I Have Not Abandoned the Blog!

I know, I know... I haven't posted in weeks! The bad news is, I have been very busy and stressed at work. The good news is, when not at work I have been busy having fun with the husband and kids and not sitting on the computer. But I promise more posts to come and some pics of all the fun we have been having!

Oils, and Sugars, and Enriched Flour - Oh My!

Continuing with my "summer project," I did a little research on some of the nasty stuff in our food. Honestly, it didn't take too much research to realize how bad for us a few of the common ingredients in our food are. I started with hydrogenated oils, then high fructose corn syrup, and finally enriched flour. Hydrogenated oils are basically oils that started out not too bad for us and were made tremendously bad for us. Manufacturers started creating hydrogenated oils to increase the shelf life of many products. The process basically involves forcing hydrogen into oils so they last longer and get hotter. Hydrogenated oil is what adds to that new line on the nutrition facts - trans fat. Trans fat lowers our good cholesterol and raises our bad cholesterol - a double wammy. It has been linked to diabetes, coronary disease, and obesity. The scariest part of my research, though, was how many foods contain hydrogenated oils, including some that we were taught to believe were "better" for us. Margarine and most "butter-like" spreads are at least half hydrogenated oils. When I started reading labels I even discovered Bisquick has hydrogenated oil in it. High fructose corn syrup began being added to foods because it was cheaper than real sugar and had, like hydrogenated oils, a long shelf life. However, manufacturers have gone crazy with the stuff. High fructose corn syrup can be found in an amazing number of products today that you might not expect it to be in - pasta sauce, ketchup, bread, juice, and the list goes on. Maybe the "high" in "high fructose corn syrup" is for the high number of calories it adds to foods. So today, we are all consuming far more calories and filling our bellies with more empty calories than we were just a generation or so ago. I didn't do a lot of research on enriched flour, because I already knew it was not great. Manufacturers have to "enrich" the flour with extra vitamins and minerals because they have processed all the naturally occurring ones out. Whole wheat and whole grain flours are the ones with the natural stuff still in there. So what I have done with this info? I've started reading labels more and making different choices - most of them simple substitutions. I stopped buying Nutragrain bars for the kids (they are HORRIBLE) and started buying the Kashi cereal bars (which have - oh my - real fruit in them!). I also buy organic ketchup, which has no high fructose corn syrup and three times the lycopene as regular ketchup. I make sure the bread I buy is made with whole grain flour. I've started making more things "from scratch," like pancakes and cookies. I've started buying more "natural" and "organic" products to substitute for some of the bad offenders - like cookies and crackers. I figure I will never be able to completely cut these evils out of our diet. With two working parents, convenience foods are necessary some days. But if I can cut them out where I can, then the ones we do have will just cause a little damage, not completely destroy us. :)

Brett - at 9 months

Brett at nine months:

• Brett is still Chunky Monkey. He weighs in at over 22 pounds right now. He is wearing 18 and 24 month size clothes! He absolutely loves to eat. I really think he is happiest when is in his booster seat with a tray full of food. He likes almost everything, but certainly prefers some foods. You can always tell what he likes best because he picks it all off his tray first. He eats a ton. His bottles have simply become a snack for him. He finishes one and looks at us like he is wondering where the rest of the meal is.
• Brett is such a happy baby. He hardly ever cries, which is what makes it so hard when he does cry. He definitely knows what he wants though, and while he doesn't cry much, he will complain when he doesn't get what he wants. When he has what he wants, he is so full of smiles! You would think those chubby cheeks would be sore at the end of the day from all the smiling!
• Brett is officially a crawler. We have trouble keeping him in one place any more. We've had to set up a little "pen" for him in the living room using the chairs and the ottoman.
• Brett's favorite person is still Jack. Jack can make him laugh more than anyone else can. He also usually wants whatever Jack has. This has made for some interesting situations for everyone. :)
• Brett, like Jack, loves to read. However, Brett has one book he loves above all others. I tried to read him something else today and he could see his "B is for Bear" book. He had a fit until I switched books, then when we got to the end he flipped the book over and wanted to start again. He will definitely know what all of the objects are in that book, but he may never know what anything else is! :)

Jack - at almost 4

Jack at almost 4:

