A Conference, an Animal Rescue, Some Rain, and a Festival

Thursday, I made the short drive over the blue bridge to Frederick, MD for a conference. It was just like it always is...a big cold crowded hotel conference room full of strangers on uncomfortable chairs. But the subject matter was interesting this time. The morning session focused on current research regarding the link between toxins and autism. I won't go into detail, but toxins are BAD. And we are faced with them daily. And there's not a whole lot you can do about it. But there are a few easy things you CAN do (if you want) to reduce exposure to toxins for you and your family:

• Do not microwave food in plastic containers of any kind.


• Avoid styrofoam, especially if it contains hot things (ie. coffee). Styrofoam is bad.


• Avoid plastics with a recycle number of 3 or 6 (that's the number in the little triangle).


• Wash your fruits and vegetables. Buy organic if you can. Pesticides are bad. (Fact: Children of farmers have a higher incidence of autism).


• CFL lightbulbs contain mercury which can be released if broken. Mercury is bad.


• Avoid un-natural food dyes. Like in Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms.

None of these things are hard to do. They won't hurt, and they might help.

Slightly related: Did y'all see Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution in LA last week...specifically the segment about ground beef? Holy crap. Jamie Oliver can be a little over the top at times, but I truly believe that HE truly believes in what he's doing. He cares. Good for him. Fight the power, Jamie. I'm right there with ya. Please tell me how I can get flavored milk out my kid's school before she starts kindergarten. I will do whatever I have to do.

On a completely different note, Kev is awesome. For lots of reasons. But this time, specifically, because he rid our walls of the squirrel family which had taken up residence there. First, after a false start in which he accidentally trapped a 'possom, he trapped the Mama Squirrel:

She was really mad, but she was not hurt. She then waited in the trap while Kev cut into the drywall and fished out the babies:

Sadly, only one of the two babies was still alive. Meet Theodore:

We then took a family trip out to the country and released Theodore and his Mama into the woods of Hogback Mountain. Theodore's new nest is inside this hollow log:

Then, poor Kev completed the gruesome task of removing Theodore's brother. Daphne doesn't know about that. I kept her outside. Poor little thing. Poor Kev. Shudder. Anyway, Kev is a big hero around here. And he saved us the $450 that the squirrel removal professionals wanted us to pay for the same job. I was no help at all. I sat far away, up on a chair in case of escaped angry squirrels. Good thing we don't live in pioneer times.

So, YAY! Our house is critter-free!

Saturday, it rained ALL DAY. Soccer was cancelled for the third week in a row. Kev and Daphne had a campout in the playroom:

And Daphne and I baked some chocolate chip cookies for a snack:

Yesterday, the sun came out, so we went to the Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival with my mom and dad. It was a little crowded, but not too bad. Daphne got her face painted and collected treasures like balloons, stickers, seed packets, and so forth. And she hung out with Grandma and Grandpa while Kev and I strolled around and went to the wine and beer garden. We came home with a giant rug for our porch made completely from recycled pastic bottles (I hope not #3 or #6!) and a hanging plant container. Our porch is such a happy place now. If only we could sit on it. Every day is rainy or chilly. It is mid-April, and I have gone outside without a coat only 2 or 3 times. I keep putting off getting a pedicure because it's too cold for flip flops. This has really been a weird Spring. It was a weird winter too. Who knows what the summer will be like. I want to ride my bike, though. We're thinking about doing Bike DC this year, which is a 20 mile bike ride around the District (the roads are closed to cars). But I feel like I need to do at least a LITTLE training in case of hills before I attempt something like that.

It's Spring Break now, and Easter next weekend. There probably won't be a lot of blogging going on this week, so have a Happy Easter, and I'll be back soon. Hopefully with no tales of wildlife rescues or critter invasions. Which reminds me...I better make sure Kev picked up all the squirrel traps. Wouldn't want to catch the Easter Bunny!