...found two cereal containers (tupperware knock-off type) and their lids which have been floating around the garage for a year now. i brought them in and they are currently in the dishwasher so we can actually use them for our endless supply of life and cheerios.
2 more things out of the garage... (or 4 if you want to count the lids!) woo hoo!
a kid funny
yesterday, on our way to a shopping trip from hell, i had a good idea. i have no idea what it was now, but shane was obviously impressed. this is how the conversation went:
me: blah, blah, blah, blah, good ideas, blah, blah, blah, blah.
shane: MOM! YOU'RE A GENIUS!!!
me: wow. thanks shane, that's like the nicest thing you've said to me in a while.
layla: MOM! YOU'RE A GREEN DINOSAUR!!!
me and shane: ha ha ha ha...
me: blah, blah, blah, blah, good ideas, blah, blah, blah, blah.
shane: MOM! YOU'RE A GENIUS!!!
me: wow. thanks shane, that's like the nicest thing you've said to me in a while.
layla: MOM! YOU'RE A GREEN DINOSAUR!!!
me and shane: ha ha ha ha...
progress...
... in the most minimal sense of the word. yesterday evening i surveyed the garage to see what i might be able to do. i am proud to report that i found a blanket that belonged inside so i folded it up and put it in the linen closet. i also brought layla's rocking horse back into the house.
yup. that's it. 2 less things! we have to start somewhere right?
my actual real organizational accomplishment was creating a "car washing container". this is the preschool teacher in me. i feel the need to have bins of related objects on shelves. so i took a milk crate, emptied it out (don't get too excited, i just emptied it into another box), and put the wash mitt, the mr. clean car washer thing that dave bought, the refill for that thing, and some armorall wipes into the crate and stuck it up on a shelf. now i just have to do that with everything else.
yup. that's it. 2 less things! we have to start somewhere right?
my actual real organizational accomplishment was creating a "car washing container". this is the preschool teacher in me. i feel the need to have bins of related objects on shelves. so i took a milk crate, emptied it out (don't get too excited, i just emptied it into another box), and put the wash mitt, the mr. clean car washer thing that dave bought, the refill for that thing, and some armorall wipes into the crate and stuck it up on a shelf. now i just have to do that with everything else.
i rock
okay, so this has nothing at all to do with the garage... directly... but i just have to brag (mostly to myself - you can totally ignore this. i just want to look back and read this at a later date).
this morning, by the time my children got up (8:09), i had accomplished a lot! i had showered, dressed, made (and drank) coffee, put the laundry in the dryer, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned out my sock and underwear drawer (and subsequently filled up a grocery bag of stuff to 'fling'), and watered the garden. this is not a normal occurance, but i really need it to be.
and now for the garage...
this morning, by the time my children got up (8:09), i had accomplished a lot! i had showered, dressed, made (and drank) coffee, put the laundry in the dryer, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned out my sock and underwear drawer (and subsequently filled up a grocery bag of stuff to 'fling'), and watered the garden. this is not a normal occurance, but i really need it to be.
and now for the garage...
top 5 things i wish weren't bad for you
i'm coming up a bit dry this week, so i thought i'd take a little bit different approach.
4. soda. especially dr. pepper. about 2 years ago i made a sort of decree that we would no longer keep soda in the house, so i don't buy it and it's a very rare occasion that there's soda in my fridge. i will have it when we're eating out or whatever, but i really wish this stuff were the equivalent of drinking water. it's great. darn that stupid high fructose corn syrup! darn it all to heck!
3. weed killer. as i'm pulling out weeds and, at the same time, watching my garden shrivel up, i'm starting to think that my yard is really only good for growing weeds. seriously, if anyone has a shortage of quality weeds, come on over. i can help you out. i'm not just talking about dandilions here. i've got all sorts of killer stuff, including vines and the like that will grow up and around your weeds to further anchor them into the ground and make them look even uglier! if that's possible. it's getting majorly out of hand and i feel myself weakening. round up is starting to look really good about now. that and a goat. anyone have a goat i could borrow? i'll trade you some blackberry bushes and stinging nettles!
2. bologna. i know this is totally disgusting, and it's going to get worse. i love this stuff. when i was little, my grandma used to make me a special sandwich that i love to this day. brace yourself: bologna and margarine on wonder bread. oh yeah! i think the only reason i really liked it so much was because they were all things my mother would never let me eat. now i understand why she wouldn't let me eat them, but i still LOVE this sandwich.
5. cheesecake! doesn't that just make your mouth water? oh i love cheesecake. it has to be the right kind of cheesecake though. a really good crust is just as important as what's on top of it. and don't go trying to give me any of that lemon or key lime stuff either. mmmm.... cheesecake with berries or cheesecake with chocolate. oh yeah.
4. soda. especially dr. pepper. about 2 years ago i made a sort of decree that we would no longer keep soda in the house, so i don't buy it and it's a very rare occasion that there's soda in my fridge. i will have it when we're eating out or whatever, but i really wish this stuff were the equivalent of drinking water. it's great. darn that stupid high fructose corn syrup! darn it all to heck!
3. weed killer. as i'm pulling out weeds and, at the same time, watching my garden shrivel up, i'm starting to think that my yard is really only good for growing weeds. seriously, if anyone has a shortage of quality weeds, come on over. i can help you out. i'm not just talking about dandilions here. i've got all sorts of killer stuff, including vines and the like that will grow up and around your weeds to further anchor them into the ground and make them look even uglier! if that's possible. it's getting majorly out of hand and i feel myself weakening. round up is starting to look really good about now. that and a goat. anyone have a goat i could borrow? i'll trade you some blackberry bushes and stinging nettles!
2. bologna. i know this is totally disgusting, and it's going to get worse. i love this stuff. when i was little, my grandma used to make me a special sandwich that i love to this day. brace yourself: bologna and margarine on wonder bread. oh yeah! i think the only reason i really liked it so much was because they were all things my mother would never let me eat. now i understand why she wouldn't let me eat them, but i still LOVE this sandwich.
1. margaritas. need i say more?
so... apparently i'm funny?
last night was the end of the year party for the MOMS club and it was a total blast. i didn't leave until after 11:30! that's pretty shocking for me, and i don't think i was yawning the whole time either. among other things, the festivities included awards for silly things like 'best dressed', 'best housekeeper', 'most organized' (obviously not me!), 'handiest', 'best cook', etc that are decided among the members by nomination. well, i won 'funniest'. it was a tie between kate and i and we each were awarded with a super cool headband with glow in the dark, bobbly hearts and metallic tassles on it, a pretend microphone, and a rubber chicken that we apparently had to share... neither of us went home with it. i didn't know i was that funny! go figure.
a belated top 5
1. markers. i loved markers as a kid and i still do. now layla is appreciating the entertainment value of markers. paper and markers can keep her entertained for hours. seriously. very little else can keep her occupied that long, but the child loves to draw, color, scribble, "write letters" and whatever else she can come up with to do with her markers. i think we should buy stock in crayola since i'm pretty sure we'll be going through a lot of these!
2. in-n-out burger. this place rocks. dave has totally converted me. i get so excited when we go to california so we can eat at in-n-out. double-double... yum.
3. roomba! yes, i love my vacuum, so i had to put it in my top 5. holy cow, my floors are clean! right now it's just so fun to use that i use it all the time. did i mention in the last blog about it that my kids named it 'john'? yeah, i know. i don't get it either. they decided it needed a name so shane goes, 'let's call it john!' okay. the added bonus is that i keep things a lot more picked up because the floors need to be cleared in order to vacuum. and it's motivation for shane to pick up too. he cleaned his room and layla's just so he could put 'john' in there to clean.
4. at&t park. or sbc, or pac bell, whatever you want to call it. you know, where the giants play in san francisco. this is a gorgeous ballpark. don't worry, i'm still loyal to safeco, but this is definitely my 2nd favorite. dave and i got to see a great game while there a couple weeks ago. gorgeous weather, good seats, and the giants won! we even were on tv a couple times because we were hanging out with the newlyweds, anthony and chalane who were wearing 'bride' and 'groom' shirts!
5. my new bed! so dave pulled off a good one here. our old bed was in sad shape. it sagged badly in the middle and sleeping on it was like perching on the edge of the grand canyon. everyone woke up in a pile in the middle of the bed. so he got this great idea that he would get a new mattress set 'for my birthday'. he had the whole thing worked out that it would be delivered and set up while we were gone. so when we got back from our trip, there it was, sitting in our room, all made up like it had always been there. the funny thing is, i was home for like 3 hours before i even made it down the hall and into the bedroom to notice it. it's so comfy!
cooking sucks
okay, well, not exactly. but i'm really frustrated right now. browsing a cookbook seems to be the fastest way to depress me lately. it's not that i hate to cook. i actually enjoy it for the most part, as long as i'm prepared. ie, i have to have planned what i'm going to cook and i have to have all the ingredients for it. but when i feel like i've exhausted my somewhat limited list of recipes and want to find something new, i can never seem to find anything that would actually work for us. either it sounds good to me, but i know it's spicy or something that will make the kids not want to eat it. or it's full of weirdo ingredients that i don't have on hand or usually buy which would leave me with a bunch of stuff i bought for one recipe and will never use again. or it's really complicated to make and tells me to do stuff that i don't know how to do because i haven't been to culinary school. it's like there's no such thing as a cookbook for normal people with not too boring, not too interesting food that is easy to make, doesn't cost a fortune and calls for ingredients i might actually buy. oh, and my kids will not take one look and go 'eeewww.'
is that too much to ask?
is that too much to ask?
the coolest thing ever!
i am so excited!!! i am now the proud owner of the coolest vacuum cleaner ever!!!!
