Blooming with Excitement

I am so excited I can barely contain myself! I'm sure most of you wont agree with me but a mini-miracle has happened right here at my house!

Me, the one with the blackest thumb known to man, the one with basically NO knowledge of how to keep alive grow living things (other than children), the one who just wants to feed her family healthy homegrown foods, has SUCCEEDED! Well not exactly 100% yet, but I am well on my way! Call me crazy, call me nuts, call me whatever you like, but I have 2 cucumbers and 1 zucchini who decided to brighten my day (actually my week!). Here's what I found this morning when I went out to water my plants.

my little tiny cucumber!

here's the other cucumber

and the zucchini

I check everyday, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day to see if there is any activity on each of the plants. I have been watering them like crazy, they have been getting bigger, and flowering, but nothing has happened.......until today! YIPPEE SKIPPEE! In a couple of days, we will be feasting on 2 cukes and one zucchini, I am so excited! Now if i can just keep this good thing going and get a few peppers and tomatoes out of the deal. Oh, which reminds me, my tomatoes are flowering a little bit, but i have a feeling it will be a few more weeks until/if we see an exciting activity out of them.

Hope you all are having a fantastic Thursday!

Gardening Update

My little "garden" is coming along ok so far. I am sad that I haven't harvested one thing yet.......not ONE thing! But I am hopeful! I have the blackest thumb known to mankind, so it is a surprise that there is anything still living.

Remember this year is a sort of test year to see if I am able to actually do the whole big garden thing next year. It was all last minute and I decided to grow everything from seeds (organically), so things have been moving along quote slowly. I have to admit I was never able to get my tomato seeds to do anything. They would grow to be a couple inches and then just STOP, I read a little about this and decided that it was just too late for me to continue trying this year. So my dad gave me a few plants that grew in a random flower bed at his house after throwing out a tomato last year that had a bad spot on it. You see he can grow things without even trying! Anyways so my tomatoes will not be technically organic, but they will be chemical free after being in my care. The tomato that he threw out was probably sprayed with chemicals as well as the seed before it was planted, but I am trying not to think about that, and hoping that most of the residue from those chemicals are gone. My pepper seeds did the same thing as the tomato seeds and they just stopped growing, I am still hoping though that they will somehow keep growing, its probably a lost cause. So my dad gave me a couple extra pepper plants, he bought too many for his garden, so those will not be organic either.

here are a few pics of what I have going on in the backyard.......

Zucchini

grown from seeds 100% organic, I am excited about these, I have been craving squash and zucchini lately. These were the first seeds to sprout and were the fastest growing until the cucumbers I planted weeks after these took off and are going like crazy.

Cucumbers

they are doing wonderful, and since the girls could eat a cucumber a day EACH, I am hoping these plants are able to produce some serious cukes. These are 100% organic and grown by ME from a seed. (can you tell I'm proud?)

the pretty little flowers on the cucumber plant

Not-so-Organic Peppers

i thought these little babies would be doing better by now, but for some reason they aren't, hopefully they will produce something worth mentioning soon

Not-so-Organic Tomatoes

I was totally surprised these made it through the transfer. I don't think my dad dug far enough down when he got them out of the ground for me, so there wasn't much of a root system. I will be even more surprised if they actually produce anything

Basil

Again these were grown from a seed 100% organic, and doing good, just slow! I should probably go ahead and harvest a few leaves to stimulate the growth a bit, maybe I will do that for our dinner tonight.**

I have been watering non-stop! It is so HOT out there, and being upside down, they need more water more frequently than tradition gardening, which is why I want to install the drip irrigation in my more permanent garden next year. I have added a little organic liquid fertilizer to each of the plants a couple times, and probably in another month or so I will have some usable compost that I will attempt to work into the soil a bit, for some added nutrients. All of the plants you can see are still fighting to grown up towards the sun, and you can tell when they need water, because they give in to the weight of the plant and start drooping down more. As they get bigger and heavier they will be unable to hold themselves up and gravity will take over.




**dinner tonight is gluten free veggie lasagna, made with polenta substituted for noodles. I just hope that it turns out edible, and considering I haven't cooked a proper meal in like 2 weeks, hopefully the fam will appreciate my effort even if it isn't good!

