Conversations with my children: Butterfly Thingy

I had this conversation with Samantha today.

Sam: Mommy, where is my butterfly thingy?

Me: What butterfly thingy?

Sam: The butterfly thingy with the thingy and the thingies!

Me: Sam, I have no idea what you're talking about. What thingy?

Sam: The thingy! You know, the thingy for the horse.

Me: What horse thing?

Sam: No! Not the horse, the butterfly thingy! For the horse thing with the motorcycle thingy.

Me: You mean the remote control for the pony motorcycle?

Sam: No! The butterfly thingy!

Me: The butterfly shaped remote control for the little motorcycle?

Sam: Yea! Where is it?

Me: I don't know. It was on the table this morning, is it still there?

Sam: No! Keep looking, Mom! I want it!

Me: Uh, no, you keep looking.

Sam: (rolling eyes and storming away) Ack.

Green Thursdays: Green Cleaning

You probably think carefully about what you eat, reading labels to avoid trans fat, hydrogenated oils, high sugar content, and high fructose corn syrup. When given a choice, you probably opt for products with ingredient lists we can pronounce. Maybe you even buy organic foods to limit the chemicals you put in your body.

But do you think about all the chemicals you use to clean your house? Think about all the places you spray or wipe chemicals every day: kitchen tables and counters, bathrooms, mirrors, wood furniture, probably even your kids' toys. Then you touch them, put food on them, your kids put them in their mouths. The thought of it definitely made me think about what I choose to clean my house with.

There are a variety of greener products you can use to clean your house that are non-toxic, biodegradable, and widely available. These are every bit as convenient and ready made as conventional cleaners, but won't leave the chemical residue around your house.

You can also make your own cleaners cheaply with household ingredients. Water and white vinegar can clean just about everything. You can find recipes here and here.

The newest option I'm intrigued with is Activeion's ionator. This rechargeable battery powered spray bottle uses only water. It basically charges the water molecules which, according to the company, is as effective as other cleaners at killing bacteria and viruses.

Skeptics of the device say water alone is actually an effective cleaner, that the charge doesn't last long enough to actually hit the surface being sprayed, and that plain water would test the same. We really don't need to use anything else to clean with, we've been conditioned to think we need more that just water to get things clean.

I'm working on getting one of these things to try out. I'm fascinated by it. I'll let you know if I do how it seems to work. Plus, it's like a gadgety power tool, so maybe my husband would get in on the cleaning.

What do you use to clean? Do you have any great homemade cleaning recipes? Anyone try or have an ionator?

Wordless Wednesday

Thought I'd share the cuteness that is my children today. Enjoy.

Penny




Ella



Samantha

Super Breastmilk

Samantha, Ella, and Penny all got sick this week. As usual, Typhoid Sammy brought some funk home with her from preschool. She had a 102-103 degree fever starting last Tuesday night until Friday night. I took her to the doctor Friday and was told she had mild pneumonia. On antibiotics she went. She's on the mend and acting her old self again.

I've been waiting for the other two to get sick all weekend. Finally, Sunday night they both spiked a fever. We went to the doctor with both yesterday, and Ella has mild pneumonia. Not Penny. Ella needs antibiotics too, not Penny. Today, Ella still has a 99-100 degree fever, Penny does not.

I have to ask myself why the four month old, with arguably the weakest immune system, managed to get the least sick. I've decided it must be the breastmilk. Go antibodies! Too bad the one making the milk doesn't reap the benefits as well. I'm nursing a nice phlegm-y cough, too.

What are they thinking? Soap

I told Ella to go wash her hands. A few minutes later, this was the result. I wiped the soap out of her eyes prior to the picture.

Baby socks

The girls are always pulling off Penny's socks. They think it's hilarious. Penny likes it too. She squeals whenever they do it. It drives me nuts because they run and throw them somewhere and then can never remember where they are. I have a lot of single socks waiting for their match to come home.

Today, I decided to outsmart them and not put socks on her. They can't take them off if they aren't there.

As I was hanging up clothes in their room, I heard Penny squealing and the girls laughing. As I went to investigate, Samantha yelled, "Run, Ella! Run!"

I was passed in the hall by Ella, carrying a pair of little pants and a diaper. Penny was lying on the carpet, kicking and smiling, naked from the waist down.

I am currently missing one pair of pants and one dirty diaper. Tomorrow, Penny will be wearing socks.

Photo via Flickr: Baby socks, originally uploaded by Ak4suna.

Snooze

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who hit the snooze button on their alarm and those who do not. My husband is a snoozer. I am not.

When we moved in together I brought with me the alarm clock I'd had since seventh grade. It got me where I needed to go, on time, through junior high, high school, college, and veterinary school. All without ever having hit the snooze button. Not once. I honestly had no idea if it worked. I found out the first morning Sean had to go to work. It did indeed work. And, did you know, you can repeatedly hit the snooze button? Every nine minutes. Over and over and over. I didn't then, but I do now.

Sean sets the alarm for a half hour early so he can hit the snooze button at least twice, and up to four times and still get to work on time. I can now go back to sleep after the first snooze, but when the second one goes off, I turn off the alarm and hit him. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep again.

This week, Samantha has been in our bed because she's been feverish. Turns out she has pneumonia. Antibiotics seem to be helping. She is now so big and spreads out so much that our little queen size bed is uncomfortable for all three of us. She prefers her daddy when she's sick, so I've been sleeping in Sammy's bed or on the couch.

Without me there to prod him, Sean has been late to work everyday this week. This morning, I found him asleep with the clock buried under a pillow. Apparently, it wouldn't quit going off.

How about you, are you a snoozer or a non-snoozer?



*Photo courtesy of Alan Cleaver