handkerchief hat

While traveling I often see these simple little ideas that I really love. In this kind of weather that's not really warm.. yet... but it's too warm for a winter hat, so I love the handkerchief idea! I like to do this myself but when I was in Sweden I saw a lot of people using this for kids and babies and I love it!

It's also a simple and easy way to keep the hot sun off a bald head, and still look cute, in the high summertime!

just one of the multiple idea from a little thing.... handkerchief!

parasites!? --don't be afraid

I know this is a weird subject (and I'm kind of kidding with this image), but I would like to try to un-weird it for you and maybe help you to understand them better. Parasites are pretty darn common and you can go through a lifetime and not know you have them, honestly you don't really ever get rid of them but I think that there can sometimes be a problem when they are 'attacking' you (for lack of a better word). Candida is a form of parasite, just to give you an idea. Now don't go online and google parasites because it will freak you out, and this approach to parasites is not common and so you will see all kinds of craziness if you google them, and I am not talking about tape worm of these kinds of thing... it's more intestinal.

I would like to tell you a little story to get at the heart of what I am trying to communicate about parasites, this happened to me about two years ago and ever since I have wanted to share this story with you... because it was such a relief for me. On a yearly visit that I like to do with Dr. Warren King in Minneapolis two years ago he told me that I had a parasite on/in my colon, so he gave me a homeopathic remedy to get rid of it. When I had taken a few days of the remedy I called Dr. King to ask him what kind of remedy that was because for the past year I had had this kind of 'anger' that was pretty horrible and I couldn't really understand it--he explained that the remedy was for the parasite not for the anger, BUT the parasite was in my colon which would relate to the anger that I was experiencing. Getting rid of the parasite relieved that anger, and it was weird how it just disappeared. I was completely amazed. Now, I'm not telling you that if you are angry you have a parasite in your colon but rather, healing the root of a problem can really bring relief. If you have a chronic issue, that is fairly subtle, a parasite could be your issue.

Drinking certain teas can help you to combat parasites, the first is a tea that you can drink about once or twice a day called Pao D'Arco--I just went to search Pao D'Arco on google to make sure that I had the spelling right and I came upon a wealth of information on this medicinal herb which has links to curing cancer and helping thyroid problems--click here for more information. I don't have any experience with this myself so we are going to stick to the parasites. Another tea is Corsican Seaweed Tea, which tastes horrible! You can buy this tea in most Health food stores or at the Natural Import Company and here are the preparation instructions:

How to Make Corsican Seaweed Tea

Corsican Seaweed Tea is a fox-like plant which grows beneath the warmer waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. To Prepare: Add one-quarter ounce (approx. 12.3 grams) of Corsican Seaweed to 2 Cups of spring water. Cook down slowly until 1 Cup of liquid remains. Drink before breakfast or on an empty stomach and wait at least 2 hours before taking any food.

I also feel that drinking Kombucha is great for building healthy flora in your intestines. Kombucha seems to be taking the world by storm at the moment so you can find it anywhere! It has a crazy taste that you will get used to (and eventually crave), just don't freak out when that 'goo' lands in your mouth, it's all part of the beauty of Kombucha! (I like the original flavor best.. but you need to find your favorite!)

It may be hard to find a local homeopathic practitioner that is into this kind of thing but it's something to talk to people about and you never know when you might find a person, who has seen a person who is great!!! pass it on!! and if you are in Minnesota it is certainly worth a trip to Dr. Warren King, he is amazing!

Children's Television !!

Our 3 year old was home sick the other day. Normally we don't encourage to much television but with her energy level at a low and the fact that there is still plenty of work to get done, I compromised and let her have her favorite pillow and blanket for a relaxing time in front of the television. At our home, one of the favorite channels to watch is Noggin. We like our local PBS station too, but currently the favorite is the programming on Noggin. There are a lot of fun programs on the channel that our 3 year old, (and even our 7 year old), watches with interest!

Because, as she watched, my temporary desk was set up at the kitchen table where I could see her resting and watch what she watched - I thought I'd provide todays blog!

