Many children have fallen asleep listening to their parents reading the enlightened stories of Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.  Dr. Seuss graduated from Dartmouth College in 1925 and then went on to Oxford University where he received a doctorate in literature. He wrote his first book in 1936 entitled, “And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.” He was turned down by 43 publishers before a friend of his agreed to publish it for him. As you may expect, it turned out to be a best seller.

The magic of Dr. Seuss is that his stories, along with being great fun, also carry with them powerful and relevant messages and lessons for children and adults alike. This is true for most of his books, but it is especially for the last book he ever wrote, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (Classic Seuss)” published in 1990.
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All I have to see is the cover of this book and my eyes start to mist because I can feel the imprints of my boys on my lap reading “Where the Wild Things Are“.  It’s a classic and is one of my favorite books for boys.  This would be a perfect gift for a 1 year old boy and they can grow into the story.  My 4 year old still gets new things out of reading this book.  Now he notices different features of the ‘wild things’ and excitedly echos the catch phrases…  “The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes…”

It’s a magical book between a mommy and her son as the underlying meaning (for me anyway) is it doesn’t matter where a boy goes in the world, they know they are special because of who loves them at home.  Max gives up being king of the wild things to return where someone loves him best of all (and that person is his mommy).

I’m inspired.  So inspired!!  Usually, I only need to look into the eyes of my children to stay focused with greening my world.  Well today, I re-discovered a book that should be on every child’s book shelf from the time they’re an infant until they fully understand environmental issues.  Let’s see if you can guess the book - it all came back to me as I read a few pages…

“Way back in the days when the grass was still green
and the pond was still wet
and the clouds were still clean,
and the song of the Swomee-Swans rang out in space….
one morning, I came to this glorious place.  And I first saw the trees!”

Still can’t guess? Try this!

“Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.
Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.
Then the Lorax
and all of his friends
may come back.”

It’s The Lorax by Dr. Seuss!!  It is hard to believe this book was written over 40 years ago and honestly, I’ve never reviewed something that explains why we are in the predicament today because of the mistakes we’ve made with our planet.  In the fun way Dr. Seuss reads, the book covers air/fish pollution, clear cutting a forest, driving animals from their natural habitat, and short-term financial gain for long-term environmental ruin.  Really, if you have a child, The Lorax might be one of the most thought provoking, discussion starting, books you’ve read.

This article was going to highlight several green books I’ve researched for young children, but I’m stopping at this book.  As I slowly read each page I remembered being read this book, the vibrant pictures and the wonderful hero of the time…The Lorax.  It all came back to me and I’m inspired once again to keep finding ways to ‘green’ my family.  Now that Francesco and Angelo have been told the story, if they ask me why I’m spending so much researching green options….I’ll respond “because I want to be like the Lorax!” Trust Dr. Seuss to perfectly sum up the problems of our planet and the solution required to fix it. Read this book to a child and discover the power of his message of sustainability.

Do late afternoon lulls have you and your kids climbing the walls?  The witching hour usually starts at 3:00 and goes until dinner is ready - right?  The best way to avoid a melt down is to head outside or throw on an awesome, danceable, CD and rock out with the kids.  I normally enjoy picking out single MP3s, but these two CDs are worth getting because all the songs are awesome!

Our all time favorite is the Happy Feet Soundtrack. This CD is loaded with awesome music!  We have been listening to this CD for over a year…it never gets old. At 1 years old the girls would do their ‘happy feet’ pretending to tap dance.  It so easy for parents to enjoy the songs because it features great artists like Prince and Pink.  The songs are classics, but kids find them catchy to dance and sing to.  A few highlights from this CD are:

♥  My Way - Robin Williams (this is the BEST song Francesco and I have ever      danced to!! It makes you want to move your hips!!)
♥  Tell Me Something Good - Pink
♥  Boogie Wonderland - Brittany Murphy
♥  Heartbreak Hotel - Nicole Kidman

I could go on and on listing favorite songs…check it out.  You won’t regret purchasing this CD!

The other soundtrack is from the movie Barnyard.  OMG there is nothing more funny then watching my twin 2 year old girls rock out to Shaggy. I had no idea they were fans until we bought the DVD and discovered this untapped source for great music. You know, sometimes Paramount Pictures or Warner just knock a soundtrack out of the park. Well, this is one of those movie sountracks. Our favorites from this CD are:

♥  Hittin The Hay - North Mississippi Allstars
♥  Wild and Free - Rednex
♥  Boombastic - Shaggy
♥  Father, Son - Peter Gabriel (warning it’s a tear jerker)

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Wow - if the experiences I have on Etsy continue, I can kiss my mall and Ebay shopping goodbye.  I keep having these amazing on-line conversations with Etsy artists and their customer service is off the charts.  These unique, funky, adventures just keep happening when I poke around the Etsy site.  

I wanted to purchase some unique clothes for my kids so I went straight to the Etsy site.  I’m lucky that my friends pass along their girls hand-me-downs, but I wanted to do some research (really Ray, it’s not called shopping…it’s called research!)  Well I found some amazing moms that run Etsy stores and I have to share my findings. 

The first is a self taught seamstress and her store is called Sweet November.  I don’t think my girls have ever worn skirts before (dresses of course, but I haven’t gotten the hang of skirts yet).  Well I saw her skirts ** in the owl print none the less!! ** and I had to place my order!  I was worried about the fit, but OMG….they look adorable and the fit is perfect!  The girls LOVE them and have been wearing them over their pants since they arrived.

I also fell in love with monster t-shirts by sister in laws Nissa and Lisa.  Their store is called Nissalisa and their clothing has such personality.  Check out these monster tees and onsies…what an incredible present one would make for a little kid or baby!  My 6 year old saw me checking out their store and asked if I would buy him one.  He has absolutely no interest in fashion or clothes, but one of the monsters look like an alien and he has to have it!  So now I’ll be ordering 4 for my monsters (whoops did I say that out loud?!) I mean my children.  Think of the cute pictures I’ll get with all four in these shirts.

So while I’m excited to visit my first farmers market this Sunday and start supporting the purchase of local produce, I think it’s also important to take another look at supporting all local and/or handmade items.  Honestly, why would I get in my car, drive to the Gap, drag my hysterical 2 year olds around the mall, leave frustrated, when I can support a stay-home mom who is creating these unique items to purchase on-line?  I challenge you to have an Etsy experience!  You can tell the vendors love what they do and really go the extra mile to help you and answer questions.  Also, the shipping cost for my Etsy purchase was $1.50…people are so honest with prices.  I am proud of this purchase because I’d rather help a fellow mom with my business, rather than supporting the huge stores that won’t miss me. 

If you have a special story about an artist or small business like my Etsy experience, please let me know.  I am finding so much inspiration from these creative people.