Not so green

I have another confession to make. It's one I've been reluctant to share since I live in the SF Bay Area and may be pelted with rotten tomatoes as I leave my building after admitting it. Here it is: before a couple months ago, I almost NEVER recycled. Anything. There are 5 bins in my building, but I just didn't. But since July, I've been separating my paper, plastics, and glass into a paper bag and dutifully walking it down to a blue bin. Aren't you proud of me? And I also frequently use re-usable shopping bags! (mostly because San Francisco banned plastic bags from large grocery stores several months ago, but still...).

The proof

There's a lot of "save the earth, global warming, buy organic, conserve energy"-type talk these days. And don't get me wrong, I think it's great in many ways and admire those who make huge efforts to be so responsible. But there's SO much of it that I often want to scream, "Get off my back!" and have a Styrofoam-burning party. And I get really skeptical when I hear stuff like this:

-The EPA's website says you should recycle those twisty light bulbs that save energy (a.k.a. CFLs) because they contain mercury that can be released into the environment if not properly disposed of. What?! I suspect most people throw them in the garbage where they are later crushed. Is releasing mercury better than using a bit more energy with traditional bulbs? You should check out their instructions for clean up if you break a CFL bulb too. Hint: do not sweep or vacuum up the pieces.

Check out this article that explains paper bags aren't better for the environment than plastic, there's no evidence that BPA in plastic harms humans, and locally-grown food isn't necessarily easier on the environment (big props to Paula for sharing this first).

There's also an excellent excerpt from a John Stossel book called Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity that debunks other notions. He reports that pesticide residues in food are largely harmless, we are not running out of oil fast, we're not running out of room for our garbage, and the world is not too crowded.

There, I've said my piece.

Oh...forget it!

My Boy has continued to do well with the potty. But he's had some accidents as is to be expected. Most of these involve poop, which is better than the alternative in many ways (I know you're glad I'm telling you this). And I have a confession: it's not very "waste not, want not" of me, but if it seems too much to deal with, I throw the underwear away rather than rinse it out. Come on, parents! I know you've done this or something like it! I'm not all that sqeamish, just lazy. Thank goodness I'm not my mom a generation ago, using cloth diapers and having to deal with this every day, several times a day! I bow to you, Mom.

Little Einsteins Mania

My Boy got the Little Einsteins Musical Missions CD for his birthday from Nana. The TV show is not my personal favorite, but I'm pretty much willing to fall down and worship any show he likes (not that he's picky, mind you. I love you, TV! I would get less sleep and fewer things done without you. And be more irritable). I'm posting about it because he's chosen to listen to this CD at EVERY quiet time and bed time for the last two weeks! So he's heard it about 30 times straight! The tracks include the theme song, a bunch of dialogue about various adventures, and the curtain call song, and it lasts about 37 minutes. So if you have a Little Einsteins-crazed child in your life, especially one who doesn't like naps or bed time or is facing a long car trip, here's your secret weapon.

Scared

What's the most scared you've ever been? Up until a week ago, my answer might have been when I watched The Shining and came back to a dark house where everyone was asleep (I kept imagining those creepy twin girls were everywhere I looked). Or when I was the first one up in my house and was blow drying my hair thinking about what I would do if a spirit appeared to me.

But I have a new one. My sister visited me last week while My Husband was out of town, and it was awesome to have her around. But one night at 4:30am, she ran into my room from the couch and said, "Help! Help! There's a man in the dining room, someone is in here!" I was totally befuddled, and it took me a couple minutes to get my head around what was happening. I had to stop and put my contact lenses in (I lost my glasses and can only see things very close up), then grabbed the wooden t-ball bat I keep near my bed for these purposes. I turned on the hall light and opened my front door wide, thinking neighbors could get in and help us. Then I crept around the apartment checking everywhere, with my heart beating out of my chest and my bat poised for action, but I found nothing. It seems my sister was half-asleep and dreaming or had a fever from the sunburn she got the day before and was hallucinating? Or perhaps she's coming into some sleep-related genetic craziness? Because my mom does all sorts of terrible things--wakes up emitting blood-curdling screams, vividly sees intruders, children, Cabbage Patches, and even a Christmas ham on or near her bed, etc. But my sister had no history of this and was sure she saw someone; she could even describe what he looked like. Even when it was apparent there was no problem, we were both really keyed up and stayed in the living room watching the Olympics until day came. Thank goodness My Boy stayed asleep through all this! And it's not a very feminist-y thing to say, but I sure felt better when my big, strong man got home.

