well, i sat down with my lead test kit and our thomas the train collection, and let's just say the results were not good.

1. we have 2 items on the recall list. both tested negative.

2. we have a TON of items not on the recall list. many tested positive. the most upsetting item that tested positive is all of the track. you know--the wood track? the UNPAINTED wood track? guess varnish is something to worry about too. my only hope is that the solvent in the lead test kit interacts with the varnish and strips it. but the varnish appears to be clear. basically, it makes no sense. i googled varnish and lead and apparently it is a possibility. i emailed the lead test compan for clarification.

then i did more goggling and searching. last year or so, a nurse identified a metal thomas the train toy as painted with lead paint in the home of a small child with lead poisoning. she notified the cpsc. nothing--NOTHING--was done. (rc2 corp--the company that is responsible--has been cited once before for lead paint in an entirely different toy line.) toys that have been recalled are still on shelves. the illinois attorney general's office has identified toys on the recall list packaged with toys not on the list, and thus not recalled. it literally goes on and on. and makes no sense, unless of course you remember the phenomenal power of greed.

i won't go on, but i have decided to have our thomas the train toys professionally analyzed. with complete, certified documentation. if any of it is positive, and those items are not on the recall list, you can bet that there will be a big noise emanating from the north country.

and THEN you read about all the other stuff we have to worry about. did you know that 50% of our apple juice comes from china? WHY????????? we literally have apples coming out our ears in the US it seems. vitamins, fillers, preservatives, and regular old ingredients are coming from china. perhaps i am naive here, but i was not aware that the ingredients in my cheerios might have crossed the pacific.

i am all for getting poor peasants on their feet and providing them with an entry into the middle class (there was an article to that end in the most recent Atlantic Monthly). but really. do i have to risk my own life and those of my kids for it?

it is just so upsetting. what's next?

on a lighter note, carter, ava and i went for a walk at the VIC (nature center trail system) this afternoon. only 0.6 miles, but perfect for carter. he literally ran the whole way. i am not sure if he knows how to walk.

and now he has a new word that we cannot decipher. "zzhsshaaaaa zzhhsshhaaa" (every time he says it, i unfortunately think of zsa zsa gabor). anyway, ava and i think it is yellow. but it could be telephone, grandma, cheerios, computer, hot dog or dinner. it is a mystery. but the yellow theme seems to be the most logical. 8 times out of 10 he refers to something yellow. but of course, if you ask him what color something is, he says "BUE!" and then laughs, like "no way, you're not going to trick me!"

today i wrote AVA on a piece of paper, and he yelled "AVA!" -- that was pretty great. he clearly has been studying those monogrammed towels.