ChildOrganics is a small family business that focuses on children’s organic products. They carry a selection of organic cloth diapers, baby carriers, clothes, bedding, toys and body products.

Erica, owner of ChildOrganics says: In finding organic children’s products to bring to our customers we took many things into consideration. It was important to us that we chose companies that were ethical. We wanted to be sure our products at ChildOrganics were all fair trade and environmentally friendly. Many of the companies that we bring to you have gone above and beyond to make sure that they pay their workers a living wage and provide them with a safe and clean working environment. This is important to us. You will also notice that many of our products are made by Work at Home Moms (WAHMs). This is also very important to us here at ChildOrganics. This business was started as a means for me to stay home with my family, and we like to support other mothers doing the same thing. We hope you’ll enjoy our fair trade and environmentally friendly products.

What inspired you to start Child Organics? 

I was working full-time as a sign language interpreter for the public school system. I thought I’d be prepared to go back to work after enjoying the summer off after having my first child. WRONG! I couldn’t bear the thought of going back to work and leaving her. I wanted to be home with her more than anything. My husband and I brainstormed and came up with ChildOrganics. We were already passionate about cloth diapering and it grew from there. I am forever grateful for that decision and support of my husband to start ChildOrganics.

What item is your best seller? 

The eco-sheepskin has been our top seller for the last few years.

What item is your personal favorite? 

I’m partial to the Zmooz and Cozzy dolls. I have picked one for each of my children as infants. I love the fact that they are filled with organic wool and can hold the scent of Mama if we are separated. Great for NICU babies.

What keeps you balanced in your family and work life? 

I must confess I’m unbalanced in this area. Family comes first. I’m often on the computer catching up with work when I should be in bed. I think that’s a struggle with most work at home moms.

What inspires you these days? 

My youngest inspires me with his constant curiosity and excitement because everything is new. My oldest inspires me because she is so full of love and life. My husband inspires me because he puts up with me everyday, he has incredible patience!

Do you have a favorite quote? 

Yes. I’m not sure who to credit it to though. It always makes me think of our struggles with our middle daughter, Bella , she was only with us for a short 16 months.  Naturally, we shed many tears and grieved in so many ways, and still are grieving in some respects. I like this quote because it points to something positive from all of the grief, that it has the power to make us a more compassionate and loving family.  

“For every tear that falls from the eyes, a tear also falls into the heart. There it moistens the fertile ground of awareness, giving birth to greater compassion and love.”

Breastfeeding Moms Unite! has a favorite item too!

My baby wearing days are over but if they weren’t I’d be buying this gorgeous Storchenweige sling. It comes in many different fabric styles, but I think the one pictured is my favorite. 

I am very proud to have such an ethical and environmentally-committed business like ChildOrganics as one of my sponsors. I hope you will take a moment to head over to their site and check out some of their products, Until the end of June they are offering Breastfeeding Moms Unite! readers 10% off . Just enter the code “disc10″.

Related posts:

1. Interview With My Sponsor :: Snugabell
2. An Interview With My Sponsor :: Annee Matthew
3. Review: LuSa Organics

From the book My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Ichaporia King:

“Italian eggs are as Italian as the French dressing you buy in supermarkets in France.”

So basically, these don’t actually capture the taste of what you might expect an Italian egg to taste like. That is, if you even had an expectation in the first place. Either way I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this unique recipe.

Last weekend, my best birthday present, other than my new camera, was spending the day with my best friend, Diana, whom I hadn’t seen in two years. We sat at the table in her mother’s dining room, deviling these eggs, filling sandwiches and cutting off crusts for her mom’s 83rd birthday celebration. Even though it was work to some extent, it felt like an appropriate way for two foodies to spend their time together, chatting, eating, me sampling her homemade fudge, chocolate-dipped nougat rolled in toasted pecans and pretty sugar cookies. Mm. It was a delightful afternoon.

No one had made this recipe before this occasion, but our hopes were high. What a delicious relief to experiment with such success. They were ravishing. Scrumptious. After making 18 and eating about 4 of them between us (just tasting!) we decided that more must be made. The guests would be gobbling these up in no time.

These would be perfect for a potluck or luncheon. I made the egg-salad version of these a couple days ago for my daycare kids and had 50% success. One child didn’t like “the green things” and the other two didn’t like eggs in general. I didn’t necessarily have the perfect sample cohort but you might want to ensure that most of the people eating these are grown-ups. But then stand back and watch them disappear – fast!

Mother’s “Italian” Eggs

6 large eggs

2 Tbsp mayonnaise

2 Tbsp butter, room temperature

2 (or more) green chilies, finely chopped (we used only 1 because we didn’t want to make them too spicy and it was fine)

1 Tbsp (or more) lime juice

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (you’ll think it’s a lot but it’s not)

1 Tbsp (or more) honey

salt and pepper to taste

Whole small cilantro leaves or diagonally cut slivers of fresh red or green chilies, for garnish.

