Green Options

Once upon a time, a not very long time time ago, Melissa Chmelar tried to bring a little bit of country to New York City. The Cordon Bleu Trained chef decided that New Yorkers deserved a sampling of the freshest organic produce that hands could pick.

Spoon Catering was born. After experiencing overwhelming success, Melissa developed Spoon storefront and TableSpoon. Since I’m not part of the super swanky New York set all of this has limited interest to me (my narcissism is well established).

What comes next is truly delightful. (big payoff after the jump!) —>

Whether it is a pet or a family member, one of the toughest things to deal with as a parent is death.  We’ve lost two dogs and a dear friend, who was the father of my daughter’s good friend, and last weekend, my grandmother died.  Although my children had only met her a handful of times, my grief and loss was shared with my children.  I can’t hide in the closet and cry.

I have always been honest with my children, and I want them to view death as naturally as they consider birth.  It is a celebration of life.  At times, it is relief to have young children around to hold and hug.  At other times, children complicate the picture with their needs which forces a parent to push their grief aside.  One of the most healing activities in our family is to share memories of the loved one who has gone on to the next life.

There is so much to keep track of while trying to limit your child’s exposure to myriad chemicals. I’ve written endlessly in the past year at Non-Toxic Kids about phthalates, parabens, lead, BPA, flame retardant chemicals, PFOAs, and PVC to name a few.

Busy and tired parents need simplicity. So I am always on the lookout for quick, concise guides to make living easier while protecting our kids.

The folks at Healthy Legacy and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy put together this guide to safer children’s products. It has easy to read sections of important chemicals, how to avoid them, and can be printed, shoved into your purse or bag, and pulled out when your forget the difference between DMP, diethyl phthalate (DEP), and DBP.

Kids are fatter than ever, watch more TV than ever before, and play and use their imagination increasingly less.

This does not bode well for them or our planet.

As Senegalese poet and naturalist Baba Dioum said,

We will protect only what we love, we will love only what we understand, we will understand only what we are taught.

If today’s children do not get outside to play in nature, with nature, they will have little reason or desire to protect the environment when they are adults.

Parents have the power to change this! Inspire play. Make active choices. Make TV the dessert of your child’s at home time, not the main dish.

Children will fight this (especially if they are use to spending the majority of the day in front of the TV).

Fight back!

Fight with patience. Fight with opportunity. Fight with love, knowing that what you are doing is for the good of your child and the planet.

TURN OFF THE TV!

You purchase organic cotton bedding and pesticide-free fruits and vegetables.  At home, you use a vacuum with a HEPA filter and make sure that your children wash their hands before eating.  But are you hiding skeletons under the sink or in the closet?  I’m referring to chemical-based, conventional cleaning products – those bottles usually marked, per federal regulation, with a skull-and-crossbones logo.

In the US, accidental ingestion of chemical-based cleaning products accounts for many trips to the emergency room and calls to the Poison Control Center.  Bleach is a strong corrosive and may cause pulmonary edema or coma if ingested, while ammonia can damage the eyes, respiratory tract, and skin.  These aren’t the only harmful ingredients in conventional cleaning products, but manufacturers purposely omit many dangerous ingredients from labels.  Additionally, chemical cleaning products end up in our waterways, soil, and landfills, where they contribute to oxygen-depleted ocean dead-zones, release harmful gases into our air, and poison both humans and wildlife.

With a family of seven, someone is ALWAYS sick. My six year old daughter has Asthma, Allergies and Celiac, so she is most often the first one to become ill and stays sick the longest.

We try to avoid traditional medicine as often as possible, but we will treat with medications that are necessary (antibiotics after a 72 hour wait, rescue medicine for asthma, etc…).

My mission this winter is to keep my children as healthy as possible and not have a repeat of last winter (15 Doctor visits, mostly for the six year old). We are doing a few things different to help achieve this.

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We’re so glad you could attend
Come inside! Come inside!

– Emerson, Lake and Palmer, “Karn Evil 9 - 1st Impression, Part 2″

Welcome back to the Carnival of the Green, the weekly showcase of all things good and green around the blogosphere!  And welcome back to sustainablog, carnival-goers: this is our third time hosting the CoG! We’ve got a wide variety of green bloggy goodness to share with you this week.

Before we begin, we’ve got many thanks to extend: to TriplePundit and (the now defunct, but never forgotten) CityHippy for starting this party, to Treehugger for keeping it going, and to last week’s host Confessions of a Closet Environmentalist for serving as stop #147. When you’re ready to scratch that CoG itch next week, head over to Thoughts on Global Warming.

OK, now that the formalities are out of the way, let’s get this party started!  And, in what’s now a tradition for sustainablog and CoG, here’s a little music to put you in the mood…

Energy

• Paddy K has the lowdown on the politics and environmental impacts of Swedish nuclear energy.
• The Curious Cat Science and Engineering blog has a graphic representation of global installed wind power capacity (and it’s impressive!).

Ditch the prescription and pucker up!

This is going to be short, but it’s good and it matters. Balms with Benefits is the rockin-est thing to hit the shelves in ages. It’s a simple concept, you get a lip balm and add quality aromatherapy to it so that the loveliness on your lips cures what ails you.

I’m sure it’s been done before, but I doubt it’s been done like this. My kids and I got all eight flavors in the mail last week. They’re pretty. Don’t discount pretty, pretty matters. Alexander and Jane were immediately taken by the rainbow of colors, they removed each lid and sniffed.

And then the horrible happened. Alexander (age seven) said, “Mom, what’s PMS?”

*sigh*

So we had a little talk about why Mommy feels compelled to wash the windows every month while shrieking, “dont’ touch anything!”

Truth be told, I ditched the PMS tube, because without it I’d never clean up around here.

I’ve been a fan of California Baby products for quite some time. That said, I’m always on the lookout for other options as well. It doesn’t hurt to have a little variety in ones life!

We’ve recently stumbled upon Little Twig, a natural body & bath care line.

Introducing your baby to real food takes time. Fortunately, there is no need to rush, In fact, going slowly gives your baby a chance to develop a taste for different types of food, and in the long run enables her to make healthier food choices. There is an enormous selection of fresh, natural food that your little one can eat, but there are also several foods that are not good for babies. Here is a list of many of the foods that you should avoid:

• Foods with sugar, salt and caffeine as a main ingredient – Avoid introduction as long as possible: As a general rule, foods containing high amount of these ingredients, usually do not contain much nutritional value and are not very healthy.

I do love recycled clothing. Because I am semi-crafty I can even make my own. For those who just don’t have the time (or the desire) to repurpose clothing, RE-DEWIN has the answer.

“Redewin garments are made from vintage recycled garments. REstore individuality. REvive character. REnew expression.”

All of Redewin’s clothing is made from previously loved (Ah-hem, VINTAGE) clothing which is pieced together to make something new. Our favorite is the patchwork dress pictured here. My three year old is jumping up and down saying, “I need that dress”.

In addition to the adorable children’s clothing, Redewin also carries many fashionable women’s items. Each item is unique and has only one size available, so you are sure to have a one of a kind! The prices are reasonable (of course, shopping second hand is always the lowest cost). Children’s items range from $18.99-$34.99, Women’s items are a bit pricier but look to be well worth the cost.