Back to Basics by Living Green...

Are we inadvertently harming our babies?

2010-02-27T22:20:00.001-05:00

It is hard for a new parent to imagine what parents did before the invent of the plastic, on-the-go sippy cups that have become synonymous with toddlers these days.

One of my goals in my quest to "live natural" is to "go back to basics" (hence the name of my blog). It is my belief that in a lot of ways, going back to the way things used to be done and living natural merge into the same path. However, there are some things to be said for new inventions that make our life easier.

The problem is that many of these so called "wonder inventions" are harming our environment, they are harming our bodies and worst of all...they are harming our children.

I am not against toddlers having sippy cups. I am just against what the manufactures use to make these sippy cups. Most baby bottles and sippy cups are made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol.

Studies have shown that they may leach Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is a known endocrine disruptor, meaning it disturbs the hormonal messaging in our bodies.

There is a link between bisphenol-A and phthalates and early onset of puberty. Puberty and Plastics, Dec 2003, Mothering Magazine

Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children. BPA has even been linked to insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes.

In 2006 Europe banned all products made for children under age 3 containing BPA, and as of Dec. 2006 the city of San Francisco followed suit. In March 2007 a billion-dollar class action suit was commenced against Gerber, Playtex, Evenflo, Avent, and Dr. Brown's in Los Angeles superior court for harm done to babies caused by drinking out of baby bottles and sippy cups containing BPA.

For more of the science on the effects of BPA on our endocrine system etc. see these studies: Environmental Health Perspectives Journal.

What do do?

The first, and best (in my opinion) thing you can do is to get your baby off to a good start by breastfeeding. But even breastfeeding moms still sometimes have a need for bottles. And of course, some women are unable to breastfeed or may not have enough milk, and will have to use bottles to supplement.

I would recommend glass baby bottlesover the standard plastic.

In searching for safe sippy cup alternatives (because I am not about to give my two year old a glass cup to carry around!) I found a couple of sites that have compared the different cups available. You can read about the reviews here and here.

Let's Talk Water...

2010-02-27T22:19:00.000-05:00

It is my opinion that bottled water is a scam. Here me out...

If, like us, you are on well water, chances are that your water is as clean, if not cleaner than bottled water. If you have a contaminated well, that is a whole 'nother issue. I recommend having your water tested periodically.

If you are on public water, it is the law that they regularly test their water and make the results of those tests available to the public. You can look up the results of your local water utility here.

Although it is true that your local tap water may not be the safest, bottled water is not as well regulated and studies have shown that it is not even particularly pure. A four-year study of bottled water in the U.S. conducted by NRDC found that one-fifth of the 103 water products tested contained synthetic organic chemicals such as the neurotoxin xylene and the possible carcinogen and neurotoxin styrene.

Bottled water that is labeled "purified water" is taken from lakes, rivers, or underground springs and treated, all of which makes it almost identical to tap water.

Other brands of bottled water is just tap water in disguise. In a quote from Jim Shepherd, Dasani's group director of research and development, he says that "Coca-Cola tested Dasani in hundreds of focus groups until it hit on a markedly crisp quality, achieved by adding magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride and sodium chloride to purified municipal water." Which is a fancy way of saying that they simply add salt to tap water in order to make it taste better.

Not only is it more expensive per gallon than gasoline (if that's not a kick in the gut, I don't know what is!), bottled water incurs a huge carbon footprint from its transportation. Meaning that it takes energy, gas, etc. to bottle and transport the bottles. 1.5 million barrels of oil, in the US alone, are used to make water bottles. What's worse (or maybe not, they are both pretty bad) 86% of these bottles are landfilled or incinerated.

And finally, if all of this has not convinced you, let me leave you with one plea. Please do not re-use your plastic water bottles! It is a noble gesture, I know, it will save you money, it will save the bottles from piling up in the landfills. However, this is a dangerous thing to do! The most common plastic used to make water bottles is #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE). If reused, they can leach chemicals such as DEHA, a known carcinogen, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), a potential hormone disrupter. According to the January 2006 Journal of Environmental Monitoring, some PET bottled-water containers were found to leach antimony, an elemental metal that is an eye, skin, and lung irritant at high doses. Also, because the plastic is porous you'll likely get a swig of harmful bacteria with each gulp if you reuse #1 plastic bottles.

I would recommend investing in one of the re-usable water bottles on the market. My family uses Kleen Kanteen and we love them. Others report success with the Sigg Bottles.

More on water...

2010-02-27T22:18:00.000-05:00

Since water is so substantial to the survival of the human race, I thought I would do some more research on it and how to conserve it so as to make sure it stays around (in an unpolluted state).

All the water that goes down the drain, clean or dirty, ends up mixing with raw sewage, getting contaminated, and meeting the same fate.

I have found some good tips on water conservation, which is not only good for our Earth but for our water bill (for those who are on public water). Here are some ideas:

If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down (does this need more explanation?)
This one is probably obvious, but check periodically for leaks and fix them promptly.
Take a Navy shower.
Turn off the water while you brush your teeth or shave.
Always wait until you have a full load before running the dishwasher or washing machine.
Plant locally appropriate plants so that you do not have to water your lawn as much. If you feel that you must water, do so at night or in the coolest part of the day in order to decrease evaporation (or go wild and don't water at all - let nature take its course!).
Harvest your rainwater. Put a rain barrel on your downspouts and use this water for irrigation.
Harvest your greywater. Water that has been used at least once but is still clean enough for other jobs is called greywater. Water from sinks, showers, dishwashers, and clothes washers are the most common household examples.
Don’t pour chemicals down drains, or flush drugs down toilets; it could come back in diluted form in your water

As an interesting side note, did you know that using a dishwasher actually uses less water and energy than hand washing? That's good news for me. :)

I do have a confession to make...we are not actually a complete "chemical free" home. And out of the "chemical sins", I am probably committing a biggie. I currently use Cascade in my dishwasher. I have tried homemade detergent (which works wonderfully for us in the washing machine), I have tried different commercial brands of "green" cleaners...nothing seems to work. However, while researching for this post, I ran across someone who swears by Bi-o-Kleen so that will be my next stop.

Not only do I hate using the Cascade, but the smell is horrible. I am so used to not smelling chemicals now that it is very strong to me (funny how I used to love going down the laundry isle at the store because I thought it smelled "good", lol).

Going Natural at the Dentist's Office...

2010-02-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

I had my six month cleaning this morning and thought I would share a few things that I learned. My hygienist says that she always enjoys my visits because I am a "trip"...well that is one way to describe me I guess!

She and I don't always agree on everything, but we remain respectful. She always laughs when I turn down the complimentary toothpaste in favor of my own homemade tooth cleaner.

Most commercial toothpaste contains chemicals that I don't really want going into my body. Not to mention, they cost money. I use the "old time" mixture of baking soda and salt. It costs a small fraction of what one tube of toothpaste would cost, one box (mixed with a little salt) lasts almost a year and the best part is that it does a wonderful job!

I have always hated the part at the end of my cleaning appointment where they use that nasty, fruity tasting gel to polish my teeth. Instead of leaving with a cleaner feeling mouth, I left half sick to my stomach because of the taste.

My hygienist and I were talking about how strange I am that I prefer the Cavitron over the usual scaling (and torturous scraping) with the instruments. She said that since I am so "strange" about that (that word keeps coming up in reference to my personality...wonder if I should look into that?) that I may prefer the "baking soda sandblasting" polishing over the traditional polishing (with the before mentioned cherry gel goop).

So it turns out that there is a (in my opinion) better way! I was all excited that this "new" natural way was out there (I have no idea, nor do I really think I want to know, what is in the gel goop). Imagine my surprise when I was informed that this technique had actually been around for years and years...it predates the gel goop.

One of the chemicals that I have a problem with, and this one has pretty much inundated all of our beauty products these days, is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). Like with everything else out there, there are two camps...the ones who think the SLS scare is a bunch of hype and then there are the conspiracy theorists, like me.

The way I look at it, if I can do without it - then why not do without it? Why take the chance. Not ingesting it has no danger of hurting me. Ingesting it possibly does. I'll err on the side of caution. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. It probably isn't as dangerous as the scare tactics would lead us to believe but it probably isn't as safe as the Food and Drug Administration would lead us to believe either.

The MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet ) on SLS states that Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is "Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (sensitizer). Severe over-exposure can result in death."

I think I'll take a pass.

The next chemical that I have a problem with is fluoride...yes, good old fluoride.

Fluoride occurs naturally in water at varying concentrations.The general term "fluoride" describes a compound of which the element fluorine is one part. Fluorine combines with other elements, such as calcium or sodium, to form compounds that are usually found in soil and water. When water passes through and over the soil and rock formations containing fluoride it dissolves these compounds, resulting in the small amounts of soluble fluoride present in virtually all water sources in low concentrations (less than 1 part per million).

Here is where the problem comes in. For starters, water municipalities are adding a lot more than 1 ppm to the drinking water (the max allowed is 4 ppm). When you throw in the exposure from the water, the toothpaste, the mouth rinse, the fluoride treatments, etc., that is a lot of fluoride!

Plus, the "fluoride" that they add to drinking water, or use in toothpaste, is not he same as the naturally occurring Fluoride.

UNICEF states that "fluoride a naturally occurring chemical that is sometimes added to water or toothpaste to reduce tooth decay, but which in larger doses is poisonous, causing fluorosis. Fluorosis can stain the teeth, or in very high doses lead to bone damage, bone malformations and even death." They also report, "more and more scientists are now seriously questioning the benefits of fluoride, even in small amounts."

The World Health Organization (WHO) also speaks of the dangers of fluoride.

I have found that the FDA has never actually approved Fluoride for human consumption. Ffluoride supplements were "grandfathered in" before the 1938 law was enacted requiring drug testing. Once a drug is on the market for any reason, doctors can use them to treat any disease or condition. Sodium fluoride was on the market pre-1938, but not to stop cavities and not for any medical reason. Sodium fluoride sold as a rat poison.

Fluoride has been linked to:

thyroid damage
darkened teeth from fluoridosis
brittle bones

Fluoride has also been linked to problems with lead. Evidently, lead uptake is enhanced in the presence of fluoride. This has been linked to:

Behavioral disorders in children
Alzheimer's
Migraine headaches
Clinical depression
Dementia

Oh, and as an added bonus to my appointment, I found out that I have four fillings that contain mercury, one of the most toxic elements known to man! How cool is that.

Why my microwave is now used as a cabinet...

2010-02-27T22:04:00.001-05:00

For those in my age group, you probably didn't grow up with a microwave. If you did, you probably got it later in life. Yet somehow, now it is hard to imagine our lives without them. They are used to heat leftovers, melt ice cream so it is easier to scoop, get the lemon a bit juicier before squeezing, pop popcorn, melt butter...the list goes on. I have even been to restaurants (granted, they were hole in the wall places) where they used a microwave to cook my food!

As I got more into the "natural lifestyle" I found that I used my microwave less and less. It just didn't fit into my "made from scratch" ideas. Now don't get me wrong - I am not against modern conveniences...I use a food processor!, I use a yogurt maker, but once I got used to home cooked food - I found that even re-heated food did not taste "right" to me after coming out of the microwave.

Then, on the advice from a friend, I did some research on microwaves. Just how do they cook our food so quickly?

Microwaves cause food molecules to vibrate rapidly, creating friction that produces heat which then cooks the food. In other words, food cooked in a microwave simply absorbs microwave and turns their energy into thermal energy, which cooks the food.

Here are some things that I found during my research:

There was a case in 1991 where a lady went into the hospital for a hip replacement. She needed blood and for some crazy reason, the nurse heated the blood in the microwave oven, in the nurses lounge, before giving it to the lady. The lady died within minutes. I was a bit skeptical because this appeared on one of the many sites that make some pretty outrageous claims (and in making their claims, they make us who actually do our research look like fruit loops). So I did some further research and it turns out that this actually happened! I think that the case is still tied up in court - because of course, the hospital is saying that she died of something else (just minutes after receiving this microwaved blood, mind you).

Research was done toward the end of the 1980s in collaboration between a Swiss laboratory, Dr. Hans U. Hertel and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH). Dr. Hertel's startling findings showed that microwave cooking resulted in:

Increased cholesterol levels
More leukocytes, or white blood cells, which can suggest poisoning
Decreased numbers of red blood cells
Production of radiolytic compounds (compounds unknown in nature)
Decreased hemoglobin levels, which could indicate anemic tendencies

The publication of the results caused considerable disturbance. The Swiss electrical industry threatened both scientists with legal action if they would continue to talk about the results in public. Under this pressure Prof. Bernard H. Blanc withdrew from the scientifically reached results by declaring in the modern “scientific” jargon that more research would be necessary to prove them. Dr. Hans U. Hertel, however, stood behind the honestly achieved results and was subsequently legally prosecuted and condemned, first by the District Court of Belp, Bern, then by the Upper Court in Bern and finally by the Federal Court in Lausanne. The study was finally published in 1992.

A study reports that a test done on raw broccoli found that: Microwaving raw broccoli drastically eliminates natural health-promoting chemicals. Of particular note in the research was the post-microwaving disappearance of 97 percent of flavonoids -- substances often found in many brightly colored fruits and vegetables. These substances are linked to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. MURCIA, Spain, Oct 17, 2003 (United Press International via COMTEX)

Translation: When you microwave vegetables it changes the food. It diminishes the "good" things in food that help to prevent heart disease, stroke and cancer.

There are also warnings in regards to heating breast milk in the microwave. This from the FDA, who although I personally think they say some pretty quacky stuff, most people take them seriously.

There is a substantial loss of the anti-infective properties of breast milk when it is microwaved. The anti-infective action is a significantly lessened. There's the possibility that other properties of microwaves may also negatively effect the anti-infective properties of breast milk.

More research is definitely necessary. I do not take these few scientific tests and run with it as the "gospel". However it does raise enough concerns, paired with the other reports I have read, that I no longer use my microwave.

And you know what?

I don't miss it! I am actually loving the extra "cabinet" space that it affords. If I want to make popcorn I use my Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper. If I need to melt butter I use my little cast iron melting pot...it really doesn't take that long to do. If I need to re-heat food I either put it in the oven or in an iron skillet on the stove top.

The only thing that I have missed in not having a microwave is the way I used to make a huge pile of pepperoni and cook it until crispy (and stinking the house up) and scarf it down. And that is probably so horrible for me that my body is thanking me for not using my microwave!

Steps to take before purchasing new...

2010-02-27T22:01:00.000-05:00

When I get it in my head to start a new project (and when you get to know "my head" you will understand that this could be anything from re-organizing the pantry to digging a backyard pond to having another baby!) I have a list of mental steps that I take.

It is my goal to both cut down on my family's consumerism as well as to spend little to no money (because we have little to no money).

I start by making a mental list of the items I am going to need. Once this list is made, I try to find ways to use things that I already have to get the job done. Could I use that basket sitting in the kid's closet to store these canning jars in? Maybe I could use that wooden crate sitting outside for the job?

