Conscious Family WINNERS

Ok - slightly belated, but here are the winners for the Conscious Family Giveaways :)

Winners of giveaway #1 - MamaVee and Jenn D.
Winner of giveaway #2 - Kim Through the Looking Glass
Winner of giveaway #3 - Salty Mama Ruth
Winner of giveaway #4 - Hakima Midwifery, Shannon
Winner of giveaway #5 - Alisa
Winner of giveaway #6 - Jennifer P
Winner of giveaway #7 - Jennifer P
Winner of giveaway #8 - Jessica Fischer

Please contact me within 56 hours so that I can forward your email and shipping address to the vendors. :)

Letting Our Children Be Themselves - Guest Blogger

Renee is my last guest blogger for this series. She is the mother of 14 beautiful children and writes about homeschooling, positive parenting, photography, adoption, knitting, cooking, and so much more. She reminds me that, though life is busy, it is good! And I love her writing style. I invite you to read her take on what it means to be a conscious parent:

I wasn't sure exactly what aspect of conscious parenting I was going to write about, until talking to a friend the other night. She brought up something that has come up a lot over the last couple of years. People seem to find it surprising that we allow and encourage our children to follow their individual interests.

Perhaps people assume that since we are a large family, we can't take each child's individual passions into account. It's true that in a family our size conformity often rules the day: the children get up at the same time, we eat the same breakfast at the same time, we eat lunch together and start school together. But I view each one of my fourteen children as individuals. It comes in to play when I dress them, spend time with them, give them haircuts and plan out their education.

I recently asked Adalia (15), Judah (13) and Tilly (12) to write a research paper on a topic of their choice. The selections? Major WWII Battles, Ice Cream, and Breast Milk vs. Formula. I'll let you guess who wrote what.

For the rest of her story, read here.

You Are What You Eat

I always used to wonder, as a child, why my grandma would tout 'you are what you eat'. But, as I get older, and learn more about nutrition and how our bodies work/what we need to function optimally, I am beginning to realize just how wise my granny was.

Part of my role as a parent is to make sure that my children grow healthy and strong for their current health and safety as well as their future lives and health. As such, I try my darnedest to make sure that they make healthy choices and have positive eating habits.

Now, I can even fall back on my grandma's wisdom: they are what they eat... but I understand that now on a whole new level!

I have seen this email a few times, but, in case you, my reader, haven't, I wanted to share it here. I have added additional information to make it 'post worthy', but it shows how, if we only pay attention to what we are eating, we will see what it will truly benefit in our own bodies.

Nutritional scientists have a word for this occurrence. It is called 'teleological nutritional targeting' - the idea that every whole food has a pattern that resembles the body organ or physiological function that it directly benefits.

This believe stemmed from the Doctrine of Signatures, a belief that God left signatures all over his creation on how it can best be used. This was instituted and studied from the early church and Roman times up until now, and now we have science to support many of these claims.

A  sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The  pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots  greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the  eyes.

Apples and Star Fruit are both known to contain components that increase neurotransmissions and strengthen the brains neurons. When sliced, both apples and star fruit create a star pattern, just like the neurons of the brain.
 

 

A  Tomato has four chambers and is red. The  heart has four chambers and is red. They both grow with 'lobes'...  We now know that tomatoes are loaded with lycopine, which translates into heart and blood food. 

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound  heart and blood vitalizing food. 

A  Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on  the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen  neuron-transmitters for brain function. 

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body. 

Avocados,  Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them). 

Figs are full of seeds and hang in clusters. They also hang down, heavy, from the branches that they grow on. They look very similar to a man's scrotum, or, more specifically, the testes. Figs increase the mobility of sperm and increase the numbers of sperm. This increases the probability of overcoming  male sterility. 

Sweet Potatoes/yams look just like the human pancreas. Interestingly, sweet potatoes/yams actually help to balance the glycemic index of diabetics, as well as increase the functionality of the pancreas. 

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries and are similar in shape to them.  Additionally, they are a huge source of Vitamin E, which aids in the health of the cervix, reducing the chances of cervical cancer and vaginal dryness. Interestingly, anyone who has seen or felt the external os of a cervix can attest that olives are very similar in feel and sight. Finally, during pregnancy, eating olives packed in their original oils increases the chances of the cervix being favorable to dilation, when the body is ready to start labor.

Yeah, we all know what a banana looks like. The banana contains 3 natural sugars which are sucrose, fructose and glucose. These natural sugars combined with the high fiber content in a banana help to give an instant sustained and substantial boost of energy. Popular research has proven that just by eating two bananas is enough to provide energy for a strenuous 90 minute workout. Which is why some may consider it a sex food due to the additional energy it provides to keep a mans erection going, and going, and going....

Zucchini looks like the trachea, complete with the larynx at the end. Because of the presence of high level of vitamin C, vitamin A, copper, fiber, phosphorus, and potassium in zucchini, it is said to be a natural cure/medicine for both season, situational, and chronic asthma sufferers.

Peanuts come in pairs and grow in an enclosed space, very much like the testes that reside in a man's scrotum. Peanuts, not surprisingly then, have a profound effect on male sexual libido.A funny tidbit of history, the church of the Middle Ages forbade men to eat peanuts. Why? peanuts increase the production of testosterone as well as contain arginine, the main component of Viagra.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts. 

 
Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Part of Conscious parenting and being a conscious family is being conscientious of what we consume, our diet. So, next time you make your family a spinach salad topped with celery, onions, tomatoes, walnuts, and chopped star fruit, know you are not only feeding their bellies, but their bodies! 

Conscious Family Giveaway #8

As stated in a previous post, this month is dedicated to the Conscious Family. And, as I stated prior, we will be having some fun giveaways during April.

Giveaway #1 can be found here
Giveaway #2 can be found here
Giveaway #3 can be found here
Giveaway #4 can be found here
Giveaway #5 can be found here
Giveaway #6 can be found here
Giveaway #7 can be found here

Alexis owns Worts and Cunning Apothecary. She  was happy to hear about our event and is a lovely shop owner who understands conscious choices, as it is evident in her product line. :) It was wonderful reading her interview answers and I enjoyed getting to know her a little more in the process. I'd like to introduce to you, Alexis:

When looking back at little me and tracing the path that has led me to becoming an herbalist, I often think of two important and formative events in my life. The first involved my ever-expanding identity politics which included identifying for many years as a koala bear. On a fateful family vacation to New Zealand I had the opportunity to hold a koala bear (you know, cuz wild animals and children are meant to snuggle) and realized immediately that the koala bear was kin. I proceeded to ride my tricycle around our neighborhood eating leaves of the trees and learning about the properties of plants (which ones were poisonous, which ones stung, which ones tasted sweet) through my koala girl escapades. A relationship with the plant world had truly begun and was further developed by my additional identity as a psychic mutant who was brewing a super potion in toy buckets in her backyard fort. Both of these habits – eating plantlife and brewing them in buckets – continued to evolve over the years, I dare say, matured, and led me to realize that one of my callings in life was to serve my community as an herbalist. So an herbalist I became and I am continuously becoming.

