This year at the Punkernoodle house we set a little challenge for ourselves. The kiddos are suddenly wise to the whole gift thing – they know they’re coming, they’re asking and begging for them, and of course for them, more is better. We decided, in an effort to save money and also be green, that we wouldn’t buy any NEW gifts for them – it’s a recycled Hanukkah/Christmas for us. I was nervous at first, but so far it’s gone off really well and the kids are none the wiser – and not in the least bit disappointed. For Hanukkah, when some children traditionally receive 8 nights of gifts, they got wooden puzzles, a doll, little learning computers, some DVDs for family movie night, a pile of books, and more – all of it recycled. Christmas will bring more of the same. Everything we bought for them was new or nearly new looking, some had never even been used, and all had a ton of “playing life” left in it. The only truly brand new stuff the girls got was from their relatives (grandparents don’t want to buy pre-owned stuff for the apples of their eyes, they just don’t).

So how’d we do it? Thanks to a few great kids consignment shops, I found really wonderful gifts even up to the last minute. I helped organize a toy drive in the fall and bought some toys from there (garage sales, community sales and swaps are other good places). Craigs List is another great place if you are looking for specific things (last year we bought the girls an amazing wooden train table, train tracks and a whole wooden Thomas train set for waaaayyyyy less than it costs new).

In Seattle, a couple of our favorite consignment shops are Childish Things and Me ‘n Moms. Every community has stores like these, or even thrift stores where you can find great recycled toys and clothes for cheap.

Another great way to give to your children without buying New Stuff is to give an experience. Annual passes to the zoo, the Children’s Theater, the Children’s Museum, tickets to a show, swimming or soccer lessons, etc. We took the girls to The Nutcracker and it was a great gift and a lifetime memory for them. Relatives and grandparents also love this idea because they feel like they are giving a gift that keeps on giving. Another carbon-neutral idea is to download a music album for your child – an hour or two of fun new kiddie music. Then put it on and have a family dance party. There are lots of gift ideas that maximize family time and togetherness and minimize buying new crap. If you do want to buy new stuff, anything locally made is great (we have artisans at our local farmer’s market who make soap, jewelry, hand-knit hats and dolls) or fairly traded (hot chocolate or chocolate, bubble bath, and hand-made organic cotton toys).

And you can always buy something new that is earth-friendly and will help you reduce your overall footprint (like cloth diapers for your baby from Punkernoodle or Two Little Whales!) or seeds and tools to plant a winter or spring garden…

Finally, re-think wrapping. Our kids are still young, so the present is the main focus and they don;t care much about wrapping. I just had one recycled gift bag that I would place each night’s gift in over Hanukkah and then when it was time for gifts I would pull it our of the bag or let them do it – no extra wrapping. When we do have wrapping I try to reuse it. You can also wrap things unconventionally – use the gifts themselves, like clothing or a toy purse, to wrap or contain other gifts. Wrap gifts in a reusable canvas shopping bag and then tell your child that’s their bag to take to the grocery store (another gift!).

Only a couple days left for Christmas shopping – with a little change in thinking you can give your kids a recycled, carbon-friendly Christmas too!

So for a year now I’ve been stressing about a Situation.

Three times a week, we drive the same route to preschool. The Punkernoodles’ school is great, but it’s a little far – a 20-minute drive. The route takes us through several neighborhoods and requires us to cross Aurora Avenue. Also known as Highway 99, this mini highway through Seattle is, well, pretty much a shit hole. For miles it basically consists of flea-ridden motels offering hourly rates, strip clubs, gun clubs, fast food “restaurants,” even drive-through coffee huts where your barista will dress up in cheap lingerie. The underbelly of our town, if you will.

Anyway. Before crossing this treasure of a byway, we have to stop at a long red light. At the corner stands a homeless man. A very bedraggled homeless man. He’s an older guy, no doubt looking even more aged than he actually is, with a nest of wildish hair, a gnarled grimace, pale watery eyes, and a sign. The sign has changed a few times since we first started passing him, but generally it is fashioned from a wrinkled piece of box cardboard and is scrawled with a request for food, money etc. For much of the past year (though not in the past couple months), he wore a snowsuit, a kind of torn-up puffy sleeping-bag-looking thing. In this suit, or whatever outfit of the day he can muster, he shuffles along the sidewalk, grumbling and peering into car windows with his sign.

