Happy Earth Day!

Okay...so I have to admit...all I did in honor of Earth day was to pick up my free cuppa joe from Starbucks in my travel mug. Tough, I know. :) But I'm actually in the habit of using my travel mug at starbucks these days. So I figured I'd write about a few things I've done to become more green this YEAR.

Travel mug at starbucks. (as a bonus, it saves 10 cents!) I also buy the coffee we drink at home from a local roastery who uses only organic, fair trade beans.

We became a one car family! Bought a beautiful and environmentally friendly 2010 Honda Fit, which is on the top 10 list of "green" cars for last year. I cannot tell you how much I *love* this car! What a blessing. :) 

I've made better use of one of my favorite posessions: my set of baggu's. :) I've finally gotten in the habit of grabbing them on my way out the door, and I keep one in my glove box for random stops at the store. I sometimes even use them at Target. (They give you 10 cents off also!)

Cloth diapering...round 2...complete with homemade wipes. :)

I've switched most of the lotions/cleansers we use on our skin. I try to avoid sulfates and petroleum in particular. I am impressed with Avalons skin products...my skin has never looked happier. :) Body soap is bought from a local soap lady, and I make my own scrub.

I use white vinegar and baking soda to clean most things in my house. I also love these products (

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Karmalades?ref=pr_shop_more) for tougher jobs. They smell fabulous and work great!

Lastly, I've been striving to buy local, in season produce, and to cook/bake almost everything from scratch. This has been tricky in my tiny kitchen, but I've enjoyed the challenge. :) This has been better for our bodies, and better for the world since we aren't using fuel to transport our food from across the country.

Happy earth day!

possessed American

I am in a room, surrounded by things. In America, it is so easy to become overwhelmed and burdened by our possessions. This is such a problem, that there is an ongoing television series called “Hoarders”! And many of us are not SO far off from those featured on the show. Hopefully you aren’t so obsessed with keeping things that you can’t take your TRASH out! But look around your house and just think about this: How many winter scarves do you own? How many do you NEED? How many pairs of shoes? How many do you NEED? How many cookbooks? How many do you actually USE? How many mugs? (Oh I am guilty on this front!) How many do you require? (Come on Rebecca, when was the last time you served coffee to 20 people in glass mugs?!! LOL) I’ve spent so much time asking myself these tough questions, and paring down, and I STILL have...Way. Too. Much. Stuff.  It’s an ongoing struggle here. But this week, I’ve gotten fed up with our stuff, which caused me to reflect on some sermons I heard recently. Our former pastor preached through the book of Ecclesiastes last year and I've been listening to his wonderful sermon series! This book of the Bible discusses how brief, busy and wearisome life is, and recommends that we enjoy the simple things we have( love, work, and wealth) while we have them. This has caused me to look at my possessions differently. I've started to see the burden they can be. We live in a small apartment with 2 children, and having too many things has been causing me so much stress. I truly have to choose between my kids and my home. If I want our home to be remotely tidy, I sacrifice my children, and if I want to enjoy my kids, our house is a constant mess. Lately I have tried to spend more time with my children, which I believe is the best choice (a delightful, though not always easy one) but after only a few weeks, I’m drowning in things and the chaos they create. I have put a ton of effort into good storage, it’s just not enough! So lately I've realized that we have too much, and I need to be more radical in my fight against materialism. Until recently, if something had a use, it was "useful" and therefore kept. But now, I am beginning to see how even useful things can suck life from you. For example, I love my mugs. But when I have 20 of them, and all 20 end up getting used and put into the sink…INSTANT stress! This is ESPECIALLY true with children's toys. Sam has many bins of toys, and sometimes he just dumps them all out on the floor. Some of these toys have many pieces. If we don't pick up his room when he's done, he won't want to play in it anymore, because he can't even choose a toy to play with. It's TOO much visual stimuli! I don't blame him, because I feel the same way. I have so many clothes, most of which don't fit properly, yet I cling to them. I end up digging through mounds of clothes trying to find "the shirt that is comfortable and fits and isn't stained." :) I want to have maybe a weeks worth of clothing that works and nothing more. We have so much more than we need. So now that I've had these realizations and I feel that I "need" a certain object, I've come up with two questions that help me discern whether an item is going to benefit my life or waste it:


Is having this item WORTH the amount of Joe’s life it will take to pay for it?
Is owning this item WORTH the time and effort I will spend cleaning it up?