Worts + Cunning Apothecary started as a way for me to not only share herbal remedies that I have been creating for my family, friends, and community, but also was the first step towards building a sliding-scale health cooperative with other health practitioners. While Worts + Cunning Apothecary is still a wee business, it is supported by a big vision and lots of passion for serving the health needs of whatever community I find myself in.

As you’ve probably begun to suspect [from the above] I was a kid who dedicated a lot of energy to developing the fine muscle of imagination. I was born in Southern California, moved to Japan for my formative years, and then back to California. Living abroad has shaped the way that I perceive the world as well as living in the multicultural communities of California. Diversity has always been a given in my life, not a quota. It wasn’t until I moved to areas of the country that consider themselves to be less diverse that I began to better appreciate the experience I had of growing up in a world of complicated, cross-cultural identities. Such an environment allowed me greater room to stretch and grow even though at the time I was often seen as the “weird” and not the most *ahem* popular kid in the school. Today, I am someone who relishes in the complicated, delights in the simple, and practices keeping open to all the ways we choose to identify ourselves. Working with plants is a constant practice of exploring perception, questioning it, and ultimately learning to listen with more than just the funny things aside our head.

Important moments for me have always been the ones in which I feel like a veil has been pulled back or something falls away to reveal a deeper, if often simpler, connection to that which dwells between, beyond, and within us. There was a point a few years back when the economy was nose-diving, jobs were scarce, and I was still pretty fresh out of college when I realized that I was not built to work behind a desk every day from 9-5. Koala bears don’t care for florescent lights and mutants have low tolerances for sassy copy machines.

Looking back at my early childhood career choices (mission specialist on a space shuttle to Mars, private investigator, Amazon warrior) I realized that I always imagined myself running my own business (often with super-powered allies) and recognizing my kinship for the green realm, I began my studies as an herbalist. While I am still working other jobs to pay the bills and support my love who is becoming a midwife, these are extra-curricular activities, and will eventually fall away as the Apothecary grows. It’s a pretty darn lovely place to be in.

Plants are our allies in healing and so I have developed and continue to develop the Apothecary in ways that affirms our relationship to the green world, seeking to be part of re-enchanting the world, not exploiting the gifts of the earth. As a Pagan who believes in both the immanence and transcendence of divinity, I seek to treat the earth, the air, the fire, the water of our universe as I would treat a beloved. I still have a way to go in creating a carbon-neutral company, but I feel confident in the foundation I have built that is invested in sustainable practices.

The Apothecary is a quirky place and I hope that those who visit feel invited in to a world of herbal medicine that is sometimes simple and always a bit mysterious. For me, herbal medicine is one of many ways for folks to participate into their own healing. Our green allies don’t heal us, they heal with us and that is a profound shift in understanding the ways that we achieve and maintain health. Herbal medicine is also an excellent way to drink lots and lots of lovely cups of tea - always a good thing in my book.

And just a little 'non business'

I was raised on a healthy dose of sci-fi thanks to my Dad and Grandpa and one of my favorite movies of all time is The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. There is really no way to properly describe this movie or my continued implausible hope that they will eventually make a sequel. Buckaroo Banzai is a good visual representation of the bizarre (or true?) ways I found myself imagining the universe and the way I might fit in to it. The closing scene, complete with a montage of “check us out, we’re so cool” walking, is a visual genre we left behind in the 80s, but we can always hope for a revival.

 As you've probably noticed, she is not just an awesome herbalist, but a really wonderful writer! She owns a blog here, and she is in the process of building an independent website here.

THE GIVEAWAY
Alexis is offering one lucky reader a Pregnancy Tea Blend Trio! It is such a neat gift. Her trio is comprised of Budding (pays special attention to building up nutrients in the body and relieving morning sickness), Blooming (brings in herbs that are especially strengthening and tone to the uterus, as well as calming herbs like Chamomile, to regulate and sustain energy levels.), and Blossoming (continues to tone the uterus and also includes herbs to help bring milk and the development of colostrum).

This gift is worth over $25. So, whose going to win it?!

RULES FOR ENTERING:
To enter, you MUST complete #1 on the list. After that, feel free to enter as many additional times as you would like (#2-#5) and in any particular order you so choose. You must leave an additional comment for each entry for it to be valid. Please don't forget to leave me some way to get in contact with you if you are the winner.

1. Like Worts and Cunning's Facebook page, leave a comment on her wall saying that I sent you, and come back/comment here to let me know you did. :)
   
2. Like my Facebook Page, then come back and let me know you have. If you are already a liker, let me know. :)
   
3. Go visit her blog, then both leave a comment on her blog saying hi AND leave a comment here telling me what you learned/liked/etc.. from her posts.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook wall, tagging my or Worts and Cunning's FB pages, then come back here and comment, letting me know you did. 
   
5. Go to her etsy shop and browse around, come back here and let me know what item you like the most.
    

Entries must be received by May 5th at midnight. Drawing will occur in that first week of May. Good luck!!!

Conscious Family Giveaway #7

As you now know, this month is dedicated to the Conscious Family. And, as such, we are having some great giveaways during April.

Jamie, of Pat-A-Cake Baby, is our seventh business owner in our Conscious Family series giveaways.

In addition to the donation they have given, Jamie is offering a 15% discount code to you, the reader! Simply go to their website and enter the discount code of: GRAND

Have fun getting to know her and take a look at their business offerings.

THE INTERVIEW

Can you tell me a little about you, as a person, and then a little about how you, the business owner, came to create your store?

I am a busy mom of two girls, Sophia, 3.5 and Scarlett, 13 months. I’m a bit of a type-A personality when it comes to keeping my house clean and organized…this has been one of my hardest obstacles to overcome, as this just isn’t much of a possibility anymore with two littles, a busy business and a husband who works 60 hours a week! I live in North Idaho and love to be outdoors in the Spring, Summer and Fall. I pretty much hibernate in the winter, especially when it is -18, like today. I am a past teacher of bilingual education and English as a second language, but I didn’t teach for long, as I wanted to be home with my children.

