The Daily Grind of a Work @ Home Mom...

Happy Birthday To The Daily Grind!

Wow, that went fast!  Tomorrow marks the 1-year-anniversary of The Daily Grind and I have to say, I am grateful to be writing this post.  What began as an outlet for the thoughts, opinions, and rants and raves of a mom, newly operating a home-based business, has slowly but surely grown into a well-read and (I like to think) purposeful journal, if not a place for my readers to spend a few minutes a day learning, laughing, disagreeing (or agreeing), or wasting time.

I want to say thank you.  Thank you to my readers who were with me that fateful day that I chopped off my hair to donate to Locks of Love.  So many of you tolerated me as I rationalized that my daughter's bad sleep habits would work itself out (um...), and gave me a shoulder when I needed to vent about the passive-aggressive being I turned into around the family nanny. 

As the year progressed, I wrote about "date night", and the humorous flutter of activity associated with an evening out.  Soon, I was taking my first business trip out of town and you supported me as I spent my first night away from Baby.  Ironically, a few days later, I shared a personal moment with my readers as my daughter took her first steps during that first trip away from home.  Figures.

Finally in October, Baby #2 arrived and I revealed my early sentiments on what it was like to bring home a new baby, again.  I'm thrilled to say that we have grown into a cohesive family over the last 6-months and I am blessed to have such inspiring children.

With baby #2 brought more responsibilities and less "me" time, which moved me to rant about the fact that I just don't get in enough girl time.  I still suffer from this and am certain I'm not alone in it. 

You not only read as I expressed my frustration about new sleep troubles, but you seemed to double in number!  I wondered who was reading and staying so quiet but still I was grateful.  It was then that I thought I could maybe contribute something to my fellow work-at-home-mom network and so was born my first ever product review!  I'm itching to do more so if you have a product you'd like to see reviewed, email me!! 

At the start of April, I joined social-media site Twitter, and feel that this particular event represented a turning point for me.  Since then, I have been lucky enough to "meet" and connect with the most intelligent and motivated group of blogging, business owning, web designing and child-rearing women (to name a few).  I am humbled by their intense commitment to the sub-culture of online "life" and am excited to have been welcomed into it.  I had no idea there existed so many people just like me!!  They have become a forum for bouncing around ideas, sharing relevant information and even just my random thoughts, boring as they may be.  So Twitter followers/follow"ees", big shout out!

Recently, the topic of BPA in plastics has been a huge source of content for me.  This hot button represents to me exactly what this blog is good for.  The Daily Grind has allowed me to reach hundreds of moms, dads, and just people in general and discuss the potential toxins that we have been bringing into our homes.  The best part is that I've learned so much from you, my readers, as well.

You are coming out of the woodwork.  After a year of being part of this online sea of bloggers, you are finding me and reading my words and offering your counter-words and I love it.  You are getting me to think harder, work harder and write harder.  As a trained journalist (yup - educated 'n all!), I'm geared up to persevere.  But as a mom just trying to keep her head on straight and get her thoughts out there, I'm grateful.

Thanks for a great year.  Looking forward to getting to know each other even better in the next while.  :)

Gerber Baby Food Containers

I was at the grocery store today buying baby food for Sabrina.  I typically buy a combination of Earth's Best and Organic Gerber for a bit of a varied selection.  As I was dumping the containers into my cart, I thought - WAIT!  These Gerber's are packaged in plastic!!  I checked the bottom and sure enough, it was marked with a #7 recycling symbol.  With no clue as to what #7 referred to, I put it back and cleaned out the Earth's Best section which come in warm and fuzzy glass jars.

I came home and sat down to research only to find out that #7 refers to "other."  Other?  Other what?  Essentially #7 is used when the container is made from materials other than #1 through #6, or if it's a combination of more than 1 plastic.  For more info on recycling symbols, check this out.

In the case of the Gerber containers, I read on SafeMama.com that they are made with a combination of #1 and #2 plastics.  HOWEVER, when I called Gerber myself, I was told that the baby food containers are made with #6 as the outer layer and #4 on the inside.  The representative also told me the containers are BPA-free and safe to heat for up to 30 seconds.  Gerber doesn't recommend freezing the food in the containers simply because it changes the food's composition.  And they are discourage re-using the plastic containers. 

This research leaves me more confused than ever since while #4 is often used for storing foods like squeezable products and bread bags, it is my understanding that #6 (polystyrene) is best avoided for food storage.  This, combined with the fact that Gerber is circulating inconsistent information, leaves me no choice but to boycott Gerber baby food until I (or they) can get some solid information regarding their products.

If anyone knows anything more on this, please comment or email me.  This is a bummer since Gerber does make nice food combinations and they are slightly less expensive than other organic varieties.   

Going Organic? Read This First.

