For Haiti

I know this isn't what this blog is actually about. This blog is about living a crunchier lifestyle, about being more green and bettering our own lives and our world through our environmental impact.

However, I think it's more important to be able to help others when we're able, and right now, there are hundreds of thousands of people right now in Haiti who are crying out for help from anyone and everyone.

I think everyone knows pretty well by now about the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti. Its capitol, Port-au-Prince, has been destroyed - the President's residence has been leveled, houses and businesses have crumbled, hospitals have collapsed on their patients and residents. Estimates of loss of life are varying; some reports cite a mere 30,000 deaths, while others estimate upwards of half a million people died in the early morning earthquake - and thanks to a lack of supplies, clean facilities, and hospitals, thousands more will undoubtedly pass away in the time between the quake and end of the week. Tonight, mothers and babies in Haiti are sleeping on the streets, surrounded by squalor, human fluids (blood, vomit, feces, and urine), and potential pickpockets. There is no electricity, no plumbing, and there is no safe place for families or individuals to stay. They are sleeping out in the streets, without supplies or enough food to go around for every person to have a full belly at the end of the day. People just like you and me, who work hard for what they have and who have spent their lives struggling to earn the meager $2 a day that most Haitians live off of, have lost absolutely everything, and will not easily be able to recover. Families have lost their homes, belongings, and life savings all at once. They do not have jobs anymore, nor houses, or beds. Babies at night cry for their favorite toy, parents mourn their lost family members and friends.

In short, Haiti is in ruins right now. We have ignored them long enough, we have stood by for so long and watched their struggles as an impoverished nation from afar and simply shrugged our shoulders and said, "Well, it's not me." We've given here or there, or maybe not at all, and have allowed ourselves to feel better about our decisions because for some reason their needs and wants haven't been as important as our own. Now is the time to reach out, to help, to offer more than what makes us comfortable. It's time to remember our fellow human beings the way we would want them to remember us, with open hearts and ears and the willingness to do whatever we need to in order to help and perhaps ease just a bit of their pain.

Obviously, we can't bring back those they have lost, nor can we immediately impact those that may well lose their fight before relief workers can get to them. But there are hundreds of thousands that we CAN help, that we MUST help because they too are important, because they need us and because we CAN help them.

So, how can you help?

There are a couple of options by text. You can text "Haiti" to 90999 to have $10 charged to your cell phone bill. That $10 will go to the American Red Cross for use in relief efforts. You can also text "Yele" to 501501 to have $5 charged to your cell phone bill that will go to Wyclef Jean's fundraising relief efforts. I have done both, because it's a quick, easy way to begin helping those in Haiti.

Beyond that, the most obvious way to help is to make monetary donations. MSN.com has offered a comprehensive list of organizations and their contact/website information. All of these organizations are accepting donations or offers of assistance to help the earthquake survivors in Haiti. I highly suggest you check out each and every site, and see what you as an individual or a family can do to help.

Lastly, blood donation. The American Red Cross states that because no request for blood to Haiti has been made that they are not specifically collecting blood for the Haitian survivors right now. However, it doesn't take a lot of common sense to figure out that the request WILL be made - be it in Haiti, or in Florida or the surrounding communities where survivors are transferred. Let's face it: blood will be needed. Plasma will be needed. There will be hundreds of people needing transfusions or donations, and in the next few days, as the relief efforts kick into full gear, the need for blood will be extreme. As such, I highly suggest that everyone who is able should make an appointment to donate blood as soon as possible. Granted, the majority of blood tends to stay within the community to which it is donated, but when the call comes in, the Red Cross may well need to pull from all of its reserves, and that will leave some communities depleted.

It breaks my heart to think of those who have been so strongly impacted by this event. There are people in nations all over the world who are mourning the losses of friends and relatives. There are mothers who are grieving the losses of their babies, sisters and brothers who are missing their siblings, children who are without a parent or caretaker. There are parents who have no idea how they will continue to provide for their families, children who have no school to attend, and thousands who are in dire need of medical attention who will die before they can be reached because of a lack of medical supplies.

Please, help the families in Haiti. And after you have helped them, REMEMBER them, and the millions of people all over the world who live without enough, who go day to day without knowing where their next meal will come from or where they will sleep, and consider helping them out, too.

