Green Cleaning Naturally Woolzies are pure handmade New Zealand wool dryer balls that soften your laundry naturally without any of the chemicals of conventional fabric softeners. Unlike the plastic dryer balls, they are PVC free and won’t fall apart or … Continue reading
Natural Egg Dyeing Learn how to dye your Easter eggs naturally, using herbs, spices, and other natural products. Spring has sprung – or promises to, anyway. If you’re dyeing eggs in celebration, engage nature in the process this year. Natural … Continue reading
When I first walked upon the delightfulness of the Zen Swaddle™, I could not believe how so many vital elements and principals of newborn sleep could evolve into the design of a formed swaddle! As an old fashioned nurse from the days of burrito babies wrapped tight in good ‘ol hospital blankets, I had met my match for sure.
Nowadays, parents rely upon efficient ways to snug their littlest bugs without the confusion of wrapping with blankets or the misleading intentions of other formed swaddles promising miracles that lie unachieved. This is so very different and invites even the most inexperienced of swaddlers:
Truly a visionary of success, the Zen Swaddle™ mimics human touch by providing a lightly weighted “hug” to baby’s sides and center. This calming innovation sweetly comforts baby while providing feelings of security.
Easy to clean and dry, it makes nice for even the most sleep-deprived of mamas. ChapmanHill BABY moms agree, the Nested Bean Zen Swaddle™ is here on the must have list to stay!
xoxo ~CHB
We all remember the brown sack lunch filled with little zip lock baggies our moms use to send with us to school everyday. Well, times have changed and we now have reusable lunch boxes and lunchskins that are not only eco friendly, but free of toxins. The newest trend is the Bento lunch box. Check out LunchBots and Planetbox and see why we are crazy about them. If you are still into the old traditional sack lunch you can find brands like Mimi the Sardine, which are made from organic cotton. These lunch boxes and reusable lunchskins are all great alternatives and will help reduce the amount of paper and plastic waste a school lunch can produce
2. How to send a Healthy Green LunchAlright, we figured out what to carry our lunch in, and now we need to put some healthy locally grown organic food in it. I know organic food can be pricy, so what I do to help cut the cost is make sure that any foods that are part of the Dirty Dozen or Clean 15 are the ones I buy organic. These two lists name the foods that have the highest levels of pesticides in them. Another great way to buy organic and save money is to shop at a local farmer’s markets. The Local Harvest is a website that allows you to put in your zip code and find a farmer’s market in your area. I have also found some great recipes for packing lunches in The Lunch Box, Healthy Meals that Keep them Smiling.
Look for alternative forms of transportation. Use getting to school as a time to get some exercise and spend some quality time with your children, by riding a bike or walking them to school. If you live to far to walk or ride have your child take a bus or carpool with a family that lives in your neighborhood.
This year as I was standing in the school supply isle with my kindergartener I was overwhelmed by the amount of waste I saw. The number one offender had to be the school notebook. That is why when taking a closer look I couldn’t believe what I saw…you guessed it…100% recycled paper. Tons of stores carry it and all you have to do is check the package for the label before you buy it. I also wanted to point out that by filling a notebook from cover to cover before buying a new one is a very easy and effective way to cut down on waste. Not only can you buy recycled paper, but TreeSmart makes recycled pencils that are great.
Almost half of the money spent on back to school shopping goes towards buying clothes. This can get very expensive very quickly. Hand me downs are always a great way to save money and help the environment. There are many specialty children stores that have gently used second hand clothes, like Kid to Kid. Another great resource can be friends or families that have older children. If you’ve exhausted all your options and still have things you need, try to buy well made, high quality clothing. Sustainable fabrics like organic cotton are the way to go.
The typical American school kid generates 67 pounds of discarded school lunch packaging waste per school year according to About.com. That is more than 18,000 pounds yearly for the averaged sized elementary school. If we all take responsibility for our environment and follow the 5 easy tips above we can make a difference in the size of the carbon foot print we are leaving behind for future generations.
First seen on the awesome green baby site, Wellements Baby. Check it out! They are giving away a year’s worth of free diapers! We just love awesomeness in action. ~CHB
The real reason for those tantrums and meltdowns
One morning, my then one-and-a-half-year-old son unlocked the child-safety latch of our bottom bathroom drawer. Upon finding my makeup, he began breathing heavily with excitement and staggering around. What a haul! What loot! Imagine his disappointment when, just as he was about to pry the shiny cap off a red lipstick, I picked him up and carried him out of the bathroom. I didn’t congratulate him on his discovery. I didn’t point him in the direction of the hallway’s white walls and say, “My home is your canvas. Go forth and create.” Instead, I ruined everything.
Before I had children, when I’d go to the grocery store and see a little kid in the cereal aisle screaming and crying, I’d shake my head. Why was it that every time I saw a toddler, he or she was throwing some kind of fit? What could be so difficult about spending the day playing, napping, and eating? Now, after living among their kind, I should apologize. Not to you, but to them. Here’s the sad truth: for toddlers, the world is a rough place full of squelched mysteries, restrained freedoms, and nonsensical commands. I think I’d rather be fourteen again than be a toddler.