It is sad – I know that. I have a lot of compassion for people like this man. I have interviewed many of them as a journalist, written stories about programs that support homelessness. I have done the midnight homeless count and spent the night in a homeless shelter to interview the men who called it home. It’s not simple – lots of factors contribute to a life like this: Bad luck, sure, and also addiction, mental illness, poor social suport systems. Bottom line, people like him suffer on levels I personally cannot really even imagine.

But that’s not what I’ve been thinking about this past year. This whole time, I have been worried about the minutes we spend every commute sitting, in the right-hand-lane, right at his corner as we wait for the light to turn green. For the first six months or so, when the kiddos were a bit younger, I was just concerned they would notice this scruffy specter and have nightmares. Then, as Punkernoodle 1 inched closer to her fourth birthday, I began to panic about the day she would inevitably ask, “Mommy, what is that man doing?”

I know, it’s weak. I admit it. But I was afraid of having to explain homelessness, in stark terms, with such a compelling visual standing right before us. In the 2 minutes of a red-green light cycle.

Finally, a few months ago, the question came. I played the classic (and weak, I know, I know) brush off. “Oh, I don’t know, honey – sometimes people just stand outside with signs.”

Yes, I am a pathetic chicken-shit of a parent.

Another time, as 2 1/2-year-old Sister listened in, Punkernoodle 1 tried to come in from another angle. “What does that sign say, Mommy?” In that probing, demanding, painfully innocent 4-year-old way.

“Not sure, babe,” I chirped out as the light changed and I slammed the gas pedal. “I missed it.”

Other times I just distracted them at the corner so they wouldn’t notice. “Let’s sing a song,” I’d say. “What’s your favorite dessert?”

It’s not that I am afraid of tough topics. I take them on all the time. I’m like a parrot about the whole “your body is private” thing. We’ve done food drives and toy drives and  have talked about how some children don’t have money for good food or nice toys and it’s good to help them. Heck, my daughters have a cousin being raised by two dads – and they already know all about that.

There’s just something about the harsh reality of a person so run-down, so obviously alone and desperate and unloved, so without-a-home, that I can’t bear to break to them. Maybe that’s because I don’t really understand it, or believe it, myself at some base level: How can someone in our country, our community, have no home? Nowhere to sleep? Or shower, or eat? It’s shameful – not on the people without a bed, but, maybe, on all of us with one. On me.

Well. Finally, this week, the fateful moment arrived. The day I’ve been avoiding like a coward for a year. We pull up to Aurora. It’s an uncharacteristically sunny fall Seattle day. The girls are very busy looking out their windows. There he is. Here it comes. “Mommy? What is that man doing?”

I can’t avoid it this time. Too direct. Too obvious. She’s gotten too smart, too perceptive. This is going to shatter her innocence forever, steal her open-hearted wonder at the world and give her the first spoonful of human bitterness, but there’s nothing more I can do about it. Fuck. Ok – here it goes: “Well, sweetie. Sometimes people don’t have any food or money. So they might make a sign asking other people for money, or food, so maybe if they hold the sign up people will help them.”

I wait for it. The request to roll down the window and pass this man some money. And some food. And maybe invite him home to sleep in our guest room, at least until Nana comes to visit.

“Mommy,” she barks in her recent, loud, newly assertive and slightly demanding way. I cringe.

“He should just get a job.”

Oh my god. All this time, all this fear – of the wrong thing. She’s not losing her rosy outlook on the world. She’s training for public office. Ha.

Ok. Sigh of relief. Laughs all around. Note to Self: Make a few extra donations to the food bank, kids in tow. Volunteer at a shelter. Find children’s book explaining mental illness?

Find a new route to school.

Just kidding…

We are about to set off for a visit to the Mr.’s childhood home in Arizona. Specifically, to the red dirt and open nothingness of a place northeast of Flagstaff that his family calls “The Land.”

