Category: goodies

3 Sprouts Storage Bins are Sustainable and Cute

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Last week’s Spring cleaning post was a perfect reminder that, not only do we have to finish our remodel so we can dig the rest of our stuff out of storage, but that we also need to organize the entire house—the playroom included.  Toys, toys and more toys!  I’m sure many of you can relate to the toy storage debacle.

Beyond the imminent purging that goes along with Spring cleaning, I’m on the lookout for sustainable, yet functional storage options for the kid’s playroom.
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I first spotted these incredibly adorable storage bins from 3 Sprouts at Toy Fair a few months ago.  The cute pink and blue elephants first caught my eye, but it was the eco-friendly composition and functionality of these bins that completely drew me in.

These circular bins are made of organic cotton canvas and the details are felt appliques made from recycled plastic bottles.  At 17.5″ in height and 17″ in diameter, the bins are roomy enough for laundry and ideal for mounds of toys.  When the laundry or toys don’t require storage, the bins can be folded and tucked away.  Roomy, cute and compact!

The designs of the animals are simple,  modern, and positively cute.  The owl, a prevalent trend in kid prints from last year, is one of my faves. I’m also loving the raccoon’s mysteriousness and that sly fox can’t be overlooked.  Also? How cute are their caddies?  Fill it all with books or layette, and all of the above are baby shower-worthy, without a doubt.

3 Sprouts storage bins retail around $39 and can be found online and in specialty stores, including one my fave NYC boutiques, giggle.

David Weinstone Celebrates New Release with NYC Show

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

The best kind of children’s music is the kind that resonates, not only for the kid, but for the parents as well.  And David Weinstone and The Music for Aardvarks Band does just that for our family.  Having spent our baby days as city dwellers (and still dreaming of returning every day), Weinstone’s songs are so relatable since they transcend the usual cutesy topics, and instead, celebrates things like, taxis and the joys of Avenue A.  As a baby, the kid routinely fell asleep to the sounds of garbage trucks, cabs whizzing by and sirens wailing outside our window, so, like most urban families, we can totally relate to the fun songs from Weinstone and The Music for Aardvarks Band.

With alternative influences, clever guitar melodies and cheery percussion, Weinstone’s music strikes a chord for all families who appreciate good music.  We love classics like Birdie, Runaround Kid and Move Your Feet as seen on Jack’s Big Music Show on Nick Jr. (Get UP…get down!)

Besides catching him on Nick, perhaps you might know Weinstone from his classes that are said to be frequented by famous families here in the NYC and NJ area; Weinstone is also the creator of Music for Aardvarks classes, which has classes all across the country now.  So, not only do city families have the good fortune to rocking out to such fun music, but so can everyone else.

This weekend in NYC, David Weinstone and The Music for Ardvarks Band is celebrating their new cd, “All I Want!” with a concert at the Highline Ballroom on April 30th.

The theme of our new CD, All I Want!, is that what kids need most is quality time with caring adults. We hope the way we interact with kids at our shows reflects this.”

“All I Want!”, released March 8th, features all new songs and is David Weinstone’s sixteenth Music for Aardvarks recording.  This latest release is described as bringing together pop/folk/rock/blues styles to communicate a singular message:  “All I want is me and you!”

As fans of Weinstone, this is yet another one we’ll be sure to add to our playlist!

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In town this coming weekend?  Here are the details for their CD Release Party!

WHAT:                David Weinstone & The Music for Aardvarks Band
WHERE:             Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St., NYC
WHEN:               Saturday, April 30.   12:00 noon.
TICKETS:           $12 in advance. $15 day of show. $40 Family 4-Pack.  Phone 212.414.5994.  www.highlineballroom.com.

David Weinstone’s discs are available online at musicforaardvarks.com, amazon.com, cdbaby.com, all major digital download sites and retail stores nationwide.

Happy Earth Day!

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Happy Earth Day, everyone! I hope your Earth Day is filled with lots of green and sustainable efforts. It seems, many people have the same idea today by embracing nature and going for walks and/or doing something for the greater good, such as planting a tree or exercising their green thumbs.

We’re in the “planting a tree” camp, well actually, I should say, we’ll be planting a bush.  One of our many projects in our ongoing remodel includes overhauling all of our landscape.  So, our formerly yard-starved kid has been loving all the digging that’s been going on lately—today included.  I recently bought a bright pink Azaela bush to plant in our side yard to add some color and to celebrate this day.  Azaelas, for me, are so reminscent of my childhood in Va., so I’ve always known that I wanted to add a few pink and purple Azaela bushes to our yard to bring a little bit of “back home” to our new home and rather colorless yard, here in NJ.