I started the Pat-a-Cake Baby during my hubby’s second semester of law school in 2008. He was up all night studying and I don’t do well going to sleep by myself, so I just taught myself to sew. I put my designs on Etsy and started learning about designer fabrics. A few months later and we had our first wholesale order and I just couldn’t keep up (plus I am not a very good seamstress!). I hired my first local seamstress in May and built a website. By November, I hired a second seamstress and the following year I hired another as backup and I also have a full time packager/snap applier, etc. Although I’ve been contacted by numerous factories overseas, I like to keep my business model of local, handmade products. The attention to detail is far superior and our products are always triple checked. First by the seamstress, second by the packager and third, by me. Of course, this makes for higher prices, but people who want heirloom quality baby products that aren’t factory made are happy to pay a higher price.  

The Pat-a-Cake has grown so much with minimal marketing, just word of mouth by all the awesome parents out there. It is now in the hands of celebrities from Tori Spelling, Ali Landry and John Travolta. I got to meet my childhood idol, Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie from Full House) at a gifting event in L.A. (see our “Press” page on our website for pics) and have our products listed in my favorite pregnancy magazine, the one I used to read way before I started Pat-a-Cake. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen! It’s been a fun ride and I love being able to make an income while being home with my girls…it is the best of both worlds, although extremely stressful at times. For the last 3 years, I’ve had all my emails directed to my Blackberry. 

It took that long for me to figure out that that was wrong. Just last week, I disabled it for good and I think my blood pressure has gone way down J While, I don’t have set office hours, I am not at the beck and call of anyone, but my children. I don’t feel as much pressure to respond to an email immediately. What a liberated feeling! Although, I am still trying to break the habit of checking my phone.

What were you like as a child?
I was very independent, creative and super busy outside. I didn’t watch much TV and still could live without it, if someone took our TV away (although, I might miss NBC’s Thursday lineup!). We didn’t have a lot of money, so we spent vacations camping in the great outdoors, which beats Disneyland any day! I was a very good student and always gave 100% to my school work. I’ve had a job since I was 14 and worked 20-30 hours all through high school and college. The work ethic of a lot of teenagers these days makes me sad. I’m glad I worked hard for everything I have ever owned, from my first car to my first house. And although, my own children will grow up a bit differently, they will always work for and earn the things they desire.

If you had to pinpoint one turning point in your life/career, what would you consider that defining moment/event?
Definitely becoming a mother and forever wearing my heart on my sleeve! My political viewpoints have changed greatly and my “mother bear” instincts are always at the forefront. I think I would be a completely different teacher, now that I’m a mother, perhaps a little less energetic (children do that to you), but more compassionate than I already was. I mean the children in my class were somebody’s babies, someone’s lifeblood and livelihood. I don’t think that that can be completely understood until you have children.

You offer go green cloth wipes, very cool - obviously you see the need for some more eco-conscious options, so tell me why these things are important to you both personally and professionally.
Well professionally, they make business sense, as they use up our scraps :) Personally, I cloth diapered and loved being able to reuse the diapers and wipes we had. Our wet bags were also developed during my cloth diapering days. Cloth wipes work much better than disposables anyway and you don’t end up using as many. I have to be honest though, with my second child, I haven’t been as good at cloth diapering. I just don’t have enough hours in the day to do that type of laundry anymore…if I only could have a nanny.

What do you hope your clients get from your products?
I hope that they enjoy going out in public and stealing the attention from other mom’s because their littles have quality made products that are top of the line in design, practicality, and trendiness. They can be happy that they are supporting a mom-owned business that still keeps products made in the U.S.!

Anything else you want to share with my readers?

We also have a newsletter and send out about 6 letters a year with news and discounts.

THE GIVEAWAY

They are offering a $25.00 gift certificate to their store, very cool! This way, you are sure to find something applicable to your stage of parenting!

Again, don't forget the rules. So, read below CAREFULLY for the rules to enter!

RULES FOR ENTERING:
To enter, you MUST complete #1 on the list. After that, feel free to enter as many additional times as you would like (#2-#5) and in any particular order you so choose. You must leave an additional comment for each entry for it to be valid. Please don't forget to leave me some way to get in contact with you if you are the winner.

1. Like Pat A Cake's Facebook page, leave a comment on their wall saying that I sent you, and come back/comment here to let me know you did. :)
   
2. Like my Facebook Page, then come back and let me know you have. If you are already a liker, let me know. :)
   
3. Share this giveaway on your own blog, then come back here and comment, sharing the link to that post in the body of your comment.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook wall, tagging my or Pat A Cake's FB pages, then come back here and comment, letting me know you did. 
   
5. Go to their main website and browse around, come back here and let me know what item you like the most.
    

Entries must be received by May 3rd at midnight. Drawing will occur in that first week of May. Good luck!!!

Conscious Parenting Starts Before Baby Is Born - Guest Blogger

Jeremy Dyen is our next guest blogger that answered the call for what Conscious Families and Conscious Parenting meant to them. Jeremy is a musician, husband and father. He and his wife are advocates of imagery, hypnosis and affirmations to get rid of fears and tension in regards to childbirth, and they have a free hypnosis MP3 download, as well as birth-tips videos, at Fear Free Birth. He blogs at Stay at Home Papa. I absolutely adore his blog, as it is chock full of great parenting advice and information, as well as being witty enough to capture even my husband's attention.

I hope you enjoy reading about how Conscious Parenting Starts Before Baby is Born:
______________________________________________________________________________

Although it’s never too late to start parenting consciously, I strongly believe conscious parenting begins before your baby is born. Parents’ birth plan and a mother’s nutritional choices and overall health during pregnancy all lay the foundation for the kinds of choices you’re likely to make as a parent.

Our Switch From Hospital To Home Birth

The choices my wife and I made during her pregnancy took us on a journey. Actually, we did quite a 180. We originally opted for a hospital birth, inclusive of a planned epidural and whatever other “necessary” interventions would make the birth “safer.” But as we read more, talked with close friends about home birthing, and took a suggestion from our doula to consider homebirth, we realized that a homebirth was not only doable, but desirable.

We decided a bit late in the game (in my wife’s third trimester) to switch to a homebirth, and it was the best decision we could have made. I feel strongly that the choice we made laid the foundation for the kind of parenting we strive for. Having a homebirth allowed our daughter to enter the world in a comfortable and loving home. My wife birthed free of drugs or unnecessary interventions. I think that specifically laid the ground work for keeping plastic, chemicals, and artificial or processed foods out of our daughter’s life as much as possible. I think birthing at home promoted that immediate mama-daughter bond, since our daughter was in our arms immediately after my wife birthed her. I also think having a homebirth gave us a sense of community with many like-minded, conscious parents, perhaps because our midwife has created such a fantastic community.

