Happy Earth Day ~

Did anyone do anything cool to "love your mother" today?

Obviously -- every day is Earth Day. But - it's kind of fun to see all of the extra things businesses are doing. For instance, Disney launched a new line of cute eco-shirts and reusable bags. I imagine that this will grow into more of their product lines in the future. I know Home Depot was giving away Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (and letting people know that they recycle old CFL Bulbs). Also, an organization that I am on the board has been doing a lecture series all month -- and they gave away water conservation kits to everyone who attended the lecture this week as well as a couple of rain barrels. Hey it's one day that people think about what should happen all year... whatever gets people motivated, right?!

We had a good day. We went to the library for storytime and songs. Mercer's favorite part - by far - is the bubbles. He can now walk around and "chase" them. Before he'd just watch the other kids and say oooohhhh. It's a little hard to see, but he's wearing his (Tree) Hugger t-shirt that a neighbor made for him. The tree is a picture sewed on instead of a word. One-of-a-kind! His friend Brody is there in the background. It was his first time at the storytime. Brody was a little skeptical / hung out with his mom the whole time, but ventured a few steps in front of her once the bubbles came out. Mercer used to do the same thing -- watch and observe, but now that he's mobile and comfortable, well, there's no stopping him -- especially during bubble time.

We had a heating & air conditioning rep come to the house today to look at our system / give us a quote for a new one. We're not taking the plunge yet, but ironically it was on Earth Day that we were talking about efficient systems... and talking about offsetting costs a bit by applying a federal tax deduction. (FYI you can go to http://www.dsireusa.org/ to check out incentives if you have a need for a new HVAC system / efficient water heating / anything solar).

Oh... we have a new member of the family. His name is Thomas. He's a train. I feel that he will be a major part of our lives for the next few years. He joined us just before Easter. Todd's mom sent down a box of the trains, tracks, and bridges from the nursery school that they closed down when she and her partner retired last year. He LOVED LOVED LOVED them. This past weekend, our neighbors were having a yard sale and guess what was there: a ton of Thomas stuff. A train table... a round-house... a crane... a bunch of engines and track. Of course we bought some of it. (We didn't how much this stuff costs "retail" 'til this weekend / talking with our neighbor. Mental note - NEVER buy it new... ALWAYS buy it 2nd hand! There's no reason it should cost so much, honestly.) Mercer says "too too" sort of like "choo choo" when he plays with them. Todd was noticing that this is something that he self-entertains with and he can play with it for 15 minutes on his own. Yay!

There was another "first" today (I know he will be upset one day when he's a teenager for me posting this on the blog): Mercer played with poo. I occasionally let him "go free" around the house or when he naps b/c I just don't think that being cooped up in a diaper 24/7 is healthy. Well, I had him in these loose-fitting shorts for his afternoon nap. I knew he was awake and playing in his crib, but I was trying to get some work done, and, well... the rest is history. All I will say is that when I got in there, he was having fun. For the next 1/2 hour or so, I was scrubbing down the crib rails and Mercer, but couldn't be upset. I had to laugh. Good times!?

I can't think of anything exciting really. All is well on our end. Hope the same is true on yours.
Candice