Philadelphia Moms

Headhouse Farmers' Market

It's been a long winter, right?  I mean, yeah, we've had some crazy 90 degree days in the last couple of weeks, but otherwise, last summer seems like a long, long, long time ago.

That's why I'm so happy that today marks the opening of Headhouse Farmers' Market.  Open 10 a.m. until 2p.m. every Sunday through December, the Headhouse Farmers' Market is exactly what I need to jumpstart the spring and summer seasons. Plus, this year, it sounds like they're expanding the program to include Saturdays as well beginning next weekend! With 30 vendors selling all sorts of produce, meats, bakery goods, herbs and flowers, it can absolutely brighten anyone's day. Plus it's mostly under cover so even if it's raining like it is currently (Hellooo, it's May! Enough with the April showers!), it's usually open.

While I'm not fanatical about it, I do enjoy buying local produce when I can.  And I often used the fruits and veggies from the Headhouse Farmers' Market when making my son's baby food.  It makes a great trip out of the house, especially if you have an infant and might be on maternity leave.  Last summer and fall I would bring my son with me, and while it might be more challenging now that he's a full blown toddler who isn't content to sit in his stroller, I'd like to think that if we get there early before it's too crowded, he can help me pick produce out.  Or it could be a disaster, we'll see!

Main Line Mama: Yum & Bum

I go gaga over all things organic. Let’s face it: with rocket fuel in our infant’s formula and chemicals such as sodium polyacrylate in our baby’s diapers, it’s nice to give your baby chemical and additive free organic options when available. That is why I love Yum & Bum Natural Baby Markets. It is a store that carries only natural and organic products for baby, toddlers and mommies.

 

On the store shelves you can find cloth diapers, eco friendly wipes, vitamins, organic baby food and baby food making items, natural cleaning products, BPA free pacifiers and eco friendly teethers. The list goes on and on, but if you can’t find what you are looking for simply tell the storeowners, Jeff and Rich. They are always at the store greeting every one who enters with a smile, they know their customers by name, and they are very open to suggestions.

 

Yum & Bum is located in Wayne at 105 E. Lancaster Avenue. This weekend is Wayne’s Big Sidewalk Sale. Yum & Bum will be participating with guest speakers, free goodies, give-a-ways and at 3pm they will be breaking into a healthy treat filled piñata. Yum & Bum will also be hosting a free infant CPR/choking course on Monday May 4 and Monday May 11. To sign up for this course, find out about additional events hosted at Yum & Bum, or to shop online, please visit the Yum & Bum website.

Too Late for Bunnies

So, I promised you more bunnies before Easter and didn't deliver, right?  God, I'm a jerk.  An absent-minded one too.  Well, better late than never, I suppose.

I wound up purchasing the Manuella bunny, which incidentally, has those annoying beanie filler things in the feet.  You know, that stuff that if the toy ripped open (or hmmm, was chewed open) would spill everywhere causing a lovely choking hazard?  Probably a somewhat toxic choking hazard.  Regardless, I had to get one anyway (because sometimes I am guilty of allowing cute to trump safety; clearly my parenting license should be revoked)and Manuella also makes an elephant and a duck, among other cute things.  Piccolini carries the elephant as well as the bunny in their Rittenhouse store. 

If you're looking for other cute and perhaps safer stuffed animals, head over to Happily Ever After, which has a decent collection of miYim bears, bunnies, monkeys, you name it, available in their store.  You can read my review of miYim products over at SafeMama.com.  Happily Ever After also stocks a number of Kathe Kruse toys, which are made with all natural materials. Kathe Kruse has some adorable rattles and soft toys for infants.  Including this bunny.  Which is darling, despite it being a little too late for bunnies. 

Rocket Fuel In Formula

I'm sure that by now you've hear about this.  While I can't say I'm entirely surprised, I'm still fuming (no pun intended) just the same.

Holidays in Review: Viking Toys

I know the last week was light on posts, but you know with the holidays here, there were so many gatherings,most involving spiked eggnog, and Philly Mama couldn't always find her way to a computer. 

Our particular household celebrates Christmas and let me tell you, was Santa ever good to my son.  Over the next week I'm going to highlight a couple of toys that he and/or his cousins received that are particularly charming for one reason or another.

