The 2nd annual International Babywearing Conference is coming up! It will be held June 25-28, 2008 at DePaul University in Chicago, IL, USA. The Babywearing Conference includes not just terrific shopping opportunities for all types of baby carriers, but also workshops on how to use different carriers, holds, and workshops on the business of making and or selling carriers. There will be a keynote speech by Jeni Norton, the founder of the largest babywearing online community, thebabywearer.com. Organizers have also put together a fashion show and a panel discussion on the history of baby wearing. There is a raffle scheduled for interested participants. Check out the conference website and their long list of exhibitors for more information: http://www.babywearingconference.com.

It is very exciting to see an organization develop for the sole purpose of helping families of newly diagnosed children battle autism head on. Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) does just that. It gives people timely information, offers resources, and supports families affected by autism.

TACA’s goal is to empower parents to effectively treat children newly diagnosed, speeding up the recovery of their children and strengthening the autism community by connecting families with other families and professionals who can assist them, allowing them to share their stories and successes. (more…)

Got a corn-allergic kid? How about educating him or her with an online game show?

The University of Illinois Extension has a game called the “Great Corn Adventure“ hosted by Zea Mays. It is part of a collection of educational games for kids.

Lovely Ms. Mays takes the viewer on a tour of the corn world, starting with the Native Americans in the valley of Tehuacan in Pueblo Mexico in 5000 b.c. (more…)

While many moms decide to forgo jewelry rather than let Junior pull on it, dentist Dr. Helen Bloom decided to solve that problem, while also giving baby a healthy choice for teething on.

Her unique selection of silicone jewelry includes bangle bracelets, pendants and backpack charms.

Check this website to see more of the chewable jewelry.

What do you do when you have a corn allergy and you want something sweet to eat? After keeping careful watch and reading labels for a year, I have come to the conclusion that our only best bet is to make our own ‘on the go’ snacks from scratch. And drinks? Just forget about them. As a matter of fact, I challenge anyone in America to read the ingredient listings on every snack product in their favorite vending machine. It would not surprise me if every item had some association with corn, however odd or far removed as it may seem. Heck, even the water bottles are more than likely made from a corn byproduct! I digress. I really want to focus my attention on America’s romance with sugar, corn sugar to be specific, its prevalence in our lives, and a little history about how we became so addicted to the sweet stuff that grows in abundance over our midlands, and now even clutters the landscape surrounding the rocky mountain region. (more…)

Want to sew your own sling type baby carrier, but don’t know where to start? Concerned that your home sewn sling will meet safety standards? (more…)

A friend with young twins recently asked me about how to use a sling style baby carrier. She said with two babies, she just didn’t have enough hands.

I told her you can actually carry two babies at the same time, using two slings, but she said, “I’ll start with one, thanks!”

Talking with her about my favorite sling, and how to use it, I was reminded of how much I like sharing with other moms about the benefits sling use has brought to our family.

So maybe you’ve heard of this term, baby wearing? Or maybe you just want some help wading through the explosion of baby carrying products that are out there now. Well, I’m here to help. (more…)

Write, Mama, Write has a great little post up about making nature prints with the kids and the pictures will make you want to try them. If you haven’t used polymer clay (such as Sculpey) and would prefer to work with something that you don’t have bake, an alternative material to try is Makins Clay. They have an air dry polymer clay, it’s easy to find at your local craft store. Look for the bright green wrapper. (more…)

Crayons aren’t so easy to carry around, right? They break easily, can spill out of a bag and mark up your things, and worst of all, they have a tendency to melt all over your purse if you leave them closed up in car during the hot summer months. A thin tin box with a handy snap tight closure is the perfect container for carrying crayons for those ‘whenever’ times in life.

This simple solution makes it easy to have some crayons in your diaper bag or purse, ready at a moment’s notice for use in waiting rooms, or wherever you find yourself stuck with a hard to entertain toddler, all while preventing breakage or ruining your purse. (more…)

I often joke that a year ago we could have been considered the “Mc Talty” family for all the times we would frequent McDonald’s. My then two year old was so familiar with the place that he felt compelled to point it out whenever we passed one in our travels. We’ve made a complete turn around since then, thanks in large part to our oldest son’s diagnosis of a chronic tic disorder and our subsequent discovery that he is allergic to wheat and corn and highly sensitive to gluten– three foods we since eliminated and made all the difference for him in his recovery.

This recipe is unique. What makes it special? It is not so much about the ingredients as it is about the preparation. You see, this Little Chef Salad is literally a salad made by my little chef, age 3, a former chicken nugget man turned foodie, a fella not diagnosed, but gluten free through association, and loving it. (more…)