April 2008

Three Random Things

by MomGrind

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TW of Retro-Food tagged me for the Three Random Things meme.

I’m supposed to post 3 random things about myself, link to her and tag 5 other bloggers.

Even though Naomi seems to dislike memes, and I normally tend to listen to her, I will play along.

My three random things:

1. I was born and raised in Israel.

2. I prefer writing to speaking English, because I am self-conscious about my foreign accent. Of course, I am also self-conscious about my English grammar, but not as much as I am about my accent.

3. Although my kids are already 6 and 8, I am still shocked at how motherhood has changed everything.

I am tagging:
Dan – artiphys
Denise – Flamingo House happenings
Zandria – Keep Up With Me
Karen – Sassymonkey

Crazy High Heels

by MomGrind

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I received this photo, featuring unbelievably crazy high heels, from a reader via email.

I am rarely left speechless, but this photo did it.

Ouch.

Poverty in Mexico

by MomGrind

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The tiny Mexican house had no finished exterior. Just bare bricks and mortar. At first I thought it was still under construction, but when a woman and a little girl stepped out, I realized that a family was living there. Through the open door, I could see a white plastic table and a couple of plastic chairs. The yard consisted of dirt and a few cacti.

We ended up in the small, dusty Mexican town on Thursday, when we took the wrong exit off the highway on our way from the airport to Cabo San Lucas. Instead of going straight to the posh resort, we witnessed poverty in Mexico.

We also witnessed death. On the highway, numerous roadside signs implored drivers to fasten their seat belts, keep their distance, drive carefully and avoid driving when tired.

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As far as I could tell, there was no explicit warning about drunk driving, but the roadside was littered with empty beer bottles. It was also marked with crosses: simple, wooden crosses adorned with flowers. Later that day, the hotel concierge explained that the crosses were placed by grieving family members in memory of people who died in car accidents.

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Many of these roadside crosses are lovingly maintained by family members for many years: the cross in the photo is nearly ten years old.

We saw at least 20 crosses during a 10-kilometer (6 mile) drive. This is hardly surprising. Those very long and scary ten kilometers on a Mexican highway taught us that many local drivers drive as though they have a death wish. Add to that the bad roads, no lighting and drunk driving, and the results are devastating.

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Once we realized our mistake, we turned back and headed to Cabo San Lucas. It was a good weekend, filled with beautiful images of the picturesque beach, the carefree laughter of children playing in the pool, huge margaritas, great seafood and some serious pampering at the resort’s spa. But I couldn’t shake off the nagging guilt. My thoughts often wandered to the little brick house and to those awful roadside crosses. The contrast between the posh, well-manicured resort and the tough reality of the locals is absolutely mind blowing.

Sexist Vintage Ad: Heinz

by MomGrind

sexist-vintage-ad

“The things women have to put up with. Most husbands, nowadays, have stopped beating their wives, but what can be more agonizing to a sensitive soul than a man’s boredom at meals.”

Nothing. I searched inside my sensitive soul and tried to come up with SOMETHING that is potentially more agonizing, but nope. Nothing can be more agonizing to a woman than a man’s boredom at meals.

Sexist vintage ad circa 1950.

Image credit: jbcurio

How To Be Greener

by MomGrind

EarthHow to be greener when, in the eco-conscious universe, you must be considered a terrible sinner? This is the challenge facing me this Earth Day 2008.

I drive an SUV, buy bottled water and disposable everything, and take wasteful, extra-long showers. Although I manage to fit many worthy causes into our giving budget, I never gave a single dollar to a green charity.

I have no excuses, really. I like to think that I am fairly intelligent, and I do realize that our actions today, or lack thereof, could turn future generations’ lives on this planet into a living hell. I am not proud of my detached attitude. But this is where things are.

Since writing with passion about Earth Day seemed a bit of a stretch, I decided to use this day as an opportunity to educate myself about how to be greener – without making big lifestyle changes.

Following my research, this is what I plan to do:

1. Recycle. This is the one thing I am highly aware of and do religiously (except for the occasional mayo jar that I toss in the trash instead of rinsing and recycling). It’s not surprising: recycling is one of the best environmental success stories of the late 20th century. It is also important to buy products that are marked as recycled/ recyclable. When we do that, we create an economic incentive for recyclable materials to be collected, manufactured, and marketed as new products.

2. Conserve water: I found lots of tips at American Water. The three that I plan to incorporate into my own routine: don’t pour water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant; don’t let water run while brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your face. The third is going to be a bit of a struggle for me but I promised myself to try, at least a few times each week: take shorter showers.

3. Conserve energy in summer by cooling your home to only 80 degrees. Each degree below 78 will increase your energy use by 3-4%. In the winter, wear an extra layer of clothes and set the heater thermostat to 68.

