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LONG delay between post 2 of 3 and post 3 of 3 of our Memorial Day Weekend adventure. In a nutshell, we went out to Woodfield and had Maggiano’s for lunch. Joshua leaked out of his diaper (pee-pee) so bad that it made a puddle on the floor underneath his high chair. I sopped it up and did the right thing and told our waiter, but how embarassing.
I don’t remember much more about this day, except that it was nice to get out and shop for a bit. I know we hit the Apple Store (my fav place at Woodfield these days), as I had planned to get Kevin the iPhone for a late graduation gift, but the parents poo-poo’d that idea =)
So that’s all I have to say about that. Made this more to finish an open story, and also to test out the new blog. More to come at this new home!
Welcome to Part 2 of 3 of our Labor Day Weekend 2009 adventure log! This part will give you a glimpse into a normal weekend day at our house, as it was our lazy day of the holiday weekend.
Still tired from our day in Chicago with the Sina’s, we decided to take a much needed day of rest on Sunday. This involved a fairly normal routine for our family for the day, starting with kids waking up at about 7:30am, cuddling in bed in our room for a bit, and finally heading down to breakfast. I didn’t make anything special (Sunday’s are typically eggs and waffles at our house), as we had plenty of leftover goodies from the morning before. There were plenty of bagels, coffee cake, fruit, and yogurt for all of us. The coffee tasted especially good that morning, though!
We watched Toy Story during and after breakfast, as this is usually on the television during all of Joshua’s waking hours. Shortly after breakfast we enjoyed lazy time on the couch. Well, Mike and the kids did, but I had some “work” to do in fixing the Kozlowski family computer. So I retired to the office for a bit while the rest of the family enjoyed Daddy being home.
At about 1:00pm we headed out to our restaurant of choice on the weekends – Moe’s Southwest Grill. We all ordered the same meals we order every time (a Joey Bag O Donuts for Mike, a Funk Meister for Joshua, a Joey Jr. for me, and a Ruprict for us all to share). Addy got to enjoy some special combination of a meat and vegetable, Gerber style. I can’t wait until she can enjoy Moe’s with us; it shouldn’t be long! As per usual, Joshua regularly shouted “Welcome to Moes!!!” as new customers entered. We even got a chance to chat with Bill (one of the owners that we have become friends with) for a while.
Joshua just about fell asleep in the car on the way back to our house, but we were barely able to keep him awake. Both kids went for a nice long needed nap when we got in.
Addy got up first around 4:30pm or so, but Joshua kept on sleeping and sleeping! This gave Addy a chance to army crawl around the family room and have free reign of all of Joshua’s toys while he was not around (if he sees her in his toys, he continually takes them away, says “NO, Addy!” and eventually goes into a tantrum). I think she appreciated it! Joshua finally woke up around 6:30pm and we headed over to my Grandma’s house to spend time with the Schoonhoven side of the family.
The normal group was there – my folks, Kevin, Debbie, Tom, Tommy, Kellie, Julie, Robin, and the dogs Tootsie and Gracie. We were missing Ashley, as she stayed at school for the long weekend. As per usual, there was great conversation at the big kitchen table, and Joshua played with the special toys on the floor in the living room while the boys watched some sporting event.
We got in a few good hours over there then had to head home to get our tired kids (yes, still tired even after all that napping!) to bed for the night. Mike and I were not far behind, as we had another big day planned for Monday including REI and Woodfield in Schaumburg.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of 3 of our Labor Day Weekend 2009 adventures!
The Acton Family “North” had a magnificent Labor Day weekend filled with sightseeing, shopping, eating, and napless days for the kids. I will cover the weekend in a multi-part blog, beginning with our time with the Sina’s in downtown Chicago. Forthcoming parts will include our “lazy day” and lastly our day out shopping in Schaumburg with my folks and Kevin.
The weekend started with a visit from our old friends from Packerland, the Sina’s. I have been friends with Sara Sina since 2000 when I started with Procter and Gamble in Green Bay in Charmin Converting. She was my internal sponsor in the department and we were quick friends. She and Jim were married already at that time, but I hadn’t even met Mike yet. When Mike and I started dating and later got married, they quickly became one of our favorite couples in Green Bay to hang out with. Pre-kids, we used to play cribbage through the wee hours of the night drinking our beverages of choice. Now that both of our families have two kids each and we no longer live in the same city (us in IL and they are now in Milwaukee, WI), we have fun in different ways, like family sleepovers and days out in downtown Chicago (our activities of this weekend).
The Sina’s arrived Friday night just in time for dinner at Moe’s Southwest Grill (their first time there since leaving Green Bay over two years ago!). It was delicious, as usual, and we followed up the nice meal with some conversation at home before all putting our kids to bed (kind of…) for the night. The new and exciting sleeping arrangements made it interesting for the two year olds Joshua and Julia. Addy was in her own room so knew nothing was amiss, and Evan wasn’t phased at all by borrowing Joshua’s bed for the night. Julia, however, was very excited to be sleeping in a new home in her blow-up sleeping bag, and Joshua thought he was hot stuff sleeping on a McQueen’d-out air mattress in Mommy and Daddy’s room. After a bit of singing from Julia and some crying from Joshua, all of us did get some sleep.
We were up bright and early on Saturday to catch the 9:58am train to Union Station. We made it with several minutes to spare (quite a feat with only four adults to get four little kids ready!). It was Joshua’s first ride on the Metra train (which goes MUCH faster than Thomas the Train that we rode at the Illinois Railway Museum a few weeks ago), and he loved the ride down to the city. He actually stayed seated for much of the ride, and even smiled and pointed out all of the wonderful sites (machines! tweet tweet! ‘nother train!). The cheese cracker snacks that I packed helped…
 Joshua is loving his first ride on the Metra to Union Station!  The Sina family also enjoyed the ride to downtown  Daddy and Addy enjoying quality time on the Metra Our first stop after arriving downtown was Pizano’s Pizza and Pasta, proclaimed the best thin crust pizza by Oprah last year. Mike and I had been there once last year and enjoyed it, so since it was on our way to our next destination we decided to have our meal there. Lunch with four kids is never very relaxing, but we all managed to stuff in some pizza and soda before heading out to see the bean.
For those who haven’t seen the bean at Millennium Park, it is definitely worth seeing if you are at the lakefront area of Chicago. It is a giant reflective bean that gives alternate views of the skyline, of the lake, and of you! Folks crowd around and underneath the spectacle, laughing at themselves (once they finally find themselves!) and others, and snapping pictures of all of the sights. We all checked out the view from underneath. Joshua especially enjoyed it this year, as there was a group of two-year-olds under the bean towards the edge where they could touch it. They all loved touching the distorted images of themselves in the bean.
 Joshua playing under the bean at Millennium Park Next we continued on to Navy Pier. Once there, the Sina’s took their kids to see Cirque Shanghai (Chinese acrobats – amazing, I hear!). We would have loved to have taken our kids too, but Addy was sleeping sound in the stroller (which wasn’t allowed in the show), and Joshua just doesn’t have the attention span yet to sit through a 70 minute production, exciting as it did seem. Instead, we walked the length of the pier and let Joshua ride on the Thomas the Train ride that he had seen on our way in. Best $2 we spent the whole day; he was in little boy heaven!
 Joshua riding Thomas on Navy Pier We also got some carmel corn (Joshua ate nearly the whole $4 bag!) and shortly after the Sina’s were out of their show and it was time to trek back to Union Station.
The 2.5 mile hike back seemed LONG… Not only were we on a time crunch (only 50 minutes ’til the train went back to Grayslake), but we were all a little tired from the day we’d had to that point. I couldn’t believe that six-year-old Evan hung in there as well as he did. We probably logged over 6 miles total that day, and the kid never complained a bit. Joshua and Addy had it easy in the dual stroller all day, but poor Julia (almost three years old) had walked most of the day and just couldn’t do it anymore. We four adults took turns carrying her throughout the last leg of our journey, and I think she was very thankful (at least that’s what I thought based on the big hugs she gave while being carried – how cute!).
