How DO you do it?

It's that time again! You might remember the great post in December 2011 that highlighted the Natural Parents Network Volunteer's most popular or favorite posts from the year. Well, we are back and this time we are bringing you a collection of posts that focus on Do It Yourself projects, How To's, Tutorials, Recipes, and anything related to a step by step guide or informational how-to.



There are a lot of really wonderful posts here and I hope that this serves as an excellent resource that you can pass on to your friends! Enjoy!



Jorje of Momma Jorje.com shares her Family Cloth Tutorial in pictures. She includes step by step photos with some tips for making very neat family cloth. You can find Momma Jorje on Facebook, too!


Lani at Boobie Time Blog shares "How to Help a New Breastfeeding Mom." This post provides some tips on helping a new mom while she is learning to Breastfeed. You can also find Boobie Time Blog on Facebook and Twitter.


Amanda at Let's Take the Metro shares "How I Make Cloth Wipes." This post details how Amanda made all of her cloth wipes. You can also find Let's Take the Metro on Facebook.


Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy shares "Lessons in a Picture Book." A Lesson plan for pancakes and how to make your own butter! You can also find True Confessions of a Real Mommy on Facebook and Twitter.


Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction shares "Tips for Road Tripping with a Toddler." A long car trip with a young child can be a great way to make some wonderful memories if you are prepared to meet the challenges. You can also find Monkey Butt Junction on Facebook and Twitter. 


Abbie at Farmer's Daughter shares "Maple Cinnamon Swirl Bread." This recipe tutorial shows you how to make a sweet whole wheat bread with beautiful cinnamon swirls in each slice. You can also find Farmer's Daughter on Facebook and Twitter.


Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares "How To Consume Coconut Oil Plus Coconut Oil Candy Recipes." This post provides some tips on how to get your daily dose of coconut oil down the hatch. It also provides some very tasty recipes for coconut oil candy! You can also find Hybrid Rasta Mama on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.


Alicia at Lactation Narration gives some ideas for how to accomplish Partial Weaning for moms who would like to cut down on nursing without completely weaning. You can also find Lactation Narration on Facebook and Twitter.


Cynthia at The Hippie Housewife shares "A Learning-Rich Environment." This post provides a number of suggestions for creating a learning-rich environment and incorporating learning into everyday life, with a particular focus on the preschool age. You can also find The Hippie Housewife on Facebook, Pinterest, and Google +.


Kelly at Becoming Crunchy shares "Kale Chips = Awesome!" This post shares a super easy recipe for making a super easy (and surprisingly tasty) snack from one of the most healthful greens around. You can also find Becoming Crunchy on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.


Shannon at Pineapples & Artichokes shares "How to Move to California." A silly how-to she wrote while she and her then fiance were driving to their new home. You can also find Shannon on Pinterest, Flickr, and Google +.


Gretchen at That Mama Gretchen shares a recipe for "Homemade Fruit Leather." It's easier than you ever thought and the perfect snack for you and your family. You can also find That Mama Gretchen on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.


Julia at A Little Bit of All of It shares "How I Cloth Diaper (Part 1)." This post details the way Julia has cloth diapered her daughter along with the products she uses. You can also find A Little Bit of All of It on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.


Joella at Fine and Fair shares "Our First Sensory Bins." In this post, she shares how she made a "Scoop, Measure, and Pour" themed sensory bin, as well as an "In the Garden" themed bin. She also shares some tips for making your own sensory bins! Fine and Fair can be found on Facebook and Twitter. 


For all of you breastfeeding mamas, Dionna at Code Name: Mama has the ultimate DIY experience with the main ingredient being your breastmilk! 58 Medical, Cosmetic, and Other Alternative Uses for Breastmilk includes a cradle cap remedy, an anti-itch salve, weaning jewelry, lotion, and more. You can also find Dionna on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.


Melissa at Vibrant Wanderings offers several ideas for "Keeping a Toddler Happily Busy on a Long Flight." The list includes handmade felt activities, among many other things. You can also find Melissa on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.


Shannon at The Artful Mama shares "Preparing Toddlers for Birth." This post features MamAmor dolls and shows some alternative ways to talk to toddlers about pregnancy and birth. You can also find The Artful Mama on Facebook and Twitter.


Kym at Our Crazy Corner of the World shares her "Family Binder DIY." This post shows how to put together a family binder, to help organize cleaning, meal planning, shopping and budgeting all in one convenient location!


Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama shares "5 Green Living, Spring Cleaning Tips." This post provides easy ways to keep the toxins out of your home and to freshen up your home for spring. You can also find I Thought I Knew Mama on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.


Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings shares "Daily Bread: My Favorite Whole Grain Bread Machine Recipe." This recipe is easy, highly adaptable, and a great starting point for creating your own daily (or almost daily!) homemade bread. You can also find Intrepid Murmurings on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.


Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children shares "10 Tips for Toddler Carseat Woes." Check out these ideas of dealing with toddler carseat issues without resorting to punishments. You can also find Living Peacefully with Children on Facebook.


Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment shares "DIY Mom's Night In." A somewhat humorous solution, this post provides exhausted Mamas the recipe for the perfect way to recharge!


Stacy at Sweet Sky shares “Ways to Bring More Mindfulness Into Your Days.” This post provides tips and tricks to bring yourself back to the present moment, so you can be the parent you want to be. You can also find Stacy on Facebook.


Amy at Anktangle shows us how to make your own popsicle stick puzzles, a fun and simple "busy bag" activity for toddlers and preschool aged children. You can also find Amy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.


Lauren at Hobo Mama shares "How to sew a mei tai baby carrier." The mei tai is Lauren and Sam's favorite carrier for baby Alrik: as comfortable and simple as it is beautiful. You can also find Hobo Mama on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.


Christine at African Babies Don't Cry shares "How to Make Rainbow Coloured Rice (Without Alcohol) for a Toddler Sensory Bin." This post provides a step by step tutorial for making vibrantly coloured rainbow rice for sensory play, includes a printable PDF. You can also find African Babies Don't Cry on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.


Luschka of Diary of a First Child shares "How To Send A Hug In An Envelope." This post is a creative way to send more than just the standard card to love ones. It literally is a hug in an envelope! You can also find Diary of a First Child on Facebook, and Twitter.

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Water Play

Baby Gifts

Last Christmas, I made nearly every gift I gave as part of my new sustainable outlook on life. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to carry the gift of homemade through every occasion to come including birthdays, other holidays and of course, new babies. Here I will show you some of the recent baby gifts I made for two of my expecting friends.

My friend who gave birth in July followed my path (cause of course I pave the way everywhere) and decided not to find out the sex of her child. The other friend I made things for found out she was having a boy, so my challenge was purchasing cloth that could serve both of those specifications. I generally start my shopping in the remnant bin and was fortunate enough to find a gender neutral baby pattern with which I made the gift bags for both women. 

Though I only knew for sure that one of my friends is going to cloth diaper, I decided to make both of them cloth wipes anyway because they can be so versatile and you never really know what they might be good for. Additionally, I wanted to make sure they both had a wet bag because besides cloth diapers, they're really good for wet or soiled clothes when you're out and a toy or two because...who doesn't love a homemade baby toy?

At this point, I'm sure you just want to see what this crap looks like, so here you go. The first pictures were include the gender neutral gifts and the second, obviously, are for the boy.

In this first photo, you will see the gift bag in the back, the wet bag to the left, the cloth wipes in front and the awesome crinkle toy behind them (It's a really cool thing to make. Do check it out.) and on the far right is a set of multipurpose burp cloths.

The morning of the shower, I pounded out this duck. Literally. I made it in a about an hour and a half and then shoved it in the bag and walked out the door. It is important to note that the friend who received this set of gifts has been showered with ducks her entire life and though I knew her child would be as well, I went ahead and made it anyway.

And then we have the bag all stuffed and ready to go. I really loved making this entire gift.

I had some help taking the pictures of this second set, so please don't mind the little fingers in the corner of each picture.

I made my other friend three different sets of cloth wipes: two sets were plain flannel on both sides and one set is the homemade concoction I created. Then I also made her a crinkle toy, wet bag and a really large burp cloth that could double as a blanket or changing pad or peek-a-boo rag at any place or time.

While I did use a sewing machine for most of these items, I sewed the wet bags and my version of cloth wipes by hand, as well as the crinkle toys. And like I said, I loved it. I just wish I had more time to devote to really concentrating on sewing like this.

Long live sustainability!

