Mama Speaks

Speak Softly - Mama's Reading: Raising Boys

Title: Raising Boys (Second Edition)
Author: Steven Biddulph
Publisher/Price: Celestial Arts [$15]
Perfect For: Parents with boys of any age.

Today's gender neutral culture can occasionally lead us to believe we should treat our boys and girls similarly no matter what. Award winning psychologist, Steve Biddulph, however, explains how boys really are different right on down to differences in their brains. In "Raising Boys," he lays a convincing case wrought with humor, honesty and practical knowledge that makes raising a happy, loving, responsible boy in today's world a little less challenging.

By highlighting important issues boys face developmentally from birth to manhood, Biddulph helps parents of any aged boy navigate their unique developmental needs to help them be happy and healthy at every stage of life. Covering everything from testosterone and sex, to school and sports, this is a must-read for any parent, and one you will come back to again and again over the years.

Green Speaks -- Earth Day 2009

T-minus 7 days and counting...

When I was a kid, Earth Day was really celebrated only within the confines of an elementary school classroom. We might have a special project, like planting a tree or picking up litter from a creek, but that was it. Fast forward a few years and everyone is partying. Even the big box stores are selling shirts made from recycled plastic to mark the day.

We're gearing up for Earth Day 2009 at Mama Speaks and we want you to be "in the know" about what's going on in your area to celebrate. There's community projects...nationwide intiatives... lectures... festivals. That's where the Earth Day Network comes in. They've got some big plans leading up to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. Check out their website to locate events near you or register your own. Let's get ready to celebrate our "Mama Earth" and get involved!

For Maddie

On April 7th, beautiful Madeline Alice Spohr tragically passed away. Daughter of blogger Heather and Mike, she was an amazing miracle baby who has touched many lives in her short time. We did not have a chance to know Maddie or her family personally, but since she's left this world we've witnessed first hand the outpouring of love, support and awareness abound. If you've already heard of Maddie and her family you've no doubt felt the love and have seen the sea of purple that has taken over blogs and twitter streams. If you haven't you can read about her first hand here and an amazing collection of tribute posts here.

Maddie walk teams are forming all over the country with the March of Dimes. Donations are pouring in and you can help the family personally with funeral expenses and such by making a direct donation here.

Please do what you can, spread the word and take a little extra time with your own little ones today and every day.

A mailbox for the family has also been set up here:
Mike & Heather Spohr
11870 Santa Monica Blvd. #106-514
West Los Angeles, CA 90025

Teeccino Herbal Coffees

Defending the Ritual

Herbal Coffee? Who knew? Teeccino [$9] is actually a roasted blend of herbs, grains, fruits, and nuts that brews just like coffee (in the same way that "herbal tea" isn't really tea, but brews in a similar fashion so it shares the name). As it turns out, that brewing process is much more important than I'd realized when it comes to my wee caffeine addiction. There really is something to be said for the act of brewing a cup - the smell, the sound, the steaming pot - the Teeccino website says it best: "Teeccino allows coffee drinkers to keep their cherished coffee ritual with all the enjoyment and satisfaction of a freshly brewed cup!" And truly, the "ritual" of it all is huge. I won't say that the Mediterranean Teeccino (which is what I was able to sample) "tastes just like coffee" though. Standing on its own as a beverage in its own right, however, I think it has a lot going for it.

Teeccino, which is naturally caffeine-free with no chemical residues, is available in ten different flavors. Those in the sweeter Mediterranean collection are 75% organic, while those from the darker-roasted Maya are USDA certified organic (and according to their website this would probably be the preference for someone who opts for unsweetened coffee - i.e., ME). In addition to the health benefits of choosing a non-caffeinated beverage over a caffeinated or decaf one, Teeccino is also high in fiber, potassium, and inulin, a pre-biotic. Additionally, Teeccino is an incredibly responsible company, striving to preserve rainforests and donating to programs that benefit local communities in the Maya Biosphere Reserve.

Want to try it out? You can get a free sample of Teeccino by just signing up for their newsletter.

-Beth

BUY

Speak Softly - Mama's Reading: One-in-a-Million Baby Names

Title: The One-in-a-Million Baby Names Book: The BabyNames.com Guide to Choosing the Best Name for Your New Arrival

Author:  Jennifer Moss, Babynames.com

Publisher/Price: Perigee Trade [$16]

Perfect For: Anyone with a bun in the oven.

It's one of the biggest parenting (or pre-parenting?) moments. Choosing a name for your child to be. If you're anything like me, you've had running lists of possibilities your whole life only to discover that when put to real use none of them would do. And so come the long nights of dreaming up the most serious and silly names you can fathom. The decision to bounce them off another or keep them to yourself. And finally, comes the time to hit the book.

There are tons of them out there but we've found the recent "The One-in-a-Million Baby Names Book" a real asset in the hunt for the perfect name. Put together by the experts at BabyNames.com this encyclopedia of sorts turned to opinions of the 1.2 million real parents that use the site to get up to date input on the popularity and personality traits associated with names.

The book opens with a simple yet successful, seven step formula for finding the perfect name. The names themselves are organized in fun ways from those that sway traditional to rock star to royalty. And no worries, if you'd like to look them up oldschool from A-Z there's a section organized that way too. The only real complaint we've heard about the book is that the books aren't organized by gender. In today's gender neutral world with boy names for girls and (less frequently, but it happens!) girl names for boys, we liked this factor.

One-in-a-Million Baby Names is our new go-to when it's time to play the naming game and when coupled with all the fun features at BabyNames.com, we're certain you'll have all you need to decide upon the perfect name for that babe to be.