One of the things I like about the channel is the emcee or host of the site: I think his name is 'Moosehead' Moose - and his cute blue sidekick 'Zee' fluttering away. Moosehead has a very folksy and friendly (read: patient) approach, his voice is very soothing - kind of like how you'd wish a friendly Uncle or Grandfather might be. Below are some of the favorites at the moment:

Yo Gabba Gabba:
Hands down the strangest thing on children's television since the 'Teletubbies' were first introduced. From the start, with the host, DJ Lance Rock (dressed totally in his orange one-piece with his fuzzy orange hat), setting the tone - the whole show is one long rave/rock concert of music, dancing, and positive ideas of sharing, responsibility, and friendship. Sharing the stage with Lance is an odd mix of 'monsters' including the 'Red Cyclops', 'Pink Flower Bubble', and 'Yellow Robot.' The program is all over the place.... and I mean it too!!! When I first saw it I was 'mouth-dropping' awed - like 'what the heck is this strange thing?!?' Of course, after a few viewings since then I have come to sort of appreciate its progressiveness and strange hip-ness. The show even produces current indy-bands and some daring celebrities like Jack Black going all out in the name of entertainment. It is worth giving the time... but may take a few shows to get the hang of. Today while watching it I was wrapped in a flurry of quick editing, jumping rythyms, odd set ups, and whacky staging...... but my daughter and I were transfixed, and even laughing! REALLY CRAZY!!!

Oswald:
For a completely different pace, Oswald is a delight to the senses! You can't beat the pace, the color, and the animation/characters. Oswald is a big blue Octopus with a very friendly demeanor. His partners include his pet 'hotdog' named Weenie, his curmudgeonly friend penguin named Henry, and the enthusiastic Daisy. Together, they create slow adventures and dialogue that ring familiar. My favorite aspect is the music that accompanies the show!


Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
Equally as cute as Oswald, Wubbzy is a cute and friendly character who gets into situations and seemingly finds solutions to getting out of them. Together with his scientist friend Walden, he is helped with ideas and solutions. His other friend Widget is the inventor who makes all sorts of whacky things to aid the group! Together they get into and out of things. I personally like Wubbzy's voice and all the colors!

I don't feel so bad when the kids awake before us and the eldest is in charge of turning on the TV for Saturday morning (we preset the channel the night before for ease!). I know I'm in pretty good hands with the overall feel of the Noggin team and feel my children laughing and talking back to the shows! The best thing is that there are no commercials to worry about - like even on PBS now....ouch! And, further, we have now discovered the website where the kids can play age-appropriate video games for an hour that help further their development and encourage their fair-play skills!

yogurt - did you know....

Everybody has their reasons for eating and enjoying yogurt; taste, health and wellness or as a desert... whichever is your choice you should know a thing or two before you choose your yogurt. Like, did you know that most national brand yogurts don't contain active yogurt cultures? with a brand like yoplait... might as well just drink a cup of milk with sugar!
There are several different types of probiotic cultures, but it is important that the cultures are live, if you are looking at heavily processed yogurt (Dannon and Yoplait) it is entirely possible that the beneficial cultures are no longer alive.

live probiotic cultures can have healthy effects on any of the following:
allergies
cholesterol
colon cancer
constipation
diarrhea
high blood pressure
inflammatory bowel disease
irritable bowel syndrome
immune function and natural defense system
lactose intolerance

I was interested to learn that if you are lactose intolerant you can eat yogurt because of the active yogurt cultures without the discomfort. If you are taking antibiotics it's great to eat yogurt to help repair your intestinal flora, kefir is great for this as well and super healthy for your kids if they are on antibiotics.

just a few brands that I looked into:
Dannon - I looked through their website and 95% of their products list sugar as their second ingredient (if it wasn't sugar it was fructose in the remaining 5%) and many do not contain active yogurt cultures--so be careful to read the label but these have way too much sugar to give to kids, it's really just like candy. Even their light version contained fructose, aspartame, modified corn starch, citric acid... it just goes on...)

Yoplait - The same as above, sugar is the second ingredient on all of their products.

you get the picture...

Stonyfield Farm - we love them because they are organic but they are not totally out of the hot water, their recipe for the children's products have 25% less sugar than other standard kids yogurts, so that's pretty good, but really it's still the second item listed (organic cane sugar). All of their products contain active yogurt cultures, so they get a good rating for us but not great. I once got an email from a mom who injected plain yogurt into their yogurt tubes with a syringe, I know it sounds weird but every time I give my kids one of those things I think of that mom's wonderful idea!