And if we thought the walk to Union Station seemed long, then we were really in for it on the ride back to Grayslake on the Metra. Tired and crabby parents mixed with napless two-year-olds is quite the deadly combination, as anyone in our train car would tell you. We exhausted the snacks, songs, and funny faces about half-way through the ride home, and the remaining half was mostly filled with reprimanding and tantrums. I won’t go into the gruesome details, but the Grayslake stop couldn’t come any sooner. By the time we were 10 minutes from our stop, Julia, Joshua, and Addy were all in full-out scream. We, as the parents, could only laugh.
And so concluded the adventure with the Sina’s. We arrived home and said our good-bye’s (except for Joshua, who had fallen asleep not 2 minutes into our drive home, and never woke up again until 7:30am the next morning) and let the Sina’s return to Milwaukee to continue their adventurous holiday weekend. We really appreciate them making the trip down and getting us to go downtown – an adventure we likely would not have undertaken had it not been for them (AND we couldn’t have done it without them!).
Thanks for reading Part 1. Parts 2 and 3 to come as the week progresses!
Yesterday, June 5, 2009, was Mike’s and my five year wedding anniversary! Congratulations to us!!!
In the past five years, we have moved from Green Bay to Lake Villa and had two beautiful children, just to name the highlights.
To celebrate this special day, we…………did NOTHING!!! That’s right! Nothing out of the ordinary, at least, except that there was a “no laptop” rule after the kids went to bed.
Here’s the course of events:
At midnight leading into June 5 (so really late Thursday night) I gave Mike the anniversary card that I made. It was cute, if I do say so myself =) Here’s what it looked like:
 This is the front of the card; I'm "Tweeting" him =) On the inside, there was this picture, that I created by editing through the free Gimp software (awesome FREE substitute for Adobe Photoshop, by the way):
Then there was this poem, that I proudly authored:
I count the years one to five
Just the thought makes me feel alive
I can honestly say I now love you more
Than on that beautiful day in June of ’04
We’ve traveled and had adventures
But I just can’t wait to see you in dentures
We’re bound to grow old together
Because you’ll never get rid of this little Heather
I love you the most with all of my heart
Even if you close the car door and fart
HAPPY FIFTH ANNIVERSARY, MY SWEETEST!!!
I thought it was all pretty cute, and I think he did too.
Inside was his ticket to Andrea Bocelli at Allstate Arena on June 12, 2009. I got one ticket for him for our anniversary and another for his mom for her birthday coming up later this month. When she heard Andrea Bocelli was going to be in Chicago, and coincidentally on the same timing that she will be in town for Addison’s Baptism, I knew they had to go see him together. I hope they have a great time!
So back to the course of events…
After I gave him his card and gift he went to sleep and I played on the Mac a bit more.
Friday morning I took a walk with my neighbor Jill while Mike got Joshua up and fed. He played outside with the kids until I got back. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day. We showered and had pizza rolls for lunch, then put the kids for their naps. Mike took the cars to get detailed at Park Place (they look AWESOME) and I played on the computer until the kids got up. By the time they woke up again it was really too late to do much more than just go out to eat. We went to Saluto’s for pizza, then drove through Oberweiss for shakes. We were both stuffed to the rim. By the time we got home it was time for Addy to go to bed for the night. I put her to bed, then Mike and Joshua both got haircuts, Joshua got a bath, and he went to bed. He loved the haircut as usual….lol…
After the kids went to bed the “no laptop” rule went into effect. On normal nights the kids go to bed and Mike and I both grab our computers and have the TV going in the background (at least we sit in the same room and chat intermittently!). But today was special, so we let go of that habit. It was nice! We both cuddled on the same couch like we did before having kids (and before I gained 30 lbs), and popped in our wedding video. Mike had the great idea earlier in the day to watch it and I thought that was a perfect way to spend our anniversary night! It was so nice to relive that day. We had so many great family members and friends there, and everyone had so much fun. The video ended at midnight and then we went to bed.
