Today is my oldest’s 6th birthday. I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. 6 to me seems like such a milestone age. It’s the age of public school, losing teeth, t-ball, riding a bike without training wheels (yes we have yet to master that one), and many more that are sure to come…

“Very early, I knew that the only object in life was to grow.”
- Margaret Fuller

Isn’t that all my responsibility as his parent? To ensure that he grows, and grows well, physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, in all ways. So today, I look back, I reflect, I wonder. How are my husband and I doing as parents? How are we teaching him to move in this world? Is it the way we hope to?

He just wants cake.

(So cake decorating isn’t one of my strengths, oh well.)

“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.”
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I ask him: What do you think about being 6?

He answers: It just feels the same. Lol.

“We turn no older with years but newer every day.”
- Emily Dickenson

Every day is the chance to become new, to make changes, to be the people we want to be, and to affect our children in ways that allow and encourage them to grow. Here I go…

Happy Birthday to my favorite 6 year old!

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day today with your loved ones. I have never been a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. I think it’s all a bit silly really. But…. I am a fan of love! I love thoughtful gestures, homemade cards, drawings and paintings, a special meal, lovely poems and stories, hearts, and pink, believe it or not. I just wish we were able to get away from the commercialism of the holiday. To express love we don’t need to give jewelry, or candy, or flowers. What a message we are sending our kids.

So today I urge you all to express your love in a much more creative way (to your kids, your spouse, your partner, your grandkids, whoever) and then come back and tell me about it before midnight PST on Feb. 20! The best answer is going to win a $25 gift certificate!!

Winner Update: Your responses were all so lovely. Some really struck my heart… I couldn’t decide between them, so I had to choose a random winner instead (using random.org). I want to thank you all so much for sharing your stories. Congratulations to Mary! She wins the $25 gift certificate!

Well, we’ve been having a lot of fun with our progressive sale. And I know a lot of you have too! A large part of why I started Clementine NW is that I truly believe in choosing fun, organic, safe, sustainable products especially for the most vulnerable of us all.

The biggest silver lining in the decision to close the business is being able to provide more people with the option to choose and eco-friendly product that they might not otherwise. I hate that so many fabulously designed products made with fair labor and with a focus on protecting our babies and the environment is cost prohibitive for so many. But, as in so many things, you get what you pay for… unless it’s on sale (everything is still 40% off)!

I also love giving away things for free!

So to get to the good stuff…

We’re going to be giving away a whole lot of great stuff that we’ve collected. We’ve got some Kathe Kruse baby toys, Yes To Carrots body butter, Born Free glass bottles, a fun Boogie Wipes gift basket, and a ThinkBaby bottle with sippy conversion kit. We’re also going to be giving away several free shipping coupons!

So here’s what you need to do to have a chance to win.

You must:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post with either your favorite eco-friendly product or best tip for going green with baby. Be creative! (1 entry)

Optional:

1. Make a purchase after Feb. 4 on Clementine NW and leave 5 comments here with your order number. All purchases WILL receive a little something extra. If you win a free shipping coupon you can choose to have your shipping costs refunded from your Feb. purchase or use for a future purchase. (5 entries each purchase)
2. Share our sale/giveaway and leave a comment describing how you did so with any appropriate links. Use twitter, Facebook, blogs, e-mail, message boards, etc. Please do not spam. (1 entry each method, up to 10)
3. Make positive change in your community and leave a comment sharing how you did so. (1 entry for each action, up to 10)

Please be sure that we have a valid e-mail address for you. We will be giving away something every week for the rest of the month of February, so keep those comments coming! Then watch your inboxes each Friday!

Update 2/12/10: We’ve got our 3 winners for today’s giveaways! Congrats to Saira, Serena, and Aura! Everyone else keep entering for next week’s giveaways!

Update 2/19/10: We’ve notified our 5 winners! Congrats to Sara, Taryn, Jane, Kayley, and Julie! … Keep entering for our next February giveaway next Friday!

