Eco and Green: Making Paper

 So, many of you don't know this but I am a co-chair for the Green Committee for my child's preschool. What does that mean? I help implement ecologically friendly programs and help parents and children understand the impact of daily living and how we can do better. Quite a mouth full isn't it? On a smaller scale we help generate ideas for Reuse, Recycling and Repurposing.

At one of our big events I demonstrated how to make paper out of old shredded newspaper and colored paper. The children loved the tactile sensations of squishing the water out of paper and pressing it into the screen for drying. We had so much left over that one of the teachers, Esther,  took the rest of our mulch added Elmers glue to it and shaped bowels out of it! Here they are in their drying stage:

Then the children painted and varnished them! From old paper to homemade paper, bowls, piñatas the possibilities are limitless.

Recipe for making simple paper:

• shredded paper (newspaper, copy paper, construction paper -whatever you have on hand that doesn't have a smooth coating like plastic)
• a large bowl and enough water to cover the paper
• a metal screen (like a mosquito screen or fine flat strainer
• cookie sheet or any other large flat non-porous surface like a glass table
• pastry scraper

Soak the paper overnight for 1-2 nights (depends on thickness of paper). Get your little people to mush it up some more -tearing and mixing it breaks it down further. After it is fully mushy and swollen with water smooth it out on your screen -then flip it onto your cookie sheet and scrape the screen to get out more water and to flatten out the mixture. When you've squeezed out as much water as possible leave it to dry in a warm dry place. Here in California I just leave it out in the sun for an afternoon or two.  Then there you have it -home made paper!

Go the Fuck to Sleep -read by Samuel L Jackson

Go the F*&^ to Sleep

OMG, I'm rolling off the couch laughing while listening to Samuel L. Jackson read the book, Go the F#$& to Sleep by Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortés on YouTube .


He is the perfect voice of my subconscious thoughts and needs right now. This time change has my little ones keeping up and well not sleeping. It's kind of getting to me. So, I'm keeping a sense of humor. Take a listen it is awesome! Or check out my aAstore for the hardcopy. How are you handling the time change?

Art Meets Children

Children meet art at the San Diego New Children's Museum and it is a wonderful interactive place to take the little ones. In my opinion art should be accessible to everyone and when I say accessible I mean hands on. There are lots of opportunities in this museum for you and the children to get into building, drawing or expressing themselves in all sorts of ways. This month they have rock climbing, jumping, a Trojan Horse, feel up a wall and all the clay you can sculpt. Go and explore! Then next door there is a pancake house for the little starving artists.

Easy Feedings

Forgive me for being on airplane mode for so long. I'm trying to get back to what I love -writing (while two little monkeys hang from my arms no less). So feeding time for the Little One has improved since I found Sprout Baby food -it is actually food I would serve at home and to everyone (if everyone were on a semi-liquid diet that is).

Don't get me wrong I'm not that into pre-packaged food (G-d sometimes I wish I were). But, these little packets are so convenient when you are out and don't want to lug the glass containers around -like on airplanes!

Speaking of which, I also really like Plum Organics because they have a spout that the baby can suck out of instead of having a spoon -mine always think it is funny to take away the spoon and fling it at another passenger. Try them -they'll love it!

The Desperate Diaper Dilemma

Don't you hate it when you've somehow made it through the grocery shopping while juggling the children and the cart but, the moment you put the key in the door you say to yourself, "Sugar Honey Ice Tea! I forgot the diapers, formula, wipes etc." Well, I'm done with that. I've just signed up with Diapers.com they will deliver it all to my door in a relatively short amount of time (two days) and with free shipping (most times because I spend more than $49 worth of wipes and diapers).

Diapers.com sells a lot more than diapers so take a look and if you put in my referral code "2ciaos" you can get $10 off your first order of diapers (and if you spend more than $49 you get free shipping!).

FREE Museum Entrance

This Saturday (Sept. 26, 2009) is The Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day which means free entrance into hundreds of museums around the US. All you have to do is to fill out an easy form and present it as your admission to the participating museum in your area -how easy is that?!