The Mr. is well used to this tract, having grown up there with his 8 siblings and 2 parents in a house they built by hand. After nearly a decade with the Mr., I am still not used to this place. Happily, for me, it is modernized some since he ran around barefoot as a kid – back then there was no hot water, no plumbling, no electricity. Solar panels and some other updates have helped. It is still a place where you can get up close to nature – you have to: Here, with nothing but flat red earth and fresh, sharp air for miles, nature hits you in the face.

It is the first time in 5 years we’ve been back, and then first time our little Punkernoodles will see Daddy’s childhood home – “The house that’s half underground!” as they’ve been chanting for weeks. Any anxiety I feel roaming the emptiness of a place so big and frontier-like, 45 minutes from the tiny town of Winslow (cue The Eagles), should be tempered this time by the excitement of these two little innocents, running around the mud and stone and salt bush, exploring this new world in amazement. Or I hope, anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone near and far!

N

This is what happens when you are married, own a business and you let your bookkeeping get a little too exciting. Setting: Punkernoodle HQ. Mr. Punkernoodle: downstairs computer in the diaper shop. Ms. Punkernoodle: upstairs computer on the marital bed. Chat box: open. Sadly, no drugs or alcohol involved.

11:02 PM Lukas: what’s an experience grobaby?
  cost $63
  ah
  i have my note here
  2 shells for 23.51 each
  1 soaker pad for 15.98
 me: it’s a package containing 2 Gro Babies plus 1 Gro Baby Soaker 2-pack
 Lukas: thanks
11:03 PM me: 24.95 plus 24.95 plus 16.95 plus the discount
  yeah
  righto
 
 Lukas: I’ll stick with my numbers, which appear to have the discount already added in and accounted for
 me: yes they do
9 minutes

11:13 PM Lukas: FB-Wipes?
  FuzziBunz Wipes?
 me: ummm…
  not PB wipes
  ?
11:14 PM Lukas: oh, sorry
  yeah, pb
 me: ours, that we no longer sell
  Punkernoodle Baby
 Lukas: Right.
  FB doesn’t have wipes
  OK
  I’ll change that
 me: k
11:16 PM Lukas: BG-OS?
  bumGenius One Size?
 me: bumgenius one soze pocket
  yeah
 Lukas: OK, new product to enter then.
 me: yes
  yay
 Lukas:
11:17 PM Oops, alreay in there.
  That’s the only BG in there
11:18 PM me: well now we also sell the organic OS but that costs 20-something and is a new product too
  i only sold the first one this month tho
 Lukas: bg-ospocket
  That’s what is in there,
 me: yeah, 17.95?
 Lukas: is bg-os something diff?
  Yep.
 me: no
 Lukas: Sold it on 7/20
 me: yeah
11:19 PM this month you will add bg-osorganic
 Lukas: Ah
  OK.
11:20 PM Someone named XXX (the guilty are protected here) bought something for $439.24 on 7/20 but the receipt is blank.
11:21 PM hello?
11:22 PM me: getting it for you, it’s long hod n
  hold on
  in an email
  went to israel
 Lukas: ok
  ah
11:23 PM me: 1- Green Earth Chinese Prefolds, Bleached, Infant – pack of 36
11:25 PM 4 XS, 4 Small and 4 Medium Trsty coversh
  4 Size 1 Duo Wraps
  ooops Thirsties
  2 Size 2 Duo Wraps Thirsties
11:26 PM Lukas: duo wraps?
 me: might be new – Thirsties product, 12.75
  a cover
 Lukas: ah
  OK. Would I call it: Thir-DuoWrap?
11:27 PM me: yeah – Duo Wrap
 Lukas: OK, 4 or 2 of Thir-DuoWraps?
 me: 1 Wahmies pail liner

