So I was going to start this post off with the proverb, “Be careful what you wish for . . .” but now I’ve decided that that’s lame, and the universe didn’t give me a sinus infection to answer my request for a slower week. Okay, I’ll back up a few days. This past Sunday after waking at 5 a.m., writing up a storm, cleaning my house from top to bottom, working in my garden, and tending to my vermicomposter (those red worms need lots of coaxing to stay in their bed), I wrote in my “Gratitude Sunday” post that I hoped the coming week would be a bit slower.  Slower, indeed, it was.

Monday came, and even though I woke up early to run, work on my daughter’s play box (a doubled reinforced box that our grill came in–I’ll post more about that later), clean again (sometimes I forget about the basement bathroom–I know that sounds yucky, but the only being who uses it is our cat Toby), and then spend time with our friends and their 3 kiddos. I managed to make it through the entire day with what seemed to be my average energy level, although my voice bombarded my nasal canal and I sounded a bit like Chandler Bing’s girlfriend Janice (remember Friends?). I tried reading a story to Annabelle and she closed the book on me. I guess she doesn’t like stories read by a woman who sounds like Janice.

Tuesday arrived and I insisted that I was in tip top shape, and that my strange sounding voice and the pressure in my eyes and nose were simply allergies. By Tuesday evening my husband and mother insisted that it wasn’t.

Now sometime between Tuesday and today, Wednesday happened, except I wasn’t really awake to remember it. I do remember waking up on Wednesday with a pounding head, dragging myself out of bed to drink orange juice (I believe in the magical powers of o.j.), and then begging my husband to care for our daughter while I buried myself in a dark cocoon.

When I woke up today, I tallied up all the sleep I’d accumulated in the 36 hours since I’d admitted that yes I had something more than allergies, and I realized that I had slept for 30 of those hours. 30 hours. Yup. Anyone who knows me personally can vouch for me that I am not a sleeper. I hate to sleep. Why bother sleeping? That’s my motto. But apparently between all the running, the running around, the night wakings with a sick and teething toddler, my body craved sleep like a pregnant woman craves pizza and ice cream. I soaked that sleep up.

I intended for my week to go slower. What I meant by that was that I needed to relax, to lighten up, to let go. To stop fretting over the cleanliness of the house, whether or not I am being positive enough when disciplining Annabelle (I am such a perfectionist sometimes that I cannot stand myself, and by the way, I read too much), the list goes on and on. Basically I just wanted a break from, well, me.

And I got it. It just came in the form of a nasty sinus infection that left me down and out for 30 hours. But I am feeling much better, and I am coherent enough to realize that rather than push myself to the point where I get sick as a dog, I need to balance my life and focus on what is important. So, if you made it to the bottom of this long, long post, let me reward you with a few good tidbits from API on-line about balancing your life and your family’s needs:

• Strive for Balance in your Personal and Family Life  Attachment Parenting International

• Play in the Everyday by Carrie Kerr

• Parents Need Boundaries too by Carrie Kerr

• Making Cooperative Parenting Work: When Mom and Dad Disagree by Jennifer Scoby

• A Little Self Care Goes A Long Way by Karen Walant, Ph.D.

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Laura McKenna at Pajamas Media just published this response “Let’s Give the Mommybloggers Some Respect” after Kathy Lee Gifford, the new host of the Today Show, accused Heather Armstrong, Dooce, of endangering her child’s welfare by posting pictures of her online.

McKenna points out that by and large, the female presence in the blogosphere is made up of, guess who? Moms who blog. Blogs allow parents to divulge the nitty gritty details of the life that is raising kids; another added bonus is that blogs offer the sometimes unavailable adult interaction that many moms and dads need. Blogging builds morale, it let’s us commiserate over the day to day and brag about home projects and kids’ milestones. And, I’m going to throw this one out there too: Mommybloggers (and dads) also provide a venue and point of connection for working moms and dads too who might otherwise not establish relationships with parents who have children the same age as their own.

What do you think? Are Mommybloggers a force to reckon with? Or, as Kathy Lee calls it, are Mommybloggers a danger to their children’s safety? Or, as McKenna points out, is Kathy Lee the pot calling the kettle black?

