Painted Rainbows and Chamomile Tea

Two Weeks Worth...

of my trash and recycling.  I know, I'm crazy.  I started setting aside my trash and recycling for a challenge put forth by Beth at Fake Plastic Fish.  I didn't submit my results mostly because I was too occupied to follow the rules.  I found the photos were a help in accessing how I can make more changes.  All those plastic Diet Dr. Pepper bottles (all 15 of them) were my crutch when my dh was traveling.  Knowing I had a cold diet soda in the refrigerator made it a little easier to get up with Silas in the middle of the night.  Seeing all the plastic bottles made me realize how easy it would be to eliminate most of my plastic.  I'm fairly satisfied with the results.  We will have very little trash once we are diaper- free.  Don't you think there should be some sort of carbon offset to atone for disposable diaper use?  A few changes we are making right now:

1. Cut way down on soda consumption
2. Quit buying spinach in plastic boxes which apparently are not recyclable
3. Silas is peeing in the potty occasionally.  Soon to be diaper-free.
4. Contacting all direct mailing companies and opting out. 
5. I'm not buying anymore canned food after reading this about the BPA lining. (It is worth reading.)

Two weeks of trash, mostly dirty diapers, plastic bags, the coffee cup is broken.

  

By far, the biggest component of our recycling is paper waste.  To reduce the paper waste I have started "dealing" with each piece of paper coming in our mail box.  Not the obvious catalogs but all the direct mail and such. 

Lemonheads were used for bribing good behavior while daddy was traveling. 

 

Here are bits of plastic that are not recyclable.

 

More plastic that is NOT recyclable but you might think it is.  I caved just once on the non-local strawberries.  The strawberry containers are not recyclable where I live.  Not sure why the peanut bag is in the photo. 

 

The plastic recyclables.  Using up some old cleaning supplies and shampoos.

 

Paper Food Containers (the ice cream is our secret snack from the kids)

 

Glass & metals

 

So many book suggestions...

Lissa wrote a post mentioning all the books she wants to read and linking to the reviews that made her want to read the book.  So I thought I would narrow my book post today to books we (or I) have read thanks to other bloggers.

First up, Mariposa and Ami's reading lists.  You know you are very far far behind when you are trying to keep up with a seven year. ;)  I read two books Mariposa suggested, A Light at Tern Rock and Mary, Bloody, Mary.  The reading of Mary prompted a reading of Beware, Princess Elizabeth by the same author and Nine Days a Queen by Ann Rinaldi.  I should be reading Antonia Fraser's Wives of Henry VIII, a book on my 4 x 10 Reading List.  I need to update and tick off what I've read from the list.

I loved The Light at Tern Rock.  The main character Martha Morse is wise, simple and content in solitude.  Her wisdom delighted me from the first pages.  I really can't do the book justice but I highly recommend reading this slim 52 page book.  The story is set during the season of Christmas but reading it far removed from the season offers even more poignancy.  I was especially fond of the message that lighthouse keeping is "good work."  We need our children to read more messages that the honest work of farmers, repairmen and bakers is good work.  This is a story about broken promises and forgiveness and of facing adversity with enthusiasm. To be honest, the little book is a perfect parenting manual.  The young boy in the story is angry over the broken promise and Martha knows just how to love him in the situation.  Her patience is inspiring.  How did I miss this book (a Newbery Honor 1951) for all these years?  I will be tracking down a used hardcover copy of this book to read to Cate and again to Si and again for myself and again for my grandchildren. 

   

Mom and Kiddo suggested The Curious Garden in her Urban Picture Book series.  The story follows a boy (Liam) who discovers a small patch of flowers at the top of an abandoned railway track.  He tends the garden and it grows and grows.  There are wonderful wordless pages that Cate enjoyed.  She enjoyed it so much that she wanted to give it as a birthday present to a friend.  The birthday girl liked it so much that her mother decided to give it as an end of the year teacher gift.  That makes me happy.

