Sponsors For Our June Event

I am pleased to announce our July Summertime Event Sponsors! This is going to be a great month of reviews and giveaways for babies, children, and parents!

The Baby Dipper was created and founded by a SAHM, too! This wonderful invention allows parents to feed their babies with one hand AND is the perfect tool when teaching children to feed themselves! For a 10% discount, order your Baby Dipper through their Facebook Store and go ahead and "like" their page!

Dedicated to helping parents find the right organic products for themselves and their families, Better for Babies is a personable company there to answer any questions you may have when you write or call them. All their diapers are made with 100% natural fibers, all sustainably grown and amazingly soft.


DiaperVine was created to give parents a place to go and find a wide variety of cloth diapers, something Lyndsay found hard to find when she was starting out with cloth diapers. She experimented with different brands and stocks only those that she has personally used and loves!
She, too, is a busy Mama, with two children and her husband serving overseas!




At 12 years of age, this SAHM learned how to crochet from her grandmother and now, as a parent, has taken her skills and created some beautiful items from hats and bows to diaper covers and more! I'm convinced she could create just about anything! Two Cute Boutique is offering my readers 20% off any purchases, refunded after checkout.





Toys R Us has a great promotion going on this summer! Check out my post about their Grand Openings around the country. You'll have a chance to win items, get up to 50% off on a grand opening weekend, and receive free gifts for parents and children!

Well all know and love Bummis cloth diapers! This wonderful company is sponsoring a giveaway! Click here to find a retailer near you or online! They are carried at such on-line sites as Cotton Babies and Diaper Depot!

Simply Organica skincare items are all natural and make your skin beautiful and healthy! The Mama and owner of Simply Organica is constantly creating new skincare items so, don't be surprised to see a new line of baby skincare items in the very near future!





Supergoop! SPF 30+ is fully committed to providing safe and advanced UV protection formulated in conjunction with the stringent standards for Healthy Child Healthy World while also also meeting the new European and Australian recommendations for High Protection Daily Suncare.

 

Owner of Sungrubbies, Marta Phillips, grew up in Southern California under the sun. She was inspired to create a store with the best protective sunwear available. Sungrubbies has lines of clothing for the entire family as well as accessories and skincare!

My favorite cloth diaper detergent is hosting a giveaway! Rockin' Green has several delicious scents and even a formula created especially for sensitive skin. I searched high and low for a great cloth diaper detergent and this one was the absolute best, in my opinion! You'll love it!

These are the confirmed sponsors of the Summer review/giveaway event starting tomorrow! There will be a few more added to the list! What do you think? Are you as excited as I am?

See you tomorrow for the first review and giveaway of our Summer Event!

What Is Natural Parenting?

Natural Parenting: the desire to live and parent responsibly and consciously

As you can tell, there are many ways to interpret the definition of natural parenting. Natural parenting means different things to different parents with the end result of reducing their carbon footprint by living eco-consciously and educating children to live the same way!

What Natural Parenting Means to Me

Basically, as a parent I wish for my family to live simply, healthfully and closer to nature. Researching for this post, I found many lists with the so-called rules of natural parenting, what one must follow in order to be natural. There are NO rules to natural parenting! You aren't kicked out of the club if you don't follow each and every suggestion!

I believe there are goals to natural parenting that each family must strive to reach! My goals are to live off of the resources nature provides, to rid ourselves of all unnecessary objects and influences, to teach our children to be respectful of the world around them and all the people in their world, and to raise them with love, patience and understanding. We try to watch a minimum amount of television, drive our cars only when needed and eat organically and locally when possible. We co-sleep, make educated decisions about our health care (vaccinations, medicines and other interventions), and believe there are benefits to unschooling.  My other future goals are to give birth naturally (hopefully that will be possible!) and to continue breastfeeding beyond the first few months. 

