You Get What You Pay For

Howdy Folks!

I know I usually use this blog to update people on how we are doing, so I want to begin by saying that we are doing fine. Joe and I started teaching again at Kestrel after Winter Break and Nayeli is back in the care of our nanny, Kristina, for half the day.

I did want to update people as to Nayeli's health status. As you might or might not know, Nayeli was found to have high levels of lead in her system, 14 micrograms to be exact, after having blood drawn at the beginning of December. Because of this I've been a one-woman research team bent on knowing as much possible about this serious situation. The national average of lead in a person's body is 1 microgram and the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control and Prevention state that any lead level over 10 micrograms is very serious. From the research I've read on numerous websites, any level of lead is dangerous in the human body. It only takes 2 micrograms of lead to increase your risk by 89% of heart disease, heart attack, as well as increase your risk of death by stroke! Blood lead levels below 10 micrograms have been reported to be associated with lower IQ and behavior problems such as aggression, in proportion with blood lead levels. Between the blood lead levels of 5 and 35 microgram, an IQ decrease of 2–4 points for each microgram increase is reported in children. Lead in the human body is no joke!

The reason I am writing about this is because we live in Arizona, in a condo that was built after 1978, the year in which lead-based paint was banned, and well after the switch from lead water pipes to other piping material. That leaves only 4 places from where this exposure can be coming from: Nayeli's toys, our dishes and cups, the ammunition for Joe's guns, or the soil around our condo complex. I'm in the process of receiving test kits from the ONLY social worker in Arizona employed to follow, educate, and help the 300 children in this state with lead levels over 10 micrograms. In a week we will hopefully know the exact source of the lead contamination and I will keep you all updated. Just so you know, it only takes a few exposures to high levels of lead to raise your level over 10 micrograms, but it takes over 1 year to clear your body of it, once you are removed from the source of contamination.

The reason for the title of this entry is because amongst all the research I've done, I've come to notice that almost everything in our house comes from another country, overwhelmingly from China. All of Nayeli's toys , with the exception of one book (which is from Taiwan), and many of her clothes & shoes are from China. Knowing that the lead could be coming from a toy led me to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission website (www.cpsc.gov) which lists all toy recalls for various violations, including lead-based paint violations, from 1973 to present. Since July 5, 2001 there have been easily over 200 KNOWN products that have been imported to the USA and manufactured mainly in China--anything from furniture to make-up to school supplies to clothes, but mainly children's toys, that have been recalled for lead-based paint violations. Why does the US ban the manufacture and distribution of lead-based products on its own soil, but then opens its trade doors wide open to flagrant and frequent violators of the laws put in place to protect our children's (and our) health? Only one reason--economics and capitalism, as in the pursuit of the all-mighty dollar at the expense and detriment of others.

I am not completely guiltless in this situation. I am just as guilty as the CEOs of those greedy corporations who outsource jobs and companies to China, in that I am always searching for rock bottom prices. I'm always in the pursuit of stretching that all-mighty dollar, knowingly purchasing items from other countries because it's cheaper and ignoring /denying the effect it has on my family, our health, the health of the Chinese workers, the environment, the global economy, etc. After all, times are tight and we have to look out for ourselves...right? As it turns out, you can only deny things for so long before it catches up with you, and in this case through the health of the most important thing in my world...my daughter.

So I just want everyone out there who took time to read this lengthy blog entry, that you don't just have to live in the Midwest or east to be aware and sensitive to the dangers of lead-based paint. I hate to sound like Fox News, but it can happen to any family, anywhere. Just beware of buying things on the cheap--they are cheap for a reason. After all, you get what you pay for.

More pics from the our summer adventures

(Nayeli's first swimming pool experience was at Prescott Valley's community pool. It cost us $5 for us to swim in a really nice salt water pool. She wasn't quite sure if she liked it or not at first, but after getting accustomed to the water she loved it. Here she's with her tia Claudia at the shallow end.)

(Total daddy's girl if you can't tell by the picture!)

(Also a little diva....)

(Some more climbing shots.)

(Joe insisted that I put this one on the blog--wanted everyone to see his belaying skills!)

Claudia Does Prescott

This past July my sister, Claudia, came to visit us in Prescott for 2 weeks! It was awesome to have her here and have her go through many of Nayeli's 1st experiences with us: Nayeli's 1st camping trip, Nayeli's 1st climbing excursion, Nayeli's 1st mountain lion sighting, Nayeli's 1st visit to a shooting range, Nayeli's 1st swim in a pool....do you like how I stuck the scary stuff in the middle of the list and ended with something relatively safe to distract you from it?:) Her 2 weeks here flew past, but it was great while it lasted. Here are just some pictures of our adventures:
(We took Claudia climbing at Boulderlands near Granite Mtn. and she was able to complete a pretty tough climb--also losing some skin in the process! Gotta love climbing!)

