get the lead outta yer...

Toys. Yup, Lead in toys, we have all heard about it. Many of us have sent toys in to be replaced... I know I did. I remember being SO mad that toys that my son had played with everyday for three years, toys that were quite pricey had lead on them.


Actually his favorite engine had lead on it. The paint was flaking off of this engine because it was so well loved but what do you do? Whinging about it fixes nothing so you move on and pray a little harder for your kids.

Tonight this article caught my eye on CNN.

After reading this article and cringing, I went to the site they referenced in the article and found out some very interesting things.

So, on this site, you can look up specific toys, you can look up the worst toys and you can look up the best toys and you can spend your time with your chin hitting the key board in shock.

Now... is this accurate? Who knows. I certainly don't and there isn't tons I can do about it. I suppose I can run out and buy a lead testing kit to test my toys myself for lead, but what about Mercury? Chlorine? Arsenic?

This toy has high levels of Mercury in it according to Healthy Toys.org and though I do not have this toy I have considered purchasing this toy before.

On the site it does contain this:

IMPORTANT NOTE

The information on HealthyToys.org is meant to provide general information to the public on whether or not certain chemicals were detected in tested children's products. HealthyToys.org did NOT conduct studies to determine if the chemicals of concern will migrate or come out of the product, causing a direct exposure. Therefore, HealthyToys.org can not determine whether the presence of these chemicals in a product results in human exposure, nor can HealthyToys.org estimate the health risk posed by any product. Studies intended to examine whether or not chemicals of concern do come out of products under various conditions can be done. Some manufacturers report having done studies of this kind. Please contact manufacturers directly if you are interested in that information.

The test results shown on the site apply only to the specific toys tested. Earlier or later versions of the same toys may contain different chemical formulations.

So, that makes me feel barely, slightly better.

This holiday, I plan on giving my kids twigs grown in my organic garden and some sweet mohair blankets spun and woven myself from the goats I personally sheared out on the farm. No really... they will love these gifts I am sure.

This summer past we built a sandbox for the kids in the backyard and I built it out of the most basic pine boards I could find. The guy at the lumber yard tried telling me that I needed to use pressure treated lumber and I told him he was crazy because of the levels of arsenic in it. He told me that my sandbox would only last a couple of years. I then informed him that we didn't really plan to be in this area that long anyways because of this whole military thing and that if I really needed to, I would willingly rebuild my sandbox in a few years.

In a later conversation with my dad he asked me what I used to build the sandbox and seemed quite pleased when I told him. He then apologized for using Pressure Treated lumber on our outside gym and on the sandbox we had growing up. I was more then willing to forgive him; he made the best choices he could for his kids at the time he made them.

As parents we can only make decisions on the best information we have at the time. We should not be paranoid and panicky, but we should be cautious and wary.

I think that is the best advice I can give on this.

my first tag! should I cry or cheer?

So, I have been tagged and I decided to go ahead and take the plunge! My wonderful friend M at Faith, Hope and Love tagged me. The process was rather amusing to me, as I had watched this tag float around a few blogs I read and finally it came to rest here on me. I really thought I had dodged the bullet, but the bullet has come home to rest.



The Rules: In order to accept this Bloggy Award/Tag, you must do the following.....

1. Write a post showing it, together with the name and link of who has given it to you.
2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design.
3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Honest Weblog’.
4. List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. And then, pass it on.

10 Honest Things About Me! (does it get more egocentric than this?)

1.I love the smell of babies. I think that the smell is second only to the smell of coffee. No, really, I don't know anything better then the smell of babies. Actually, I don't think there is anything better then that baby smell. I will be down visiting my friend again soon and I will be frantically sniffing that baby every chance I get. My friend will have to beat me off with a wet burp rag.

2. I am pretty good at many things, but I don't feel that I am VERY good at too many things. I feel that while I can do art and I can do a bit of writing and I can do a bit of speech stuff and I can do a bit of decorating and a bit of gardening, I don't feel that I have any one area that I am stellar in. I am not complaining... I just feel like I am good at many things, but not amazing at any of them. I am content with this.

Isn't he a cutie!!!

3. I love my husband more then I probably should. He is my rock and I stand amazed by him everyday. He is strong and patient and loving and kind. He has a very common sense outlook on life and he sees things for what they are. He is able to be to the kids what I cannot be. He relates to them in ways that I cannot. One of my favorite things is watching him play with the kids and watching him read to them or watching them and their love for their daddy. He balances me and I do need that. I can be very artistic and spontaneous and flighty and forgetful and he is able to bring balance to my force... sorta like Anakin Skywalker.

HA! He would be so proud of my Star Wars reference!

4. I do not eat breakfast unless I actually cook something and I certainly do not cook breakfast everyday. I do however drink coffee. Everyday. Without fail.

5. I love my life as an Air Force wife. I am very proud of my husband and I enjoy being a military spouse.

John in Iraq.

I like talking to people about the military and what is is like being part of that culture.

The garage door decorated for a homecoming from Iraq.

I remember what is it like being civilian looking in and I understand the questions that people have. I have no problem answering them, actually I welcome them because if anything, the military needs more people to understand what is going on now in our little culture bubble. We need people to understand how to help military families as our spouses are deployed again and again.

You see my kitty keeps trying to grab me in this picture. She likes me too!

6. I like animals a lot. If I had my way I would have a small zoo here. Fortunately, like my earlier post stated, John keeps me in check. He allows me to have the one beautiful puppy and the one sweet kitty and the one boring sucker fish. If it were up to me, I would have another 4 or 5 pets. Then I would start going crazy cause I can't bring balance to the force of the litter boxes and the tanks and whatnot. It would get scary people and that is why we have Anakin... er... I mean, John here.