On a side note, I do believe in the importance of owning a moderate amount of things you enjoy for simply for their beauty! But that is a post for another day. :) I want to enjoy my life, and the things I own. I DON'T want to be possessed. :) I'm at the start of a journey to a place where our home is purged of excessive/ugly/burdensome things, and there is more space/time/energy to enjoy life together. One good thing that will be accomplished on this journey is donating many things to the thrift store for people who want to spend less. And eventually, I'd love it if we were able to give money we save to those who need BASIC things...Food. Clean water. Clothing. Shelter.  I'm excited, but there is such a long road ahead...

joyfully distracted :)

I'm posting to say that I am joyfully distracted this week, and haven't had time or energy to think of anything worth posting about... Except for the fact that I'm joyfully distracted by these cutie pies!

Green = simple = happy :)

Being earth conscious has an indirect benefit--it requires you to live your life fairly simply. I've especially noticed this now that we have only one car. We recently got rid of both of our cars and bought a new car--a 2010 Honda FIT. It has great fuel economy, and is just an absolutely delightful car! Having only one car has forced me to be at home with our boys every day. At first I was terrified by the idea of being trapped in the house with two young children! But after a month of this I can say with confidence--This simple life is good for the environment, and good for us. I am able to be a better mother to my children (none of us could really handle running around as much as I did when we had a vehicle), delight more in God, and put more thought and time into being green. I use cloth diapers more often, bake bread and desserts, waste less food, buy less (since I'm rarely out shopping), am constantly repurposing things, recycle more faithfully, make my own body scrub and wipe solution, etc. And above all, it has just put a lot of things into perspective. By spending so much time in my home(without a tv), I realize more and more that I have everything here that I need! I have a great family, good food and a comfortable place to live. It is wonderful not to be bombarded with advertizing that lies to me and tells me, "You need this. If you had this, you'd be happy." I already am happy...or at least I was, until I saw ads that tell me otherwise! My simple, green life is teaching me to deny consumerism and appreciate what matters most. I've been enjoying my kids more. (an example: Today while Tru was napping, Sam and I threw on our wellies and headed into the rain to jump in some puddles! Simple fun!) I've invited more people into my home than I ever have. I'm more grateful and content with what I have, and therefore give more. I've read more and had clearer thoughts. I could go on, but you get the picture. Hope this inspires you to simplify your life! Green = simple = happy. The end. :)

Happy thoughts

My dear sister, who is very wise, pointed out that I might also benefit my children by acknowledging the good I do as a parent, while trying to correct my flaws. And she is right. So I'm going to stop and think about the things I think I do well as a Mother...

• Lately, I've been singing/clapping with them every morning. My mom sent us a kids CD in a music style that all 3 of us love. The first song is called "So glad I'm here" and when I sing it to my boys it is a great reminder to love my days with them.


• For the most part, I am a stable person, whom they can run to and feel safe.


• I ask what they feel and think, because I really want to know.


• I try not to judge their motives when they do things that seem naughty until I have heard and considered their perspective.


• I sit down and play with them--not for a long time, but for a period every day.


• I pray with them and for them each day.


• I prepare a healthy variety of foods for them, and try to make them taste good. :)


• I started letting Sam bake with me while he was still 2. He loves it now.


• I tell them that I love them and praise them often.


• I show them physical affection.


• I usually admit my failures and ask their forgiveness.


• I accept their limitations.


• I strive to train them with the gentlest methods possible, with consistancy.


• I love and respect their daddy, and make sure they see that. (this is UBER important)


• I say yes to things that make me crazy sometimes...like paint, playdough, puddles, etc.


• I don't baby them, but help them learn to be independent and strong.


• I read to them sometimes (this is one I really want to do more often!)


• I lose sleep when they need me.


• I breastfeed, even in spite of difficulty.


• I take little opportunities to teach them about the world.


• I delight in beauty with them.


• I am patient and kind much of the time.


• I put a high value in family and try to make times together fun.


• I create simple traditions to create memories with and for them.

