As indicated in my round up of greener menstrual products I am not a fan of the mainstream menstrual products for women. Paper and plastic pads and tampons just aren’t good options for the planet nor for a woman’s comfort. More than anything I think those mainstream options allow us to distance ourselves from the process as much as possible and not take responsibility for it. Either that or it is just pure convenience… aka why wash cloth pads or rinse out a Diva Cup in soapy water and get your hands dirty when you could just throw the problem away… literally.

I was very interested in trying Lunapanties because I see nothing wrong with convenience myself and having panties that also double as a cloth pad seemed genius to me and ooohhhhh it is genius. Even if you use paper sanitary napkins I dare you to see this as less convenient. Other than the washing, which I am assuming you won’t be doing by hand, down at the river, beating your panties against rocks, then this is such an easy solution. Follow me here for a second.. put the panties on… then take them off to wash. Easy! No unwrapping a sanitary napkin, peeling off the gazillion stickers that are affixed to them, no sticking it to the crotch of your undewear, no cursing when your monthly gift misses the napkin and stains your panties, no feeling like you are wearing an adult diaper, no wrapping the napkin up in toilet paper (or a time capsule to protect from pets) and throwing it away to sit in a landfill for all eternity… see… easy!

Lunapanties are basically just panties that come with some extra padding in the crotch area and they have a couple loops sewn into that area as well that allow for you to double up, or triple up even, on the protection by adding absorbent inserts. The panties and the inserts are made of super soft organic cotton (95%) and they are oh so comfortable. The other 5% is lycra to make the panties snug fitting. The ones given to me for this review are a pretty purple color but I see from the web site that they also come in black. I like the purple.

After using them for a week recently I can say that I REALLY love them. I plan to buy a couple more pairs and they, coupled with my Diva Cup, will be what I reach for every month. I also like the fact that I can still use many of my other cloth pads with them too. On heavy flow days I do need to use inserts just for my own peace of mind, and for a couple days I just used the underwear and the Diva Cup with no issues. On the last day or so I just wore the panties with no insert. I didn’t even feel like I was on my period and that ladies is lovely, as I am sure you know!

There have several different sizes (S-3XL) and have several different styles from briefs to thongs. I would recommend getting one pair and trying them to see how you like the fit and style and then ordering more. I requested large size granny panties (briefs would be the name they use) and the large seemed… well… kinda large. They seemed to me that they are sized a little to big.

The price for the panties is $29.99. If you usually buy panties at Wal-Mart for $2.00 a pop then this might seem expensive. If you buy panties at Victoria’s Secret then these will seem like a good deal. I think they are a great value, especially given that they are high quality and organic. 3 panties, my inserts and pads, and my Diva Cup will do me just fine and I will still save in the long run because I don’t have to buy sanitary napkins or tampons every month.

The washing is also very easy. I just threw them in the wash on cold and let them soak for an hour and then rinsed and spun. Then I washed them with a load of towels. They did not stain but I wouldn’t have cared much if they did…. that’s just not a big deal to me. The Luna company recommends Nellie’s A-Natural Laundry Soda Soap Detergent, which I have used and like and they suggest BunchaFarmers Biodegradable Stain Remover Stick for stains. Never heard of it but I may have to try that now!

All in all I find this to be one of those great products that really makes life more comfortable and convenient and yet has the benefit of being the greener option to. A++

Knowing what to get a green mom for Mother’s Day can be a tough call. In general most green moms believe in reduce, reduce, reduce, reuse whenever we can, and then when we HAVE to… recycle. The commercialization of Mother’s Day often means we get gift and get “crap we don’t need”. But if you take into consideration what a mom values, what a green mom values, and what type of gifts we would actually use… then you can come up with a few sure fire ideas.

1. Gift the Gift of Time – No fancy gift required just spend time together. Play a board game, watch a movie on Netfix, go for a walk and a picnic. The pace of life is so hurried nowadays that a leisurely day with family is always a gift.