Epidurals Detach Mom From Body And Baby

There’s a really important difference between a drug-free birth, and one with an epidural. The use of narcotics creates detachment. Using narcotics often makes you feel separate from your body, rather than connected to it. I mean, that is really the point of the drug, to detach you from the “pain.” Without the use of drugs, you remain fully connected to your body, and your baby. How does this connection affect your baby?

There are reports that suggest that babies are slower to feed when their mother used an epidural. Epidurals also disturb eye-to-eye contact right after birth. Eye-to-eye contact is important for bonding, since it triggers the release of oxytocin in the mother’s body, which encourages the baby to latch, to snuggle and to bond in general. I strongly believe that getting that natural high from oxytocin was the healthiest thing for my wife and daughter, not just during and immediately after birth, but for their long-term bond.

Perception of Childbirth Determines Outcome

One thing that we discovered during my wife’s pregnancy, was how much her mindset and mental state affected the choices she made, and I believe, the outcome of the birth itself. Remember, we were originally all about birthing in the hospital. She thought she was high risk because of her age (which was totally untrue). She generally had the mindset, perhaps because she worked in a hospital, that she would be safer there. She also had it set in her mind that birth would be the most painful thing, which is why she originally planned on using drugs during labor. From what I gather, expecting lots of pain, and being afraid of it, is quite common.

Hypnosis and Affirmations Work

The cool thing is that we discovered the power of hypnosis, guided imagery and other sorts of positive affirmations. Different things work for different people. But the general idea that you can deeply relax, get rid of fears, by consciously influencing your subconscious, is a powerful and real concept. It could be meditation, guided imagery, hypnosis, yoga or some other meditative exercise. For us, hypnosis and affirmations worked great--so well, that we even created a free hypnosis download to share with people (visit here to sign up and receive it).

How Hypnosis and Relaxation Has Helped Me As A New Father

As a birth partner, I also found the hypnosis recordings really relaxing, and a real confidence booster. Using them during my wife’s pregnancy also made me realize that I can find peace and relaxation in times of stress after the birth. In those early months, anytime our daughter was crying, and fairly inconsolable, I found that when I was completely calm, she she would calm. When I got stressed, she would get more upset. So, I found that some deep breathing, or using imagery, was really helpful to relax me, and thus, relax her. Now, at nap time, if I can get into a deep state of calm, almost asleep, that she will fall asleep easily and without fuss.

Another cool thing that I did during my wife’s pregnancy, was to write down several affirmations. Some of them had to do with personal goals in music or business. Several of them focused on the outcome of the birth, my wife’s and daughter’s health, and our growing family. I would write down different things like, “our baby will be healthy,” or “our family is growing in so many positive ways.” I would focus on the different things I wrote down, and really try to picture them, and experience them. It may sound corny, but I really think it worked. I don’t mean that it was like some kind of magic, and if I just picture something it will come true. I do mean that the energy you put out will bring back similar energy.

Mindset Shifts For Life Changes

My wife and I are firm believers in this. Whether we used hypnosis, or imagery or affirmations, the most important thing is that focusing consciously on what we wanted did two things:

1. It focused our attention on our goals and caused us to act on those intentions (like choosing a homebirth, or choosing to educate as much as we could on the subject).
2. It sent messages to the universe that we aim to have what we want.

I continue to revisit these “tools” that help shape my life, and my family’s lives. I am thankful that my wife and I discovered these things during her pregnancy. They really made her birth easier, and I feel like they help us make the best parenting choices we can. They help us draw from within, to rely on our intuition, rather than rely solely on outside influences to shape us as parents. 

Conscious Family Giveaway #6

As stated in a previous post, this month is dedicated to the Conscious Family. And, as I stated prior, we will be having some fun giveaways during April.

Maria, owner of Vital Moon, is our sixth business owner in our Conscious Family series giveaways. Maria has some beautiful items in her shop that speak to the mom and doula in me. :) I am so happy to introduce you to her and her products.

THE INTERVIEW

Can you tell me a little about you, as a person, and then a little about how you, the business owner, came to create your store?
After a stay in NYC working in nonprofit children's programming I decided that I wanted to be back home in Pittsburgh and closer to nature. I took an herbal apprenticeship and certification course from Sage Mountain Herbal School and a Spirit of Herbs apprenticeship - it changed my life. 10 years later, I am still growing the herbs, I have a small urban farm in the heart of Pittsburgh and grow food as well. I am a huge advocate of staying healthy and preventing dis-ease through natural, whole foods, herbal teas and products that are as close to nature as can be!
What were you like as a child?
I was a fiesty one. My mother had these pictures of me between the age of 4-5 where i am always wearing this shirt that said WHY? on the front - she said because I never took an answer once - I always asked Why? in return! LOL! I have strived all of my life to accomplish my divine tasks - I take risks and go for what inspires and transcends the norm. I do not like to fail, I do not like to be told I can't, it either inspires me to attempt regardless or do something else that will be greater. I was never lead by another, I chose my own path.

If you had to pinpoint one turning point in your life/career, what would you consider that defining moment/event?
I recently decided to go back to school for my Masters Degree. I am getting an MBA. After years of following solely my passion - that for healthy women and children and families through Doula work, yoga, herbal medicine and healthy food - I decided to learn the art and science of running and managing a business! This was a huge decision and it was interwoven with becoming a mother! I started my 1st semester the same month I had my son and it has been a new journey ever since!

You offer herbal and natural products, so tell me why these things are important to you both personally and professionally.
Every product I create, has stemmed from solid resarch amongst herbalist, plant researchers, science and medicine. In addition, after choosing what to create, I have time-tested each product on myself, friends and family. I feel confident at this point that customers are getting the highest quality products. The oils are superior in quality, the waxes are bee or vegetable-based, the herbs are grown without fertilizers or pesticides - you know what is on your skin & in your bodies - that is very important. 

What do you hope your clients get from your products?
A sense of naturalness, quality and healing.


Can you share something personal (a memory, etc..) with my readers?
I will share with everyone a most sacred sanskrit prayer - the Gayatri. It was the catalyst for my son's spiritual name (Savitur) and has been a beacon of light in dark times. It is here in sanskrit and english translation.

Om bhur bhuvah svah
tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yonah prachodayat

Transcendental Glory of Jah! Giver of life, remover of all pain and sorrows, bestower of happiness, creator of the Universe, who is the heart of the earth,the luminous sun, and the soul of Heaven. We meditate upon your brilliance to enlighten and inspire our minds.


