in the Desert: Mocha Mudslides
  Saw a picture of these cookies at flickr. I'm not a fan of the flavour of coffee (love the smell though) but I can think of a few people I know who would like these a lot.
• Swirl socks for Mom and MIL…and you? « Sulala
  Another aesthetically pleasing sock pattern (yet more socks for my to-do list). These socks have a swirl that spirals around the leg and foot. I suspect it would be look very interesting to babies exploring feet! Found via Needle Exchange's Saturday Pattern Day #10
  

Links for 2007-08-13 to 18 [del.icio.us]

• Study:Early diet advice for kids sticks - USATODAY.com
  "Teaching children from a young age to eat a low-fat diet can be effective — even as they reach their teens and begin eating more meals away from home, according to a new study.
  "The study of children in Finland found that those who were taught to focus on healthy fats — those found in fish, nuts, seeds and oils from plants — had slightly lower cholesterol levels compared to those who ate an unrestricted diet."
• BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Huge payout in US stuttering case
  "In 1939, the plaintiffs - all orphans in state care - were tormented for six months by Iowa University researchers. "The study was testing the theory that children develop speech impediments because of psychological pressure."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Depression is 'over-diagnosed'
  "Too many people are being diagnosed with depression when all they are is unhappy, a leading psychiatrist says.
  "...
  "But another psychiatrist writing in the journal contradicts his views, praising the increased diagnosis of depression."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Early cord clamping may harm baby
  "Clamping the umbilical cord straight after birth does not benefit mother or baby and may actually be harmful, a UK expert has warned. "Instead, leaving the cord for around three minutes can boost the baby's iron stores, cutting the risk of anaemia."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Fat 'crucial' in children's diet
  "Concerns about their child becoming overweight means some parents put them on low-fat diets, but the Nutrition Journal study said this was misguided.
  "Researchers found children burned substantially more fat than adults relative to their calorie intake.
  "Youngsters needed that fat to grow and thrive, they argued.
  "Over a third of a child's energy intake should be made up of fat, the researchers at Pennsylvania State University said, a recommendation in line with UK requirements."
• Aubrey DoodlePants Knitting Pattern
  A good (and free) knitting pattern for longies (to go over cloth diapers). I've made this pattern several times (with some modifications of my own) but thought I'd save the link here since I'm always having to search for it when I want to make more.
  
• hardrockzombie: Rescued from the Ravages of Time
  "I dug these patterns with considerable difficulty from the belly of the New York Public Library. I'm quite sure they sat untouched for years on their shelves, and would have quietly crumbled to fragments and dust with no one the wiser had I not intervened. As it was, in handling and photocopying them I'm pretty sure I fast-forwarded that destruction by 10 years."
• Instructables Make a diamond-paged book
• Farewell French and Saunders - Times Online
  "After 20 years, French and Saunders are still our most successful, and funniest, female duo. So why are they calling time on their partnership — and coming over all serious about matters of life and death?"
• Pollution Causes 40 Percent Of Deaths Worldwide, Study Finds | Scientific Blogging
  "...environmental degradation, coupled with the growth in world population, are major causes behind the rapid increase in human diseases, which the World Health Organization has recently reported. Both factors contribute to the malnourishment and disease susceptibility of 3.7 billion people..."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Baby growth chart switch closer
  "New child growth charts which reflect the slower weight gain associated with breastfeeding could be soon be adopted in England.
  "Current UK growth charts are based on predominantly formula-fed babies, which tend to grow more quickly.
  "The new charts have been drawn up by the World Health Organization.
  "They have been backed in a report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
  "It is hoped that adopting the new standards could stop breastfeeding mothers being worried about their babies apparently failing to put on weight fast enough."
• Identification card for children - ParentDish
  "Ident-a Kid cards are like a driver's license for babies and children. One sturdy, plastic laminated card stores their eye color, height, weight, parents name and address, as well as a thumbprint and recent photograph."

