Arkansas family welcomes 18th child, a girl

Obviously, being in her 40s has not slowed this woman's fertility. Curious to see how many more she'll have...

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Thu Dec 18, 8:46 pm ET

ROGERS, Ark. – An Arkansas woman has given birth to her 18th child. Michelle Duggar delivered the baby girl by Caesarean section Thursday at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers. The baby, named Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar, weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long.

"The ultimate Christmas gift from God," said Jim Bob Duggar, the father of the 18 children. "She's just absolutely beautiful, like her mom and her sisters."

The Duggars now have 10 sons and eight daughters.

Jim Bob Duggar said Michelle started having contractions Wednesday night. She needed the C-section, her third, because the baby was lying sideways. Jim Bob said both baby and mother were doing well Thursday night.

"We both would love to have more," he said.

The cable network TLC broadcasts a weekly show about the Duggars, called "17 Kids and Counting." Chris Finnegan of TLC — which handles public relations for the Duggar family — said the show's name would be updated to account for the latest addition to the family. He said TLC also will air a show Monday on the baby's delivery.

Jim Bob Duggar is 43, a year older than his wife. Their oldest child, Joshua, is 20.

The other Duggar children, in between Joshua and Jordyn-Grace, are Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 17; Jessa, 16; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 12; Joy-Anna, 11; Jeremiah, 9; Jedidiah, 9; Jason, 8; James, 7; Justin, 6; Jackson, 4; Johannah, 3; and Jennifer, 1.

"Our whole family is excited about Jordyn's addition to our family," Jim Bob Duggar said. "She's just perfect in every way."

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Glass Baby Bottles

Hey, kids, glass baby bottles! Keep plastic out of your life!

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November 13, 2008

New parents are becoming more concerned about the products that come into contact with their babies and also about the effect on the environment of disposable baby products. Glass baby bottles and cotton diapers are both free of plastics and don’t add to the overfilling of landfills.

By searching online and making a few phone calls, we found that Target carries cotton gauze-weave diapers and the plastic pants to cover them. Both Target and WalMart sell glass baby bottles. The glass bottles and diapers are available in-store as well as from the company Web sites. We were surprised to discover that Sears and Kmart sell neither.

For information about more eco-friendly baby products, read Better Basics for Bringing Up Baby.

— Heidi Hunt, assistant editor Mother Earth News

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'Safety' in Overdrive: Pasteurizing Almonds

The nuts are definitely in charge of the nut-house.

As everyone knows, our food supply is dirty. Runoff from industrial farms often carry pathogenic bacteria into crops, as was the case of the organic spinach debacle. Well, there were a few cases of salmonells that were traced back to almonds (not organic) so what's the USDA's response? Spray liberally with pesticide. Nasty! So any almonds, even organic ones, sold at your local health food store are not raw and may be filled with chemicals. Our friends from Local Harvest say

The new protocols require all raw almonds sold in North America to be pasteurized, thereby killing off any wayward bacteria. How? By quick-steaming the nuts, or spraying them with propylene oxide (PPO), a chemical so nasty that it was banned by both the National Hot Rod and American Motorcycle Racing Associations, where it had been used as a fuel before being deemed too dangerous. PPO is also a carcinogen. For these and other reasons, most countries, including the EU, ban imported nuts treated with PPO. (The ABC is actively working to change that.) read more

So what's an eater to do? If you live in California, you can often buy nuts direct from the grower, and since this is an extra-retail transaction they don't have to pastuerize. Ask around. I buy ours by mail from a nice lady who I thought I was going to send a lot of business on the blog but she begged me not to, because she feels she is getting set up to be busted by the Feds--weird phone calls, etc. And given what happened to the people on that farm in Ohio, I am not sure she isn't in the wrong.

There are two other mail places where you can make your Last Stand to get unadulterated, pure, unpasteurized, uncooked, truly raw almonds.

Vital Choice and
Living Nuts (try their teriyaki flavored nuts!)


They ARE expensive, though. I think to guarantee the purity, both places buy their nuts from Europe--not the best carbon footprint, but it's not their fault!

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REVIEW: Ahnu Bridge sneakers for kids

Ahnu makes shoes with cool natural features like charred bamboo antibacterial, plus these shoes are designed to take a lot of wear. Our son loves these Ahnu Bridge shoes--easy on, elastic lace thingies, the big tab is helpful for kids with limited motor skills...they look cool and wear like iron. Nice to support an environmentally conscious company.

