I was sitting here earlier doing some computer work and I look to my right to see Cody UNDER the couch cushion.  The cushion is pretty much exactly where it’s supposed to be, only about 8″ higher than normal and it has feet. I lift the corner of the cushion to see what he could possible be up to… and find a huge stash of crackers and their respective crumbs. The two I had just given him about five minutes earlier were sitting unbroken on the top of the pile he was organizing. I lightly scolded the little monster and relocated his new crackers to his bowl and cleaned up the other crumbs. Now I know where the mess I cleaned out of there the other day came from… I thought it was just crumbs that had slipped between the cushions…. but apparently it’s a hidey hole.

A little while ago I sat down in our cushioned rocking chair and discovered a hard lump under my rear end. Removing THAT cushion I found an old sippy cup, thankfully too empty to get anything out of, but unfortunately coated in rotting milk. YUCK!!! Thank goodness for lots of  soap and HOT water and nose plugs! Doing a search of the play area I uncovered a couple of those Gerber yogurt drops (that look like hamster treats) stuck in one of his toys and some cheerios in another toy.

After snack time I usually discover some uneaten pieces stuffed down the sides of his diaper, and it always amazes me that 20 minutes  AFTER dinner I find him with a mouthful of food that he never swallowed… How deep ARE those cheeks???

It reminds me of when I was a kid and we had hamsters… those cheeks would be puffed out so far with seeds, popcorn or whatever else they could stuff in there… Have you ever watched a hamster empty his cheeks? They stick their whole arm in there and scrape out the contents into their stash. Half the time the hamsters food bowl would be empty and the food would all be hiding in the corner under the bedding.

My sister’s hamster REALLY did eat my math homework….

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Tags: baby, behavior, child, children, family, food, hamsters, kids, parenting

It’s been a while since I’ve written a decent blog. Not that I don’t have a thousand topics to write about, it’s just that I’m having trouble putting things into words lately…. I suppose you’d call it “blogger’s block”?
Lately I’ve been working on so many things in between raising Cody that I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write anything good!

My most recent project has been rebuilding IceMyst Designs, my chainmaille jewelry website. It’s been a long time since I’ve really worked on it and it was in sore need of a makeover. I got it mostly fixed the way I wanted it, but I’m having trouble with margins that are causing one of two problems… depending on the monitor your using. One problem is that the page is squishing so that the center content is disappearing if you minimize your browser’s viewing area or if you’re on a lower resolution instead of just giving you a scroll bar. The other problem is odd spots of white space showing up. I gave up on it a few days ago. Needed a break from html. So… if anyone reading this has any clue…. please comment.

What I want is for the site to resize itself based on the viewers monitor resolution or browser viewing area. I HAD it set up like that on the original site and it worked GREAT… now…. not so much. I’ll play more with it this weekend or next week. Maybe fresh eyes will figure out what I’m doing wrong. I’ve only got three pages “functional”, as you’ll see by the differences in the links in the menu. Sigh. A mamma’s work is never done… at least not completely.

During Cody’s nap time I’ve been working on my chainmaille. I have to do it away from his play area because occasionally the rings go flying and he is still eating everything he finds on the floor. While I was pregnant I developed carpel tunnel and was unable to weave at all. It’s been a year now and I’ve decided to start working again with small things, like earrings, to see how my wrists and hands do… So far so good. The pain I feel is minimizing every day… I am hoping in a few weeks to start working on some bigger projects with larger rings. Oh how I’ve missed my pliers!!
If you’re in the market for chainmaille jewelry, my Etsy storefront is linked to my homepage, so go take a peek! lol

So… there ya go… a tiny splash of a mini-blog… just so you don’t miss me too much. I promise I’ll get to writing something GOOD again here real soon. Until then…. I’ve got a diaper to change… now where’d that kid toddle off too?

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Tags: art, blogging, chainmaille, craft, design, development, editing, etsy, fashion, handmade, Hobbies, IceMyst Designs, jewelry, wordpress

I met my husband on Match.com the day I signed up. His was the first and ONLY “profile” I saw. He was wearing jeans & a cowboy hat and sitting on a mower… (Heck yeah! I think his tractor’s sexy!) and his “About Me” was just dreamy.

We met in person a few days later after he left a voicemail offering to cook me breakfast and promising that he wouldn’t bite. He took me to the Aquarium, then for a spaghetti dinner (not knowing at the time that I was a fish-nut and spaghetti lover…so major brownie points there!) and then out for a drink at Reunion Tower in Dallas… AFTER asking to see my ID because he didn’t believe I was 21… (I was 28…so more brownie points!) After I gracefully walked into a wall he asked permission to kiss me! How cool is that?

I more or less moved in to his place that evening, canceled Match.com without a second glance the next day and only went home to go to work and get my stuff. It’s been almost 6 years and he says we’re still on our first date. We haven’t spent a single day or night apart since day one except to go to work.

Best $20 I ever spent! LOL

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Tags: cowboy, dating, family, husband, love, relationships

This really puzzles me. So many people out there are Health Food or Fitness nuts yet they go home to houses stocked with chemicals that are leeching toxins into the air they breathe. Imagine how much better that work out could have been if your lungs were at full capacity! If your body wasn’t fighting to rid itself of toxins instead of focusing on giving you full steam! I just don’t get it.

