Monday, May 26, 2008

No more stuff!


I have to respond to my friend April's blog after something that happened to me at the drug store last night. I took my baby to grandma and grandpa's for a few hours but I forgot a nipple for his bottle. We went to the nearest open store (trying to find anything open on a Sunday in Utah county is difficult) and bought one bottle nipple. Well, the clerk tried to put it in a plastic grocery bag. I have such a hard time with this attitude! It's one little thing! I think I can hold it in my hand! I wish the whole world could adopt the attitude of trying to reduce, reuse and recycle. I even worry about recycling. I have no idea what happens to all my plastic and cardboard after I put it in the blue garbage can. I know that's ignorant of me but I haven't had time to check up on the county recyclers. I think reduce is the key. And starting with a reduction in packaging is very key. I know this is a mindset change for a lot of people (especially baggers in grocery & drug stores) but there is just no need for most of the packaging that is out there. It kills me when I go to the grocery store and see fruit and vegetable cut up into little pieces and put in plastic containers. Is it so hard to peel fruit? I don't understand why they do this.


My husband's cousin makes these great bags and I just love their website motto: maybe you need another reason to quit using plastic bags...

- plastic bags are ugly
- plastic bags kill turtles
- plastic bags make your butt look big

Thursday, May 22, 2008

What do May showers bring?


It's hard to grow tomatoes when the high is 52. But hopefully they will survive. It's hard to imagine how freaked out I would be if the survival of my family relied on my tomato, pepper, lettuce, spinach, carrot and melon plants making it through this cold snap. I'm worried enough as it is and I really don't have that big of an investment in these little plants right now. I finally got the beds built through excessive whining and ran out and bougt 12 plants right away. The seeds I planted are very experimental for me so we'll see what comes up. I thought I would be able to do all this on my own but it seems having a one month old around proved very difficult. He's really not into digging in the dirt...yet.


Being a new mom is quite an experience. I have accepted all the pains for the joys that follow, but there is one thing that I have really had a hard time with. I go back to work in less than two weeks and I just cannot get excited about pumping breastmilk for my child. I am very excited to feed him strained peas and carrots from my garden, but the thought of sitting in a tiny room at work alone with my pump just isn't doing it for me. I have a hard enough time right now when I have a little spare time here and there. I have a friend who keeps telling me I should be pumping like a crazy person. And I do try. I have at least a gallon in the freezer, but she says I should have three or four. This should be the most simple way to ensure my baby does not have to eat anything from a can while I have something to say about it yet I just cannot get into it. I have another friend who has been pumping so much she is donating her milk to a woman who had triplets. How do they do it? Why them and not me? I was looking at some of the ingredients in formula at the grocery store recently: corn syrup! Corn syrup is the first ingredient in almost every formula! Even the really fancy expensive ones! I can't feed my baby corn syrup! There has got to be a way for me to start to love pumping so I can keep up with the breastmilk as long as possible. Maybe it will be easier at work when I am missing him...but I doubt it.