When All Else Fails, Chocolate.

Greening

So I've been reading a couple of books. I've been holding off on reading them for a while, mainly because I was a little afraid of what I was going to discover (and also because Gavin has been waking up at 5am, so I'm too tired to read!). The books are: Growing Up Green and Healthy Child, Healthy World. The problem here is this: When I read books like this, I feel like everything I'm doing is wrong, and I feel that I need to immediately change things. I'm a bit of an alarmist that way. I definitely had to be in the right mindset to read these, and just kept reminding myself that I am already pretty eco-conscious, and that I might be able to make more changes if they seem to be in the best interest of my family.

Michael and I have always recycled, but we really began to make some significant changes when we saw how many disposable diapers we were going through on a daily basis. Since I just couldn't bring myself to cloth-diaper (and those chlorine-free diapers are freakin' expensive, times two!), we decided we had to look for other ways to reduce our environmental footprint. (For those of you who know us personally, you know that this was more my idea than Michael's, but he usually gives in, if he knows what's good for him!) We started buying some organic food, and milk that's free of growth hormones. We virtually stopped buying bottled water and now use a Brita filtration system. We also make an effort to use only green cleaning supplies--nothing with ammonia, chlorine bleach, phosphates, or other chemicals. We use green dishwashing liquid, and I promise, as soon as my giant bottle of Gain is empty, we are also going to use something green for washing our clothes. Thankfully, this is getting less expensive to do. Clorox now makes a green all-purpose cleanser called Green Works that I saw for under $3 at Walmart, and you can use it to clean almost anything. I had some difficulty finding something to clean my wood floors (but I know that Swiffer Wet-Jet stuff has to be toxic...it stinks like crazy). Turns out that Simple Green, a cleanser that I've been using on my countertops for years now, works wonders.

That's the easy part, recognizing that there's chemicals in cleansers. The harder part about this information is realizing that there are chemicals in virtually everything we eat, drink, breathe, and put on our bodies. I realize that people with healthy immune systems can usually detoxify all of the stuff they come in contact with. And I also realize that there are very few studies that link disease with, say, shampoo. (But my friend Karen reminds me that just a few decades ago there were no studies linking smoking with cancer. That's when I think about the whole "better safe than sorry" motto.)

I also can't ignore that autism, behavior disorders, and the like are on the rise. As a teacher, I deal with them every day. I just read a study that said that the spike in these types of disorders cannot be attributed to overdiagnosis: the increase is too sharp. It must be attributed to an environmental trigger, or triggers. I feel like if I can minimize my children's exposure to all of these toxins, the healthier they will be in the long run.

So I'm going to try to buy a bit more organic food, despite the price. (These books have a list of the "dirty dozen"--twelve fruits and vegetables that have the highest concentration of pesticides.) I'll probably start looking at natural washes, lotions, and cosmetics. When the babies move to toddler beds, I'll probably buy organic sheets. See? Small changes. And not necessarily immediate ones. I'm getting there.

This post went in an entirely different direction than I intended it to, but I would definitely recommend these books if you have children or are thinking about having them. I'd love to hear what you think!

Why I'll Be Throwing My Snack-Traps Away (or Free-Cycling Them...We'll See)

I'm Baaaaaack!

And very glad to be back, in my own home. The trip to Myrtle Beach was so exhausting that I never want to go back again a lot of fun. The twins are so off-schedule that they have been waking up at 5:30am and have been whining for most of the day because they are so tired. Sometimes vacations with the kids aren't vacations at all, at least not at this stage of the game.

The drive was the deal-breaker. Twelve hours, each way. Snacks did not stop the whining. The Wiggles did not stop the whining. New Dollar Store toys did not stop the whining. Only stopping the car stopped the whining.

On a positive note, the twins loved the water. They are beachy babies, just like their Momma. And they are Fearless. If we weren't right there to stop them, they would have waded in and kept on going.

*Sigh*

I was planning on posting a photo of the lovely mommy-necklace I received as an early Mother's Day gift. Only it literally broke in two and fell right off of my neck yesterday, less than 24 hours after receiving it.

It wasn't cheap. Well, I should say it wasn't inexpensive. Clearly the chain was cheap.

I'm won't tell you the name of the company...yet. We'll see how their customer service department handles it today. My friend who recommended the website has a lovely, seemingly sturdy necklace from this site, so I'm hoping this was just a fluke, and I will receive a new chain shortly. It was really cute for the few hours that it was in tact.

By the way, this in no way reflects on Michael's taste in jewelry. I am actually pretty spoiled in the jewelry department. He bought this ring with the matching necklace last year for my first Mother's Day. This latest necklace was one that I picked out and ordered, all on my own!)

Road Trip

Michael, the twins, and I are heading to Myrtle Beach on Thursday for a week. It's about a 10-hour drive, and that doesn't include stopping to eat or stretch your legs.

I've been having anxiety about it for weeks now.

I figure if we leave around 9am, the babies *might* nap in the car for a while since that's around their usual nap time. When they awake, we can stop for lunch. If they cooperate, they should also nap between 1-2 pm. Later, we'll stop for dinner and get them into their pajamas.

We also have a portable DVD player that attaches to the driver's headrest; I'm hoping we can amuse them with a little Baby Einstein. (They've never been into B.E. before, but I'm hoping that with nothing else to look at other than the traffic on 95, they will somehow become interested). I've mentioned before that they are way into Amos Lee, so hopefully listening to his CD will shut them up for a while, too. (Yes, John, I know--I'm single-handedly responsible for keeping Amos Lee's career alive...)

Any tips for keeping them happy and occupied? It will take me a long time to recover if this turns out to be hellish.