Links for 2007-08-11 & 12 [del.icio.us]

• BBC NEWS | UK | Double-nosed dog not to be sniffed at
• 2007: Accio Quote!, the Largest Archive of J.K. Rowling quotes on the web
  
  I hear I should read this, but not until I get around to reading the last book so I figure I'll save the link here for now.
• Mabel's Labels: Personalized dishwasher safe kids labels Stickers Iron on Shoe Bag tag Camp Clothing Skinny-minis Stickies Allergy Tag-mates Fundraising School Daycare Pre-school
• More Zing, Less Sodium
  
  A list of suggestions of which herbs and spices work well with different kinds of foods/dishes.
• Banana Jam on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  Go over to flickr for the link to the recipe
• Confabulation in the Kitchen: Homemade Take-Out
  Sesame Chicken recipe
• Soft Pretzels (w/recipe) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
• BBC NEWS | Scotland | Scots 'mither tongue' goes online
  
  "An archive of the Scots language is now available all over the world thanks to a comprehensive new website.
  
  "Researchers at Glasgow University have completed work on the online resource, which contains more than four million words in Scots and Scottish English.
  
  "As well as meaning and usage, the project also has audio links, allowing people to hear words being spoken."
• Instructables Paper ball ornaments for your Christmas tree
  
  "Recycling paper is one of the many things we can do to protect environment, so instead of dispose our old magazines and the tons of catalogs and paper junk we receive, why don't use it to make some nice ornaments for Christmas? They are original, cheap and safer for your children than the traditional glass balls."

Links for 2007-08-10 [del.icio.us]

• BBC NEWS | Health | Bones offer new hope for diabetes
  "An international team found the molecule osteocalcin, produced by bone cells, is active in helping to regulate blood sugar levels in mice."
• the barmy baker: Because Some Days You Just Need A Lot of Chocolate
  Saw a picture of these Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies cookies at flickr and thought I needed to add them to my to make list immediately (although I don't like the taste of coffee so may need to modify a bit)!
• 14 Numbers Your Cell Phone Can't Live Without · The Cranking Widgets Blog
  "if your cell phone has no other numbers stored in its memory, make sure it has these numbers." I haven't actually had a cell phone until just now but I was thinking this would also be useful as a starting point for a phone list to go on the wall by the phone (or on the fridge perhaps) at home so you don't need to go looking for numbers in an emergency (especially if the person needing the number is an out of town visitor or baby sitter).
  
• the knitted blog: Make your own envelopes.
  seen at :Craft
  
• Nearly half of early breast cancers missed by mammograms, research suggests |Guardian
• London looks at bike hire scheme | Guardian
  "Ken Livingstone yesterday confirmed he wants a network of hire pushbikes for London. The capital's mayor ordered officials to investigate a scheme to mirror the one introduced in Paris, where the provision of 10,000 bicycles at 750 dedicated hire points has been hugely successful. The study will also look at other cycle-friendly cities such as Barcelona, Lyon, Brussels, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Oslo and Copenhagen."
• BakeSpace.com - Recipe Swap and Food Social Network
• tumbling blocks: oilcloth lunch bag
  seen via flickr, this is a blog post with a tutorial for making your own lunch bag with oilcloth.
  
• The Link Between Estrogen And Pain | Scientific Blogging
  "Estrogen plays an important role in determining how sensitive a person is to pain, and the estrogen receptor known as ER-beta is particularly significant in this context. These are the conclusions of a study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet."
• baby led weaning :: The NHS agrees with us that finger food is A-Okay from 6 months.
  "some links from the NHS Breastfeeding People and NHS Healthy Start that say finger food is fine from 6 months"

Colourful posting

I've been enjoying keeping my eyes open and taking in my surroundings as I look for photo opportunities for the Year of Color 2 flickr group I mentioned. I haven't done such a great job keeping up with posting the pictures, but I'm going to take a few minutes to get up to date right now!
Week 2: BROWN+BLUE

This is a picture of the wall in my kitchen. This is how it was decorated when we moved in, we have lived in this house for 5 years now and not redecorated anywhere, sigh.