The things in our foods

Little Debby red velvet snack cakes - propylene glycol monostearate (used as an emulsifier and in industrial solvents, paint and coating solvents, polyester and alkyd resins, antifreeze coolants, heat transfer fluids, deicing fluids, plasticizers, detergents and surfactants, and bactericide" [1])
Hidden Valley original ranch dressing - contains glutamic acid via addition of MSG (monosodium glutamate, which "is in a class of chemicals known as excitotoxins, high levels of which have been shown in animal studies to cause damage to areas of the brain unprotected by the blood-brain barrier and that a variety of chronic diseases can arise out of this neurotoxicity" [2])

Diet sodas, gums, Equal, NutraSweet - aspartame ("Upon ingestion, aspartame breaks down into natural residual components, including aspartic acid, phenylalanine, methanol, and further breakdown products including formaldehyde, formic acid, and a diketopiperazine ", "Studies have also been conducted regarding aspartame's effect on the production of Leptin which controls food intake and energy expenditure by acting on receptors in the mediobasal hypothalamus. These studies have shown that leptin was "significantly reduced by 34%" after "chronic ingestion of aspartame (ASP)" [3])

A variety of premade and prepackaged foods - cancer-causing agents and chemicals ("Cancer-causing chemicals such as acrylamides may be formed in the food during high-heat processing, yet there's no requirement to list them on the label. Residues of solvents, pesticides and other chemicals may also be present, but also do not have to be listed." [4])

So let's make that our side note of the day. I made my husband throw away the Little Debbie cakes (ugh, I actually ate one of those things!) and I told him we have purchased our last bottle of ranch dressing. Besides, it's no big loss - he has a spice combination recipe that he uses often to make ranch dip with sour cream. Adding in a little milk can turn it from a dip into a dressing without a problem - and with no MSG!

Let's try to be more careful about the things that we ingest. Let's make a resolution to read the labels on all of our prepackaged goods, and if you see something you don't know or recognize in your food, LOOK IT UP! Don't stand by silently and allow yourself (and your families) to keep eating this crap. It's disgusting and the worst part is that the FDA and other government-run agencies ALLOW these things to be used in our food, claiming that they're food-grade and acceptable for us to put into our bodies. I'm willing to bet that these things don't metabolize well and certainly don't digest well.

Coming tomorrow: a review of Kid Bean, a company that offers vegan, organic baby, maternity, and nursing products!

References:
1: http://chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/solalc/PROPYLENE%20GLYCOL%20MONOSTEARATE.htm
2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamic_acid_(flavor)
3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame
4: http://www.naturalnews.com/019957.html

Happy New Year!

Well, I hope everybody had a GREAT time last night, no matter what you did. One of my close friends came over and we watched "Up" and drank spumante. Ooooh yes! Good times had by all, I think. What did you all do for the evening? (Note: Those who answer "went to bed at my normal time" get five points.)

At the moment I'm kind of in between things. At the moment, there are actually a couple of things I could be doing - working on my BabyLegs or putting more buttons on Alex's new hat - but I'm in the middle of a weight loss moment that hopefully will continue on through at least the next month. Ha, ha ha. I crack myself up.


So in lieu of working on something constructive, I offer the following site:


Saffron Rouge Organic Beauty!


This company offers organic makeup and bodycare products for men, women, children, and babies alike. Their products are free of dyes, chemicals, and fragrances, which is a perfect match for people like me who have extremely sensitive skin (I have psoriasis and am allergic to nickle and some other trace metals). I'm not a big makeup person, but I know it's time for me to move to finding some kind of organic, chemical-free makeup that I can safely use when I do choose to put some on. For general skincare products, I'm a big fan of Burt's Bees, but they don't sell actual makeup beyond some lip products. (Which, by the way, did you know that they make a lip balm with peppermint in it?! I LOVE PEPPERMINT. Seriously.) So what's a girl who wants organic makeup to do?


Well, it seems that Saffron Rouge is the answer. Their color options aren't huge, for sure; if you want a multitude of weird colors, I'd highly suggest you wander off to Wal-Mart instead. But they do offer a nice, rounded variety of typical colors for everything - lipsticks, mascara, eyeliner, foundation, powders, blushes, and bronzers, and organic makeup removers to take it all off once you're done for the day. They even sell tools - brush sets and sponges - made of cruelty-free fibers and organic sponge.


Plus, it gets better - they sell bath and shower products, haircare products, shaving accessories, diaper creams and baby shampoos, gift sets, aromatherapy sets - yikes! They carry the whole shebang, and then some!


No, I'm not getting anything free from them. Nor do I know anyone who works there. But I like what they sell, and I think they're a worthwhile company, so I thought I'd share them with you all.


Happy 2010!

BabyLegs Time!

Okay. So first off, for Christmas a lovely friend of mine sent me two diaper covers that I am totally unfamiliar with. I look forward to getting some Snappis and eventually using the damn things, but I'm terrified of doing so without said Snappis.

Anyway, on to the point!

