Green Parent Chicago

The Green Stork Recommends: I now pronounce you…Baptized….

My eldest son had three “costume changes” for his baptism. Above, was the a bit too white Christening gown that I bought him based exclusively on the fact that it had the most lace (I’m Cuban.)

Below was the outfit that he wore to begin the baptism. It’s The Family Gown. All Cubans have one of these and all grandmothers will feign heart problems if the child does not wear it for at least half the baptism. Cuban grandmothers are second only to Jewish ones for chest clutching. (Important note: The cross my son is wearing was worn by my grandfather as he landed on Omaha Beach the day after D Day – and the same one that protected him on his march to Munich – from said bloody beach, with shrapnel in his legs. My son is blessed with his eyes – and lets hope – his astounding sense of courage, duty and family.)

After wearing the same gown his grandpapa wore and the lace concoction mummy bought him – it was time for the “luncheon” outfit…

 

(Tia Pat and Uncle Jess holding their great-nephew.)

And then. Like any good Cuban man – it was off with the shirt – but never naked, as he was in gold and a hat. (How did we NOT have a cigar for this shot?!)

Yes. Our men wear bracelets.

All in all, it was a wonderful, tradition and family filled day. Exactly as it should be.

I packed away my sons Baptism gown and didn’t think I would think about again until my grandchildren were born.

SURPRISE!

I got pregnant.

Had the Angel Gabriel woken me up with a warm Chai and bagel, I couldn’t of been more shocked.  In fact, I didn’t even realize my “situation” for 3 months. Imagine.

So. Once again, as a Catholic, I had to decide: What will he wear after The Family Gown?

Having not been perfectly pleased with Too White dress that my eldest wore and wanting my second son to have his own gown, I scoured the internet looking for something antique or vintage that would suit. Something with lace and the natural patina of time.

Not as easy as I thought.

I searched Italian, French and English sites – and found nothing. There was lace – but with bows or pink accents. There was silk, but without enough lace. There was old – but too Victorian and cotton. There just wasn’t what I wanted.

And then, on Etsy, I found a lady in Canada that converts old wedding gowns into baptism gowns. Hmmmmm….

I liked the idea – but didn’t have my grandmothers gown on hand. So. I bought someone elses.

There are simply scads of old (affordable) wedding dresses at vintage stores across the country. And most of them are simply dripping in lace. After a few weeks I found an old, tea colored by time, Edwardian dress that I thought would be perfect.

Someones size 0 grandmama looked rather fetching sometime in the 20′s wearing this. And she liked lace too.

I ordered it immediately.

I then sent the dress, which smelled of mothballs and time, to Erika Mills at Petite Parfait. And this is what she returned to this Jane Austin loving mama…

Closeup shots…

and…

And…

Classic, reeking of age and timelessness, I now have exactly what I wanted: a dress worthy of a prince with SOUL.

Perfect for generations of grandsons or granddaughters, my newest son and heir will be wearing something that is both almost 80 years old – and yet brand new and never seen before. Its green. Its classic. Its an heirloom twice over. And I could not be happier.

Rather than buy a gown that is made by the hundreds or thousands (which material has been doused in chemicals), consider re-purposing that too small to ever be worn by modern woman wedding gown that is crumbling in the attic – or at your local vintage store. I’m sure that Erika would be happy to convert it into the perfect Christening gown for you.

Mazel Tov!

-"The Green Stork" Claire Douglass is a first time Chicago mom, concerned with ever increasing data connecting childhood health issues from asthma to autism to exposure to common household toxins, chemicals and air quality – seeks to detoxify her nest, and create as green a nursery and playroom as possible.Without driving herself, or her husband, crazy. The former is going far better than the latter.

 

Urban Green Space: Indian Boundary Park

While I live pretty far north to begin with, I would still make the drive to Indian Boundary Park from downtown and beyond. Seriously, take advantage of this warmish fall weather, pack a picnic, grab the kids and head to N. Rockwell and W. Lunt Ave for a mini city escape!  I have heard the word "magical" to describe this park and I couldn't agree more.

Upon arrival we walked past a row of heavily occupied tennis courts.  We followed the side-walked trail towards the playground and stumbled upon a fenced in area full of animals!  What!?  How did I not know this place even existed!?  We saw some chickens and a few goats and this made both of my children very happy.  There were even more cages, but either the animal was inside it's house, sleeping or didn't exist. Either way, this pleasant surprise set the precedent for the rest of the day.

The playground is a wooden one with tons of tunnels, bridges, nooks and crannies and secret hiding spots. It is completely maze-like with little castles, a wood constructed train and tons of tires to climb on and under.  It the center you will find a little sandbox that appeared to be well kept and clean (for a sandbox).  If this isn't enough, you have the option of sixteen swings to choose from.  My only gripe here is that the big kid swings are low riders, you really have to keep those legs up when nearing the ground.  And then the baby swings are set incredibly high.  Little strange.

