Have you heard of Good Guide

Remember you read it here first. GoodGuide.com is a website that rates products that are good for you. GoodGuide's mission is to help you find safe, healthy, and green products that are better for you and the planet. You can do a search for your favorite product and then determine how good it is. Did you know that Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo, the most popular selling product, has a carcinogen in it? It is not intentional but is a byproduct of their production process.

This company uses scientific data to rate products. I was amazed to search for products that I use like deodorant, laundry soap and perfume. You can create a shopping list with alternative products (just in case your local Target doesn't carry your target product). While you are out shopping you can also text the UPC code to GoodGuide and receive a text back. Pretty Cool! They will also be launching an iPhone app in a few weeks. (I wish I had an iPhone to test it.)

Go check it out! www.goodguide.com

Jamaica's Independence

Jamaica is celebrating their 46th year of independence from British rule this week. And I am so very proud and honored to be able to say that I am Jamaican.
I read an article this week about the varied people of Jamaica and this is true and evident in my own family. I am planning a trip to Jamaica in October for my Dad's birthday and could make it a destination photo shoot if any is interested please contact me.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

My sister shared this with me and I thought I'd share it with you.

This is for the mothers who have sat up

all night with sick toddlers in their arms,

wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer

wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying,

"It's okay honey, Mommy's here."

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who show up at

work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains

on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and

make cookies and sew Halloween costumes.

And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to

babies they'll never see. And the mothers

who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art

collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars.
And that when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't

have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with

their children and explained all about making

babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who

wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go

hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read "Goodnight,

Moon" twice a night for a year. And then

read it again, "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught

their children to tie their shoelaces before

they started school. And for all the mothers

who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons

to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?"

in a crowd, even though they know their

own offspring are at home -- or even away

at college -- or have their own families.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids

to school with stomach aches, assuring them

they'd be just FINE once they got there, only

to get calls from the school nurse an hour later

asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone

astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they

bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of

recent school shootings, and the mothers

of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their

children to be peaceful, and now pray

they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good mother anyway?

Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?
The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and

sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart?
Is it the ache she feels when she

watches her son or daughter disappear

down the street, walking to school alone

for the very first time?

The jolt that takes her from sleep to

dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put

her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again

at 2 A.M. when she just wants to hear

their key in the door and know they

are safe again in her home?

Or the need to flee from wherever she is

and hug her child when she hears news

of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are

universal and so our thoughts are for

young mothers stumbling through diaper

changes and sleep deprivation...

And for mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us...

Hang in there. In the end we can

only do the best we can. Tell them

every day that we love them. And pray

and never stop being a mother...

"Home is what catches you when

you fall - and we all fall."

Olivia's walking

As a working mother, it hard to know to that many of your child's first may happen when they are away from you. But 2 nights ago our little Livi took her first steps and I was there to witness it and cherish it. As a mother, I sometimes look back and think what could I have done differently with my first child. The biggest regret is not spending more time. We can't get the time back so I am learning with these two little ones to slow down and just be in awe and wonderment of them each day.