Everything's Better When It's Homemade

Welcome to the August Carnival of Natural Parenting: Creating With Kids
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how they make messes and masterpieces with children. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
***

I’m pretty big on homemade things. You may or may not have noticed, but I like to make things for my children as often as I can and I accept homemade gifts for them as I would a gift of solid gold. They’re not quite at an age where I can create thing with them (although we have made a few attempts) so in the mean time, I will make as much for them as I can and hope it will last through to the next generation.

Heidi's doll on the left, Piper's on the right.

I have always appreciated items made by hand, but having children has caused my appreciation to quadruple. My mother made a lot of things for me as a child, many of which I still have, and she has already continued that tradition by making things for Heidi and Piper. For their last birthdays (Heidi’s 2nd and Piper’s 1st), my mother took two doll bodies and painted their respective faces on them, sewed matching hair on each one and dressed them in semi-homemade clothes. Although the dolls spend more time naked than clothed, they get a lot of love. The hair on Piper’s doll has already seen better days and needs some refurbishing, but I love knowing that these gifts are already so appreciated.

After I discovered Mama’s Felt Café, I decided to try my hand at making homemade toys and haven’t looked back. I already made some “numbered felt squares” for them and have gone on to make a plethora of felt photo frames as gifts. I plan to make my own felt food to give to them for Christmas when they may or may not get a kitchen from Santa. Naturally, plastic food is often easier to wash, but, well, it's also plastic. Since I've been trying to rid my house of as much plastic as I can (a long and tedious process), I prefer to give them some homemade food because to me it holds much more value.

But I didn't stop at felt fabulousness.

I love skirts and have always loved them in one sense or another. Watching my children play, I've noticed that their movements are often restricted by their pants, mostly because they do not have any pants that were specifically made to fit cloth diaper butts. I thought to myself, "Self, how hard can it be to make a skirt? It's just two pieces of fabric sewn together, right?" Well, almost. While I was relatively successful at making Heidi a skirt for Christmas, it was only because I used elastic for the waist. I'm pretty bad at hems and wouldn't have a clue how to do a proper waist without the elastic (I'm working on it). Nevertheless, I have sewed two play skirts for her that allow for plenty of movement and are sufficient enough to withstand multiple washings and rough toddler play. I long to make more, but every day I resolve to sit down at the sewing machine, I am repeatedly distracted for some odd reason.

Nothing is going to stop me from making more and more homemade items for my children. As they grow, I will include them in whatever practices they find interesting and I will always reinforce the notion that homemade is better than anything found in a store. I look forward to making many Halloween costumes, toys, dresses and whatever else they fancy. After all, what could be better than having an infinite catalog of goodies (mom) at your disposal?

***

Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Family Draw Time Art Show — Kate Wicker shares art (and inspiration!) from her family's cherished tradition of family draw time.
• The Rules of Creativity: Learning to Create with the "Non-Creative" — Zoe at Give an Earthly shares how she learned to accept her "non-creative" child and claims that anyone, child or adult, can be creative given the right handling and environment.
• Creating With Kids: 4 Ways That Work For Us — See how Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings nurtures creativity with her kids through craft projects, outdoor creative play, celebrating the creative process, and setting up "little spaces of beauty."
• Creating memories, not things — Mrs. Green from Little Green Blog reflects on life with a ten year old and how 'creating together' has evolved from 'things' to memories.
• The Gift of Creation — It may be hot, but Kellie at Our Mindful Life is already thinking about winter.
• Hidden Talents — Sylvia at MaMammalia describes how providing the opportunity for creativity sometimes means learning to look for hidden talents in unusual places.
• Creating Joy — CatholicMommy at Working to be Worthy shares how she and her one year-old son create joy for their community.
• How to do Crafts with Kids — Gaby from Tmuffin guest posts at Natural Parents Network and describes how to keep things simple when doing crafts with kids for magical (easy-to-clean, and tantrum-free) results.
• Sugar & Spice & Baking on the Kitchen Floor — Carrie at Love Notes Mama enjoys making a mess in the kitchen with her daughter.
• Young Scientist Makes Purple Potion — Hannah at Wild Parenting loves being a lab assistant for the young scientist in her life.
• Making a butterfly house — Lauren at Hobo Mama demonstrates the proper way to build a wooden butterfly house with a preschooler.
• Nurturing Creativity — Amyables at Toddler In Tow shares the enjoyment she feels in nurturing the creativity of her children.
• Home School Music - Sparking A New Generation Of Musicians — Based on her musical background, Chante at My Natural Motherhood Journey talks about how she creates with and teaches music to her children.
• Creating (im)perfectly Together — Mudpiemama shares some of the highlights of a summer spent building everything from ships to hoops but most of a lesson on letting go of perfection.
• Family Soccer Kick Around — When her children wanted to play soccer, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children helped organize something that would work for her family.
• Creating Memories Together on Skype — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now tells how you can create memories online with adult children or anyone who lives in another city or country.