I think that the best thing that you can do is use plain yogurt, our family is pretty into greek yogurt, and add the flavors yourself! honey, homemade jam, lingonberry sauce, bananas, melon, etc... then you get the good effects of yogurt and you don't have to make it so sweet (YOU control the sugar). I also think that sweetened yogurt trains your kids to like sweet things, they literally get used to the sweet taste and expect it. Sure your kids are going to balk the first time you offer them plain yogurt with a bit of fruitiness but they will eventually get used to it. You can also open a "kids yogurt" and then just stir in some plain yogurt so it's not completely sweet... I promise you they will never know the difference!


Kefir is also a good way to add probiotics to your kids sweetened yogurts, it's easier because it's more liquid, and it's terrific for smoothies. Although kefir and yogurt are similar in taste, Kefir has more than double the amount of live and active cultures - 10 strains of bacteria, where as most yogurts generally have only two or three. Some (particularly frozen) yogurts do not contain any live bacteria or could have bacteria that have long since died, due to processing and other disruptive factors (honestly I never thought of that...). Always check the label. There are some great Kefir products from Lifeway, for adults and kids (probugs above are yummy for kids!) they have less sugar and they taste great! I think that yogurt can be such a good part of a families diet but WATCH OUT--you may just be handing your kids a load of sugar or sending them to school with a cup of sugar for lunch, so be choosy and enjoy the wonderful benefits of yogurt! read labels and be smart when choosing your yogurt.

Like I always say, I don't know everything about yogurt, I was just surprised to find most of this out, so if YOU do please give us a comment so that we can all learn more about the benefits of healthier yogurt.

The Nonchalantdad: The Message is Everything

I've been thinking about messages lately. A couple of things. The other day my son came to me while I was making dinner and said to me that he and his sister needed to go to 'Chuck-E-Cheese'. When I asked him why, he told me that the television just announced that it was a place 'where a kid could be a kid'. They were watching a cartoon on PBS, of all things! How would I navigate that one? This reminded me of something I had seen starting to take place when our previous president came into office. I noticed that at almost every occasion he spoke, behind him would appear some key words, etc. Something that had only really been noticeable in campaigns was now arriving in the presidential day to day. I put the photo above to point out the most obvious one during that presidency - but moreso, to remind myself, and you, something that you already know: THE MESSAGE (good or bad, and even manipulative) IS EVERYTHING! Normally, this is something that might be filed into a corner where only PR and advertising people might show interest. But, now, the messages streaming in front of us have become so pervasive it is ridiculous to pretend you aren't effected.

The other day I saw a strange story in the national news associated with Ms Universe, or Ms World...or something like that. Ms Universe was speaking about how wonderful her visit to Guantanamo Bay was - how she, and a group of others, met with the guards and looked around the place a bit (hmmm.... I liked the part where she said she didn't happen to see any of the prisoners...ouch). I thought it was some sort of April Fool's prank at first. The 'difficulty' was, in her obvious enthusiasm, that she made the place sound like she was visiting a Club Med (she mentioned having time to go swimming in the pristine waters)... and soon enough, people around the country noticed the obvious irony.... and just like that the message was 'edited'. This is a perfect example of 'sending the wrong message.' Whoa!

Now, what does this have to do with raising children, you may ask? Well, I think it has everything to do with raising children. A large portion of what our young people pick up is not usually by what we say as parents, but what we are doing as parents - and what they see when they are out and about. We set the tone, we are the message, continuously.

So, I am pleased to say that the message coming from the White House these days seems to be much more positive. Just this month, two very important things took place that would cheer the heart of any caring parent and advocate of 'YES WE CAN' change. And, the good thing about it was that it was not delivered with any sense of purpose, other than good ol' authentic sincerity.
How's that for CHANGE!

The news from the White House first came at the beginning of this last month when it was announced that Mr and Mrs Obama were installing a swing and play set for their young daughters. Where would they put it? Apparently near the Oval Office where Daddy could watch them play while at work. How normal is that? Then, later in the month of March came word that the Obama's would be creating and planting their own vegetable garden (an ORGANIC one at that) on the White House property - near to where the swing and play set would be located. Imagine that, two small seemingly inconsequential things that any family might consider, given knew attention and meaning by the First Family. I don't know about you - but after all the negativity and faux importance given the last decade of messages - this was a FRESH CHANGE! Imagine what this says to millions of Americans? Just think.