I don't mind the wall paper (though I doubt I'd have chosen it) but I hate the varnish of the wood, and although I quite like that colour of blue at the bottom I wish it was represented in something more pleasant than plastic paneling. Ah well, at least I won't be heartbroken if (when) my daughter starts colouring on the walls!

Mostly I've been finding pictures for the project when I'm out and about walking through town with my daughter. Perhaps this is because she's so busy watching everything around us that I have space to look around me for more then a few seconds at a time!

This next picture is of the multi-story car park. I put it in with the week 3 pictures but I guess it could also qualify under brown+blue as the darker bricks are more brown?

Week 3: ORANGE+BLUE


I noticed the blue mail box behind the orange bollard as we crossed the street and stopped to get a quick snapshot.

The flickr group pool has some wonderful shots with these colours. I notice some people make mosaics of their favourite shots of the week, if I can keep track of my favourites and find a few extra minutes I might have a go at that -- it's interesting how images strike people so differently sometimes.

Week 4: BLUE+GREEN

Here I am back up to date (just!). This is a colour combination that I see everywhere (especially at this time of year), so I've got quite a few shots this week. Now I just need to pick which ones to send to the group pool. Here's a mosaic (put together here) of all of my flickr photos tagged blue+green (so far):


1. blue sky + green trees, 2. blue jeans + green grass, playing at the park, 3. blue sky + green mountain, 4. blue + green in the stroller, 5. blue can + green grass, 6. blue + green paint job, 7. blue clothed baby + green cart handle, 8. blue trash can + green surroundings

Links for 2007-08-06 thorough 09 [del.icio.us]

• Birth The Play :: Bold
  
  "Birth is a play based on over one hundred interviews Karen Brody conducted with mothers across America who gave birth between 2000-2004. It tells the true stories of 8 women painting a portrait of how low-risk, educated women are giving birth in America today."
  
  I don't know whether I'm likely to be able to see this play, or go to a Red Tent event, this year but it sounds really interesting to me (I read more birth stories than I have time for). During September there are groups all over the USA (and further afield) putting on the play, and/or organizing events in order to raise awareness about labor/birth and to make birthing more mother friendly -- look for an event near you.
• A pause before parenting -- PJStar.com - Journal Star Features
  
  "Women who began their families later in life share the rewards - and regrets - of delayed motherhood"
• August '07 edition of MagKnits, your friendly online knitting magazine
  
  I like the look of Lemonade (a fitted cotton cardi), Jenora (a cardigan that makes me think of the Bloomsbury group) and Summer Sky (a nice shrug/cardigan) Also there's a sock pattern, and a slinky knit dress pattern.
• A pioneer in an experiment called open adoption - Los Angeles Times
  
  The second part of the story is here. Interesting look at one story of an open adoption, you should really read both parts of the story. I've been reading several blogs where adoption is an important part of the bloggers life - as a first parent, an adoptive parent or a person who was adopted - and it's really expanded my understanding of adoption enormously. It's given me far more insight than I've got from people I know personally who've placed a child, adopted a child or been adopted (probably in part because I've never really talked about adoption in any depth with those people). I'm really grateful for the people who have shared their stories and helped me understand more about the long term implications of adoption for all involved.
  
• How Much Salt Is Safe? | Scientific Blogging
• Latent Memory Means Genetic Learning | Scientific Blogging
• Freebirthing: Should women give birth alone? -- Daily Mail
  
  Freebirthing scares me personally, I had drug-free easy deliveries but I really valued having the nurses, midwives and my doula around (and I know my husband would have been terrified without them). Of course we were at a hospital that knows how to support "normal birth". Hearing stories of being in labor at hospitals that have epidural rates so high that the nurses don't know what to do with a naturally laboring woman, and hearing of the rising and rising c-section rates around the country (US and UK), (not to mention how hard it can be to find midwives and doctors to attend a homebirth what with malpractice insurance and not enough OBs and midwives around) I can see where freebirthing becomes a more attractive option for many women.
• MAGPIE » “Bread and Puppet continues, more than 40 years on, to live an ideal of art as collective enterprise, a free or low-cost alternative voice outside the profit system.” - Arthur Magazine blogs for you...
• Baby Videos May Hinder Infants' Language Development | Scientific Blogging
  