Natural Easter Eggs

This was my first year (as a mom) to dye Easter eggs. I know i know I'm a horrible, un-fun mom! Anyways so when I decided to finally make the plunge and organize this project with the girls I decided why not dye the eggs naturally. Then I thought about hard boiled eggs and how much care is required for them, and you don't ever really get to show them off, cause they are in the fridge and then they get eaten. SOOO I decided to blow my eggs and then dye them using natural (aka food) items found in almost any house. I researched a little about what is best to use and I came up with 6 colors. Here is the end product.....

This is actually the green egg. It really DOES look green in person, but after 30 shots of the same egg, I decided to stop trying to capture the true color. I dyed the green ones using a can of spinach. Oh and I just love the natural markings the spinach put on the egg, darker in some spots, lighter in others. It is just a beautiful color!

This one is actually my "red" one. Well it was supposed to be! It was red for the first couple of days and then it magically turned into this dull grayish brownish color. I used beets for this one, and was expecting a bright red, but after leaving it soak for 12 hours I was left with a pale pink that eventually faded into the color you see below. Next time I wont do canned beets, I will get some fresh one, cause I know they would work much better.

This is the brown one, and looks JUST like the pic in real life. I let this particular egg soak longer than the other, so it has a richer, darker color. I think it is beautiful! Oh and I used very VERY strongly brewed coffee for this one.

My most favorite of all......the blue egg! Obviously blueberries were used to create this awesome looking egg. I just love the naturalness of the color, it definitely stands out amongst the others (and does look a bit better in real life).

This one was another "flop". It was supposed to be my red/orange or burnt orange egg, but it didn't quite turn out that way. It looks like a lighter version of the brown (from the coffee). I used chili power with this one, and have to say that I would like to try this one again, and maybe add more or something to try and get a more red/orange color to come out. But I do love the markings it has on it.

Last but not least is the yellow egg. I really have to say I do love this one too. And it was by far the quickest to dye. The turmeric just soaked right in and made the egg look a wonderful shade of yellow.

Steps for dyeing eggs naturally (my way):

• the afternoon before I let my eggs sit out on the counter to warm up


• that evening I poked a small hole in one end of each egg and a little bit larger hole in the other end


• through the larger hole I swished around the wooden skewer I was using to break up the yolk and the membrane holding the egg to the shell.


• I carefully blew out each egg


• I then cleaned out each egg with a mixture of soapy water and vinegar


• I let the eggs drip dry over night, making sure as much of the moisture as possible was out


• I prepared my mixes (spinach, beets, turmeric, blueberries, chili powder, and coffee)


• each of the dying agents went into a pot with water and a splash of vinegar, to help the color adhere to the egg


• I boiled the ingredients


• I placed 2 eggs in each pot and let the eggs soak


• Then once cooled I transferred each into a plastic baggy (i know NOT very "natural" but since I blew my eggs out they were so light that they were floating on the surface and not getting the full effect of the dying process)


• I let some soak for a couple of hours and others for up to 12 hours


• after removing them I attempted to let them dry, again, but that didn't work so well


• in the end I was left with some beautifully naturally dyed eggs, and a bunch of things to add to my compost bin! Because everything I used was able to go directly in, so not much waste either

This project actually cost less than going to the store and buying an egg dying kit with all those fake chemical colors (no offense to all you reading who used those kits). My most expensive investment was the $1.60 I paid for the darn eggs! The other ingredients either came from my house, my dads house, and i bought the canned spinach and beets for $1.30. So this whole project cost under 3 bucks. AWESOME!

I really enjoyed this project and found it to be very interesting, next year we will do it again, make a few changes, and learn a little more. I want to get the girls more and more involved in the process as they get older, and let them come up with ideas for food items to use as dyes.

