Gah – It’s been over a week since my last post…what can I say other then I’m a bad blogger.  I seem to only have the patience for 140 characters right now so follow me over on Twitter if you really feel the need to know what I’m thinking right now.

That said, there are some things rattling around in my head lately, mostly little things in life that make me smile.  Not the biggies like my husband or the hysterical kid M is turning into.  Little things, product things that I have recently discovered.  These might be old-news to some but here are some items I’m loving right now:

Charlie’s Soap. I cloth diapered M and plan to do the same with the little man baking in my belly. [Yes, I plan to cloth diaper the baby which I know makes me a dirty liberal hippy. I don’t care; its way, way cheaper then disposables and we’ll end up using a mix of the two like we did for M. Plus cloths are cute and don’t have Elmo all over them.] However, you have to be choosy when picking detergents for cloths because so many leave a residue and then the diapers leak. I liked the brand we used for M but didn’t like that I can’t find it locally and shipping costs are killer.

Enter Charlie’s Soap… I’m in love with this stuff. We’ve only used a couple of weeks and of course no dirty diapers yet but I think I’m a convert. You use only a tablespoon for an entire load, it rinses totally out of clothes and it just smells clean – no fragrance or perfumes. I’ve also noticed that some of our older tshirts that were kinda stinky under the arms now have no stink after a couple of washes. No enzymes or brighteners which can bother sensitive skin and cause diaper rash in cloth babies, either.

I ordered directly from the company in North Carolina – everything is made in the US and they have other non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning products, too. I got a kit that also had the all-purpose cleaner which I’m also digging. I usually just use vinegar and water, but this is doing awesome on grease in the kitchen.  So far I highly recommend it!

Eucerin Calming Body Wash Daily Shower Oil.  Winter is always hard on my skin.  We live in an old house with radiators so humidity in the air is nonexistent.  Plus, I’m starting to get the tight, itchy pregnancy belly with is annoying.  I picked this stuff up at Target on a whim and I love it!  I thought it might be too oily but it’s perfect.  It’s not overly scented and my skin feels so much better since I started using it.

Chia Seeds (salba).  I mentioned these when I talked about my new morning smoothie ritual but now that I’ve been using them for a few weeks I want to gush about them a little.  They have 6 times more calcium than whole milk, 3 times more iron than spinach, the potassium content of 1.5 large bananas, 15 times more magnesium than broccoli, as much vitamin C as 7 oranges, and 3 times the antioxidant capacity of blueberries. On top of that, salba contains natural folate, B vitamins, zinc, selenium, and vitamin A and has more protein than soy.  Here’s the bonus – since they absorb so much liquid, when in the stomach they slow down digestion which stabilizes blood sugar and makes you feel full longer.  I’ve found that on “smoothie mornings” I am not hungry for a solid 5-6 hours after breakfast.  And since ounce for ounce they have the highest dietary fiber content of any plant food they do help with some other pregnancy-related symptoms. (Ahem)

Jon Stewart.  We DVR the Daily Show since it’s on so late and usually watch several episodes at once. Every time we do I find myself not only laughing but shouting “thank you!” at the TV. I don’t care which side of the aisle you are on; Jon Stewart is as funny as he is right.  He calls BS where he sees it in the political world (which is just about everywhere right now) and isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions and challenge his political guests.  He’s the closest thing we have to “fair and balanced” news on TV – which is kind of sad, considering he’s considered a comedian. If you can watch a show without laughing and agreeing with him on at least one topic, I don’t think I want to know you.

How about you? As we head into the deep freeze, gray month known as February what is making you smile?