April 2009

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Babies and children have very delicate skin and special care should be taken when they are exposed to the sun. Sunscreen lotions can contain harmful chemicals, naturally wears off after a couple hours, and it’s easy to forget to reapply it to your kids. UV protective swimwear are great option for babies and children.

sun-busters UV Protective Swimwear

UV protective swimwear from Sun Busters, Sun Safe and Konfidence are all made from UPF 50+ quick drying fabric which means that your child is safer than wearing a dry t-shirt which only offers a maximum UPF8 when dry and as little as UPF2 when wet.

sunsafe UV Protective Swimwear

Added bonus is price; in the long term you will save money in sunscreens, as you will only need a little bit for the areas exposed instead of lathering your child’s entire body with it.

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Eco-dough

If you want an alternative to commercial play dough, check out Eco-Kids’ Eco-Dough which is made with plant, fruit and veggie extracts and packaged in compostable cornstarch containers. Plus, it doesn’t dry out like other play doughs and can be softened with olive oil.

eco-dough Eco-dough

Most brands of baby wipes contain alcohol and strong perfumes that can be very irritating to a baby’s delicate bum. Nature Babycare Wipes are completely free of chlorine and are made from biodegradable wood pulp. They use purified water fresh from the lakes and added aloe vera for softness. The wipes are also hypoallergenic, and contain no alcohol. The packaging is even 100% biodegradable based on natural chalk.

Eco Baby Wipes

earthday_11 Happy Earth Day 2009!

Just in time for Earth Day! Playground Stylings recently launched Earth-friendly message tees for babies, kids and eco chic mommas. All tees are 100% organic cotton, pesticide-free, and phthalate free. Check out the complete selection of tees at Playground Stylings.

Be Kind kids

onesie_cleangreen Playground StylingsBe Kind Onesie

We’ve all been there, waiting in line at the store when your teething baby begins to get cranky. You quickly search for a distraction, you ponder over your dirty cell phone or keys. Oh Plah! to the rescue.

ohplah_baby Oh Plah! Green Teething Bracelet

Named for the French term, “Here you go,” Oh Plah! bracelet is not only a chic and stylish accessory for mom, but it is safe for baby!
All Oh Plah! bracelets are free of paints, lead, latex, PVC, BPA and phthalates. As a bonus, they offer Full Circle Recycling program: when it’s time, the company will pay to have your Oh Plah! shipped back to have it recycled into new products.

Oh Plah colors

The Seed Organic Cradle provides a natural, safe environment for your baby. It’s made from breathable organic cotton and all dyes used are free from heavy metals such as lead. The natural latex breather hole mattress it’s hypoallergenic, as well as anti-microbial. The Seed Organic Baby Cradle gives your baby a safe and healthy start in life!

seed-organic-cradle Seed Organic Cradle

seed-organic-cradler Seed Organic Cradle

seed-organic-cradler2 Seed Organic Cradle

These homemade marshmallow peeps are the perfect, yummy DIY activity for Easter.

Homemade Marshmallow Peeps

I came across this awesome recipe at Twig & Twistle. I can’t wait to try this out for Easter!

Homemade Marshmallow Peeps

Ingredients:

Corn Syrup, Gelatin, Sugar, Cold Water, Salt, Vanilla Extract, Corn Starch, Powdered Sugar, Food Coloring and Sanding Sugar

Instructions:

1. Begin with a basic marshmallow recipe, this one from Alton Brown works well. At the end of the recipe when you are adding the vanilla extract also add your food coloring. I ended up making three batches, one for each color, needless to say I have a LOT of peeps now. If you don’t need that many, think about sticking with one or two colors.

2. Once you’ve poured the mixture into the prepared pan, smoothed it out with a spatula and dusted it; place plastic wrap over the pan and flatten smooth the surface with a rolling pin. Remove the plastic wrap and let set for at least 4 hours.

3. Once the marshmallows are ready, cut them out with a lightly oiled cookie cutter. I used this set from amazon DIY Homemade Marshmallow Peeps!, but feel free to use whatever you like.

4. To get the sanding sugar to stick, I ended up lightly blotting the tops and bottoms of the marshmallows with a damp paper towel before rolling in the sugar.

5. For the “eyes” I put a dab of corn syrup on the back of a black candy button to get them to stick (found at a local cake store).

6. For a sweet little present, line the bottom of a clear gift box with parchment paper, I added a little scalloped edge to finish off the look.

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This is the sweetest thing! Ryan Marshall, a creative photographer, has been documenting his wife’s current pregnancy. He photographs her growing belly once a week, and writes sweet notes to their unborn baby. Check out Pacing the Panic Room!

Pacing the Panic Room week 27

Pacing the Panic Room week 26

Pacing the Panic Room week 22

Psi BandsThe Psi Bands are stylish, acupressure wrist bands for the relief of nausea due to morning sickness. Created by two moms, Romy Taormina and Carla Falcone, looking for a natural way to treat their ongoing morning sickness. The Psi Bands are also great for people suffering from nausea due to motion sickness, anesthesia or chemotherapy. Check out the site PsiBands.com to see all the chic styles.