When you start talking about “green” cleaning, many people inwardly groan. They think, “This is going to be expensive, plus it won’t even work.” Not true! Here are a few quick pointers if you’re ready to make the switch from (expensive!) nasty chemical cleaners. It’s much more painless than you might think.

Plain White Distilled Vinegar

I know, I hate the smell of it too. But it just works! A ½ water and ½ vinegar solution not only cleans, but kills germs and mold too. If you like, add in several drops of essential oil like tea tree or lavender to make the smell more pleasant. This same solution can be used as a disinfectant spray on handles, bathrooms, etc. when someone has been sick. To clean toilets, pour about 1 cup of straight vinegar into the toilet and let it soak for as long as possible. It will deodorize and disinfect, and over time it actually removes stains. Vinegar costs next-to-nothing, and you can use it for everything. There are literally thousands of websites available with tips on cleaning everything you can think of, with vinegar.

Baking Soda

Need a scouring agent? Here it is. Again, incredibly cheap, and it works! Add a little dish detergent, and a splash of vinegar, and you have a very powerful cleaner for bathtubs and showers.

Commercial Natural Cleaners

I do have a few favorite products that can be purchased at your local health food store.

-Citrasolve

Citrasolve is made from the peel of citrus fruits, and is an incredibly powerful product. It comes very concentrated, and you just dilute to the strength you need for the job you’re tackling. One rental house we moved into had terrible pet odor in the carpets, and using a 5:1 solution of water to Citrasolve to liberally soak the spots, and then steam cleaning with vinegar and water, I was able to almost totally get rid of the smell. It is also a fantastic degreaser when diluted 16:1, and used full strength it will literally clean heavy grease off bicycle chains and car parts.

-Castile Soap

Castile Soap is a mild liquid soap (though it can also be bought in bars) made from coconut and olive oils. It is sold in many different fragrances, and I love the eucalyptus and tea tree oil fragrances for cleaning. Great for floors (especially when you have crawling babies), walls, and anywhere else you need an all-purpose soap. We even use the unscented as our shower soap.

-Biokleen

Biokleen is a company with so many great cleaning products that I cannot list them all. Their natural dishwashing powder is the best I’ve tried, especially in hard water. They make great glass cleaner, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, and an enzyme based cleaner/deodorant called Bac-out. Anything I have tried of theirs works great!

Natural cleaning does not have to be complex, expensive, or confusing. With these few products you can leave your house shining, and still feel confident that it’s safe for your kids and the environment!

Main Resource Used: The Best Light Recipe book from the editors of Cook's Illustrated

Do you like greek yogurt?  Want to give your kids yogurt without having to spoon feed it to them?  Since I have twins, I do not like to spoon feed!  With greek yogurt (or yogurt cheese), you can spread it on bread or crackers & feed it to your kids that way.  If necessary, you can also add something sweet like jelly.

It's really simple & much cheaper to make your own greek yogurt; you start with regular yogurt & drain its whey.  You can make your own yogurt with a yogurt maker or purchase your favorite brand from the store.  If you purchase it, make sure to buy yogurt that does not contain modified food starch, gelatin, or gums.  These additivies keep the yogurt from draining. 

Equipment Needed:

1.  Wire Mesh Strainer

2.  3 coffee filters or double layer of cheesecloth

3.  Bowl (that can hold at least 1 cup of liquid)

Directions:

1.  Put wire mesh strainer on top of a bowl. 

2.  Place 3 coffee filters or a double layer of cheesecloth inside the strainer.

3.  Add 16 oz (2 cups) of yogurt.

4.  Cover with plastic wrap & put in fridge.

5.  It should reach the right texture in 10-12 hours but you can leave it for up to 2 days.

6.  Enjoy!

This can also be a lower fat cream cheese alternative for adults, especially if you use plain low fat yogurt.  It has much less calories and fat than regular and lower fat cream cheese.  2 Tbsp of low fat plain yogurt cheese is approx. 25 calories and .5 grams of fat.

As I see it, baby wearing accomplishes several things.  One is to keep your baby close, out of harm’s way, and where you can be immediately aware of any discomfort or discontent occurring with him or her.  Another is to promote closeness and bonding with an infant and security with an older baby or toddler.  And lastly, for practical reasons- to comfort a fussy baby while you do housework, or to assist in carrying a child where a stroller isn’t practical or you wish to have both hands free for another task.

