Go the @*?! to sleep

On Saturday we had a lovely family day. It started out with a nice breakfast, then we went to the local library where the kids got prizes for reading books. After that we went to our farmers' market and got the most delicious strawberry popsicles ever. We came home for a nice lunch, and drove into town to do a couple errands. Back home again, we played outside and generally had fun.

Next came a dinner out for a community dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, a little more play, bathtime, teeth brushing, reading books and then lights out. 

We are in the habit of laying down with the kids until they fall asleep. It's a habit I would like to break, nevertheless it is what we do. That night the kids were not buying it. Maybe it was just because it's summer or maybe it was the sugary, sweet strawberry shortcake they had at a community dinner, but they were talking. They were wiggling. They were not @*?! sleeping! 

I got fed up. I did not want to waste my time laying next to Lil Sis pretending to sleep--especially when she was no where near sleep. My husband was falling asleep as he snuggled with a sleepless Big Bro.

I made a decision.

"Alright," I announced. "I'm turning on the light. You guys can read books or play in your room, but daddy and I are going to go to mommy and daddy things by ourselves. Stay in your room."

Daddy looked up groggily, but followed me out of the room.

The kids took it surprisingly well. Often when we threaten to leave the room they cry and insist that they will be good. "Okay, mommy." they said calmly and sweetly.

My husband and I retreated to our room. The kids stayed in their room for a while, but then started coming out to ask questions to do whatever they could think of to get attention. Each time we would calmly tell them to go back to their room. And surprisingly, they did!

Eventually they were getting more intrusive, coming in and out more frequently. We decided to let them go into the playroom as well. Just as long as they didn't bother us!

Still, they were running in and out of the playroom and our room, up and down the hall. We took to ignoring them. They did look darn cute running around in their underwear and diaper respectively since it was a warm summer night.

Then they invented a game: be sneaky and dump toys in mommy and daddy's bedroom. They thought they were so quiet and sneaky. They thought they were hilarious! We pretended not to notice until the pile got prettybig.

We feigned surprise and laughed with them.  Finally, I asked Big Bro to get a basket from the playroom so they could put all the toys back in it. They obliged, and I carried the loaded basket back to the playroom.

Then it was really time for bed. They still protested. Loudly. They still fought sleep. But finally, by 9 PM, they were both out.

Gateway to Summer: Strawberry Season

Okay, okay, I know I said I was done with blogging for the summer, but we had such fun today I just felt like writing about it.

Mmm! Strawberries.

Yesterday was the last day of school. Today, Grandma asked if we wanted to go pick some strawberries. We decided it was a perfect day to do it, the weather was beyond perfect. We climbed into the van: Big Bro, Lil Sis, me, Grandma and Grandpa, and drove to Pomykala Farm. Grandpa reminisced how he used to go strawberry picking with his mother once school was out and she would make strawberry jam. Well, history tends to repeat itself, and in this case it's in a good way.

At Pomykala Farm we were warmly greeted by our friends, the owners of the farm. We also saw some friends from playgroup and got to ride in the golf cart out to the part of the field with the best picking. Lil Sis ended up loving the ride, though she was tentative at first. She's getting braver.

Big Bro "driving" the cart

We picked 10 pounds of strawberries to bring home. Big Bro picked his very own basket, Lil Sis picked her own basket. She probably picked two baskets worth but ate one of them on the job. 

Lil Sis working hard picking

Next came making homemade strawberry jam. A first for me!

Note: Big Bro is wearing a red shirt so that he won't get his Wild Kratts clothes stained with strawberry juice.

The kids went to play at Grandma's house so I hulled the strawberries, smashed them with a potato masher, then added lemon juice and brought them to a rolling boil.

Mashing berries

Next I poured in seven, yes count 'em, 7 cups of sugar! I'm just following the recipe. When that was once again at a rolling boil I added the pectin and was able to spoon it into nine jelly jars, and part of a tenth jar.

