This week I made a special toy to share with the Earth Monkey Mom community!!! I call it the Super Fabulous Sporty Activity Center, but you can call it whatever you like. My main “ingredients” in cardboard box toy making are: a cardboard box, a box knife, colored duct tape and a hot glue gun with a good many glue sticks. I usually have a plan in my head of what I want to make, but the toy really takes shape as I start and I usually think of extra things to add or other materials to use as I’m making it.

Forgive me in advance if I offend you but I'm here today to instigate your cell phone intervention/etiquette. Don't have a cell phone? Then you are excused. The rest of you stay put.



I recently bought a smart phone and while I am the first to say they really shouldn't sell smart phones to dumb people, I am loving all the bells and whistles my grandkiddos have taught me to use. But thee best invention in cell phone technology, in my opinion, is still text messaging. I love love love texting. My husband repeatedly asks, "wouldn't it be easier to just call?" No it would not. I am a social reject and texting allows me to avoid social pitfalls.



I consider myself a fairly forward thinking granny. In a recent conversation with other old ladies regarding the appropriate age for children to own a phone, I was the lone defender of kiddos having phones. I love that several of my grandkids have their own phones. It helps an old granny feel connected to their young lives to send or receive a text from them.



Cell phone technology is amazing but are you a slave to your phone? Does your phone own you or at least 90% of your time and attention? "No!" You say? Do you carry it absolutely everywhere with you? Are you frantic when you lose it? Do you text while driving? Have you ever put your kids with a variation of this statement?: Mommy will help you stop the bleeding as soon as I answer this text, try to not cry so loudly so I can concentrate on what I need to say sweetie." Do you answer texts while on a date night or at family gatherings? Does the idea of turning your phone o-f-f make you shudder? Are you rolling your eyes and muttering "what's your point old woman?"



The point is that technology has subtley crept in and taken over our lives. When I got my first cell phone it was never a consideration that my children would have one. Not surprisingly times have changed and everybody and their six year old owns cell phones. Great concept, just not well thought through. Along with the users manual the manufacturers should also have included the basic cell phone ettiquette manual. I have taken it on myself to develop a list of instructions regarding cell phone manners. Let me know if you think it's too harsh.



1. It is never okay to leave your phone on, much less text while at a movie. This includes a family movie night in front of a t.v. it irks me that I need to tell you this.



2. It is never okay to text and drive and if your kids are in the car while you are doing this they should be removed from your home by Childrens Services because you are endangering all of your lives and the life of every person in the cars you pass by. It really irks me to have to say this.



3. Yes it will hurt your mom/gma's feeling if while visiting said matriarch you spend the entire visit texting with your boyfriend, business partner, local florist, orthodontist.....



4. Always leave the phone in the house while playing outside with your kids.



5. The sun will come up in the morning if you turn your phone off for short periods of time.



These are my top 5 but surely you get my drift. I must not be the only one out there feeling sensitive about the lack of manners. There was a recent episode of Dateline on this very subject. Check out hulu.com or nbc.com to tune in. They interviewed kids ages 5-15ish. When they asked the kids how it made them feel when mom was always on her phone one of the little guys said, " It makes me feel like I'm not important to her." Ouch.



We are our children's example. How we set our limits or lack there of is going to be what our children default to when they are phone users. I get what the Dateline kids were saying. I've been on the receiving of what I'll call the cell phone snub.



My challenge to whom ever this may apply is this: Hang it up, put it down, or turn it off. I double dog dare you to do as I say............... buy bye.



{Editor's Note: While she swears this post isn't about me... uhhhh it was... and I'm torn, part of me wants to say bite me I'm not that bad... but then I have to wonder why I'm so defensive... darn moms think they know everything!!!}



On that note... we want to hear what you really think... in honor of my coffee Nazi mother, I will buy one random commenter (who also has to be a google follower) a gift card for one coffee from the stand/company of your choosing! 

I am relatively new to the whole "green" scene. I have recycled for years, but honestly that's only because the garbage company brings big recycle bins right to my door and it saves on our trash bill. It hasn't been until we started developing our eco-friendly line at Earth Monkeys that I started to be aware of just how UN-GREEN I really am. I had three in diapers for years... so cloth diapers were out... don't you roll your eyes and judge me, I know I'm not alone in this! And the whole "greeny", "eco-friendly","recycley" lifestyle always seemed too expensive and too difficult. If I'm being really honest (brace your selves, I can't find my filter this morning) even now, when I visit environmentally friendly websites or blogs, many feel stuffy and judgmental and can almost carry an air of superiority.  Sometimes I feel like the new kid in church... like the guy up front is going to call me out because I'm not good enough to be in this crowd. (Consequently that is exactly how I felt when I became a pastors wife... and it's not a good feeling.) Anywhoo, I tend to be a bit of a rebel... I don't like to conform and snobby superiority makes me want to do just the opposite no matter what the cause is... immature?? Probably, but it's kind of what has kept me from making changes in my lifestyle until now... right wrong or otherwise.



Gena and I are both still a work in progress when it comes to being green and running an eco-friendly household.  I am passionate that taking baby steps is the key to making lasting, effective change, so that's what I'm doing. My life is chaos 98% of the time... my three boys  are exhaustingly high maintenance high energy,  and trying to run a successful business, blogging, cleaning, laundry, cooking... like all of you my list goes on... I don't want to add one more thing to my plate. If faced with the decision between eco-friendly and convenience my choice will vary on any given day... that's just how it is. What I have realized though, is that there are so many things that I can do that aren't hard and even save me money. The more I do them the easier it gets and the less I have to think about making the right choice.



So.... here are 8 THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO "Greenify" your family and probably even save you money in the process...

1. Stop using paper towels/plates... Gena shamed me into "encouraged" me to just buy a costco pack of those white towels and use them instead ... and I decided to just start washing dishes instead of using paper plates for breakfast and lunch... I made the swtich about 9 months ago and it's not that bad:)


2. Turn your lights off and unplugged the stuff you're not using... my mom will laugh that I wrote this because I am still really working on this one... it's extra hard when you're the only person in the house who doesn't think every single light needs to be on 24/7.


3. Replace your light bulbs with energy efficient ones... they're a little more spendy upfront but save on the electric bill big time!


4. Check out A Simple Switch by Philips on Facebook... they have great tips and challenges on making small changes.


5. Stop Using Plastic Bags... Either bring your own or  use paper bags ( I shred the paper bags and use them as filling for Earth Monkeys gift bags... so don't give me that finger wave:) Gena's the pro at this... I've got the grocery store down but I always forget my bags at like Target or other stores... I then have to do the "walk of shame" hoping Gena's not lurking around the corner waiting to bust me:) hehe


6. Put on some socks... My house is old and drafty... we're talking all original 1958... I can feel breeze through my windows... it's bad. And while I should replace them with new energy efficient ones, I don't have $20K to fork out right now. Sooo instead of cranking up the heat to 85 to make-up for the cold, we just bundle up 1) Because a $500 power bill isn't fun to pay and 2) Because it's an easy energy saver!


7. Join the Reuse Revolution on our Earth Monkeys website!  Make the pledge not to buy disposable bibs and changing pads... you don't have to use our stuff... but choosing to use washable reusable products does make a difference. CLICK HERE to join!


8. Find a favorite Green Moms Blog to follow... My personal favorite is Secret Mommy... she's a real mom with crazy monkeys who does her best to live a green lifestyle. I have never felt judged or less than by anything she's written... only encouraged and inspired!!