He's BACK!

For the past two weeks we have been wondering where our dog was. He slipped out the door when Ethan was going outside and ran off and never came back. I've gone knocking on doors, made a trip to the pound, scoured petfinder websites, driven slowly along the highway looking in ditches, all to no avail. And then this afternoon our neighbor found him walking along the road in front of his house. How I wish he could talk and tell us what he's been up to. Welcome home, Jed!

National Hanging Out Day!

I have a confession to make. Awhile back I posted that one of the things I was trying to do to save energy was air dry my clothes. Well since we moved to Oregon I haven't done it once! In California spring meant warm sunny days. In Oregon springtime is another story. And that rainy story has hampered my good intentions.
That leads me to tell you about April 19th -- National Hanging Out Day. No this does not mean you get to be lazy all day. You get to hang your laundry out to dry the old fashioned way! Did you know that after the refrigerator the dryer is the next appliance in energy consumption? Did you know that hanging clothes to dry has been outlawed or banned by many cities and homeowners associations? Can you believe someone telling you that you can't use the free energy of the sun to dry your clothes? That's like cities saying, "No walking or biking allowed---it doesn't make our streets look good."
So join with me and try hanging a load of clothes up on Saturday. Inside or outside. Its good for your pocket book, your body and the air!

Plastic, part 2

A few weeks ago I posted about plastic. Since then I have been learning alot about plastic. Here are a few disturbing facts I have learned:
1) There is a floating garbage patch twice the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. By weight it contains 6 times more plastic than plankton.

2) Sea animals injest plastic, it blocks their intestines and they die. As their body decomposes the plastic is released ready to be eaten again.

3) Plastic doesn't biodegrade- it photodegrades, meaning it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces but it is still plastic.

4) That means plastic is being eaten on lower levels of the foodchain. And its not just plastic the animals are eating; pesticides and toxins in the water cling to these small plastic pieces.

5) It is often cheaper to make things with new virgin plastic than with recycled plastic.

6) Plastic is in everything: hair care products, lotions, exfoliants, food packaging, stuff packaging, it lines many of our cans and cartons of food, it is used in baby bottles, water bottles, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

7) Scientists are finding that plastics leach into our food and mimic hormones, damaging developing reproductive systems.

Bottom line...we are filling our world with plastic and it ain't goin' away folks!

Recycling is possible but it is not as economical for plastic so let's try to REDUCE and REUSE first!

Here are just a few ideas to get started:
* Try taking your own jars or bags and buy from the bulk food bins at the grocery store.
* Try to not use plastic baggies and wrap for everything. Foil can be reused if it doesn't get too dirty, a plate can be placed over a bowl as a lid in the fridge. People did survive before ziploc bags were invented....I promise!
* Take your own bags when shopping.
* Don't heat up food in plastic (especially in the microwave)
* Refuse to buy things that are excessively packaged

Trip to Southern California

Springtime in Southern California is gorgeous. It was sunny and warm and there were avocados, tangelos and tangerines dripping off my parents' trees. My sister and her family came to visit, too. It was fun to get all the family together again...we just wish Jonathan could have been there.

We went to Disneyland on Monday and we spent the rest of the week recovering from it. We had three kids on leashes, one in a sling, and two by the hand. I soon found trying to keep a large group together in a crowd mentally exhausting. My mom and I ended up taking the little kids home after lunch while everyone else stayed and played. I felt bad that Abby didn't get to go on any of the little kid rides but the lines were so long. Standing in line in the hot sun for an hour to enjoy a 2 minute ride is just not worth it sometimes. Maggie and Abby were perfectly happy to come home and dance in their new ballerina leotards and watch the fish swim in the pond.

We also went swimming at Sarah's apartment pool, poked around at some garage sales, and visited for an afternoon with my Grandma. We had a relaxing week with good weather. What more could you want for Spring Break?

Catalogs

While we are on the topic of environmental questions....have you ever noticed how many catalogs one seems to receive in the mail? ( I get them from at least 20 different companies) Did you know 19 billion catalogs are mailed to Americans every year? Did you know 53 million trees are used to make these catalogs? Most of these catalogs just get tossed or recycled without anything being purchased. Around my house I know they create a lot of cases of the "Gimme Got a Get Its" and waste a lot more time than I care to admit.

