Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone who has supported me, encouraged me, tolerated me, inspired me, loved me.  Thank you so much for being you, and I hope that 2010 is your best year ever!

And for the lady who gave me a nasty look when my 5 year old was vomiting on the airplane a few weeks ago, well, I wish you a Happy New Year, too.  In case no one else does.

Daily Photo: Full Moon at Dusk

A Great Green Exercise: Preparing A Last Will And Testment

Part of my journey toward a greener lifestyle was (and still is) to become better organized.  Whether it's the clothes closets, drawers, attic, file cabinet, garage, kitchen pantry or computer files -- greater organization leads to greater efficiency, which is central to green living. 

Along the way, I've also realized that there is a major organizational project I've badly neglected.  Maybe it's because it involves preparing for some unsettling possibilities - such as the death of my spouse, myself, or both of us.

My husband and I recognize the importance of having life insurance, mainly because we have children.  We want to make sure that if something happens to one or both of us, we have financially provided for their care until they are adults.  We don't want the surviving parent or the guardians to struggle financially when they should instead be focusing on our children.

We've taken care of the life insurance and have identified guardians but have yet to take care of some other important details, such as:

1. a Last Will (This is used to distribute property to beneficiaries, specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children. It is an important part of any estate plan. Without one, the courts will make these critical decisions for you.), 
2. a Living Trust (This spells out how your assets are to be managed in the event you are unable to take care of yourself - and by whom (you should specify a Durable Financial Power of Attorney). In the event of death, it is used to transfer property to beneficiaries. But unlike a last will, a living trust is not usually subject to probate court, which can take years and cost thousands in court fees.), and 
3. a Living Will (This spells out your preferences regarding medical care should you no longer be able to speak for yourself.  It also typically includes specifying a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney, so you have someone able to make health care decisions on your behalf.)

In preparation for completing these tasks, I found a great form (click here for a word doc) to help me gather together pertinent information.  I plan to flesh it out by including every account we have, whether it's a utility, newspaper subscription, online account, whatever - with account numbers, userids and passwords.  I want the end product to be so detailed that the executor of our will will have a very easy job.  I will take this package to an estate attorney in our state (laws differ state-to-state, so best to get it done locally) and put our minds at ease.

I thoroughly expect that once I'm done with the form and my attachments, I will realize how much I should simplify the details of our life - which should make it a very green exercise, indeed.

As I move through this process, I'll leave updates here with any new information I find - and I welcome any advice you might have to offer.

Daily Photo: Because Christmas Snow Is Magic

My kids made a snowman out of the snow that fell on Christmas Eve...

They think that Christmas snow must be magic since the snowman did not melt along with all of the other snow.  I can think of one other explanation but I'm keeping my mouth shut.  It really does look magical :)

Daily Photo: A Christmas Miracle!

It's snowing in Texas on Christmas Eve! 

It was 70 degrees yesterday and my kids were running around sweating in their short sleeved shirts - now this!

Daily Photo: Texas Sky

It's 72 degrees and lovely in North Texas today - sunny with big, fluffy clouds that race across the sky.  It's a nice change from wading through snow drifts back east!

Navigating Air Travel After A Snowstorm with Two Small Children

In yesterday's post, I alluded to the ill-fated nature of our trip back east.  It was actually a really great trip except for the last two days.

We were all set to fly home from the DC area on Saturday morning, but on Friday afternoon, as the mother of all snowstorms moved toward DC, the flight was canceled.  We were fortunate enough to learn this before the snow even started falling (always subscribe to flight alerts!), so were able to reschedule for Sunday afternoon before all of the seats on that flight were filled.

This is what we woke up to on Saturday morning.  And it kept on snowing.  Total accumulation broke the record for a twenty-four hour period.

We spent Saturday shoveling out my mother-in-law's driveway so we could get to the airport on Sunday.  The kids had a very good time throwing themselves into snow banks.

On Sunday morning, I brazenly packed a cooler with nine juice boxes, 4 chocolate milks, two sandwiches and snacks.  It was the height of arrogance to think I'd get through security with all of that, but I was determined to try.  I knew we were in for a long haul.  My carry-on also contained 16 diapers, a complete package of wipes, a complete change of clothing for both kids, a bottle of hand sanitizer, my laptop with a lot of kids' shows, and an ipod with a movie my older son picked out for himself and was very excited to watch.  Both boys had small backpacks with toys that they'd packed themselves.  I didn't bother packing any amusement for myself since all of my focus would be on my kids.

As we pulled up to Reagan National Airport on Sunday afternoon, 3 hours before our flight was scheduled to depart, the line at curbside check-in was extremely long - and it was 24 degrees.  My husband left me with all of the luggage and took the kids to return the rental car.  I commandeered a luggage cart and decided to try to get in line inside.  I plunged into a wall of people in total chaos.  It took me 15 minutes to turn around and get back out the door.  By that time, the curbside check-in line was a lot longer, but I had no other logical option.  So I dug my winter coat out of my bag and hunkered down.  Forty-five minutes later, my husband and kids joined me.  An hour and a quarter later, through several bathroom breaks and snacks for the kids, we finally found a Skycap who gave us our boarding passes and took our bags, effectively cutting in front of the 15 passengers still in front of us.  We had 30 minutes to make our flight.

We got down to security and faced another log jam.  My husband hopped lines, cutting in front of some slow pokes, and I sheepishly followed him with the kids.  The security personnel saw the cooler with juice boxes and let us through with it, thank goodness.  Finally at our gate, we didn't see our flight on the board above the gate and we couldn't get a straight answer from anyone.  Utter chaos.

