Going Green and a Grant story

So, I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to stop using store bought chemical cleaning products and instead start using natural, kitchen ingredients. I made this decision in part because I didn't like all the chemicals we were using and also because I'm not as concerned about Grant finding stuff. Vinegar won't kill him. Of course, I don't leave anything sitting in his reach but I feel a little more comfortable.

I did a little internet research and now my primary cleaning agent is white vinegar mixed with various amounts of water. In case anyone is interested, it's quite simple. It's very cheap and if you don't like the smell you can add lemon juice. FYI - vinegar cannot be used on marble surfaces because it breaks it down. So, if you have cultured marble in your bathroom you need to keep using your Soft Scrub.

Here are the mixes:

Glass/dusting liquid:
2 tbsp vinegar:1 quart water

Toilets:
Dump undiluted vinegar into the toilet and let it sit. Then, scrub away with your toilet brush
If you want some scrubbing action pour in some baking soda as well. It works just as well as comet or Ajax

All purpose kitchen, bathroom cleaner:
1 part vinegar:1 part water
(I use this for everything)

Floors:
1 cup vinegar:1 gallon water
(I usually just fill the sink with some hot water and pour in some vinegar. You all know I'm not that precise with measuring. That takes time)

Any place you would have used an abrasive scrubbing cleaner like Ajax or Comet you can use baking soda. There are no chemicals.

Ok, now a Grant story I want to make sure is documented. His new favorite book is Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman. We have a giant board book of it. The last page is of the dogs at a party in a giant tree. There is a huge pink cake and some ice cream in the picture. Whenever we get to the last page he has to pretend to eat the cake and the ice cream. He pulls the book to his mouth and starts making fake eating sounds. I think it's hilarious and he figured this out on his own. The boy loves cake and ice cream. What can I say?

He also in the last month has started to sing along with the songs I sing to him. He loves "pig," which is Old McDonald, and "bus," which is Wheels on the Bus, and "Twinkle," which is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. He can actually sing some of the words to each of these songs. He started doing this once he started nursery. I learned from the nursery leader that she has little animal stick puppets for Old McDonald and Grant always wants the pig. This is why Old McDonald is "pig" for him. I'm sure you all really don't care about this but given I use this as a journal, I felt it important to make a note of this development.

Hilarious Grant moment!!!!!!

This little event took place this past Saturday morning. Chad, Grant and I were all in my bedroom on Saturday morning. Chad was laying in bed and I was just sitting on the bed talking with him. Grant was playing around in our bathroom and our closet. He likes to shut the closet door and then knock and come out. He had our closet door shut and then opened it up and walked out with my maternity bathing suit top and bottoms around his neck and my swim hat on his head. When he walked out of the bathroom he had his head down so you couldn't even see his face. I just started laughing hysterically. Chad couldn't see Grant at first so I told him really quietly that he had to look. I ran down the stairs to grab the camera and caught him just as he was headed down the stairs. Of course, he had to have the swimsuit top on inside out but that's just par for the course these days. This is one of those moments I am so glad I got on camera. It was beyond funny.

Grant spent Sunday to Wednesday with his Aunt Shelli in Phoenix and gave mom and dad a break. It was heavenly. We went on two dates and I got some of my house projects done. It was also just nice to only have to worry about myself. Grant had a fun time with Shelli so it wasn't all bad. He got to go swimming twice, harass and whine at Shelli and be the center of attention by Shelli and all her friends for three straight days. I think any two year old could handle that. I will get some pictures and more details from Shelli and do another post later.

Our week

This week has been a normal week until yesterday when I had a call from Chad as I was leaving a deposition that I needed to hurry home because Grant had been puking all morning. Of course, when I got home he was fine and no more puke. That is until this morning when Grant was sleeping in our bed for a little while. I was already up and downstairs. Suddenly, I hear Chad yell frantically for me to get upstairs because Grant was puking again. Poor Chad. Grant only pukes when it's just the two of them. It's kind of sad and kind of funny at the same time, although I'm pretty sure Chad would have a different opinion on that.

Grant and I went to Shakers this week and to the pool with Amy and Nicholas and Baby Zach. he also went to the Children's Museum with Regina and her girls. He loves it there. Our plan was to go there yesterday too but that was thwarted by the puking.

