APConnect!

It’s spring class time at Peppermint Baby Boutique.

Baby Sign Language
Learning to sign with your baby is giving your baby the gift to communicate. Baby sign language eases your child’s frustration, builds their self confidence, increases I.Q., language skills and the ability to pay attention, fosters a love of books and more sophisticated play and strengthens the family bond.
Mondays at 3 p.m. starting March 31 (8 week session)
Cost: $80 per person or $120/couple

Prepared Childbirth
(12 hours) Topics include: late pregnancy, labor, birth, postpartum and newborn characteristics. Common hospital routines, medications, and labor management are discussed in depth.
Tuesdays at 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. starting March 25 – April 15
Mondays at 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. starting April 28 – May 19
Cost: $85

Fast Track Prepared Childbirth (6 hours)
Saturday, April 5, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Cost: $85
Baby Care, Bonding & Breastfeeding
Gain confidence and learn to care for your baby. Practice holding, diapering, swaddling and bathing a baby (doll). Learn about effective ways to calm a fussy baby, feeding choices, and health concerns of newborns through infancy.
Saturday, April 19, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. or Saturday, May 31, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $35
Peppermint Baby Boutique is located at 1778 N. Plano Rd., Suite 100 in Richardson, 75081, (214) 623-5080.

Dallas/Fort Worth Holistic Parenting

Bree Penninger, owner of Bree’s Bums in Richardson, will speak to the group about cloth diapering. See sample products, and ask all those questions you’ve been wondering about cloth diapering.

2 p.m. Sunday, March 9
Family First Chiropractic
3885 Irving Mall
Irving, TX 75062

Located at 183 and Beltline in the Irving Mall, on the lower level next to Dillard’s. It’s easiest to enter through the lower level of Dillard’s or at the Food Court mall entrance both facing 183.
As always, admission is free and children are welcome.

DFW Holistic Parenting
February Meeting

Sam Shay, chiropractic intern at Parker College of Chiropractic on holistic nutrition. Sam is considered by many at Parker as a nutrition guru. Come and learn about holistic nutrition and have your nutrition questions answered.

2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10
Family First Chiropractic
3880 Irving Mall
Irving 75062
Located at 183 and Betline in the Irving Mall on the lower level next to Dillard’s; easiest to enter at the “Food Court” mall entrance facing 183.

As always, admission is free and children are welcome.

Ready to heal and live again? Come experience the power, healing, reconnection and strength of ReBirth, for women who have experienced a disappointing pregnancy or birth (unplanned cesarean, unplanned birth outcome, loss of baby, difficult pregnancy or birth, etc.).

ReBirth Healing Retreat
Saturday, March 29, 2008
9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

For more information and to register go to:
ReBirth Healing Retreat

Or contact:
Leigh Anne DuChene, HLC, CBE, BC, doula, LMT
(254) 214-4645

From a local AP mom and college student:

I am looking for several moms and babies (age 4-15 months) to participate in an AP-supportive parenting video I am creating with a colleague at UTD.  If you are interested, please email me directly and I will tell you more about the project. You can help make a difference in the lives of future parents and children! 

It’s one day only for a babywearing clearance event at Peppermint.

Wednesday, Jan. 30
12-6 p.m. ONLY
Crazy clearance prices!

We will be clearing out merchandise that is not available for sale on The Sling Station or Peppermint.com, including discontinued items, customer returns, open packages
and some in-store demo models. Most are in new condition, but are not sellable as new because they have been taken out of the package, tried on and possibly washed a time or two. Some are brand new but have been discontinued.

Come help us clear out the old to make room for the new merchandise in our retail store. Keep reading for more on what’s available, after the break. (more…)

Peppermint, a new baby boutique in Richardson, will celebrate its recent birth with the city’s largest baby shower! Life doesn’t stop when baby arrives. Peppermint offers solutions for parents struggling with the following: a baby who wants to be held all day long, a mom with a bad back, a toddler to also chase after, a newborn to nurse. And for parents who believe babies belong close to caregivers, we provide an extensive and ever-growing database of the many different ways to wear a baby, including video tutorials and instructional sheets.

Peppermint Grand Opening
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23
1778 N. Plano Rd., Suite 100, Richardson

• The Business of Being Born special sneak preview. This new film from Ricki Lake is creating buzz wherever it goes. Show times at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission $5, or free with a baby item donation.
• Donation drive to support The Network of Community Ministries. Peppermint seeks donations of baby items including diapers, wipes, toiletries and baby food to support local infants in need.
• Baby fair with demonstration classes such as pre/postnatal yoga, baby sign language and sling demonstrations.
• Peppermint Baby mascot contest Get creative with dolls and/or craft supplies to create the Peppermint Baby. The top three most creative entries will win a $100 gift certificate. (more…)

Interested in homeschooling, preschooling, or some kind of fun activities for you and your kiddos? Check out DFW Fun Family Learning, offering support and encouragement for homeschooling families in Dallas/Fort Worth — especially for those just starting homeschooling and for those with very young children (under 6 years old).

DFW Fun Family Learning gathers regularly to swap ideas, go (book) shopping, mom’s nights, park days and nature studies. We are beginning to have parent-organized events — so if there is something specific you want to do, just make it happen. (more…)

As part of a fundraiser for the the Children’s Room at the Quaker Meeting House, Dallas Friends are hosting a storytelling event at 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 3, at the meeting house at 5828 Worth St. in Dallas, 75214. Storytellers for this event will be Ann Marie Newman, SteveMcCluer and Twice Upon a Time Storytellers Gene and Peggy Helmick-Richardson. A $5 donation is requested for adults. Children with adults are FREE!

The Business of Being Born
North Dallas Area Screening & Panel Discussion
9:30 a.m. Saturday, February 9
Providence Church, Frisco (423 at Eldorado Pkwy)

10:30 a.m. The Business of Being Born – Video Showing (auditorium holds up to 200 people)
12:00 p.m. Panel discussion – local midwife, physician, doula, and experts discuss the video and field questions
12:30-1:30 p.m. Birth circles, booths, baby fair

$4 online
$5 at the door
Proceeds will be donated to the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services, Transparency project.
(more…)

The City of Plano is working to form a corps of volunteers committed to making Plano a cleaner, greener and healthier city. Volunteers will have the opportunity to:

• Learn about water protection and conservation, air quality, energy efficiency, responsible yard care and managing waste.
• Incorporate your new skills and passion for the environment into volunteer opportunities ranging from hands-on training to fun educational programs.
• Help residents discover the meaning and importance of living green in Plano.

The training is on six consecutive Tuesday evenings from 7-9 p.m. Visit Live Green in Plano for more information.

from: Dallas Sierra Club News

Going to school now means going online for Victoria McClure-Esqueda. The Irving 8-year-old is one of hundreds of students across North Texas who have enrolled at the Texas Virtual Academy at Southwest, an online public school that opened to area students for the first time in 2007.

The students work at home and study a curriculum created by a contracted company, but they can earn the same credits as students who attend any other public school in the state.

For Victoria, online learning means studying some advanced fourth-grade courses and, perhaps more important, not slacking off.

Read more by Karen Ayres Smith at The Dallas Morning News.