Teeny Manolo

Another great way to “go green” is to give your child toys that are made out of non-toxic materials.  With all the toy recalls, it is becoming tougher than ever to try and figure out which toys are safe for your child.   I’m here to give you some toys you can feel good about, because wondering if a toy could possibly harm your child should never be an issue that a parent has to deal with.

Plan Toys Forklift & Doll

All Plan Toys are safe and environmentally friendly.  Their wood toys are made out of recycled rubber trees and their paint colors meet all international standards.  (Read: Euro standards which are more stringent than US standards.  Now why is that, anyway?)

Plan Dancing Alligator Pull Toy

Makes a very fun clickety-clack sound, and kids are fascinated with the way the alligator moves.

Melissa and Doug Cutting Food Box

Kids love playing with pretend food.  Even better? Being able to “cut” the pretend food! All Melissa and Doug toys are made with non-toxic paint and wood.

Melissa and Doug See and Spell

Great for beginning spellers, this toy helps them to learn their letters in both tactile and visual ways.

HABA Flapsi Clutch Toy

German-made HABA toys are coated with non-toxic laquer.  This toy makes a clicking sound that will entertain your baby, and is safe for them to gum.

Melissa and Doug Deluxe Stamp Kit

Your kids can make hundreds of different designs using the washable, non-toxic ink pads. 

A Day at the Zoo by ImagiPlay

Made from renewable, sustainable materials, this cute zoo set meets all international safety standards. 

Melissa and Doug Band in a Box

Is it loud?  Does it make a huge racket?  Of course it does! That’s why kids adore musical instruments.  This set has a set of cymbals, which is sure to please any young musician.  Just make sure you have some ear plugs handy.

Plan Toys Activity Bus

This bus opens up to become a classroom with chairs, figures, a blackboard, and books!

Melissa and Doug Deluxe Wooden Folding Princess Castle

Now I am all for unisex toys, but I have to say this looks freaking awesome.

Many of us would like to “go green” but aren’t really sure where to start.  Well, there are lots of places to start, and that might be part of the problem.  Too many choices lead to a general throwing up of the hands and a proclamation of defeat.  Here are some products to help you get on a greener path. 

 Seventh Generation Diapers and Wipes  If cloth diapering is not for you, products from Seventh Generation are free of chlorine and all sorts of other chemicals and are comparably priced to regular diapers when bought in bulk.   So, you can do good for the environment and good for your baby at the same time.

 Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs I know a lot of you already have these, and most of the complaints I hear from people are that they can’t find the type of bulb they need.  Well, I’ve got them for you.  Dimmable, floodlight, chandelier light, reading light, anywhere light, I’ve got your back.

  Energy Monitor  Talk about a useful item!  You can go around your house and test everything that has a plug to find out exactly how much energy it uses.  I was intrigued by the high customer rating on this device, and the combination of their delight and disgust at finding out how much energy the items actually used.  I think this could easily make back the purchase price in energy savings.

 Wood Blocks  Worried about all those nasty things that can be present in plastic toys?  Go with classic wood toys and never worry again!

  Reusable Shopping Bags  Those ubiquitous plastic grocery bags are simply a bad deal for the environment, and reusable bags can be fashionable and hip, too! This 6-pack from Baggu has great colors and even better, they are machine washable.

Reusable Lunch Bags  I think most people are already using these, but if you are in the market for a new one, you might want to consider something like this one from Built NY. The reviews say that it does a good job at maintaining temperatures and is also machine washable.

  How about something as simple as a refillable pen?  Instead of throwing them away, just refill it and keep using!  This Quad-Function Space Pen allows you to write at any angle with two colors of ink, a pencil, and a stylus in one! 

  If you are a big water drinker, stop buying those plastic bottles!  Instead, buy a water filter for your tap if you don’t like the taste of regular tap, and take your water with you in a reusable bottle.  This one by Camelbak is spillproof and comes with a flip cap and a straw for ease of use.  It may seem like a lot of money at first, but I promise you will be saving in the long run.

  And last but not least, buy a book!  Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Non-Pompous, Non-Preachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day is exactly what it says it is.  It even manages to be funny!

Anyone else have any favorite products or tips?

Let’s face it, listening to renditions of toddlers singing off-key and loud, uber-cheerful vocalists exhorting us to all hold hands can make you simply want to scream.  So in the interest of some self-preservation, I’m presenting music that won’t automatically force you to have them put their headphones on rather than endure the torture.  Here is my list of some of the best CD’s for kids.

 Jack Johnson and Friends Singalongs and Lullabies   Lovely and melodic, I don’t see too much resistance from mom and dad when the kids ask to play this. Aaaand, Jack Johnson is tres cute. 

 Raffi The The Singable Songs Collection Before I was a parent, I scoffed at the idea of Raffi. Then I became one and to know him is to love him. 