I generally don't like labels, though our parenting "style" does fit the ideals of natural parenting. We don't attempt to live by any guidelines, only doing what comes naturally to us. When Josiah was born we didn't start out co-sleeping, but once he started sleeping in our bed it just felt right so, he kept sleeping with us. There was a time when I worked and the Hubs was in school full-time so we were away from Josiah for most of the day, but now I am able to stay at home with our children, we've noticed a substantial change in their happiness and the bond and attachment we've all formed.

Over the past 3 years we've learned by trial and error and will continue to do so. Just like any parents, we just wish for our children to be happy and healthy, enjoying the world around them. 

What does 'Natural Parenting' mean to you? What do you consider your 'parenting style' to be?

Aloha Friday

Hi everyone! TGIF!! What a long week it has been, especially with all the hot, humid weather around Georgia. Summer is definitely here!
Kailani at An Island Life has a really fun meme. It's a great way to link up, hop around new blogs, and find some new friends. All you do is post a simple question on your blog and go answer other people's questions on their blogs! So, you can just go to that link to find other Aloha Friday questions on other blogs, too!

My Question of the Week:

What's one of your favorite memories of summertime from your childhood?

My Answer:

One of my most favorite parts of summer was getting to stay up late. Some nights my mom would come sleep in my bed and we'd stay up watching scary movies. One night we stayed up late watching some B horror film and ended up scared out of our minds the rest of the night. We kept hearing noises all over the house and hiding under the covers. We had so much fun!

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

This weekend will mark my son turning 9 months old!!! Here's a picture of him sporting his cloth diaper at only 4 weeks old. It seems just like yesterday! My baby is growing up so quickly! :(

Top Ten Tuesday

Inspired by all of the wonderful organic products we've had the pleasure of reviewing recently, my top 10 reasons to go organic.... even though I could list hundreds! :)

Top Then Reasons to Eat Organic Foods

10. Organic foods just taste better! In all honestly, organic food often has a totally different flavor, especially baby foods. Have you ever noticed the difference in colors between organic and non-organic baby food? One has artificial coloring to make it more orange along with artificial sweeteners and other preservatives. Eww!

9. Organic farms build healthy soil. Since I've started planting fruits and veggies, I've read about the importance of crop rotation and it's necessity for future crops to grow. There are a variety of safety standards organic farmers must use in order to be considered Organic, all of which promote healthy soil.

8. Ethical treatment of animals! If you've ever seen pictures or read articles about the unethical treatment of animals on farms, it could possibly put you off meats for the next decade. Organic farms practice free-range techniques, allow their animals to graze, and do not keep them bunched up in small pens

7. Pesticides and Chemicals used for non-organic farming can harm our water supply. Many people are concerned about the runoff of chemicals actually effecting our water supplies. Considering the fact that where I live several people get fresh water from wells and creeks, that could present a huge problem. Plus, the chemicals can harm fish and other aquatic animals. 

  6. Buying organics promotes research. How? Organic producers must find new and innovative techniques each year to continue crop growth without using pesticides and other unsafe methods used by industrial farms. Many farmers have paved the way by researching and conducting their experiments on their own farms and at their own expense.

5. Organic Farms promote diversity and biodiversity. Have you ever been to an organic farm and are suddenly surrounded by all sorts of creatures, big and small? Studies have suggestions many animals, from birds to earthworms, much prefer organic farms due to the lack of chemicals and other farming techniques! Also, sustainable farms rely on a much wider variety of farm animals, not just the usual suspects found on industrial farms. 

4. Organically grown foods are more nutritious! Studies have shown that organic fruits and veggies contain 50% more nutrients, minerals and vitamins! 

3. You support small and/or local farms! Find an organic farm near you and buy from them. Your purchases help them maintain their high standards of care for animals and techniques for organic farming. Trust me, you can find an organic farm near you or your local farmer's market. I live in the middle of nowhere and there are 2 organic farms and a farmer's market within 15 miles of my house!

  

2. You don't have to worry about ingestion of pesticides, chemicals, hormones (human growth, etc.), antibiotics, and genetically modified foods, which can cause a number of health issues including cancer, obesity and Alzheimer's. Enough said, in my opinion.