Look at all that sugar--2 bowls worth!

I think I will have to make another batch tomorrow. Maybe that will get us through a years worth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There's always other jellies to make with other seasonal fruits too. This is just the beginning of a beautiful season.

The partial jar of jam

Last day of school/blog

Today is Big Bro's last day of preschool. He could not be happier. He's grown so much this year and I'm so proud of him for going to school even though I know many mornings he would have rather stayed home.

9/4/13 First day of preschool, 3 yo

6/18/14 Last day of preschool until fall, 4 yo

I have been writing this Mama of Ma'at blog five days a week since last August. Similar to Big Bro, today is going to be my last official blogging day for the summer. Over Christmas vacation I took a break from writing this blog because I wanted to be on vacation with my family without any extra distractions. I have decided I am also going to take the summer off to focus on family fun. Plus who wants to be chained to their computer in a non-air-conditioned house during summer if it's not required?

Over the summer I will still be blogging for the Burlington Mom's Blog twice a month. I will also do the occasional entry on Mama of Ma'at if something really strikes me and I feel I just have to write about it. I may re-share posts from my archives too.

I hope you all have a great summer! Thanks for reading!

A Childhood Obsession

Ever since his fourth birthday party, which had a Wild Kratts theme, Big Bro has been wearing his green Wild Kratts t-shirt non-stop.

It got to the point where he got super upset if he got a trace of any dirt or food on it. I was washing it overnight so he could wear it the next day. We decided we better buy him another one. This time we got the blue Wild Kratts shirt. The blue one was upgraded to the best one. He would wear it and alternate with the green one for messier activities.

All those pictures were taken on different days even though Big Bro looks exactly the same in each one.

This past Wednesday his preschool had a "water day." The kids showed up to school in their bathing suits and had to bring clean dry clothes to change into. I sneakily put a pair jean shorts and a red shirt in his backpack. He had no choice but to wear them! When I picked him up at school and saw him in something other than a Wild Kratts shirt, it was like a breath of fresh air.

I gushed over how handsome he looked, but he changed back into his green Wild Kratts shirt as soon as we got home--which is why I made sure to snap the picture while I could.

If I mention this phase to my mom, she just likes to point out that I wore my Toto (the dog from the Wizard of Oz) halloween costume everyday for ages.

Well, I better go do some laundry. These Wild Kratts shirts (and matching cargo shorts) don't wash themselves!

Happy Father's Day

My kids are so lucky. 

They have a dad who sits on the floor and plays Legos with them.

They have a dad who reads to them daily and makes up stories about their adventures in Candyland.

They have a dad who made it a standing date to take them out to the library each evening that I have a planning commission meeting.

They have a dad who wrestles and rough houses with them.

They have a dad who bakes scones with them on weekend mornings (and lets me sleep in!)

They have a dad who shows them where to pick wild blackberries in the yard.

They have a dad who will fetch them the best apple he can find on our apple trees.

They have a dad who is always eager to help them learn.

They have a dad who will always hug and cuddle them.

They have a dad who is active in their lives.

They have a dad who loves them to the sun and back.

We are lucky to have him!

Happy Father's Day!

TBT: a drive cross country

It's hard to imagine, but 10 years ago I moved to Los Angeles with my husband (then boyfriend). We loaded whatever would fit into our 2000 Honda Civic and went. I still remember the trip vividly. Here is my travel log:

August 1, 2004: move to LA what a day! Vermont to Niagara Falls, Buffalo New York. 3:00 car broke down in Mohawk New York.  Exhaust pipe dragging on the highway. "Mark" helped us temporarily fix car in a Walmart parking lot with metal wire. Sunday, no mechanics around. Traffic jam at 7:20 PM. Made it to Niagara! Fireworks over the falls.

August 2, 2014: 8:30 AM car fixed, Hooray! Niagara Falls, Maid of the Mist, fun and wet. 

Lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. Drove through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, started into Indiana.

August 3, 2004: had breakfast in Elkhart, Indiana. Drove all day no lunch stop. Went to Indiana, Illinois, Iowa. Would have made it into Nebraska severe thunderstorms. Met travelers in glass gas station from West Coast and bound for Chicago and Vermont. Everyone stuck because of rain. 

August 4, 2004: spent last night in seedy motel in Underwood, Iowa. Got up early. Drove through Nebraska, on to Denver, Colorado. Arrive before dark for once! Now in mountain time. Was flat at first after entering Colorado. Rocky Mountains suddenly appeared. Went to downtown. All hotels booked due to convention. Had dinner at Jax, went to Rockies Cubs game at Coors Field. Pretty sunset in Stadium. Cubs won, we left early and searched for hotel. Stayed at Mountain High Inn.

August 5, 2014: woke up, had breakfast. Drove on I-70 W through Rockies. SCARY, big down hills. Stopped in Vail for gas $2.25! Went through gorgeous canyon by Colorado River. Lots of tunnels the mountains, highway flatter now, mountains farther in distance. Utah, Arches National Park - beautiful! thunderstorm on our way out, luckily it went east not west with us. Drove through 100 miles of nowhere. Dark, felt anxious, low on gas. Finally hit civilization again around 10 PM.

August 6, 2004:  9 more hours to Santa Monica. Drove 30 miles through twisted, burnt canyons in Arizona, then California desert.  Drove through Las Vegas, didn't stop. Huge scary freeways in LA! Got to Santa Monica, weather was cool. Hotels booked, stayed at Santa Monica motel. Our new home in California!

*****

I think it's funny how $2.25 gas in Colorado seemed really expensive at the time.

Our picture taking was more limited because we only had a camera that used film. The "modern" drop-in kind! We did have a flip cell phone.

We lived at the Santa Monica motel for a week before finding an apartment. I worked for a year before going to grad school my husband started right away at law school.

"Corporations are the world"

My car needed servicing so I dropped it off at the dealer then a nice shuttle driver drove me where I wanted to go while I wait.

"Can drop me off at Trader Joe's?," I asked.

"Sure, are you going to the mall after? Should I pick you up there later?" he asked.

"No, I will be at the University of Vermont. Can you pick me up there?"

"Sure, but it will be a different driver. What are you doing over there?"

"Well, I am going to table for Citizens Climate Lobby." I didn't add that we were tabling because it was the press event for the release of the Vermont Climate Assessment report. I was trying to keep it simple.

"What's that? What do you do?" he asked.

So I started talking about the carbon fee and dividend. It was very quickly clear that I was talking with a climate change denier--a very pleasant denier, but a denier none the less.

"I just don't think we should tax corporations." He answered. "Oil and gas have done so much for us we can't punish them for that. I just hate taxing corporations. If we tax corporations they will get sick of us and they will go away. Just look at IBM. Corporations are the world!"

That seemed like a fear-based comment to me after thinking about it. Yes, corporations make a lot of stuff happen in our world, but that shouldn't mean that we can't demand they act ethically. Not causing destruction on a global scale is good ethics.

He made other comments such as: the science is debatable on climate change. He didn't believe that we are having more extreme weather, or that winters are getting milder. He said even if the climate is changing he didn't think it was because of fossil fuels. The Japan earthquake shifted the Earth on its axis. Doesn't that have anything to do with it? The scientist haven't taken that into consideration.

I acknowledged that yes oil and gas has done a lot for civilization, however we now know that using it is killing our planet. Since we know better so it's time to change the business model. I assured him that yes, the scientists have taken into consideration factors such as the natural wobbles of the earth's axis and even that earthquake event that shifted the earth.

I told him how the carbon fee and dividend would put money in his pocket. I told him how it would spur development and investment in fossil fuel alternatives. Maybe he can't afford an electric car now, but after a few years of a carbon tax he probably can because prices will come down.