Green Speaks -- America's Greenest

Green in the City

Many U.S. cities from east to west are taking significant steps to "green up their act." Some are even using eco-projects and government incentives to create jobs and boost their economy. Phil Gordon, the mayor of Phoenix, AZ, recently unveiled a 17 point plan to help create America's first "Carbon-neutral" metropolis. The plans include initiatives to retrofit outdated buildings to current LEED standards, encourage hometown agriculture by promoting community gardens and CSA's, and even changing out street lights. You can read more about their plans at The Arizona Republic.

Popular Science Magazine recently revealed America's Top 50 Green Cities. Who made the top 10?

1) Portland, Oregon
2) San Francisco, California
3) Boston, Massachusetts
4) Oakland, California
5) Eugene, Oregon
6) Cambridge, Massachusetts
7) Berkeley, California
8) Seattle, Washington
9) Chicago, Illinois
10) Austin, Texas

The cities were given a score and rank based on 4 different factors: electricity, transportation, green living, and recycling and green perspective. California is the clear leader, with 14 cities in the top 50, but you might be surprised by some cities that made the top 50. View the rest of the list and find out more about how they were ranked on the magazine's website, here.

-Whit.

WAT-AHH!

THIR-STYYYY?!

I'll get right down to it and say that this is a review of water. Which, as I'm sure you're thinking, when approached to review water we sort of rolled our eyes and echoed a big, "really?!" BUT after diving in, trying it and doing some extra reading and research, we are very happy to bring you this review, of water, but not just any water; this is WAT-AAH!

From the cool bottles to the crisp, clean taste, you'll know from the start that this isn't just any old water. Vapor distilled to 100% purity, it doesn't get any cleaner than this. It's so pure, in fact, that it can actually help cleanse and detoxify your body along the way. Most importantly our kids need water and rarely get enough of it. WAT-AAH is available in 4 varieties to help you change it up and meet the needs of any kid. All varieties are ultra-purified and each has a little something extra. Brain includes kid friendly electrolytes, Bones features bone-building magnesium, Body is as clean as it gets and Energy is extra oxygenated.

WAT-AAH is currently available at Whole Foods and other premium markets.

The Sweet Unfolding

Say it Sweet

Throwing a baby shower? Welcoming a new baby home? Decorating a room or throwing a birthday party? When it comes to choosing a banner to shout it out we'd like to encourage you to stay as far away form those bright funky chain store ones as possible. Why not create a keepsake that will last a little longer than that special day?

The handmade banners [$18+] available from The Sweet Unfolding will help celebrate your special day and then some. Each beautiful banner features layered paper circles hand cut and threaded onto satin swiss dot ribbon. Best of all you can customize your banner with any name, phrase or color combination you'd like for a decoration that definitely doesn't need to come down when the party's over.

World Autism Day

We may think of it as an epidemic uniquely our own, but children, adults, families world wide are affected by Autism. And today, April 2, marks World Autism Awareness Day. UN Resolution and all. Events are being held in person and online across the globe to bring unity and awareness. Whether or not your family has been affected personally, this is a cause that reaches us all. We encourage you today to stop what you're doing and get involved.

One of our Mamas, Arianne, has three amazing boys with Autism and some amazing words on what you should know to help take action.

Have an Autism Awareness Day post you'd like to share? Just email or tweet it to us and we'll link you here.

Green Speaks -- Recycling Refresher (Week 4)

The Tin Can Man...

When I was a little girl, I always had a blast crushing the cans in my Granddaddy's garage.  He had a special "can smusher" mounted on the wall and he always saved up a big bag of cans for when I visited. (He's a big fan of Mountain Dew...) But, did you know that you don't really have to crush cans for recycling- unless of course you want to have a "macho man" contest and do it on your forehead. Aluminum cans are the most valuable recyclable.  They can be recycled again and again, and the reclamation process is so efficient that they can make it from your curb back to the shelf in as little as 60 days.  Here's some interesting recycling facts about other types of metals:

• Scrap metal makes up one of the largest exports that the United States sends to China. In fact, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) there are “150 million metric tons of scrap materials recycled annually including: 81.6 million tons of iron and steel, 5 million tons of aluminum, 1.8 million tons of copper and 2 million tons of stainless steel.”  That's a lot of metal.
• Did you know you can recycle your old washer, dryer, or fridge? Many appliances can be recycled. Check with the retailer, because often the same folks who deliver your new fridge know where to take the old one to be recycled. Some will even take it themselves!
• Recycling wire clothes hangers can be tricky, since they're often coated with plastic to protect your favorite cashmere sweater. While most hangers today are made of plastic (that was probably recycled), wire hangers are still used by dry cleaners. The best way to solve this problem- collect them and send them back to your dry cleaner. This will help your dry cleaner keep prices low, especially since the price of wire hanger imports from China nearly doubled in 2008. 

Sassy, Glassy...

Recycling glass is a fairly easy process. While the color of the glass does play a role in where it can be recycled, the process is generally the same. First, the glass is sorted by color. Next, the bottles and jars are crushed into tiny bits called "cullet." This cullet can go straight to the furnace to make new bottles and jars, or it can be sent to manufacturers who mix it  with virgin materials. The elements and ions used to color glass are not always removable, so glass often spends its many lifetimes in the same color family. Glass that can not be easily sorted by color can be crushed further and used to help prevent beach erosion or to make "glassphalt."

When recycling glass at home, don't worry if you can get the lime out of the bottle or the last drop of peanut butter from the jar. The heating process used in recycling takes care of contaminants. If possible, do rinse your jars and bottles. It keeps the bugs away and prevents any nasty smells from infecting your recycling bins. I'm sure your recyclers would appreciate it too.

I hope you've learned at least one new fact about recycling this month. If you're hungry for more, check out Earth911. They can help you find a local recycling service, as well as send you into information overload. From this point forward, there's no excuses... so keep it real- and recycled!

-Whit.