Picture Parade
Adam's pinch pot
Snow Bunny before school on a super chilly morn
Conner in his xmas presents from Great Grammy G and Aunt P
Bye, Bye Bulbs
The transition has begun...the old school incandescent bulbs are exiting the building and the compact fluorescent ones are taking center stage as the replacements. I look forward to helping the planet even if it is one little step at a time. Check out One Billion Bulbs to find out reasons why compact fluorescents are the way to go....like saving money....you can't argue with that!!!
Going Green Has Unexpected Benefit
Just spent a good 2 hours scouring the Target shelves for safe products to replace the hazardous ones I weeded out of our bathrooms and kitchen. My bags were full of the few safe shampoos, soaps, and cleansers I was able to find and various kid items when I noticed a clear liquid seeping from one of the bags. By the time I figured out where it was coming from, the bottom of the stroller was soaked, my hands were covered, and a majority of our other items were wet.
Normally an incident of this nature would leave me saying some very colorful words under my breath as I frantically tried to clean up the mess, but considering it was a bottle of Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner that would not render my skin a burning peeling mess and half of our groceries ready for the garbage before they even made it into the car....I surprisingly had a smile on my face and the only negative thought I had was that I was bummed so much of the bottle was wasted, but accidents do happen and I would much rather it be one like this than something worse. Going green has long term benefits, but what happened today proved it has immediate benefits too...I have hopefully seriously lessened my chances of ever having to make a dreadful call to poison control...and now the kids can join in and help out with the house cleaning too!!!
Just unloaded the groceries and the bagger put my ginger in the same bag as my dishwasher detergent. Thankfully it was yet another non toxic Seventh Generation product and I can continue with my plans to make ginger soy chicken without worrying about poisoning my family.
Happy Tuesday!
Normally an incident of this nature would leave me saying some very colorful words under my breath as I frantically tried to clean up the mess, but considering it was a bottle of Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner that would not render my skin a burning peeling mess and half of our groceries ready for the garbage before they even made it into the car....I surprisingly had a smile on my face and the only negative thought I had was that I was bummed so much of the bottle was wasted, but accidents do happen and I would much rather it be one like this than something worse. Going green has long term benefits, but what happened today proved it has immediate benefits too...I have hopefully seriously lessened my chances of ever having to make a dreadful call to poison control...and now the kids can join in and help out with the house cleaning too!!!
Just unloaded the groceries and the bagger put my ginger in the same bag as my dishwasher detergent. Thankfully it was yet another non toxic Seventh Generation product and I can continue with my plans to make ginger soy chicken without worrying about poisoning my family.
Happy Tuesday!
Chemicals in Everyday Products
After a trip to the salon yesterday to fix a huge mistake I made trying to save some money by coloring my hair myself, I met an awesome hair stylist (Carlos Canales @ Hair for Me in Leesburg) who raised some interesting points that challenged me to think more about the products I use every day on myself and my kids. While I have been increasingly aware of and concerned with chemicals in the products I use, I never really did much about it….until now.
An article about the claim that the body absorbs 5lbs of make-up chemicals per year
Environmental Working Group -Ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products are not screened for safety.
EWGs Skin Deep Database of chemicals/toxicity levels of products
Printable safety guide to childrens personal care products
Twas the Night Before Christmas....
...and we all got sick! What's a holiday without an illness when you have a house full of kids? Marin got pneumonia, Conner had double ear infections and while his chest xray was neg for pneumonia, he was wheezing enough to necessitate nebulizer treatments for a week. The other two faired much better with just some congestion and coughing that didn't seem to slow them down.
Just as we were recovering from the sickie poos and Christmas chaos, Conner was well enough for his 1 year vaccinations. A week later he had a 102.5 fever, rash all over his body, and wouldn't eat a thing. At first I thought it might be roseola, but the rash and fever are not supposed to be present at the same time. Since the rash blanched (went away when applying pressure) the doc was not too concerned but wanted him to come in for a visit. If a rash does not blanch, then it could indicate a blood/skin infection that is more serious.
It seems he had a reaction to his chicken pox/MMR vaccine. According to the doc, it is quite common (especially a week following the shots) and believed that those who have a reaction like his are the ones who truly benefit from the protection. The real illness(es) would be quite devastating.
The reaction has almost completely cleared up and Conner is on to his next battle...teething. Hopefully some day soon he will be back to sleeping thru the night, I will go to bed before midnight, and wake up feeling refreshed without having to depend on the cup of joe I have grown so fond of and developed such an addiction for....a girl can dream. :)
In DIRE Need of HAIRAPY!!!