  "Rather than helping babies, the over-use of such productions actually may slow down infants eight to 16 months of age when it comes to acquiring vocabulary, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
  
  "The scientists found that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them. Baby DVDs and videos had no positive or negative effect on the vocabularies on toddlers 17 to 24 months of age."
• Online movie guides for parents - ParentDish
• BBC NEWS | Health | Diabetes problems 'vitamin link'
  
  "A simple vitamin deficiency may be the cause of many of the side effects of diabetes, a study suggests.
  
  "Researchers found people with the disease expelled thiamine - vitamin B1 - from their bodies at 15 times the normal rate in a study of 94 people.
  
  "The Warwick University team said thiamine helped ward off complications such as heart disease and eye problems, the Diabetologia journal said."
• The Phrontistery: Obscure Words and Vocabulary Resources
• Owl Hat Pattern
  Seen in a flickr photo
  
• BBC NEWS | Health | Diet food 'may fuel obesity risk'
  
  "researchers believe low-calorie versions of usually high-calorie foods disrupt the body's ability to use taste to regulate calorific intake."
• Monkeys, Humans Learn The Same Way | Scientific Blogging
  
  “'Like humans, monkeys benefit enormously from being actively involved in learning instead of having information presented to them passively,' said Nate Kornell, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar in psychology and lead author of the study. 'The advantage of active learning appears to be a fundamental property of memory in humans and nonhumans alike.'”
• BBC NEWS | Education | Academic study 'not always best'
  
  "Parents should encourage teenagers to pursue a wider range of courses, not just academic ones, campaigners say.
  
  "Educational foundation Edge warns of 'academic snobbery' against vocational courses. It says a fifth of pupils think they are on the wrong path.
  
  "Going on to study for a degree for its own sake is not always suitable for the careers they really want, Edge says."

Links for 2007-07-31 through 2007-08-05 [del.icio.us]

• Burma: A plight we can ignore no longer - Independent Online Edition > Asia
• Burma: Forgotten and locked in the shadow of the past - Independent
• Pregnancy Depression May Affect Baby
  '"Anxiety and depression don't predict [a baby's] total sleep, but do predict sleep problems and disruptive sleep," says researcher Thomas O'Connor, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. "The babies may sleep just as long, but they wake up more often and they have trouble falling asleep."'
• Sew,Mama,Sew! Blog » » Interfacing Guide from Amy Butler
• Wheat-Free Baking Recipes
• BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Orangutans use 'charades' to talk
  "Researchers from St Andrews University have shown that the animals intentionally modify or repeat their signals to get their messages across.
  "The scientists said they believed all great apes could have this capability, suggesting that the skill may have evolved millions of years ago."
• Soft Drinks Linked To Increase In Heart Disease | Scientific Blogging
  "Drinking more than one soft drink daily — whether it's regular or diet — may be associated with an increase in the risk factors for heart disease."
• Magnetic Capsules Protect Insulin Cell Transplants in Type I Diabetes | Scientific Blogging
• Green Toys Brand Toys - Platsic Toys Made From Corn!!
• Soaker pattern - Just Jussi: New free pattern
• Scientists issue warning about chemical in plastic - Los Angeles Times
  "In an unusual effort targeting a single chemical, several dozen scientists on Thursday issued a strongly worded consensus statement warning that an estrogen-like compound in plastic is likely causing an array of serious reproductive disorders in people.
  "The compound, bisphenol A or BPA, is one of the highest-volume chemicals in the world and has found its way into the bodies of most human beings."
• CorePsychBlog: Who Cares about Estrogen Dominance?