May is probably my favourite month - I love the celebration of Beltane, which marks the start and the lush greenery and hedgerow flowers that appear during the late spring. There a real feeling of opening during this month and of receptiveness and joy. And we did indeed have a marvellous month of May filled with flowers, family and festivals. 

Our Natural Gardening Special edition of The Green Parent came out in mid-May, carrying articles on how to create a wildlife garden, parenting and permaculture, lotus birth and our favourite family festivals. When it was published we took the opportunity for a quick break in the Lake District to cheer on my courageous and exceedingly fit brother-in-law as he made short work of the Brathay Marathon round Lake Windermere. We spent a week exploring the area around Coniston and discovered some beautiful stone circles, a really inspirational garden at Brantwood, home of John Ruskin and some great wholefood cafés. 

Once home we set to work on the next edition which is published next month and also managed to squeeze in a weekend at Sunrise Celebration, which comes top of my list of favourite festivals. It was a truly blissed out and loved up affair taking place on an organic farm in Somerset and powered ostensibly by renewables. Added extras such as the Earth Heart Cafe, which served energised chai from a huge conch shell, fairy permaculture gardens and a large hot tub made it even more magical. We're looking forward to Sunrise Off-Grid in August, if we can manage to get our Education issue of the magazine produced in time.

Other exciting happenings this spring have included a series of breathing workshops run by my lovely and very talented yoga instructor, Julie Stannard, a foraging walk along the South Downs to discover the healing properties of our native flora and fauna and some joyous time spent with friends. We have had a really social time recently, meeting up with friends every day. The girls especially have really enjoyed this and our home education journey seems to be quite focused on emotional and social intelligence right now. That feels really good for us all. Will post more later - right now I have stories to read...

I'm back

Just a quick post to say that I'll be back over the weekend with some ideas for the New Moon in Pisces coming up on Tuesday - it's a time of homecoming and awakening so should be fairly nurturing and blissful after overcoming the challenges that this moon phase usually presents us with - you know going deep into the darkest parts of our self, etc.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I wanted to carry on writing on this blog as well as the one on the main Green Parent site. So, hope you enjoy reading...

news and a redirection

Hello,

Been meaning to post for ages to say that our new website is up and running and there's some juicy competitions and interesting articles about co-sleeping, being a good birth partner and fun activities to do in February.

So, this also means that my blog has moved a few doors down and can now be found here. I'd love for you to come and visit! Still posting a mixture of moon musings, green reads, news, a few ideas and some nice things I've spotted. 

Hope to see you there,

Melissa

PS: Also forgot to mention there's a new mag out with lots of gorgeous ethical fashion and ideas for greening up our wardrobes. All subscribers this month will be sent some yummy natural beauty products to accompany.

happy new year

Well, a very happy and green new year to everyone. I am really excited about 2009 - it feels like a time of great change and potential. I am looking forward to continuing to share the positive message of The Green Parent magazine, bringing inspiration on parenting issues and green ideas to an even wider audience. We have lots of fabulous things planned for this year along with a new website, launching next week that will be packed with articles, comment, reviews, competitions and much much more. The next edition of the magazine is also out next week and has some great new features including a reader's panel where our lovely readers share their opinions and ideas.

I hope that the festive season was full of light and joy for all. We spent most of our time celebrating with family and friends which was absolutely wonderful and has reaffirmed a resolution that I made to myself at the Celtic New Year in November that I should spend more time enjoying my loved ones company and less time fretting over work, household chores, shopping and other activities that involve separation rather than connection. 

After all the festivities Jez and I found ourselves with a free weekend (children happily ensconced at their grandparents) and we indulged in a spa weekend, which was out-of-this-world. We ate, slept, went for long walks and lounged around in hydrotherapy pools for two days. I think it will be become our new New Year ritual and maybe we'll have to commemorate the Chinese and Islamic New Years in Feb and March, respectively, in a similar fashion! 

I am leisurely re-reading Tom Hodgkinson's How to be Idle at the moment and I think this has, in part, affected a sea-change in my previous workaholic state. I'd recommend every time-poor, overstretched person get a copy of this book and take it to bed at some inappropriate time, like in the middle of the afternoon. It's quite revolutionary!

