Clean!

There are so many I could put into this list, some much easier to find than others depending upon where you shop. I think that parents seem to be creating more and more of a demand for non-chemical products when it comes to their homes and kids, and just over the past couple of years there have been more and more products popping up in the markets. Of course there are detergents and cleaners liike Seventh Generation, Ecover and Mrs. Meyers that are more widely available to many consumers who go to places like Whole Foods and their local Co-op. As for soaps, lotions etc many companies like Burt's Bees and EarthMamAngelBaby make nice products for both mom and baby. California Baby has many good options and has the added benefit of the "leaping bunny" label, so if you take a stand on animal testing, that might be a good one for you. There are so many porducts these days that are becoming less and less difficult to find, it's becoming downright easy to be an "Ecomama" these days... well, maybe we aren't quite there yet, but it's coming along nicely. And I have to say, sometimes the easiest solutions are right under our noses, requiring the least expense and cost of all... I have really discovered this year that baking soda and vinegar mied up makes a better cleaner than most anything else I have found! Crazy...

Some good options for bottle feeders

A few good options for bottles that are BPA free. ThinkBaby, GreentoGrow, BornFree, Wee-Go, etc. All have their own websites and many are available at certain retailers. There are several sites that have expanded to sippy cups as well, including Thermos. There are some cheaper options as well, from companies like Medela, Gerber, Evenflo and SassyBaby (but they are certain select products from the line in some cases)... all of these listed on that www.iatp.com website at the bottom of the FAQ sheet for plastics.
In addtion, to anyone who may have in-hopspital concern, I did email one of the formula reps as many products now come to us in plastic ready to feed size #7 plastic bottles. The response was that they are classified as #7, but are BPA, DEHP, PVC, and latex free. In addition they are lined with a food grade (resin #5) polypropylene. They are layered with oxygen and moisture barrier layers in order to protect nutrients, thus the multiple materials making it technically coded a #7. Of couse anything packaged in glass is usually good, and lots of companies (including Born Free and the ones pictured from Wee-Go) are making glass bottles again these days. They even make some cool rubber liners for the outside to make them less breakable and easier to grip!

It's almost Earth Day

OK, so I didn't really originally decide to dedicate today's posts in honor of Earth Day, it just so happens that it IS coming up though (April 22), and so conveniently this is good timing. I spent a good amount of time doing research on plastics and eco-friendly products this week as I knew from the moment "it" hit TV that morning that I would be getting questions from people in the hospital at some point, so why not gather some info here as well? "It" was the Today Show report later last week broadcasting their story on the safety (or more to the point- lack of safety) in many of the products used by the american public every day. As I research more and more, it seems several other countries have much higher safety standards than we do in regards to the manufacturing and use of plastics, though I seem to be finding this is the case with lots of products lately... but I digress... I love America, but we have some work to do in terms of our own public safety. And we are ahead of many others, so I guess being in the middle is at least halfway there.

Anyways I shall post links to the stories on the show (2 5-min clips). Interesting stuff. Of course the first show caused such a massive response that they had to talk about it more the next day with Dr. Nancy Sniderman. Everyone, rightfully so, was most concerned about baby stuff in general... and since babies are my thing, I shall post about that. I will also post the links to the the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy which has a number of fact sheets on plastics and a million other things like meat and dairy safety, fish safety, produce safety, etc... you get the idea. Lastly I will post pics and links to many eco-friendly (and thus baby-friendly) products, which I intermittently intend to post about anyways!
See the links below (you might have to just cut and paste as I'm not getting the links to work for some reason):

Today Show Link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24054672/
Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy:
http://www.iatp.org/

before pics...

I thought I would put up some before pics of the upstairs bathroom project. There is only one sort of "pre-demo" pic, the other two were with it all torn up. In any event, this is what it has looked like before the rebuilding process. In a few weeks once step one is complete and the tile and new shower fixtures are installed, I'll put up more pics.

cutest teapot

I was browsing etsy for a few minutes and came across this teapot, which I love. The bird mugs are cute too. I try hard not to go to this site very often as it can suck up hours of time. Go at your own risk.

finally...

Well just a quick note to express my relief that we have finally decided on a shower tile, AND have scheduled a date for this to all happen Pretty unexciting news to most I would imagine, but you try showering with a cold, wet plastic sheet sticking to you for months... trust me you would be pretty excited too. We picked the 3x6 subway tile in "Mink" which has a nice handpainted look to it so you get a lot of color variation. We are officially on the books for the end of the month, assuming everything arrives in time. Should make for a very satisfactory b-day present for me.

a more serious note

I attended the 11th annual Child Maltreatment Conference today, which was again this year chock full of excellent speakers. You may or may not know that April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect and encourage individuals and communities to support children and families. If anyone would like to find more in-depth information, I am posting some links. I highly recommend the work of Dr. Anna Salter, as she is one of the best and most informed speakers I have ever seen address the issues of child abuse, neglect and sexual assault. Dr. Victor Vieth is another unbelievable speaker, very inspirational and full of hope (and a plan... see below) to put an end child abuse in America. Both have reminded me again that this is an absolute epidemic in our country, and anyone with children should seriously at least take a good look at the best strategies to keep your child safe. Everyone's child is at risk, no matter where or how you live.

http://www.annasalter.com/
http://www.missingkids.com/
I also recommend Victor Vieth M.D. "Unto the 3rd Generation, A call to end Child Abuse in the United States within 120 years"

furbabies...

