kids organic: healthier ideas for frozen meals

www.kidsorganic.com

it's the end of a long day. you've built block buildings and knocked them over. you've pushed toy cars all over the house. you've been to the park - twice. you've sung "the wheels on the bus" no less than 700 times.

now all you have to do is make it through dinner and you're home free! what to do when you're exhausted but you still want to feed your child a healthy, well-balanced, organic meal?

shopping at whole foods the other week i stumbled upon kids organic frozen meals. kids organic meals are healthy, well-rounded meals for your tiny tot that provide all the nutrition your children need - with none of the work.

made from locally produced ingredients and served in go-green packaging, kids organic helps ensure that even tired mommies can give their children what they want. each meal is made of all natural and organic ingredients - no translation needed when reading the ingredient list. they're even nutritionally balanced according to the fda's latest food pyramid.

meals are chock full of fiber, minimally processed and come in a variety of kid-friendly options, including macaroni & cheese and baked chicken stars. each entree is accompanied by a fresh vegetable medley and a "dessert" of organic fruit, brown sugar and oatmeal.

kids organic frozen meals microwave in a mere 3 minutes using their revolutionary steam cooking process. let cool for two minutes and voilà! from freezer to table in five minutes flat.

not only are they easy, they're tasty, too. the baked chicken stars got my son to eat chicken - for the first time ever. if that's not an endorsement, i don't know what is. their environmentally-friendly minimal packaging is a huge plus as well. kids organic meals are also healthy enough so that you don't have to feel guilty when snacking on your child's leftovers. not that you would do that, of course.

cordoba building blocks from haba

www.oompa.com

from one of our favorite websites (oompa) and one of our favorite companies (haba toys) comes the cordoba building block set.

these brightly colored wooden blocks are a fantastic gift (thanks, shar & brian!) and another great thing for you to play with while pretending to play with your child. i mean, let your child play with. and teach him how to share with you.

cordoba building blocks, for ages 1+, come with sixteen patterned and color saturated pieces in all different shapes and sizes. not only are the blocks small and smooth enough for baby to hold, but their different features - rattles! bells! jewels! - will keep you both entertained. every piece is decorated in non-toxic, child-friendly paint, so you don't have to worry when your child inevitably tastes a few pieces.

the blocks all fit together easily and can stack up into endless combinations for your little builder.

need more? the cordoba set matches perfectly with haba's sakrada building blocks as well as their fantasy block set. you know, just in case you can't build a skyscraper tall enough with only one set of blocks.

haba's cordoba blocks are so cute, in fact, that you don't have to worry about picking them up when friends come over. they even look good strewn across your child's floor. which is where they will inevitably end up. especially if it happens to be my child's floor.

SwaddleDesigns: blankets, burp cloths and lovies

www.swaddledesigns.com

one of my best friends - who's pregnant herself - asked me for new baby gift suggestions yesterday. i was forced to reveal to her some of my favorite "can't fail" baby presents, knowing full well that she'd be the recipient of most if not all of them. i've already shared two: the bundle me and trumpette socks.

there was one go-to gift, however, that i had yet to post. my knight in shining armor, swaddle designs. they have great gifts that would please any mom-to-be.

swaddle designs makes THE best swaddle blankets. don't let anyone talk you into getting anything else. we swaddled cole until he was almost 5 months old, so believe me when i tell you that i am the swaddle master, and the swaddle designs blanket was my savior.

swaddle designs swaddle blankets are big enough to actually wrap up your little one snugly without any middle-of-the-night jailbreaks, and cute enough to use just as a regular blanket. they are made of pre-shrunk cotton flannel, come in lots of patterns and styles and are even available in certified organic cotton for little green babies.

swaddle designs also makes sturdy but sweet burp cloths (that match the blankets, of course) with a super-absorbent center panel and stylish fabric stripes. they're perfect for cleaning up little messes and are attractive enough to break out in front of childless company.

and there's more! swaddle designs gives us little lovies - for the uninitiated, small fuzzy security blankets for your tot to tote on trips. theirs have a silky satin border for baby to snuggle with and a touchy-feely middle. at 14"x14", the perfect size to take to bed, to grandma's house or, let's face it, everywhere.

the good news? my friend now has a great baby present to give. the bad news? she will not be at all surprised when she gets her baby presents from me. sorry, jen!

bay area discovery museum

www.baykidsmuseum.org

almost everyone i know with a child has been to the discovery museum. and everyone who has gone tells me that i absolutely have to go. with that kind of unanimous endorsement, who am i to say no?

so yesterday we packed up and headed over the golden gate bridge to the beautiful bayside town of sausalito and the bay area discovery museum. and now i am joining the legions of fans by telling you that you also absolutely have to go!

not only is the museum nestled against breathtaking views of the bay (really - what other children's museum do you know of that offers spectacular views of the golden gate bridge?), but the museum itself is a treat.

since its inception in 1987, the bay area discovery museum has been recognized as one of the best children's museums in the country. they serve over 260,000 visitors each year who come to enjoy their fantastic facilities and beautiful outdoor space. for little guys like my son, their indoor tot spot is a real treat.

