homemade toothpaste

My dad has used straight up baking soda to brush his teeth for years and it has worked well for him.  My friend tells me baking soda is hard on the gums.  Well, we tried another recipe for homemade toothpaste.  Why try another homemade thing I can simply buy at the local store?  Reason number one: I don't really know what chemicals are in the store toothpaste, if they contain sugars, and if they are safe for my family.  Reason number two: I ran out of toothpaste and didn't want to run to the store to attempt to make a healthy choice.  Reason number three: My friend Holly tried it and said it wasn't bad.  So, Hannah and I dove into another chemistry experiment and made our own toothpaste.

Recipe from Simply Resourceful:
almost 1/4 c. baking soda
almost 1/4 c. coconut oil
4+ drops of peppermint essential oil (more or less as needed)
about 1.5 Tablespoons of honey
1.5 teaspoons hydrogen peroxide


I made the recipe as above, except my inability to follow any recipe exactly made me attempt to solidify the paste by doubling the baking soda.  I also added a few tablespoons of peppermint extract instead of essential oils, as I used what was on hand and had not planned ahead.  With admitting these modifications, I feel like a haphazard chemist in the kitchen, but perhaps that is what I am.  As the mixture hardened, the coconut oil separated and rose to the top.  Hannah enjoyed adding ingredients, mixing up the layers, and now enjoys using her new baking soda toothpaste a few times a day.  She seems more interested in this paste and in brushing her teeth more often because of her ability to make her own toothpaste.  This homemade toothpaste has a pleasant flavor and keeps our teeth and gums feeling clean, though it doesn't have the flavor or foam of store-purchased toothpastes.  


*Updated 5/26/11: Our first batch lasted three weeks (we brush a lot) and we've made a second batch without coconut oil (the store was out when I attempted to buy it).  My love-the-foamy-minty-paste husband even tried it and was mildly impressed.  Hannah still loves brushing her teeth with her homemade toothpaste after meals.

the toothpaste mixture calling out for more baking soda

the premixed toothpaste mixture in a small canning jar

Milwaukie Farmers Market

Mom's Day is the day we finally made it out to the Milwaukie Farmers Market.  What a great way to celebrate both motherhood and the spring bounty from our mother earth!  At this market, we said hello to friends, pet the plants, admired butterfly and bat boxes, wrapped our goods in our fabric bags, called out the colors on all the beautiful spring flowers, chomped carrots and spicy pickled asparagus, and left 25 pounds heavier.  Baby Liam slept in the stroller while Hannah and I perused the colorful delights of the market.

After strolling around the market once, we went back around to make some purchases.  We started with asparagus.  The farmer told us how he likes to prepare his asparagus.  "Fry it up in a pan for about seven minutes with onions and garlic, and then put it on the barbecue.  That gives it that tasty crunch!"  We will definitely give that a try with our asparagus.

We moved on to a very colorful stall filled with mountains of veggies.  After choosing our favorite kales, chard, and carrots, we had a lovely conversation with the farmer there.  He talked with Hannah about how it is hard work to be a big sister.  When she told him her baby is six months old, the farmer told her he has a three month old son at home.  

Then we were off to talk with a dairy farmer whose milk is "all natural" and "grass fed."  Of course I had to ask, "What does that mean?"  All natural to him means no hormones or antibiotics.  (When we return I can ask him what he does when a cow has an infection.  The answer I am looking for is he removes that cow's milk from the rest until antibiotics are out of the cow's system.  Organic farms butcher cows when they have an infection.  I learned how to question farmers from Growing a Farmer.)  We purchased a quart of the glass-bottled milk.  We paid about $1 for a bottle deposit, which we'll get back when we return the bottle.

My parents visited yesterday and took me to Al's Garden Center to choose some delicious plants for a belated birthday gift.  (A gift with minimal packaging!)  My purchases reflect my love for crafting my own tea.  My choices were two lavender bushes, an Echinacea plant, and a chamomile plant.  Hannah chose lemon cucumbers and pumpkins.  Now our plants need a little protection from the slugs.  Therefore, our next stop at the market this morning was to pick up a bag of hazelnut shells.  We'll lay the shells around the perimeter of our garden and its garden boxes to keep out slugs.  The hazelnut farmer said shells are about 90% effective at keeping out slugs.  The shells are great mulch, can be used as a child's tactile box (like a sand box), and are comfortable to walk on.

When Liam finally awoke, we stopped to listen, clap, and dance to the musician's songs about vegetables and children.  And then made our final stop: egg rolls.  Our friends recommended we try the egg rolls, so we chose a couple to take home for lunch.  And that is where I finally got out the camera to take a picture of Hannah, after she devoured the pork egg roll and a glass of local glass-bottled milk.  She can't get enough of the carrots.  This bunch will be devoured before dinner.  What a lovely way to spend Mom's Day with my children, outside taking in the sights and sounds of the local farmers market.  We can't wait to get back!  

The market is (by Ledding Library) on Main, between Harrison and Jefferson.  It is open Sundays 9:30-2:00.   

milk mustache and crunchy carrot provided by the Milwaukie Farmers' Market

Gingerbread Friends (preschool book club)

Hannah and I had been reading the Gingerbread Man story in Spanish and wanted to get together with friends to enjoy the tale.  We centered this preschool book club party around the book Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett.  We played together, decorated cookies (the kids didn't care that they were made with garbanzo flour), read the story all together, and then shared lunch with friends.  When I am not overwhelmed by schedules and projects, we love to host these book clubs with friends.  What a delightful way to learn and play with others.

reading the book while decorating our own gingerbread men

help from a friend to glue the man back together

Hannah's final incredibly edible man

gingerbread pieces

That's What Leprechauns Do! (preschool book club)

Hannah and I love to host book club parties with friends.  I don't remember ever having this much fun celebrating Saint Patrick's Day!  Holiday are truly more enjoyable when  you can share them with children.  Hannah and I wanted to see our friends and to paint the town green for this holiday, so we chose the feisty little book That's What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting, one of my favorite children's authors.