Now, nobody is perfect - especially me - but I want my message to my kids to be as fruitful and clear as possible. I grew up, as many of you might have, in a time and a place where the message being presented did not always jibe with the message being delivered. Let's just say that there was alot of hypocrisy when it came to good parenting - in particular I'm thinking of all of those 'films' we used to have to watch in school that were supposed to teach us how we could be well behaved and good citizens. Nonetheless, being the son of a nurse meant that many of the important messages I received otherwise were always delivered with an almost brutally compassionate honesty. But, that's not my point really. My point is that whenever possible I try to explain to my children that what they see in their parents, for good or bad, is how it is in the world at large - at least it is authentic!

Of course, as a father, I was a little angry the other day when I happened to pick up one of my wife's favourite parenting magazines. I'm generally disappointed, a bit, in this magazine anyhow since it seems to be squarely focused on celebrity stuff (what a surprise!) - even within parenting - and offers lots of information that just does not seem to be authentic. Case in point: I'm reading this article/interview about a working mother and how she balances running her own company and her home life. She quite honestly states in the interview that she and her husband made an agreement that he would leave his career and be more of a stay at home dad while she continued on and focused on the company business. No problem with that. But, the article goes on to state how the father has taken on much of the responsibility of the day to day with their son and she tries to squeeze in the evenings and weekends. Again, no problem. What I had a problem with is that the magazine article only featured images of the mother playing, or reading, with the boy (and of course some images of the business). Where was the father's image in all of this? Apparently, someone somewhere thought that his inclusion wasn't as important to the overall impression, or message. His inclusion might not have been as glamourous, considering perhaps that the magazine is read overwhelmingly by women.

I don't want to sound unfair, given the long long ..... long.... history of that kind of role reversal where the father got all the attention through work and career, etc. while the mother spent the time taking the brunt of the home-bound duties pretty much quietly and in the shadows. But, the message is everything: is the father not presentable enough to this magazine that he doesn't even warrant a single image. And, the mother, who is hardly present in the day to day, pretends to be the stay at home parent. That's just not right....... humpfff!!!

I put that kind of image, or message, right up there with the ones I find most amusing. These are not the usual photo spreads of parents, where the parents are just dressed up nicely (I can live with that - I've had to do it myself), but, instead, these are the photos of mommy frolicking on the beach or back garden, fully kitted out in a changing array of couture dresses. I have yet to meet the average mommy, or daddy, who is able to do that in one afternoon jaunt - let alone even on special occasions! So, why do they do show us this stuff? I'll tell you: because our messaging system is all messed up!

The messages are everywhere - everyday. They make up how we see ourselves, present ourselves, and who we aspire to be. And, if anything has shown us lately that the messages coming out of the influential are now woefully suspect, considering the economic turmoil etc, it is that messages are very very important - and can have alot of major influence. Just look around you! And, if you're not.... I can assure you that your children are!!! If you set a bad tone, you get a bad result. Set a GOOD HONEST tone, get a better result. It's not hard to fathom.

It is why I wanted my kids to see the story on Mr and Mrs Obama and their recent decisions - moreso than watching a Ms Universe take in the beautiful surroundings of the setting of Gauntanamo, or another mother dressed in haute couture while playing house with the kids in yet another photo spread. It makes for a strange world and a tough navigation! I'd hate to see a point where we are all much like the characters in that popular movie from the 90's - the Truman Show. I doubt we will be, but boy..... it sure feels like it sometimes!

recipe - healthy 101

We eat dinner as a family every night, at this point I don't think that we would even think of doing anything else. The kids like to set the table and then make a big deal about where everybody is sitting (some nights everyone wants to sit next to mommy and some nights it's daddy). My husband likes to eat healthy but sometimes he doesn't want to eat brown rice and greens like me and the kids do every night! So... when he goes out of town we have a really big HEALTH FEST!

There are so many things you can make with brown rice and kids always like it! I think mostly because it's easy to eat and they can feed themselves. But when Dad goes out of town we all say "YAY! time for a big pot of brown rice!" I think that just about anything is good with brown rice so whatever you are making you can add it... but here are some suggestions.

I have a previous post on making rice which is "Brown Rice 101" click here for the details because there is a really nice and extra healthy way to make brown rice (and you can get some seaweed in there without kids knowing about it!). Start with the brown rice and then here are some meal ideas that are fun and kids love it!