I came across this quote on the internet and it made me laugh. So very true.

“In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him.”

Avalisa

I love Avalisa. The have more than just cool modern animal prints, but I like the animals a lot... definitely some of my faves. Check out all the different prints.

Wrybaby

Anyone that knows a lick about me knows they will see a whole lotta *baby* on here. My friends and I have laughed at these many times over the last few years, and I still find them hilarious. Who wouldn't want their baby to wear these, I mean really? Have a sense of humor people...

Ozwalled

I found these the other night online, and am dying to try them somewhere, but I can't figure out where. I have a feeling I might get over-ruled anyways. Tons of designs and colors though, and look really simple to put on the wall (or anyplace else you want). Might be fun in a nursery. hmmm.

My niece and nephew

They just automatically get to be in here because they are cute.

Love this pic...

Yay for more pictures! Here we are in our very serious wedding party poses. I think this kind of sums up the overall tone of our wedding (aka "Waldenfest")... kind of fun and casual- and yet somewhat chaotic. Good times.

Wait... one more

OK, so it's my blog, I can post as many random pictures as I like, which is fabulous. And I'm totally lying, there will be tons more pics, not just the one... but moving on...I'm smiling, and Patrick almost has a smile, which is pretty good for him. Here we are at St. Andrews Golf Course in Scotland. No, I can't golf, and no, we were not on the old course, but we were there, standing on the course (which seemed very surreal and totally insane) and can now make the claim to have golfed there. Luckily I didn't kill anyone with a stray golf ball as we picked a pretty good time to play... I think everyone must have been at lunch, so I was kept safely away from innocent bystanders. Who knows though, maybe they just heard through the grapevine that we were coming and all scattered away... that would be the reasonable thing to do. Really though, in my own defense, I did pretty well considering I have golfed maybe twice in my life. Bring it on Tiger Woods.

Patrick

The top picture is my husband on our wedding day, and I had to post this as it is possibly one of the only pictures ever taken of him smiling... it's so cute. Everyone soak it in while you can, capturing a smile in a picture is rare.In contrast, though not smiling, he apparently doesn't mind being photographed in a dress for Halloween. I think we can all agree that he is not one of those men with any feminine qualities whatsoever... I think we should leave the dresses to me from now on.

White Coat Wisdom... unabashed P.R.

Just some quick and brazen PR for my colleague and boss Dr. Dennis Costakos. He was chosen as one of but a hanful of doc's (and the only Neonatologist in the book I might add) in the U.S. to participate in this book about doctors, their careers and the interesting lives they lead. It's a great book (really, not just sayin it) full of humorous real life stories that no one could even write if they wanted to. I believe it's also available through Barnes and Noble now.... so, GO BUY ONE TODAY! ;)Dennis is pictured here (far right) along with the author Steve Busalacchi (far left) and our friend Jeff Hotson, owner of the Bodega Brew Pub here in La Crosse, who was nice enough to host an happy hour book signing or two for us. You can sign a LOT of books when you are stationed in a bar that has hundreds of beers. Anyone who has never seen the beer selections at the Bodega needs to stop by if they are ever passing through this neck of the woods. Let me recommend summertime if you are planning a trip... seriously.

Penny Rounds

Ok, let me take a minute to talk about tile. Fascinating I know, like watching grass grow to most. However, to people like me who can apparently spend months trying to decide on tile, it can turn into an all-consuming thing. After Patrick and I disagreed on the first million tiles we looked at, we have reached a consensus... at least for the new bathroom floor. Penny Rounds (Ann Sacks). They are modern yet retro, go well with an old 1920's house like ours, but clean it up and make it look a lot more updated at the same time. These are the aqua and the cornflower, which are so cool, but in the interest of not getting totally bored with a color, we have ultimately chosen the more neutral creme color which I guess is not on the website right now. I found the basketweave pattern in browns and grays that I fell in love with for the floor, however it turned out to be 150$ a square foot. Being that we're not in a position to put in a 10,000$ floor right now, we will stick to the penny rounds.

In the beginning...

Why did I start this? I don't know... I suppose I wanted someplace of my own. A place that I could put any of my pictures, my own random thoughts and discoveries. A place to post about things that matter to me even if they are totally unimportanat to the rest of the world in general... and I'm going to guess that will be the case.