Green & Clean Mom Pre-launch Giveaway

June 1, 2008... Green & Clean Mom will officially be at http://greenandcleanmom.org/ and to celebrate and kick of this big event, I am going to be giving away some awesome prizes! These prizes aren’t sponsored by anyone but my wallet and green mullah! There will be lots of ways to win and enter but the biggest thing is to spread the word about Green & Clean Mom and the new site. It won’t just be a new look! I will offer green shopping alternatives, a Green & Clean Mom social networking site and forum, the beginning of a program where you can do good and help others go non-toxic, green fundraising opportunities and lots of green love! Remember, at Green & Clean Mom it’s sexy and sassy to be green but we don’t expect you to do everything, just something.

So here’s what you can win:

Prize A: Box of Natural Energy Tea and a CamelBak BPA free water bottle to drink your tea from.
Prize B: Not Nice To Bugs and Non-toxic Bug Repellant because you don't need nasty pesticides!
Prize C: The Book: The Organic Housekeeper, Non-Toxic Oven Cleaner and a set of Digital Day Counters
Prize D: Andrew the Organic Hippo by Mim Yim
Prize E: A year’s subscription to Kiwi Magazine, my favorite “green” parenting magazine.

Bloggers:

1.Spread the word about the launch of my new blog, http://greenandcleanmom.org/ by writing a post and linking to this giveaway. Green Karma rocks! Leave me a comment with what prize you'd like to win. If you have any comments on what you'd like to see more or less of on the new site, let me know. If you haven't subscribed to my feed or email, please do. Then you won't miss out on the two months of launch giveaways!

OR

2. Join my social networking site and put up a badge on your site. All those that join the social networking site after today are entered in the contest! Talk about easy!

Non-Bloggers:

1.Subscribe via email so you don’t miss out on anything and all subscribers entered on my Feed blitz account will automatically entered into the contest. If you have a prize preference be sure to leave me a comment with your email (same email you used to subscribe via email).

OR

2. Join Green & Clean Mom's social networking site and start learning from others about how to go green. It's free!

All winners will be announced at Green & Clean Mom on June 1, 2008. Winners must provide a way for me to contact them. Only one entry per email.

TOXIC car seats...what's next?

I checked my email and could not believe I was reading about car seats being toxic.

Mom's Rising sent me this:

A recent study conducted by the watchdog group, Friends of the Earth, found that 56% of infant carriers, 44% of car seats, and 40% of the strollers they tested had dangerous levels of toxic fire retardant chemicals.[1]

This is downright scary--and is yet another toxic exposure on a long list of children's products with toxic chemicals to come out lately. We have to turn this tide.

The good news: Graco, the giant manufacturer of children's products, responded to the Friends of the Earth report the day it was published. Graco says they want to do the right thing, but they haven't yet committed to removing these chemicals from their products. If Graco gets rid of these chemicals, other baby product manufacturers will be under enormous pressure to follow suit.

*Ask Graco, and other manufacturers of children's products, to not use any more halogenated fire retardants - period!
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1230

Haloge-what? Halogenated flame retardants have been shown to cause serious health disorders including endocrine disruption, cancer, birth defects and a host of reproductive and neurological disorders in developing fetuses and offspring in animals.

No frickin' way! What will be next? We buckle our kiddos into their car seats to protect them but the foam they're bottom is in, it is loaded with toxic chemicals. Watch this CBS video to learn more:

Reusable bags make SUV eco-savvy!

My very "ungreen" vehicle seems to fill up with kids junk. Toys, books, sunglasses, etc. You know how children have to lug everything with them? In my case, I have every prehistoric dinosaur toy stored in my car. Seriously. I needed a solution for storing this "stuff". I have tons of reusable bags and decided, what a good way to utilize two of these bags, hang them on the back of the seats! Each child has their own reusable bag filled with their, "stuff"! My son can easily bend over and reach for his bag and not have to unsafely ask me to reach over and hand him a toy. I'm using the reusable bags, staying organized, the kids are happy and my hands are on the wheel and eyes on the road! I think the reusable bags make my car more earth friendly!

To My Son: Confessions, Apologies & Many Eco-Friendly Wishes

Dear son,

Today you are four. I think most moms say, it seems like yesterday I just had you. No, it seems like four years ago…they’ve just gone quickly! When I was pregnant with you I wanted to do everything right. I wanted to eat right to nourish you. I wanted to buy you everything I thought was safe. I tried to breast feed because that is what I was told was best, yet you basically starved for three days because I could not produce milk due to a hormone imbalance. That my son, was the beginning of the struggles between doing what I thought was right and doing what I knew in my heart was not right.

