Earth Day Giveaway

Our family has been working hard to be as green as possible. We recycle, we reuse, we reduce and we respect the Earth by making conscientious choices. In honor of Earth Day(everyday should be Earth Day), we decided to help the Earth by helping others! Yes, you read that correctly :) We think that by helping others "be green" and by spreading our ideas about "green living", we can make more of an impact.

Did you know that plastic bags are made from petroleum? Yes, they are made from oil. As a matter of fact, Americans use over 380 billion bags every year, throwing away millions of barrels of oil.

Each year, approximately 6 billion plastic bags are consumed in Los Angeles County alone. This is equivalent to 600 bags per person per year. Nationwide, 60,000 plastic bags are used every five seconds. See the counter at the top of this page to see real time numbers regarding plastic bag use.

Approximately 150,000 tons of plastic bags are disposed by Los Angeles County residents each year. You do the math to figure out how many tons are disposed of nationwide :)

Disposable bags cost our cities up to 17 cents per bag for disposal.

100,000 marine animals are killed annually by entanglement in marine debris such as plastic bags.

(the above facts were obtained by HealtheBay.org)

Urge your city to ban plastic bags like Santa Monica did in March of this year! Go HERE to read about it. In the meantime, we would like to give away reusable bags to help you on your journey. You will have a choice of ONE of the THREE options from ReusableBags.com below:

# 1 ONE Organic Cotton String Bag (can be used for groceries and a slew of other things)


# 2 TWO Organic Cotton Net Produce Bags (use these instead of the flimsy plastic ones you get at the store that can never really be used again)


# 3 ONE Wrap-n-Mat Sandwich Bag (use this instead of a baggie...it is an instant placemat as well)



HOW TO ENTER TO WIN/CONTEST RULES:

1. Leave a comment below
2. Tell me which of the three choices you would like to win.
3. Explain how you plan to be "greener" this year besides using your free reusable bag:)
4. Write about and link to this post in your blog.
5. This contest is open until April 30th. I will pick ONE winner on that day and notify that winner by leaving a comment on the post that links to this post.

Love your Mother. Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Restore, and Respect!

Blue Blanket Gets a Bath

"Blue blanket! Where is it? I don't see it!"



"There it is! I see my blue blanket!"



"Oh Deeeeaaaaar! Oh My Gooooood - ness! Oh MY GOSH"

Heart Cakes

California brought me the Jiffy Cornbread Muffin mix and said "Pwease? Pwease Mama?". I thought about it for a minute and decided to make it for lunch. If you have read the "Who Are We Anyway??" section, then you probably already know that we are vegetarians.

I remember the days of when I grew up in the mid-south. We always had cornbread with a big ole pot of white beans or butter beans. So I decided to whip up a Southern California style lunch for my little veggie boys that included cornbread but a different kind of bean...

It consisted of the following items:

HEART CAKES!

Made with Jiffy Cornbread mix, two tablespoons of organic sugar, 1/3 cup organic milk, One organic, cage - free, omega - 3 egg and approximately 3 ounces of fresh organic blueberries.

Edamame (organic soybeans) and organic carrots...
.

mmmmm heart cakes!


mmmmm carrots!


Lunch was accompanied by a nice, cold refreshing cup of organic skim milk...

...all that is left are recyclables :) Everything that you see right here can, SHOULD and WILL be recycled. Remember every day is Earth Day!!

Organic Gardening...Condo Style

I recently saw a statistic that more than 70% of the residents in the Los Angeles metropolitan area are renters. A high proportion of those renters live in condos and apartments. When we moved into our condo in Santa Monica, I thought that my dreams of raising our own organic fruits and vegetables were over because we didn't have a yard.

I also struggled with the notion that it would take a lot of water to grow these fruits and vegetables and I wanted to be green. I didn't want to waste water, but then I realized that by growing our own fruits and vegetables, we will HELP the environment in the following ways:

* growing plants and trees puts oxygen into the air which helps fight global warming
* cutting out the necessity for a truck to deliver produce to the store to be purchased and consumed (which cuts down on pollution, emissions and reliance on gasoline and oil)
* using less water and land than traditional farming
* teaching my children (THE FABRIC OF YOUR FUTURE) the Science of gardening and the importance of organic gardening
* not using chemicals or pesticides, all of which cause irreversible harm to humans, plants, animals. They also leak into our drinking water, into the ocean and pollutes the air.

Yes a light bulb literally clicked on in my head when I realized how incredibly wonderful this is for the environment so...

I went to Armstrong Nursery and made sure that all of the fruits and vegetables that I chose would do well in containers by speaking with one of the gardener's there. The only one that I chose that wouldn't do well in a container was an Avocado tree...so I didn't get one :( I bought organic soil and special acidic soil for the grapes and berries and planted our garden in FULL SUN on the terrace!

Here is a list and pictures of the crops that we are growing together as a family:

Merlot grapes

Raspberries

Blueberries

Washington Dwarf Navel Oranges

Better Boy and Champion Tomatoes

Cucumbers & Jalapeno Peppers

Mammoth SUNFLOWERS


Here are some great ORGANIC GARDENING links to check out:

Organic Container Gardening

Organic Gardening for Kids

Earthbound Farm Organic

Gardening with Kids

Mothers of Organic

The only real pests that I think that we are going to have to deal with are birds, aphids and squirrels. So I plan to order eco-friendly netting to keep the birds out of our goodies from Gardens Alive and ladybugs to eat the aphids. I also plan to get hot pepper wax spray from Clean Air Gardening to make sure the squirrels don't eat our yummy goodness!

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem means "Seize the Day" in Latin and that is what we did on Sunday! Instead of waiting for the most convenient time or the best part of the day, we packed up the car with beach toys, beach towels, sunscreen, water and kids and headed two miles west to the beach!

California found a pet rock to keep him company! It was hard to part with him when we had to go home :(



It was unusally warm in Los Angeles/Santa Monica. The thermometer in the car read 93 degrees on the way there and 91 degrees at the beach! It is usually quite breezy down by the ocean but there wasn't a breeze to be had on Sunday. You can see the effect of the heat on Tennessee's face. RED HOT!



This is what we enjoyed on a hot Sunday afternoon right at naptime for California. We figured since we only lived two miles away, we could zip home in an instant!



It was 91 degrees on the beach but the sand was hotter...approximately 182 degrees by my estimation. In the midst of seizing the day, Tennessee forgot his flip flops. So a dip in the ocean was a must.



California decided it was time for his nap and was very unhappy about the heat, so we went home after being there for about 45 minutes. As we left, a surfer,in a brand new luxury SUV, asked if we would give him our $7.00 parking pass so he could park for free. How tacky is that??!! It would never cross my mind in a million years to ask a stranger, much less a friend, for a parking pass that I have the responsibility to pay for!

Our Beautiful Backyard

It was 83 today, so we decided to play in the backyard. We live in a condo and our backyard is HUGE. We walked two miles to get there. You may have heard of it; it is called the Pacific Ocean :) We stopped at the Coffee Bean on the way to take a break. L.A. Mama got a Mocha Latte and Tennessee & California got a cookie to keep their blood sugar levels high enough to make it to the beach. Then we stopped at the Third Street Promenade to go to Barnes and Noble to get some books and magazines. We finally made it there and found the most beautiful tree.





Look closely! That is the Pacific Ocean in the background.






Here is a better picture of our beautiful backyard.



California passed out on the way back home.



...and then we got a mid day snack at Earth Wind & Flour before coming home to slather aloe vera on our faces!

NINE

Tennessee had a birthday today...he is nine years old now. He was supposed to be born on April 8th. L.A. Mama was in labor for 19 hours and he was finally born at 1:04am on April 9th via emergency C-Section! He was such a beautiful baby that all of the nurses couldn't stop talking about him. They said that they had never seen such beautiful silvery blonde hair...and he had so much hair for a newborn.

That was THEN:

~Yes, he does look a little angry. You would be too if you tried to be born for 19 hours straight...~

And this is NOW:


We started the day at COCO's...well known for their delicious pies. Tennessee wanted Lemon Merrigne pie instead of birthday cake this year; so that is what he got!


California thought it was heavenly!


Then we completely surprised him by taking him to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It is an 1,800 acre wildlife preserve dedicated to endangered species.

We saw a mama duck and her ducklings

Flamingos

Elephants

Lions


and so much more!


Tennessee and California passed out in the car on the way back to Los Angeles :)


When we got home, Tennessee opened all of his gifts. It was a fun day! Happy Birthday Tennessee!

The Diaper Dilemma

Have you ever wondered what is in disposable diapers that makes them so absorbent? Have you ever seen the little gel like beads on your baby/toddlers bottom during a diaper change?

Better yet, have you ever seen a mess like this??



The above is a picture of a soaked diaper after being tossed from the second floor down to the first floor (also known as a diaper bomb)shown below:



After cleaning up this mess, I decided to find out what this stuff was made of and if it was safe to be next to my little boy's skin 24 hours a day for nearly three years. I found out more information regarding disposable diapers than just what the gel is made of...take a look.