seriously, i can't believe i actually own this thing! it's the iRobot Roomba 550 vacuum cleaning robot. you put it in the room you want to vacuum, turn it on and it vacuums the room for you. it gets corners and under furniture and everything. you don't have to do anything! it has these little lighthouses that come with it that act as virtual walls so you can block off a doorway or whatever if you don't want it to go in an area. it will do carpets and hard floors and will go back and forth between the two and adjust automatically. it's so stinkin' cool! it will shut itself off when it's done in a room, or if it's cleaning in the room where it's charger is, it will just go to it and dock on the charger when it's done cleaning. you can set it to vacuum on a certain schedule, up to 7 times a week.... so it could potentially clean all your floors for you every day while you're at work. holy cow! this thing is cool! and it really sucks! (which is a good thing when talking about a vacuum cleaner). i told dave last night that i feel like futuristic royalty or something with this. if someone had told me when i was a kid that someday i would have a robot that vacuumed for me, i would have assumed that i would also have a flying car or something! and it wasn't that expensive either! i got it at costco for $229. seriously! that's a decent price for a good vacuum, and i don't have to push it! they've also got one that will wash your hard floors for you. wow, do i ever want that one! but costco doesn't have it and if you buy it from the company, it's like $5oo. someday...
seriously, i can't believe i actually own this thing! it's the iRobot Roomba 550 vacuum cleaning robot. you put it in the room you want to vacuum, turn it on and it vacuums the room for you. it gets corners and under furniture and everything. you don't have to do anything! it has these little lighthouses that come with it that act as virtual walls so you can block off a doorway or whatever if you don't want it to go in an area. it will do carpets and hard floors and will go back and forth between the two and adjust automatically. it's so stinkin' cool! it will shut itself off when it's done in a room, or if it's cleaning in the room where it's charger is, it will just go to it and dock on the charger when it's done cleaning. you can set it to vacuum on a certain schedule, up to 7 times a week.... so it could potentially clean all your floors for you every day while you're at work. holy cow! this thing is cool! and it really sucks! (which is a good thing when talking about a vacuum cleaner). i told dave last night that i feel like futuristic royalty or something with this. if someone had told me when i was a kid that someday i would have a robot that vacuumed for me, i would have assumed that i would also have a flying car or something! and it wasn't that expensive either! i got it at costco for $229. seriously! that's a decent price for a good vacuum, and i don't have to push it! they've also got one that will wash your hard floors for you. wow, do i ever want that one! but costco doesn't have it and if you buy it from the company, it's like $5oo. someday...
a top 5 tribute to napoleon, ohio
i'm back! and so is the top 5. having spent the first week of our trip back in napoleon, i am dedicating this to some of my favorite things about my favorite midwestern farm town! 
1. yes, walmart. i cannot tell you how much i have missed this place! now before all you west-coasters start turning up your noses and saying eeewww, yuck... as if!, let me just tell you that walmart out here is not the same as walmart out there. the napoloen walmart is actually a very nice place - not remotely gross or scary. and stuff is stinkin' cheap!!!
2. bermuda shorts. okay, well these aren't exactly related in any way to napoleon, except for the fact that i purchased a pair of these while there at, you guessed it, walmart! i love them. they're not the same as the ones in the picture - different color scheme. let me tell you why bermuda shorts are so incredibly wonderful: YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE SUPER-SKINNY, FREAK OF NATURE, NO CELLULITE, NICE KNEES, SUPERMODEL LEGS TO LOOK GOOD IN THEM!!! these are decent shorts for normal people!
3. frosty boy. this is napoleon's seasonal road-side ice cream stand. they have regular food too, but i was only ever intersted in the ice cream. of course we visited "fb" while there and i had my usual soft serve twist. it was so exciting in the spring when frosty boy would finally open! after a long winter, it means there's hope!
5. last but not least, napoleon, itself. i love this town. i love the old houses, the courthouse, the miles and miles of corn, wheat, and soybean fields. i love seeing real farmers driving real tractors doing real work. i think it's hilarious that there is a conspicuous absence of anything but american-made cars and how people plaster their back windows with sports logos and their children's names and jersey numbers, not to mention the signs they put in their front yards. life in napoleon is very different... but great. i miss it.
1. yes, walmart. i cannot tell you how much i have missed this place! now before all you west-coasters start turning up your noses and saying eeewww, yuck... as if!, let me just tell you that walmart out here is not the same as walmart out there. the napoloen walmart is actually a very nice place - not remotely gross or scary. and stuff is stinkin' cheap!!!
2. bermuda shorts. okay, well these aren't exactly related in any way to napoleon, except for the fact that i purchased a pair of these while there at, you guessed it, walmart! i love them. they're not the same as the ones in the picture - different color scheme. let me tell you why bermuda shorts are so incredibly wonderful: YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE SUPER-SKINNY, FREAK OF NATURE, NO CELLULITE, NICE KNEES, SUPERMODEL LEGS TO LOOK GOOD IN THEM!!! these are decent shorts for normal people!
3. frosty boy. this is napoleon's seasonal road-side ice cream stand. they have regular food too, but i was only ever intersted in the ice cream. of course we visited "fb" while there and i had my usual soft serve twist. it was so exciting in the spring when frosty boy would finally open! after a long winter, it means there's hope!
4. clotheslines. i LOVE hanging laundry to dry. it is something i miss so much about life in napoleon, it almost makes me cry. seriously. i can't explain it, but i know it's a common sentiment among dedicated clothes hangers. there's something so peaceful and poetic about it. i feel a kinship with my feminine ancestors as i am hanging out my family's clothes to dry in the breeze. i want a clothesline!!!!
5. last but not least, napoleon, itself. i love this town. i love the old houses, the courthouse, the miles and miles of corn, wheat, and soybean fields. i love seeing real farmers driving real tractors doing real work. i think it's hilarious that there is a conspicuous absence of anything but american-made cars and how people plaster their back windows with sports logos and their children's names and jersey numbers, not to mention the signs they put in their front yards. life in napoleon is very different... but great. i miss it.another top 5
1. adjustable waistbands. whoever invented this is brilliant! i love these things. i can actually get pants that stay up on my kids!!! i almost wish they had them for adults - i have such a hard time finding pants that fit in the waist and the butt at the same time.
2. yes, this is a repeat, but it's more of an update because these are the robeez baby shoes that micah has now since his fire truck ones got too small. dave picked these out and i got them on ebay for like $13.50...
3. yup, ebay. like i said, i got micah's shoes there recently and i love getting a bargain. i'm going to put his old ones up and see if i can't get something out of them. i could so easily be an ebay junkie.
4. adidas deoderant. i'm always searching for a good deoderant since it seems that as soon as i find one i like, it quits working. i need to mix it up i guess. i decided to try this one and so far, i'm impressed. it also doesn't have any of the aluminum stuff in it that gives you alzheimer's. who knows what the other stuff does. oh well, everything will kill you one way or the other, right? at least i'll smell good.
5. our doctor's office, pediatric associates in bellevue. these guys are great and it's so easy to get an appointment. you can always get your kid in the same day. not always with your doctor, but i've liked pretty much all of the doctors on their staff. they have like 5 locations in the area too.
how to use a bathroom scale...
so this is a lovely little IM conversation that i was having with dave today. he was at work, i was at home. he bought this fancy schmancy scale yesterday that not only weighs you, it tells you your body fat and body water percentages... also makes great fries. i can't figure the darn thing out, and that's basically what sparked this conversation. he insisted i blog it....
Rachel says:
i can't figure out the scale. i tried to get on it this morning, and layla wanted to get on it. but it just keeps cycling through the preset age and heights. but won't weigh.
Dave says:
just pull the scale out from the wall...step on it slightly, then when you see something on the screen, step on it
Rachel says:
ok. you don't have to turn it on?
Dave says:
the on/off button is only for the body fat/water feature
Rachel says:
ok. so how do you make that work? like i know you turn it on for 3 seconds and then go up to your preset #, but then what??
Dave says:
then you stand on it...I believe...read the manual
Rachel says:
that's what you're for.
Dave says:
well, I haven't fully explored it
Rachel says:
you read the stuff, figure it out and then explain it to me.. that way i don't have to.
Rachel says:
it's a huge time-saver
Dave says:
hahaha
Dave says:
I could have just gotten the 6 dollar scale with the analog readout
Rachel says:
yeah, i know how to use those
Rachel says:
1. pee, undress, exhale, pray.
Rachel says:
2. step on, while stretching upward, as if to help your weight evaporate.
Rachel says:
3. look down at the #s w/ one eye shut.
Rachel says:
4. gasp.
Rachel says:
5. swear at the damn thing.
Rachel says:
6. throw out window and disregard any bad news. it was a stupid cheap scale anyway and doesn't know what it's talking about.
Dave says:
where did you get that from
Rachel says:
my head
Dave says:
you just made that up?
Rachel says:
yeah
Dave says:
you should blog that
Rachel says:
haha
Rachel says:
i can't figure out the scale. i tried to get on it this morning, and layla wanted to get on it. but it just keeps cycling through the preset age and heights. but won't weigh.
Dave says:
just pull the scale out from the wall...step on it slightly, then when you see something on the screen, step on it
Rachel says:
ok. you don't have to turn it on?
Dave says:
the on/off button is only for the body fat/water feature
Rachel says:
ok. so how do you make that work? like i know you turn it on for 3 seconds and then go up to your preset #, but then what??
Dave says:
then you stand on it...I believe...read the manual
Rachel says:
that's what you're for.
Dave says:
well, I haven't fully explored it
Rachel says:
you read the stuff, figure it out and then explain it to me.. that way i don't have to.
Rachel says:
it's a huge time-saver
Dave says:
hahaha
Dave says:
I could have just gotten the 6 dollar scale with the analog readout
Rachel says:
yeah, i know how to use those
Rachel says:
1. pee, undress, exhale, pray.
Rachel says:
2. step on, while stretching upward, as if to help your weight evaporate.
Rachel says:
3. look down at the #s w/ one eye shut.
Rachel says:
4. gasp.
Rachel says:
5. swear at the damn thing.
Rachel says:
6. throw out window and disregard any bad news. it was a stupid cheap scale anyway and doesn't know what it's talking about.
Dave says:
where did you get that from
Rachel says:
my head
Dave says:
you just made that up?
Rachel says:
yeah
Dave says:
you should blog that
Rachel says:
haha
another week, another top 5
5. my countertop kitchen compost crock from gardener's supply company. mine's the red one, of course. i went searching for something like this to contain the kitchen scraps (other than a bowl or tupperware container) that was mildly attractive, covered, and didn't attract fruit flies. you can imagine how excited i got when i saw there was a red one. i actually got this a few months ago, but never got around to mentioning it in the blog. well, here it is.
