Earth Day Opportunity

JQ on a field trip to a local soil farm

Just like Valentines Day and Mothers Day it isn't at all bad to have an actual reminder on the calender to recognize someone or something. Earth Day is no different. Some of us need that extra little incentive to perhaps reevaluate an aspect of our life. Look at Earth Day as an opportunity. Whether it be how and what we eat, where we spend our hard earned dollars or what type of footprint we are leaving on the earth this is a chance, a reminder, an opportunity to change for the better.  As a Mami I am consistently planting seeds in the minds of my little ones. The importance of empathy, respecting the Earth, or philanthropy my purpose, my job at this time in my life is to instill these things in my children by example. We are lucky enough to live in an area that for the most part is very "green" both as a community and environmentally. We have one of the largest municipal parks less than a mile away. We can easily make our way to natural food stores, green waste, and soil farms. Our city was once named one of the most bike friendly in the country!So like almost everyday, we will be outside on Earth Day. Being outside and in natural landscapes has always been important to me. I am fortunate to be able to share that with my children and help them to respect and enjoy it as well.
Al igual que el Día de San Valentín y Día de la Madre no es del todo malo tener un recordatorio de lo contrario, el calendario de reconocer a alguien o algo. Día de la Tierra no es diferente. Algunos de nosotros necesitamos ese pequeño incentivo extra para reevaluar quizá un aspecto de nuestra vida. Mira Día de la Tierra como una oportunidad. Ya se trate de la forma y lo que comemos, donde pasamos nuestros dólares ganados duros o qué tipo de huella que dejamos en la tierra, esta es una oportunidad, un recordatorio, una oportunidad de cambiar para mejor. Como Mami estoy plantando constantemente semillas en la mente de mis pequeños. La importancia de la empatía, el respeto a la tierra, o la filantropía mi propósito, mi trabajo en este momento en mi vida es la de inculcar estas cosas en mis hijos con el ejemplo. Tenemos la suerte de vivir en una zona que en su mayor parte es muy "verde", tanto como comunidad y el medio ambiente. Tenemos uno de los mayores parques municipales de menos de una milla de distancia. Fácilmente podemos hacer nuestro camino a las tiendas de alimentos naturales, desechos verdes y granjas del suelo. Nuestra ciudad una vez fue nombrada como una de las más bike friendly en el país! Así como casi todos los días, vamos a estar fuera en el día de la Tierra. Estar al aire libre y en los paisajes naturales ha sido siempre importante para mí. Tengo la suerte de poder compartir con mis hijos y ayudarles a respetar y disfrutar de ella también. 

My little ones are often (very often) barefoot in the yard. We get dirty. We touch, smell and observe things in nature. The understand food comes from plants and trees and also from the store. They freely pluck tomatoes and peas and broccoli from the yard. Stella sings to the moon and stars at night and we eagerly what a blue jay devour a worm in the morning. and two and four they don't know about pollution and the bigger picture but they do know we don't throw trash on the ground. They know worms are good for the garden and plants need clean water and sunshine to grow. I am thankful for this small reminder on my calender to do more in the way of living a cleaner, greener lifestyle.

Mis pequeños son a menudo (muy a menudo) descalzo en el patio. Nos ensuciamos. Nos tocamos, olemos y observamos las cosas en la naturaleza. La comida Entienda proviene de las plantas y árboles, así como de la tienda. Ellos libremente arrancan los tomates y los guisantes y brócoli en el patio. Stella le canta a la luna y las estrellas en la noche y con entusiasmo lo que un arrendajo azul devorar un gusano en la mañana. y dos y cuatro que no saben acerca de la contaminación y la imagen más grande, pero sí saben que no se tire basura en el suelo. Ellos saben que los gusanos son buenos para el jardín y las plantas necesitan agua limpia y el sol para crecer. Estoy agradecido por este pequeño recordatorio en mi calendario para hacer más en la forma de vivir un estilo de vida más limpio y verde.