• We'll always have Halloween: Creating costumes for kids — Jessica Claire at Crunchy-Chewy Mama is not the craftiest mom on the block, but she does make a mean homemade Halloween costume.
• Let's Make Juice! — Wendylori at High Needs Attachment shares about the benefits of juicing with kids, as well as a quick recipe.
• Everything's Better When It's Homemade — Amanda at Let's Take the Metro praises the art of homemade goods.
• Creating the Opportunity for Art — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction shares how her family has created an environment conducive to art.
• 10 Easy and Functional Crafts Preschoolers Can Do with Minimal Assistance — Dionna at Code Name: Mama offers ten easy crafts preschoolers can do while sitting near parents — but they don't need a lot of parental help. Added bonus: all of these ten ideas double as something functional (gifts, decor, educational).
• Creating with Kids: Singing Together — Ana at Pandamoly details the important role music takes in her household and provides a quick (and easy!) tutorial for creating fun songs to sing together!
• Create This — jessica at instead of institutions considers different aspects of creativity including those without an end product.
• Make Your Own Pocket Bib — A tutorial from Amy at Anktangle on how to make two simple and quick bibs to keep your little one clean at the table.
• Creating Together in the Kitchen — Despite not feeling "crafty," Momma Jorje finds a way to create and connect with her toddler.
• An Artist-Mama's Perspective — In this post, Shannon at The Artful Mama discusses the differences between her choice of artistic outlet and her son's, and how they embrace those differences together.
• Heart of the Home — Jona at Life, Intertwined shares some highlights of cooking with kids.
• Getting creative with kids — Isil at Smiling like Sunshine shares how much she enjoys watching her daughter getting creative.
• Creating with Children - The Nature/Seasonal Table — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama celebrates the rhythm of the natural world with her toddler through the creation of a seasonal nature table.
• How Involving My Kid Saves My Sanity — The Happy Hippie Homemaker explains how involving her toddler in projects allows her to get more done, while providing valuable opportunities to teach and to bond (added bonus: amazing oatmeal raisin cookie recipe!).
• In the Kitchen with Kids — Cooking with Real and Pretend Food — Terri from Child of the Nature Isle engages her kids in the kitchen with culinary creations of both real and pretend food.

Wordless Wednesday: The Baby Bath Tub

 

 

Snacks I Give My Kids

If you have taken a look at the things I always keep on hand, you might notice that I do not have many (or any) "snacky" foods on it. This is simply because I don't buy them. That is not to say that I never eat them, (if Steve buys some of these types of things, I might be tempted) but I would rather spend my money on better quality products. So, what do my children eat between meals? Here's a slightly comprehensive list.

Fruit: Before I offer them anything else, I will offer them a piece of fruit. In the morning, they will generally share a banana prior to their more formal breakfast and may have another one or two throughout the day. This explains why we tend to go through many, many pounds of bananas every week (Some day I'll tally an actual poundage number). After bananas, I'll usually go to an apple, but they really haven't met any fruit they don't like. I've been keeping oranges and prunes on hand recently as well as watermelon since it's the season.

Coco pops: No, I don't mean the crappy chocolate cereal that I got when I googled this, I'm talking about a multigrain puffed "cake."  These snacks are in the same family as rice cakes, in that they are crunchy and can be held with your hands, but they have just a few more ingredients. And I do mean "just a few" because they contain: wheat, rice, corn and sea salt. The end. I have found these wonderful things at Wegmans and Whole Foods, both of which are now offering a "whole wheat" option in addition to the regular one. Each "pop" has a whopping 16 calories so I like to let them have as many as they want when they're looking for something to crunch on. One of their favorite ways to eat these things is with hummus. Lots and lots of hummus.