So, true to Mike and Heather form, we didn’t do any extravagant dinner or vacation (as we kind of intended to), but we still made a memorable day and reflected back often on our past 5 years as a married couple. And I just don’t think I would have felt right if we had chosen to spend that day away from our kids, as they are such an important part of our life and of our marriage. We really are lucky to all have eachother. What a beautiful life!
=)
*This post is a work in progress…doing research and making notes here.*
What are other families choosing to do given this BPA scare?
As a mom of a 2 year old and a 5 month old, I’ve been doing a fair amount of research on BPA, its effects, and products containing it. I’m not gonna lie…I’m a little freaked out. It’s in their bottles, cups, bowls, and pacifiers. And, it’s in the water bottles (Nalgene) that Mike and I drink from daily.
No, the evidence is not 100% conclusive that our kids (or we) will have health issues in life due to exposure to this chemical, but who wants to expose our kids to any more risk than they’ll already be exposed to? BPA has shown negative effects to animals exposed to the chemical. That’s all that I need to read to know that I don’t want it in my kids or in my family.
So, tomorrow I’m going to purge our house of all plastics that I am not sure are clear of BPA. This will include all of our current baby bottles, pacifiers, sippy cups, water bottles, bowls, Gladware, plates, etc. We’ll stick to glass where we can right now, and will purchase BPA-free to replace what needs to be replaced.
I’d like to know what you are doing in response to these reports. Are you purging? Or are you riding out the debate? Leave a comment and let’s discuss.
Notes to myself:
- from zrecs.blogspot.com: “plastics numbered 3 (PVC), 6 (polystyrene) and 7 (often polycarbonate) should usually be avoided, others, like polypropylene and polyethylene (numbered 1, 2, 4 and 5 based on type and density) contain no known harmful chemicals in them”
- Josh’s pacifiers are silicon nipples, but shields likely contain BPA
- Avent Magic sippy cups are BPA-free (though year of production not specified)
- Gerber Fun Grips cups are BPA-free (though year of production not specified)
- Munchkin Spongebob sippy cups are BPA-free
- Gerber Sip & Smile cups (with trucks & frogs) are BPA-free
- Avent bottles DO CONTAIN BPA
- Dr. Brown bottle DO CONTAIN BPA, but vent pieces are BPA free
- Nalgene bottles DO CONTAIN BPA
- Medela breast pump is BPA-free
- Lansinoh breast milk storage bags are BPA-free
- Medela breast milk storage bottles are BPA-free
- Gladware appears to be BPA-free, but is old so probably still should be tossed
- Here’s what Pampered Chef says:
Polycarbonate Plastic Product Inquiries
Recent media reports question the safety of products made with polycarbonate plastic and specifically, Bisphenol A (BPA), which is used in the manufacture of polycarbonate products. Rest assured, all Pampered Chef products designed to come into contact with food meet or exceed all current and applicable regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are food-contact safe. The FDA has studied and approved the use of polycarbonate plastic and BPA for many years. We will continue to monitor any and all FDA developments with respect to BPA to ensure the continued safety of our products.
Some of our products are made from polycarbonate and contain BPA. These products are listed below. No other Pampered Chef products contain BPA.
* 1105 Microplane Adjustable Grater (cover and food holder plunger)
* 1188 Gravy Separator (main bowl)
* 1665 Baster and Cleaning Brush (basting tube)
* 1684 Pastry Cutter
* 1785 Salad/Berry Spinner (lid only)
* 2157 Wine Bottle Opener
* 2158 Dripless Pourer/Stopper
* 2175 Easy Read Measuring Cups
* 2177 Easy Read Mini Measuring Cup
* 2190 Salt and Pepper Mill
* 2225 Measure-All Cup (outer sleeve)
* 2228 Easy Adjustable Measuring Cup
* 2229 Easy Adjustable Measuring Spoon
* 2236 Mini Measure-All Cup
* 2241 Pocket Thermometer
* 2305 Juicer (bowl)
* 2590 Easy Opener
* 2779 Rice Cooker Plus (outer locks)
* 2781 Chillzanne Rectangle Server (lid only)
* 2826 Outdoor Tumblers
* 2827 Outdoor Utensil Set
* 2829 Outdoor Serving Set
Helpful links:
http://safemama.com/2007/11/22/bpa-free-bottle-and-sippy-cup-cheat-sheet/
http://www.zrecsguide.com
How to Avoid Phthalates in 3 Easy Steps
This week held two more firsts for my kiddies.