Basically, all baby carriers fulfill these goals.  However the question is, which one does it the most comfortably, the most conveniently, and, in the best way for you and your baby’s spine.  It was not until I had my third child that I thought to ask my trusted chiropractor for her advice on which carrier style was the healthiest!  I actually got two opinions, and both chiropractors said that the pouch or sling-style carriers distributed the weight most evenly, and supported the baby’s delicate spine and neck in the healthiest way.

There are many different types of carriers out there.  The five that I’ve had experience with are: the front-pack style (specifically the Baby Bjorn), a frame backpack, the Mei-Tai, a ring sling (specifically Maya Wrap brand), and a fitted, pouch-style carrier (which is what meeUp Baby Carriers is).

The first carrier I ever used was the front-pack carrier.  I had some back problems and we were trying to make sure we purchased a carrier that was comfortable to wear.  The particular carrier we owned was relatively easy to use and adjust; both my husband and I could wear it.  But that was about the only good thing about it.  It was bulky to take with us in the car, it was hot because of the thick padding where the baby sat, and worst of all, the baby is left dangling with it’s entire body weight supported by its tail bone and the middle of the pelvis.  I was constantly feeling his feet to make sure they weren’t going numb as they hung straight down.

After I used it with my first son, I got frustrated and looked for another option.  I had seen a few people wearing a ring-sling carrier and was intrigued. I liked the idea of it, the coolness and flexibility of the fabric, and the infinite adjustability the rings offered.  The tail can be used to provide privacy when breast-feeding, shade in the sun, or extra warmth when there is a cool breeze.  The ring sling can also be un-threaded and used as a padded strap in a shopping cart, or a tether for a wandering toddler.  I’ve also been known to use mine as a light blanket in the car.

Unlike most carriers, there is a bit of a learning curve on using a ring-sling.  I watched a few instructional videos online and practiced a lot, making sure my baby was fed, well-rested and happy when I did.  The practice paid off, and my ring-sling became my third arm!

Somewhere in between these two carriers, we purchased a frame backpack.  My husband really loved it for taking walks and for putting a fussy toddler in while he mowed the lawn.  I used it a handful of times around the house, but it was pretty uncomfortable for me and hurt my back after just a short time.  Based solely on personal experience, I would only recommend a frame pack if the parent/parents were avid hikers or campers.  During that type of activity, it is essential to have the baby out of your line of sight and securely fastened in.

When I had my daughter, I ran across a tutorial on making a Mei-Tai carrier.  A Mei-Tai is an Asian-inspired, soft, wrap style carrier.  It is basically a square with four long ties coming off of the corners.  It was really easy and fun to make and extremely comfortable to wear. With a Mei-Tai, the baby can either face you (tummy to tummy) or be worn on your back.  Because of the lack of versatility, I wouldn’t recommend making this your exclusive carrier, but they are really comfortable for long walks or short hiking trips and a larger child can be carried in it backpack style.

After a while, bored with my Mei-Tai, but still enjoying my ring-sling, I wanted to investigate pouch carriers. I totally loved the look and simplicity of them.  Turned off by the price for what seemed like a simple piece of fabric, I figured out how to make one for myself.  That’s when meeUp Baby Carriers ™ was born.  My mission was to make modern, stylish carriers that were super affordable.  While a ring-sling carrier is ultra versatile and adjustable, the pouch carrier is sleek, simple, and a great way to introduce yourself to baby-wearing.  I’ve also found it to be more comfortable on the shoulder for a larger baby or toddler and it folds up small enough to fit into the glove box of a vehicle!

At the end of my baby wearing journey, my favorite carriers are the ring sling and the pouch.  No other carrier that I’ve tried offers the versatility, comfort, support and style of these two.  Whether you are a new mom or a veteran mom, baby wearing is rewarding.  If this is your first experience, start with the carrier that seems the most appealing and keep trying until you find one that is the perfect fit for you and your lifestyle.  If you’ve been-there-done-that with baby wearing, try something new this time- you might be surprised!

Shelly is married to her high school sweetheart, and a mom to two boys and a girl. In her free time (Ha!) she writes for a review site called Peanut Butter and Pickles, and owns and runs a small business called meeUp Baby Carriers (http://www.meeupcarriers.blogspot.com).  She is passionate about natural living, alternative medicine, home schooling, baby wearing, breastfeeding, art, color, design, thrift shops, sewing, and most importantly, following Jesus!