I resorted to standing on a chair and loudly asking if anyone else was on our flight and what they knew about it.  Five people spoke up and we exchanged whatever information we had.  We concluded that this was indeed the proper gate but there were several planes ahead of us.  We would be delayed.  So I set about finding dinner for the kids and found a table and two chairs that we turned into our base camp.  Four hours later, after dinner, bathroom breaks, purchasing one toy for each child at the gift shop, and many "tours" with the toddler, I saw some commotion near the gate and my husband investigated.  Sure enough, our flight was boarding.  In fact, it had been boarding for 20 minutes and we almost missed it.

We got to the front of the line and discovered that we did not have actual seat assignments.  We had generic boarding passes.  Good GOD.  So husband muscled his way through the shouting mob to the desk.  That's when they told him they'd been paging us for 10 minutes.  As if anyone could hear anything over the din.

We boarded the plane and found it completely full.  Our seats weren't together but we were at least able to pair one child with each adult.  I passed the ipod to my husband so my older son could watch his specially selected movie and the toddler and I settled in (we'd been using that movie as a carrot for good behavior the whole afternoon - it had worked like a charm).   Thank goodness for the CARES harness or my toddler would have been running down the aisle. 

Everyone on the plane was so grateful to be there and was very nice to each other.  Booze was free (which tells you just how bad things were!).  It was late, and I expected my toddler to fall asleep but he didn't.  After reaching cruising altitude, I broke out the last of the juice boxes and some raisins and he watched a Care Bears movie on my laptop while I rubbed his little feet.

Two hours into the flight, he became increasingly irritable.  He said his tummy hurt.  (Uh oh.  The older child had thrown up on the flight east after saying his tummy hurt.  An air bubble wanted to get out and it took his lunch with it.)  So I extracted him from his harness, laid him belly-down and told him to fart.  Yes, I really did.  I had no idea a toddler could produce so much gas.  But I'm guessing if the passengers around us could have chosen between a crying toddler and a smelly airplane, they'd take the smelly airplane.  He immediately felt better, stopped crying and had a pee pee accident.  So I changed his diaper and pants, cradled him, and he fell asleep.

As we approached for landing, I knew I couldn't wrestle him back into the harness without a really unpleasant experience, so I carefully strapped him into my ERGO carrier and let him continue sleeping.  We landed and I collected our carry-on items and, without waking him, exited the airplane.  Standing on the Jetway waiting for my husband and other son, I spoke with the pilot.   Turns out, the airplane almost didn't make it to DC.  It had been circling over Dulles for two hours and they were running out of fuel.  Wow, were we lucky!

We picked up our bags from baggage claim, reached our car, strapped everyone in, Purelled everyone and went home.  It was a fun trip, but I am very glad to be back in my own home.

My Quick Jaunt to Midtown Manhattan

These past few weeks have been very busy, consumed with holiday preparations, events at my son's school, preparing for and taking our ill-fated trip back east (more on that later), and my growing preoccupation with what I'm going to do once both kids are in school. Typically, from Thanksgiving to Christmas there never seems to be enough time in the day, and this year was no exception.

My brief jaunt to NYC left me really refreshed. I don't know if it was just being in the city or the fact that I got more sleep in those two days than I've had in years. Funny how small children completely transform every aspect of your life. Before kids, I used to work very long hours, stay up late and then catch up on sleep on the weekends. That strategy no longer works since my alarm clock toddler yells at me at 6am every day. So let's just say that on this jaunt, I submerged myself in the luxury which is sleep. When not sleeping, I met up with friends and wandered the city to see how it had changed in the five years I'd been gone. It was a nice time to visit since the city was decked out for the holidays.

I visited one of my old haunts, Rizzoli book store.  This is where I first heard of Robert Mapplethorpe.  A part of me died that day - that tiny scrap of innocence left in my 22 year old mind.

 

I window shopped on Fifth Avenue and found a nice gift for my husband.   No, not at Cartier.  I just like their decorations.

Check out the lady walking in front of Tiffany - this is how I realized riding boots are back in style - where have I been?  Oh yes - in the sticks for the past few years.  No one cares about riding boots in the sticks.

I walked through F.A.O. Schwarz and was underwhelmed by the assortment and overwhelmed by the crowd.  Seems that these days they only sell teddy bears wearing F.A.O. Schwarz t-shirts.   Cater to tourists much?

I stepped out onto Fifth again and looked up at the Plaza Hotel.  I've probably looked at the front of this building a thousand times and always think of Barbra (the voice that needs no last name) and Robert Redford in The Way We Were, "Your girl is lovely, Hubbell."  Makes me want to weep just thinking of it.

I crossed to Central Park South and walked past the Oak Room, where in my twenties I tried to look sophisticated drinking cognac and smoking a cigar but probably just looked like an idiot.

I looked at the carriage horses with pity and breathed out of my mouth while doing so because they smell so badly.  Seriously.  How does anyone take a "romantic" ride in a smelly horse carriage?

Then I visited lovely Central Park and remembered countless summer Saturdays in my twenties spent stretched out on Sheep Meadow trying to look cool despite the humidity because it was a place to see and be seen. I don't think I ever succeeded.

Cruised past Radio City Music Hall.  Have I ever been inside?  No.  

Walked around the corner to Rockefeller Center.  I put my Liz Lemon glasses on and walked up to the door saying "Hey, nerds! Who's got two thumbs, speaks limited French, and hasn't cried once today? [pointing thumbs at self] This moi."  Well, no I didn't, but I had fun thinking about it.

Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center? Check.  Pickpockets?  Probably.