Composting

About a month ago I was strolling around Costco when I found a few things for my birthday list, which BTW isnt until the summertime. In my defense, Marcus needs a LOT of notice and a LOT of reminders for gift ideas. So I dropped a few hints about the want for a compost bin. I have wanted to compost for about 2 years now, but never really learned much about it, so when marcus pretty much shot down my idea of trying it I just gave up asking. But when i saw this bin I new that i was going to persist and I was going to try my hand at composting. To my surprise Marcus let me get the compost bin immediately, and about a week later my dad told me that he was going to get me that for my birthday........ooops! *more on that in another post When we got the bin home, it was too late to put it together, so it had to wait in the garage until the next day. Thankfully this all happened during one of those unseasonably warm days in early March. The girls were excited to get to go outside and I was excited to put something together. I LOVE PUTTING STUFF TOGETHER!

Here are the girls by the unpacked box

Kaylee was most excited about composting. She has watched MANY episodes of Curious George being "green" and composting is one of them. She has been the best compost helper. Like when we are out she will ask "Can I take this home to put in the compost bin?" She reminds me ALL the time about things that go in and things that dont.

Here she is helping carry all the parts to the back yard

all of the parts laid out

This is the location Marcus chose for the composter, it is nice/convenient but hidden location.......perfect! (and a bit weedy, we should really do something about those weeds)

Kaylee told Ainslee that we needed leaves (or browns as she calls them) for the compost bin, so Ainslee collected some leaves to help......thanks AZ

Kaylee forgot to tell her that the leaves were supposed to be collected from the ground. Ainslee was pulling them from the plants in the flower bed. Looks like Kaylee joined in on the fun as well. While I put the composter together I sent them to the backyard with the wagon to collect all the leaves they could that had fallen from our lonely oak tree. They did a pretty good job until they found a mud hole by the stump, then Kaylee was busy making mud pies while Ainslee watched in disgust.

My little helper picking up the leaves

Kaylee grabbed the camera to catch me in my "put something together mode," the funny thing is, I didnt even know she took this picture until I loaded these pics on the computer. HA!

Now it has been about a month, we started out with some leaves and pine needles I collected from Marcus' moms house, as well as some kitchen scraps I saved. My dad quickly jumped in to help and went to Starbucks to get some coffee grounds for me, about 10 lbs worth of coffee ground to be more precise. Then he offered to save the scraps from the Fish Frys at the church each Friday, so before I knew it my 80 gallon compost bin was well on its way to success! We have thrown SO much stuff in there, I am really seeing a difference in our garbage as well. Did you know your dryer lint and hair can be composted? Ainslee has even learn about what goes in a compost bin, how many 2 year olds do you know that scream "compost BIN" after you peel an orange for them?

I am so excited about this endeavor, I know that this compost is going to help out so much with my garden next year as well as other areas around the yard, it is amazing what you can use this "gardeners gold" for. AMAZING!

Fresher Better

You all know by now that I have been trying to live greener and healthier. I have made as many adjustments to our diet as our bank account will allow. All I gotta say is HEALTHY/ORGANIC FOOD AIN'T CHEAP! But I decided that we could eat "normal" portions and that can help offset some of the costs, we are huge over eaters so limiting portions can do a lot for us (including our waist lines)! But on top of eating organic I have tried to eat as much fresh food as possible. And on top of THAT I try eat as much raw (or minimally cooked) fruits and veggies as possible too. Ive learned that local fruits and veggies are even better! Our farmers market as been pretty good at helping me out lately, I wish we had a better farmers market, but I will take what i can get. My most favorite weekly purchase at the market is farm fresh eggs. They are cage free, no antibiotics, organic (but not certified), some of them are even green, and they are AWESOME! I have always been scared of the idea of going outside picking a freshly laid egg going inside and cracking it. It just freaks me out! But I decided since i haven't seen the chickens, and i didn't collect the eggs myself, I could give it a try. And i am super super excited I did. They are so yummy!

Ive also started growing my own herbs. I started thinking I just wanted rosemary, but I went ahead and got basil and cilantro too. I thought I would use them in this order: rosemary, basil, cilantro. In fact the order is basil, cilantro, then far far behind is rosemary. I think I have only used rosemary 3-4 times. I use either basil and/or cilantro every single day! Breakfast lunch dinner it doesn't matter! I cant call them organic because I didn't buy organic herbs, and stupid me planted them in miracle grow potting soil! But I have not and will not spray them with any sort of pesticide. In fact I am testing out a little garlic/pepper spray on them to help with the small bug problem I have. Hopefully it will work!

