7 Quick Takes Friday #45

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Haven't done one of these in a while! My first random thing is: we have been taking Little Sir to the chiropractor to investigate some tummy issues he is having that might explain why he still won't poop on the potty after being pee potty trained for around 6 months. Also, we are about to get kicked out of preschool if he can't learn.

The chiropractor has pinpointed that he seems to have a sensitivity to soy -- all soy, including soy lecithin (which is in everything) and soybean oil when used in a food. We also think he might be having trouble processing cow's milk. He's not lactose intolerant, but cow's milk and cow's milk products, especially cheese, seem to really make his tummy react. So we are going to try to go soy and dairy free for 2 weeks. This is way more difficult than I thought with him being in some kind of childcare or preschool for at least an hour up to 4 times a week. He has already been fed Goldfish (cheese) twice at church.

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To try to solve this issue, yesterday we took a trip to the craft store and made this Pinterest inspired allergy bracelet for him to wear.

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Speaking of things that Pinterest made me do, we also made these fun owl rolls last night!

I used Immaculate Baking crescent rolls which are soy and dairy free, and used soy-free dairy-free Enjoy Life chocolate chips for eyes and raw cashew halves for the beak.

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Do you have any idea how many things contain some form of soy? This is disturbing considering that most soy is a GMO.

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I could do a whole All The Drama On The Internets about how people suspect that Whole Foods is wavering in their support of Proposition 37 in California (a bill to label GMO's), even though their latest newsletter seems to indicate otherwise. I do hope they stand firm, since there is literally no viable alternative for me to find this depth of soy-free dairy-free products outside of Whole Foods. I can't really boycott them right now, guys. Sorry.

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Another note regarding advocacy: there are a ton of great petitions and green actions going on right now within members of The Green Sisterhood, but I don't publicize them all on this blog. I know a lot of my readers are just beginning on your green journey and I am not going ask you to sign a petition protesting something every day. However, I would highly encourage you to visit the Green Sisterhood web site or Facebook page to get more in-depth information that I often provide on this blog. Also, if you ever think I'm a little overboard with my "green" lifestyle, check out those ladies -- they're way more green than me!

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I got a massage at Massage Envy yesterday and found out just how much my shoulders are jacked up. Whee! All those wheelbarrow and other Pilates moves that put all the body weight on the shoulders and neck have done some serious damage, moreso even than during my pregnancies when I worked 10 hour shifts at the computer. Moral of this story: make sure you keep your shoulders away from your ears when doing Pilates, folks.

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Well that's all for this week, be sure to visit Conversion Diary for links to more 7 Quick Takes Fridays.

All the Drama on the Internets Episode #3

Every so often I like to give you a bulleted list of some recent "green" stories in the news and why half of the people are excited to hear about the news or study and the other half are super offended by it for some reason. DRAMA ENSUES. Almost 100% of the time, I am somewhere in the middle. I just figured that some of you might want to know what's out there and read for yourselves. Just in case you aren't already immersed in social media 24/7 like I am...

Rice found to contain arsenic - Kind of a followup to the story a while back about how brown rice syrup used in toddler formula contained arsenic - great article about arsenic in rice at that time by Anna at Green Talk. Now Consumer Reports has confirmed that there are really high levels of arsenic in both white and brown rices, and they say that we should definitely be limiting our intake. Which sucks because my kids love rice. Then CR said that well, what if you just rinse it? So I have no idea. My family is probably full of arsenic. Probably the only thing we can do is sign my friend Anna's petition to the FDA to set limits on the arsenic levels allowed in rice.

BPA connected to obesity in white children - I don't think anyone in the "green" community is surprised that BPA exposure continues to turn up more and more negative effects. What I find depressing about this study is that even after all the evidence we have about the dangers of BPA, it has still not been banned in the U.S. And there are some arguments that the replacement chemicals in lieu of BPA are even worse than BPA because they are relatively untested. Companies wishing to ingratiate themselves to green-minded consumers removed BPA but substituted pretty much any random chemical they could find in their products just so they could slap "BPA free" on the label. For myself, I get discouraged at the slow process of banning such a damaging chemical, because it makes me worry how long it is going to take to remove other dangerous chemicals like phthalates. Are we going to have to go through this 10 year process of arguing whether or not every single chemical is "dangerous enough" before we stop marinating ourselves and our children in chemicals??

EWG releases "Green Cleaning Guide" - The same non-profit organization that provides us the Skin Deep Cosmetics database finally released a guide to cleaning products that rates them based on toxicity. At first, everyone was like, "Hooray! Now we have a definitive guide!". But now, all the green folks are all, "Hey, this guide is crappy because conventional (not "green") companies are getting good scores!". I think I have mentioned before how I feel about the EWG's rating system. I actually don't agree with their assessment on many of the cosmetics products, because they tend to assign ratings to products which also get the label "not enough data to determine". If you don't have enough data, don't assign a rating! On the other hand, if a conventional company makes a product that has fewer toxins than, say, Seventh Generation -- great! I am glad! I am not going to get mad because a big company "wins". It's a win for everyone if all companies remove more toxins from their products. I'm not going to be elitist about it, I just want the freaking chemicals gone, people. On a side note, I am making more and more of my cleaning products from essential oils, vinegar, and baking soda so this guide applies to me a lot less.