No? Then I move on to trying to think of ways to make what I need. Could I use those scraps of wood and some nails to build myself a small crate? Could I (and I am stretching here, even for me) use those long plants that my mom calls "weeds" to weave myself a basket?

No? Then the next step is try try to find what I need for free. Could I maybe find a crate in a dumpster? Could I post on http://www.blogger.com/www.freecycle.org and ask for it?

No? Well then I guess I will have to have some patience and wait until it shows up at a thrift store. It usually does and sometimes, in the process of waiting, I decide to take a different path and don't even need the item after all!

I may also look on http://www.ebay.com/ or http://www.craigslist.com/ as you can often find what you are looking for there at a substantial discount. In addition, I am a member of several online trading posts/swap boards and they will often have what I am looking for.

If, after all of this, I still must have the item, I will start trying to find a way to pay for it. This is a process in and of itself but one that I will not bore you with as I am doubting that you are very interested in my family's finances.

I will also research, research, research. If I am going to actually pay retail price for something, I am going to make sure it is the best product on the market. I do not want to pay hard earned money for something that I am going to be disappointed with or that is only going to last a month.

I usually do the research and the choose the best item in the price range that I can afford. Often times this means compromising on a few of the "perk" features but I can usually find a good quality item that will do the job I need for it to do, even if it doesn't have all of the "bells and whistles".

On that note...I have actually found that the more "bells and whistles" an item has, the more likely that item is to wear out or tear up before its time. If I want a CD player, I want one that will play CD's...that is its basic use. I do not need one that is going to read the names of the song out loud before it plays them. Just play the damn CD, right?

It is a process and it is one that teaches patience and sometimes humility.

Composting...

2010-02-27T14:41:00.000-05:00

Between food scraps, leaves, garden mulch and other organic material in your garbage, a tremendous amount of waste is created. Yard and kitchen waste account for around 30% of the US waste stream.

This is something that I never gave much thought to until I started trying to "live green". Then I decided that I needed to give it a try, for many reasons. One, I was trying to cut down on the amount of garbage that my family produced. I figured that if I could recycle some of it and compost some of it, my actual garbage production would go way down (and I was right). Two, we were spending money on fertilizer and "good dirt" for our garden and plants. Why spend money when we could make it ourselves?

I'll admit that I was pretty intimidated by the idea of a compost pile. It seemed like an awful lot of work and calculation (how much "green" to put in, how much "brown" to put in). Finally I just took the plunge and went for it.

My compost piles consists of a couple of wooden pallets for the sides and has a chain link fence across the front (because it is enclosed in the chicken coop). Now that i have chickens, they eat pretty much everything that I put into the pile before it actually gets a chance to compost. For those without chickens, here are some things you should know if you are interested in your own compost pile:

First of all, what is compost? Compost is where you turn your garbage into fertilizer by gathering leaves, grass, branches added in with kitchen waste (banana peels, leftover scraps) and letting it decompose rather than throwing it all into a garbage can.

You can go as simple or as elaborate as you choose. You can have a bin in your yard (homemade or purchased) or you can have an indoor bin filled with worms who will compost for you. Either way, your ultimate goal is to create finished compost. Which is defined as a pile of organic material that is so decomposed that it has transformed into something beyond "rotted" stuff and into something useful.

If you want to use it for fertilizer for your lawn, plants, garden, etc. then you are going to want to invest a little time and work into it. If your reasons are purely environmental, you can pretty much just let it go and not worry about the end results. You can either "cold compost" or "hot compost".

With cold composting, you pretty much just throw the stuff in the pile and leave it at that. They will decompose over time and that will be that. The main drawback is the smell but if you can stand that, this is the easiest way.

Hot composting is when you get a bit more involved. With this, you will be able to keep the pile neat and decent smelling and in the end you will have a finished product.

If you choose an outdoor compost you have the choice of purchasing a ready made bin that usually has a built in feature to make it easy to turn your compost. They are also usually compact and more attractive than an actual "pile". Or you can build your own pile. There are directions all of the Internet for different ways to build your own pile. Some of them get pretty creative. A quick google search will bring up pages of links.

I would recommend putting it a few feet from the house, just in case of smell or rodents. Regardless of what you use to build the sides of the bin, you will need to have it well ventilated. This means, keep it a few feet away from fences, trees, etc.

I would also recommend putting it in reach of a hose, unless you do not mind carrying water in a bucket when needed. If you live in a hot area, I would put it in the shade so that it doesn't bake into a hard pile that takes years to decompose. If you live in a really wet area, I would recommend covering the pile. If it gets too wet it will smell bad and will not get enough air to properly compost.

For the pile to be able to reach the temperatures it needs while still allowing the center to breathe, the bin should be between three and five feet cubed (that is, three to five feet wide, long, and tall).

As for what to add and how, the most common ration I have found is a 30-to-1 ratio of "browns" to "greens". Greens are made up of fresh plant matter or animal by-products. They provide the nitrogen, protein, and some moisture to get things going. Browns are made up of dry or dead plant materials. They add carbon and bulk so that the composting microbes can breathe.

If you don't want to get so technical, just follow the general rule of adding more dry bulky stuff than fresh or green dense stuff. To put it simple, if it's fresh, it's a green; if it's dead and brown, it's a brown.

Greens: grass and plant clippings, waste from your garden (plants that were left too long and got too large, etc.), coffee grounds, eggshells, tea bags, vegetable peelings and scraps, leftovers from dinner, fresh manure (chicken and cow), human hair, milk

Browns: Wood, sticks, sawdust, dead leaves, dry straw, shredded newspaper, dead plants, rice, pine needles.

As you add materials, make sure to spray it down with the hose every few inches. It needs to be moist but not wet.

It can take anywhere from six weeks to two years to produce healthy compost, depending on the materials you use and how much attention you give your pile.

What is happening, unseen, is that the center of the pile is heating up. The microbes, who are eating away, are the cause of the heat. You will need to turn your pile (which means that you will mix it up so that the outside is worked into the inside and everything gets a chance to compost. You can use a shovel to do this. You will notice that as time goes by, your pile will shrink. It should also smell "Earthy" and look like dark soil. This is how you will know that it is ready to be used as fertilizer.

You can also compost indoors, on a smaller scale, by using worms. Here is a link that explains more about that. I do not have any personal experience in this area so I will let the link explain more.

As a side note, my journey down the road of having our septic system pumped led me to do some research on composting human waste. I won't go into that here but for those interested, this is an excellent online book on the subject.

Ways to live simple with the added benefit of being frugal...

2010-02-27T12:09:00.000-05:00

I have found that as my mindset has changed so have my "needs" and by "needs" I really mean "wants". I have found that the less I have, the happier I seem to be. And the more I can "make it on my own" the more accomplished I feel. It is the endless quest for "stuff" that puts us on the hamster wheel that we so lovingly refer to as "American society".

Don't get me wrong, I too often fall into the trap of wanting brand names. I am a product of this society as much as anyone else. I too, have had it ingrained in me that the more popular the brand name on my shirt, the better I am as a person. Of course, I do not believe this on a logical level but there is still that little man in sitting on my shoulder who tries to tell me that I will finally be "cool" if I just loose that extra fifty pounds (even he knows better than to tell me that fifty pounds is a bit more than "extra") and wear that shirt with the brand name that I will finally be accepted by the "cool crowd".

But when I get my act together, which is becoming more and more often thankfully, I am able to swat the little man off of my shoulder and realize that it is about quality, not brand name. Ironically enough though, on quite a few of the things, I have found that "quality" and "brand name" actually are synonymous. But there still are plenty of times that "brand name" still equals "made in China and will last one week before it craps out".

One way I have found to weed out the crap is to buy most everything used. This serves more than one purpose. Not only does it save me a lot of money, it is also better for our planet...it is the ultimate recycling. And finally, usually if it has survived another family's use and has been donated to a thrift store and is still in decent shape, it is probably a pretty decent product! This helps me work towards my goal of not contributing to consumerism.

I have found that for the things I feel I must have, that if I will wait long enough, the gods of thrift will provide them for me via the local Goodwill Store! If the gods of Goodwill do not provide them then the gods of fortune usually will. For these things, the things that are unlikely to show up at the Goodwill more than once in a blue moon (and it is inevitable that I will miss that blue moon and someone else would buy it anyway), I usually run across a free offer, a gift card, surprise birthday money, etc. If you put it out there, the Universe will usually provide.

For those who don't feel that they have the time to bother sorting through the "junk" at thrift stores, I am going to start a list of my "finds". I will list the item I found, the price I paid and the original retail price (found via an Internet search). I will consider it an honor if I can convert at least one person into a thrift store queen. I think some of you will be duly surprised at what turns up!

Walmartization of America...

2010-02-27T10:42:00.000-05:00

Out of all the places of which I could shop, Wal-Mart is probably the biggest on my "no-no" list. I encourage everyone to think long and hard before they make their weekly (or daily) trip to the new god of America.

There are many reasons to avoid Wal-Mart and while they are all great reasons, I want to first discuss the one that finally flipped the switch for me. Did you know that Wal-Mart actually has a say in which products are manufactured and which products are scrapped? For example, a company who makes yogurt decides to market a new flavor. If Wal-Mart likes it, that flavor will stay around. If Wal-Mart doesn't like it, that flavor will end up on the cutting room floor. The reason is that Wal-Mart is now the largest purchaser of grocery products in America. So if they don't buy it, there is really not an economical reason for the company to make it. Do you really want this giant company having that large of an influence on what is on the market? Should that not be up to the customer base instead?

These business practices have also people on a local scale. One Toledo company used to produce Crayola crayons. Its biggest customer was Wal-Mart; but when Wal-Mart refused to pay three extra cents per box, the company was ran out of business and many people lost their jobs. Wal-Mart took its business to Mexico

In 1994, Rubbermaid was one of the most admired company in the United States -- but five years later, its fortunes fell so hard that the company had to sell to a competitor. When the price of a key component of its products went up, Rubbermaid asked Wal-Mart for a modest price increase -- but Wal-Mart said no, and stopped sales of Rubbermaid products. At a Rubbermaid factory in Wooster, Ohio, that meant the loss of 1,000 jobs. [PBS Frontline, 11/23/04]

With Wal-Mart, there is no room for negotiation. They tell you what they will pay you for your product. If you don't like it, they will buy it elsewhere and most likely, you will be out of business.

Wal-Mart perpetuates the cycle of poverty. They drive other stores out of business because their prices are so low. Thriving downtown areas turn into ghost towns. Their prices are so low because of their unethical practices. But with the other stores gone, the wages driven down and nowhere else to shop the people are pretty much forced to shop there. If not forced, they are definitely not given an incentive to go elsewhere.

While Wal-Mart kills family retail businesses and pushes out jobs that pay well, it also forces suppliers to relocate their plants overseas to meet its low-price demands. Wal-Mart is the single largest importer of Chinese goods, buying some $18 billion in merchandise in 2004, nearly 10 percent of all Chinese goods sold in the United States, which currently has a $124 billion trade deficit with China?

And in its own category of general merchandise and groceries, Wal-Mart no longer has any real rivals. It does more business than Target, Sears, Kmart, J.C. Penney, Safeway, and Kroger combined. Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer. It's the world's largest company--bigger than ExxonMobil, General Motors, and General Electric. The scale can be hard to absorb.

Something else that is very disturbing is the unethical means they use to produce their inexpensive items. Something that I read really struck a nerve with me. "Close your eyes. Think about the shirt you are wearing. Trace it back through the store, back past being packaged, past being shipped, and to the place it was stitched and sewn together. I’m terrified when I do that and I see a small child, dirty and weary from 18 hours a day of labor, looking into my eyes and awaiting an explanation. What will I say to that little girl? What does taking responsibility mean for me there?

So while the poor stay poor, Wal-Mart's owners, the five members of the Walton family split the profits equally, and their total net worth is somewhere around $100 billion. The Waltons prefer to take a passive role in the company, so they may not be the people making the decision to use their workers to make a buck.

If the Waltons are worth more than 100 billion dollars, why will they not pay three cents extra for a box of crayons? Why can't they provide decent wages and benefits to its employees? Wages are notoriously low at Wal-Mart. Not only that but they hire many employees as "part time" help which means they do not have to provide insurance benefits. How ethical is it to take advantage of people this way while the people who own the company are five of the ten richest people in the country?

On Attachment Parenting...

2010-02-27T10:20:00.001-05:00

What is this Attachment Parenting (AP) that we have been hearing so much about in the past few years?

According to Dr.Sears, who is credited for starting the AP movement, Attachment Parenting AP is an approach, rather than a strict set of rules. It's actually the style that many parents use instinctively. Parenting is too individual and baby too complex for there to be only one way. The important point is to get connected to your baby. Once you have a connection, stick with what is working and modify what is not. You will ultimately develop your own parenting style that helps parent and baby find a way to fit with each other.

According to Dr. Sears, and I agree, Attachment parenting is one of the oldest ways of caring for babies. In fact, it's the way that parents for centuries have taken care of babies, until childcare advisers came on the scene and led parents to follow books instead of their babies.

I am always fascinated by the studies done by anthropologists on tribes of native peoples who have been untouched by Western society. I am sure that it has just as much to do with their entire culture as it does their parenting (but then again, the two are very intertwined) but they usually do practice what we have coined "AP" and they usually do not have the same problems with their children as we in more "civilized" (and I use that word lightly) societies do.

There are a lot of misconceptions out there that AP is a permissive style of parenting or that it spoils the child. This is a very informative link on what AP is "not".

I, by no means, am a "perfect mommy" and I do find that as my children grow so does change the way I parent. But for infants, I do firmly believe in the things that usually go along with the AP and Natural Family Living movements.

These things can include (but do not always include all), but are certainly not limited to:

Natural Birth
Homebirth
Co-sleeping (aka The Family Bed)
No CIO (letting baby "cry it out")
Leaving baby boys intact instead of circumcising
Gentle Discipline (no spanking)
Cloth Diapers
Breastfeeding
Child led weaning
Wearing baby in a sling
Homeschooling

Where do our priorities lie?

2010-02-27T10:18:00.000-05:00

Before I get into today's post, let me first speak to the "Love it or leave it" folks. Do you really realize how asinine of a statement it is to tell someone "Well if you don't like it here in America, you can just get out"? That is such a backwards viewpoint that I honestly have a hard time even formulating my thoughts into words. First, there are now laws, no rules, that say that one must "love" their country - or even like it for that matter - in order to reside there. Second, I was born here. My home is here, my family is here. Who are you to tell me to pick up and leave everything that i have ever known, simply because I don't share your viewpoint on America?

And the irony is not missed on me that it is because I live in America I am free to state that opinion. I don't hate this country but I do think that it has its values really screwed up.

Moving on...I think that this country started out with noble enough values. I just think that they got really turned around somewhere along the way. Nor do I think that every other country in the world is so much better than my own...not at all. There are some countries that are way more screwed up that America. But there are some that have it together a lot more as well. And America does have its good points, it has its beauty, it has its things that make me proud to be here.