4. kenji johjima. i never thought the mariners would have a catcher i liked as much as dan wilson... well, i like this one. yes, he's been in a bit of a slump, but how about last night's top of the 9th, 2 out, 3-run homerun to tie the game??? sure, they still lost, but kenji rocks!
3. fred meyer stores. for those of you living outside of the northwest, you're really missing out. imagine a target or a walmart, but with slightly nicer stuff, and mostly brand name products as opposed to the store brands. i especially like it because my dad retired from fred meyer and gets a lifetime employee discount of like 20% on clothing and shoes and 10% on grocery items that are the fred meyer or kroger brand! whoo hoo! and they have a nice natural food section that has good organic products and natural toiletries/cleaning products, etc.
2. biokleen dishwasher gel. this is my favorite dishwasher detergent. it has this great orange scent so when the dishwasher is running it makes the kitchen smell good - not like bad chemicals or perfumes. oh, and it gets the dishes clean!
1. pedicures. need i say more? i got to treat myself to one for mother's day on sunday. this is my favorite indulgence. there were several mothers and daughters in the salon together when i was there... i can't wait until layla is old enough to go with me! i was going to post a picture of my actual foot, but there's something funky up with our camera and/or computer and it wouldn't upload... maybe later. just fyi, my toes are dark red w/ a flower on each big toe!
EEEEEWWWWW!!!!!!
we're down another cup.
rewind about 4 or so days. i realized as i was putting dishes away that the short purple sippy cup was MIA. i checked the fridge, the dining room table area, layla's bed and other likely hiding spots to no avail...
fast forward to today, high noon. i'm sitting on the couch feeding micah some smooshy bananas and cereal when i suddenly get a whiff of something foul. so i do the requisite baby butt sniff; negative. layla, did you fart?; negative. what is that smell?
i made the determination that it was coming from the general viscinity of the couch, so i start picking up cushions, waiting to find some sort of nasty food substance that had been stashed. all i found was a few innocent crumbs and a small black craft pompom. so i decided to look under the couch.
bingo. short purple sippy cup accounted for. the cup is transparent enough for me to know that i did NOT want to open it. of course it was on it's side and had dribbled it's putrescence onto the carpet. gross! so i moved the couch, dampened the area, and sprinkled baking soda all over it. i'll vacuum it later and maybe go for some vinegar if it still stinks!
sigh... now that i think of it, i do remember walking in this morning and thinking something stunk. i figured i just needed to take out the trash and lit a candle...
i think there's a theme here, holly.
rewind about 4 or so days. i realized as i was putting dishes away that the short purple sippy cup was MIA. i checked the fridge, the dining room table area, layla's bed and other likely hiding spots to no avail...
fast forward to today, high noon. i'm sitting on the couch feeding micah some smooshy bananas and cereal when i suddenly get a whiff of something foul. so i do the requisite baby butt sniff; negative. layla, did you fart?; negative. what is that smell?
i made the determination that it was coming from the general viscinity of the couch, so i start picking up cushions, waiting to find some sort of nasty food substance that had been stashed. all i found was a few innocent crumbs and a small black craft pompom. so i decided to look under the couch.
bingo. short purple sippy cup accounted for. the cup is transparent enough for me to know that i did NOT want to open it. of course it was on it's side and had dribbled it's putrescence onto the carpet. gross! so i moved the couch, dampened the area, and sprinkled baking soda all over it. i'll vacuum it later and maybe go for some vinegar if it still stinks!
sigh... now that i think of it, i do remember walking in this morning and thinking something stunk. i figured i just needed to take out the trash and lit a candle...
i think there's a theme here, holly.
top 5 once again
5. microfiber cleaning cloths. i got a couple of these the other day for quick dusting and touching up the bathroom mirrors, etc. they're pretty cool. i did both bathroom mirrors and the windows in my living and dining room with just a damp cloth. no lint, no windex. i'm sold!
4. my local library. this area is blessed with a great library system. you can get any book you can dream of. if they don't have it at yours, they'll get it from another one in the system and send it to the library of your choice. i do all of my 'librarying' online because their website is so easy to use. i browse for books i want, place holds, renew books, etc. they email you when your books are in. if you don't use this service, you're crazy! our library rocks!
3. tully's. i love tully's coffee. i cannot express how much i look forward to 'heathen coffee' on sundays... especially now that we don't have to contend with the 'cranky old lady'. they make great caramel machiattos (or as gregg would call it, 'candy coffee').
2. robeez baby shoes. i know, this is so trendy i almost make myself sick. but they're so cute. these are the ones micah has right now, but they're getting too small. i think we're going for the baseball ones next. the don't fall off, and they are soft and not bulky, but they still look like shoes and not booties or glorified socks. i don't like putting rubber soled shoes on babies who aren't going to be using them to walk on, but some outfits don't look complete unless you've got shoes on. this is a good compromise.
1. pemco insurance company. no, i don't think they sell spectacular insurance or anything... we actually have state farm. but pemco has these hilarious ads lately that poke fun at northwest cliches... something i'm always a big fan of - usually because i can relate! check them out. they're totally funny! http://werealotlikeyou.com/
before i forget...
this is kind of for my own purposes, but you might find it cute. i always mean to write the things down that my kids say before they quit saying it that way and i forget. you know, mispronounciations and cute little 'isms' that are unique to your child. layla recently has abandoned a couple of my favorites, so i thought i should make sure i wrote them down before i totally forget about it. there's a few of shane's as well.
'watty' = water "i want some watty."
'bapples' = apples "bapple juice."
'prommo' = problem "i got a prommo."
'zusic' = music
'naken' = naked "i naken!!!" (said with much enthusiasm.)
'hairplane' = airplane "i'm going to go on a hairplane to go see lily."
i'm sure there are more that i just can't think of right now.
a few of shane's that i still remember...
'skabetti' = spaghetti
'shamine' = machine
'amn't' = aren't (although it makes more sense the way he said it since it's a contraction of am and not) "i sure am funny, amn't i?"
i was really sad to hear the 'shamines' go... he was so excited when he had a special cake for his 4th birthday with road building 'shamines' on it. he picked it out at the store and came home all excited that he got a 'shamine cake'.
i wonder what micah will come up with.
'watty' = water "i want some watty."
'bapples' = apples "bapple juice."
'prommo' = problem "i got a prommo."
'zusic' = music
'naken' = naked "i naken!!!" (said with much enthusiasm.)
'hairplane' = airplane "i'm going to go on a hairplane to go see lily."
i'm sure there are more that i just can't think of right now.
a few of shane's that i still remember...
'skabetti' = spaghetti
'shamine' = machine
'amn't' = aren't (although it makes more sense the way he said it since it's a contraction of am and not) "i sure am funny, amn't i?"
i was really sad to hear the 'shamines' go... he was so excited when he had a special cake for his 4th birthday with road building 'shamines' on it. he picked it out at the store and came home all excited that he got a 'shamine cake'.
i wonder what micah will come up with.
brownies for breakfast
i love brownies. i went through a BIG brownie binge right before micah was born (as my MOMS club friends can attest to) and i ate them all the time. there were always brownies in the house (unless i had eaten them all). the other day i suddenly got a major hankering for brownies again so yesterday when i was doing my grocery shopping i picked up a box. i couldn't find the ones i really wanted, with the little peanut butter cups in them. yum. but i got the kind with the chocolate chunks... almost as good.
the thing that i think is so great about having brownies in the house is being able to cut out a chunk and eat it for breakfast. brownies, first thing in the morning are so great! well, almost first thing. i think my stomach would implode if something other than coffee hit it first. i have to be sneaky though. it's kind of a challenge to keep the kids from seeing me eating brownies. i wouldn't want them to think that brownies are an acceptable breakfast! i'm such a hypocrite! and i love it!
the thing that i think is so great about having brownies in the house is being able to cut out a chunk and eat it for breakfast. brownies, first thing in the morning are so great! well, almost first thing. i think my stomach would implode if something other than coffee hit it first. i have to be sneaky though. it's kind of a challenge to keep the kids from seeing me eating brownies. i wouldn't want them to think that brownies are an acceptable breakfast! i'm such a hypocrite! and i love it!
layla's latest
i forgot to put this one in yesterday, but since i mentioned it at the meeting this morning, i should probably post it...
yesterday morning i was in the shower and i became aware of the fact that layla had gotten up (i heard her unmistakably 'fast feet' cruising up and down the hall a few times). a minute later, she came in the bathroom, pulled back the shower curtain and said to me, "be careful, mommy!" and then ran out of the bathroom.
yesterday morning i was in the shower and i became aware of the fact that layla had gotten up (i heard her unmistakably 'fast feet' cruising up and down the hall a few times). a minute later, she came in the bathroom, pulled back the shower curtain and said to me, "be careful, mommy!" and then ran out of the bathroom.
this week's top 5
5. the flylady. yes, this is another one of my attempts to get organized and stay on top of things around the house. i'm tired of being a disorganized flake. if you sign up on their website, they send you little reminders of what you should do that day as well as encouragement! we'll see if it works! http://www.flylady.net/
4. zatarains. this is another one of those 'where have i been?' type of things. i discovered these boxed rice dishes a few weeks ago and YUM, YUM, YUM! why have i never had these before? we're having some for dinner tonight!
3. lou piniella. i have a soft spot for this former mariner's manager. i love a manager who gets all fired up and i have yet to see anyone do it better than lou. have you seen his aquafina commercial? http://uncutvideo.aol.com/videos/04b99149cb2db2f85992607ff6dcc168
2. almonds. i always thought i hated almonds, which is unfortunate since they're among the healthier nuts, but it was because my mom (who loves to snack on almonds) always gets the raw almonds. i recently tried some that were roasted and salted... YUM!!!