You have decided to cloth diaper, but aren’t sure where to start in the cloth diapering maze?  Getting through this decision is the most difficult part of cloth diapering.  After this, it is a piece of cake! 

There are a few questions you should consider before you purchase your cloth diaper stash:

• Do you prefer the easiest cloth diapering system possible?
• Do you want the most economical choice?
• Do you have a heavy wetter and need to adjust absorbency?
• Would you like the diapers to last through multiple children or would you prefer to purchase one batch of diapers for each child?

STYLES OF CLOTH DIAPERS

By far, the easiest is the All-In-One cloth diaper (AIO). AIO’s have the absorbency and waterproof outer shell built into one diaper.  They basically go on and off like a disposable with either hook-and-loop (like Velcro) or snaps. There is no stuffing and it is difficult for even inexperienced diaper changers to misunderstand these (great for reluctant spouses or grandparents). Advantage: unbelievably easy.  Disadvantage: you need to change more often if you have a heavy wetter.

The most economical choice by far is to go with prefolds and diaper covers.  Prefolds are what most people think about when they think of cloth diapers. If you choose this route, snappis are something you will want to consider.  They help tremendously to keep the prefold secure and minimize leaks. Even if you decide to go with a different cloth diapering system, you should always have a few prefolds around for extra absorbency in pocket diapers, for the first few days before the umbilical cord falls off and then as burp cloths. Advantage: the least expensive cloth diapering choice.  Disadvantage: a bit more work than other styles of diapers and need to be changed more often.

Pocket diapers have a waterproof outer layer sewn together with either a microfleece or microsuede inner layer to create a pocket to "stuff". You then "stuff" the pocket with any style of insert, a prefold or anything else absorbent.  Advantage: the fleece/microsuede layer next to your baby keeps them nice and dry further reducing any chance of diaper rash. You can also customize the absorbency level.  Disadvantage: they require a few extra minutes to stuff.

One Size Diapers VS. Sized Diapers.  Why on earth would you choose a sized cloth diaper when there are one size cloth diapers on the market? The main advantage that sized diapers still have over one-sized cloth diapers is that they will generally last longer because each child will be in them for a shorter period of time compared with one sized cloth diapers.  For example, a baby may be in a size small cloth diaper for 3-6 months whereas the same baby would be using a one size cloth diaper everyday or every 2 days for ~3 years. Additionally, the small sized diapers tend to fit newborns a bit more snugly and without adding any bulk. A nice middle ground that many people decide to do is to get either prefolds and covers or size smalls in AIO’s or pocket diapers but then purchase one size cloth diapers for the medium and large diaper stages.

Now that you know most of your choices, how do you decide?  First decide which type of closure system you would like to try: aplix (like Velcro), snaps or hooks.  Next, decide if you would like to try some sized diapers or one size diapers.  A nice compromise is to try one of a few styles of cloth diapers before you buy your entire cloth diapering stash.  That way, you get a chance to see which ones fit perfectly on your baby.

How many cloth diapers to purchase?

At birth, your baby will need to be changed frequently.  You will usually go through ~10-12/day.  Somewhere around the age of 4-8 months, diaper changes will phase into ~6-9 diapers/day.  This further decreases as time goes on and your child starts to learn about the potty.

More cloth diapering questions?  Email info@simplewondersdiapers.com for prompt responses to all inquiries.

Sultana Jefts is the owner of www.simplewondersdiapers.com.  She lives in Olympia, WA with her husband and 2 energetic kids. 

I adore summer. I love the slower pace and having my girls around me.  Plus, the weather is just more conducive to getting out and about and doing more things together as a family!   Our family just really enjoys hanging out together and so summertime brings with it a lot of love and laughter into our hearts.

There are so many fun low-cost traditions that we love to do together. My girls really enjoy playing Frisbee in our backyard or going to a park and playing Frisbee in addition to having a picnic.  Just enjoying the sunshine and laughing as we toss the Frisbee around really seems to be something that bonds us together.  It’s time spent together where the focus is mainly on being a family and I think that’s what draws them to this activity.

