I live where it’s hot - all year round.  My kids love frozen treats, but I hate the sugar content of prepackaged stuff.  So, when we decided we needed a juicer, the obvious occurred - fresh juice = fresh juice popsicles!  I love these Shooting Star Popsicle molds.  The amazing part about these are, the entire set of popsicles isn’t covered by the mold…meaning, the top of each individual pop can easily be removed from the base…MEANING, you’ll never need to run the entire thing under water, creating a premature meltdown (of the popsicles and your kids!).  We found these at Kitchen Krafts.  And here’s a great site to get you started juicing…PS…apple+nectarine+mango is AMAZING!

UPDATE - Find this confusing too?  My description of the picture was not accurate.  i actually emailed Kitchen Krafts about it…look closely at the pic.  Each popsicle is an individual mold - the orange popsicle is the one removed from the mold.  It’s not magic, just a lot simpler than I made it seem!  Sorry for the confusion!

 The makers of Eco-Me products have one purpose - they want you to know EXACTLY what you’re cleaning your home and body with.  Eco-Me makes 100% natural, mix-it-yourself cleaning kits for your home, baby’s room, pets, and your own fragile self.  All the products are non-toxic, chemical-free, and totally natural.  Essential oils such as lavendar and tee tree oil have natural antiseptic qualities that are more effective (and better smelling!) than anything you have in your cabinets.

The concept is wonderful.  You buy a kit - containing spray bottles, recyclable cloths, and essential oils and mixes.  Add white vinegar, baking soda, or water where appropriate (everything comes with instructions), and voila!  You’re on your way to a cleaner, fresher home.  Make sure you read Eco-Me’s ‘About’ page…the story behind how Eco-Me was born is truly inspirational.  And, 10% of sales go to breast cancer research and education…so, you can feel good both buying and using Eco-Me’s kits!

EXCLUSIVELY FOR TEENSYGREEN READERS - get 20% off Eco-Me’s Baby Kits!  The coupon code is: tgreen807, and it’s available through NOW through August 15th.  Start becoming Eco-fresh! 

 Lady Bird Johnson is being celebrated this week as the first ‘green’ First Lady.  A champion for the beautification of the earth, Lady Bird was directly responsible for over 200 legislative initiatives to clean up highways, preserve and create new parks, protect wildlife, and plant flowers wherever there was room.  Lady Bird partnered with Keep America Beautiful for the last 40 years; she truly wanted to spread her message of beauty for the Earth…

That being said, we love the matchstick garden.   This is quite possibly the simplest way to plant flowers and herbs with your kids!  The seeds are already mixed to grow, and are contained at the end of the matchstick.  Instructions - 1) open the matchbook, 2) tear out a matchstick, 3) place the matchstick tip down into soil, 4) wait for the fun to begin!  There are 10 ‘matches’ per book, in either wildflowers or herb edition.  Grow on, get ‘em…

As do the most rewarding things in life happen, teensygreen was founded by accident.  If I never moved internationally, if I never started writing for ecorazzi, if things didn’t fall into place the way they have…I find that writing about my kids and my family often gets relevant nods from others…parents are usually looking for the same things…better choices, new ideas, something unique for their kids…

I never thought I would end up writing so much about ‘green’ products.  Then my husband became a ‘green’ builder, leading to a lot of magazines, books, and websites flooding our house with information.  Reading about green practices isn’t the same as living it, and we do what we can.  Researching for teensygreen has brought a lot of fun ideas into our home.  I hope to do the same for yours…

teensygreen is going to be so much fun to grow.  The response to teensygreen in one quick week has been unreal!  I even received a stamp of approval from The Lazy Environmentalist himself!  We’re also on the blogroll of Goodyblog and mentioned by Harmony Art.  So, keep coming back to teensygreen, become inspired, and speak up!  I’ll be posting relevant news as it comes in, product reviews, kid-tested recipes, anything that puts a twist on being a little green in a big world…thanks for listening…

Tired of the old Sunday afternoon melty ice-cream outing? If you live in the New York metropolitan area, Habana Outpost is the way to turn a day with your kids into an adventure in green-fun!  Located in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, (no pun intended) Habana Outpost is the first eco-eatery in New York City, meaning everything from the solar-paneled awning that powers everything, to the herb garden, to the sugar cane plates, will amazing and delight you.  Run, don’t walk to try the smoothie ‘Bike-Blender,’ powered by you!   Shop at the Weekend Open-Air Market, where you can find vintag-y goods and crafties galore!  And of course, check out the Kid’s Corner…”John the bee man” makes homegrown honey with his real bees!  Help water the garden with collected rain water!  There’s face painting, crafts, even demonstrations on composting and recycling, for kiddies only! 

I hear the food is amazing too…grilled corn and other Latin specialties, yum!  Check out the Calendar for Sunday night movie times, ASPCA adoption days, and more teensy fun!  Hit the Shop to find Outpost goodies!  Just go there already!