I think that love of one's country is just like anything else...there are good points and there are bad points. You embrace the good things and you work to change the bad.

I guess that my biggest problem is that a lot of my countrymen do not share my viewpoint on what the "bad" is, so it makes it hard to make positive changes.

That said, I was looking at the newly released Forbes List for the 400 Richest Americans. The fact that we even have such a list speaks volumes to me. It reiterates my point that we have our values screwed up. Why would anyone care who the "richest Americans" are? Does that make them somehow better than the rest of America? Do they really work harder than the average American?

I would say not. I would say that some of them got where they are from studying hard in school and working their way up. But for the most part I would say that most of them got where they are because they had access to decent schools and then a lot of luck happened. I know that some of you think that we make our own luck, and I agree to an extent. But a child born into a middle class/upper middle class/wealthy family is going to have a lot more "luck" than a child born into a low income family.

Your average sanitation worker works a lot harder than the wealthy man in the cushy office does, yet the difference between their wages is startling.

The average stay-at-home-mom works as hard as the major league baseball player (granted, in different ways) and she arguably has the more important job, yet compare the wages...zero for the mom versus millions for the baseball player.

Why is it that we promote music, screen and sports figures to an almost god like status? What makes us so much more interested in them than in the people who teach our children, put out our fires and clean our toilets?

Looking again at the list of the 400 richest Americans shows me where America's priorities lie.

Our interests lie in Wal-Mart - out of the top eleven on the list, five of them are affiliated with Wal-Mart. Moving on down the list, candy (junk food), casinos and entertainment are also among the top. And even more disturbing are the number of people in the top 400, even the top 100, who are wealthy because of oil. That means that while we are paying upwards of $4.00 a gallon for gas, we are lining the pockets of the wealthy, the government and the Middle East.

In going over this list, I really do not see where any of these people have done anything truly noble. This reinforces my belief that money isn't really the "good" thing that so many believe it to be. Money is nice to have. It would be nice to be able to pay the monthly bills without worrying where the funds were to come from, but beyond that - I think that money usually changes people for the worse. I realize that I am hugely generalizing here, but that is my personal opinion.

Did you know that the U.S. has second worst newborn death rate in modern world?

More than 46.6 million Americans are without health insurance, yet the rich keep getting richer.

In 2004, the most recent year from which statistics are available, 29,569 people were killed in America from firearm related incidents. Another 64,389 were injured. Go back and read that, let those numbers really sink in. By contrast, in the United Kingdom, there were 163 deaths (in 2003, the latest stats I could find). I just can't figure out this American fascination with owning what are essentially tools for murder.

With all of this, do you know what many of our countrymen are focusing on? They are focusing on the oh so ever important issue of denying their fellow countrymen (and women) the right to marry, denying women rights over their own bodies and making sure that we all live by their morals. America is a beautiful country but I fear for its future if something doesn't change. We need to get our priorities straight.

Killing ourselves to feed our lawn?

2010-02-27T08:50:00.000-05:00

This post is for Jeffery.
A beautifully landscaped, green lawn is something sought after by many Americans. It has became the new "keeping up with the Joneses" to make your lawn more full and more green than your neighbor's.

The standard way of doing this is to use lawn treatment chemicals, fertilizers and lots of watering; all of which are harmful to our environment, animal life and most scary of all, harmful to us! The only way to reduce a dependence on chemical fertilizers is to develop a healthy lawn, which is naturally resistant to weeds, insects and diseases.

Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 19 have studies pointing toward carcinogens, 13 are linked with birth defects, 21 with reproductive effects, 15 with neurotoxicity, 26 with liver or kidney damage, 27 are sensitizers and/or irritants, and 11 have the potential to disrupt the endocrine (hormonal) system. (references). In addition, for you pet owners, pet bladder cancer has been linked to lawn pesticide applications (Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association, April 15, 2004.)

I am aware that it is easy to become bogged down with facts and figures. It has become so easy to read the above paragraph and it just go right over our heads. There are so many warning out there today that we have become desensitized to them.

This link offers some personal stories about the harmful effects of lawn pesticides.

Making a change to "green" lawn care doesn't have to mean turning into a hippie. It can be done a lot easier than one may think.

Starting with one of the most basic aspects of lawn care, if you mow your grass to the proper height and disperse the small grass clippings evenly, this can provide many benefits. Here is a link that discusses the different types of grass and the proper mowing heights for each.

If you mow grass too short it discourages deep root growth and results in a rapid loss of the moisture in the soil. On the other extreme, if you let grass grow too tall it causes the excess grass clippings to smother the turf.

Some other things to keep in mind about mowing your grass:

Raise the height of your mower blade during the hot and dry season. A higher setting reduces moisture loss and encourages deep root growth.
Keep the blades on your mower sharp and clean, and mow when the grass is dry.
Mow over leaves so they will decompose along with grass clippings.
Collect leaves and grass clippings for mulching or composting (instead of sitting them on the curb for garbage pickup).

How to combat weeds the natural way

If you maintain a thick, healthy lawn this will almost always out-compete weeds. Proper mowing, fertilizing, watering, and soil conditioning will easily eliminate or prevent up to 95 percent of weeds. Why not prevent the problem instead of using a chemical to solve the problem?

For the minor weeds that do grow, why not pull them by hand? Consider using household vinegar rather than conventional chemicals. Believe it or not, this is a very effective treatment. (Vinegar can burn grass and garden plants, so be sure to spot treat weeds only.) If you must use chemicals, why not spot treat instead of treating the entire yard?

Here is a site that sells natural lawn care products.

You have heard of recycling but what about grasscycling?

Grasscycling is the natural recycling of grass by leaving clippings on the lawn when mowing. There are many benefits to grasscycling.

It makes turf greener and tougher.
It prevents common turf diseases.
It reduces or eliminates fertilizer needs. Grasscycling provides about 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn per year.
It cuts down on watering needs
It eliminates the disposal of grass clippings and leaves.

Instead of using fertilizer, why not use compost?

Having a compost bin is an easy thing to do. It isn't just something that people in rural areas do, suburbanites and apartment dwellers can do it too! You can compost with a small compost bucket under your sink (complete with lid and filter, no odor), you can compost with a backyard bin or you can build your own composting system. The possibility's are endless. Here are some commercial composters and here is a link to a great composting guide.

Smart Watering can also cut down on the amount of chemical you use on your lawn.

Watering your lawn, on average, accounts for 40 to 60 percent of residential water consumption during the summer months. This makes lawn maintenance not only a chore but also a drain on the pocketbook and water supply. What is worse, is that much of the water applied to lawns is never absorbed by plants.
The greatest waste of water is from watering to often or too rapidly.

Water applied too rapidly is lost as runoff, which may carry polluting fertilizers and pesticides to streams and lakes. Water is also lost into the air when applied as a spray, especially on hot afternoons.

What do do?

Water infrequently yet thoroughly. In the absence of rain, most ground covers will benefit from a very thorough, once per month watering (during the growing season). Saturate to a depth of 8" to 10". This watering schedule will create a deep, well-rooted lawn that efficiently uses the water stored in the soil.
Your watering practices should be influenced by the weather. Decrease the amount and duration of your watering during cool or humid conditions and skip a scheduled watering after a moderate rainfall.

Water during the "right" time of day. If you water early in the morning it will prevent mildew diseases and it will cut down on evaporation. The type of soil you have will determine how often you should water and how much you should water.

Here is a link on how to determine the type of soil you have and how to water accordingly.

Set your sprinklers so that you are actually watering the plants and not the driveway. Use timers and/or moisture sensors to prevent over-watering. Soaker hoses deliver water directly to the base of the plant, reducing moisture loss from evaporation. A sprinkler head should spray large droplets of water instead of a fog or fine mist, which wastes water by evaporation and wind drift.

Going Out Green...

2010-02-27T08:41:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I heard a knock on the back door. It is rare that we get visitors this far out in the sticks so I answered with wonder. There stood your typical looking Southern Baptist preacher type. Being the friendly host I am, I smiled and said "hello".

He said that he worked for the local funeral home, selling burial insurance. Before I knew what was coming out of my mouth (because honestly, I'm mostly full of shit) I said "Oh, we are going to compost my body, but thank you anyway". The worst part was that, completely involuntarily, as I was saying this I was motioning to the compost pile just a few feet away from him! I swear, I didn't mean to point at it as I was telling him this...my hand just kind of raised up, all on its own, and motioned that way. But the look on his face after I did was completely priceless! He uttered "Oh my!" and then just stood in dumbfounded silence for a few moments.

Well then, of course the next logical question out of his mouth was "Honey, do you go to church anywhere". Now you've got to get a mental image of this man in order to make this story worthwhile. What you have got to focus on are his eyebrows. The more I talked, the higher up on his face his eyebrows went. The wider his eyes got. It was priceless really.

So I answered, "No sir, we are a Pagan family...we haven't found a church for us in this area so we worship at home". So the eyebrows shit up a little more and he uttered another "Ohhhh my".

I should have, at this point, invited him into my home...just for pure meanness, to see if he dared to enter my lair (bwwwhahaha). But no, I just stood, with a fixed smile on my face, as he invited me to his church. I then bid him a good day and shut the door as he left.

That did get me to thinking though...are there "green" ways to handle ones body after death?

So evidently, you can actually compost your body! That is if you can get through all of the red tape first. What to do, what to do...I have so many causes that I could take up in order to cause a stir in this small town of mine. Do I do the gay cause? The Pagan cause? Women's rights? Or should I campaign for the right to compost my body?

There are also a few companies who make "green" coffins. Read about them here and here.

There is a company by the name of Promessa who offers to essentially freeze-dry the body, eventually turning it to powder (at 1/3 its original weight) for storage or burial in a small urn.

Then the good folks at the Green Burial Council want to make green burials the standard, doing away with embalming, vaults, conventional markers, and metal caskets.

Green Endings will even organize an eco-funeral in your own backyard. Which would be groovy.

There are also places, easily found by a Google search, where you can be made into a diamond, launched into space or sank to the bottom of the Ocean (although I don't think those are necessarily "green").

Heading down South...

2010-02-27T06:18:00.000-05:00

Today I am going to write about some products for areas down south of the head and neck.

Let's get something out of the way first. I'm not sure when it started nor who started it, but a woman's "time of the month" has gotten a bad rap. I will give you that it can definitely be annoying. But the rest of the descriptions it gets "gross", "nasty", "the curse", etc. are largely undeserved, in my opinion.

A woman's cycle is a completely natural part of being a human. It is what lets our race continue on generation after generation. It is a normal bodily function just as eating, sleeping and using the bathroom. It is the body's way of naturally cleansing itself when a pregnancy does not occur that month. It may not be something that will ever be kosher to speak of at the dinner table with honored guest, but it is definitely not something that should carry the stigma it does.

And I will tell you this, for the unfortunate women out there who have, for some reason, gone through early menopause - they would probably give up an arm or a leg in order to have it back so that they could have children.

My cycle coming each month is what lets me know that my body is still able to conceive and carry a child. And after having gone through infertility, that is a wonderful thing to me.

I personally call it my "moon time". This is because in the days before electricity, women's bodies were influenced by the amount of moonlight we saw. Just as sunlight and moonlight affect plants and animals, our hormones were triggered by levels of moonlight. And, all women cycled together. Today, with artificial light everywhere, day and night, our cycles no longer correspond to the moon. Just as the moon controls the tide, it can also control our bodies.

Throughout all cultures and time, the magic of creation resided in the blood that women gave forth. This blood was regarded with reverence: it had mysterious magical powers. The blood was shed without pain, which was an experience that was not understood. Early menstrual rites were perhaps the first expression of human culture.

There are many things that I do not like about disposable pads and tampons. I don't like the waste. Think about how many menstrual cycles a woman will have in her lifetime. If she starts at age twelve and goes through menopause at age 51 (which are the national averages), she will have had roughly 468 menstrual cycles...less if she has children or breastfed. But just going on that average, if she uses 20 disposable pads per cycle, that is 9360 pads in the landfill. Think of how many women are in America alone...can you even imagine? You could fill a huge landfill with pads alone!

Traditional tampons and disposable pads currently on the market are made from cotton, rayon and blends of these fibers. The cotton used in these products has been grown using as many as 35 different pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Then they are manufactured using a chlorine process to whiten or transform the wood fibers to make rayon.

Chlorine bleaching produces an unwanted by - product called dioxin - a toxic substance linked to breast cancer, endometriosis, low sperm counts, cancer, birth defects, miscarriages and immune system suppression.

These products are also run through acid baths and caustic sodas during manufacturing to enhance absorbency. Disposable pads and tampons are left un-rinsed of these toxic residues. Deodorizing chemicals are sometimes added. All this is a danger because the vagina is a main entry point into the body. What is absorbed through this skin goes into the blood circulation.

Tampons and disposable pads are often a source of vaginal irritation as well, due to the wood and chemicals that together form their extreme absorbent fiber. An additional problem is created by synthetic backing on disposable pads that prevent air from circulating, which can lead to bacterial growth and odors not normally associated with menstruation. From this site.

For women who choose to wear pads, there are several cloth pads on the market. Glad Rags is probably one of the most popular. They are used the same as disposable pads but instead of throwing them out, you wash them. For those who use cloth diapers, this should not really be much of a stretch. Most women simply keep a container with a lid beside the loo and at the end of their cycle the simply go dump the contents into the washing machine.

I personally prefer the re-usable cup. I use the DivaCup. There are many brands on the market but they all work the same way. A menstrual cup is a type of cup worn inside the vagina. Instead of absorbing the blood, like a tampon, it holds the blood. It is them removed, emptied, washed and reinserted. This site has a comparison of all of the cups currently on the market. I found it to be a big help when choosing which one to use. This is another site for cup users.

Since we are on the subject of "down South" we may as well discuss other things that can be inserted into the nether regions....condoms.

Most condoms are made of latex or Polyurethane (Plastic), neither of which I relish the thought of being in my yoni. Not only are they made of these synthetic materials, but they usually contain chemicals meant to lubricate or to kill sperm. Again, not something I want in such a personal place. The body does it own job of lubricating and the condom should hold the sperm, killing them in addition is...well...over kill!

The only alternative that I have found are sheepskin condoms. They are quite a bit more expensive than the old standby. And they are only good for protection against pregnancy, not against STDs. But for those in relationships where you know you are STD free and are only worried about pregnancy, they seem like a wonderful choice.People seem to prefer them because they "feel more natural." By the way, unlike what the name implies, they are actually made out of lamb intestines, not sheepskin.

The Languages of Love...

2009-10-06T17:03:00.000-04:00

For those of you who know me, you will probably find it surprising that I am advocating a religious book. You will also probably find it surprising that I am advocating a relationship book written by the "experts". I'm honestly not much on parenting or relationship books. But this book is on to something. I read it years ago and was recently reminded of it while reading an online chat board. I thought I would talk about it here - not to promote the book, but to discuss the ideas mentioned in the book.