 

Is Times Square still crazy?  Yes, yes it is.  And I take pride in the fact that a souvenir vendor identified me as a New Yorker, not "some tourist."  Tactfulness is not on the vendor license exam.  But like most NY taxi drivers, souvenir vendors seem to have an uncanny ability to identify where people are from.  Years ago, I had one NY taxi driver identify exactly where I was born on the eastern seaboard.  And I think he was from Pakistan.  It's crazy.

Am I mad that St. Patrick's had to schedule exterior maintenance during my visit, thus ruining my photo of it?  Yes, I am.  It's freaking Christmas.  You'd think they'd want it to look special.

 

I left NYC on the Acela, just as I'd arrived.  Pushed my way through the crowd of i-bankers in the bar car, then sat peacefully with a glass of wine and read - another thing I'm unable to do when the kids are around.  I reunited with my family completely rejuvenated.  Two days well spent!

I Love New York!

It was bracingly cold when I stepped out of Penn Station yesterday evening. It smelled just the same and I breathed deeply, letting the electricity and life of the city run through me.

NYC is a place I lived for 15 years but haven’t seen in the last 5 years. The last I saw of it was through the back window of our car as we drove into the Lincoln Tunnel with our newborn son. We didn’t want to raise children in the hustle and bustle, but that didn’t stop me from being a bit sad as we left. We’ve moved around and done a lot of living in the last 5 years, including having baby #2. But here I am, back for my first visit to see old friends. I traveled by Acela – a route I used to take very often. I don’t remember the Acela looking so beat up.

I am solo on this trip and that in itself is a strange sensation. My husband is taking the kids to visit his relatives in a nearby state and I took advantage of the proximity to catch up on some friendships I’ve neglected these past few years. We will reunite in two days. I need these two days for myself, or maybe for the person I used to be – I’ve neglected her, too. I am at a crossroads and need to start thinking about what I will do once both children are in school - career #3.

I have memories on just about every street corner of Manhattan since I moved so many times while I was living here through my twenties and thirties. I’ve lived in just about every neighborhood above 23rd Street. I enjoyed two distinct careers here, had been a grad student, fell in love, had my heart broken, fell in love again, threw some great parties with my roommates and made a lot of great friends. Some memories are happy. Others are sad. Living in NYC is certainly never dull.

The next two days will be full of visits with friends, wandering, remembering and shopping for the perfect Christmas present for my husband.

Check back here for some great Daily Photos from the Big Apple. God, I love New York.

EcoMeg on YouTube: Adorable, Eco-Friendly Alarm Clock

As every parent knows, a toddler is a most reliable alarm clock.

Homemade All Natural Beeswax Lip Balm

My 5 year old's classmates are crazy about Chapstick.  They think it's cool to bring it to school and keep it in their pockets, sometimes letting each other try the many unique flavors they find (I can't type this without shuddering).  So he naturally requested his own.

After extracting a promise (several times) that he would not share it and would not try anyone else's, I relented and bought a tube.  Then I noticed this...

"Lift for Drug Facts"

Curious about that, I lifted the label.  The adhesive ripped a layer of the label off and I wasn't able to read it.   So, I just cut to the chase and visited one of my favorite websites, Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep, a cosmetic safety database.  According to their evaluation of this product,  it ranks 8 out of 10 on the scale of concerns (10 is highest concern).  The high score is driven by its fragrance and an ingredient called methylparaben.  Parabens are endocrine disruptors and methylparaben, in particular, has been linked to breast cancer.  The Chapstick also contains artificial colors and saccharin. 

Right, so he's not getting any Chapstick.  Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm scored quite well but he didn't like the peppermint taste, so I decided to make my own.  Here's how I did it.

Beeswax Lip Balm

Clean out a Burt's Bees Lip Balm tube, wash it thoroughly and set it out to air dry.  Grate 2 teaspoons of all natural pure beeswax (it typically comes in bar form, or as "pearls").  Melt it in a small Pyrex dish in the microwave.  Do this in 30 second increments and take it out as soon as it is melted - you don't want it to burn.  To the melted beeswax, add 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of castor oil.  Mix thoroughly, allow to cool for a minute, then pour into the dry lip balm tube.  Place the tube in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.  (Note: you could easily add an all natural flavor extract (vanilla, lemon, etc) to create a unique taste.)

He loved the taste and texture, and I love the fact that it's really and truly safe for him.

I later decorated the tube with his name in script.  He loved that, too!

Exactly Where I Want to Be

My toddler is sick and is feeling yucky.  We're cuddled up together under his Diego blanket watching Diego (of course).  Every once in a while, he looks up at me, touches my face and smiles.  I am exactly where I want to be, where he needs me to be, and  I am so grateful that I am his Mom.

The Possible Etymology of A Popular Expression

One of my older female relatives came for a visit and my husband and I took the opportunity to go to a movie alone.  While we were out, my toddler had a messy diaper.  When we returned, my relative proudly exclaimed "and I was able to clean it up using only THREE wipes!" 

Needless to say, I was suspicious about the thoroughness of the cleaning given the paucity of wipes used, so I investigated.  I now understand the meaning of the expression "a half-assed job."  Said relative has been relieved of diaper patrol.

Daily Photo: It Snowed in Texas

Yesterday, we woke up to falling snow here in Texas.  It was beautiful and left me longing for my childhood home back east.

Real Versus Artificial Christmas Trees

When I was a child, we always had a real Christmas tree. We went as a family to the Christmas tree lot and carefully selected one, lashed it to the roof of the station wagon and brought it home. My Dad would get out the axe and trim the end so it would fit in our stand, then we'd haul it inside and decorate it. It was a joyous ritual.

When I graduated from college and moved to NYC, I continued to go home for Christmas so never bothered decorating my apartment. But once I had my first child, I decided we needed to live amidst the holiday cheer. We didn't want to deal with the trouble and mess of a live tree, so we bought an artificial one, and we've used it every year since then.