1. On Thursday Addy rolled over for the first time. Not a big deal, but it left me wondering if this would be the last time one of my kids would roll over for the first time =( She was laying on the bed next to Mike on her belly when she rolled over onto her back to be closer to him. So cute. I was glad he got to see it (I was in the bathroom getting stuff ready for bedtime), since I think he was disappointed that he missed when Joshua first rolled over.
2. Last night was Joshua’s first night in his big boy bed. We bought the mattress earlier in the week and had it delivered yesterday. I was determined to get him in it as soon as possible, as we have been talking to him about it for so long, and because Addy had created a nice little imprint in her Pack N Play “mattress.” So I spent last week and this week shopping for mattress, buying mattress, returning mattress and buying another, buying sheets and mattress protectors, and washing everything needed to make him his cozy bed. Here it is!
 Joshua & his big boy bed Joshua looked SO cute and little in his big boy bed. It almost brought tears to my eyes how cozy and small he looked. Too out in the open =) I love my little man!
He slept PERFECTLY in his new bed the first night. I truly did not expect it to be a good night AT ALL, but he really surprised me. He knew that was where he was supposed to sleep that night (and from then on), and did not ask to go to his crib or anything. And, he slept ’til 10:30AM this morning!!! YAY JOSHUA!!!
3. This also means that it was Addy’s first night in her crib. She has been in her own room since 2-1/2 months, but just in a Pack N Play. Given that she is a 17 lb 4-1/2 month old, she was in desperate need of a supportive crib. I put her to sleep as normal in her swing in our room (it’ll have to be this way ’til she can sleep through her brother going to bed about 30 minutes after her…), and moved her to her crib at about 10:30pm. She cried when I laid her down, but stopped by the time I got to our room. She got up once to eat, and then again but whined herself back to sleep, and then finally at about 6:30am. Overall, a “good” night for her.
These firsts, especially Joshua in his big boy bed, make me realize how quickly kids grow. I wish I could freeze time, but at the same time can’t wait to see how they continue to learn, grow, and develop. All I can do is give all the kisses, hugs, and cuddles I can (while they still let me), and watch them blossom. I am the luckiest mommy!
=)
Could’ve been a snappier title, but I have a clean mouth and keyboard =)
But it’s true, karma got me tonight…
I’m kind of crabby due to not being able to have any Whoppers Robin Eggs today, so I boycotted doing my normal part of Joshua’s bedtime routine, even though we had the additional task of emptying his potty chair. I just wanted to sit and let Mike do it all.
Mike, on the other hand, thought when he sent Joshua in to me naked after he had peed in the chair, that since I was going to finish Joshua’s routine (put on his diaper, pj’s, and lotion) he would do the icky job of emptying the potty. He obviously was not aware of my plan…
But, the lords up above apparently were, as while I was sitting in the bowl chair laughing with Joshua about something (remember, he’s naked here) and Mike was cleaning out the potty chair, I hear someone pouring water….wait…it wasn’t pouring water….it was JOSHUA PEEING on our brand new carpet!!! Right after it happened I knew why it happened. Had I done the right thing and put on Joshua’s diaper and finished his routine, it never would have happened. So I put my tail between my legs and cleaned up the small puddle.
Mike is still laughing about it.
=)
Addy had her first experience with “solid” food today, if you can consider two tablespoons of single grain oatmeal baby cereal in two ounces of formula, “solid.” Up until this point, she’s only had breastmilk to “eat.”
