Our Christmas 2009 Family Portrait! :)

Our Green Christmas

Let me try to do this one more time... Last year, I was wishing for the 'greenest' Christmas ever! Unfortunately, I didn't have enough support from my husband so it was hard to accomplish a total eco-friendly Christmas. As some of you may already know, there has been a lot of controversy with toys 'made in China' or other part of the world that manufactures toys for cheap, with very low grade standards and ethics. If you Google it, you'll find that even the 'Hottest Toy of the Year' is toxic for our children and still makes it to the shelves and hands of thousands of children in America and probably in the world. Are we really that worried about all of this? Why do we continue to sell these toys regardless the toxicity found in them?

If you go to HealthyToys.org, you can probably search the toys you've bought and check out the level of toxins in them, but why are we taking ANY chances at all?

This year I have my husband FINALLY on board with the decision of buying ONLY wooden toys, handmade, made in America or Europe, IF made in China they NEED to have good standards and use ONLY safe materials in their factory. I am NOT taking chances, so I have been cleaning up my kids' room for the last year and every month I have been donating a set of toys with the permission of my own children.

Here are the things that Santa are bringing them this year:

For the Baby:

A handcrafted car bought through Etsy (love supporting artisans!)

A Wooden Tricycle

A wooden train from Ikea

A set of 24 creative blocks with wagon from Ikea

A wagon/walker from Ikea (I am still battling who is going to get a real good kick out of this toy, the baby or the girls? Not sure yet!)

A furry friend from Ikea (a ferret)

For the Girls:

A bed from Ikea for their dolls (Waldorf style) that are being handmade by a generous friend :)

Melissa & Doug Fold & Go Castle

Melissa & Doug Fold & Go Barn

Furry friends from Ikea

F.A.O. Vanity Set

Wonderworld Eco-Friendly My Portable Cooker Stove

A bookshelf found at Michael's will be used as a dollhouse! :)

And bendy dolls for the dollhouse - these were bought through Etsy (but I am hoping I will be making some of these myself, they are sooo cute!!!)

I also got them a few stocking stuffers from Michaels. They have cute wooden kits for a $1 each and I could NOT resist to buy some, crafts items are always great gifts!

For ALL of them:

2 sets of Play Clips just like these ones for creative playing, building forts and camping.

(A good talented man sells them through Etsy - the price is unbeatable compared to many places out there!)

A coral playsilk! (hoping to buy more of these and hopefully make a canopy size or 2 myself)

Wooden Puzzles

Stuff made by mama:

Got this beautiful horse pattern through an Etsy seller - GREAT intructions!!!

And lots of eco-fi felt food for the kids' kitchen:

and more kitchen items to come (working on it)

and dollhouse furniture will also be made out of felt.

Natural toys not only provide safe play for our children but also it encourages creative play and imagination!

You can find good quality toys through Magic Cabin, Bella Luna Toys, Nova Toys, Three Sisters Toys, Nico and Zoe, Blueberry Forest Toys, Plan Toys, Haba Toys, and even Etsy stores! Or even better, why don't you go Handmade this year?

Treating Fevers... or maybe not?

Taken from http://www.mothering.com/health/fever-guidelines

Fever should not be regarded as a dangerous or unhealthy process in the body. If we feel uncomfortable, achy, or even delirious during the course of a fever, these sensations are due to the toxicity that the fever is working to rid us of. The fever isn't the problem: it's the solution. Giving Advil or Tylenol to lower it is akin to killing the messenger.

Many parents' dread of fevers has to do with the fear of fever convulsions or brain damage. This fear is unfounded. The great majority of fevers are perfectly benign, and the majority of children is not susceptible and won't develop fever convulsions, even with very high fevers. Children who do get convulsions naturally have low thresholds to them, and even in this small segment of the population, convulsions will occur only once or twice between six months and six years of age, and are harmless. Lowering fever with Tylenol, Advil, or baths will not prevent fever convulsions in children susceptible to them. Such measures may even increase the risk of brain damage by hindering the immune system from discharging the body's toxins. This would explain the relationship between aspirin and Reye's Syndrome.

In rare cases, encephalitis or meningitis can result from a toxic inflammation, which may settle into the nervous system and possibly lead to brain damage-with or without fever or convulsions. The guidelines in this article for bowel cleansing, diet, quiet, and warmth are designed to prevent encephalitis, meningitis, and other toxic complications. Unless high levels of retained toxins are irritating and inflaming the nervous system, fevers and fever convulsions will not cause brain damage-not even at 105° F. A fever very rarely goes over 106° F; if it does, you should call your doctor.

For further discussion of these issues, see the book Healing at Home by Sandra Greenstone and Dr. Incao's chapters in The Vaccination Dilemma, Christine Murphy, ed. (see "Bibliography").

Yesterday afternoon, my daughter came back from school with a mild fever that escalated throughout the evening. Honestly, I didn't notice she had a fever until bath time. Thankfully, I always keep fresh fruits and a kiddie herbal tincture that I get at Whole Foods. It's amazing but it really works, it has always worked for us. I've used this for over 5 years on my girls and they seem to react pretty fast if I act fast enough. We decided to keep her at home until the fever subsides --so glad it was Friday! So I ran to Whole Foods pretty quick and got 2 bottles of Strawberry Kefir (probiotics) which you can get in pill form as well (though I prefer Kefir for its protein - great way to get them to eat something so healthy for them). Then I mentally prepared myself for a long sleep-deprivation night!

Every four hours I administered 2 droppers of Herbs for Kids (either Echinacea with Astragalus* or Echinacea with Goldenroot*), every two hours I gave her sips of iced water and Kefir. Two room temperature baths waist down throughout the day and really cold fruits (in cubes) to munch all day, whenever she was in the mood to eat something --her favorite were some delicious orange wedges! I made sure she was hydrated with really cold-fresh water and that she had very little clothes. Wearing too many layers of clothes will agravate the temperature, undies and a shirt works fine! And of course, some cuddling is needed too :-)

It's hard to know why fevers occur. The fever is a sign of the body doing its job, so let it be just don't wait for it to pass on its own. Help the body to get the nutrition and the hydration lost during these high temperatures. You want to be able to treat the BODY not the illness. Sometimes homemade chicken broth works great also! Add a little oregano and you are good to go! Oregano is a great plant with healing properties, appropriate to treat mild fevers and other common colds, pain and even pain related to menstruation! (Though she is too little young for that - hehe!)

*Used to Treat Infections

How do you think she feels now? (Same day - different times)

TNT Training Vlog #2

Don't forget to visit my fundraiser page!
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sfl/wdw10/enithhernandez
You can donate $5 or $10! Anything will be well appreciated! You will receive a receipt for you to use in your tax returns!

Please help me with this great cause!

In Honor of my Dad who beat up Cancer! Leah who is still battling with Leukemia and Gustavito who passed away last year from Childhood Leukemia...

Testing my iPhone photo uploader

Robertico started playing like a real boy now! So cute to watch him playing with Serena's horses (her favorites). This reminds me that I should be sewing some felt horses I promised to her... Bad mommy! Sent from my iPhone