I am in learning mode.  I am in a place where I want to absorb new information, embrace what I choose and respectfully discard the rest.  In the interim, I want to disseminate what I deem important. 

Yesterday I was reading about organic foods and trying to make sense of fact from fiction.  I was a bit surprised to learn that eating organic is NOT always better.  Here are a few things I learned:

• Locally grown does not always mean organic.  While it's possible the fruits & veggies at your neighborhood farm stand were grown using no icky pesticides, to be certified organic, the farmers must go through a lengthy and expensive certification process.  I will say though, locally grown is easier on the palette and the pocketbook.
• Don't bother paying more for organic in these departments: bananas, kiwi, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, asparagus, avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, onion, sweet peas, and seafood.  None of these foods carry pesticide residue and there is no certification for organic seafood.
• Organic is better for the environment.  Surprisingly untrue.  Organic farming uses a lot more land to produce than conventional farming which means we'd need to cut down a lot more forests to accommodate should we go totally organic.  On the flip-side, it doesn't pollute the ground with nasty chemicals and pesticides and organic farms use less energy and produce less waste than conventional.
• It is yummier.  Apparently not.  Studies show that the tastiest foods are those that are locally grown since they spend little to no time traveling and are not sprayed and/or waxed to lengthen shelf life.
• It is cleaner.  Two words: WASH EVERYTHING.
• It is healthier. Not if the chips are fried and the cookies are sugary!  Howver, it was reported by The Organic Center, which promotes organic food, that organic food is on average 25% more nutritious than conventional food. 
• You're lending support to small businesses by buying organic.  Here's what I learned: General Mills owns the Cascadian Farms brand, Kraft owns Back to Nature and Boca Burger, and Kellogg's owns Morningstar Farms.  Need I say more?

While there are still items that I will continue to buy in the organic section (milk for the kids, baby food), I'm thrilled that my local farm is within walking distance from my house.  At 10 - 40% more than conventional food, I will now be smarter about what I choose to shell out for, and stick with the status quo where it makes sense. 

The Thank-You Note Stiff

It's an infrequent but not unheard of phenomenon.  Your friend/associate/family member has a wedding/baby/party.  You go all out, figuring out what he/she/they might like and find just the right thing.  You pay for it, wrap it up, send it off, and then anxiously await their response.  Did they like it?  LOVE it?  Have a use for it?  Think it's as great as you did?  You wait, and wait, and wait.  Nothing.

You think, did they ever receive it?  Maybe it got lost in transit?  But the tracking number provided to you confirms that it landed in the right hands.  Hmm.  How strange.

Sounds like a resounding case of the thank-you note stiff.  And as a person who has had a bridal shower, wedding, and two babies, nothing irritates me more.

The thank-you note is a basic concept - you get a gift, you send a note to say thank you.  It doesn't have to be long, it doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be.  Was it a case of thank-you note anxiety?  Is it the intimidation associated with writing something personal?  All I know is when I give a gift, I expect a bit of appreciation.  It's not a matter of giving to receive something in return - I love shopping for others and I adore making someone else smile!  It's a fundamental bit of manners.  Simple as that.

There are a few exceptions to this rule.  One occurred the other day.  I personally handed my friend a gift for her twins.  She thanked me during a visit a few days later.  I then told her not to write me a thank-you note since I'd rather she use the 3 minutes it takes to scribble something out, address, stamp and mail it, doing something for herself.  She replied by telling me she wasn't writing thank-you's.  And this is the inspiration for today's post.  While I got a personal acknowledgment of the gift painstakingly chosen, personalized, wrapped and delivered, my co-gift giver did not.  How would she know the gift was so well received and appreciated?

Bottom line is, she won't.  Chances are in the craziness of the daily grind, our gift recipient will forget to mention it and as a gift giver, the giver might feel under-appreciated.  And rightly so.  After all, we teach our babies to say thank-you for even the small things.  We should follow our own example.   

BPA Free Bottle & Sippy Cheat Sheet

I recently came across this AWESOME blog called SafeMama.com.  The people over there have done extensive research on the BPA issue so I'm going to defer to them from here on.  Additionally, they have put together a BPA Free Bottle & Sippy Cheat Sheet which helps to answer questions so many of you have come back to me with. 

This site is cool not only because they have spent so many hours to provide us with important info regarding plastic, but they offer info about skin care products, how to be a "Green" Mama, safe toy lists, recalls and so many great tips.  They recently reviewed Alex Casey Baby's own Little Twig organic skin care line and gave it two thumbs up.  :)

There are so many great sites offering safety info for parents.  It is sad that they need to exist but as parents in this era of daily recalls, they really are necessary.

I'll continue to offer information here too as I receive it.