The basic premise is that most couples do love each other and that they do want to make the relationship work, but that they often do not know how to show this love in the way that makes their mate feel loved.

The book goes on to say that their are primarily five languages of love. In layman's terms, this means that what makes me feel loved may not be what makes you feel loved. And since it is human nature to speak our own "language", we could completely be missing the mark and not even know it.

According to the book, the five "languages" are:

(1) Words of Affirmation - Simple statements, such as, “You look great in that suit,” or “You must be the best baker in the world! I love your oatmeal cookies,” are sometimes all a person needs to hear to feel loved.

(2) Quality Time - This is more than your mate watching TV while you read a book, it is about focusing all of your energy on your mate.

(3) Receiving Gifts - Some mates respond well to visual symbols of love. The single rose picked up on the way home from work all the way to the diamond earrings "just because". Tokens such as this make them feel loved by their partner.

(4) Acts of Service - Sometimes simple chores around the house can be an undeniable expression of love. Even simple things like laundry and taking out the trash require some form of planning, time, effort, and energy.

(5) Physical Touch - Many mates feel the most loved when they receive physical contact from their partner. For a mate who speaks this love language loudly, physical touch can make or break the relationship.

So here is what the book says, in a nutshell. If you are a person who feels love from physical touch you are probably going to try to show your love via physical touch. It is natural that we would try to show our partner we love them by treating them the way we would want to be treated. But if you are partnered with someone who feels love from acts of service and you are trying to love them from physical touch, instead, they aren't going to feel your love very much. Because you aren't giving them what they need in order to feel love.

So basically we have to find out what our partner needs in order to feel love - and even if it isn't something that we personally understand, we should speak to them in their language. If they need for you to do laundry in order for them to feel that you love them, then do laundry.

On the same token, you have to realize that if you are the "acts of service" person but you are not partnered with an acts of service person, you doing all of the laundry in the world isn't going to make them feel loved - because that isn't their love language.

To see what "language" you speak, there is a simple multiple choice test. Check the one that most applies to how you feel:

I feel especially loved when people express how grateful they are for me, and for the simple, everyday things I do.
I feel especially loved when a person gives me undivided attention and spends time alone with me.
I feel especially loved when someone brings me gifts and other tangible expressions of love.
I feel especially loved when someone pitches in to help me. Perhaps running errands or taking on my household chores.
I feel especially loved expresses their feelings for me through physical contact.

Most people will be a combination of several of these but one or two will probably stand out above the others.

The book also mentions the "love tank" (got to love these cheesy terms, lol). Basically, every time your partner "speaks" to you in your "language of love", it puts something into your "love tank" (which is being compared to a gas tank). If, for the most part, you are walking around with a pretty full "love tank", chances are that you are going to be more willing to give your partner what he needs as well. If you are walking around with an empty "love tank" you are probably going to be feeling pretty resentful and burnt out...and not very willing to give much of yourself to your partner.

Anyway, it's a pretty simple concept, as in it may be taking a complex thing (a relationship) and putting it into too simple of terms. It definitely won't fix relationships with major problems. But for day to day life, I really do think that it is something that we could keep in mind. I think that the simple act of learning what our partner needs and then making the effort to do it could change a lot of relationships for the better.

Zoe in the Cat Food

2009-08-25T18:14:00.001-04:00

Well, it happened...Zoe discovered the cat food. :) Putting the catfood over into the water was Ben's favorite activity when he was her age. We have it in the closet now so she never knew where it was....until today.

Cleaning the natural way...

2009-08-15T21:12:00.005-04:00

This is a topic I get excited about so I am kind of unsure how to best direct my ideas when it comes to this post. Do I start with the natural products and tell you all of the wonderful things you can do with them? Or do I start with the different places in the home that need cleaning and tell you how to clean them naturally?

In this post I am going to list the most common household cleaning jobs and then I am going to tell you how you can do them with natural cleaners that will not harm your family and will not harm the environment. Not only that, but you will save a ton of money!

Here is a link on the dangers of common household cleansers. Here and here are some links on the dangers of laundry detergent and fabric softener. I have a feeling that this post will be long enough without me trying to list the danger of each thing you are replacing.

Laundry

Not only is regular laundry detergent and/or fabric softener toxic but it is expensive!

There are many recipes for homemade laundry detergent floating around the Internet. There are also several commercial laundry cleaners on the market (for a pretty price!). I think that the success of them depends on the hardness of your water. I will tell you what works for me. I have well water and I do not know the hardness of it.

I skipped the recipes where you have to cook things and mix things because as well as wanting to be "natural" and "frugal", I want things to be simple.

We use three things: Plain Ivory Soap, Baking Soda and White Vinegar

We put the clothes in the washing machine, take the bar of Ivory soap and a metal cheese grater and grate a few swipes over the clothing. Dump in a scoop of baking soda and fill the fabric softener compartment with the vinegar. The soap is basically the same as the old time Ivory Soap Flakes that your grandmother used to wash with and the vinegar acts as a fabric softener - without leaving a smell.

This works on my husband's smelly work clothes, it works on the baby's smelly cloth diapers...I have never had a problem.

For stains I use a bar of old fashioned castile soap and an old toothbrush. Then I hang the clothes out in the sun (the sun bleaches clothing as well as bleach).

Bathroom

Again, vinegar and baking soda do the job.

For the toilet, I take a large container of water and pour it into the bowl. I'm not sure why, but this forces all of the water in the toilet to go down but it doesn't refill like it would if you simply flushed it. The toilet being empty of water makes it easier to clean. Then I dump in a few scoops of baking soda and a few glugs of vinegar (which makes a neat foaming volcano that my kids loves, lol) and I let it sit. After a while I scrub it with the toilet brush. I take a cleaning cloth and a spray bottle with a mixture of vinegar and water to clean the seat and outside of the toilet. If I have build up that won't come off with baking soda and vinegar, I use a Pumie Stone.

For the mirror, again I use the vinegar and water in the spray bottle. We don't use paper towels in our home so I use a squeegee. You can also use wadded up newspaper rather than paper towel.

Depending on how dirty your sink and tub are you can either use vinegar/water and a cloth, baking soda and vinegar scrub or the Pumie. I have also read that Bar Keepers Friend is pretty Earth friendly.

For the germ-a-phobes out there, you should know that white vinegar kills bacteria, mold, and germs. Heinz company spokesperson, Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—such as you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses).

He noted that Heinz can't claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial.

Kitchen

Studies have shown that when you use a newer model, energy efficient dishwasher, it actually takes less water and less energy than washing them by hand. If you have a dishwasher, my friends have had wonderful luck with Bio-Kleen.

My dishwasher went to the dishwasher place in the sky so I hand wash. I either use a Dr. Bronner's liquid soap or Seventh Generation Dish Washing Liquid. The Dr. Bronner's is amazing. You can wash your dishes with it, dilute it and use it as a fruit and vegetable wash, mop your floors with it, bathe with it, wash your hair with it, wash clothes with it...the list is endless. It costs more than other liquid soaps but it is very concentrated so one bottle lasts me almost a year. However I don't do laundry with it, as that would make it disappear a lot faster.The only drawback to the Dr. Bronner's is that it does not suds in the way that most dish soaps do. If you need suds to feel like your dishes are getting clean, better to use the Seventh Generation.

For cleaning the counter top I use vinegar and water. For cleaning the stove top (when it is all gunky and crusty from food), I use baking soda and vinegar. I let it sit and it just wipes off with very little to no scrubbing.

To mop my floors I use a wet dish cloth and a little leg action...or I let my kids slide around on the floor that was wet with a little wet soapy water (they LOVE this!). But I also recommend the Clorox Ready Mop. I don't like the fact that it is made of plastic but it IS convenient. Unlike the Swiffer Wet Jet (which is what I used to use) the Ready Mop doesn't require batteries (we use rechargeable but still, I prefer not to use them at all). The Ready Mop has a refillable bottle and you can use dish cloths for the pads instead of having to buy the ones especially designed to be used with it. The Swiffer Mop has Velcro attachments which makes it hard to use anything other than what they sell to go with it. The Ready Mop has a "catch" system where you stuff the corner of the cloth into the "grips" and it is held on that way. Since the bottle is refillable, you can fill it with the cleaner of your choice...vinegar, Dr. Bronners or I have even heard that Murphy's Oil Soap is pretty "green".

Living room/Bedrooms

We have removed the carpet from every room in the house. We feel that carpet has toxic chemicals on it and that it is impossible to actually keep clean. It can harbor all kinds of mold and allergens.

So to clean the living room and bedrooms, not much is left other than dusting. To dust wood I usually just use a real feather duster. When it needs a good polish I use lemon essential oil mixed with a little carrier oil (which is whatever other oil I have handy). I have ready that Murphy's Oil Soap isn't all that bad when it comes to toxicity, but if I can make my own I prefer to do so as it saves money.

I have also heard that salt and a fresh lemon can do wonders around the house. But I use Real Salt and it could get expensive to use as a cleaner (as could fresh lemons.)

So as you can see, it doesn't have to be complicated or expensive to clean your home the green way, with green and natural cleaning products.

Why I try to avoid plastic...

2009-08-05T17:00:00.002-04:00

My reasons to avoid plastic:

We are trying not to lead a disposable life
Plastic isn't very “classy” - my opinion only
The feel of plastic is usually “cheap”
Less plastic = less petroleum usage = less dependence on the middle east
Plastic contains carcinogens

Now, most of my friends will tell you (and I would tend to agree with them) that I have probably gone a bit overboard on the "no plastic" thing. So sue me, finding different ways to do things is a challenge and it is one I enjoy. It gives me something to do.

It is amazing the things you never think about until you have a reason to. I never realized how much the presence of plastic has completely inundated our lives and surroundings. It is pretty much impossible to go completely "plastic free". The keyboard I am typing on is made of plastic, my telephone is plastic, the list goes on and on. Even when I try to be conscientious and research what I am buying - the plastic sneaks up on me. Just the other day I purchased a bottle of olive oil. It was in a glass bottle with a metal lid...I thought I was doing well. I got it home and opened it to find a plastic pouring spout hiding under the metal lid.

Not that I think that the plastic pouring spout (not that alone, anyway) is going to give me cancer or destroy our planet, it is just that it proves the point that you cannot get away from plastic in today's society.

Several research studies have found that when plastic comes in contact with certain foods, molecules of the chemicals in the plastic can leach into the food or beverage.

Certain characteristics of the food item can make it more likely pick up plastic molecules:

The more liquid a food is, the more it touches the plastic, so the more opportunity it has to pick up plastic molecules.
Acid foods, such as tomato sauce, appear to be particularly interactive with plastic.
If you heat a food item in a plastic container—even if the container is microwave safe—the transference of plastic from the container to the food is even more likely.

When molecules of plastic—or more properly, molecules of the chemicals that get added to plastics during manufacturing—get into our bodies, it's not a good thing. They can cause unwanted effects in the human body.(from http://www.megnut.com/)

So what is a foodie like myself to do?

I started by purging my kitchen of plastic. I got rid of it all...right down to the very last storage bowl, utensil or measuring cup. I found that as I (slowly) replaced these items with (better quality, no doubt) glass or stainless steel counterparts, I actually felt better about cooking! It was more aesthetically pleasing to flip my pancakes with a stainless steel turner than with a flimsy nylon turner.

For food storage I initially compromised a bit. I purchased glass storage bowls that had plastic lids. I made sure to never put the food high enough so that it would touch the food so as to avoid leaching.

Then one day it dawned on me, (I sometimes have these "light bulb" moments, it's actually quite humorous) why not use glass canning jars!?

And to take that one step further, instead of recycling the glass jars that some of our food comes in (peanut butter, pesto (which I should be making homemade but can't get my basil to grow enough so that I can), salsa (which again, I should be making homemade but I can't seem to get it to taste right!) why not use THEM as well!

Some of these jars are actually quite attractive and some are actually intended just for this purpose (the Pesto I buy come in an actual Kerr canning jar).

Another idea is to just leave it in the pot you cooked it in, put the lid on and store it in the fridge that way. One less thing to wash! (It probably comes at no surprise that I'm a bit anal about what type of cookware I use as well...we will save that for another post).

Just an interesting FYI...Have you ever noticed the little numbers on the bottom of plastic bottles and other plastics? Those tell you what the plastic is made of and also indicates where it can be recycled (some facilities only take certain numbers of plastics).

Safer (not safe but safer) plastics are:

#1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) - usually for soft drinks, water bottles, ketchup and salad dressing, peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars

#2 high density polyethylene (HDPE) - used mostly for milk, water and juice bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners, and grocery, trash and retail bags

#4 low density polyethylene (LDPE) - bread and frozen food bags and squeezable bottles

#5 polypropylene (PP) - margarine tubs

Plastics to avoid include:

#3 polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC) - 2nd most commonly used plastic in the world. Many toys are PVC too and kids put everything in their mouths so watch out for those!

#6 polystyrene (PS) - foam & Styrofoam

#7 other (usually polycarbonate) - many drinking cups are made of this, baby bottles, big water jugs, kid's sippie cups (more on this issue later)

Book Rentals?

2009-08-05T11:48:00.004-04:00

Book rentals...what a novel concept! I love reading and I love for my children to read. But I don't always have the time to get to the library and I rarely have the money to get to the book store. This site solves both problems. It is like your own personal library. You "rent" the books, which are sent to your home, and then mail them back when you are finished...no due dates...no late fees!

Zoe is ONE!!!

2009-08-05T11:30:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday baby girl...I can't believe it has been a year!

Toys...what to do?

2009-08-04T10:50:00.001-04:00

Toys for my children is an issue that I have long struggled with. When my first child was born, I was clueless. I was mainstream and thought that cheap, China made, plastic Wal-Mart toys were just the thing that one bought for their babies.

Somewhere during my son's first year I discovered the "natural movement" and rid our house of 98% of the plastic toys (there was still some plastic, the wheels on the wooden trains, etc.). I read about the dangers of plastic toys. Treehugger.com says that "PVC (aka polyvinyl chloride) seems to be everywhere we look. Some beach toys, teethers, dolls, and even (gasp!) rubber duckies are cheaply manufactured with the environmentally dubious material. A dioxin-producing powerhouse, PVC releases toxins into the environment all the way through its lifecycle from manufacturing to disposal. Many PVC toys also contain phthalates, chemical compounds that make the PVC plastic more flexible, which initial studies have linked to both cancer and hormonal disruption."

So then I went a little crazy with the wooden toys (gasp! ME, go crazy with something? Never!) They were just beginning to become popular so they were even found in places like the Dollar Store and Wal-Mart. My house again became over populated with toys, albeit wooden toys. My children and I were slowly becoming overwhelmed with stuff but it was hard to stop when I was finding very expensive toys for less than a dollar at thrift stores. I started weeding out the flimsy, cheap wooden toys but we still had a lot of toys.

Then came the toy recalls. I feel like I should preface that sentence with some classical piano music to make it sound more dramatic....Don Don Don Daaaaa. It finally dawned on me that just because a toys is made of wood, that does not make it any better than a cheap plastic toy. You need to know what kind of wood is is made of, where it was made, how it was made, what kind of paint is on it, etc.

