Always Something to Fear

This past week with Earth Day, we've all heard a lot about what a waste water bottles are. Nearly 70% are not recycled and the cost to transport them is incredible. A couple of years ago, we all used to refill water bottles with tap water. It seemed like a good idea. Washing them in the dishwasher seemed smart because we could sterilize them. All was good until there was rumblings about the toxins that can be released when they are exposed to heat.


For awhile, I somehow managed to ignore the rumblings. But this year, as the weather got warmer, I started to feel really guilty filling my children's water bottles for the park. Was I exposing them to something that will eventually cause cancer? So many things are rumored to cause cancer. I know I cannot avoid them all. But, making a simple switch was something I could do without much hassle. So, I just ordered aluminum water bottles for the boys and myself. They are extremely expensive. But, it at least relieved mommy guilt for at least today.

Common Cents

It took me 36 years to realize that if I turn off my lights instead of leaving them on that I save money. If I leave them on, it is like throwing money away. It is such a simple idea. My dad has been saying this to me since I was probably three years old. I heard him but I couldn't really grasp it until my husband and I created a budget. I tried to lower our electricity bills each month and it was a challenge. But, it helped me digest this simple idea.

Later this evening, I remembered that I had left the kids in the basement and I didn' t turn anything off. I came upstairs and left the kids downstairs by themselves to play. Usually they come up and leave everything on. TV, radio and all of the lights. But, to my surprise, everything was turned off. Everything! I was in complete shock. I constantly sound just like my dad. "Turn off the lights when you leave a room." Maybe it won't take my kids 31 years to understand why.

This is me at age 2 or 3. Apparently my parents were saving some money by cutting my hair at home.

The Great Worm Escape

My husband let me sleep in Saturday morning. Just one example of what a great husband he is. But instead of enjoying it, I started to panic. What if the worms have again escaped and are all over the kitchen floor? Luckily, I ended up falling asleep and forgot all about the worms. Well, until I walked into the kitchen. There were six dead red worms on the floor and my little boy picked the live ones up and put them back into their bin. Ugh!


My parents were visiting last night so I thought I better hide the worms in the garage. The worms are very active at night. I couldn't have them escape while they were so nice to watch our children for the evening. After we got home, I looked in the garage and wanted to scream. There were about 10 worms all over the floor, most of them dead. They were squeezing out of the top of the container. So, I handled it just like I handle every problem in my life. I googled "worms escaping." A lot of people have this problem when they first start. There were solutions. Things I could do. I have tried some of them this week. Nothing seems to help. I should have started over. I should have bought a bin from EBay. But instead, I admitted defeat. I quit. Yes, I am no longer vermicomposting. It is so hard me for me to quit at anything. I just hate to quit. But, the worms were making me crazy. I knew it was the right decision when I felt a sense of relief afterwards.


My husband was thrilled with the news. When I told him, he said it was a great decision. He was tired of the worms getting loose. Tired of me worrying about the worms. Tired of the whole process. While I was away this morning, I came home to find that he let me worms loose in our backyard compost area. Can you imagine how happy the worms are to be free? They are free to live outside a plastic little smelly box. They are the lucky worms that didn't die on my kitchen floor!

Not Everyone is Doin' It

My sons went to a good old fashioned birthday party yesterday. We're talking no clowns, no performers, just a cake, pizza and a couple of balloons. The goodie bags were just a few things that my kids loved. They didn't cost more than a couple of dollars. My children raved about them. My kids had a ball and so did I.

About a month ago in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, there was an article about how parents are out of control with birthday parties. The article described lavish parties with IPods in the goodie bags. The article made it seem like this was a normal occurrence. It also said that parents were trying to out do each other. It was a keeping up with the Joneses mentality. Really? I have yet been to a kids party where I thought it was over the top. Sometimes I think too much money was spent on something but overall, I usually feel that the parties are about the same. A lot of times, I feel that money is spent to make it easier on the parents. No house to clean and nothing gets broken if it is at the local kiddie place.

We do spend more on parties than our parents. Most of us had our parties at our houses when we were kids. Maybe we even had goodie bags. I don't really remember them. Today, most parents eventually give in to our kids and have parties at a requested location. We spend more than our parents and our goodie bags are more costly. But overall, there is a normal amount of money that most parents will fork out for their child's birthday celebration. Across the board, most people seem to stay within reason. I know I have never used the word "lavish" to describe a birthday party in Northeast Ohio.

I know, I know, I know. It does happen. Maybe in some circles. Maybe in some big cities. But across America, I am guessing that there are more average parties than spectacular ones. Most are run of the mill. You have the usual Pump It Up (bouncer) parties, Chuck E. Cheese, animal guys, princess parties, etc. The people with the crazy, spectacular parties stick out in your mind or make news. You tell your friends about it.

My kids have not had a party anywhere but our backyard and kitchen. I have held my kids off with the birthday parties at pizza places and science centers. They have asked. I know the time will come when I will bite the bullet. Hmmmm. Now that I think about it, no house to clean, no food to make, no toys to organize, priceless. Why didn't I do this sooner?

Blogging Miracle

It really is a blogging miracle. I swear this happened. Today after lunch, I walked to my mailbox and saw my neighbor across the street with her small child. I decided that today was the day. I was going to put myself out there and just shout hello. I wasn't going to wait for her to pretend not to see me. Just as I started to say hello, she actually looked me right in the eye and said hello. Yes, she even waved. I can't believe that after these past years, she finally waved and said hello.

It got me thinking, if I blog about it will it happen? I wish. But if I could just throw this out into the cosmos, here are my wildest wishes.....(beyond the usual healthy children, family, happy marriage, etc.)

1. My boys will stop fighting at least for one day
2. I will age gracefully
3. My husband and I will go on a fantastic European cruise soon
4. I will finally find a pair of jeans that fit even once I wear them and wash them
5. I will meet Prince
6. I will have clothes that fit me and the occasion
7. I will find my real calling in life once the children are in school
8. My house will be clean at all times without much effort.
9. I will be in the best shape of my life for my twenty year high school reunion in 2010
10. The Democratic Party will finally select their candidate for the fall election

What are your WILDEST wishes?

Shy or snotty?

I have a neighbor that won't say hi to me. It is really ticking me off. When she first moved in, I would wave and try to be friendly. I sent over a basket of chocolates and a welcome note. I didn't hear from her.

Two years ago, this shy neighbor was locked out of her house, wearing her bathrobe while holding her new born in the winter. She came over and we spent about 45 minutes waiting for her husband to come home from work to let her in. We talked and she was really nice.

But today, as I rolled my trash cans to the curb, there she was, doing the same. She was rolling the trash cans to the curb. OK. She can hear my trash cans. I hear hers. She will not look up. I am dying to say hello. Nothing.

Sometimes I feel too shy to say hello. I understand the fear. This has been going on for years. Would you just look up and acknowledge that we are both humans living similar lives?

I know that this is my problem. It isn't really a problem. I just think about it daily when I see her and wondered how others have handled this sort of situation. Should I yell out her name and give her a big wave? Should I just start ignoring her? Should I let my dog loose and hope she ends up in her yard? What to do?

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!