Where do you put the batteries?!

I was playing with my munchkins this afternoon and decided to snap some photos of them playing. I can count on two hands the toys these kids have that are battery-powered. Most of our toys are kid-powered :)

We used to have all of the light up, noise making, Disney character covered plastic junk. The more I researched, got headaches from the noise, and realized that the mess was NOT something I wanted in my home, we started slowly but surely minimizing the number and type of toys in our house. At last count, we have 7 toys that require some sort of power, including the tv that I have in the back of the house for the kids to watch the occasional movie on. The rest is mostly wooden, imagination requiring, and I love it! And so do they!

Keelin trying to use a wooden pizza cutter on a wooden apple stuck together in the middle with velcro. She's wearing a bioME 5 "K for Kangaroo" shirt.

Click here to see bioME 5's organic clothing options for kids!

Here is Jackson playing with the apple and Keelin playing with the darn pizza cutter ;) She's cutting a wooden loaf of sliced "bread" held together with velcro.

They were pretty hung up on play food this afternoon, but you can also see the Plan Toys lace up shoe, and the Melissa and Doug toys- the word matching game, the tool set, etc. We love Melissa and Doug, even though their items are mostly made in China and we wish they would make them here in the U.S.A.

Jackson, making a pizza for his big sissy!

Little mess maker! Keelin would run away before I could take many pictures with her in them. Don't know why she was being camera shy today :-/

So there ya go, y'all! Just a little peek into the toybox. So many people act like our kids are deprived because they don't have TONS of toys or the "latest and greatest," but shoot, they are happy kids and I feel good about what they have to play with. Kid-powered is the way we like to do it at our house :)

It's Friday! I'm in love!

With Craigslist :)

We have had so many phone calls and visits about our car! I just wish that more people knew how to drive a 5 speed. The green machine would have been sold to the first visitor/caller if that had been the case! We have a very interested guy coming by in the morning, so hopefully he will buy it. That would be delightful!

I was productive today! Finished detailing the car with Daniel, did some yard work, ran a ton of errands, cleaned out the chick's area, washed a load of diapers, and now I am going to enjoy a yummy batch of sweet potato fries with spicy salt and no-HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) ketchup. Delicious!!

http://www.mamaeve.com/index.php/general-parenting/204-might-be-a-counterculture-mama-if/

This is a really interesting post. I found it through a parenting board I enjoy reading and I identify with most of the list. I guess I am a bit crunchier than I think I am! Which is definitely not a bad thing. I strive to be crunchier- getting back to the basics is never wrong, people. Anything you can do that is "mainstream" can be done in a healthier way. I promise- and you don't have to turn into a homebirthing, toddler nursing "Counterculture Mom." For example:

If you're addicted to tupperware, I can show you my amazing glass food storage that can go from baking in the oven to the microwave, to the dishwasher, to the freezer, etc. And no, it isn't more expensive than the plastic stuff! I paid $30 for a huge mixed-size of containers to start with and then added some Mason jars to the mix. They rock!

If you think little plastic tables and chairs are cute for kids, you should see the wooden ones! They are no more expensive and aren't going to off-gas or leach chemicals like a plastic set. They don't have to be handmade, either. We got our set from Ikea for $20.

Farmer's market produce that isn't organic might be better than organic, he or she may just not be able to afford what is required to be labeled organic. I pay less for farmer's market delights than people pay for Mexican produce at Walmart. Support your local little guy, stimulate your own little economy, love your earth, love your body... We bought some maple breakfast sausage from a farmer at our market that lives 20 minutes away from us. He handed me a dozen (free to us) eggs from his happy, free-range chickens and told me that he wanted to ensure that we would have delicious eggs to go with our delicious sausage. The egg whites were not pale yellow like store bought eggs, they were bright yellow/ almost orange, and the most flavorful eggs I've ever tasted. Cannot wait to visit him again and let him know how much we enjoyed his hard work and admired his commitment to his animals and to his customers. His free dozen eggs have earned him a customer- at least until our teeny chicks start laying themselves :)

Okay, my poor brain has had it. It is official, I need to treat myself to some sweet potato fries and then get some sleep before I drive 2.5hrs to do Elizabeth's baby shower tomorrow!