1. We must protect future generations! If not for yourself, go organic for your children and future grandchildren. According to the Organic Trade Association, the average child  is 4 times more likely than an adult to ingest 8 of the widely used cancer-causing pesticides in foods. Not only do we need to eat organics, but we need to become eco-conscious and teach future generations to do the same. 

Does your family eat organics and use organic products?

Have a wonderful Day, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday - Josiah's 3rd Birthday Carnival Party

Josiah wanted a Scooby Doo birthday cake!

Blowing out the candles!

My Little Man

My Other Little Man!

Lastly, Josiah's very favorite birthday present! He hopped on immediately and rode around the house.








Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Top Ten Tuesday!

Now that things are a bit calmer from the reviews and giveaways, maybe I can catch up on some posts! 

Top Ten List of Parenting Myths (in my opinion)

10. If your baby is crying they are either hungry or need a diaper change! If only it were that simple. During your first few hours of being home with your baby, you find out the truth!

9. If the Toddler is Acting Out, Ignore Him/Her! Yes, they usually just want attention, but if you ignore the behavior, be ready for something to be destroyed, flushed down the toilet, or scattered around the room/house!

8. Let Your Baby Cry It Out. Many ppl just expect the baby to soothe him/herself, but they ignore the actual rules of the Ferber (cry-it-out) method! Though I could never let my child cry continuously, even Ferber says NEVER leave a child crying alone in their crib.

7. When Starting Baby Foods, If Baby Doesn't Like It, Keep Trying Until They Do! This piece of advice is laughable. Josiah wouldn't eat anything except purees with sweet potatoes for quite a while and to this day he still won't eat squash. Also, if your baby is rejecting all foods, they just may not be ready. Liam wasn't ready the first time we tried and gagged every time we tried something. He still gags when I try certain foods, but after tasting them, too, I can understand why.

6. Daycare Allows Babies/Children To Become More Sociable. As a very shy child, I can tell you daycare definitely did not help in the social department! Josiah enjoyed going to school, but since staying home with him and having Liam at home since birth, I can tell no difference in their social skills and love of being around new people. They are both very social.

5. Co-Sleeping is Dangerous. Not to Mention, It Kills a Marriage. Co-Sleeping has not been found to be any more dangerous than sleeping all alone in a crib. Plus, I can honestly say, from my own experience, that co-sleeping is wonderful and has not, nor ever will, effect my marriage. 

4. Is Your Child Misbehaving? Pop Them on the Heiny! I've always said I would never spank my child, but have, admittedly, popped Josiah on his heiny a few times. What was the outcome? Him believing it acceptable to hit, too. Bad, bad, bad idea! Timeout has been a much more effective tool of punishment and it gives the child/parent time to calm down and think more rationally.

3. You Must Follow the Immunization Schedule Provided by Your Pediatrician. While I understand the usefulness of vaccinations, something just doesn't feel right about sit right about shooting my children up with 6 different vaccines at one time.Some parents choose not to vaccinate at all while others, like me, do choose to do so, but do not follow a schedule. I get my children vaccinated with no more than 3 at a time and schedule another appointment for the rest, if needed. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I don't want to feel bullied into doing something and don't want other parents to feel that way either.Many pediatricians act as if you don't have a choice.

2. A Child Will Use The Potty When Ready. I've followed this advice and it is true to an extent, but all children need guidance. Josiah is now 3 and he is definitely ready to start using the potty, but if I don't constantly ask him to use the potty or try to get him to go, he won't. He doesn't seem to mind having a wet diaper one bit and, if he does, he just takes it off and puts on another. 

1. Cloth Diapering Is Too Much Work! Just Use Disposables! Of course I disagree with this statement! Cloth diapers are easier than ever for parents. Yes, you have to wash them, but I know I'd rather wash a few poo diapers to decrease the tons of disposables sitting in landfills. It completely disgusts me to see how many disposables pile up in a week's time. Eck!

