PSA

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.

A year ago we made a decision to stop buying products with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). I was sick and tired of buying 'healthy' foods like whole grain bread and yogurt for breakfast only to find out that HFCS was high on the ingredient list. My philosophy is that if I buy my kids a snow cone or cotton candy at the circus, I know I'm buying them total crap, but in their 'healthy' 9 grain sandwich bread or breakfast yogurt, no way.

I have, for the most part, stuck with it the entire year. A couple of times I'd forget to check and buy something, and end up kicking myself. (Egg nog!) But overall, HFCS as well as partially hydrogenated oils (carcinogen) do not darken our doorways anymore. I was excited to learn several months ago that due to consumer pressure, Franz bread no longer uses HFCS. A year ago, that wasn't the case, but I am thrilled to support Franz again.

Anyway. Today, there was an article in the Washington Post about mercury showing up in HFCS. Mercury. Are you freaking kidding me? I am usually a 'live and let live' person, but people, mercury in our children's snack food (and breakfast, lunch, and dinner food as well) is really unacceptable. Seriously. Read the article. Throw out the crap. No more. The only way HFCS is going to stop poisoning our children and their generation is if we, as consumers stop buying those products. It does work- it did with Franz and other companies who have made the switch in recent months.

I love how in the article, the spokesperson for the CORN REFINEMENT ASSOCIATION (HELLO!) tried to minimize the studies with words like 'dubious' and 'outdated.' Really? Nice. I wonder how much mercury laden HFCS she feeds her babies.

Seriously. Mercury.

Scenes of Garrett

Apparently in G's class there is a new book making station. There is also a list of 'sight words' the kids can use when writing these books.

Today he brought home a book that he made, titled, "I Like". In the car on the way home he was reading it to Grayson.

"I like apples."

I like strawberries."

I like licorice."
Up until then Grayson was listening politely. But then he said, "Eww, you like licorice?"

Garrett giggled and said, "No, I was just kidding."
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I was reading Garrett a book today at Nana's house. Scaredy Squirrel. At one point there was a list of all the things Scaredy Squirrel was afraid of- sharks, killer bees, poison ivy, etc. I looked at Garrett and said, "Are you scared of any of those things.

G shrugged. "I'm pretty much not afraid of anything. Except dark caves. And not having anyone else around me."

"Hmm. Not having anyone around you in a dark cave, or not having anyone around you, period?"

"Not having anyone around me, PERIOD!"

Oh my. He's such a middle child! Caves and being alone, huh?

I snuggled him close and kept reading.

Happy Birthday Molly!

Today is Molly's 3rd birthday. I am having a really hard time believing that 3 years ago today I was in a inservice at Newby (very pregnant) and anxiously awaiting a call from Dave to hear that Molly had arrived and that she and Judy were doing great. I even got special permission to leave my cell phone on during the meeting!

I was the first person to hold her after her parents and the hospital staff (my claim to fame). She was tiny and perfect.

Sissy and G lovin on sweet Baby Molly. They were such babies themselves!

Now, 3 years later, I hold the title of 'Auntie Sarri' to this girl. She's funny, smart, and with a little dash of mischievious thrown in to keep it interesting- and we wouldn't have her any other way. It's been so fun to watch she and Carter become close friends as they grow.

Here are some pics from Molly's Princess-Pirate party this weekend. Such a fun time!

Judy explaining the 'Gleaming Booty' game.

Carter opted not to go as a pirate OR a princess. (Yes, I gave him both options.) Instead, he decided a frog was the way to go. I let him because the princess kisses the frog and all that. He still got to make a pirate looking scope, which was quite the hit!

Madeline was a pirate-princess. So cute. I love that she wanted to dress up.

Pass the glass slipper!

Sweet Abby listening intently to her mama.

I wish we would have gotten a picture of Abby, Carter, AND Molly! Joel finally talked Carter into taking off his super hot froggy costume.

