Friday Update

Aluminum bottle Update:

When shopping for my favorite tea at the Mustard Seed in Solon, I found that they carried reusable aluminum water bottles right next to the tea. How did I miss them last month? They are very similar to the ones I purchased online and apparently paid too much for. They are a little smaller but a lot cheaper. They also carry plastic water bottles that are said to be toxin free. They are very inexpensive. I also found a cool water bottle made of corn. It will eventually break down after 90 washings. You can't throw it in the dishwasher so that wouldn't work for me. Too many germs at the playground for me. Gotta have the sani rinse.

Worm Update:

Now that I have spilled the beans about being pregnant, you can understand one more reason I couldn't continue the worm composting. The smell was killing me. When I am pregnant, any smell is magnified. Food that is breaking down or rotting gives off a pungent odor. I had trouble opening the container because of the smell.

Today my little boy was watching a robin pull out worms from our backyard. Out of the blue he said "Mommy, I hope that bird isn't eating our kitchen worms." Good thing I got rid of them as quick as I did. I had no idea the boys were so attached.

Cupcake Update:

Today, while my youngest son was at speech therapy and my other son had a playdate, I quickly ran to the grocery store for one thing. Cupcakes. Pink frosted, white cupcakes. I purchased another package and hid them in the car until the kids were playing their video game. I smuggled them in and hid them in a cloth bag to make no noise. If I keep this up, I will gain 70 lbs with this pregnancy. Oh, but what fun!

Who Knew You Could Buy Worms from Ebay?

The Earth Day Celebration Continues.......

"Mommy ordered worms from EBay and we are going to keep them in our kitchen," said Ryan to my mother-in-law. It was such a weird sentence that she didn't even know how to respond. She just said "a huh, Ryan." She looked at me wondering what he was talking about.

I tried to brush it off and change the topic. My mother-in-law doesn't recycle. It just isn't their thing. How would she understand my need to start using worms to compost IN MY KITCHEN? It is weird. I feel the same. But, it was something I wanted to try. I had kept a clipping from the newspaper for over a year about it. I thought what the heck! I looked it up online and ordered red worms from EBay.

So in case you need a little more life in your kitchen, here is how I created a home for the worms.

Here is the box I used to hold the worms.

We ripped paper and cardboard to make our box welcoming to our new guests.

The worms finally arrived at our house. My boys were soooooo excited!

I had no idea they would arrive in a bag.

I didn't know how to get them out of the bag. Ewwww. Gross.

If I was a reading this, I would wonder how it was going with the worms. Straight talk. Be honest. Well, I am still learning. This morning, I awoke to 10 red worms on my kitchen floor. I have no idea how they got there. They were under my sink with a locked door. I wish I would have taken a picture of it. I was shocked so I googled "worms all over my floor" and there were posts. Apparently, my worms do not like their new house. They were trying to escape. So, I added more wet cardboard to their house. Hopefully they decide to spend the night in their container tonight. I have no idea how they got out. I am not sure I want to know.

We have fed them old grapes, old bananas, a used tea bag and bread. It isn't too smelly and I sprinkle the box with water before bed each night to make sure it doesn't dry out. It isn't any extra work for me. It is easier than a compost pile outside. I was too lazy to walk to the back of our yard to have an outside compost pile. So, I started this one. If you'd like to shock your family and friends and would like more information about vermicomposting, feel free to ask any questions about the process in my comment section or email me directly.

Happy Earth Day!

We're Trying

Happy Earth Day!

We have been working hard to make changes in our family to be friendlier to the Earth. I have always been a huge recycler since college. I drive my husband crazy going after cans and jars that he is too lazy to wash out and recylcle. I just can't throw something out if I can recycle it. But, recycling wasn't enough for me. I needed to make some bigger changes.

I have hated the plastic bags that you receive at the stores. They make me absolutely crazy. So in the past month, I made the leap to cloth bags for shopping. For those of you in larger cities or out of the Midwest, you might not realize that almost everyone here still uses the plastic/paper bags at the stores. Baggers do not know how to pack a bag with more than five items. They look so confused when you give them the cloth bags. It is worth it just to see their teenage faces try to figure out how to pack the bag. Too funny!

I have also been trying to switch to environmentally friendly cleaning supplies. So far, so good. It is hard to give up favorite brands and scents. But, I think it is a something I can continue to do.

The final switch we have made this month is to have a worm compost bin in my kitchen. I throw my old produce or scraps into a container full of worms. They eat my old food and create castings or material that will help my garden and flowers. I will write about the entire process later in the week. It is a weird process and I am still working out the kinks. The kids love it but it is a little gross to have to take care of worms daily. The verdict is still out on this one. I will try it for the summer.

Change is hard but needed. I will continue to look for ways to be friendlier to the Earth. I love that I am also teaching my children to do the same. They will grow up not knowing any different. They will tell their kids about all of the plastic bags that people used to use. They will remember the worms that mom used to keep to eat their old food. They will learn about how to treat their Earth with love. I am trying. Are you?