Category Archives: Parents

Cool environmentally friendly fashion for parents.

FIGURING OUT BABY’S ROOM

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It can be such a challenge coming up with the perfect room for your new baby. When we found out I was expecting, planning the nursery was one of the first things I thought about and couldn’t wait to get started.  I knew I wanted to use neutral colors and create a fun yet calming space for our little one. Here are a few steps we took in planning our baby girl’s nursery.
vscocam2251. Choose your wall color and work accents and window treatments around it.

2. To create a beautiful, simple space find a mobile, and little toys to display made of natural wood.

3. Keep the furniture simple. Your baby honestly does not need that much. In our nursery we have her crib, a rocker, a dresser and a book shelf. It works because they are all similar in style and it keeps the simplistic feel we were going for in line.

4. Let your own personal style reflect your baby’s space. Their room is still a part of your home so don’t feel like you have to transform it into a cartoony, over the top baby town. (unless of course that’s what you’re going for)

5. Don’t forget the artwork. I think the artwork you choose for your baby’s room can make or break the space. If you are going for a nice, clean, simple space choose artwork that reflects that. If you want to go with a theme, find pieces that coordinate with it.

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THE GOOD GUIDE

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Have you guys used the Good Guide? I recently came across it as I was looking up the ingredients in some of my baby’s bath products. The Good Guide is this great online resource that rates the best products for baby, home, pets, food, apparel, electronics, appliances and cars based on the health, environmental and social footprint they leave. It’s been so helpful for us in choosing products for our baby and home.

a FREE mother’s day gift guide

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A clean kitchen: The kitchen, the heart of the house.  It seems like it’s always dirty, right? Just as the dishes are cleaned and put away the sink is somehow full again. Clean the kitchen for that special mama in your life.

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Pick some wildflowers: Nothing says you’re appreciated and loved more than a fresh bouquet of flowers. Walk your neighborhood and you’re bound to come across some flowers that would be perfect in that mason jar you have laying around the house.

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Get her morning started off right: I know if I can smell the coffee brewing before Im out of bed, the smile is hard to wipe off my face. There’s just something about the thoughtfulness of your first cup of coffee waiting for you.

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Homemade cards: Is there anything better than a home made card from your little ones? It really is true- something made from the heart always trumps a store bought gift.

This pretty much sounds like the perfect day to me! (hint hint, husband :) ) Here’s to hoping all the mama’s out there have an amazing mother’s day coming up!

BABY BASSINETS

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During my pregnancy I had the hardest time coming to terms with the fact that most baby items are way too colorful, way too plastic, and not at all gender neutral.  It really was hard to create our baby girls gender neutral nursery (we did it, but we sure did have to hunt around for earth tone baby pieces.) Unfortunately for her bassinet we settled on something we found at our local chain baby store.  It works well and she seems to really like it, which of course is what is most important but I sure do wish we would have come across some of these bassinets when we were in the market. If you are interested in beautifully crafted / eco home and baby products, these are for you!

POST BABY WORKOUTS

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After I had my baby, I expected to be back at the gym or out in the park exercising just a couple weeks (at most) postpartum.  The unexpected C-Section I had put a bit of a damper on these plans and the first time I stepped out for a walk 3 weeks after Ruthie was born left me short of breath and feeling extremely out of shape. I tired quickly and my belly hurt- I told myself I’d try again in another couple days.  Slowly but surely I began walking regularly and at a decent pace again but almost 3 months later I’ve yet to do much more.  Running (something I used to do in the past) seems impossible given the fact that I’m breastfeeding (ps, are there tips for this? maybe a super supportive sports bra?) and anything super intense like weight training just does not interest me which leaves me with yoga. Oh yoga, the lifesaver of exercise if there ever was one.  I feel amazing during and after practice and feel like I’m finally getting toned- Yay! Hot yoga is especially my favorite. There’s just something about leaving a workout dripping wet, don’t you think? Do you lovely folks have any other wonderful postpartum exercise ideas?

Throughout all of this I’ve learned that not having the perfect post baby body is okay.  I’m happy with how I look and know that my body changed / is changing because I grew a human inside of it. That fact alone is worth any amount of “body imperfections” there are.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

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561303_10151396032602058_1475179810_nHappy Friday, friends! Just a little cheer for you to enjoy while you kick your weekend off. Don’t you love this- exploded flowers from 1 design per day. Take a look at the rest- such a beautiful way to see the delicateness of a flower. (I actually love this idea for my kids) Even if just with the photos, I think these could be a great way to show parts of the flower for a fun little science and botany lesson. Anyways, have a great weekend!

ATTACHMENT PARENTING…THOUGHTS?

