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What happens when kids bring one pail to the beach?

 

Encouraging Creativity at the BeachDo you ever feel like you are bringing everything but the kitchen sink to the beach? From the towels, chairs, food and toys, it can be overwhelming packing up for the beach. Today I’m sharing a story about what happens when you let the kids use just one reusable yogurt container, with no guidance from mom and dad. It turned into a very cute and creative activity at the beach.

Meet Hermie, the little hermit crab the kids found while exploring the rocks at the beach.

Hermit Crab Beach Discovery

Hermie came back to our beach camp and then the kids went off to build Hermie his own home.

Building a sand castle together

The kids worked together to build Hermie a four room home, delightfully presented like a flower.

One little yogurt cup turned into quite a little project for these kids. It was a wonderful reminder that sometimes we need a little less to allow our children’s mind to tap into their imagination. They got no directions from us, just a lot of praise in the end on what a wonderful job they did building Hermie’s home. No one squabbled over the lack of toys, no one asked a grown up for help, and in the end, the kids were so excited to share what they built.

Proud kids of their beach house

It’s a great lesson as we think about the change of seasons in another month or two and we move indoors a little more. Where could we use “less” so that we allow our kids to reach into their imagination a little “more.”

Thank you to Stonyfield Yogurt for providing our family with complimentary yogurt through my involvement as a Clean Plate Club Ambassador. The kids love their Organic Vanilla yogurt for breakfast and I’m sure we can find even more creative uses for our yogurt cups this summer.

I am honored to be a member of the Stonyfield Clean Plate Club. I received product or coupons for writing this post, but all opinions are my own.

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What’s in a Stonyfield Yogurt Pearl?

The yummy new Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt Pearls! #girlswithpearls

Today we were delighted with a personal delivery of the new Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt Pearls. They are part dessert and part the coolest thing in food technology. And they were delicious! Just ask how quickly Madison was wishing for a second one.

The frozen yogurt is encased in an edible skin, kind of like a grape. Except these skins are different flavors…strawberry, coconut, and yummy banana. Wiki Foods, a Cambridge based company, developed the technology to work with Stonyfield’s yogurt bonbon treat. Consider the treat to be Wikilicious!

stonyfield frozen yogurt pearls boston

What’s even cooler is the packaging. It is going to be plastic free. The wrapper is actually made from a wood by-product. Ultimately, the marketing team would love to see them sold alongside the gelato at Whole Food dessert bars, totally package free. At only 20 calories a pop, it’s a sweet treat that won’t tip the scales.

As of March 21st, you can find the new Pearls in four Boston area Whole Foods. For more details there is a great Boston Globe article sharing some additional details.

All opinions shared about Stonyfield and the new Frozen Yogurt Pearls are my own, or my kids. 😉

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Keep Kids Healthy Naturally with Erba Vita – Giveaway

Erba Vita Tips to keep kids healthy naturally

As the kids return to school, so comes the return of the running noses and germy hands. With a little baby at home, I am super aware of the imminent germs coming into our home. There are a few new things we are doing this year to keep us all healthy and the germs at bay. Here are some ways to keep your kids healthy naturally this season, plus a giveaway for natural remedies from Erba Vita. Erba Vita is a European company with high quality natural products that are effective, GMO-free, and pesticide-free.

  • Buy a fun soap canister for the kids so they enjoy hand washing. Help them from an early age learn how to wash their hands well. Get them to sing a favorite song so they learn how long they should wash their hands.
  • Offer kids a balanced diet with lots of variety in their fruits and veggies. Offer favorite fruits for snack, or make them a fun strawberry fruit roll-up.
  • Use a hand sanitizer when you are out and about. We tested out the Mother’s Therapy Organics kids sanitizer Erba Vita Immun Kids and love it so far. It’s not as drying as most alcohol based sanitizer as it includes aloe vera-based lotion. I keep a small one clipped on my diaper bag so I can use it after changing diapers on-the-go. The kids gave it a “no sting” vote.
  • Get the kids to bed early. (And mom and dad too!) A good night sleep helps the body defend against germs during the day.
  • Boost immunity with a supplement, like Erba Vita’s Immun Kids. For ages 4 and up, it contains active herbal ingredients to help support a healthy immune system.
  • Keep tissues handy so they are ready for sneezes. Teach kids how to sneeze into their elbow by encouraging them to “catch” their sneeze.
  • Keep extra toothbrushes on hand so you can replace them quickly if someone gets sick.
  • Everyone in the house should get a flu shot. I know people have strong opinions on this, I’m voting for flu shots for our family since our littlest one can’t get a shot and I want to keep him as healthy as possible in his first year of life.
  • Make sure the kids stay hydrated. Send a water bottle to school and limit the amount of sugary beverages they consume.