I have also started making my own marinades, so far the difference yet again is so ridiculously huge! I cant even compare them to bottled marinades, and that is not because I am such a great cook and all! My favorite right now is a combination of balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, salt, and pepper. I don't follow any sort of recipe i just mix it all up until it smells and tastes good. Do any of you have a fresh marinade/sauce that you like?

It makes me happy to know that my girls eat healthy foods, and the foundation that we are laying for them is a good one. What makes me even happier is that they LOVE the food! It also makes me happy when we sit down to eat dinner and the amount of organic ingredients outnumber the non-organic.

Sneak Peak and Green Cleaning Tip #23

Here are a FEW of the pictures from our ChristmasES (we had 3).

Since I didnt really have any where else to put our manger scene, I decided that I would put it in Kaylee's room. I figured she would really like it in there. And she DID! The first picture is me revealing the manger to her for the first time, can you sense the excitment? Then on Christmas Day I let her put baby Jesus in the manger. I really dislike the manger sets that have baby Jesus attached to the manger, because "technically" he isnt supposed to go in there until Christmas Day, at least that was what I was taught. She took great care in placing him in the manger and then putting the manger back into the stable. It was so sweet. I catch her at odd times talking to baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the animals.

The dresses

such cute little shoes

didnt you know the fun is EATING the presents not OPENING them

More pictures to come.......hopefully soon

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And here's Green Cleaning Tip #23

Have you ever forgetten to cover something you put in the microwave and food splatters everywhere, or if you do cover your food and it STILL splatters. I know this is mostly husbands, but the women are usually left to clean it. Either way, if you have a dirty microwave and want to try a SIMPLE, CHEAP, EASY way to clean it.......here it is.

1. Spray vinegar in the micro, I spray one good spray on each wall and the ceiling, oh and dont forget the door.
2. Close the door and run it for 30 seconds (microwave times/ temps may vary) ha!
3. Immediately wipe clean with a damp cloth
4. The built on nastiness will just come right off! If you have a stubborn spot try the whole process again. It works like a charm every time!

Rambling

I have lots of things to write about and no REAL direction with this post, so you are going to get a huge hodge-podge of information. Here goes......

First of all have you ever lived with something (or experienced something) for so long that you thought it was normal even though it wasnt? You kinda knew that something wasnt right, but you just "dealt" with it? I have a lot of things that could probably fit into that category. Im just going to tell you about this one, OUR HOUSE PHONE! Since we moved in 9 years ago, we have had all sorts of problems. First, our number was double assigned, meaning they gave us our number then gave it to someone else too. Which meant we were getting both our phone calls AND their phone calls, and they were getting NO phone calls. That was a huge pain in the butt until they finally figured out what happened. All I have to say about that is some people get crazy calls at ALL hours of the day and night. And that's not all, pretty much since the beginning we have had this "phantom" fax machine. You see we really dont even own a fax machine, but our phone must think that we do. Sometimes when people call, it rings once and then goes to a fax. WEIRD right? Well lately when I have been picking up the house phone, I can hear a fax machine too. And our caller ID quit working, or would work sporadically. Then we werent able to receive phone calls, or make them. It had gotten to be more than I cared to "deal with", so I called the phone company. They gladly sent out a technician, the next day might i add, which was really nice, and he worked all day on our line. All day means he worked for 7 hours! Apparently there was all kinds of stuff wrong. Now it is fixed and I am eager to see if our "phantom fax machine" disappears too.

Is it bad that Kaylee has spent 3 nights out, over the course of this week? Oh how I enjoy my little mini breaks!

Kaylee had her last day of school today, and she got to see Santa for the 3rd time. I guess third time is a charm. Her teacher couldnt believe that she actually wanted to sit on his lap AND smiled too. I just love that smile, it isnt quite her thisismesmilingnaturally smile, but more of a I'mtryingtosmileANDlookevilintheprocess smile. I guess we have to take baby steps in the smiling department.