2. Donate to a worthy cause in their name – The National Wildlife Organization offers symbolic adoptions so if your mom has a special place in her heart reserved for Bottlenose Dolphins or Northern Cardinals… you can adopt an animal for her and the money goes to conservation and education. Purchasing the gift is also a great learning opportunity for kids.

3. The Gift That Keeps on Giving – I know I am a broken record about season passes but they are just so awesome they have to be mentioned. A family membership to the local zoo, science center, or art museum would be a gift that mom can use with her family ALL YEAR LONG! Also a Netflix membership would be a great gift for a movie lover.

4. A Mother’s Helper - As a mom myself I can tell you that a gift certificate for a cleaning service would be heaven sent. A certificate for services rendered by family would be just as nice and cheaper too. I know my mom would love it as well. I would not put it past her to be reading this and be expecting it, LOL.

Other Mother’s Helpers might include a Learning Tower or Kinder Perch. This mom LOVES hers.

5. A Good Book - If the moms in your life like to read then you cant go wrong with a good book. Here is what rates high on my radar… you may get some ideas yourself:

Fiction: Sookie Stackhouse series. Other than the Twilight series I think these may be the only fiction books I own.

Wannabe Country Girls: MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook & MaryJane’s Outpost

The Foodie: Pioneer Woman Cooks (deliriously good food!!) or A Spoonful of Ginger

Outdoorsy Mama: Nature’s Secret Messages: Hidden in Plain Sight

Creative Mama: Handmade Home

Simple Mama: Simplicity Parenting

6. Do Pretty Without Doing Flowers - Flowers die and most are grown and harvested in ways that make our planet very unhappy. Instead of flowers this mom would rather have a pretty vintage tablecloth and maybe a pot of live wheatgrass to sit on it. If you must give flowers find an obliging field of wildflowers to pick!

7. A Gift That Makes Mom’s Life Easier – When you find those rare products that truly make your life easier you can’t help but shout on the rooftops about them. For me that product is the Vita-Mix. For other moms it might be a juicer, a Kindle, an iPad, or a set of Pyrex dishes. It could even be the perfect backpack style camera bag so that mom will have a nice place to store her DSLR and her lenses so she can take more pictures of the world cutest kids.

8. Give Reusables – Green moms love resuable products that will last and add value to their hectic lives. The company Reuseit.com has a great selection of products that qualify. They recently asked their fans on Facebook what moms consider as a must have reusable product. I answered a Diva Cup and Luna Panties but that may make some people uncomfrtable to get or gift for Mother’s Day but you can’t go wrong with the products they offer at Reuseit. They even have a Mother’s Day coupon going around for 10% off if your interested: MOM10.

What would be your perfect mother’s day gift?

This made me giggle when I saw it this morning. The rant of a little girl who had to endure her father watching Football on TV instead of taking her to the beach. ROFL.

I saw this here via HuffPo. I can totally see my kids writing something like this…

Was quiet and low key, no parties and no events… just a walk in the woods with husband and kids, and a couple cloth bags to pick up garbage. What says "earth day" more than this first photo? (Click to enlarge – its worth it)

Who celebrates Earth Day by blasting confetti poppers near the creek??? Hmmph!

If given the choice I will usually opt for soy or beeswax crayons. The conventional ones made from petro products are not a favorite. I will usually make an exception for recycled crayon products though because you are buying used instead of new. The fact that Eco Stars are made from recycled materials, along with the fact that my youngest needs to work on his grasping skills according to his therapist at school, made me think this product might be a good fit for us. Theses crayons are melted down into cute little stars and they are perfect for my son's little fingers to grasp.

The box is also made form recycled materials so all around a pretty earth friendly product and the color array is good too. They are also pretty exciting to a four year old as well. No idea yet if it is helping with his grip issues but its not as if crayons will go unused in this house!

These, along with our beloved crayon rocks, might just be the cutest crayons ever. These clever crayons are a product from Organic Fun Dough.