I also began to realize the importance of "non toys". My children still have a lot of toys, despite my endless pruning. But the things they seem to enjoy the most have nothing to do with actual toys. When children play with natural toys their imaginations are being awakened. They are using simple materials, that are readily available, to create their own world. A stick can be a sword, a magic wand, a mixing spoon for a cauldron...the possibilities are endless. They are not limited by the design of an executive who designed a one dimensional product simply to make a profit.

Beside that, when I buy toys for my children I think about the "play value" of the toy. I don't want a toy that is going to do all of the work for my child. I think such toys dull the imagination. Why buy a farm set where the cow moos for your child at the push of a button? Why not buy a basic set where you child can moo for the cow...or if she wants her cow to bark, it can bark. Or even better, why not let her use materials found in nature...that interesting piece of wood can be a cow one day and be carrots for her pot of "soup" the next. Does your baby really need to be surrounded by loud, flashing, blinking, beeping toys? What does this do to the developing brain? To the developing imagination?

Photo of my son making soup in his toy drum

Another thing that I do to encourage my child's imagination is to give my son dolls and my daughter tractors (as well as the other way around). I don't limit my children's play based on backwards (in my opinion) stereotypes.

It is hard and often frustrating to be so diligent in today's world. My children do not watch a lot of tv, yet they are still bombarded with the American idea of "You NEED this product to make your life better, to make you better". My son already knows that if he sees it advertised on television that there is a huge chance that he isn't getting it.

So this has been a wake up call for me. I am again purging toys, even the wooden ones. Any toy that comes into my house now has to go through my mental checklist. I try to buy natural wood toys, toys without paint. I also check to see where it is made. If it was made in the US or Europe I allow it. Things seem to be of better quality from these places.

One need not go to the boutique toy shop on Main Street in order to purchase good quality toys. In addition to using what is found in nature, I have found most of our toys at the local thrift stores or re-sell shops. I have also traded for toys on online parenting boards.

Cloth Diapers...

2009-08-03T10:36:00.004-04:00

My daughter Natalie, in a prefold

Cloth diapers are not what they used to be. I found that they were really no more trouble than disposable. There were a few extra steps involved but it wasn't the tedious chore that some make it out to be. For those interested in trying them out, here is an overview.

There are four basic types of cloth diapers.

There are prefolds, which are just the flat, "old-time" diapers (not to be confused with "flats" which you have to fold a few times in order to create the thickness).

You either pin them or use a plastic Snappi to hold it on. Or, some diaper covers are made so that they will hold the diaper in place without having to use a separate pinning mechanism. In the summer, my babies just wear a pre-fold without a cover.

The pros are that they are cheaper and a lot less trouble to maintain. You don't have to worry about stuffing them (like with the pocket diapers). You can just wash them, dry them and throw them in a pile until you need them.

The cons are that they can be bulky (although if you are having a girl it isn't as much of an issue because she can wear dresses and you don't have to worry about fitting pants over them).

Then there are fitted diapers, which are like disposable diapers in their shape and in the way you put them on. They have elastic around the legs and either close with Velcro or snaps. You have to use a cover with these as well.

The Pros are that you don't have to worry about pinning them and you just put them on like a disposable.

The cons are that they are more expensive, you still have to use a cover and they can take a long time to dry. They do come with inserts though. The inserts looks like cloth maxi pads and you snap them to the inside. This is nice if you have a heavy wetter. Some of the extra padding already sewn into them and that is what makes them take forever to dry.

AIO Diaper on my son

Next are the all-in-one diapers(AIO's). These look like the fitted diapers and have elastic around the legs and also close with either Velcro or snaps. The only difference is that you don't have to use a cover. They have a layer of waterproof PUL already sewn over them or as a layer inside of them.

The pros are that these are probably the most convenient as you literally use them just like disposables. You don't have to worry about stuffing them (as with the pocket diapers), you don't have to worry about a cover, you don't have to worry about pinning.

The cons are that they can be bulky and that if you have a heavy wetter they can leak. They are also pretty expensive. Depending upon how many layers are sewn into the diaper, they can take a long time to dry.

Last are the Pocket Diapers. They are "All-in-ones" in that they have the waterproof cover already sewn on. The difference is that you stuff these with 'inserts' (which can be anything from a pre-made insert to a folded up flat diaper).

The pros are that you can stuff them with as little or as much "stuffing" as your child needs (or as the situation calls for, stuff it heavier for long car rides, lighter for around the house). They also, for some reason, tend to be more trim and not as bulky as some of the others.

The cons are that you have to take the stuffing out before you put them into the hamper and then after you wash them, you have to stuff all of the inserts back in them.

The Pocket Diapers were my favorite with my now four year old. But I got so that I literally dreaded getting them out of the dryer and having to stuff them all. That's why I switched to the pre-folds....they were so much easier. I am also concerned with using synthetic fabrics...I much prefer natural fibers. With Zoe I use unbleached prefolds with wool covers.

I also had times when I used the cloth at home and disposables at night and when we went out. Every little bit helps with finances and with the environment. It doesn't have to be "all or none".

Within the four basic style of diapers you will find different features and different materials. It can get pretty overwhelming. You just have to break it down in your mind. Categorize it into one of the categories and then go from there.

One of the variations is that some of the fitted diapers and AIO diapers are what they call "one size". These are made with tons of snaps so that you are supposed to be able to fold them down and snap them so that they will fit a newborn and then unsnap them as the kid gets bigger and use them all the way up to toddler years. I've never had much use for these as I never could get a good fit with them.

With all types, you will find a few "store made" brands and then tons of WAHM (work-at-home-mom) brands.

Then there are the covers. That opens a whole new Pandora's Box. The basic two, though, are wool versus synthetic waterproof materials.

I much prefer wool. Wool can store moisture up to 35 per cent of its own dry weight yet it remains dry to touch and speeds up the body's own cooling system. Wool is breathable, it doesn't hold in the heat like plastics would. It allows for the circulation of air. This helps to prevent diaper rash. Wool contains natural lanolin which creates a natural waterproof barrier. Wool is also an anti-bacterial. It does not have to be washed between every diaper change. Once every few weeks should be sufficient. Just let dry between uses.

You could also use a cover made with PUL. Some people find these to be less intimidating than wool...although, once you get the hang of wool, it really is quite simple.

There are many places online where you can buy and/or trade for new and used cloth diapers. Unfortunately, ebay has prohibited the selling of used cloth diapers at this time. There is a petition circulating to try to get this rule amended but in the meantime you will have to look elsewhere. Some of the sites where I have found mine are http://www.diaperswappers.com/ and http://www.mothering.com/ as well as http://www.amitymama.com/. You can also do a google search on the type of diaper you are looking for and find tons of sites.

Native American Festival

2009-08-01T18:26:00.014-04:00

We went to a Native American festival at Red Clay today. We went a few years ago when Ben was little and were pretty disappointed. We bought an Indian head dress and when we got to the car we saw a tag on it that said "made in China". We have been going to classes at Red Clay during the week recently and I mentioned our disappointment to the ranger who was teaching our class. She said that the whole festival had been revamped and that now only Native Americans were allowed to be vendors and that they were only allowed to sell thing that were actually hand made. So we went today and were very pleased. Ben bought a much coveted blow gun. These are made from hollowed out river reed and they are what the Natives used to hunt. The kids got to practice with one at their class and when Ben found out that there is a tournament every year at the festival...well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest of the story! He is waiting until next year to actually be in the tournament as he feels that he needs more practice than just a day's worth.

Natalie wanted her face painted at one of the booths but it was hot and she was sweaty and I knew that it would get smudged within minutes so we told her that we would paint her face when we got home. It looked so much fun that the entire family got into it and we all ended up with war paint.

2009-07-31T13:02:00.001-04:00

Ben wasn't as enthusiastic about his "interview" for the first day of school. :)

Natalie

2009-07-31T11:49:00.003-04:00

For some reason Natalie thought that she needed to have a pony tail for her first day of school. She insisted that I put it in the night before...and of course, it got rumbled during the night. First thing when she woke up, she pulled out the hair band and asked me to fix her "pony" back nice.

First Day of School!

2009-07-27T13:33:00.005-04:00

Today was our first day of school.

Ben is "in" third grade and Natalie is doing four year old kindergarten. She will be in "kindergarten" for two years. We are working on her shapes, numbers, colors, alphabet and letter sounds, seasons, etc. this year. I don't really care which grade the kids say they are in as those are more of a school system label, but Natalie INSISTS that she is in kindergarten....so kindergarten it is! She was very excited about today.

During lessons we found a frog in the house and had to take a break to go put water in the pond (it hasn't rained here in ages) so that we could release the frog.

Later we are going to go pick apples from our orchard (I can't believe that it is already apple time!) and do an art lesson with a few of them. We read about woodblock prints in art so we are going to try our hand at making some prints (using apples instead of wood as they are easier to carve).

Zoe Crawling

2009-07-05T09:05:00.003-04:00

Zoe is 11 Months Old!

2009-07-05T08:11:00.003-04:00

Zoe is eleven months old! She is now crawling, albeit not a "normal" crawl (when did one of my children ever do something the "normal" way? :) ) She does one side on her hands and knees but the other leg kind of does something different. I will try to get a video up soon. It is hilarious. It gets her where she needs to go though. When I say "where she needs to go", I actually mean "it gets her all around the house so that she can get into everything possible". She pulls up well and is starting to "cruise" around the furniture a bit. She is very curious.

She also has her first tooth poking up through the gum. It is her left bottom tooth and it is just barely peeking through. She is mostly a happy baby but when she doesn't like something she has no problem letting us know. She grumbles and growls and throws herself around in a little hissy.

She is the center of her brother and sister's lives. She is the first thing they look to when they wake up in the morning. They love to make her laugh.

Ben's Fan Mail...

2009-07-03T10:00:00.003-04:00

Ben sent his first fan letter this morning. He has been reading the "Fudge" books by Judy Blume and wanted to write to her to ask if she would please write more. I helped with the spelling of "sincerely" but the rest of it is his own. Here is his letter:

TO JUDY BLUME, HELLO I AM BEN. I AM7. I LOVE YOUR FUDGE BOOKS, I WISH YOU COULD WRITE MORE.
SINCERELY,

BEN

2009-06-14T15:15:00.004-04:00

Here is Natalie comparing the color of her shirt to the blooms on her bean plant in our garden.

I needed to get something done without an extra set of hands so I asked Ben to hold Zoe while he watched a show on tv. I noticed that it was quiet so I went to check on them and found that he had put her to sleep. He was very proud of himself and wanted me to take a picture. :)

Jennifer and I took all of the kids on a nature walk at Fletcher Park. They had some *amazing* trees there and I got some great photos.

Shawn came home from town the other day with a new friend. He saved him from being ran over.

The Yard Project

2009-06-07T12:04:00.004-04:00

We are making progress on my yard project. It still isn't anywhere near finished but that is okay because it is teaching patience. It may take years to finish...and by that point, I bet it turns into one of those things that I don't *want* to finish because it will be my hobby, my work in progress.

So instead of using the black ground cover that is sold in garden supply stores (for a high price), I bought inexpensive light weight tarps from the Dollar Store. I also used some left over scrap linoleum from a friend. I covered the areas that I wanted to mulch. The tarps worked wonderfully because they already have the holes in them for me to put the peg into (to hold it down to the ground). I decided to let the walkway remain grassy and am going to put step stones on it. They won't actually be "stones" though...they will be things that I already have or things that I find. Currently I am using old door mats for the "stones"...but I don't have enough so I am going to have to get creative. On both sides of the walkway will be mulch.

In different places in the mulched area will be a garlic bed, a strawberry bed, blueberry bushes, a tree and grape vines. The kid's pool is also up here (because it is the only area in the yard that is actually flat and not on a slope).

This area shows the mulched area and the dirt bed where I am going to plant wildflowers (the triangle area). The area with rocks is a little water garden.

This photos shows work that still needs to be done. I am building a fence to go along the sides by using branches in the shape of a Y, driving them into the ground and then laying a long straight branch in the Y on each end. It also shows the beginning of my rock garden.

This is my organic, herloim herb garden. It is a mudicinal garden. I plan to dry the herbs and use them to treat sickness this winter. I wrote the names of each herb on popcicle sticks and that wasn't the best idea as the rain made the ink run and now I don't know which is what...I am going to have to take an herb book out there and try to identify them! lol

This is my garlic bed. It is the wrong time of year to plant garlic but I knew it would go bad if I tried to keep it until the fall. So I planted it and am just going to have to leave it for about a year before I see anything out of it.

This is just a groovy fence that I built. I am going to use it to dry herbs. The other one didn't work out but I like this one better anyway!

Our Garden Continues to Grow

2009-06-07T11:38:00.006-04:00

This is probably my favorite time of year...the days are not yet scorching hot (although today may challenge that) yet everything is beautiful and green. Our garden is coming along beautifully. We have some weeds that we are trying to take care of but overall, I am very proud of it. Everyone has worked very hard on it - especially my mom and Aunt Erma. I try my best to keep up with my part but with three kids and all of their activities...I'm not out there as much as I would like to be.

Zoe is 10 Months Old!

2009-06-07T11:16:00.003-04:00

She has developed into such a happy baby with such a sweet personality. She loves her brother and sister and the feeling is mutual. Her new thing is to constantly say "Guggin, guggin, guggin"...I have no idea what it means but it is hilarious. She will also hold something out to you and very seriously say "Guh". She is kind of crawling, as in - she can get around if she absolutely needs to. She can sit in the floor and use her legs to turn herself around in a circle and she can lay on her stomach and reach something if she is really intent on getting it...but she isn't actually crawling. She is pulling up onto everything but isn't really taking steps while holding on. She stood alone for about thirty seconds last night. Still no teeth!

Getting Caught Up...

2009-05-31T13:23:00.007-04:00

We have been busy! I have a lot of photos to post.

While Zoe still isn't crawling, she can get around when there is somewhere that she wants to go. We treated ourselves to some Cheetos from the surplus table at the food co-op (just to point out that they are organic crap instead of just regular old crap :-p ). Natalie was eating some and got up to go to the bathroom. She thought that she left the bag well away from the baby. She came back to this...

Yesterday we went to an old fashioned kid's festival up on Copperhill/Ducktown. It was in an old building that was used in the copper mining years ago. The kids threw darts at balloons, played Bingo and Ben took part in an old fashioned cake walk. Of course, the golden boy he is, he won a cake! The child seems to win everything he enters while I don't know what I have even won anything in my life!

There was an old set of stairs that fascinated Ben. In my effort to let my children explore their world, even when (or maybe it is *especially when*) mainstream says it may be *gasp* dangerous...I let him explore. He got to the bottom of the stairs and exclaimed "Oh wow! I'll see you later" and that's when "adventure mom" switched places with "cautious mom". I thought he was about to go down in a mine! It turns out that it was just a tunnel that led under the hill we were standing on. So I walked down to where it came out on the other side and we explored that as well.

