No time to ready my witty and enlightening commentary? Here’s a list of the sites I’m talking about today:
The Green Mama
The Common Cup
Kiddos and Books
I had the pleasure of meeting Manda, the Green Mama herself, a few weeks ago at the Rogers Park branch of the Chicago Public Library system. The Green Mama offers “education and consulting services [that] helps individuals and businesses keep children safe, live green within a budget, and enjoy a more eco-conscious lifestyle.” Besides consulting with individual families, day care centers, and businesses on all things green, Manda also publishes a blog and writes and researches on green issues. Manda is currently running a series at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum on Tuesday mornings. It’s called Green Mama Cafe, and the series covers topics like cloth diapering, baby wearing, breastfeeding, green parenting, and green cooking, among others. If you’re near Lincoln Park on a Tuesday morning between now and May 5th, make sure you stop by and hear what Manda has to say. You won’t be sorry!
The Common Cup is an independently owned coffee shop in the lovely neighborhood of Rogers Park. And, as if serving really yummy coffee and having incredibly nice baristas working there wasn’t enough, the owners of the common cup are also dedicated to both building and giving back to the community. One really neat way the Common Cup gives back to the Rogers Park neighborhood is by donating the contents of each month’s tip jar to a “local, non-profit organization that serves the citizens of Rogers Park.” Jude and I (and Josh, if he’s not working) have been going to the Common Cup on Saturday mornings to take part in the most ass-kicking story time I have ever been to. Speaking of which…
Kiddos and Books is a blog run by Nadine, the incredible woman who organizes story time (or, “Stories with Nadine”) at the Common Cup on Saturday mornings. Nadine might just be the most joyful woman I’ve ever met. She’s expressive and… oh… oozing with happiness whenever we see her. She knows (nearly) all the children by name, sings hello and goodbye to each and every one of them, and really makes reading exciting. Saturday mornings are really the highlight of my weekends these days. If you’re in Rogers Park and haven’t been to Stories with Nadine, I suggest you make it a priority to get there next Saturday. If you’re not local, check out Kiddos and Books for some great reading suggestions and book reviews.