Happy Birthday Molly Kate! We sure love you!

Um, no.

Today we were leaving Maddy's classroom and there was a picture of President Obama on the door. It was more like a black and white copy of a picture of President Obama. Curious, I stopped and said, "Carter, do you know who that is?" Sometimes when he sees pictures of him, he'll say his name, etc.

Carter stops, takes a good long look at it, and then looks up at me, his eyes squinted because of his deep thought. "Dat my daddy?"

No, Honey. President Obama is not your father.

Playing School

While Carter naps, I try to spend some time with Garrett. It doesn't always happen- sometimes Carter won't nap, sometimes the dishes and laundry are too much to ignore, and other times we are lazy and sleepy and cuddle up on the couch instead.

But the past couple of days we've had some fun. Yesterday we spent a couple of hours playing a fun new game that Garrett got from Christmas from Auntie Bec. Today I suggested that we play school. I had in mind practicing reading and a little writing, but Garrett had other grand plans.

While I was upstairs getting Carter to sleep, Garrett set up 'school' on the dining room table. He had out books, his journal, a game, a craft center, and clay! And then, before we started he put on his coat and backpack, and even hung them up on the stairs- pretending it was his hook at school. (He put on his coat and backpack in record time as well, which never happens in the morning!)



We had a fun hour of 'playing'- and he was such a happy boy.

Belated Birthday and Funny Garrett

Yesterday we met up with some of Joel's family to celebrate his birthday. His wish was to go to Melting Pot in downtown Portland. (They have a kids' menu!)

It was fun to see everyone, and the kids did pretty good at the restaurant for the three and a half hour meal.

After we said goodbye to the fam, we headed towards home. On the way we stopped at Washington Square to do a little shopping with some of our Christmas gift cards. We spent some time at the Lego store, and Garrett came away with a Lego catalog, 2 Lego magazines and a Lego poster. (I grabbed the catalog and magazines from a 'free' rack, but Madeline saw an employee give a poster to some other kid, so she went up and asked if her brother could have one! Sweet, brave girl.) When we got home it was late, and Garrett couldn't decide if he should read his Batman comic book or his new Lego magazines.

"Well, G, it's okay with me if you read a little longer than usual tonight, then you could read both. Tomorrow isn't a school day, so you can sleep late." I told him.

Garrett sighed, and then said, "Well, I am probably going to have to get up early. Because people are probably going to want to see me."

"People? Which people?"

Garrett shrugged and answered, "Oh, probably our family."

More Heads, Please

This afternoon the kids and Joel were playing Legos. (While I napped nearby on the couch- bliss!) Carter finally knows not to eat them, and everyone was getting along quite well. The only ongoing issue was that Carter decided to collect the heads of the Lego Guys. Sometimes The Bigs didn't like that because, well, headless guys just aren't as fun to play with.

Excuse the hazy pictures, in case you weren't sure, that is THE SUNSHINE coming in our windows.

When I finally woke up enough to think about dinner, I talked Joel into going to the store for some basics. As he was leaving he said, "Do you need anything else?"

Carter immediately piped up, "More HEADS!"

Unfortunately Lego guy heads aren't in season at Safeway.

Wordless Wednesday

Tagged!

My friend, Danielle, recently tagged me. Her intro is much more entertaining that mine could ever be, so go over there and read it before you go on. (The goldfish/mamba had me giggling!) While you are at it, her entire post is entertaining, so read the whole thing. She's so funny! (She learned it from me.) (That's a complete lie.) And she lives in Ecuador and recently spent Christmas in Colombia! And also she hiked Machu Picchu this summer. She's pretty cool. We were hallmates in college and nearly instant kindred spirits.

Anyway. 10 things.

1. I will have an incredibly hard time writing 10 little known things about myself because I am a very open book. So there isn't much about me that is 'little known'.