  They Might Be Giants Here Come the ABC’s and No!  Both of these albums allow parent and child to rock out!  No, it isn’t Metallica, but you can maintain most of your street cred.  

 Sesame Street Platinum: All Time Favorites  “C is for Cookie,” “Rubber Duckie,” and “I Love Trash” among others.  Don’t even try and pretend you don’t know all the words.

 Boris Karloff and Mario Rossi  Peter and the Wolf   There are many versions of Prokofiev’s classic, but this is the the definitive one. 

 Steve Rashid “i will hold your tiny hand” Songs with influences from the blues,  doo-wop, and jazz, these lullabies will be a hit with the whole family.

 Justin Roberts Meltdown  Intelligent lyrics set to great music, what more could you ask for?  Not many artists tackle having to wear glasses, but Justin does.  And we’re glad. 

 Daddy a Go Go Cool Songs For Cool Kids Another edgy, rock-inspired CD that has so much enthusiasm, it will make you think they recorded it out of their garage. 

 Gunnar Madsen Old Mr. Mackle Hackle It’s the lyrics that make this one stand out.  Smart and funny, at least one of these songs is sure to make even parents laugh out loud. 

 Putamayo’s World Playground World Music CD has great song selections from twelve different countries.  A nice introductory sampling for your child.

 Beethoven’s Wig Singalong Symphonies  This is a fabulous CD that sets some of the best known classical songs to some craaazy lyrics.  There are other volumes that came along after this one, but best to start off with the first. Older kids.

Let’s face it, only a very select group of people can walk into a store and buy whatever they like without glancing at the price tag.  I’m not in that group.

I quit my job shortly after having the Munchkin, and we’ve been living in Frugal City ever since.  Yes, my husband makes a good salary, otherwise my quitting would never have even been feasible.  But, some months we have cut corners and then cut those corners to make sure we get through and keep our “safety net” intact.  Birthdays come up, car insurance is due, property taxes, there is always some payment lurking in our mailbox, it seems.

We gave up the daily newspaper (as hard as that was) and stuck to online news, we don’t have cable television, we have only one cell phone, we tried not to eat out very often, we are regular patrons of our local library, and I think new clothes didn’t find their way into my closet for a couple of years.  These are just a few of the things we did to stay solvent, and I would do them all over again if I had to.

Everyone who buys groceries knows that food is up.  Gasoline is up.  Heating costs are up.  And housing values are down.  Help!

So I thought I might ask our superfantastic readers what they do for their families when they are on a budget.  Do you sew/knit your own clothes? Make homemade birthday cards instead of buying them? Give up vacations or forgo the new car?

Do tell us!  Just be sure and keep it legal, ok? 

Just a few days ago Target launched a new baby collection, a collaboration with DwellStudio.  DwellStudio is an upscale designer known for their modern, colorful graphics.  As with most designer team-ups at Target, style is offered at a low price.  And seeing how a regular crib set from the DwellStudio line runs upwards of $384.00, a discount would be deeply appreciated. 

The graphics featured at Target are simpler than the pricier ones, but that is to be expected.  But the looks are similar, and the DwellStudio imprimatur is apparent. And I like that the line is very inclusive.  From rugs to lamps to wall decals, they’ve got you covered. .

Take this Olivia 3-Pc Crib Set, featured at Target and currently on sale for $65.00!

Source

And compare it to DwellStudio’s Garden Blossom set:

Source

OK, so the more expensive one is photographed in a prettier room, but the cheaper set is not that far off! Think of how many diapers/bibs/books/whatever you could buy with the savings!

As I was doing my usual stumbling around on the internet, I came across a site that I am very happy to promote on Teeny Manolo.

It is called Global Mamas. 

On the main page, they explain their mission:

By purchasing Global Mamas products, you are offering sustainable livelihoods to women and their families living in poverty.

All proceeds go directly to the women and to nonprofit programs that assist them with business development.

Global Mamas is a Fair Trade Manufacturer, which means they met stringent criteria set forth by the Fair Trade Federation, which is based in the United States.

I really like the idea behind this enterprise, and I feel that we here in the US are not offered as many Fair Trade products as other countries, such as Canada.   Next to the description of each piece of clothing, there is a link to both the batiker and the seamstress who made it.  Think of it as being a bit like your own personal version of Kiva, but getting cute clothes in the bargain as well.

While you may not win a Nobel Prize for Economics, it just might make you feel as good as if you had.

For Christmas, my mother bought my son a shirt.  And I liked it. If you knew the type of clothing that my mom normally buys for the Munchkin, you would topple over in shock, I assure you. I know I did.  My mom is great, but her fashion sense and mine? Let’s just say we both tend to do a lot of private eye-rolling.