As far as Earth Day goes, there’s so much that we can do to help preserve our environment for our kids.  There’s easy steps like:

  • Invest in a BPA-free water bottle and drop the plastic water bottles habit. Kleen Kanteen stainless steel bottles are my personal favorite.  My amusement park tip: bring 2 or 3 reusable bottles and fill up at the water fountains all day. Your wallet will thank you.
  • Ditch the plastic bags and bring your own reusable bags.  I like to keep a few reusable small bags in my purse, so I can use them at the mall, not just the grocery store.  It’s not only convenient to use reusable bags, but most stores reimburse you a few cents for doing so!
  • Reinforce the 3Rs. Many kids “know” how to reduce, reuse and recycle, but are they really living what they learn?  For preschoolers and toddlers who are learning their numbers, recycling numbers on the bottom of plastic products is a fun learning tool and game.
    Each number represents the type of resin used to produce the plastic. Those numbers on the bottom are used to separate plastic types in preparation for the recycling process. Don’t forget: your local recycling center may only accept certain number plastics. The American Chemistry Association has some great info on Plastic Resin Identification Codes.
  • Shop locally. Organic is great, but often times, the more sustainable choice is to select locally-grown produce.  As a general rule of thumb, according to Grist: local organic first, local second, non-local organic third
  • Live Earth Day Every Day. It’s easier said than done, but truly, the greatest way that we can all make an impact on our environment is if we implement greener choices every day to lower our carbon footprint.  I love Earth Day as much as everyone else, but what good is all the talk if we only live green one day out of the year?
    Take public transit, grow a garden, enjoy nature, pick up trash on the side of the road, compost, shop locally…do whatever green activities that fit your family and lifestyle, but above all, let’s teach the kids to embrace this mindset every day.

Happy Earth Day.  Love your mama Earth!

Week Two: Scott Naturals Four Week Test Drive

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Craft time and clean up goes hand in hand. Quite literally.

As usual, I’m preaching to the choir here, but flushable wipes come in handy when cleaning up messy kids. And I’m not even talking about the disasters in the bathroom!  We’ve been out of the diaper phase for quite some time now, but with an adventurous boy around, it’s a given, we’ll always have wipes onhand.

Flushable Moist Wipes are another product in the Scott Naturals lineup.  This green alternative to the other wipes on the market are made of 100% sustainable resources.  They’re convenient to have in the bathroom, hall closet and even in the car for road trips.  I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had backseat explosions and needed wipes, but didn’t have them! Lesson learned!

This is Week Two of the Four Week Test Drive, so please continue helping us with your clicks. For every click on the Four Week Test Drive link, Scott Naturals donates $1 to NWF from Scott Naturals. While you’re on Scott Natural’s site, be sure to grab some coupons and enter to win a Ford Fusion hybrid car.

Giveaway

As part of the Four Week Test Drive, we have another Scott Naturals Prize Pack to giveaway.

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Crafts Go Green: Eco-friendly Art Supplies for Kids

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Crafts are a fun family activity, and one that we love doing outside on our deck.  When we’re painting and doing messy crafts outside, the little artist’s canvas seems limitless, and thankfully, cleanup time is much easier—or so it seems.

Many of my favorite eco-friendly crafts are of the DIY variety.  The kid and I are fans of repurposing old household items and painting scraps of wood from our ongoing remodel.  Even better than recycling the medium is making your own tools.  Aside from DIY crafts, there’s a myriad of eco-friendly and kid-friendly art supplies that make craft time safe and colorful.

Here are just a few of my faves:

Glob Arts and Crafts Paints

Glob Art & Crafts Paints are botanically-based paints that also have fruity scents. These paints are colored naturally with pigments from fruits, vegetables, flowers and spices with natural food-grade ingredients. I love the Glob paints that come in packets; all you do is add water when you’re ready. Whether you and the kids are more watercolor painters or gauche painters, you add water and can determine the desired consistency. Glob also comes in Easy Shake jars, paint sets and other kits.

The color palette that’s offered is pretty basic, but after mixing and matching the paints, the spectrum of colors is seemingly endless. Glob can be used for paints, as well as for coloring DIY play dough, coloring eggs and more.

P’kolino

P’kolino, the makers of gorgeous modern children’s furniture and toys, also have a great line of art supplies.  Through a collaboration with Jovi, P’kolino offers kid-friendly, non-toxic art supplies that includes, Triangle crayons, fingerpaints, markers, colored pencils, dough, creative dough and poster paints.  P’kolino recently introduced their new line of art supplies which are inspired by famed Pop Artist, Romero Britto.  And a coloring book inspired by Romeo Britto?  Yes, please.  The sustainability, bold colors, combined with the modern influence of P’kolino’s products make these art supplies ones to check out.