This year, as part of my migration to green living, I sought out information on the pros and cons of artificial versus real trees. I could elaborate on these here, but Kimberly Crandell over at ScientificBlogging already did all of the heavy lifting in a blog post titled "The Great Debate: Real Vs. Artificial Christmas Trees." I encourage you to read it.

Armed with my new knowledge, we may revert to a live Christmas tree next year - despite the huge convenience of our artificial one.

100+ Great Green Gifts

The following is my exhaustive (if I may say so) list of green gift items, just in time for holiday!

 ***

There are so many reasons why the Kindle is great, not the least of which is that it saves trees. My favorite feature is the instant gratification of being able to read whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want. Check it out - it is amazing!



When shopping for a gift, you might not immediately think: "my friends and relatives would be psyched to save some water with more efficient toilet flushing!" But you should see this dual flush converter. It saves HUGE amounts of water. Perfect for the DIY-er.

Daily Photo: Because Non-Premium Pig Ears Just Won't Do

Costco always has something interesting.  I stopped by yesterday to pick up some last minute items for Thanksgiving and found these strange things:  Premium Pig Ears.  

Which immediately had me thinking, "Because non-premium pig ears just won't do."

I found this particularly interesting since I did not know they are typically given to dogs as chew toys.  I was thinking this was yet another example of "regional differences."  I'm glad to now know the truth!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My Sons, on Fashion

My 5 year old son is very aware of how he dresses - he notices all of the little details.  He likes certain colors, likes his tops and bottoms to match, likes to look tidy and aspires to look cool.  My toddler just wants everything his brother has.

On the topic of fashion, here's how a recent conversation went:

Him: "Oh no!  I've got a small rip in my jeans!"
Me: "Where?"
Him: "On my knee!  Oh wait, that makes me look kind of cool!  Like a tough kid!"
Me: "Yes, I guess it does.  A ripped knee might not look so well on sweat pants, though."
Him: "You're right.  It only works with jeans.  I look tough!"

That's when my toddler chimed in:  "My diaper makes me tough!"

We all started laughing, including the toddler.

(That's when it occurred to me that if my toddler can joke about his diaper using perfect sentence structure, he might just be old enough to not wear diapers anymore.)

EcoMeg's Thanksgiving Menu

I'm looking forward to a low-key Thanksgiving on Thursday.  Am I cooking anything tomorrow?  No.  I'm taking my little boys to the library and the park.  So, what's on the menu for Thursday?

• organic free-range turkey with chestnut and sausage stuffing, gravy
• warm ciabatta rolls with organic butter
• organic string beans with slivered almonds
• sliced organic red delicious apples
  
• organic pumpkin pie with fresh organic whipped cream (Have I mentioned how simple fresh whipped cream is?  Put heavy whipping cream into your food processor with powdered sugar.  Blend.  To. Die. For.)

Oh, and let's not forget the football. 

Green Up Your Holiday Table

When you're preparing to entertain, why buy a floral arrangement for your dining table when you can create a centerpiece with elements from your own garden or existing craft supplies?  Even if you live in a very cold climate, you can reuse what's around you rather than buying new things.  Here are a few ideas:

• Make an arrangement of holly from your garden - the red and green are very cheery.
• Make a "Thankful" arrangement.  Take a beautiful, short bare branch that has broken from a tree in your yard and place it in a nice vase.  During Thanksgiving, have your children make Thanksgiving ornaments shaped like turkeys and hang them from the branches.  Have them write on each one something they are thankful for.  These ornaments are easy to make.  Take orange or brown construction paper, trace your child's hand in pencil, cut it out, cut a hole at the top of the middle finger and thread a string through (the thumb is the head and the fingers are feathers).  Then decorate them with crayon, glitter glue or construction paper "feathers."  You could do the same thing for the December holidays, but with construction paper Christmas Trees,  Snowmen, Menorahs, etc.
  
• If you have a chandelier over your table, make a "family" arrangement with double-sided printouts of photos of every family member, hung on pretty string from the chandelier at different levels.
  
• Decorate with a "cornucopia" centerpiece that you'll later cook up and eat.  You don't actually need a wicker cornucopia.  You can just decorate the center of table with seasonal fruits, nuts and vegetables in nice bowls.  Make sure they're washed in case someone takes a bite!

Use your imagination.  There are tons of ways to cheerfully decorate without creating more waste or spending more money!

How to Make All Natural Lip Gloss

A few weeks ago, I wrote about running out of facial powder and substituting organic corn starch - with great success.  I'm comfortable now that I'll never go back to buying commercial facial powder.  Inspired by this success, I decided to try my hand at creating other beauty products.  My criteria: they must be all natural, easy and quick to make, smell great, feel soothing, and be edible.  Yes, edible - that's my measure of safety, particularly for lip gloss.

Over the next few weeks, I will experiment with making a few different items, and I'll share my recipes here with you.  I hope you enjoy the health, savings, beauty and fragrance of these as much as I do!  Also note: they make great little gifts for the holidays!

Pink Lip Gloss

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons grated pure beeswax
8 teaspoons castor oil
4 drops vanilla extract
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon organic beet juice powder (be careful where you put this - it is a strong dye)
 -- you will also need a container to put it in - I bought a small Nalgene jar  (they are BPA free) at The Container Store for $0.99.

Directions:
1. Melt the beeswax and castor oil together in a small Pyrex dish in the microwave.  45 seconds ought to do it.  Mix well.  Add the vanilla, honey and beet juice powder.  Add more beet juice powder if the shade is not as dark a as you'd like.  Let it sit in the Pyrex dish until it cools enough so it won't melt your Nalgene jar.  Don't wait until it's fully set up to move it to the jar.
2. Pour it into your jar.  Let it sit 20 minutes before covering it.