  

Kate, Oh how I wish I could be as consistent as Kate's Tuesday Book posts.  There is always a gem or two to discover.  Kate suggested A Farm of Her Own and it did not disappoint.  I too found that I wanted to have a farm of my own after reading this beautifully illustrated book to Cate.  We enjoyed reading and seeing the rhythms of the Summer farm.  Kate also wrote about Rocks in His Head, a story of one man's love of rocks and minerals.  The story takes place before, during and after the Depression Era.  Through the economic ups and downs, the man stays committed to something that doesn't cost money, his passion for learning about and collecting rocks.  A must read for kids who like rocks and a great subtle add on to the study of the Depression.

 

Sara suggested The Kitchen Knight which Cate loved.  My husband introduced Cate to castles and King Arthur and it has been fun to encourage her interest.  The Kitchen Knight is a single story from the King Arthur ledgend illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.  I love to read a single fariy tale or legend in picture books and this one is especially good.  If you have a child at all interested in King Arthur then this is a must read.  Sara has mentined to me that she might write up a post about the other Knights and Castle books they read this year.  I'm looking forward to it. ;)

Our reading has been limited lately.  Silas is always present and always demanding to read his books.  Apparently, we are far more interesting than any toy I could offer.  When I do manage to start reading to Cate, he starts climbing all over us and that sends Cate into a fit.  We do read at the end of the day but sometimes at that point I'm spent.  I try and remember that I have many years to read to them but I feel like we are not reading as much as I wish.  Presently, we are reading On The Banks of Plum Creek, some Mother West Wind stoires, and picture books in the evenings.

So thank you, friends, for writing about the books you enjoy.  It is nice to know that I have great books in my library bag.

I made it...

My husband has been traveling for the past three weeks.  He arrived home last night and even though he went to work this morning I feel like I am on vacation.  Knowing that he will be home this evening is such a relief.  To say "I survived" might be too melodramatic but at the onset I didn't think I would.  Three strategies that helped me survive:

Napping when the kids napped
Radical reduction of on-line time
Staying on task with household chores all day

But the real reason I made it was Cate and Si have started to play together! 

(A photo captured through the screen window as not to disturb the miracle.)

So I am back on-line but with a new balance.  Now I must go visiting.

Toward less recycling

One goal this past year was to reduce our output of recyclable material.  Reducing is the first and most important of the three environmental R's.  I worry that what I recycle might actually be thrown into the land fill despite my best effort.  I saw this video recently via Fake Plastic Fish and encourage anyone interested in reducing your plastic consumption to watch the video.  With two children adopted from China, it was especially poignant and urgent to me.

The video isn't coming through to Google Reader.  Please pop over to the blog.  It's worth it.

I haven't been a mainstream grocery store shopper for some time so many of these changes although recent were fairly easy.  We have a wonderful food co-op near our house so all of this is possible.  If you live in a big city, you have to read this post about living green in a small Oklahoma town.  You will count your blessings all the way to your local Whole Foods. 

This is a photo of how my market basket looks on the day I food shop. 

(Not the best photo but functional)

I purchase the following in bulk reusing the same bags, bottles, cartons, and jars each week.  I reuse the wax liner bags from cereal boxes for produce bags.  They are very easy to wash for reuse.  I also bring my own bags.

Peanut butter
Pancake mix
Rice
Quinoa
Eggs
Fig Cookies
Maple Syrup
Castile soap for dish washing
Lentils
Beans
Almonds
Sunflower Seeds
Raisins
Coffee
Shampoo
Popcorn
Sugar
Flour

I plan to start buying

Oil
Tea

We no longer buy cereal in boxes and have drastically reduced our soy milk consumption so that has also eliminated a lot of waste.  I still buy too many condiments, POM juice, a more than occasional bottle of soda, frozen berries, apple sauce, jam, and spinach in those one pound boxes.  This summer I am going to try and make jam and apple sauce.  I also want to U-Pick as many berries as my freezer will hold reusing plastic bags from rice cakes and other convenience foods. 