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Egg Shells In The Garden- Monday

There are egg shells in the garden and coffee grounds in the flower bed. The sun blankets the patio and for the first time this year my little ones search for la sombra in the nooks of our green overgrown yard. Unconvincingly my bare shoulders and knees burn a bit as I find little things to do amongst the buzzing lilac and budding hydrangea. My mind is quiet and calm as I inspect a budding Tomatillo flower or crush Rosemary between my fingers. We eat lunch on a blanket in the grass and drag our craft bucket from the house into the shade. My sweet brood scratch out gifts for one another with washable markers and butterfly stickers. "sanks" says one "welcome" says the other. Frida our plump fawn pug trots by and I notice she's been a canvas for pink and blue chalk. It's a new look that she doesn't seem to mind my mouth curling to a grin. The fire bowl is set for tonight. The sky will be smothered in stars. Fresh cilantro has been nipped from the garden and broccoli too. Edith Pilaf's voice seeps from the living room stereo and I can't imagine another place I'd rather be. No fancy parties of lavish spa dates for me today. No theatre tickets or shopping sprees please. I've already found everything I need, here in our lovely green and overgrown yard.

Hay cáscaras de huevo en el jardín y café en la cama de flores. El sol cubre el patio y por la primera vez este año, mis pequeños búsqueda la sombra en los rincones de nuestro patio cubierto de verde. Poco convincente mis hombros desnudos y las rodillas quemar un poco como encontrar pequeñas cosas para hacer, entre el zumbido lilas y hortensias en ciernes. Mi mente está serena y tranquila como yo inspeccionar una flor en ciernes Tomatillo o romero aplastar entre los dedos. Comimos almuerzo en una manta en el césped y arrastrar nuestro cubo oficio de la casa en la sombra. Mi dulce cría ganarse regalos para unos a otros con marcadores lavables y pegatinas de mariposas. "sanks", dice una "por nada", dice el otro. Frida nuestros gordos cervatillo pug y me doy cuenta de que ha sido una lona para la tiza de color rosa y azul. Es una nueva mirada que ella no parece importarle mi boca se encrespa a una sonrisa. El tazón de fuego está lista para esta noche. El cielo estará cubierto de estrellas. Cilantro fresco ha sido cortada desde el jardín y el brócoli también. La voz bella de Edith Pilaf escurre desde el estéreo sala de estar y no puedo imaginar otro lugar en el que preferiría estar. Ninguna parte de lujo de spa de lujo data para mí hoy. Sin billetes para el teatro o salidas de compras por favor. Ya he encontrado todo lo que necesitas, aquí en nuestro patio verde precioso.

Linking Here, Here and Here.

Clean Living, Earth Day Edition

Here I blogged about how my family is living a cleaner, healthier lifestyle. We eat local, organic real foods when and where possible. Every time I go to the store or am in need of something for my home or family I am provided the opportunity to be a conscious, cleaner, greener consumer. For me it is not about "going green" in one large sweep. But rather taking informed, calculated steps, some larger some small in becoming an environmentally savvy consumer. There is great power in consumerism!

In keeping with my promise to share some of the ways we have reduced waste as a family I thought I would share some really great and practical products, some we use and some I am itching to make part of my lifestyle.

When we moved Mr. and I also decided to stop using paper towels and napkins. Having two small children that can make not so small messes in about 30 seconds the idea of going paperless was daunting at first. In reality though it has been a breeze! In addition to the kitchen towels I already had we picked up a few cloth napkin sets on sale and at the second hand store and have quite the collection in a short period of time. This is a super easy and pocket friendly step in creating less waste as a family! Etsy has some super cute cloth napkins. Here are a few I am eyeing!



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And a few tea towel/kitchen towel options from both Etsy and Amazon. The super absorbent Organic Hemp kitchen towels are right up my alley for big spills and messes! 