Cloth Diaper Awards

I just wanted to take a minute to tell you about The Cloth Diaper Awards! For all of us cloth diapering Mamas, we know how hard it can be to find a diaper that fits perfectly, doesn't leak, and is absorbent! The Cloth Diaper Awards allows everyone, in every country, to share what they have learned during that long and difficult journey to finding the perfect diaper! Take a few minutes to fill-out the survey and give your favorite diapers the recognition they deserve! My personal favorites are AppleCheeks and Bum Genius Deluxe 3.0!
What are your favs?
The blogging Mamas who have started The Cloth Diaper Awards also need your help to spread the news so, pass along the website to all you friends and family members who are fans of cloth!

Happy Tuesday!

Toys R Us Grand Opening Secret Coupon & Upcoming Giveaway

Hi everyone! I recently became a promotional partner with Toys R Us to help advertise their upcoming Grand Openings! Over 50 new Toys R Us stores will be opening around the US from now through October 2010, from New York to California so get ready to join the party!

What's in it for you? Special deals, coupons, and promotions. The first promo is a secret coupon worth up to 50% off any single item! Click Here to locate a Grand Opening or Re-Opening near you! All you do is find the state you live in, enter your information, and download your ‘secret coupon’. Then, attend the Grand Opening/Re-Opening Weekend and redeem the coupon to reveal your shopping discount! How easy is that? I love my Toys R Us coupons I receive each month in the mail so, I am guessing many of these codes will be at least 25% considering I receive a 20% off coupon each month! By the way, the secret coupon is only advertised through Mama bloggers so, spread the word to your friends and family! Don't keep it a secret!

Another reason to attend the Grand Opening? Be one of the first 100 people though the door Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. of opening weekend to receive your free gift bag valued at over $100! What's in this gift bag? It's a special goodie bag just for Moms filled to the brim with coupons, samples, and more! Take a look at the sponsors and you'll get a good idea of all the great things you will receive! 

As if all of that is not enough, guess what? Toys R Us was nice enough to sponsor a giveaway on Children Teaching Mama for one of the Mom's Only Gift Bags valued at over $100!! Are you as excited as I am?

This is just the beginning of the promotion! I will post more info throughout the next months! Also, I will be posting the Toys R Us Giveaway very soon so, check back or subscribe via email to get updates!

Kids Konserve - Upcoming Giveaway & Coupon Code

 I recently stumbled upon a wonderful eco-conscious company called Kids Konserve. Two women started the company in order to address the amount of trash accumulated in schools. Think about it! Each part of your child's lunch is individually wrapped, in a box, or some other disposable container. That makes for tons of trash during only one school year. Kids Konserve challenges schools to cut down on trash and even offers a program for schools to receive discounts on their products.
The BPA free, non-toxic reusable products by Kids Konserve are centered around lunchtime- lunch sacks (with different designs for children and adults!), stainless steel containers, snak packs, and more!
I'm happy to announce that Kids Konserve will be hosting a giveaway during our next event this summer! One lucky reader will win a set of their awesome Stainless Steel Containers worth $26!!

Until then, feel free to surf their website and do some shopping. They have provided my Children Teaching Mama readers a 15% coupon code for each purchase you make!  

Just enter code summer15 (ends 6/30) when you check out!

** Bonus Offer- Make a purchase from now until the beginning of my next event and earn 10 Entries for all of my Summer Event Giveaways! 

