I had coffee this morning with one of my favorite girlfriends.  With our sons in tow, we drank our “Starbucks”, and found ourselves discussing the environment and the whole “green” thing.  My friend told me about this great website called www.cosmeticsdatabase.com.  On this website you can type in a brand of product, such as Johnson & Johnson, Maybelline, etc.  You will get a load of valuable information such as if the product is environmentally friendly or harmful, if the company does animal testing, and most importantly if the chemicals used in their products contain toxins that are harmful to our bodies!  I was so surprised to find out that many of our “trusted brands” contain many harmful chemicals and they test their products on animals!  I have been using “Aveeno” since I had my daugher 4 1/2 years ago and was surprised to see that not only do they test on animals, but their products also contain many of the “yucky toxins’” that are hazardous to our bodies and the environment.  As a family we do “little” things to try and do our share of keeping our world green.  We recycle, we limit our use of paper goods, we buy energy star appliances, etc. ,etc.  After seeing the information available on this website, I now know that I need to take a more “pro-active” approach to living Green.  I don’t mean turning into a ”hippie-vegan-hemp” wearing person (no offense to any of you who might fit that description), but I will now start to read those labels a little more carefully to see exactly what I am putting on my little ones.  Using the organic, non-toxic, eco-friendly, no animal products type of products may cost me a little more in my wallet, but it sure does give me peace of mind knowing that I’m using the best choice available for my babies.  I mean if we can spend ridiculous amounts of money on handbags, designer jeans, and even sunglasses…..than spending a few extra dollars for better products for our children and us, should be worth it right?  Darn, right!  I’m repeating this to myself as I review my $50 order for 2-eight ounce bottles of organic baby shampoo……………I’m also saying:  “It’s for the kids, It’s for the kids, It’s for the kids.”  Okay, so I ended up not placing the order….not because I don’t think its worth it, but because my very wise girlfriend told me to “hold the submit key” and check out Trader Joes or Clarks first…..so that’s what I’m going to do (Thanks M!).  So, whether we’ll be washing our hair with $50 shampoo or something less expensive….at least we’ll know its good for us. :0)  I’ll keep you posted…..