Going Green!

During my senior year of college I had a roommate who used biodegradable dish soap and cleaning products. That same year I learned that a woman I knew through church wouldn't use pesticide flea control on her dog. She is a cancer survivor and has chosen to remove as many toxins from her life as possible.

None of this made sense to me. Why would it? I lived on poptarts, Oreos, frozen taquitos, pizza, and cereal. I didn't really know there were organic and all natural products out there and I didn't understand the bigger picture behind why people were choosing them.

Now, I'm starting to understand.

I don't let my kids have Red40 and try to stay away from most artificial colors in Emma's food. (I still eat the junk, but old habits die hard.) I haven't used fabric softener or scented laundry products in so long that the smell of other people's highly scented laundry literally makes me sick to my stomach. Emma is used to eating natural applesauce, so when we go out to restaurants and the kid's meal comes with high fructose corn syrup applesauce, she doesn't like it and won't eat it.

I'd like to go all organic with our food, but I hate the higher prices and am currently too lazy to become a coupon super-mom. I think I will with time. For now, I'm introducing organic and natural products little by little. As we finish one item, I'll replace it with a healthier, natural choice. For example, Emma and Liam get natural shampoo and soap, while I indulge in the mainstream stuff. I use "green" cleaner for the shower, sink, and counter, but my toilet gets nasty, straight up bleach. Once my bleach bottles (purchased in bulk from Costco) are all used up, I'll try to figure out something else to use.

Looking a little green?

So what happened to me? Why am I even attempting this change and repeatedly resisting the urge to buy those poptarts?

I think it is partly because of Em's arthritis. It seems to me that autoimmune diseases, cancers, asthma, and Autism are more prevalent these days. Why? I can't help but wonder about all of the chemicals in the air we breathe, in the water we drink and food we eat, and in the clothes, makeup, and shampoo we put against our skin.

That is why I'm trying to change things and hoping to limit my family's exposure to the byproducts of our industrial world. And I totally understand if you think I'm a little bit weird.

Wish me luck!

My Gray Hairs Are Multiplying

The past month has been eventful.

At the time of my last post, I was dealing with my first ever case of mastitis. That sucked because fevers make me miserable and a miserable Sarah is not fun to be around. Thankfully, antibiotics saved the day and life improved rapidly. Then, three weeks later I had a clogged duct that was a little bit painful and extremely annoying. In case you wondered, breastfeeding isn't easy, people.

I said goodbye to my best-kitty-friend on September 4th. That was sad, but I was well prepared. It was actually a relief to send my sweet Winter off to a happier, healthier place. She was nineteen years old and had lived a very nice, long life.

Last week I returned to my part-time work, which was good but bittersweet. I'm glad to be back in the swing of things and see all my wonderful coworkers, but I miss my babies. Thankfully, they're well cared for while we're apart.

I love these monkeys!

Emma continues to perfect the art of being a two year old, which gives me the opportunity to perfect the art of issuing Time Outs. She can be the most charming, adorable sweetheart one minute, and the next she is a screaming, spinning Tasmanian Devil whose sole purpose in life is to raise my blood pressure. I'm sure that her cranky rebellion is fueled in part by her perpetual sleepiness. You see, Miss Emma has decided that 5:45A.M. is an acceptable wake up time, regardless of when she went to bed the night before. Please don't tell me that she just needs less sleep than she use to, because the dark circles under her eyes say differently. The good news is that she's still napping well in the middle of the day (*Knock on wood!*)  and we're surviving.

Today, Liam is two months old! He weighs 10 pounds 8 ounces according to my baby scale. (It really was my baby scale, too. I can't believe my parents kept it for so long!) He is still a wonderful, mellow baby. He cries when he is hungry, tired, or in need of attention. Once you give him what he wants, he's quiet and happy again. He spits up a lot and it's a little bit gross. My mom calls him Mount Vesuvius. We use receiving blankets as burp cloths to cover a greater surface area and the poor kid always wears a bib. Thankfully, my hair is short, my carpet is cheap, and my couch wipes clean easily. He sleeps like a champ. His smiles are heartwarming. He has incredible blue eyes. I am madly in love with my little man.

One Month Old!

Liam is one month old.

Already.

That went by really fast.

Dressed to impress!

This baby boy is amazing. He's mellow, except during the evening when he just wants to be held and I just want to make dinner, eat dinner, bathe his sister, or shower. Then he likes to cry a lot. Good thing there are usually two parents home around that time.

He spits up after almost every feeding. If you don't get a good burp out of the kid, he'll spit up for a while afterwards. As a result, I'm doing laundry more frequently than I did before he came into the world.

He likes pacifiers and prefers the Nuk variety.

I adore him. 

He is a champ at holding his head up and looking around. He can keep that little head pretty steady for a minute or two before he becomes a bobble head.

Liam is approximately five days into his first cold. Thanks, Big Sister, for sharing. He does not like the snot sucker (AKA nasal aspirator) very much.

The kid makes lots of interesting noises. He grunts, squeaks, whimpers, snorts, and cries. My favorite is this little cough cry thing that he does that means, "Hurry up and feed me!"

Smooches!

He loves Emma, almost as much as she loves him, I think. He likes watching her run around and listens to her talk and sing. He even sleeps through her screams, singing, yelling, jumping, and general two-year old behavior.

We all love him.

Liam has rolled over from his front to his back three times. He hasn't actually mastered the skill of rolling over, he just has fits of wiggly rage when he no longer wants to be on his tummy. Wiggly rage leads to incredible feats of strength, like rolling over. Just call him Baby Hulk.

I think he's starting to smile. I've seen several silly smiles when he's falling asleep, but those don't really count. However, today he smiled while wide awake. He was looking over my shoulder at the front door and made a big happy face.

I love him dearly. The really super thing is that I actually LIKE him. A few weeks ago I actually spoke the words, "I love little babies!" That's a phrase that I had never said before. I fully expected that it was a phrase I would never ever say.

This little man is changing me.

Did I mention that I love him?