I know, I know, I’m on a major kick lately with the all natural products.  I can’t seem to help myself!

When it comes to cleaning products, choosing all natural is good for the health of your family, your budget and the environment.  This list of websites shows that common household products can be used to clean even the toughest household grime.

1.  Store bought weed killers can be effective, but they can also be harmful to your kids, your pets and the environment.  This site has instructions for creating weed killers with ingredients that you probably already have at home.
2.  We still have carpet in our basement and we end up with all kinds of spills.  The key to preventing permanent stains seems to be to act quickly and specifically target the type of stain.  This site offers a variety of natural solutions for different kinds of carpet stains, so you don’t have to worry about harsh chemicals or toxic fumes.
3.  Does your child have an inner Picasso? Do they use the wall, the floor or even their own clothes as a canvas?  Crayon art, especially, can be really hard to remove.  Check out these simple and effective ways to clean crayon markings without having to repaint or re-tile.
4.  Tiles are both practical and decorative, but where there is tile, there is grout.  While it may be tempting to resort to commercial cleaners to deal with stubborn grout stains, try these natural solutions first.
5.  All my kitchen appliances are stainless steel and when they were new, they looked so cool and shiny.  Of course, over time, they have started to look dull and streaky.  This site, using an unusual combination of ingredients, has a way to make stainless steel look shiny and new.
6.  Stoves can be one of the hardest things to clean in your kitchen because they combine food and heat, which can lead to really stubborn stains.  This site proves that natural, household ingredients can be used to clean even the toughest stains.
7.  Food and heat can also combine to create difficult stains on your pots and pans.  This website has a really interesting list of household items that can be used to clean containers made of different materials (glass, cast iron, aluminum etc).
8.  In a busy household, clogged drains are inevitable.  Try this recipe for a drain cleaner that is safe for you and the environment.
9.  Here is something new to try in the quest to find a safe, non-streaky window cleaner.  This website has several recipes for window cleaners.  Test them out and see which works best for you.
10.  Getting jewelry professionally cleaned can be quite expensive.  This website provides clear instructions for safely cleaning gold, silver and gemstones.  It is easier than you might think.
11.  In addition to cleaning, you may also want to disinfect your household items (especially if you have kids).  Instead of using harsh disinfectants, which may contain dangerous chemicals, consider tea tree oil.  A wonderful, natural disinfectant with all kinds of applications.  I absolutely love it.

My paranoia about the chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis has gone in to overddrive lately because I realized just how much sunscreen I use on two toddlers in a day and that the stuff I bought from the drugstore is full of nothing but chemicals I cannot pronounce.

So in an effort to drive my husband to divorce me make a healthier choice for my family, I got online and researched sunscreens. For a couple of hours. (Who me, obsessive? Nooooooo!)

The most helpful site I found was the Environmental Working Group’s 2010 Sunscreen Guide. They clearly explain the ingredients you should be looking for and the ones to avoid. Yes the recommended brands are more expensive than their drugstore counterparts, but personally I think it’s a small price to pay. (I justified it to my husband by pointing out that we breastfed and cloth diapered our children so we saved enough money from that to be able to afford the best sunscreen.)

Here are some of the best picks from the EWG’s list (available at Amazon for less than I paid):

Badger SPF 30 Unscented Sunscreen	Badger All Natural, All Season Face Stick, Sunscreen, SPF 30, Unscented .65 oz (18.4 g)	Badger SPF 30 Sunscreen For Face & Body 2.9 oz (82 g)
California Baby Basics Tote Suncare Starter Kit	California Baby SPF 30 + Sunscreen Lotion – Super Sensitive, 2.9 oz	California Baby SPF 30+ Sunblock Stick
Loving Naturals SPF 30 Sunscreen Zinc Oxide 5 Oz. UVA/UVB Vegan	Thinkbaby Safe Sunscreen Spf 30+, 3-ounce	TruKid Sunny Days Sunscreen Facestick – 0.65 oz.

Like it’s not already stressful enough being a parent, add on worrying about the dangers of exposing yourself and your children to harmful chemicals and you can make yourself crazy!

Although I don’t consider myself “granola”, I do believe that the more natural you can live the better. My goal is to try and cut out as much of the bad stuff in our lives as we can without making it a hassle. Cleaning with vinegar is no different than cleaning with commercial cleaners, cloth diapering was all we were used to so it became the norm and opting for all natural ways to solve everyday health issues is easy once you get in the habit.

Check out some of my favorite all natural remedies for moms and babies.