More on BPA Free

So after trying out a few BPA free bottles and sippie cups, I've settled on the Nuby for both.  I did start out with the Nurture Pure glass bottles but I had a few issues.  Firstly, they were so air-tight that the nipple was collapsing constantly.  Even though my mother assured me this was normal, it was so irritating I couldn't deal.  Also, I'm sure my 6 month old will take to holding her own bottle at some point and I couldn't imagine giving her glass to hold on to (and inevitably drop).  So after reading that most Nuby products were free of toxins, I took a trip to the neighborhood Walmart to check it out, I chose both the sippies and bottles.  The sippies are fine but I must say the bottles rock!  I'm totally thrilled with them.  And I feel much better about this whole issue since making the switch.

After my initial blog on this, I got tons of emails offering info that I was not aware of.  I was so excited to learn that Ikea makes a bunch of cups, plates, bowls and utensils for kids that are made of polypropylene (a #5 on the recycling scale - if your cups have a #2 or #5 on the bottom, they are safe!)  For the most part, I was thrilled to see that many of my readers were taking this BPA stuff pretty seriously.  On the other hand, I got too many responses in the form of "well, I've already been using plastic for my baby for three months so what can I do now."  This just seems like a lazy attitude to me, since the effects of the toxin are cumulative.  I also got those "is it possible this is hype?" types of questions.  Honestly, maybe.  But you know what?  There is a reason why cancer seems to be popping up everywhere and in everyone and I'm not going to take the chance.  It just feels like a small change to make to make for a potentially big contribution toward my kids futures.  Like feeding them organic foods or choosing vegetables over fries.  A small choice.

On Monday, Toys r Us joined the likes of Walmart in saying that by the end of 2008, they will carry only Bisphenol-a free feeding products on their shelves. 

So if this is hype or a trend, the biggest retailers in the world are sure buying into it.   

Are You A Mommy With Style?

Of course you are!!!  Check out what Mommies With Style is saying about us...

Killing Us Softly

A few years ago, we opened our email to find our inbox's overflowing with warnings against putting plastic in the microwave, remember?  It was last year's version of the ubiquitous cautions against using lipsticks containing high lead levels, freezing your water bottles and getting tumors caused by ingesting aspartame.  Not a big believer in information received by way of "forwards", I typically discount these emails with a quick click of DELETE.

Except it seems the plastic one is true.

The problem occurs when the plastic is heated, it releases a chemical (bisphenol A or BPA) into the contents of the container which is harmful when ingested in average levels.  The same chemical is released also when the plastic is washed in hot water with harsh detergent.  This month, the Canadian government classified the chemical as toxic.  The biggest issue for parents is the presence of this chemical in our children's baby bottles and sippy cups.

In studies conducted by Environment California, it was shown that the top 5 brands of bottles sold in the US, Gerber, Dr. Brown's, EvenFlo, Playtex and Avent, all leach these toxic chemicals.  The chemical has been linked to cancer, obesity, and diabetes to name just a few.  This month, retail giant Walmart announced that it was immediately ceasing sales in all its Canadian stores of food containers, water and baby bottles, sippy cups, and pacifiers that contain bisphenol A, and that it would phase out baby bottles made with it in U.S. stores by early 2009.  As a parent, this speaks volumes and raises other questions. 

Since what feels like an epidemic of cancer has grown in the last few years, I've often wondered why the last few generations have been diagnosed so much more frequently than before.  I have peers and friends already falling victim to chemo and radiation.  I just know it's something in the environment or something we're ingesting.  This seems like at least one solid explanation.  But apart from Canada and Walmart, what is the US doing to take these household toxins of the shelf?

From my research, I found that 9 US states currently have legislation pending that would affect the use of BPA in containers.  Nine out of fifty.  That's not too comforting.

Forget the government.  Forget the US National Toxicology Program who are claiming studies result in ambivalent findings on the subject.  There's got to be a reason why so many of my friends are motherless as a result of breast-cancer and fatherless because of tumors of unknown origin.  There has to be some explanation why my girlfriend called a few weeks ago to tell me she has breast-cancer.  A reason another tested positive for the BRCA1  gene making her genetically pre-disposed to cancer.

I'm going to switch my kids bottles and sippy cups as quickly as today, but this seems like the easy part.  What about pacifiers?  Plastic bowls and cutlery?  Other household plastics?  I must say that I'm pretty distressed over the fact that I've been unknowingly feeding my 2-year-old poison since the day she was born.  And I might lose sleep tonight over the bigger question - what in the world will we learn next?   

   

 

And the winner is...

Congratulations Trisha!  You won the Alex Casey Baby giveaway!  You will receive a bunch of Organic Skin Care products as well as a $25.00 gift certificate to the store. 

Thanks to everyone who entered, I loved your comments!!

Silicon Valley Marrow Drive - APRIL 19th

Jill over at SVMoms is organizing a Marrow Drive on April 19th and has asked for some help to spread the word.  Check out her site for more info.