My only concern with the playground is that it is incredibly hard to keep track of your children if you have more than one.  So many hidden areas make it easy for a kid to disappear, which can be more than a little nerve racking. While we were there a mom lost track of her young toddler and he ended up falling about three feet to the ground. Scary stuff.

Surrounding the park is the mini zoo, a large water sprinkler, tons of grass and trees, a lagoon full of ducks and a really cute field house. The field house is closed on Sundays (the day we visited) and the bathrooms on the outside of the house were locked as well.  I do know that the field house has a stage and that there are often free performances and concerts that are put on.  I wish I could describe it, but hope to check out the inside in a future visit (which there will be!).

We spent our time exploring the playground, saying hi to the goats and walking around the lagoon to check out the bird and butterfly sanctuary.  We loved all of the ducks, monarch butterflies and pretty flowers.

Love:  a unique playground, tons to climb, plenty of swings (one tire), trees, grass, lagoon, mini zoo, sandbox, bathrooms, drinking fountains.

Hate:  while I love the wooden playground, I hate the nails and splinters that come with, wood chips (even though they really make sense), low riding swings, hard to keep track of kids.

Special feature:  splash area, lagoon, mini zoo

-view more photos of Indian Boundary here.

-Elizabeth Faber is a stay-at-home mom, part-time substitute teacher and the author of the blog, Urban Green Space.  She enjoys getting out into the greener parts of Chicago and does so weekly by visiting a new park within the city with her husband, two kids and occasionally the dog.  Urban Green Space was created to share descriptions and completely biased reviews of Chicago’s great (and sometimes not so great) parks.  

EarthTalk: Recycled PET Carpeting in Nurseries, Better for the Environment, Safe for Baby?

Dear EarthTalk: I have a carpet made out of recycled PET bottles in my baby’s room and I started noticing a lot of the fibers on our clothes and even in my mouth! Is it dangerous for me or my baby to be in contact with and possibly ingest these fibers? -- Ashley Riccaboni, via e-mail

The jury is still out as to whether PET plastics can leach contaminants into our systems, but most reputable consumer advocates seem to think the stuff is relatively benign. That said, it can’t be good to ingest carpet fibers of any kind, and a 2009 study by German scientists found that some PET water bottles contained trace amounts of chemicals that could mimic hormones if ingested. So while there is no documented proof that PET carpet fibers are bad for you, why risk it? Stay safe by keeping them out of your mouths and noses. Also, frequent vacuuming (once a week or more often) should help to contain the problem, and is recommended for general maintenance anyway.

Overall, PET carpet—which is indeed made from recycled soda and water bottles and is sold under the name brands Resistron and Permalon, among others—is a pretty green choice. Buildings in several national parks have used PET carpet in lobbies and other high-traffic areas with minimal need for maintenance and excellent results. PET fibers are naturally stain resistant and do not require the chemical treatments used on most nylon carpets, and they retain color and resist fading from exposure to the sun or harsh cleaning. PET carpet advocates report that because plastic beverage containers are made with top quality resins as required by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, recycled PET is superior to lower grades of virgin synthetic fibers used in making other brands of polyester carpet yarns.

Also, old PET carpet can live another day when it is “down-cycled” for use in other applications such as car parts, insulation, and even furniture stuffing. PET carpet advocates brag that their products keep plastic soda and water bottles out of the landfill, but who knows how many of those sacrificed bottles could have lived on as more bottles instead of other end of the line products.

GreenAmerica, publisher of the popular yearly-published National Green Pages, recommends the 100 percent post-consumer recycled PET carpets for sale on Liberty Carpet One’s GreenFloors.com website. Liberty Carpet One claims that every square yard of PET carpeting they sell keeps 40 water or soda bottles out of landfills. The company also reports that its dyeing method is less polluting and requires less energy to produce than other flooring options, and that all of their carpets have been tested and meet indoor air quality standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Of course, if you’re starting from scratch, good old natural fibers such as wool, sisal, jute and seagrass may be the greenest and healthiest carpet choices out there, especially when paired with pads made from cotton or rag (not petroleum). Other than GreenFloors PET carpeting, GreenAmerica also vouches for natural fiber offerings from the likes of Contempo Floor Coverings and Natural Home. And besides carpeting, there is a whole world of harder flooring choices that meet environmentalists’ strict criteria, from sustainably harvested hard woods to bamboo to cork.

 CONTACTS: “Plastic Water Bottles May Pose Health Hazard,” Discovery News, dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/28/water-bottles-health.html; Go Green Flooring, www.gogreenflooring.com; GreenAmerica, www.greenamerica.org.

EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.

-photo credit: holisticmonkey, Flickr

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