THE GIVEAWAY

Maria is offering a smaller version of her Expectant Mother Gift Set, which will include Vital Milk Mother's Tea, nipple cream, and the Pain & Tension Rub.

Again, don't forget the rules. So, read below CAREFULLY for the rules to enter!

RULES FOR ENTERING:
To enter, you MUST complete #1 on the list. After that, feel free to enter as many additional times as you would like (#2-#6) and in any particular order you so choose. You must leave an additional comment for each entry for it to be valid. Please don't forget to leave me some way to get in contact with you if you are the winner.

1. Like Vital Moon's Facebook page, leave a comment on her wall saying that I sent you, and come back/comment here to let me know you did. :)
   
2. Like my Facebook Page, then come back and let me know you have. If you are already a liker, let me know. :)
   
3. Share this giveaway on your own blog, then come back here and comment, sharing the link to that post in the body of your comment.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook wall, tagging my or Maria 's FB pages, then come back here and comment, letting me know you did. 
   
5. Go to her etsy shop or her main website and browse around, come back here and let me know what item you like the most.
6. Subscribe to Maria's blog, then come back and let me know you did.
    

Entries must be received by April 30th at midnight. Drawing will occur in the first week of May. Good luck!!!

Feelings: Friend or Foe - Guest Blogger

Meredith Barth is a contributing blogger for our Conscious Family series. Meredith is a work at home mom to two boys under 3, who is openly and authentically blogging her way through her mothering journey at The Positive Parenting Challenge. A writer, food editor, leader of her local Holistic Moms Network chapter, and active member of La Leche League, she’s passionate about holistic living, community building, and all things birth, breastfeeding and baby.

Growing up in Christian fundamentalism has left me with many an issue to work through in my adult years. Now as a mother, intuition has come to top the list of recovery priorities.


To be fair, I can’t place all the blame on my puritanical upbringing. The truth is that, religion aside, our culture places little to no value on feelings. We hold up intellect, logic and reason as the only suitable decision-making tools, and belittle emotions and intuition as unreliable, useless, and even dangerous. Because of this we look in books, on websites, to “experts” and other parents for guidance on our parenting journey.


It’s this self-mistrusting attitude that keeps harmful practices like cry-it-out and scheduled feedings alive, along side Babywise sales. You read the simple steps and rationalizations, you hear accounts of successful “Ferberization” from fellow parents (who look rested), and voila: you reason yourself into something that couldn’t feel more wrong.


I cringe when I hear mothers touting miraculous results and promoting a sleep training method, while simultaneously explaining that it didn’t’ feel right, that they had to lock themselves in the basement out of earshot to keep from rushing to comfort their crying child. That we have discredited feelings, especially the feelings of a woman and mother, to such a degree that she will physically restrain herself from responding to them is astonishing. And heartbreaking.


We are emotional beings because we were created that way. We weren’t given feelings as a handicap or to lead us astray. On the contrary, we were created in God’s image, and to reject any part of that creation would be foolish.


We’re born following instincts, but as we grow up in this culture, we’re directed to turn our attention to things external. Re-learning trust in this inner guidance is a long process, but one worth undertaking, especially as a parent.


As I strive to embrace a new, more accurate view of God and spirituality, I’m also coming to see my feelings for what they are: God-given tools for direction. When my intellect fails me and reason doesn’t provide answers, my instincts, my emotions are always there, always accessible. I don’t always have to know why a choice is right, only that it is.


There is no parenting tool more valuable than intuition; there is no greater gift you can give your children than parenting them according to your inner guidance and protecting them from a culture that strips it away. This is what I earnestly (and imperfectly) try to offer my family, and what I hope more mothers will come to embrace.

Conscious Family Giveaway #5

As stated in a previous post, this month is dedicated to the Conscious Family. And, as I stated prior, we will be having some fun giveaways during April.

Rachel, owner of Oast, is our fifth business owner in our Conscious Family series giveaways. Rachel is an amazingly crafty individual who makes breathtaking and whimsical waldorf-inspired dolls. I can't wait for you to become acquainted with her work.

In addition to her donated giveaway, know that she has also offered a discount to doulas and midwives if they would like to buy larger quantities of the newborn knot dolls as gifts for their mothers. How awesome is that? I love her work and am saving her as a favorite not only because I love her dolls, but also because I love her answers to my inquiries and want to support business owners such as her. 

THE INTERVIEW

Can you tell me a little about you, as a person, and then a little about how you, the business owner, came to create your store?
I am traveler, mom, artist and writer born. I started in Canada but have spent more time away from my home country than I have lived there. While living in Thailand, I crossed paths with a wonderful man from England, and a few years later, we are married and parents to a beautiful little girl. We rent a little cottage on an old hop farm and the view from my craft room is that of the oast houses that used to dry hops before they were processed for beer. The rolling green countryside of my new home, the warmth of my family, and the time I get to spend working on my art is nothing short of a living a dream.
I have had a diverse background in holistic health but once my daughter was born my energy that went out into the outside world went right into my home. For my daughter’s first birthday I made her a doll based on the traditional Waldorf model. This crafting reignited a spark in my matriarchal inheritance. I grew up with the most talented crafter I have know, my mother. Quilts were here specialty. It is such an honor to carry on this tradition in our house and I truly have not been able to stop! I have heard other people say similar sentiments when it comes to doll making and I really think it is true. It is a meditation and it is a birth. I love the creativity that goes into making each doll. The intention that it will be played with for years, and the way the doll comes alive with personality as it is being made, are all things I find very gratifying.

What were you like as a child?
I was loved and I imagined. I believed in Santa until I was in grade six. I wished more than anything I could be a mermaid. I stared at unicorn posters until they would leap off the paper. I believed, as most children do, in the world that adults can’t see. I still do.
If you had to pinpoint one turning point in your life/career, what would you consider that defining moment/event?
I had just returned from a very grueling trip to India and felt lost in the luxury of the West. I did not want to return to my existing job as a massage therapist and yoga teacher right away. I wanted to help a different economic demographic. I was young and having a hard time reconciling my feelings about my career path. I sat, crying on a bench, when a woman I had been in a play with the year before came and sat beside me. She was getting married in a few days and hadn’t found a replacement for the position she held as a caregiver for an elderly man. The next day I started working with him. We moved to Thailand the following year and lived there for years. The amount I learned is immeasurable. I met my husband, who is English, and a few years later I moved to the UK to be with him. Without that trip to India, and without my crying under the tree, my life would be much different then it is now. I am forever grateful.