MEAL 1
-brown rice
-steam any greens ie. kale, broccoli or carrots and sprinkle with homemade gomasio (recipe here)
-tofu with onion and shoyu - saute onion with a bit of oil in a iron skillet, cube tofu and add to pan and saute at medium heat for quite awhile and try to brown it, then add shoyu or tamari (I like to dilute it with 3 parts water to 1 part shoyu, to equal about 1/2 cup)

MEAL 2
-brown rice -steam kale with gomasio
-roast a chicken with salt/pepper, garlic and lemon for about 45 minutes - 1 hour

MEAL 3
-brown rice, make with a little extra water or if you are using leftover rice steam it or warm it up with some more water so that it's pretty moist use an egg and mix it into the rice and roll rice balls (or I make little patties because I can't get my rice balls to work!) and fry them in a medium heat pan -- these are brown rice croquettes, they are terrific when made with millet as well but now we are talking about brown rice! you could even take a small piece of umeboshi (the plum you used for cooking your rice) and put that in the center.
-take your kids favorite greens saute, dissolve a tablespoon of kuzu (available online at the kushi store) in about a cup of water and pour into pan, add a dash or two of tamari, cook until the kuzu becomes clear and thick (if its too thick just add water) and pour this over your croquettes.
-you can add seitan to this dish as well for some protein and kids LOVE seitan (I really like the Bridge brand, it's delicious and tastes really moist and yummy)

MEAL 4
Fried rice - just use your favorite greens chopped up small and an egg, and I like to add a bit of miso (just dilute a spoonful in a cup of water and pour it in at the end--don't boil it--just until it gets warm) and put some gomasio on top - this is really the kids favorite!

I will say that there are people who think that macrobiotic food uses too much salt so you just need to be careful of this, we don't like salty food so we really don't use much, but just try to be aware and use shoyu, tamari and miso sparingly until you figure out how much you like.

In the past I have had many comments from people trying to find these ingredients but if you just go online to the kushi store they have everything and you can be pretty much assured that it is fresh because they go through it pretty quickly.

If your kids don't like tofu (but really any kid I know loves it!) try 'snow dried tofu' or try different brands they all taste different (but it should be organic--soy beans are not good if they are not organic) or use Seitan.

Good things to have in the pantry are:
-shoyu or tamari (tamari is less salty)
-umeboshi plums (I keep them in the fridge)
-kombu seaweed (used for making brown rice or when soaking beans)
-gomasio (homemade is best--you can control the salt and it tastes nuttier if you make it yourself)
-tofu
-gomasio

good luck and happy cooking!

for the home--Paola Lenti

My friend Karen gave me this link because Paola Lenti is opening a showroom here in the US--very exciting! Paola Lenti is an amazing Italian furniture company that wonderfully combines rich texture and great design, not to mention really stunning color! I like the combination of a simple weave in many of her furniture designs, braiding or crochet that when incorporated with her impossibly simple style the result is classically perfect and without pretension. You can really feel that these are new shapes and truly unique furniture and I think that her rugs are so very innovative.



These wonderful chairs (above) are woven with wool rope to create the upholstery it's a wonderfully simple look that I think could bring beauty to just about any room.


I think that the unique aspect of Paola Lenti is their attention to indoor and outdoor furniture, no where can you find this approach to design more fun and at the same time extremely sophisticated. Although in MY house it would look much more fun and less serious than these really perfectly styled images (for example toys thrown everywhere...), but I think that that is what is great about this furniture, I can see this looking fantastic with just about any interior, at the same time making any interior enhanced by it!

so should we now talk about your exterior possibly looking anywhere near this cool! Life always throws something your way to make you desire something, and why not this furniture!


It's all a look that I deeply desire and well... we can all dream can't we! Thank you Karen for sending this information our way!

visit their website for more information

joyful skin

on my recent blog about skincare I received a comment about eczema, it's a question that I have talked about before on my blog and you can see the story if you click here (there are a few so you can scroll down to the bottom to see all!) but I also stumbled across this wonderful story this morning in the "We" (Weleda's lifestyle magazine) and I thought that their story really sums up what I feel about eczema and talks about it in a really supportive and informative way. You often hear about steroids when dealing with eczema but this story reveals that steroids just mask the problem and don't get into the root of treating the cause of the issue, this is typical of western medicine and why I don't believe in it, especially when working with childrens delicate new bodies. I am going to quote the story in full because there is some really great information.

