Toon-A-Licious

I got an email the other day from a guy by the name of Shane Keats, an environmentally-minded Dad who has created a new cartoon series for kids called Heartwood USA. The series is about kids taking action to investigate and solve environmental mysteries and crimes to help their community. Anyhow, I checked it out and the pilot is hysterical. Take a minute and watch it - with kids, if you've got 'em.




Yeah, just off the top of my head, I can think of several cartoons I'd LOVE to see replaced with this one! I doubt McDonald's or Burger King would buy the rights to put Carson Heartwood Dolls in their Kids' Meals. Which only makes me love it more.

The Value of Money

Fiscal Lessons Learned from a Four Year Old Boy

Ethan and Daphne both received piggy banks from Santa last Christmas. Since that time, they have conned us out of every errant penny, nickel, dime and quarter that is left within child's view. Their piggies are getting heavy and the kids often talk about what they might purchase with all their newfound wealth.

Well last week, Mommy instituted Chore Charts for the little ones. They each got to select a "Reward" that they would work for all week long. If they managed to earn enough stars that week, the reward would be theirs.

Daphne, my girlie girl, chose a garish purple and pink Barbie Princess dress, complete with a sparkley magic wand. Ethan, ever the pragmatist, opted for cold, hard cash. Four dollars, to be exact.

So the end of the week came and they had both earned their 25 stars. I pulled Daphne's gown off the wall where it hung and presented it to her as she squealed with delight. I then went to my purse and pulled out four, crisp, new dollar bills and gave them to Ethan.

Ethan graciously said "thank you" and then went in the other room, presumably to count the bills (that's my boy! -- trust NO ONE!). He came back a few minutes later, looking rather glum, grasping his hard-earned greenbacks, and asked "Mommy, can I has my scissors so I can cut these into circles and make REAL money?".

Because You Asked For It...

Here's the flyer I did for the kids' preschool. It's double-sided with info for parents on one side and kid-friendly project ideas on the other. If any of you are so inclined to "put yourself out there", feel free to use it however you can! If you want a copy in Word, just email me at emcoe AT verizon DOT net and I'll send you out one that you can edit.

#206 - Spreading The Word

Sharing What I've Learned With Others

Those of you who read my blog know that I'm pretty much a closet-greenie. I make these changes here, in the safety of my own home, without discussing them with the outside world. Why? I dunno. Fear of looking like a tree-hugging hippie? Fear of looking like a freaked-out peak-oil doomsayer? Fear of sounding like an annoying missionary from the Church of Climate Change?

Doubt it. Most likely it's just that same old fear I've had since I was six. Fear of Being Different. Because for whatever reason, I'm one of those fucked up individuals who wants nothing more than to fit in with everyone else. Strange. Double-strange, actually, since I'm also the biggest, loudest attention-seeking ham you'll ever meet.

Well, for a couple weeks now I've been thinking how great it would be if the kids' preschool would do something -- anything -- to celebrate the upcoming Earth Day on April 22nd. And today... guess what I did? Mmmmmhmm. I marched my fat ass down to the preschool office, declared myself EcoDorkess, Lord of the Green Tips, and offered to create an educational flyer to stuff in every kids' cubby.

I held my breath and prepared for the worst. But you know what? It never came. They did not laugh. They did not point. They did not throw rotten tomatoes at me. They didn't even stifle giggles while humming circus music.

In fact, they thought it was a great idea and asked if there were any other eco-activities I'd like to coordinate. Shuh. Yeeaaahhhh!

So this post is gonna have to be short and to the point so I can get to work on the flyer. Did I make a point yet? Oh, guess not. Well my point is: I have amassed a certain amount of eco-knowledge over the past year in my quest to be more green and it's time I shared some of that information with others. Because by sharing our ideas with others, we inspire. And when we inspire, we encourage others to take action. And action, my friends, is what will make the difference in our planet.

So go spread the word, folks. With the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. Or better yet, with a school near you!

#185 - Don't Be Retarded

Avoiding the Flame-Retardant Pajamas

My apologies for the totally un-PC title, but it really does describe the change. The picture? Well, once I had a theme, I figured I'd keep it going. Besides, in the context of things, it's still funnier than showing the effects of toxic flame retardants on our environment or what melted plastic does to human skin.