So what do you think about this system?  Do you have any suggestions for me.  I just started doing this two months ago.  I am amazed and embarrassed that I didn't start doing it sooner.  It really is easy.

Listen my children

Today started at 3:45am with "I want breakfast."  Not a good start and by 4:45, I was already "having a bad day" and reading blogs and feeling like our Mother's Day was not nearly as lovely.

But then, Silas now back to sleep on the sofa, briefly lifted his head and said "Sheep Out to Eat" and then laid his head back down and fell asleep.  Ah, I thought, we might not do crafts or clean up very well but my children know books.  Apparently, they even dream about them.

And then I remembered a sweet moment this weekend.  My husband said "you really need to get Cate a copy of Paul Revere's Ride."  Oh husband of little faith, I have a copy.  I found a book of poetry opened it up, took it outside to Cate.  Seeing the title, she grabbed the book, laid down in the overgrown grass and began reading it.  She was delighted as she puzzled out the few words she didn't know, like mystic, barrack and Lexington.  She certainly doesn't understand it but it is a start.  She is now eager to read the "Jack and Annie" Revolutionary War book. 

Today I want to find an audio recording of the poem and perhaps a picture book.  Cate can recite The Owl and the Pussycat because of hearing it on this CD hundreds of times.  Occasionally, I will come upon Si saying "his nose, his nose, a ring at the end of his nose." 

Suddenly, I'm not feeling so bad. 

In the photo above Si is delighted by a tool.  My dh planted the planter.  Isn't it lovely?

If you sew or embroider...

                                     

The Princess Gown will delight every reader but especially a little girl who is learning to embroider or sew.  Set in an old world village, a princess must choose a wedding gown.  The Abraham family has created a beautiful dress.  Their youngest daughter, Hanna, discovers a smudge on the bottom of the dress.  She cleverly suggests that the Grandmother embroider a small squirrel over the smudge which she knows will delight the princess.  Beautiful illustrations and a darling story.  This is the best image I could find for the book but it doesn't begin to do it justice.

Can you say deep end?

Good golly, I didn't delete the post but I redirected it here.  Many people visit this blog and I wouldn't want them to think I had entirely given up.  Thank you to those who emailed me.  It makes me realize that I've known many of your for a long time.  I only closed the comments because I didn't want readers to think I was looking for sympathy.  Yesterday was one of those very bad and rainy days.  I deleted almost all my blogs from Google Reader and then wrote that post while my sick sick kids were napping.  You know, they just needed to sleep.  They were so cute when they woke up.  Tiptoeing into my bedroom and tapping me under the covers were I was hiding.  I was awake.  Do you ever pretend to be asleep when your kids come in your room?

Last night my husband read two books that I've never read to the kids.  One because I thought it might be too scary, Where The Wild Things Are and the second, Snoozers because it just seemed strange.  Well they loved both.  Cate is reading Snoozers over and over again.  Right now, my difficult child is reading Where The Wild Things Are to Si. 

 

Last night, Cate turned off her light when she went to sleep.  She wasn't scared.  She wanted to be "good to the Earth."  Also, she has been waking up dry more mornings than not.  Trust me, this makes me very happy.

I think we mamas know when we need to get off the computer and enjoy our kids.  I'm not giving up blogging but I need to find a better balance.  Here is a picture Cate drew last night of the Wild Things.  It reminds me of the post I wrote about being worried that she didn't like doing art work.  Ha ha, now I can't get her to go to bed because she loves coloring so much.

Small Success

I love to peek into other lives especially those interested in simple living.  I'm committed to living as responsibly as I can at this time in my life.  I'm always changing and hopefully improving.  I would love to share some of the changes if only to record them for myself.  So I plan to add some new aspects to this blog and I hope to not bore you.  But don't worry there will always be book posts for those who are interested.