I made many choices four years ago because I knew nothing else. I bought the baby food in number 7 plastic containers because I did not know about BPA. I used the plastic baby bottles and heated them in the microwave (gasp)! I used the baby shampoo with chemicals and parabens because that’s what I got for my baby shower, my mom said it was the best! I used diapers that were bleached because I didn’t know they made anything else and I even washed the floors with bleach and the counters with 409 (my grandma did)! I seriously did not know and I am so sorry. Knowing what I know now, I’m surprised you don’t have some brain damage or serious problem. Phew, you’re okay! I am sorry for not opening my eyes, asking more questions and trusting my gut feelings. I have spent the last two years devoted to learning, teaching, trying to be a catalyst for change and an inspiration. I really hope that all of this lessens your temper tantrums, demands for more dinosaurs, your stubborn streaks, pacifier addiction and bubba gum chewing phase. I’m guessing that it won’t because you’re four, but a mom can hope!

Son, hopefully you won’t have to go through this when you have children but you probably will. The world will change and they will find more things to tell us to use or not use. Information, statistics, media, and reports will be conflicting. My wish is that you will find a balance between nature and science. You will trust your heart and follow it. I hope I can spend the next, how many ever years, teaching you about trusting yourself, respecting nature, giving back to others, and how to live healthy. I wish you could know, how very much I love you and have enjoyed these four years and how much I look forward to all the years to come. I am not sure I would have ever come to learn about being more earth friendly and “green” had I not had you. You are my catalyst for change.

Today you will take your dinosaur hunt throughout the house and find your presents. We will celebrate your birth and rejoice. I just hope that the air you breath today and the water you drink tomorrow will continue to be healthy and safe for you when you add a 0 to that 4. I wish I could promise you this and make it come true but when you blow out those candles I will wish my hardest. I will close my eyes and wish for clean air, clean water, pesticide free food, polar bears, and fewer childhood cases of asthma, cancer and death. I love you son.

I'm headed to the green, green jungle!

Not the real jungle but a place called, the "Jungle" with fake green everywhere and nothing organic or healthy to eat. This is where my four year old begged to have his birthday party. I resisted and wanted to do a charitable birthday party and be the greenest mom I could be. I lost. There’s something about a cute face that came from your womb begging you to have saturated fat, high fructose corn syrup soda, cupcakes and play putt putt golf while running around like a wild baboon, playing video games. I really did resist. So then I needed to figure out how to sprinkle some of my green mom qualities onto this, not to so green birthday party. We used recycled, make your own invitations and soy crayons from the best place ever, Stubby Pencil Studio. I’ll tell you more about this eco-friendly company later and how you’ll get to win some earth friendly art supplies! The birthday boy will wear his organic shirt from MamaOm, so everyone knows that we’re an earth lovin’ family. I wanted to get the kids the organic playdough from Wild Dill , but it's made fresh and it takes two weeks to ship, bad mom I didn't plan ahead. I'm not wrapping my sons gifts, he has to go on a dinosaur hunt to find them (guess his gift) and they're dinos (he has a little obsession)! I think my good intentions and green sprinkle here and there, should really count for something! Oh, and to end the day I’ll have a green margarita with some family members (that counts, right). I’ll need it after all the screaming, yelling and begging for more tokens. And did I mention the annoying parrot that squawks and won’t shut up? Yeah, that will drive me to have two green margaritas!

I wasn’t going to write all of this and flaunt how oh, so very ungreen I am going to be this weekend but then I thought, nah, readers need to see that I’m normal. I’ve written this a dozen times over but folks, being green isn’t a contest and we shouldn’t pass judgment. We all just have to do our very best and be some shade of green each day. Hopefully I won’t turn green from the not so organic margaritas either! I’d love for my kids to want earth friendly birthday parties and will continue to encourage it and when possible impress upon them the importance of having a charity party or doing something o’so green but I cannot force them. You might want to check out a post I wrote this winter about having a charitable birthday party for my daughter. I gathered some great ideas that I hoped to utilize this spring as well, no such luck. Nature Mom & Enviromom write good posts about having a green birthday party for your wee one but this Green & Clean Mom just didn't cut this year for this child. Oh, well if I’m going to go to the jungle with fake green grass and painted elephants and giraffes all over the walls it might as well be for the good of my sweet little boy turning four.

Moms + Strollers = Stop Global Warming or we'll run you over!

Give a few thousand moms a mission and they’ll get it done! Seriously, don’t mess with a bunch of moms and their strollers! Green Peace has an movement taking place called, Project Hot Seat and the idea is to get off you’re your bum and do something! On Mother’s day between Greenpeace, 1Sky, and True Majority over 455 events were scheduled on mother’s day to show congress that we want change! Our children need clean air to breath, non-toxic choices, safe drinking water and darn it all a health planet! Head on over to Project Hot Seat and find out who your legislator is and how you can do something. I don’t even have a mommy meet up event listed in my State (gasp) so you know what I need to get working! Okay, at least get my friends to start something! Listen to some very motivational testimonials from moms just like us!

A green office and some help (not mental)!

