Our Little Tid-Bits

Harvest Rainwater

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:58:00 +0000

As green goes more mainstream- many amazing products will hit the market.

This one is a recent favorite:

Rainwater Harvesting Vertical Garden Ontario College of Art and Design student Michael Tampilic created this rainwater harvesting vertical terrace, and entered into the Rocket 2008 Industrial Graduation Show and Competition. The way it works is amazing: it connects with your gutter downspout and stores water in a tank, which waters the greenery you plant in the planter boxes.

From Rocket 2008: Vert is a rain terrace: a rainwater harvester and vertical garden. This project establishes sustainable water practices through the harvesting of rain, and brings the advantages of a living wall to the backyard through vertical gardening. Vert alleviates a homes reliance on public utility systems while beautifying unused vertical space.

Vertical gardening is a smart idea for urban areas, and with this cool design, you can harvest your own herbs and veggies even if you live in a tiny apartment, as long as you have just a bit of outdoor space and a gutter downspout available.

You can read more about how it works at the Rocket 2008 website.

On the less beautiful side but certainly functional are my own rain barrels that I purchased ($45) each for Brad for his Father's Day Gift. I got the house 2 barrels, and they are bright blue with a spikit and grate at the top.

Functional....not flashy, but will be a great addition to our sustainability efforts.

Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:03:00 +0000

Puerto Rican Hospital Twice Removed

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:50:00 +0000

I had in fact seen it coming, and tossed and turned the night before vacation, when Brad finally asked what the hell was the matter with me. "Why are we taking my mom to Puerto Rico again? She's prone to panic attacks, has to pee every 5 minutes and needs constant direction!" I worried. Brad laughed "oh yeah" he said remembering our last vacation 2 years earlier in the Gulf Shores- "good call" he said and rolled over to sleep. Why should he care? My mother only makes him neurotic when she makes me neurotic, and although usually guaranteed by the time she and I part ways, I actually believe that I have the patience of a Saint with her. Speaking of saints, her ultimate goal is to be canonized- which is in fact possible. She is the most giving, selfless, and caring person I have ever met. She's the type of person that would build churches in Jamaica, volunteer in the orphanages of Lithuania, travel dirt roads on the backs of donkeys through war torn countries to visit the Dali Lama, and to kiss the hand of Mother Teresa of Calcutta in the ghetto's of India- oh...yeah- I mean she is that person. Did I mention she was in the convent when she met my Father? Yes, she was actually a nun, and went through five years of discernment before finally opting for a more primal love- but I actually know for a fact that at this time, my father was truly the most challenging case of despair I think she had ever come across and she has always been up for a good challenge. So how, you might wonder is a woman so accomplished in fulfilling the needs of others so needy herself? Welcome to the Gemini paradox that is my mother. Her Sisters and brothers took care of her growing up, The convent took care of her when she was in her twenties, My Father took care of her until he died, and the community and church has been taking care of her since. Oh, I mean...I have been overseeing the community and church taking care of her....ahhhh, the cross I bear. We did take my mother to Puerto Rico...just as we had taken her with us to the Gulf Shores 2 years ago, and the same thing happened....panic attacks, tears, spending endless hours pacing up and down the beach and in and out of the house watching over her and my two small children. Puerto Rico...a new set of challenges which was a language barrier, heart palpitations, dry mouth, nausea, and the emergency room. I spent the last day of our vacation trying to convince the doctor that she would and could go home on a plane with me...we just needed Valium and a priest that speaks English.

New Electric Car Coming on the US Market Next Year

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Cutler) — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:26:00 +0000

All-electric car set for U.S. sales in '09

A Norwegian automaker backed by Silicon Valley investors plans to sell in the United States an electric car that goes 110 miles without a charge and costs less than $25,000.

It doesn't go very fast (65 mph) but it is 95% recyclable.

Finding a couch

noreply@blogger.com (jodi) — Sun, 04 May 2008 13:42:00 +0000

Over the last year and a half our pug Salsa has single handedly destroyed our couch. If you have encountered a pug you know they're instinct to go straight to lap is unbreakable. That they are so gross they swing round to cute; their drooling and snorting makes it impossible to resist. I think our couch has even grown to love him. But no amount of cleaning, airing or fluffing resuscitates life into these poor cushions.