Directions:

Place eggs in a saucepan of cold water and heat to boil. Turn the heat to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes. The yolks need to be firm. Plunge the eggs into cold water until cool enough to handle, and peel. Halve them lengthwise. If you see any thin spots in the white, cut the egg so the thin spot is on the bottom. You can reinforce it with a shaved patch from the thicker half.

Scoop out the yolks and set aside the whites. Mash and cream the yolks with the mayonnaise, butter, chilies, lime juice, chopped cilantro and the surprise ingredient, honey – at least 1 Tbsp but possibly more. Add salt to taste. You want the mixture to be assertive, so don’t be timid with the sweet, the sour, or the salt.

Mound the yolk mixture into the whites halves. Leave the surface rough, gently cross-hatched with the tines of a fork. Chill until the filling firms up, about 1-2 hours. Remove from the refrigerator about a half an hour before serving. At serving time, garnish each half with a single perfect cilantro leaflet or diagonally cut a sliver of fresh green or red chile.

“Italian” Egg Salad: Chop the hard-boiled eggs. Toss with all the ingredients except the butter; compensate with a little extra mayonnaise. Serve on a bed of lettuce and cucumber or as a first rate egg-salad sandwich with lots of lettuce and cucumber on whole wheat or sourdough bread. To make sturdy filling for crust-less sandwiches, leave in the butter and refrigerate the mixture until it is firm.

Notes: The quantities are a starting point. Please use your judgement when it comes to heat. If you don’t want the filling hot, start with half a chile and take the seeds out before you chop it. Do suspend any belief about the oney. Its presence is magical. You don’t want to use a dark, medicinal honey. Stick with one in the light-to-medium floral range.

Thanks again to one of my favorite bloggers, Tabatha of Tabulous, for photo shopping my Foodie Friday photo. I love it – yay!

This post is taking part in linkys and carnivals at Food Renegade, Designs by Gollum, Ann Kroeker, Momtrends, and The Nourishing Gourmet.

Related posts:

1. Foodie Fridays: Vegan Macaroni and Cheese
2. Foodie Fridays: Maple Muffins with Coconut Streusel Topping
3. Foodie Fridays: Lentil Burgers and Rosemary Baked Fries

USA Entries                  Canadian Entries                 International Entries

1 G                                       1 Lynette                                       1 Jenny – The Philippines

2 G                                       2 Jenn                                           2 Jenny – ”                     ”

3 MaryBeth                       3 Jen B                                          3 Nikki – Australia

4 Jen                                   4 Christine                                  

5 Jamie                              5 Nobbster

6 Kristy                              6 Techie

7 Kristy                              7 Kelly

8 Monica                          8 Kelly

9 Sarah                              

10 Kellie

11 Trina

12 Daniella

13 Daniella

14 Daniella

15 Daniella

16 Sarah

17 Sarah

18 Daniella

19 Cara

20 Sarah

21 Kelley

22 Kelley

23 Kelley

24 Kelley

25 Kelley

26 Daniella

27 Sarah

28 Sarah

Related posts:

1. Review: Honeysuckle Breast Milk Storage Bags
2. Lansinoh Products Review: Soothies Gel Pads, Milk Storage Bags, Latch Assist, and Nursing Pads
3. Breast Milk or Food? A Breastfeeding Toddler Dilemma

In this picture it appears that I actually have more than a whisker. Nice.

Well, today is my birthday. I’m 36. And in the past year I’ve  grown a long, single, dark-coloured whisker. Is this what happens when you get old? Because I don’t like it. Please make it go away. I don’t like that I might have to bleach or pluck something attached to my face. It’s just not me. But yikes! I am not interested in having a moustache either.

But since it’s Foodie Friday today I won’t write anymore about unwanted facial hair. Instead I’ll post something birthday-ish. Something more on the gleeful side. Since I don’t plan on cooking my own dinner tonight or baking my own cake, I will share with you some of what I am cooking and what I’m hoping to stuff my face with later on.

So here’s my birthday menu. These are the things I’m craving today. And when you’re just past being mid-30, you deserve what you crave, right?

Breakfast:

Ridgeways Organic Earl Grey Tea (I can’t live without it)

Fruit Smoothie

Whole Grain Pancakes with butter and real maple syrup

For lunch I’ll keep it simple. An old stand-by.

I mean it *is* my birthday. I don’t want to work too hard….

Lunch:

Hearty Tomato Lentil Veggie Soup

For dinner….well that’s really up to my husband and the girls. I could give them a choice of three things I suppose, but what I want most is burritos and I don’t have a recipe up here for burritos. Yet.

Here are their three choices.

Dinner:

Rice and Veggies with Thai Peanut Sauce – we all love this sauce. It’s addicting actually and goes well on just about anything.

Mexican Bean and Rice Casserole – I do have that hankering for Mexican right now….

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup – there’s just something about this soup that says I love you. Served with some crusty bread and a salad I just might be in heaven. But two soups in one day? Hm.

Dessert:

Homemade Ice Cream Cake – This is what I grew up on for birthday cakes, and there has never been another kind of cake I’ve ever wanted since. But of course I’ll settle. I just wonder what the hubby has in store.