With the launch of my new site (June 1st) and the various other things I seem to have going, it is time to move my computer, calendar, file folders, and misc. stuff into an area designated as an office. The kitchen counter and table just aren’t cutting it anymore and the family is getting sick of all the clutter. It certainly won’t be very convenient t having to go downstairs to my office and work but at least now there will be a separation of work and home time. Oh and my stapler office supplies won't keep walking away! My son seems to like them! Working from home is no easy task as a mom. It seems like a luxury but when work and home are always combined some days it’s hard to figure out if I’m being productive or not. The freedom rocks though!

My son goes to preschool a few days a week and my daughter was going to a daycare in the mornings to give her some socialization and allow me some work time. With her sickness and constant struggle with allergies and asthma (more on this later), I am thinking it might be time to just have the babe home with me 100% of time and find myself a good babysitter a few days a week. I’ve chatted with a few work from home mommies and they’ve put ads in the paper and some of them have had luck and some have not. I know many moms are 100% capable of being at home and working with no help. I am here to tell you, I am not that mom. Sorry, but it isn’t me or my personality and I am fine admitting my weakness. This doesn’t mean I don’t love my children, I just need some assistance and my hubby isn’t home enough to help (6a-6p schedule). So I’ve done more research (seem to like research) and I’ve found a service that was recommended by Dr. Phil. I’m going to give it a try and see if I can hire a good babysitter or nanny part-time to help with my expanding and growing business schedule. If you’re a work at home mom and you need this service don’t be afraid to use it, you aren’t weak! If you have any advise or tips be sure to let me know!

Moving my stuff into a separate work space and having to hire help has me kind of freaked out. It means two things. The first being that my business is growing enough I need to do this. The second, I’m getting my professional and home life organized. I’ve done some searching for “green” office supplies so that my office space is indeed aligned with my professional life and personal beliefs. I’m excited to have found, The Green Office and hope if you desire green office supplies at a great price, you’ll check it out. My local Office Max is starting to branch out and go more "green" but I have to hunt and I don't have time for that. I’ll have to take a photo and show you my new workspace compared to my old one! Wish me luck!

No more BPA petition!

I wanted to pass this very appropriate and timely email on to all of you green mommies. A new friend of mine, Monica, so graciously sent this to me. Moms we have power and together we are even more powerful, so lets fight this BPA war and win! No more BPA...enough is enough!

Please join me in stopping toxics in baby bottles. The evidence is mounting. After years of concern about the safety of baby bottles, children's care products, and other food and beverage containers that contain the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), the verdict is in--and it's not good.
Yesterday the Canadian government announced it is planning to ban the use of BPA in baby bottles, and declared BPA dangerous.[1] And, earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times reported that the U.S. based National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that there is "some concern" that babies, fetuses, and children are in danger because BPA harms animals at the low levels found in nearly all human bodies.[2] Sadly, a recent study found this chemical in all five leading brands of American baby bottles.

It's enough to sink any mother's stomach. Let's take a second to take a collective deep breath, and then mobilize for major action. Sign a petition calling for the CEOs of the leading manufacturers of baby bottles to stop the use of BPA in our baby bottles and other children's products.

TAKE ACTION: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1177
Sign on now and we'll send the petition to the CEOs of Avent, Disney/First Years, Dr. Brown's, Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex in collaboration with Center for Health, Environment, & Justice and other organizations.

Tell everyone you know about this! The more signatures, we have, the more the CEOs will get the message that consumers want healthy products, not toxins. With the current media attention on BPA, this is a critical moment to take advantage of that momentum and push these CEOs to stop using it in baby bottles.

WHAT DOES IT DO? Growing children are especially at risk to chemicals as they face greater exposure per pound of body weight. Even fetuses are susceptible as chemicals, including BPA, cross the placenta in pregnant women. Over 130 studies suggest that BPA exposure, even at low doses, is linked to many health problems, including early puberty, breast and prostate cancer, obesity, attention and hyperactivity disorder, brain damage, altered immune system, and lower sperm counts.[3]

This is a widespread issue which we need to address together. A 2007 study by the Environment California Research and Policy Center found that all five leading brands of baby bottles leached BPA at levels found to cause harm in numerous laboratory studies.[4]
It is time for all parents to take action!

*Click here to sign the petition: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1177
* Consider sharing this email with your friends. Let's show 'em we MOMS mean business.

Toxins, lead etc in any childrens products are simply unacceptable!
Thanks for your work on behalf of all children!

P.S. For tips on how to limit exposure to BPA, see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/15/AR2008041502161.html
[1] http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/04/18/bisphenol-a.html?ref=rss
[2] http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-na-plastic16apr16,1,498138.story
[3] http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/environmental-health/stop-toxic-toys/bisphenol-a-overview.

Thanks to Momrising.org for starting this!