Combine that with a not so well constructed frame... and you've got a very uncomfortable place to land at the end of a long day.

Now I have to caveat that The Couch was a 3 year-old hand-me down; I was psyched, I thought this, is a "quality couch". It will last a super long time. When the frame started to tear away from itself, after 2 years of living with me. I questioned the quality of this particular brand and I became dubious of the perception of quality furniture suppliers.

A few months ago Adam & I started the "we need to buy a new couch" talk. A Salsa proof couch...A couch that will last. I started to read up on "How to buy a sofa". I think the most important thing I learned is that retail stores buy from different manufacturers and what I needed to know was which manufacturer made the best product...for us.

Right around the same time there were a few great blog entries at treehugger about How to Green Your Furniture Guide and then another about Sustainable Furniture Council. We had decided we wanted leather (Salsa proof and super durable) Leather opens up a whole other host of quality assurances because the beef industry is so...creepy. After months of research I felt super comfortable landing on American Leather as a manufacturer; they offer impeccable quality and they are doing their little bit. Then the process of choosing a model started.

Last night we went to the Rhode Island Design Center to check out a few of the models they had on the floor to find one similar to frame & cushion of the model I liked. They don't have every model on the floor - each couch is custom ordered. We had decided between two models and two leather choices. Bob - our AWESOME salesman was working up our paper work and finding the model I wanted somewhere in Southern New England so we walked around the showroom. We were excited about our choice and joked about hoping the couch could be something we could pass on to Emma or Grace. We met back up and Bob presented us with our options/pricing etc and shocked us with, Cardi's (which RIDC is a part of) is having a 20% sale on all sofas but ended this night. He didn't pressure us and didn't mention it prior because we were just starting the process but 20% off is a ton of money to discount. We discussed and settled on getting the one we sat in. This is it without the studs and a much yummier color.

I so happy to be done and what's best is that I feel super confident in our choice!

Young@Heart at the Newport Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 03 May 2008 07:52:00 +0000

The Newport International Film Festival held their kick off event promoting their 11th annual festival this year which will begin June 3rd - June 8th 2008 in Newport RI. Our own Teresa Conners is working the festival this year who has been working to publicize and promote the success of the event. The feature film for the kick off premiere was Young at Heart, which had everyone in the audience clamoring for more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3uOOhm8Fj8&feature=related To our amazement, after the film concluded (which truly had left no one unaffected), out came the actual chorus ranging in ages 72- 89 to perform for the film's audience- and the best part about this "Chorus" is that they perform rock and roll covers from cool bands such as Cold Play, The Clash, Led Zeppelin and others. I'm not sure I closed my mouth for the entire 3.5 hours I was in the theatre watching the film and then the actual young@heart choir! I sat in my seat completely amazed and inspired by the film, and then throughout the performance my emotions got the better of me and I was out of my chair singing, dancing and clapping with the rest of audience. Great film, with all of the ingredients of a success including belly laughs, awe, inspiration, appreciation, sadness, grief, empathy, and joy...a must see!

How Green Is My Getaway?

noreply@blogger.com (jodi) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:50:00 +0000

Summer is right around the corner and with that family vacations! Yeah Hooray! Sierra Club's quiz offers great insight into our summer travel options. Take the quiz & see how you do ... I was surprised at how well I did 95 out of a 100! How Green Is My Getaway?

Carbon Calculator Re-Visited

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:53:00 +0000

Ok- I love this one because it makes it mean something to me.... My families carbon output in one YEAR is enough to cut and burn 6.5 football fields full of trees. Horrifying. So what else I love is that this calculator then gives me suggestions for what I can do to live less harmfuly to the planet, and if you CAN NOT cut your imprint because of work, cashflow issues (for instance I want a hybrid car but cant yet afford one) I can choose one of several places to contribute a few dollars into organizations that help make a difference.... Like: e-BlueHorizons SM e-BlueHorizons’ projects capture heat-trapping gases from landfills in New England. One project in Massachusetts uses the recovered gases to generate electricity. Another, in New Hampshire, uses the captured gases to treat wastewater from the landfill. A portion of the proceeds is also used to plant trees along the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Calculate yours...after the initial shock wears off just start collecting your pocket change and donate or make some changes :-) http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/carboncalculator.cfm This was my message! Agh! You create 54.4 metric tons of carbon* You could release about the same amount of carbon pollution by cutting and burning all the trees in a section of the Amazon rainforest the size of 6.5 football fields. every little bit counts...............