My work is winding down. I am down to two unsettled cases. One keeps settling then unsettling. We're about at the unsettled stage again, which is driving me nuts. I am truly hoping to be done with work entirely by the end of the month.

Aunt Kitty (my sister, Kristen) asked to see pictures of Grant sleeping in front of his gate, which is his new favorite place for naps. I always put him in his bed with everything he needs then within 5 minutes of going downstairs, I heard the door to his room open and then nothing else. Without fail, I find him dead asleep on his pillow with his blanket over him, a binky in one hand a a water cup in the other in front of his gate. We have the gate there so that he can't wander around in the middle of the night and possibly fall down the stairs. The photos of this daily occurrence are below.

Sonogram photos of the new baby

I decided to try taking photos of the sonogram photos to see how they turned out and they look good. As a result, I can share them with every one. As you can see from the picture just below, we are definitely having a boy (and I don't just mean because it says "It's a boy!!!" on the photo).

This is our little boy's profile. Who do you think he looks like?

Here's another profile shot. I think he looks more like Chad in this one.
Another clear indication it's a boy.
Here's his little (or not so little) foot. Grant had huge feet when he was born and this little one's look big too. We'll see.

The doctor said I was measuring about a week ahead of my projected due date. This doesn't surprise me. Grant was a week early and weight 9'3. I just hope for something less than 9 pounds this time around and maybe normal, instead of Chad size, shoulders on this little one.

It's a Boy!!!!!!

This week was an eventful week. We had our sonogram of the baby. It is officially a boy. We suspected as much based upon an early sonogram but could not be sure until this week. We are very excited to be having another boy. I am happy that Grant will have a brother to run around and cause trouble with. Chad was hoping for a girl but I think he's excited anyway.

Grant also had his 2 year old well child check with Dr. Shapiro. He weighs 30 pounds and is 33" tall. that puts him in the 30% for height and now the 75% for weight. We have a little football player on our hands. He did very well, even when he got his MMR shot. He was pretending he didn't like stuff but was smiling the entire time he was being examined.

To continue the celebration of Grant's birthday, we took him to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time on Memorial Day. He had a great time. He ate pizza, drank lemonade and pushed buttons and threw balls to his heart's content. We had a coupon for a pizza, 4 drinks and 30 tokens for $23. We didn't actually need tokens to keep Grant entertained but Chad and I loved them. I played skee ball, which I love. Chad played video games and Grant loved to watch Chad play the basketball game. Grant also loved throwing the skee ball balls up the ramp. With our 30 tokens we won 73 tickets, rounded up to 80, and we were able to buy 4 mini tootsie pops and 1 plastic glasses and nose set. Chuck has steep prices. We also learend that Grant does not like the rides you have him sit in and turn them on to shake. We tried two and both completely freaked him out. He didn't even want to try the slide. We tried to have a family picture taken in the drawing booth but you can see below how well that worked out.

Grant started a new session of Shakers this week. He didn't do very well this time but hopefully will continue to improve. He was acting very tired. Since getting his new bed, he has been waking up between 5:30 and 6 AM (much to his parents' chagrin). By 9 AM now, he's ready for a nap, which is right when Shakers starts.

Yesterday (Saturday) was fun. We took Grant to the Children's Museum for the first time (ours, not his). He's been twice with Regina. As soon as we walked into the place he starts yelling, "Jungle!!!" There is a Jungle Room with all sorts of stuff to climb on and slide down that he loves. He also enjoys pushing the button to make the train sets go and he got to color some mini maracas. Chad and I enjoyed ourselves as well. We all had fun making music in the instrument room. Grant got to try out a real fire truck and a police motorcycle. He wasn't really too sure about either.


The plan was to go swimming after a rest from the museum but both Chad and I got sick and were not up for that. Chad is still sick this morning but I feel better. On Friday, we also managed to get the bookcases switched and start cleaning up our house a little bit (not too much though, don't worry). I hate moving stuff around because you find out just how dirty stuff is and how much junk you actually have. Hopefully, before the baby comes in September, the house will be back together and organized. Is that too much to ask?