2. Even though I am an open book, I can keep secrets and I do. Don't get me wrong, if there is news to share that is exciting and NOT a secret, I'm all over that, but if a friend tells me something in confidence, it's in the vault. (Is it sad that I consider that a little known fact?)

3. I am going to do a triathlon in July. I am super nervous about it, but I am already 'training' and really excited. I need to get in the habit of exercising, so I decided to do something drastic to change my habits. Even more exciting is that Joel is doing it with me! Even MORE exciting is that our E8 college friends are too! So far, so good. Annie found a really helpful site to help us train.

4. I hate exercising. I am so very much NOT athletic. But out of all the athletic things, running, swimming and biking are the things I am the best at. That's not saying very much though, and I am sure if any of my high school running friends (Hi, David!) are reading this, they just spit gatorade all over their iphones. Because I was, really, really, not good at running. Once I got props from a coach . . . not for my actual skills, but because I had team spirit and brought cookies to each meet. That my mom had baked, so really it was her getting the props and not me at all.

5. I really miss Tuscany. Sometimes I look up real estate in Tuscany and dream of selling everything and moving my little family over there. But I won't. Mostly because, how would one even go about doing that, and also because I could never move the kids away from their grandparents. And all of our friends.

6. Well, my standby 'little known fact' is that I soloed an airplane on my 16th birthday. (And haven't since.) But I've used that so many times, I am pretty sure it's a well known fact now. It was pretty cool though, and seems like a lifetime ago.

7. I love marshmallows. A lot. I have really cleaned up our eating in the past year, and changed our buying habits. But I still really, really love marshmallows.

8. I have loved Diet Coke as long as I can remember. I didn't drink it (much) when I was pregnant, but other than that I can't remember not drinking it. When we went to Europe the Diet Coke didn't taste right at all, but the Real Coke was TO DIE FOR. Now the only pop I buy for the house is Coke- from Costco, in the glass bottles. It has like 4 ingredients and tastes different from Coke that you'd buy at the regular grocery store. It says, "Hecho in Mexico" on it, which I also think is funny, for some reason. It is so good. I don't drink it regularly, but it's basically the only soda I buy. I don't miss Diet Coke at all.

9. I love to cook and bake and sew and clean . . . when I don't have to. When I do, it seems like slow torture.

10. I didn't feel truly grown up until I was 28. Which is weird because I left for college at 18, got married at 21, had Madeline at 22, bought our first house at 23, had Garrett at 25, and bought our second house at 26. So I'd done a lot of grownup things. But I felt like I was faking it. (I was happy, but I still felt like a kid.) It wasn't until the year I was 27, which culminated in me turning 28 and Sara dying until I really felt like I was grown up. (It wasn't just 28 or Sara, there were lots of other things that year too.) It's interesting because I don't associate 'being grown up' as being sad. Something just changed and it is hard to explain.

As it turns out, it was only supposed to be 7 interesting things. But I am too lazy to change my numbers and figure which 3 things to cut, so there goes 10 minutes of your life you'll never get back! Ha!

As for tagging YOU . . . if you are on that list over there ----------------------------------->
I would love to read it! And if you aren't, but you are doing it too, leave me a comment! Consider yourself TAGGED. (Especially Judy, Allison, Teresa, Michelle, Paige, Andrea, Stefanie, Tonyalynne . . . )

Snuggled In

On Sunday night both these boys were out before the lights. (Sweet Sissy was turned away from me and I couldn't get a shot of her.) I know I don't have 'babies' around here anymore, sob, but when they sleep I can still catch a glimpse. I love how Carter has his sweet little hands tucked under his chin. And how G has all his 'guys' (aka- his team of Webkinz) piled up, and his Batman comic book next to him. He is never far from that book.

Hope

This time of year it's always so gray, and winter seems like it is going to last forever.

So, I always buy an amaryllis bulb kit. This gorgeous flower grows quickly, brightens the room, and reminds me that in a month I will be able to see tulip buds coming up through the cold soil.

