On a rainy day or sick day, I love to curl up with Annabelle and read books in bed. Last week during an especially icky patch of rainy days, we read Kit Allen’s board book Galoshes which inspired me (and Annabelle) to build this nifty sailboat out of an empty milk carton. To create our sailboat, we followed these instructions from Create-Kids-Crafts.com.
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About 20 minutes later, our milk carton sailboat set sail in our bathtub. Sadly, the mast and sail could not endure rough waters (from a very nasty storm made by one feisty toddler); fortunately, the milk carton hull can survive almost anything–from large waves and storms to ship wrecks and sinking. Oh, and this boat sails beautifully too.

Creating toys from trash has been a lot of fun and has me brainstorming new ways to reinvent “stuff” from egg cartons to broken balloons. Another great side effect is that being creative beats boredom, lethargy, and relieves stress for me. I am happy to have stumbled upon these recycled art projects. More to come!

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An easy way to make old shirts new again (or consignment and vintage purchases re-styled) is to jazz it up with an iron-on. I originally came across the wonders of iron-ons while brainstorming how to create text in a homemade fabric baby book. While my fabric baby book is still a project in the works, learning how to create a one of a kind garment for myself and my little one has given me a no-sew option to updating old clothing.

When we choose to purchase used clothing or make donations to consignment and thrift shops, we are helping to reduce the cost of waste disposal as well as the natural resources consumed in the life of a product. From the U.S. E.P.A.:

Waste is not just created when consumers throw items away. Throughout the life cycle of a product from extraction of raw materials to transportation to processing and manufacturing facilities to manufacture and use waste is generated. Reusing items or making them with less material decreases waste dramatically. Ultimately, less materials will need to be recycled or sent to landfills or waste combustion facilities.

And when you refashion used items to suit your own styles, not only will you look hip but you’ll feel good about your threads too. Iron on transfers can be used on anything from onesies and tees to fabric bags, pillows, pillow cases, and fabric covered containers.

I created the iron on tee “Barack and Roll Baby” by sprucing up a photo of my favorite candidate for U.S. President with Photoshop Elements and then adding text.

What kinds of projects have you  created (or would like to) using iron on transfers? Do you have any easy tips for refashioning old clothing and stuff? I’d love to hear, as always.

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If you have a minute, I have 2 new posts over at 5 Minutes for Going Green.  Check out “5 Minute Miracles” and  “Healthy Green Pets.”

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How Daddy became her favorite toy . . .

Just another day at the park.

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Yesterday afternoon while Annabelle napped and my husband biked, I sat down to work on my application to become a leader of a local parenting group. Completing this application will likely take me a month or two as there is much reading, reflection, and answering of questions. One of the more valuable questions on the application simply asks why an applicant wants to become a leader. In a roundabout way, I explained that participating in the group offered me great hope and support when I was a new parent and that it encouraged me to make decisions, as a parent, that resonated with what my heart was telling me to do.

But, as I thought about my answer, I remembered the earliest months at home with a newborn. Gosh, it wasn’t easy. My husband and I lived without sleep (though even in our most delirious states still managed to smile and be grateful for the helpless baby who needed us). I remember feeling so afraid the day he returned to work from his week at home; now, caring for a newborn was my responsibility for at least 8 hours out of the day. Within a few days, I adjusted and came to love spending time with my baby; however, once I got the hang of changing diapers, soothing a crying baby, and managing our home, I wished that I had someone to talk with, commiserate with, and gain some insight about my role as a mother and how my previous life roles were changing.

In a sense, I sent my hope out into the universe; I was searching for co-workers, friendship, and a community where I belonged. Shortly thereafter, another full time mom invited me to attend a breastfeeding support group and a babywearing meeting. There I met many new and veteran mothers who not only enjoyed discussing how to soothe a crying baby and talk about whether or not my baby was eating enough, but who genuinely cared to help out an amateur mom, like myself. The best part of meeting these women was that I came across advice and encouragement about child rearing and nurturing a family that “felt” right to me.

I imagine that many religious people consider prayer to be the way to communicate their hopes, intentions, and desires to the universe, or a higher power. Having experienced many trying times in my life (as we all do), I have found spirituality and the ability to turn within myself to be so comforting and worthwhile. Early in my pregnancy, my provider informed me that my HCG levels were low, which suggested that I had an ectopic pregnancy and would eventually miscarry. My heart broke. Becoming a mother had long been a dream of mine, and I was devastated that I might be losing my baby. I read and read to learn more about my possible medical condition, but I have to tell you that none of the knowledge I acquired was comforting; it was only at night or while taking walks by myself that I was able to quiet myself and feel any peace. My heart spoke to something greater than myself and I felt hope.