Anyway, love and light for an abundant, healthy, happy and slow 2009,

Melissa

xxx

cool offers

Just a little note for anyone who's starting their christmas shopping early - here's some lovely offers from companies we like, including money off organic wine and free handmade soaps:

• 20% off organic clothing at Tattybumpkin - code: GPWIN

• 20% off natural petfood at Denes - code: TGP002

• 15% off toys and games at Ecotopia - code: GPTOY15

• 15% off Soft Star Shoes - code: Greenparent

• 15% off healthcare and natural beauty products at 100% Nature - code: GP12

• 10% off organic clothing at Dam Tam - code: GP1008

• 5kg of fairtrade dates in time for Christmas - £33

• 10% off all natural beauty products at Purely Bliss - code: GP08

• 10% off organic clothing and ethical gifts at Love Cow - code: GREEN

• 10% off vegan skincare at Innocent Oils - code: GP11

• Free Box in the Boot with every shopping trolley ordered at Trollease

• Free subscription to The Green Parent magazine when you sign up to Ecotricity

• 10% off beautiful toys and playthings at Laughing Bear - code: GXM10

• 10% off organic wines at Vinceremos - code: GP

• 10% off Clothes, toys and nappies at Makes a Change - code: Greenparent

• 10% off soft baby slings at Bambino to Go - code: Green Parent

• Free handmade soaps and p&p at Centre for Alternative Technology - code: GP08X

• Free nappy sample at Spirit of Nature

• 5% off ethical gifts and homewares at Fig 1 - code: m/gparents

Hope this helps.

six interesting things

I've been tagged by the lovely Mrs Green at My Zero Waste (thanks Rae!) and asked to write six interesting things about myself but since this blog is ostensibly about the office in which I work I'll post three things about the company and three things about me. 

1. This magazine was conceived in a small cottage on a Cornish cliff. We were on a winter holiday with our two very small beans and wanted to create a way in which we could home educate, live and work together and grow our family relationships. Jez is into design, I love to write - perfect combo!

2. We work out of a spare room at home - this means having to be very disciplined to leave work behind at the end of the day. I am descended from a long line of workaholics so have to be very careful!

3. in the last year we have been featured on the BBC news, in The Observer, Guardian and lots of glossy magazines, including Woman and Home and Eve. We haven't won any awards yet but we think what we are doing is pretty special and unique so maybe one day we will.

4. I love to sing and got offered a recording contract when I was a teenager. Now, when I sing at home, everyone leaves the building.

5. Before having babies, I used to work for a multi-national company on the Kings Road in Chelsea and hang out with meed-ya types. I swapped all that for wellies and chicken poo and have never been happier.

6. I have itchy feet and am always ready to move onto something new. Sometimes it involves gypsy caravans, sometimes Spanish olive groves. My current dream is to live in a yurt in the middle of a wood. I also want to set up a moon lodge for all the wonderful women in my life, and my daughters when they are older.

buy nothing month: day ten

It's day ten of Buy Nothing Month and we ate soup for lunch (again). Trying to remain calm and optimistic in face of depleting food stocks - at least we have a gazillion squashes in all shapes and sizes that can be put to many different uses - bread, soups, stews, cakes etc, etc.

I have looked through the waste that we have accrued and discovered that it is all plastic packaging - bags for lentils, muesli, pasta etc. I am going to email each of the manufacturers and ask them if they have any advice on what I can do with it. I'll let you know how I get on!

All our lovely subscribers will have received the latest copy of The Green Parent magazine in the last couple of days and it goes on sale in shops later in the week. I'm really pleased with all the juicy editorial in this issue from how to make edible Christmas pressies to a fabulous article on celebrating ageing, rather than trying to hide behind expensive creams. It's certainly helped me be kinder to my reflection in the mornings!

happy halloween

It's Samhain, the ancient pagan festival and the eve of the new year according to the Celts. So, what are we up to in the office? Well, we are having a big sort out and making sure that all loose ends are tied up before we enter the next phase of the yearly cycle. This will hopefully create space for lots of new exciting developments to come into fruition, like our sparkling new website, which will be launched in the New Year. In the meantime, we have just finished a beautiful edition, which is published in a couple of weeks. It's our craft special and is stuffed with projects to get stuck into during the winter months. You can order a subscription to make sure you don't miss out!

Time for fun

As well as finishing off the latest edition of The Green Parent magazine we have also been having fun, we spent a frosty night in a yurt set in the middle of a beech wood and held a pumpkin party last night attended by a coven of small witches, cats, ghosts and even a fox! We played murder in the dark, went on a treasure hunt in the woods, carved pumpkins and bobbed for apples. Lots of fun was had by all. 