 

Erba Vita is offering one lucky reader a $150 worth of products of your choosing. You can check out their Kids’ Line, Women’s Health, Weight Loss, and more. Please enter via the Rafflecopter below. Giveaway is open to US residents only until Sept 30th. Winner will be notified via email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received some of the Erba Vita products to review, including their Leg Light Gel that I used at the end of my pregnancy. It was great to use at the end of the day. I appreciate their commitment to using quality ingredients and following the safest standard of testing. You can get some of their product line in Whole Foods now or order online. All opinions shared here are my own. 

I also received the Mother’s Therapy Organic line of hand sanitizer and lotion. So far it’s one of the kids’ favorite as it’s not too sticky and doesn’t sting like most alcohol based sanitizers. 

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A week for mama in my electric car

I was inspired by Megan Tietz who writes over at SortaCrunchy when she discussed “A Month for Mama.” As a mom with 6 month old twin boys, and two other girls, she has her hands full with taking care of other family members. As I read through her post about trying to carve out some “me” time, it resonated with me. My little Connor is now 12 weeks old and I was feeling the need to get out a little by myself. When I got the opportunity to test drive the new Chevy Volt electric car, it gave me a little extra motivation to get out of the house for some “me” time.

Chevy Volt test drive

JJ wanted to go for a drive in the electric car.

Monday night~ Got out after the kids went to bed for a little drive in the car. Couldn’t believe how quiet it was…both the car and the lack of noise from the back seat.

Chevy Volt ride

Madison got to go for a ride and tested out a new booster seat for the occasion.

Tuesday~ Snuck out with Madison to Trader Joe’s…just the girls. So easy to get out with just one child, it was a treat! I wonder what cars will be fueled with when she is old enough to drive…

Wednesday~ A haircut. Finally. Connor made the trip with me in the new car and was happy to snuggle with Beth, my hairstylist at Creative Expressions, while I enjoyed some magazine reading under the dryer.

Life gets in the way the other days…but my husband took it out for a spin. Thought it was cool, just a bit small for his 6’4″ frame.

volt ride

Sunday~ FINALLY got out for pedicure. Hooray!

volt vs minivan

Time to say goodbye to the Chevy Volt…back to minivan land.

How do you make time for yourself during the week?

I appreciate the opportunity to test drive the Chevy Volt and this is not a paid post. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

 

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What is a Wummelbox? {Giveaway}

referral_badge-e21a0bf93c2d04d285ba89d2d14d8cb0If I’m not cooking with my kids, you can often find us at the craft table working on some kind of project. Sometimes it’s free play with the supplies we have on hand, and other times we work through specific craft activities. We received Kiwi Crate craft boxes for the past few months and I was ready to see what else is out there. When I was in Philly, I met the Wummelbox, a multi-craft box geared towards kids ages 3-8. My sample box arrived pretty quickly and the kids couldn’t wait to get started.

What is a Wummelbox?

Wummelbox craft

Each craft box arrives at your doorstep with 3-4 creative projects to work on with your kids, all fitting a particular theme. Depending on their age, some need lots of supervision while other projects can be done independently. My kids are 4 and 2 so I sit in between them to work on our little masterpieces.

The first thing that excited me about the Wummelbox is the projects are wrapped separately. The Kiwi Crates are slightly sorted but my kids usually pull one thing out and then it’s all jumbled together. I liked being able to take one project out at a time, depending on how much time I have available to devote to “craft” time.

Madison was happy when she saw a new package with scissors. Although it’s her third pair, she was happy because they were pink. Usually there are more gender neutral colors, we just got lucky with the pink pair!  I appreciate the extra scissors because we now have  more craft supplies for play dates.

Wummelbox Music and Sound

Wummelbox uses eco-friendly materials when appropriate, plus they try to incorporate the packaging into a craft. I like having less waste to deal with during clean-up time. The only negative I found with the first box we reviewed, Music and Sound Box, is the number of small pieces. Not a big deal for the bigger kids, but when I have baby #3 crawling around, I’ll have to be more diligent about keeping the tiny metal balls and mini magnets on the table.

Wummelbox is one of those lovely subscription services where you can sign up for as much or as little as you would like. I think the subscriptions make great gifts, especially from the grandparents.

  • Try a Wummel, 1 month subscription $34.95
  • Little Wummel, 3 month subscription $24.95/month
  • Big Wummel, 12 month subscription $19.95/month

Want to try out the Wummelbox? Enter to win a box that will be delivered to your door. Use the rafflecopter below to enter, giveaway closes on May 20, 2013. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize. US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided a 3 month subscription to Wummelbox to help facilitate my review here. I look forward to testing out these boxes with the kids once the new baby arrives. It will be great to have an activity project ready to go, especially if we have a rainy summer day and we are stuck inside. All opinions shared here are my own.