I bought this one for $9.99 at Target in December, but you could probably get them for $3 or so now at any 'big box store' or even grocery stores. (Last year I got one for $.99 at Grocery Outlet!)

Happy 30th Joel!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday, Dear Jooooeeeeellll!!!!

Happy Birthday toooo YOOOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!!

We love you!

New Year Celebrations

We had a great time bringing in 2009 with our college buddies. Thanks so much Justin and Melissa for offering your home! And the refreshments! Ha! I couldn't find a picture to share that at least one person wouldn't kill me for posting.

After breakfast with this crew, Joel and I headed North to meet up with our kids. Joel's parents kept them for the New Year festivities this year. (Madeline and Carter made it to midnight . . . Garrett, once again, did not! Maybe next year . . . ) We celebrated Christmas a little late with a bunch of the family- quite a fun crowd.

Garrett was quite thrilled to get this Lego Batman video game. A few weeks before the holidays Nana Pam said to him, "What should I get your Dad for Christmas?" Garrett quickly replied, "Legos, and the Batman Video Game!" I'm surprised he didn't add, "And a Spiderman trash can!" to complete his list.

A highlight was the 'present game.' Have you played this? Troy brought it and it was SO fun. I would explain the rules, but I'm sure you can figure it out . . . and if not, we'll play it sometime. Okay?

The kids are wild about Troy. Garrett would have gone home with him in a second!

Yes, that's me.

My crew took the whole thing quite seriously. (Except Carter, who can be seen in some photos perched on the back of the couch, just watching the mayhem.)

Grandma probably had the most doubles (this is a dice game also) out of all of us. She was on fire!

Maddy won the end prize- $5, and was quite happy. We were so proud of Garrett because he didn't flip out even once about the game (fast paced and his turns were very short), and he was happy for Sissy for winning. And then? Madeline gave Garrett her prize money. It was pretty much the sweetest thing ever.


We spent a few nights at Joel's parents, and woke up Friday morning with 6 inches of new snow. (They'd had two and a half feet when we were whining about 18 inches. And had to actually function in it.) We spent an hour or two shoveling the steep, long driveway so we could get our van out. We were quite a sight- Bill had a snow shovel, Joel was making good use of a garden shovel, Vanita had a garden hoe and I was using a clamming shovel! I wish I would have taken a picture but at the time we were all irritated at the snow! Our reward for our hard work was Bill driving us into town for Starbucks and Cap'n Yoby's (the best fish and chips ANYWHERE). We had a great visit with them. What a great way to start 2009!

Big Problems

Garrett woke me up this morning at 5am.

"Mom, I woke up because I needed you."

"Why did you need me?"

"Because this arm," pointing to his left arm, "is sizzling."

I can see why he'd be alarmed.

Checkers

Grayson came over to play yesterday. These two have grown up together, but don't get much just plain playtime these days. Busy little guys with kindergarten and all.

They decided to play checkers, which Grayson had reportedly never played.

At first, it seemed that Garrett was quite excited to play a game with someone with less strategy than himself. (He usually is matched with Madeline or Joel, and gets wiped out pretty quick.) But I reminded him that the nice thing to do would be to help Grayson actually learn how to play the game instead of gobbling up all of his pieces.

Garrett's compassionate side quickly came out (I could just see the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other) and I overheard many sentences that started with the phrase, "Here's a safe place for you to move!" Or, "It's not about winning! It's just about having fun!" As much as I'd love to tell you that these sentiments were straight from the heart, I was giggling because they were obviously rehearsed over and over by parents to children and coming out during a playdate. Too funny. As the game moved on it got a little more complicated. "You guys," I said, "It's ok if some of your guys get jumped! That's how the game works!" They weren't sure, but somehow kept it civil to the end. It was hilarious to listen to each of them play both sides. They were both very concerned with keeping the other safe.

Oh, and if you are wondering, yes, Garrett does often strip down to his underwear and socks when he gets home from kindergarten. Often.