Girls Reunion

At the end of September my dear friends, Lisa from Chicago and Helen from New Jersey, visited with their kids. When we all lived in Michigan and had our weekly coffee date, none of us were married or had children. How quickly our lives have changed! Ella at 28 months is the oldest and Maddy at 7 months is the youngest. The rest of the kids from left to right are Taylor, Grace, Kyle, and Camryn. We had a great time hanging out and playing.


All the littlest kids swinging with Ella giving pushes.


Camryn and Maddy swinging together. They could pass as twins!


Ella pushing Kyle. What a big helper!


Ella and Taylor on the gator, although they preferred throwing wood chips down the slide.

Green Goes With Everything

When Tyler reads this, he will laugh at me. When did you become so green? This is way too crunchy, too granola for our family. But, I'm a mom now, and that changes my views dramatically. I've always been a careful consumer, reading product labels and buying organic products, but nothing could have prepared me for the reality of the thousands of toxic chemicals that I've allowed into my home and my body. As a mother, I'm most concerned about the health and development of my children. A baby's body systems are still developing and will be for years. That means those systems are more vulnerable to potentially toxic substances than adults. Sloan's new book, which I stumbled upon at the library, is an easy read with her research findings and simple things that we can do to live a healthier life. This book is helping me to make better, smarter, safer choices. I urge you to check it out from your local library and skim the chapters. You'll be glad that you did! Or, you can check out Sloan's web site. www.greengoeswitheverything.com
Here are some changes that our family is going to make over the next few months... and I'm not even done reading the book yet. Yes, even though this seems extreme, even Tyler would agree that these decision are a good way to love our children.

• remove dangerous and toxic chemicals from my home including chlorine bleach and ammonia
• replace cleaners with a natural, nontoxic all-purpose cleaner
  
• replace my laundry detergent with a natural nontoxic one
• replace shampoo, makeup, moisturizers with products that are safer and healthier
• use BPA-free sippy cups and organic milk
• remove plastics from my kitchen and replace with glass containers
  
• choose organic and locally grown food more when possible
• never buy bottled water and buy myself a metal water bottle
• open windows once a day when the outside temperature is comfortable