What are some of your greatest strengths as a parent? I'd love to hear about them. Caring for young children can leave you exhausted and brain dead. Unlike jobs in "the real world", you get little praise, acknowledgement or thanks. Some days you just have no idea what you did, or whether or not it meant anything. And there's nobody to hand you a paper with a grade on it! So I think this kind of reflection is pretty much vital. This post has done me some good. :)

I just love these sweet faces!

my favorite four year old

Here he is, on the day of his birthday party. I made it a camping theme--a huge tent out of blankets in his room, fishing, and worm/dirt cupcakes. :) He was so excited!

some crunchy thoughts to munch on...

It's been forever since I posted...hope you haven't given up on me! I do intend to keep this blog, but I probably will only post on it when I have something I really want to say. As you may already know, we're expecting another baby in October, so our lives will be fuller and free time harder to come by!

I decided to pick just a very few "new years resolutions" for 2010, so that achieving them would be more reachable. I have to admit that though I strive to be "green", I have not been recycling during the past three years. The place we currently live does not collect recycling, so I have to drop it myself. It's taken me til now, but I finally purchased a recycling bin (actually, it's just a big trashcan). I found out where the local recycle center is, and plan to drop it off every saturday on my way to the farmers market. I haven't made my first trip yet...but I hope to this weekend. yay!

In light of recent changes (pregnancy and getting rid of some bookshelves that took up a lot of space in our home), I've been motivated to have less things. I've always been one to weed through things I don't appreciate and send them to new homes where they will find use and give joy. But now I am desperately craving a simpler life. I'm really striving to part with everything that we really don't need. There is probably someone out there who DOES need it, so if it doesn't go to friends, it's destined for craigslist or goodwill. The hardest part is Sams abundance of toys! We buy very few ourselves, but somehow still have tons. We have got to make space for his new brother/sister, and frankly, he doesn't even play with most of his toys anyway. So I've started talking to him about getting rid of things so that we can have room for new things. I want him to learn early on about reusing/recycling. I'm trying to come up with a policy for keeping toys to a minimum, but haven't gotten there yet. (Any ideas?) For now, I'll probably tell him that if we can get rid of a certain number of toys, we will get him another Thomas train. (Hooray for small, durable, collectible toys that your child loves!)

I've been encouraged to meet more earth conscious Christians lately! When I started cloth diapering, I felt like a freak...but now I know many others. I'm so glad to see these ideas are slowly infiltrating even the Christian culture.

As a hairstylist, I'm also very excited to see professional haircare lines all coming out with sulfate free products! Now granted, they may still have some potentially harmful chemicals, but this is a big step in the right direction. I'm a big fan of Aquage's sulfate free shampoos. On that note, I've been wanting to mention to you a useful website that I recently discovered: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ They rate tons of different cosmetic products on a safety scale of 1-10. I recently ran out of my beloved foundation, and decided to replace it with something a little safer. I searched through this site and found the best rated foundation made by a professional line (Stila) and read reviews of it online. I've been happy with my purchase, and glad to know it's a little less harmful to the environment and me!

I've been thinking (re-thinking--for the millionth time) my ideas on parenting...I'll try to post some of those thoughts soon.

I hope you are enjoying the glorious springtime!

a quick hello

Stacy and Mark were coming through town, so they stopped by our house for the night. They arrived around 11pm, so of course we had to stay up until 3am talking and laughing together. Then we dragged ourselves out of bed at 9am, so that we could have breakfast at Plato's diner before they had to take off. We really enjoyed seeing them! And I was especially happy that I finally got a nice photo of Sam with his Aunt Stacy. =)

Apartment therepy!

My friend Becky let me read her copy of the book "Apartment therepy". I got so excited that I jumped right in and rearranged/cleaned our main living area and our bedroom. The book helps you determine your sense of style, and then takes you through an 8 week (1 room per week) process to transform your apartment into a place you find comfortable, useful, and beautiful.

I'm enjoying both the process and the results. I'll keep you posted. =)

First visit to NJ

I had the great privilege of spending this past weekend with my sister and her husband at their home in New Jersey. Stacy and I had a grand time talking, eating, and being girly. Mark played video games most of the time, in effort, no doubt, to counteract the estrogen. =) We had a grand time together. I'm so glad to have her in my life.

Me and my sis in front of her pretty house

Delicious "Baba Booey"(pb and choc) cupcake from an local bakery called "crumbs"

This broke my diet. But it was worth it!

Saturday night: dinner and a chick flick =)

Stacy and Mark snuggling. cute tat!

awkward!!! Do we pose alike or what???

ah, that's better.

By the magnolia tree

Sisters