While I’m on my mini blog hiatus, I hope you’ll check out these links!

At A Nourishing Home Vina shares her family’s journey towards a simple and authentic life that’s filled with creativity and generosity.

At Makeunder My Life Jess writes about designing your life with intention. Jess is also a jewelry designer who is launching a new collection soon.

At Just One Week Erin writes about trying new habits for one week and if it makes her happy then she keeps it, and if not then she drops it (along with the guilt!). I also like this post on Zen Habits about making new habits. Recently I tried to develop a new habit of turning off the computer between 3:00pm and 7:30pm to focus on my kids and home stuff, but I caught myself cheating. I plan to try again for just one week–I love this philosophy, it makes it seem so easy!

Oh My! Handmade Goodness is a new community for independent children’s retailers and the hip parents who support them. A group of independent artisans, designers and industry experts share what they love and what they know. I just discovered this site yesterday and I was delighted and honored to see that my blog is listed as one of the recommended resources and Sweetbeets is included in the shopping guide!

Technorati Tags: blogs I like

I’m taking a brief blog hiatus until early April. Though I’m definitely task-oriented, I spend far too much time making lists without following through with action. So often I find the same items on my to-do list being carried forward day after day, even month after month. I decided to give myself until the end of March to get things done or they get crossed off my list for good because obviously they cannot be that important to me. I thought I’d share them here to keep myself accountable! I’ll check in to cross off completed tasks.

My motivation is to clear my mind so I can focus on Gift Gush in April and get the site launched asap. I was reminded today of how I must take action to make it happen and stop using the lack of time or money excuse. So often people (including me) say they “can’t” do something when they really mean “won’t”.

(image via boygirlparty)

Technorati Tags: to do list, getting things done

I updated my Etsy shop the other day with some new printable baby shower and birthday invitations. Several of the designs can be used for make your own birth announcements too. With the text fields embedded in the PDFs you can easily add the details before printing. I now offer a pick-your-own font option too. Many more designs are in the works!

Technorati Tags: Sweetbeets, Etsy, printable baby shower invitations, printable kids birthday invitations, printable baby announcements

I love how the work of Elizabeth Horton Design features nostalgic images that celebrate the magic of childhood. The silhouettes are silk screened on 100% cotton t-shirts that are available in sizes from newborn through 10. This design is my favorite because it reminds me of how my boys are so happy to go fishing in the creek near our house.

A baby cup and utensils is a pretty classic baby gift. These new designs by Beehive Kitchenware are super cute and come with a gift box. The fact that they are designed to be functional (they are made from lead-free pewter) appeals to my practical side.

Technorati Tags: baby cup, baby fork and spoon, traditional baby gifts, hand knit baby sweater, artisan tee for kids, handmade baby gifts

I’m a fan of practical gifts, and I think this Eco Mat for diaper changes would be appreciated by a new mom. A PVC-free rubber mat is combined with a microfiber or organic cotton puddle pad, and it rolls up to fit in your diaper bag.

It’s made in Canada by Thula, a new company founded by mompreneur Karen Creed-Thompson and based in Kitchener, Ontario. A big thank you to my Dad for sending me this article about Karen that describes how she developed the Eco Mat and how she’s getting it into local stores.

(image via boutiqueyourbaby.com)

Technorati Tags: diaper changing pad, diaper mat, made in Canada, mompreneur, baby gift

One-of-a-kind soft toys by Cate and Levi are handmade in Toronto using reclaimed wool. This frog puppet is my favorite!

(image via cateandlevi.com)

Technorati Tags: frog puppet, soft toys, children, baby, gift ideas, made in Canada, eco-friendly, reclaimed wool

Starting in April I’ll be allowed to put out only one bag of garbage each week. So, another one of my intentions for this year is to be more eco-friendly and create less waste. For the past couple of months I’ve been faithfully using our green bin for waste that can be composted. It makes a huge difference. I also bought biodegradable bags to replace the black plastic bags we used to use for garbage. They are a bit smaller than the black ones, so I’m very motivated to see where we can reduce our waste.

Forever Plastic is another one of the documentaries I watched with my husband last weekend (click here to watch it online). It was really interesting to see what happens to the stuff we put into the blue box for recycling. The city where I live has a fancy sorting system that uses a laser beam to identify certain recyclables. Things that are not recyclable end up in landfill. I also learned that some plastic is technically recyclable but also goes to landfill if there isn’t a market for it.