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Phew! Last week on Green Mamma, I took a break from profiling a green friend for the week, but this week I am excited to introduce my top notch green friend, Mira, her husband Eric, and their adorable son Alec. I met Mira over 5 years ago, and just about every conversation I have with her regarding the environment, I learn something new. She is always trying her best to make a difference for our planet. When I asked Mira to share a few tips about how she makes environmental choices for her family’s lifestyle, she told me that her family “takes pride in [their] environment” and then counted off a number of valuable and easy ways to help preserve and protect our earth’s environment. Here’s what Mira recommends:

In the Home

1. Choose non-toxic cleaners. Mira chooses Seventh Generation products and makes her own cleaning products from recipes available on VegWeb.com. To freshen the scent of rooms, Mira uses a spray bottle and mixes essential oils like lavender and peppermint with water. Commenting on the effect of natural essential oils misted around her home, “The smell is potent enough and I don’t feel guilty about [letting my family] breathe in harsh chemicals.”
2. Bag it with recycled plastic. Mira uses recycled trash bags by Seventh Generation which are made from 55% recycled plastic. Noting the quality of recycled trash bags, Mira says, “They sometimes tear if the bag is too full or too heavy.” Keep the bag light, and you’ll throw garbage away right!
3. Glad for glass. Mira steers clear of plastic (har, har) and chooses glass containers for food storage.
4. Recycle everything. Of course, smart recycling means checking first to see what your local government accepts in the bin. Mira lives in Montgomery County, Maryland, which recycles a long list of objects from plastic, glass, aluminum can and foil, paper, scrap metal, and yard trimmings. In addition, Montgomery County recently started including televisions and small electronics in their electronic recycling program. Before placing items in your recycling bin, make sure that your county recycles the item; otherwise, recyclers who have good intentions may end up contaminating entire batches of recycled plastics, etc.
5. Freecycle and donate. Mira freecycles items that are not recycled by Montgomery County, donates books to the local library, and gives used clothes to donation centers like the Interfaith Clothing Center in Rockville, Maryland.
6. Eco-rate. That is, decorate in an eco-friendly way! Mira selected washable and environmentally friendly carpet tiles from Flor.com to create a fashionable and easy to clean design. Another environmental advantage to choosing carpet from Flor.com is that the carpet can be recycled when they are worn and not reusable.

Personal Care

• Recycline. Mira purchases Recycline’s high quality and eco-friendly toothbrushes and razor blades, which are made from recycled plastic yogurt containers (a great use for #5 plastics which many local governments do not accept for curbside recycling). Vouching for Recycline’s quality, Mira says, “The blades are replaceable and are just as good as mainstream brands. These items (although not the blades) can be sent back to Recyline for recycling.” Mira has used the same blade holder for more than a year and says that it’s still in great shape.

Baby Care

1. BPA-free sippy cups. Mira and Eric buy BPA-free plastic sippy cups and stainless steel canteens for their son Alec. Mira recommends the Kleen Kanteen, which she purchased at Greenfeet.com.

2. Make your own baby wipes. Mira creates her own baby wipe soap from Castille soap, water, a drop of lavender oil, and tea tree oil. Since she whips up a batch of baby wipe soap to meet Alec’s needs, she doesn’t follow a set recipe. When it comes to cleaning up our dear one’s bottoms in a safe and non-harsh way, soap and water will do the trick!

Travel

• Mira and Eric drive a Toyota Highlander hybrid, which not only saves gas, but saves energy too since a hybrid battery charges while you drive it!

Energy and Power

• Change your light bulbs! Mira and Eric replaced their conventional bulbs with CFLs, or compact fluorescent lights.
• Buy Energy Star Appliances. The couple also bought a washer and dryer that had earned the energy star, which certifies that the appliance meets the “strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy.”

Out and About

• Don’t forget to bring your own bags! Mira brings her own bags with her for groceries and packs her son Alec’s lunch in a neoprene bag. To learn more about green neoprene fabrics made from limestone, visit The Cleanest Line to read their review.