Do Your "Little Bit" Whatever "it" May be

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:56:00 +0000

New ways to do my little bit to save the environment were made aware to me through facebook! Such a cool way to network too, and I enjoyed meeting up with my gradeschool sweeetheart that I used to kiss behind the bushes in the parish gardens at St. Paul School in Grosse Pointe Michigan (naughty butt!) www.facebook.com has some great applications for communicating and sharing your passion for saving the environment. Just do your little bit whatever it may be ...................

Go GREEN Toys

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:23:00 +0000

Karla is a beautiful doll with great hair and a wonderful red outfit. With green eyes this doll is a treasure! New Clothes can be ordered separately Mohair hair - can be combed carefully with large-tooth comb Fully fabric bodies Hand made in Germany using traditional methods Sponge wash by hand only

I recently attended toy fair 2008 at the Javits in New York.

It was my first time to the fair and I have been dying to attend, and was so unimpressed because finding a quality product was like finding a needle in a haystack.

The show was inundated with junk toys - plastic, whirring, buzzing, talking toys, and really there was so little there in terms of innovative new products especially now that we are facing the Go Green Movement- I would have thought companies would be presenting new products that were aligned with sustainable ideals and open ended play.

We are so behind as a culture in America, and we really do not have any one American toy company leading the pack for sustainable green toys.

Companies such as:

Plan Toys- which are gorgeous wooden toys made of Rubber Tree Wood are from Thailand and this company has been unbelievably eco-friendly since it's inception, planting hundreds of thousands of trees every year to plant back what they use from their land to make their toys....now this is what I call a respectable company.

Sprout (TM) Debuted with it's wonderful like of recycled plastic toys and are kid powered which means that there are no batteries- just good old fashioned push fun with the modern twist of having a narrated tour that only plays as the child pushes- hats off to you guys!

As always the European Manufacturers are heads and tails above all of us with their craftsmanship, forethought, Eco friendly materials, and heirloom able toys.

I was particularly impressed as usual with Kathe Kruz, Silke, Ferby, Sevi, and Haba. These companies continue to build each year on their gorgeous collection of toys and dolls and games, and are always on the forefront of design and aesthetic appeal.

Hilly Chrisp Skirts - A Wearable Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:15:00 +0000

Made of 100% cotton, trimmed with beautiful grosgrain ribbons, these three tiered skirts are a fusion of polka dots, pin stripes, plaids and clashing florals. Sturdy fabric and a comfortable waist band make them perfect for day to day wear while still looking so pretty. Every girls wardrobe needs a Hilly Chrisp skirt but with ten divine colour combinations the big question is will just one do? The 2008 Hilly Chrisp skirt collection is inspired by gardens of the 1960's and 70's. A fabulous example of plants being grown for their individual beauty. Each one so unique that they merge to create an even more fabulous show. Soft with strong, petit with bold creating depth and joy for the eye without being too contrived. http://www.littlebits.com/products.php?d=kids%20apparel&c=girls&sc=dresses Simple. Beautiful. Get them while they last.

You are what you eat

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:56:00 +0000

You are what you eat, so eat well. A stupendous insight of civilizations past has now been confirmed by today's investigative, nutritional sciences. They have shown that what was once called 'The Doctrine of Signatures' was astoundingly correct. It now contends that every whole food has a pattern that resembles a body organ or physiological function and that this pattern acts as a signal or sign as to the benefit the food provides the eater. Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.

Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility. Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, Oranges , and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts. Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

'The news isn't that fruits and vegetables are good for you, it's that they are so good for you, they can save your life.'

David Bjerklie, TIME Magazine

Vacation in Maine

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:42:00 +0000

We spent 4 days at my brothers house in Maine. It snowed over 14 inches in Hiram while we were there and another 16" I heard on the news yesterday. The kids had so much fun sledding down the big driveway and taking turns putting the smaller children on their laps for a ride.

Manon got such a kick out of the fact that she could walk across the top of the hardened snow without sinking down and dig holes in the giant mounds of snow and sit in them like eskimos.

