Take some time to volunteer this weekend!

This Saturday in San Diego, is Creek to Bay Cleanup day.  I will be taking my daughter to our local beach to participate. It is a simple and fun activity that you can do as a family and it teaches your child/children great things about protecting the environment.

Even if you do not live in San Diego, take some time this weekend to visit your local spot and pick up some trash.  For more info, check out your local city Park and Recreation department or Surfrider Chapter.


Creek to Bay Cleanup 2011

No TV! Read a book instead!

In an age when DVDs like "Baby Einstein"and "Brainy Baby" dominate baby's lives, books sometimes get lost.  I do not think any baby should be watching television.  There is plenty of television in your child's future so teach them early to read a book.  Daytime, bedtime, anytime!! Classics are great like "Where the Wild Things Are" or anything by Dr. Seuss but here are some of my favorites to give as gifts and also that my little Tallulah loves.

ABC is For Circus

Charley Harper ABCs

Charley Harper 123s

Pop Warhol's Top

Moo, Baa, La La La!

In My Patch

Guess How Much I Love You

The Cat at Night

Mommy & Daddy, Hugs& Kisses

Natural Teething Choices

My little 9 month old has been teething like crazy.  In my search for natural teething toys, I found these.  How cute are this!! I have to have one! It almost seems too beautiful for teething.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63732446/wintery-blue-soft-circular

Drinking soda is not for children!

Sometimes I get criticized by random people because I do not feed my baby meat or because I delay vaccinations, you would be amazed the things I hear from people.  However, many of these "parents" are feeding their children junk food and soda and at a young age!! Do they not realize how they are damaging their children's bodies?  One of my friends said he got an email the other day that stated that one in four toddlers are given soda to drink. None of us could believe this statistic but then it made me think back to last summer.  Last August, I was walking on the beach with my daughter and I saw a baby crawling on the beach, hanging out with his family.  Since, he was crawling, he was probably like 7 or 8 months.  He was happy and playing and then I saw his parents walk up to him and feed him some Cheetos.  I was shocked!! I then looked over at their blanket area and they had a huge 2 liter of soda as well.  It took everything in me to not walk over to them and grab the Cheetos out of their hands.  So the next time a parent wants to lecture you  about the choices you are making, maybe they should evaluate what they are given to their own children first.

Natural Things to Love on Etsy

http://www.etsy.com/listing/40805147/eco-organic-baby-quilt-and-toddler

http://www.blogger.com/goog_136161749

http://www.blogger.com/goog_136161749

http://www.blogger.com/goog_136161749

http://www.blogger.com/goog_136161749

http://www.etsy.com/listing/69857524/turquoise-flower-cluster-infant-bodysuit

Eco Easter Eggs

This is a fun and safe way to dye your Easter Eggs.  This is a great recipe from one of my favorite green lifestyle experts, Sara Snow.  She is amazing!

What do you need:
Organic Hardboiled Eggs
Berries or Vegetables
White Distilled Vinegar

Water

1.  Choose your dyes: Use beets or cranberries for red, turmeric for orange, cumin for yellow, blueberries for green.
2.  In a saucepan, simmer water and your dying agent for about 15 minutes.  (You'll need about 1/2 cup of berries or vegetables and 2 teaspoons of herbs or grounds per cup of water)
3.  Strain the dye into a bowl then add 2 to 4 teaspoons of white distilled vinegar.
4.  Submerge hardboiled eggs into the dye, allowing to sit until your desired color is achieved (about 15 mintues).

" I sorry, we do not have highchairs"

The other day, my husband and I went to one of our favorite restaurants to have an early dinner, around 3:30pm.  We thought we would attend so we could sit outside and beat the crowds.  We also went early so we could take our 9 month old daughter and not disturb anyone later in the night.  We were so disappointed to find out that they do not have highchairs.  I was so surprised and told them that was a great way to keep children out.  I realize it is a wine bar as well as  a restaurant but it is a great place for brunch and lunch and I have attended many times with my family.  It is such a bummer to think that I cannot take my baby there unless I have a highchair.