Mira and her family do so much more to care for and protect the earth’s environment. She inspires me to be a greener mamma! Thank you again to Mira, Eric, and Alec for sharing a bit about their eco-friendly lifestyle with me, and thank you for treating Mother Earth with so much respect!

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Farmer’s Daughter just posted this wonderful write-up explaining the pros and cons of GM or Genetically Modified foods.    And just to help folks identify GM produce at the grocery store, look at the number on the fruit or vegetable’s sticker.  A 5 digit number starting with the #8 is genetically modified whereas a sticker beginning with the #9 is organic, and a 4 digit number is conventionally grown.

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Our work in the garden continues!  Yesterday we planted cucumber, hot pepper, pepper, tomato, and lettuce in our vegetable garden, and added some color to our shade garden too.     Annabelle helped us select plants at the gardening center, but mostly she just dropped gravel into a watering can (yes, we emptied it out before leaving the center).  At home, our neighbors Ella and Wilma were eager to lend a hand in our garden, so we put them to work.  I modeled how to dig a hole and plant a 3” vegetable in the raised bed garden, and then the girls took turns planting, digging, and watering our gardens.

As mentioned in my last post on the garden, I am brainstorming an article idea about gardening with children.  What I’ve noticed is that it’s good to start early when introducing plants and the garden to kids because as they get older, I fear that they may lose interest.  Anyhoo, just wanted to share what’s new in my garden . . .

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A delicious and environmental activity: strawberry picking! I love getting Annabelle involved in taking action on behalf of the earth. By visiting a local farm to pick our own fruit, our family is not only supporting local agriculture but we are also educating our daughter about where her food comes from. One of my greatest hopes for my children is that they will grow up to respect Mother Earth and work to take of her. I hate to admit that I did not have such an awareness about the environment until becoming a parent, even though I always loved being with nature and the outdoors.  Right now I can’t read enough about the environment, gardening, and now composting.  My mother says that farming is in our blood, so maybe it was just a matter of time for me . . .

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Another week is complete.  It was a rainy start made a bit more glum by teething and Annabelle’s painful ear infection, but as we approached the weekend, the weather brightened, our little one turned playful (feeling more like herself), and our family relaxed and spent time together.  There is much to be happy about this week:

1.  Gaelic Gardens.   Owned by Irishman Ted Russell, Gaelic Gardens is a gardening farmer’s market in Reston, Virginia.  Situated on Baron Cameron Road next to Route 7, Gaelic Gardens is an open and sunny space offering affordable plants, gardening tools and accessories, and all with a charming Celtic twist.  Our family stopped in to pick up some 3” vegetable plants for our garden,  some shade loving decorative plants, and manure.  Mr. Russell informed us that this quaint market is set to close because large businesses like Home Depot and Lowe’s make it hard to compete.  I replied with complete honesty, “That stinks.”  It really does.  I promised to direct other gardeners to his gardening market, especially since he is working to keep the site of the  original and historic Reston Farmer’s Market alive and well.  So, if you live closeby to Northern Virginia or are driving through D.C., why not stop by and take a look?  You’re sure to find a one of a kind treasure at Gaelic Gardens.

2.  Strawberries!  Yesterday our family drove up to Poolesville, Maryland to go strawberry picking at Homestead Farms.  Not only did we enjoy a free ride on a tractor and the time spent picking berries and catching up with friends, but we also got to sneak a bite or two of strawberries.   Our family purchased roughly the equivalent of 4 to 5 pints for about $10, and on day 2 of having the strawberries at home, we have eaten at least half of our supply!  My husband loves to make strawberry shortcake by soaking sliced strawberries in a cup or so of sugar.  I love sneaking bites of his strawberries, but I also make healthy strawberry smoothies with soy milk for myself.  Oh, and Annabelle just loves stuffing strawberries into her mouth. We are altogether a strawberry loving family.

