Valentine's Day

Do you have any special Valentine's Day traditions w/ your sweetie and/or children?

Welcome Alaina and Shane!

Kelly had her twins!

Alaina-3lbs. 15 oz.

Shane-4lbs. 13oz.

January 7th

:) Maria

Do you use the recipes from our exchange?

Question:

Do you use the recipes from our holiday exchange? If yes, what are your favorites?

The Girl Who Doesn't Age

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=7880954



A 16 year old that is the size of a 9 month old. A must see!!!!

Anyone interested?

I am going to organize a local mom-to-mom sale this spring or summer. Here is what I am thinking... I am going to open up my driveway/yard to all of my friends in the NMF group. NMF members (that are interested) can bring a card table or several and set up a booth for your stuff you'd like to sell. Then, I am going to advertise like crazy to everyone to come and BUY. So basically, NMF members can sell and buy. Anyone can come and buy. I am thinking about doing a two day event on a Saturday and Sunday from 12-5 each day.

Here are my questions:

1. Are you interested in setting up a table at the sale to SELL?
2. Are you interested in possibly buying at the sale?
3. What would be a good month/weekend to do such a thing?

Thank you very much for your feedback! My hubby and I are super excited to rid our house of baby stuff! :)
Danielle

PS) Please post comments/suggestions in the comment section of this post.

Help out a local business!

(From Jodi)


My friend Greg has started a business making vinyl stickers- it is cool because he can make those wall decals like you see in baby rooms- so I thought if people were looking for that kind of thing.

He can also be found on Facebook.
VinylGraphicsstore.com

Description:

Custom Graphics and stickers

Great for:
-Cars, Trucks, Trailers, Boats
-Windows
-Mirrors
-Paint Stencils
-Wall Quotes / Wall Words
-Signs and Banners
-Etched Glass
-School Sports Teams
-Clubs
-Charities

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

If you can take a 7 minute break from your multi-tasking to watch this, I promise you'll be glad you did. It's a nice reminder to stop and be thankful for the life you are living instead of always thinking about "someday"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olSyCLJU3O0

Thanks Maria!

Love & Logic for Preschoolers

Love and Logic for Preschoolers class offered by Plymouth-Canton Community Education.  Feb 2.  $15 single or $25 for a couple. 

See http://www.pccs.k12.mi.us/communityed.asp for more info!

Foods To AVOID

Avoid These 7 Foods and You're Off To A Healthier New Year

Posted by: Dr. Mercola
December 29 2009 | 351,041 views

1. Canned Tomatoes

The expert: Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A

The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Acidity -- a prominent characteristic of tomatoes -- causes BPA to leach into your food.

2. Corn-Fed Beef

The expert: Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface Farms and author of books on sustainable farming

Cattle were designed to eat grass, not grains. But farmers today feed their animals corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter. A recent comprehensive study found that compared with corn-fed beef, grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

3. Microwave Popcorn

The expert: Olga Naidenko, PhD, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group

Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize -- and migrate into your popcorn.

4. Nonorganic Potatoes

The expert: Jeffrey Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board

Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes they're treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they're dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting.

5. Farmed Salmon

The expert: David Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany

Nature didn't intend for salmon to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT.

6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones

The expert: Rick North, project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

Milk producers treat their dairy cattle with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST, as it is also known) to boost milk production. But rBGH also increases udder infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers.

7. Conventional Apples

The expert: Mark Kastel, codirector of the Cornucopia Institute

If fall fruits held a "most doused in pesticides contest," apples would win. And increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides with Parkinson's disease.

Great Tips!

10 Tips for Not Supporting Picky Eating [Angelle]

Written by Angelle

Thursday, 18 September 2008 15:00

Tags: Cooking Class with Chef Jackie | Involving Kids | Parenting | Picky Eaters One concern that often comes up is dealing with Picky Eaters. I don't have picky eaters. They'll try anything...from alligiator to collard greens to kale to sushi to venison. While there may be a bit of 'luck' in the fact that they are not picky, there is more to it than that. I can look back and see points where they could have easily gone in the picky direction. I was very conscious of the fact that I wanted to create Adventurous Eaters and made decisions to support that goal. 10 Tips for Not Supporting Picky Eating that have worked for me are: 1. Having the expectation that your kids will try anything and everything and acting out that expectation daily. (Don't think or say aloud "She'll never eat that.") 2. Modeling being adventurous myself and not biasing them towards food. (except organic, dark chocolate of course - which they also love...) 3. Using language to support being an Adventurous Eater - "This is going to be really exciting to try something I've never tried before." or "Wow, you tried something new - good for you - you really are an adventurous eater!" 4. Avoiding language that supports picky eating - "Why are you being so picky?" or "She would never eat that." Language is extremely powerful and we help children create an identity by the way we talk about them, whether it is around eating, learning, sports, etc. 5. Offering the same foods over and over even when they get rejected. It can take 20 or more times for your child to enjoy a food. (Jacob and Lucas went for months and months, actually years, saying they didn't like sweet potatoes, but now they eat them no problem.) 6. Not categorizing food as 'kids' food vs. 'adult' food. Have kids order off the regular menu when eating out. 7. Not making or letting kids make an alternative to meals. If they don't like something, I ask, "How can you make it work for you?" In the beginning, often the answer was ketchup! If they know there is an 'out' then why would they ever eat what you have on the table? (Once kids are Adventurous Eaters, you can determine if they really don't like a food because they are sensitive to it or it just doesn't sit right in their tummies - that's a different situation.) 8. Enforcing a 2-Bite Rule - 2 Bites of each food have to make it to your tummy. 9. Keeping in mind the bigger picture. Unless a child has a severe sensory issue, which is a medical problem, they are not going to starve themselves. They may hold out to see how serious you are and they may not make it pleasant, but know that in the bigger picture helping create a healthy sense of adventure around eating is more important. 10. Involving them in shopping and preparing foods. It takes longer, but it is a great investment 0f time and energy. The subtle energy we bring to the situation really impacts how we deal with picky eaters. Shift your focus to what you want (creating an Adventurous Eater) and let go of focusing on what you don't want (a Picky Eater), even if you're just thinking it in your own head. And use language that supports what you want to create...

Recycle your Christmas trees!

What to do with that evergreen in your living room now that Christmas has passed? Oakland County Parks has an idea: recycle it at one of its 11 park locations.

"Recycling holiday trees is a great way to preserve and reuse natural resources, " stated Dan Stencil, executive officer. "Oakland County Parks processes the trees to make compost and wood chips, making this a gift that truly keeps on giving."

If you haven't pitched them yet, visit destinationoakland.com for more info.

Happy New Year!

Any good resolutions?