According to an article from the Healthy Children Project, "Across the world, scientists are studying Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), the family of chemicals that act as flame retardants. The results of their studies are of great concern. They are finding extremely high levels of these neurotoxic, and potentially carcinogenic, chemicals in the bodies of humans and wildlife—levels far higher than those found even ten years ago."

"Animal studies have linked PBDEs to neurodevelopmental and behavioral deficits, thyroid hormone disruption, and possibly cancer. PBDEs are used more heavily in the U.S. and Canada than anywhere else in the world."

"PBDEs may impair the brain function and motor skills of children. All PBDEs disrupt thyroid hormone balance because the chemical structure of PBDEs closely resembles thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormone function is critical to proper brain development both in the womb and after birth. Newborn mice exposed to PBDEs experienced damage to their nervous systems, resulting in learning and motor deficits that worsened as the animals grew older. "

PBDEs are found in a number of household products, including flame-retardant children's pajamas. In fact, until the mid-nineties, all children's sleepwear was required by the US Federal Government to be flame-retardant. This requirement, originally enacted in the 70's, was designed to protect kids, since most pj's are made from polyester. Get the connection? Polyester is plastic. Plastic melts when it gets heated and could melt to the skin of a child. Not a pretty thought. (Now see why I chose the owl picture?)

But in the early nineties, the feds realized the hazards of PBDEs and amended the laws to allow the sale of non-PBDE treated pjs. So nowadays you have a choice. You can select baggy-style, poly-blend, flame-retardant pajamas, or bound-to-shrink-a-lot, skin-tight, hooker-lookin' pj's. Opt for the skin-tight ones.

And even though I strongly advocate buying used clothing or accepting hand-me-downs, this is definitely an exception to that rule. If you can't get pre-owned, non-flame-retardant jammies, then by all means, go hit Target and get the kids some stylin' new body-hugging sleepwear. Just be sure to return those #6 hangers they're sold on.

Now, you're thinking, "well that's wonderful that you're saving your kids from inhaling toxic chemicals, but what does that have to do with saving the environment?" To which I say "Get off my ass already, I'm getting to that.".

Scientists have now found PBDEs in Arctic polar bears. What the hell those bears were doing wearing baggy, flame-retardant pajamas, I'll never know. I mean, for Peter, Paul and Mary's sake, how often do polar bears die in house fires?!?!?!?! COME ON!

Well, apparently, they aren't. It's just that this nasty shit stays around for a long time and once it off-gases into the atmosphere, it floats around all over the globe. And the bad news is, it's not just in our jammies, it's in our furniture, computers, carpets, mattresses, draperies, etc. Basically, any household plastic or foam item that you wouldn't want bursting into flames during a fire.

There is a ton of information out there, if you want to take steps to reduce your exposure to PBDEs. I for one, am going to start with the very small step of avoiding them in my kids' pjs. Baby steps. Baby, footed-pajama steps.

#165 - Drawing Conclusions

Recycling Crayons

Got kids? Then you've got crayons - and lots of them. I have an entire Huggies Wipes tub chock full of crayons. I'm not really sure where they all came from. Every year, over two BILLION crayons are sold. I do believe about a third of them are in my house. And they appear to be multiplying daily.

So what do I do when the kids finally outgrow coloring? Or when their crayon colletion outgrows the tub? How cheesy would you feel giving a box of "used crayons nubs" to friends... or even to charity? You probably wouldn't do it. Neither would I. But would you just throw them in the trash? That's no solution. Crayons are made from paraffin wax - a petroleum product - which takes many, many years to biodegrade.

Well there's a company out there that recycles broken, stubbed and well-loved crayons. They remanufacture them into different shapes and resell them. It's called The Crayon Bin and they have a really neat program set up to help individuals and schools recycle their crayon bits. Here's some info straight from their site:

Crayons-4-Crayons Program

This program is an excellent teaching tool, as well as a great way to recycle broken and well loved crayons. It teaches kids the responsibility we have to our environment and the processes involved in recycling. This is a recycling program that allows kids to really do something to help the earth on their level.

Every child has crayons, they're everywhere!!! Rather then discarding them why not let "TheCrayonBin.com" recycle them. We all know that when we discard or throw things in the trash they end up in the landfills. Landfills are in short supply and waste management companies are looking for new locations to put a landfill. Most people don't want a landfill in their "backyard" so why not try to recycle and reuse to the extent that we can, to keep as much as we can from being placed into the landfills.