PBS Mother's Day Special with Mama Mirabelle

A while back I wrote about the PBS Kids’ hit series called, “Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies”. My children enjoy watching this series and when the television is on, I try to make sure PBS is the station we choose. You have to check your local listings and make sure you watch the Mother’s Day Special that will air this weekend. My son and I curled up on the couch during rest time the other day and both of agreed that it was a great show. He’s even requested to watch it again! It showcases the bond a mother and child have in the animal kingdom. Some adorable footage of mother animals and their babies, made me squeeze my little one closer to me. Something I really enjoyed about watching this episode was the message that not all animals are the same and its okay for animals to want to be independent but they need their mommies too. This elicited a great deal of conversation and turned into a wonderful parenting lesson. I think, when possible, parents should watch television with their children and when a conversation can’t come of it and learning takes place, the time is well spent. Have a great mother’s day weekend and be sure to enjoy this show with your child; it will be well worth it.

"Bubba" gum for the greenie!

Chomp. Chomp. My son loves his “bubba” gum. “Mom, can I have some bubba gum.” He’s got this oral thing and the speech therapist says it’s okay for him to chew it and good for his speech. Distracts him from wanting the pacifiers that he has to get rid of on his fourth birthday (he only uses these at bed). I know, Super Nanny but back off…he’s my kid and he’s fine…the dentist and speech therapist says so! Ha!

So I wanted to find a better gum for him. Go to the grocery store and all I see is gum with lots o’sugar or the sugar free stuff. At my local health food store I found Glee Gum and I bought every stinking’ flavor. I got out to my car and opened all the boxes to see what they tasted like. I couldn’t bring him home gum that he’d spit out. Glee Gum is natural, meaning no synthetic stuff, artificial flavors, preservatives, pesticides, etc. You know the kids swallow the stuff so shouldn’t they swallow a good for you alternative??? Yeah, I think so too! The stuff actually tastes good. I like the tangerine and my son prefers the green spearmint. Glee Gum is made with sustainable harvested rainforest chicle, watch the video about the tree to the glee (get it?).

You can order online but most local health food stores have this Glee Gum too! So go for the alternative when it comes to gum and I promise you, you’ll have feel giddy and your kid won’t even know the difference. They even have kits for making your gum and I’m thinking my son would love this for him up and coming birthday! So go chew some "bubba" gum!

A nurse is in the house!!!

Green & Clean Mom proudly introduces, Melissa Bathish RN, MS, CPNP on board as a contributing author and consultant (she's on the left and I'm on the right). With all of this health stuff I figured maybe it’s time to find someone who can give us moms another perspective. Melissa is a busy mom of four but she looks like she’s never given birth because she’s in tip top shape! Her children are 5,7,9, and 12 and with all of their various activities and demands, they keep her on her toes. She’s a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and nurse educator for the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).

Melissa’s Philosophy of health care as a mom, a nurse and a educator encompasses health promotion. She writes:

“What better place for health promotion to occur than in your own home? Join me each month as we explore pertinent health topics that can impact your health, the health of your family and of course mother earth! I look forward to this experience.”

Please note: The opinions expressed in Melissa’s posts are her opinions and do not serve as medical advice or guidance. The posts are for educational and information purposes only. Green & Clean Mom or Melissa Bathish will not be held responsible or accountable for actions taken due to any post or opinion. If you have a serious question, talk to your doctor!

Tomorrow, Melissa will post on facts about BPA and weigh in with her opinion and some helpful tips. If you’d like Melissa’s opinion on something please feel free to leave her a comment and a nice Green & Clean Mom welcome!!!

Stonyfield has my vote and one lucky winner will get $50 in free yogurt!!!

You might not know this but I’m actually a maize and blue fan, verses a green fan! Go WOLVERINES!!! This actually ties into my post because an outstanding company you know as Stonyfield Farm (no "e" after "n" or before "y"… I can spell) works with the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems to provide the best packaging they can. Go blue and go Stonyfield because what they discovered is unbelievable and they took the time and money to figure it out. How many companies really do that? Um…not enough. Not only is the yogurt organic but it's in safe plastic*, you can recycle the containers (I literally just dug one out of the garbage) and if you don’t have a recycle center near you, clean it out and they’ll recycle it! Soon we might even have a yogurt cup made out of corn and beets…now that is sassy! I am telling you all of this because most people just go to the grocery store and look for the yogurt, milk or ice cream on sale but what they don’t get is, you’re purchase votes for a company. The more times you buy from that company the more votes you give it and the more times you tell that grocer…buy from Stonyfield! Why support and vote for Stonyfield, Green and Clean Mom, this isn’t an election? Isn’t it? I’m thinking, if the yogurt and milk brands could talk, it might be worse that Hilary and Obama! I won’t weigh in on Hilary and Obama but I’ll tell you why to vote Stonyfield….

