LOVE this line of cleaning products. Safe for baby, safe for the environment and safe for my tile and hardwood floors.  And, makes my floors sparkle.  I, honestly, don’t mind cleaning now. Well, most of the time.

I discovered this website during my new pastime-searching for peanut-free products for Peanut. It is wonderful, chock full of green tips and healthy living information.www.lime.com

This is how story time often ends up in our house.

Peanut learned to open doors yesterday. The little guy refuses to walk, but he stands on his tip toes and pushes the door wide open and crawls right through. I hate to take away his fun, but we will have to baby-proof the bathrooms tonight.

Peanut has a peanut allergy. We just found out last night. Luckily, we discovered this by way of a blood test and not a scary allergic reaction. 

We are shocked. It never occured to us that Peanut would have a food allergy. And, here I was so carefully reading every food label making sure he didn’t have high fructose cornsyrup, added sugar or preservatives when the enemy all along was his namesake.

I imagine I will now enter a whole new peanut-free world. New online groups, new doctors and new worries. I wonder, do I have to change his nickname?

Numi Organic Black Vanilla Decaf Tea: I first tried this tea back in October at the Green festival in D.C. I threw caution to the wind and bought a box without even tasting it. Vanilla anything tempts me, but add the intriguing black vanilla and I am sold. 2 months later I am a full-on addict. I buy them by the 6 pack through Amazon. I try to limit myself to 1 day. It is hard. I mix it with Silk soy milk and a drop of brown rice syrup. I am sure more normal people would like it with milk and honey or just plain. So good!

Snowstorms: I am craving the first snow storm of the season. Do we really get snowstorms in Virginia? The real ones; where the snow is measured by the foot rather than by measly little inches. I love how everything slows down during the storm. You simply can not do anything. You are forced to relax. Make soup, read a book, drink tea (see above) and relax and snuggle by the fire. On any ordinary day, I find it very hard to relax. It is impossible for me to sit and chill out. But, during a storm, I let everything go; every worry, every item on my never ending to-do list is ignored and I am happy. I anticipate the program interrupting breaking news- another quarter of an inch marks off the ruler of the freezing newscaster who jokes she wants to be inside where it is warm. I look forward to sharing snow days with my son. Building snowmen and forts and trying to get that last bit of snow out of our mittens.

Stroller Strides: I am a big fan of stroller strides. I get a great workout. I hang out with fellow moms.  Peanut sees his friends. When the weather is warm, he gains the freedom to roam Lubber Run park with his pals. I like that I have little excuse to miss class because the workout is as hard as I make it.  On the days that I am simply exhausted from staying up late with Peanut, I start by just going through the motions. By the end of class, I find that I am pushing myself. Sticking with stroller strides has made a huge difference in my weight loss. I am so glad that I make the time for stroller strides. 

Television: I don’t watch much, but I am very passionate about the shows I never miss:

The Amazing Race: CBS Sunday nights at 8pm. I love the Amazing Race because it allows me to feel as though I have traveled the world without leaving home. So far this season, I have seen Burkina Faso, the Netherlands and Lithuania. I have watched contestants teach and learn language from school children in western Africa. Yeah, the teams can be annoying when they bicker and it can be so nerve-wracking when the teams are vying for space on the last flight that sometimes I have to leave the room. But, it is such an exciting hour of television. I actually applied to be a contestant once. Well, twice. Odd, since I am scared to do most things they do on the show- skydive, rappel down sky-scrapers, traipse through bat caves, walk through rat infested caves; oh and fly. Can’t imagine why I didn’t get picked.

The Closer: It is a summer show, but TBS often repeats it during the year. I love the characters and the writing.  The relationships between the characters are extremely realistic. The characters seem like real people. Thankfully, the always perfect Fritz was finally brought down to earth recently. Kyra Sedgewick is amazing as Brenda Leigh Johnston. The baseball eipsode is a classic. Thank you. Thank you very much.

The Young and the Restless: Try not to hold it against me. I have been watching this soap on and off since 1988. Between 1988-2006 not much changed. I would miss entire semesters worth of shows in college, but no problem, I never had to tape an episode.  Ashley was in the same fight with Victor she was in 4 months earlier.   In 2006 when I became pregnant and decided that I must watch a soap opera, I started setting my dvr.  I watched each episode in its entirety. Good thing since the head writer had been replaced with one who wants an action-packed soap. Now, each week there is another dead body, life-changing discovery, jail sentence or person and/or his twin arriving in Genoa City back from the dead.  As ridiculous and awful as it is, I can not miss a moment. I allow Peanut to watch the opening credits with me. He loves the song and is immediately entranced. Lucky, for him, his doctor says no television. 