4. Reuse. Reusing items by using them more than once, repairing them, donating them to charity or selling them (think Ebay) reduces waste. Reusing, when possible, is better than recycling, because the item does not need to be reprocessed before it can be used again. Examples of reusing: using cloth napkins; using refillable bottles of water and refilling them with tap water; turning empty jars into containers for leftover foods; and using reusable grocery bags instead of the store’s paper or (gasp) plastic bags.

5. Reduce air pollution by driving less. Even driving just a little less makes a difference. If possible, arrange carpools; walk or ride a bicycle if you can – I tend to drive to the local grocery store even though it is just a five-minute walk from my house. My own personal resolution is to walk there when I only need a few items. Another excellent way do drive less, which comes quite easily to me (maybe too easily) is to shop online. More tips at the California Air Resources Board website.

How to be greener? The first step: you need to want to be greener. Once you want to change and make a few simple changes, the rest will follow.

Photo by aussiegal

Co-Sleeping: Is It Bad For Our Kids?

by MomGrind

co-sleepingCan co-sleeping cause long-term damage to children?

Take your crying kids with you to bed, and you are condemning them to a future of behavior difficulties and weight struggles, say the authors of a new study.

The study authors state, that babies who got used to falling asleep with a parent in the room, being held until they fell asleep, or being taken into a parent’s bed when they couldn’t sleep, were more likely as older children to have trouble falling asleep and to sleep fewer hours during the night.

Since inadequate sleep in childhood can have long-lasting health effects, including being overweight and having emotional and behavioral difficulties in adolescence and adulthood, parents should only comfort the child for a short period of time, but then allow him “to develop a capacity to comfort himself on his own… parents and pediatricians should keep in mind that children have to develop the capacity to regulate their own sleep early in life and self-soothe themselves during the night.”

Of course, “crying it out” is not a new concept. But this study tells parents, from an authoritative, scientific point of view, that when they listen to their instincts and comfort their babies back to sleep, they are causing them permanent, long-term damage.

I dislike the term “self-soothe.” I don’t self-soothe. I have family and friends whom I turn to when I need to be comforted. When I wake up at night after having a bad dream, I totally do not self-soothe. My husband is there to soothe me.

When the term is applied to young children, I am even more suspicious, because I feel that while it is certainly a parent’s job to gradually allow her kids to become independent and self-reliant, when your baby or toddler wakes up scared in the middle of the night and cries out to you, it is not the best time for teaching self-reliance skills.

This is admittedly purely anecdotal, but although we limited co-sleeping (using a co-sleeper attached to our bed) to the first six months, we always comforted both our kids during the night and never allowed them to cry or “soothe themselves” back to sleep. At the ages of 6 and 8, they are healthy, well-adjusted kids who sleep very well at night.

Does co-sleeping work for you? Please share your experiences.

Photo by MarkyBon

Foods You Should Always Buy Organic

by MomGrind

vegetablesOrganic food tends to be outrageously expensive, typically costing 10-40% more than conventional food.

This means that buying organic food is out of the question for many families. But since a few conventional products are notoriously contaminated, it might make sense for some families to buy organic versions of those and conventional versions of other, safer foods.

Produce

The U.S. Department of Agriculture found that even after washing, some fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher levels of pesticide residue than others.

Researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) have developed a list of “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables that you should always buy organic, if possible: apples, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, bell peppers, celery, potatoes, and spinach.

The following twelve foods have been found to contain the lowest amounts of pesticides and so it’s fine to buy the non-organic version: asparagus, avocado, banana, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, kiwi, mango, onion, pineapple, sweet peas (frozen), sweet corn (frozen).

Meat, poultry and Dairy

An “organic” label on meat and poultry means that the animals were reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones, which may pose risk to consumers and are banned in Europe. Many health experts have raised concerns that the use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry industry may contribute to the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria.

In addition, certified organic animals are not fed animal by-products, thus reducing the risk of diseases, including mad cow disease.

Commercial dairy products also contain antibiotics and growth hormones, while organic versions of the same products are free of these harmful additives.

Other problematic foods

1. Corn. The majority of domestic corn has been genetically-modified.

2. Rice. Pesticide use on rice fields in California’s Sacramento River Valley, one major growing region, has been so heavy that it has contaminated groundwater.

A few simple rules to follow when you can’t buy organic food:

1. Buy fresh vegetables and fruits in season. When long storage and long-distance shipping are not required, fewer pesticides are used.

2. Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. This would limit exposure to any one type of pesticide residue.

3. Trim fat from meat and buy skim milk. Hormones and pesticide residue often concentrate in animal fat.

Photo credit:dboy

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