Stubby Pencil Art Studio

Stubby Pencil Art Studio is the mecca for eco-friendly art and school supplies. This online shop has a plethora of kid crafts and a great selection of supplies that are non-toxic, recycled, fair trade, educational, sustainable or environmentally responsible. I love perusing all of the different crafts and unique supplies, many of which you’d be hard pressed to find at your local big box craft store. Of all the green crafting goodness, however, I’d have to say my personal favorites are the cupcake crayons (!) and the colored Smencils. Ideal for birthday party gifts, the colorful, hand-poured cupcake crayons come in a 4-pack and are made of soy. The Smencils are made from 100% recycled newspaper, sharpen just like wood pencils, and have delicious scents like watermelon, bubble gum and cotton candy!

Changing the World, One Flip Flop at a Time

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Flip flop season is almost upon us; the time of year where many of us bare our toes and opt for the ubiquitous summertime footwear.  At our house, weather permitting, we tend to wear our flip flops from the end of April to October.

I’m such a fan of flip flops, but among our many pairs, I’ve never really considered what happens to the flip flops after we’re done with them.  Donate? Hand them down? Let them collect dust?

How about recycle?

Genius.

There are a few organizations that accept old flip flops to recycle them into something else to give them a new life.  Check out what cool things that can be done with those 10 year old flip flops that have put in many, many miles.

TerraCycle

This forward-thinking company isn’t new to recycling and upcycling.  TerraCycle is the organization behind those cool Capri Sun bags, among other functional items.  I absolutely love what they’re going to be doing with old flip flops.

TerraCycle and Old Navy are partnering in a month-long drive to collect used flip flops and recycle them into four public playgrounds around the country.  The public can stop in any Old Navy store in the U.S. between April 22-May 21 to deposit used flip flops in designated collection bins.

As such a big supporter of getting kids to play outdoors, combined with this innovative recycling effort with a major retail store, I think TerraCycle and Old Navy’s partnership to create playgrounds is simply awesome.  I’m looking forward to hearing more about the playgrounds and the neighborhoods where they’ll go.

My only wish about this program is that I’d love to be able to donate all of our old flip flops to recycle them to create playground mulch for our neighborhood.  Maybe one day?  With kids constantly outgrowing their shoes, I’m sure many families would pay good money for something like that, and truly repurposing objects that would inevitably create more waste in our landfills.

Old Navy will collect old flip flops in designated collection bins from April 22 to May 21.


UniquEco Designs

UniquEco is another innovative organization that recycles old flip flops, but has an emphasis on cultivating social liveliness in more ways than one.  UniquEco, out of Nairobi, Kenya, collects old flip flops and employs talented artisans who create unique consumer goods out of the flip flops. Check out the UniquEco shop.  The Champali bracelets and necklace are currently on my wishlist.


As trash and thousands of flip flops washed up on the shores of Africa, UniqueEco was started in part as a clean up effort, which in turn, became the organization it is today that employs local people who create amazing handmade products.  I love the significance behind UniquEco and think this is such a valiant foundation to support.

Involving kids to donate and collect old flip flops to send to UniquEco underscores the ‘recycling’ and ‘reusing’ lessons they’re taught, but also teaches kids the impact of being socially aware and responsible by contributing to a cause that also provides a sustainable livelihood to those in need.

To send your old flip flops to Uniqueco:
PO Box 15565-00503
Nairobi, Kenya

UniquEco will donate 9% of the sale price for all products sold from your footwear.

Tips for Greener Spring Cleaning and a giveaway

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Just in time for Earth Week, I have quite a bit of green coverage planned, but I thought I’d kick it off with some helpful tips on greening your Spring cleaning and an intro and giveaway for Scott Naturals.

If you’re like me, perhaps you’re eager to transition away from the cold weather and welcome Spring with a thorough house cleaning.  Ha! Who am I kidding?

Cleaning is not my forte, but it must be done. And with our homes full of kids, pets and loved ones, we can all do without all of these harmful chemicals contained in conventional cleaners.  Among the most cost-effective and convenient cleaners are ingredients that you can already find in your home.

At a recent Healthy Child Healthy World Twitter Party, we had a great discussion about this same topic.  And like most Healthy Child Healthy World discussions, I always come away with a lot of really great information.  Additionally, I’ve been reading Planet Home from Seventh Generation’s Jeffrey Hollender, which has a lot of great information on greening your home.

