Leaf me be

I was going to make a big speech about how I'm tired of my previous blog posts, but by the time I figure out a way to say that I could have written 10 new ones, so here's something new…

I am a tree.

At least I pose as one. Limber, silent, my leaves gently sweeping with each passing summer breeze. And, posing as a tree keeps me from screaming at my kids.

For days—months, really—they have been at each other's throats. They scream and then I scream to stop them from screaming. It's a vicious cycle.

Until today, that is. For I am a tree.

It all started yesterday morning when my yoga instructor said she practices a tree pose to relieve stress. I took it a step further. I used it to curb my temper.

Yes, a tree.

I can see it now. Isabella will lunge at Ava, who just stole something of hers, bumped into her or whatever. Ava would then cry out, retaliate and I'd blow my top. "STOP IT NOW!" But this time I would be silent; standing in a tree pose on one leg with the other foot bent and resting on the straight leg. I'll be centered. Balanced. In control.

How could I possibly raise my voice when I'm trying not to fall? It's karmic therapy.

I'm a tree.

But then what?

How long am I supposed to stay like this? I was hoping the situation would actually present itself so that I'd have some truth to draw from, but I'm slightly alarmed at my lack of planning. I think it's life trying to tell me something.

You will always be surprised. Even if you are a tree.

Fine. But in my mind I'll hold the pose until one of the kids, or possibly the cat, knocks me down. The girls will go back to their bickering, but I won't yell. I'll tell them they have until the count of three to calm down or I'll make them do a tree pose. I hope they choose to hold their own tree pose, which could be good for a few giggles, and somehow they might forget about their fight. I'll just be proud to have kept my composure. For like a tree, I believe I can bend. At least until I fall over. Laughing.

Lettuce eat a lot of greens

A year ago I didn't know kale from maruba santoh. Our weekly CSA from Earthkeeper Farm (community supported agriculture - we pay a share upfront to receive a weekly supply of vegetables from the farm) just gave us both. This year I might even know what to do with them.

I'll admit I was a little overwhelmed when I walked into the kitchen and saw the counter filled with greens. You see, I had one of those rare mommy moments where I went to the hairdresser while Dino took the girls for the afternoon. To my surprise, I came home to find that he had washed and sorted everything. More surprising was that he thought I had a plan for this enormous load of greens.

Um, no.

What you see would normally take us a couple of weeks to eat and I now have a week before the next market day, so I have to finish this post quickly or I won't have time to research recipes that will satisfy our picky eaters.

Actually, our first-grader is a bit easier to please. She actually liked the maruba santoh dish with garlic, olive oil, onion, summer squash and roasted red peppers over farro. At least she said she did. Once she cleaned her plate she declared it was, "not that good." I don't know what to make of that. Our preschooler wanted chicken nuggets and carrots. She has amazing eyesight and clucks when she walks.

I knew the CSA would force me to work within a fixed menu, but I forgot about the kids. It's truly going to take some work to make these greens palatable for them. They think asparagus is exotic. Honestly, at their age I didn't like asparagus either, so they're light years ahead of me, but they're still kids who prefer green beans over broccoli.

I've been preparing mostly vegetarian meals for a while now, so I figured out everything from the CSA without help except for the maruba santoh, which I promptly used in last night's dinner so I wouldn't have to be afraid of it any longer. It's just Chinese cabbage, after all. Suffice to say we are eating a lot of greens this week. Dino says at this rate we'll all be photosynthetic by the end of summer.

So, one meal down, six to go. And true to my upbringing I'm trying to make sure nothing goes to waste. As my mom used to say, "What about the starving children in China?" I told her to send them my food. Thankfully, at least one child in the house likes Chinese cabbage.

Little things

I know I'm usually the bearer of bad news when it comes to products, but I saw something that made me feel hopeful today. My youngest daughter received a birthday gift. It was a Fisher Price Little People toy.

I generally sigh and wonder if I should re-gift items that are made of cheap plastic and will likely end up in a garage sale since we already have plenty of similar toys, but Ava saw it before I had a chance to hide it away.

I was envisioning pulling apart all of the clear plastic stuck to the cardboard and unwinding endless plastic ties, but was pleasantly surprised to find that things have changed. Instead of clear plastic there was just cardboard. There were pieces of twine (or what looked like twine but might have been tightly woven paper) anchoring the pieces to the box. I counted only two small pieces of plastic.

I know I get excited about strange things, but I recall one Christmas where we tossed a full garbage bag of nothing but packaging. I felt terribly guilty for contributing to the global trash crisis, but I was still buying those gifts.

I couldn't find any documentation on Fisher Price's web site. And I know this may be old news, but it's good news as far as I'm concerned. I know it's not perfect, either, but it's a start.

I recycled almost every bit of the packaging and Ava is enjoying her new toy - at least for today.

well-watered

I've always been a huge fan of water. Next to wine, I think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

And now the kids think it's the greatest, too.

I owe this overflow of excitement to our new infusion pitcher.

So why am I blogging about a pitcher that holds fruits and veggies? Well, one of these days it will get warmer and you'll want something cool, healthy and tasty to drink. There are no artificial flavors, colors or sugar to worry about. I even let kids choose the flavor. This week it's cucumber.

What are you drinking this summer?

Cheers!

I have an itch to blog

I've had allergies since I was a kid. I never knew what they were, but the runny nose and dark circles under my eyes were always there.

So after years of sniffling and itching, I finally got tested. The result? Cockroaches, small rodents and possibly grass. That's it? Really?

Years of teary eyes and searching for under-eye cover-up and this is what I'm allergic to?

