Baby food...doesn't have to be PUREE

When you think of baby food, a few words come to mind, bland, dull colored, puree, mush, all around YUCK! As my 6 month daughter is venturing into the world of food I have realized how many options there are. First, let me start by saying that I had already decided that I would be making my own baby food. For a few reasons, first and foremost because I want to be able to expose my daughter to a variety of different flavors, textures, colors, fruits and vegetables. If I was to buy her food at the store I would be limited in what I could expose her to, if I make it myself the sky is the limit, well actually the produce section at the grocery store but you get the idea.

I want to be able to control what goes into her food, if I make it myself I know EXACTLY what went into her food and I could add things like leeks, basil, vanilla bean, nutmeg...of course not yet she has to get introduced slowly but the options are limitless. I can make kale for her, how many times have you seen kale on the baby food aisle at the grocery store? The future for her and her palate are as big as my imagination.

I think the biggest revelation I have had is that baby food doesn't have to be PUREE. Of course I'm not saying that I can just cut up and apple and gave it to my daughter. What I'm saying is that we start our babies off on food that is a consistency that unless you're eating pudding everyday for the rest of your life isn't a natural consistency. Not that pudding everyday would be a bad thing, but I think one of the greatest things about food (other than the taste) is the different textures everything has in your mouth. How a pear feels when you bite into it compared to an apple, of course you can tell an apple from a pear by the taste of it, but if they both had the exact same flavor you would still be able to distinguish the two by texture.

Anella's first food was avocado, I was really excited to start with avocado because when I feed it to her it will be the exact same texture as when I eat it myself. After avocado, we moved onto peas, now we had a rainy weekend and I decided to puree some peas and freeze them for her. So we heated up the puree fed it to her and she enjoyed it. At dinner that night my husband and I had peas as well, and I realized that if I just pop them out of their little shell she would be able to eat the small pieces that were left. And so it goes, pea after pea. I placed them very carefully on her highchair table and she would slowly pick it up, look at it and stick it in her mouth. Once she got it in her mouth she would make a "chewing" motion and it would be gone. And so it goes, pea after pea. Every once in a while I'd take a peek into her toothless mouth to make sure she wasn't storing them all for later, but after much searching I found that her mouth was empty and she was just enjoying her new ability to feed herself. So this got me to thinking. baby food doesn't have to be puree, and why should it be!

Stay at Home Mama's new Endeavor

Being a stay at home mom I have found many ways to 'cut corners' on purchases, whether it be using coupons, purchasing items in bulk when they're on sale, or just "doing without." Recently I was out and about and saw an item that I just HAD to have, but the price tag on it was well out of our budget. So I thought to myself I could make that...so I ran to the fabric store, found the perfect fabrics, of course I couldn't just choose one color so I left with three. I went straight home and started sewing (with the help of a good friend), and TA DA (drum roll please) it was DONE and it was beyond perfect. It was better than what I could have bought, and it was made with extra love.

I had to come up with a name for them, seeing that I made in with my daughter Anella in mind I decided I would call them "Nellas." Anella now doesn't go anywhere without it, we take it to yoga, the grocery store, to the Zoo, on walks, everywhere she goes it goes. As I type this she's playing on the ground and she just rolled over to grab her "Nella" and she's rubbing it on her face and chewing on it.

Whenever I try to find toys for Anella I struggle because I want something that allows her to use her imagination, I want something simple. Too many things have flashing lights, loud sounds, and all in all very overwhelming and stimulating. So in making these I wanted something that would stimulate in a different way, something that gives her different textures, colors and textiles. I was at yoga with Anella and her "nella" and one of the other mommy's asked me where I got it, and I was proud to say "I made it," she immediately said "I'll buy one off of you." So the idea was born, what a great way to make a little extra income and do something I LOVE to do.

I've thought of everything, including a rickrack tag that is long enough you can put your stroller or Ergo strap through so that on outings the "nella" doesn't get lost. Not to mention they're completely washer & dryer safe which is a MUST for baby toys.

We've added a link on the righthand side if you're interested in purchasing one for your little one or a friend. You can even personalize the colors from 9 different variations.

Punch Buggy Red...now Punch Baggy

As I was riding home from work a few months back on the back of our Vepsa I came to a sad realization. Growing up, my brothers, sister and I always played Punch Buggy...you know the game the first person to see a VW Bug screams at the top of their lungs "Punch Buggy _______ (and then the color of the VW)," and at the end of the drive that is how many times you get to punch (gently of course) your sibling. What a great game!