Seaweed: It wasn't until recently that I discovered how much Heidi and Piper like seaweed. I've tried it and find it tastes too much like sushi without being sushi for me to fully enjoy it. But for them, a whole package is just not enough. They literally stuff these sheets into their mouths while simultaneously asking for more. They're worth a try, if you can find them, and they are also one of the more healthier snack options out there.

Homemade muffins: I try to make muffins on a fairly frequent basis because it breaks up the general breakfast routine and provides a whole grain fruit source for H & P. No matter what kind of muffin I make, I usually shred at least one apple into the batter for some extra goodness. Though we might eat a bunch for breakfast, I find that throughout the day the muffins disappear and are usually on their minds as soon as they awake from a nap. We typically go through a dozen muffins in just over a day.

Real food: When my creativity is running low, I often reach for the obvious - real food. One of my easiest go-to snacks is to boil a bunch of frozen peas and throw them at them. (Not literally, of course, although the other day they found flinging raw peas to be jolly good fun.) I love that they will still eat plain peas like candy. I will also give them plain green beans (from frozen) or sometimes vegetable pasta. These 'snacks' often turn into lunch, which is fine by me, but if I can't give them fruit or if they've had a sufficient amount for the day, I turn to vegetables.

Dark chocolate

Chocolate: What? Well, the reason this is on the list, at the bottom, is that on very, very rare occasions, I do give them small pieces of chocolate for fun. There is a method to this madness, however. There are certain chocolates that I consider to be good and there are others that I consider to be crap. Thus, I want Heidi and Piper to develop a discerning tongue for those chocolates that are good over the ones that are bad. I hope it works.

Cheese: I hate cheese in most forms, but both H & P enjoy it. Even though it is gosh darn expensive to buy organic string cheese, I get it for them every so often because it's a quick, easy way to give them extra protein and calcium. Plus, I can cut them up and throw them in their omelets if I don't have any other cheese on hand.

There are, at times, many other things I give them, depending on where we are and what we're doing. If we're out at the store and they need something to eat, I usually buy a few bagels and a tub of hummus to dip them in. At other times, (if we're with my mother) they might have some crackers or some sort of energy-type bar, but that does not happen very often at all.

What sort of snacks do you give to your children?

Father's Day Gifts

I have completed another of Mama's Felt Cafe's fabulous crafty creations! When I saw her Father's Day felt frame tutorial, I knew I had to make it. However, I like to keep things uniform among all gift recipients, so I also knew I would have to make several frames: one for each Grampa in addition to one for Daddy. So this is exactly what I did!

 

I made three of these frames and sent one to each of H & P's three Grandfathers. To the best of my knowledge, they were all quite happy with this gift. 

And of course I made only one of these. I was literally finishing it as Steve came walking down the stairs this morning. After Heidi gave it to him, I took it back and did some more trimming of the picture and the inside of the frame so that it looked a bit better. 

These frames were not difficult to make at all and I definitely foresee myself making more of them in the future. In particular, I already told my mother that I'd get her next year (as well as the other Grandmas) since this tutorial came up after Mother's Day. I'm so excited about all of it, I might make them right now! Try it out; you just might love it :)

Review and Giveaway: Mama's Felt Cafe {6.26; US/Canada} CLOSED

This Giveaway is now closed.  Please stay tuned for the announcement of our winner.  Thank you all for entering!

This is a joint giveaway cross-posted on Let's Take the Metro and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only. Please find the section marked “Win it!” for the mandatory main entry and optional bonus entries.

I was so excited when I was given the opportunity to review a product from Mama's Felt Cafe. I came across her blog during the Carnival of Natural Parenting and was hooked instantly. Seeing her ideas was like an 'Ah-ha' moment, and I realized I could take responsibility for the toys my children play with by making them myself. Of course since I do not have infinite time on my hands, getting a few felt originals to start my collection was like a dream come true.

Brittany, owner of Mama's Felt Cafe, sent me a "Support Local Growers" basket for my daughters to man-handle. The package contained: two carrots, two attached cherries, an eggplant, two pea pods (one that jingles and one that does not), a potato, a watermelon slice and of course the basket that says "Support Local Growers." As I took out each piece and inspected it, I noticed how fine the stitching is and how every little detail of the real food is present in the replica. For instance, the potato actually has tiny "eyes" all over both sides and the watermelon rind is two-toned and striped to mimic the real fruit.

Digging in to the basket.