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Lo SieNto NaBloPoMo

Visit NaBloPoMo
I ambitiously signed up for National Blog Posting Month's (NaBloPoMo) November challenge.  All that was required of me was to post something every day.  I made it to day 22, when  I literally had nothing to say.  Yes, that surprised me, too!  For the other NaBloPoMo participants out there - keep it up, and good luck!

I'm Having A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I borrowed that title from one of my favorite children's books, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  I'm being dramatic.  Obviously, I am completely blessed and have no reason in the world to complain.  At all.  But sometimes a person just gets frustrated and has to let it out.  Mind if I dump on you?  Thanks!

So, my toddler work up at 5:30 a.m. for the third day in a row and refused to go back to bed.  So I was up at 5:30 a.m. for the third day in a row.  I am not a morning person.  "Get me another juice!"  "I don't want a fresh diaper!" "But I want to put my foot on your belly!"  "Get me that toy!" "I don't want that toy!  Get me another toy!"  "I don't want to read that book!" "I don't want to get down!"  "I don't want to be quiet!"

As soon as the 5 year old woke up at 7 a.m., they proceeded to play every dangerous game known to man.  Example:  "The Big Jump Game."  This involves climbing up the jungle gym we have in our playroom and jumping off of the highest point.  My toddler is two and broke his leg in a playground accident last January.  Needless to say, I am unenthusiastic about this game.

My 5 year old asked for porridge for breakfast two times, so I made porridge with raisins, honey and bananas (yum!).  While both of them insisted on "helping" (code for spilling everything, trying to pull things out of the refrigerator, running over my toes with a scooter, and climbing up on the counter every five seconds).

Once it was on the table, the 5 year old crossed his arms over his chest and insisted he wanted something else.  I finally resorted to telling the story of the hungry children in Africa.  He still refused to eat it.

"Husband!!!" I yelled.  It was 8:45 a.m. by now, and I'd been up since 5:30 a.m. while he slept peacefully.  It was time for him to take over.  Seriously.  Right then. That very second.  Grumbling, he obliged.

I finally realized that the 5 year old probably just needed a solid cuddle, so I scooped him up, reminded him how much I love him and that we'd simply had a hard morning.  This worked and he ate his porridge.

Then the toddler ran out of the bathroom without his diaper.  Thankfully, it was only #1.  He decided he wanted to wear big boy underpants (we keep a drawer of them in the bathroom in case the spirit moves him to potty train).

I sat down at the table with a cup of coffee and started to poke around my blog, catch up on some other blogs.  This was the first time I'd sat down all morning.  "Mommy, get me that!"  "Mommy, this toy needs a new battery!"  The two kids began to tease each other and soon the toddler was shouting at the 5 year old.  I looked at my husband.

It is now 10:45 a.m. and I am sitting on the floor of the bathroom with my lap top, door locked.  I have put my husband in charge.  The toddler is yelling "Mom! Mom! Mom!" outside the door.  I am waiting for my husband to tell me the toddler had a pee pee accident.
 
Sigh.

I'm sure plenty of Moms have similar mornings.  Even in Australia.

Just Chuck The Tie Already

I've always hated the smell of dry cleaned clothing.  Before my first child was born, I worked in financial services and "suited up" every day.  We didn't have an organic dry cleaner near us.  While I made sure to only wear machine- or hand-washable shirts under my suits, I looked forward to casual Fridays when I could ditch those dry cleaned suits. These days, I only wear machine-washable clothing unless I have to dress formally.  I couldn't imagine hugging my child while wearing a dry cleaned sweater.

My husband suits up every day, so the topic of necktie care has come up.  They are only cleaned when they need a spot removed, and they are always dry cleaned.  I think that's pretty typical of the way most men care for their neckties.  Ick.

So when I read yesterday's Wall Street Journal and saw an article titled, "Nothing to Sneeze At: Doctors' Neckties Seen as Flu Risk," I had to read it.  Here was one interesting quote...

"A 2004 analysis of neckties worn by 42 doctors and medical staffers at the New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens found that nearly half carried bacteria that could cause illnesses such as pneumonia and blood infections. That compared with 10% for ties worn by security guards at the hospital."

Some doctors are resistant to going tie-less despite this evidence - they feel that neckties lend an air of professionalism.  So a company is selling neckties with a stain-resistant coating that the company says "repels bacterial infection."

Excuse me while I look up at the ceiling and sigh deeply.

Simple Thanksgiving Dinner

My five year old's Montessori class held its annual Thanksgiving celebration feast this morning. I signed up to bring the turkey, stuffing, gravy and vegetables. Did I start cooking yesterday? No. I started cooking at 6:15am and delivered everything to the school by 10am. No sweat.

Preparing Thanksgiving dinner does not need to be stressful.  I've outlined, below, a simple menu that can be thrown together very easily in a matter of a few hours.

The Perfect Turkey

Cooking a turkey is not hard, but for some reason, people have heart palpitations about it. Maybe it's because the only time each year that they make one is on Thanksgiving Day. Or maybe it's because they haven't discovered the secret to it all: A THERMOMETER.

