Happy Days Are Here Again!

Well, I can finally stop complaining for once! After a long time of Alex being miserable, he has been a happy kid for 6 straight days. He is smiling, laughing, playing, and just seems like a happy kid. It is such a relief! We were so exhausted, and frustrated, with everything, and it's SO nice to see him feeling better!


I have started babysitting an 8-month-old girl, Jocelyn, one morning a week from 8-12. It's great -- a little extra spending money for us, but not so much of a commitment for me. Plus, Alex loves playing with her. They play so well together, I'm not sure what I'm getting paid for. It's like entertainment for him. Here is a picture of the two of them.
Let's see, what else? Well, we have been making some major life changes lately. For those of you who don't already know, we have decided to make our house TV free. That's right, we canceled our cable. We decided that we are wasting too much time just sitting in front of the tv when there are better things to do. Plus, we don't want Alex growing up to be a tv junkie. So we now have one tv, in the basement, just for DVDs. I will still watch a show or two online -- for FREE instead of $65 a month -- but on many days we don't watch anything at all. This is something I never thought I would be able to do, but I honestly don't miss it. Plus, Grey's Anatomy is on abc.com anyway!

Also, we have made a decision to be more health and earth conscious. One of the ways we are doing this is by eating organically. We have been visiting different farmers markets and stores looking for produce that is grown without chemicals, and food that is free of MSG and high fructose corn syrup. We want to know exactly what we are eating and where it is coming from! Of most importance to us is dairy and egg products. Not only does most milk come from cows who are injected with all kinds of hormones that make cows miserable just to make more milk for more profit, but many cows and chickens live their lives in crowded pens with no access to pasture, and literally no room to turn around because they just jam a bunch of them together. This happens even with products that are labeled organic, sometimes, because even organic food is becoming a big business, with profit becoming the bottom line. So, we are looking for better alternatives.

We discovered a great local farm the other day. They have a wonderful little store that sells eggs and meat from their farm. When you go there, you see all their animals wandering about the farm and living a good life. Not only are they not given any hormones or antibiotics, but they look very well cared for. So we are happy to buy eggs and meat from them. We are still looking for places to buy milk and cheese, from an environment that treats their animals in a similar way.

Sorry to sound preachy, but the more we read about this, the more we feel compelled to act more responsibly, in the way we eat and consume, and in the way we raise our little man. Who knows, maybe it's an early midlife crisis as I get ready to hit the big 3-0 (Nov. 15, for those of you who would like to send cards or cash donations).

By the way, Alex is STILL only taking a few steps at a time. No progress in the past month. But at LEAST he's not crying all day!

Also, if you actually READ this blog, leave me a comment and let me know! After so many weeks of "0 comments" I'm starting to wonder if my time would be better used doing something else!

And that's what's happening on Boomerang Drive this week!

-- Holly