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25 Earth Day Outdoor Activities for Kids

Free Outdoor Activities for Kids RandomRecycling.com

Happy Earth Day 2013! While I believe Earth Day should be everyday, I do like being able to highlight easy ways to bring a little more green into your life. Getting kids outside to appreciate nature will make them good stewards of the Earth as they grow up. If they don’t get out and experience nature, they won’t be that motivated to help protect it.

25 Earth Day activities outdoors

Here’s my list of 25 Free Outdoor Activities for Kids, all battery-free!

  1. Bring an easel outside to paint or color on
  2. Bubbles
  3. Chalk drawings
  4. Backyard baseball
  5. Soccer practice
  6. Enjoy a picnic lunch
  7. Swing set time
  8. Create an obstacle course
  9. Bug hunting
  10. Bird watching
  11. Identify plants and flowers
  12. Plant seeds
  13. Nature walk
  14. Wagon ride
  15. Neighborhood bike ride
  16. Sandbox castles
  17. Squirt bottle water drawings
  18. Bring musical instruments outside for a jam session
  19. Collect rocks to paint
  20. Hopscotch
  21. Take the dolls for a walk in their stroller or grocery cart
  22. Visit a duck pond
  23. Paint fences or walls with water
  24. Go puddle jumping when the opportunity arises
  25. Lay on a towel and look at the starts together

Earth Day Quote RandomRecycling.com

Which is your favorite activity to do with your kids? Anything else to add to the list?

Ultimate Homemaking ebook bundle Sale

I’m sharing this post with the Tuesday Baby Link Up and Your Green Resource

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Eco-Friendly Kid Shoes for Summer

It’s finally getting warm around here which means it’s time to go shoe shopping. Both kids need new summer sandals and I thought it would be fun to pull together some cute, eco-friendly shoes for summer. Summer camp is around the corner so it’s time to  get prepared with sandals, flip flops and swim shoes.

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It may be time to order shoe labels for each child too. Those sticky shoe dots are invaluable when it comes to finding your kid’s shoes in a pile. I rely on them and thankfully had them in my kid’s shoes when I accidentally took someone else’s home recently from the gym. (Can I call it pregnancy brain?). I like the sticky labels from KiddoTags, the shoe dots stay on well and there are a lot of cute ways to customize them.

Eco-Friendly Boy Shoes

Eco Friendly Boy Shoes for Spring
Eco Friendly Shoes for Girls

What else is on your shopping list for summer? It’s Earth Month so I’m trying to be aware of my shopping purchases and make eco-friendly ones when possible.

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Disclosure: I received KiddoTags to help facilitate my review. The customizing options are great and I let my four year old help pick out her own special sticky label clothing tags. They have some great value packs to get your family ready for camp. All opinions shared here are my own.

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Yes, Summer is Coming. Someday. {Albion $100 Giveaway}

Albion Fit Giveaway RandomRecycling

Who is ready for some spring fashion? I look outside and there are still little pockets of snow on the ground. The forecast is calling for yet more snow and I’m just done. Done looking at grey skies, done with the piles of snowy hats and gloves and done waiting for warmer weather. It’s time to look ahead to spending the summer at the beach, under a brilliant blue sky, while I enjoy my kids running around in the warm sun.

Chevron swimsuit Albion Fit

Chevron is such a huge trend, why not at the beach?

On my list of things to be “greener” about is my choice of clothing. While a lot of my kid’s clothes are either shopped at a local consignment sale or made from organic cotton, I haven’t done a great job myself of finding eco-friendly clothing on a regular basis. Part of the reason is it’s a little confusing. Is it more important to choose eco-friendly fabrics, or choose companies that focus on reducing their carbon footprint through greener manufacturing processes? Recently I was asked to take a look at Albion Fit, a company that combines these two goals.

Albion Fit is a small, family owned company from Utah that makes women’s fitness and swimwear. For someone like me who basically lives in a swimsuit for the month of July, I loved the idea of finding a more eco-friendly swimsuit. I was in luck as I had trouble deciding which bathing suit I wanted to check out myself.

Blousy Navy swim top Albion Fit

My swimsuit choice, since July will be just 4 weeks post-partum for me!

The clothes are made in Guatemala, in a fair-trade, family owned manufacturing facility that provides scholarship opportunities and fair compensation for all workers and their families. Things you can feel good about when you shop here, either online or in their new flagship store in Salt Lake City. There are tops and bottoms perfect for a yoga class, or for lounging around on a Sunday. If you are a tennis player, the skirts are adorable.

graphite capri pant Albion Fit

The yoga wear assortment is beautiful, either for a class or for lounging at home.

