A Conservative Conscience.

We live in a consumerist culture.  And, I'm a consumer.  I hate it but I accept it. I don't have any grand solution to our consumerism, I'm just acutely aware of our waste and excess, which makes me conservative in some very practical ways. I try to reuse and recycle where I can-when I can.  I love the creed that was recently posted by a friend that stated "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." Totally aligns with how I try to live!

Simple example, when I have a bottle of any liquid product getting low, I grab a funnel and tip the bottle over and walk away for a while.  Waste not.

 

I also save leftover water from glasses or water bottles. I can't stand the idea of wasting water, it's a precious resource and I probably worry about it more than I should but I collect leftover water in a watering can, kept under the kitchen sink and later use it for plants.

Additionally, I use the cabinet above my microwave specifically to store empty containers that can be reused later for some purpose or another.  You just never know what you might need one day....

Like when I started saving used coffee grounds for fertilizer, I used an old coffee container from the storage cabinet! 

Going a step further, I buy new clothes from time to time but I also buy previously owned/resale clothes just as regularly.  For example, the outfits Greg and I wore in last years family Christmas picture? Mostly resale!  The only new items I purchased were Greg's suspenders and my scarf, that's it.  Clothes, shoes, accessories were all resale.  Recycling at it's finest, if you ask me.

Speaking of recycling, I do. We have 2 trash cans in our kitchen, one for food waste and one for recyclable products.  Fortunately, our city trash service provides a separate can for recyclable items, making it easy for us to participate in recycling. 

Another area I recycle and reuse is with toys.  Occasionally, I purchase something brand spanking new for Nathan, like Legos.  Very often though, I find used toys that work great. For example, this Playdoh Mega Fun Factory retails for $29.99.  Can you see the price I paid in the picture?  Score!  Ironically, when I gave this to Nathan, he told me he saw it on TV and wanted it so bad that he told me about it.  I honestly don't remember that but in any case, I was hero for the day!

Could I do more? Of course. But instead of getting caught up by what I don't do-should do-could do, I just do what I can, no matter how small it may seem. My little baby steps aren't going to change the world but at least it eases my conservative conscience a little bit.

Fact About Me and Potato peelers.

This is nothing more than a fundamental fact about me that until now, only Greg and my father-in-law knew.

FAM (Fact about Me) : I cannot use a regular potato peeler.  I am a ra-tard when it comes to using a normal potato peeler.  I cannot seem to apply the right amount of pressure without gouging the potato, thereby getting thick chunks of potato skin stuck between the blades.  The only potato peeler I can successfully use is a 'palm peeler' that rests in the palm of the hand and held in place by a ring that slides over the middle finger.

FAM Disclaimer : This issue is long-standing, been going on for years, just sayin. ;-D

Disneyland. Best Surprise Ever!

Greg and I pulled off the best surprise this Summer.  We didn't tell Nathan we were taking him to Disneyland until we were ready to walk into the park.  It was awesome. :-)


None of us have ever been to Disneyland, so it was a first for Greg, Nathan and I.  After our trip, we now understand the tagline "The happiest place on earth." There is just something about it, that makes it a happy place.

We have friends in AZ that seem to go to Disneyland once a year.  We didn't get it and they didn't get how we had never been!  Now...we get it and fully understand the magic of Disneyland. 

I guess I brought back some magic pixie dust with me because I was able to pull together our family vacation video within hours instead of days which is more my speed.

I love that Nathan will have this video to look at in the future so he can remember this very special surprise Dad and I pulled on him!

How I became a Lego Nazi.

I love Legos. And I hate Legos.

I love Legos because they are an excellent toy.  They build fine motor skills, require complex problem solving, etc, etc.

But I hate Legos because they end up everywhere...every room in the house, my car, etc. etc.

The situation at our house was out of control.  Therefore, control measures had to be put in place
and that's when I became the Lego Nazi.

This how a Lego kit is packaged.  A box, separated parts in bags and instruction booklets.  It's great. Nathan builds the kit, plays with it.  Add 10 more Lego kits.  Nathan builds them, plays with them. Now Lego parts are all mixed together. Nathan tries to rebuild a kit but can't because there are missing parts, insert a meltdown, weeping and gnashing of teeth.  And now Mom is finding Lego pieces every-freaking-where. It's not so great anymore.

When I thought about the dollar value for each of  these kits and realized they were an investment, I began the process of creating a Lego Library.

The first step of the process was collecting every Lego and separating them by color into individual buckets.  Second step was take each Lego kit booklet, which provides a part list that makes up the kit. Thank goodness, Lego does this!

This is what the sorting process looked like.  This process took months.  I even had friends pitch in to help one night.

Each kit was assigned a Sterilite box, 3 different sizes available, found at Wal-mart, between $1.99-$3.99, very affordable when you need multiple boxes!
 

I copied the front of each booklet, taped it inside each box on both ends.  