tot spot, designed specifically for crawlers to preschoolers under 42", offers exhibits and play areas designed on animal habitats - so feel free to bounce away in a lily pond, crawl through cave-like tunnels and explore faux wilderness. want to try on bee wings? play with a skunk hand puppet? press a panel that makes frog noises over and over and over again? consider it done!

the outdoor tot spot space has a man-made "stream" with plastic fish to squeeze and touch in addition to hills to climb and instruments to play. but that's not all! for older kids, lookout cove offers 2.5-acres of outdoor, interactive exploration areas featuring natural, cultural and built icons of the bay area. all this plus art studios, an "underwater" tunnel, a 300-gallon sea star tank and rotating exhibitions? sign me up!

wheely bug

www.rightstart.com
www.wheelybug.com

uh-oh..... your child wants to walk. badly. and while we have plastic ride-on toys littering our living room, my friend jen went the sophisticated route and picked up this great wheely bug. show off. it's a wonder i'm still friends with her.

ahem. getting back to the wheely bug, it's a great little ride-on toy for your little one that you won't be too embarrassed to leave out when company comes over. more importantly, of course, kids love it.

the wheely bug is covered in soft leather over a foam padding with four sturdy rotating wheels that move in all directions, helping prevent your tiny tot from getting stuck in place. the aluminum handle is sturdy and the whole "bug" is pvc-free. not only is wheely bug cute, but he'll help your child develop his gross motor skills. recommended age is 1.5 years+, but 11 month old cole was having a grand old (supervised) time, let me tell you.

wheely bug has won all sorts of awards, including best australian toy for 5 out of 6 years in a row, which is no surprise to those who've seen it. and did i mention that they exceed toy safety standards and use renewable timber lumber? fun and eco-friendly, too!

the wheely bug comes in traditional ladybug (shown) and bumblebee and now is available in new mouse, cow and tiger designs. grrowr! i guess i'll have to stay friends with jen so that cole can go to her house and borrow wheely bug for a little while longer. just don't blow my cover.

table toppers

www.tabletopper.com

my friend rachel came to visit with her adorable 3 month old son and convinced me that yes, i do need to leave the house once in a while. so we packed up the boys and headed on down to my mostly-favorite baby-friendly eatery for lunch.

seeing as i live in the baby and puppy capitol of san francisco, it came as no surprise that there were seated parties with tiny tots all over the restaurant the minute we walked in. and what was this? children eating their cheerios and string cheese and hypoallergenic rice crackers off of clean-looking adhesive placemats instead of sticky sticky tables? amazing! i must investigate.

closer inspection revealed that these children were eating off of something called table toppers. table toppers are disposable, stick-in-place placemats for your little one to use on the go. no more tiny hands on dirty tables for you! table toppers provide a sanitary eating surface wherever you are by sticking in place to the table - and then can be disposed of after your meal. no muss, no fuss. it's a clean surface you can take with you in your diaper bag.

table toppers come in a variety of fun patterns to help keep your little one occupied while you try to actually eat something yourself. not only are their products bpa and phthalate free, but they've just come out with a new, eco-friendly biodegradable line! you can help keep your baby safe from germy tables while still protecting the environment from, well, you and your baby. time to go out for lunch!

our friend teensygreen on the radio!

http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/

stefani newman, our friend and creator of teensygreen (the blog that helps you and your kids "green" your lifestyle) is on VoiceAmerica RIGHT NOW! (9-10am PDT)

click on the above link to listen to stefani share her green tips for you and your family.

right start!

www.rightstart.com

i've decided now that cole is crawling around all over the place that it's time for a Toy Run. you know the Toy Run, right? it's those times every few months when you're convinced that your child is bored with all their toys, even if it really means that you're bored with playing with the same toys over and over and over again.

in all honesty, there are times when your baby goes through developmental changes (starting from looking at things, to then grabbing things, to then throwing things, to then chasing your poor dog around the house, etc.) and they do need a few new toys to help keep themselves challenged and entertained.

but it's not a trip to dante's 7th circle of hell (a.k.a. babies r us) for us! nope - we're going to right start. right start has 33 stores nationwide (for my bay area mommies, there's a right start in palo alto, walnut creek and san francisco). right start is the largest national specialty retailer of juvenile products for infants and young children. they have a great selection of carefully tested and reviewed toys for newborns to toddlers.

and for you mommies who don't have a right start nearby, they have a fabulous, easy-to-navigate website for all your baby needs. they also have a great registry for your mommy-to-be friends! be sure to look for their eco-friendly line separated out on their website for your little environmentalist.

haba toys - "triangle clutching toy"

www.oompa.com

haba toy company makes really great toys for your little ones. they have lots of fun and interactive toys, but they're especially loved for their wooden toys. a little haba sheep with wooden limbs was the very first toy my husband bought for cole when we were pregnant.

cole's latest haba favorite? the triangle, awesomely and accurately described on the box as "triangle clutching toy." it has bright colors and is the perfect size for tiny hands to grab and bang against your furniture.

haba pursues ecologically safe systems of production and is the first german toy company to pass eco-audit requirements. they also use only water-based colors and varnishes, so you don't have to worry about your little one gnawing away. two great reasons not to feel guilty about buying your little dictator another toy they don't need!