First up are Viking Toys' Chubbies.  Now because I apparently have the sense of humor equivalent to that of a 13 year old boy, I can't really say the word chubbies without giggling.  But I digress.  Months and months ago, my mother gave my son a toy truck and car made by Viking Toys.  Both were very cute and well-made.  I didn't know anything about the company, but my mother seemed pleased to find that the company was based in Europe.  Sweden, specifically, and since she's partially Norwegian, she enjoyed supporting her Scandinavian brethren.  It seems that the toys are actually manufactured in Thailand, but whatever.

At any rate, the plastic car and truck were a hit with my son and the truck was the first toy he began saying "Vroom, vroom" with as he pushed it around.  Then a few weeks ago, around the same time I was hunting for some small toys for stocking stuffers, I came across this review by Z Recommends. From the photo, I immediately realized that these distinctive-looking "Chubbies" must be Viking Toys. 

Now, if you've been reading this site for awhile you know I love me a good, well-made, wooden toy. And I still do.  However, as we enter the toddler years, what I've learned so far is that wooden toys really, really hurt when launched at you.  So I'm not opposed to trying to find safe, plastic toys as well.  After reading the Z Recommends review, I read up on Viking Toys on their website, confirmed that the plastics are all free of phthalates, PVC and BPA. While they use all new materials when making the toys, the toys themselves are recyclable.

I found a box of seven Chubbies at one of my local children's stores, Lolli Lolli.  These toys were a little smaller than the Viking Toys my son had previously received.  It was the perfect stocking stuffer and let me tell you, these Chubbies are awesome to have around.  They are small enough to keep one or two in the car, your diaper bag/purse, wherever you might need a "distraction" toy that doesn't make noise.  I even brought one to church.  I like that they aren't "blinky-blinky" toys and still require some imagination. Best of all, my little man loves them and we have a ton of fun racing them around the living room. 

Good things come in small packages.  Check them out.

 

Having a Kid Turned Me Into A Hippie

::Climbing on my soapbox:: I used to be a regular person who drank Diet Coke, tossed plastic bottles in the trash can and didn't really get the whole "organic thing". A year ago, last August, a report came out that this chemical, Bisphenol A (BPA), was in most baby bottles. While you would think, just having a baby that very month, that I would be very interested in this information, the truth was that I was so overwhelmed that I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and thought "What are you going to do?"

Then, another report that BPA is also in cans of formula. All that got me thinking about what the combined effect of the chemical in the bottles and in the formula is. The FDA, which frankly has lost a lot of creditability with me over the years, thinks that the level of toxins in both the bottles and the formula is not harmful. But the fact remains that there are toxins in the bottles and formula. Not to be an alarmist, but still. Then came the lead in all the toys. And although it totally irked me that no one seems to be monitoring the safety of toys, I again sort of shrugged my shoulders and thought "Well I'll do some research, but really, what can you do? Every freaking toy is made in China."

I know I could drive myself crazy worrying about every toxin out there, but I've really starting thinking about what the cumulative effect is of these toxins over the span of a lifetime. I don't think my son is going to sprout some mysterious disease solely because there was some BPA in his bottles. But what about that combined with the pesticides in his food, the toxins in some toys, the chemicals in drinks? What about that over the course of years, decades? Is it the reason some people get cancer at age 42? I don't know, but it seems to me that at least mimimizing one's exposure to toxins can't be a bad thing. I mean when you actually read the ingredients in soda and think about how much soda you drink, that alone could cause you to run screaming into the night. We live on chemicals. The reality is that for all these recalls and reports about toxins, I could shrug my shoulders and think, "Well there's nothing I can do about it."

Except that there is. I can make small changes. Am I starting to sound like a hippie-dippy yet? Honestly, though, I'm starting to feel like one. I've been on a campaign to limit my soda intake in the last few months, strictly because I can hardly pronounce any one of the ingredients on the label. I eat more organic food and my son eats almost entirely organic. I did wind up switching to BPA-free bottles and sippy cups. I learned a lot about BPA by going to Z Recommends. While my son does have some plastic-made-in-china toys, we've ensured he also has many wood, lead-free toys. My husband and I have been trying to make lifestyle changes so that our son learns to live a more toxin-free life and also make healthier eating choices. Sure he's going to want Doritos and french fries eventually, but I don't think we need to start introducing him to these things as a toddler. I'm not sure if we'll be successful for the long term, and I've had many friends tell me, "oh just wait until he's X years old" or "just wait until you have a second one" and you "won't care about all this toxin stuff anymore". Maybe. Maybe not. At this moment though, I'm determined. I'll get off my soapbox now.