JOYFUL SKIN - by Dena Moskowitz and Jennifer Barckley

Babies and children are open to the world. They are receptive, takign in new impressions from their environment. In some cases, however, a baby might have difficulty digesting all these stimuli. Allergies and eczema can be the result.
The word eczema comes from ancient Greek and means "to boil over." True to its definition, this itchy, dry, sometimes weepy, red and rashy skin condition is the body's way of saying, "I am feeling overwhelmed. Please help protect me."

A COMMON CONCERN
The exact cause of eczema, also know as atopic dermatitis or neurodermatitis, remians uncertain. But one thing is for sure--it afflicts many babies and children. "It is probably the most common skin condition I see in children under 5," says Dr. Adam Blanning, a family practitionaer in Denver, Colorado. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, a research institute at the National Institutes of Health, and estimated 20 percent of infants and children in the United States experience symptoms. In most cases there's a direct link to allergies--most notably those caused by food.

Water, soap, a lack of moisture, heat, wind, wool, sweat, urnine, nutritional products, laundry detergent and scratching can also affect the skin, leading to eczema. Additionally, when areas of the body such as the knees and elbows of a child learning to crawl are in frequent contact with the outside world, they can become prone to irritation. Relief can be found in gentle skin creams and oils for soothing, wholebody protection.

COMFORTING CARE
Daily care with natural cream or oil, free of synthetic and over-stimulating ingredients, will help protect and strengthen the skin. Bathing a baby every two to three days, without soap, in water no hotter than 100 degrees Fahrenheit helps to keep the skin moisturized and calm.

Aim to keep skin care relaxing and fun. Massaging a baby with nourishing oil, playing a game while applying a cream or letting a child care for him- or herself helps encourage inner and outer balance.

WHOLE BODY HEALING
As a practitioner of holistic, Anthroposophic medicine, Dr. Blanning believes in a multi-faceted approach to supporting and healing the skin. Rather than relying on steroids, which suppress the exzema and the body's healing processes, he promotes a natural approach.

To bring a patient's entire body toward greater, long-term health, he relies on the gifts of homeopathic medicine. He suggests that parents begin with topical treatments, such as moisturizers made with calendula. "If these don't do the trick," he advises, "then a consultation with a physician [ideally one who practices integrative medicine] is appropriate." Often he sees a child's digestive system as crucial in the cause and treatment of eczema. Working from both the inside out and outside in, Blanning considers each patient individually.

He uses Weleda over-the-counter and prescription medicines to treat food allergies, digestion and other conditions that may be linked to the skin's health.

The skin speaks for the whole body, and it has a lot to say. Listening to its messages tells much. When parents see how and when the skin reacts, they can help minimize eczema's effects. Over time and with patience, a child can become less reactive and more harmonious within and with the world.

Feng Shui - bedroom placement

Last week we totally switched around the kids room and the flow is so much better now, why did we have it the old way in the first place? is what we keep asking ourselves... so much more room.

Then I realized that our youngest daughter kept coming into our room at around 2am. Normally they both come in as the sun comes up or just about at 7:30 am, but since the switch our youngest was not sleeping so good in her own bed. Two days ago I thought.. hey, maybe it's the placement of her bed, we had switched her head to face South. I don't know a whole lot about Feng Shui but I always remember that your head should face North for the best, most restful nights sleep.

We turned her bed the other way to face North and voila! --she slept through the night perfectly... I just wanted to share this with you in case you are struggling with your kids sleeping habits, it's certainly something to try if not just to make the simple experiment. It can be challenging to a room set-up but just try it out and see how it goes! I think that if North doesn't work, East is your next best.

My sister is pretty into this kind of thing and has written a good story about Feng Shui on my website and if you haven't read it already it is certainly a fun and interesting read, it goes into more detail about your childrens bedroom set-up
--click here for the story.

good luck!

switch off for earth hour

Have you heard about earth hour? as far as I can tell some kids have come together and they are asking us to turn off our lights for one hour on

SATURDAY, MARCH 28th from 8:30 to 9:30pm.

I think this is a great idea and I wanted to help get the word out in any way that I can... so we are there with you on Saturday with our lights out! The idea is to raise awareness in your kids about global climate change and there is also a tie into the world wildlife fund... so it's all good! I think this is a fun way to include your kids and if you want to go a step further and not use any electrical devices it could be even more fun! so pass on the word and let's all show up for EARTH HOUR!

you can visit the website of the group that put this together if you click here.

skincare! My favorite question!

