Grin & Bear It: April 2009

>> Tuesday, April 28, 2009

With two muddy boys, preschool board meetings, painting, restoring and construction in the house, 10 year anniversary, birthdays and a trip to North Carolina......

I'll pop in soon with a million pictures to share.

>> Thursday, April 23, 2009

Just a quick announcement.......

Howell Preschoolers Inc. is holding a Mom2Mom sale this weekend. Saturday at 9am. Located at the Methodist Church in Howell off Bower Street. $1 to get in. Please come and buy all my boy stuff!!!!!

Earth Day

>> Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Earth Day

I am the Earth

and the Earth is me.

Each blade of grass,

Each honey tree,

Each bit of mud,

And stick and stone

Is blood and muscle,

Skin and bone.

And just as I

Need every bit

Of me to make

My body fit,

So Earth needs

Grass and stone and tree

And things that grow here

Naturally.

That's why we

Celebrate this day.

That's why across

The world we say:

As long as life,

As dear, as free,

I am the Earth

And the Earth is me.

Jane Yolen

Remember to....

>> Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tomorrow is Earth Day! I hope you remembered! We went out this weekend to our local conservation club and bought some trees to plant. We are also all geared up to get some seeds planted tomorrow for part of our celebration. For preschool today, the boys helped me fill a little bag with some pea seeds and a note that read Happy Earth day Love J/Z. Teaching my boys about being earth conscious has been very easy and fun. Here are some tips to help you teach your little ones the simplicity of reducing, reusing and recycling....

Education: I think this is a major part of learning for little ones. We have a ton of nature inspiried books (i.e. I love Dirt, 50 simple things kids can do to save the earth). We love Dr. Suess "The Lorax" and also Wall-E. We do a lot of activities and crafts that involve these principles.
Water: Teach them to keep the water flow to a pencil-thin stream when using the sink. My boys bath together to save water.
Energy: Tell them to turn off the lights when leaving a room and to leave the lights off during the day. Natural sunlight is generally good enough. We also love the book "Being Wasteful" by Joy Berry. The boys really took to this lesson and talk about me being wasteful all the time-ha
Toxic Exposure: Cleaning up messy little hands? Be sure to avoid anti-bacterial hand soaps and hand sanitizers that contain triethanolamine. Anti-bacterial hand soaps have been proven to cause more harm than good because they kill beneficial bacteria as well as the bad stuff and may be leading to super-strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Hand sanitizers that contain the ingredient triethanolamine can damage liver and kidneys. Soap and water work for us!
Waste: Recycle newspapers, magazines and junk mail. You can present it as a game that involves sorting out the different types and putting them in their special bins for points. Assign a daily chore to help with the sorting and recycling. J & Z take on this job as their daily chore. Its great to see them working together for at least once a day.
Food: Teach your child how to help pick out ripe seasonal fruit and vegetables for their snacks and meals. Show them that when they have finished their fruit and vegetables, there are parts that can be composted. Involve your children in composting your food scraps, coffee grounds, etc. Get them used to seeing that food waste is not garbage but rather something that can be turned into soil to grow more food.
Transportation: Walk whenever possible. Although I live in the country now and can't really walk 5 miles into town, we do conserve our trip and plan our weekly menu and shopping needs, and go to the store once to cut back on multiple trips.

BYOB

>> Monday, April 20, 2009

Look to the right...see an addition?

I added the plastic bag consumption counter. Can you beleive this? Please tell me this will make you ditch the plastic bags and bring your own. B.Y.O.B!!!!

A few interesting facts:

-Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
-According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
-According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)
-According to the industry publication Modern Plastics, Taiwan consumes 20 billion bags a year 900 per person.
-According to Australia's Department of Environment, Australians consume 6.9 billion plastic bags each year - 326 per person. An estimated 0.7% or 49,600,000 end up as litter each year.
-Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.
-Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
-As part of Clean Up Australia Day, in one day nearly 500,000 plastic bags were collected.
-Windblown plastic bags are so prevalent in Africa that a cottage industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags. According to the BBC, one group harvests 30,000 per month.
-According to David Barnes, a marine scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags have gone "from being rare in the late 80s and early 90s to being almost everywhere from Spitsbergen 78 degrees North [latitude] to Falklands 51 degrees South [latitude]."
-Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation

AI rant!!!!

>> Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Just a little post on my thoughts about American Idol. I've kept quiet these past few weeks about one of my favorite reality shows mostly because I've not been impressed. Tonight tipped the boat for me. Actually pissed me off.

First of all- you all know that I'm a lover of the classics. I remember jamming to Steppenwolf while driving around forgotten country roads in my youth. I remember my hair blowing in the summer wind and my hand out the wind making waves in the rushing air. Steppenwolf is one of those magical bands that whenever I hear a song, it brings back memories of freedom and flying. Songs that instantly make me smile.

This is why I threw up in my mouth a little when I heard Adam's remake of probably the greatest song ever recorded by one of the greatest classic bands of all time. First he slaughtered a Johnny Cash song (which was so wrong) and now this......he has lost my vote all together.

I'm sorry Adam! You have great style and usually a great voice and cool song choices but why do you constantly screw up the good stuff? You should know better than to mess with the classics. You are not that good!!! But Danny Gokey.....you are that good! Thanks for being at least one consistent great artist.

Prick to my heart

>> Monday, April 13, 2009

20+ skin pricks and a million more to my heart. About a year ago, Z was seen by an allergist and since moving, losing the paperwork, and getting a new pediatrician, we needed a new allergist and a new allergen test. Our first allergy test was a blood test and all I had to do was hold little Z while they drew 4 viles of blood. Todays event was truly horrific! 2 nurses plus me holding my little guy down while they picked his back, then waiting 15 minutes for the results that were immediatly apparent due to the welts that appeared all over his marker spotted back. Our last allergist had threw paper work at me but never explained in detail what he was allergic too, so I tried to mentally prepare myself for the worse. It didn't help!

The doctor explained that the last test Z was given was the blood test that tested for everything and its immperative I find those results or call for them, since todays test was just the common 20+ allergies.

So, here I am, finding myself feeling elated that I finally know how to make Z feel better, but yet sad and helpless that I didn't committ to this before now. I'm also finding myself going back through my pantry and meal plans to adjust for some minor changes. I'm kind of feeling a bit excited at the changes and how to cook not only to make Zaiden more healthy, but for us all.

Here are the results: (0=negative 4=being the worse)
Early tree: 3
Late Tree:3
Grasses: 0
Feather: 2
Dust mites: 4
Weeds: 3
Ragweed: 0
Seasonal mold: 3
Perennial Mold: 2
Cat: 4
Dog:4
Egg: 3
Cows Milk: 3
Soybean: 3
Wheat: 3
Cocoa: 0
Almonds: 2
Cashews: 4
Corn: 0
Rice: 0
Oat: 0

You probably noticed the high allergy count for cat and dog. I was seriously starting to cry over this one thinking about my cat that is more like my first born child. I think the doctor noticed the tears welling up in my eyes and left the room for a few minutes. She came back with some catalogs and told me that we can control the allergy with medicine and some work on my part. Work meaning making his room a complete allergy free zone. Mattress and pillow covers, vent covers, hepa filter and vaccumming with my dyson- pet allergy vac every day! Thank goodness for Dyson. I knew that was the best $500 I spent (and the doctor aggreed~). Z was prescribed meds and lotions for his eczema and I have a ton of literature to read and even more research to do.

Here's to being allergy free! (rather on the road to getting there~)

>> Sunday, April 12, 2009

Wishing you peace, love and happiness

at Easter and always~

In like a lamb, out like a lion...

>> Friday, April 10, 2009

This is what my world looked like Monday morning. Thick, wet, horrible snow clung to everything it touched (including tree's that fell on power lines that knocked out my power-ugh!) Since there was nothing to do inside, we dragged out the snow suits again, hopefully for the last time, and went outside to play the day away.