The hostess commented and said "Well, you can bring the stroller in and leave her in there".  Clearly, she does not have kids!

McDonald's and a Children's Hospital, What do they have in common?

We have one of the best children's hospital in the country and I am thankful for that, however, it seems weird that right next to the ER and the main hospital is a McDonald's.  I realize that their is a Ronald McDonald Charity House on site at the hospital and they do amazing things, however, we all know that fast food is not healthy for anyone, especially children so it pained me to watch all these sick children in the ER eating McDonald's. 

I think it seems a little counteractive right?

Queen Bee Market in San Diego!

If you are in San Diego and love handmade items, then you must check it out! A fun place to find handmade items for babies, children's and Mother's Day!

http://queenbeemarket.blogspot.com/

You are not Vaccinated!!

We had been lucky that our 9 month old had not been sick.  Right after her 9 month check up, after I jinxed her by saying this, she woke up with a runny nose.  As the day progressed, she had a fever of 101.  In the evening, we took her to the on call doctor (not our doctor of course), who upon walking in the room, looked at our daugther's chart and said "You are not vaccinated at all? That is not good!".  Right away, I knew this visit was going to be unpleasant.  He did his check up and then told us that we needed to get blood work done since she had a fever.  All the labs were closed so we would have to go to the Children's hospital and go to the ER.  He proceeded to tell us stories of how many babies he has seen die of Hib and how serious it is and kept offering scare tactics as his method for getting us to vaccinate.  Meanwhile, I have a baby who is sick and it is past her bedtime and he will not let us leave so we can go to the ER which was going to be a long night anyway.  We were so frustrated and we just wanted to get our baby the care she needed.

When then get to the ER and the doctor there was so rude to us.  She had decided that we were irresponsible parents because we did not vaccinate and treated us that way during the whole ER visit.  Based on one thing, she sized us up into "bad parents".  It was so insulting and unnecessary.  We never said we were anti vaccinations, we just wanted to wait until she was year but the doctor did not even care or ask our reasoning.  The fact that she treated us like "bad parents' was frustrating.  How many parents get their children vaccinated out of obligation but do not provide  even half of the love and care that we provide our child?   How parents neglect their children when they are sick?  These things happen all the time but that does not seem to matter.  We realize we take a risk when not vaccinating but we feel the risks are greater when we vaccinate our baby at such a young age.  This is why we pay attention to how she is feeling and the second she has any symptoms, we call the doctor and have her checked out. 

This was a great example of the challenges of being a natural mommy in a mainstream world.  I am fine with doctors providing advice on vaccinations, I am very open to it.  I am not ok with anyone including doctors treating any parent like they are irresponsible because of choices they have made, especially when they do not take the time to even ask why.  In the end, my daughter was fine.  That is what counts.  However, next time, no doctor should  jump to conclusions or make assumptions without asking first.

I am a guest blogger!

I hope you will check out my blog posts every week at http://www.celebrategreen.net/blog/about. 

I am excited to be part of such a passionate team!  Celebrate Green is an amazing resource so be sure to check it out!

I love this!! A support group for women who have had a Cesarean and hope for a VBAC.

Celebrate your choices.  As I look to the future and think about my next birth, I hope to have a VBAC.  Birth stories are always important to celebrate, no matter what type of birth you had.  My wonderful doula, Linda Goldsmith, sent me invitation the other day for a coffee event put on by ICAN.  ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) is a non-profit, volunteer-run group working to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery, and promoting Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). I thought it was wonderful that there was a group of women out there that were helping women celebrate and share their cesarean births and also get information about VBACs.  If you have a few minutes of time today, take a moment and share your birth story with your baby or child.  I believe they can remember the experience and would love to hear about it.

http://www.ican-online.org