Good Times, Great Lakes

We went up to Leland, MI again this summer for a week of relaxation. Leland is in the pinky of Michigan, really the Lelanau Peninsula, surrounded by lake Michigan and a huge bay. It is absolutely beautiful and the backwoods, small town living is such a good change of pace.

Here is Pop on a hike, pointing to Pyramid Point, a huge dune that juts out into the water, Emily, Pop and Drew climbed it the day before.

Val and Drew swimming at South Manitou Island. Pop, Emily, Val Drew and I took a boat over to the ghost island for a day.

The middle of the peninsula is filled with rolling hills, farms and winerys. From the top, you can see all the way to the water. This is peaches. She was born on one of these farms.

Nora loved the beach.

Nora on the way home (these pictures are really out of order!) She had a tough time of it with the sleep thing on vacation so this was a much needed crash.

Nora with her favorite person ever, Grandma





This is a shot of a dune south of Leland. Pop convinced us to climb down (bounce would be a better word), and then we ended up walking the beach back to town. I'm glad we did, it was great!

Aunt Emmy playing with the kids, and giving me a break all at the same time:)

We climbed up this light house, very cool.

on the boat

Me and Aunt Emmy (aka Emily)

Benzine update

OK, so I think we have done as much with this toxin as we can....

1. The water test that included benzine was about $500. Needless to say, that won't happen. (there is a much cheaper test that tests for a few things that I will do when I get to those toxins:) )

2. We have phased out all unnatural cleaning products. I did a little research on Johnson's baby shampoo and turns out it is full of Benzine...Didn't find much on Tide but commercial laundry soap in general contains benzine, so we have switched to an all natural product. (if it is biodegradable, it is a safe bet)

3. We do intend to paint a few rooms soon so I will have to do some more research in the paint department but know that it at least must be water based.

4. Got rid of the elmer's glue (has yucky animal products in it anyway) and now make our own paste- here is the recipe:

White Flour and Water Paste

In a saucepan, mix one part white flour with two parts water. Slowly bring to a boil over low heat. Mix until thick and shiny. Let cool, store in airtight container. Use paint brush to apply. This is cheap and a great way to use up white flour!

5. I have eliminated swifter juice, instead I use a mop and vinegar water on the tile. I add a little pure castile soap to the vinegar water for the hard wood floors. Besides from the house smelling like salad, it works great (and i really kind of like the vinegar smell).... If it smells "clean" it is probably toxic. I already use T.J.'s all purpose cleaner, vinegar, baking soda and castile soap to clean just about everything else. Mineral oil is a good substitute for furniture polish, just rub a little into the wood, i would do a spot test first though. (castile soap and a wet rag works well on the wood/laminate kitchen table).

6. I am trying to fill up at the gas station with out the kids which proves difficult on road trips.

Ok, i think that is it...off to wash the floors with my new mop (it's the little things these days:)...)

Next toxin: Lead (yikes)

Noraism

I have so much to blog about, our trip to Michigan(with aunt Emmy) and Drew going to school. But for now I wanted to record what Nora has said now on both days that I have dropped Drew off at school...

So after me returning home from drop off, after about oh, 20 minutes, she states "Mom, you left Drew in the car!"

For some reason, this is so cute!

State Fair

New toxin series - Benzine

After having children, chemicals become a huge issue in our lives. Currently, I am listening to the Diane Rehm show. The authors of the book, "Poinsoned Profits" are now on and are explaining the complications of monitoring toxins in our lives. Personally, I find keeping the toxins out of our home is REALLY HARD. Because I have no faith in the government coming in to save the day anytime soon (new chemicals do not even have to be regulated by the EPA), I am going to try to take it one chemical at a time in an effort to get rid of these things in our lives. I know there are more natural minded parents out there who have been doing a better job of this from day one and would appreciate any advice and information. There are no ingredient lists, so a lot of research has to be done on each toxin to find out exactly where it is in the home. I am going to attempt to do this. Canada and Europe are good places to look to see what has been banned there. It is never too late to work on expelling toxins because with most of the chemicals, the lifetime of chemical build up in our bodies is what will trigger disease. Also, if you are a nursing mother or will be someday, it is REALLY important to think about what is in your body now. Our first nursling's get a double whammy of toxins from their mamas because many chemicals are soluble in fat (making the toxins 'active' in those tiny little bodies). By the second child, many of these toxins have been expelled from the mother and into (sigh) the first born's body. But alas, not all is doomsday because if we can keep those levels down post nursing, we have a fighting chance.

The chemical of the day is Benzine. This is a know carcinogen that can cause many types of blood diseases including leukemia. The main sources of exposure are cigarette smoke and gasoline. It can also be found in water and could be harmful to drink or bathe in. It also is found in some detergents and rubber.

My recommendations: don't smoke, try to avoid gas stations with the kids, do a test of your home water, use a water filter for drinking water, use natural laundry detergent, avoid pesticides, use water based paints and glues, avoid furniture wax, try to get rid of pliable plastics and rubber toys...(this will also be a huge recommendation when talking about phalates).

Ok, as soon as I make sure we are under control with Benzine, we will move on.

Old friends/New Friends

Me, Jamie and Jack

Drew in full beach action

Same for Jack...

Sand Castle time

Ava and Nora, so cute

Jamie and Gabby

Last weekend we made a trip up to Grand Haven, Michigan to spend the weekend with my high school best friend and her family. Jamie and John were high school sweethearts and now have three adorable children. Their youngest are each a year older than Drew and Nora and the kids got along famously. Seriously, Jamie and I were prepared for Nora and Ava to struggle a bit (they share strong willed personalities) but not one problem. They walked around all day talking about things only they understood. Jack and Drew were inseparable, Jack is a really neat kid and Drew got a lot out of hanging out with him. Gabby (who is nine) was such a good little hostess and did not complain once about all the little ones scampering about. Val and John are both awesome dads and enjoyed each others company. Jamie and I even spent some time alone on the beach while the guys took the kids back to the house, complete with a wonderful meal complements of John. Of course it was great to hang out with Jamie, she is one of my oldest and dearest friends. All in all, a great weekend, hopefully John's parents will share their beach home again next year!

A visit from Zeljko

Val's cousin Zeljko (i can't begin to spell it phonetically) is traveling the country with people from all over the world. It is a program through the state department about peace and civil rights, and yes it did come up that America is not necessarily the leader in these issues right now. Anyway, we went to Cincinnati to visit him, he is so nice and smart and I look forward to someday going to Sarajevo to meet the rest of the family. Val was sad to say goodbye and I understand why.

Drew, Val and Zeljko (ok it kind of sounds like Jeko if you say it with a sexy foreign accent)

The kids loved him, he was an instant hit.

We spent one of the very hot days at "The Beach"



Wouldn't you know it, we stayed two blocks away from the Cincinnati Fire Museum which was very well done, needles to say, the kids loved it.