A New Year

I know it's been a while since I've posted on the blog. I'm so sorry for that. It's been crazy as usual around here.

Updates:
Jonah is doing really well in school. He is almost reading by himself. In the next few months Rob & I are going to focus on teaching him to read because he so desperately wants to read to Eli. It's actually very cute! When you ask Jonah who his friends are he'll list you some kids in school including his girlfriend Maya. However, when you ask him who his best friend is he'll say Eli. It melts our hearts every time we hear it. In the fall semester he took a music class, which honestly was worth every penny. Jonah has really gotten into music. The best was walking somewhere and they had a poster of music notes and he said look mama music notes. I was stunned. He is quite opinionated and has demanded certain types of music in the car. It's all kids music don't worry, but it is funny how he and Eli love to tell us what to do with the radio. This semester he's taking Mad Science. He also continues to take swimming lessons every week. Bubbe & Tata have generously decided that it's so important for him to learn to swim that they wanted to pay for it. Eli will probably start in the spring/summer time.

Eli has really started verbalizing. Unlike Jonah at that age, so much of what he says is hard to understand. Jonah is constantly translating. Nona = Jonah, wahwah = Sascha, inni nine-stie = Little Einsteins and keeka = Mickey Mouse. As you can see it takes a degree in linguistics. It is super duper cute though. He wants so badly for us to understand him. We need to start pushing him to sign more though. He's doing really well in day care and continues to melt hearts everywhere. Even at day care they have a hard time disciplining him b/c he's just so cute. However, he has entered his terrible 2's and crankiness is a major factor these days. He and Jonah are playing w/each other all of the time, but they fight a lot as well. He had a doctor's appointment 3 weeks ago and he was in the 90th percentile in height and weight. He's only 3 lbs lighter then Jonah. However Jonah, being tall and skinny, still towers over him by more then a head. The JCC wouldn't take Eli after his 2nd birthday so he'll be starting in the summer. He is very ready to go to school and he misses being with Jonah. On top of all of that Eli is going to begin potty training very shortly. Once Jonah was potty trained Eli was so interested in what Jonah was doing. He asks to go potty, but doesn't *go* when he's on the potty. We hope to be done with diapers by the summer.

Robert is still working at MOC as their in house counsel. He's considering the possibility of looking for a new job because money is becoming a factor. He loves it there, and really wants it to work, so we hope this year will turn a new leaf. He also joined Weight Watchers with me and has successfully shed 13 lbs so far. Mom & I have even convinced him to go to the meetings with us. This last year he's really been working hard on his career. He also continues to be the chef of the house. We recently bought him a stainless steel top island for the kitchen so that he will have more counter space. Look for him on Food Network soon. :)

As for me. I've maintained my weight loss for the most part and will continue to try to lose another 5 lbs. Otherwise, health wise I am doing alright. I'm still working full time. I also moderate an internet mommy shopping group. This has been the most fun. I've made some lifelong friends on the internet. They live all over the country.

In 2007 I began my green endeavor. I really wanted to become an environmentally friendly family. It's hard to make change and sometimes the changes cost more money, but I know our planet is suffering. Although, Rob understands where I'm coming fron he isn't as on board as I am. However with more and more news about the chemicals in this and that, I think it's safe to say he's definitely seeing the light. As always he supports my endeavors to keep our family healthy. Here are some items I've gotten that have really made a difference to me and are just fantastic:
1) No more plastic grocery bags. Rob has a set of bags and I have a more "feminine" set which are Envirosax. Everytime I use them the checker or person behind me in line wants me to tell them where I got them. I've given out their web address so many times. Maybe, I should contact them to pay me for marketing. We keep our bags in the trunks of our cars. Some supermarkets have incentives for bringing your own bags. Ralph's gives you $.25 back for every bag you bring in (even if you don't use them all).
2) Eliminate the use of plastic containers. I got rid of most of our plastic sippy cups for the boys and switched to aluminum. I have the Sigg bottles for all of us. We don't buy bottled water. Rob & I fill up the bigger bottles if we want water. I even take one to work. We still use safe plastic containers for storing food, but we no longer put it in the microwave. Even if the container says microwave safe.
3) No more disposable diapers. About 6 months ago I switched to cloth diapers ("CD") for Eli, and it has been so much easier then I ever imagined it to be. Yes I do laundry more, but it really isn't a chore or even something I dread. I only kick myself that we didn't start it when Eli was born. Hind site is 20/20 right? Unfortunately, we've been unable to find a leak proof CD for nighttime so we had to keep disposables. That's when I switched to Target's new enviromentally friendly brand. Since we only use 1 a day I wanted to at least be sure it wasn't one that will be in our land fills in 500 years. If/when we have another child I'll be CDing from the get go, that's for sure.
5) Safer cleaning products. This one has been the hardest for us to undertake. I will continue to try, but money does come into play here. I switched to Purex Free & Clear laundry detergent, which believe it or not is cheaper then many others. I've been using the Bi-O-Kleen OxyBleach Plus, Bac-Out Stain remover and Produce Wash. They are all just wonderful products. The last of the products we switched to are sold at Target. They are the Method Cleaning Products. The only thing we don't really like is the dishwasher soap. However, my hunt for a more safe one that cleans well contines.
6) Eliminate plastic toys (where possible). As many of you know 2007 has produced more recalls on children's toys and gear then ever before. This had us re-thinking what the boys play with. We are trying to eliminate plastic as much as we can. For Eli's birthday and Hanukkah we focused on books and wood toys. To tell you the truth the boys are truly loving the wood stuff even more then plastic. Don't worry they still play with Legos and Matchbox cars, but they have less of those things.

My hope for 2008 is to continue to make our family more environmentally friendly. Not only has switching to environmentally friendly product produced enlightnement, but we are eliminating unnecessary chemicals in our lives. I promise to continue to share any new products I find that are worth looking into. I've supplied links to all of the products above. Please consider looking into ways to save our environment where you can.

I hope 2008 is a healther more loving year then ever before for everyone. Happy New Year! All our love.
Candice