Full of energy

We also have a new companion in the office for a few days - a Bedlington terrier puppy called Jasper, who was rescued by a friend a couple of weeks ago - we are looking after him whilst she is away. His puppy energy is very engaging and he is full of joy, leaping about like a lamb in the fallen leaves. I am feeling slightly less energetic myself, having been woken for a walk at 5:30 this morning. Yawn! The sunrise was exceptionally beautiful though and it feels great to get outside when all the rest of the world is silent. At the moment he is sleeping by my feet in a box, between walks. Bless him!

hello again

I can't believe a whole week has flown by without me getting a chance to post on the Green Parent blog. We are currently hard at work on our Christmas edition, which promises to be really special. It has a focus on crafts and is already stuffed with fabulous things to make and create. Mrs Green shares her ideas for a waste-free Christmas and we discover why singing is so good for the soul. It's all very exciting! Subscribers will get their copies in exactly a month so if you fancy a copy of this vibrant green magazine dropping onto your doormat every issue, simply sign up here. It's printed on recycled paper and comes with a free activity magazine for children, all about the environment. Oh, and you might still be in time to secure yourself some lovely goodies from Weleda as well, which is our current subscription gift.

sorry to tempt you...

Thought I should let you know about some great offers from ethical companies that we have in the current edition of The Green Parent:

10% off at The Organic Baby Boutique - code: GP08

10% off at Dam Tam organic clothing for kids - code: GP1008

20% off Denes Natural pet food - code: TGP001

15% off fairtrade toys and bags at Fair Connections 

10% of ethical toys at Laughing Bear - code GRE10

5% off gorgeous traditional and ethical playthings at Ninny Noodle Noo - code: greenparent

10% off wonderful Storybox magazines for children - code LtUK9WT6qk

10% off all ethical products for babies and children at Babipur - code: GP811

10% off all innovative products at Ecoutlet - code: green10

20% off all Tattybumpkin togs - code: GPAUT - they even do adult stuff now too!

10% off baby signing kit - code Green

10% off soft snuggly baby carrier - code: Green Parent

15% off beautiful ethical furniture at Myakka - code GRPT88

Enjoy!!

tell us what you think

We love to hear from our readers about what they like about the magazine, what they'd like to see more of, what they don't like etc. so that we can continue to improve. You can let us know your thoughts and be in with the chance of winning a lovely set of fabulous Badger Balms. Simply fill in the form on our website and send back to us with your comments. We look forward to hearing from you!

where have we been?

We decided to take a last minute, spontaneous holiday to the Isle of Wight for a few blustery days in a 1950s caravan and it was very lovely, most relaxing and refreshing. On arrival we discovered not only a seriously cool caravan complete with retro boardgames, rock n' roll tunes and all the little cubbyholes to explore but the owner Helen had laid out scones, jam and Babycham for us to enjoy - who'd have thought how yum that was! We even enjoyed a bit of heady autumnal sunshine whilst playing on the beach at Alum Bay on our last day. One of the highlights, after a day exploring Blackgang Chine, which hasn't changed since my childhood (yay!) was dinner at a cafe on the beach at St. Helen's at sunset - we felt very blessed. Other discoveries included The Garlic Farm - one of my favourite foods and a whole farm and shop devoted to it. Godshill Organics is a huge exciting organic shop on the edge of heaving tourist village Godshill. And Ventnor Botanic Garden is beautiful, well kept and home to a few red squirrels. It was also a breath of fresh free air after a mistaken trip to The Needles Pleasure Park - money making machine extraordinare. All in all - v restorative and good to back in the Green Parent office with a new issue out this week!

press coverage!

We're featured in the Irish Times in an article about green parenting after I did an interview with Sheila Wayman a couple of weeks ago. Also there's a piece in the South Wales Echo today in response to the report that I wrote a month or so ago about how you can save £3000 in the first year of your baby's life. We will be publishing an article in the December edition of The Green Parent about how to go green and save money.

kids encouraged to go wild

According to research by BBC Wildlife Magazine children prefer playing on the computer to playing in the countryside. The study which invited 700 school children to identify common native species and then quizzed the children on what their do in their spare time found that just half could identify a bluebell or a blue tit and 11% never visited the countryside. I was rather heartened by the findings that 78% of the children involved were allowed to play out on their own and that 79% had enjoyed an afternoon spent picking blackberries. But I am aware that many of the experiences that our children's generation has with nature can be sterile, contrived and not very wild at all. Which is why we have commissioned the wonderful Marina Robb, to write in our next issue about bringing our children back home to nature. She runs wilderness workshops for teens and is extremely well placed to write about the increasing disconnection from the natural world and how we can find our way back there. Dr. Martin Maudsley, the Outdoor Play Development Officer for Playwork Partnerships at the University of Gloucestershire (wonder what the plaque on his office door reads) has some good ideas too:

• Look for access to wild natural spaces for children - school grounds, community gardens, parks and reserves. 

• Help maintain and protect local wild spaces.

• Give children uninterrupted free time to explore these spaces.

• Let places go wild. Create areas of mud and dirt for digging and playing with mud.

