v 5 issue 22: Editor's Picks l

Our current issue includes our favorite picks from 2009. These products are of high quality, along with being stylish and of excellent value.

Cover by Robin Long










1 Federal Safety Guidelines state children should NEVER be strapped in car seats over heavy coats or snowsuits (click for more information!). Babycapes are the innovative solution to keeping baby warm while secured safely in a car seat, stroller, or any product with harness straps. Front and back openings allow for easy strap adjustments. Colorful fabrics provide the warmth!

2 Experience the benefits of baby-wearing with the most recognized baby wrap on the market. The Moby Wrap is made of slightly stretchy 100% cotton fabrics in a plenitude of colors and prints. Specially printed, UV protected, and organic styles are available.

3 Crispy days are here and Matilda Jane has a trunk full of new goodies! The Dottie dress works great for fall with its long sleeves and the fact it fits into any dress code. Pair it with the striped leggings for a warm & funky look.

4 Cutie Pa Tutus has entered the race for world domination...super hero style. A matching cape and mask, both reversible, instantly transform any kiddo into a masked marvel ready to save the holidays! Email order to info[at] cutiepatutus.com.

5 The Betsy Clippie Set from Ruby's Closet includes a padded animal print heart with a bow and a clippie with a small black crystal. Available in tan animal prints, camo, and, of course, black & white. All sets only $7.50!

6 Absorbent and absolutely adorable. Wrap baby up in a fully enclosed bamboo hooded robe after a tubbie for gentle-loving cuddling sessions. So cute you won't want to take them out. bamboobino.com.

7 EM Tanner Designs now has a Me 2 an Indian tee available for Thanksgiving. Like all Me 2 a Tee designs, numerous choices are available to make accurate characterizations of your little Indian!

8 Super dolls in more ways than one. Customize eye color, hair color, and clothes. Each Bamboletta Doll is uniquely spectacular and made of all natural fibers...including assorted yarns, cotton fibers, and exquisite fabric choices. Love and pride is crafted into all companion dolls, baby dolls, and little buddies making each the cream of the crop.

9 Invitations, announcements, and even recipe cards can be personalized with a "look-alike pose" at PosePrints. Design and preview cards instantly by following a simple step-by-step process. You'll find a wonderful assortment of backgrounds and accessories to make cards, notepads, or magnets feel just like you.

10 Keep track of belongings with ease using the help of Mabel's Labels. A combo pack contains 108 printed labels to mark shoes, jackets, containers... Labels are dishwasher/microwave safe & UV resistant. Clothing labels are laundry safe.

11 Perfect for going to market. This little piggy is a 10" x 8" backpack, hand-knitted for tot-sized carrying. Trot on over to blabla kids for this oinktacular find. Enter code: barnyardfun for 10% off your total purchase.

12 An absolute necessity! No more troublesome window shades to rumble with, this car seat sunshade attaches to any car seat for an instant sun shield. Works on infant & toddler car seats to provide 50+ upf protection. A fantastic find for new Moms or any Mom who needs to escape the cranky side effects of the sun's rays. Available @ protect-a-bubusa.com.

Our favorite mom tips:
Green Tips: Stamp out junk mail once and for all the Green way.

There is now a solution for reducing your carbon footprint while freeing your mailbox from those irritating direct mailings that leave it overflowing.

Each year, 100 million trees are cut down to create the approximately 4 million tons of unwanted junk mail in the U.S. This unwanted junk mail ends up in landfills.

GreenDimes offers a giftable Junk Mail Reduction Kit. You can buy GreenDimes eGifts for friends in various denominations of value, and GreenDimes will send your recipients an email with a code to redeem their gift. The kit includes automatic removal from major direct marketing lists, plus 10 trees planted with one of GreenDimes's nonprofit tree-planting partners.

For a $20 annual fee Green Dimes pledges to reduce your junk mail 90% within 90 days. They do this by pulling your name off a broad range of lists and follow up monthly to make sure you stay off those lists.

Visit Green Dimes for more details.


Natural Drain Cleaner
1-1/2 cups vinegar
1/4 cup baking soda
Boiling Water
Put a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Pour the baking soda down drain. Next, pour in the vinegar and cover the drain. Allow the solution to sit and work for at least 5 minutes. (The vinegar and baking soda will begin to break down some of the fatty acids which will allow the clog to wash down the drain.) Grab the now boiling kettle of water, remove the cover from the drain and begin to pour the boiling water down the drain. Do not use this method if you have used a chemical drain opener as it may still be present in the drain.


Green Cleaning Supplies: How green are your green cleaning supplies? Manufacturers of commercial cleaning products are not required to list all of the ingredients used. So, while the new green products may be less toxic, that does not mean they are non toxic. In order to find the greenest and least toxic of the commercial cleaners available, read the labels. Learn what the warning labels mean. Don't assume that all of the environmental and health claims made by these products are true. Check the ingredients list. You can also check out the Eco Label center at GreenerChoices.org to see how a particular product rates.

We recently had the opportunity to try out some Eco Mist Solutions products and absolutely love their Kitchen cleaner. It is totally unscented, non toxic and made with plant based ingredients. Now that is a cleaner you can trust!



Make It a Special Holiday Week
Christmas day is the big day, no doubt about it. There's much anticipation leading up to it, and then "poof", it's over in what seems like a lot less than 24 hours. And then, if you admit it, you feel a little let down. All that work and excitement for just one day?

The answer is to enjoy the whole season, not just the day. One way to do that is to turn the whole week into something special. You will need to plan it out ahead of time and get any necessary supplies to make it a success. The kids will love it!

The idea is to make each day of the week special with a theme of some sort. Here's a sampling:

Day #1 - Bake cookies and invite your favorite family or two over to enjoy them with you. Put on an animated Christmas movie while you visit.

Day #2 - Have the kids create a Thankful Stocking picture on poster paper and decorate it. It should be big with lots of empty space on the front of the stocking. Throughout the day, everyone in your family should write in as many thankful declarations as they can.

"I am thankful for my warm socks."
"I appreciate my mom sewing my button on."
"I am thankful for the French fries I had at dinner."
"I really love Fluffy."

Day #3 - Write a family Christmas story, giving all family members a part in the story. Have the kids write it down, add pictures, bind and laminate it. Then you can read it aloud every year.

Day #4 - Make a mailbox from an old shoebox and have everyone in the family "mail" special short letters to each other telling what they like about the person.

Day #5 - Make a holiday quilt. Get different holiday fabrics from the fabric store and have everyone cut out squares, 6 inches by 6 inches, or whatever size you'd like. You can also cut squares from old clothing. Lay them out and arrange them in a pleasing design. Sew together, by machine or hand. You can have a family member with quilting skills finish it off. You'll enjoy the quilt every Christmas from that point on. Quilts are good memory makers.

Day #6 - Giving day. Each family member gives each of the other family members a gift, and it can't be newly purchased. It has to be something you already own that you know another member would like to have, a homemade craft item, or a gift of time.

Examples:
• a kid can knit a scarf for mom
• a girl can give her funky pair of mittens to her sister
• dad can give mom a ticket for a good back rub
• mom can give her son an extra hour of TV time

Day #7 - Christmas day. Everyday - Read a Christmas book out-loud to the family right before bed. There's something magical about this. Take time to watch your favorite seasonal movies too.