Our Steiner Playgroup

Waldorf/Steiner inspired play

We have been attending a local Steiner play group on a Friday morning and we have been trying to bring some of the aspects into our home.

Months ago, you may have read about the treasure basket that I created for Louie out of natural 'untoys'. Basically, I have been expanding that, adding new treasures and finding other more natural things for Louie to play with.

This afternoon, I have had a clear out of some of Louie's toys. A clear out and he is only 13 months old! He has so many toys, 80% of which are plastic, that have been given to him. So I have been selective and some that are just plastic toys which aren't educational are moving upstairs. Within 5 minutes of doing this, Louie was playing with his other toys much more contently, and conscientiously than before. I really think there was too much clutter there.  

Myriad has become my new favourite website, looking through all their beautiful toys and books. I recently placed my first order for some things for our seasons table.

On our season table, we have a baby chick and lamb wooden figures to signify that spring brings new life. We have a wooden egg to remind us of the gifts that we receive at easter. And importantly we have the candle in the centre of the table. I intend to add to the table, depending on the seasons, but we have started it now in preparation for when Louie is old enough to understand all about it. We also have books about the spring and easter to read. I intend to keep fresh flowers on the table too, haven't had a chance to get any yet.

The beginnings of our spring table.

Dolly, the waldorf doll

Our new toy baskets

Louie, 02/11

The Waste Review

Today I have written to three of Leicester' s MPs regarding the Early Day Motion put forward by Austin Mitchell MP, regarding DEFRA's review of England's waste policy. 
If the EDM is passed, it means that Real Nappies will be topic for debate in the Houses of Parliament. This would increase the publicity and support of the advantages of using cloth nappies over disposable nappies. 
I really do believe that if cloth nappies were publicised more actively, people would see them more as the norm, and less as the alternative. 


Can you actually believe that 4% of all waste is disposable nappies? That is a whopping THREE BILLION nappies, weighing in at 690,000 tonnes!
Surely we could ALL do a little more to help prevent this getting worse!

A taste of things to come!

Well this morning, we got up and went out, to a eco-fair at De Montfort University called The Green Light Festival. It was a really nice day, pleasant and not too cold, so because parking is a 'mare around there, we parked near my old house and walked down. It was nice little fair, we met some lovely people and I took home a fist full of leaflets! 

I finally met some of the people putting together the Steiner School in Leicester, which I am hoping Louie will attend. There is a playgroup starting on Friday which we need to rearrange our current plans to accommodate. We didn't stay long, but we did get some really helpful information about growing veggies and about veg boxes, both of which I have been looking into!

So when we got home, Louie went to play in the garden. He just absolutely loves being outside. He inspected every single stone and pebble out there, and gave the crusty, dead plants a good going over!

Then it turned a bit grey so we came in. Just as it started to rain, we settled down with blanket and monkey and we both fell asleep watching Toy Story 2.

A lovely family Saturday!

Amazing Photography

can be found here at Rachel C Photography.

This is a link to the BEAUTIFUL photographs she took of me and my adorable Louie on his first birthday.

Enjoy!

Smartipants - A review

Smartipants seemed to come out of nowhere but now are probably one of the most talked about nappies of 2011. I had to get my hands on them to see what all the fuss was about!

Now the key things about the Smartipants, the things everyone have been talking about are;

• The Smart Sleeve
• The Fit 
• The Quality

The Smart Sleeve

Long gone are the days of boiling and wet pailing terry nappies! It is now recommended that modern cloth nappies are dry pailed. But one drawback of the popular pocket style modern cloth nappy is fishing the wet insert out before washing.

This is where Smartipants stepped up their game, by introducing the Smart Sleeve feature. You insert the microfibre into the pocket as you would any other pocket nappy,  however the smart sleeve is open at both ends. This allows the insert to wriggle out during the washing process, so no touching the icky insert! And it really works!

Here you can see the Smart Sleeve and the microfibre insert

The Fit

Smartipants only come in poppers by my, what good poppers they are! If you have a crafty chappy like I do, they are very difficult for little fingers to undo, which means I can rest easy knowing that he isn't going to get it off!

In comparison to their counterparts, the highly successful bumGenius v4, they are a little more generously cut, which is great for larger babies/toddlers but not so good for newborns, however they do feature cross over snaps for the smaller baby. 

Another comparison to the bumGenius is in the bulkiness department. The Smartipants are considerably more trim. On my Smartipants' first outing, I met a fellow cloth user who couldn't even tell it was a really nappy! AND Louie was wearing leggings!

The Quality

The craftsmanship of the Smartipants is great. They are made by US Mums so they have great trade credentials. It is such a small thing, but I love that the stitching on the inside co-ordinates with the outer colour. But on a serious note they are very well made and durable.

Now, most nappies look lush, but after a few washes they lose their lustre. Smartipants hold up so well after washing, you probably couldn't even tell the difference between a new and a washed one! This is going to be music to the ears of you ladies who buy, swap and sell nappies as they will keep their value.

Fresh out of the washing machine

Cheeky face!

Smartipants come with one microfibre insert which is mighty thirsty. It lasted a good 4+ hours on my little boy and was still going strong when I changed him. I have heard a few good stories about Smartipants lasting 12+ hours at night, but I am too much of a wimp to try this! And because the insert is microfibre, it is really quick drying, which is great if you don't have a tumble drier. The inserts should be dry by morning if you leave them out over night.

So I too haven't found anything bad to say about the Smartipants! Generally a great nappy, and they look great on too. They currently come in pastel colours, but I have it on good authority that later in the year they are releasing an exciting new line of colours.

And at £13.50, they are a really reasonable price, especially if you buy in bulk, they could cost you as little as £11.45 per nappy.

Find them here at Fill Your Pants

Dolly

Meet 'Dolly'. Louie's rather special birthday present from me! It was a big secret kept from everyone, that I was having a beautiful dolly hand made especially for him.
When he opened the beautifully scented package, he smiled straight away and gave Dolly a kiss and a cuddle.
Louie quickly learned who Dolly was, and if you ask him where Dolly is, he will go and get it for you. I say it as it is supposed to be a gender neutral doll, intended for Louie to make his mind up when he is old enough.

Louie likes to rock Dolly in the little swing made from a colour of the rainbow, and will often be seen dragging Dolly around with him or snuggling Dolly for a snooze!

Get your own 'Dolly' here at http://www.misi.co.uk/handmade/pippadore.html