Monday, May 23, 2011

Tutus

So I don't normally post stuff on the blog about the stuff I sell in the store, but I am hoping against hope that I can get enough stuff sold soon to make up for not having a summer job so that instead of being gone all summer working I can stay home with Bug and spend time with him. So that being said, I already have lined up some possible big customers, including a garb making job and a possible work alliance with Heather Liebfred Photography making props for her shoots. I really would love to focus on tutus and hats right now and the tutus I have made so far have turned out just gorgeous if I do say so myself. They are all made to order, in whatever colors you would like (provided I can find them or dye them that color). They are all made with quality tulle and ribbons. I am going to be starting a new style where they are doubled with flower petals in the skirt. So weather you would like the traditional poofy fairy princess or the more sweet flower girl style let me know. They are 30$ a piece and well worth the money. My crocheted and knit hats are 10$ for a baby size, 15$ for toddler or child, and 20$ for adult or large child. These too are quality, hand made and made to order, unless you want one I already have made. Here are some pictures of what I can do for you.



























Watermelon Smoothies/ Popsicles

So I know I blogged about this exact thing last summer but this time I took pictures. As many of you know I refuse to let Bug eat regular store bought popsicles (except for the dole real fruit juice super yummy ones.. and even that is rarely). Instead we make them at home. It is much cheaper and you can control what goes in. Mostly we just use 100% juice, but when I am feeling super motivated or we have fruit about to turn I make 100% all natural fruit smoothies that we then freeze into popsicles. Today we were using up watermelon.
So first you take the fruit you want to use and you blend it. If it's a melon no juice is required. Same with oranges.. lemons, peaches...etc. However apples, pears, sweet potatoes... stuff like that you need to add some juice. i usually use 100% apple juice. Here was our fruit.
And here it is blended down.
And as popsicles.
And along with the apple ones we made earlier.
And Bug enjoying an apple popsicle fresh from the freezer.



Sunday, May 22, 2011

All Natural Cough Syrup

I have often written about all natural alternatives to harsh medicines, especially when dealing with a young child or baby. I actually may have written about this before  but today I whipped up a batch of all natural cough syrup for my son today.  We have used this every time he has had a cough almost from birth. It always works. It is a simple recipe and can be made for both children over 12 months -adults, or for babies under 12 months. For babies under 12 months you must replace the honey with corn syrup or molasses.
First take the juice from one lemon and put it in a small pot. Turn the heat on low. Start adding honey and dissolve it into the lemon juice. Add enough so that when it begins to cool it is a syrupy consistency.
Then pour it into a medicine bottle or a small tupperware. Administer a 1/2 tsp to a child under 2 every few hours as needed. For an older child a whole tsp as needed and for an adult 2 tsps as needed. They sell this in the store for about 8$ for a 2 ounce bottle. For about 4$ you can make 10-12 ounces or more.

Dandelion Jelly

The other day I met a really amazing family who sadly live almost a 2 hour drive from me, so I probably won't get to see them too often, but they are all about living as close to nature as they can. My best friend introduced them as Mom and Dad. They really are just so warm and welcoming that by the time you leave you do feel as though you have adopted a new Mom and Dad. So I will refer to them that way in this blog post so I don't have to use names.
Mom introduced me to a new way to eat Dandelions, dandelion jelly. Now Those who know me know my love of edible back yard plants is never ending. So I have decided to start doing regular blog posts about trying all the things you can eat from your backyard, how to prepare them and why they are super good for you. Those who know me also may know that my love of that little yellow edible flower has no end. Not only do I have one tattooed on my lower back, but I often partake in dandelion salad, steamed dandelions, hair pieces made from the blossoms, have received bouquets of them as gifts and loved it more than roses, and even once had a D and D character named for the family of flowers that Dandelions are in. So I thought since they are in season, abundant and free I would begin with Dandelion Jelly.
I found a recipe online and was told by my best friend that it resembles honey. So Bug and I went into our yard and picked an entire basket of dandelion blossoms.
Then I had to separate the yellow petals and pollen tubes from the green cover petals and stems. Then I added a few cups of water to the petals in a pot and brought it to a boil. 
Then I let that steep over night in the refrigerator. In the morning I strained the dandelion "tea" through a mesh and then added the zest and juice from one lemon and return it to the pot.
Then I added sugar and brought it to a low boil. This was boiled down until a syrupy consistency. It never became true jelly I noticed.. instead it does indeed take on a honey like consistency.
So there you have it, a small jar of Dandelion Jelly (Honey). It does indeed taste a lot like honey. It is super tasty. I am hoping to do a few more of these backyard edibles posts soon.




Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A Leaky Boob post that really caught my eye.