2009-05-13T15:03:00.009-04:00

The yard work continues. I have tried to plan out what I want my yard to look like and put it on paper or on the computer but I just cannot visualize it. I do better by just going out and *doing* it. I kind of get "in the zone" and work in a frenzy and then stand, exhausted, and see what I have done.

Here is Zoe sitting in the tipi to keep out of the sun.

Here is a photo of the fence/herb drying rack that I am building.

This is a photo of the kids and I that was taken yesterday.

While I worked Ben checked on his arrow head that he made out of the red clay that is so abundant in our yard. Then he borrowed my shovel and started trying to dig a well. He says he thinks it will probably take him about five days. :)

2009-05-12T08:08:00.011-04:00

This is a photo of my medicinal herb garden. I have a goal of learning more about herbs and natural remedies before next winter (cold and flu season). I ordered just about every herb that Baker Creek carries...all organic and heirloom and made this little garden beside the chicken coop.

Then we went for a walk to scout out local plants that I thought would look nice in the yard. My goal is to have my entire back yard planted in something besides grass. It is my belief that there is no such thing as a "weed". All plants have a purpose, some have just been forgotten to time. So we got the red wagon, plopped Zoe inside and off we went to find plants. I took the ones that spoke to me - not really knowing what any if them are. I hope to identify them later in one of our field guides (and make a school lesson out of it - bonus points!). Poor Zoe ended up in a wagon full of plants and dirt.

I spent the next hour or so digging holes for my new plants while Ben dug holes looking for Cherokee Indian artifacts. :)

Zoe is Nine Months Old!

2009-05-05T10:22:00.002-04:00

Nine month old. Now she has been on this Earth as long as she was in the womb. We are only three months away from a year old. I have greatly enjoyed her babyhood...I think that I relax a little more with each child.

She still is not crawling and she still has no teeth. Both are fine by me. :) A nursing baby with no teeth cannot bite as hard as a nursing baby with teeth! And a baby who will sit in one spot and play is easier to care for than a baby who has discovered that they can get around.

She loves to eat and still growls at us and moves her hands in little circles as she is growling...this is her way of letting us know that she wants a bite! She is starting to be able to get around on her own, even without actually crawling. She uses her head and kind of throws it in the direction in which she wants to move. She is also pulling up on daddy and I when we are in the bed.

Playing House...

2009-04-13T13:37:00.005-04:00

So the kids actually played together in their room this morning....and without fighting! (well, too much...) Zoe and I went in so that I could put up some clean laundry and they asked me of they could "borrow" Zoe to be their "baby". The results were hilarious. They had Zoe in the doll bed and while she wasn't 100% sure about the situation, I think they all ended up having a great time.

2009-04-08T10:56:00.005-04:00

We had an impromptu science lesson the other day.

One of the dad's on the baseball team gave us some freshly caught trout. We decided to have a traditional mountain meal so I picked from Dandelions from the yard to fry up to go with the trout.

Ben could not wait for me to cut the heads off of the fish so that he could experiment. Of course, Natalie had to get involved as well but she wasn't so sure about holding it in her bare hands. I put her fish head in a dish towel for her to hold.

I looked out the window to check on the kids and there they were, standing in the yard with tend stakes in their hands, trying to poke out the eyeballs. Ben was thrilled when his fish eyeball came out. He found the fish brain (didn't look like what I thought it would) and explored the eyeball and eye socket.

Natalie lost interest but Ben decided to make a "fish museum" and went to work trying to figure out how to preserve the fish head. After supper he had some fish spine bones to go in his museum as well.

Zoe is Eight Months Old

2009-04-05T09:38:00.003-04:00

Zoe is eight months old! I cannot believe that in just four months (which I know will fly by) my baby will be a year old. She still has her cute gummy smile as she has not a tooth in her head. Her favorite thing in the world is paper. Nothing makes her more happy than to be given one of daddy's old magazines to eat. We call her "our little goat" because of how much she loves to eat paper. Anything you give her goes straight to her mouth. She had a big day yesterday because her big brother was in a musical! This is a photo of her last night...all tuckered out.

2009-03-18T12:10:00.000-04:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Zoe is Seven Months Old!

2009-03-05T18:29:00.004-05:00

My baby is growing up way too fast. I enjoy the first year so much and it is always the one that passes the quickest. Zoe continues to grow and thrive. She enjoys trying new foods...in fact, you can't eat with her in the room or she will throw a hissy to get a bite. We haven't really found anything that she doesn't like. We usually just give her some of whatever we are eating or I will give her some applesauce that mom canned with the apples from our apple orchard or some peaches that mom canned off of our peach tree. I am trying to stay away from processed baby food...although I did find a bunch of organic at the UGO a while back and I couldn't turn that down!

2009-03-01T08:44:00.007-05:00

Sorry for the delay in putting up photos from day three...we all woke up sick and I didn't feel like downloading them! On the last day there we went to Fort Pulaski http://www.nps.gov/fopu/ The kids had a great time exploring the fort that I used to love so much when I was a child. Ben and I were about to go into the powder room and I took a photo first. An orb showed up and we decided not to go in!!

2009-02-26T21:17:00.004-05:00

Today was a good day. We went to Build-a-Bear. I had told Natalie that I would take her there while Daddy and Ben went to the hockey game. It turns out that the Atlanta mall where we stayed didn't have a BAB! She had quite a bit of birthday money that she wanted to spend there...so we went this morning.

Then we had lunch at a local hole in the wall seafood place (which was delicious!). Then to a thrift store to get bathing suits for the kids. Then we went over to Tybee Island (which is where we stayed every single year during my childhood). It felt like going back home...it was really neat. We went to the light house and I climbed all the way to the top!! Carrying a baby!! Shawn was in the bathroom and the kids took off so I followed. I knew he was too sick to make it but I did plan on leaving Zoe with him. A really nice couple passed me while I was on a landing, huffing and puffing. The man offered to carry Zoe the rest of the way down (she was literally slung under my arm like a sack and I was huffing and holding onto the rail and must have looked pretty bad, lol!). I gladly let him.

We went to the beach after the lighthouse. We had been telling the kids that it was too cold to swim and they kept arguing. So we decided to take the approach that we would just let them find out for themselves. We figured that when they felt the water that they would agree that it was too cold...not my crazy kids...they got out there and swam! People actually came over from different places on the beach just to watch them. One man came up and said "I thought I saw them from way over there but I didn't believe what I thought I saw so I came over to see!"

Zoe's first look at the ocean!

Zoe eating her first cracker at the restaurant tonight.

Savannah Day One

2009-02-25T20:01:00.003-05:00

Savannah is where Shawn and I took our first vacation together...not even two months after we got together. I have always remembered it as such a magical vacation and a magical place. I have been looking forward to bringing our children here. The magic is still here....and amazingly, so is the street performer whom we remembered so fondly from that trip!

Shawn recognized him immediately. I asked him how long he had been on the riverfront and he said "about nineteen years". We talked for a while and he sang for us.

We saw a private yacht that was built to look like a pirate ship. There was a sign saying that it is now owned by the Twelve Tribes (aka our very own Yellow Deli people). I thought that was interesting to say the least. I still haven't made up my mind about them but I am leaning towards the negative just because of all I have read during my research.

We also visited a candy shop where they make fresh salt water taffy.

We ate at a restaurant that is housed in the building that held Savannah's first hotel. Supposedly it is a very haunted place - which, for those of you who know Ben, know that being in a hunted place THRILLED him! I took a photo of him and there *is* a small orb above his head...

Natalie is Four!!

2009-02-22T18:15:00.002-05:00

Natalie is four years old today. It is so hard to believe that my baby girl is this old. It is 6:18 pm as I write this. Four years ago today I was holding my new baby girl in my arms (she was born at 6:05 pm). Happy Birthday Natalie!

2009-02-20T15:50:00.007-05:00

We don't have a local recycling center so we save our recycling until we have quite a bit and then take it to Chattanooga. The kids love helping to sort everything into the proper containers.

Also, a photo of me with my new glasses.

My Anthropology class is fascinating and it is reaffirming some of my parenting beliefs. The chapter I am currently reading discusses co-sleeping. It discusses how American parents push their children to be independent because that is what is valued in this society. Most societies in the world sleep with their children...it is what has been done since the beginning of time and it is what is still done in most countries of the world. Our children have always slept with us and it was nice to read about all of the advantages of co-sleeping - and in a textbook none the less!

2009-02-20T15:45:00.001-05:00

Zoe is learning to feed herself. This is her having a bananna for the first time.

2009-02-20T15:35:00.004-05:00

Ben just finished up a five week class at the Creative Discovery Museum. He learned all about inventions and inventors. As part of his class, he was to invent something to share with everyone during the last week's class. He invented a board game based on the "Boxcar Children" books. This is a video of him doing a presentation explaining his invention.

Zoe is Six Months Old!

2009-02-05T10:12:00.003-05:00

Zoe is six months old now. I cannot believe that a half a year has gone by so quickly. She can sit up on her own and loves to eat food. She is becoming a "mama's girl" and isn't very happy if someone else is holding her. Sometimes that makes me feel loved and other times it feels overwhelming. She is a very sweet baby.

Zoe Can Sit Up!

2009-01-27T20:56:00.002-05:00

Zoe can sit up on her own now! Such a big girl.

Batteries

2009-01-25T09:47:00.005-05:00

Here is a tip for saving money on batteries. Invest in a battery tester! When your electronics start to show signs of low battery, nine times out of ten it is only one battery that is causing the trouble. The other batteries are usually fine. But most people throw out all of the batteries and replace all of them - at a considerable cost. The cost is monetary and it is also at a great cost to our environment. I purchased my tester at Radio Shack for less than ten dollars.

The sad thing is that currently there is no way to recycle batteries. Currently, most batteries collected through household battery collection programs are disposed of in hazardous waste landfills. Even stores and chains that have established take-back programs admit that it often ends up in the trash. There are no known recycling facilities in the U.S. that can practically and cost-effectively reclaim all types of household batteries, although facilities exist that reclaim some button batteries.

Rechargeable batteries result in a longer life span and use fewer batteries. However rechargeable batteries still contain heavy metals such as nickel-cadmium. The use of rechargeable batteries can reduce the number of batteries entering the waste stream. The problem is that at the same time, it may increase the amount of heavy metals entering the waste stream.

I still say that rechargeable batteries are the best to use because unlike their non-rechargeable counterparts, rechargeable batteries can be recycled!

So in summary, use rechargeable batteries, check your batteries when your appliance is running low and only replace the ones that need replacing and finally, recycle your batteries when they are no longer of use.

The battery manufacturers have funded a joint recycling center. To find a center near you that will take them, click here!

2009-01-13T08:21:00.005-05:00

Ben is an official "reader" now! When your child stays up later than you so that he can finish "just one more chapter", that is a proud moment. :) How can you be mad at them for staying awake when it is for such a good reason? He has quickly progressed from reading "readers" to books to chapter books. He has been reading "The Magic Treehouse" series in bed at night but doing only a few chapters a night. Last night I read the first two chapters of "The Boxcar Children" to him and he liked it so much that he finished the entire book last night! I remember waking up and hearing Shawn ask him "What are you still doing awake?" but it didn't fully dawn on me until this morning when Ben told me he finished it.

Ballet

2009-01-12T17:29:00.003-05:00

Natalie had her first ballet class today. She was so very excited. The parents weren't supposed to come in the class (which I think is a good thing) but I managed to sneak open the door and snap a few photos (and go unnoticed).

2009-01-05T08:05:00.004-05:00

Zoe is five months old! Time is passing by so quickly. As much as I wanted to wait on solids until she was six months old, or older, she seems to really want to eat food. When I am eating she will reach for my fork and fuss and cry. She is a very sweet baby, always smiling and reaching up with her little hands to touch my face. Here are some updated photos.

2008-12-10T11:24:00.009-05:00

Look what we woke up to this morning! It was a rough night...we had bad storms and the weather radio went off about 12 times. There were tornado watches (and even a warning!) all around us but thankfully we "only" had thunderstorm warnings for this area. The creek behind the house flooded its banks and TWO big trees fell down across our driveway. The kids had a ball climbing on the downed trees....now just to figure out a way to get them out of our driveway!

2008-12-07T09:00:00.007-05:00

The other day we went on our annual pilgrimage for a tree. Growing up I was very against using real trees for our holiday tree. I felt that it was wrong to take the life of a tree for our own superficial pleasure and then just discard it when we were finished. Then a few years ago I read about the impact of artificial trees on our environment. Now it seems so obvious but until I started reading more about it, it had never occurred to me.

Here are some things to think about:

Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource.
Growing Christmas trees provide a habitat for wildlife.
There are many ways to recycle a real tree. It can be put into a wood chipper and used as mulch, playground material, etc.
Or you can do as we do and put it back onto the land from which it came to be used as a wildlife habitat. We have certified our yard as a Certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat (http://www.nwf.org/backyard/) so putting our used tree back out into nature is a wonderful way to create more spaces for wildlife.
If you choose to buy from a tree farm rather than finding a tree yourself, you are usually supporting a local, family owned business.
Real trees provide oxygen and help rid the environment of carbon dioxide.
For every tree cut down on a tree farm, up to three seedlings are planted to replace it.

Now some facts about artificial trees:

Artificial trees - which most people keep for only six years – remain in landfill sites for centuries. Artificial trees are made from non-renewable plastics, PVC and other petroleum based products.
For every real tree cut down, up to three seedlings are planted to ensure a steady supply each year.
Artificial trees were recently added to the Center of Health, Environment & Justice’s list of household products containing PVC.
85% of the artificial Christmas trees sold in the U. S. come from China.
Upon their disposal, artificial Christmas trees pollute our landfill sites for centuries to come as they are not biodegradable and cannot be broken down naturally.

So with all of that in mind, we have started cutting down a tree from our property each year. It is a fun family event with us all going out for a walk to search for the perfect tree. Last year we greatly overestimated the size of our home and ended up getting a tree more fit for a theater with thirty foot celeings! The trees look so much smaller in the field than in the house. This year we did a bit better and only a bit had to be trimmed off.

We found the perfect tree in the thicket beside the house. We all thanked the tree for giving its life to be our holiday tree and then daddy cut it down and brought it to the house where we decorated it together. No photos of us decorating it as the camera battery went dead, but I have some good ones of us finding the tree.

We have started another tradition that each child gets to open an early present on the day we put up the tree (I try to find reasons to give early presents because I feel that getting so many on one day is pretty overwhelming). Natalie was upset that we were "taking so long" to find the tree because she wanted to go open her present. That is why she looks so angry in the photos!

Finding the tree

The family standing in front of the tree (Natalie mad)

Zoe is four months old!

2008-12-07T07:54:00.006-05:00

I cannot believe how quickly she is growing up! She is close to sitting up on her own. She weighs 15lbs 12oz now. She is reaching for toys (and they go right into her mouth). She is very social and happy. She is ready with a big smile anytime you look her way.

