Make it Pretty

Well, since no one responded to my Earth Day post; I am going to write another! Earth Day is this coming Friday. It doesn't matter is you believe that the polar ice caps are melting or if you believe that Al Gore is a quack. It doesn't matter if you drive a Toyota Prius or a Ford F-350 extended cab truck. The fact is, we can all make our planet a little cleaner and a little prettier just by implementing a few changes in our routines.

The fact is that we humans make a smaller carbon footprint than cows. Cows emit a damaging and startling amount of methane gas which will probably cause our children to need SPF 1000 and our ozone layer to be a doily of decoration.

So here is what I propose: make some change by reusing an old object, repurpose something bound for the trash, recycle an old article of clothing into something trendy, reduce the amount of paper and plastic in your household or simply just change your habits. Some examples would be to use cloth diapers or go diaper free for a short while each day to reduce the amount of disposable diapers in landfills. Reduce the amount of plastic you use to pack your child's lunch. Have your kids create recycling bins that they can collect recyclables in and get money for. Walk, ride your bike or ride public transit to work while the weather is warm enough to walk but cool enough to tolerate. All those old flannel baby blankets, turn them into cleaning rags. Change your cleaning products out for more eco friendly solutions.

There are so many different things that you can do for Earth Day. Brainstorm with your kids to come up with ideas that they are excited to help with. Let me know your ideas. Sharing may spur some others with changes that they can make!!

Happy Earth Day 2011!!!

The Earth Day Upcycle

Well, this blog has a two part purpose. The first is, of course, our responsibility to be good stewards of what has been given to us...ie: the earth. The second is our entry to win this giveaway.

I decided to upcycle something that would help us in the big picture of our EC journey. Since we are trying to not use as many diapers, I thought this would be the perfect project. Instead of purchasing new training pants for Jaxon, I decided to turn his old prefolds into new training pants. Now, as I don't have these skills myself; I enlisted a great Etsy store owner for help. Here is our project in picture form:

So our journey of EC continues to be healthier for Jaxon and the earth as we continue to reduce our water usage for diaper washing and our product usage to make diapers. I helped out the small business model by employing a SAHM for this project. I also got some really cool looking cloth training pants out of it. I would have loved to have made them myself, but my skills are just not there yet.

So now I challenge you, what is your project going to be for Earth Day? Get your kids involved and recycle/upcycle/plant/reuse for a good cause! Pay it forward and do something for a cause that makes the earth a prettier place!!

Happy Half Birthday

Jaxon is officially half way through his first year of life. It is crazy to think how quickly it has gone. We are so truly gracious to have been blessed with such a wonderful baby. No, he is not perfect by any stretch of the means; but he definitely is a great little dude to have around!! Here is where we were to where we are now:

Happy Half Birthday!!! I love you, little man!!