My two older daughters really enjoy the television series Avatar, the Last Airbender. So much so, in fact, that Santa brought them Appa, the flying bison, and we got them the action figures. Well, we got them a FEW of the action figures. I couldn't justify buying "Spirit Aang", and generic "Fire Nation Warrior" and the like. We bought the main characters... except the blatantly missing ones - Kitara and Toph, the female characters.

Not only is Fisher Price missing out on an entire market of kids, they're being sexist. At least Bandai got it right when they produced the entire line of Teen Titan characters, they DID include Starfire, Raven and Terra.

So tell me, seriously, just how do I explain to my daughters that the female characters weren't worth producing?

It's a weird game, and I'm JUST learning how to play it. Most of the items I've bid on in the past, I could safely put a respectable max bid, and just let it ride. Either I win or I don't. This time, however, I was bidding on a fairly popular electronic item. There were plenty available to bid on, and in fact, about a half dozen closing each within about 15-20 minutes of each other.

The first one I bid on, I got outbid in the last two minutes. Okay, so the second one, I watched the time tick down, thinking I'd gotten it, making sure to place my bid in the last two minutes. This time I was outbid in the last FIVE SECONDS. Weird...

So I thought I'd try one more time. Then I'd give it a rest. I watched the item up until about 30 seconds to go, took my time placing the bid, and the bid went in with still about 20 seconds to go. The price went up to within 10 cents of my max bid. I watched the seconds tick down, thinking someone was going to jump it in the last five seconds again... three seconds... I WON!

I won? Now I get to shell out some decent money for that "win". And yet I still felt elated, victorious.

Did I mention it's all very weird?

Stem cells are amazing, they are non-specific cells that can become ANY type of cell in the body. Controversy over stem cell research stems (pun intended) from the fact that aborted or unused (i.e. created for IVF and then not used) embryos are one of the richest sources of these cells, and therefore the most commonly used. However, proponents of stem cell research point out that these cells would be destroyed anyway. Stem cells are also harvested from adults, or from umbilical cords immediately after birth.

Some companies saw the potential for a great money making scheme, and started offering to "bank" umbilical cord blood for a fee. The fee is astronomical, but the sales pitch is phenomenal. "You, too, can save your child's life, just save their umbilical cord blood", who wouldn't jump at that opportunity? Fact is, the odds are largely against your child ever needing them (thank goodness).

Now, if you want to donate your umbilical cord blood, you can. Then it can be available to anyone who needs it. Stem cell transplantation has successfully treated leukemia, other malignant tumors, sickle cell anemia, and many others.

We are so fortunate to know Matthew and his family. Tomorrow, Dec. 5th, Matthew undergoes stem cell transplantation at Duke Medical Center. They are using a mismatched donor in the hopes of inducing Graft-Verus-Host-Disease, so that the engrafting stem cells will overpower Matthew's own bone marrow and be able to make healthy blood cells. This entry is in his honor, as we keep him in our thoughts often these days.

My husband sent this out to our family list today:

Chloe was playing with a fruit snack wrapper that one of the big girls had left around. So I took it from her, because she really shouldn't be playing with it. But then I thought, I wonder what would happen if ...

So I gave it back to her, and asked her to put it in the garbage. She takes it, turns around, walks right into the bathroom and drops it in the basket. Blew me away. I've got to be more careful what I say around Chloe, the girl is soaking absolutely everything in at a shocking pace. And the best part, she doesn't argue about it like her big sisters :)

As I write this she's pointing at her sippy cup saying, "Dora!". Because of course, there's a picture of Dora on the front. Man-oh-man, I can't keep up. When did all this happen?

It's pretty representative of where Chloe is developmentally. She'll say ANYTHING you ask her to. She understands a TON and will do things you ask her to do. She "raises the roof" (i.e. the dance move), gives "high fives", points at body parts in turn when asked, and knows all the animal sounds that we've taught her. She runs, she plays, she colours. She is a love-bug, blowing kisses, and giving kisses and hugs. She not only knows the meaning of the word NO, she uses it regularly. She's a kid... baby no more. It's bittersweet.