I received an email the other day about skincare and I thought... perfect blog! I hope that you all comment with some of your favorites because I am always game for new products in this sector as long as they are truly natural and don't have parabens, propylene glycol, or sodium laurel sulfate.. these are three of my favorite "bad guys" and I feel as though if you can get around them in your products you are pretty much home free... but it's not easy!

I really listen to my sister in this 'realm' because, together with her husband, she has created a shampoo that is all natural (see sponsor ad for 'Onesta'). She is particularly weary of scents because this eventually means that some type of preservative has been used, she says there is pretty much no way around this...

So there you go... 'most' of my 'don't-s' but I have a lot of 'do's' that I love and here they are:
Dr. Hauschka - I have used their products for over 20 years now and I have always come back to them when I have had any trouble and it instantly goes away. I remember when I moved back to America from Italy and my skin suddenly got really bad for now aparent reason (Oh, could it have been that I had NO job, NO home, NO money... hhhmmm?) at any rate, I started using the 'cleansing cream' again and I swear the next day--totally gone and I had really nice skin again! If you want to just start with a couple of things use the 'cleansing cream' and then the 'facial toner' and you will be on track... (use the cleansing cream by pushing it into your skin, not rubbing it around, it's a Dr. Hauschka method and you will never wash your face any other way, it's wonderful!). Dr. Hauschka has just created a line for aging skin and it's incredible! I love each of the products, and I think they are really all you and I need for beautiful skin. My skin honestly felt younger immediately with the 'regenerating serum'--I don't have to read the labels because I know that their whole phoilosphy is built on bringing you in tune with nature.
Weleda - These two companies (weleda and dr. hauschka) do run a bit hand in hand, but I love the cheerful packaging and there is nothing better than a bit of Weleda's 'skin food' to help you skin recover from dryness. I just slather it all over my face some nights, it's an amazing drenching eye cream, good for sun burns, etc... The 'Wild Rose' line of products is wonderful as well. I havn't found anything from Weleda that I don't like... and if you are traveling don't forget your skin food! and as for the baby products they are all wonderful! calendula lotion should just be a staple on your home and it's good to keep the 'first aid kit' around for any scrapes, burns and cuts. (oh, and the breastfeeding tea is top-notch!! for the way it tastea and good for your milk)


Stella McCartney CARE. - I am always game for something new and after reading an article on this line of organic and natural pruducts by Stella McCartney I tried a few and they are great, I used the youth serum and my skin really felt wonderful, soft and really thin and young (do you know what I mean thin? ...that soft and supple feeling) I also really liked the way that Stella talked about this line of products she was doing, it all just seemed right. (you can buy it as sephora)

These are my three suggestions, but I would really love to hear from everyone on this subject because I LOVE to try new things. I would also like to mention that many people talk about these products being 'expensive' and I just want to ask you when was the last time you went to Bergdorfs and check out the cosmetics section... IT'S ALL EXPENSIVE! many of these natural ingredients cost more so I feel like it's better to put my money into farming than into packaging!

All of this aside, my swedish cousin was visiting and we steamed our face with a couple drops of tea tree oil and then we made this great scrub from olive oil, oatmeal, brown sugar and maybe something else, it was FANTASTIC!

I am really in search of natural make-up as well... I have not tried those mineral powders, but I think that's the next step. I don't wear a lot of makeup but if I want to look nice I do! most days I don't really care...

good luck!

Happy Birthday Barbara Millicent Roberts !!

Otherwise known around the world as 'Barbie' I wanted to join the chorus of people around who are wishing the lady a Happy Birthday. This month she turns 50. But, judging from her appearance, the lady just does not seem to age at all. She has maturely spanned so many important events in the world such as the nuclear age, the Vietnam War, Counter Culture Revolutions, the Women's Lib Movement, The first man on the moon, Watergate, Several Olympics, Disco, New Wave, and 80's shoulder pads, just to name a few! What's her secret? hmmmm.