Here are just a few of my takeaways from those resources and tips for greener spring cleaning:

Baking Soda

Baking Soda is a versatile cleaner and an ingredient that can be found in most homes.  It’s composed of multiple mineral-derived ingredients, making it a safe, yet effective alternative to most conventional cleaners on the shelves that contain long lists of toxins. It can be used as a deodorizer, nonabrasive scouring powder and polisher smoother.

Make your own homemade soft scrub cleaner
2/3 cups baking soda
1/2 cup liquid castile soap (Dr. Bronners Tea Tree is a good option since it is antibacterial)
1/2 cup water
optional: 3-5 drops of essential oil–if using an unscented castile soap, you can add essential oils to create a natural scent.  Depending on what you like your house to smell like, I bet peppermint and lavender would smell great.  If you’re used to pine smells when cleaning, there’s also pine essential oil.
Squeeze bottle–this would be a good time to reuse an old shampoo bottle, cleaner or squirt container.  Just make sure it is thoroughly cleaned out before refilling with the soft scrub solution.  If you don’t have any old plastic containers to reuse, you can buy empty bottles or squeezing containers at stores such as Target.

Mix baking soda and castile soap until it is thick.  Add water and mix until it reaches desired consistency. A little soft scrub goes a long way.  This cleaner works well in bathrooms, kitchens and areas where surfaces are smooth.  I have a white porcelain kitchen sink and this soft scrub does wonders in getting out the gross discoloration.

In lieu of  expensive and extremely toxic oven cleaners, try this DIY option. While it takes a bit longer than conventional cleaners, it’s safe and just as effective.

Make your own oven cleaner

1/2 cup of baking soda
enough water in a spray bottle to dampen baking soda
time

Sprinkle your oven with dry baking soda, enough to cover all the grease and grime.  Once covered, spray enough water to dampen all of the baking soda.  Let this solution sit overnight or for several hours.  Wipe clean with paper towels or cloth towel.

White Distilled Vinegar

Throughout our family’s ongoing home renovation, vinegar has become my best friend.  An acid that’s derived from the fermentation of dilute alcoholic liquids, vinegar makes an excellent disinfectant.  It is known to kill most bacteria, molds and germs.  Vinegar can be found in most kitchens or for super cheap in the grocery store.

Besides being used as a disinfectant and mold inhibitor, vinegar can also be used as a hard water deposit remover, greasy buildup remover, tarnish remover, stain remover and wood and glass cleaner.

To replace conventional window cleaners

1 cup distilled white vinegar
5 cups of water

Mix one cup vinegar and 5 cups of water together. I usually eyeball this, because you really can’t go wrong with the two ingredients.  Pour solution into a spray bottle and go!  This cleaner doesn’t leave streaks or emit that awful smell of harsh chemicals.  Best of all, I can let my 3 year old chief window washer can do the windows all by himself with no worries.

Lemon juice

Another one of my new favorite cleaners, lemon juice, has a pH of 2.0, which makes it a great cleaning ingredient.  Lemon juice known to cut grease on tables and glass; can remove stains and rust; can be used as an alternative to bleach and is also a great alternative to conventional deodorizers.

Growing up in a beach town, we always enjoyed fresh fish, crabs and seafood.  Blue crabs were a summertime favorite; the best way to eat crabs is to spread the newspaper out on a picnic table and crack up the shells by hand. Yum! But of course, any time you eat crabs or enjoy any other seafood by hand, it leaves that fishy smell. Washing hands with fresh cut lemons was the best cleaner and deodorizer ever!  Likewise goes for garbage disposals and the like.

Fresh lemons aren’t the only way to use lemon juice! Stores like Costco sell economy sized Real Lemon Juice that is awesome to have onhand for cleaning and cooking purposes.

Meet Scott Naturals

So, the above are just a few of my favorite homemade cleaning methods.  But together with these cleaning solutions, you have to have something to wipe it all clean. Reusable cloths and old cut up t-shirts are the most eco-friendly options, but there are a few “greener” paper towels and paper products now available on the market, including Scott Naturals which uses 60% recycled fibers.

I’ve used Scott paper towels in the past, but was recently introduced to their Naturals line which uses recycled materials. Scott Brands describes the Naturals line as hybrid products because it’s made with a blend of virgin material and at least 20% recycled material in products or packaging. The quality and sustainable efforts make this paper towel option a “greener” alternative to what I’ve been using.  It’s absorbent and not papery like the other eco-friendly paper products I’ve tried.