What does an old, forgotten Goldfish cracker from the bottom of a car seat taste like? What kind of pattern does yogurt make when it splatters onto the floor? What sound do cookbook pages make as they are torn in half? These and many other great discoveries are often stopped by us, the big people in our toddlers’ lives.
How frustrating! What must it be like to get stopped by a security guard time and time again? To be constantly redirected and rerouted as you tried to go about your day, without an understanding of what you had done wrong? What if you sat down to read the newspaper and drink your coffee when suddenly – out of nowhere – some giant swooped down and plopped you in front of a pile of plastic blocks? You bet you’d protest. You’d holler your tush off.
So what’s the reward for a toddler’s natural curiosity? A little freedom and encouragement? No, just the opposite. Oppression! We pin them to furniture all day long: the stroller, the car seat, the high chair. All of the straps! All of the restraints! How maddening it must be to sit, captive, in front of a tray covered with food you can’t identify or don’t remember liking. No wonder it’s so often tossed to the floor.
And does anyone like being forced to perform for strangers? “Blow a kiss. Clap your hands. Wave ‘bye bye.’ Give Aunt Lisa a high five. Touch your nose. No, not your toes : your nose. Okay, now touch your toes. Blow another kiss. Let’s turn on some music. Dance. Dance!”
Do I need to even mention the language barrier? How much can these chubby-cheeked kids actually understand? Twenty percent? Thirty percent? Two percent? They don’t really understand us. We don’t really understand them. Every day must feel like an endless, torturous game of The $100,000 Pyramid. Anyone can see how badly toddlers want to communicate with the outside world. Does a day go by without a toddler picking up some object and holding it to his or her ear like a telephone? “Lo! Lo! Lo!” my son used to yell into a toy truck. Who was he calling? Was he trying to get help?
Of course, in the end, we parents still have to be the bad cop again and again – and again. Toddlers have to eat. They have to sleep. They can’t run into the street every time they notice an open door or scribble with indelible green marker all over the sofa. But I just want the record to reflect that I feel for them. And, in about fifty or so years, I want the toddlers of today to remember my solidarity with their cause and please treat me with care. – Melissa Sher
Originally read on the Beloved Babble. Check it Out! You are sure to be in love with them as much as I am. ~CHB
“My 11-month-old loves day care, but we’d like to try a babysitter on some weekend evenings. What’s the best way to introduce him to a new caregiver?”Lucky you. The fact that your little one is already accustomed to an alternate caregiver (and not just wanting all Mommy, all the time) means that introducing a new babysitter to the mix will be that much easier. Still, just as you’d probably be unhappy left to spend the evening with a perfect stranger (remember those blind dates?), expect your baby to balk when you first bring home a new babysitter. Here’s how to help your tot get used to the idea:
Finding the Right Person… Easier than you think!
Need help finding a great babysitter? Be sure to check out Sittercity.com. The have tons of awesome caregivers in your area geared to make a day of fun for your little one. They are the first choice service for the United States military and they are sure to be a first choice for you too! Best of all, they are offering an awesome discount to get you started on the search. Good luck! ~CHB
Save 40% off monthly & 25% yearly memberships at Sittercity.com w/code FALL exp 9/30
Lovingly first read on What to Expect
As you gear up for a trip with your toddler, we suggest you think of your young traveling companion as someone who’ll add a whole new dimension to your travel experiences. Be sure you dial down your expectations, set realistic goals, and take it nice ‘n’ easy.
Here are some parent-tested suggestions for traveling with a young child:
Have Baby – Will Travel!
Traveling with children can be a wonderful experience – if you go with the flow. Your toddler might get bored having to sit still or sightsee for long periods of time instead of being able to run around and explore at her own energetic pace, so keep your itinerary simple. Limit it to one activity a day and you’ll find it much easier to make last-minute adjustments if your child gets tired or just wants to spend time splashing in the hotel’s wading pool.
Choose a relaxing destination that’s used to young visitors, so you don’t have to sweat the details. We recommend a lazy beach retreat, family camp, nature resort, or similar kid-friendly place. Skip the crowded, over-stimulating tourist destinations, places without shade, and other spots that will pose an added challenge when you have a young one in tow.
Look for family-friendly hotels and resorts that let kids stay for free in their parents’ rooms and provide free meals to children or buffet-style breakfasts included in the price of the room.
Make sure to tote along plenty to drink and a bag of snacks on any trip. Children can get dehydrated during a flight, and toddlers can’t always wait for food service (or they refuse the airline meal when it arrives). You might be able to pre-order a children’s meal — check with your airlineto find out.
Whether you’re in the air or on the road, best bets for toddlers include easy-to-pack snacks like baggies of whole grain cereal, precut fruits and vegetables, small cartons of fruit juice, animal crackers, and other age-appropriate nibbles.