• When you buy Stonyfiled you support organic farmers that use certified organic practices and actually care about the animals, earth and people…not just the green buck behind it all. I really urge you to watch this video about life on a farm.
  


• Stonyfield gives away 10% of their profits to educational organizations across the country ($1,947,109 in 2007) to support the environment and organic program. Organizations like Ecologyfund.com or Pesticide Action Network North America, to name a few.



• Stonyfield yogurt is organic and that means your children don’t have to eat yogurt, drink milk, have an ice cream treat and be eating hormones, artificial flavors, gelatin and unnecessary sugar or anything for that matter.



• Stonyfield loves their cows. I love cows. I think they’re cute. I don’t like their poop or methane stuff but I’m sure they don’t like mine either! I can even have-a-cow and not really have one in my living room or yard. I can expose my kiddos to life on a farm and have them virtually meet and learn about a cow of our choice. A program that started in 1989…yeah…a long time ago folks and it’s still around! So get on board and have-a-cow!!!



• Stonyfield is trying to help make over vending machines in schools!!! Yes! Yes! Yes!



• Stonyfield is willing to donate $20,000 to Every Count Click, an environmental works group to keep nasty chemicals out of our food, and all you have to do is go to this website and click: http://www.yobabyyogurt.com/donation



• Stonyfield is part of a collaborative effort to offer a report card to rate companies on what they are doing to make a difference when it comes to being green and treading lighter on Mother Earth. You, as a consumer, can go to: http://www.climatecounts.org/ and learn more about what companies you buy from are doing to make a difference. Maybe you won’t want to vote for them anymore until they start doing a little better and score higher! Think about it, consumers with power…what will the world be like then?



• Okay, last but not least…my kids and family love the stuff so if all of the above isn’t enough reason to vote Stonyfield, I’m not sure what is.
  

We have sampled a wide array of Stonyfield products in the last week or so. I love the After Dark Chocolate (must confess I ate almost all of it in one night). My son fills up on the Wild berry Stonyfield Smoothie but personally, I’m not a fan of it. We all have different taste buds and I’m not the Wild berry girl. Oh, and he asks for a strawberry squeezable yogurt that we freeze, almost nightly! My daughter loves the Yobaby smoothie because she learned to drink out of a straw and thinks she’s super cool. All flavors get her approval (yes, we’ve tried them all)! I was a skeptic on the milk because I’ve been turned on to the glass bottle, local farm milk and remember, I don’t like milk. Well, I have to say…Stonyfield you rock with this one! So many flavors, variety and stuff to try so how about I let you do the rest/

It is not a contest but a C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-I-O-N!!! One, Stonyfield wins my election on organic milk products (milk, yogurt, icecream) verses the yucky hormone, artifical color, bad stuff. Two, they’re turning 25 years old! I want to turn 25 again! Enough pouting, let’s have a Green & Clean Mom celebration and giveaway a whoppin prize!! Fifty dollars in Stonyfield YoBaby and YoMommy yogurt coupons. Yahooo!!! Want to win??? You don't have to be a blogger either!

1) Take a picture of your little one eating Stonyfield yogurt with a link back to this contest and you get 5 points! Not required, you just get more entry points!

2) Subscribe, stumble, digg or email this post to someone and you get 1 point.

3) http://www.yobabyyogurt.com/donation and help Stonyfield donate for 1 point.

4) Leave a comment with your favorite flavor or what you'd love to try and your spam proof email with what you've done to enter, so I can easily tally the points! 1 point

Contest will End on Mother's Day, 2008 and is open to U.S. residents.

*Here's what Stonyfield had to say about BPA plastic and their containers...

Thanks for your inquiry about our packaging and specifically our use of polystyrene #6 for our YoBaby products.

First, none of our packaging contains BPA, the chemical currently in the news and which is used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins.

As for our use of polystyrene #6, you’ll be reassured to learn that #6 containers are considered safe for food use by the both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Union (EU). The FDA requires the styrene content of the packaging be less than 5,000 parts per million (ppm). The styrene content in Stonyfield Farm’s polystyrene packaging does not exceed 400 ppm.

Green & Clean Moms take on Motherhood

Motherhood is one of those deep words. The meaning is usually so entwined with emotions and attachments that it has me stumbling to figure out how to briefly describe the word. I went through digital photo album after digital photo album trying to find one picture to describe the raw emotion of the word, motherhood. I learned I had very few pictures of with of me and my children together. I’m mostly behind the camera. The first time I looked at this picture, I smiled, paused and remembered the moments. The moment of excitement and glee, teaching my son about a starfish. The moment of discovery when he touched the water and felt the creature and the giggle that came out of his mouth. The moment of relief that he did not cry but enjoyed the experience and wanted to touch it again! Motherhood for me is just that, moments that nobody can take away from me. You might not see anything special when you look at this picture (other than I have way longer hair) but I see irreplaceable moments and this photo captured them and helps me to remember them. Enter you photo in the motherhood contest.