Stonyfield Farm YoBaby Yogurt 3-in-1 Meals Review & Giveaway

 In 1983, on a little farm in New Hampshire, Stonyfield Farm began as a farming school teaching sustainable agricultural practices. From humble beginnings, a leaky barn, and a few cows, Stonyfield yogurt was created and sold only to fund their school, but it didn't take long for the delicious recipe to take off! Now Stonyfield Farm has grown substantially, is completely organic, and thankfully their yogurt is available for everyone!
Liam, famous for his picky eating, is quite a fan of Stonyfield Farms YoBaby yogurt. His favorite is Peach and Pear! Who can blame him? It's absolutely delicious! The all natural, certified organic yogurt is made from organically fed cows not fed and treated with antibiotics or growth hormones so, I know it's not only good for him, but I'm buying from a company that is eco-friendly and knows the importance of organic living!
YoBaby also makes 3-in-1 meals packed with yogurt, a fruit and a veggie! If your little one doesn't seem to like his or her vegetables, try YoBaby Meals. You can taste the vegetables, but the yogurt and fruit add extra flavor and a delicious sweetness. Liam will not eat vegetables at all, which is why we gave YoBaby Meals a try and we've never looked back! The Apple & Sweet Potato Meals are on my grocery list each week! Pear & Green Bean and Peach & Squash are also available YoBaby Meals.

As you can tell, Liam is loving his YoBaby Meal!

Buy It

You can find a list of stores that carry Stonyfield products here!

Win It

One Lucky Reader Will Win a Gift Bag Full of YoBaby Goodness!

 

1 Yobaby travel bowl with lid
1 Yobaby organic cotton bib
1 Eric Carle growth chart
3 free Yobaby Meals coupons

How To Enter:

• Visit Stonyfield Farms and tell me one thing you learned about the farm and/or their products!  

*Remember to include your email address if it is NOT visible in your profile so I will know how to contact you!

The initial entry is mandatory! Be sure to answer that question before earning extra entries listed below! Each bullet is worth one extra entry unless specified. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry you earn and include your email address is at least one entry.

Additional Entries: 

• "Like" Stonyfield Farm on Facebook
• "Like" YoBaby Yogurt on Facebook 
• Follow Stonyfield on Twitter 
• Register for My Stonyfield (newsletter, special offers, coupons, etc!)
• Buy something from the Stonyfield Online Shop
• Follow Children Teaching Mama via Google Friend Connect
• Subscribe to Children Teaching Mama via Email
• Enter My Other Upcoming Giveaways (1 Entry for Each Entered Giveaway! 3 Other Chances!) 
• Become a Fan of Children Teaching Mama on Facebook
• Follow Me on Twitter 
• Grab the Children Teaching Mama Button & Place on Your Blog (2 Extra Entries) - leave url 
• Grab the Green Goodies Giveaway Button (5 Extra Entries) - leave the url where placed 
• Tweet (up to 2x a day 1 hr apart) about this Giveaway on Twitter using this tweet message:

 #Win Free YoBaby Meals & Stonyfield Goodie Bag #giveaways writeroxie @stonyfield http://tinyurl.com/2e5f2f3

* 2 Tweets Allowed Per Day At least 1 Hour Apart!

Plenty of opportunities to increase your chance of winning! This Giveaway is open to US Residents and Ends June 18 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be drawn by random.org. An announcement will be made on the blog and the winner will also be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen. 

All opinions on this review are 100% mine and based on my experience with the product. I was not at all compensated in any way!

Good Luck!