Boots: Can one ever have too many pairs? I have a closet full of tall black boots, short tan ones and every shade of brown. Sometimes, I just open the closet to admire them. More often than I care to admit, the sexy black boots are skipped over for the comfy beat-up UGGS. Don’t get me wrong, I love shoes in general.  As a kid, I was so excited whenever I got a new pair, I slept with them. Not on my feet, but on my pillow, next to my head as if they were an invited guest. But, boots; they hold a special place in my heart. Right now I have my eye on a pair of short Black UGGS size 6. So 2005, I know. But, why bother with another pair I won’t wear? 

The New York Rangers: I love watching all hockey, but the NYR are my boys. There was a time, pre-Peanut, when I could tell you the full name, position, hometown and stats of every player to wear blue. Now, I am lucky to remember to watch the games. I still love good hockey talk.

Alexander McCall Smith: I have read just about all of this prolific author’s books. My current favorite is the Isabelle Dalhousie series. I won’t tell you more until after you read them. Hate to spoil the fun.

I know there is no evidence linking vaccines to developmental problems in babies (or adults, for that matter). I know that thimerosol has not been shown to cause autism.  But, I have not seen any clear evidence that the vaccines do not cause problems, either. Plus, I am not a big fan of preservatives. So, vaccines do not sit well with me.I have debated this vaccine issue- what to get, when to get it, which ones we could avoid- for months. The flu shot made me crazy. I did not want to expose Peanut to unnecessary chemicals and viruses-even the dead ones- but what if?? What if he were the one with the flu in the hospital? What if he were the one to get seriously ill or worse from a preventable illness?I quickly read The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears before Peanut’s 1 year appointment. I found it very informative. He breaks down each vaccine and explains exactly what is in each shot according to the brand and points out the controversial ingredients. He also discusses the underlying illnesses including how prevalent they are and whether they are treatable.Dr. Sears recommends a vaccine schedule if you want to space out the vaccines over time. Some people feel that too many vaccines at once overload a baby’s tiny body. I did feel more knowledgeable about vaccines after reading this book. But, as I neared the end of the book, I still did not know what to do. As I said to myself, “ok, but what do we do- do we get the flu shot or not?”, I turned to the last chapter titled, ” What Should You Do Now”. I am the type of person who wants to know, “well, what would you do?” Knowledge is key, but how was I supposed to know what to do with it? So, I found this last chapter the most helpful. I must say though that I was still was not 100% sure what to do with Peanut when I finished the book.

At the doctor’s office, I compromised. Peanut got the MMR vaccine, but we waited on the chicken pox and the Hep A vaccine until next time. I saw no compelling reason to give them to him right now. I told my husband (who is not afraid of vaccines like I am) and the doctor that I was 90% certain we would not do the flu shot, but gave them the remaining 10% to sway my decision. They did. And, Peanut did get the shot. I don’t know if I did the right thing.

As parents, do we ever?

Peanut loves his music. The minute one of his songs starts to play, I no longer hear fussing in the back seat. I am not a music person, so I don’t mind playing his same cd’s over and over again.  But, it drives my musically inclined husband crazy. And, Peanut knows if we play a “grown-up” cd.

Last week, I ordered “That Baby CD Acoustic Rock Classics for Kids and Grownups Who Love Them” and my husband has not stopped talking about how much he enjoys it since. And, Peanut seems cool with it. It does provide a much needed break from all that baby music. http://www.thatbabydvd.com/

The question I have: how do they know it is baby music?

Our favorites:

Music Together cd from class

Really Rosie by Maurice Sendick and Carole King. This classic was one of my favorites as a kid.

That Baby CD

I took this picture of Peanut the other day. I asked him if he would like to go into his crib for a nap. He looked at me and put his hands on his hips. I just knew he was thinking, “No way, Mommy! I will stay here and play with the garbage can, you go nap.”

 I assume this is what we can expect when he is a toddler?

I made sure everything Peaut ate was organic. I worried about lead in his toys. Then, one day it occured to me that all of Peanut’s silverware was made in China and most were made of plastic.  Each time I fed him, I was exposing Peanut to chemicals I did not want him to have without realizing it.

On his birthday, Peanut received a fork and spoon set from his Grandma. The spoon and fork are shaped like a construction set and have large easy to grip handles ideal for Peanut to learn to feed himself. They are phtalate-free, PVC-free and made in Michigan. I had searched all over for silverware not made in China without potentially harmful chemicals.

The search is over. Let the construction begin.