I loved being in the quiet of Maine. I thought I would be restless but instead found myself wanting to stay there in the house which is so simple and rustic. They use only the necessities and a good portion of food they get right from the land they farm. Laura has the day she bakes bread for the weeks supply and they have preserves from canning and a root cellar with...you guessed it...root vegtables. Their Christmas tree was out of their back woods and all of the gifts we recieved were wrapped in brown paper and tied in red string. I receieved a amaryllis plant and planter...the bulbs had been dug up in the fall from the garden so that they can bloom again.

The Girls, Manons Counsins are being home schooled and are already starting to learn to read.

They each have a wooden desk set up against the far wall of the living room with their paper and supplies. Manon and the girls played "Little House on the Prairie" for most of the second day we were there and they had a ball pretending to go to the "schoolhouse" and pack their bucket lunch of bread and cheese.

The upstairs of the house is not heated, and small but cosy with low slanting ceilings like a loft, and a steep wooden stairway. There are three bedrooms, and they have each a simple dresser and a chair or table. Drawings are hung on the wall, and peeling old paper add a look of an old rustic farmhouse in the 1950's.

My brother and sister in law are not poor. They are humble and they prefer to live on only what they need. They do not have any attachment to asthetics in their home. They do not spend their money frivilously. They do not have a TV, or a DVD, or a microwave oven. They do not have a dining room for entertaining, or any fancy china. They have one small bathroom with a clawfoot tub, and an outhouse for emergencies. They collect their own eggs in the morning. Trade eggs or vegitables for raw milk from another farm. They can and freeze left overs, and always use left overs for making soups and stock. When they shop they buy wheat, flour, sugar and other supplies in bulk from a Co-Op. They conserve energy and Water, and waste barely anything.

They have a compost bucket in the kitchen and collect another bucket of scraps for the chickens.

Laura Knits and cooks while the children play, and she mends holes in clothing to extent their wear. She has only ever purchased clothing from the Good Will or Salvation Army, or taken hand me downs for the girls and baby Joe.

For entertainment we read all in the same room, talk or play with the kids. The game of choice the evening before we left was charades and we played in front of the wood stove and everyone got turns to act out the animal or thing while all of us guessed, and laughed and made time together.

It was a great vacation, and I felt rested and rejuvinated by the time we left.

A little bit more of a reality

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:16:00 +0000

The book manuscript is finished! Random house and Pippin Properties will have it in their hands this week although hopeful I know that they get hundreds of submissions every day. Since the inspiration hit me in 2004 I have never lost the enthusiasm or drive to see this become a reality. My dream is to have the little bits brand be synonymous to with global change and human values for young audiences. My goal is to inspire children to feel empowered and able to make a difference. My intention is to introduce children to ideals, values, products, and insights that they can incorporate into their daily lives and draw from as they grow into contributing compassionate adults who want to make a difference. I believe that if given the right tools, and introduced to social responsibility and human values that nurture their spirit at a young age that they will be the change we need in the world and we will one day experience world peace, human equality, planetary health, spiritual well being and survival of the beautiful species that inhabit the earth including our own. I know that I am but a small player in this vision, but I pray to the universe, and God for the grace and courage everyday to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and that each day I can retire feeling resolved that I did my little bit for the day to advance the dream, and that I wake up with more determination than the day before to continue to inspire those around me to do the same. The book is the first in a series of projects that will follow to create a dialog between children and their parents who want to make a difference. I am really excited about it's potential.

TED/ Isabel Allende on Passion

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:10:00 +0000

I have copied and pasted the following information on Isabel Allende one of the most eloquent women speakers I have ever heard. She is a champion of Women and an inspiration. Enjoy every word: FROM TED: In one of the most beloved talks from TED2007, novelist Isabel Allende talks about writing, women, passion, feminism. She tells the stories of powerful women she has known, some larger-than-life (listen for a beauty tip from Sophia Loren), and some simply living with grace, dignity and ingenuity in a world that, in too many ways, still treats women unjustly. http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/204 Why you should listen to her: As a novelist and memoirist, Isabel Allende writes of passionate lives, including her own. Born into a Chilean family with political ties, she went into exile in the United States in the 1970s -- an event that, she believes, created her as a writer. Her voice blends sweeping narrative with touches of magical realism; her stories are romantic, in the very best sense of the word. Her novels include The House of the Spirits, Eva Luna and The Stories of Eva Luna, and her latest, Ines of My Soul and La Suma de los Dias (The Sum of Our Days). And don't forget her adventure trilogy for young readers -- City of the Beasts, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon and Forest of the Pygmies. As a memoirist, she has written about her vision of her lost Chile, in My Invented Country, and movingly tells the story of her life to her own daughter, in Paula. Her book Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses memorably linked two sections of the bookstore that don't see much crossover: Erotica and Cookbooks. Just as vital is her community work: The Isabel Allende Foundation works with nonprofits in the SF Bay Area and Chile to empower and protect women and girls -- understanding that empowering women is the only true route to social and economic justice. "Allende can spin a funny, sensual yarn, but she can also use her narrative skills to remind us that parallel to our placid and comfortable existence is another, invisible universe, one where poverty, misery and torture are all too real."Patricia Hart, The Nation