Zoe is three months old!

2008-11-13T22:19:00.005-05:00

I am late with her three month photos but to make up for it, I have included a video! I finally figured out how to work the video feature on my camera. Yes, she is crying. No, I don't think it's cute to watch babies cry. But it was the first time I used the video feature and I was just trying to see if it worked. Unfortunately, that is how I got her. I promise better ones soon!

2008-11-02T08:07:00.011-05:00

Happy Samhain!

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.

Samhain (pronounced sow-in) marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year, for the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, at Beltane on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.

Samhain literally means “summer's end.” With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven.

In the country year, Samhain marked the first day of winter, when the herders led the cattle and sheep down from their summer hillside pastures to the shelter of stable. The hay that would feed them during the winter must be stored in sturdy thatched ricks, tied down securely against storms. Those destined for the table were slaughtered, after being ritually devoted to the gods in pagan times.

All the harvest must be gathered in -- barley, oats, wheat, turnips, and apples -- for come November, the faeries would blast every growing plant with their breath, blighting any nuts and berries remaining on the hedgerows.

Peat and wood for winter fires were stacked high by the hearth. It was a joyous time of family reunion, when all members of the household worked together baking, salting meat, and making preserves for the winter feasts to come. The endless horizons of summer gave way to a warm, dim and often smoky room; the symphony of summer sounds was replaced by a counterpoint of voices, young and old, human and animal.

In early Ireland, people gathered at the ritual centers of the tribes, for Samhain was the principal calendar feast of the year. In every household throughout the country, hearth-fires were extinguished. All waited for the Druids to light the new fire of the year.

At at all the turning points of the Celtic year, the gods drew near to Earth at Samhain, so many sacrifices and gifts were offered up in thanksgiving for the harvest. Personal prayers in the form of objects symbolizing the wishes of supplicants or ailments to be healed were cast into the fire, and at the end of the ceremonies, brands were lit from the great fire of Tara to re-kindle all the home fires of the tribe, as at Beltane. As they received the flame that marked this time of beginnings, people surely felt a sense of the kindling of new dreams, projects and hopes for the year to come.

Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

The night of October 31st, is known today of course, as Halloween.

Halloween Photos

2008-11-01T09:39:00.003-04:00

It is our tradition to go Trick-or-Treating with our best friends, the Corder Family. This year Eliza was a maiden, Ben a monk, Elias a ninja, Pearl and Natalie princesses, Nika a pirate and Zoe a princess.

2008-10-18T21:18:00.005-04:00

I've got lots of new photos to share!

First I will tell you the story of the pumpkin. We went to the Corn Maze a few weeks ago (the one mentioned below...the one where I forgot to take my camera!! Grrr) and bought a pumpkin.

We finally got around to carving it tonight. Ben had been really looking forward to it and was so proud of it when we finished. He took it out to the porch and then came in with me to get a candle and some matches. When we went back out, Natalie was standing on the porch and the pumpkin was laying, in pieces, on the ground.

She admitted to pushing it off on purpose but I can't understand what she is trying to tell me as to WHY she pushed it off. I don't think she realized what the consequences would be (a smashed pumpkin) but I was still pretty upset and Ben was devastated. She went and sat on the bed and cried while Ben and I tried to put the pieces back together. After a while she came out, and on her own, told me "I am so sorry mama". It made Ben feel better that she apologized (and that he was getting my pity and attention!). We decided that we will get another pumpkin to carve and that the next time she won't push him to his death off the side of the porch!

2008-10-11T20:24:00.002-04:00

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
Mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
Mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can
Disappoint another
to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.

If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
Even when it is not pretty
every day.

And if you can source your own life
From its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
Yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up
After the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Zoe is two months old!

2008-10-05T12:48:00.011-04:00

I can't believe that month two is already here! Zoe has ballooned up just like her brother and sister did. She is a whopping 13 pounds. She loves to be talked to and will reward you with a coo and a big smile.

Zoe is a month old!

2008-09-06T10:23:00.008-04:00

It is hard to belive that she has already been here for a month! Here are some new photos of her, Princess Natalie and Ben. :)

Ben's very first "all by himself" diaper change! Yes, it is a disposable diaper. I haven't found a cloth system that works at night so we are doing cloth during the day and sposies at night...for now. If anyone knows a good night time diapering system I would love to hear about it! :)

2008-08-31T14:46:00.007-04:00

Things are going well with our new family. Zoe will be a month old in four days!

I am actually a bit paranoid...kind of waiting for the bottom to fall out from under us. I have always heard that going from one child to two is life altering but any kids after the second one the baby just kind of fits into your life. So far that has been true for us.

I remember that after Natalie was born I had to rely heavily on my mom (thank goodness for her). So she and I planned in advance for this one. We purchased convenience foods and easy breakfast foods (neither of which we usually have in our home) in anticipation of me sending the kids up to eat with her every morning. I tried to prepare myself for the hormonal, emotional upheaval that was "sure" to come. We delayed starting our homeschooling although the public schools had already started.

But we have all done amazingly well. I am not saying this to brag...I don't really hold any of the credit...it is just something that has happened. I have been getting up at our regular time (around 6:30-7:00), cooking the kid's breakfast, doing school, etc. I also haven't experienced any of the emotional ups and downs that I expected. I've even managed to keep my house clean and to stay on top of the dishes - despite the lack of a dishwasher (until tax refund season!). So it's almost like things are going a little too well, hence the whole "waiting for the bottom to drop out" feeling.

The kids have been amazing with Zoe. Neither have really shown jealously. Natalie sometimes wants to lay on my arm when I am nursing Zoe and gets upset that I can't somehow manage to do both but for the most part they are very protective and loving in regards to her. They have both admonished me when I have had to use the bulb syringe to suction her nose so that she could breathe in order to nurse. I hate doing it but sometimes it is necessary...I don't think Ben and Natalie agree. Natalie has even gone as far as to put her hand over Zoe's nose and order me to stop!

As with when Natalie was a baby, I again have a low milk supply due to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). We are having to supplement with formula but there is no way we are giving up nursing. Natalie nursed for 2 1/2 years and I hope that Zoe does for at least that long.

Zoe has been diagnosed as being tongue tied. This is leading to even more problems breastfeeding when combined with my already low supply. We are having a very hard time finding someone who is willing to do a frenetomy (clip the frendelum under her tongue so as to release her tongue and enable her to latch on properly). I'm not going to go into details because they are long and I will just end up getting pissed off all over again. Hopefully I have found someone who can help (at the recommendation of the lactation consultant at the center where she was born) and I will be calling them first thing Tuesday morning.

As for other important news in our family, my first baby turned seven years old on the 26th of August! I cannot believe that he has grown up so fast. He and I made a monster truck cake for his birthday. We also made a crown for the birthday boy to wear and will be storing it in a safe place so that everyone else in the family can wear it on their special day as well.

2008-08-16T15:29:00.002-04:00

Zoe is here!

2008-08-16T12:02:00.004-04:00

Introducing

Zoe Soleil Rain

Born August 4, 2008

Weighing 7lbs 15oz and 20" long

2008-06-27T14:59:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to pop in and add some new photos. The kids and I went to a local park with our friends this past Tuesday. They had a ball climbing a tree with low lying branches.

Natalie and her daddy

Ben reading, I love this photo!

Photos of the baby!

2008-06-11T20:43:00.002-04:00

I had an appointment with my midwife today. I asked her to see if she could feel to see if she could tell which position the baby is in. I have been feeling kicks in strange places and thought that she might be breech (she isn't though, whew!). She smiled and said "Let's just go do an ultrasound". She ended up doing a 3D and got some wonderful shots of the baby. She has her arm and hand up by her face in the first one. She is pooching her little lips out in the second one. Everything looked to be ok!

2008-06-02T10:25:00.004-04:00

I apologize for waiting so long between updates. Life has been very busy. Tonight (if we don't get rained out) is Ben's final baseball game. Tuesday is Natalie's. Then things should calm down a bit. I am in my 32nd week of pregnancy...only eight more weeks to go!

I am including some of the latest photos of the kids. The first few are of our ill fated camping trip. It never occured to me that it might not be the best idea in the world to go camping when one is 7 1/2 months pregnant! We ended up coming home a day early but I think the kids had a good time while we were there. Natalie made a friend (the doggie) and we saw lots of cool bugs, frogs, etc.

We also made a visit to the Chattanooga Market. It is a farmer's Market in the downtown area that features handmade crafts, herbs, food, etc. Ben rode some type of scrambling machine and loved it.

This is a photo of the kids in their "restaurant". Ben takes all of the tables, trays and chairs in the house and makes a "fancy restaurant" where we eat our meals for a few days before putting the house back to normal.

We found a battery operated Volkswagon Beetle at a thrift store for a steal (normally over $200. and we got it for $10.). She is so very proud of it.

Last but not least...we found a Slip 'n Slide at a discount outlet for $2.00! The kids LOVE it and they even got their daddy on it. They had a blast.

2008-04-26T12:35:00.006-04:00

Sorry for the delay in an update. We went on vacation during the first part of this month. We were in Charleston, SC for a few days and then over to Myrtle Beach for a few days to see my bestest friend Jeffery and his partner Brett...and to also meet my friend Christa whom I have only been able to talk to online before then. Despite it being rainy and cold, we had a really good time and brought home some great memories. Here are a few photos from the trip.

The kids at Fort Sumter in Charleston.

The kids on the Hard Rock Cafe motorcycle in Myrtle Beach

Walking down to the beach in front of our hotel in Myrtle Beach

Playing on the beach in Myrtle Beach

Jeff and I

Belly shot on the beach

Jeff, Brett and I

Christa, Jeff and I

The Incline Railway...

2008-03-26T10:12:00.004-04:00

We went on a homeschool co-op field trip yesterday to the Incline Railway in Chattanooga. I was terrified and didn't want to go but Ben promised to hold my hand. :) It turned out to be a wonderful trip. I actually enjoyed myself. After hearing the tram man explain the safety features, I was able to relax and enjoy my ride.

This is a photo taken from the bottom of the track. You can see how steep the grade is when you get close to the top of the mountain! Below it you see a photo taken from the top of the mountain as one of the cars is descending. Then a photo from the inside of the car as we were going down. Try to notice how you can see the valley at the bottom out of the top of the car. That is because we are almost at a vertical position. They designed the car so that you don't feel it as much. The car actually sits at an angle.

Here is a photo of Ben looking through the view meter at the top of the mountain. He kept pointing out all of the things he could see. He saw some "red big trucks" on the Interstate and was very excited about that! Then a photo of my tired kids (and my cranky daughter) on the ride down.

Some interesting facts about the Incline Railway from their official site:

"Following the Civil War, development on Lookout Mountain was minimal. The four-hour trip up Whiteside Pike, a toll road, discouraged many people, and the two-dollar toll discouraged the rest. However, many people were interested in visiting the peak, in part due to the romanticized "Battle Above the Clouds" that occurred on the mountain during The Civil War.

During the railroad boom of the 1880's, speculators decided to develop a hotel on the mountaintop serviced by a narrow gauge railroad that would run up the mountain. A second, broad-gauge line and an earlier incline were also competing for passengers.

On November 16, 1895 the railroad known today simply as "The Incline" opened, rising up the steepest part of Lookout Mountain. Built by John Crass and the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway Company this technical marvel boasted an incline of 72.7% at one point, making it the steepest passenger Incline in the world. Literally millions of residents and tourists have taken this ride up to the top of Lookout Mountain. By 1900 the success of this railway closed down all of its competitors.

Originally the cars were made of wood and powered by huge coal-burning steam engines. Electric power was used after 1911, and it now uses two 100 horsepower motors.

Easter...

2008-03-23T11:36:00.003-04:00

The kids colored Easter Eggs (and ate some, as you can see from Natalie's mouth!). Then we hid eggs outside for them to hunt. They loved their Easter baskets this morning. Natalie got some "bam-baids", which thrilled her. Ben got some Mad Libs books. He loves making silly stories with the books and has no idea that he is learning at the same time!

2008-03-23T10:37:00.009-04:00

Here is a new "belly shot". I am 21 weeks today. I feel the baby move often but no one can feel it from the outside yet.

I have lots of photos to share this week! Yesterday we picked up mamaw and took a day trip to Pigeon Forge, up in the Smokey Mountains. We fed the ducks at the Old Mill. One of them came right up and ate out of Shawn's hand!

We also took the kids to a Chuck E. Cheese Hell type of pizza place where they played games and won prizes.

However, the highlight of the day was when the "boys" got to ride in a real monster truck! Ben said it was a "dream come true".

Baseball time again...

2008-03-18T21:46:00.004-04:00

And so it begins...

Tonight was the first baseball practice for both kids. Natalie's was at 5:30 and Ben's at 6:30. They were adorable dressed in the baseball uniforms, ready to head off to the field.

Natalie threw in the towel a bit early and refused to bat, but in her defense she only had a thirty minute nap today so after a day at home school co-op and then baseball practice, she was exhausted. She and her team were so cute out on the field. You don't realize how little they are until you see them all out there together trying to play ball.

Ben has really improved this year! When he and daddy practice in the backyard he prides himself on hitting the ball out of the yard and into the road behind the house. If he hits the ball that far at the ball field he is going to be hitting some home runs this year!

Natalie had a potty accident at the field and the only change of clothes I had in the van was a dress. Unfortunately, I didn't include shoes when packing the change of clothes so she ended up wearing a flower dress with her black cleats. It was a pretty interesting sight to behold. I got a photo of her when we got home, asleep from a long day...all curled up in her dress and cleats.

Our Weekend...

2008-03-09T17:25:00.005-04:00

For the most part we had a pretty uneventful week. We seem to be "under the weather" again but that has been more the norm than the unusual this winter.

We had a light snow Saturday morning and the kids got bundled up and went outside to play before it stopped.

Then today Natalie helped daddy change Um-bah's oil. I don't know weather they got more oil in the car or into her!

After the chores we got all of the baseball stuff out of the building and got it organized for the upcoming Little League season. The kids and daddy played some ball while I watched. Ben hit more than he missed! Natalie was a bit tired as she didn't get a good nap today so she was a bit cranky, as you can see from the photo!

2008-03-03T08:09:00.005-05:00

We had a family day yesterday. We took the kids to the Ocoee River Park and then went to get ice cream. We had a great time! I've included some photos and will try to get more up soon.

The first two are of the kids and I and then a new belly shot.

This is one of Shawn and the kids throwing rocks in the river and then one of Shawn trying to ride Ben's scooter.

Ben took his scooter and tried it out for the first time. Natalie took her tricycle. She got very upset when Ben tried to ride her tricycle. She actually chased him and tried to pull him off! Notice that in the photo of the sign, you can see her under it, holding on to the tricycle with all of her might.

Off to church...

2008-03-02T13:20:00.005-05:00

Our friend's daughter was baptised on Saturday and we attended the celebration. We are becoming more knowledgeable about the Orthodox church but this was the first baptism that we have attended. I found it to be very interesting. It was also cool that it was basically the same baptism that the church did two thousand years ago...from what I understand, very little has changed in way of how the services are done.

