I came across this great video today, a time-lapse trip through pregnancy:

“This is a collection of outtake still shots from a maternity series I made documenting my wife Cole’s pregnancy. You can see the whole series at pacingthepanicroom.com We had so much fun every week taking these shots, but the series only called for two photos. So this was my way to share the experience and the images with everyone.

My best friend devin from the band Rabbit! wrote this song in the video for my wife. The song is titled simply: “Magic” myspace.com/saverabbit“

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A little info on composting with worms from EcoChildsPlay–and your own bin from the Sustainablog store.
Follow the rest of the Hank D and the Bee series at JoeMohrToons.com. For cartoon updates and other green goings-on, follow Joe on Twitter @GreenCartoons.

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We homeschool our kids, but we actually prefer to call it unschooling.

“Unschoolers believe that the natural curiosity of a healthy child, given access to a rich environment, will lead the child to learn what he or she needs to know. When learning comes about as a result of the child’s desires, it is absorbed easily, enthusiastically, openly. The child works harder because he is doing what he thinks is important, rather than what someone else has told him is important.” [source]

I found the following over at The Barking Cow, and since I don’t have a manifesto of my own, I’m sharing this one with you. Let me know what you think.

Originally posted here.

For more unschooling info:

• What is unschooling?
• Unschooling
• Radical Unschooling
• The Natural Child Project: Unschooling
• Unschooling : How Good Morning America Got It All Wrong

Image: kevindooley at Flickr

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We all know pollution and toxins are unhealthy for us, but we’re just now beginning to find out just how many substances are affecting us when we’re exposed to them on a daily basis.

And what about our kids? What are the health effects on their bodies of low-dose exposures to toxic chemicals, and how does the mother’s own exposure affect them?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has conducted perhaps the deepest analysis of the health effects of low-dose exposures to chemicals of concern, an issue for the most vulnerable demographic on the planet: our kids.

In this video, Ken Cook, president and co-founder of EWG, discusses the implications of the hundreds of toxins they found by analyzing the blood of ten average Americans. And not just any Americans. There’s a special reason that they picked these 10 people.

It’s all science but full of emotion, and worth every minute if you’ve ever wanted to understand the connection between chemicals and environmental health. Or need to convince a friend. This powerful presentation does both.

In a nutshell, EWG found 287 industrial chemicals in the cord blood of unborn children – an average of 200 in each one. Among the toxins were found 28 industrial waste byproducts, 47 consumer product ingredients, and perhaps most disturbingly, 212 industrial chemicals and pesticides that were banned 30 years ago.

In this, the first study since the beginning of the chemical revolution to assess the umbilical blood of babies to see how many toxic chemicals get through to developing children, the implications are staggering. Up until a certain age, there is no blood/brain barrier in an unborn baby, which means that they are at their most vulnerable stage for chemical exposure. It was previously thought that the placenta protected the baby, but this is another corroboration that the placenta does not filter out the chemicals.

The information in his presentation is kind of scary, and Ken sums it up perfectly by saying “Industrial pollution begins in the womb.”

This needs to change.

Find out more at EWG, and lend your voice to the movement behind the Toxic Chemical Safety Act.

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I’ve posted before about some natural snack ideas for kids, but this one is probably one of the easiest of them all to prepare: frozen grapes. We’ve been fortunate lately to get lots of free local produce, from apricots to apples, and most recently, large amounts of perfectly ripe grapes. Once grapevines are established and healthy, they can produce copious amounts of food, so if you know anyone that has more than they could use, turn some of them into all-natural frozen treats for your kids.

To freeze grapes, simply rinse them as you would to eat them, let dry for a bit, and then either pluck each one off the stem (it’s easier when you go to eat them) or put the whole bunch in the freezer on a tray or in a bowl (more work when you eat them, as you pull off the stems).

Some people say they need to be laid out on sheets until frozen, but we’ve found that it really doesn’t matter a whole lot in the end. We use large bowls, and if some of them get frozen together, it’s not a big deal – they separate as they start to thaw.

Once the grapes are frozen, you can pour them into a bag or container in the freezer, and only pull out as many as you need.

To serve, simply place a large bowl of frozen grapes in front of hungry children and watch them disappear. Best on hot days, but also makes a great dessert any time.

[Note: If your kids can't deal with fresh grapes yet without choking, frozen grapes are not a good idea for them. But perhaps by cutting some in half before freezing, they can manage to eat some. Or juice some and make popsicles out of the grape juice.]

Image: Denise Cross at Flickr

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I was a guest on an internet radio show last week, in an episode titled “A Dad’s Eye View”, in which I give my two cents about fatherhood, pregnancy and childbirth, and parenting from a dad’s perspective:

“Ever wonder how men view pregnancy, childbirth and fatherhood? With a focus on understanding the emotional impact of fatherhood, we’ll also discuss the changes that take place in relationships, the new family dynamic, and all the fun (and work) that go into fathering.”