7. I have this really weird tendency. I talk for things. Things like animals but also things like tea kettles. My tea kettle doesn't just whistle it yells. No kidding. The tea kettle will be whistling away on top of the stove and my kids will yell at me to let me know, cause obviously I cannot hear the screaming tea kettle in the room with me and I will start talking for the tea pot, "HEY! I'M HOT!!! TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! I AM HOT!!!" I will also speak for animals that are in videos or pictures or just out. I am afraid it is a sickness. I will talk for our pets. For example, the dog will be looking at me and her eyebrows are dancing and I will be saying something like, "Are they talking about going for a walk? I can't tell cause they have learned to use that code word. Maybe they are! I would love to take a walk, but then again, I would love to snuggle them. I love everything cause I am a goofy Lab and I just love life! I love my pillow and I love my dog dish and well... I love my toy! Yippie! Mommy is getting out Peanut Butter! My favorite!" Do you see how this is a disease?! The problem is when I do not feel like doing this and the kids really think I should. They ask me constantly, "Mom, what is that bird saying?" If I am tired of it I will reply, "Nothing. The bird is saying nothing." They beg. They just know that the bird is saying something SO funny in their momma's head.

"Nope, I don't hear the train coming, but I may or may not hear a herd of buffalo."

7. My husband is helping me out here, so for this one, he says that I need to put down that I talk in a very "theatrical way." He says that I sound like I am narrating a play when I talk all the time. Maybe I should ask him what that means? Does he like this? He has never mentioned it before? Does it grate on his nerves and he feels like he finally got the chance to tell me? Who knows... I am not going to risk asking him. He will just have to deal with the narrator's voice for the rest of his life, cause I do not think I can change that.

8. I love my coffee. I have teased you all here in the past about me quitting my addiction, but I do not think it is going to happen anytime soon. I have even bought that Teechino stuff and I have not brewed ANY of it. It is supposed to help me break my coffee addiction and it was expensive. It is still sitting on the shelf in my kitchen. I have contemplated brewing some in the evening for a nice warm drink, but I haven't even thought seriously about brewing it in the morning. That is crazy! I stumble into the kitchen and start my coffee making and I have never contemplated brewing Teechino for my morning brew because at that point my body needs only one thing. Caffeine. My body needs it bad. I know my whole house will be happier if I just have my caffeine, SO I just have my caffeine. Ah well. Anyone want a full bag of Teechino?

9. I am Obsessive about things. I am not OCD... I am just obsessive about things. When I get interested in something, I get REALLY interested in something. When I want start learning about something new, I mull it over in my head constantly. I dream about it, I watch information on it. I read about it. I check out books from the Library on it. My friends have to listen to me talk about it constantly. I am sure it is a chore for them, but they must be good friends cause they are still around. My poor friend Kristen has seen me through many of these obsessive times with me. I am sure she was ready to pull her hair out during the WoW faze. I am sorry Kristen. What can I say? My husband was deployed?! I don't know. I am hanging my head in shame. Honest.

K10 and K26 checking out a brand new egg!

When I was going through a Bald Eagle Obsessive time, we were watching the Bald Eagle web cams and reading up on Eagles and we went on a field trip to a Birds of Prey sanctuary and one morning My Girl came in to ask me a question when I was stil mostly asleep. She asked, "Momma, who are Doodle's parents?" I replied in my sleepy stupor, "K10 and K26 of course." Then I stopped and paused and woke up slightly and said, "No, they aren't. K10 and K26 are EAGLES and Doodles is a cat. We don't know Doodles parents." My daughter went away confused. Poor girl.

10. Sometimes I take really, really random pictures.

It is sorta scary,

but you never know when you are going to get a really great shot.

Right? You just never know.



Now, I am supposed to tag 7 people. Are you worried? Oh, come on, this is fun!

Anyone and everyone who reads this blog is tagged. That should be about seven! hehe... Now, all of you, go out and type up ten true things and hit publish on your blog. If you don't have a blog, make one. If nothing else, it is therapeutic and a great way to waste time on the computer!

Got Track Marks...

I have an addiction. Some of you may have heard of this addiction in the past, many of you though have blithely talked with me daily, read my nonsense and known me for years without having realized my dark story. This is the darkest time of year for me and this problem of mine. I knew it had come when I was running, yes running, through the commissary on Tuesday morning. I looked across over the freezer chests and I heard an involuntary sharp intake of my own breath! There! My eyes grew large, my palms grew sweaty. I suddenly realized that there was something over there that I needed to pick up. The cart, the kids and I went running quickly over and I slipped a hand out and picked up the small package and dumped it in on top of my full cart. We headed out.

While unpacking groceries I got to it... and tossed it on the counter, I didn't have time to indulge my addiction quite yet. When I did, I ripped open the package with my teeth and grabbed a few, waiting for the satisfaction to hit. It... didn't... quite... happen! What?! I grabbed the bag and read it quickly. Blast. These are DARK chocolate Cadbury Mini-Eggs, not MILK chocolate Cadbury mini-eggs. I quietly let out a brief sigh. Drat. I ate more anyways. Not quite the same...
The problem is that I do have an addiction to these. I only allow myself two bags a year. In years past however, with only two bags, I have had massive addiction headaches ensue after I finished my two bags. Sad? Um. Yes. Do I still allow myself two bags? Yes.

This one didn't count.

I am not the only one with this sad addiction there are others.