I am someone who sews, though admittedly not that well, but I can tell that the quality of Brittany's work is very high. One of the first things my almost 2 1/2 year old tried to do was pull off the "seeds" on the watermelon. She was completely unsuccessful and I think she will continue to be. As far as everything else is concerned, both my daughter's love to jingle the musical pea pod, carry different pieces around all the time, and even use the carrots as "phones." This set is so versatile because every piece can be used in an infinite number of scenarios, and even the basket itself has tremendous possibilities. It is sure to inspire the cook or vegetable eater in every child.

I would certainly recommend this package to anyone who wants good quality, soft, yet durable play food for his or her children. You can feel confident that if your children want to chew on their felt food, they will not be swallowing a boatload of chemicals, nor will you need to be concerned if your child wants to take these huggable pieces to bed with them. You can definitely put this basket on your child's next wish list.

Interested in making some fruit for yourself? Mama's Felt Cafe has put together a watermelon tutorial specifically for this giveaway! Visit Natural Parents Network this Monday, June 6 for her tutorial.

Photo Credits: Author

BUY IT!

You can purchase a 'Support Local Growers' basket for $30 at Mama's Felt Cafe on Etsy. You will have the option to choose which fruits or vegetables you'd like in your basket - how cool is that?!

WIN IT!

For your own chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Mama's Felt Cafe on Etsy, enter in the comments below! Contest is open to US and Canada.

MAIN ENTRY: Visit Mama's Felt Cafe on Etsy and tell us what your favorite product is in her shop.

Leave a valid email address in your comments (the line where it says “email address”) so we can contact you if you win. Email addresses are not made publicly visible.

BONUS ENTRIES, to increase your chance of winning (leave a separate comment for each so we can count them all):

• Heart Mama's Felt Cafe on Etsy and leave your Etsy user name in the comment.
• Tell us who you would give felt food to.
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• Follow Mama's Felt Cafe publicly through Google Friend Connect or subscribe to the Mama's Felt Cafe RSS feed in a reader or by email (1 entry for each).
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• Follow @MamasFeltCafe on Twitter and leave your Twitter name in the comment.
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• Leave a relevant comment on a non-giveaway article at Natural Parents Network and tell us which post (comment on separate posts for up to 3 entries total).
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• Leave a relevant comment on a non-review article at Mama's Felt Cafe and tell us which post (comment on separate posts for up to 3 entries total).
• Tweet about this giveaway (up to 5 times total, at least 24 hours apart). You can use the tweet button at the top of the post or tweet this text: #Win a gift certificate to @MamasFeltCafe! http://bit.ly/jmLPN9 @NatParNet #giveaway {6.26 Can/US}
• Post this giveaway on your Facebook page or wall and leave the link (1 entry). You can use this status update: Win a $25 gift certificate to @Mama's Felt Cafe from @Natural Parents Network. Contest ends June 26 and is open to US/CANADA.
  Be sure to attach the contest URL to your update! (This is not part of the status text!)
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• Enter another of the giveaways on Natural Parents Network.
• Put the Natural Parents Network badge on your website or add http://NaturalParentsNetwork.com to your text blogroll for 2 extra entries each. The HTML code for the badge is on the front page of NaturalParentsNetwork.com. Leave your site URL in the comment.

RULES:

• Contest open to United States and Canadian mailing addresses only.
• Leave each entry as a separate comment so we can count them all.
• For actions like following and subscribing, if you already follow or subscribe, just let us know in your comment.
• For tasks that garner you multiple entries, you can copy and paste the comment with a #1, #2, etc.
• You don’t have to do any of the bonus entries, but you do have to complete the first mandatory one.
• We will pick the winner through Random.org after the contest closes and send an email notification. Leave a valid email address as you comment so we can contact you if you win. If we can’t reach a winner or don’t hear back within a couple days, we’ll draw a new name.
• Any questions, email: ShannonR {at} NaturalParentsNetwork.com

Contest closes June 26 at 11:59 p.m. PST

Disclosure: Mama's Felt Cafe sent our reviewer
a free Support Local Growers set for review.
We try to seek out only products we think you would find
relevant and useful to your life as a natural parent.
If we don’t like a product, we won’t be recommending it to you.
See our full disclosure policy here.

