Magic Cabin offers a variety of costumes for toddlers and preschoolers–princesses, fairies, cowboy and cowgirl, a strawberry, lion, puppy and dinosaur hoods and more. Waldorf capes, crowns and silk skirts also make easy to wear costumes for little ones. For non-toxic face painting, we like the Lyra Theater Pencils.

Our kids wear their costumes before and after Halloween. Preschoolers especially enjoy dress up so we keep a collection of old Halloween costumes and hand me down capes and skirts around for their imaginative play. They love it when we dress up for Halloween too, a princess hat does nicely.

More on Halloween: Homemade Halloween Face Paints and our Candy Fairy tradition.

Our only tips: kids love dyeing eggs but their interest span may be shorter than we expect, and we boil extra eggs because some always crack somewhere in the process.

Happy Spring!

• Homemade bookmark and bookstore gift certificate

• Holiday Cookies

• Homemade cranberry bread

• Satsuma tangerines or other special fruit

For decorating cards, gift tags, wrapping paper or bookmarks, we cut sponges or potatoes into shapes and the kids dip them into paint then stamp the paper. Office product stores carry laminating pages to use for the bookmarks, or for small items like gift tags we use packing tape and a hole punch to laminate and attach to presents. We grab basic paints at the stationary or toy store. It’s amazing what can be done with tissue paper and some ribbon!

Maclaren advises customers to stop using the strollers and contact Maclaren USA for free safety covers for the hinges. The problem–besides the fact that they waited until 12 children lost their fingers–is that Maclaren’s site has been overloaded since breaking the news. We’ve found the clearest information on the recall and contacting Maclaren at Consumer Affairs. The CPSC also has posted a short, helpful YouTube video demonstrating the hinge problem.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested ten different face paint brands and found lead, a neurotoxin, in all of them. Six of the 10 contained the heavy metals and skin irritants nickel, chromium and/or cobalt at levels higher than safety recommendations from industry studies. None of the face paints listed lead, nickel, chromium or cobalt as an ingredient. Since parents have no way of knowing the actual ingredients in face paints, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics advises parents not to use face paints on children until the FDA establishes safety standards.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics suggests some recipes for homemade face paints. The instructions remind us of our trials and errors with natural Easter egg coloring, but also a fun Halloween project to tackle with preschoolers. We’ve been carving pumpkins, roasting seeds and cheering costume parades, with three more days before the Halloween finale we appreciate something new!

Their advice is simple, uses natural cleaners and inspired us to finally wash those well loved stuffed animals. We sign up for the Healthy Child Times Newsletter to receive their monthly tips and articles, there’s always something helpful!

Fetal monitoring was introduced in the 1970s as a means to reduce the risk of cerebral palsy and decreased oxygen to the brain. Electronic monitoring became a standard procedure for labor before researchers determined its benefits. Experts now report that monitoring has led to an increase in C-sections and forceps deliveries, and has not reduced the risk of cerebral palsy or infant deaths. In addition, lawyers use fetal monitoring results to fault doctors in malpractice lawsuits which has increased malpractice insurance to such an extent that many obstetricians stop delivering babies.

The new guidelines define the meaning of different monitor readings so doctors can make more informed decisions about whether and how to intervene during labor.

As we’ve discovered new resources, the process involves more steps. We always have a moment when we just want to get it done and buy a whatever seat. After a few mis-purchases, we’ve decided it’s worth the time and research–the kids use their car seats every day.

• The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Injury Research and Prevention has the most thorough information to determine what kind of seat to get for a child’s age, weight and height.

• HealthyCar.org tests a range of infant, toddler and booster seats for chemicals. Their 2007 and 2008 car seat ratings review particular models and fabric designs. Different seat covers test differently for chemicals.

• Consumer Reports Car Seat Ratings are worth a look for their updated testing results.

• Elite Car Seats is a good shopping tool, a range of brands and models to compare.

• Ba Ba Seatskins are natural sheepskin car seat covers. Oliver’s on his third seat with a Ba Ba Seatskin and loves them. They’re soft and cozy, naturally flame resistant (meaning no chemicals) and they keep kids cool in the summer. Elite Car Seats often sells them discounted.

• Seatcheck.org searches by zip code the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s listing of car seat inspection locations. Kelly recently used the site to have a convertible car seat installed at her local CHP office. They did such a better job than her usual efforts. The officer put a non-slip pad under the car seat. They recommend the pad, which looks like a square cut from a vinyl area rug pad, for all leather and vinyl car interiors, and gave Kelly an extra one. Everything was free.

Michael still talks about Angelique’s chicken, rice and veggie casserole, but her real expertise is helping young families find their rhythm.

Angelique now teaches classes in Northern California, as well as offering one on one consultations. She assists parents with birth planning, breastfeeding, postpartum transitions, child development, work/family organizing and that ever present challenge of sleep. In fact, she’s a sleep expert.

Angelique’s experience is vast–delivering babies with midwife Ina May Gaskin, birth doula in hospitals and home births, postpartum doula, child and family therapist, and completing her doctorate in Pre and Perinatal Psychology. With Skype and phone visits, she works with families across the country.

She’s thoughtful, compassionate, inspiring and I wish all new parents could have a visit with Angelique.

We have a range of styles–truer yogi with our legs straight and butt right against the wall, butt a little further from the wall with our knees sort of bent, or relaxing our legs over a chair or bed. Five minutes helps, 20 minutes makes a big difference.

Kids crawl around or on top of us, throw balls at our faces, it still works.