word out...

did you see this article in the ny times? "eco-moms" - what do you think? (thanks for the tip lisa!)

and a big hug to sam's new babe, who arrived safe and sound, and couldn't be more beautiful, on valentine's day. perfect. xo

Under the Nile

Under the category of Companies We Love is Under the Nile.

All products are made from 100% organic cotton, without the use of pesticides or chemicals. Their dyeing process uses metal-free or vegetable dyes. Accessories such as buttons and zippers are made from organically friendly elements such as wood, shell or nickel-free metals.

My local Whole Foods carries their products which means I don’t have to make a special trip to pick up their super sweet offerings. But you can also order online. They are also more reasonably priced than most organic baby apparel and toys: $13 for a babybody, $6 for a teething veggie.

Here are some of our favorites for baby:

Stripy Babybody
















Cute as can be Teething Veggies
















Play Mat

"A Simple, Un-padded Tube-Style Sling"

Both my girls spent a lot of time in the now ubiquitous New Native Baby Carrier. They both seemed to find comfort in its snuggness, and it didn't give me the mastitis side-effect that I suffered when wearing a front carrier.

I noticed lately quite a few slings being made by crafty moms, and was led to this pattern on the web by Fanja's beautiful interpretation.



You can check out Fanja's other creations, and find a link to purchasing her work by visting her blog Le Train Fantome.

Bottled Up

With all the concern over plastics I love the idea of a return to glass baby bottles. Melissa over at all buttoned up had these ready for her little one's arrival. So good! {Would be a great shower gift too...}

Green Baby Goes Mainstream

Hello neglected blog and readers. The second half of December flew by in a chaotic and merry blur, as I'm sure it did for all of you. As for January, there were lots of birthdays to celebrate in our family, 4 in all, and for me - another birth day to prepare for - a girl due mid February.

Everyone tells me you never prepare as much for the second one and that's certainly true for us. We saved a lot of the gear from the last one and it's satisfying to think we can reuse it. But last time, five years ago, I wasn't as aware as I am now of some of the green issues around babies and kids and the products certainly weren't available. As I shop online this time, I'm amazed at how many of the larger chains have organic products for baby.

Here are some of the bigger stores I came across with green sections for the new people in your life:

Babies "R" Us

Target

Pottery Barn Kids

Gap

So for the next few weeks, Tracy and I will be blogging all things green baby. I hope you will be able to stop by and even share some of your resources too.

Tissue Paper Silhouettes

We've been having fun during the past couple of weeks experimenting with what I call stained glass ornaments but what are really tissue paper silhouettes. I remember making these at school. The tissue paper always got destroyed by that goopy, almost congealed, white glue and plastic applicators we had to use. But now we have Martha Stewart craft supplies from Michaels.

For the first one, my little boy drew a house and I cut out the windows and door and backed it with tissue paper.



For the second one I used the ornament template at marthastewart.com and copied a Disneyland silhouette we had made when the kid was about two.



Any tissue paper will do but I've been using some Eric Carle designed tissue from the Klutz book You Can Make a College. It adds a festive touch. Apart from the tissue paper all you need is black construction paper, an exacto knife and craft glue.

Recycled Paper Tube Ornaments

My mom (a kinder and first grade teacher for many many years) put me onto this one.

Slice up a paper towel or similar paper roll into rings about 2 inches wide.

Let the kids decorate! We painted the tubes, brought out the glitter glue and dipped into our stash of pompoms, sequins and googly eyes.



Voila.



Ready for the tree - and easy for little fingers to hang themselves. Simply place ring over the end of a branch.