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This is an addition to my green baby gift ideas post.

I found some great green baby products recently at Lalanatural.

One product that stood out to me was the SAGE CREEK - Natural Wooden Bell Rattle.

Here is the description: Heirloom Baby Rattle. Made from carefully selected, sustainable maple, the same wood that gives us tasty maple syrup. Designed to provide enjoyment in touch, sight, sound and movement (especially when their little teeth are coming in). Destined to be handed down to future happy babies.

Sage Creek Naturals supports the World Wildlife Fund and IFAW as a standing member and ongoing contributor to its efforts. They only support Fair Trade - suppliers and producers, in underdeveloped regions who abide by western standards regarding fair and decent worker’s compensation, positive working conditions and using no child labor.

This sounds like a great buy from a great company and the price is only $10.95. But the best part is that Lalanatural is offering a special discount to Nature Moms visitors and blog readers!! Use the coupon code NATMOM15 at checkout to get 15% off your total purchase. They have tons of other natural products too like cloth diapers, slings, clothing, and bedding. Wow! Happy Shopping!

Grass fed beef is in trouble. The Agriculture Department has proposed a standard for grass-fed meat that doesn’t say animals need pasture and that broadly defines grass to include things like leftovers from harvested crops.

This proposal is so loose that it would let more conventional ranchers slap a grass-fed label their beef, too. This is exacty what they are shooting for of course, so that grass fed beef will be a term that means nothing anymore. Big agricorp doesn’t want to let their cows graze in a pasture and eat real grass because then they can’t pack them into feedlots like sardines anymore.

This is just another reason why finding a local a farmer you know and trust is important if you want genuine grass fed beef.

Check out this source for more info.

Did you see that we have added a new blog skin to this blog? If you haven’t already noticed we have a new way for you to view this blog in the right sidebar where it says “Switch Theme”. You can choose between the green “cows and farm” theme you have always seen but now you have the option to view this blog with the new, ultra-chic “environmentalism for the hip” theme. We hope you like the new option! Let us know what you think!

We have recently added a new homeschool resource section to the Nature moms site! If you are a homeschooling family or or thinking about homeschooling your children you need to check it out.

Topics discussed are:

Unschooling
Homeschool for special needs children (think ADHD and Autism)
Art Projetcs for Homeschool
Socialization Opportunities for mom and children
Fieldtrips
Homeschooling for Disorganized Moms
College Acceptance for Homeschoolers

We have also added links to many different sites that offer homeschool curriculum and supplies.

Take a look!

It is tough to find good snacks for kids in this day and age of highly processed, fast foods. So I put together a list of some healthy snacks that are sure to please mom and children alike. Make sure to use organic ingredients for all of the snacks listed below:

Apple Slices and Peanut Butter (try adding a bit of organic maple syrup to the peanut butter and microwaving for an extra special treat)

Fruit Slices and Soy Cream Cheese (a tub of vegan soy cream cheese (at room temperature) with 1/4 cup undiluted apple juice or orange juice concentrate and a dash of cinnamon. Stir vigorously until smooth. Serve with apple and pear slices, strawberries, and banana chunks for dipping.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

Tortilla Chips sprinkled with Cheese

Want more? Read the rest of the list!

You’ve received an invitation to your friend’s baby shower. Now it’s time to shop for eco-friendly baby gifts. Feeling lost? Don’t know where to begin shopping, or what types of green baby gifts are available?

We would like to share the best green gift ideas we’ve found online. These planet friendly baby shower gift ideas will make shopping for your loved one’s baby shower a breeze.

GREEN GIFT IDEA: For the nursery
An organic cotton baby blanket or crib comforter is a perfect fit for a new baby’s crib. Made with organic cotton, these blankets are lightweight, yet keep baby snug and warm. These blankets can be purchased at Amazon.com for just $39.49.

GREEN GIFT IDEA: For baby’s care
Shop Natural offers an enormous range of awesome baby items. They offer everything from organic shampoo and calming lotion, to wipes and lullaby CDs. They have a great gift basket available called the Baby Be Natural Gift Basket. The gift basket can be purchased for $39.95.

GREEN GIFT IDEA: The baby’s wardrobe
If you’re looking for a organic baby clothing then Green Nest is the place for you. They have adorable organic long johns, caps, and blankets. They also have organic baby slings to make toting baby around an easy job. These baby items start at about $40.

GREEN GIFT IDEA: For the new Mommy
Don’t forget about the new Mommy when you’re shopping for your green baby shower gift. Earth Mama Angel Baby offers a nice line of pregnancy products, like natural nipple cream and butter, pregnant belly oil, booby tubes and maternity pillows.

Today I am not feeling so keen on nature. I had an unwanted guest this morning in my garden area. A Western Diamondback rattlesnake. It was the second one this week. The other was on my front porch just steps away from the door. We got lucky that first time. We even got lucky when a snake found its way into our bedroom about 2 years ago. Today we were not so lucky.

The snake started to go into our indoor/outdoor dog run and two of my dogs (labs) were bitten on the snout. I am just heartsick now as I look at their swollen, bloody, faces. One of them I have had since I was 17 years old.

This just kind of finalizes for me the fact that I do not want to stay in Arizona. I want to go back to my house in Ohio. Yes, Arizona is beautiful and the climate is relatively nice all year but the gosh darn snakes are everywhere! How long will it be before one of my kids gets bitten? I do not want to find out.