3 snappi diaper fasteners

1 wahmies wet bag – small I think but could be regular
11:28 PM whoa – hold on
  6 total
 Lukas: Ah
  OK. Diff sizes. I get it
 me: (they come in sizes but you don;t care)
 Lukas: Same price for different sizes?
 me: yeah
  12 Knickernappies stay dry hemp doublers
  i think
11:29 PM fuck
  thic is fucked
11:30 PM whoops – 12 duo wraps for her
  and 4 snappis (2 two-packs)
  regular wet bag
  and 8 Knickernappies stay-dry doublers
11:31 PM sorry, finally found the right email
  are you dead yet?
 Lukas: yeah
 me:
  xoxoxo
 Lukas:
  Let me start from the top
 me: she was a bigger pain than this is, if i recall
 Lukas: 36 chin prefolds
  What’sthe price there?
11:32 PM me: well there’s a pack. 73.75
 Lukas: OK, perfect
  36 for 73.75
 me: ya
 Lukas: Now, thir-cov?
 me: 12
11:33 PM Lukas: $12 at 11.50 each?
 me: ya
 Lukas: Sorry 12 at $11.50 each
  OK.
  Duo Wraps?
  Size 1 first,
  Size 2, second
  (this is not for me but your recipt.
 me: you dont ned sizes…
 Lukas: I just need the total
 me: ?
  12 total
  at 12.75
 Lukas: I’m filling in your blank receipt
11:34 PM I guess I’ll just go with 12
 me: don matter
 Lukas: ok
 me: but 8 size 1
  4 size 2
 Lukas: 12 for 12.75
 me: ya
 Lukas: 1 pail liner for ?
11:35 PM how much is the pail liner?
11:36 PM me: was different then, i think 16.5
  price hanged
 Lukas: ok
 me: chnanged
  FUCKTHISKEYBOARD
 Lukas: 1 wet bag for?
 
 me: MOTHERFUCKINTHINGISSHIT
  15.5
 Lukas: ok
  kn-staydryhempdoublers?
 me: FUCKINSTUCKASSKEYS
11:37 PM Lukas: 12 for ?
 me: 8
  not 12
 Lukas: oh
  ok, for how much each?
  or just give me the total
 me: 4.5
  each
 Lukas: ok

11:38 PM is there more?
 me: CANTDOMATHKEYBOARDFUCKINGSUCKS
  my soul
  priceless

Lukas: I’ll get you a wireless keyboard for that piece of crap
11:39 PM me: MACBOOK
 Lukas: right, you can buy 3 pcs for the price of a macbook
  anyway,is there more to this receipt?
 me: nope
11:41 PM Lukas: what about the fastner thingies?
11:42 PM me: yeah
  snappis, 4 total
=
  2 2-packs
  2 two-packs
11:43 PM i am losing my mind.
  shellof my former self.
 Lukas: how much for those?
 me: FUCKINKEYBOARDNEEDSADIAPER

11:44 PM four fiddy each 2pac
  that’s 2-pack, not tu pac
 Lukas: Snappi Snappi Fastner Double Pack?
 me: do rappers use cloth diapers for their little g’s?
 Lukas: $4.5 each?
 me: yo yo yo thas right
 Lukas: NIce!
11:45 PM ok, I got something wrong, as my total is much higher than this.
11:46 PM 12 thir covers and 12 duowrap covers, or just 12 duowrap covers?
 me: sent her email to your gmail acct just now
  both
11:48 PM Lukas: ok, somethingis not right
  36 prefolds for $73.75
  12 thir-covs for 11.50 each
11:49 PM 12 thir-duowraps for 12.75 each
  1 pailiner for 16.5
  1 wet bag for 15.5
11:50 PM 8 kn-stay dry doubler for 4.5 each
  2 Snappi Snappi Fastner Double Pack for 4.5 each
 me: ya
11:51 PM Lukas: Total: 483.75
  Total you charged: 439.24
  Is this a no tax thing?
 me: no tax on this order
 Lukas: ok, that should be it.
11:52 PM why no tax?
 me: ISRAEL
 Lukas: Shipped for free, then?
 me: a friend took it to her
 Lukas: Ah
11:53 PM OK.
  It’s the right amt (just $2 bucks off).
 me: great fabulous
  yeehaw
11:54 PM Lukas: Yep. Thanks.
 me: nice doing business with ya
11:55 PM now get up here and make me forget about diapers.