She ate about half of her first meal, spitting out about half of each bite I put in her mouth. Not because she didn’t like it; just because she wasn’t good at eating from a spoon yet.
I’m glad we’re at this point. I really do enjoy breastfeeding overall, but the start of solids means the beginning of a little more flexibility for me in that area. Knowing that she can be spoonfed means that if I need to skip a feeding (note she won’t take a bottle) that she’ll still be able to get a full belly. I’ll likely have to utilized this strategy when I go to my first concert of the summer, Coldplay, on July 25.
I decided yesterday after my post about living off of Whoppers Robin Eggs that I may need to put myself through a little exercise and see if I can go without sweets for a day or so. Starting yesterday at about 3pm I ate my last Robin Egg, and haven’t had any sweets since. I feel like crap.
Of course, what did I expect? I’ve been feeding my body ~500 cal per day sweets of some sort (brownies, candy, etc.), and now I took that away. It was bound to rebel. And boy has it rebeled. I have a dull headache that three ibuprofen couldn’t take care of, and I’ve been very lethargic all day. Joy.
I just googled sugar withdrawal, and it is a real thing. I found this on eHow.com:
“Sugar withdrawal can cause many symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, anxiety, fatigue and depression.”
Luckily, the symptoms go away in 2-3 weeks =)
I do know it’s the right thing to do, without a doubt. My diet outside of the sweets is generally very good. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, reduced fat dairy (except milk, as I drink soy milk), 100% whole grains, nuts, and lean meats. So getting rid of the sugary sweets just seems like the right thing to do. It is the thing that’s not like the others, and it’s holding me back from losing leftover baby weight and probably causing some other long term damage to my body.
Well, we’ll see where this leads. I don’t think I can be one of those people that swears off all sugar for the rest of my life, but I am definitely up for doing something to keep it in check. So today is a start, and I’ll continue to take it one day at a time. And tomorrow is Easter…lol…great…
=)
I need a place to capture some ideas I have (creative, personal improvement, memories, etc.) so I thought where better a place than my blog. I’ve always been a fan of consolidation. I wonder if there’s a Facebook group for that (brb…).
1. I think I could live off of Whopper’s Robin Eggs. Except that they are only sold for about 2 months out of the year. So I’d have to plan ahead and stockpile for the 10 months that I couldn’t purchase them.
2. In total opposition to #1, I am thinking about writing a log of what I eat in a very public place, like my blog or Facebook page, to kind of embarass myself out of eating what I do. If I just gave up the sweets (probably 500 calories a day for me…ugh…already embarassed), I’d lose a pound a week. Committing to writing this log, however, would be committing to change, and for some reason I’m just not ready. I think I’m scared of sugar withdrawal.
3. I really am SO excited about the semi-launch of my freelancing career! With two official clients and most of the HTML training behind me, I feel like I have made a great start. The blue, seriously page is just so much fun for me to brainstorm about. The home page is simple right now, but the ideas just keep flowing – from a music player to a fan club to a twitter feed to ads. I just can’t wait to put it all into action.
4. With that, I am also excited about the forming of my business. I can’t wait to learn more about the legalities, business, marketing, and development aspects of what I am doing. For once, I feel totally energized to learn and do and teach where I can. Isn’t that what a passion is supposed to be about? And I really did think I was passionless….that my only real lasting interests were my family and friends. But I believe this has been right under my nose for some time.
5. I’m getting more motivated to get Joshua into his big boy bed and Addy into her crib. We’ve been putting it off for some time, but I think after a week of generally better sleep I am ready to commit to getting them to sleep in more permanent quarters. After that’s done we’ll take on the potty training!
6. Oh! I finally did shave my legs after about 2 weeks (this is a LONG time for me – normally I have to shave 1/day in the summer to avoid obvious stubble). Here are the before and after pics:
 Before, in my fav red pumps  After, in a more casual look becoming of me 7. By the way, there is no Facebook group for “consolidation,” or for “laundry,” another something that I am mos def a fan of =)
Kiddies are starting to awaken, so off I go to my day job!
=)
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