NPN Flickr Contest!

Recently, Natural Parents Network launched a Flickr Photo Pool and corresponding Photo Contest with over $1000 in photography-related prizes up for grabs for our readers! Many NPN readers have already submitted photos of your beautiful families, showing us what natural parenting really looks like for you in many forms. We are loving the many images that have been added and the opportunity to see the diverse faces of our readers and fellow natural parents. There are almost 500 images added already to the Flickr Pool, and it is turning out to be a very fun way to see and share images of other parents and families like yours!

The April 30 deadline is fast approaching! Don't forget to enter for your chance to win a fabulous prize package.

Enter your photos into the NPN Flickr Pool from your Flickr account, and favorite the photos you like best. Share the contest, and encourage family and friends to vote for your photos and their favorites. For details on how to submit your photos to the NPN Flickr Pool and our contest, read our launch post and Photo Submission/Contest Rules.

***Here are mine - feel free to vote for any or all of them, because the prizes are awesome and I wouldn't mind winning ;-) ****

10 Things *not* to do to Help Your Child Eat

Over at NPN today...

10 Things *Not* to Do to Help Your Child Eat

 

 There’s a lot of talk these days about how to get your kids to eat. But really, it’s all about approach and finesse and what not to do. With that in mind, I've come up with a list of ten things that you need to give up before your child will come around to the foodie way of doing things. From making food "fuel" to getting emotional about what your child is not eating, take a peek at what parents should stop doing to help their kids start eating in my post at Natural Parents Network: 

10 Things *Not* to Do to Help Your Child Eat.

Card Catalogue Craft Storage

Many years ago, when we were still in Dallas, I relieved my mom of the last card catalogue in her library. It's at least 50 years old and solid wood. It gets put in place and never moved and over the years it has mostly housed random things that I couldn't find anywhere else for.

Back in... January? February? I got inspired to actually do something aside from stack boxes in front of it and library books on it.

This is what it looked like. Not pretty, but full of potential.

My ex-brother-in-law turned it down when my mom offered it to him as a toolbox because of these holes. He has proven to be so very short sighted. A little card stock and some double sided tape later...

I used post-it flags to label intended drawers. 

Then I cut cardstock and printed labels...

This kid loves a good organization project.

The orange labels are drawers he has full access to, and he respects that the blue drawers are for Mommies and Daddies only.

After:  

That's my camera bag and some more art supplies down there.

Let's be real about what the top looks like, because this is as neat as it gets:

(that pile on the left is stain glass bunting...tutorial on its way!)

Ultimately, it's my favorite piece of free furniture to date!

If you can't find one on Craigslist and $800 is a good price for you, Land of Nod has some on offer right now.

Ethics, a Budget, and Your Taste Buds

...a new series I've got over at NPN:


If you're paying any attention to food at all lately, you've noticed that it's not enough anymore to simply buy the food your parents bought while you were growing up and trust that it's just as chock-full of nutrients as it always has been. In addition to the familiar Organic vs. Traditional debate, there are GMOs to consider, labor conditions, corporate donations, food miles, and the welfare of the animals that will wind up on your plate. Add to that your family's need to stick to a budget as well as your desire to serve only food that tastes amazing…and you've got quite a conundrum on your hands. Which takes priority? Your conscience? Your bank account? Your taste buds? Hopefully, there are ways to satisfy all three. This is an ongoing series in which we'll address each challenge in depth, but I thought I would start by talking about how we do it in our house. It's really simple. Are you ready? Do the best you can with what you have. Read more at Natural Parents Network >>

PlanCity Toy Storage

So we decided, when we were thinking about things, that Baz's toys were going to be as un-branded as possible. He's got Cars cars, and his daily PB sandwich is cut out in the shape of Mater and McQueen, so we're obviously not rigid, but his road and rail set is unbranded in such a manner. It's a blank slate for all of the imaginative play he can imagine. 

We chose the PlanCity set. It is amazing. It is well made and durable and, while each little set isn't terribly expensive, it adds up quickly.

 I want it to last - I want it to be loved, but I want it to last through both boys and potentially to their own children.

I googled storage solutions a LOT and found NOTHING. So I set my own up and am offering up these images and links to the next mom who wants to teach her children how to take care of their toys, because they are lucky to have nice things.

There's not a full shot of the table, which - in all honesty - is never fully cleaned off. It's the play table from Land of Nod - awesome for many reasons, not least of which that the legs are interchangeable and by the time it's all said and done, your kids have a desk on which to do school work.

The mountain and the mountain passes go in last. People, cars, trees, etc go into the two drawers in the table.

We opted to invest in the two rolling storage bins that match the table and one houses diggers, Cars cars, and farm animals (in these cuffed buckets - which are surprisingly sturdy. We have a 4th one out for Walter's rattles.) Bus stops, a crane, the fire station, etc - all of that goes in this bin.