Four Week Test Drive

Fact: If everyone who took a flight today took the 4-Week Test Drive, there would be 14,240 trees saved.

According to Scott Brands, substituting products including recycled fiber over 4 weeks reduces virgin fiber demand. Reduced tree harvesting based on average U.S. household sheet usage and saving 17 trees per ton of recycled fiber. So, take the Four Week Test Drive!

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Natural Wildlife Federation Partnership
As part of this project, Scott Naturals will be making a donation to the National Wildlife Federation.  For every unique click-thru at http://www.ScottBrand.com/4WeekTestDrive, Scott Naturals will donate $1 (up to $25,000 total) to the National Wildlife Federation.  One unique click equals $1 donated to NWF, so please help this great cause by clicking and telling all of your friends.

The Scott Naturals Pledge
Check out the Scott Naturals pledge between April 4 and September 30, where you can pledge to participate in the Scott Naturals 4-Week Test Drive Program and enter for a chance to win a Ford Fusion hybrid sedan.

Giveaway

Interested in giving Scott Naturals a test drive for yourself? Scott has offered to give a lucky NKT reader a Scott Naturals Prize pack that includes a pack of Scott paper towels, napkins, toilet paper and flushable wipes.

To enter: comment below and tell me your favorite “greener” cleaning method.

For extra entries

Comment below for all entries.  I will be doing 3 more of these giveaways, so be on the look out.  This giveaway will end 4/20 at 11:59 p.m.

Full disclosure: as part of my participation in this campaign, I am being compensated by Scott Naturals and TheMotherhood. As always, all opinions on NKT are my own.

Cooking With Kids Video Series Debuts

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Michelle Obama initiated a movement when she started her Let’s Move campaign to emphasize the importance of combating childhood obesity.  Jaime Oliver embraced this same movement in his own way with Food Revolution, where he’s gone on to raise awareness of how skewed the food “system” has become and educate families about eating better.

Because I’ve become so interested in food and how it pertains to our kids, I’m always impressed when a company I already admire joins this movement.  In line with getting kids to make healthier decisions, Weight Watchers, perhaps the favorite weight management program among my friends, has launched their “Cooking with Kids Web Video Series.

The Cooking with Kids video series, featured on Weight Watcher’s site, aims to bring to life “teachable moments to help kids value fresh and healthy foods to instill good eating habits at an early age.”  Through this video series, Weight Watchers hopes to take kids beyond the kitchen to discuss topics like where the food is harvested, the culture behind the food and the difference between fresh food and processed. And as we’ve seen from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, it’s clear that these are topics that many kids don’t know about.

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“Love Me For Who I Am” Embraces Sweet and Special

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

For today’s Music Monday post, “Love Me For Who I Am” from Brady Rymer is a celebration, as much as it is an appreciation for all things sweet and special. As you may already know, April is Autism Awareness month, and  Brady Rymer is underscoring this important message with his fun and infectious new release Love Me for Who I Am.

Debuting tomorrow, April 12, Rymer’s 10-track cd, Love Me for Who I Am, embraces kids of all sizes and more importantly, celebrates kids of all abilities. Hints of folk, rock, pop and reggae aid the colorful flavor of this cd, that’s full of inspiring lyrics and gives a nod to adventures and experiences that make childhood so piquant.

With funny and relatable reasoning that “food should never rub elbows and flavors should never move,” for those of you with kids with discerning palates, “Picky Eaters” is their anthem!  And track eight is one that can’t be missed where perennial preschool favorite, Laurie Berkner lends her melodic vocals to “Soft Things” a song that praises the tactile joy and sweet smells of all things soft. And in the spirit of “celebrating and invigorating,” the upbeat and effervescent title track says it all, “please don’t try to fix me, love me for who I am.”

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Magnetic Alphabet Sets: Easy on the Eyes and the Noise

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

When we first bought our refrigerator, I pretended that we’d be one of those families that would keep it sleek and clean from any kid-scribbled artwork or other child-like paraphernalia.

Yeah, right.

Fast forward a few months later, and our fridge is graffitied with photos of our own kid, other people’s kids, said artwork and now, those ubiquitous magnetic alphabets.  Don’t get me wrong, I love LeapFrog’s Fridge Phonics, but just a few minutes at a time. So, out of personal preference, we opted out of the popular plastic ABCs in lieu of a set of the wooden (and quiet) kind.

As with most families of young ones practicing their ABCs and 123s, the magnetic alphabet has been an invaluable learning resource. Here’s a slideshow of our picks of alternatives to the more popular magnetic alphabet sets, and ones worth checking out.

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