So I've been reading a blog called My Boho Baby Is Hippie Chic for a while now. And on that blog, she provides a lovely step-by-step instructional manual on how to make BabyLegs at home out of socks you either already have, or buy yourself. I thought this was absolutely fascinating, but didn't have the gall to attempt it before now. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that's right - the person who has made her own skirts and garb was too afraid to make a pair of BabyLegs. Don't laugh too hard. I also thought that I wouldn't be able to because I couldn't find a pair of socks that I liked and simultaneously disliked enough to follow through with the required cutting and sewing. Well, I just happened to find a pair of interesting old toe socks of mine, and I have just finished fixing the top hem and snipping off the toe portions! The sad thing is that I don't have any decent matching material, so the fleece that will make the thigh portion will be bright, pastel-ish yellow (a big difference from the sparkly light blue and the dark blue that make up the remainder of the sock). Will it match? I don't know. I can hope, though.

My hatmaking has increased. I've since made a hat with a bird on it (sucked), a hat for the daughter of a friend of mine (that, thanks to money restrictions, probably won't get to her while said friend's daughter can still wear the damn thing), and another hat for my youngest. That hat has a button on it, dammit - a big, totally mismatched yellow button. And yes, I'm proud of it.

I was also gifted (by the same friend mentioned above!) a bag of Rockin' Green laundry detergent for usage on our dipes. This totally blows my mind, since I've never used powder detergent before. Normal powder detergents are too rough on my skin, and leave my psoriasis screaming for mercy. I was thrown off by the fact that the stuff doesn't sud, but it smells amazing and even leaves old, used diapers (don't ask) smelling fresh and looking BRIGHT. I absolutely love it, and will be stocking up at tax time.

I will also be stocking up on new diapers to try. First and foremost, I will be getting myself a mountain of Snappis (probably six of them, just in case). This is obviously a requirement at this point, because if I'm going to go into this to a point where I feel safe and secure, I need to have something to use on prefolds! Second, I'm trying to figure out what covers to use. On one hand, I'm leaning toward the Thirsties Duo Wrap (available from Cotton Babies here) because I am obsessed with OS dipes and I think that in the long run they're the most economic for someone like me. They have good reviews and others have obviously used them with prefolds the way I intend to, so I don't think that it would be too big of a problem. On the other hand, I've heard a LOT about the BSRB (Bagshot Row Bamboo) collection and the ladies on the cloth diapering board on BabyCenter seem to be gaga over them. They're decently priced and they're organic. They come in AIO versions and "ultimate fit", although I'm still not sure exactly what that is, after having read the whole informational section (I get it, but I don't). However, I've heard some nasty things about bamboo, so I think if I were to attempt to get some, I'd only get a couple - that way I could easily resell them if I found they were too much hassle for us, or just not what I was looking for, and I wouldn't be out much.

So that's what's been going on so far. Other than that, Alex has begun munching on solids (bananas and sweet potatoes, yay!). I'm pretty impressed. Way to go, kiddo.

Excitement!

So today I was talking to a friend of mine, and it was basically decided (and shaken on!) that I will be serving as her unofficial doula during birth. I AM FREAKING STOKED. She feels as though the baby will arrive in February and is hoping for a drug-and-intervention-free birth, which I totally hope I can help provide for her. From the information I learned from MY doula (Becky, you ROCK) and the things I've learned from research and experience, I really hope that I can help her achieve this goal. It'll be her first child, my first experience, and the first birth I've been present for that wasn't happening for my family! I'm so excited I can't even begin to tell you about it! So now I'm seriously considering taking classes to become a certified doula if I really do enjoy this experience with her - perhaps I can ask for payment to go to Chicago to take the classes for my birthday in April. That would be amazing. So I fired off an email to my doula and I hope she doesn't feel I'm stepping on any toes by asking her about becoming a doula.

That's about all there is to report for now - dear hubby has to work at 4 AM tomorrow (Black Friday) until 2 PM, and Gabe is grouchy beyond all compare, so tonight is REALLY not ending well. Sigh. It's always something, isn't it?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got to spend it with friends and family, eating good food!

Clothies And Hats

Well, first of all, I have my official first shipment of BG 3.0 OS dipes. So here's my review after about a week of usage:

Pros:

Microfiber inserts hold a LOT of liquid!

Not as bulky as I expected

They fit a 2 1/2 year old on the biggest setting

The colors are true to the website

They didn't bleed color when washed in hot water

Don't hold stains or smell at all

Aplix holds well

Inserts tumble dry quickly

Cons:

Bulkier than sposies for sure

Newborn insert addition makes dipes VERY bulky

Six is so not enough (haha)

Covers take FOREVER to dry (must hang dry)

Stuffing dipes can be time-consuming and awkward/difficult

Doubling the front later will be awkward and lead to lots of bulk

Poop sticks pretty hardcore to the dipe

So far, I think it's about even - I'm liking them, but since I only have six to use (and about a billion Indian prefolds that do me no good without covers) it's really difficult to keep up with the diapers when it comes to washing. I feel like I'm wasting a lot of water and electricity trying to wash them constantly, so that is my only big complaint thus far, but that isn't the fault of the diapers. I think I'm gonna like this.