Now Ainslee.....HOLY MOLY!!! What am I going to do with her? She is cracking me up, such a sweet little disposition, and her personality is so fun!

But that's not all........SHE CAN EAT! She amazes me everyday/ all day with her portions. So I decided to fill you all in, here is a picture of her plate before and after dinner. And she probably would have eaten more if I let her.

And the happy little baby with a FULL belly

Keep in mind she had eaten lunch late today because she slept so stinkin' late at moms house (why can she nap good like that at our house?) For those of you that are wondering what the heck is on that plate......grilled organic chicken breast marinated in charred pineapple bourbon sauce (and NO it does not have alcohol in it! I had to clarify that), organic rice blend, 8 steamed organic baby carrots. She ate it ALL like she hasnt eaten for days, banging her tray in between every bite, and moaning with delight while she chewed. Ok so that last part didnt sound right, but I couldnt figure out how to explain that.

So this is how she works up such an appetite. She is on the go CONSTANTLY now! This is her newest accomplishment, watch for yourself

And onto an update on our chiropractor visits. We are still going faithfully twice a week. I cant really say whether or not they are "working" yet. I mean we havent had anymore ear infections, but I cant say that it is necessarily attributed to the recent chiropractic care or just a coincidence. Either way, both the girls are happy to go, and dont mind being tested and adjusted.

I found a new YUMMY thing I would like to share with all of you. Quinoa! It is really good and apparently good for you! I didnt know that part when I bought it though. It is a tasty little grain that is so easy too cook and, according to the minimual research I have done so far, is very versitle too, oh and its GLUTEN FREE! I am excited to see what kind of new recipes I can use it in. Now I just hope that it passes Marcus' taste test. Have you ever tried it? What are your thoughts/ recipes?

My little tree puts Charlie Browns' to shame!

That's right folks, we are stilling waiting/ hoping for our tree. Hopefully this pathetic excuse for a tree will be enough to make Kaylee happy. (you like the crib in the background? I still havent gotten around to returning it to my friend who graciously let us borrow it)

FINALLY after 10 months I have LOST MY BABY FAT!!!!!! YAY this is cause for a huge celebration, as I thought that I was going to carry around that weight for the rest of my life! Seriously, I thought I would never lose it! Especially since, I dont particularly eat the greatest (sweets really get the best of me), and my exercise regimen includes.....well it is pretty much non existent at this stage in my life. But I have miraculously lost the weight, and I'm wondering if that was a coincidence or due to me resorting back to my dreaded morning drink. ACV with a touch of honey (ive been using organic agave nectar since I ran out of honey) fill the cup with ice and add some water. If you do a little research you can see all the benefits that ACV has on the body, quite amazing actually. I only drink it once a day (as opposed to the reccommended 2-3 times/ day), but I also use it as a rinse for my hair. If you are going to try it (the drink part) you have to be sure and get "organic with the mother." I know sounds weird right, but that is the kind that has all the healthy benefits.

Ok I think that's enough for now.......I'm off to wrapping more gifts!

Cold Sock Treatment

If I could shout about this from the roof tops I DEFINITELY would!

I am a believer! I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at first, just a tiny bit, but thought it wouldnt hurt to try. Cold Sock Treatments are my new bestest friend!