Plum Organics & Revolution Foods Review & Giveaway

EcoMom is a community dedicated to educating others about eco-conscious living, how to make it easy, affordable and rewarding! I was amazed at everything EcoMom has to offer, from baby and toddler foods to household items, clothing and more! It's a one stop Eco-Friendly online Shop, but that's not all! There is also the EcoMom Community, a great forum to meet other moms with similar interests, to learn, and to also give advice! It is frequently updated with interesting and informative articles about eco-conscious living, too. If you are interested in organics and have questions about living "green", you will most definitely find an answer here from wonderfully knowledgeable people who are happy to help.
EcoMom is offering a wonderful new program called EcoPass. For only a $99 annual membership fee, you will get 15% off of every purchase, free shipping without the usual $75 minimum purchase, exclusive offers, and more! If you purchase items online as often as I do, you know how quickly shipping fees can add up! Plus, EcoMom uses FedEx so, the EcoPass pays for itself in only a handful of orders!
For this review, my boys, Liam (7 months) and Josiah (3 yrs), were sent  Plum Organics and Revolution Foods Samplers. Let me preface this by saying we found Liam to be an extremely picky eater. Before trying Plum Organics baby food we unsuccessfully tried two other non-organic brands. I was very nervous about this review for that reason, but the first baby food we tried, a Pumpkin & Banana blend, was immediately gobbled up by him! I couldn't believe my eyes! I can honestly say there is quite a difference in the taste between the non-organic brands with their additives and preservatives and Plum Organics, which actually tastes like fruit. His other favorite is Just Pears. The only one he wasn't a fan of was the Spinach, Peas & Pears only because he still not into many veggies, but he'll come around! I suppose Mr. Liam is already a baby food connoisseur! EcoMom also offers other varieties of Plum Organic foods, such as training meals and toddler snacks that also look just as delicious!
Josiah tried out several of the Revolution Foods snacks! First, he tried the Berry & the Strawberry Banana Mashups, which are squeezable fruit purees great for lunchboxes and on-the-go snacking. I had to convince him they weren't baby foods before he'd try them, but then he loved it! The Strawberry Banana was definitely his favorite. He was snacking on it as he road his little tractor around the yard and even tried to hide it for a later snack. On the go, indeed! Then he tried the Strawberry Jam & Peanut Butter Jammy Sammy and the Grape Jelly & Peanut Butter Jammy Sammy. These were, by far, his favorites! They are the perfect mid-afternoon snack so, we ate them after nap time and it definitely helped fill him up a bit before dinner! He calls them his cookies and it's true, they do taste similar to Fig Newtons, but are much healthier and organic! I was excited to see many other Revolution Foods snacks on EcoMom, such as PopAlongs, Grammy Sammies & even organic Raisins, too! 

Buy It

EcoMom is offering all of the Children Teaching Mama Readers a Discount Code! Enter discount code SBBL257 at checkout for 15% off your order!

Win It

One Reader will win $20 worth of Plum and/or Revolution Foods (w/ free shipping) from EcoMom!

How To Enter: 

• Visit EcoMom and tell me which Plum and/or Revolution Foods you & your children would like to try!

*Remember to include your email address if it is NOT visible in your profile so I will know how to contact you!
The initial entry is mandatory! Be sure to answer that question before earning extra entries listed below! Each bullet is worth one extra entry unless specified. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry you earn and include your email address is at least one entry.

Additional Entries:

• Follow EcoMom on Twitter
• Like EcoMom on Facebook
• Sign up for the EcoMom Newsletter
• Make a Purchase on EcoMom during the Giveaway Period
• Follow Children Teaching Mama via Google Friend Connect
• Subscribe to Children Teaching Mama via Email
• Enter My Other Upcoming Giveaways (1 Entry for Each Entered Giveaway) 
• Become a Fan of Children Teaching Mama on Facebook
• Follow Me on Twitter 
• Grab the Children Teaching Mama Button & Place on Your Blog (2 Extra Entries) - leave url 
• Grab the Green Goodies Giveaway Button (5 Extra Entries) - leave the url where placed 
• Tweet (up to 2x a day 1 hr apart) about this Giveaway on Twitter using this tweet message:

 #Win $20 worth of plum organics/food revolution giveaway @EcoMomCEO @writeroxie http://tinyurl.com/39zqykb less than 5 seconds

* 2 Tweets Allowed Per Day At least 1 Hour Apart!

That gives you 20+ Possible Entries! Don't forget your 2 Daily Tweets and extra entries for entering my other giveaways! Plenty of opportunities to increase your chance of winning! This Giveaway is open to US & Canadian Residents and Ends June 16 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be drawn by random.org. An announcement will be made on the blog and the winner will also be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen. 

All opinions on this review are 100% mine and based on my experience with the product. I was not at all compensated in any way and only received the items I reviewed.
Good Luck!