I have found it difficult to set aside salon time to have my hair cut and highlighted as usual and I was shocked when I realized I hadn't done this since May 2007!!! I am very picky about who does my hair. I have had too many experiences where I have left the salon and cried in my car.
I found a terrific stylist that I have been going to for quite awhile but the long drive is beginning to take its toll...both the salon visit and gas for my Suburban have become too costly ($3.03/gallon is ridiculous!).
I was becoming brave enough to try someone else when I temporarily lost my sanity and tried an over the counter hair kit. If you are one of the lucky ones who is able to benefit from the affordability and convenience of coloring your hair at home with a kit, I envy you!
I should've followed my gut which was telling me it was a terrible idea, but...nope....no such thing...and now, well, now I have half blonde/half orange hair. I found a local salon online that has great reviews (yes, I have entertained the thought that the reviews were posted by the stylists themselves or their friends cuz I am that worried about who touches my hair) and thankfully there is an opening tonight.
Something tells me tonight's hairapy session is not going to be easy on the pocket book....attempting to help the stylist figure out my true hair color, dye it, highlight it, and then cut it if there is any hair still left on my head. It would be wonderful if the salon turned out to be one of those cool ones that serves a glass of wine or a neck massage or what I will really need at the end of all this...a deep conditioning treatment on the house! Don't fret, I will definitely post back the result.
I don't splurge on much...I still have lots of clothes in my closet from the 90's, I am a regular at Old Navy, I sell Avon so I can get cool, cheap makeup delivered to my door (love the Mark stuff) and avoid the department ladies talking me into the latest and greatest face lotion they fail to disclose is $100 until ringing it up on the register while I convince myself its worth it for the freebie of miniature samples in the cute bag that I will donate to my sister because colors don't work on me.
I take my hair with me everywhere I go and am not fond of hiding it under a baseball cap (only when I was a cook in college and met my hubby who wishes I would still occasionally sport a cap so he can relive a little of our past) and with my current rate of 1-2 appts a year, I need to allow myself to legitimize the expense of a salon and get over it.
For kicks, I asked my 4 year old if she liked my hair. She very honestly said no. When I asked her why, she said I look like a woman and that she wants my mommy hair back. I want my mommy hair back too!
Happy Friday!
I found a terrific stylist that I have been going to for quite awhile but the long drive is beginning to take its toll...both the salon visit and gas for my Suburban have become too costly ($3.03/gallon is ridiculous!).
I was becoming brave enough to try someone else when I temporarily lost my sanity and tried an over the counter hair kit. If you are one of the lucky ones who is able to benefit from the affordability and convenience of coloring your hair at home with a kit, I envy you!
I should've followed my gut which was telling me it was a terrible idea, but...nope....no such thing...and now, well, now I have half blonde/half orange hair. I found a local salon online that has great reviews (yes, I have entertained the thought that the reviews were posted by the stylists themselves or their friends cuz I am that worried about who touches my hair) and thankfully there is an opening tonight.
Something tells me tonight's hairapy session is not going to be easy on the pocket book....attempting to help the stylist figure out my true hair color, dye it, highlight it, and then cut it if there is any hair still left on my head. It would be wonderful if the salon turned out to be one of those cool ones that serves a glass of wine or a neck massage or what I will really need at the end of all this...a deep conditioning treatment on the house! Don't fret, I will definitely post back the result.
I don't splurge on much...I still have lots of clothes in my closet from the 90's, I am a regular at Old Navy, I sell Avon so I can get cool, cheap makeup delivered to my door (love the Mark stuff) and avoid the department ladies talking me into the latest and greatest face lotion they fail to disclose is $100 until ringing it up on the register while I convince myself its worth it for the freebie of miniature samples in the cute bag that I will donate to my sister because colors don't work on me.
I take my hair with me everywhere I go and am not fond of hiding it under a baseball cap (only when I was a cook in college and met my hubby who wishes I would still occasionally sport a cap so he can relive a little of our past) and with my current rate of 1-2 appts a year, I need to allow myself to legitimize the expense of a salon and get over it.
For kicks, I asked my 4 year old if she liked my hair. She very honestly said no. When I asked her why, she said I look like a woman and that she wants my mommy hair back. I want my mommy hair back too!
Happy Friday!
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