There's BPA in what?

Sorry for the blogging, hiatus (no beach or margarita) my baby girl has been sick, she had another asthma attack…I’ll post more on this later...but I’ve was participating in a mom-to-mom sale and all moms know how much work it is to go through the toys and clothing to decide on what doesn’t fit and what they don’t play with it. A great relief to get rid of the strollers we don’t need, the bouncer collecting dust and the tubs of baby boy clothing! I made some extra money, cleaned my house and was able to donate a ton of stuff that did not sell. Most importantly, I was able to talk to moms all weekend and hear about what was on their minds, what they were looking for and what they were concerned about. You might wonder why I would be doing this at a mom-to-mom sale but I always have my non-toxic cleaners, non-toxic bug stuff and information about my blog with me. This sparks a lot of conversation, which I love!

The hot topic, BPA frees products and what all this BPA fuss is about. A lot of moms were confused, in the dark, alarmed at what others were saying and wanted to know where and how they could get safe bottles. Unfortunately, it isn’t just baby bottles we need to be concerned about! I was eating lunch and a good friend was commenting on how much she loved this simply pure orange juice but how now she is all worried because it is in a number 7 plastic bottle. How simply pure is that? Many moms were selling old bottles and sippy cups but none of them sold. CNN recently reported,” … more than 6 million pounds produced in the United States each year, bisphenol A is found in dental sealants, baby bottles, the liners of food cans, CDs and DVDs, eyeglasses and hundreds of household goods.” Canada is acting on the risk of harm to infants, children and the environment but the here in the States, neither Congress or the U.S. has made a move to ban this toxic chemical. There is an actual report that links BPA, even low levels, to causing hormonal disruptions in newborns and linking it to cancer. Why isn’t everything with BPA pulled off the shelf moms were wondering? Well, come on….why are there still toxic chemicals being sold for us to clean our counters with and being advertised as safe? If the FDA makes a ruling against this chemical then the chemical industry could basically get in big trouble with some heft law suits. It's the same as toxic cleaning products and what’s allowed on the shelf and it not being good for us or pesticides that are allowed to be sprayed on our kids, it’s messed up! In my Green and Clean Mom opinion, don’t panic and just start trying to find BPA free products, safer plastics and voice your opinion any way you can. If companies know you won’t buy there stuff, even if it’s cheap, they’ll change. Moms are powerful. In the meantime, you can read my review about the BPA free sippy's I tried (giveaway over sorry) and Classy Mommy is giving away some BPA free bottles. The Soft Landing ,has great sampler packs of BPA free products and a wealth of information on the topic. Another great source is Z Recommends, with an extensive report and series on the topic.

Hope, inspiration and a green clean giveaway for Earth Day 2008!

Happy Earth Day all of you Green & Clean Moms out there!!!! What a beautiful day! I have barely been on the computer because the children I have been taking walks, planting, and picking up garbage. I opened up my inbox and had an email from the Environmental Defense Fund and thought I’d share this very inspiring video. It speaks of hope and possibility and I think if more of us mommies unite there is indeed hope and possibility.



I also want to take a few sentences to firmly stand behind a product I so firmly believe in and a company, Shaklee. You can listen hereto my thoughts and feelings about Shaklee and the word “green”, in a recent interview I had with the company. I do not toot my own horn often and say I am a Shaklee Distributor because that is not what this “blog” is about, however, today seems like a very fitting place to tell you my feelings and point out to you while many companies are making their products “green” they are not a “green” company. Did you know that Shaklee was the first company to be certified climate neutral by the E.P.A., among other great environmental feats and connections? These are reasons I am with this company and their products are right for me and my family. Click here to watch a recent clip from the Rachel Ray show and what she has to say about the products.

I’d like to do a giveaway, sponsored by, myself! For one lucky family I would like to giveaway some green cleaners, that I love! To enter this contest I would like for you to do two things.

1) Leave a post with your spam proof email.
2) If you have a natural and non-toxic green cleaning tip or short cut for the home or garden tell us about it.

Begins Earth Day and end on Mother's Day...two very honorable days!

Of course, when you stumble me, dig me or subscribe I get more of the oh so “green” Google juice and I can’t get enough of that!!! If you have time you might want to also check out this wonderful article I was emailed from Kiwi (my favorite green mom magazine)! Happy Earth Day!

Fighting away pirates and floating to the sky all while learning about the 3R's

Toxic toys recalls are just out of control and frankly, scary. Have we forgot that children just love to play with good old fashion boxes, sticks, stones and dirt? We had 70 degree weather this weekend and I don't think my children played with one toy. They were outside romping around, getting dirty and exploring. It was fabulous. We learned about June bugs, lady bugs and why eating dirt and stones probably isn't such a great idea! When we did come inside, we played with our fridge box. I was a princess (yes, I know I look lovely) and used my magic wand to whisk my children, the pirates, away from me! They just jumped in their pirate ship and sailed away. A royal good time and something we use and play with every single day. Ahh, and we can take it a part and make something else out of it!


