it's funny how having kids really changes the way to you think about, well, everything! things we weren't so concerned with before are now consuming our time trying to find better "kid friendly" solutions. like our lawn. we used to use a regular lawn service that did your typical fertilization, weed killing, maintenance stuff. but when you think about it, those are actually really toxic chemicals that they're spreading all over the very lawn your kids are rolling around in. do you really want them breathing all that in? there's actually a great mini-documentary about this very topic, showing how these workers that are constantly in contact with these chemicals are not only getting cancer at alarming rates and other diseases, but so are their offspring. scary. unfortunately i can't remember the name of it. :( anyway, we started looking into something better, and one day in the mail came a flier for a local company called truly organic. we decided to check them out, and it turns out, their prices are comparable to the other chemical lawn services! they use only organic, natural ingredients (like garlic and citrus oils for weed killer!), and also do liquid aeration, which is much easier on the environment, and works just as well, if not better, than machine aeration. unfortunately, the typical american lawn is so dependent on chemicals that it takes a while to recondition the soil and grass to accept the more natural form of lawn care, but they say after the first year, your lawn will have adjusted and will be thriving and growing great. the best part, you use less water (cuz you retrain your lawn to be more efficient with water consumption) and the grass grows slower, so you mow less!! i don't know, but that sounds pretty good to me...lower water bill and less time spent mowing! we also got a new manual reel mower, cuz it's actually recommended that you leave the lawn clippings on the grass cuz it actually helps fertilize and nourish the lawn (as well as leaves and other trimmings that you would normally throw away). so the reel mower is perfect for that! and it doesn't use any gas or electricity, so it's much better for the environment! it also gives W a nice workout cuz we have a small hill on the side of our house. but hey, nothing wrong with a little exercise. :)

i'm really hoping this all goes well, and hope that we can show our neighbors how easy and affordable it is to go organic, and have a much safer, kid-friendly, pet-friendly lawn. wish me luck. :P