Matthew's Super Incredible Nursery

One of the things that I believed kept me from going into labor was our nursery.

I honestly believe that my body just wouldn't let me have that baby until it was complete.
How do I know this???
Well, we finished it on the night of April 7th.
By 9am on the morning of April 8th, we were walking into the hospital.

My husband and my father in law did an amazing job on the nursery.
Matthew moved into Michael's old room.

Here's what it looked like before Michael moved out.

If you're wondering... this is on a really, really good day.  It didn't normally look like this.

Here it is with everything out.  The carpet was ripped out, blinds taken down and walls prepped for paint.

My husband was trying to do this on his days off.

It wasn't easy to do everything they wanted to do in a weekend.

But my husband's amazing.

And he never ceases to amaze me.

I'll admit.  Kevin picked the colors and chose the theme.  This is prior to the chair rail and flooring going in.

We went with dark flooring which really brought the whole room together.

And here is the final product.

I think that Kevin should win some sort of room makeover award for this.

It's just beautiful.

And far beyond my expectations!

And it put me into labor!

Now I'm just waiting to see what it becomes when Matthew becomes a toddler.

That should be interesting.

Chemicals, Plastics and Lunchables, Oh Boy!

I'll admit it.

I love Sanjay Gupta.

I couldn't wait for his Toxic America special.

The first night was Toxic Towns.

It talked about a town in Louisiana surrounded by chemical plants.

Townspeople were suddenly being sickened with horrible, unspeakable diseases.

Watching that reminded me of home.

See, I grew up about 15 minutes from Love Canal.

I swam in the Niagara River as a child.

All of my friends did the same.

I'm 33 years old.

At 33, I have seen more friends I went to high school with be diagnosed with cancers of all types than I can count.  Breast cancer, testicular cancer, leukemia, skin cancer are just a small sample.  Add in rheumatoid arthritis, among other things and it starts to seem too common for such a small group of people.

Our kids... sadly, too many of them are sick as well.  ADHD, Autism, Down's Syndrome.

We'll probably never be able to prove that Love Canal is still affecting us and our kids.  But if you ask me... it is.

The second night of Sanjay's special was Toxic Childhood.  It focused on the chemicals that are currently being found in our children and the types of effects that they're having. 

As a mother of a child with ADHD, I find this especially interesting. 

Prior to starting Michael on medication, we attempted to remove all food dyes from his diet, thinking this might be the cause of the hyperactivity. 

I can tell you this... it is hard, really hard, to remove food dyes from the diet of a picky child.  They're everywhere. 

I recently found this article as well.  It's a recent study done showing that a certain pesticide could also be a cause of childhood ADHD.  The study shows that it's probably not affecting adults, but children are so much more sensitive to this type of thing.  It recommends switching to organic  fruits and veggies for kids.  But even then, you're not totally safe.  It's virtually impossible to figure out where the strawberries on your counter travelled from, let alone what they were treated with while growing.

One of the things that Sanjay focused on in his investigation was plastics. 

Plastics are everywhere.

We are surrounded by them.

He talked about the different types of plastic and the recycling numbers found on certain plastic containers.

Most importantly, he warns to avoid plastic with the number 7. 

If the recycling number on a container is a 7, assume the container contains BPA unless it says otherwise.

BPA is an Environmental Protection Agency "chemical of concern," one of five substances the agency has targeted for increased scrutiny and potential new regulation.

Why does the FDA allow these plastics to be used by consumers?

I haven't the slightest clue.

But I can tell you that I searched my entire plastic storage cabinet looking for the number 7.  That turned into searching medicine cabinets and anything that crossed my path that was made of plastic.

Thankfully, I didn't find it.

That is, until I opened the fridge and looked at my son's Lunchables.

Every day, Michael insists on a Lunchable in his lunch.

It's the only thing he'll eat. 

I looked on the bottom of the plastic packaging.

An effing number 7!

Are you serious???

I mean, this is a product that is specifically marketed to kids!

How irresponsible can a company be?

Here's the google search info when you type in Lunchables...

Try wholesome & nutritious lunches for kids. | Lunchables

Kids love Lunchables! Try the new, more wholesome Lunchables that Moms can feel good about. brands.kraftfoods.com/lunchables/ - Cached - Similar

Lunchables that Mom's can feel good about?

Seriously?

Brilliant marketing Kraft.

Michael won't be getting Lunchables in his lunches next year. 

It is a small choice that I can make, not to support a product that could potentially harm my child.

I can only hope that Jamie Oliver might decide to visit Las Vegas next year and fix up the school lunch program out here.

As for Sanjay's investigative reporting.

I feel like he's a Doctor, father, human who really cares.

I can't wait to see what he investigates next.

I'm hooked.

Hiking Might Be A Problem...

Considering I've got 50 pounds of baby weight to lose.
And I can't seem to last on the elliptical for more than 17 minutes.
And I'm out of breath just sitting some days.
And I only fit in sweatpants right now.
And I just ate 3 Chips Ahoy because reading this made me depressed.
And I don't normally eat because of depression.
So really I just ate those Chips Ahoy because they looked oh so good.
And I'm not even sure that 17 minutes on the elliptical would burn off the calories in those 3 Chips Ahoy.
Which is really depressing isn't it?

I'm thinking Chips Ahoy might do the trick.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

One of my favorite books is not a memoir or an exciting biography.
It's Frommer's National Parks of the American West.