I even took a box in to my sons preschool, like I said I would, and the kids painted the box and talked about how it was going to become a hot air ballon and they could pretend to float into the sky. I used a parachute and tacked the seams of the parachute to the ceiling. We used old rope and bunched up the four corners and tied them to each corner of the box. The children were so excited watching this box transform into a hot air balloon. Two at a time took turns going up, up and away. They helped create this and each day they get to create a story about where they go and what they see. The box is perfect for the teachers to then reuse it and turn it into a flower shop or a train. A little imagination, a recycled box that can be reused and then again composted or recycled...makes for the perfect earth day activity...everyday!!!


I have to give a shout out to, April, the founder of Fridge Box! She sent me these fridge boxes but I never asked her to. She was going out on a limb, hoping I could make a hot air ballon and get creative with it (phew, thank goodness I could). So thanks April, for hours and hours of fun!

"I see you from way up in the sky!" "That looks so cool!"

Crayon Recycling

Last night I stayed up way too late trying to get to all of my readers blogs. I read every post, email and try to get to each blog, but it is getting harder. I did delete an email by a reader asking a question about what to get someone? I can’t find it for the life of me so if sent me something and I did not reply….try again (woops and sorry).

Lots of going green blogs out there! Go moms! My Greening: Going Green, wrote about recycling crayons to make candles. How clever. As a long time preschool teacher the recycling of crayons and markers has become common practice for me. Here is what I do:

~Grab an old muffin tin and preheat my oven to 150 degrees.
~I have my little guy peel all the old broken crayons and I cut them up.
~We randomly put them into the muffin tins because we like the rainbow colors.

~Bake for 15 or so minutes (you’ll see that they all melt together).
~Let the crayons and muffin tin cool and then pop out your new crayons. You can keep doing this over and over! No need to throw crayons in the garbage, ever! Great for chubby hands and fingers!

When the markers all dry up we use them for painting. The kids stick the markers in water cups and they’re suddenly water color paint brushes. It’s fun and a great way to make the most of those markers.

So thanks, My Greening: Going Green, for this crayon recycling reminder. A great Earth Day project to do with the kids!

A personal story and renewed "green" mission!

The last 24 hours of my life has been an emotional roller coaster, my 15 month old daughter was admitted into the hospital yesterday for difficulty breathing. Her oxygen level was only at 80%, she was struggling to breathe and it was the scariest thing I have ever seen or been through. I was helpless because I could not help her breathe or make her feel better. I had to hold her tight while they struggled to give her the liquid steroids to open up her airways, while she fought the breathing treatments and screamed because they couldn’t get a vain for the I.V. and all the while she just looked at me for help. We were in isolation because they weren’t sure if she has RSV or influenza. They did a chest x-ray and the doctor said it looked more like an asthmatic attack but she was too young to officially be diagnosed for asthma. She came back negative for RSV and influenza but they said she had bronchiolitis and our family physician is going to continue to watch her for asthma because of the very strong possibility.

Did you know that 1 in 4 Americans have allergies or asthma, according to, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) , and that more than 4 million American children have had a asthma attack in the last year? At three in the morning, rocking my crying daughter back to sleep after her breathing treatment, I saw a commercial with a fish fighting to breath because it was out of its bowl of water. I do not know what it feels like to gasp for air and work hard to breathe but that commercial brought tears to my eyes because my daughter and 4 million other children know that feeling. The AAAI reports , that 11 Americans die each day because of Asthma. My daughter’s diagnosis of bronchiolitis could very well lead to Asthma and these statistics and my experience has me frightened for her.

There are many triggers for Asthma and they suspect that a virus triggered her “episode” and we can only hope that it doesn’t happen again. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) , lists the following as possible triggers: pollen, mold, furry animals, dust mites, cockroaches, mice, food, latex, irritants (toxic chemicals, airborne dust particles, fumes, and weather), infections, exercise, and medicine. So really, a lot of different things can lend themselves to an asthma attack and every persons “triggers” are a little different. Could it have been the cold weather, the pets at my daughter’s daycare or that one of the workers smokes and it was on her clothes? Maybe they cleaned with bleach that day and the fumes triggered her attack? Did she have an allergic reaction to a food or was it the virus? The unknowns are staggering and scary to a parent.