1. the baby bjorn toilet trainer potty seat. this one takes the cake this week. i ordered this about a week ago to replace the horrible potty seat i had. (btw, munchkin is a horrible brand of potty seat to buy. too many nooks and crannys for pee to get into so it stinks and when you turn it sideways, old pee actually drips out of it. YUCK!) it came in the mail yesterday and i put it in and took the other one to the trash immediately. it's awesome. don't waste your money on a cheaper model. i got this for 25 bucks on amazon and it's worth every penny.
aren't saturdays supposed to be for sleeping in???
certain boys have caused me to be awake and out of bed at this ridiculous hour on a saturday morning... i've actually been awake since 4:30 when boy #2 decided to wake up and not go back to sleep. it was around that time that i heard boy #1 in the other room talking. when i asked why he was talking, he said he couldn't sleep and he'd been up ALL NIGHT. i assured him that was an exaggeration and told him to go back to sleep. he didn't, and an hour later, ended up in my bed. turns out he's 'too excited about going fishing'. today is apparently the opening day of lake fishing and he and wyatt get to go out in the boat with ron this morning and do some fishing. i finally got up at like 5:45 when micah got noisy. poor dave still is planning to go to work this morning... at least it won't be hard to get out of bed.
well... at least layla isn't up!
well... at least layla isn't up!
oh come on! seriously???
so i just discovered something unpleasant. my favorite bagged salad (not very green, i know) is packaged in the bad #7 plastic! this is the one that canada just anounced they will be banning for use in food and beverage containers because it leaches BPA into the food it contains. i'm so ticked. i am a major fan of packaged salads because i love salad, but i HATE to wash lettuce. no really, i despise it. i'm not sure exactly why, but it's a very unpleasant task for me and i avoid it at all cost. so i'm majorly bummed. i realize that i can still get salads in the little plastic boxes, which is probably better since they are usually organic, but they don't have the ones with all the nifty extra veggies in them that i like and they usually have lots of extra greens in them which dave (aka, mr. iceberg) won't eat. LAME!!!
all about me
i'll play along, brenda. this is another 'tag' and if you so desire, consider yourself tagged and reciprocate.
1.WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? i think my mom once had a student named rachel and anna is a family name on her side.
2.WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? i'm really not entirely sure. life must be pretty good right now.
3.DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? sometimes
4.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? good salami
5.DO YOU HAVE KIDS? quite a few, actually
6.IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? i hope so. i think i'm pretty nice.
7.DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT? oh no. never!!! haha.
8.DO YOU HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes, and all four wisdom teeth
9.WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? no. i hate big drops.
10.DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no. too lazy.
11.DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? sure.
12.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? it varies. for awhile i was on a mint chocolate chip kick. but at baskin-robbins i go for either chocolate peanut butter or strawberry cheesecake. at cold stone i get cake batter w/ butterfingers in it.
13.WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? probably hair and clothing.
14.RED OR PINK? pink, unless it's for the kitchen. all of my small appliances, hot pads, towels, pots and pans and even my countertop compost crock are red.
15. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? i'm completely disorganized, late to everything and very flaky. i have a hard time committing to things because i never know if i'll be able to remember to do it, be organized enough to do it, or be on time.
16.WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? that's a hard one... maybe the ohdaps.
17.WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? grey capris and navy blue slippers
18.WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? chips and salsa
19.WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the dishwasher, washing machine, and layla attempting to use the vcr.
20.IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? how about a metallic blue.
21.FAVORITE SMELLS? coffee, verbena, jasmine, nag champa, the way hot clothes smell when you're ironing them, fresh cut grass, i could go on and on... i'm very olfactorily influenced!
22.WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? the lady from studio east
23.FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? baseball, dog agility, cheerleading competitions and lumberjack competitions. i know, odd.
24.HAIR COLOR? brown
25.EYE COLOR? brown
26.DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no
27.FAVORITE FOOD? strawberries, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries, popcorn, pickles
28.SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? i won't watch scary movies.
29.LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED. juno
30. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? navy blue (hey, something matches my slippers! i'm coordinated!)
31.SUMMER OR WINTER? summer
32.HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
33.FAVORITE DESSERT? really good cheesecake
34.WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? i am notoriously reading like 5 books at any given time. the sneaky chef, the continuum concept, green this, and the no-cry discipline solution.
35.WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? a dell logo
36.WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? about 5 minutes of dancing with the stars
37. FAVORITE SOUND? babies laughing
38.ROLLING STONES OR BEATTLES? grateful dead
39.WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? florida, i guess.
40.DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? well, i'm a mom, so i can untangle slinkys, heal owies with a kiss, and do almost anything with only one hand and very little sleep!
1.WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? i think my mom once had a student named rachel and anna is a family name on her side.
2.WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? i'm really not entirely sure. life must be pretty good right now.
3.DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? sometimes
4.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? good salami
5.DO YOU HAVE KIDS? quite a few, actually
6.IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? i hope so. i think i'm pretty nice.
7.DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT? oh no. never!!! haha.
8.DO YOU HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes, and all four wisdom teeth
9.WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? no. i hate big drops.
10.DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no. too lazy.
11.DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? sure.
12.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? it varies. for awhile i was on a mint chocolate chip kick. but at baskin-robbins i go for either chocolate peanut butter or strawberry cheesecake. at cold stone i get cake batter w/ butterfingers in it.
13.WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? probably hair and clothing.
14.RED OR PINK? pink, unless it's for the kitchen. all of my small appliances, hot pads, towels, pots and pans and even my countertop compost crock are red.
15. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? i'm completely disorganized, late to everything and very flaky. i have a hard time committing to things because i never know if i'll be able to remember to do it, be organized enough to do it, or be on time.
16.WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? that's a hard one... maybe the ohdaps.
17.WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? grey capris and navy blue slippers
18.WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? chips and salsa
19.WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the dishwasher, washing machine, and layla attempting to use the vcr.
20.IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? how about a metallic blue.
21.FAVORITE SMELLS? coffee, verbena, jasmine, nag champa, the way hot clothes smell when you're ironing them, fresh cut grass, i could go on and on... i'm very olfactorily influenced!
22.WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? the lady from studio east
23.FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? baseball, dog agility, cheerleading competitions and lumberjack competitions. i know, odd.
24.HAIR COLOR? brown
25.EYE COLOR? brown
26.DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no
27.FAVORITE FOOD? strawberries, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries, popcorn, pickles
28.SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? i won't watch scary movies.
29.LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED. juno
30. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? navy blue (hey, something matches my slippers! i'm coordinated!)
31.SUMMER OR WINTER? summer
32.HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
33.FAVORITE DESSERT? really good cheesecake
34.WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? i am notoriously reading like 5 books at any given time. the sneaky chef, the continuum concept, green this, and the no-cry discipline solution.
35.WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? a dell logo
36.WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? about 5 minutes of dancing with the stars
37. FAVORITE SOUND? babies laughing
38.ROLLING STONES OR BEATTLES? grateful dead
39.WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? florida, i guess.
40.DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? well, i'm a mom, so i can untangle slinkys, heal owies with a kiss, and do almost anything with only one hand and very little sleep!
this week's top 5
5. charcoal chimneys. this is a great little contraption. it makes it so easy to get your coals hot fast. just stuff some newspaper in the bottom, fill it with charcoal and light the paper. no lighter fluid needed!
4. o organics oolong tea with peach from safeway. this stuff is so yummy.
3. vinegar. do you have any idea how useful this stuff is? i currently use it as a weed killer, fabric softener, drain cleaner, and mop solution. there's like hundreds of uses and it's cheap!
2. juno. we got this on saturday and it was really good. it definitely lived up to the hype and i totally recommend it.
1. the bravado body silk seamless nursing bra. i got this bra on saturday. i have such a hard time finding a bra that really fits my narrow rib cage, especially nursing bras. this one is great. so super comfortable and doesn't wiggle around. YAY! i'll be wearing it everyday, mostly because i could only afford one.tootin' my own horn! (for the sake of the earth)
so i'm not usually one to blab about how 'green' i am, but in honor of earth day tomorrow, i've decided to take a personal inventory of the choices i make daily that affect the future of our planet and the quality of our lives. i'm not usually an earth day celebrator since i try to treat every day as though it were earth day, and not just once a year. but i figured this was a good excuse. i've always walked a bit on the green side, but i really took a turn about a year and a half ago when i was influenced by raffi - yes, the children's musician - after reading his autobiography, life of a children's troubadour. this is, by the way, a fantastic book and i highly recommend it to anyone who has ever enjoyed his music, or even remotely cares about children's or environmental advocacy. i don't want anyone to see this as any sort of snobbish, 'i am greener than you' kind of thing, but rather as a challenge to myself to see what else i can do, and maybe as a suggestion of some easy ideas that the reader might be able to use. i want more ideas too, so feel free to share and hopefully we can collectively do even more to live a little more 'with' the earth instead of destroying it. so here goes...
* DIAPERING. when at home, i use cloth diapers. they are unbleached cotton fitted diapers that i use w/ waterproof covers. a lot of skeptics say that this is no better since you use so much water and electricity, plus chemicals to wash them, but i use as little water as i can get away with, only one cycle is hot, i hang them to dry when time is not an issue (ie, i've run out of diapers!), and i use naturally derived, non-toxic, biodegradable detergent, baking soda, and vinegar to wash them (not all at the same time). besides, disposables don't break down in landfills... i think i've taken up my fair share of landfill space. when out, micah does use disposables, but i'm still doing the EC thing, so in general, he doesn't use very many. layla still uses diapers when she sleeps, but i get the Seventh Generation ones that are chlorine free. i'll switch micah to these when i finally use up the super-mondo costco pack of huggies i've been working on for like 3 months. i'm looking into getting a few all-in-ones for layla to sleep in instead of using the disposables. i also have taken to using those little cheesy baby washrags that i have like a million of instead of wet wipes. i keep a basket of them in the bathroom and get one wet when i need it, then just toss it in the bucket with the dirty diapers and wash them together. how easy is that?
* LAUNDRY. as mentioned above, i use non-toxic laundry detergent. i've recently given up dryer sheets. i almost never use bleach. chlorine bleach is a very evil substance - not good for human health or planet health. i say almost never, since i do have one vice - the bleach pen. if i can figure out a comparably easy and effective way to get stains out of whites, i'll give it up. i'm looking forward to summer and getting a clothesline up so i can hang out my laundry. i positively LOVE hanging clothes to dry.