3. Neighborhood kids.  Our neighborhood is unique in that most of the kids who live here still go outside every afternoon to play and hang out with each other.   Whenever we go outside, Annabelle taps into her kid radar and shouts at whoever happens to be outside.  She insists on walking up the sidewalk to check out the scene, likes to dig in the dirt with some of the kids, and enjoys “borrowing” toys from one kind and understanding family who has a number of popular riding toys.  Unfortunately, her own riding toy was confiscated and given a makeover by some of the kids.  At first I was a little bit upset and considered the “confiscation” an act of vandalism, but as my husband pointed out, if this is the worst that the neighborhood kids can do, well . . .

Overall, we enjoy the company of our neighbors and their kiddos, and it’s nice knowing that Annabelle will have other children to play with as she grows up.  Oh, and here is the jazzed up riding toy with a bull’s face and perhaps bull horns added to the handles.  Other creative additions included gold faced wheels and a bead to decorate the toy’s “face”:

3.  Helpful Neighborhood Kids.  That’s right.  A few doors down live two blond haired girls who adore Annabelle and my husband.  Each time Matt takes Annabelle over to our park, the girls run up and ask to accompany them.  Today while I was unloading our plants from Gaelic Gardens the neighbor’s daughters asked if they might help me dig and plant.  Of course, I was much obliged by their offer.  So off we headed for the vegetable garden where the girls helped dig, plant, and water my new vegetable plants.  When I spoke to their parents, I thanked them for lending me their daughters and providing free labor.

4.  3 Day Weekends!  After the week I endured, phew!  Thank goodness my husband is home.  It is nice to have some time to sleep and to go a moment or two without hearing, “Mamma, Mamma!”  which of course if usually music to my ears.

5. Montessori Homeschooling.   This week Annabelle and I attended the first of our Montessori Playgroup, which we hope will evolve into our Montessori Homeschooling Pre-school.   To get started we designated four basic activities that we’ll introduce at home to our children and then will meet for one hour each week so that  our children may work together, interact, and learn.   I am busy searching for affordable Montessori tools and gosh, I’d love some tips on where to find them.

So there it is.  My week.  It wasn’t too bad considering the rough start we had.  And so now, we’re on to the next week, which I hope is a bit slower and healthier.  So, to good health and moments to enjoy!

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Yesterday I had planned to attend the National Institute of Health’s Yoga Week, which featured a lecture by Denise Clark, a training and education manager for Burt’s Bees, and entitled “Earth-Friendly Body-Care.” My contact at NIH had invited me to both a yoga class and Denise Clark’s lecture; considering that only the week before I learned that Burt’s Bees had been purchased by Clorox for a whopping $925 million (thank you to Andrea for the tip), I wanted to ask Ms. Clark about the buyout and whether new ownership meant a change in Burt’s Bees product ingredients, or quality.

Unfortunately, I did not find myself chanting “om” or interrogating any Clorox (okay, Burt’s Bees) reps yesterday because my 17 month old is teething and I was on about 2 hours sleep. As I was dragging my tired self out of bed, my phone rang and apparently my contact at NIH (whose daughter is days older than mine) had suffered a similar evening. Neither of us were in any mood to become one with the universe.

Meanwhile I still wanted to find out more about Clorox and other giants like them who are now buying out reputable green products. My thoughts about Clorox echo those of Treehugger.com, who asks “Could this be a case of greenwashing because consumers prefer natural products these days?”

Comments at The Consumerist regarding the Burt’s Bees sell out buy out, range from the outraged to the practical. One commenter Str1cken, states the following:

“Why is it that every time a small, nice brand builds up enough of a customer base to make it an attractive national company they get bought out by the giants and everything that was good about them disappears. (Like fresh Samantha)?”

The majority of comments expressed disbelief, outrage, and a desire to hoard Burt’s Bees products before “ingredients are changed” in their favorite all natural products. Some commenters, who are perhaps frustrated and bitter over how our capitalist market can corrupt the remaining and few small companies who dare I say have integrity, write:

“Isn’t that the point of business? Maybe I missed something in school–I just don’t understand the cynicism around these kind of deals.”

The point is that consumers who vote with their dollar for quality and earth friendly products (that are paraben and phthalate free) are thrust into a market they’re already boycotting or at least try to avoid because the giants of our current market do not have a history of taking care of workers, the environment, or consumer health. The successes of small companies like Burt’s Bees and Tom’s of Maine were rooted in the trust that their consumers had in these businesses that these businesses would do no harm in trying to do what businesses do: stay in business.