What is this, you ask? Meet Miss Owlie, our new family security guard. Miss O came home with us tonight, after an emergency trip to the local toy store. It wasn’t a cheap night, I’ll say that. Partly because we didn’t end up at no Toxics R Us. No no no, we headed straight for the all-natural, eco-friendly organic European import toy store. Miss Owlie actually hails from Mass. but I digress… It also wasn’t a cheap night because you never go to the toy store and just leave with one thing. Especially when you have two kids. So we also are the proud owners of one sparkly pink magic wand that was already on its way to unraveling as we left the store and one little Olivia doll. $55.75 later – cha-ching.

Ah – but the reason for Miss Owlie, I’m getting to that. It seems that in the Punkernoodle household we have finally reached the era of Irrational Preschooler Fears and Undeterrable Ideas. Punk One, who is now 4, has suddenly become overwhelmingly terrified of raccoons. Specifically, that raccoons will break into our house, getting past our alarm system, 40-pound dog and hermetically sealed vinyl windows, crawl up the stairs, enter her bedroom and … I don’t know what. I’m afraid if I ask for specifics she’ll freak out even more than she already is.

We’ve being woken up every 2 hours all night long for the past week (hello, can you say worse than a newborn feeding schedule?!) with such pleas as “I can’t do it” and “When is it going to stop?” – by the latter I can only assume she means when is her brain going to stop eating her alive. So we did the research. The fears are normal, in fact very common, for preschoolers. Which makes sense because I can remember as a 3-year-old torturing my mother for months about the witch who lived in the upper right-hand corner of my closet.

So we considered the options and decided on a confidence-building reverse psychology little-white-lie tact. With Punk One in rapt attention, I Binged for “raccoon predators” and read her the list, which included the expected wolves, foxes, mountain lions, coyotes and the unexpected owls and water moccasins and fishers (what the hell is a water moccasin?). Then we drove to the Socially Un-Objectionable Toy Store Where Nothing Shall Hail From China and let her loose. “Pick out a new friend who will protect you,” we cooed. After 20 minutes of squealing and shelf mauling, Miss Owlie was ours, along with Olivia and the wand, which was intended to cast spells on the bedroom so that no errant raccoons could penetrate.

In the car on the way home, Punk One, exuding a perilous new confidence, told her sister “now we don’t have to be afraid, Miss Owlie will protect us.” Punk Two, who is 2 1/2, looked right at her big sister and scoffed “I’m not afraid of any raccoons.” Apparently she is deciding to skip the Irrational Fears phase in favor of the Mortal Concerns Are No Skin Off My Back phase.

What about the little white lie, you ask? Well to seal the sweet deal and reclaim some mortal sleep, we informed Punk One before bed that our neighbor next door, and elderly lady obsessed with gardening, personally knew the one and only raccoon who lived in the neighborhood and in fact was quite good friends with her. This raccoon, we said, was a lovely little animal who liked to visit the garden now and again for some water but had absolutely no interest whatsoever in coming into our house through the cat door for a midnight nibble or even visiting with our 7 fresh, plump chickens living in the backyard.

Lastly, we cast a good spell on the room before tuck-in, and reminded her in an absolutely supportive and non-threatening way that hopefully Miss Owlie could get the job done and keep her in bed all night or she would have to head back to the Toy Store of the Gods to help another child. Yes, we are evil. And tired. And sick of talking about raccoons, which we all secretly know are indeed the most filthy, disgusting and terrifying predators roaming our streets in hungry packs of rabid death squads.

Here’s to a cozy night.

These ain’t your grandma’s diapers! Come join us Saturday, Nov. 7 to learn about new eco-conscious and cost-savvy ways to diaper your baby.

– See dozens of modern cloth diapers, learn how to use them and which is best for your baby. Sneak peek the newest hybrid diapering methods.

– Learn how using cloth diapers can save you thousands of dollars over the course of raising your babies.

– Find out why reusable diapers are better for the environment and your baby’s health, and about their impact on water, energy and land resources.

– Learn what the diaper-free method is, how and when to begin implementing it, and how it can help babies potty-learn earlier (and no, you don’t need a Sixth Sense or tropical climate!)