P.S. I was going to put a picture of The Shining twins at the top of this post but got too freaked out when I looked them up.

Conchords

I just watched the first season of Flight of the Conchords this week and really liked it. And I'm pretty sure I have a crush on Jemaine--yes, the one who looks like Austin Powers as my sister pointed out.

The Big 3

My little guy! Three years ago you looked like this:

And then two years ago, this was you:

Last year:

And now this:

Happy birthday to my favorite 3-year-old!

Potty Time, Excellent

I'm crossing my fingers and knocking on wood, but guess who's potty trained? That's right, no more diapers for My Boy! I was getting grumpy because he didn't seem interested and would say things like "I don't want to use the potty; I want to go in my diaper" when I suggested trying. Then one day last week he commented that his Buzz Lightyear figure was wearing underwear and said he wanted to try and went with no trouble! He didn't lose momentum and has continued to do unbelievably well, and I feel like he was trained in a day or two (don't hate me, parents who have had rough times). I have no idea what worked, but here's some things we did that may or may not have helped (don't feel obligated to read on--these are mostly notes for myself):

-I bought a little potty for him early, when he was about 15 months. This was mostly used as a step stool until recently, but it was around and he knew what it was for

-My sister gave him A Potty for Me! when he was about 2. We would read it whenever he chose to and talked about him being like the kid in the book



-I bought him underwear with some of his favorite characters on them (Thomas the Train, Mickey Mouse, and Pixar's Cars) when he was about 2 1/2. He would look at them and try them on sometimes

-Originally, I rewarded him each time he used the potty with a dum dum lolipop. But he soon figured out he could go every 10 minutes and get another dum dum. So I printed a chart from online and gave him a sticker for each instance instead. When the chart was filled (20 squares), we could go out for ice cream. He liked this for about 10 stickers, then wanted the more immediate reward of a treat every time. So we've gone back to a fruit snack, jelly bean, chocolate chip, etc. Now that he's in the groove, I'm not giving the candy unless he insists (sometimes he forgets to ask). He's had a lot of sugar this week.

-For the first while, I made a big, excited deal of it every time he went. We called relatives to tell them, and I made sure to tell my friends how great he was doing, how he's a big boy now, etc. when he was in ear shot

-He wanted to go pants-less or wear underwear only around the house, which may have helped him remember he wasn't wearing a diaper anymore. It also made for easy on and off as needed

-I made him take a "fast bath" (i.e. just washing up--no filling the tub or playing with toys) the couple of times he had an accident so it was inconvenient for him

-After a few good days, he woke up and asked for a diaper. I was able to convince him to go for the underwear, and quickly moved the diapers out and hid them so they aren't available if he asks again

-If I'd thought about it, it might have helped to go through all the motions and "potty train" Buzz Lightyear since it seems he wants to be just like Buzz these days

-I suppose I believe in the "don't force it until they're ready" concept. Something just suddenly seemed to click for My Boy, and potty training has been positive

I don't know how I lucked out so big time with this, but I'll take it! My Boy will be 3 next week, and I'm so proud of him!

Sarcasm: A Girl's Best Friend

I realize they may be a bit much for some people, but I love Ann Taintor's stuff. She's the creator of many of those cards, magnets, etc. that show a happy, vintage 50s picture with sarcastic, irreverent sayings on them. They make me laugh and help me cope with the mundane and messed up things in life better than most straight-up inspirational stuff. For instance, I have this magnet on my fridge:

Some other favorites:

"WOW! I get to give birth AND change diapers!"; "housework rules!";

"the secret ingredient is resentment"

"I love not camping"; "stop me before I volunteer again"

"what muffled screams, officer?"