Toxic Toys

I try to be thrifty with my toy purchases, but also safe. I am fully aware of the risks of lead paint and BPA in children's toys, especially with my little Imp who mouths everything still at 13 months. But if one is being thrifty, buying things at garage sales and consignment shops and such, how is one supposed to know what is and isn't safe?

I recently got excited about a sale on Melissa and Doug toys on Amazon. Select toys were 50% off, and I was considering stocking up on a few things that I figure Imp will be in to in the next year or so. Then I started reading some of the reviews, and one of them stated that the reviewer had taken advantage of a free lead testing for toys being run by her children's school and found that some of the M&D toys contained lead paint. M&D assure everyone that they meet all standards, but of course, people started emphasizing that M&D toys are made in China and what would you expect, etc. So the assumption is, if it's made in China, it's likely toxic?

Of course, I started Googling, as I am apt to do, and started finding other info about toxic substances in toys that are supposed to be safe. Many other mom bloggers have commented on the issue, some with personal experience. There were recalls for M&D toys in Canada for too much barium, Thomas the Train toys in 2007 for lead, and more. I bought a large lot of Thomas the Train toys at a yard sale a few years ago, and now am freaking out that some may contain toxic levels of lead. I have no idea where they came from or if they fall into that category because I bought them second hand. I suppose I could get a lead testing kit, but is that overkill?

I try so hard to keep toxins out of my son, but it seems that it is difficult to do so and still be on a budget. I tried to keep much of his food organic during the first year, but it gets expensive -- so I compromised and just bought organic things that are on the "Dirty Dozen" list (http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214). I tried to by safe teethers and such, but I admit to letting him chew on things that may not be totally lead free. One of his favorite toys is a fake pumpkin we got at a Halloween party -- with "Made in China" clearly stamped on the bottom. Should I take it away? Or am I just being paranoid?

It's frustrating that one has to do so much research just to be safe, and then one wonders if one is just being ridiculously over cautious. One of Imp's favorite snacks is produced in China (Baby Mum-mums) and I feel a little weird every time I give them to him even though they are widely produced and sold here in the US with no worries. I'm sure they are safe, but the media and over-Googling has made my worry-meter stay on a rather high level with regards to such things. What's a mom to do?

A Clean House

Some days, I think I should rename this blog to "I Understand my Mother Now". How she managed to keep us un-buried from all our assorted toys, clothes, papers, and other assorted stuff with 8 entropy generating factories (7 children and one Father... love you Dad, but you know it's true) is honestly amazing to me. I mean, we were slobs. Every one of us. And there were SEVEN children. I have one. ONE. He barely walks, and we keep him mostly confined to two rooms in the apartment. And yet... the mess... it builds...

We managed to keep it from looking like this, but how Mom did is a wonder...

This weekend, Husband and I significantly rearranged the apartment, swapping our bed for the futon. Imp seems to sleep so much better in his own room, and we were getting serious old-person-aches from sleeping on the futon mattress, so we decided that as odd as a queen bed in the living room might look to outsiders, it was well worth the weirdness to have a comfortable night's sleep. Of course, moving such large pieces of furniture means you find all sorts of nasties that have been hiding -- as I commented to Husband about one of the dust bunnies "I didn't know we had another cat."

They were everywhere...

Imp was out with Aunt Nanny while we rearranged and cleaned, and we managed to get the place in some semblance of order, at least for the bedroom and the living room. But it was really only those two rooms. We have issues with the others. The kitchen, despite Husband's best efforts, always seems like it's struggling to empty all of it's cupboards onto the counters and table and cover them with food; the bathroom, despite my best efforts, is a long term refuge for soap scum; let's not even get into the dining room table or desk. Those two horizontal surfaces, strategically placed in the center of the apartment, are often chest high in mail, Amazon.com shipping boxes, pacifiers, socks, and whatever else finds it's way there (currently there is also a sewing machine, which I have manged to practice on, but not actually gotten to using for it's intended purpose). 

Kinda like that...

I used to not care. My bedroom as a child was typically one of the most disastrous. But somewhere in my mid-twenties, I developed a need to have clean space to work and live. Maybe it was because I started entertaining people. Maybe it was just that I finally got tired of wading through clothes on the floor to get out my bedroom door. Whatever it was, I really started liking having clean living space. When I moved in with my Husband, we managed to keep the place relatively clutter free, and frequently had people over. Now, I live in fear that a friend will stop by and want to use the bathroom. People have suggested splurging on a maid, but I don't really think most cleaning services deal with clutter, which is a good portion of my problem. My mother always said "a place for everything, and everything in it's place". I really do try to follow that mantra, but where did she ever find the time, especially once she started working again when I was in high school? Again, I only have ONE kid. How did she do it with SEVEN? 

I'm sure she longed for this kind of discipline.

So, Mom, I now understand one more thing about why you got so frustrated with us when we didn't clean our rooms. I am in awe of how the house managed to stay as clean as it did. I apologize for my part in the entropy. We have already started trying to train Imp that cleaning up his toys can be fun. Maybe, we can instill a love of a clean living space in him before he's in his 20s. I'm sure you tried, Mom. Entropy is not our friend.