Finger Lickin' Good, Ya'll

How many times have you been driving down the road or sitting at a stoplight, minding your innocent little business, and happen to sneak a glance at the person next to you just to find that they are knuckle deep in their nose?  Sometimes you even get to witness the follow-thru...you know what I'm talking about.  Grown, supposedly mature, adults eating boogers.  GROSS.

Obviously kids do it.  Sooo many kids do it!  I was inspired to write this blog the other day by my little friend Jacob, who finds the inside of his nose positively irresistible.  Thank you Jacob!  He's lucky he's one of those super cute angel-face kids, cause he can totally pull off getting caught picking.

We all see people picking their noses all the time, don't we.  Sometimes we even get to make commentary.  Like when we were standing in line for the ferris wheel and the kid in front of us turned around so we would have the privilege of watching his booger show.  After he stuck his finger in his mouth, making full eye contact the whole time, my husband innocently asked 'Was that good?'.  Well?!  Don't you wonder what keeps the booger eaters coming back for more?

Maybe they know something we don't.  (Besides how boogers taste).

There's a certain doctor in Austria, a lung specialist, who believes that nose-picking and booger-eating will actually strengthen the immune system.  Let me restate that.  There's an actual medical doctor who thinks that eating boogers is a GOOD IDEA.  The idea is that all the little germs and bacteria that get hung up by the cilia and mucous in our noses, then picked out and eaten, actually works as a sort of probiotic for us, creating antibodies and helping fight off whatever is out there trying to slip past the gooey gates.

Who woulda thought?  Eating boogers is potentially a healthy(ish) habit?  I don't know...

If I see you totally digging and subsequently eating what you find, 

is it still considered a healthy habit 

if I barf on you?  

I doubt it.  I get the logic, I admit it makes sense.  But still, can't we just break the nose picking habit early and all buy Shaklee probiotics instead?!  Really, I will happily supply the world...

There's an actual scientific name for nose picking, it's rhinotillexis.  And compulsive nose-picking is rhinotillexomania.  There's even a latin word for booger-eating!  You know you want to know what it is.  It's automucophagy.  Hey, I totally understand that inquiring minds want to know, so I will oblige.

Here in The Land of Cheese, the first day of school countdown clock is about to hit blastoff.  With the inception of the new school year comes a whole slew of new germs for our kids to bring home to us poor, innocent parents.  Our families pass around colds, flu, viruses, heck even warts, that we've picked up while we are out and about.  Kids are obviously infamous for germ-transfer, especially the younger ones who are still perfecting the art of the 'coughing corner'.  What's that, you ask?  Um, hello?  The inside of your elbow, where all well-placed coughs and sneezes go!  Feel free to take notes here, folks.

So, what's a concerned parent to do to fight off all these germy germs?  There's the obvious hand-washing, disinfecting (with only safe, non-toxic cleaners of course), or using your coughing corner to not needlessly spread sickness around.  But needless to say, there are always some germs that get by even the most diligent hand-washing, mouth-covering, non-bare-surface-touching germophobe.  So, how about fighting them better from the inside, too? Our immune systems are a hugely important part of the body, and when sickness abounds we must strengthen ourselves to fight off the ones that get by.

Don't worry, I'm not going to suggest eating a few boogers.  You can do what you want, but don't expect me to shake your hand.  Obviously there are a lot of things we can do to help ourselves that does not include automucophagy.  There are a lot less gross things we can do, I should say.  Obviously eating right is the first one.  Some kids would not agree...they might actually prefer boogers to vegetables.  If that's not really an option you'd like them explore, literally, keep reading.

Did you know that refined sugar actually suppresses the immune system?  Ya.  It does.  So stop consuming so much.  Certainly taking a daily multi-vitamin (or one for kids), a probiotic, eating lots of lean protein, getting lots of sleep, regular exercise, and living in a clean environment are all ideal. There is plenty of help for cold and flu season!

So come on, folks.  Let's get to work.  There are a LOT of nose-pickers out there!  So when you see them...give them my number! 

Total Buzz Kill

This year at the beginning of the summer I instituted a rule:  Nothing with a screen between noon and 8 pm.

No t.v., no computer, no video games, no ipod.  Strangely enough, I kind of think the kids were excited about it in the beginning, this new rule that would really mix everything up.  Only at first did I have a little trouble enforcing the rule, and that was mostly because I would forget about it!  And of course now that the season is winding down and the late-summer boredom has set in, it is harder yet.  Regardless, the rule worked really well all summer, and I'll definitely do it again next year.  The kids played outside so much...like we used to when we were kids!  You know, before all this fancy schmancy hand-held technology.  HA!  We're old!

Because of my no-screen rule, all summer I was supplying constant ideas of new things they could do outside, or suggesting something to draw, make out of dough, paint (including objects), or construct out of other things.  We also spent a pretty decent amount of time at the beach.  Nothing like an endless amount of sand and water to really make a bunch of happy shorties.