We even ended up talking about how the climate was different when dinosaurs were on the earth but it was fine for them. I explained how yes, the death of the dinosaurs and the sequestration of their bodies and plant matter at the time allowed the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to decrease to a level that made the planet safe for humans. Dinosaurs turned into fossil fuels, and by unlocking that carbon dioxide from the earth we have thrown the atmosphere, that we humans have enjoyed so much, out of balance. Even if we keep burning fossil fuels some form of life will exist on earth, it just won't be humans.

Still, the only thing that seem to get through to him was the explanation that scientists have determined that the "safe" level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 350 ppm. We recently exceeded 400 ppm and are adding 2 ppm each year. He used to serve on an Air Resources Board in New York so that was something he could appreciate. A small win!

Despite feeling overwhelmed at his denial and unprepared on where to even start in responding to his denial during a 10 minute car ride, it was still a fine conversation.

"Why do you bother with those people?" my husband asked when I told him about it back at home.

Because it keeps me on my toes. And, we need to convert some of those people we are to win this climate fight.

An Afternoon at the Wind Farm

My family took a trip to a local wind farm. We took school bus shuttles up a long gravel road to get there. The bus had a hard time climbing it.

They wind turbines were huge and pretty quiet.

There were a lot of people there. We waited in line to get a look inside the base.

It had a ladder that went all the way to the top, and a hole in the floor where there was even more equipment.

There was also a pretty view of the lake and the island where I live.

It was really cool.

A video looking up at the spinning blades -- sorry my finger is in it, it was too bright to see the screen

A video showing the shadows of the blades and you can hear some noise from fans in the control room (not the blades themselves)

My meeting with the Editor

I met with the Editor of my State's largest newspaper last Thursday. Our meeting lasted 15 to 20 minutes. I told him about Citizens Climate Lobby, our mission, and how we started a local chapter this past winter. I gave him an overview of our proposed carbon fee and dividend legislation.

He wanted to clarify that it was a federal level legislative proposal.  He also asked if we were doing anything on the state or local level since the paper likes to stay local in its focus. I told him we have discussed it briefly, but have not come up with a State plan so far. We are currently focusing on the national level just as CCL does. I mentioned that will be watching the bill that is being passed around for discussion that would allow states to create their own carbon taxes.

He asked what do we do since we already have a progressive group of representatives for Vermont who already acknowledge climate change and agree something should be done. I mentioned that even though they are already allies there still more we can do to nudge them in the right direction towards carbon fee and dividend. I also mentioned that Sanders-Boxer climate change bill, proposed in 2013, and how it is the closest bill any politician has proposed to our fee and dividend, we are very happy that it was introduced, but we feel it could be tweaked to be more effective and accepted by both sides of the aisle. 

I also mentioned that, if passed, the carbon fee and dividend would negate the need for the new EPA rules, which would be another selling point for conservatives. Love or hate conservatives--we need them on board for this. I will note that I am very happy that President Obama is using his Executive power to do something about CO2 emissions (though more action is severely needed!)
 
He asked why was it so important that it was 100% revenue neutral. I said that it is important because it returns money to households to pay for the pass-through costs, and it doesn't expand government so that makes it more appealing to conservatives. Also, under this plan 2/3 of all households would break even or receive more in their dividend checks than they would pay in higher prices due to the fee, thereby protecting the poor and middle class. 

I highlighted how CCL just commissioned the REMI* Report (which is officially being released today 6/9/14) that shows a carbon fee and dividend as we propose would actually add 2.2 million jobs to the economy over 10 years and reduce emissions by 33%, and 2.8 million jobs and 52% reductions after 20 years. The report found that making it 100% revenue neutral will also increase the real-income of American households even after accounting for inflation. In an era of a shrinking middle-class and record corporate profits, this is good news.

