My Organic REVELATION

I recently finished reading Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet.  An interesting read recommended by newly-vegetarianized friend Donna.  (You can read all about her awesomeness here.)  Tim hated me the entire time I read it.  I suspect because he knew I was reading up on all the grossness of eating meat (which he loves).  Or maybe it was because of all the ugly faces I was making while I read the info the book provided.

Anyhoodle, I've decided, after much contemplation, that the Morris family (at least this portion of it) is going organic.

As organic as possible, that it.

And it will likely be a slow process.  Most of you know I have grown accustomed to shopping with a coupon binder in tow, and I will still do so.  But my couponing will likely be restricted to household products like toilet paper, shampoo and conditioner, and cleaning supplies.

When I say organic, I mean we are hitting the organic portion of eating.  I'm not ready to go all "organic" on the cleaning just yet.

(Don't get my wrong -- there are still plenty of coupons for organic food products; just not as much as for the crappy, processed stuff.)

I won't get into the scientific points Silverstone presents (she is a huge animal activist and tree hugger, which I am most certainly not), but I will say that the book is an interesting read that made me say, "Hmmmmm," more than once as I turned the pages.  As I fear that my daughter will start her period in the next few weeks if we don't stop eating antibioticized, hormone-fed chicken, I am going to start buying organic chicken first and foremost.  I'd love to get all the dairy out of our house (Silverstone points out that dairy is not meant to be consumed by humans.  I mean mommy cows feed their baby cows their milk to grow them into 400 lb. cows after all.)  However, this girl loves some cheese.

And Greek yogurt.

And while we (Tim and I) don't drink a lot of milk, my kids do.  So we may have to transition slowly.  Organic milk (which is ridiculously expensive compared to the regular stuff, by the way!) is the way to go for now.

The biggest nasty food I'd love to get out of my life (and especially my kids' lives) is sugar.  I'm talking about the bad kind -- the -ose ones.  I never noticed much that sugar affects Kendall's behavior, but it most definitely affects Tanner's.  Of course, he is a big ball of sugar.  (He gets those cravings from his momma.) It may take a while, but I'd like to find other ways to satiate his hunger for sweets.  We'll see how that goes!

The biggest step (and I've taken it alone, for now) is giving up meat.  I have absolutely no moral reason for doing this.  Silverstone just says that  I will feel better if I don't eat it because my body isn't meant to process meat  So I'm going to try it.  I will say this -- I had a bean burrito at Las Palmas the other night and I didn't feel completely deprived.  And last night we went to dinner and I ordered a tomato, basil, and provolone panini.  It was delish.  Maybe this transition won't be so hard for me.

Getting Tim to jump on board will be hard.  And Tanner, being the chicken nugget aficionado that he is, will fight it tooth-and-nail, I'm certain.

But I'm not here to force anyone to do anything differently.

I just want to feel better.  And live longer and happier.

And I don't want my 7-year-old to have boobs.

Favorite Photo Friday

Kendall Leigh & Her Two Bottom Teeth

April 2005

Kendall wanted so badly to have an empty spot on her gums for the last day of 1st grade today.

She came into the kitchen this morning with a grimace on her face.  When I asked what was wrong (expecting a comment about how itchy her dress was or how her shoes were hurting her feet), she responded with, "My tooth really hurts, Mommy."

For a week now she's had a "sore" tongue where she's been wiggling that tooth back and forth.  All four of her front teeth are loose, but only one is close to making an exit.  Kendall's friend Emma (who just graduated kindergarten) lost her second tooth on Wednesday, so the pressure was on.  I think only one other child in Kendall's class hasn't lost a tooth.  While I keep explaining that her birthday is later than most people's, she just doesn't get it.

Or she just doesn't care.

Either way, she wanted that tooth out this morning.

Which did not happen.  It's still hanging on pretty tightly.  And I'm not going to be the tooth-puller in this family.  So unless she was going to rip it out herself, she'll have to wait for Daddy to get home.

In honor of how passionate Kendall is about losing that tooth, I wanted to use this picture of Kendall when those two bottom teeth first entered her mouth.  Now that I see her teeth didn't come in until she was almost a year old, I understand why they are coming out so late.

But I'm OK with that.  Her little life is moving along a bit too quickly for my taste right now anyway.  Everyone once in a while Tim or I will see her sitting on the couch, legs crossed like a lady, looking way too big for her almost 7-year-old skin.  Occasionally I can still catch a glimpse of my baby; she still gets that twinkle in her eye when she thinks something is really funny.  When I can get a hug from her, she still tangles her hands in my hair like she did when she was a baby.  Sometimes, when no one is listening, she whispers in my ear, "I love you."  But this year has gone by way too fast.  She will be 7 in a few weeks. I know moms say it all the time, but it really does seem like yesterday that she turned 6!  Heck, it seems like the day before she turned 1!!