Dispensing snacks at pre-announced intervals will give your toddler something to look forward to. Consider bringing along moist towelettes for easy cleanup.
If you’re driving, break up your trip so your toddler can stretch her limbs and move around to blow off some pent-up energy. Pack a rubber or foam ball for rolling or kicking around and some simple board books for quiet time. Pick out parks and picnic areas on your route by using an online mapping service such as Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, or MapQuest, or city guides like GoCityKids or CitySearch.
End your driving day early so all of you have time to unwind after a long day on the road.
When you pack for your toddler, be sure to include a basic childproofing kit to use at your destination. If you’re taking a road trip, make sure your child’s car seat is properly secured. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the SeatCheck campaign, 7 out of 10 of car seats aren’t installed correctly. Use removable window shades to keep the sun off your child.
You may want to dress your toddler in a brightly colored outfit so she’s easy to spot in a crowd. Put a small card with identification information on it in one of her pockets in case you get separated, and snap a picture of her with your cell phone in case you need help finding her.
A good way to keep kids content on a trip is to take along a goody bag filled with more toys and doodads than you think you’ll need. Your toddler might like an array of puzzles, dolls, action figures, puppets, brightly colored paper, nontoxic crayons, books, and favorite toys.
Wrap some of them before you leave and present your child with a surprise every once in a while. Start building your toy cache a few weeks before the trip.
To get a feel for what works and what doesn’t when you’re on the road and away from home, you might try leading up to a big trip with some short day trips or weekend getaways. The trial runs could provide key insights — about things like what supplies you should pack, how long your child can last in a car seat, and which toys keep your toddler happy (or drive you nuts).
Lovingly first read on Babycenter.
Upon request of another mom who lives daily with having a child with Autism, I think it would be a great addition to have guests actively post to the blog. Posts would focus on providing information and resources not only for parents with children living with Autism, but also for the world around us; thus, increasing general awareness.
It is fair to say most of us have heard of autism and many of us have possibly been blessed with the mystery of knowing and/or having an autistic child, but, what do we really know that is in fact true and not misunderstood?
It is my hope that we will engage you with content relative to your life and at the same time, provide you with some of life’s necessary information you need to thrive as a contributing human being. This includes learning about topics you may have known nothing about previously or that you may believe do not affect you.
If you know of anyone or if you yourself would like to be a contributor, please let us know by emailing us at hello@ChapmanHillBABY.com
We would be glad to have you!
All the best,
CAC
With so many strawberry desserts out there, I finally decided to make a fresh strawberry coffee cake, as I need to post more go-to, everyday type recipes here. This is one of those cakes that’s perfect for anytime of the day, a great companion to your morning coffee at breakfast or a lovely mid-afternoon snack. It can be served warm or cold, and though the recipe makes a whole tray of cake, it goes quick!
There’s cream cheese in the batter, which keeps the cake moist and gives it a richer flavor. The combination of fresh strawberries and strawberry preserves gives the cake that wonderful berry flavor, and the stripe created by the layer of strawberries and preserves gives the slices of cake a nice bit of color. The original recipe tops the cake off with chopped nuts, but I decided to use a crumb topping instead as I love crumb coffee cakes. Also, another plus about this cake recipe is that it’s not too sweet, another reason why it’s a great anytime cake.
Fresh Strawberry Coffee Cake
adapted from Marg on food.com and Perfect Light Desserts
Cake Batter
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (8 tbsp) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 cup strawberry preserves
Crumb Topping
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 350°F. First make the crumb topping. In a small bowl, mix the flour (3/4 cup) and baking powder (1/2 tsp). In another bowl, melt 1/4 cup butter. Add the brown sugar to the butter. Mix in the flour/baking powder until no more white streaks remain; a crumbly dough should form. Set aside for later.
Combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside for the moment.
In a separate bowl, mix the butter with the cream cheese. Add the sugar and mix. Stir in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract.
Add the dry ingredients to the cream cheese mixture and mix until a smooth, thick batter forms.
Spray a 9×13 inch rectangular baking pan with nonstick spray; then line the pan with parchment paper. Split the cake batter in half and use half of it to cover the bottom of the lined pan.
Spread the strawberry preserves over the cake batter.
Cover the preserves with a layer of strawberry slices.
Spread the remaining half of cake batter over the strawberries. This step is a bit tricky since the strawberries are wet and the batter is pretty thick. To do this, I dabbed blobs of the batter over the strawberries and then used the spatula/my fingers to spread it out.
Finally, crumble the crumb topping dough from earlier over the entire surface of the cake.
Bake the cake for 40 minutes, the crumb topping will be golden brown. Let cool in the pan.
To serve, cut the cake into 24 slices, and if desired, garnish the slices with extra slices of fresh strawberry for an extra pop of color.
Makes 24 servings.
As a mom of 4 very active, loving children, I still get all warm inside when Mother’s Day is upon us. I just love the excitement generated from giving me their l’il artist creations. True, most of the credit lies … Continue reading