(This was Nayeli's first camping trip at Mingus Mountain campground. She did awesome! We had a pretty big animal visit our campsite in the evening while we were sleeping {it even sniffed our tents...we heard it's breathe} and Joe had to run out of our tent in his undies wielding his firearm in the dark...our hero!)

(Going anywhere with a child is no easy task! Just look at all the stuff we brought for one night of camping! We almost lost the baby amongst our pile of stuff...)

(Nayeli hanging out in the pack n' play at her first climbing excursion at the Promised Lands! As soon as we set up our spot, we heard and saw the shadow of a mountain lion above us! After giving Joe warning {he was setting up the climbs} he spotted the crazy cougar who then charged at Joe who had to use his trusty firearm to scare it off! We quickly repacked our things and high tailed it outta there looking over our shoulders every 30 seconds...)

(Nayeli is the picture of coolness even after hearing a mountain lion screech! She's just happy to be in the shade and out of that crazy backpack we always stuff her into!)

Father's Day Pictures

So, here we are again playing catch up:) Wanted to share some cool Father's Day pictures with y'all! For Father's Day we traveled up to Flagstaff and took a ride on the Sky Ride, a chair lift normally for skiing Snow Bowl, the ski resort. During the summer, they allow people to ride up to the summit of Mt. Humphreys and it is SPECTACULAR! The pictures really don't do it justice. On that day we had the honor of being the very last people allowed on the lift and we were the only ones on the summit taking pictures. Afterwards, we strolled around downtown Flagstaff and ate an amazing dinner at a restaurant whose name escapes me, even though we eat there everytime we visit the area! All in all it was a fabulous day and we thoroughly enjoyed introducing Nayeli to magnificent vistas of Arizona and to Flagstaff!(The Devine-Benitez Family at the top of Arizona! We're the King & Queens of the Mountain!)

(It was 34 degrees at the top of the Mtn. so Nayeli had to be bundled like a snowbaby.)

(Trying to let my hair down and look casual, but really I'm cold & I have to pee.)

(The summit is over 12,000 ft. above sea level--this was the last sign on the lift before getting off.)

(Baby Nayeli takes almost everything in stride. She was totally mellow on the ride up--it was mom that was freaking out that we'd get stuck on the lift, or a bee would sting Joe who would accidentally let go off Nayeli, or we'd get hit by lightening, or....any other impossible scenario that could occur!)

Our life revolves around...

Nayeli! I think we should just rename this blog to Nayeli's World because that's all I can seem to write about! We really do do other things besides take pictures of our child, I swear! I'm currently back in real estate helping my good friends buy their first home in the Prescott area. There are so many new financing programs for first time home buyers and so many foreclosures that, if you have the savings, good credit, and steady job, it really is a terrific time to buy a home in this area.

Ok, back to what's really interesting...here are some more cute pictures of Nayeli! :)

(Just lounging around in my PJs.)

(Mom & Gypsy tag team kissing me!)

(Look! I can stick out my tongue!)

(I love my exersaucer!)

(Looking like a duck after my bath.)

Random Pictures...

We just love this little human being so much...sometimes we feel like just hugging and kissing her to pieces!(I get love from my daddy all the time! I'm definitely a daddy's girl!)

(I get love from my momma too! I love it when she kisses my ears and cheeks!)

(I can sit up almost all by myself! Sometimes I need a little help though...)

(Look at my baby push-up! The yoga mat's sticky mat sure helps me get a grip. Now all I need is to get my legs under me so that I can start to crawl and raise some havoc!)

(The family all dressed up at Kestrel's graduation! This picture of us all dressed up is as rare as the endangered snow leopard!)

School's Out for Summer! School's Out Forever! (Well, almost...)

We're free! Yipee! Well, Joe is at least, and I'm only free for one week until I have to go back to teach summer school. Our last official day of school was this past Thursday and I don't think I've ever seen the teachers as excited! Now that there's extra time I don't have to play catch up on the blog, at least until June 1.
Here's what's happened thus far:
Nayeli started eating solids! She's a big fan of eating rice cereal. Pretty soon here we'll be feeding her fruits & vegetables and we'll be sure to have a camera on hand for those reactions!
(Yummy! I'm a slave to the spoon! I go into a trance when it is near my mouth....!)

(I'm certainly my daddy's daughter because I finish all my food and then I yell for some more!)

Last week, Joe took his Wilderness class out camping & hiking and Nayeli and I were left to fend for ourselves. Our neighbor, Betty, came to tell me not to go into my carport because she saw a snake slither into it and she wasn't sure if it was a rattle snake or a bull snake. I went down a couple of times with a flashlight to see if I could see it, but no luck. I could hear it though--the snake was big enough to move Joe's 19 foot fiberglass sea kayak around, which was enough to send me and Nayeli running back up our stairs. A professional snake wrangler came to remove the snake and he said that it was the biggest snake he's seen thus far in the season. He guestimated that it was around 6'6'' long when it wasn't constricted. Here are some cool shots of it: