No 'Poo!

After getting rid of the majority of our chemical products I began thinking of ways to eliminate or replace the remaining products we have in our home.. Currently I am working on my shampoo/conditioner. Recently I tried Dr. Bronners as a shampoo, but was left with limp, greasy hair. I have heard quite a bit about using baking soda/apple cider vinegar as a replacement, but was skeptical. Well, I gave it a shot and I am amazed! AMAZED! My hair is soft, non-greasy, and relatively tangle-free! I honestly cannot believe how well this worked.. Seriously, you have to try this! Here's the link to an instructable. :) Enjoy!

No Impact Week: Day Three (Wednesday)

Day 3 of no impact week was "transportation". For the most part, Nate and I do very well with this. We have one fuel efficient car, and a scooter, which my husband drives to work during nice weather. I don't usually go anywhere, but when I do I almost always go the quickest way (more for my sanity because two boys sitting that close is always a recipe for disaster).

I will be trying to make more effort toward public transit and carpooling in the future, as well as walking more. Unfortunately, my bike was stolen last year and I still haven't replaced it, and my husband doesnt have one himself. Maybe this summer. :)

I have realized that I am not quite following the directions of "no impact week" to a 'T', because I trying to figure out how to make these changes permanent, which takes a little more easing in. For example, when it comes to the food challenge, today, I am thinking of recipes and ways to make locality and organic my top priority, but I am going to finish off the food we have, buying the "right stuff" when I run out. More on that topic later... enjoy this beautiful day!

No Impact Week: Day Two (Tuesday)

Today was day two of No Impact Week. The challenge was to make no trash. This was difficult. I am pleased that we have so little food with packages, but there are still some. I had to remember my challenge and figure out how to not make trash. It was extremely difficult when I went over to my mom's today, packaged food heaven, and had to keep the boys away from things. Of course, when I wasn't looking they were given little boxes of raisins, etc. Oh well. By the end of the day I ended up with only a few things in the trash. Said raisin box, a straw from Will's drink, and some plastic wrapping from a string cheese package. That's pretty good I think. Well, up until we ate dinner at a mexican restaurant and was served paper napkins with a styrofoam cup for Will! AAAHHH! On to day 3 tomorrow! :)

No Impact Week: Day One (Monday)

Hello everyone! Yesterday Nate and I began an experiment called "No Impact Week" This week there is a national challenge to live for one week without making any environmental impact, easing into it gradually of course. The event actually started Sunday, but we didn't find out until Sunday afternoon, so we started yesterday.

Yesterday's challenge was to stop consuming new things. Being on a tight budget has made this a little easier than it is with most people, especially since we already did our grocery shopping. However, we are in the market for a new table, so instead of going to the furniture store we began browsing Cragslist to see if there were any cool used tables. Uhm, a plethora! I am very excited to try and get a neat vintage table. I think my biggest problem living in the greater Des Moines Area will be to find out where I can buy things without packaging.. There are a few stores that make it easier, but nothing that has say, pasta, without packaging that I know of. Hmm.

Nate and I have gradually been "going green" for a while now, so some of this will just be a little push farther past what we are already doing. I'm very excited for this big change! We're talking about how to extend this experiment past a week and see what happens. :) Another step we made in our quest to make our life about family and not about things was to move our television out of the living room and into the closet, unplugged, facing the wall for the summer. If there are a few shows we are desperate to watch *cough* LOST *Cough* we can watch them on my laptop. Long post, I know, but that's all for now. Stay tuned for the response to today's challenge. :)

I'm getting old...

I had an amazing/humbling moment last night.. I was on Facebook checking out my brother's page when I saw someone's name in his feed. I thought to myself "Self, that name is the same as the name of a little girl in the 1st grade classroom I helped in my senior year of high school.."

See, when I was in high school I thought I wanted to be a high-school English teacher. I LOVE literature, knew I wanted to teach, and truly thought it was the best fit for me. As a senior I signed up for a class called "School Aged Child". This class consisted of going to an elementary school for 2 periods a day 2 times a week. The other days were spent learning about child development and finding ways to implement what we had learned in the classroom. Great class!

After my first week in this 1st grade classroom I knew EXACTLY what my calling was. I wanted to be a teacher! I could feel it in every fiber of my being. Now, back to this little girl. She was amazing. Her family had just adopted her from another country that summer and she spoke zero English. Talk about a difficult situation! She was as cute as a button, I can still remember exactly what she looked like. She had a very difficult time adjusting to her new life (surprise), but we took to each other. I ended up taking the class independent study second semester and stayed with this class the entire year. I could not believe the strides this little girl made. By the end of the year she was fluently reading, writing, and speaking English. Wow!

Yes, that same girl is a grade younger than my brother, in the same school, and now Facebook friends. Small world, no?

What I have learned about giving your children independence.. AKA Let it go already!

My children have taught me countless things. One of these things that I wanted to share was how to allow your preschooler to gain independence. When William was just over a year old I became pregnant with our second child. Because of a very difficult pregnancy I was on bed rest for 3 months, then Owen was born 3 months early. Because of all of this, with the help of my family and wonderful husband, William learned how to be fairly independent.

Now at almost 3 I can't believe the things he has mastered. Sometimes I still want him to be a little baby and let me do things for him, but alas, the independent will is strong in him! (As I write this he walked into the bathroom without a word and went potty) His desire to be independent has taught me SO much! I have learned that it's okay that he doesn't do things perfectly. If he puts his shoes on the wrong feet, his socks on inside-out, or his pants on backwards it's okay! He's allowed to make these mistakes.

I see many parents insisting on fixing these little errors, and sometimes I find myself doing it. It's a constant reminder that it's okay for our children to make mistakes. It's part of learning and growing up. Mainly, this time in William's life has told me to just let the little things go, and laugh along with him. :)