From the manufacturer:

• Soft suede uppers and nubuck overlays offer support and structure with a touch of style
• Shoes open up wide for easy entry/exit and secure with rip-and-stick straps
• Polyester linings wick moisture away from feet and are soft against skin
• Lightweight, shock-absorbent EVA midsoles cushion every step
• 3/4-length nylon shanks under midsoles offer support
• Nonmarking rubber outsoles deliver traction and feature a wide base for added stability without looking too clunky

The name Ahnu is derived from Celtic mythology, from the goddess of balance and well-being. The deity could accurately be described as an ancient version of “Mother Earth.” This choice of a namesake is both deliberate and appropriate, as Ahnu’s social and environmental commitment is incorporated in the foundation of every product that has been created and every business decision that has been made.

From the gold standard of factory certification (the footwear is manufactured in one of only 31 footwear factories in the world with SA8000 accreditation), to the use of certified post-consumer recycled fibers in the catalogs and packaging, Ahnu’s commitment is integrated through all areas of the brand.

The product goal is to achieve uncompromising performance by blending a modern aesthetic with the style, structure, and substance of the outdoor lifestyle. This goal has been realized through the emphasis on intuitive easy on/off technology and the proprietary QuiteLight™ construction, a system that enables exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and superior comfort.

Life should be balanced, responsible and fun. It’s the spirit that’s been put into each and every product, and the way that people will hopefully live every day.

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Fertile women more open to corny chat-up lines

Hmm, that sounds like another good line...but Honey, I was ovulating!

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For men whose chat-up lines aren't working, it could simply be a case of bad timing. Psychologists have determined that women are most likely to give their phone number to a male stranger when they are likeliest to get pregnant.

Researchers recruited handsome young men to experimentally hit on women on a street corner to determine whether fertility affects receptivity to male advances.

Large amounts of research have shown that women are more responsive to masculine voices, faces, and odours when they're fertile, but no studies have probed the obvious outcome of such inclinations, says Nicolas Guéguen, a psychologist at the University of South Brittany, France.

"These studies did not focus on women's behaviour. It's the first study to test the role of the menstrual cycle on courtship request, in a real social context and not in laboratory," he told New Scientist.

read more here.

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Another Recession-proof Tips column

Planning on gift cards for finicky relatives and friends? Stores that are planning to close after
Christmas are still selling the cards through the holidays even though
the cards will be worthless January 1. There is no law preventing them from doing this. On the contrary, it is referred to as 'Bankruptcy Planning'). Below is a partial list of stores that you need to be
cautious about.


Circuit City (filed Chapter 11)
Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide closing
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide
Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Cache will close all stores
Talbots closing down specialty stores
J. Jill closing all stores (owned by Talbots)
Pacific Sun wear (also owned by Talbots)
GAP closing 85 stores
Footlocker closing 140 stores mo re to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down
Levitz closing down remaining stores
Bombay closing remaining stores
Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January
Whitehall closing all stores
Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ ( New Brunswick )
Macys to close 9 stores after January
Linens and Things closing all stores
Movie Galley Closing all stores
Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Wilson Leather closing down all stores
Sharper Image closing down all stor~s
K B Toys closing 356 stores
Loews to close down some stores
Dillard's to close some stores

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Statins may cause eye problems

People are half jokingly saying we need to add statins to the water. I think not! If you're taking statins and experiencing any of these eye symptoms, get it checked out. If you're considering taking statins, consider cleaning up your diet, first:
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(NaturalNews) Want to lower cholesterol levels in hopes of preventing coronary heart disease and stroke? The odds are your doctor will probably prescribe a statin drug. In fact, a recent Forbes report found that from 11 million to 30 million Americans are already taking these drugs and many physicians argue another 25 million should be popping these pills daily. What's often lost in the hype about this class of drugs is the reality of the side effects – sometimes serious – associated with statins, including muscle pain, neurological disorders, rashes and liver problems.

Now comes word of yet another downside to these supposedly "magic bullets" for artery clogging cholesterol. A new study led by F.W. Fraunfelder, MD, of the Casey Eye Institute of Oregon Health and Science University, is the first to systematically report on eye disorders caused by statin use. The results are published in the December issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

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