Backyard Fun

There are some things that are simply to wonderful not to share.

As with most everyone, my children are complex creatures.

My bigger kids are kind of wild. They run around a lot and anyone who knows us knows that they are very loud. They fight sometimes (or a lot). Miss L is four and acts like a four year old and mister W is two and sometimes helps the terrible two stereotype stick. They can both be really hard to deal with at times.

They are also completely adorable. They make up games to play together (this is dinosaur car wash). They love one another like crazy. They are so funny and they are so deep sometimes, too. They both make my life better for being in it. I simply can't imagine my life without them.

Such is life, right?

This evening (April 29, 2012) was beautiful and this was a beautiful moment shared between two siblings. I pray that they are always best of friends.

Of course, this little one is too small to be in the fray. I know he'll be in it next year though and I know that he wishes for nothing more than to be right there with his big brother and sister. There's nobody in the world that makes him smile like they do!

I also can't believe he's so big. (I guess I'm getting sentimental) Look at him sitting up and playing with toys. He's such a sunny boy too. He's always got a smile!

 

I had to include this picture of our little garden (which was why we were outside to begin with). Looking at this photo from around six weeks ago (at the writing of this entry) it's crazy to know how much has changed in there. I love summer!

Happy Earth Day!!

I remember when I first learned about earth day. It was the 20th anniversary (1990) and there was a tv special which followed a long series of lessons in school about the earth. It was the first time I can actually remember being concerned about the environment, and I was pumped to reduce, reuse, recycle!

Times haven't changed that much. I still look forward to earth day each year, and I really credit my teachers that year with making it so fun for me. I honestly think that I wouldn't have such fond feelings about earth day if it hadn't been for that year in school. GO TEACHERS!

Now my passion for the environment comes from two places. I know that God gave the earth to us and it is our responsibility to be good stewards of this amazing gift. You wouldn't treat a beautiful diamond ring as trash, and how much more should we honor the earth? I also know that this is the same planet that sweet baby L will grow and inhabit. Often what is dangerous for the earth is also dangerous for her (and me!), and I want to keep her safe and leave this planet a better place.

Today I did two things I'd been meaning to do in honor of earth day:

Plastics are of concern to me. I have conversations with friends about how much more common infertility is now than it used to be. I don't just mean permanent fertility loss, but even simply all of the trouble we seem to have with getting and staying pregnant these days. With all of the information coming out recently about plastics leaching chemicals into our foods that effect our hormone levels, it really makes me start to consider the effect that the plastics we use have on our fertility and how we can reduce that threat. I don't think that I'll be able to completely eliminate plastic from my life anytime soon, but I did want to find a list that would decode the numbers (located inside the recycling arrows on the bottom of plastics) and tell me which plastics are safer and which are not safe at all. I found a list here that goes through each number explaining what they are made from and which are safer. I printed the list and wrote "BAD" or "SAFE" next to the different types of plastic and I plan on not purchasing the "BAD" plastics from now on.

I also am concerned about pesticides and chemicals in my food, and in the food I serve to sweet baby L. This is also coming from a place of concern about fertility, but as with plastics, I'm surely also concerned about other diseases and dangers. I'd love to buy all organic produce and foods, but in many cases these products are a lot more expensive than their conventional counterparts. I know that I've seen a list in the past outlining what things you really need to purchase as organics and what things you can let slide. Today I downloaded that list here. It has the top 12 "dirty" foods that you should always purchase organic, and then the top 12 "clean" foods that you can save your money on. Since my baby girl loves avocados and mangos and they are very expensive, I'm glad they fall on the "clean" side!

I printed both items (only page one of the plastics guide) and posted them on my fridge where I can reference them before I go shopping. Woohoo!

It's amazing the spark that a teacher can start! :o)