Simply click the play button to listen to the interview.

Download audio file (InterviewLaborofLove.mp3)

In all fairness, I probably come off sounding like a much better dad and husband than I am, but I talk a good game… Seriously, though, it’s not like you want to hear “How to be a horrible father and husband”, now do you?

You can also go to the Labor of Love page and download the interview for later, and while you’re at it, you can subscribe to future episodes of Karen’s show.

[Karen Angstadt is a Wise Woman, Mentor and mother of 2. With over 10 years experience teaching women to uncover, hear and honor their intuition through individual mentoring, in 2008, Karen began sharing her methods with pregnant women to guide them to their inner voice and empowered choices for birth.

Karen is the founder of Intentional Birth.com, host of A Labor of Love radio show on the VoiceAmerica network, author of the eBook To Thine Own Self Be True – a daily message for moms-to-be and serves women through individual mentoring, tele-seminars, and home study material.]

PS: WordPress Tip: To embed this, I uploaded the mp3 file via FTP and then used the WordPress plugin WordPress Audio Player to play it.

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I missed  Two-fer Tuesday, but I’ve got a couple cool links to share with you. I’m calling these Papa’s Picks, and hope you check them out!

I got an email the other day with the word “Glogging” in the subject line. I thought, that’s a really funny typo, and then clicked through the link in it, and lo and behold, the email really was about glogging!

At Your Garden Show, you create a Glog: “It’s a garden log of all your planting activities, including a build-your-own-almanac and interactive timeline.” Get ideas from other gardeners or share your own, upload pictures and tag the plants in them, and comment on other’s gardens. So that would make you a… glogger?

I haven’t found many sites by fathers that talk about homebirth and natural birth, so when I found Natural Birth Dads, I wanted to share it with you, and also solicit suggestions for other similar sites. If you know of any, please leave the link in the comments so we can check them out!

Karen Angstadt, of Intentional Birth, recently interviewed me on her show, A Labor of Love, and we talked about a bunch of different topics, from birth to fatherhood to relationships. It was fun to do, and you can hear me say “ya know?” about a million times on it. When I’m not saying that, I sound a lot smarter than I really am. It was a good conversation, and it’s called A Dad’s Eye View, available also as a free download from iTunes.

I’m always looking for more dads who have experienced a homebirth to weigh in on my 10 Questions for Homebirth Dads series. If you know any dads that want to share their answers, please pass it along. My contact info is Derek at Natural Papa dot com, and I would love to add your answers to a growing resource about fathers and homebirth.

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From Grist: Michael Pollan on egg recall and the high costs of cheap food

Follow the rest of the Hank D and the Bee series at JoeMohrToons.com. For cartoon updates and other green goings-on, follow Joe on Twitter @GreenCartoons.

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Are you a “Mom on a Mission”?

Submit your story to win a trip to Los Angeles, stay in an eco-hotel & attend Healthy Child Healthy World’s Annual Award Gala!

The news may be filled with stories of crises and collapse, but through every downfall we are seeing greatness as mothers heed the call for change. As Amie Nelson says in “How Mothers Can Change the World,”

“The positive light among us is the growing swell of activism from women formerly in the shadows. From heads of state to soccer moms, mothers around the world are doing incredible work to inspire, educate and engage their communities.

Mothers are a force to be reckoned with, by their sheer numbers alone… The promising reality is that mothers are emerging as social advocates and political leaders. All over the world, female politicians are proud to emphasize their role as mothers – and even campaign as mothers.

Mothers are a universal symbol of the unique power women have to get things done, to survive insurmountable odds, and to help others in need.”

Are you a part of this Mom Revolution? Do you know another mom who is? Please share your story and help inspire others!

On October 14, 2010 at Healthy Child’s annual gala, one special and inspiring American woman dedicated to creating healthier environments for children will be honored.

This “Mom on a Mission” will be flown out to Los Angeles, California, and stay for two nights at a local green hotel. During the benefit dinner, she will be formally presented with the second annual Healthy Child Healthy World “Mom on a Mission” award for her extraordinary service and inspiration.

Want to know how to nominate that special mom, or yourself?

Judging criteria: Healthy Child is seeking an inspirational, true story of a mother’s work to create healthier environments for children and families.

Who is a candidate: Any exceptional mother (currently living in the United States) who seeks to make a difference for the better, generously gives back to others, or overcame adversity with courage.

How to enter: Only ONE nomination per person is allowed. Please enter by sending your “inspirational, true story” to award@healthychild.org. Submissions should be no more than 750 words in length.

Deadline for Nominations: August 31, 2010, 11:59pm PST.

Learn more about Healthy Child’s Mom on a Mission program and awards.

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So you wanna learn how to take care of a baby, eh? Just post this on your refrigerator, and you’re all set. [Click on image for a larger version.]

[via It Thing]

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