Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A Virtual Tea Party

What do you do when you have a community of moms scattered across the country who would love to spend a leisurely afternoon chatting with each other over a cup of tea or cappuccino (if distance wasn't an issue)?

The answer's simple ... you host an online tea party :-)

And that's just what Mothers for Liberty moms are doing this Wednesday, January 28th.

Between 2 and 4pm central time, moms will "gather" at Mothers for Liberty National (an online group via CafeMom) and share conversation, inspiration, information and more! Some moms will be able to join in for the whole event, others will only be able to drop by for a while ... but whatever their schedules permit, this online tea party is a great way to spend an afternoon with long distance friends.

To share a cup of tea with this community of moms simply join the Mothers for Liberty National Group online via CafeMom. Go to: http://www.cafemom.com/ -- Type in the words "Mothers for Liberty National" in the search bar -- This will take you to the group's homepage where a link is provided to register at CafeMom so you may join the group. Note: If you are already a member of CafeMom, simply click on the following link: http://www.cafemom.com/group/54702/

Another novelty is the tea-party, an extraordinary meal in that, being offered to persons that have already dined well, it supposes neither appetite nor thirst, and has no object but distraction, no basis but delicate enjoyment. ~ Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Sister City Camp Outs!

Plans are in the works for a Mothers for Liberty "Sister City" Camp Out in June. With two of our Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups located in communities named Greenville (what are the odds on that one, eh?) we've decided to have a little shared fun and each group is planning to host a Camp-Out the same weekend. Our MfL group in Greenville, Illinois has been discussing a theme for the event - "Old Fashioned Family Fun" - and knowing the mama who is in charge of planning MfL events in Greenville, Michigan - that will be right up her alley too :-)

A little "Old Fashioned Family Fun" might include sack races, egg tosses, a rousing game of horseshoes, crafting, singing 'round the campfire and more!

Hubby is a ham radio operator ... thought it might even be fun to see if our Sister Cities can connect up via the airwaves during the event as well.

Looking forward to a good turn out as we will be inviting Mothers for Liberty from across the country to join us ... heading to the Sister City Camp Out nearest them.

To learn more about our Sister City Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups, visit

South Central Illinois Mothers for Liberty at: http://moms.meetup.com/3107/

and West Michigan Mothers for Liberty at: http://moms.meetup.com/3675/

Camp Out details to follow!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Sunflower Seed Pancakes ... Yum!

When my oldest son was little, he had many food allergies ... so I was always searching for (and concocting) new and tasty recipes.

In the process, I came up with the recipe for Sunflower Seed Pancakes (which we still eat and enjoy today). Thought folks might enjoy giving them a try ...

Ingredients:
1 and 3/4 cup raw sunflower seed flour ( I buy raw sunflower seeds and grind them myself via our coffee grinder)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix ingredients and prepare in skillet in the same fashion as more traditional pancakes.
Serve with real maple syrup ... yum!
Recipe makes 6 medium size pancakes

Note: These are heavy, hearty (almost "meaty") pancakes. If you like a lighter pancake, sift sunflower seed flour before adding other ingredients to it and/or add a bit of wheat flour to the mix (adding additional water accordingly).

Monday, January 12, 2009

Mondays with Mothers for Liberty

"Mondays with Mothers for Liberty" is a weekly Live Chat (via our keyboards) with moms across the country who are interested in the philosophy and practice of individual freedom and personal responsibility.

These brainstorming sessions offer like-minded moms a chance to share thoughts and build off each other's ideas and efforts.

To participate in these Live Chats, moms will need to be a member of our Mothers for Liberty National Group. To join, simply visit CafeMom at: http://www.cafemom.com/ Type the words "Mothers for Liberty National" in the search bar. This will take you to the group's homepage where a link is provided to register at CafeMom so you may join the group. If you are already a member of CafeMom, simply click on the following link: http://www.cafemom.com/group/54702/

Looking forward to tonight's chat (Monday, January 12th at 8pm Central!)

Saying NO to Vaccinations ... At Any Age!

Neither of my sons were vaccinated throughout their elementary and high school years (we homeschooled some of those years, but not all, so we did deal with government schools and the pretense that vaccinations are mandatory)

My husband and I simply signed a form that indicated our decision to not have our sons vacinated was religious based.

College was a bit more difficult ... the university (state funded) “insisted” my sons get their MMR vaccinations. Both boys were over 18 at the time, so they were legally/personally able to make their own choice on the matter (even tho I expressed my disapproval and concern). My oldest son’s exposure to the vaccine went without incident. My youngest son’s story was quite different (and confirmed my fears about vaccines in general). He become VERY ill - extremely high fever, the worst headaches he had ever experienced, nausea, etc... - a trip to the ER followed by several doctors visits confirmed his exposure to the vaccine played a significant part in triggering a virus that was possibly laying dormant in his system (or introducing it?) and he was diagnosed with mononucleosis - a similar strain of virus as measles, meningitis, etc. He missed 2 weeks of classes and took several months to really get back on his feet (btw, he still suffers from viral infections much more frequently than the average person).

Later, the university, in its infinite wisdom, decided that despite my son’s initial serious reaction to the first round of the MMR vaccine, he needed to follow up with a second round which was "required" of all students. We were able (at first) to get a medical exemption as mononucleosis had been confirmed via my son’s blood work and our doctor felt comfortable writing a letter stating that “at this time vaccinations were contraindicated”.

The school left no stone un-turned, however, and picked up on the “at this time”. They kept pushing for our doctor to give exact dates as to when he could/could not receive the vaccination, so we began to look for other solutions - and went back to the religious exemption idea. However, we were told that to claim a religious exemption - to satisfy the state - my son had to verify that he was attending a church were such a belief was in fact part of the church's practice/doctrine. He was not, so that option was unavailable to us.

Since we were convinced that another round of the MMR vaccination would seriously affect my son’s health AGAIN - there was no choice but to keep looking for ways to successfully opt out. After researching the subject via the internet, I found that a “PERSONAL religious exemption” was different than a religious exemption ... and so my son took that route, writing the following letter to the university:

"After much thought, reflection and meditation, my personal religious beliefs prohibit the injection of foreign substances into my body. Therefore, owing to the Knowledge that The Higher Power which created us all, rejects this same notion of foreign substances entering into the body, I object to the following vaccinations, including but not limited to, DTaP\DTP, HepB, Hib, MMR, Polio, Varicella, and MCV4. Therefore I am filing this personal religious exemption in accordance with: TITLE 77: PUBLIC HEALTH CHAPTER I: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SUBCHAPTER k: COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL AND IMMUNIZATIONS PART 694 COLLEGE IMMUNIZATION CODE SECTION 694.210 RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION”

The university finally backed off.

For more info on vaccinations visit: http://www.vaccineawareness.org/aboutIVAC.htm and http://www.thenhf.com/vaccinations.html