That's a great thing about this area - how close we are to so many beaches.  And (amazingly) they're clean.  And not crowded!  Of course Lake Michigan water is body-numbing frigid most of the summer but hey, you get hot, you jump in, you cool off....quickly. What more can you ask for?

Since we've lived here, our family has unofficially chosen one particular beach as our favorite, and we go there more than any of the other area beaches.  It's a Lake Michigan beach, and most of the summer it was fantastic.  There's a little 'pool' area that's warmer than the lake, a little stream from the pool into the lake, tons of cool rocks and fossils to collect, bigger rocks for climbing, lots of beach glass hunting for me, and the sand is pretty fine and light.  It's a great spot.

Except for the second half of August.  Oh Goodness.

We've visited this beach twice in the past two weeks, and ended up running out of there after only about a half an hour, chased out by those nasty little biting black flies.  I've experienced this quite a bit, in quite a few places around Wisconsin.  I'm sure it happens other places but I just don't know about it.  Is it the lake?  The sand?  Obviously they wait until the end of the summer to appear...but why?  And why do they have to follow you and bite you and make it so dang miserable that you have to leave?!  My friend told me yesterday that it hurts when they bite you because they are literally ripping off a chunk of your skin.  Awesome.

Where we live we also have big-time mosquito issues.  Wisconsin doesn't spray, so we have to take it into our own hands.  Luckily, Shaklee H2 works great as a natural repellent for your body, but we do go through our share of Off and have even stooped to spray the yard because it was just so hard to be outside without it.  Yes, I know.  Bad chemicals.  But what's the alternative?  Don't go outside?  I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Since I compost and we eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, I often have a lot of fruit flies in the kitchen.  Naturally there are ants, and once in a while some moth or other weird freaky bug comes wandering in to die a most hideous death at the hands (or paws) of my cats. 

What's an eco-friendly mom to do?  Spray the crap out of everything with chemicals and hope for the best?  Well, maybe. But not until I get so fed up there's no other choice!  Until then, I try to control it all as greenly and as safely as I can.

Here are just a few things I have found and used:
A little bowl of apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap mixed in lures those pesky fruit flies to a liquidy death.  Works great.
Repel mosquitoes safely with H2 wipes or all-purpose formula sprayed on.
You can even spray fruit flies right out of the air with the H2 all-purpose. It's kind of fun!
If you know where the ants are coming in, pour some cornmeal around and the greedy little bastards will snatch it up and take it back to the nest where all their greedy little bastard friends will eat it.  Unfortunately for them, they can't digest it, so it swells up inside their disgusting little bodies and the greedy little bastards burst.  Whoopee!
I've also heard that drawing a chalk line works cause the ants won't walk across it, and sprinkling baby powder around for the same reason.

These solutions are all fine and good, but I'm out of apple cider vinegar, and I don't know where my ants are coming in...they just appear in the middle of a blank wall, the little teleporting freaks!  This spring my super-efficient and green friend Libby gave me this awesome bug-zapping contraption.  Looks just like a tennis racket, but has a little electrical charge that zaps any of those rotten little fliers right out of the air.  WHAT FUN.  When we first got it, we would literally go seek out the bugs, like turn on the porch light and wait beneath it.  We sure are easily entertained, but in all seriousness this thing is awesome.  No chemicals!  I even got a couple ants with it even though they weren't flying.  Oh, and the crackle it makes when you get a bug is oh so satisfying...

Of course all good things must come to an end, and the good bug-zapping tennis racket unfortunately came to an end.  When something is that much fun, it is irresistible to the shorter people that are always hanging around, and you know how badly they treat their toys?  Ya, same story.  So now what?

Well...I have a spider.  He moved in over the kitchen sink the weekend we were out of town, and I've left him there for 2 weeks now.  He's caught ants and fruit flies and who knows what else...it's hard to tell what the little mummies might have started off as.  I am one of those people who really do NOT like spiders.  There are some crazies who catch them in their house and set them free outside.  Crazies!!  Not me.  I usually smash them, spray them, electrocute them, flush them, whatever.  Their demise is my comfort.

But not this time.  This little daddy long-legs is my friend and I like it.  I even put a chunk of overripe banana under his web to attract the fruit flies so he wouldn't move away!  Yep, I just keep getting nuttier and nuttier over here.

At any rate, my new friend certainly doesn't help with what's going on out in the yard or at the beach, but bugs are allowed to be outside, I suppose.  Next year I will get a new bug-zapping tennis racket to take everywhere with me!  In the meantime, just call me spider mom!

Gettin' Schooled

Ahhh...four of my favorite words are floating around constantly in conversations, commercials, even sales flyers - Back To School Time.  Just typing and reading it gives me warm fuzzy feelings.  Our district doesn't start until September 1, so we are still a week and a half away.  That's ok though, it's good.  I have 8 more days (not counting weekends) to enjoy some last minute summer activities and having my kids home with me all day.  But who's counting?

