Don't wait til it rains...

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It may not seem like rain with this extra splash of beautiful weather, but with the fall comes rain and cold. And, digging holes in a muddy back yard may not be the most appealing activity on your list. So, why not try a garden inside. Made with recycled milk cartons, the Indoor Gardening Set by Green Toys, gets our giant green thumps up!

Your wee plant lovers can watch nature at work by growing a beautiful flower garden and fresh herbs, while helping the earth with the world’s most earth-happy gardening.

And, if you want to try a little experiment, pick out some plants that grow at different speeds and track their progress.

Suncscreen

Who ever heard of this many sunny days during a Seattle spring?

Not only have we been having lots of fun outdoors walking and scooting around Greenlake, we have also seen a lot of people strolling down Queen Anne Avenue. On one of our outings, it dawned on us that we need sunscreen now! So, we thought we'd share our sunscreen information (a bit earlier than planned).

• Here’s where we go for information on sunscreen and other personal care products, with ratings: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/parentsguide/index.php?nothanks=1.


• Also, you can check out the product listings at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) http://www.ewg.org/


• Finally, Nature Mom’s article on sunscreens is a nice easy read and will save you time: http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/2008/04/21/safe-sunscreens/
  

We use:
California Baby SPF 30 sunblock products. California Baby products don't contain Sulfates or DEA. Their ingredients are organic or sustainably grown, they are fragrance and Phthalate free.

This means all the good stuff and none of the bad stuff. It is a little more expensive that most products, but it goes along way. At first, we slathered our girls with it and they ended up looking like ghosts but at least we knew where they were covered. Now we know that we don’t need to use a lot for coverage. To learn more details, read California Baby ingredients.

They even have combination of sunblock and bug repellent that we use when camping and hiking. It is a good bug repellent that is DEET free.