You offer some attachment and family-oriented products, so tell me why these things are important to you both personally and professionally.
My use of natural products in my dolls came from Waldorf pedagogy. It has to do with children being surrounded by life. Life in the form of all natural materials imbued with the energy of their origin, and life of the intention of the maker of the toy. The making of a doll and what it is made out of is a meditation. All materials came from the earth and can go back to the earth. While in the form of a doll, they possess very practical qualities. They retain heat, because of the wool stuffing, so when a child cuddles with a doll while they sleep, it will be comforting if they toss and turn. Wool also retains smell. This is particularly useful for new babies.

A parent can wear the doll prior to giving it to the baby and the baby will smell its parents on the doll and also find that comforting. They are made with love and also with the sincere intention that they will be loved. The dolls are an extension of how we live our lives as a family. We try to nurish our bodies with food that is a pleasure to eat but that is also good for our bodies. We try to use products around our house that don’t have negative effects on the environment, but that smell really good. We craft to create natural beauty so that there is comfort in our home visually. Most importantly, we respect the gifts our environment provides and know that if we don’t reciprocate, it will not be there in the same manner in the future.

What do you hope your clients get from your products?
Generally speaking, the dolls are bought by parents to give to children. I hope the parents are able to take comfort in the extra details each doll comes with. For example: reinforced double stitching and double threading on major hand sewn seams for safety as well as longevity. I hope that children will hug and kiss their doll until the stuffing moves like a favorite pillow. I hope that there is a little stain on the bottom of the doll from where it was dropped on a painting project. I hope that its blush has faded from being held close while going on car rides. I hope, perhaps more than the rest, that the doll is loved dearly and is a companion throughout their childhood.

Can you share something personal (a memory, etc..) with my readers?
When I was in my late teens, I moved to the USA to go to massage school. I tried to make friends with people who looked like my friends back home in Canada. Earthy folk music loving people. Only where I was in Canada, the folk scene at the time revolved around traditional Irish folk mixed into an occasional punk beat. So when one of my newer friends came to tell me that Jerry Garcia died, I thought, no worries, the company will still make Cherry Garcia ice cream. I thought that the Jerry in Ben and Jerry’s ice cream was Jerry Garcia . That friend never called on me again yet I learned something very valuable. Every thing you are ever into has a clique of people more into it than you. That know the lingo more than you and that dress the part more than you. There is also always someone who knows more authentically than you. So whenever I get into something new, I always know there are teachers out there and that I always have room to grow.



THE GIVEAWAY

Rachel is giving away a beautiful doll worth $30! This delightfully spring-y waldorf-inspired doll is so adorable!

look at that smile!

Custom sunshine baby bunting

As with every giveaway, there are rules. So, read below CAREFULLY for the rules to enter!

RULES FOR ENTERING:
To enter, you MUST complete #1 on the list. After that, feel free to enter as many additional times as you would like (#2-#6) and in any particular order you so choose. You must leave an additional comment for each entry for it to be valid. Please don't forget to leave me some way to get in contact with you if you are the winner.

1. Like Oast's Facebook page, leave a comment on her wall saying that I sent you, and come back/comment here to let me know you did. :)
   
2. Like my Facebook Page, then come back and let me know you have. If you are already a liker, let me know. :)
   
3. Share this giveaway on your own blog, then come back here and comment, sharing the link to that post in the body of your comment.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook wall, tagging my or Rachel 's FB pages, then come back here and comment, letting me know you did. 
   
5. Go to her etsy shop and browse around, come back here and let me know what item you like the most.
6. Become a follower of Rachel's blog, then come back and let me know you did and what your google name is.
    

Entries must be received by April 30th at midnight. Drawing will occur in the first week of May. Good luck!!!

Birth is part of your Journey to Motherhood - Guest Blogger

Sheridan is one of my favorite birth-y blog owners; she writes at Enjoy Birth. When I made a call for Conscious Family series blogs, she jumped at the opportunity! I am so glad that she contributed. She is mom of 3 Busy Boys, a Hypnobabies Instructor, a Hypno-Doula, Proud VBAC mom, Loving Lactivist, Positive Birth Story Collector, the creator of the online childbirth class series “Know Your Options” and now author of The Top Three Tips to Enjoy Your Birth!

She is definitely an inspired author and I am happy that she has contributed to this event. As part of our conscious family series, she has written about Birth as a conscious family act.

"Think about 3 different women who want to come to America.

1. One woman might have to climb on an overfilled boat, risking her life and nearly dying as she escapes over the ocean to come to this land. This experience could certainly be life altering. It may very well color the rest of her life, positively or negatively. (I overcame this amazing struggle and here I am triumphant! OR Holy crap, that was SO hard I don’t know if I can go on! By the way, neither response is “right”. No one would judge the woman with the 2nd response.)
2. One woman may buy an airplane ticket, sit on a comfortable 747 and fly to America with a nice smooth flight and landing. She is happy to be in America. Those welcoming her are glad she is here safe and sound. She may only travel by plane 2-4 times in her life, so it is pretty memorable. But the journey itself probably wouldn’t be life changing; it would simply be a journey.
3. One woman may learn to fly an ultra-light plane to lead a flock of geese into America teaching them to migrate. This experience could certainly be empowering and life altering."

Continue reading the rest here.

What Is Conscious Parenting - Guest Bloggers

Michael is the author of the blog, Is This Co-Parenting. Michael is a Christian navy wife, a mother to two beautiful boys and a daughter, a certified doula and Hypnobabies instructor. She writes about everything from co-sleeping and breastfeeding, attachment parenting and co parenting, to pregnancy, birthing, and so much more. For this month's theme, she writes about what conscious parenting means to her.

"As parents, most of us tend to parent our children the way we were raised, or we choose the opposite path, with similarly questionable outcomes. “I was spanked, so I will NEVER spank.” or “I was never disciplined and we ran wild. I will definitely teach my kids the fear of God.”

These unconscious patterns are ingrained in our psyches, and are part of who we are. Yet at some point, most of us wonder if there might be a better or different approach we could take?.."

Be sure to read the rest here. 

Thanks, Michael, for the post!

Conscious Family Giveaway #4

As stated in a previous post, this month is dedicated to the Conscious Family. And, as I stated prior, we will be having some fun giveaways during April.