I cannot be certain she has asthma yet. I cannot change the weather, allergies, or prevent her from getting a virus 100% of the time. I CAN be aware of environmental irritants that I can control and that others can control. We all probably know at least one person with this disease so all of us should be sensitive to these irritants. I have a lot or research to do and hopefully will have a daughter that does not have asthma but there are 20 million Americans out there that suffer from this disease. That happens to be a lot of people who have to walk into situations where anything could trigger them to struggle for a breath of air. Maybe it’s the chemical cleaner sprayed to clean the deli table or the fumes from the bathroom sanitizer or that puff of smoke from the person walking by them on the street. Earth day is 17 days away and this alone is a good reason to stop using toxic cleaners but another good reason to prevent your child, yourself or others who could have asthma from breathing in those fumes. If you’re a teacher, think about what your school uses to clean with and how many asthmatic children could be suffering because of this. If you own a business, think of how many people could be affected by what you use to clean your business or office with. We all need to become more aware of environmental factors that could possibly be a trigger for someone with asthma. I use non-toxic cleaners for many reasons but now I have another reason to continue spreading my message and sharing what I know with others. Don't think this is a stretch either because after talking to the doctors, nurses, and some friends and family with asthma they all seemed to agree that the chemicals and toxins can indeed cause breathing problems, whether a person has asthma or not. If you haven't watch the presentation, Toxic Brew, I urge you to take a few minutes and learn more about the toxic cleaners you might be using in your home. It might shock you.

My experience was far from unique and for all of you that have had to endure an asthma attack or watch your child suffer, my heart goes out to you. I was bidding my time to speak with my child’s daycare provider because she goes only a few hours a week but now that I have learned more I have to talk to the owner sooner than later, for all of the children who attend. It could very well not be a trigger for her but it could be for some other child. My eyes are more open now and as a green and clean mom who not only cares about the environment, her children and other children…I have to tell my story and help as many children as possible avoid controllable irritants so they do not suffer a possible asthma attack. What do you use in your home that could be dangerous to breath?

A Hoppy Green Easter

Two days until the Easter bunny comes and my son is very excited. We have a special key that we purchased from Hallmark that he calls the “Magic Key”. Santa comes down the chimney but how does the Easter bunny get into the house? Good question and so the key solves my problem. We will put this special key outside our door and that is how the bunny will come in and hide our Easter baskets. He cannot wait to put the key outside! It’s like putting cookies out for Santa. Maybe we’ll even leave a carrot next to the key? How fun is that?

Two days for this mommy bunny to get her stuff together and I’m determined to buy useful things for the baskets. Here are some of my tips for making your child’s Easter basket a little more earth friendly. I can’t be perfectly green but every little bit counts and I’m determined to hold on to some nostalgic Easter memories (Peeps, anyone?).

*For me personally, I’m dying Easter eggs the old fashion way (no luck with all of the natural dye recipes) but I’m going use organic eggs and only dye exactly what we will eat. No waste!

*I have old cards, wrapping paper, scrap paper and newspaper that I am going to shred for the Easter baskets. This will replace the plastic grass that just gets everywhere anyhow! Afterwards, I am going to save the material and use it for shipping purposes.

*Reuse the baskets I have in my house. I am not going to go and buy another darn basket or plastic beach pale! No way! I have tons of old baskets floating around the house and the kids don’t really care about the container anyhow. It’s what’s inside.

*Made in the U.S.A. products happen to be what I am searching for to fill the baskets. They might not all be 100% green in material but they support local companies, the product isn’t being transported overseas and wasting crude oil and polluting (a green point).

Green mom's cry for help is answered and there is a winner!

The clock is ticking, the calendar has big red x’s…nearing closer to the vacation day, where I will leave my children for five days. I’m not a nail biter and I’m biting my nails (gross)! It’s not because I don’t trust my best friend and her husband. It’s not because I don’t need the break. It’s that I’m going to miss my little cutie pies. I have to get over it and enjoy the R&R…I know. Deep breath, sigh and now I’m moving on.

For all the hard work that my best friend and her hubby will do AND to show them my deepest gratitude I need to bestow upon them a thank you gift. Several ideas were posted or emailed to me in response to my cry for help. I gave all of the ideas a lot of consideration. I thought about what was practical, what I would like, what they would like and came to one fairly large conclusion, I’m some shade of green but they are not! Giving a terrapass and planting a tree was my favorite idea because I would love this and think it was perfect. Ambre(that's how she spells her name), bless her heart just wouldn’t appreciate this. She’d thank me and never tell me that she wasn’t over the moon for it but it’s just not her. Awesome idea though!

The gift idea that would be the greatest fit for this hardworking couple with three boys under the age of 5 (gasp) would have to be from Michelle and she writes:

“This idea comes from a mom with a very heavy 8 month old...get them gift certificates for a massage or some kind of spa treatment. Oh, I would kill for something like that these days!”

Michelle, I couldn’t agree with you more. Maybe I’ll spring for a couples massage and of course take the kids for them!! Michelle has won the best laundry booster and stain fighter out there and it’s natural! Yahoooo! I tracked you back Michelle but can’t find an email. So if you’re reading this contact me so I can send you your prize! Thanks for the help everyone!