This summer has been great though it sure went fast, but all in all I give it four stars.  We did some traveling, celebrated the wedding of my husband's brother, spent time at the beach, my kids played with their friends, etc. etc.  What more can you ask for?  Only that eventually school will start again...and it will.  It is upon us, in a mere 8 days.  8...more...days...

Like death and taxes, sort of... every year it comes time for school supply shopping.  This is an especially joyous occasion for the children.  After a season of freedom and fun in the sun, there is nothing they would prefer to do than the combination of thinking about school starting and shopping.  It's quite the dynamic duo, don't you think?

    Shopping
+  Going back to school
=  Not very fun for anyone

Every year we get the good old supply list to follow and shop till every item on the list is accounted for;  ziplocs (2 sizes), pencil boxes, non-marking gym shoes, dry erase markers (low-odor only!), 3-prong 2-pocket folders in 4 different colors (plastic lasts longer!), etc.  One of the items that appears on the list every year that really burns my ass is those pesky wet wipes.  I've had lists that called out specific brand names of disinfecting wipes, though to the school's credit in the last couple years the brand names have been left off.

I've spent enough time at the school in past years to see that most parents are still supplying the classrooms with disinfecting wipes, and I've spied with my own two eyes a teacher lining up the kids and handing them each their own Lysol wipe to wipe their hands with.  Gah!!

Some time ago while researching this whole issue, a friend of mine contacted Clorox regarding their products being on school supply lists, and the correct usage of disinfecting wipes specifically in a school setting.  Clorox responded (in writing, no less) that the correct usage of a disinfecting wipe is thus:  Wipe once with a clean wipe to remove any actual, visible dirt and discard that wipe;  Get a fresh wipe and re-wipe the same surface to disinfect.  For anyone not counting, that's a two-wipe process.  Clorox went on to say that their wipes should only be used while wearing protective gloves, and are ONLY for use by adults.  That's adults, not children. 

Since he started kindergarten my son has only been taking wipes to school that have been approved by ME.  (I've done my homework and I'd like to think I'm some what of an authority on the subject, so this isn't just based on my opinions or what I'd like to sell you.)  I've informed all of the teachers that either of my children have had that they are not allowed to touch any of those toxic disinfecting wipes...it is bad enough that they are used by other children, and on the desks after school hours and the kids are touching the residue and breathing in the fumes all day long.  But, as one parent I can only do so much to protect my own children when they are in a group setting.  Without seeming like that crazy mom whose kids live in a bubble, anyway.

Some time ago, I watched part of a documentary or news show about a woman who refused to touch anything without having a disinfecting wipe in her hand first.  She'd even grab her mail with a wipe!  It was so out of control that a doctor told her that within the next five years she would most likely be diagnosed with some sort of cancer, as well as numerous other potential health problems that come from absorbing toxic chemicals, specifically through the skin. I searched long and hard for the specific article, but could not find it.  Rest assured, there are a lot of crazies out there with similar problems.  Just Google it if you want to read more.

What I'm saying here folks, is that if we ALL supply our schools with safer alternatives then ALL our children will be in a healthier environment for 8 hours a day.  Chemical exposure and fumes can be responsible for a lot of different problems like attention and behavior, and in schools any interruption in the learning process is very unwelcome.  So why are these chemicals still allowed in schools?  There was an experiment done with some children and a handwriting test.  Tested before and after inhaling chlorine bleach fumes, the children showed serious effects from the fumes that our kids most likely breathe in every day at school.  One child tested wasn't even capable of writing his own name after exposure.  Is this what we want for OUR children?  I think not.

Naturally I'm going to recommend Shaklee's H2 wipes, because I know they are safe and proven.  They are non-toxic, biodegradable, and pH balanced to the skin.  Shaklee's Germ Off wipes are the safest disinfecting wipe on the market, and are also biodegradable.  My kids will be taking one container of each with them to school on the first day...with their names written on the top and instructions to the teacher that these are the ONLY wipes my children are allowed to use.

I can only hope that more and more parents see the big picture and supply our schools (and our HOMES for that matter) with the safest, non-toxic cleaning products possible.  So many people are still under the impression that if it's available at the grocery store, it must be safe.  This is so far from the truth, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I think about how misinformed the American public is.  Chemical companies don't care if they are poisoning you, folks.  And neither does the FDA.  Not sure if I can say who said this, but here is the quote anyway:  "People assume that it’s on the shelf it’s been tested, it’s safe. And you can’t make that assumption all the time. You can’t. Not with the regulatory framework we have in place."  Read the full article here, and more here, and a bunch about children's health here.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

We need to protect our own.  Start NOW.


P.S.  For those of you who cry on the first day of school...buck up, huh?!  Wipe your tears...it's not like they won't be back in 8 hours.  Enjoy!