The Fourth of July is coming up, and I just wanted to remind everyone to stick to the Safe and Sane fireworks if they plan to light up the night. Or better yet, go to a professional show (which would be the better choice considering the smoky tinderbox that California is right now). The one at BC is awesome (click here for ticket information)! But please, please, please don't use illegal fireworks!

If you have been following the recent story of the burning the old Tehachapi train depot, then you are aware that the fire was caused by a couple of drunk guys lighting off illegal fireworks. It's such a sad loss for the community, and it was so unneccesary.

Illegal fireworks are illegal for good reason. They are dangerous! They can seriously injure or kill you or innocent bystanders and can cause fires on other people's property (as well as your own). And don't forget, if you are caught with illegal fireworks, you will be fined. And there WILL be a lot of reporting, patrolling, and giving out citations for them over the holiday.

Oh, one last thing about illegal fireworks. They are really annoying to those of us with small children and pets who are frightened by the loud noises. Yes, the Safe and Sane fireworks are noisy too, but they stay on the ground in front of your house instead of going up into the sky for everyone for several blocks around you to see and hear.

It would be really nice if people would not use fireworks this year and give everyone a break from the awful air quality we've been subjected to this last week, but that is not going to happen. So, if you do choose to use Safe and Sane fireworks, please be sure to use them safely! Keep a bucket of water nearby, do not light them near anything that could catch fire, and do not let children light them.

OK, hopping off of my soapbox now. :) I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Independence Day!

My little girl came over to me this morning and said "Eat.... nana". She was hungry, and she wanted a banana! She did it so cutely too--pointing to her mouth with both hands. It made me giggle.

My son often wants grapes, apples, or watermelon, too. :) It makes me feel good when they want stuff like that. I need to start keeping more fruit around the house again. We used to keep a lot of different kinds when the boy was younger, but he has developed favorites and I've stopped buying some of the other stuff. But I should get some to offer to the girl--she might like some more variety.

I was so excited to see the story on cloth diapers this evening on the KGET news. I use cloth diapers on my children, and I feel a little bit like the wierd kid sometimes, as I have never actually met anyone outside of the internet who currently cloth diapers their child. But I know it is totally worth it for me. I really enjoy putting those comfortable and cute diapers on their bums, and I feel better knowing that I am not tossing piles of disposable diapers into the landfill to sit for hundreds of years. It is just a couple of extra loads of laundry a week, and while we do still use disposable diapers when we are out and about, we don't have to buy nearly as many as we were when we used disposables all of the time. So, yay! I know cloth is not for everyone, but I really enjoyed seeing a story that shows that it is not as hard/yucky/unattractive as many people think it is.

Here's a link to the story that KGET ran (but it's hosted on another NBC site): Cloth Diapers Making a Comeback

larger view

We went out on the lake with my brother and sis-in-law in their new boat today. I wasn't sure what to expect from my kiddoes, but they did wonderfully. The water was smooth as glass, and we had a great time watching my dad, brother, and father-in-law ski, wakeboard, and "surf" behind the boat. My daughter kept falling asleep every time the boat was running consistently for more than a few minutes, and my son kept telling everyone he wanted the boat to go faster. He also really wanted to get out into the water, but when we took him for a swim he didn't really like it because the life jacket held him up differently than the water wings he is used to in our pool at home. The kids were exhausted in the afternoon and slept like rocks in the car on the way home. :) It was a fun day today.

We have a blue curbside recycling can. I think there is one other person on our street with one. We've had it for over a year, and we love it! With kids you generate so much more waste (think birthdays and Christmas), and when we got the blue can we noticed right away the big difference it made in the amount of trash that went out every week. We have had times when the blue can is overflowing, but I can't even think of the last time our brown can was even close to full :).  And talk about convenient! We used to load up the car every week or so with recyclables, and drive to one of those neighborhood drop-off places. But it wasn't very convenient, and we ended up throwing some recyclable stuff away when the box we stored it in was full. But now, we can save ALL of our recyclable stuff. My only complaint is that the only plastics they want are #1 and #2. I wish they would take it all, and maybe they will eventually.

I love the blue can.

I put up a baby gate for the first time in a long time today. We had one up for a while when the boy was younger, but it ripped holes in the drywall and wouldn't stay up anymore after he kept climbing on it. Anyway, I'm going to give it another try. I got tired of my husband letting the kids into the office while he's balancing the checkbook, and them subsequently making a mess of the room. Plus, it's not childproofed, and there are dangerous things in there that they just need to stay away from.

So, I put up a baby gate in the doorway to the office today. LOL! The first thing they did was try to open it. When that didn't happen immediately, they started climbing up it. Still no luck getting in, so now they're taking toys and balls and dropping them into the office and then whining that they want them back. It is a little frustrating, but it's hilarious at the same time. I was kinda hoping to keep the airflow of the house going through the office, too, but I guess I'll have to just keep that door shut when no one's in there anyway, even with the gate on it. The kids are just too interested in the workings of the gate and trying to figure out how to get in there to keep the door open when no one's in there.

Really, I do. I have all of these plans to organize my life, to get rid of the clutter, to make my house efficient. But life keeps getting in the way. That pile of stuff multiplies, and even though I go through that pile and make it smaller from time to time, it never does seem to go away. And that book that I picked up at the bookstore looks so much more tempting while the kids are napping than cleaning off my desk.

I have good intentions. I think in my head about all of the nice organizational items I am going to go buy, and then fill up and place in their designated areas. But then I think of how we should buy the kids new shoes first, or save up for our vacation coming up next month.

I save all of the neat little souvenirs and papers from life that would be so cute in the kids' scrapbooks, but have yet to actually crack open the scrapbooks and put them in there. I've put together ONE whole page, and that was before my son was born! So much stuff is just sitting in a pile, but I'm finally starting to plan a way to organize it all until I get around to putting it into scrapbooks.

The stuff that we don't need/use/want anymore I just can't seem to throw out. I can't decide if we should save it for that hypothetical yard sale, try selling the best stuff on eBay, or just bag it all up for Goodwill and be done with it.

One of these days I'll just do it. I'll get sick of the mess and the clutter, and really go to town. :) When/if that ever happens, I'll be sure to take pictures. Maybe I'll scrapbook about it!