Reasons to get excited about your Children’s Summer Break

All those months of getting up early, getting the kids ready for school and helping them with their homework have come an end.  Yep, I’m talking about your kids getting out of school for the Summer.

If you are anything like me you might have mixed feelings about what’s happening around your house right now. After all, there are definitely some perks to having our children in school all day. If you are one of those parents having mixed feelings about Summer Break…. get over it. Here are some reasons to get excited about your Children’s Summer Break.

Catch up on a little Sleep

( image by viralbus)
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When it comes to the environment and taking care of it I think I help out in an average way. I recycle cans, plastic and paper; I turn water off when brushing my teeth; I use aluminum reusable water bottles; I even run around the house turning off the lights. But, is that enough? Probably not.

On April 22nd its Earth Day. Earth Day is a day to help spread awareness about the environment and what we humans can do to protect the Earth. This is the Day that I vow to do better…. to do my part to ensure a healthy and sustainable planet for all of us. I am certainly not doing enough. But this, starting today, will change.

Earth has given me and my family so much. And, unfortunately up until now I think I have been taking much of what Earth has provided us for granted. No more…. it stops now.

My Vow to Earth on Earth Day

I love my Earth and Earth has been generous to my family. Earth provides the air we breath and the wonderful land my children play on. It feeds us and keeps on giving. But, without our part will the Earth as we know it be here for our children’s children? The thought makes me shudder. It has to be…. so I am changing my ways. How? Through many of the following Earth Day Activities that I will continue even once Earth Day has long passed.

Earth Day Activities

Plant a Garden

Not only is gardening fun for kids and the entire family, it is also a wonderful way to help the environment. Planting a garden is a terrific way to celebrate Earth Day!! We have already started our new garden earlier this month and we are loving it!!

How Planting a Garden Helps the Environment

Planting a garden is your way of helping limit the amount of fruits and vegetables that are shipped in from far away.

Plant a Tree

This is one of the Earth Day Activities that I’m most excited about taking part in with my family. Planting a Tree in your yard is something that not only will the Earth love, but you will enjoy the Tree every day you look at it. After all, it was a family Earth Day Project planted with love. It doesn’t get much better than that.

How Planting a Tree Helps the Environment

Trees help our environment in quite a few wonderful ways.

• Trees offer us oxygen
• Trees provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.
• Reduce ozone levels in urban areas

Just think, with one tree you plant you will be helping the environment in three ways. And, this is not just on Earth day, but every day.

Composting

Composting is another new activity I will be starting this Earth Day. I have never composted, but from what I understand it is very easy and an amazing way to help our Earth. Composting is taking your kitchen scraps and instead of throwing them out you put them in your garden. It is supposed to help your garden grow beautifully and like I said…. we just started our garden, so this is exactly what we need.

How does Composting Help the Environment

Composting is an all natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. The nutrients in compost support the microorganisms in the soil. Another words, the soil eats it right up and makes it the proper environment for our vegetables and plants to grow at its best.

Purchase Items with Less Packaging

Our landfills are quickly filling up. And, much of it is from the materials that the items we purchase are packaged in. So, many of these items have needless packaging… it is very upsetting.

Malt-O-Meal has bagged the box. They package their delicious cereal in just a bag instead of a bag and a box. What does this mean? It means Malt-O-Meal’s resealable bag results in 75% less consumer waste. And, my kids think they are YUMMY!!!

How does Less Packaging help the Environment

It means less garbage in our landfill which are quickly filling up.

Other Earth Day Projects

Just as important as the above four Earth Day Activities here are some other items I will be enforcing this Earth Day.

• Putting night lights on a timer - My little ones need night lights, but they don’t need to be on 24/7. Timers will ensure that the night lights are off during daytime hours.
• Be more aware of what I’m throwing away – There are so many items that can be recycled and I’m positive that I’m throwing things away that I shouldn’t be. I am vowing to be more aware and to read-up on what I should be recycling.
• Trash can become Treasures with Crafts – I had no idea all the awesome items you can make from things that I normally would throw away. Did you know that you could make secret storage boxes made from recycled books??? How Awesome is that?! There are tons of treasures you could make from recycled crafts.
• Start using environmentally safe cleaning products - There are tons of environmentally safe cleaning products out there now-a-days. Or, I could even make my very own homemade environmentally safe cleaning products. Either way, what I use will not harm my family or the environment.
• Being more aware how much bath water I use on the little ones – My little ones need their tubbies, but certainly they can manage on a little less water.
• Start hanging clothes out to dry…. great to do in this gorgeous Spring weather. - I do at least 2 loads of laundry a day. With just a little act of hanging these clothes out to dry on nice days I could save the environment a great deal of stress. I’m actually looking forward to this one…. I think it could be very relaxing.
• Start using reusable grocery bags. – This is an easy switch. I see that my grocery store sells these reusable grocery bags. I can simply keep them in my car and grab them every time I shop. Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeazy.