circa 1950's

She's been busy during these 5 decades too. Barbie has had, by most accounts, over 100 careers since she was born. She had done everything from stay-at-home Mom and glamor queen to astronaut, race car driver, ambassador, gymnast, flight attendant, and even pet shop owner - not to mention a Presidential candidate! Whatever she did, you could always count on her to be FABULOUS! In fact, it is reported that around 70 famous designers have thus far designed one-of-a-kind outfits for the lady. You try getting just one of them to design one for you - this lady has connections! One of my favorites was Malibu Barbie with her camper van!!! My daughter just spied her first Barbie and there was nothing I could do about it - she just so LOVED the princess with her pink dress and sparkling crown. As much as I might disagree with much this 'perfect' young lady has come to represent, I just could not deny my daughter a bit of happiness. And, with that, I have handed the baton down to the next generation.

circa late 60's

circa 1970's

Did you know that when Barbie was introduced in 1959 she had a bra size equaling 40DD and that proportionally, at the time, she would have stood 7 feet tall. She was the epitome of perfection. In 1959 she was introduced as a blonde and a brunette and sold for about $3 - creating sales of about $300,000 in her first year alone. Now, there are estimates that she numbers around 1 billion dolls around the world. Even with all her apparent faults, she did bring hours and hours of comfort and fun to alot of girls the world over. And because it is her birthday this year, we'll shy away from derision and focus on all her capable happiness.

designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier

I thought it would be fun to share some images from over the years. And, if you don't mind sharing - I'd like to hear what you think was your favorite Barbie doll or story related to her.
And, if you have any early images of Barbie, perhaps you could share them with us!

Shampoodle - we need more!!

As I suspected would happen, we practically sold out of Shampoodle in two days! I thought you would either think I was crazy with these wonderful Bollywood pants or totally embrace them... and embrace them you did... in fact I think you love them!!

I got as much as I could in the re-order and I think that I have wiped Shampoodle out! I should have more in about 1-2 weeks, if you would like to reserve yourself a pair please send me an email!

Shampoodle is a Swedish owned and run company, the wonderful couple behind Shampoodle are a traveling pair, who don't like to buy new clothes every time a birthday hits their family. The Shampoodle collection wonderfully adjusts to growing kids, it's practical and organic when possible. The summer Bollywood collection was hatched out of the idea to make traveling easy! I took my pants along on a recent trip and I didn't wear anything else! Perfect!!
--Those Swede's aren't they wonderful!
click here to find Shampoodle on Nonchalant Mom

bubble trade show update

The last time that I made a Bubble Trade Show update you all were very excited to see what was going on and for good reason, I think that you love to see what is coming down the pipe! Two weeks ago our whole family made the trek down to NYC; I needed to see the Bubble Trade Show and my husband was involved in the Scope Art Fair, and the kids.. well they came along for the ride!


We decided we wanted to check out the new Standard Hotel in NYC and it was a perfectly terrific place to stay, perfect neighborhood, not noisy and the rooms, although small, are just perfect! (I will add they are not optimal for a family as there is only one king size bed in the room, but we made it work... just like home all of us shoved into one big bed, and actually daddy spent some time on the floor). When traveling with kids there is nothing better than good room service and the staff were delightful and super wonderful with the kids!

Saturday the kids and I went to see daddy at the Scope Art Fair, the kids got to check out some art and have a good time with all of the nutty people there and well, you know how it is with kids, it took pretty much the whole day! Sunday the kids came with me to the Bubble Trade show, we figured they would have more fun at the trade show than at an art show. It was a rocky start, tooth ache... tired, bored (already!) but as soon as the handouts started it all got a little bit more interesting, candy, cookies, bags, etc... everyone was happy except mommy, I didn't get much work done.

I have decided to mix it up next season (Fall 2009) with some new collections that I think will be fun and exciting! Some of the old favorites will still be here but we wanted to bring in some new life, and I think that you will be happy with the decisions, lot's of bright color, fun and unique new shapes! I wish that I would have taken better photos but I kind of forgot about sharing all of this information with you! But you will see it soon enough, things will role in about September... yay! can't wait. I am also happy to say that the show was busy and everyone seemed to be doing a brisk business, good news in this crazy economy.


A brief note about Nonchalant Kids, I didn't get my collection together, I will have something ready for you online in September but I didn't get myself together to show at Bubble.. too much going on! I did get together with kit+lili's Teresa and Meg, and also Jann from Lucky Fish we had a dinner and some good time to talk about business, schools and vacations (or really the lack of vacations!). We like to talk about all of our troubles of the past year, complain a bit, and then move onto plot what we are going to do next, how we can all make our businesses better and help each other in a more effective way! So lot's of news and lot's to do! so I've got to get to work!