* CLEANING. i've been slowly phasing out all of my old toxic cleaners in favor of safe ones. i've started using baking soda for a lot of cleaning (sinks, toilets, and tubs), and for most everything else i use simple green or a seventh generation spray cleaner. i mop my hard floors with an easy recipe i found of vinegar, a few squirts of baby shampoo and warm water. i just dump it in my mop bucket and that's that. it works great and smells good too. i have one vice in this area too and that's paper towels. i'm sponge-phobic to some degree since most people use their sponges way too long and let them get stinky and full of nasty bacteria by not rinsing them and leaving them in the bottom of the sink. i do have a sponge i use in the kitchen but i'm super OCD about making sure it's rinsed and allowed to dry out of the sink. i'm thinking of switching to rags since they're infinitely reusable (unlike sponges) and i could wash them as often as my OCD sees fit. but at least for the time being, i try to buy the recycled, unbleached paper towels.
* DISHES. i use non-toxic dish soap and dishwasher detergent, but here's another vice of mine... i've tried using the unheated drying cycle to save energy, but i can't stand it when the dishes are still all wet. it works okay if i can run the dishwasher in the evening and then leave it open all night, but it never seems to work out that way. i'm usually starting it before i go to bed and then i would have to leave it open all day to get them dry. this doesn't work for several reasons; if i don't unload the dishwasher first thing in the morning, i'm behind all day and dishes pile up in the sink and on the counter making for a gross mess, an unusable sink, and a depressed rachel because having a decently clean kitchen is one of the things that helps me maintain my sanity. also, i have a toddler in the house and she frequently likes to pull sharp knives out of the dishwasher if the door is open. not good. finally, our kitchen was designed by someone on crack and you can't open any of the drawers when the dishwasher is open and i'm too short to reach the dishes in the cupboard when the door is hanging out in the middle of the floor. so until i get better at scheduling my dishwashing, i keep using the heated dry cycle. bummer.
* GARBAGE. this is one that i feel really strongly about, and i actually feel like yelling at people when i see them throwing out stuff that can be recycled. i just don't get why people don't do it when it's so stinkin' easy. i probably take it further than most though. i have a box in the kitchen for the recycling that gets reused, so no waste there. just dump it in the can outside and bring the box back in. i haven't been able to go totally bagless for the garbage (because it grosses me out), and i won't buy the biodegradable plastic bags made out of corn or whatever (because i refuse to spend money on something that has no other purpose than to contain garbage and then be thrown away with it), so my compromise is this; i occasionally will get paper grocery bags and use them in the can under the sink in the kitchen. however, i learned that paper bags won't just break down in landfills and the goal of this whole thing is to not create more garbage in order to contain the garbage i already have. so i empty the garbage out of the bag into the can outside and then either reuse the bag if it's not nasty or falling apart, or if it is, i put it in the yard waste bin so it gets composted. yes, you can do that. i can reuse the bag quite a few times since we compost our food scraps which really keeps your garbage from getting too nasty and stinky. we dump these in the yard waste bin as well. we used to put them in our compost here, but then i discovered that i had my very own templeton and stopped that, so now i just compost non-food items like leaves and grass. i'm thinking about starting up a worm bin to take care of the kitchen scraps.
* GROCERY SHOPPING. i usually bring my own reusable bags, unless i'm in need of a garbage bag and then i take paper. i never get plastic since they create a lot of solid waste and are petroleum based (and we use enough of that already). i keep bags in my car and a couple of small, fold-up ones in my purse so when i'm going to a store of any kind (like target), i have my own bag and don't have to take one of theirs. i try to buy organic varieties of what i can because i don't want to ingest a bunch of toxic, cancer-causing, gene-mutating pesticides, and i want to support farmers who don't pollute while growing their crops. i also try to buy as few individually wrapped products as possible. example, i quit buying string cheese because cutting pieces off the block isn't that hard and it doesn't come wrapped in a whole bunch of non-recyclable plastic. now that it's spring, i'd like to visit my local farmer's market more often. buying locally is great.
* OUTDOORS. we use an old fashioned push mower to cut the grass. no gas or electricity, just plain old sweat. it's a good workout, but it's really not that much harder than using a traditional mower. i pull weeds by hand or pour vinegar on them to kill them. did you know that? vinegar has all sorts of amazing talents. i started a garden last year and will this year as well. it's fun to grow your own stuff and nice to know that you haven't put anything dangerous on it.
* PERSONAL CARE. i try to buy as many natural products as possible; shampoo, soap, lotion, etc. i tried the tom's of maine natural toothpaste, but dave didn't like it. i've been told that the cinnamint flavor is really yummy, so i might try again with that. i also haven't been able to find a natural deodorant that really works. any input here? i used the crystal for a while and it worked for a while, but then didn't really work anymore. i'm that way with any deodorant though, i have to switch frequently. i also buy the toilet paper that is whitened w/out bleach. as far as soap is concerned, i recently learned that many botanical essential oils are antibacterial, such as lavender and tea tree, so you can kill germs without bad chemicals. (fyi, vinegar kills germs too! that's why it's good in the diaper laundry and the mop bucket.)
* MISC. AROUND THE HOUSE. houseplants. i keep adding more plants when i can. they're great little toxin eaters, especially the spider plant which loves formaldehyde. lightbulbs. i've switched many of my bulbs to the fluorescent ones. i'd like to switch out all of them, but it seems a little wasteful to replace bulbs that still work, so i'll just switch them out as they burn out.
* COMMUTING. well, i don't really do anything here, but dave takes the bus to work, so i'll toot his horn on this one. i'm still driving the gas-guzzling soccer mom mobile all over town. when are they going to come out with a hybrid minivan??? not that i can afford it, but one can dream. i'm trying to remember not to idle. it's better to turn it off and restart.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
*COFFEE. it may seem silly to give this it's own category, but coffee is a VERY important part of my life. at home, i use organic, free-trade coffee beans for my morning brew, and i compost my grounds and filters. when out, i love to go to tully's (sorry amy and auntie re) as often as possible because they are doing good things for the environment, including making compostable cups. i try to remember to bring my own cup, but i need to get better about it.
i think that pretty much does it. i have a "green to do list" that i am adding things to all the time. i am trying to phase out wrapping paper and disposable ribbons as much as possible in favor of bags which i hope people will reuse. eventually, i'd like to use festive cloth to wrap gifts in and tie them up with real ribbons. i'd also like to have all cloth napkins. i'd love to have ones for every season or holiday.
so share your ideas with me. what are you doing? what's on your "green to do list" that should be on mine?
* DIAPERING. when at home, i use cloth diapers. they are unbleached cotton fitted diapers that i use w/ waterproof covers. a lot of skeptics say that this is no better since you use so much water and electricity, plus chemicals to wash them, but i use as little water as i can get away with, only one cycle is hot, i hang them to dry when time is not an issue (ie, i've run out of diapers!), and i use naturally derived, non-toxic, biodegradable detergent, baking soda, and vinegar to wash them (not all at the same time). besides, disposables don't break down in landfills... i think i've taken up my fair share of landfill space. when out, micah does use disposables, but i'm still doing the EC thing, so in general, he doesn't use very many. layla still uses diapers when she sleeps, but i get the Seventh Generation ones that are chlorine free. i'll switch micah to these when i finally use up the super-mondo costco pack of huggies i've been working on for like 3 months. i'm looking into getting a few all-in-ones for layla to sleep in instead of using the disposables. i also have taken to using those little cheesy baby washrags that i have like a million of instead of wet wipes. i keep a basket of them in the bathroom and get one wet when i need it, then just toss it in the bucket with the dirty diapers and wash them together. how easy is that?
* LAUNDRY. as mentioned above, i use non-toxic laundry detergent. i've recently given up dryer sheets. i almost never use bleach. chlorine bleach is a very evil substance - not good for human health or planet health. i say almost never, since i do have one vice - the bleach pen. if i can figure out a comparably easy and effective way to get stains out of whites, i'll give it up. i'm looking forward to summer and getting a clothesline up so i can hang out my laundry. i positively LOVE hanging clothes to dry.
* CLEANING. i've been slowly phasing out all of my old toxic cleaners in favor of safe ones. i've started using baking soda for a lot of cleaning (sinks, toilets, and tubs), and for most everything else i use simple green or a seventh generation spray cleaner. i mop my hard floors with an easy recipe i found of vinegar, a few squirts of baby shampoo and warm water. i just dump it in my mop bucket and that's that. it works great and smells good too. i have one vice in this area too and that's paper towels. i'm sponge-phobic to some degree since most people use their sponges way too long and let them get stinky and full of nasty bacteria by not rinsing them and leaving them in the bottom of the sink. i do have a sponge i use in the kitchen but i'm super OCD about making sure it's rinsed and allowed to dry out of the sink. i'm thinking of switching to rags since they're infinitely reusable (unlike sponges) and i could wash them as often as my OCD sees fit. but at least for the time being, i try to buy the recycled, unbleached paper towels.
* DISHES. i use non-toxic dish soap and dishwasher detergent, but here's another vice of mine... i've tried using the unheated drying cycle to save energy, but i can't stand it when the dishes are still all wet. it works okay if i can run the dishwasher in the evening and then leave it open all night, but it never seems to work out that way. i'm usually starting it before i go to bed and then i would have to leave it open all day to get them dry. this doesn't work for several reasons; if i don't unload the dishwasher first thing in the morning, i'm behind all day and dishes pile up in the sink and on the counter making for a gross mess, an unusable sink, and a depressed rachel because having a decently clean kitchen is one of the things that helps me maintain my sanity. also, i have a toddler in the house and she frequently likes to pull sharp knives out of the dishwasher if the door is open. not good. finally, our kitchen was designed by someone on crack and you can't open any of the drawers when the dishwasher is open and i'm too short to reach the dishes in the cupboard when the door is hanging out in the middle of the floor. so until i get better at scheduling my dishwashing, i keep using the heated dry cycle. bummer.