So here is a challenge. When you receive a catalog you don't want, call the company and tell them to stop sending it to you. If you need an excuse say you prefer to do your shopping online. Or you can sign up with the free service at www.catalogchoice.org and they will do the dirty work for you. Either way a tree will thank you.

PLASTIC

I know most of my posts are about my kids but lately I have had this question on my mind...

Why do we buy so much plastic STUFF? And why do we throw so much stuff away? It really turns my stomach when I walk into a store and see all the disposable plastic junk that will break after 3 uses (or less) and be tossed into a landfill.

I know plastics do have some great uses. Some medical advances would not be possible without plastic.
But the production of plastics and our dependency on them only increases our dependence on oil. As China and India grow and develop they will want more oil....the price is only going to go up.

So here are some things I have been doing for awhile or just started to try to reduce my dependence on plastics and oil.

1) cloth diapers and cloth wipes ( they are really not as hard as everyone thinks)
2) reuse plastic wrap and plastic bags (bread bags, bread sacks, etc.)
3) Use tupperware type containers or reuse sour cream and yogurt containers instead of ziploc/plastic wrap
4) reusable waterbottles
5) bring your own cloth bag when shopping (although I do reuse plastic bags as my trash bags)
6) buy used toys, wood toys, LESS toys
7) no individually wrapped snacks - buy in bulk
8) use beauty/hygiene products made without petroleum products (this is hard--most of the brands have it)
9) compost kitchen and yard waste so I don't have to buy fertilizers (made from fossil fuels)
10) drive less (another hard one, but by making meal plans and planning errand trips it can be done)
11) use less electricity (sweep instead of vacuum, turn out lights not in use, only run full laundry loads, air dry clothes, wear a sweater instead of heating the house to 70*)

I'm not perfect but every little bit of effort helps.

Any other suggestions???

Big Smiles

Mia is changing so fast. Here are a few recent photos:

Baboushka Baby

Snippity Snip

Three months after I have a baby I always go through "The Great Hair Fallout". When it finally starts to grow back in I have a lovely fringe framing my face. In short, I hate my hair for a year or so. Now that I am 30, (almost 31!) I decided that I needed a more grown up look. I paid ($$$) a visit to my Aunt Sharron's favorite hairstylist and I was not disappointed. Here is the result:

Happy Birthday Marah

Marah is nine. If you know Marah you know she LOVES horses. We invited our friends, the Bastians, to bring their pony, Classy, and cart for pony rides, as a birthday surprise. Marah was in heaven. She even got to steer with the reigns all by herself. Of course now she asks for a horse or pony every day.

Here are her horse cakes:

Marah has learned to knit and has made a hotpad and button scarf so far.

A Serendipidous Supper

We had a delicious meal tonight due to several serendipidous events. A couple weeks ago we stopped by Trader Joes after taking my mom and brother to the airport. If you know us you know we LOVE Trader Joe's and we were throwing all our favorites in the cart to stock up our pantry. When we got home we discovered several purchases that Abby must have thrown into the cart. One of these surprises was a bag of raw shelled Brazil nuts. What are we going to do with a pound of Brazil nuts?!?
The second event that led to this scrumptious supper was a tip I got from my cousin, Lisa, that pork loin roasts were on sale at Safeway for 79 cents a pound. And the third event, I pulled down my New York Times cookbook and found a recipe for Pork Satay which just happened to call for Brazil Nuts. Here is the recipe, bon appetit!

Pork Satay (from NY Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne)
8 shelled Brazil nuts
2 Tblsp ground coriander seeds
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 clove garlic finely chopped
2 Tblsp finely chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 Tblsp brown sugar
3 Tblsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 lbs lean pork
olive oil or melted butter

1. Grind the Brazil nuts very fine (food processor or blender should work)
Mix with remaining ingredients except pork and oil
2. Cut the pork into 1 1/2 inch cubes and let marinate at least 2 to 3 hours ( I let it sit one day)
3. String meat on skewers and broil slowly (on BBQ or under the broiler in the the oven) 'til done, about 20 minutes
While cooking baste with oil or butter. (I omitted this since I had my meat in a pan in the oven broiler) and turn to brown all sides.
4. Serve hot with rice and cilantro ( I think broiling onions with the meat would have been good too)

