My mantra this year.
I consider myself an earth mom wannabe. I'm nowhere near educated on carbon prints, co-ops to buy food, buying half a cow [seriously, I've never even heard about buying half a grass-fed cow until recently and I wouldn't even know where to begin to do that. And I thought co-ops were places where people lived!]...
But I do what I can to be eco-conscious (and budget conscious too!). I've picked up a few things here and there that I feel are easy for a new mom and surburbanite like me to do (and I hope the list only grows!):
*Buy organic produce for the "Dirty Dozen" (deemed the most 'worth it' of produce to buy organic):
-peaches
-apples
-sweet bell peppers
-celery
-nectarines
-strawberries
-cherries
-lettuce
-imported grapes
-pears
-spinach
-potatoes
[at the same time, i have to note that if the above are not available in organic or it doesn't fit your budget, just buy the regular! it's far better to have them in your diet and in your home than not at all simply because it's not organic. plus, i believe in just doing what you can do--no more, no less]
*I also buy my dairy products mostly organic: 1% milk, soy milk & eggs (I find it's cheapest at Costco and their milk actually tastes GOOD. Horizon, for example, has a funny taste that most organic milks have due to ultra-pasteurization). Sure our parents and grandparents didn't have those offerings and we turned out fine but I have to say, we live in a different world now. It's scarier to me. And has anyone noticed that kids are BIGGER these days?? I dunno, in my crazy mind, I feel like it's the growth hormones our cows and strawberries are being fed.
*To save energy, I leave our heat on auto and leave the temp around 68-69 degrees. Instead, on cooler nights/days, I wear a scarf and/or puffy vest around the house. Isabella will wear fleece sleepers and I adjust what she wears underneath: short sleeved onesie, long sleeved onesie, short long sleeved onesie + pants, then plus socks.
*I'm not very good at recycling glass/bottles so I've bought reusable grocery bags that I try to remember to take with me!
*And what I enjoy most about being green is that on nice days, I walk to the grocery/drug store/Starbucks. I live in Suburbia but a very convenient one. [P.S. buy the best stroller you can afford and you'll never regret it!]
Okay... just a running list for now.
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What a great blog Rachel. :) I love your "Here I am" note. It's comforting to hear that there are "others" out there that are kind of feeling their way as they go. It can be so lonely sometimes, especially
ReplyDeletewhen you feel like you've got the world on your shoulders, or when someone tells you you're doing it all wrong.
I never knew what a struggle it would be to "care" for myself after N and J came. That all gets put on the back burner after the babies come. They are the love or your life, you all of a sudden want everything for them, you want to DO everything for them. But then, you don't want to scare the neighbors by forgetting to shower. And God forbid give anyone the slightest idea that you're not feeling as put together on the inside as you look on the outside. During one of my physicals, I actually started crying while I told my doctor about how I thought maybe I wasn't feeling well because of all the stress I was under. I remember she looked at me and said, "Well you look good, you're obviously doing okay because your physical appearance doesn't look to be in disarray. I just nodded and thought, I suppose... It's surprising what some make-up can do, Ha! Ha! Ha! Then there are your friends that don't have babies yet that wonder why you don't have time to "hang out." Or why you're leaving so early, when it's only eight o'clock. It's like you just don't "fit in" anymore.
You're not alone, I don't know if you'll ever feel like you're ahead of things, but there will come a time when you feel like you're keeping up. That is one thing I can promise. And as for feeling alone, you just feel alone, because the rest of us are on the Internet trying to figure out why our toddlers are doing what ever new and exciting, yet strange thing they've decided to shock us with. :)
You are an awesome mom, all you have to do is look at your "bootiful bebe" to see that! :)
And I agree, our parents and grandparents didn't have all these things while we were going up, (my mom says that my brother and I would be a lot taller if she had known about all "new info" she does now, because apparently my 5'1-ness is because she wasn't feeding us the home grown veggies she grows year round now.) but change is good, and after all, the human life expectancy just keeps going up, we've got to be doing something right! :)