* GARBAGE. this is one that i feel really strongly about, and i actually feel like yelling at people when i see them throwing out stuff that can be recycled. i just don't get why people don't do it when it's so stinkin' easy. i probably take it further than most though. i have a box in the kitchen for the recycling that gets reused, so no waste there. just dump it in the can outside and bring the box back in. i haven't been able to go totally bagless for the garbage (because it grosses me out), and i won't buy the biodegradable plastic bags made out of corn or whatever (because i refuse to spend money on something that has no other purpose than to contain garbage and then be thrown away with it), so my compromise is this; i occasionally will get paper grocery bags and use them in the can under the sink in the kitchen. however, i learned that paper bags won't just break down in landfills and the goal of this whole thing is to not create more garbage in order to contain the garbage i already have. so i empty the garbage out of the bag into the can outside and then either reuse the bag if it's not nasty or falling apart, or if it is, i put it in the yard waste bin so it gets composted. yes, you can do that. i can reuse the bag quite a few times since we compost our food scraps which really keeps your garbage from getting too nasty and stinky. we dump these in the yard waste bin as well. we used to put them in our compost here, but then i discovered that i had my very own templeton and stopped that, so now i just compost non-food items like leaves and grass. i'm thinking about starting up a worm bin to take care of the kitchen scraps.
* GROCERY SHOPPING. i usually bring my own reusable bags, unless i'm in need of a garbage bag and then i take paper. i never get plastic since they create a lot of solid waste and are petroleum based (and we use enough of that already). i keep bags in my car and a couple of small, fold-up ones in my purse so when i'm going to a store of any kind (like target), i have my own bag and don't have to take one of theirs. i try to buy organic varieties of what i can because i don't want to ingest a bunch of toxic, cancer-causing, gene-mutating pesticides, and i want to support farmers who don't pollute while growing their crops. i also try to buy as few individually wrapped products as possible. example, i quit buying string cheese because cutting pieces off the block isn't that hard and it doesn't come wrapped in a whole bunch of non-recyclable plastic. now that it's spring, i'd like to visit my local farmer's market more often. buying locally is great.
* OUTDOORS. we use an old fashioned push mower to cut the grass. no gas or electricity, just plain old sweat. it's a good workout, but it's really not that much harder than using a traditional mower. i pull weeds by hand or pour vinegar on them to kill them. did you know that? vinegar has all sorts of amazing talents. i started a garden last year and will this year as well. it's fun to grow your own stuff and nice to know that you haven't put anything dangerous on it.
* PERSONAL CARE. i try to buy as many natural products as possible; shampoo, soap, lotion, etc. i tried the tom's of maine natural toothpaste, but dave didn't like it. i've been told that the cinnamint flavor is really yummy, so i might try again with that. i also haven't been able to find a natural deodorant that really works. any input here? i used the crystal for a while and it worked for a while, but then didn't really work anymore. i'm that way with any deodorant though, i have to switch frequently. i also buy the toilet paper that is whitened w/out bleach. as far as soap is concerned, i recently learned that many botanical essential oils are antibacterial, such as lavender and tea tree, so you can kill germs without bad chemicals. (fyi, vinegar kills germs too! that's why it's good in the diaper laundry and the mop bucket.)
* MISC. AROUND THE HOUSE. houseplants. i keep adding more plants when i can. they're great little toxin eaters, especially the spider plant which loves formaldehyde. lightbulbs. i've switched many of my bulbs to the fluorescent ones. i'd like to switch out all of them, but it seems a little wasteful to replace bulbs that still work, so i'll just switch them out as they burn out.
* COMMUTING. well, i don't really do anything here, but dave takes the bus to work, so i'll toot his horn on this one. i'm still driving the gas-guzzling soccer mom mobile all over town. when are they going to come out with a hybrid minivan??? not that i can afford it, but one can dream. i'm trying to remember not to idle. it's better to turn it off and restart.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
*COFFEE. it may seem silly to give this it's own category, but coffee is a VERY important part of my life. at home, i use organic, free-trade coffee beans for my morning brew, and i compost my grounds and filters. when out, i love to go to tully's (sorry amy and auntie re) as often as possible because they are doing good things for the environment, including making compostable cups. i try to remember to bring my own cup, but i need to get better about it.
i think that pretty much does it. i have a "green to do list" that i am adding things to all the time. i am trying to phase out wrapping paper and disposable ribbons as much as possible in favor of bags which i hope people will reuse. eventually, i'd like to use festive cloth to wrap gifts in and tie them up with real ribbons. i'd also like to have all cloth napkins. i'd love to have ones for every season or holiday.
so share your ideas with me. what are you doing? what's on your "green to do list" that should be on mine?
yet another one...
last night dave was watching 'who wants to be a millionaire' on tv. layla walked in and saw the tv and asked, 'what's that?'
dave: it's a game show called 'who wants to be a millionaire'.
layla: oh.
dave: do you want to be a millionaire?
layla: no.
dave: oh, i know. you want to be a billionaire.
layla (yelling): NO!!!! I WANT TO BE A LADY BUG!
dave: it's a game show called 'who wants to be a millionaire'.
layla: oh.
dave: do you want to be a millionaire?
layla: no.
dave: oh, i know. you want to be a billionaire.
layla (yelling): NO!!!! I WANT TO BE A LADY BUG!
My Top 5 (for this week)
i stole this idea from a friend and i think it's great! i guess the idea is to list 5 things that have recently impressed you... made you say 'wow'... or just something you're really into at the moment. so, without further ado (what is ado, by the way?), here are my top 5:
5. the seattle mariners. i love baseball. i love baseball season. i love ballparks, overpriced hotdogs and nachos, cheesy organ music, grass that's mowed in a pattern and peanut vendors that can toss their warm, foil-wrapped bundles with the accuracy of an nfl quarterback. go m's!
4. broiling meat. why did i never know about this before? it's so stinkin' fast!
3. strawberries. yum. dave accused me recently of liking strawberries more than sex... i responded that it would have to depend on the condition of the strawberries! btw, strawberries are the second most contaminated food... so buy organic!
2. thunderclouds, apple trees, flowering cherries and all the super gorgeous trees that are in bloom around here right now. as i drive down the road, i'm constantly commenting on all the awesome pink and white trees that are totally full of flowers. i also think it's pretty cool when they start to lose their flowers and it looks like the road got snowed on with pink snow!
1. 'unnecessary censorship' from jimmy kimmel live. dave and i stumbled upon this recently. OMG! LMAO! they have it on every friday night, but we never make it up that late. you can find it on youtube though, and we just sit there and try not to pee our pants!
5. the seattle mariners. i love baseball. i love baseball season. i love ballparks, overpriced hotdogs and nachos, cheesy organ music, grass that's mowed in a pattern and peanut vendors that can toss their warm, foil-wrapped bundles with the accuracy of an nfl quarterback. go m's!
4. broiling meat. why did i never know about this before? it's so stinkin' fast!
3. strawberries. yum. dave accused me recently of liking strawberries more than sex... i responded that it would have to depend on the condition of the strawberries! btw, strawberries are the second most contaminated food... so buy organic!
2. thunderclouds, apple trees, flowering cherries and all the super gorgeous trees that are in bloom around here right now. as i drive down the road, i'm constantly commenting on all the awesome pink and white trees that are totally full of flowers. i also think it's pretty cool when they start to lose their flowers and it looks like the road got snowed on with pink snow!
1. 'unnecessary censorship' from jimmy kimmel live. dave and i stumbled upon this recently. OMG! LMAO! they have it on every friday night, but we never make it up that late. you can find it on youtube though, and we just sit there and try not to pee our pants!
kid funnies
last night at dinner, the subject of birthday presents came up. dave asked shane what he wanted for his birthday. he answered, 'an ATV.' we suggested that it be something he might actually get and he then said, 'a sit-down lawnmower.' yeah, right. his final answer was a flat-screen tv that he can put on the ceiling so he can watch tv while lying in bed. then dave asked layla what she wanted for her birthday. she thought for a minute and then said, "um... a banana!"
more fun from layla
she seriously has the best imagination! just now i'm in the living room and she comes running over and says she's scared (or actually, 'scary' as she calls it) of the lion. i say, 'what lion?' and she says, 'the lion by the door.' so i'm like, 'wow, there's a lion by the door!' and she says that we should not let it in. well, duh! so then she proceeds to start talking about a goat, which by the way, is also by the door and i'm thinking, well if there's a goat and a lion by the door, wouldn't the lion pretty much take care of the goat? but anyway after i express my surprise about the goat being by the door, she says there's elephants there too. wow. and i say that we shouldn't let them in and she wants to know why. well, they would make a mess, right? they'd knock stuff over, and besides, they probably wouldn't fit through the door. and letting the lion in would be a really bad idea. 'why?' well, he might eat us. 'why?' well, what if he's hungry? 'oh, i'll just give him some cereal.' so apparently, lions like to eat cereal. so i say, 'if we let him in and you give him some cereal, then everything will be okay?' she says yes, and that after he eats his cereal, he's going to help her take out the trash cans. WHAT? where did that come from? not only that, one of the elephants is going to help too. the elephant will take out the blue can (recycling) and the lion is going to take out the green one (garbage), which leaves layla with the big, gray yard waste can. good luck with that! i don't know where she comes up with this stuff. sometimes i think she's eaten some funky mushrooms or something. she's always seeing cats out the window that aren't there. or maybe they are. sometimes i think there's stuff in the world that only kids can see. adults can't see it, because we don't believe we can. like fairies... lots of kids can see fairies. but seriously, life must be so much for fun for layla. i'm glad she shares this stuff with me. it reminds me not to be too boring and grown up all the time.
ahhhh, the imagination of a 2 year old!
i totally love the random stuff layla comes up with. today as i was reading a book to her before her nap, she stops me in the middle of a page and says, "i want to be a butterfly." it's not like it was in any way related, we were reading the little engine that could. so i stop and we talk about it for a minute and she continues to tell me that she wants all the rest of us to be butterflies too. so i ask her what we would do if we were butterflies, thinking she would say something about flying, or looking for flowers, but no, she says, "we'll paint!" okay... then she says that she wants grandpa to be a butterfly too, and then we'll be butterflies in a tree... a brown tree. sure, why not? after that, she was done with the butterfly thought and i finished the book. the great thing about it is that she's totally serious! wouldn't it be great to be able to come up with stuff like that, and not have that stupid grown-up filter in your head that tells you that you can't really do that? i certainly wasn't going to spoil her fun.