Once each kit was completed, it went in the Lego Library.  The key here is only 1 kit can be 'checked out' at a time. Judge if you want but this way parts do not get mixed together and the kit stays in tact, which is the ultimate goal for these 'investments'.

When Nathan completes a build, he puts it back in the box and returns it to the Lego Library and checks out a new kit.  I quietly check the kits once in a while to take apart what's built, so they are not already built when he checks them out again.

Believe it or not, Nathan completely respects the process and checks out/in kits on his own. He's ok with this system because he enjoys the building process and when all the parts are available, there's no frustration, just fun.

So that is how I became a Lego Nazi and I have no shame!

This is what Kindergarten looks like today.

This is what Kindergarten looks like today....

Above is a picture of Nathan's homework and classwork for his Kindergarten year. 

• 137 pages of homework (yellow section of paper)
• 743 pages of classwork (white section of paper)
• 19 phonogram tests (10 blue ribbons for scoring 100%!)
• 6 recited poems
• 180 days of school

Two weeks before the end of school, Nathan came home with 'Graduation' pictures, much to my delight...

On the last day of school, there was "Kindergarten Promotion Ceremony"...

The children were awarded certificates for moving up to First Grade...

As part of their performance the Kindergartners recited the Preamble of the United States Constitution.  Seriously. Here's the video:


Lastly, I discovered as I read the program from the Kindergarten ceremony that Nathan has formally started his political campaigning....Hahaha!!

In a nutshell, that's what Kindergarten looks like today.  I have a sneaky suspicion that everything I just described is far from what you personally experienced as you moved from Kindergarten to First grade, right?! My, how times have changed!  

"Why are you doing this...?" she asked.

There were bombings today in Boston.  Planted at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  Over 140 people were injured.  We will be saturated with media speculation and analysis for the remainder of the week.  Then the attention will trickle down.  Until the next horror, then the cycle will begin again.  It's made me melancholy, no doubt.

Back in September, I was describing to a girlfriend my bi-polar schedule between my full-time job and Nathan's half-day (3 hr) Kindergarten class.

"From 6-7 is Breakfast and Play-time.  Between 7-8, we go for a walk outside.  Then from 8-9 is his computer time.  9-9:30 Homework.  10-11 Quiet Time in his room.  11-12 Lunch.  12:15, I take him to school. I pick him up at 3:15.  3:30-5:00 Snack & TV time. And I'm working in between all of this."

She stared at me.  Hard.  Then she asked, "Why are you doing this to yourself?  Why don't you just find a daycare and be done with it?"

My reply was to the point.  "Because ten years from now, I don't want to look back and regret that I didn't at least try to make this work." I continued, "When Nathan was only two months old, I sent him to a in-home daycare, while I worked and I've always regretted it.  I look back and I know I could have kept him and worked from home but I didn't.  Instead someone else raised him 8 hours every weekday and I regret it."

The timeframe of this schizophrenic schedule occurred at time when we just moved into a new house.  Furthermore, to add insult to injury, Greg also just started a new job. With his longer hours away from home, the burden of parenting fell squarely on my shoulders but I took it on...


For moments like this one; Nathan and I, holding our plates and eating lunch on the swing (pretending it's a train) and giggling about something, though I can't remember the details.

Moments like this wouldn't be possible if I handled our situation any other way.

I stated later in that conversation that I may have a nervous breakdown juggling conference calls-temper tantrums-Fusion training-child negotiations-Project ATOM-Spalding Phonograms-FY14 MPM Production and Stage-Kindergarten homework-Apps Midsize definitions-Science and Art time-OwnIt tickets-"Boo, did I scare you?" interruptions...and so on.  But what I won't have is another regret that I didn't at least try to make it work.

And days like today when disaster and uncertainty abounds coupled with the knowledge it is only a matter of time before tragedy strikes again.  It confirms...that for me, it's been the right thing to do.

 
But if your talking to me and I can't seem to register or comprehend what your talking about, I just have a temporary case of brain-fog.  It will clear up...eventually.  haha!!

Distractions of an Organized Mind

People have always said "Your so organized."  It's true I am organized but I honestly think the only reason I'm organized is because I'm also easily distracted.  Case in point:

I went into the kitchen for a mid-morning snack during work hours.  I should have grabbed my snack and headed back to my office.  Instead, I found myself eating a huge chunk of french bread and staring at a disheveled cabinet.  It bothered me.  I stood looking at it for a few minutes, considered what the shelf above the microwave looked like and decided I needed to 'rearrange' the two cabinets. 

This exactly what I looked like as I pondered, eating a chunk of bread....

I finished my snack and was ready to make a switch-a-roo with the cabinets....

I grabbed a step ladder and started pulling contents out of both cabinets.

When I finished, I looked at the rearrangement, which made better sense and went back to work.

Mind you, I went into the kitchen to get a snack.  I didn't set out to reorganize kitchen cabinets.  I just got completely distracted.  And now the cabinet is better organized. 

Yep, I'm organized but I think it's only because I'm easily distracted!!