1. Start with a really great thawed turkey (we enjoy Mary's Free Range Organic Turkey - delicious!). Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Remove the turkey from its wrappings. Unclasp the legs and remove the neck from the "abdominal cavity" (anyone else think of mobsters when you see something's neck shoved up its abdominal cavity?).  Remove the giblets from the neck cavity. Rinse the entire turkey, including both cavities, then pat dry (cavities, too) with a paper towel.
3. Re-clasp the legs. Place the turkey breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Rub the turkey with olive oil. Pour 3-4 cups of water into the roasting pan (until the water almost touches the turkey).
4. Place the turkey into the oven.  Rinse the neck and giblets, place them in a pot and cover them with water.  Bring to a boil, add a bit of olive oil and some salt and pepper, then simmer the entire time the turkey is cooking and you'll have great additional stock for the gravy.
   
5. 1 hour later, check the fluid level in the pan - add some water if it gets low. Baste the turkey with the juices in the roasting pan. A baster is really key here. 
6. 30 minutes later, baste the turkey again. 
   
7. Once the top of the turkey turns golden brown, tent some aluminum foil over it.  Don't wrap the aluminum foil over the pan - the point is just to keep the top from burning, not to restrict air circulation.
   
8. Start checking the turkey's temperature and basting it every 15 minutes.  Use a meat thermometer and check the breast at its thickest point.  The turkey is done when it is 165F.  Also check the temperature at the thickest point on the thigh.  DO NOT COOK THE TURKEY PAST THIS TEMPERATURE OR YOU WILL DRY IT OUT.
   
9. Once the turkey has reached 165F, remove it and let it rest for 30 minutes.  The purpose of letting it rest is to let the juices settle into it.  If you cut it too soon, the juices will run out, leaving it dry.  While it's resting, you can make your stuffing, green beans and gravy.
   
10. Serve.

Notes: 

• I don't recommend cooking a turkey with stuffing inside.  It takes 30 minutes longer to cook and it's harder to get it to cook evenly.  Better to prepare your stuffing on the stove top, then bake it in the oven for a crispy top.  
• A convection oven can cook your turkey 25-40% faster than a conventional oven.  So check that temperature often!  Using a convection oven this morning, my unstuffed 16 pound turkey took 2.5 hours to cook.
  

Stuffing

Arrowhead Mills makes an awesome organic stuffing.  Add mild italian pork sausage (remove the casing, crumble and sautee), crumbled chestnuts and sauteed minced onion to make it extra special.

Gravy

Strain the neck/giblet stock into a pan and add the drippings from the roasting pan.  Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Add a quarter of a stick of butter and whisk in flour until it's thickened to your desired consistency.  To eliminate lumps, you may want to put it in the food processor for 30 seconds.

Green beans

Rinse green beans and pinch off one end to facilitate cooking.  Put in a covered Pyrex dish and add an inch of water.  Microwave on high 4 minutes.  Strain and toss in a bit of butter.  If you want to get fancy, add some slivered almonds.

Dessert  

Check out my favorite pumpkin pie recipe.  You can make this the day before and refrigerate it until you're ready to eat it.

BPA Is in "BPA-Free" Cans, Too.

Today, a friend forwarded to me an article titled "Concern Over Canned Foods."  The article details findings from Consumer Reports' latest test for BPA in canned foods.   BPA is a known endocrine disruptor.  It mimics your own hormones and has been connected to obesity, breast and prostate cancer, negative effects on fetal and infant brain development, and other terrible stuff.

The article states a few interesting things:

1.  Federal guidelines, based on experiments done in the 1980s, put the daily upper limit of safe exposure at 50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight.   However, several animal studies show adverse effects, such as abnormal reproductive development, at exposures of 2.4 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight per day.  Clearly, the federal guidelines need dramatic revision.

2. "The canned organic foods we tested did not always have lower BPA levels than nonorganic brands of similar foods analyzed. We even found the chemical in some products in cans that were labeled "BPA-free.""  The implications are obvious - if you think you're making a safe choice by going organic, you are not necessarily doing so.

3. "In Japan, most major manufacturers voluntarily changed their can linings in 1997 to cut or eliminate the use of BPA because of concerns about health effects. A 2003 Japanese study found that the levels of the chemical in subjects' urine dropped by 50 percent after the change in cans was made."  This means it's not too late to get your body back on track.

The main conclusion: dump the canned food.

So far, I've restricted my family's exposure to canned goods to one single brand, Eden Organic, because of its "BPA-free" can, but even this brand was mentioned in the study as containing trace amounts of BPA.  For at least a year, we've been enjoying the canned navy beans with some frequency and occasionally use the canned pizza sauce, too. 

I am both idealist and realist.  I aspire to keep my kids' bodies as healthy as possible while still under my watch, and I think I do a pretty good job of it most of the time.  With this new knowledge, I will learn to make my own pizza sauce and freeze it, or I'll buy a version in a glass jar.  I will also start soaking and cooking my own beans.  But I know that my kids will end up eating some Halloween candy that has artificial colors and flavors, attend birthday parties where unnaturally-red fruit punch is served, and have an occasional slice of pizza that's made of non-organic ingredients.  I also know that there will be nights when canned Eden Organic beans will be part of the meal.   Because 1 ppb of BPA might be preferable to me blowing a gasket.

Inspired by Bauby

My husband ordered an amazing movie last night on pay-per-view, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  It's an autobiographical film, based on the book by the same name, of Jean-Dominique Bauby.  Bauby was editor-in-chief of Elle until he suffered a stroke in December 1995.  He emerged from a coma 20 days later, intellect intact but almost completely paralyzed.  He had some movement in his head and eyes, one of which had to be sewn shut.  He dictated his book by blinking his left eye to select letters as a transcriber recited the french language frequency-ordered alphabet.  It took 10 months, dictating four hours per day.   He died of pneumonia two days after the book was published in french. 

I've been percolating a book in my head for a few months.  After watching this movie, I've decided to just go ahead and write it.  And if I utter even one word of complaint in the process, all I have to do is remind myself how incredibly difficult it was for Bauby.  That should shut me up.

