Food Guide

Here's a site that ranks fruits and veggies in order of most to least ammount of pesticides in them. Since organic produce is so pricey, it's super helpful to know which foods to definitely buy organic and which ones use fewer pesticides and may be okay to not buy organic. I'm taking the list out shopping today! :)

Little Italian

Oh yes, she's my daughter.

Who needs a maid?!

Mommy's Little Helper can push the load of laundry from my bathroom, through my room, down the hall, through the kitchen, down another hall and into the laundry room. The struggle is getting the clothes into the washer before she pushes the basket back to it's "home" in my bathroom. She always gets a free ride around the house in the basket for her efforts. It really makes the chore a whole lot more enjoyable for me as well, even though it takes 20x longer! :)
I remember loving sitting on the counter as a little girl and "helping" my Mommy do the dishes. I'm sure I wasn't much of a help, but it was always pleasant doing "big kid" chores back then. Now I sometimes feel like all I do is chores, and it's not quite as fun as I remember. Funny, chores haven't changed, only my perspective on them has.

It's hard to appreciate the mundane, necessary and seemingly tedious activities of life sometimes. But what if every time I had to vacuum, I spent the time being really grateful for having the arms and legs necessary for vacuuming. Every time we do dishes, we can be thankful for God's provision of food on the table.

I also find it helpful to talk on the phone while I'm cleaning, since picking up toys and scrubbing counters are mindless activities anyway. Before I know it, I'm done and I've caught up with an old friend (or more likely, found out what my Mom has been up to since the last time I called her... 45 minutes before).

Angel Kisses

Our little Rosebud made friends with a garden angel. Precious.

tutu

I recently made my daughter a tutu, which is also Hawaiian for grandma! :)

Food nuking

The following is an excerpt from a 7th Generation article on the FDA ruling to allow companies to nuke foods in order to kill harmful germs like E. Coli. The problem is that it can also kill all the beneficial nutrients, up to 100% of them, according to the article, and in the process, can also create carcinogens and brand new "unique radiolytic compounds." Does this sound like a creepy sci-fi plot, or what?!

Here's what you can do to keep irradiated foods off your table:

• Understand food irradiation labeling laws: The FDA requires the labeling of whole, unprocessed irradiated foods but not packaged foods that contain irradiated ingredients. For example, if irradiated onions are used in a can of chili, this fact probably won't be mentioned on the can's label. But if those same onions are sold raw in the produce department, their package or display must say "Treated With Irradiation" and be marked with the Radura symbol (see picture above). These regulations do not apply to restaurants, schools, hospitals and other institutions, which can serve irradiated foods without notice.

• Be aware that the FDA has proposed changing these regulations so that only those irradiated foods that are "materially changed" by the irradiation process would be labeled. The agency is also suggesting that labeling language replace all references to irradiation with the terms "cold pasteurized" or "electronically pasteurized." 7Gen will keep its readers advised of any changes to irradiation regulations.

• Buy organic. According to federal standards, organically-produced foods cannot be irradiated.

• Buy locally-produced foods at co-ops, farmers markets and other "home-grown" outlets. Given the specialized facilities needed to irradiate food, these are unlikely to be treated.

• Avoid processed foods, which can contain irradiated ingredients without stating so on their labels.

• Inspect labels and supermarket displays carefully. The labeling of irradiated foods can legally occur in very fine print.

• Buy organic and/or "natural" herbs and spices in bulk from reputable natural food suppliers. Conventional herbs and spices are often irradiated and a loophole in the law allows them to go unlabeled. Teas are also exempt from labeling.

Cloth diapers

Brittney~ yup, we use cloth diapers. We "heart" them! :)

Why we use cloth diapers:
1. Better for little tushies (our little one was getting huge rashes before we switched)
2. Cheaper
3. Better for the environment
4. A very sweet girl named Stephanie gave us a day's supply to try out, which got us off to a great start. THANK YOU STEPH!

When we're on tour or out and about we use disposables, because it's kind of hard to work out the laundry situation. Other than that, cloth diapers are super easy to use and wash, especially now that our 13 month old is using the potty!!! But don't worry, for all of you diaposable diapering parents out there, we don't judge you! :)

Side note: For over a week now, our little Rosebud has been using the potty daily. I put her on it at first just to acquaint her with it, and she got to business! I though it might be a coincidence, but every day following it's been the same. I'm really thrilled about this! :)

Fun Finds