Going Green. Again.

Along the lines of eating healthier, I also want to be more “green,” or environmentally-friendly. Especially when it comes to my cleaning supplies. I used to be incredibly green. I used Seventh Generation products for a while. Then I started making all my own cleaners, so it’s not like I don’t know how to do it. But to be honest I got busy. I was travelling a lot, mostly out of the country, and wound up hiring a housekeeper. She wanted to use commerically-made products, so I bought them. Then I got pregnant and couldn’t function, much less clean the house. When the house got cleaned at all, friends came to do it, and I have no idea what they used to do it. Then I had small children and barely had time to go to the bathroom, much less make my own laundry soap. So I wound up making a deal with the Universe. I would take a few years off and use the convenient pre-moistened Pledge Wipes, Clorox Wipes, etc. Then, when I could function again, I would go back to my completely environmentally-friendly way of life. I tried making my own wipes once. Baby wipes. I got the right Rubbermaid container number (was it #5? or #9? I can’t remember now), and I got the paper towels. I got out the serated knife that I was to use to cut through the paper towels. It was supposed to be easy, simple. It was not. It was a royal mess. And a total PITA. Shredded paper towels covered the kitchen floor. I nearly ruined my knife on the cardboard center. I was pissed off. So I gave up on making my own baby wipes and went back to finding good deals on them. I still used washcloths from time to time and felt good about that, at least. It didn’t counter the fact I was using disposable diapers, but it was something. To be honest, it really doesn’t take that much time to make your own household cleaners, but for me it was just that one thing that sent me over the edge. It was one of those things that just fell by the way-side as I fell further and further into the Fog of Newborn that overcomes some of us mothers.

But my days of nursing ’round the clock are over. I’m sleeping 6-7 hours/night these days. I actually have a little bit of time to myself each week now (E is in PMO 9 hours/week). Eighteen months after the move, I’m feeling more on top of this house, and although I still have one huge junk room which desperately needs my organizational attention, I do think that the rest of the house is in pretty good shape junk-wise and space-wise and organizationally speaking. So as I emerge from having very small children to being the mother of just regular ol’ young children, it is time for me to cover my end of the bargain with the Universe. I’m going to phase-out my commercially-made cleaning products and go back to the envrionmentally-sound ones. Of course I won’t throw anything out; we’ll just use it up as we go along. And I’ll keep some of those containers to hold the new cleaning products that I will make from scratch.

Lent

A Lenten sacrifice should be just that, a sacrifice. Something that you deny yourself. Scripturally, it is to remind ourselves of Jesus’ time in the wilderness. Theologically, the practice of self-denial is deeply rooted in the monastic tradition. Some years I give something up for Lent while other years I add a discipline. Every year I do try to re-order my spiritual life during this “time of preparation.” This year I’m giving up HFCS. High Fructose Corn Syrup is in a lot of foods. It’s even in ketchup for goodness’ sake! I spent 30 minutes at the grocery store last night just trying to find a loaf of bread that didn’t have it listed as an ingredient. I found one kind. I am going to check out a couple of other grocery stores tomorrow. I have wanted to cut out HFCS for a long time. Lent seemed like a good time to do it. I am still working towards eliminating Red Dye #40, and I have for the most part – with some notable exceptions (it happens to be in Pillsbury’s Crescent Rolls, which I use for all those wonderful Pampered Chef rings). I would eventually like to cut out the bad fats, too, but I’m starting small. It is hard to shop for healthy food on a budget. There are fewer sales on healthy items. It makes the deals I get on toiletries all the more important because I may wind up spending more on groceries. It is hard to strike a balance between eating healthy and saving money. I try to think of it in the very very long-term. Just like breastfeeding my children for at least two years, giving them that second year which is more about immunity than nutrition, I believe that eating healthy now, at a young age, will help them stave off disease and have healthier organs and body systems, thereby saving them money on medical bills in the long run. Maybe it won’t work. Maybe it will. But I think it’s worth a try.

afternoon art fun

In addition to making some blue playdough this afternoon, we also made a batch of Goo. We love Goo. Today we made bright yellow Goo.

Goo
1 box (16 oz) cornstarch
1 1/2 c. water
15 drops of food coloring

Mix together. Enjoy the fun consistency of Goo!

allergy update

E is not allergic to anything. Well, a mild-moderate allergy to dust mites. So. no milk or casein or whey or anything else like that. The tested him for 33 things. Dust mites was the only thing “vaguely interesting” on his back, as the doctor put it. I bailed on the blood testing. We can do that another day. My nerves were shot from having held him as he was pricked and then having to restrain him (hugging him on my lap with his arms held tightly under mine) so he wouldn’t touch his back. We can go anytime and get the blood drawn, so overall it wasn’t a big deal to get that postponed a bit. But. no real reactions. Wow. I’m really surprised. Now I don’t know what causes his eczema either. We tested for the Big 8 (food allergens) as well as a host of other things more environmentally-oriented. Nothing but dust mites. As relieved as I am to know all of that, I’m also bumfuzzled as to why his poo is rarely solid. Back to the drawing board, I guess.

dread

I am taking E to the allergist in a few minutes. I dread this visit immensely. My stomach hurts and has butterflies. My throat is dry. It’s gonna suck. big time. I feel so bad that I am taking my baby to go get hurt just so I can have the satisfaction of knowing what might be wrong with him. It’s not like his allergies are life-threatening; I know what that is like and how to deal with that. Been there, done that. I didn’t have any qualms about getting K tested; because it affected her breathing, her very life. But E is different. I just want to know the answers, and it is going to cause him some serious pain for me to find out. Ugh. I hate this.