I guess the good news is that the cockroach incident was in my 20's, so that's over. I still have my combat boots around in case of an unwanted pest. The rodents, now field mice that occasionally make homes out of unused appliances, actually prefer cat food.

But here's the kicker - grass. Apparently all of the environmentally-friendly products I now use are linked to grass. I was told to stay away from plant-based products in general.

So what's a green-thumbed girl to do?

I refuse to go back to toxic products. My new quest will be non-toxic, hypoallergenic products.

Way to be picky, sister!

All suggestions are welcome. And no, I am not moving into a plastic bubble... unless it's BPA free!

All you need is...

It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now.

That's lust.

My husband does the dishes and puts the kids to bed while I listen to music and have a glass of wine after a long day.

That's love.

And we all like a silly love song now and then; especially when it feels like it's about us.

And lust happens...sometimes in unexpected places...

like the laundry room when I'm ironing my husband's blue shirt that makes me want to rip off the buttons

(but I can't sew worth a damn, so I don't),

or the eucalyptus-scented dish soap that reminds me of a far-away escape we had by ourselves once upon a time.

And then we're in love.

And then there's a fight.

Kids screaming over who did what and who's to blame.

Love comes through gritted teeth.

Because who are we kidding? Love is all you need, right?

(love never said it was patient)

And then there's sex.

Lust. Love. Lust. Love. Lust.

Who cares? As long as it's there.

It is there, right?

And then someone needs you. Really needs you. And you're there.

And all you need is love.

But lust is nice, too.

Consider This

My husband is across the room writing about how Groupon may as well find a new business model once the media and public get through with them. I agree. No company is above an apology. A bigger problem would be Groupon and its ad agency believing they don't owe one.

But a bright spot appeared in my in-box today. One of my favorite eco-friendly sites, Fig+Sage, asked for opinions on improving its site. I found myself enjoying my old P.R. days as I shared my opinion. I love the content on Fig+Sage. If I need a non-toxic body lotion, it's one of the first places I go; but everyone can use an environmentally friendly face lift from time to time and I was happy to help.

This isn't a long diatribe about how companies should and should-not behave. We all know when someone is and isn't. I'll just say that it was refreshing, and reassuring, to be considered in the company's process. I think Groupon could use a dose of consideration. I'd even forgive them for the tasteless ads. I love to forgive. I figure it may come back in my favor one day. And like anyone, I want to be considered.

Unleaded

How many of you were left holding the bag today? The leaded bag, that is.

Yes, it's true. Some reusable bags contain lead (synthetic, not cotton bags). I wish I could tell you that this story is new, but the reality is that it's been around for a while now. That said, while the companies in question (reportedly bags from Winn-Dixie, Publix, Sweetbay, Walmart and Target, according to USA Today) are struggling to find new, non-toxic bags for their businesses, it's up to the consumer to do some research.

Remember that many of the bags, although leaded, aren't likely to leach it into your packaged food. The threat is greater for the environment at large. That said, it would be best to phase out the ones you have and, most importantly, dispose of them properly. Either return them to the store in question or take them to a recycling center.

At the risk of sounding like a billboard, I'll share my favorite online shop, Reuseit.com. I buy many of my reusable items here when I can't find them locally (or my toddler won't endure the drive). And to assuage your fears a bit, they've even included a blog post about their lead-free bags.

As with most of the things we buy, it often takes more time to choose it than to use it. This is one of those situations. It helps to have companies in your corner that stand by their products and research them so you don't have to. After all, the consumers are the ones filling the bags.

How your garden does grow

It's no secret that I'm not much of a gardener. I posted that we had what appeared to be mutant "peppermatoes" at one time only to find they were wonderful polish "Opalka" tomatoes. Oops. And my beloved butternut, well, it took over the garden and produced all of two squash. One look at the photo will tell you we threw caution to the wind and just hoped we'd end up with something. Luckily, we did get something. I'm actually burned out on cherry tomatoes for the year.

And that's why I'm sticking to herbs. They're a bit more forgiving.

It's also the reason I finally joined a CSA (community supported agriculture). It took me a while, but it turns out the perfect choice was right in front of my nose, as the best things usually are. I have been visiting Earthkeeper Farm's booth at both the Rockford and Ada farmer's markets all summer. We've had juicy heirloom tomatoes, fresh kale (I make oven-roasted chips out of it with sea salt for the kids) and sweet red peppers, but it never occurred to me to find out if they had a CSA. So, starting next June, I can look forward to a weekly supply of pesticide-free, locally grown produce. I may not be able to grow my own food, but at least I know where it's coming from.

Now if I could just get the school lunch menu to include kale chips.

Ava in the garden before it went wild.

Not a Polish joke

I posted last week about the mutant "peppermato" we found in our garden, but it turns out the joke is on me. My Polish brother-in-law gave us a tomato plant, which we planted near a red pepper plant. And as I've mentioned, everything became tangled so that we could barely tell one vine from another, so it's obvious we are a couple of clueless gardeners.

It turns out we are not the harbingers of a mutant cross-breed, but the owners of a Polish heirloom tomato plant called an Opalka. The fruit is shaped like a banana pepper and has very few seeds, but makes great sauce, apparently. Ours haven't ripened beyond a reddish-orange, so we may never know.

This is what the Opalka should look like:

Photo courtesy of

Thanks to all of the more experienced gardeners out there who restrained themselves from posting huge chuckles after my first post. Needless to say, I'll be doing a lot of planning for next year's garden over the winter.

lapiduli

"The events of her life are like the lapiduli of a grand mosaic: each of them is a small thing, but the combination of them makes such a picture..." {Richard Baptist O'Brien}