It was interesting last week reading all the Earth Day posts.  I found it notable that personal publishing (blogging) allows the writer to say "this is what I'm doing" instead of the usual magazine article "25 things you can do."  I thought about writing a post of all the things I am doing but then I figured there might already be too much out there for anyone to appreciate my list.  The one thing I really wanted to say last week was:

The best day for the Earth is Buy Nothing Day.  Weather it is the day after Thanksgiving or tomorrow, reducing consumption is one of the best things we can do for ourselves and the Earth.

Here is one small success in my quest for responsible living. 

I only have to put out my 20 gallon trash container once a month and my large blue recycling container once every six weeks.  We've reduced our consumption by buying less, reusing many things, and composting our food waste.  I figure once Silas is fully potty trained we will only have to put out the trash can every two months.  Yes, we use disposable diapers but only one or two a day.  I use a combination of disposables, gDiapers and cloth.  I'm really looking forward to being finished with that contribution to the landfill.  I debated the disposable diaper issue and with input from this article (see last paragraph) decided that since we purchase most of the baby products and their toys used, we are already making a significant reduction in what could have been added to the landfill had we purchased everything new.

I'm excited to add this to my blog.  I hope you will join me in sharing your successes in responsible living. 

Long time no post...

Wow, 12 days since my last post.  I'm not busy and life isn't full.  We are just living in the slow lane.  So let's see...some thoughts,

We extended our lease for another year on the house we are living in.  We were sure the owners would raise our rent but they didn't.  I'm super happy about this.

In preparation for the owner coming to the house we spent all day Saturday cleaning house.  Everything is clean, organized and fresh.

We are having a few sunny days here in rainy Seattle.  The windows are open, the kids are playing (and fighting) outside.  It is like my house is twice the size.

I try and purchase a good quality toy or art supply for the kids every month.  Some months I spend a little more than others.  Last month, I found this adorable wooden forklift for Silas at the Goodwill for $1.  He loves it. (Yes, that is the sun shining.)  For next month, I've ordered a set of silk scarves from Beneath the Rowan Tree.  The scarves we now have have served us well but I've been longing for these soft silk scarves for some time.  I am looking forward to adding them to our collection of toys.

I started taking a Yoga class at the YMCA.  The children go to the wonderful childcare area and I have an hour (and a half) break.  I didn't really think it would amount to much but I am getting quite a workout and feel very peaceful after having a break from Cate and Si.  I run 5 days a week but the yoga is giving me a very different feeling. 

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I've never used vinegar to clean until now.  We have this terrible black granite tile counter top.  The fingerprints and cloudy grim were driving me crazy until one day I tried hot water and vinegar.  I soak the towel and wipe the surface and the countertops are clean and clear.  I am so happy about this.  If you are interested Simple Frugal Green Co-op (love this blog) has a recent post worth reading 20 Household Uses for Vinegar.

I have given up the microwave which we only really used to pop corn in a brown paper bag.  I read this post and realized I can still make popcorn.  Marybeth makes it sound so easy. 

I am dreaming of a life like this.  We are doing lots of this because I let them get muddy.  And I really enjoyed this.  And do you know who inspired this little list of this'?

Okay then, I am off now to sit on the back porch and read this.  I read Mary, Bloody, Mary in a day last week.  I love reading YA fiction which is usually so fast and easy to read. 

What Happens on Wednesdays

Perhaps only Mom and Kiddo understands the reference from the photo above.  It is from What Happens on Wednesday, reviewed at What Do We Do All Day? in her Urban Book Series.  Cate really enjoyed it.

Cate loves her swim lessons.  She has her first little teacher crush on "Mr. Trey", the young man teaching her class.  Almost everyday she creates a love note of some sort.  Here she has created a pool from wooden blocks.  The blond Caucasian wooden person standing on the edge is Mr. Trey and the cup of wool balls is his ever present cup of coffee.  Cate is the only girl in the class with three very active boys.