24 Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:40:00 +0000

Thank God (the Universe, or whatever you believe in) That there are only 24 hours in a day, and that the crowning glory of our species is that we MUST sleep for a minimum of 5 hours in order to perform the following day at any sort of competent level. I am home with two children for 72 hours strait...It's miserable outside and both of them are sick and have been awake at all hours of the night. Daddy is away on a business trip. I have slept for no more than 30 minutes at a time....I am desperate..... Do I call 911? I imagine the fire engines and ambulance showing up in the early evening, I look particularly strung out, and completely at wits end, turning myself in with any ailment that will god willing show up in my body. I once did Children's theatre and was a huge hit in the production Oliver! I know that I can pull this off, and I'll simply act like I am faint and out of it...like a mental patient. I will hope that they put me in a comfortable hospital bed with all of the ginger ale that money can buy. Crushed Ice...hospital food... TV! I'm dreaming. As I snap to reality I realize how desperate I have become and have absolutely NO idea how I will survive the next 48 hours. Self Medication? Pills? Alcohol? They are both taking turns vomiting now, and fevers are high...my two year old feels like he could heat a small department store. Did someone tell me recently that having three kids is the new two? NO THANK YOU. I'm covered in bodily fluids and I have no idea if I can squeeze a quick shower into the intervals when my stomach starts to roil. The urge to throw up is so great as I am laying my son in the last set of clean sheets we own praying that he will finally sleep when the force of the sick pulses through my body. Now, it's every man for himself and I lay with my children in the hallway of the upstairs trying to gain some sense of control over a completely unmanageable situation. By the time my husband arrives it's Friday night. The three of us are sitting at the table playing with play dough and eating crackers. We are finally through the worst possible sickness we have all been through and as he hugs us we meet each others eyes, realizing that we are survivers.

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:51:00 +0000

It's impossible to believe that these images were taken this summer.... they've already changed so much.

Seven days of Maine with them between Christmas and now was a dream and I drank them in and loved them up. We played in the snow and at Mim's house and watched movies and ate popcorn and had great belly laughs. I brought in the New Year knowing that for the moment i should just be happy to be alive and healthy and have the blessing of my family. It's so easy to get wrapped up in this business of wanting. I've received everything in 2007 I could have ever wanted, and more.....

thank you my Manon and Shaw and Brad for giving me everything I need.

Thank you for being everything i ever wanted.

xoxo

mom

New Year New Store New House New Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:39:00 +0000

All of the above has become reality since May when we moved out of Newport and into our New (old) home. I love the area, and the new store is doing extremely well thanks to our loyal fans who have been telling all their Friends about the new location. I've enjoyed the new space in both store and home, but I wonder if I have some kind of chaos disorder where I need it like a drug. I'm reasonably sure that the reason I keep taking on new tasks and moving at the speed of light is to keep from thinking. I notice that when I do rest, I fall asleep instantly as if my brain can't handle the idle moment. I'm not sure I even know how to spend quality time with my children any more which is something I am going to change this New Year. I do love getting the opportunity to declare my new intentions at the start of the New Year. Usually they work as long as I devise a list of consequences for myself if I slack. I also feel convinced that in order to improve I have to tell as many freinds and family members as possible what it is I am going to do so... 1) I will finally start working out this winter at the gym 2 x per week ( and might work my way inyo a third day if it's not punishment enough) 2) I will spend more undivided time with my children and husband and stop letting the new store "take me away" 3) I will give up wine as my favorate passtime 4) I will visit my mother in Maine more often 5) I will start writing letters again I think staying at five is good for now.... Happy New Year.