Update 2/25/10: We’ve got our final 3 winners for this week’s giveaways! They’ve been notified and have 3 days to respond. Now go check our newest post for an announcement!

For many items, this may be it. This may be your last chance to score some hip, hot, and most of all, safe and sustainable gifts and essentials for baby and mama at unbelievable prices. Everything in the store is now 40% off our original retail prices which were already low to begin with!

We’ve still got everything from FIG organic hoodies to classic board books to products for labor ease… and a whole lot more.

This week we are also trying to do something special to help the children of Haiti. Cool Mom Picks introduced us to the organization, Soles4Souls, which receives donations of new and gently used shoes and gives them to people in need. This is something I really wanted to help with.

For every $25 purchase, Clementine NW will be donating one pair of children’s shoes to Soles4Souls that will go directly to children in Haiti.  Additionally, if you want to purchase a pair of Robeez or IsaBooties to be donated directly to Soles4Souls, let us know in the comment section at checkout.

I also urge you to find your nearest donation spot, or ship them directly, to drop off your gently used shoes.

“The time is always right to do what is right.“

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

How true that is. I think it’s something easily forgotten as well. We can always come up with an excuse for why we can’t do the right thing. Today we are celebrating a life that asked us all to dream, to effect change, to fight discrimination and poverty.

I want so much for my children to be good global citizens. I want them to seek answers for the world’s problems, to effect positive change in their communities, to be loving, compassionate people. I will use today to reinforce my belief that they can make this world a better place, that one person can make a difference. I will use today to reinforce my belief that it is always our responsibility to do what is right for ourselves, our community, our planet, and all living things.

What are you doing today?

I am sure that by now you have all heard about the devastation in Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake on Tuesday. I have to admit that on Tuesday I was not really paying attention. Of course I know that Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, but it really didn’t dawn on me that the devastation would be so severe. But it is. Heartbreaking. Truly.

I tend to get my news information in the car , since I can listen between shuttling kids and running errands. I was nearly in tears yesterday hearing the voices of family members in the U.S. not knowing if their loved ones are ok. And hearing some of the rhetoric being thrown around infuriated me.Tens of thousands of people may be dead. This is horrific. And it’s truly sad to me is that last night the number one trending topic on twitter was ‘pants on the ground’.

I recently read a study that said more people are apt to help when they believe they are helping one person, one victim, and our brains almost turn off when we think of potentially 3 million suffering. 3 million needing food, water, medical attention in a country that is far removed for most of us. But we can help. We can help. We can help one person.

So don’ think of the millions, think of one. Think of this child, help this child:

Photograph by Eduardo Munoz, Reuters

Clementine NW is joining Milagros, Black Wagon, and Bella Stella in donating 10% of sales through Monday to Mercy Corps. The Portland-based Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. We are not helpless, we need to be the change we want to see in this world.

And please consider donating directly. Even $5 can make a difference. Truly.

This is a great chance to get baby shower gifts, birthday presents, Valentine’s Day gifts, and just because gifts that are organic, safe for baby, and easy on the environment at prices you are unlikely to see again anywhere.

Your purchase will support several mom-owned, small businesses, businesses committed to the health of our children as well as the health of the environment. You get to give gifts you can feel good about giving.

Through January 24, everything in the store is now 30% off! Some of your favorite items are going quickly, so it may not be wise to wait…

This is the final week (and a half) for flat rate shipping. After this, shipping costs will be based on total weight.

All day on Friday we will be offering free shipping with coupon code: free

Tomorrow, Tuesday at 12pm PST, we are going to announce the winner of our second surprise during our progressive final sale. We are giving away a fabulous mystery prize to one of our twitter followers. All you have to do is be one of them to have a chance to win. Simple as that!

Follow us on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/clementinenw

The beginning of the first full week of the new year, the new decade, and we’ve lowered our prices again.

Everything in the store is now 20% off.

Happy safe, sustainable, organic shopping!