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1101120521_600This afternoon Dr. Phil was discussing “extreme” parenting topics that included baby wearing, attachment parenting, extended breastfeeding, co sleeping and helicopter parenting.  It’s so interesting to me as a new mom still trying to figure out what my parenting style is how I feel about some of these topics and also how heated other mothers get about it.  First off I think every mother parents in  a way that works best for her children.  No matter how you do it, i’m 100% convinced that we’re all doing what we feel is best for our kids and there is no one way to do it.

I’m no expert on attachment parenting but certainly feel like bits of my style would fall into this category- I wear my two month old often, breastfeed and she sleeps in our room.  She’s still tiny and I don’t see harm in practicing these things for any reason anytime soon.  On the flip side, I’m also a Montessori preschool and kindergarten teacher and as a huge advocate of independence in young children, I hope to be able to encourage my daughter to go off and do things on her own once she hits toddlerhood – explore, play with friends, spend the night with grandparents etc.  Is there such a thing as balanced attachment parenting? That sounds like a parenting style I could totally get on board with.

As for the Time magazine cover shot- What do you guys think about it? The little boy, I believe, is about 4 years old and still breast feeding (obviously.)

 

FUN FOOD IDEAS

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With spring just around the corner, we’re on the hunt for fun food ideas for dinner parties this spring and summer with friends.  Not only are these few ideas fun for the kids, they’re fun for us adults too!

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These baby carrots “planted” in hummus pots are the perfect spring treat.  I don’t know about you but hummus and carrots is a quick go to snack for me and this just makes the snack super fun for kids! I love this simple, tasty idea.
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These roma tomato, cheese and green onion “flowers” are darling! Originally from polish blog, Biblia Smakow we found this cuteness through Raw Foods Revolution.  Here’s how to pull these fun flowers together:

13 large cherry or small Roma tomatoes
14 stalks of green onions or chives for the stems
200g farmers cheese or cottage cheese for filling (or you could use goat cheese, egg or chicken salad)
1 cucumber
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Salt and pepper

 

puzzlePuzzle sandwiches! I LOVE this idea! So easy and can be done with your child’s favorite sandwich.  Wouldn’t it be fun to have an entire tray of “puzzle pieces” for your party goers to choose from!? We just think this is so cute.

Stay tuned for some more fun food ideas!

ACTIVE MAMA, ACTIVE BABY

3396675ce399b2d643dd4a5de6ed33a9This past Christmas my husband gifted me with a gift certificate to a local yoga studio for mama and baby yoga classes.  I was still pregnant at the time and the idea of a healthy physical activity to do with my baby girl seemed so awesome. My daughter is just now 4 weeks old and I can’t wait until she’s just a bit older so we can enjoy something so wonderful together.  If you’re curious as to what the benefits for your baby might be in doing yoga I came across these and wanted to share.

  • Deepen the parent/child bond
  • Help baby sleep longer and better
  • Improve baby’s digestion and ease tummy troubles
  • Relieve fussiness and colic
  • Discover ways to enhance your baby’s motor development
  • Strengthen the immune system
  • Encourage neuromuscular development

If you’re new to yoga or aren’t quiet sure if it’s “you” I say give it a try! There’s nothing quiet better than instilling a positive idea of health and fitness in your children plus you get to do it together! Has anyone done mama and baby yoga classes and what was your experience like?

 

JUICING

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We’ve been on a real juicing kick at our house lately and so I thought I’d share a little bit about why we’ve been juicing and a few favorite recipes.  First of all, we had to really examine what types of vegetables and fruits we were juicing since I am currently breast feeding.  We started juicing lots of green veggies ( spinach, cucumber, kale ) which are known to not only provide incredible amounts of beneficial nutrients but are also known to detoxify the body.  As good as they tasted and are for your body, I noticed after just a day the green juices were upsetting my baby’s belly.  Because of their detoxifying abilities what was left in my breast milk were some of the not so great toxins.  Since then we’ve switched to juicing mostly fruits which not only taste delicious but like the veggie juices are just so dang good for you.  If you are thinking about juicing I’d definitely do a little research on the effects juicing certain types of foods can have on your body.  It can be quiet a shock to your body if you are going from a not so great diet to home made juices.  They are so great for you but initially you want to be careful and make sure you know what you’re getting into.  Here is a favorite we’ve been enjoying a ton lately:

Apple, Lemon and Ginger Juice

3 apples (any kind will do)

2 lemons

1 small piece ginger root

*Make sure your fruits are clean, and cut in halves or thirds. Follow the instructions in accordance to your specific juicer.  We use a hamilton beach juicer and really like it.