The documentary shows revealed lots of confusion about what can be recycled, and it doesn’t help that it’s likely different in each municipality. I was convinced after watching the documentary that I shouldn’t be putting plastic egg cartons and plastic “clam shell” containers (like the ones used to package grape tomatoes) in the blue box. I pulled out our city’s recycling guide and noticed these items weren’t mentioned either way. We recently switched to a brand of eggs that uses the paper fiberboard containers, but I did pull a couple of spinach and tomato containers out of our blue box and put them into the garbage this week. A few days later I looked up the definitive answer on the city’s website: these clam shell containers are recyclable where I live. Yay!

I’m looking forward to the challenge of one bag per week, though I haven’t really figured out a plan yet. I guess the first step is to survey exactly what’s in our garbage. There is one thing I know I shouldn’t be putting in the trash - stinky salmon cans wrapped in a plastic bag to contain the smell, yikes! Ok, washing and recycling those cans sounds like a good place to start. :)

(image via mkudel on flickr)

Technorati Tags: recycling, blue box, reduce waste

A rainbow of handmade goodies in my Etsy favorites today, from artists in three different countries (Canada, USA and Australia) and all under $20. Enjoy!

Modelling beeswax from Twinkle of My Eye

Customizable mermaid fairy doll from Vermont Fairies.

Merino wool pod babies by Tida Bella Monkey

Technorati Tags: Etsy, handmade, handcrafted toys, toys, pretend play, knitted toys, mermaid fairy doll, modelling beeswax, waldorf toys

We don’t have a tv at home, but my husband and I usually rent a movie from itunes or watch an online documentary on the weekends after the kids are asleep. We recently discovered that CTV and CBC have lots of documentaries online and the other day we watched Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids (click here to watch the full program online).

In some ways it was hard for me to relate to the parents profiled in the documentary who are constantly shuttling their kids to and from tons of extra-curricular lessons and academic tutoring. I believe kids need lots of free time just to play. The only activity we have scheduled currently (besides school) is swimming lessons once a week, and play dates happen on the weekends only. This leaves lots of time for visits to the park down the street…

… climbing trees

… and being creative in a completely self-directed way, not to mention making the couch cushions into space ships, printing machines, animal dens etc.

On the other hand, I can totally relate to the desire to want only what’s “best” for a child. For example, we are sacrificing long-term financial savings to have our kids go to a private school. The Waldorf-inspired kindergarten they’ve gone to focuses on learning social skills through imaginative play and the kids are not exposed to any formal academics. We chose the Montessori elementary school because it focuses on independence and self-directed learning so kids can learn at their own pace, and (woo hoo!) there’s no tests, grading or homework. In theory the kids will develop a love of learning for learning’s sake. Anyways, it occurred to me that this choice probably means we’re being hyper parents with regards to education even though it’s not the typical status-oriented private school as described in the documentary.

Then there’s the whole issue of keeping kids “safe”. Although it’s been a while since I visited Free Range Kids, it’s a good read for keeping things in perspective. In terms of outside play, I must admit I do feel more comfortable when my boys play in the back yard. Of course they prefer to play in the front yard and now they’re allowed to go up and down the block a bit….as long as I can still see them when I check up on them!

In our neighborhood it’s rare to see a child going to/from school by themselves even in grade 2 or 3. My husband grew up in the same neighborhood and he distinctly remembers walking by himself to school in first grade. Last summer when my oldest son was seven we said he could start walking/running/scootering around the block by himself to give him some practice since the school he goes to is outside our neighborhood.

The take home message for me after watching the documentary is that our job as parents is to facilitate independence, not dependence. Did you see the documentary too? What did you think?

(top image via cbc.ca)

Technorati Tags: hyperparenting, hyper parents, helicopter parent, coddled kids, overprotective parents

These baby basics by Babibu are wonderfully simple. The line is handmade in Canada of eco-friendly bamboo fabric and available in sizes 0-24 months. A mom in Toronto is the designer behind Babibu, and each piece is sewn by her mother-in-law.

Though I love the simplicity of this style of babywear, the onesies and tees would also make the perfect canvas for a crafty person who values locally-made clothing and wants to screenprint an image or embellish with embroidery or applique to make a one-of-a-kind baby gift.

Technorati Tags: bamboo, baby, baby essentials, baby clothes, handmade, made in Canada, eco-friendly