I also have a hard time being tolerant of these creatures as a species. I know most folks out here say that you should leave the snakes alone because we are encroaching on their natural habitat, yada, yada, yada. So I guess I just need to move out of their natural habitat because I not going to tolerate them being anywhere near my kids. You won’t see me trying to catch a snake to release it elsewhere either. I can’t wait for this chemo to be done with cause I will be hitting the road when that day comes.

By Cara Matthews
Journal Albany bureau

ALBANY — Products with names such as Earth’s Choice, Sustainable Earth and Green Knight will fill janitors’ closets this fall as schools around the state comply with a new law that requires “environmentally friendly” cleaning supplies.

Concerns about the harmful health effects chemicals can have, especially on children, and a realization that cleaners with reduced amounts of potentially dangerous ingredients are increasingly available, prompted the legislation, which takes effect today.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates human exposure to air pollutants indoors can be two to five times higher than outdoor levels. Some of the culprits are cleaners, waxes and deodorizers. Reducing or eliminating potentially harmful ingredients helps protect the environment and water supply, according to the legislation’s sponsors.

The state School Boards Association supports the measure but has had some questions about the law, such as whether the “greener” products would cost more and clean as well as traditional ones, spokesman David Ernst said.

“There are certainly concerns about student health that may be addressed by some of these products,” he said. “(For) a lot of these concerns … the source of the health problem hasn’t been pinpointed, but certainly chemicals can be one.”

Prices of the environmentally friendly cleaners are comparable to others on the market, said Christine Burling, At least two districts in Dutchess County will have a jump start on other local schools. The Pine Plains school district has been using green and environmentally friendly cleaning supplies for about four years, while the Rhinebeck school district has been using the products for about two years.

“The products are easier on the people who are applying them,” said Thomas Garrick, director of operations and maintenance for Pine Plains schools. “It’s just healthier on the people who apply them.”

Because the prices are so similar, the district didn’t need to make too big an adjustment, Garrick said.

Laurie Rich, president of the Rhinebeck school board, is vice president of programs for INFORM, Inc. The nonprofit organization examines the effects of business practices on the environment and on human health.

The Rhinebeck school district made the switch after INFORM performed a free audit of its cleaning supplies. She said the greener cleaning products have an immediate benefit not only to the workers who apply them, but to the entire school population.

“It’s well documented that when you clean up the quality of the air we breathe indoors, students’ attendance rates go up, attention spans in the classroom improve and students perform better,” Rich said.

Greg Decker, custodial supervisor at the Rhinebeck school district, said the green products were comparable in performance.

“The transition was difficult because there are a lot of items out there that we had to try out and we were just trying to hope for the best,” Decker said. “We wanted to make sure that the products that were on the market could do the same job.”

In some cases, it may take a little longer for the green or environmentally friendlier products to work. For instance, environmentally friendly bathroom disinfectant may take longer to work than traditional bathroom cleaners.

Since bathroom cleaners are designed to kill germs, it’s impossible to find a cleaner that is completely green.

Grandfather clause

Schools don’t have to throw away cleaners that aren’t on the state’s list of approved products for cleaning products, vacuum cleaners and sanitary paper products, she said. They can use them up before buying green ones. The new law applies to buildings and grounds at all public and private elementary and secondary schools.

A number of groups and parents have criticized the regulations, saying they don’t go far enough to protect children. The state stands by the guidelines, Burling said.

“They’re a living document. As science and technology evolve, we anticipate that we’ll be making changes,” she said.

The Office of General Services and the state Education Department have to issue a report by June 1 on the law’s impact on schools.

The legislation, which passed in 2005, was sponsored by state Sen. Steve Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, and Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, Monroe County.

Grassroots Environmental Education, a nonprofit on Long Island, thinks the state should have adopted stricter guidelines, said Patti Wood, executive director. For example, the organization wanted to exclude all products with added fragrances and chemicals that can negatively affect the endocrine system, she said.

“Overall, it didn’t go far enough. They missed an opportunity to really protect children, who are uniquely vulnerable to all kinds of environmental exposures,” she said.

More susceptible

Children, especially young ones, are more likely to come into contact with cleaning chemicals, and they are more vulnerable than adults because of their size and age, she said.

The state’s list of products notes which ones have added fragrances, and the guidelines recommend reducing the use of those to the extent possible.

Most cleaners on the state’s list are certified by Green Seal or Environmental Choice. According to Wood, the standards are not as strict as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for the Environment program, which includes information on eco-friendly cleaning products.

A statement on the Office of General Services’ Web site said the agency anticipates working with the Design for the Environment program, among others, in updating regulations, but any changes will be based on “solid scientific studies and research.”

Potential harmful effects of cleaners, waxes and deodorizers are skin and eye irritation, asthma attacks and neurological effects, Wood said. Some parents have taken their children out of school because of exposure to chemicals there, she said.

“If there is a single ingredient in any cleaning product that will cause an asthmatic attack, it would be the fragrance, and there are a lot of children with asthma in our schools,” she said.

Grassroots Environmental Education will provide information to each school about its own recommendations for green cleaning products, Wood said.

New York State United Teachers, the state’s largest union, backed the legislation as a good first step toward making schools healthier and safer for children and staff, spokesman Carl Korn said. But the union has a concern similar to that of Wood’s group.

“The legislation requires them to use green, healthy products but not the highest rated ones, and that’s something that we’re going to be working towards in the future,” he said.

The Civil Service Employees Association thinks the law is a good one but will require involvement from community members to make sure it is implemented on a local level, spokesman Stephen Madarasz said.

“I think all habits take a long time to change sometimes, so I think a lot of this will involve some grassroots involvement from people and our members,” he said.

Journal staff writer Rasheed Oluwa contributed to this report.

Source