As always the Leaky Boob is an invaluable blog and FB page and was what prompted me to bring my own blog here to FB. Her last post really caught my eye. In it she talks about the new breastfeeding doll and all the controversy which says that this doll over sexualizes young girls and teaches them about the birds and the bees to young. Really? I feel like playing Mommy is really something all kids do from a very very young age and is it really any different to have a child playing pretend feeding with a bottle. My son received a toy puppy that you feed with a bottle and because it was a dog (and we don't tend to breastfeed our dogs) I was ok with it but if he had had a baby doll with a bottle I probably would have thought it odd, and if he were a girl might have sat him down and taught him that we don't bottle feed babies unless as a last resort. So over sexualizing young girls... No I don't think so.
Anyway I thought her take on it was very cute and tongue in cheek. She posted tons of cute pictures of young ones "breastfeeding" ther dolls. So without further ado here is her great post. http://theleakyboob.com/2011/05/are-children-who-pretend-to-breastfeed-their-toys-in-danger/

As soon as I posted this she had posted a new one on the same subject... also a great read.
http://theleakyboob.com/2011/05/the-breast-milk-baby-doll-4-girls-and-1-daddy/

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Found a New Favorite Diaper Company

I am in love with these diapers. This vender, ebay name "nicebluesky09", from what I can tell has diapers from various companies. I have noticed that she even sells the same diapers as "goodseller003" which if you recall I had some serious issues with and had to open a ebay complaint case against them. In contrast this vender is amazing! Her diapers are so adorable, got here quick and are as soft as a cloud on the inside. The two I ordered are not the same as the Happy Flute Diapers, these ones have snaps more like those of the sunbaby diapers allowing for more sizing. They also unlike most cheaper diapers have the extra snaps for snapping a used diaper shut when on the go. This is a feature I got used to with our borrowed diapers in the beginning and have missed. Most pricier diapers have them but at only 5$ a diaper these are a steal and even have all the fancier  attractions that calls you to a pricier brand. Here are the diapers I bought.

As Aleks' is almost potty trained it may seem silly to buy a few more, but these also are going to be used on our second child when we have it and it never hurts to have a few more. Aleks is at the point where he may only dirty 3 diapers per day (not counting night) so an extra 2 is almost a whole other day between washings.
I think I will end this post with  a picture of some of our cutest cloth diapers. I washed them all today and felt compelled to take a picture.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

A moment

I started something a few weeks ago, every Saturday posting a picture that captures a moment in time. Here is today's.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Contest

The green Mommy is running a contest. Spread the word about this blog. If the Green Mommy FB page  gets 300 likes, a random winner will be picked and will get the choice between a blue and green "Green Earth" tutu for a little girl or a green and brown crocheted hat for a boy.
The tutu will look like this one but with green and blue tulle and ribbons instead. This is one of my tutus for little girls.
The hat will look something like this (found the image on google images)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Salem and Cape Cod

Ok so the Green Mommy this past weekend went to Salem Massachusetts and Cape Cod Massachusetts. Now I know you probably think that this doesn't tie into being green since the gas alone was ridiculous. That being said you have to recall that part of what drives my passion for being green and gives me a unique perspective is my background in Biology, Ecology and Conservation. I am 1 semester away from my bachelors  of science in biology with a focus on conservation and ecology and limnology. So this trip was actually for a class. Our Invertebrate Zoology class was required to head to the Cape and study specimens in their natural habitat. Salem was a purely fun excursion on the way.
So Thursday night me and my best friend Nikki packed up her car and left for the Cape at 4:30 AM. We got to the ferry and the VT border by 6 AM. Here is us on the ferry.
Then we headed into the rolling green mountains of Vermont. There was fog rolling off the mountains which we drove right into. It was gorgeous!

There was also massive flooding due to the flooding of Lake Champlain and that was terrifying.


Ok so I will skip NH entirely so that this post won't be too huge. NH really doesn't have much in it anyhow. So we arrived in Massachusetts around 10 AM Friday morning. We got to Salem around 11 AM. This was Salem Mass. I was in love at first sight.
We went to the Salem Witch Trial Memorial. You kind of have to if you go. It is really sad to think that all those people were killed for nothing.


 This is the actual memorial. Each of the stone seats is for one of the victims. It has their names, date of birth and death and how they died. This next picture is the adjoining cemetery which has some of the oldest graves in America in it.
And of course we did the obligatory tourist things.
Ok so now onto Cape Cod. This was, like I said above, first and foremost a lesson in zoology, ecology and conservation so I will focus on that.
 We went to several beaches to look at specimens and found lots. I won't name them all but I will try to include most of them in pictures. Sometimes seeing ecosystems far from home reminds us how precious this big green and blue ball really is and how much we should protect it. I should also point out that we camped in Cape Cod for 2 days and took only pictures and left only footprints AS IT SHOULD BE!
Ok the whole rest of this post will be pictures so enjoy. The last ones will be from our whale watch Sunday morning. I spent Mother's Day watching a mother humpback whale frolic with her new born calf. It was miraculous! Enjoy!
Ok So this last bit is going to be the whale watching pics and the plankton tow that the naturalist did for our class. He made a point to say that his alma mater was SUNY Potsdam. :)

So that was my weekend. It was a very GREEN MOTHER'S DAY! :)

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