1.   Morning sickness.  Though it is not a lot of fun, it is not necessarily a bad thing. This site explains why and provides some helpful remedies.
2.  Breast feeding, though very good for your baby, can cause some uncomfortable problems.  This site explains the causes as well as the solutions to the problems that can come with breast feeding your baby.
3.  Baby teeth are so adorable, but they can also mean a crying baby and sleepless nights.  This site provides a compilation of the 10 best natural remedies preferred by moms for teething babies.
4.  Sometimes, it can be hard to decide what products are safe to use on your baby’s delicate skin.  Here is the story of homemade baby wipes and the enormous difference they made (including curing diaper rash).
5.  Cloth diapers seem like the best solution for both babies and the environment, but what prevents most people from making the switch is the “ick” factor.  This great site, which provides instructions for washing cloth diapers, will take away the “ick” and make it easier to switch.
6.  It can be both surprising and disturbing if your baby develops infant acne.  Don’t worry, this reassuring site explains why babies develop acne and how you can naturally treat it.
7.  Good sleeping patterns are important for your baby’s health and your own.  This site will help you create a long term plan that will help your baby more easily go to sleep and stay asleep for longer.
8.  Whereas the above link is for a long term solution, this site provides lots of tips for quick ways to soothe your fussy baby.
9.  Clearly, giving birth and taking care of a baby is stressful.  This can have a negative impact on your hair, skin and even your nails.  This site will help you take care of yourself by listing good foods to eat for healthy hair, skin and nails.
10.  You already know that Omega-3 fatty acids are important for your child’s mental development, but now there is research showing that it is also important for the mental health of adults.  Check out this site to find out more.

I just found this great idea and I love it so much I had to share! A Summer Fun Container holds strips of paper, each with one thing you and the kids want to do this summer. Every time you use one, clip it on the outside of the container as a reminder of all the fun you had. It`s sort of like a `honey do` jar, but WAAAAAAY more fun. This will be perfect for those mornings where we have nothing planned and by 8:30am the kids are climbing the walls and I`m counting the minutes to bedtime. Get instructions on how to make your own from The Girl Creative.  Kudos to Becky from Clean Mama Blog for submitting this awesome idea.

I would buy everything my family eats organic if I could.  But alas, I am not rich.

So as a comprise I shop using the Dirty Dozen list of the most pesticide laden foods. These are the ones that even with scrubbing still contain 20+ different types of chemicals.

The thought of that literally keeps me up some nights!

Now there is a fun way to remember which foods to avoid with the adorably illustrated Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheet. This printable sheet shows which foods to avoid on one side and on the other side has a list of foods with the least amount of contamination (so you can feel alright about not buying those foods organic).

Print our your copy now and have it handy for your next trip to the supermarket.

Enjoy!

Summer vacation is here and for many families that means a long trip with lots of  ”Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?”  Here are some ideas (other than music, movies and video games) to pass the time before you get “there”.

1.   Turn your vehicle into a pirate ship and become the Pirates of the Caravan.  This is such a great idea, especially if you make yourself the Captain whose orders must be followed!
2.  Help your kids anticipate the journey by planning a scavenger hunt of things they will see on the way.
3.  Let you kids follow their imagination and use their creativity by making finger puppets and putting on plays.  You can use the templates found here or design your own.
4.  I absolutely love this idea.  Have your kids write postcards or letters to friends, family or even themselves during a long trip.  When you finally do get home, your kids will have great souvenirs waiting in the mail.
5.  Playdough is a lot of fun, but not during trips where it can be smeared on all sorts of surfaces.  I think aluminum foil is a great alternative.  Kids can mold and sculpt to their heart’s content without needing to wash up afterwards.
6.  Another great, no mess, creative material is colourful paper clips.  Your kids can try making this bracelet or just play around and see where their creativity takes them.
7.  Kids love to unwrap presents!  Keep your kids entertained by occasionally offering them an inexpensive toy or snack to unwrap.  It doesn’t really matter what you give them, just that you are giving them them a surprise gift.  Check out these inexpensive ways to wrap presents.  Just a reminder, if you are traveling by plane, you will need to wrap the presents after you have boarded.
8.  Spend some family time together by playing some of these classic road trip games.
9.  When you need some quiet time let your children try these printable activities like cryptograms, mazes and sudoku. Cryptograms, especially, are a lot of fun and once your kids understand how they work, they can create their own.
10.  This a great craft activity that helps your child remember the trip.  Make a personalized suitcase to keep souvenirs.
11.  In my family, no trip is complete without someone getting car sick.  Here are some tips to help prevent and treat car sickness.