Now what should I do about all those presents on the table? It looks like I’ve been spoiled this year but I don’t feel like I should be opening them without the rest of my family present. (They’re still sleeping.) Okay, just one. Hold on.

Whoo hoo! A new digital camera. 10 pixels as opposed to my old 7 pixels of crap and broken camera. Yay! Hopefully I can start taking some better photos for the blog now.

Thanks hubby!

Hubby: (Snore)

Are there any foods that are a must have on your birthday?

Related posts:

1. Belated Birthday Express Pirates and Mermaids Party Post
2. Vegetarian Family Menu For a Week
3. Our Semi-Green Birthday Party

The cake looked something like this one.

I missed my own blogiversary! I knew it was early January but then I forgot to check exactly what day I first posted. It was four days ago last year. So happy belated blogiversary to me! I knew I should have bought that cake I saw in the bakery window yesterday!

Blogging has been very good for my mental health. Not only has it saved me from certain brain atrophy, it has given me something else to be responsible for other than my family. After years of focusing all of my energy and attention on nothing and nobody besides my daughter, whose crying and screaming has felt incessant, whose behaviours had all the professionals we saw telling us she likely had an autism-spectrum disorder, whose appointments to occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, pediatricians, and doctors resulted in a diagnosis of nothing except the ability to make me feel guilty for not parenting her better (even though its been attachment parenting all the way), blogging became like a new baby, a new pet. Something for me to be responsible for and give my attention to, without feeling guilty when things happen that are beyond my control. If someone is rude or mean, I can delete them. If someone in cyberspace is struggling with a problem it doesn’t rule my life. If someone has a question I can’t answer I can ask my twitter followers or readers to help me and lo and behold they do. If I want to make my blog prettier I can pay someone to help me do it and it won’t cry at me for pulling its hair in the brush bristles! Blogging has become my Never-Never-Land, a place of a kind of academic sanctuary, giving me the same sort of feelings I had years ago studying in my university library, only with more background noise. And like being in university I have met scores of highly intelligent women, some who’ve invited me to their “parties” or at least made public that they respect my work, and that’s all a part of feeling like “me” again. The me outside of the mommy. Because when motherhood arrives and you’re so fully committed to breastfeeding that you have a baby or toddler attached to your boob for the better part of a day, you need something to call your own. Something you can unlatch from as much as you can latch-on to without causing a certain temper tantrum.

And while there’s the potential for blogging taking over your life, I find it’s just one more thing to learn from and find balance with. And of course, that’s a part of my New Year’s resolutions, which you get to read about on Tuesday as part of the Natural Parenting Carnival. Despite the continual effort to find balance, I think blogging has actually made me a better mom because once I’ve finished clacking away I feel refreshed enough to better devote myself to my kids and husband.

I’ve learned a lot about myself this past year, but even more about breastfeeding. I started this blog with three posts under my belt and no idea what I would write about beyond them. Two hunded and two posts later I somehow keep coming up with something to say. Something I love about breastfeeding is the seemingly never-ending learning that comes with it. There’s always a new study to explore, an old question to think about in a fresh way, or a funny story to share.

Thanks to everyone who’s read my blog this past year, who’s supported me and encouraged me and helped me grow. Without you I’d be writing for myself, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it sure is nice to have company. Special thanks to Momzelle, my favorite Canadian designer of organic cotton nursing wear, for being such a terrific sponsor this past year and signing on for another one. I’m proud to have you. Thanks also to Lusa Organics and Cushie Pushie, as well as all the companies who have sent me products to review.

Now, since that cake downtown is likely gone, I think I may just go make myself some Vegan Fudge Brownies to celebrate.

No related posts.

Like bloggers? Like boobs? How about the boobs of 12 busty bloggers?

Allegedly, Anissa was a big talker when it came to her boobs, and deservedly so. I’ve seen a few pictures of Anissa and she truly does have a lovely rack. In support of Anissa and her boobs, 12 bloggers agreed to be models for a 2010 calendar in her honour. 100% of the proceeds go to Anissa’s family.  You can buy it from Zazzle right now for $22.15, $24.50 or $30.35. You know you want to help, and just think how proud of you happy your partner will be knowing you love him enough to let him look at another woman’s boobs everyday for an entire year. If this calendar isn’t all about love, I don’t know what is.

No related posts.

There’s a few holiday breastfeeding posts that I have read over the past couple days that just have to be linked to. So thank you to all these bloggers for helping me to create this easy-peasy holiday breastfeeding round-up post.

First, if you like a funny, punny riff, you’ll enjoy these takes on a couple traditional holiday poems.

Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog’s How The Grinch Stole Breastfeeding

Mother Knows Breast’s A Holiday Poem: Twas The Breastfeeder’s Nighttime

For some beautiful holiday photos check out:

Hobo Mama’s Holiday Babies (be sure to check out her links – especially this one to The Virgin with the Green Cushion at Breastfeeding 1-2-3).

To see a collection of breastfeeding baby Jesus images: paintings, statues, carvings, etc. please check out:

Breastfeeding Baby Jesus at Peaceful Parenting, and the series of Madonna and Child paintings at It’s All About The Hat.

Merry Breastfeeding!

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