We also love to go on walks together. We happen to have a walking path around our neighborhood, but we also like to walk on nature trails and have gone “letterboxing” which was a blast to do. If you’ve never letterboxed before – it’s a walk where you follow clues to finding a box. You can leave your family name or a stamp imprint to say you’ve been there. It’s great fun and you get exercise as well which is a boost.  You can go to http://www.letterboxing.org to find all the information you need to letterbox in the United States.

I love summer storms. Whenever one blows through, our family likes to run outside (as long as there is no lightning) and revel in the wind and fierceness of the storm. Sometimes we just sit on the patio and watch but there is something about the mystery of a storm that captures our attention. I remember when I was little, my mom used to huddle us up in a blanket with hot chocolate and we’d watch storms on our back patio. It was a great way to help me see a storm as something cool and fun – never something scary. I started to do the same thing when my girls were very little and we’ve come to laugh and enjoy the storms that blow our way instead of run from them. I love to see them get excited when one blows in and am thrilled that they can’t wait to run outside in it.

The library is another summer tradition that my girls adore. They love the weekly trips we take and have become rabid readers.  We’ve enrolled them in many a reading program and they have so much fun getting the weekly prizes with finishing out the summer getting a brand new book. The neat thing about reading is that it can be done outside as well. If I feel my girls are inside too much and it’s so gorgeous outside, I simply have them move outdoors. They have read while sitting on a swing, laying in the grass, at our patio table, and sitting in a rocker on the front porch.

A low-cost treat we like to engage in during the summer is ice cream cones. We discovered that an Arctic Circle nearby had cones for .59 cents.  We like to trek up there after dinner or on a particularly hot afternoon and then hit the nearby park for a half hour to enjoy them. It’s something that doesn’t cost much and something that we truly identify summertime with.

Sometimes I think we think that we have to do something that costs a lot or something big in order to leave a memory with our children. But it’s often the simplest things that stand out with them. Some of my fondest memories of summertime include riding my bike with my family in our neighborhood, hearing sprinklers and smelling freshly mowed grass; working out in the yard together, and bowling with grapes on a dock with my mom and sister up at the lake (we rolled the grapes down the dock to see whose went the farthest – it was great fun!).  You see, it’s the walks, the talks, and the smells that bring summer into our hearts and captures them forever.

Whatever you decide to do with your children and as a family this summer; just have fun with it. Be creative and be willing to do something out of the ordinary (like sleeping in a tent in your backyard) and you will find that each moment spent creating a memory will be one that is treasured forever.

~ Dionna Sanchez is the Founder of the Emphasis On Moms Ministry. Subscribe to her free monthly newsletter at http://www.EmphasisOnMoms.com/newsletter.htm or visit her blog to get more family traditions ideas – http://alastingfoundation.blogspot.com

Mother's Day is right around the corner.  Shutterfly is a great place to find great mother's day gifts for that special mom or grandma in your life.  Here's a link to shutterfly coupons for mother's day.

Usually, we think of flowers or chocolate when looking for a Mother’s Day gift. This year, why not give a gift that will keep arriving until the next Mother’s Day? The celebration can continue all year long with some of the best mom magazines around.

A magazine subscription on a topic moms love – children, fashion or parenting – will be a special mother’s day present for any mom month after month. Here are a few of our favorites. Of course, you can use these gift ideas for other occasions, too:

Cookie Magazine: This made our ‘best mom magazines’ list, because it offers a variety of information moms love to receive. In these pages, you’ll find articles about fashion, healthy recipes, and products especially for mom.  The best deal we've found is 20 issues for $15 at Magazineline.com.

Family Fun Magazine: This magazine provide lots of fun things you can do together as a family.  It includes creative projects to work on together, party ideas, recipes, and much more.  The best deal we've found is 10 issues for $4.95 at Magazines.com.  Use coupon code springmags.

Mothering Magazine: If you know a mother interested in green and all-natural solutions to their problems, then you can’t beat Mothering. They even offer an online PDF version of the magazine if you want to save paper! In past issues, this magazine offered articles on breastfeeding, the best slings for mom and baby, and how to work in the office with a baby in tow.  You can purchase Mothering magazine here at All Things For Mom.

Cooking Light: A busy family may have trouble getting healthy meals on the table quickly. It’s not easy to prepare a menu, shop for ingredients and then actually cook a meal for a family when there’s homework help needed or diapers to change. This made our list, because it offers articles on making recipes from what you already have in the pantry. We appreciate a magazine that isn’t asking us to visit a specialty gourmet shop before we can feed our family. We’re way too busy for that! The best deal we've found is 12 issues for $13 at Magazines.com.  Use coupon code springmags.