This is a hefty list, but I feel my Earth deserves my help. Earth has given me so much and I’m prepared to do my part to give back. The above are my Vows to Earth and I’m going to work hard on each….. not just on Earth Day, but every day. Would you join me?

Top image by aussiegall

Now-a-days it seems that children are more materialistic than ever. They have tons of video games, more than one game system, iPods, cell phones and designer clothes just to name a few. Much of the problem is some of the TV shows that are on TV. For example a show on MTV called “Sweet 16″  shows teenagers with the best clothes, shopping for brand new sports cars they want for their birthday present and planning their $200,000 birthday parties.  Shows like this give children the impression that money comes easily. (more…)

In many areas around the globe Spring means that rain will fall more often than usual. And, the rain in Spring is important as our beautiful World needs it for its survival as we know it. Without Spring rain our beautiful flowers wouldn’t grow, the trees would begin to suffer and our land would become dry.

But, as a mom I know that when it rains it means that our children become crazy, rambunctious children. They begin to become stir-crazy from being in the house for too long. Children love being outside… they love running around, discovering nature and playing which helps exhaust their never ending energy a bit. But, when they are in the house they can’t do this. When the weather is bad for many days on end children begin climbing the walls and our stresses as a parent begin to climb.

But, unlike rain in the Fall and Winter…. rain in the Spring and Summer tends to be warmer. As long as the rain storm is not an electrical storm there is really no danger in letting your children get wet. As a matter of fact with the right kind of rain clothes your children can not only really enjoy themselves out in the rain, but they can also learn a lot from it. (more…)

It’s Springtime and when I think of Spring I think of grass growing, trees getting their leaves back, flowers blossoming, animals running around, kids playing outside. Basically, when I think of Spring I think of “Life”.

With that being said I’m going to write about something that combines two spring like topics….

Life & Gardening.

Okay, before you start think I have absolutely gone bazerk let me explain.

There is a lesson that every parent should teach their children. It is the lesson of Respecting other Living things.

This lesson can be a very tough one to teach, but when you start teaching this lesson early and continue throughout the child’s life you have a better chance of raising happy human beings that won’t take life for granted. And, using Gardening can help you teach your children this life lesson without them knowing that you are teaching them any lesson at all.

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As a mother we have tons of responsibilities and duties to take care of throughout our day. We wear a ton of hats as a mom. And, much of the time moms feel they are taken for granted. We work hard and there isn’t a payday at the end of the week. However, our payday comes throughout everyday. No, nothing monetarily, but something worth so much more. A paycheck that is worth so much more than any bank can cash. I am talking about the sentimental things. The things our children do or say without even realizing they are giving us the strength as a mom to keep going and keep taking care of our family.

Happy Mother’s Day my fellow Mothers. I know you work so hard. And, you do it without thought or resist. Here are a few of the hats you and I wear everyday.

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For many people April brings tons of rain, green grass, leaves on the trees, beautiful flowers, longer days and warmer weather. But, there is something else that April brings that many people dread…..

Tax Season.

But, for people who receive refunds instead of dread their thoughts are consumed with trying to figure out what they are going to do with their tax refund. Should they save it? Should they pay-off a credit card? Should they put on an addition on the house? Should they invest it?

While all are fantastic ideas on traditional things to do with your tax refund. I’m going to write about something a bit non-traditional.
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Making Time for yourself is so important. In order to be happy and healthy you need to do things for yourself. But, this can be very difficult for many mothers. Putting others first is part of our job description, right? Wrong. We keep saying to ourselves if there is time left over at the end of the day for me then I will do something for myself. But truthfully, when does that time every come? Usually never.

Truth is most mothers give so much to their children, husband and households that there is usually never time left for themselves. And, the fact is that this is not good for them or their families. Not only could you as a mother be suffering, but chances are if you are not taking time for yourself than not only are you suffering, but your children and your husband are suffering as well. (more…)

The Easter Holidays are just around the corner. And, I don’t know about your household, but in my household my kids love to celebrate each upcoming holiday with some holiday crafts. Not only do crafts entertain my children, but it also builds their excitement for the Holiday itself. Plus, their artistic creations always fill my home with Holiday Decorations which the entire family and all that visit can enjoy.

So, with that being said, I thought I would do a link round-up of some of my favorite Easter Crafts I found through-out the blogosphere. Some of the following Crafts are more for the adults and some are meant more for children. But, all are sure to give your family plenty of Easter enjoyment. And, the Easter Bunny will be sure to know how excited your family is when he comes to your house for his annual visit.

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If you are like me and have a child whose birthday happens to be in March then I’m sure you know the struggles it can be to plan a birthday party. You never know what kind of weather it will be on their special day. March’s weather is very iffy…. Is it going to snow? Is it going to rain? Will it be cold, warm or chilly? Will it be windy or icy? Will it be a beautiful Spring day? Do I plan a birthday party inside or outside? (more…)