Also, I'm making HATS.

I made this for Alex for Christmas. I have no idea if it'll actually fit or not, but I've hand-sewn the entire thing. Thus far I think it looks pretty awesome. I'm a little worried that using the fleece will prove to be a bad idea because it stretches so much, and I worry that the stitches will stretch right out, but we'll just have to see - if it ends up not working, so be it. I'm not out much in the long run, and I won't be entirely heartbroken if my first attempt at a hat doesn't end up picture-perfect. As it stands, I think that's a pretty good hat, considering I didn't hem the bottom (the fabric rolls and doesn't fray so I didn't see the point in taking an extra half an hour to do that by hand, too) and didn't use a pattern (which is why it's a bit off-kilter). I figure, for my kids, I'm not too bothered by a little lean, and that makes it more unique, right? Ha, ha, ha.

Now, here's the thing: If this hat ends up lasting, I'm seriously considering making more of them. The cloth that the spots came from literally cost a dollar for a 18" x 20" piece, the fleece was a HUGE yard for almost $3, and of course I honestly don't factor in the cost of thread as it's minimal at best. The yellow felt was left over from a Halloween costume Colin made YEARS ago that somehow floated with him from apartment to apartment, and I found it and decided it needed to be used. So here we have it, the finished hat. I suppose there would be a good market for these, as the cost would be little and the hats would be FREAKING CUTE. The best part is that if I chose to make these and sell them, and used my sewing machine to make the hats themselves, I could make these in like 15 minutes flat, from cutting to the last stitch on the polka dots. I could do stripes of the felt, I could do just about anything anyone wanted, and it would be pretty easy all things considered.

So, my nonexistent not-so-loyal readers, what do YOU think? If it were a little better made, would YOU buy these from a WAH momma?

Desperate for Diapers

I've recently decided (see last post) that I will probably be going with Thirsties diapers instead of the BumGenius diapers. The price was a big factor, however, a little research had also brought up the fact that apparently the BG dipes have a tendency to unravel far faster than what it's worth - which is leading me to the Thirsties route instead. I am slowly saving up bits and pieces of my paychecks, although at this route it will undoubtedly be a very long time (read: several months) before I can even begin to order the six dipes and 20 prefolds that I had originally wanted. I've considered getting a smaller number of each - maybe three dipes and 10 prefolds to start out, as that would halve my spending - but I would no longer qualify for the free shipping, and I would hate to start out on the path to cloth diapering without some sort of stash set up that's big enough to actually make continuing worthwhile.

For now, we're back in the dreaded disposables. We've gone from the moderately expensive Pampers dipers to their same-brand counterparts, the Pampers BabyDry dipers. I absolutely hate disposables - we go through so many that we need a separate trash can for them and the damn thing reeks no matter what I do to it - but Alex has basically outgrown the gDiapers at this point, and I have no ability or desire to waste money I could be using on buying AIOs or OS dipes on more gDiapers that will only last so long anyway. I would have to order online either way, as no local stores carry the gDiapers anymore, so at this point the wait isn't what concerns me in the least.

I do still intend to take a stab at making a couple of diapers, as I do still have the materials, although I'm aware that in order to use them I'll need to pre-wash all of the fabric still, pre-shrink it, and then buy some of those evil plastic covers. That is the cheaper route in the long run than buying premade covers online; they would look better, for sure, but expense is a problem at this point and I cannot afford to put any more money into this than I am already planning to. All I want is to get a decent number of dipes built up so after this I am free to experiment with whatever diapers and combinations of covers/prefolds/inserts/dipes that I please without feeling concerned about their quality affecting the number of diapers I have in my stash (ie buying just one or two now and teasing myself with the idea that I can use these diapers long-term without wearing them out at all).

In other news, we've begun the slow transition into organic and natural food. I have to say, I thought natural peanut butter would taste crappy, but I prefer it hands-down to its processed sibling! A few things I am currently skipping: organic eggs (price), organic milk (oh my GOD that is expensive), organic meats (I know, I know, but damn, that's a lot of money), organic ice creams (most of it seems to be lactose-free and none of us are lactose-intolerant). We did, however, get some vegetarian powdered egg substitute, as a $10 bag is actually cheaper in the long run to use in baking and such than an actual egg.

Will we make the full transition? I have no idea, but I do know this is a GREAT way to start working more fruits and veggies into our diets. One step closer to a better lifestyle.