It's only February but the sun is calling. It's time to start thinking about what you'd like to plant in your garden this year. Some of you may already be starting plants. Planting can be fun and educational for the whole family.
Last year I was introduced to a company called Franklin Goose. They offer a large variety of safe children's products including a fantastic gardening kit for your little one.
The Green Toys Indoor Gardening Set is made from 100% recycled plastic and comes with everything your little one will need to grow their very own garden. It comes with 3 pots, a tray to set them on, soil (compact!), a trowel and seeds to grow their very own Teddy Bear Sunflowers, Zinnias and Basil! I can't tell you what fun it was being able to have our son harvest his very own basil.
The kit is very easy to use and the kids adored it. They took turns placing in the soil packs and then filling the cups with water. Once the soil had expanded it was time to place the seeds. They were oh-so-careful!
If your children are anything like ours they like results fast. It took just 7 days for their seeds to become the fun and interesting spouts you see below. The kids loved taking turns watering their plants.
My son can't wait to reuse his pots this year. He has told me many times how much he loves that he can use them "again and again - forever". All he has to do now is pick out his seeds!
Special thanks to Franklin Goose for supplying this lovely kit for review. Our children love it and I know that yours will too.
Each year there are more than 4 million babies born in the US. On our Cloth Diaper FAQ, it was estimated that each child would remain in diapers for an average of two and a half years - using 5,600 diapers, which would average out to little more than 6 diapers a day.
Based on the estimated US sales of disposable diapers and the figures above - 4 million babies will use 22.4 billion diapers, costing $12 billion dollars and resulting in more than 2.5 billion tons of untreated fecal matter, urine, plastic and wood pulp being thrown into landfills in the 2.5 years that they are in diapers.
So what if everyone chose cloth? In the FAQ it was estimated that a family could save $2350 by choosing cloth, and that allowed for some fancy diapers. Choosing a simpler option like prefold diapers would grow that number by about four-hundred dollars. If every child born in a year was cloth diapered from birth to potty training, US families would spend just 2.6 billion dollars resulting in a savings of 9.4 billion dollars.
When you look at these figures it's easy to see the impact that using cloth can make and that's why I want to act now to be part of the cloth diaper revolution that is going on. I want to spread awareness and teach people that cloth is not something to turn your nose up to because it reminds you of when your grandmother use to tie kitchen towels around a baby's bottom and slap on some rubber pants. Cloth diapers have come a long way and there is only room to grow.
In addition to the blog, I have decided to start offering cloth diapering workshops in my area. My initial goal is to offer these workshops at least four times a year, and to be available in my home for those who have scheduling needs. I am working on building a stash of new diapers for demonstration purposes. If you are a company or shop interested in helping, there are incentives for you, please email me.
There are hungry minds everywhere and so many families could benefit from the knowledge and use of cloth diapers. I challenge you to do the same. Use the diapers you have to show people. Put up a flyer at your local grocery store or post office - post it on a local parenting board or mention it at a mom's meeting. Try to set a date once, twice a year or more that you can leave open to anyone willing to listen. Start simple, in your home or on the playground. You will make a difference, I can promise you that!
You can also start by joining some of the great movements going on now, like Change 3 Things (C3T) - The Cloth Diaper Revolution where they are asking families to change at least three diapers a day using cloth. If you already use cloth, join up and consider buying one of these great advocacy shirts for $5 to get the conversation started and encourage a non-cloth family to give it a shot.
Earlier this week I talked to you about my new reusable water bottle love, Pura Stainless, and to keep an eye out for something fun to come. Well, it's here!
Pura would like to give you the chance to try their great bottles for yourself. You can choose from an 11oz. baby sized bottle/sippy or an adult 0.8L bottle.
----Update! We have our winner!----
The giveaway portion is over :) Thank you to everyone that participated!
Congratulations to ColleenMarie82!
Here's how to win!