Giveaway #1 can be found here
Giveaway #2 can be found here
Giveaway #3 can be found here

Nicole, from Evergreen Organics, is our fourth business owner who exemplifies Conscious Family values. She has been kind enough to donate an awesome item for our month-long event and I can't wait to share it with you... but first, I'd like you to get to know her a little better! :)

THE INTERVIEW
Can you tell me a little about you, as a person, and then a little about how you, the business owner, came to create Evergreen Organics?
I am a new mama to a 4 month old boy who brightens every day :) I try to live with the values I want to instill in him, such as being good to all, people, animals, and the earth. As a family we try to be conscious of what we consume and what our impact is or will be on the earth and others. We do our best to recycle, use sustainable products, and eat healthy. I mainly prefer to buy handmade and support other work at home families.

I started becoming interested in organics as a teenager. I traveled 20 minutes to the nearest natural food store to buy my food because at that time organic food wasn't available in the regular supermarkets. After making healthier choices with what I put into my body, I noticed that my skin was brighter, I had more energy, and most importantly, the depression that I had been dealing with slowly started to become less of a burden.

I then realized that if what I put into my body made such a radical change, then what I used on my body probably mattered too. I couldn't afford the expensive organic skincare at the specialty stores, and wanted something tailored to my needs, so I started studying the properties of different herbs and oils. I then created my own products and grew from there!

What were you like as a child?
As a kid I remember being outside all the time. My best friend lived next door and we would play in the woods behind our houses and build tree forts and play "Indians," we went "hunting" and gathered "herbs" and things to make tinctures and food :) One spring my friends mom let us plant a garden in their back yard, and I remember loving the feeling of accomplishment when all the flowers came up.

If you had to pinpoint one turning point in your life/career, what would you consider that defining moment/event?
I would say the turning point in my life and career would be when I decided that I wanted to make changes in my life as a young adult. I struggled with depression as a teen, and I became frustrated with all the medications that were being prescribed to me. I decided to stop the meds and change my lifestyle instead. I started hiking more, eating better foods, and studied eastern religions and ways. At that time I also started a job with a group of like-minded, beautiful people whom I bonded with immediately. This time in my life got me thinking in a forward direction of what I wanted my life to be rather than being stuck in a fog.

You offer organic, natural products, so tell me why these things are important to you both personally and professionally.

I have proven to myself the power of nature in food and other products and would love others to find this out too. I also believe in the importance of preserving our earth, so I use recyclable and sustainable products and materials as much as possible. As a mother, I want my son to be aware of these things, and I hope that his generation sees this importance so they are not surrounded by pollution and concrete.

What do you hope your clients get from your products?
I hope my clients find something that makes them feel good in their skin, as well as feel good about their choices in products. I want to show people that they do not need to use toxic chemicals to get their clothes and skin clean, and that by choosing to use sustainable products we are stepping in a positive direction to preserve the earth for future generations.


Would you be willing to share your favorite recipe with my readers?
Haha, my partner would get a kick out of this question, he's trying to teach me to cook :) I can whip up some great beauty products, but when it comes to food recipes, I'm used to eating raw and vegetarian "rabbit food" :) I do have a weakness for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so here's a recipe I found for Vegan chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup smooth cashew butter or 1/3 cup almond butter or 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup soymilk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup rolled oat
• 1/2 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts or 1/2 cup walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F Oil a large baking sheet; set aside.
2. Whisk together first five ingredients until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients, and stir to combine (be sure to mix in thoroughly the baking soda and salt--you may want to stir these into the flour first).
3. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until tops just begin to crack. Remove sheet from oven, and wait 10 minutes before transferring cookies to a plate or wire rack.

THE GIVEAWAY
So, I bet you all are dying to know what she is giving away! She is offering an awesome cloth diapering sample pack from her amazing etsy store.

Cloth Diaper Sample Pack

 Click on the link above to learn all about it! :)

Now, I know you all are dying to get your hands on this very cool sample pack, so, read below CAREFULLY for the rules to enter!

RULES FOR ENTERING:
To enter, you MUST complete #1 on the list. After that, feel free to enter as many additional times as you would like (#2-#5). You must leave an additional comment for each entry for it to be valid. Please don't forget to leave me some way to get in contact with you if you are the winner.

1. Like Nicole's Facebook page, leave a comment on her wall saying that I sent you, and come back/comment here to let me know you did. :)
2. Like my Facebook Page, then come back and let me know you have. If you are already a liker, let me know. :)
3. Share this giveaway on your own blog, then come back here and comment, sharing the link to that post in the body of your comment.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook wall, tagging my or Nicole's FB pages, then come back here and comment, letting me know you did. 
5. Go to Nicole's etsy shop and browse around, come back here and let me know what item you like the most.

Entries must be received by April 30th at midnight. Drawing will occur in the first week of May. Good luck!!!

Exercise in Being Present - Guest Blogger

Laura is author of Authentic Parenting. She is our next guest blogger in the Conscious Parenting Series. She is a woman, a mother, and a wife. Additionally, Laura has a master's degree in communication sciences, but has chosen to stay at home with her child. A lot of the choices her family has made in life have revolved around wanting a big family.

But these choices have additional benefits. They get to see a lot of the world. They have already lived in four different countries together... currently, they live on the Ivory Coast (West Africa).

Everything family-related became a bit of an obsession to Laura soon after she became pregnant with her daughter. This 'obsession' led her to attachment parenting, about natural childbirth, baby led weaning and so on. It has led their family to 'go green' and eat paleo.

And ultimately it has led to her blog.

So kick back, relax, and enjoy her post on Exercise in Being Present:

Simply being present is one of the most important, life influencing 'presents' we can give to our children, yet simple as this may seem, it can prove to be a real ordeal for parents in a modern world.

We are so consumed by the bigness of the multitude of things we engage in that we walk past the small and the rare without noticing. Our children's marvels can seem futile compared to our struggles and worries.
We stress and ponder and fret and plan, and all the while life passes us by. While we are busy looking to the future, the presence unravels.

In order to be present for our children, the first thing we need to do is to be in the present. To experience the "now" as it is. Most adults have become conditioned to live through future or past projections so this may prove a difficult task...

Read the rest here!

Thank you,
Other Conscious Family themed posts:
Peaceful Parenting in the Teen Years
Peeling Away the Labels
Love Yourself
The Crab and His Mother
Gendering of Boys

Conscious Family Giveaway #3

As stated in a previous post, this month is dedicated to the Conscious Family. And, as I stated prior, we will be having some fun giveaways during April.

Giveaway #1 can be found here
Giveaway #2 can be found here

Veronica and her husband James own and operate Painted Turtle Wooden Toys, which can be found both on Etsy and on their main business website. And, they are our third business to exemplify Conscious Family values.

