Kids are out of school: Eco-friendly summer ideas

Need some ideas on how to keep the kids entertained this summer? I have compiled a list of eco-friendly summer activities that the kids will love!

1. Start a garden- Allow the kids to take care of their own section of the garden this year! They will adore looking after their plants and checking on them everyday to see how much they have grown! From watering to pruning, children will love having control over their own mini garden. Make it a fruit or vegetable plant, and maybe they will eat a little more fruits and veggies that came from their own green thumb ;)
2. Build a city- Rainy day out? Get out all those cereal boxes and let the kids create a city! They can use all different shapes and sizes of boxes to develop different building and sections of their city. Remember to be creative so you can use the city on another rainy day and add on to it!
3. Take a bike- Have some chores to do that usually gets done in a car? Get out all the bikes to do all the chores that is within a riding distance. The kids will love biking and being with you, and you can give them important chores to take care of while you are all out!
4. Take a hike- There are so many beautiful national forests in the United States, take advantage of them and the hiking trails! The kids will love looking at the different plants, animals, insects, and you can stop to have a home made picnic lunch under a nice shady tree!

These are just a few ideas on some great eco-friendly activities to do with the kids this summer! Please feel free to add on any more ideas you have on great eco-friendly family summer activities!

Happy birthday to me!

Today is my birthday, but it really is just another day around here. I have lots of projects looming over my head for these next 2 weeks, so I am actually hoping to finish one up today so I can move on to the next. I also have so many great items coming in to post in the store as well, and I promise, I am trying to get it all up! I am just feeling a little overwhelmed with the last few weeks of summer school still ahead, but it will all get done, it always does :)

I also have music class to take the kids to today, and play group, so another busy day here! Wish me luck that I keep my sanity :)

Weekend plans?

What is everyone doing this weekend? From what I have heard, it is going to be hot here! We are planning to go to a family reunion tomorrow, which the kids will love. Well, let me take that back, my son will love it, but my one year old daughter? Well, she might get used to everyone at least! She is very attached to me right now, and it takes her awhile to warm up to people she don't know. Heck, she is like that even with people she does know, like her Nana. She sees her about every 2 weeks (sometimes more) and still acts shy with her. My son was the same way for awhile though, I don't think he got over it until he was closer to 2. Now I can't keep him from talking to anyone, including at the store. He will keep calling out to random people to get their attention, with me trying to quietly shoosh him, lol. His favorite thing to say? "I don't belong to you" or "I'm Alex, this is Mommy, Daddy calls her Chanda, and that's Cara." Oh well, I hope everyone has a great weekend! ;)

Thistles are taking over the yard!

So I mowed the grass this morning and was amazed (and a little distraught) over how many ugly thistle weeds we have growing in our yard! My husband and I had made the decision long ago not to use any chemicals in our yard, so this morning has been spent trying to find a more natural recipe to kill this weed that is a pain in my butt (and my hand when trying to pull those things out, even with gloves on). But I think I found one, and I hope it works!

Weed Killer:
1 Gallon White Vinegar
1 Cup Table Salt
1 Tablespoon Dish Detergent

Take out 2 cups of the white vinegar, then mix in the table salt and dish detergent in the gallon container and shake well. Put the 2 cups of white vinegar back in and shake lightly to mix. Put amount needed into a spray bottle and spray on weeds on a sunny, non-windy day.

Be sure to also keep this mixture out of reach of children! Please put it up in a high spot and keep it tightly closed!

I found this information at http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf55807738.tip.html if anyone wants to look up any other great information from Thrifty Fun! And I will keep you posted on if those pesky thistle weeds go away!

June Deals

Oh my goodness! I have forgotten to mention in the last couple of days another special deal going on at Posh Organic! During the month of June, not only will you receive free shipping for all orders over $100, but you will also receive a flat shipping rate for orders under a $100. The flat shipping rate this month is $5.99!

This deal can be combined with any coupon code, so take advantage of the great deals we have going on this month. We also have some new products lined up this month, and I have to say, we have some good stuff coming your way! Stay tuned for more details on the products coming in...come here for the reviews and check out http://www.poshorganic.com/ and click on "New Items" to get the most up to date information on our new items. I can tell you, all the items we have going up are great organic clothes for baby and bigger kids, as well as some neat organic baby shower gifts. You will want to keep these items on your favorites list!

Tonight I have a Psychology test at my night class, so wish me luck! A lot of it is a review from my General Psychology class I took last semester though, and it is the same professor I had last semester, so I think I will have many of the same questions. At least I hope so ;)

Major Storms Today!

I was in such a restful and peaceful sleep this morning. That is, until a huge storm came rolling by! The thunder shook my windows, lightning kept striking eerily close to our house, and yet, the kids did not cry or anything! Even the dogs did not freak out. Later my three year old son told me he was scared while he laid in bed, but I guess he figured it was time for me to get up anyway, so he didn't come get me.

The storm stopped just in time for us to go ahead and get ready for my son's soccer class. On the way I saw so many trees down over powerlines, and just felt so grateful that our powerlines are actually underground in our neighborhood. The trees were already cleared from the roads as far as I could tell as we drove across town, its amazing how fast crews can clean up and work together. I applaud all the people that had to get up and get to work during that storm, making the roads a little safer for us.

Ruth Hunt Candies

So today I went to Ruth Hunt Candies Factory in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. I attended a professional development opportunity provided by Eastern Kentucky University on how we can use chocolate to teach economics. It was definitely interesting, but I would probably use the wrappers compared to the actual candy in the classroom (way too much chocolate, I agree with teaching students about eating healthy, and using actual chocolate may deter from that!). It was my first professional development opportunity outside of Midway, and it was nice to hear different views from teachers of different districts. We also got lessons and activities to help implement the economic portion to literature, math, and social studies. Something I may be able to use during the next year to finish up my degree with classes and student teaching, and then when I am in my own classroom, so I am excited to have had the opportunity to attend!

We also got a tour of the factory, and we got to see them make a great candy called Blue Monday. And of course we got a free chocolate to try, which was super yummy! When the kids are a little older to appreciate how candy is made, I think I will take them for a tour there, it was super nice and really neat to see up close. We had went to a chocolate factory before in Florida, but everything was behind glass and we didn't really get to experience it like I did today. You can find out more about Ruth Hunt Candy at http://www.ruthhuntcandy.com.

My husband got to do the usual Monday ritual of taking the kids to music class, and I think he really had fun. It was nice for me to get out of the daily grind with the kids and actually do something without them, and it was nice for him to be able to spend some time with the kids at their classes. I have to admit I missed them terribly, and glad I am back home and will be going back to our regular schedule tomorrow, but nevertheless, it is nice to do something different!