  I was really looking forward to posting about how I would be blogging during Blogathon 2007.  Unfortunately, I found out that the date for the ‘thon is July 28th, and I will be out of town….instead, this is an important post about what you can do to help other bloggers during this great event.

During the Blogathon, hundreds of bloggers will be “posting” on their blogs every 30 minutes for 24 hours (or as long as they can last!)  You can find the list of blogs here.  Choose a charity or blog that you support, and sponsor them.  There is a very wide range of charities, eco-related, kid-related, for pets, you name it.  Some of the blogs people write are very personal and touching; others are incredibly creative and fun to read.  What could you post about for 24 hours?  These people are extremely inventive.  You can either pledge money based on how many posts the bloggers have during the 24 hour period, or make a flat donation. 

Check back here or Blogathon often, as this is a very popular event!  Find a blog you like to read, a charity you support, and feel proud that you made a difference…

If you love your kids in cute t-shirts, you’ve probably heard of nina and tom.  If you haven’t heard of them, you’re in luck!  Nina and Tom is a family-owned company that makes a big splash with parents.  Their lines of babies and kids onesies and t-shirts includes vibrant pictures of fruits, veggies, sign language, and colors as bold and bright as your teensy ones!  And they, like, totally use organic cotton and water-based inks and dyes for a softer, natural look.  Don’t forget to check out their gift ideas page, where you can sign up for their ‘onesie of the month’ club, and find other adorable products…

Ok readers, Nina from nina and tom just informed me they will be having a 25% off everything (excludes Onesie-A-Month) Back to School sale, from July 16-August 20, 2007!  Just shop at nina and tom and use the coupon code ”back07″!  Bonus!

Since I live in a far-away place, my daughters are in the middle of their school year (luckily, they are both too young to really care that their friends in the US are frolicking in the pool and doing arts & crafts at camp…their days aren’t much different!)  Right now, my Pre-K daughter is learning about recycling.  This is very interesting, considering there is no country-wide recycling program to date here…only private, expensive services.  I won’t complain, however.  Learning about recycling can be fun and motivating for kids to help out…

The book my daughter’s class is using to explain recycling is Where Does the Garbage Go? by Paul Showers.  The book outlines what people used to do with their trash, ie, bringing it to the ‘dump’ or incinerating it, then explains the recycling process and how recycling happens in school or at home.  It has great illustrations of a landfill, how trash (doesn’t) break down into the earth, and gives tips on what kids can do to help.  The most amazing tidbit about the book is it was originally published in 1974!  The author actually had to revise it 20 years later to integrate recycling!

                                                                                                                                          I’m also loving Ecoart!: Earth-Friendly Art and Craft Experiences for 3-To 9-Year-Olds by Laurie Carlson.  This book has a broad age-range of crafts, which is great for families with children of different ages in the house.  Materials include natural items such as twigs and pebbles, and moves on to recycled products like plastic bottles.  A great starter book for crafting with your kids…

I’ve explained that one of the springboards to creating this site was the new book The Lazy Environmentalist, by Josh Dorfman.  Based on “The Lazy Environmentalist” radio show on Sirius radio, the book’s tagline is “Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living.”  And he’s not kidding.  Every week I’ll highlight a find from the book - there is just so much to read about, in every aspect of living.  Of course, it goes way beyond kids - the book discusses travel options, pets sustainable housing, gardening…the kitchen and bathroom even get their own chapters!

This week I thought I’d show you the bedding collection from Cotton Monkey.  Cotton Monkey was created by a Dallas mom with a background in architecture and design, and a strong interest in sustainability.  The products are made with 100% organic cotton, and colored with either non-toxic, water-based dyes or peroxide (for the “Bright White” collection).  My personal favorite (from the picture) is the “Eyes of the World” collection.  Perfect for either a girl or boy, the modern design and vibrant hues would be a great focal point in any nursery.  Check out Cotton Monkey’s “monkey gear” as well - towels and gift sets that compliment any new monkey’s room…

In the sleepy town of Hailey, Idaho, the folks at Lilipad Studio  want your kids to step all over their beautiful furniture - step stools, that is!  Lilipad has come out with an incredible line of step stools made for the green set. All pieces are handcrafted using FSC certified hardwood (meaning it was ‘responsibly forested’) and non-toxic, no VOC (volatile organic compound) paints.  In other words, feel good that the piece of furniture your kids will carry around the house with them (and getting into places they shouldn’t) is safe!  Design names such as “Bohemian Garden” and “Butterfly Rhapsody,” make these little helpers sound like works of art!  Choose a single step for really teensy ones, or the two-stepper for bigger kids who can reach the sink or want to lick the brownie bowl!  Check out their line of tables and chairs, too.  The two-step stool is available at The Silly Wagon…