It's Officially Summer!

Maybe not on the calendar, but in the Gabel home summer is officially here. Mitch's last day of school was today. This is how he celebrated:



He and Ella both went to bed at 7:30 PM. I have never looked so forward to having him home. Usually it's difficult fitting Daddy in to our "schedule". But with the morning sickness and exhaustion, I'm looking forward to doing absolutely nothing for the next 10 weeks.

The Bed is Empty

The extra bed in Ella's room is officially empty -- for exactly one week. Then Sarah arrives. My mom and sister left this afternoon on a 4 day trek back to Michigan. It was very hard to see them go. Babcia spoiled us rotten while she was here -- she cooked, cleaned, took us shopping, and played and played with Ella.




We also said good-bye to a furry friend today. Our cat, Violet, is on her way back to Michigan to live with grandma and grandpa. It was a hard decision, but 3 cats is too much. Violet and my mom have a special bond -- that cat LOVES my mother! Vi is never happier than when my mom is here visiting because of all the attention she receives. I know she'll be supremely happy and spoiled rotten with my parents. But I'll still miss her.

It's Ugly, but Necessary

Our computer is in our living room out of necessity -- we don't have anywhere else to put it. I hate it. It doesn't make for the best living room decor. I have been itching to get a place with another bedroom to use as an office and to hide the computer! But then I got thinking.

My husband and I are both computer savvy. We both have blogs; we are both on Facebook; we avoid MySpace, but we know how to get on and look around. We both have used chat rooms in the past (we met through an on-line personal!). I was 23 when I ventured in to chat rooms out of sheer curiosity and was SHOCKED at what I discovered. I heard friends talking about them and wanted to see what it was all about.

Sarah is now 8.5 years old and is very active on-line with Club Penguin, Webkinz, ePets, etc. It is only a matter of time before she gets in to chatting with friends on-line, especially when she is here and they are across the country. Sarah is a fabulous girl (and I'm not just saying that because she's family) and she would rather be banned for TV for life than disappoint anyone, much less a parent. But if curiosity got to me at 23, I can only imagine when it will find her -- even by accident.

So for now, the computer will stay in the living room even if there is somewhere else to put it. I want to be able to watch over her shoulder to make sure all is well. I don't think kids have a right to privacy (yes, I know -- many parents do). It's our job as parents to teach them and steer them in the right direction. It is definitely a balancing act of allowing a growing person to have some independence, but with limitations until they are capable of making wise decisions.

The Girl Loves Shoes

Ella has been quite frustrated that her shoes do not show off her newly painted toe nails. She loves her Crocs, but they hide her "bubbles"! She has a pair of flip flops that she loves to wear, but the kept falling off. So yesterday we went on a hunt for flip flops with elastic on the back.

We hit three stores before I found some -- and by this point Ella was BORED. In the midst of a meltdown, I asked her if she wanted to try on shoes. She immediately sat down and stuck out her feet. I think she would have sat there all day trying on shoes! Later in the evening Babcia brought home some new PJs for Ella and new shoes for Mommy. The PJs were tossed on the ground so Ella could try on and walk around in my new shoes.

I think we're in serious trouble! She always picks out her own shoes to wear and refuses to wear anything BUT those shoes.

Going Organic in the Bath

Yesterday we headed to a larger Whole Foods store than one near our home and we were able to locate the California Baby sunscreen I was looking for. We also replaced Ella's shampoo/body wash and hair detangler with California Baby products. It was not cheap! The sunscreen was $18 for 2.5 oz; the hair wash and detanlger were each $10 for 8.5 ounces. We also picked up some of Whole Foods's store brand mint shampoo and conditioner for Sarah. I checked the ingredients and I think they would work for Ella, too. At $1.99 each for 16 oz they are a great deal! They do have fragrance in them (which is on the "try to avoid" ingredient list), but I'm guessing on organic grocery store brand will have safer fragrances than the mainstream items.

I also ordered Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen, Sensitive on-line as the 2.5 oz of California Baby won't last long. The Blue Lizard is about $10-$12 for 5 ounces. I had to pay shipping, but I swear I've seen it around here in a store somewhere -- I just can't figure out where.

When we got home from Whole Foods I went through the house and checked on ingredients in our bath supplies. I was appalled to find my Boudreaux's Butt Paste is 100% Boric Acid, which is unsafe for infants according to industry experts. Um, so we're making diaper rash cream out of it?!?! Since Sarah was 3 I've been using Suave for Kids Detangling Spray and I've been using it on Ella as well. The back of that bottle (and the website I linked above) stated that it was not intended for use on infants or toddlers! It's packaged for kids so I never thought twice about using it on Sarah or Ella. Lesson learned -- read the ingredient list of everything before purchasing! Did you know air freshener sprays (like Glade) don't even have an ingredient list on them? Those went in the trash can as well.

I'm not an alarmist and I'm not a hovering-parent type at all, but I can't get past the fact that I've been using all these products never thinking about the chemicals they contain. I just bought what was on the shelf without questioning. Now, I'm questioning and changing our lifestyle accordingly.

Bags Aren't Just for Cats

Our cat, Violet, loves to play in empty shopping bags so my mom put out an empty bag for her to play in last night. This morning I turned around to find Ella in the bag instead (she's saying "cheese" through that mass of hair!).

Ella's "Bubbles"

Ella has been fascinated with her Aunt Michelle's painted toe nails for the past several months. When Babcia (her grandma) showed up with painted toe nails, Ella fell in love again with Babcia's "Mimi's". Yesterday afternoon Mimi told Ella that if she sat very still, Mimi would paint her toe nails.

Lo and behold, the not-yet-2-year-old who can't sit still for anything sat perfectly still while Mimi painted her toes! Michelle blew on Ella's toes to help them dry quickly. In Ella's world when you blow on something, you get bubbles. Thus she now has pink "bubbles" on her toes.







I wondered of Ella would be a girly girl or not. Sarah is all about pink, purple, glitter, jewelery, long hair and make up -- she is all girl! Looks like I will have at least two fairy princesses in my life.