THE INTERVIEW
Can you tell me a little about you, as a person, and then a little about how you, the business owner, came to create Painted Turtle?
About James (aka the woodworker): Perfectionist to the hilt and completely dedicated to his craft (and his son—he’s a stay at home dad!). Loves the feel of working with wood, knowing that the toys he makes are completely safe, and performing his own brand of extreme toy testing (aka running rattles over with the car to see how durable they are).

About Veronica (aka the office administrator): Office worker by day, Etsy seller by night! Loves natural parenting, hearing back from customers about how their babes like their new Painted Turtle toy, and has learned to live with wood shavings and sawdust sprinkled around the house.

When we were pregnant with our first-born and spoke with other parents about the toys they liked and used the most, one of the big topics of conversation was the lack of certainty with regards to the materials used in the more commercially available wooden toys. It was with this in mind that, in 2009, a hobby turned into a business.

What were you like as a youngin'?
Veronica: insatiable reader of books; lover of old musicals; and producer, writer, director, and star (with my younger sister) of wild plays put on at home for an audience of our parents & grandparents. Creativity and entrepreneurship was greatly encouraged in my home.

James: Depends on what age ;). If we are talking the start of school to pre-teen part of my life, then I would say generally polite, quiet, observant and a lover of the outdoors. I had an insatiable need to explore and to create. I was putting hammer and nails to wood at a very young age.

If you had to pinpoint one turning point in your life/career, what would you consider that defining moment/event?
Veronica: I would have to say that there wasn’t just one….there were two. The first was immigrating to Canada to go to university and therefore, meeting James. The second would be getting pregnant. The first one is obvious: without having met James, there would be no Painted Turtle Wooden Toys. And the second—having that little peanut inside of me—was the catalyst that sparked the creation of this amazing venture.

James: My defining moment came years before starting what I do now. During university, the stress of doing something I disliked in an institution that supported those with good memorization skills over those with the ability to actually apply knowledge, led to a bit of a breakdown. It was during the following semester in my Buddhism studies class that I came to realize that I didn't have to please everyone else and that I should live my life for myself. I acknowledged that I didn't have to have a "traditional" career, and that if working with wood was going to make me happy, it was better to spend the years of my life in that pursuit. It took a few years to get here, but the journey was worth it. This defining moment also had an unexpected side effect. Being self-employed has allowed me to live out another dream of mine - being a stay-at-home father.

You offer more natural products, so tell me why these things are important to you both personally and professionally.
While eating locally and living sustainably was important to us right from the start, it really came in to focus for us when our son was born. "Future generations" was no longer just an abstract concept for us. The safety of what we and our son are consuming is at the forefront of our minds when making choices on what to buy and what to eat. Similarly, we create products that we would trust our son with. We are able to avoid the risks of factory "lemons" because each piece is hand worked and inspected throughout the entire process. We buy wood from a local and sustainable saw mill, so we feel confident that those forests will still be there when our son gives his first child his or her own rattle.

What do you hope your clients get from your products?
A few things, though most significantly (we feel) is peace of mind. The peace of mind that the toy the most precious person in their life is playing with, isn't going to hurt them. The peace of mind of not having to worry that mouthing or chewing the toy is going to be breaking loose a whole cocktail of chemicals and heavy metals.

Tell me a little more about you, some random or fun tidbits.
Veronica: I speak Spanish, English, and some mediocre French; my family is Chinese-Panamanian; I have 23 first cousins, most of whom have their own kids too; and I have a passion for acting in theatre.

James: I am a stay at home dad; aside from toy making, I love being outdoors; I studied geography at university but ended up as a woodworker; and I have deep philosophical thoughts and ideas while I am hand-sanding a large order.

THE GIVEAWAY
Ok, the giving away! This wonderful couple is offering a beautiful wooden rattle for one lucky reader!

Be sure to go to their etsy shop (linked) to read about this handsome rattle! Who knows, your babe might be the lucky winner!

RULES FOR ENTERING:
To enter, you MUST complete #1 on the list. After that, feel free to enter as many additional times as you would like (#2-#5). You must leave an additional comment for each entry for it to be valid. Please don't forget to leave me some way to get in contact with you if you are the winner.

1. Like Painted Turtle's Facebook page, leave a comment on their wall saying that I sent you, and come back/comment here to let me know you did. :)
   
2. Like my Facebook Page, then come back and let me know you have. If you are already a liker, let me know. :)
   
3. Share this giveaway on your own blog, then come back here and comment, sharing the link to that post in the body of your comment.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook wall, tagging my or Painted Turtle's FB pages (or both even), then come back here and comment, letting me know you did. 
   
5. Go to their main website and browse around, come back here and let me know what item you like the most.

Entries must be received by April 30th at midnight. Drawing will occur in the first week of May. Good luck!!!

10 Ways To Guide Children - Without Discipline - Guest Blogger

Dr. Laura has a wonderful blog at Aha! Parenting. I love her site and am subscribed to receive all of her blogs. Some of the great posts that I have enjoyed in the past include "There's an Angel on Your Shoulder", "You Have the Most Important Job in the World", and "Holding Your Child Accountable Without Punishment".


As both a mom and a Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Laura Markham sounds two clear themes in her advice to parents.  The first is that when we feel good, we're better parents.  Quite simply, we can only give what we have inside. That's why her daily parenting inspiration emails are about how to take better care of ourselves and manage our own emotions.
Her other theme is that parenting effectively always depends on our connection to our kids. Without that connection, we have little influence ("My kids won't listen!") and, frankly, parenting becomes an exhausting, thankless task.

Deepening our connection with our kids and keeping it strong as they grow is the work of parenting.  Of course kids need guidance, but that only sticks if the connection is there to support our teaching. Dr. Markham definitely encompasses, through her parent-teaching, the ideals and principles of a Conscious Parent intent on encouraging a Conscious Family unit.

""The reason a child will act unkindly or cause damage is always innocent. Sometimes she is playful and free spirited, and other times, when aggressive or angry she is unhappy or confused. The more disturbing the behaviour, the more the child is in pain and in need of your love and understanding. In other words, there is no such thing as bad behaviour in children. Instead there is a child who is doing the best she can and we don’t understand her.” – Naomi Aldort

I talk to parents about their children all day, every day.  Parents are often shocked when they hear that I don’t believe in most of what we think of as discipline (spankings, consequences, timeouts) because it keeps kids from becoming responsible, self-disciplined people.  “How will my child learn how to behave?” they ask. My answer is that children learn what they live...."

Go here to read the rest of the article.