I’m excited to offer one of my readers a $100 gift card to pick out their own swimsuit or fitness outfit from Albion Fit. Enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter below. Contest will be open until 3/30. If you just can’t wait for the giveaway to end, you can get $15 off any order of $50 or more. Use code: randomrecycling15

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided product samples to help facilitate this review. This in no way influenced my opinions shared here.

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Eco News of the Week Feb 2013

I find myself perplexed sometimes when I hear the latest eco-news. Sometimes it scares me, other times it confuses me. This week there were so many articles I found interesting I thought I would share a few plus some advice.

What you should know about Tervis cups?

This article shares which Tervis cups are BPA free, and which are not. The popular tumblers have been BPA free since 1/1/11. I received a set of Tervis cups when I got married in 2005 so I think they will be moved to the top shelf so we don’t use them often. In the article, a representative from Tervis responds in the comment section discussing when each type of cup made the switch. I’m pretty skeptical of most plastics these days so I’m slowly converting all cups over to glass. Even the kids are using glass; Duralex Cupswork great. They have been dropped numerous times and haven’t broken.

Are you going to drink artificially sweetened milk?

Buying milk is already complicated. Organic, hormone-free, raw  milk, local, and conventional. These are just some of the choices we have to make. This week, a petition filed by the dairy industry is under review with the FDA to let them add artificial sweeteners to milk and other milk based products (yogurt, cheese, etc) and avoid having to label them. If you don’t let your kids have aspartame, which is  a rule for my house, it will be really difficult to figure it out. The sweeteners will be listed as “optional ingredients” and require no special labeling.  A few months ago, we switched to buying our milk from the local dairy farm. (We use Thatcher Farm.) I like that we are supporting a local business, the milk is super fresh, plus our glass bottles get reused.

Thatcher Farm Milk Glass Bottles Food Fight You Tube video

This little video takes aim at the world of processed food and beyond. It’s a story of urban gangsters fighting grocery store crimes. Makes me appreciate how easy it is for me to get access to healthy and fresh produce.

Turtleback making a switch to biodegradable plastic

Although some news is scary, other times it’s positive. One company making plastic drink holders for the beach is making an effort to switch to a biodegradable plastic. I wouldn’t call this an essential beach item by any means, but at least if people are going to buy them, they won’t end up in the ocean forever.

Are we really avoiding BPA?

This is one of those articles that is frustrating, but raises some issues. Even if you eat an organic diet, you still may end up with high levels of BPA/endocrine disruptors in your bloodstream. The two big culprits here are milk and spices. Two possible ways to fix it~ buy milk in glass bottles and switch spices to glass containers. Spices just look prettier in glass jars anyways.

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Sopora Perfect Crib Mattress Giveaway

We haven’t bought a crib mattress since we set up my daughter’s nursery over four years ago. I remember there was just one organic option at the local big box store so we went with that product. Now there are so many more non-toxic mattresses available in crib size so you can sleep easy knowing your little one is sleeping in a healthy environment. A lot of conventional crib mattresses are covered with toxic fire retardants and other chemicals. The mattresses from Sopora are non-toxic and are available at an affordable price point. We are in the market for a new one since my two monkeys have a love affair with jumping in the crib lately.
Normally the caveat with Eco-friendly mattresses is that they are expensive, especially those that are made in the USA. Now, a safe sleeping surface is affordable with Sopora, the prices start at just $167 for a Classic Crib Mattress! Why buy a conventional, imported mattress when you can get one for a comparable price that’s made right in the U.S. and will let you sleep easy knowing your baby is safe?
Features of the Sopora Perfect Crib Mattress: 
  • Greenguard: Children & Schools certified for emissions and off-gassing
  • Vinyl, PVC, lead, and phthaltes free
  • Eco-friendly ultra firm high density foam is 100% renewable
  • Fireproof Chemical Additive FREE
  • Features new Celliant biologically responsive cover for optimum health, clinically proven to increase oxygen levels in the body
  • Advanced CoolGel foam regulates body temperature
  • Dust mite and bed bug proof
  • Stain and Odor Resistant
  • Medical Grade Nylon Fabric Cover, Waterproof

Purchase: You can purchase the Sopora Perfect Crib Mattress directly from the brand. They have many other options available, including changing pads and bassinet/cradle mattresses. A few Sopora crib mattresses are also available on Amazon.

 

Win It! Sopora is blessing one of you with the Perfect Crib Mattress.

Giveaway ends March 6th at 12:01 am, open to US residents, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below (see directions on how to enter here). Thank you!

Disclaimer: AnaB Social, Eco-Babyz, and all participating event bloggers are not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. Special thanks to AnaB Social for hosting this giveaway. Huge thanks to all participating bloggers as well! I did not receive anything for this giveaway, just thought it was a cool product to share!

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