Be the Change....

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:13:00 +0000

Little Bits “Make it Count” award of the month goes to Spare Change for creating Shades of Green, a beautifully simple necklace for all ages that comes with a silver pendant on a linen cord and acts as a gentle reminder that change occurs little by little; by sowing the wild flower seeds on the back of each card we're taking a small step in making our earth a prettier, healthier home for the butterflies, humming birds, and honeybees. Each Pendant comes packaged on a gift card with Gandhi’s famous quote:

“Be the change you want to see in the world” Every necklace has a packet of wildflower seeds attached to the back side of the card for planting.

Makes a great gift!

In Touch with the Seasons

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 10:45:00 +0000

My daughter Manon is at that great age of almost five, and time and how it passes is of great interest to her. She wants to know that she's going to be seven "soon." How do I describe the two year gap? She quotes the time as "thirty o'clock" and wants to know why this is so funny? In order to help her understand time and how it changes I have started a nature table area in our home and a calendar with a batch of white stickers from staples that we can write on to mark special days, and how they were spent so that a few days later I can point to three days past and say....remember three days ago when we went to the park and ate marsh-mellows? The literal exercise of counting it out is helping her understand. Now her cousin is coming for her fifth birthday and I am trying to show her the distance between today and friday when her beloved cousin arrives. A nature table is something I was introduced to in my Waldorf School in Detroit. It was a small table draped with colorful silks that reflected the colors of the season, and held trasures that could be touches and explored. Our summer table had a bright yellow silk to represent the sun and had vials of sand, starfish, pebbles from the stream, fresh flowers, leaves and sticks...and every time we went on an outing we were on the lookout for something from nature to bring back to our table. The kids loved to bring guests to see it and could talk about the day it was found, and what the weather was like that day, and how the discovery came to be. I'm just about to start our autumn table which is my favorate, and I'm looking for the leaves to start changing so that I can replace our summer days with fall.

Blog Action Day

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 16:43:00 +0000

Little Bits Blog is involved and registered with Blog Action Day: What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices. What it's all about: On October 15th - Blog Action Day, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind. In its inaugural year, Blog Action Day will be co-ordinating bloggers to tackle the issue of the environment. Please come back, join the movement, forward this on to friends you know who might also want to register their blog.

The Little Bits Gang

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 16:02:00 +0000

Whew! There is a lot going on right now... Our most recent and exciting development is that we are opening our second location at The Village at South County Commons in Wakefield off of Rt 1 on October 1st of this year , and even more exciting is the fact that we have finished our childrens book titled "Little Bits Begins With You," which we will try to publish in the spring of 2008. The childrens book concept has been on my mind since starting the company and it's only recently that I was able to get it written with the help from my thirteen year old niece Alexa. The inspiration of the story is to help parents and kids realize that it will take action on everyones part to pitch in and contribute their little bit to better the health of the planet. In the beginning we urge parents kids to reach inside to find their inner super hero to help "save" the planet," and introduce six super heros that kids can identify with who are all doing their little bit in some way. Earth Saver capes and T-shirts will also acompany the book, and we can't wait to find a publisher (or save the money to get it published ourselves!) I would welcome any suggestions to getting this accomplished. You can email me at mrodgers@littlebits.com If you would like to view the illustrated characters: Little%20Bits%20Gang.pdf

Kids on the Roof

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 15:37:00 +0000

I am in love with this new product by Hip from Holland called "House."

The concept is brilliant and takes a kids love for boxes and forts and allows you to unfold the package and put together your very own "blank" house that you can them decorate and create into whatever you want! My kids and I put it together last week and we decorated it with felt, buttons, markers, feathers, magazine photos and in addition to keeping us busy for hours during the creative process, they are still playing with it!

It's been a puppet show, a fort, a hideout, a fairy house, a post office and a jail.

It can go inside or outside, is biodegradable, has windows, doors, and a mailbox, all precut, is as easy to put together as a gift box....and when you are done playing it lays flat for storage. It's $50.00 and makes a great gift.

Hooray for brilliant designers.

To Buy: http://www.littlebits.com/product_info.php?item_number=L655

Old Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:14:00 +0000

Hi, Little Bits has changed our blog just a little bit, click here to view our older posts.