Details:

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 7, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

WHERE: Seattle Holistic Center, Wallingford: at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.

COST: $20 per student, or $25 for couples ($10 of this is redeemable at Punkernoodle Baby, your local Ballard cloth diaper shop. Cash, check or credit card.

MORE INFO: Adults only, please (you may bring a newborn if you have a partner to help with any distractions). For more info or to sign up ahead call Natalie at 206-325-3497 or email: mail@punkernoodlebaby.com

Two Cool New Things From Gro Baby – one is here, the other on its way.

 Gro Baby biodegradable soaker pads are here. 

• Biodegradable & Compostable
• Breathable & Hypo-Allergenic
• Fragrance & Dye Free
• Plastic Free
• Chlorine Free 

Made for use inside your Gro Baby shells as an alternative to the organic cotton soaker pads. Great for travel or lazy moments. A box of $50 is $19.99.

And new prints are being released! How cute are these?!

We have them on pre-order, scheduled to arrive the week of Nov. 10!

Hee hee hee hee hee: saturday-night-live-pampers

Thanks to those of you who have donated new or used cloth diapers for our Fall Diaper Drive!

We so far have a growing stack of prefolds, pockets, inserts and some covers. We are thrilled to set up a collection bin next weekend at the Sustainable Ballard Festival.

We are particularly in need of covers!

Donations can be dropped off anytime on our secured porch at 7350 Mary Ave. NW, Seattle 98117 – we are in the Ballard neighborhood. We also have a collection bin at Childish Things on Holman Road (which by the way has THE BEST baby and young child clothing selection right now).

Lots of new and different cloth diapers are being announced this week at the ABC Kids Show in Vegas. These cool dipes are going to be on pre-order and will stock at Punkernoodle Baby as soon as they are available this fall. A preview from the manufacturers:

econobum, from the makers of bumGenius:

Econobum features:

• A waterproof shell, so no extra cover is needed.

• Form fitting elastic to prevent leaks.

• Easy to use snaps.

• One-size prefold easily adjusts from small to large to grow with your baby.

• No stuffing involved just lay prefold in cover and go!

• Patent pending 3×3 adjustable snap system to fit most babies from birth to potty training.

is designed for the on-the-go consumer. One of the things we find most exciting about the Flip system is the disposable insert. This insert eases the transition into cloth diapers, makes vacations simple and helps families through times when life just demands something disposable. This system is fully supported with 100% reusable inserts as well. The One-Size Stay-Dry Insert is perfect for overnights or to keep little bums dry anytime. The 100% Organic Insert is perfect for families who prefer the more natural things in life. Whether you are at work, at home or traveling with your baby, the Flip system will be here for you with exactly what you need.

Flip, also from the makers of bumGenius, is designed for the on-the-go consumer. One of the things we find most exciting about the Flip system is the disposable insert. This insert eases the transition into cloth diapers, makes vacations simple and helps families through times when life just demands something disposable. This system is fully supported with 100% reusable inserts as well. The One-Size Stay-Dry Insert is perfect for overnights or to keep little bums dry anytime. The 100% Organic Insert is perfect for families who prefer the more natural things in life. Whether you are at work, at home or traveling with your baby, the Flip system will be here for you with exactly what you need.

Organic Caboose Organic One-size Snap Fitted Diaper with quick drying snap-in liner is created with pure American grown and sewn organic cotton fleece.  This diaper has it all!
 
Featuring 5 adjustable rise settings, a snap-down for the umbilicus, snap adjustment settings, and a fold-over quick drying snap-in diaper liner for extra absorbency.

Organic Caboose Hybrid All-in-one One-size Snaps Diaper is perhaps the most economical organic diapering option! 
 
This diaper is constructed with bamboo outer/PUL shell with a layer of organic cotton liner.  Baby’s skin only touches the natural fibers! 
 
We recommend 3-4 washable refills per outer cover.  This diaper combines the convenience of the diaper and cover in one. 
 
Features adjustable snap closure, snap-down umbilicus, elastized waist in the front and back.