Our reviewer, Amanda, mothers two beautifully intelligent girls who are fifteen months apart and never cease to keep life interesting. She loves to garden, cook, sew and research everything green. Since the birth of her first daughter, she has been systematically growing greener and has no plans to stop any time soon. She writes about as many different things as she can think of at Let’s Take the Metro.

Look What I Made!

I came across Mama's Felt Cafe during the first Carnival of Natural Parenting that I participated in and I was hooked immediately. Her stuff is absolutely amazing and exactly what I'm looking for to slowly replace some of the less-desirable toys we have with ones that I can feel proud about and will hopefully last a long time. And if you don't want to make these things yourself, you can always visit her Etsy shop!

When I saw her tutorial for "Squishy Squares," I immediately thought "Well, that looks like something I can do!" She breaks everything down really well so that you know exactly what you are doing and how you are going to do it. Unfortunately, I am incredibly slow and this task took me for.ev.er. OK, it took about two weeks but it still felt like forever. Anyway, I know mine don't look half as good as hers (please check hers out because they're awesome :)), but they are done and the jingle a little. I've watched both Heidi and Piper play with them numerous times since I made them, so it was worth it.

Please note: I was not compensated at all for my opinions here. I wrote everything of my own free will :)

Five Things I Do with My Children Instead of Watching TV

This post is part of The Peaceful Housewife's Natural Parenting Blog Party.

I want to have children, not zombies so I limit the amount of television we watch during the day. If we watch anything, it is usually a movie within the confines of the 2 hour per day limit set by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Most of the time, my children play uninterrupted, but when I pause to interact with them, here are some of the things I do.  

Look out the Window: Both of my daughters love looking out the window. It provides a seemingly endless array of opportunities for learning and quiet observation. There is always something interesting to point out to them or just something to reinforce. We watch people walking different kinds of dogs, adults carrying groceries, children playing and whatever nature has in store.

Heidi mopping the floor.

Use My Child as a Mop: Heidi loves to move, as most toddlers do, and has recently taken to dancing with assistance. When she doesn’t want to do that, I slide her all over the floor either on her butt or on a blanket. Naturally, I do this in the kitchen and not on our carpeted floors and I try not to pull on Heidi’s arms too much. Instead, I use her butt or the blanket she’s on as a propellant and she slides easily all over the floor. I get tired of doing this long before she does, but at least I know she’s receiving attention from me, getting exercise and feeling connected to me all at once.

Sing a Song: And while you’re at it, dance! Heidi loves to sing, mostly gibberish, but occasionally she’ll throw some real words in there. Very often she will simply sing “sing a song” over and over again and I usually join her. At times when all else has failed and she needs to be redirected from something she’s doing, I will “sing a song” to get her attention and return her to a happy, playful mood. Singing leads to dancing, which often leads to the above mopping. All of these things take up a good portion of our day.

Run Around in Circles: The first floor of our apartment is essentially a circle; the living room is open to both the dining room and kitchen, which surround the laundry room. As you might imagine, this presents a perfect opportunity for running, chasing and playing peek-a-boo. When all else fails, I instigate a chase and let her get some good running in, followed by some sort of quiet activity. Piper even gets in on the action crawling as fast as she can (since she’s not yet up to running) after whoever is closest to her. This often turns in to quite the family activity and is much more fun than watching TV.

Go Upstairs: When I need to put a lot of clothes away or do something else that requires my attention upstairs, I take H & P with me. I put the gate up so they can’t go down the stairs and I let them run back and forth between their rooms, playing with toys they don’t normally play with during the day. It also offers them a change of scenery, something that is especially important when we cannot go outside.

Naturally, we do many, many other things while not watching television, but most of them are things you’ve already read about. I try to get creative (when inspiration strikes me) to keep them more interested in using their minds than being mindless so as I think of more interesting things to do, I will be sure to share them with you.

Purse Play

Lately, Heidi has been very interested in the extra purses I have stashed in my closet. Every time I have switched purses, I've left everything that was "useless" in that purse, so she never knows what she's going to find. Unfortunately, I also never know what she's going to find. So, in an effort to attempt to satisfy her craving for digging through purses, I decided to take a couple of my old purses and fill them with safe stuff.

I didn't get everything in the picture into both purses, but Heidi did have a good time going through everything to find all the stuff. I put things into the old diaper wipe box and also into the change purse. So this occupied her for about five minutes. But at least it was five minutes that I got to walk around and do something.