Instead, many of our favorite green companies are getting bought out and green washed. In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive bought Tom’s of Maine for $100 million. Loreal bought The Body Shop for 1.4 billion. And now, the Sierra Club is endorsing Clorox’s new Green Works line of green cleaning products. Sierra Club (shame on you) explains their reasoning for partnering with Clorox and getting a whole lot of money too:

“[W]e have also determined that we will not achieve our overall goal of changing consumer behavior by making affordable, natural products available to the majority of Americans if we avoid partnering with companies simply because they have had environmental violations in the past, or make some product lines which we think could be improved.”

Arguably, major giants are aiding sustainability and bringing “green” into the mainstream. More likely though, major giants are eating a piece of the green consumerist pie by placing green products in Target and Walmart where mainstream consumers can get ‘em and looking good all the while. The giants, likely, will do little on behalf of the earth and local workers, but instead will do what they always do: make money at the cost of everyone and anything else. Business is business, right?

Who else is writing and blogging about green washing? Check out:

TreeHugger “Burts Bees is Purchased by Clorox”

TreeHugger “Colgate-Palmolive Buying Toms of Maine”

New York Times “Can Burt’s Bees Turn Clorox Green?”

The Consumerist “Clorox Buys Burt’s Bees”

The Chicago Tribune.com “Clorox Acquires Burt’s Bees”

Boston.com News “Colgate Buying Control of Tom’s of Maine for 100 Million”

Love for Leila “Tom’s of Maine Bought/Sold Out”

Ethical Consumer “Colgate Set to Swallow Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste”

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Sorry to be so quiet this week, but my mothering duties have required much of my attention . Annabelle is getting over an ear infection, is enduring a painful week of teething, and seems to swing between feeling excited and ready to take on the world and then just plain old fussy. I am beat.

But there is good news to share too. Annabelle’s canine teeth are coming down, she’s saying more words and is getting better at communicating about why she is upset. Meanwhile I am reading How to Talk So Your Kids Will Listen by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. I am learning not to question Annabelle about her feelings but instead to help her name her feelings, comfort her, and then allow her to move on. Annabelle points at what is troubling her when she doesn’t know the word for something, which is a great help to me, her fumbling mom.

And on the home front, we received our All Things Organic Worm Factory compost. Since the shipping service delivered the worms on the same date as the factory, tonight we must make our worm’s bedding in the factory and transfer the worms to their new home.

With Annabelle tugging at my shirt and the worms waiting for a new home, it’s time for me to wrap up my brief post. But I thought I’d let folks know where I’ve been.

Tomorrow I am attending a talk about Burt’s Bees products and will likely blog about that tomorrow or over the weekend. Until then . . .

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A few days ago, another API (Attachment Parenting International) mom posted this poem about breastfeeding that I wanted to share with readers here at Green Mamma.  Also, my friend Melody just forwarded me this touching story about a 29 year old female police officer in China who is breastfeeding 8 children right now because they are staying at an orphanage that does not have formula.   Honestly, I have cried over the earthquake in China and I have considered donating my breast milk to these orphaned babies.  It is more than terrible what the Chinese are coping with right now.

But, as promised, here is the breastfeeding poem:

nursing you now

nursing you now
can feel like embracing an earthquake,
taming a tangle
of limbs grown
suddenly, startlingly too long–
knots of knobby knees
and your daddy’s long, elegant toes
(no, no, baby, they don’t go in my nose!)

nursing you now
has become a dialogue
full of jokes and surprises–
your mouth, full of mischief,
chug chugs like a train
through your latch,
then pops off smiling
for a quick Choooochoooo!

nursing you now
can feel like holding a hurricane,
my wanderer waylaid
and wiggling away,
pinching and prodding and pawing
until this moment,
this instant–
now

nursing you now
is a fleeting island of calm,
your clear eyes locked with mine,
your hands softly circling my breast,
and the sweet perfect sound of you suckling–
the syllables of your satisfaction.

written by:
Elissa

—–

Image courtesy of 007 Breasts

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