Daily Photo: Home Again

I've only been away from my children on my own three times - never for longer than two or three days.  I attended two school reunions and took one trip to visit family.  Each time, things were a little different when I returned.

Certainly, the children coped quite well without me - my husband takes great care of them and makes it fun.  But there is something different each time I return.  Last time, my younger son was quite upset with me and things took a few days to return to normal.  This time, when I departed I left a toddler and a preschooler and I seem to have returned to a little boy and a first grader.  They are noticeably older, more advanced, more independent, more mature.  Noticing this was at once both impressive and heartbreaking.

My five year old has made me promise that I will never again leave for more than one day and night.  After this experience, I have to agree.  I don't want to miss a moment!

Daily Photo: Approaching Los Angeles

On the flight into L.A. this weekend, I was struck by the beauty of this mountain peaking through the clouds.  It also made me grateful for radar.

Recycling 201: Yard Sales

I love yard sales.  It's an important and fun part of the recycling chain.  The process of preparing for a yard sale is a great way to keep your home tidy, organized and efficient.  It requires sifting through your possessions to see what you can part with.  It generates cash, and it's a great way to lessen your contribution to landfills.  Your castoffs might be another's treasures, and you can feel good about that.  You're doing a solid for humanity. 

My friends are dedicated yard salers.  Every Saturday morning they set out to see what treasures they can find.  This past Saturday, during my visit to LA, I joined them in this ritual and learned some great tips.

Here's a list of good things to know about yard sales.

Where to Find Yard Sales

• You can find yard sales by driving through your neighborhood on Saturday mornings and looking for signs.  Don't be misled by the number of signs you see for a yard sale.  If you see a lot of signs for the same sale, it doesn't necessarily mean the seller is desperate.  It might just be because there's an overzealous teenager involved who has a stake in the proceeds.
  
• You can log on to CraigsList.  Just navigate to your city, then use the search term "yard sales."  Up pops everything that folks have listed (here's an example, for Los Angeles).  
• If you are planning your own yard sale, put up signs with your address and the time of the yard sale at major intersections near your home, and don't forget to list it on CraigsList.
  

Pricing of Items

• Pricing is an indicator of the economy.  In good times, people are just looking to get rid of their things.  They're less likely to care about the pricing.  These days, you'll see prices stuck to every item.  People are more serious about getting their asking price for their things.  Sellers need to have realistic expectations, though.  For instance, if you want $20 for that big box of Legos, you won't get it.  You'll only get $10.  It doesn't matter how much they sell for in the stores.
• If it isn't gone by 11:30am, pack it up and drop it off at Goodwill.  So price things to sell.
  
• Buyers can find Harry Potter books for $1 at yard sales.  Want $50 for the whole series?  You won't get it.  No, it doesn't matter that Amazon sells the hardcover boxed set for $120.  You will get $1 a piece.
• Don't sell high end things at yard sales (yesterday, I saw a jet ski at a yard sale for $7500).  You won't even get a "reasonable" price.  
• The golden ratio is 20:1.  If a yard saler pays $1, it's worth $20.  One person's trash is another person's treasure. 
• Sellers should have lots of change on hand - dollar bills, fives and quarters.  LOTS.
• You can find baby books, in great shape, at yard sales for $0.25 a piece.  In stores, a small stack of baby books would cost a fortune.  Get there early to find these treasures.
• CDs can go for $0.25 a piece.  Buyers can upload their favorite songs to their iPod, then resell the CD at their own yard sale for $0.25, rendering the uploaded songs free.

Should You Hold A Yard Sale?

• In yard sales, the dollar still has value.  Buyers are looking for a "find", a "treasure."  They're not looking for a deal versus retail.  That sort of shopping is done on eBay, so you might consider listing certain items there.  If you don't want to ship items, list them on CraigsList because the expectation there is that people will come and pick them up from your home.
• Yard sales are a great way to teach your children lessons about money, the value of a dollar, budget and frugality.  It's also a great opportunity for your youngster to operate a lemonade stand under your watchful eye.  The going rate for lemonade is $0.25 a cup (not dixie cups, not huge beer cups - the size just up from a dixie cup) - maybe $0.50/cup if your neighborhood is more affluent.  Another great item to sell is Donettes or bite-sized brownies for $0.25 a piece.  It is breakfast time, and people would probably love these.  If you have an older child manning the stand, he/she could also make change.  Younger kids might request exact change only, and buyers can get change from mom and dad.
  
• Goodwill Versus A Yard Sale: For clothes, you might sell a pair of pants for $0.50.  The tax deduction you might get through a contribution to Goodwill might be $0.50, and Goodwill might resell those pants to the public for a few dollars.  
• Consider joining forces with your neighbors to hold one large yard sale at one person's house.  You can separate the shopping areas so folks pay the proper sellers, but you might gather a larger crowd if you've got a few houses worth of items displayed.
  

When to Go

• Yard sales tend to be held 8am-noon on Saturdays.  Most of the good stuff, if priced correctly, will be gone by 11:30.  What's left at noon should be packed up and taken to Goodwill. Sunday yard sales don't do well.   
• Serious yard salers should show up early.  In LA, there are professional yard salers.  They show up at 7:30am, scour the landscape, pick up a few treasures and then might resell them at the Rose Bowl.  The Rose Bowl hosts a huge, wonderful flea market one Sunday each month. 
• It's ideal to arrive at yard sales at 8:30am or 9am. 
• Sometimes it's better to show up late because when people have never had a yard sale, their expectations are high and they won't bargain until they realize they're not getting people to buy things.  That usually happens later in the day.