halleluia!
well, i think that layla has FINALLY decided that pooping is okay! for almost a week now, she has been pooping regularly with no major fuss! it's almost like she's a normal child!! she'll actually say the words, 'i want to go poop' and when you take her she won't say, NONONONO and scream and cry and dance around, she'll sit on the potty and go!!! not only that, she's gone at a restaurant and at a friend's house! i cannot express what a relief this is!!!!!!!!!!! whoo hoo!
and i swear, this will be my last blog about poop!
and i swear, this will be my last blog about poop!
follow ups
first of all, i'm happy to report that we have officially 'won' the rights to assemble at tully's between aprox. 9:50 and 10:35am on sunday mornings. the last few times we've been there and the 'cranky old lady' was there, she packed up and left as soon as we arrived. woo hoo! i feel like i'm in some 1950's high school gang and we've established our 'turf'. at any rate, life is much more pleasant when you can enjoy your heathen coffee without the fear of being yelled at if your children happen to be acting like children.
next, micah's potty usage is going well, but has taken an unexpected turn. last night (and by last night i mean the night i'm currently in, since it isn't yet 6am and we've been awake for an hour and a half or more), he apparently decided that he wanted to use the potty in the night. not really what i had planned. of course i could be overthinking this and just assuming erroneously that that's what he wanted. but when he woke up to eat sometime in the 1:00 hour, i pulled him into bed and tried to feed him but he was doing this weird jumping up and down move and wouldn't eat. so i thought i maybe should change him. i brought him out to the living room and his diaper was barely wet. in the back of my head i was thinking that maybe he wanted to pee (since the books have indicated that babies will want to stay dry at night and i'm just wingin' it here) so i took him in to the bathroom and sat him on the potty. he immediately peed. i put a new diaper on him, brought him back to bed and he nursed like normal and fell back asleep. a few hours later, he woke up again (no, unfortunately this isn't an unusual occurance at this point), and i tried to feed him again, but he refused and did the jumping up and down thing again while fussing. so i obliged by taking him to the potty where he peed immediately again and then settled back down to nurse. only this time he must have figured it was time to be up because he didn't go back to sleep. grrr. not sure what to think here. but i caught 3 poops yesterday and most of his pees so i guess that's good. who knows. i'm just figuring it out here.
other updates... layla continues to be neurotic about pooping, but less so for dave (go figure). no one is currently puking (knock on wood), and my house is less of a mess than usual, but far from clean! ;-)
next, micah's potty usage is going well, but has taken an unexpected turn. last night (and by last night i mean the night i'm currently in, since it isn't yet 6am and we've been awake for an hour and a half or more), he apparently decided that he wanted to use the potty in the night. not really what i had planned. of course i could be overthinking this and just assuming erroneously that that's what he wanted. but when he woke up to eat sometime in the 1:00 hour, i pulled him into bed and tried to feed him but he was doing this weird jumping up and down move and wouldn't eat. so i thought i maybe should change him. i brought him out to the living room and his diaper was barely wet. in the back of my head i was thinking that maybe he wanted to pee (since the books have indicated that babies will want to stay dry at night and i'm just wingin' it here) so i took him in to the bathroom and sat him on the potty. he immediately peed. i put a new diaper on him, brought him back to bed and he nursed like normal and fell back asleep. a few hours later, he woke up again (no, unfortunately this isn't an unusual occurance at this point), and i tried to feed him again, but he refused and did the jumping up and down thing again while fussing. so i obliged by taking him to the potty where he peed immediately again and then settled back down to nurse. only this time he must have figured it was time to be up because he didn't go back to sleep. grrr. not sure what to think here. but i caught 3 poops yesterday and most of his pees so i guess that's good. who knows. i'm just figuring it out here.
other updates... layla continues to be neurotic about pooping, but less so for dave (go figure). no one is currently puking (knock on wood), and my house is less of a mess than usual, but far from clean! ;-)
further endeavors in potty training...
so layla has had some minor impovement since my last rant. she did finally poop that day, and in the potty, which is always ideal. yesterday she actually pooped twice, which is totally unheard of for her! she's been eating a lot of dried fruit lately. maybe in increase in frequency will help her get over her issues more quickly. that would be best for everyone involved.
layla's pottying issues, along with those of many other toddlers and preschoolers i've encountered over the years, have gotten me thinking about the whole potty training process in general. i have a tendency to think of things anthropologically, and when encountering a typical problem in the natural, universal flow of life, i begin to wonder how the rest of the world does it. i've always been one to question the status quo, especially when 'the way we've always done it' doesn't seem to be all that effective. or at least it's leaving something to be desired.
over a year ago, i stumbled upon a book called 'diaper free: the gentle wisdom of natural infant hygiene' while browsing in a bookstore. the sheer impossibility of the title's implication intrigued me (as things like that ususally do) so i picked it up and leafed through it, but didn't really gather too much info at the time. the idea of a diaper free baby really left me with only one thought; gross! but since then, the actual subject of the book, and several others like it, has floated across my plate several times. 'elimination communication' or EC is actually a fairly common practice in many cultures and it is growing in popularity in certain circles even here the 'we love everything disposable' usa. basically, the idea is not so much that you let your baby run around without a diaper and poop all over everything, but rather you get them used to using the toilet much sooner than is generally thought of as the right time to potty train, even from birth. true, some people take the extreme end of the spectrum and never put their babies in diapers, but there's room for much more flexibility than just that. it also involves learning to read your baby's signals that he wants to go.
so i got a book and started thinking about the possibility of not having to put micah through what is obviously very stressful for layla. i was very skeptical and didn't figure it would really work for us and thought that after 4 months, if micah was giving me any signals, i was sure not receptive to them. but i sheepishly decided to try one evening, to stick him on the potty and see what happened. ABOUT 2 SECONDS LATER, HE ACTUALLY PEED! i was astounded, but figured it was a fluke. so the next morning after he woke up and i was taking his diaper off of him anyway, i sat him on it again, and he peed! WOW! so i decided to read a little more of this crazy book and see what was really involved. i put him in a cloth diaper without the cover so i would be able to tell easily if he was wet or dry and a long sleeve t-shirt for convenience. later that morning, i was changing him after he had slept awhile and decided to see if we could make it 3 times. HE POOPED!!!! i #@!* you not! so i was getting more and more convinced that this might actually be a possibility. i read basically the rest of the book and figured it was pretty much common sense at the beginning and apparently a lot of EC'd babies are completely out of diapers by their first birthday (and able to get themselves to the potty on their own or at least able to tell you to take them there). so in the last 3 days, i've caught a lot of pees and 3 or 4 poops. he does have a few signals that i've been able to pick up on, but that part is still a little fuzzy for me.
i know you're all thinking, 'here's another one of rachel's crazy ideas!' maybe it is. maybe it isn't. so, no, i'm not exacly trying to potty train my 4 month old, i think that sounds kind of pretentious. i'm just trying to catch as many as i can and if we can get rid of diapers sooner rather than later, woo hoo! if not, i figure at least we can avoid the neuroses that so commonly accompany typical potty training. i'll keep you posted.
layla's pottying issues, along with those of many other toddlers and preschoolers i've encountered over the years, have gotten me thinking about the whole potty training process in general. i have a tendency to think of things anthropologically, and when encountering a typical problem in the natural, universal flow of life, i begin to wonder how the rest of the world does it. i've always been one to question the status quo, especially when 'the way we've always done it' doesn't seem to be all that effective. or at least it's leaving something to be desired.
over a year ago, i stumbled upon a book called 'diaper free: the gentle wisdom of natural infant hygiene' while browsing in a bookstore. the sheer impossibility of the title's implication intrigued me (as things like that ususally do) so i picked it up and leafed through it, but didn't really gather too much info at the time. the idea of a diaper free baby really left me with only one thought; gross! but since then, the actual subject of the book, and several others like it, has floated across my plate several times. 'elimination communication' or EC is actually a fairly common practice in many cultures and it is growing in popularity in certain circles even here the 'we love everything disposable' usa. basically, the idea is not so much that you let your baby run around without a diaper and poop all over everything, but rather you get them used to using the toilet much sooner than is generally thought of as the right time to potty train, even from birth. true, some people take the extreme end of the spectrum and never put their babies in diapers, but there's room for much more flexibility than just that. it also involves learning to read your baby's signals that he wants to go.
so i got a book and started thinking about the possibility of not having to put micah through what is obviously very stressful for layla. i was very skeptical and didn't figure it would really work for us and thought that after 4 months, if micah was giving me any signals, i was sure not receptive to them. but i sheepishly decided to try one evening, to stick him on the potty and see what happened. ABOUT 2 SECONDS LATER, HE ACTUALLY PEED! i was astounded, but figured it was a fluke. so the next morning after he woke up and i was taking his diaper off of him anyway, i sat him on it again, and he peed! WOW! so i decided to read a little more of this crazy book and see what was really involved. i put him in a cloth diaper without the cover so i would be able to tell easily if he was wet or dry and a long sleeve t-shirt for convenience. later that morning, i was changing him after he had slept awhile and decided to see if we could make it 3 times. HE POOPED!!!! i #@!* you not! so i was getting more and more convinced that this might actually be a possibility. i read basically the rest of the book and figured it was pretty much common sense at the beginning and apparently a lot of EC'd babies are completely out of diapers by their first birthday (and able to get themselves to the potty on their own or at least able to tell you to take them there). so in the last 3 days, i've caught a lot of pees and 3 or 4 poops. he does have a few signals that i've been able to pick up on, but that part is still a little fuzzy for me.
i know you're all thinking, 'here's another one of rachel's crazy ideas!' maybe it is. maybe it isn't. so, no, i'm not exacly trying to potty train my 4 month old, i think that sounds kind of pretentious. i'm just trying to catch as many as i can and if we can get rid of diapers sooner rather than later, woo hoo! if not, i figure at least we can avoid the neuroses that so commonly accompany typical potty training. i'll keep you posted.
poop phobia
i'm going insane! my daughter is the most neurotic person i have ever met. not to mention aggrivating. we are now on day 3 of this particular round of what i have come to call 'the poop dance'. every 3 days (or so, depending on how long she is physically able to keep it up), we have to deal with layla's absolute insistance not to poop. when i tell people about this, they get all concerned and say that she's constipated and that we should give her miralax, because that's what worked for their kid when they were constipated. well, let me just clear this up. she's not constipated. it's not that she can't poop. it's that she won't. she flat out refuses to poop. eventually it does happen, obviously, but everytime it does, she freaks out, cries, and then apparently makes a mental note of what caused that to happen and then remembers not to do that next time. she used to say, 'i need to poop.' now, you could pay her a million dollars (or m&m's) and she WILL NOT admit that she needs to. it could be falling out of her butt and she will still say she doesn't have to if you ask her. a couple of times, we've been successful at getting her to 'push' while sitting on the toilet. so now she WILL NOT, under any circumstances, push while on the toilet. she has also now figured out that movement of any kind makes her feel like she has to poop (ie: playing, walking around), so now she will lay down. she will pee like 20 times in an hour, as if somehow if she pees enough, it will make up for the poop and then she won't have to do it. when she is walking around, she walks on her toes, i assume, because that makes it easier for her to squeeze her cheeks together and keep the poop in. she will dance back and forth from one foot to the other. she will do this dance in circles around her potty. and the worst, she will walk around making this super annoying, high pitched, panicky 'uh-uh-uh' sound that makes me want to scream or jump out of a very tall building. so, to date, these are layla's verbal indications that she needs to poop:
1. "i want you."