There you have it, now you're up to date on everything that I know for the moment. I'm sure by the time I hit "publish" there will be all new drama, and I'll be back with another update when there is!

All the Drama on the Internets Episode #2

Every so often I like to give you a bulleted list of some recent "green" stories in the news and why half of the people are excited to hear about the news or study and the other half are super offended by it for some reason. DRAMA ENSUES. Almost 100% of the time, I am somewhere in the middle. I just figured that some of you might want to know what's out there and read for yourselves. Just in case you aren't already immersed in social media 24/7 like I am...

• CBS reports toxic levels of phthalates in childrens' backpacks. See, I am not crazy for obsessively avoiding phthalates! Even CBS admits these chemicals are bad. A backpack is something your child breathes right next to and handles with his or her hands. Here is my suggestion: backpacks on Etsy. 


• Toxic Baby blog report on toxic school supplies, a.k.a. the blog post that pre-dated the CBS article, a.k.a. I knew about this before CBS reported it. In case you might not remember, Toxic Baby was the movie I had a chance to screen at BlogHer in NYC this year.


• An article in the New York Times about Big Chemicals and the Safe Chemicals Act. As of now, chemical companies have absolutely no requirement to prove the safety of the chemicals they manufacture. This article goes into a little more detail about the scientific studies currently being published about the dangers of endocrine disruptors.


• The Safer Chemicals Act. This isn't particularly new, as this bill is still currently on the Senate floor, but it has taken over a year for it to get there. You can read the contents of the bill and contact your Senator, all with a few clicks. PLEASE DO.


• Just today: Arctic sea ice hits record low levels. Sure, this summer didn't "feel" as hot to us as last summer. But that's not what the polar bears are thinking. This is not some political organization's speculations, this is the findings of regular scientific measuring.


• Climate Change is not a political issue, but you need to know where the Presidential candidates stand (or DON'T, more realistically). I am voting with a high emphasis on climate conscientious-ness, as I always do. I don't care how you vote, but this is one of my pet peeves. I want you to know what you are voting for, so please read this article.

There are other things, but my head is going to explode soon, so I'll stop there. The important thing is for us to be aware of what ways we are not protected by laws, and protect ourselves. Remember, you can't go wrong making your own {fill in the blank} or buying handmade {fill in the blank} from someone using natural ingredients. Let's lean that way, in order to keep our earth and our kids safe!

*climbs down off soapbox*

All the Drama On the Internets

If you are one of the 10 people who read my blog, it is possible that you are a friend or family member, and that maybe you don't {obsessively} read mommy blogs, cotton diaper blogs, and green/activist blogs all day, like I do. What, you have a LIFE? Clearly, I have much less of one, and I am here to fill you in on what you have been missing lately!

An interesting fact about the part of the blogsphere I have become familiar with since attending BlogHer 2010 is that it is FULL OF THE DRAMA. Seriously. People are always getting offended by something and getting mad and starting blog/Twitter movements against such-and-such. Then the next day or the next week, it's something else. Not to be critical, but a lot of the people I follow tend to be upset about something pretty much all of the time. I do applaud them for wanting to motivate change - that is their intention. Honestly, though, I just don't have the time or mental energy to be annoyed with all these different things constantly. Which is why you do not see me blogging about them. I do watch what is going on, much like people watch reality TV. It's just fascinating!

In the last week, several controversies have sprung up which are of interest to me because they involve things near and dear to my heart: high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), babywearing, and cloth diapering.

Two drama-inducing events that have all the bloggers up in arms:

• the recent blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of the Corn Refiners Association and their claims that HFCS is no less healthy and "natural" than sugar (I am sure you've seen the TV ads as well). Here is a blog post with a good summary (note the corn industry's response in the Comments) and another one with a nice chart.
• the CPSC's (Consumer Product Safety Commission) bulletin on the dangers of babywearing and the backlash/call to action post of one of the most popular babywearing bloggers. Some followup posts like this one which is very in-depth and this one from one of my favorite bloggers.

I'm not going to go on and on about my opinion about either of these things except to say:

• Yes, I do avoid HFCS in pretty much everything we buy. I would challenge you to find one item in my pantry or refrigerator that contains it. I think you would be hard-pressed. I realize that, in small quantities, it does not "kill" anyone, but what it does is create a craving in your body for more sweets, which cane sugar does not do. In addition, it is a corn derivative, and if you have read books by Michael Pollan, you know that probably 80% of our diet is corn as it is, and we hardly need more of that. As far as I know, Little Sir has never tasted HFCS. I know he will at some point, but I am delaying this as long as possible, for the reasons stated above.
• I baby-wore with Little Sir and we still do (see upcoming photos on this blog of us wearing him in the marvelous Ergo this weekend). I own a Moby, a Maya, an Ergo, and a borrowed Peanut Shell. I love each of them in their own way and will be wearing Baby #2 in all of them as well.

And one dramatic announcement that is all over the blogsphere, which is actually POSTIVE:

• BumGenius announced their print diapers today!

Ya'll, these (cloth) diapers are awesome! Little Sir has always worn only BumGenius and I am super excited about them now being available in prints!

So, there, you go. Have fun observing the drama.
It's more amusing than reality TV!!