Please leave a separate comment for each entry in order to have it counted.
This entry is mandatory! If you do not do this, your other entries will not count!
Follow our blog and tell me why you want to try Pura! Include your email address (if it's not on your profile) and the words "Live Green" somewhere in your comment.
Want more entries?
*Follow EFFBlog & Pura and tweet this giveaway! Please tweet, "Win a @PuraStainless water bottle @EFFblog http://bit.ly/1jtGb1 #giveaway" Comment with a link to your tweet. Tweet daily for more entries!
*Add our Blog Button on your blog sidebar or web page. Leave a link!
*Tell others about this giveaway on your blog or other social media (message boards, Facebook, etc!). Leave a comment with a link. One entry for each way you share!
and as always, Good Luck and Enjoy!
US Only. Giveaway ends February 24th. I'll use random.org to pick a winner. I will email the winner. If I do not hear back within 48 hours a new winner will be picked.
I am a bit addicted to my reusables. I love reusable bags and bottles and I seem to collect all types of them. I have some I love, some I hate and some that are just okay. Today I want to tell you about one of my new loves, Pura Stainless bottles.
Pura Stainless features an entire line of reusable food grade stainless steel bottles from large 2 liter adult sizes all the way down to bitty 5 oz baby bottles.
I want to talk more about their 5 oz (& 11 oz) bottles, one of my favorite parts of the line is their Pura kiki series. The Pura kiki series is a line of infant and toddler bottles that will grow with your little one. It works with a nipple or sippy spout (Pura branded) and also with several popular brands like Dr. Brown, Born Free, Avent and Think Baby. Parents are always looking for safe options that work - and Pura kiki fits that bill.
These bottles/sippy cups come in a variety of colors and in a shape that is easy to hold. There are no plastic parts with the Pura kiki system. The entire bottle/ring is stainless and the sippy spout, nipple and lid are all silicone. Though there is no internal lining (not needed with this food grade steel), the inside has been electro-polished and sandblasted to ensure a completely smooth surface - making it easier to clean.
Speaking of no plastic to contaminate, the adult bottles do have a safe plastic lid but no plastic actually touches your drinking water. You can see the construction of the cap on the right is designed to keep your drink from ever coming into contact with plastic (yay!). The adult bottles come in 2L, 1.2L, .8L and .6L - in a variety of colors.
Need more reasons to love Pura? How about the fact that they are covered by a limited lifetime warranty. Their warranty covers leakage, bottle deforming dents, manufacturing defects or other failures that occur during normal use. As they say "We do not cover failures due to the bottle being dropped off El Capitan, sucked into a chipper or run over by a semi nor do we cover worn, scratched or chipped paint. Our warranty is designed to ensure that if you use and care for your bottle in a reasonable manner it will be the last water bottle you ever purchase." That's saying something!
Head over to Pura, take a look around and keep your eye out here too, there just might be something special to come in the days ahead!
Blown out elastic isn't fun but it doesn't make a diaper completely useless. With a little bit of spare time you can easily replace that old elastic and have your favorite diapers working like new.
The first thing you want to do is get supplies. You'll want a braided elastic that says it's okay for swim wear. I believe mine is 5/8 inch. You'll also need a seam ripper, some strong thread and a sewing machine (though it could be done by hand if needed). I suggest having a back up seam ripper. I broke two on the diaper in the video - though they were a couple of years old.
Get out the diaper to be repaired and locate where the elastic is tacked down. You'll want to cut a slit with your seam ripper - just above the two rows of stitching holding down the elastic. The spot is marked on the photo to the left in red.
Once you get that open you're going to carefully use your seam ripper to undo the two rows of stitching that hold down the elastic. There are a lot of tight, tiny stitches in there, so be careful. I found that undoing the stitches from the print side of the diaper first helped, and then I was able to remove it carefully from each side of the elastic inside of the casing.