He asked me why was I involved with this group and there were so many other groups that I could be involved in. I answered that Citizens Climate Lobby brings in policy experts, economists, climate scientists and others to contribute to the discussion. They are also the only group with a clear proposal for how to fix the climate crisis, and have just commissioned the REMI study to show that it would actually work! We are fighting FOR something, not just against. The "personal empowerment" portion of the mission is also why it's such an attractive organization. It inspires hope. You don't just have to sit at home feeling scared about climate change. I wish I had thought to say it when I was at the meeting, but before joining CCL there's no way I would've ever considered scheduling a meeting with the editor to talk climate change! or co-sign a letter to the Senate Finance Committee and then forward it to all of my members of Congress as a co-signer. CCL gives you the expertise and the tools to make politicians listen.

He asked more about the makeup of our group. I said that we have a core group of 6-8 very active members, and more members who are interested in our work but less active at this at this time. I noted that we are a group of concerned citizens, purely volunteers, we meet at a member's house to work on this. We do not have membership fees or a budget. I personally do this because I am a stay-at-home mom concerned about her two little kids and what their futures will be in the time of global warming. I do this in my spare time after the kids are in bed.
 
I think he was impressed or maybe even moved. I asked if he would do an editorial endorsing our carbon fee and dividend proposal. That very day he had published an editorial he wrote in support of the new EPA rules.  The paper does so few editorials each month, and since they like to stay with a very local focus, he didn't know if he could do another one so soon on climate change. He said he would think about it. He also said he would pass on the press packet I gave to him to a reporter. Look for it in newspapers around the country this week!

*REMI is a well-respected economic modeling group that is hired by State and Federal governmental offices in the US and around the world to analyze the economic implications of new policies.

Rumble in the Roost

We have had our new chicks for almost a month now. They are growing out of those cute little fuzzy things they once were, into awkward, gangly teenage chicks.

Then:

Now:

They still like to be under the heat lamp like babies, but they are getting more adult feathers. Their tail feathers are starting to fill out too, but they are still quite small.

It won't be much longer before they have outgrown their cardboard box in the tub. Soon they will have to integrate with their older sisters in the coop.

We've tried to have them meet once or twice before. The first time we only brought out our nicest big chickens, Alpha and Frieda. It went well because the big chickens just ignored the chicks, even when Big Bro held one up right to Alpha's face.

The second meeting went less well. Alpha, our favorite and nicest chicken, checked out the chicks and gave one of them a swift peck, which sent the poor chick into cheeping hysterics. Alpha clearly wanted the chick to know her place at the bottom of the pecking order. Yes, there is a literal pecking order in chicken flocks.

Alpha, I am so disappointed in you.

Hopefully once the chicks are even bigger and more able to defend themselves we can start integration. It's a good thing the big chickens are free range now. Perhaps once the big chickens are out for the day we will let little chicks explore the coop and the chicken yard. We will have to build the new chicks their own roost and laying boxes in the coop as well. The more we can do to minimize the fight over territory the better.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Awake the Sleeping Giants

Did you see that the Environmental Protection Agency announced big news this past Monday: new rules for power plants to reduce emissions from power plants by 30% (below 2005 levels) by 2030? This makes a lot of sense because power plants are responsible for 40% of US carbon dioxide emissions. Power plants are also still coal intensive and coal is the largest source of CO2 emissions around the world.

The rules allow states flexibility for how to meet the emission reductions targets though promoting energy efficiency, switching fuels, making existing plants more efficient, or even trading emissions like the Northeastern States Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative already does. States have until June 2016 to come up with their plans, or the EPA will make a plan for them. You can read more of the details in an easy summary here.

The new EPA rules have of course met resistance with conservatives already planning to sue the Federal government so that they can't be implemented or at least run out the clock until they hope to get a Republican President elected in 2016. The Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups are crying foul saying that the rules will be economic disaster. Gina McCarthy, administrator of the EPA assures us that they won't be. Electric rates shouldn't go up any more than what it costs to buy a gallon of milk per month, so really minimal increases in price as power plants try to figure out how to operate in a new, more climate-conscientious world. Environmentalists aren't totally happy because the rule, while a step in the right direction, doesn't do nearly enough to truly address the climate crisis. They are right, but this is an important step.