• Jack did not go through the terrible twos. He apparently waited and is now in the terrible threes. This mostly stems from a combination of a typical toddler/preschooler need to exert his independence and an extremely stubborn personality.
• Despite the challenges Jack presents right now, he also makes me laugh more than anyone else in the world. Sometimes it is because he is trying to be funny (he is destined to be a class clown), and sometimes it is simply in the way he says things. Perfect example - earlier today Troy was having a talk with Jack about his behavior. Jack stayed up extra late last night because we were at a party and was having a rough time this morning. Troy told him he was crying because he stayed up too late. He said he couldn't stay up late again for special things because he had too much trouble behaving the next day. An hour or so later I was telling Jack we were going to a Tigers game later this summer. I told him it was a night game and asked him if he thought he could stay up for it (forgetting the conversation from earlier). Jack, serious as could be, said, "No. I can't stay up late. Because it makes me cry."
• Jack is my sensitive guy. He gets his feelings hurt very easily. As his mom, this absolutely kills me. That desire to protect your children is so strong, I have found myself ashamed for wanting to beat up another four year for hurting my kid's feelings. :) Well, maybe I haven't wanted to physically hurt another kid, but I have definitely had to bite my tongue to not let the sarcastic and or self-esteem-damaging comments out.
• I think of Jack as my "Renaissance Man." He is into sports and very athletic, he loves to read, he is a little scientist - especially interested in animals and outer space, he loves music - both listening and playing, he has been getting into art lately, and is the sweetest little boy - which makes him very popular with the preschool crowd. I love how well-rounded he is!

Picture Day!

New pics of the boys together!

Wordless Wednesday

Farmer's Market - Here We Come!

The next choice I researched in my “summer project” was organic produce, as well as local produce. I discovered that there are few benefits to buying organic produce, especially considering the hefty price tag. The main arguments for organic produce are the use of pesticides and the environmental impact. When it comes to pesticide use, you basically have to pick your poison – pesticides or parasites. Yes, trace amounts of pesticides are found on non-organic fruits and vegetables. However, washing your produce before eating it can almost entirely eliminate the pesticides. Any trace amounts left are considered within acceptable limits. Produce grown without pesticides run the risk of being infested with pests and parasites. Bugs can lay eggs on and in fruits and vegetables, which then lead to people consuming the eggs or hatched insects. Given these two options, I think I would rather ingest some pesticides, even if it is just because of the “yuck factor.” Environmentally, there are some benefits to organic farming, but there are opportunity costs associated with organic farming as well. Land must sit “vacant” and not be cropped for five years to be certified as organic. This is a huge money loss for farmers. Also, there is less demand for organic produce so it is much more expensive to produce. Farmers that try to exclusively farm organically may run a financial risk and end up being forced to sell off land to developers; therefore, defeating the environmental purpose of growing organically. While organic may not be any better than non-organic produce, buying produce locally has huge health and community benefits. Buying fruits and vegetables locally means they may have more nutrients. As produce sits on the shelf, it changes and loses nutrients. Buying locally ensures fruits and vegetables are “just picked” and higher in nutrients. Also, since the fruits and vegetables are fresher, they will last longer at home and there is less chance of having to throw out those that go bad. Buying locally also helps the local economy by helping farmers financially. Farmers generally only see less than 10 cents of every food dollar from food sold in grocery stores. Buying locally at road side stands and farmer’s markets eliminates the “middle man” and allows farmers to profit more from their crops. Finally, buying locally reduces the number of “food miles” our groceries travel. Less travel means fewer carbon emissions from transport vehicles and fewer packaging requirements. This truly does have a positive environmental impact. So we will be heading to our local farmer’s market this summer and buying from some friends that have crops. Which I am excited about because walking down to the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings is one of my favorite things to do anyway. Now I just feel like a smart gal for doing so!

Memorial Day Weekend

Before the holiday weekend, I had thought I would have been posting fun pictures from our cook out over Memorial Day Weekend. Lots of smiling kiddos and friends having fun. However, our weekend did not exactly go as planned. Poor Brett developed a fever just in time for the weekend. It started low and we assumed it was a teething fever. But by Saturday afternoon it was up to the 103’s. By Sunday afternoon it had reached the 104’s and we had called the pediatrician. He said to keep giving him Tylenol and Ibuprofen (not real easy to find in the store right now thanks to the recall!) and call if it got to 105 and we would talk about the ER. We decided since we weren’t sure what was causing the fever and we were worried about little Monkey, we had to cancel our cook out. Poor Jack was so disappointed. It ended up being the right decision though, because we headed to the ER with Brett Sunday night when his fever went from 104 to 105 in about 15 minutes. After all the waiting in the ER, we were sent home with no more information, just that it was a virus. His fever remained through the weekend and we took him in to the pediatrician Tuesday morning. He ordered blood work and labs, which all came back fine. Monkey’s fever finally went down Tuesday afternoon and he has been fine since. Chalk it up to one of those baby viruses! Poor little Monkey!!

Wordless Wednesday