After you get the first side undone you'll want to get out your new elastic and tack it to the old with a safety pin or straight pin. If you use a straight pin be sure to keep the sharp end pointing away from the hole so that it doesn't want to catch when you pull the elastic through in the following step.
After you've secured the new elastic to the old, you'll go ahead and undo the tacked elastic at the other end, just as before. Once you've undone it, pull through the old elastic and the new. Be sure that the new elastic is flat through the casing and go ahead and sew down your first end. Be sure to leave a little elastic out at the end - as shown to the right. Now you can pull on the other end of the elastic to adjust it to the tightness that you want and tack down that end just as you did the first, leaving a little bit out at the end.
Next you'll tuck the ends of the elastic into the slit you've made in the diaper and use a tight zig-zag stitch to close up the hole as seen below.
Repeat this process on the other side of the diaper. If you measured the elastic that you used, go ahead and use the same size on the other side. This was my first time doing this, so I just did it by feel. Once I got to the next side, I ran my elastic through and tacked it down with a straight pin to see that it was even.
Tack down your other end, close up your holes and you are all done. Marvel at your craftiness!
If you've been around here long you know that I love wearing my kids. I am a big advocate of it and am always looking for new, great carriers to share with you. I have been eying the Boba Carrier for a while now. I love the look, love that it's organic and was interested in seeing how comfortable it was, especially for an older child.
I have tried several different brands and I admit, I'm a little bit of a baby, so I really want something that is completely comfortable. Though I have been wearing babies for years, I've never been truly comfortable with a back carry. Not that the carriers I have used before weren't good for it - I think I've been doing it wrong for me and some of the carriers were just not favorable for it.
I am *thrilled* to say that I can now wear my kids on my back and be 100% comforable while taking care of my other duties.
About a week ago our son was turning 6 and my poor girls were just not having a good day. G wanted held at all times and L was cranky because she got up too early. Poor big brother E was stuck in the middle and getting lost on his big day. I whipped out the Boba and tossed G on my back. Wow, my day went from nuts to perfect in minutes. So much so that I gave Boba a big thanks on their FB page. I had so much to do, and there was no way any of it would have been accomplished without help - or my Boba.
As you can see above, I've got G on my back. From what I have seen - I may be wearing the carrier a bit higher than recommended. However, it puts her at a good height and it is the most comfortable position for me. Below you can see that with my older daughter in the carrier, I have placed it a bit lower to allow her her height and weight. G wanted in on the action, so there we are :)
The first time I put L into the carrier, I was really surprised by just how comfortable it was. She weighs about 35 pounds and felt nearly weightless on my back. That will come in handy this spring when we get our family out for some walking and hiking. I love that this carrier, especially in this color (Walnut) is husband friendly as well.
I really like all of the straps on this, they roll up and tuck out of the way easily. The only ones that don't have that option are the straps that go between the two shoulder straps - the one that buckles either at your chest or between your shoulders. I do wish that they had the same ties to keep them better out of the way, but they are easily tucked so it's not an issue really. Also, there are no pockets on this carrier. Being a mom, I've always got some sort of bag on me at all times, so that's not an issue.
The Boba Carrier is really a fantastic soft structure carrier. It's straight forward, comfortable, well made and easy to use. I am really loving this carrier.
Since I have found a new love for carrying baby on my back I wanted to help those of you who haven't done it, visualize it. It goes without saying, but always use caution when wearing your baby and getting them in/out of carries. If you need to, sit on bed or couch, kneel on the floor and/or look in a mirror to get a good idea of what's going on until you are comfortable.
This video shows me getting into a back carry. It's very easy once you do it a couple of times. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask here or email me.
We're having a bit of a fluffy party over on our Facebook page this week. Head on over to share your stash pictures with us, your favorite diaper or just look at the other pretty stashes!
Join the conversation, you never know what you might see. Perhaps some new fluff that you just can't resist, a night time solution, some great wool?!