This bin houses all of the road and rail pieces themselves - bridges, connectors, level crossings...all in here (the yellow envelope has assembly instructions for when we choose to follow directions.) I picked up drawer organizers in varying sizes and am very happy with how they work. 

Mountain curves go in next...

 And mountain pieces on top.

It all slides away so that (with the exception of the parking garage) you'd never know we had an entire city unless it was in the process of being played with. 

And before you get all "that would last 5 seconds and my kid would have destroyed it" snorty at me....I've taught Baz since he was Walter's age (and have heard him repeat to Walter already): "We are lucky to have nice things. We have to be gentle with them." So he doesn't put away without help, and when he does he likes to know that there's order to the madness. I help him put things in the correct bin and each time I help a little less. 

So - hopefully - this set will last us a loooong time. Because it really is quite awesome.

Disclaimer: None of the companies mentioned here know that I exist beyond their records of my purchases (Land of Nod has *excellent* customer service, by the way.) They do not care that I am an overly organized or that I've taken pictures and put them on the internet. I have not been paid, cajoled, bribed, blackmailed, or sweet talked into telling you to buy their products. 

It's a sign.

Remember that post where I was all 

"I just do this stuff because I like it and you can keep your stinking money!"??

Me, too.

Well, it seems that the Universe has other plans.

A few weeks ago, we got a notice from the city. It was addressed to both of us, with Steve listed at the top, so I set it on his side. I assumed it was something to do with taxes (rightly) and that he could add it to his papers and send it to our CPA (wrong.)

The city, it seems, cared greatly that I had made money in 2011 and 2012. Greatly. They cared that it had been made, not that it happened in finite terms and resulted in checks well below the poverty line. I made money on my own while living in San Jose and that made me a business operating within city limits and that meant I needed to register.

Long, long, story short: I have paid the city TWO YEARS of back processing fees and fees for the pleasure of potentially making money in 2013. The fact that I had no concrete plans to do so was also of no concern to them. 

Luckily, I have a business degree and have been kicking around some ideas and filing things and buying things and before you know it, embrita.com will no longer be under construction. 

Until then - there's a whole lot of this going on:

(soundtrack: here.) 

In other news, this arrived from erincondren.com a few days ago. I love a good life planner! 

Putting Indestructibles to the Test

A few years ago, when Baz was a baby, my mom sent us 2 books from a company called Indestructibles. They are, supposedly, immune to the abuse toddlers put books through. By the time we got them, I'd already been working with Baz to be gentle with books so he did not put them through the wringer.

 (tip: start with catalogues. If those get torn, no one cares, and they're more delicate than picture books, so by the time you introduce picture books, the bar has been set.)

Walter got them pretty early - and he's a kid who puts everything in his mouth (Baz, not so much.)

He just can't get enough of the amazing illustrations and the tasty paper. Trust me, he has been known to just gaze at the images, too.

These books have been put through the ringer. On the left - Humpty Dumpty gets some love, but Frere Jacques (about a chef who dreams of food) gets the most love. He crushes, chews, sucks, throws, peruses, and smashes. They are crumpled, but that actually makes them softer. The illustrations are not worse for the wear, either. 

Hey Diddle Diddle was Baz's - he reads it quite often. Note its near-perfect condition. I have a rather fastidious child.

I decided to put them to the ultimate test: ironing. I used the steam, a fairly high heat, and a linen napkin (you should always put something lint-free and color fast between your iron and whatever you're ironing, lest you over-heat the fabric and leave shiny spots or burns. Those are tell-tale wear signs and not acceptable at all....wonder where my 3 year old gets his fastidiousness from? ;-) )

After ironing - flat books again! 

Ok, so I found one chink in the armor of the virtually indestructible books: direct heat from the iron will melt the pages. I found this out when I was ironing and the cord of the iron pulled the napkin away. I do not recommend that. I'm pretty sure you could cut these with scissors, too, but I don't want to try because we enjoy these books!

So there you go - the perfect infant books. I want to make a point of saying these are the perfect car books - they're not hard or heavy like board books, they're not prone to tearing like paperbacks, and the pictures are colorful and inviting. We keep at least one in the seat pocket at all times.

For legal reasons I need to say that this company doesn't know who I am, that I ironed their book, or even that I own their books. They do not care that I melted Frere Jacques because they do not know that I own Frere Jacques (they may care if they ever find out, but who knows if that will happen. 12 people ready my blog.) They also would probably like to know that I HEARTILY recommend these books as gifts for the small ones in your life and that I feel the price (~$5) is well worth it. Find them at your local book store* or amazon.

*why shop local? Here's why. Seriously. Click through and read at least the cover page at the

 3/50 Project. 

You'll be amazed.