I've read through the entire thing more than once and I never get sick of it.
I find it incredible that there are so many diverse, beautiful and original National Parks on this side of the continent.

There are so many parks in this book that I want to visit.

Yellowstone in Wyoming, Olympic in Washington, Bryce in Utah, Yosemite in California.

I'd be well on my way to visiting all of them...
If I didn't go to Zion National Park every time I get a weekend away.

See Zion is what I think heaven is going to look like.
(with a little of the North Shore of Kauai mixed in) ;o)

And every time I get a chance to get out of Vegas, I want to head straight to Zion.

We've camped there through rain and thunderstorms.

Rain in Zion makes for some great waterfalls.

We've hiked there in snow and hail.

We've visited in the fall and seen the most beautiful autumn colors imaginable.

Some of our greatest memories as a family are from Zion.

We've camped more times than I can count.

Stayed in the cabins at the Lodge.

Stayed at Flanigan's Inn.

(If you stay at Flanigan's... splurge on the David Pettit Suite.  It's got a wood burning fireplace and amazing views.)

We've hiked nearly every trail in the park.
I'm still waiting to conquer the Narrows... but that's a tough one to accomplish when you've got kids with you or not a lot of time.

And now... because wishes do come true...

We're heading to Zion again.

It's only for one night.

But I can't wait.

Serenity, beauty, and peace are in my future.

Matthew won't be coming with us.
Which makes me sad.
But I'm thinking 90 degree heat and hiking all day are probably not on his top list of things to do at 2 months old.

For me... it will be a much needed break from Vegas.

And another chance to see what kind of market there in down there for Zion Wool.
Hey... you never know!

I May Have A Philanthropist On My Hands...

A while back, Michael was informed that pets that go to animal shelters (or the pound, in his words) are killed.

This was devastating news to him that he really struggled to process.

Of course, because he's 7 years old, he automatically assumes that the President of the United States can fix this no problem.
So he insisted on being put on a flight to Washington DC immediately where he would just march right into the White House and "explain" to Obama what was happening at the pound. He was certain that once he plead his case, the President would put a stop to this craziness right away.

Obviously he was unhappy to hear that:
A: No one can just "walk right into" the White House to talk to the President
B: We were certainly not going to be placing him on a plane to DC alone with only cab fare to the White House.

So he did the next best thing he could come up with.
He created a video message to put on YouTube that he was positive the President would see.

I don't think Obama's come across it yet.
But I'll tell you this.
I have a compassionate, sensitive and caring child on my hands, who will undoubtedly go on to do incredible, amazing things for humanity.

Here's his video... if you happen to know the President, could you pass it on?
Michael would be forever grateful.
;o)

An Unhappy Birthday.

Matthew is celebrating his 8 week birthday today.

The morning started out with a celebration meal of formula.

I think he was really enjoying himself.

If he could talk... he would have told me so, I'm sure of it.

But then we had to go and take him to celebrate at the Doctor.
For his 8 week checkup.

And of course, to celebrate his big day, the Doctor recommended that he receive his 2 month batch of immunizations.
Gee thanks Doc.
I'm sure that's just what he wants to be doing on his 8 week birthday.

So he got his shots.

And he spent the afternoon crying in obvious pain.
I did what any desperate parent would do and ran to the pharmacy to get him some Tylenol.

Except that Tylenol is entirely recalled right now.
Thanks alot Tylenol.
So I bought generic.

And now we wait.
And as I rock my baby, who's obviously in pain, I sing him Happy Birthday.
I bet if he could talk, he'd be telling me he hates me right now.

Unmotivated.

I wanted to go to Zion this weekend.

Cause it's pretty much my favorite place on Earth.

But that's not going to happen this weekend.

And I'm pretty sad.

And gloomy.

And unmotivated.

All because I wanted to go and now I'm not.

If I had my way... I'd just up and move my family to Springdale and open up a little B&B.

Okay... let me be a bit more realistic.

I probably wouldn't open a B&B cause I don't really like people that much and the idea of having strangers staying in my house with me and my kids is not exactly appealing.

My cousin has a B&B.

It's called the Spahn House.

And he seems to love having strangers in his house.

But me... I'm not so sure.

I mean, what if I was in a bad mood?

Sometimes you just wake up in a bad mood.

What kind of host would I be then?

And breakfast?

Well, Michael's lucky if he gets a Toaster Strudel in the morning.

So the idea of waking up in a good mood and cooking a large breakfast every morning is pretty much hugely frightening.  

Okay.  So the Bed & Breakfast outside Zion is out.

That's fine.

I could open a little restaurant.

I mean, I do run a Food and Beverage Department.

I must be capable of running a little restaurant.

I'm thinking something simple and family friendly.

Pizza.

Yes pizza!

With beer.

Shit.

That's already been thought of.

But I will tell you... Zion Pizza and Noodle does have some great beers!

My favorite?

Polygamy Porter of course.

(Although I get some strange looks when I wear my Polygamy tee shirt...)

Maybe a yarn store in Zion?

That's something they're lacking...

I could raise my own sheep and make authentic "Zion Wool".

I'm sure there's a huge market for Zion Wool.

And I'm such an accomplished knitter and all.

Oh... right... not quite.

So I guess I'll be spending the weekend in Vegas.