Have you ever had a child, or yourself for that matter, with a runny nose. I mean one of those noses that drips like a faucet, that are ever too present this time of year? Well that was what we were dealing with in Ainlsee for the past I dont even know how long. I was avoiding going back to the doctor for her to be prescribed yet ANOTHER form of medication. I am at my wits end with giving them meds (I think I have posted about that before, so I wont get all into that now). Anyways so I laid awake in bed one night sacrificing my beloved sleep to research ways that I could help my precious baby breathe (especially at night). I mean who loves getting their brains sucked out through their nose 3-4 times a night with a booger getter? i had tried all the usual tricks: humidifier, vicks pad in the humidifier, booger getter, saline drops, and vicks on the chest and feet (actually not vicks, but an organic version, I am in LOVE with these products we use the shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and chest rub). Nothing seemed to really help the problem for more than a matter of minutes. I know Ainslee was sick of struggling to breathe, she was having trouble eating and sucking as well. Poor baby was dying for relief, and I was determined to find something to help her. So I laid awake searching the internet on my blackberry in bed, and found this Cold Sock Treatment for nasal congestion. This is one of the "home remedies" I have found that I already had all the supplies at home, so i figured I would give it a try. Let me just tell you that this is so awesome! In case you havent figured it out already, I really really recommend you try this with your little ones if you ever have the need. I mean who would have thought that putting your child to bed with wet socks would be enough to do the trick? Without medicine and without side effects!
The first time I tried this was before her nap. This particular day she took 2 naps, so I did it before each of them. I noticed a difference after the first treatment though. That afternoon we went to get our allergy shots and my parents were there getting there's as well. My dad was holding Ainslee, turned to my mom, and commented on the fact that Ainslee's nose was completely clear. My parents had been around her for the previous 3 days and seen how bad her nose was running. I hadnt even told my parents about the Cold Socks Treatment before they noticed it for themselves! That's how good it works! So for the next 2 nights I decided to do it at night before bed only and I am so proud and happy to say that she is doing so much better now! So not only does it require things that you most likely have around your house already (and NO Ainslee does not have a pair of wool socks, I used a pair of mine and folded them down), its cheap, easy, pain free, you can do it as often as you want without any negative effects, it is just great all around. I thought I would tell you all about and hope that you can benefit from it as much as we have. But please if you do try it, let me know how it works for you.

New Cup

Kaylee's new cup FINALLY arrived! I searched and searched and researched many different styles, designs, and materials of cups. I finally made my choice on the one that I thought best fit what I was looking for. My biggest thing is that I wanted a SAFE cup for my children to drink from. I do not want the "toxins" from plastic leeching into my children's drinks and therefore into their bodies. So after the safety criteria was met I focused on all the "extras." I knew I wanted a straw cup, I preferred aluminum, I wanted it to be well insulated to keep drinks cold for long periods of time, and a BIG PLUS was having it be durable! Cause everyone knows how destructive my little monster can be.

The cup I finally chose was the Foogo by Thermos. I ordered mine on Amazon, I only got one so I could try it out for myself to see if it really does live up to all the reviews . I also ordered one of the Foogo food jars. I have to say that I absolutely LOVE this cup, and so does Kaylee! It does do everything that it says it is supposed to.....and it doesnt sweat either! I mentioned to Marcus the other day that I wish cups did not sweat, it is a pain in the butt cleaning up sweat rings and water from everywhere. And this one doesnt sweat, how cool is that? Now I do have to list the good with the bad, it does leak. It only leaks when the top is not closed. But when it is closed it is completely leak proof. So I just have to train Kaylee to close the top after she is done drinking. It leaks because the straw does not have a valve in it like most cups, but to me this is a good thing, because her cups that have valves always spray when opened due to the pressure that has built up. I think I will deal with teaching her to close the top over uncontrollable drink sprayage.

I have to say I was VERY eager to test the insulation. The first night we had the cup, I put ice and a little bit of water, and I left the cup sitting on the counter throughout the night. I figured if there was still ice in it in the morning, it would pass my test. It still had ice in it the next AFTERNOON!

Ainslee perked her head up to see what all the commotion was when the new cup arrived

What?....I think I'm gonna like this cup

"Mom, why are you taking pictures of me drinking from a cup? It's JUST a cup!"

She wanted to sit in Ainslee's lap and drink.....so she did

I think she likes it!

This was HER idea! She wanted to share with Ainslee, and Ainslee surely took her up on her offer.
Because the cup does not have a valve, Ainslee is able to drink from it too. She thought she was hot stuff for drinking from a big girl cup.

Now all our other cups with the "bad" plastics are going in the trash, actually I wonder if they can be recycled? This is just one step in me trying to make our lives (and more importantly) the lives of my children healthier. Now I just have to buy more of these cups so that we can have extras and always have one clean.