• Be prepared and kit your children out with waterproofs and wellies etc.

Look out for the next issue of The Green Parent, on sale next month, for more ideas.

get a free sub to The Green Parent...

... when you switch to Ecotricity, the green energy supplier. This is the biggest single step that you can take to reduce your emissions and protect the environment and it only takes five minutes. In order to prevent the most severe effects of climate change we need to curb emissions of CO2 and other harmful gases to well below that of today. And with our exciting new partnership you can green up your house and get a free year's worth of inspirational green news, all for the same standard price charged by your current regional electricity supplier. Cool huh!

new issue out

There's a new edition of The Green Parent out now - its our green homes special with lots of juicy information about natural paints, recycled furniture and gorgeous eco homes. There is a feature on low impact holiday ideas like Plan It Earth family eco holidays and the Eco Warriors Week at Monkton Wyld from 24-29th August. And a wonderful piece on holding a baby naming ceremony, a craft feature on how to make your own bag and an article on growing your own gifts. We have two exciting new columns this issue, one about spiritual parenting exploring what our children have to teach us and a brilliant smallholder's diary all about life on the farm with a menagerie of animals and small children. Of course, there's lots more including a competition to win a week's holiday at the fabulous Little Comfort Farm in Devon. And tucked inside every issue is Green Kids magazine, all about local food, with a brilliant game designed by Jez and yummy recipes from mother of six and cookery guru Fi Bird at Stirrin Stuff. Pick up a copy at your local store or buy one here for next day delivery!

Serious savings!

Well, I finished the report on How Green Parents Can Save Money last night and guess what? I worked out that in your baby's first year you can save £3000! And I have only focussed on those areas that are relevant to parents with new babies so haven't taken into account the money that could be saved by holidaying in the UK, making your own clothes or buying secondhand, managing an allotment etc. So theoretically as a green family you could save even more. I will upload the whole report onto the website in the next week or so.

Today in the office we have been torn between the gorgeous outdoors and the exciting prospect of planning the next edition of the magazine.

Today in the office

Well, no sun tea today due to rain and grey skies. So still using behemoth of a kettle to make the many cups of tea we drink. I spent some time today making strawberry ice cream for the kids because we went to a fruit farm earlier in the week and had about five punnets of strawberries and raspberries that needed action. I am trying to avoid sugar in our diet at the moment, as I feel it is an empty food stuff so I made ice cream using agave syrup. Its v simple and tastes pretty sublime (if I say so myself). 1 punnet strawberries, 90g cashews or macadamias, 40g agave syrup (the quantities are fairly approximate and you might want to mess around with them until you find what suits you in terms of sweetness and creaminess). Whizz in a food processor until smooth and then put it in the freezer. Take it out every two hours or so and give it a stir, otherwise it goes rock solid and is difficult to eat. I also stir some raspberry syrup through it (made with pureed raspberries and agave syrup) to make a homemade raspberry ripple type effect. As I said it's really yummy and fairly nutritious too. Picked some mammoth courgettes and salad leaves from the garden and made courgette bread for the kids. Got recipe from this magic new book How it all Vegan, which popped through our letterbox last week. Have already sampled quite a few of the recipes and they are really innovative and exciting. Has made me come over all bake-a-lot mum, which has to be a good thing! Jez and I had to finish off the proofing of the magazine today - it looks very fine indeed and am very pleased with the final look of it. Just three weeks to go now and it'll be dropping onto doormats around the world, hopefully bringing a little cheer and green inspiration to all our subscribers. Customers who get it from their local shop will have to wait a little longer - it's out on 24th July but we just heard that ALL WH Smith stores will be stocking The Green Parent from next issue so that's very exciting and means it will be easier to find. Hurrah!

Put it to bed

Well we have just finished another edition of The Green Parent, which will be published next month. It's a green homes special issue and we have featured some really fabulous eco houses and natural decorating tips. It was great fun to work on, though the subject matter gave me itchy feet, which I tend to get in the summer months anyhow. So, now the office is relatively quiet and the computers will be getting some rest at night. We recently got an Efergy Energy Monitor that shows how much electricity you are consuming and it's quite addictive. When we first got it, I rushed around turning plugs off at the wall and have now worked out a few tricks to keep energy consumption down. The kettle uses a surprising amount of power so I am going to try making sun tea while the weather is so gorgeous. I'll let you know how I get on. The coffee machine that we were given by a friend in an exchange for a subscription to the magazine, is actually more energy efficient than the kettle, probably because it's quicker and only boils a small amount of water. There are some interesting looking eco kettles available now but I don't think buying an entirely new product is really the most green of solutions. Let's hope that sun tea tastes good...