Big Kudos to Publix!

I read in the newspaper this morning that Publix has now converted all of it's generic brand milk to hormone-free! Woo Hoo! AND, they aren't even changing the price. Even sweeter!

Part of my simplicity journey is about living consciously. Frugal, sure, but conscious- that's the key. Living "simple" to me doesn't have a lot to do with money. Well, it has a lot to do with money in the aspect that by changing the way I live, I change the way I spend, but what I mean is that it's not *all* about saving money. It's about being WISE with my money.

Anyway, back to the conscious part.

One of my biggest goals is to buy/eat more local produce and "natural" foods. I would rather eat less and and have quality, healthy foods than to eat more and it just be junk.

So thanks Publix! You've appealed to my quest for healthy as well as helped my featherweight purse. But really, this is just step 1. What I'd love to end up doing is buying local milk. I'll get there. Slow and steady.

Trying something new

Ever have those days where you feel like you've worked your butt off and have nothing to show for it? Well, I have those days. A LOT. I read something from a friend that I'm going to try for a few days:

Keep a log of what you do around the house all day. Everything! It's 9:43, and here is my list so far-

1. checked email
2. unloaded dishwasher
3. made bagels
4. loaded dishwasher
5. cleaned fronts of 2 cabinets
6. swept kitchen
7. laundry into washer
8. took out trash
9. put in new trash bag
10. finished crocheting teacup
11. changed a diaper
12. unloaded washer into dryer
13. loaded washer with diapers to soak
14. started on crocheted teapot
15. changed lightbulb in girls' room
16. sat my butt on the couch to do this list LOL

The idea behind the list is three-fold; 1.) Let my hubby know that I really don't sit around all day eating bon bons (he doesn't think that, but it's nice to show "proof" now and again LOL), 2.) listing will make it a competition with myself to "outdo" the previous day's list!, and 3.) Help ME feel accomplished for the day (this is obviously the most important reason). My schoolage children have a tendency to void everything I've done while they are at school, and then at the end of the day I'm exhausted and the house is still a mess.

And really, the issue is teaching my family (myself included) is to learn how to pick up after ourselves better so that I don't feel this way.

Now back to work....

A tip for Today

If you have small kids, it is CRITICAL that you store away out-of-season clothing. My children will wear whatever is in their closet or drawers. It doesn't matter how many times I tell them that Christmas tights are not acceptable in Spring, they will put them on and attempt to wear them to school. And when I'm not looking or busy and not paying attention, they will "dress up" in whatever they have and leave them on the floor. Or cram them in their hamper not to be discovered until I am washing laundry.

Save yourself the headache!

Keep a big storage box under kids' beds. At the change of seasons trade out. Put away things that can be passed down to younger children and give the youngest child's seasonal clothing to a charity.

Believe me.... 2 hrs of work is a fair trade out for 6 months of "ugh! again!" headaches.

Food for Thought...

taken from the book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin:

"We want a good future for our kids, so we work harder or become a two-income family and relegate raising the kids to daycare centers or nannies. We buy them the newest toy to prove our love. We earn for their college educations but relinquish the opportunity to spend time with them during their formative years. We bemoan the influences of 'bad company', but we ourselves have never been in their company long enough to influence them. We are spending so much of our precious time earning in order to spend that we don't have the time to examine our priorities."

A good read

If you have a little bit, this is a great read:
Richard Louv's Testimony

Moms for Modesty

I stumbled upon this blog today. I added a link on the right, but I think it warrants it's own entry as well.

Moms for Modesty

Moms for Modesty Mission Statement

• As a Mom for Modesty I believe in common-sense modesty for girls and young women.
• I believe in refraining from sexualizing our girls and young women.
• I believe that it is unwise and unfair to taunt boys and young men by permitting my daughter(s) to dress in an immodest manner.
• I believe that true beauty comes from within and I strive to teach my daughter(s) this truth.
• I will loyally shop at retailers that provide girls’ and young womens clothing that is modest, affordable and stylish.

I talk about my feelings regarding children's wear on my website a bit, but I'm not sure if I've ever addressed it here on my blog. I think children should look like CHILDREN. The sexualization (is that a word?) of our children makes me ill. The style of having our little girls look like hoochie mamas is just criminal. Not only is it sickening on a societal level, individual parents HAVE TO step up and take responsibility for this. Retailers and clothing manufacturers would not be creating these trends if parents weren't buying them. "But that's what she likes" is NOT an excuse for letting your 8 year old dress in midriff tops and short shorts. I started sewing clothing from THIS PATTERN by Fern & Faerie, a great WAHM who also has a deep passion for maintaining modesty in children and spreading the word of "children looking like children". She created this pattern specifically to address this concern. If you sew, this is a fabulous pattern. It is printed on thick paper to last through years of use!