If you’re looking for Mother’s Day presents, don’t forget a subscription. You could get a big basket and include items moms love such as shower gel, one or two magazine subscriptions, chocolate, and a picture frame.

Sarah N is the winner of the school days mat! Thanks for participating & for letting us know that you'd search "picture frame school years" to find this item! Send your full name & address to kerry@allthingsformom.com and we'll send you 1 white/pink school days mat.

I have been a piano teacher for over 12 years now, and I am often asked questions related to kids and music lessons. I thought I'd answer some of them here, and for clarity, I'll use a Q&A format. If there's something I didn't cover, feel free to ask more questions!

Q: What instrument do you recommend my child learns first?

A: I may be biased, but piano. :) Piano allows a child to learn both treble and bass clef, which means they can learn any additional instruments with ease. The left-right coordination, as well as working with the foot pedal actually helps with reading and other brain development. At least initially, there is minimal technique that goes into learning the piano - if you push the keys "wrong" there is no squeaking or other frustrating sounds as with some instruments.

Q: At what age should my child start music lessons?

A: This varies some based on personality type and intellectual maturity. I have seen some children ready to start at 4, others are still struggling at 7. You know your child best! If in doubt, try a lesson with a teacher that often teaches young children and see how he/she does. For younger children, I recommend a 15 or 20 minute lesson rather than the traditional 30 minutes. This sets the child up for more success with sitting still, right from the start.

Q: What do you think of Suzuki-style lessons, which start children at a very young age?

A: In my personal experience and opinion, these make it difficult for a child to later learn to read music. If your goal is for them to be able to play only by ear, Suzuki is probably fine. But, the students I have seen that started with Suzuki struggled greatly when it came time for them to play written music without hearing it first. I recommend Kindermusik instead, if you want to start them young. Plus, Kindermusik is a fun time for you and your child to be together! Or, just play recordings and enjoy singing together until it's time to start lessons - you're only a young kid once. There's still plenty of time for years of piano lessons. :)

Q: What curriculum do you use?

A: I like the Piano Adventures series. They progress at an even speed - not too slow or too fast, they don't have weird/scary artwork in them :), they focus on chord theory so it's easy to move into improvisation as the student gets more skilled, and they have a wide variety of supplemental material that is all excellent. You can search for a piano teacher that uses this curriculum on the PA website.

Q: What do you do for recitals?

A: I took 20+ years of piano lessons, went to college for piano, and loathed every recital I ever did. I have played and sung in front of literally thousands of people on several occasions and the pressure was less than one of those formal recitals! Thus, I don't do typical recitals. :) When I was taking lessons as a child, my teacher would take all her students to the local retirement home and we would play for the residents. The residents got such joy from those concerts, and we got valuable performance experience without the pressure. (I distinctly remember one resident repeatedly yelling, "It's for all of us!" at one of those performances. It's difficult to feel pressure with that atmosphere! :)) I enjoy this kind of outing with my students much more than the standard recital setting, and always get great feedback on them. If kids hate music because of the pressure, haven't we missed the point? Most children will never become concert pianists, but they will have a positive or negative impression based on their early experience with music. Can you tell this is a favorite soapbox? I'm done now.

Again, I'd love to hear other thoughts and answer any other questions you have! 

You can purchase the piano adventures series at Amazon or you can go on their website to find other retailers.

My sister shared this with me recently.  With the stress of our recent move and 14 month old twins and a very active 3 year old (a 5 year old too but he's "easy", relatively speaking), this is something I needed to read!  Lately, I've been thinking about my boys growing up & knowing how much I'm going to miss them at this age.  You hear it from everyone... comments like "enjoy it now", "oh, I miss when my kids were that age", etc.  I want to savor every moment.  I don't want to get wrapped up in the small stuff.  And most importantly I want to look forward to them growing up into wonderful adults with different interests and passions.

As Mother's Day approaches, I'd like to share this motherhood essay by Anna Quindlen (newsweek columnist and author).  From my sister to me to you....

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, have all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there some thing wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the, 'Remember-When- Mom-Did Hall of Fame.' The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pick up. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, 'What did you get wrong?'. (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get onto the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.