Etiquette

• If someone wants $60 for something, don't say "will you take $10?"  It's insulting.  You don't want to break someone's spirit.  Maybe you could ask for 1/2 off, or a "2 for 1" deal.  If it's $10 and you say "will you take $5?", that's very different than saying "will you take $2?"  
• If you see something you like and want to discuss it with your shopping buddy, don't look directly at the item while you're talking.  It attracts the attention of other yard salers and they will descend like vultures.  
• Don't step on another yard saler's deal.  If an item is tagged at $10 and they're offering the seller $5, don't cut in and say "I'll pay $10!"  You will make a yard sale-ing enemy.
  

The Best Way to Display Items

• Put items on tables.  Resist putting things on the ground.  That's what you do with garbage.  It's a psychological thing.  If you put things on a table, people feel like they are shopping.  If things are on the ground, people feel like they are rummaging.  They might not be very careful with your things and they will not want to pay money for items they have to rummage through.
• If you're selling clothing, try to hang it up on racks.
  
• If you're visiting a yard sale and you see lots of things on the ground, you might find some bargains because people overlook things on the ground.

A Word of Caution

• The vast majority of humankind is honest and nice.  Just be alert.  You might encounter someone who is casing your house, looking to "shoplift" or wants to pull a scam.
• Don't hold your yard sale inside your house. 
  
• One scam I've heard of is someone approaching a seller when he/she is very busy and asking a price for something, then coming back and saying "do you have my change?  I gave you a $5."  You don't want to make a scene, so you give the change and the person walks off with the item AND the change.
• Don't accept checks, and don't accept any bills over $20.  Counterfeiters love yard sales. If someone approaches you with a larger bill, ask them to go to 7-11 for change.
  

Swine Flu Has Visited My House

This has been a tough few months for the kids.  We've probably been through 4 different viruses since school started in August, despite being chronic hand washers, having a no-shoes policy in the house and disinfecting our hands whenever we enter our car after we've been out and about.  The kids collected the airborne viruses like magnets.  Thankfully, they never contracted any of the really ugly digestive-type illnesses, though (I chalk this up to the diligent hand washing).  We did get the seasonal flu shot but did not and will not get the Swine Flu vaccine because of concerns about its efficacy and the connection to Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

My five-year-old ran a fever a few weeks ago and the fever lasted for maybe a week, peaking one day at 106F.  He was lethargic and had a headache.  But we had him tested TWICE for Swine Flu and Strep and the tests were always negative.

So when he ran a slight fever over this past weekend and had a slight cough but was otherwise okay, I kept him home from school for the duration of the fever (as I always do) but otherwise didn't think much of it.  But on Friday, as I packed for our trip to LA, I decided he should get tested one more time.  The cough had really lingered and I wanted to be sure before I exposed hundreds of people to him.  Sure enough, SWINE FLU.  I was flabbergasted.  This was almost a non-event - I almost didn't even have him tested, and none of the rest of us got sick.

So he had to stay home with his Dad and I went alone to LA.  He was devastated.

I just thought I'd share our experience so that folks might understand that not everyone ends up in the hospital, not everyone gets terribly ill from Swine Flu.  If you do not have underlying health problems, think HARD before you get the Swine Flu vaccine and all that comes with it.  Don't succumb to the hysteria.

TechnoMeg: Link Love

According to Bloggosary, Link love is linking, usually unsolicited, to a site you enjoy, admire, or find useful.  Many bloggers think that Link Love (particularly if it is swapped) is beneficial - it improves traffic, is free advertising, and may improve your Google PageRank.  While Google apparently no longer considers PageRank to be of paramount importance, many advertisers may still regard it as an important indicator.  So why not share the love?

If you would like to swap image button or hyperlink links with me, just grab my button (see below) or URL (http://www.EcoMeg.com) and leave a comment for me in my latest post telling me 1. the location of where you've placed my link and/or button and 2. the HTML of your button or the hyperlink you want me to include, and I will post it (or them) here.

Many thanks!






<br/><center><a href="http://www.ecomeg.com"><img src="http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae214/ecomeg/9jn0jl-1.jpg"/></a></center><br/>

Want to know how to create a button like that?  Read here.

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Text Links:
The Self Love Project
Green Organic Energy

Button Links:

FTC Says Bamboo Fabric Should Be Labeled Viscose Or Rayon

The Wall Street Journal published an article today titled "Picking Apart Bamboo Couture." It states that four apparel manufacturers are being sued by the FTC for claiming that their bamboo fabric is "natural", "biodegradable," and "antimicrobial," when in actuality, the process used to make bamboo into fabric utilizes toxic chemicals and the end product is neither biodegradable nor antimicrobial (two qualities that bamboo has in its natural state).

That's a big disappointment, but I find it encouraging that folks are investigating uses for bamboo given how easy it is to grow it.

"I'm Not Going if There Are Tsetse Flies."

Tomorrow, I am taking my 5 year old son with me for a visit to Los Angeles to see some of my family.  I made the mistake of telling him about it a week ago, and he's been trying to pack his bag every single day since then.  "Honey," I'd say, "I'm pretty sure you'll need your toothbrush between now and Friday.  Why don't we wait to pack that particular item."  But today is the big day for THE PACKING.  I'm sure he's in a total fog right now at school imagining all of the things he'd like to take with him on our three day trip.

But his excitement gave way this morning to a strange concern.  "Are there Tsetse Flies in California, Mom?  Because I'm not going if there are Tsetse Flies."

"No, I think Tsetse Flies are only in Africa," I said.

"Ok, well, when I get home from school, we'll look it up on the internet, Mom, okay?  Because WE HAVE TO BE SURE," he said with big eyes.

"Ok, honey."