Please. I beg of you. If you are a mother of girls, read the link above. Think about it. Pass the link to any other mother you know. Do something.

TV and Children

When I was a kid, there were cartoons on Saturday morning, and that's IT. We were in the "dark ages" compared to my friends with Cable TV, and at the time I was totally embarrassed that we were so behind the times. Now I am very grateful to my parents for being so cheap!

I have some thoughts on kids and TV. Of course, I think it's bad. Who doesn't? Well...obviously not many people. It seems the "in" thing to say how bad TV is and how you wish your kids would stop watching it so much, but how many parents do I know who are acting on what they say? ONE. And that's my sister because she enrolled my niece in a Waldorf School, which is a whole 'nother topic LOL.

Anyway... back to my TV theory.

Kids are brats today. Plain and simple. They are manipulative, self-righteous, and arrogant. Obviously, not ALL kids, but I'm making a generalization based on observation in my community. There are countless reasons and failings of society that have molded children in this way, but the biggest influence is parents. We live in a society where parents complain to the school Principal if their kid makes a bad grade or pays the kid's way out of trouble. We reward our children with expensive toys instead of our love. I know one kid who got a GOLF CART for his birthday so he wouldn't have to walk 2 blocks to his friends house- now he can *ride*. And he's overweight, go figure.

I think one particularly naughty new parental habit is making the entire world revolve around children. It has it's perks, naturally, but it's hindrances as well. TV is one of those hindrances. Back to my original statement- "When I was a kid, there were cartoons on Saturday morning, and that's IT." Now, we have 4 or 5 channels (maybe more?) devoted 24/7 to kids. My children can turn on the TV at any time day or night and find a cartoon. This may be a minor player in "the world revolves around me" game, but it's a player nonetheless.

And there you have it.

"Just in Time for Spring"

You have got to be kidding me.

Just in time for Spring... now that you feel all renewed and refreshed... get yourself in DEBT!

The barrage of credit card offers I get daily amazes me. I keep meaning to opt out of pre-screened offers with the credit bureaus, but I'm lazy and never think about it at the right time.

I read somewhere once that whenever you get junk mail with postage paid envelopes inside to stuff that thing as full as possible and send it out. If everyone started doing this, the junk-mail senders would not be happy with all that postage they were paying and according to theory, stop sending so much. Personally, I don't think it would stop them. I think they would get some sort of statement printed on the envelopes that they could only be used for the intended purpose. Maybe something like that already exists? I dunno, but if it doesn't, I'm sure the credit card bigwigs could get it legalized.

"What's wrong with society" rant over.

I've been a busy little bee planting my herbs for the summer. I now have chives, spearment, catnip, camomile, hyssop, and lavender in dirt. I have passionflower seeds soaking per package instructions and stevia seeds waiting on warmer soil, again per package instructions.

I made my first ever natural bug repellent for summer use, but the bugs aren't too bad yet. I've been hanging clothes on the line religiously. The baby boy has been ill, so I fell behind on laundry and have had to use the dryer today to catch myself back up, but I'm pretty proud of the consistency I've stuck to so far. I get up and wash one load every day. Hang it on the line and then bring it in after dinner. Every day. It keeps the laundry completely under control!

Mmm Mmmm Fresh

I just took my first load of sheets off the line for the season. I LOVE the smell of fresh-dryed-outside sheets!

Okay, so I *know* I could have been hanging clothes out before now, even during the winter, but I got lazy and fell back into easy dryer mode. But I'm out...

It's Spring, the air smells so fresh and clean, it is uplifting and reviving. I have been busy cleaning my yard and getting the herb garden ready for planting. The kids have been busy clearing the "trail" in our backyard through the "wild area" (aka... area overgrown with weeds amid trees) and making mudpies and mud milkshakes. Today I witnessed the baby boy simply basking in the sun. I saw him sitting in a sunny spot in the grass and watched for a minute. He was just sitting and taking it all in. I wondered what all he could be thinking of, what he was hearing, smelling, and feeling. It did my heart good, seeing him basking in nature like that. And best of all, I know it did HIS HEART some good as well :)

I highly recommend this book!

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

This book is wonderful. It's about children and how the lack of free play in the "wild" is affecting them. The author has coined the phrase "nature deficit disorder", and I think it's a perfect name. It is SO true and such a dose of reality. If you have kids, read it! I checked it out of my local library, and I'm only about 1/3 the way into but already so amazed and enlightened.

I've wanted to unplug our home, but this is really giving me that extra push. Spring is just around the corner, and here in the South, it is already warm and buzzing. My children have been playing outside non-stop for about a week now, and I can see a huge difference in them. The outdoors clears their minds, and mine as well. Today they collected 4 leaf clovers and told me stories about how there must be a pot of gold buried in our yard because there are so many "lucky clovers".