Think about this: (taken from this article by Julia Kendall)

“Principal chemicals found in Fabric Softeners/Dryer Sheets are:

Symptoms of exposure are taken from industry-generated Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

ALPHA-TERPINEOL

Causes CNS (central nervous system) disorders… “highly irritating to mucous membranes” …”Aspiration into the lungs can produce pneumonitis or even fatal edema.” Can also cause “excitement, ataxia (loss of muscular coordination), hypothermia, CNS and respiratory depression, and headache.” “Prevent repeated or prolonged skin contact.”

BENZYL ACETATE

Carconigenic (linked to pancreatic cancer). “From vapors: irritating to eyes and respiratory passages, exciting cough.” “In mice: hyperanemia of the lungs.” “Can be absorbed through the skin causing systemic effects.” “Do not flush to sewer.”

BENZYL ALCOHOL

Causes CNS disorders …”irritating to the upper respiratory tract” …”headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drop in blood pressure, CNS depression, and death in severe cases due to respiratory failure.”

CAMPHOR

Causes CNS disorders. On EPA’s Hazardous Waste list. Symptoms: “local irritant and CNS stimulant” …”readily absorbed through body tissues” …”irritation of eyes, nose, and throat” …”dizziness, confusion, nausea, twitching muscles and convulsions”. “Avoid inhalation of vapors.”

CHLOROFORM

Neurotoxic. Anesthetic. Carcinogenic. on EPA’s Hazardous Waste list. “Avoid contact with eyes, skin, clothing. Do not breathe vapors …Inhalation of vapors may cause headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, irritation of respiratory tract and loss of consciousness.” “Inhalation can be fatal.” “Chronic effects of overexposure may include kidney and/or liver damage.” “Medical conditions generally aggravated by exposure: kidney disorders, liver disorders, heart disorders, skin disorders.” “Conditions to avoid: Heat…” Listed on California’s Proposition 65.

ETHYL ACETATE

Narcotic. On EPA’s Hazardous Waste list. “…Irritating to the eyes and respiratory tract” …”may cause headache and narcosis (stupor)” …”may cause anemia with leukocytosis and damage to liver and kidneys”. “Wash thoroughly after handling.”

LIMONENE

Carcinogenic. “Prevent its contact with skin or eyes because it is an irritant and sensitizer.” “Always wash thoroughly after using this material and before eating, drinking …applying cosmetics. Do not inhale limonene vapor.”

LINALOOL

Narcotic. Causes CNS disorders. …”respiratory disturbances” …”Attracts bees.” “In animal tests: ataxic gait, reduced spontaneous motor activity and depression …depressed heart activity …development of respiratory disturbances leading to death.”

PENTANE

“Danger – Harmful if inhaled …Avoid breathing vapor.” “Inhalation of vapors may cause headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, irritation of respiratory tract and loss of consciousness. Repeated inhalation of vapors may cause CNS depression. Contact can cause eye irritation. Prolonged exposure may cause dermatitis (skin rash).’ “

END QUOTE OMG!

And that’s JUST FROM YOUR FABRIC SOFTENER. Imagine what’s in your CLEANSERS!!! HELLO??? CHLOROFORM???? In you fabric softener?????? You’ve got to be kidding me. CHLOROFORM!!! “Inhalation can be fatal.”

Yeah…um… “Hey (insert chore-doing-aged-child’s name here)… don’t forget to add the fabric softener!”

I don’t think so.

Go right now and take a look at you household products… What’s in them? Now Google some of those chemicals. You’d be surprised at what you find…. maybe even scared. Are there kids in your house? Do you like what you’re exposing them to? They have no choice in the matter! YOU DO.

MAKE A CHOICE TO TRULY BE HEALTHY.

What good is your workout and your diet if your slowly poisoning yourself washing laundry or cleaning the tub?

I may not eat as many fruits and veggies as I should, and I may not exercise daily… But I breathe clean air while I try to change that habit.

And what’s more important… MY 9 MONTH OLD SON is not exposed to ANY toxins in my home. I don’t have to buy a special “baby safe” laundry detergent to wash his clothes because the regular “grown up” detergent isn’t safe for him. I can use the same laundry detergent on my entire family’s clothes. Why should the rest of my family be exposed to an un-safe detergent?

I can wash my bath tub and toilet with the bathroom door closed and no fan on with out choking to death on the fumes. If I spill solvent on my skin while cleaning a heavy duty stain, it doesn’t burn. I can wipe it on my pants until I finish my chore without having to run to the sink to wash the chemicals off my skin OR ruining my pants. Heck I can even spritz it lightly on myself AND Cody to repel mosquitoes in the fall with NO ILL EFFECTS to either of us. Can you do that with your products? I doubt it.

Concerned? Intrigued?

Come talk to me: http://www.SaferForCody.com

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Tags: child, children, eco-friendly, environment, family, green, health, safer, toxins, wellness, wordpress