This Is Me Maria

Despite my cult like addiction to all things organic, energy saving and, reusable products, our carbon footprint is still huge. If everyone lived like I do - we would need 4.81 planets. While my carbon footprint is less than the national average - it is still huge.

So I am reevaluating some of our plans, making a list of everything we already do as well as everything that we could do.

Some of the more affordable things are walking and biking to the store more since it is so close, buying in bulk more rather than the individual sized things. We just used our last ziploc bag the other day, and I purchased some good reusable tupperware that we can use instead. I am also thinking that with as much as it rains here, we could collect a lot of water with a rain barrel.

A lot of the places where we could make a big difference are expensive, like an eco friendly remodel, like new windows and more insulation, and even paper products made of recycled paper. I don’t often buy paper products made of recycled paper because they are so expensive. As a kid, my dad always bought paper products made of recycled paper. We used to joke with him that our toilet paper was like wiping your ass with tree bark.

The guilt of not doing the downstairs more eco friendly is going to haunt me for a long time. The good news is that we did use products that are long lasting and sturdy as well as neutral and not trendy, so they should not need to be replaced for a long time.

Today I have to go to a store that is 3 miles away. I was thinking that we should try taking the bus but I don’t have any cash on me. I rarely have cash on me so I would have to drive over a mile to get to my credit union’s ATM. Also public places like buses are a breeding ground for germs and my kids like to touch everything. I think we’ll have to drive but I still have guilt.

Well we finished our first week with the nanny. Just as with everything new, there is an adjustment period. The kids are not used to being in the house all day, but we are working on finding other things for them to do.

It is so nice to know the kids are well cared for in the safety of our home while we are away at work.

This once again traumatic summer childcare experience has caused me to seriously consider staying at home but I haven’t made a decision yet.

The other option I’ve considered is keeping our nanny on through the school year to clean and manage our household and be with the children after school, again I haven’t made a decision about that yet.

(Read: Don’t know if I can afford it.)

I am still eager for the school year to start, so that we can fall into our familiar routine once again.