After I had been revived with smelling salts, I managed to gasp out, “Wh-where did you get that? How much was it?”

When I found out she had bought it for eight dollars, out the smelling salts came.  Again.

And whom did I have to thank for such a nirvana of a shirt for such a great price?

Why, H&M, of course.  The house of fast fashion and famous celebrity collections also offers clothing for children from ages 0-14 years.  Yeeaaaahhh baby, I was so there.

Luckily, I have a store near me that carries the children’s lines, which not all do.  I went in, curious as to what I would find, as I think everyone knows by now that I find boy’s fashion Boring with a capital B.   And, because I love you all, I also looked at the girl’s clothing, even though I never do because I just get jealous. 

I saw clothing that was, in a word, awesome.  It was of high quality, had color combinations not normally found in bargain clothing  (hello, chocolate brown and baby blue for the boys!) and best of all, did I mention it was pretty cheap?  Two t-shirts could be had as a color coordinated pair for $9.90.   Pants ran around $14.00.  They also had turtlenecks, which I had been hard-pressed to find this winter, for some reason. Lots and lots of graphics as well. 

Alas, in my corner of the world we are already beginning to warm up, not that we were ever really cold to begin with, so turtlenecks just seemed a bit much.  None of the spring line was in yet, so I was unable to purchase anything because the Munchkin’s winter wardrobe is already covered.  That was unfortunate, because I really wanted to buy something.  Never had I been so upset at being so well organized. I am practically salivating for them to get their spring line into the store.

The clothing for girls was equally fab, and the infant clothing was even better.  I cannot recommend this store highly enough. To find out if you have an H&M near you that carries children’s clothing and accessories, here is a link to their store locator in the US. 

There is no online shopping for residents of North America, but if you’ve got a close friend in Sweden who’s willing to get the clothes to you, it might almost be worth it.

One of the very first gifts we received when our son was born was the Munchkin Magic Mozart Cube.  I am a big fan of classical music, so I was intrigued by this toy and wondered if my son would like it.

I shouldn’t have worried, he absolutely loved it.

Each side of the cube has a large button for six different instruments. When you press the button, that instrument begins to play one of five pre-selected Mozart songs.  The side also lights up in synchronization with the instrument, if my memory serves me correctly.   As you press different instruments, they join together to form a more orchestral effect, and you can add or delete instruments at will.

Babies are utterly fascinated with this toy, and older children are drawn to it as well.  I mean, who doesn’t like music?

I was reading some of the reviews on Amazon, and a person who is some sort of sound engineer criticized almost every aspect of this toy, from the supposedly lousy sound quality to wondering what the agenda was behind the selected musical pieces.  Is it suddenly a bad thing to expose your offspring to some of the less-recognizable Mozart tunes?  And yes, the quality isn’t exactly that of a Bose sound system, but it’s good enough.  So to crabby engineer person I say, relax, it’s a frickin toy!  No need to get all engineer-y and anal on us.   I might add that the negative review was in the minority, to say the least.

The toy is fairly heavy and well-constructed, but unfortunately it was unable to withstand the G-forces delivered by a three year old who threw it at our entertainment center, where it promptly hit one of the sharp corners (of course!) and died shortly thereafter.  The Munchkin was very unhappy the toy was broken, but it was a good lesson to learn about treating things we like with care rather than using them as projectiles.  At least, that is what I tried to tell myself.

I highly recommend this toy to anyone with a young child in their life.  Oh, and it just so happens to be on sale at Amazon!

There are stores that claim to have a sale, and then you go and find the sale price is a mere five bucks off the normal price. Not so Old Navy sales! They tend to have some fairly good price slashing, and I honestly don’t consider it a real sale unless it’s at least 40% off.

Colored, embellished jeans for girls half off! And there are more colors available.

For girls, Metallic Pintuck Tops, also half off. Too cute for spring!

For baby girls in sizes 0-12 months, a lovely keyhole trapeze sweater with pointelle detailing for a little over eight dollars!

For boys, slim pickings as always. Here is the best of what’s left that still has some size availability.

Hi-tech quick-dry soccer tee for a little over seven dollars.

Boys side-striped athletic pants, at the right price of $7.25. Great size availability, also in grey.

Perhaps they are not the cutest pajamas ever, but they are 100% cotton and have a fabulous size availability from 3 months up to 5T. And hey, high fashion is tough to get for five bucks.

Happy shopping, if you’ve got any money left over from the holidays, that is!

Got some last-minute gift shopping to do, but on the cheap? Then this list is for you.

Aqua Doodle Kit

Magnetic Dress-Up Set

Puppytunes

Magic School Bus Body Kit

Spiral Draw

Hop Along Horsie

100 Piece Block Set

Deluxe Chef Set

Honey Bee Tree

IlluStory