As for news on the "home front", we found out last week that the baby is a girl! We are all excited. The kids both wanted a girl. I was honestly ok either way but I am thrilled to have another baby girl. This pregnancy seems to be going by quickly. I am 18 weeks today. I guess when you have two other kids to care for, you don't have as much time to sit and focus on the pregnancy!

The kids are growing and learning each day. This morning they were in the bed with us, playing with Lego blocks. I started putting them together in a pattern of red, blue, red, blue. I would ask Natalie which color came next and she got it right every time! Then I added another color to the pattern and she still would choose the correct block to hand to me. I was impressed that she got the concept at her age.

Then Ben found an old tape measure and started measuring everything in sight, which lead to an impromptu math lesson. He already understood the concept of an inch and that it takes twelve inches to equal a foot so it was basically a review. But he enjoyed himself. We found a math page in an old workbook and worked on estimating and then actually measuring objects to see how close our estimates of measurement were. Natalie even got into it. She ran around the house finding things for Ben to measure!

Ben got his cast off on Friday and his arm had healed nicely. He was able to play in the last basketball game of the year. His basketball photos should be back soon and I will be giving them out/mailing them out to everyone.

Here is a photo of Ben and Natalie and their friend Elias at the baptism.

2008-02-27T08:03:00.006-05:00

Natalie and friends got together at the Chattanooga Creative Discovery Museum on Sunday. I think that everyone had a good time. Here are some photos from that day.

The little ones enjoyed watching what air can do to a ball (and getting their hair blown back in the process!).

As we left the restaurant, the kids insisted on having their photo taken in the brick boat that sits on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. This is Ben, Elias, Pearl, Eliza and Natalie.

The kids put on a "show" in the theater area of the museum.

They enjoyed digging for "dinosaur bones" in the sand pit. This is one of Natalie and Pearl Ann.

2008-02-22T11:33:00.004-05:00

Life has been busy for us the past couple of months. I don't want to jinx myself by saying this but I seem to be feeling a bit better. I still don't have very much energy but at least I am not sick from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep!

The pregnancy is going by very quickly. I am already in my fifth month! I am starting to get a little baby belly and I have felt it move a few times. I am 16 weeks 5 days today so it will not be long until we can find out the sex! I debated on not finding out. I have baby clothes for either sex so there is really no practical reason to do so. But everyone else in my life boycotted that idea! But I'll admit, I too am tempted to know so that I can start going through all of the cute baby clothes I have stored in the building!

We used some of our tax money to buy an inexpensive (but in very good shape!) mini-van. No matter which type of seat we tried to fit into the Escape, there was just no way to get all three car seats in the back. Natalie's seat is very large but because her her size and age, it is necessary for her to be in it. She is too large for the regular toddler seat but too short and too young for a regular booster. Ben is still in his booster as well. There is literally about six inches between their two seats - definitely not enough room for another baby!

The kids also have a new treat. Their Um-bah found the perfect set of bunk beds for them at the local thrift store. These were some of the nicest beds I have seen and they were at a thrift store price! Ben is delighted to sleep on the top bunk and Natalie is still working on being delighted to sleep on the bottom.

Shawn has joined a basketball team through is work. They play their games on Monday nights and the kids love going to watch daddy play!

Ben is doing well with his school. We are doing some tweaking on how we do school. I have found that trying to sit down between certain hours each day and "do school" does not work for either one of us. With this pregnancy, sometimes *I* don't feel well, or sometimes he is in the middle of something and doesn't want to stop or sometimes Natalie is in one of her moods and tries to sing over me reading a book to Ben, which makes learning impossible. It occurred to me that one of the points of not sending him to public school is that we have the freedom to learn our own way. Why bother homeschooling if we are just going to do a carbon copy of school while at home?

So I have given Ben more control over his schedule, which works much better. It saves the struggle of when to "do school" and it saves the guilt on my part that I am not sitting down at a certain time each day to teach him. He is actually learning more this way! Each Sunday I make out a lesson plan for the week. I have an organizer with folders. Each subject has its own folder. I put all of the math worksheets for the week in one folder, his grammar pages in anther, the books he needs to read for the week in another, etc. He is allowed to set his own pace and schedule. He can choose to do three math sheets in one day and then take a break or he can do one each day. He can choose to do it at nine in the morning or at three in the afternoon. As long as he is learning, I have no problem with him setting his own pace.

He is reading on a second grade level, doing math on a third and is fascinated with history (I have no way to put a grade level on history). So I am very satisfied with where we stand. Often times just a simple question on his part leads to us doing an Internet search and spending two hours learning about a subject together.

I think that most of you know that Ben arm a while back. He was leaving his Um-bah's house and accidentally shut his pant leg in the door. When he tried to walk down the step, he fell on his arm. His cast is due to come off on the third of March but we are going to see if they will take it off a few days early so that he can play in his last basketball game of the year.

And last but definitely not least, today is Natalie's third birthday! Around this time three years ago (it is currently 1:00 in the afternoon) Shawn was on his way to the birthing center from his work and I was trying to get the hospital room organized. I remember my midwife walking in and giving me a strange look because when she asked how things were going, I replied that "I was trying to get all of my stuff unpacked and organized but that these darned contractions kept stopping me!" It's pretty funny now but I remember being quite indignant that I was being interrupted from my "important work" by those silly old contractions, lol. She came into the world just a few hours later so those contractions must have been doing something! I can't believe that in just a few shorts months we will be doing it all over again.

The Corder's are coming over tonight and we are having a spaghetti dinner for Natalie before the boys head out for basketball practice. She is looking forward to playing with her friend Pearl.

So that is the update for this week. I will try to be better about writing!

Update

2007-12-18T09:10:00.000-05:00

I apologize for not having written in so very long. To update everyone...we found out that we are expecting number three in August! I have been dealing with "morning sickness" which for me is actually "all day sickness".

We are no longer getting raw milk as the cow went dry. We were getting it from a local Mennonite community and they said to check back in the Spring. We have discovered that our two year old daughter is lactose intolerant. So we buy the "store bought" milk but mainly use it for cooking.

We still have our chickens although we have lost a couple. We have one new chick. We had two but something got one of them. The other chicks didn't make it very long after hatching. We are keeping them up most of the time as there aren't really any bugs to peck for in the winter. We aren't getting very many eggs but that too is normal for this time of year.

I'm not doing so well with my traditional foods cooking but that is because the thought of cooking anything is pretty nauseating right now. I am still doing well with the natural cleaners and the living frugal. We still use cloth napkins and my entire family uses family cloth now...saving the toilet tissue for guests. I have gotten our monthly non-food shopping list down to a few basics:

Dish Washing Soap
Cat Litter
Cat Food
Ivory Soap (for bathing and washing clothes)
Razors (I bought my husband an "old fashioned" razor that uses the straight blades - 5 for $1. at Dollar General)
Contact Solution

There are some things that we buy in bulk when our tax money comes in and that way we have them for the entire year. For example, I buy several multi-packs of toothbrushes once a year. I have found that the "cheap" toothbrushes that come in a 5 pack for a dollar work just as well as the expensive $4. a piece toothbrushes. That said, there *are* some environmentally friendly tooth brush alternatives that I am going to be researching for the next year. I don't really like putting plastic in my mouth. If I shun plastic in every other area - why on Earth would I put it in my mouth? I also buy enough air condition filters to last the entire year as well as oil and oil filters for the oil changes.

I enjoy the challenge of seeing how small I can get my list. I enjoy living off of things that I can make myself. I enjoy living simply and seeing what I can do without comfortably.

I have discovered, much to my relief, that we have pretty much everything we need for the new baby. I went through the storage building and I found a HUGE pile of prefold cloth diapers that should fit a newborn just fine. I also have another large pile for when it gets bigger. I have clothes for either sex, either season that I have saved from my other two children. We aren't really into "baby items" so we have no use for the baby tub, crib, etc. I do have a bouncy seat and swing in case this one likes those sort of things (my other two didn't really care for the swing, they liked the bouncy seat ok). I have a car seat that is in great condition and has not expired.

Ironically, the main thing that we are going to need is a new (used) vehicle! We currently have a Ford Escape and there is not room in the back for three car seats. Things usually have a way of working out and I am hoping that this does as well. If not, I'm not sure what we will do. The only other things I can think of that I would like for the new baby are a Foogo stainless steel sippie cup and a "natural" baby book. I remember seeing a baby book a few year ago that was so beautiful. It had "parchment" type paper and a nature theme. It was geared more towards a natural birth and natural lifestyle. Of course now that I am pregnant I can't find it anywhere. If anyone knows of such a book - please let me know!

I will try to be a bit better about updating this blog. Hopefully I will be feeling better soon!

Gay Equality...

2007-09-15T09:18:00.000-04:00

Today I am going to write about something that is dear to my heart...gay equality. I was thinking about this, and how I usually use the term "gay rights". But upon deeper thought, the term gay "rights" seems to indicate that a certain sector of this country want things above and beyond what everyone else has. That simply is not the case. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people do not want special rights...they want equal rights.

They want to be able to walk down the street and hold the hand of the person who makes their world shine, just as any straight person does, without giving it a second thought. Yet, in most areas of this country, they cannot do that. To do so would subject them to looks or horror, nasty comments and even outright violence. In addition, it could cost them their job, their apartment (I have known of people being evicted when the fact that they were queer was brought to light)...even their life. There are currently very few laws on the books that protect LGBT people from discrimination. The laws that are on the books are sketchy at best. They could be interpreted either way.

I am constantly in wonder of the attitude of people who are "against" gays. I put "against" in quotes because even that is hard for me to wrap my mind around...how can you be "against" someone who is just who they are? This is akin to being "against" people with brown hair or "against" people whose favorite color is green.

And yes, I am fully aware of the "born that way" versus "it is a choice" debate. I have a few thoughts on that. First, for the straights out there, when did you choose to be straight? Did you actually grow up liking both sexes and then one day wake up and say to yourself "Well, I think I'm going to decide to be straight"? Do you really think that gay people are any different? Do you really think that they started out liking the opposite sex and then one day, just for shits and giggles, made the decision "Hey, I think I'll just be gay, this straight thing isn't doing it for me". Why on Earth would someone choose a trait that is, in most cases, going to make their life harder?

But not even that, it is also the idea that being gay is all about sex. Or the idea that gay men are attracted to every man out there simply because he has a penis. These things are not only inaccurate but they are downright offensive. Most people's lives, gay or straight, do not revolve around what they do in the bedroom (or anywhere else in the house, for the kinky out there). The "gay lifestyle" that I hear so much about has eluded me. The only "gay lifestyle" that I know of is the one where you get up, go to work, come home, cook supper, bathe the kids, go to bed. Does that sound familiar? Sounds just like everyone else's life, doesn't it?

"Gay Marriage", as they are coining the term, isn't about "pushing an agenda" upon the American public. It isn't about "stripping away the sanctity of marriage". Believe it or not, it is about the same concerns that you (the married straight person) had when you got married. It is about a commitment, in the eyes of God (for those who believe) and in the eyes of the law. It is about parenting and about both parents having legal access to their child in case of the unthinkable. It is about having the same legal rights that every straight person in this country is afforded.

I could tell you heart wrenching story after heard wrenching story about gay parents who had a child and then the birth mom dies and the child is ripped away from the only other parent she has ever known and sent to live with her homophobic grandparents who were strangers to her. Or about the couple who had spent the last forty years of their life together only to be kept apart in the very end by one partner's homophobic family who had legal power to do so. Even the day to day things, like one partner visiting the other on the job and having to act like a roommate and having to use a code word for "I love you" when they part for fear that co-workers would figure out the secret and his career would be destroyed. When is the last time that you, as a straight person, even gave a second though to giving your husband or wife a quick kiss goodbye?

Then you have the camp that says "I don't hate the person, I hate the sin". Well that is another huge load of hogwash. I won't even go down the path of why I don't really believe in "sin". I will just say this; sexuality is human, it is one of our most basic "instincts", if you will. It is horribly, horribly cruel to expect someone to go through their life denying who they are. It is entirely possible to be in a room full of people and still be utterly alone in your soul. Even with leaving the sexuality part of it aside, everyone deserves someone to love and someone who will love them in return, without having part of the relationship be an utter lie.

I haven't looked at the current research on the debate, because in the end, I don't really think it matters why someone is gay, straight, bisexual or transgendered. Sure, some people were molested at a young and vulnerable age and it may have changed something in them, flipped a switch. Sure, some women were horribly abused by a sorry excuse for a man and subconsciously decided that it was never going to happen again and thus they identify as lesbian. Then, others may have had the perfect childhood but just have always known that they were attracted to the same sex. It simply does not matter. They are who they are.

That is actually one of my outlooks on life... It is what it is. Meaning, don't try to dissect it, don't analyze it, don't fret about it, don't label it, just live it. Life is a continuum, it isn't a set state of being.

I will leave you with an excerpt from an article written by a number of straight-identified students at Earlham College who got together to look at some examples of straight privilege. "Straight privilege" being defined as the privileges you are afforded in this society when you are straight (or perceived to be straight). You are pretty much guaranteed:

You can be affectionate with your significant other in public without fear of violence.
Your sexual orientation will be represented in TV shows, books, magazines, and music.
You won’t be excluded from any religious community for being heterosexual.
Nobody will ask you to defend your heterosexuality.
People don't ask why you made your choice of sexual orientation.
Your orientation is represented in your local, state, and national representatives.
None of your family will disown you because of my orientation.
You don’t have to fear emotional, psychological, economical, or physical abuse from family or friends who find out you are straight.
You are not accused of being abused, warped or psychologically confused because of your sexual orientation.
Nobody will use your sexual orientation as a slur against you.
You can be open about being straight without fear of losing your job.
You won’t be accused of being abused or an abuser because of your orientation.
You don’t have to be afraid to be yourself.
Your masculinity/femininity is not challenged because of your sexual orientation.

My Mission...

2007-09-09T01:39:00.000-04:00

I read quite a few blogs about "living simple", "living green", etc. and they inspire me. But I find that in my day to day life, I often take shortcuts on my road to the more natural life. I am going to try the experiment of blogging my progress towards the life I want and see if the accountability will help me stay on track.

My mission is not one of "fitting in" or "being trendy" (although living green certainly has gotten to be quite the thing to do lately). My mission is one of finding myself and of being who I feel that I should be. I have been "different" since childhood. I have been a hippie since my past life and it carried into this one. :) So all of this is nothing new. More, it is just something that I am now able to do, as I was not able to live the life I wanted when I was caught up in the corporate hamster wheel.

I can remember, when I was about ten years old, reading something about Earth Day and being elated. I remember wanting to celebrate it as a holiday on the scale of Christmas. I also remember my family and my friends thinking I was a nut. Well, my family has finally gotten used to me and I have made friends that share my values so my last hurdle is the battle with myself and with my own laziness. Hence this blog.