The best part about the program is the Crayons-4-Crayons Exchange. For every pound (a little more than 100 crayons) you will receive a set of new "Recolor Our World Crayons" made from recycled crayons. They come in different shapes like animals, shells, stars, dinosaurs, hearts and more. Since we do not add or remove anything from the crayons during the recycling process, they are still as safe as the nontoxic ones you use everyday. We place a warning on each package that crayons are not recommended for use by children under 3 years of age.

We also have another very special use for the crayons we recycle. They are recycled into what we call "Recolor Our World CrayonTops". These crayons are a special shape made for kids and adults with difficulties in fine motor skills. (Stroke, Autism, Cerebral Palsy or Arthritis) Please ask us about these crayons. As far as I know we are the only Group manufacturing these special crayons, new or recycled.

You may contact us for shipping instructions or we will gladly come to your South Jersey location to pick up your "well loved" crayons and send you some "Recolor Our World Crayons" for every pound of crayons you donate.

Remember to recycle the crayons you get from restaurants, left over crayons from around school as well as those around the house. We encourage schools to place a Crayon Recycle Bin or box in the corner of the classrooms to make it easier for the students to recycle their crayons.

Please do not remove the wrappers, they can get messy and during the recycling process they are turned into Campfire Starters so everything part of the crayon gets recycled. If you would like to sort them by color you may, but it is not required. TheCrayonBin.com will except them in any condition.

So how cool is that, folks? I know, I could search online and melt the crayons in my oven and make my own shapes, but by the time I clean out a crayon box, I'm in no mood to start a craft project. Besides, I'm not sure I want to melt crayons in my awesome new toaster oven, anyhow.

**Special super-duper thanks to my friend, Stephanie, for giving me this tip!**

Vacation - Day Three

Happy Friday to You and Happy Birthday to My Sister, Shannon!

Woohoo! This is hubby's last day at work then he's off for ten whole days! Hopefully he'll survive his time with me and the kids!

Today is kind of a boring day. I wish we were up north and I could take my big sis out to lunch, but instead we have to take the old minivan in to the dealer. The rear seat needs to be unjammed (I'm guessing there's a plastic McDonald's toy wedged in the mechanism) and have a weird noise checked out. Nothing is more fun than sitting in a dealership for an hour or two with a couple of squirmy toddlers. Wish me luck.

Since we'll be half way down there, we might hit the big fabric store to pick up some fleece or flannel for some draft dodgers (the energy-saving type, not the President Bush kind). I also want to grab some bias tape to play with. I tried using it on an art apron I made last week for Daphne and I really like how easy it is to use! And Ethan and Daphne will both find a "project" there, I'm sure.

Am I boring you yet?

Well, if you're looking for a craft to do this week while you're on vacation -- I have found one for you! And it's not boring at all -- it is SO COOL! Fellow blogger Vera just made a Memory Game for her nephew for Christmas and you have GOT to check it out! I wish I had seen this six months ago, since that's how long it would take ME to make one. However, I just might start working on one for next year. It is hands down the coolest home-made gift for a toddler that I have ever seen!

Have a Fun Friday! Especially if it's your birthday! :-)

Vacation - Day Two

Cement, Gingerbread Men and Sanity

We did another craft today. This is Daddy's "Big Present" from the kiddos. He wanted a sundial, but the kids didn't want to clutter their beautiful design with numbers and a stick, so he's getting a very colorful stepping stone instead. They had a load of fun decorating it together, as you can see. The only problem arose at the end of the project when I caught Daphne licking her fingers off and saying "mmmmmmm, cookie!". Oh well, I'm sure she's ingested worse.

Anyhow, the kit had some templates for various designs you could make. Can you tell what ours is?

That's right. It's an airplane.

We also made gingerbread cookies today. That's always a load of fun. Here's how that went down...

The cookies are quite tasty and it was actually less messy than last year:

Apparently, it was less dangerous too, as Ethan felt secure enough to skip the safety goggles this time around.

We've also watched Frosty the Snowman (twice) and played Candyland about 1,000,000,001 times. Maybe more.

But they will only be young once. I have only so many years of them wanting to do these things. Before I know it, they will no longer think it's fun to play in dirt, have flour fights, eat cookies till you puke, and play board games that only require knowledge of seven colors and various sweets. Or at least, they'll no longer think it's fun to do these things with me.