2. "i need you."
3. "i want a hug."
4. "i want to take a nap."
5. "i need to go pee."
6. "i want my underwear."
7. "i want my pants."
some kids do this because they don't want to poop on the potty. so they'll ask for a diaper and poop there. not layla. she doesn't want to poop at all. and by the way, the quickest way to stiffle a poop, is apparently to sit on a potty. the only way layla poops is if it literally falls out of her. she will not help it along and will do everything in her power to keep it from happening. oh, and in case you're wondering, she can't be bribed. not for all the tea in china. there is no incentive in the world that is convincing enough to get her to even try to do it. no way. so that's me venting. hopefully it will fall out soon (and hopefully on the potty) and then i won't have to deal with this again for 3 more days! oh yeah!
1. "i want you."
2. "i need you."
3. "i want a hug."
4. "i want to take a nap."
5. "i need to go pee."
6. "i want my underwear."
7. "i want my pants."
some kids do this because they don't want to poop on the potty. so they'll ask for a diaper and poop there. not layla. she doesn't want to poop at all. and by the way, the quickest way to stiffle a poop, is apparently to sit on a potty. the only way layla poops is if it literally falls out of her. she will not help it along and will do everything in her power to keep it from happening. oh, and in case you're wondering, she can't be bribed. not for all the tea in china. there is no incentive in the world that is convincing enough to get her to even try to do it. no way. so that's me venting. hopefully it will fall out soon (and hopefully on the potty) and then i won't have to deal with this again for 3 more days! oh yeah!
nice weather? is it really february?
so it completely cracks me up how people are around here when the sun comes out. and i'm not exempt from this either, so i'm making fun of myself as much as everyone else, although i'm not the lady in a tank top that i saw at the gas station. hello? 55 isn't exactly a tropical paradise! at any rate, pale, pasty seattleites crawled squinting out of the woodwork yesterday and could be found in all areas of 'the outdoors' working in their yards, biking, playing family games of football or frisbee, or doing what we did... playing at the park! after some yardwork, we met up with the hakalas at marymoor. it was awfully nice to be outside for a change and not dodging raindrops or shivering as you watch your breath rise like some sort of sacrificial incense to the gods of winter. shane and sean did some biking and tree climbing, while layla and robin enjoyed the playground. layla and i went on a fruitless search for ducks, but did see some well-fed park 
squirrels, about a million robins and then stomped on mole hills on the way back. we finished up with dinner at las margarita's which could have been better, but shane was a little under the weather (i think he was coming down with a cold), and layla had vetoed her afternoon nap, so she was very cranky. but it was still good - (and no puking this time, trudy!).
My House is a Mess!
so here's what i want to know... how do people have clean, tidy houses? and by people, i mean people with kids and no cleaning or landscaping service. in other words, people like me. i have this perpetual guilt complex about the state of my house. it's not even really that bad, but i have this (apparently unreal) fantasy about living in a house without crumbs on the carpet, clutter on every flat surface, clothes on bedroom floors, laundry half folded and not put away, and a garage that you can actually park your car in. i know these people exist, i just don't know how they do it. then i start to feel really guilty when i think of people like my great-grandmother who, at the turn of the century, was raising 8 kids on a farm in nebraska. she didn't have a washing machine or dishwasher. they didn't run out to the mall when they needed new clothes or bedding. they didn't have safeway.com delivering their groceries. they didn't have frozen costco meals for times when she 'forgot to cook dinner'. they didn't even have running water, i bet! well, i guess that means she didn't have bathrooms to clean. then again, i bet she didn't have a blog to update either.... it's official, i'm really just a lazy and incompetent homemaker! i guess it's not the end of the world. i just really would like to walk in one day and see everything clean and in it's place (i guess that would mean that everything actually had a place). i suppose if that actually happened i would just want to leave again, since living in your house is apparently what messes it up!
vomit phobia
most people who know me relatively well are aware of my ridiculous fear of vomit. so essentially, the last year or so has been the embodiment of my worst nightmare. we have now embarked on stomach flu episode 4 of the last 13 months. is that not ridiculous? is that not excessive? what's the deal? should i be concerned? or maybe i'm just paying my dues. shane never had the stomach flu until he was 6, but now we've got it all the time. since may last year, he's now had it 3 times. between january and november of last year, layla had it 3 times, and now we're just waiting to see when she's going to come down with this latest strain. WHAT THE HECK! i never had it this often as a kid. maybe i was just lucky. i don't know. is this normal? how many times can you get this stuff in a certain amount of time before you should think that something is wrong? and how can you prevent it, if at all? i don't really think we have weak immune systems. the kids take vitamins, wash their hands before meals, eat decently, get enough sleep... what else can you do? i don't want to live in a bubble, but i don't want us to be sick all the time either. aaaaggghhhh!!!!
tag!
so this is mostly aimed at mary, but anyone can feel free to participate because i think it's kinda funny.
i got 'tagged' by innocently reading a friend's blog, so now i feel compelled to comply.
Find the closest 123-page or longer book to you and turn to page 123. (No cheating!) Find the first five sentences, then post the next three sentences.
okay, so the closest book would be the soundtransit 'ready to ride transit guide', but i'll spare you that... what's next... from 'child honoring: how to turn this world around', raffi cavoukian, sharna olfman; editors:
to illustrate this, here is one afrikan story. once upon a time there was an old man who wanted to have a monopoly of knowledge. he collected all the valuable knowledge, skills, and wisdom in the village, put them in a calabash (gourd), and tightly corked it.
well, that was a bit random, but i think that's the point. have fun!
i got 'tagged' by innocently reading a friend's blog, so now i feel compelled to comply.
Find the closest 123-page or longer book to you and turn to page 123. (No cheating!) Find the first five sentences, then post the next three sentences.
okay, so the closest book would be the soundtransit 'ready to ride transit guide', but i'll spare you that... what's next... from 'child honoring: how to turn this world around', raffi cavoukian, sharna olfman; editors:
to illustrate this, here is one afrikan story. once upon a time there was an old man who wanted to have a monopoly of knowledge. he collected all the valuable knowledge, skills, and wisdom in the village, put them in a calabash (gourd), and tightly corked it.
well, that was a bit random, but i think that's the point. have fun!
Cranky Old Ladies
i don't have any pictures to go with this, so it'll just be me ranting. i am totally baffled by how rude and inconsiderate some people can be, for no apparent reason. today during the sunday school hour, we and the hakalas went to tully's for our sunday morning ritual, 'heathen coffee'. we sip coffee and layla and robin play, micah usually sleeps. today when we were coming in, layla ran past an elderly lady who proceeded to start yelling at dave to 'control your child'. hello? do you have no experience at all with small children? so dave apologizes profusely to her and then conspicuously lectures layla about not running in there and watching out for people. then the lady comes over to me (we had unknowingly chosen a table right next to the one she was apparently sitting at, although she was standing elsewhere when layla ran past her). having just come in, micah was in his car seat, which i had set on the floor near our table while taking off my coat and layla's and getting her settled. so she walks right up to me, points at micah's car seat and says, 'you better get that out of there. you can't just put that in the middle of the aisles'. astonished, i muttered okay, and moved the seat closer to the table. gregg speaks up at this point and says that we'll take care of it. but she still wasn't done! then she says to him, 'well i don't want to fall over it and it's in the middle of the floor.' so i scooted it so close that it was touching the table, and gregg says, 'well now you know where it is, so it's okay.' and she gets all disgusted and finishes with, 'well i'm an old lady and i don't want to fall over.' so she goes and sits down and reads the paper until she leaves by walking out a completely different way that didn't go anywhere near micah's car seat. totally unbelievable. at any rate, i hope she feels better, having yelled at us, for no other reason that i can see, than for having children. good grief!
Snow Snow Snow!
so we had about 3 inches of snow early this morning. i love it. when i got up (shortly after 5) i came out and opened up all the blinds and turned on the outside lights so i could watch it. it reminds me of when i was a kid and my mom would come and wake me up in the middle of the night to show me when it was snowing. we all went out and played in it (minus dave who went to work). shane built a mini snowman
on the front porch - we put a baby carrot on for a nose. then i helped him build a bigger one in the yard. it still wasn't very big- i don't think he had the patience to roll the snow around anymore to make it bigger. still, it's a nice snowman. we got some sticks for arms, a full-size 
carrot for a nose, some bark for eyes and fir tree branches for hair (that was my idea). then shane went to wyatt's to play, and layla, micah and i took a walk to the library where the employees were out building a HUGE snowman by the entrance. it's supposed to snow more tonight and then switch over to rain tomorrow. i love the snow! it struck me as odd, as i was out walking today, that when i'm outside in the snow, i'm rarely cold. but if i'm out in the same temperature weather, same coat, etc., but no snow, i'm freezing! why is that?
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