Cheap Christmas

Do you want to impress with a big present but not spend much money? How about no money? (This method does require a credit card, but don't worry you won't end up spending a cent) First of all you need to be a good detective...find out what an out of town relative is buying for your hubby (In my case it was an electric razor--but I didn't have to do the detective work, it was purely coincidence). After you know what expensive gift your out of town relative is sending your hubby, buy him the exact same thing (this is where the credit card comes in). Make sure he opens your gift first. He'll be so happy you were so thoughtful. When the duplicate is opened (the one from the relative) act very surprised. Its ok, you say, I'll return the one I bought since we don't know where our relative bought this gift and it would be too much trouble to mail it back. Is there anything else you want from (the store you bought it from) It helps if this store is not an interesting store...in my case it was Hi-School Pharmacy...this technique would not have worked as well if the gift was from REI. Hubby will say "No" and you get your money back and he still has the gift....brilliant!!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas has come and gone and I haven't posted since early November. tsk tsk.  Here are a few highlights of the past several weeks.

It snowed! (barely)

We got new wood floors and adopted a stray dog.


Our Gingerbread house decorating party with lots of cousins, candy and creativity!


Merry Christmas!

My little boy...

Last Saturday we were cleaning house. Ethan was having a hard time doing what he was asked to do. He was too tired, stomach ached...etc. all the usual get out of job complaints. Finally I took him by the hand and we emptied trash cans and cleaned the kitty litter box together. As I was instructing him on how to put a plastic trash bag liner in the can he sweetly asked, "Do I have to learn how to do this in case I never get married?" No, no my dear, you have to learn how to do this so you can be a responsible adult, clean up after yourself, not live in a pig pen and help your future wife...

The Haunted House by Marah Christenson

I can see a house on the hill.
A door creaks. An owl hoots.
I hear wings flutter. It might be bats.
I can almost feel the creepiness and the silence
around me.

I walk closer.

I walk so close that I have to stop.
I can go no further.
I look up, scared.

The house is covered in spider webs!
The house needs serious cleaning. (I think.)

Creak.

I look around.
I see the door, its scary knocker.
It opens. A little.
Something grips the door. And I scream,
"HAUNTED HOUSE!"

Drumroll please...My orange kitchen!

I finally got the clutter off my countertops so that I could have Mike take photos of the kitchen. What do you think of the color?

They just grow up too fast

They say time flies when you are having fun. Well it flies when you are tired, busy, and moving, too. In the past three months my newborn has turned into an adorable 3 month old. And yes I have had fun with her but it just goes by too fast.

Happy Birthday Abigail!

Abby is three years old! She loves dancing, reading stories, making silly faces, eating butter, frosting and sugar in any form, kissing Amelia's cheeks, and anything that is the color pink. Here are a few snapshots of her big day.

Helping make her "Horsey Cake" (that means adding a few ingredients, and more importantly being the taste tester :)


This is her "Horsey Cake" In case you can't tell it is a green flowered pasture with horses in it.


New clothes...so cute!

Something New in the Neighborhood

New thing #1: Moving to Oregon
Since I last posted we have packed our belongings in a big yellow truck and moved to Oregon. We are still in the middle of unpacking and making our new house "ours" but so far everyone is happy with the move.
Here is a photo of our front room. ( More photos of the house to follow soon.)


New thing #2: Amelia is 2 months old
I have had several requests for photos of Amelia. She is growing so much. She loves to eat and sleep and inbetween those two favorite activities she gets lots of attention from adoring siblings...and parents too.


New thing #3: I canned grape juice!
My cousin Lisa and I canned 59 quarts of grape juice. Here are some of the grapes...yummy!


New thing #4: Toothless grins!

September 11th

On my Dad's birthday I thought I would list some reasons I love my Dad.
1. He loves scuba diving
2. He is a hard worker and self motivator
3. He teaches himself how to do things
4. He can do anything with one hand
5. He is a wonderful story teller
6. He loves backbacking
7. He taught me how to drive
8. He let me go to UC Berkeley
9. He has great powers of concentration...just try to get his attention when he is thinking. :)
10. He loves my children
11. He loves my mom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!