Now, lest you begin to think I'm June Cleaver or Mary Poppins, let me assure you I am not. By 2:00 pm my left eye is twitchy and I'm starting to wish I had a pack of cigarettes hidden somewhere. Not because my kids are annoying, but because they are toddlers. They are demanding of my time, messy as hell and don't get the concept of wiping either their noses or their butts.

And so, every day at 2pm sharp, I take an hour of guilty indulgence and actually make them sit on the couch and watch a movie - sans Mommy. Not because I believe the television should be used as a babysitter, but because Mommy needs some time to regroup. To sit around and be accountable to no one but me. At 3pm I'll be back on snot-wiping duty, but for now I can read my email, update my blog or just surf the internet.

Now if the dog would just make up her mind about which side of the friggin door she wants to be on, maybe I could relax!!!

Vacation - Day One

Making Holiday Crafts

Check it out! It only took six months but I finally figured out how to post pictures from our relatively new digital camera! Apparently, the pixelqualifimizitator was set too high and the imaginisizopher wouldn't automatically shrinkify the jpegination. Or something like that. Anyhow, I changed the file size somehow and voila! Pictures!

This is our petro-plastic tree and two of my favorite ornaments -- the ones we just made using the kids' preschool pictures. The kids have been very busy crafting today... making presents for Mommy & Daddy...

These are oils (I think) on canvas. Now I will have REAL artwork for my walls! :-) Very modern styling, don't you think? Notice they are painting with forks. We also experimented with feathers, Popsicle sticks, sponges and, oh yea, paintbrushes. It was lots of fun! :-)

Only six days left till Christmas!

Day 143 - Paraben There, Done That

Ditching All of the Hazardous Children's Personal Care Products

I know you've heard me go on and on about the nasty carcinogenic petro-chemicals in makeup, shampoo, nail polish, kids' babywash and the like, but get ready to hear it again. This week, the folks over at Today's Mama will be featuring my little ol' blog and I wanted to be sure that any of the moms that surf over to my site are made aware of the possible chemical dangers lurking in their kids' bath and body products. (Those of you who are regular readers may be excused, but don't forget, there'll be a quiz on Thursday.)

Many personal care products marketed for infants and toddlers contain a myriad of chemicals that have been proven to carry certain health risks. In fact, some chemicals still allowed in US products have actually been banned in other countries, due to their toxic nature. These chemicals are easily absorbed into the blood stream through our relatively porous skin and new research shows that they spend a lifetime accumulating in our bodies. Scary? Yes. Especially when you consider that we're rubbing this crap all over our little kiddos on a near daily basis. But the good news is - you do have lots of options available and, fortunately, you don't need to be a chemist to find some safe alternatives.

A very simple way to determine the toxicity of the products you're using on your little ones is to surf on over to Skin Deep, a database of personal hygiene products compiled by the Environmental Working Group. There you can simply type in the product name and get a hazard rating, ingredient list and description of possible health concerns related to the item. They even have a great Parent's Buying Guide that will help you quickly find safe alternatives for your children's personal hygiene products.

So, if you're a mom who stumbled on my site and this is the only post of mine you ever read, please, please - take a moment to look up the products you are using on your child and make sure they are the safest ones available. It only takes a moment or two of your time to check them out and the benefits of doing so are great.

Just last night I found a nasty product that I will be ditching in favor of a kinder, more gentler alternative. The kids' bath upstairs had a bottle of Kandoo Foaming Hand Wash which gets a hazard rating of 6 out of 10 on Skin Deep's Database. In fact, according to the site, 90% of liquid hand soaps have fewer health concerns than this soap! Freakin' YIKES!


Savings:

I can't really quantify the environmental savings here, other than to say that if it's not safe to put on my kids' skin, then it's probably not a very good idea to put those chemicals into our lakes and streams either. And we all know that the sewage treatment facilities simply cannot remove all those chemicals that flow down our drains.


Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

The Skin Deep site makes checking out your products a simple task and a lot of the alternatives are readily available at your local grocery or drug store. But be forewarned - you may have to wander over into the weird crunchy granola health-nut aisles in your local Krogers to find some of them!


**Special thanks to Beth Terry over at Fake Plastic Fish for bringing the awesome Skin Deep database to my attention! Hope you're enjoying your retreat!