One more way to help Babies

Did you know you can donate your used cell phone to be recycled and benefit the March of Dimes?

Learn more about the program here, or go directly to the postage paid mailing label and just send in your old phone in any USPS approved packaging.

We raised a truly outstanding amount of money for the March for Babies, and now I'm so delighted to discover this program- we can free ourselves of items that are totally useless to us, and help babies at the same time!

Why should I recycle my cell phone?
Electronic waste is the most quickly growing waste concern worldwide. The average life span of a cell phone is only eighteen months. On average 130 million cell phones are retired annually in the U.S. alone. Therefore, cell phone recycling is imperative. Nationwide, it is estimated that only 1% of retired cell phones are recycled or reused. The remainder litter closets, drawers, and unfortunately landfills. Cell phone recycling has even become a requirement in some states and counties. California has enacted legislation that requires retailers to accept obsolete and retired wireless phones from consumers at no charge. In addition, New York also has legislation that requires wireless telephone service suppliers to accept obsolete and retired cell phones at no charge to the consumer.

Source: Recellular.com

Ian's Birthday Cakes

Some of your guests at your child's first birthday party may still not have turned one year old. This means some of them may not have started eggs and/or dairy yet. At subsequent birthdays, your child may have egg or dairy allergic friends who would still like to enjoy the cake (or be the dairy allergic kid him or her self!). Here's your solution!

For Ian's first birthday party, I made two versions of a dairy and egg-free cake from allrecipes.com. You can find the original, chocolate cake recipe here. It is excellent and reliable. No one would eat it and go, "dang! There's no eggs in that thing." Both were excellent plain or frosted with whipped cream. You can also find soy-milk based frosting recipes. Got a wheat-allergic kid at the party? Try a test batch in advance with oat or rice flour. I've made the chocolate version with oat flour and it came out a little crumbly but otherwise good.

I also substituted one cup of the regular flour with whole wheat, and they were good when fresh but on the second day they got gritty. So if you are going to gobble the cake up right away, go for it and add a little whole grain!

These should be refrigerated, as there is so much fruit in them that they will mold at room temperature after a couple days.

Dairy and Egg Free Banana Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
  
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add bananas, water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat by hand until smooth.
4. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
5. For cupcakes: Makes approximately 30 each. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
6. For half recipe: Bake in loaf pan for 45 minutes.
   

Dairy and Egg Free Peach Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  
• 4 ripe peaches, peeled and diced
  
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. Add peaches, water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat by hand until smooth.
4. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
5. For cupcakes: Makes approximately 30 each. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
6. For half recipe: Bake in loaf pan for 45 minutes.
   

Balloon Releases

Some of you, like me, have probably stashed away the hearsay that it's harmful to wildlife to release balloons.

Apparently, it's okay to release latex balloons, which are biodegradable- it's actually the plastic ribbon often attached to them that is the problem.

Here is an article that talks about responsible balloon releases: http://www.balloonrelease.com/faqs.htm

I was pleased to read this because the symbolism of balloon release is so beautiful.