As President Obama announced the rules, the US Ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, called on Canada to do the same, including emissions from Canada's fastest growing source of emissions: oil sands. Prime Minister Harper brushed off the request, but this could be the start of increasing pressure. (On a related note, did you hear that a major oil sands project in Alberta, Canada was just canceled indefinitely due to a lack of pipelines? Watch out tar sands, our tactics are working!)

THEN, what's really interesting is that the day after President Obama announced the EPA rules, China stepped into the ring:

Reuters reported that at a Beijing conference today, the chairman of China's Advisory Committee on Climate Change, He Jiankun, revealed targets that will be included in their next five-year plan. These included controls on CO2 emissions “by intensity” as well as an “absolute cap.” 

An absolute cap is a pretty impressive sign that they're not messing around; set to come into play from 2016, it’s the first time China will have had one. In an updated article, Michael Grubb, a climate professor at the University College London, said the announcement “marks potentially the most important turning point in the global scene on climate change for a decade.”

There’s no word on what level of emissions this cap will be placed on—and coal emissions will still grow in China until 2030, according to He—but it’s a promisingly decisive step by the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It’s likely no coincidence that they announced this so soon after Obama’s plans, and Adam Vaughan at the Guardian commented that the timing “appears deliberately chosen to show China will also take a leadership role on climate change.”

AWAKE SLEEPING GIANTS. The US and China are starting to stir and #ActOnClimate, and just may wake up Canada in the process. There's still a lot of work to be done, but this week indicated some positive steps in the right direction.

One last note, the other emissions giant, Australia, has failed to repeal its price on carbon, which means that its emission reduction targets automatically tripled! Very good news! http://m.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/australias-emissions-cut-target-triples-overnight-thanks-to-failure-to-repeal-carbon-tax-20140602-39esv.html?skin=dumb-phone

The Dreaded Stomach Flu and Laundry

On Saturday night Big Bro came down with the stomach flu suddenly around 11:00pm. He woke up screaming and crying, "Mommy, I have terrible spit!" aka: vomit.

Ok, I'm sorry, that's a bit graphic.

Anyhow, it was a busy night of getting up with him every couple hours to successfully empty his stomach into the toilet....(better? not really?)

Even so, there was lots of laundry to be done in the morning. Which got me thinking about laundry and energy and how much I would use to wash sheets and pajamas after an eventful night.

I know many people still swear that the only way to get laundry really clean is to use hot or warm water. But I also know that heating water (often unnecessarily) is responsible for a large portion of an individual household's greenhouse gas emissions. In short, doing your laundry in hot or warm water is unnecessary, raises your energy bill, and increases your personal contribution to climate change.

I have been using detergent designed specifically for cold water. It's not just marketing, it's science! Cold water detergents use different chemicals to get your clothes clean in cold water, thus saving your energy bill, and reducing your personal contribution to global warming.

Yet, many people are reluctant to make the switch even though it will help save money and help civilization in general. "I just can't bring myself to wash underwear in cold water!" as my friend recently told me with a slight grimace on her face.

Ok, I get it.

So far, cold water detergents are still a niche market for people like me who get worked up about energy. There is a lot of information on the web that still says you should wash clothes in hot water to get it clean. Some of them get really absurd saying that you should run an empty hot water cycle with bleach, then another empty cycle to get rid of the bleach and THEN wash your clothes. Every. Time. That is wasteful, crazy talk; a symptom of a germ-phobic nation based in paranoia. Our fear of germs has only bred super germs.

Please believe me that you can really get your laundry clean with cold water detergent. Check out this link from the Alliance to Save Energy. Then, if you're still worried about needing to disinfect your clothes use the disinfecting power of the sun when drying your clothes.