When friends arrived, we created green-stamped cards, put them into addressed envelopes, and talked about leprechauns and rainbows as we all walked to mail them to grandparents and friends.  When we returned to the front porch (much more a step than a porch), we all read this book together.  We talked about mischievous little leprechauns and how to trap them, feed them, and catch them.  Upon entering the house, we found green confetti and toys littering the floor!  Large toys were flipped on their tops!  Those little tricky green people played a trick on us while we were gone!  Needless to say, the kids were all thrilled by what they found.  We promptly created black pots complete with a gold coin and painted our own shamrocks.  After sharing a delightful lunch (I recall green pesto), we then decorated shamrock cookies with green frosting and green sprinkles.  This was an exciting way to share a day with friends!

Those mischievous little leprechauns were at it again!

green-haired book club fun

edible green shamrocks

Earth Day rant

Oh my goodness!  On this most glorious of Earth Days, I have a need to rant!  I usually just read others' blogs and then go about my day, but I just read a post that begs for a response.  I live out in suburbia and feel like I am the only "Radical Homemaker" around these parts, especially when my ideas seem to contrast so greatly with those around me.  

The specific thinking of one suburban mom (about whom I am now ranting) is that there is something seriously wrong with having a car so small that she can hand her child something in the backseat while both of them are buckled.  This contrasts with my thinking: I can reach my child easily in the backseat while buckled and I still want a smaller car.  In fact, I'd like to cancel the whole car deal and biking to the bus stop.  And each day I get closer to this choice.  (The little guy's head needs to be big enough for a helmet first.)

No, I am definitely not perfect, far from it, but my view is to think about these choices I make that have an impact on everyone else in the world.  I know that my consumer choices already impact the health of people in faraway lands.  And our consumerist lifestyle is being greedily spread to other countries, multiplying the damage to our world.

And the second thing that irked me is when the suburban mom made the statement that Earth Day is great, but this is the time to think about the glories God shares with us even after the earth has expired.  What?!  Okay, I am so happy you love God and live your life by his rules, but can you help take care of this precious earth that we all live upon at the same time?  Can you think about both things at the same time?  Can you love both God and Earth (capitalized for importance)?

Wow, this is so political, but I suppose everything I write about is, as every part of our lives seems political in choice, be it breastfeeding or recycling. It upsets me that someone is so pointedly discounting earth on Earth Day, but it does take all kinds to make the world what it is.  I know we all think differently, but it is nice to respectfully take the ideas and needs of others into account.  Diversity of opinions makes things more thought-provoking, balanced, and interesting.  I am grateful for the sharing of opinions that are different and similar to my own.  And to my fellow blogger, the suburban mom, I wish her many happy blogging days and many thoughtful followers.

Honest hypocrite that I am, I celebrated this Earth Day with my family at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest.  Yes, I drove 40 minutes in each direction to eat sausages and greasy French fries and and take too many goofy pictures.  We also studied differences and details in some of the 700 varieties of beautiful tulips (pistil and stamen, anyone?).  On this special day, may we all be able to reflect on our lives and our choices and find ways to live simply so that others may simply live.  Happy healthy Earth Day to you and yours.

a lovely cold Earth Day at Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest

hibernation-style blogging

Yes, the bear sleeps six months of the year, while most other creatures are up and productive each day and sleep each night, or vice versa.  I am slowly accepting my writing style as a byproduct of my full-time parenting role.  I love reading my friend Holly's new blog post every week, as routine as Sunday comics.  I wish I were more consistent with writing, though my hands are not routinely free enough to write my thoughts and meanderings.  Thinking deeply and reflecting upon my roles as a mother, a teacher, an activist, and a writer keep me company as I lay awake at night nuzzling my little milk-drinker.

So I do half-heartedly apologize, mostly to myself, for my hibernation-style blogging.  And if you're unhappy about grammatical errors, hopefully you will understand how little time is actually devoted to editing my posts before tending to a needy child.  Perhaps as my children get older, they will allow me a little time here and there to focus on writing my thoughts.  Until then, I will complete four unedited posts and quickly return to nuzzle that little fuzzy-headed delight and his boisterous sister.

Full-time parenting leaves a lot of time for taking photos of boogie boarding babies.

But there doesn't seem to be enough personal time to read all the library's books before they are due.

p.s.  If you like to read these posts regularly, or as erratically as I post them, if you "follow" this blog or post, I will know there's an audience out there.  Thanks!

The Cloud Book (Hannah's weather station)

Hannah has been working on her weather station, inspired by our friend Weatherman Jon.  We've been keeping track on a calendar of precipitation, cloud formations, and wind.  We can tell we're having a windy day when the wind actually blows over the wind sock.  As the weather changes throughout the day, three year old Hannah likes to change the weather station calendar to reflect changes.  At the end of February, we moved all the weather symbols into a bar graph and she spends some time each day counting how many days of rain and wind and sun we had in the month.  She likes to tell others what weather we had the most (rain and dark clouds and not much wind) and which we had the least (sun, sun, sun).  It is amazing how we can learn so many things from this little station.  We've even found library books that teach us about different cloud formations.  Our favorite is The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola.  We hope you enjoy the photos!

On windy days, our wind sock and pinwheels get knocked over.

February's weather bar graph (we started mid-month)

the blue print for the weather station from a preschool science book

little pockets to hold the weather symbols

drawing and coloring enough weather symbols to last all month