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 Reusable containers for food storage is on my list of purchases. We go to the beach and park and on road trips A LOT! So finding some more practical yet environmentally friendly ways to transport food and snacks is a must. I am currently taking steps to eliminate the use of plastic in my kitchen as well so these types of purchases would be two fold. Below are some options I found via Etsy and Amazon again. I love the stainless steal options which are much more toddler friendly than the glass containers I am currently using! Also the colorful bento box, Me Muero!



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 Lastly I thought I would share my love for the reusable shopping/grocery bag. This is something I have been using for quite some time. My favorite is the nylon type that compacts into its own small bag. Chico Bag makes a great bag and they are on Zulily today! They have many uses and are easy to wash. My Mr. uses them for his laundry while traveling and my brother uses a more manly messenger bag style for his groceries! I have given then as party favors and used them in place of a gift bag. The options are endless... I have these bags in my car, in the entry table of my home and at least one in my purse at all times. I have found that if I keep a few scattered about I am more apt to use them. Again, here are some options from the Internet. I have a serious crush on these made from T-Shirts!

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Happy Earth Month and Earth Day to you all!

I was not compensated for this post. All of the content is my own and just felt like sharing, enjoy.

Clean Living Product Review- Klean Kanteen and Pura Kiki Sippy Cups

When it came time to introduce my son to a sippy cup the number of products were overwhelming but upon  further consideration I realized the actual variety was disappointing at first. I try to live a clean life, a healthy life. So the initial narrowing down of possible bottles or sippy cups I would consider using was easy. First it had to be BPA free which was easy enough to find but I wanted to take it one step further. Why use plastic at all?
So I looked at glass and stainless steal options. Offering glass even in a protective case to my son just wasn't something I was comfortable with,  so that left stainless steal. One day my Mr. brought home a Klean Kanteen for JQ. While I was aware Klean Kanteen offered a sippy cup version of their very popular cup I had two hesitations  1. They were expensive compared to the two pack BPA free plastic version found pretty much everywhere,  and 2. The sippy spout was hard and i had read that the transition from nipple (breast or bottle) to hard sippy spout could be a rocky one. I promptly went out and picked up a BPA free Disney Character version with a soft spout, as back up.
JQ didn't favor the hard spout over the soft one when given the option. However,  this was a quick transition. By 10 months he was using the Klean Kanteen sippy. It has travelled with us extensively and tossed on hard surfaces. The Kanteen has outlasted any plastic cup he was given, doesn't leak and is easier to clean and is by far the most durable.
By the time my daughter was ready for a bottle I knew I wanted one durable, safe and environmentally friendly,  like the Klean Kanteen. I had read about and seen a Pura Bottle,  and so not having a bottle available through Klean Kanteen at the time*, this was my best option. The Pura has proved just as durable as KK with an added bonus of a stainless collar (making 100% plastic free). While both cups go from nipple to sippy easily the Klean Kanteen is compatible with a sport cap or loop cap.

Stella with the Pura & Joaquin with his Klean Kanteen

JQ is still using his Kanteen and he is now three years old.   It is his cup/water bottle and it goes everywhere with us! When the time comes I will get him a twist cap for it and he can take it to school. Mr. and I both have stainless steal water bottles and Stella is now using the Pura with a sippy spout instead of the bottle nipple. Using a cup/ water bottle like this is a simple way to live a greener lifestyle. Why aren't there more products like these on the shelves and how is it there are still items such as the "take and toss" plastic variety at almost every major retailer in the U.S.? Over the next few months I plan to share some very simply ways my family and I have chosen to live and consume a cleaner, greener, conscious life. By no means are we a 100% environmentally savvy family but we are in transition. Every time I go to the store or am in need of something for my home or family I am provided the opportunity to be a conscious, cleaner, greener consumer. For me it was not about "going green" in one large sweep it has been gradual and with intent. There is power in consumerism so why not use it!

*Klean Kanteen now offers a stainless steal bottle!

You can find both the Klean Kanteen and Pura Stainless steal cups on their websites and numerous other sites  on the web. They can also be found at some outdoor sports and eco boutiques.