Whatever our beliefs are in this life, we can feel more connected to each other, more hopeful, and perhaps even better guided if we are able to send out our intentions. When my father was suffering from cancer, I attended a group who helped me visualize and send healing energy to my dad; my hope was that he would not feel any more pain. A few days later he passed away. Admittedly, his passing and the events surrounding it can be interpreted in so many ways. The way I choose to see things is that my hopes for my father were answered.

Because Green Mamma is a place where I come to talk about parenting and the environment, let me bring this post back to it; there are so many folks on the internet and all around the world who care about working towards a healthier planet. Being able to reach our goal, collectively, to care for this earth and make it a livable place for generations to come, is possible, I think; although it is my opinion that such a goal would be more attainable if each and every day those of us who are working on behalf of the earth simply quiet our minds and express our hopes, wishes, and intentions for it. At the very least, such an exercise helps with focus, and when are focused, we can achieve most anything.

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Okay, so I have a strange neurosis regarding floor cleanliness and not wearing shoes indoors. Sometimes I even wish I were Asian so I could simply tell people that they have to remove their shoes because it’s a cultural thing. My husband looks a bit like Keanu Reeves, so I guess we could lie . . .

Anyway, to read more about my obsession with clean, green, and healthy floors, go on over to 5 Minutes for Going Green and read “Shoes Off!”

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What’s your family’s bath time ritual?   Are you a go-it-aloner or do you love to share shower time with your kiddos?  To read more about my family’s bath time bonding, stop on over at API Speaks to read my cobathing post.

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Inspired by my new Nikon camera, this week’s gratitude post is about light. Most of us are familiar with phrases like “shed some light”, “let there be light,” and “keep in the sunlight.” One of my favorite quotes about light was written by Edith Wharton: “There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Light is thought to be a symbol of creation, truth, understanding, generosity, altruism, life, purpose, and hope, and that is only naming a few. In photography, light is technically important for letting the camera achieve an image that mimics what the eye sees.

What I love about taking photos is that it helps me to notice beauty wherever I go. Throughout my day I find my eyes searching for color, shape, form, texture, and more, and then, I think about whether or not such a photo would be taken in good light.

Of course, there are times when my eyes and mind notice something beautiful and I forgot or have no access to my camera. When this happens, my husband is quick to remind me that our experiences are what matter most. “Make a memory,” he says. So here are a few memories, or rather, moments from our everyday where I notice beauty and make an imprint upon my mind:

At daybreak, I see

a slumbering baby nestled next to her dad

fog hovering over purple echinacea

runners and bikers with the roads to themselves

and deer grazing on wild grass

At midday, I see

red, blue, green, silver, and bronze cars crowding local plazas

Annabelle excitedly waving her arms, dancing to hip hop in the backseat of my car

ducks basking in the sun and waiting for generous visitors

and shadows cast on purple echinacea

At 5 o’clock when the sun softens, I see

neighbors returning home from work

my husband and daughter weeding our vegetable garden

mosquitoes leaving their mark

and smoke rising from summer barbeques

At dusk when lights go out, I see

the outline of Toby’s tail as he walks across our bed

tall trees swaying outside of our windows

laugh lines on my husband’s face as he watches Jon Stewart

and a busy toddler fast asleep, my baby once again.

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Now that Annabelle knows how to scoop and pour (and I’m learning my way around the kitchen), we’re spending more time together whipping up yummy treats. I follow a K.I.S.S. culinary philosophy (perhaps my greatest fault as an environmentally minded mamma), and tend to be one of those people who follows package recipes, spicing things up a bit with an added ingredient here and there.

Here’s how to whip up your own batch of pink banana nut pancakes–pink because we’re girly girls who wanna have fun.

Ingredients

3/4 cup Arrowhead Mills Organic Buckwheat Pancake/Waffle Mix

2 tbsp. canola oil

1/2 cup organic soy, rice, or whole milk

1 mashed banana

1/4 cup sliced almonds

vanilla

food coloring

Recipe

1. Combine pancake mix, canola oil, vanilla, milk and food coloring in a bowl. Stir until mixture isn’t lumpy.

2. Mash banana in a separate bowl. Stir into mixture.

3. Add almonds. Stir.

4. Fry pancakes (yes, even I know how to do that!). Garnish with almonds.

Serves 2.

Annabelle pours pancake mix into bowl.

She adds milk.

And a few minutes later, we have our girly pink banana nut pancakes. Yummy!

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