Making Tuesday Tasty-Cinnamon Teething Biscuits

These shouldn't be introduced until 6 months. These contain wheat so if your family has allergies, talk to your Dr. first about introducing wheat into your baby's diet.

Ingredients

10 oz of flour
2 oz of dried milk powder - non-fat
2 oz of wheat germ *
1.5 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
A pinch of salt
6 oz of sugar
3 fl oz of vegetable oil
1 egg beaten
2 oz of apple juice frozen concentrate, thawed

Directions

Mix the flour, milk powder, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
Mix the oil and sugar in a separate bowl and beat in the egg.
Stir in the apple juice, then add enough of the flour mixture to make a stiff dough.
Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F/190 deg C.
Roll out the dough and cut into shapes, then place on a greased baking sheet/cookie sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

*recipe courtesy of mybabyfoodrecipes.com*

Eco Store Giveaway *CLOSED*

I previously wrote about Eco Store in a review I did of two of their products. Eco Store is now giving away a $25 gift card/credit for one winner to try out the products for themselves!

Win It!

One winner will receive a $25 credit to Eco Store to purchase their choice of product

Rules

Please tell me what you would purchase with your credit. Must be done in order to win. Please leave your email so I can contact you if you win.

Extra Entries

-follow me on blogger for one entry

-follow me on twitter @kaiasmommy for one entry

-tweet about this contest and leave a link here for one entry

Contest ends January 15, 2010 at 11:59 PM AZ time. US only.

Thanks to Eco Store for providing the winners item

Eco.kid Product Review

Since it's earth day, I thought it was fitting that I would write about Eco.kid. I recently received some really lovely products to try out with my two year old daughter. I reviewed a package with TLC hypo-allergenic wash, Nourish daily conditioner and, Prevent daily shampoo.

First of all, the bottles are decorated with adorable, black and white pictures of children enjoying being themselves. The backgrounds are clean with simple colors and fonts. Eco.kid is made in Australia and uses certified organic ingredients. The ingredients are meant to be pure and made from indigenous, sustainable, and even wild plants.

The shampoo and conditioner I received smell like citrus oils and very fresh. The shampoo lathers fine with water and is gentle enough to use daily. The conditioner smells similar and helps with fine hair tangles. The best part? I thought it was amazing that the ingredients they used deter head lice! I know some people don't even think about it but, believe me, after you've worked with children that seem to be hair lice magnets, you tend to appreciate something this awesome! The body wash is very earthy and smells very much like I'm sitting in a field and smelling the greenery around me. It's creamy and doesn't lather, it's really nice on the skin. My daughter gets dry patches and mild eczema, so it works wonderfully on her without over drying.

Eco.kid's philosophy is that they would rather prevent than treat problems that are happening with our children. They want to make an earth sustainable product that is also good for our little ones. They want to prevent things like eczema from flaring, lice, and allergies. They want their packaging to be recyclable and their products to be as biodegradable as possible.

I really enjoyed learning more about this product and it didn't hurt that my daughter had a great experience with these products with her hair and skin. It's really educated me on "Eco-responsible" products and their effect on the planet and on the micro level, our children.

Wildflower Diapers-Review

I live basically in the Phoenix metro area. Since I've been doing reviews of products, I decided that I would really like to review some local places that are right outside my door. It's always nice to give back to your local community as often as possible!

Awhile ago, when I was interested in venturing into my own business, I came across a wonderful site called Wildflower diapers. I found out that they were also a local brick and mortar and residing in Scottsdale, AZ. They had tons of natural, cloth diapering, baby carrying options to choose from. I also found out that it was run by a mom named Shannon Doan. I am always excited and amazed when I see women taking their own initiatives to make sure they do what's best for family. I also found out that employees are able to make a great work/life balance by bringing their little ones to work.

Shannon sent me an awesome, stainless steel feeding set to try out with my daughter. The makers of thinkbaby made up a set in a neutral orange, that contains two bowls, a cup, a platter, and utensils. The outside is plastic but the food touches stainless steel. It's easily washable on the top shelf of your dishwasher or hand washed. My daughter loves it and I love it because it's BPA free and contains just the right portions for her. The little dishes also have a plastic lid so that you can store their leftovers in the fridge or pack a lunch with it.

Since she is local, I thought it would be fun to get to know her a little better,so I asked her some questions and she graciously answered.

Tell us a little about who you are

I am mama to 9 year old Riley and 4.5 year old Ella. Before Wildflower Diapers, I worked for Arizona State University as a Botanist (my master's degree is in Plant Biology).

What made you want to start up Wildflower diapers?

My desire to start Wildflower Diapers was out of necessity! When my daughter was born, there was nowhere in the Phoenix area that sold the cloth diapering supplies I needed- not even an online store (let alone a brick and mortar store!). I was searching for products like Happy Heinys and Fuzzi Bunz and all the nifty accessories that I knew existed in online shops in other parts of the country. I became frustrated with ordering online and receiving items that didn't work or didn't fit. At the same time, I was having serious doubts about returning to work after my maternity leave. I was able to take Ella to work with me at ASU for about 7 months, but I was very worried about what happened next.

How long has wildflower been in business.

We started the Internet business from our home in May 2005, and moved out of the house in June 2006.

How did you come up with the shop name?

I had a list of about 200 names that my friends and family came up with! None seemed to quite fit. In the end, I thought about what I love, and what images make me happy. My research in Botany centered around the plants of the beautiful Sonoran Desert, so "Wildflower" seemed appropriate.

I see you're giving baby wearing classes now, is that becoming popular?

Baby wearing has been popular for thousands of years, and continues to be the norm in so many places around the world! We are definitely seeing an increase in interest from parents over the last few years. They have figured out that the easiest way to calm and nurture your baby is to hold him or her- it's what babies expect and need, but is very difficult to accomplish for busy parents as we only have 2 arms! So many great baby carriers are now available that give parents the free hands they desperately need, and allow baby to be right where they want to be. We always say a "worn baby is a happy baby"- and research supports that, noting that worn babies cry less, spend more time in a quiet, alert state (for ideal infant mental development), are more likely to be securely attached to their caregivers (and thus more independent at an earlier age).

Tell me a favorite item in your shop and why?

That is such a tough question- everything is a favorite at one time or another or it never would have made it into the shop! I have 2 favorite things we always recommend to new moms, whether they are cloth diapering or not. The first is the Gypsy Mama Stretchy Wrap- it is a great wrap for first time baby-wearers and allows you to wear baby right up against the front of your body. It distributes baby's weight so evenly that you don't even feel like you are wearing a baby "carrier." I used to wear my daughter in it for 7-8 hours a day. Secondly, we are in love with our Ju Ju Be Packabe diaper bags- they are such beautiful, well-made bags with so many thoughtful little features. They are sized great for cloth diapers but still compact for carrying, and will fit enough diapers for a day, even if you have 2 children in cloth!

I enjoyed working with Shannon and getting to know more about her and her shop. I think she carries some wonderful, top of the line products, and I think it would be worth a peek if you are at all interested in cloth diapering, baby wearing, organics, etc.