For so many months (or sometimes years) we wish for time to speed up.  I know I wanted Kendall to move to the next stage so quickly when she was a baby.  I wanted her to hold her own bottle, to eat solids, to sleep though the night, to sit up, to walk ... now, as she conquers something new every day (reading, riding her bike, helping me cook, multiplication and division), I just want to scream, "STOP!!  Slow down for a second!!"  I'm not ready for her to move to the next stage (mostly because the next stage is going to come with more attitude than I'm prepared to deal with) though I know she has to do it.

I cannot believe my little girl -- the one I dreamed of and loved before she was even in my belly -- is at her last day of first grade.  

I have a second grader.

Geesh.

I'm not even old enough to have a second grader ...

Decision Made

For those of you keeping tabs ...

Tim and I accepted the spots at the Cherokee Charter Academy for the fall.  After reading many responses and ideas on the subject, we think it's the best decision for our family.  I worried over it for two days and then decided, "Well, what's the worst that could happen?  They don't open the doors?"

If that happens, then K and T will just go to Holly Springs as originally planned.

Actually, we are very lucky.  We are in a "win-win" situation.  I'm happy we don't live in a different school zone where we would really need to go to the charter school.

The biggest piece of advice I received sounded something like this ...

"If a private school called and offered to pay for your kids to come to their school, you'd jump on it, right?!"  Well, yeah, of course I would.  And the fact that the school isn't "established" yet shouldn't scare me away.  So what ... it's not a sure thing.  Nothing is a sure thing in life.  And this opportunity (both kids being accepted at the same time) may not ever happen again.

So we are heading into the situation with optimism.  Tim and I have already begun talking to the kids about a new school and how awesome it is going to be.  Everything will be shiny and new.  They will get to wear cool uniforms to school.  (Luckily, for us, our kids are young enough to think this is a good thing!)

Now that the spots have been accepted, I have to start collecting all the required forms and information.  Again.  I'm hoping that most of it can just be transferred once we know for sure the school is opening in August.  But there are so many other forms that have to be completed by the parents for the charter school. We have to commit to a certain number of volunteer hours each year.  We have to sign off that we will provide a space for homework to be completed every night for at least an hour.  We have to promise to restrict the use of electronics and, instead, replace that time with reading.  It felt kind of strange to sign my name to that sort of thing since I already try to do those things.  Anyway, it gives me hope for what the new school will provide as far as helping my kids grow and mature.  I'm really hoping it will help their imaginations grow and they will learn how to get along with all types of kids.

This is going to be such a great thing for them.

And, who knows?  Maybe it will give me an edge on the job opportunities!! ;0)

Always hoping ...

Thank for everyone who gave me their 2 cents worth.  It really did help!

What's to Consider?

Tim and I have been pondering a, what I consider to be, difficult decision all weekend.  A few months ago I applied for a job with the Cherokee Charter Academy.  Honestly, i am just putting my name out there anywhere I can get it.  I'm hoping to get a job this fall, and the charter school would be a great option.

If it opens.

But that's not the decision we are having a hard time with.  We got letters on Friday that both of our kids were accepted into the school.

And I am completely torn over it.

The "mom" part of me, who always wants what's best for my kids, knows that going to a charter school would give them great opportunities.  There will be smaller class sizes.  There will be uniforms, which leads to less competition over who's wearing what.  Each child will have their own individual learning plan, so each of my kids will be getting exactly what they need for their level.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the idea of charter schools, they are essentially publicly funded schools that are more like private school settings.  They teach the same curriculum and are held to the same standards, but the school decides how those standards are taught.  Basically, it's a private school education at a public school price.  (Free.)

So, here's the dilemma.

Well, there are actually two dilemmas.

The first comes from the public school teacher in me.  I've always been a big proponent of public school.  I know, from experience, that the teacher is what makes the school.  I taught my first 3 years in one of the lowest schools in Cobb County.  And many days were difficult.  But there were also days when I knew those kids appreciated me more than I ever thought they would.  because they needed me.  They needed what I was giving them so they could find a way out of their situations.  Now, granted we do not live in a place  like that.  But there are poor areas in out county.  Anyway, what I'm saying is I love the public school Kendall attends.  And more importantly, she loves her school.  I've asked her if she'd like to go to a new school, and she says no.  But then I think, "Why am I asking?"  Tim and I know what's best  for our children.  We don't ask her if she wants to wear her seat belt.  And I wouldn't ask her if she was one of the kids who was going to be going to Indian Knoll in the fall.  Moreover, most of her friends live in Harmony on the Lakes and will be going to the new elementary school; so Kendall will still be left to making new friends.

OK, so that's dilemma 1.  I want her to stay where she's happy and where I'm happy.

Dilemma 2 is bigger.  Most of you (who are following the charter school scene) know that the State Supreme Court has ruled against the constitutionality of charter schools.  So there is a chance that the doors won't even open in August.  Where does that leave us?  Or, even worse, we could start there in August, an 6 months later, they could shut it down and my kids would have to change schools.

But so would all the other kids.

So, I'm still left with making this decision.

Of course, Tim and I have pretty much already made out decision.

But I still want to get everyone else's thoughts on it.

I know 1500 people applied.

And only around 800 got in.

And we were 2 of them.

And I know how badly some other's wanted those spots.

So what are your thoughts?