Laundry Balls

I'm sorry if the title of this post offends anyone

My most recent "green" purchase is the enza-wash balls. Currently we use this specific company's septic cleaner and have been pretty pleased. I mean we haven't had a problem with our septic in the 9 years we have lived here. Holy Crap! Has it really been 9 years? That's amazing!Anyways I have been searching and researching for "greener", cheaper, better ways to do everything around the house. I know it has been a while since I posted anything about being green, that doesn't imply that I have fallen off the wagon, I just have been busy posting about the girls and house and everything else. I am still living greener by the day. I haven't bought paper towels now in about a year (yes I said YEAR), I use vinegar for just about everything (I just taught Marcus that vinegar is good for mosquito bites and sunburns, try it, it really works), we use reusable bags at the grocery store, buy everything my wallet can handle that is organic, I am still trying to convince my dad that "organic" does not mean "grown in the ground" (dad you don't HAVE TO use chemicals), we recycle EVERYTHING and drive nearly 40 miles to do so (even Kaylee knows what gets recycled), changed most our bulbs to CF, I am sure there is more that we do but it is so routine that it has escaped me this very moment. And I know there are a thousand more things that we could be doing to help our planet Earth! Now if I could just get Marcus to not run the shower for 10 minutes before getting in and the sink the entire time he gets ready, that would really help with our water waste.

Back to my laundry balls, I was just about to run out of my laundry detergent and start a new venture in making my own, when I got a call to purchase these little "puppies". It all sounded like just what I have been looking for

1 less or no chemicals
2 good for the environment
3 not harmful to the septic
4 saving money
5 easy on me

This product seems to have fit all the criteria. Now, I know that sales pitches are designed for just that reason, to sell a product. So all of the products positive attributes are highlighted and all the negative ones (if any) are forgotten or not mentioned. I decided to pay the 90 bucks for the product of my dreams and try it. The 30 day money back guarantee made the decision a little bit easier, I figured I could do a whole lotta washing in those 30 days to thoroughly test them out.

The enza-wash balls are about the size of a softball and are made of a non-toxic plastic. Inside the plastic balls are 4 different types of small ceramic balls. First are the de-chlorinating balls that alter the PH level of the water for natural bleaching and softening. The second type of ceramic balls are the anti-bacterial balls. They sterilize harmful bacteria and absorb the impurities and harmful heavy metals. The third type of ball is the super ceramic ball. They have a high far infrared emission (not quite sure what that means). And the last ceramic ball is the negative ion ball. These ionize the wash water to effectively penetrate all types of fabrics.

So it has been about a few weeks now and I am loving my laundry balls so far. They are so easy, you just keep them in the washing machine, no detergent to measure or anything. You just put them outside in the sun to "recharge" every couple of weeks or so. One of the first things I learned when starting to live greener.....most smells/scents are artificial. And by that I mean chemicals. When you pull your load of wash out of the washer and get a big whiff of that TIDE (or whatever detergent you use) that smell comes from the chemicals in the detergent. No smell=clean and chemical free! And that is what I have with these laundry balls. Thankfully our family doesn't suffer from any sort of skin allergies/reactions, but if we did then these would be good for that too. So far I am super pleased with them.

Another thing I like (and makes them all the more green) is the packaging. They came in a little box with just 2 pieces of paper. Think about this..... how much money is wasted on packaging and fuel to ship other detergents all around the world. Most detergents are heavy and bulky and packaged in plastic, the thought of all that waste.......where does it all go? Even if you do recycle! Have you ever driven down a street on trash day and noticed every ones overflowing trash cans, it is amazing how much waste we create.

Now I cant say that these are the "cure ALL" for laundry. They do not get out EVERY stain! But they do work pretty darn good. I don't treat most of our stains anymore, just the really bad ones. And depending on the load, I do add a bit of baking soda and/ or vinegar to the load. And if there are some REALLY bad stains, I add 1/4 of our regular detergent, as directed by the enza-wash balls. I am going to keep them, and enjoy 1,500 wash loads before buying more detergent! I still have enough left from last years purchase to get me through the really rough stains.

I am super excited about these little balls. Now if I could just find something that will fold and put away the clothes after coming out of the dryer.