According to an article in Mothering Magazine (Issue 88 May/June), this gel is made of Sodium Polyacrylate. This is a super-absorbent polymer that has never been tested to determine the effects of long term, continual exposure in humans. What effect does this have on the health of our children and their reproductive organs? We don't know because no one has cared enough to do studies to determine these effects. Here are some facts about Sodium Polyacrylate:

1. It exists in disposable diapers as a powder until it gets wet. This is when it turns into slushy/gel beads which can often be seen on your baby's skin during a diaper change.

2. This gel like substance can absorb 100x it's weight in liquid.

3. It has been implicated as one of the causes of Toxic Shock Syndrome

4. According to the Chemical and Theoretical Laboratory at Oxford University, it is listed as a skin, eye and respiratory irritant.

It is also used for:

Wire & Cable Waterblocking
Filtration Applications
Spill Control
Hot & Cold Therapy Packs
Composites & Laminates
Medical waste solidification
Mortuary pads
Motionless waterbeds
Candles
Diapers and Incontinence Garments
Waste Stabilization & Environmental Remediation
Fragrance carrier
Wound dressings
Fire protection
Surgical pads
Water retention for supplying water to plants
Controlled Release of Insecticides & Herbicides
Grow-In-Water toys
Magic tricks such as the 3 cup water monte

Source: Wikipedia

The ingredients of disposable diapers gets even better. Apparently, traditional dispodable diapers use chlorine gas to bleach diapers which produces dioxin, TBT and other dangerous chemicals.



The following is a list of chemicals found and/or emitted from disposable diapers and health implications for each:

Dioxin:
* a carcinogen (causes cancer)
* EPA lists this as the most toxic of cancer causing chemicals
* Even in small quantities it causes birth defects, acne-like skin infections, disease and rashes, liver disease, immune system supression, genetic damage, reproductive, developmental and behavioral effects. Some sources list Dioxin as a possible cause for Autism and other Autism Spectrum disorders.
* Banned in most countries but not U.S.

My source? The internet. The information is out there. Knowledge is power. Check out these links:

The Diaper Hyena

Environmental Research Foundation

Dangers of Dioxin Exposure: Absorption Through the Skin

Chemical Body Burden

TBT (Tributyltin)
* highly toxic
* spreads through the skin
* supresses the immune system
* causes secondary infections (as a result of suppressed immunne system)
* impairs the hormonal and reproductive systems
* may cause sterility in boys

(Sources: Wikipedia and the Diaper Hyena)

Tolune, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, and isopropylbenzene

A study conducted in 1999 called "Acute Respiratory Effects of Diaper Emissions" concluded that the chemicals within diapers caused eye, nose and throat irritation in addition to asthma-like symtpoms including decreased lung capacity. Mice were exposed to a diaper from six leading disposable and cotton diaper brands. Within one hour, all of the disposable diapers(except for one brand) caused eye, nose and throat irritation AND bronchoconstriction similar to an asthma attack. Repeat exposures after 6 and 24 hours caused the negative symptoms to more than double and in some cases quadruple. The authors of this study concluded that there is a link between disposable diapers and asthma and urged further research into this matter.

I found this info on WebMD and Mothering Magazine.

California has had a rash since the beginning of January. It wasn't a diaper rash, but more of an allergic acne-like rash. As soon as I switched to diapers that were chlorine free and gel free, the rash miraculously disappeared within two or three days. He has also been hospitalized with Severe Asthma on three separate occasions...so this is another reason why I felt that he needed chemical free diapers.

Go to these sites to see some choices for chlorine and gel free diapers:
Nature Babycare
Modern Wife
Tender Care Diapers
Seventh Generation Diapers
Tushies are the only chlorine free/gel free diaper in the world.
gDiapers

I alternate Tushies during the day with Seventh Generation diapers at night for extra absorbency. *UPDATE 7/11/08 - I use Nature Babycare! You can buy these at Target You can buy most of the other brands of diapers at Whole Foods and Wild Oats or order them online. They really aren't more expensive and it is better to be safe than sorry. It is also better for the environment which is an entirely different issue...it isn't as green as using cloth diapers but it is better than using diapers made with chemicals that leach into our drinking water from landfills...the same water that your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will drink someday.

Appetite for Destruction

This happens in less than two seconds :(



We have one less wine glass now. No...I wasn't taking pictures when he picked up the wine glass and threw it to the floor! This was taken the next day to show how easy it is for a two year old to use drawer pulls as a ladder.

I assure you that he went to time out after this picture was taken...and it was time out WITHOUT his blue blanket.