The other day I got together with my cousin who I haven’t seen in a couple of months.  Right away she commented that I was looking thinner (yay!) but that my butt was looking flatter (boo!). As you may have read in my previous post In Pursuit of a Flat Belly I am following the Prevention Magazine’s Flat Belly Diet.  As the name suggests it doesn’t really focus much on the butt.   But they didn’t tell me my butt would disappear. This is not what I signed up for.

So I went in search of a great “butt building” routine to get my derriere looking shapely again.  After trying a couple the one I like best is 10-Minute Routine: Butt Toning Exercises from Kaboose.com.  Since it only takes 10 minutes I should be able to squeeze it in to my hectic schedule.

Don’t worry, there will not be any before and after pictures posted.  No one wants to see that.

I haven’t had much time to browse around the web lately because I’ve been swamped with work, the kids, life and an annoying pinched nerve in my hip (grrrrrr…..) But tonight hubby took the kids to swimming lessons for me and I’m spending some quality time on the computer. Which for me, means visiting some of my favorite blogs and sites to see what people are up to. Right now I’m thinking about Father’s Day and planning how to make it special. I came across a great idea that I love. The folks at education.com have instructions for making a How-to Book for Dad. Very cute and definitely something Dad will want to keep.  The kids and I are going to be busy making books and keychains the next couple of days. Can’t wait to give them to him.

This morning I read an excellent article in the latest issue of Parents Canada Magazine that got me thinking. It was about how knowing the different learning styles of each member of your family can make it easier to find an organization system that actually keeps your home organized.In my never ending quest to find a way to keep my house more organized (or even a little bit organized) they immediately had my undivided attention. You can read the article on the Parents Canada website.

As you probably already know there are many different learning styles. Harvard professor Howard Gardner identified eight distinct learning styles in his theory of “Multiple Intelligences”.  But in this article they identify the three most important ones when it comes to organizing:

• Visual (learn by seeing)
• Auditory (learn by hearing)
• Kinesthetic (learn by doing)

The idea is that once you know everyone’s personal learning style you can put in place organization solutions that work for them.  If the solution fits their learning style, they will be more likely to stick with it.  And by recognizing that your style may not be the only one in the house, you can better understand why past attempts have failed!

Not sure what your learning style is?  Take the quiz to find out. 

My result is that I am a Visual Learner. Which I already knew so no surprises there. I am going to figure out what learning styles best describe my husband and children as well and then work on ways to organize everyone’s toys/clothes/books/miscellaneous stuff in a way that makes sense for them.

Should be an interesting experiment!  If nothing else I am uncharacteristically excited about organizing my house so that can only lead to good things!

Yesterday my friend took her daughter to her 4 year checkup.  One of the things she said the doctor stressed was that juice was to only be a treat, and not something kids should have every day. I don’t know about your house, but at mine, stopping the flow of juice would not go over well.  And that’s putting it mildly. Yes I know it is my fault that my kids don’t like water.  I accept full responsibility.  But in my defense I give them only 100% organic fruit juice.  On the continuum of parenting screwups, is it really THAT bad? I’m not convinced it is.  So I decided to do some of my own research and find out what the experts are saying about juice.

From the Healthy Children website (run by the American Association of Pediatricians) …

“For youngsters older than six months, fruit juice offers no nutritional benefits over whole fruit. Whole fruits also provide fiber and other nutrients. Infants should not be given fruit juice at bedtime, nor as a treatment of dehydration or management of diarrhea. For children ages one to six years old, limit fruit juice consumption to 4 to 6 ounces (120–180 ml) each day.”

From the CBS news article “Juice As Bad As Soda, Docs Say”…

“Though healthy in moderation, juice essentially is water and sugar. In fact, a 12-ounce bottle of grape soda has 159 calories. The same amount of unsweetened grape juice packs 228 calories.

In a nation where nearly a third of children are either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, health officials now say high-calorie beverages have little place in a young child’s diet.“

From a research study summarized on the Science Blog…

“Consumption of 100 percent fruit juice is closely linked to improved nutrient intake and overall diet quality in children and teens, according to new research presented yesterday at the Experimental Biology (EB) 2010 meeting.

According to the findings, children 2-5 years of age who consumed fruit juice had significantly higher intakes of vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium and significantly lower intakes of added sugars compared to non-fruit juice consumers. In addition, higher intake of fruit juice was directly correlated with increased consumption of whole fruits and whole grains.”

I don’t know that this clears things up for me.  But at least having a research study show that I’m not killing my kids slowly with juice eases the mommy guilt a little.

My plan for the summer is to slowly water down my kids juice one glass at a time.  I don’t know if they’ll ever be juice free, but I know it won’t hurt them to drink more water.