Today I realized that my kids won't be playing Punch Buggy, instead they will be playing Punch Baggy, because there are so many plastic bags littered around that they'll be easier to spot than VW Bugs. I counted on our drive home which is 13 miles and I saw 9 plastic bags. Americans use 100 BILLION

Tomorrow on your drive, no matter where you are going try it yourself. Count the number of plastic bags you see on the roadside, in the bushes, stuck in fences, they're everywhere. disposable plastic bags every year yet recycle less than 1%. Plastics which don't biodegrade.

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Baby Blankets...knitting is back in and very GREEN

Seeing that I'm due with my baby at the end of August I knew I wanted to make my baby a very special blanket hand knitted by ME! I have many talented people on both my side of the family and my husbands side and I know that I will be receiving many more handmade masterpieces, but there is just something about hand making something for your own child.

I have made two blankets, the first one (picture on right) I started making during my first pregnancy last year. When I found out about my miscarriage I put the blanket in the closet as it was too painful to constantly be reminded that I wasn't going to be bringing my first baby home in October. After I became pregnant again I pulled the blanket out and decided I needed to finish it. I couldn't just keep going and pretend that the blanket hadn't already been started. I needed to have a marker as to where the blanket was made for our first baby and where I continued it to give to our first born. I ensured that there would be a place on the blanket my husband and I (and our baby) would know that this was made with love for our first. Still to this day when I pick up this blanket I have tears come to my eyes knowing that my first baby will never be wrapped in this blanket, yet at the same time I am filled with joy and love knowing that the baby I am pregnant with now will be cuddled in it.

The second blanket (which I just finished today, pictured on the left) I wanted to make so that I could tell my baby this was made especially for you. Since we are not finding out the gender of the baby until delivery I had to make it gender neutral. I must say I am so unbelievably PROUD of my work on this blanket, I want to show it to anyone and everyone!

Now I cannot wait until I have this baby and are able to wrap him/her in the blanket!

My Journey to being a Green Mama...by Amanda Green

My journey to becoming a Green Mama started years ago. Soon after my husband and I got married in December of 2000 he started a job at a local BioTech company. One day while at work he learned about the process of the non-organic chicken's life and death, he came home and told me of his day. That day was the day we both vowed to only eat organic meats and we've never gone back. We learned that this path into a "green lifestyle" was a slippery slope and soon everything in our lives was "green." All of our vegetables, household cleaning products, paper products, laundry detergent, the list goes on and on.

Although we were not at that time ready to start a family we knew that we were preparing ourselves for the healthiest lifestyle possible and in doing so giving our future children a healthy start. We spent 7 wonderful years married, just the two of us when we decided that it was time to start our family. It was a wonderful 7 years of just the two of us but we were ready to know the miracle of children.

We were so blessed to get pregnant the first month we started trying in January of 2008, and we couldn't be happier. Sadly that pregnancy ended with a missed miscarriage at 14 weeks on April 11, 2008. Until this moment in my life I never knew that missed miscarriage's even existed, I assumed (naively) that the pregnancy was fine as long as there was no bleeding. I couldn't understand how this could happen to me, I was healthier than almost any pregnant woman I've ever known and yet they all went on to have healthy pregnancies. This single event in my life took the ground out from under me and my husband, we struggled with daily life and finding our path to happiness again. We spent each month after that trying again for a baby only to be disappointed month after month. 8 months to the day of my D&C, December 11, 2008 we were thrilled to find out that we were expecting again. All of the pain, loss and grief we had gone through the last 8 months was finally overshadowed by pure elation and happiness.

That brings us to the present. I am now currently 25 weeks pregnant and due August 21, 2009! I have never felt better in my life. I did not suffer from a single moment of morning sickness (for this I feel very lucky), I have had the most amazing pregnancy. I have dreamed my whole life of being a mother, of being pregnant and relishing in this miracle that is growing inside of me, but never in my life did I imagine I would LOVE being pregnant as much as I do. I knew I'd love it, but I never knew I could love it this much. From the moment I knew I was expecting this baby my husband and I felt so blessed and promised to not take a single moment of this pregnancy for granted, every single day we feel so blessed to have this miracle in our lives and we cannot wait to meet our son/daughter (we waiting until delivery to find out the sex). Until that moment we are going to enjoy every minute of every day and not take a single second for granted.

The Birth of a Blog!

The labor wasn't too bad, only took a few moments of excited back and forth emails, and then wham! The Green Mamas blog was born ;)

We're excited to introduce you to our new blog. This blog is the brain child and joint effort of two very awesome everyday green mamas who happen to live in two very different worlds although couldn't be more similar in their quests.

So, come travel along with Green Mama Amanda & Green Mama Lia as they blog their adventure to be more green in everything they do, every way they can ;)

Feel free to kick off your shoes and stay awhile...this is going to be fun!