Can You Make This Easter a Green One?

I really didn’t stay on the ball like I should have for Easter celebration planning. The Easter Bunny hasn’t even gone shopping. If I would have thought ahead I would’ve planted some Easter grass for the kiddo’s baskets. Instead I think I will take some grass from the front yard, no cellophane grass for us this year! We also use our baskets year after year. I really can not stand to see those “disposable” baskets lining the grocery and drugstore shelves every Easter season. They are plastic inside and out all the way to their plastic mesh cover. When you take a closer look at these baskets there’s probably not anything in there that your kids are dying for anyway. I don’t make the Easter baskets such a big deal. After all, this is not what Easter is about. We all know that Easter is about Jesus and his resurrection. Its new life, rebirth! As a Christian mom I find it my responsibility to let the kids know this is what is most important, not the candy, chocolate and bunny-eared stuffed animals you see everywhere. Their baskets are usually pretty simple; some chocolate, a few eggs, a dvd or an outfit. No need to make the Easter baskets, toys and trinkets the production.



There’s plenty of things you can do to try to have a greener Easter. This will be better for your family and the environment.






• Please re-use your baskets!! Why buy another basket when you know you have 5 of them in your coat closet?


• If you don’t have any baskets be creative! Flower pots, paint cans, hats, and sand buckets all make great Easter “baskets”.


• Please don’t use the plastic, cellophane grass. Remember that pile of grass clippings your husband left in the front yard? Use them. If you don’t feel like using your own real grass try paper scraps rescued from the recycle bin, cut into strips. For you crafty gals, how about those leftover fabric strips? Maybe some tulle you never used for that school play. If you’re doing a beach theme a green beach towel or bathing suit you were already planning on buying would be great!


• Dying the eggs is something a lot of families like to do for a family activity. This year why not take on the challenge of dying them the green way? Instead of buying the packaged egg dye kits gather up that entire leftover food coloring from last year and your handy dandy white vinegar and get to work the old fashioned way. No need for the extra packaging for those little bitty tablets. There’s other unique dying techniques all of you extra ambitious green mamas might want to try too. Food and spices might be the way for you. Red cabbage, onion skins, coffee, turmeric, and beets make great looking eggs. You can find all sorts of these techniques on Martha Stewart’s website, of course.
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/natural-egg-dyeing-techniques



So, good luck to all you eco geeks like me. Hope you’ll try at least one of these ideas because we all know that one small change can make a difference. It might not seem like it but it can.


Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you all feel as blessed as I do this Easter season.

Thank you to Blog Giveaways (http://bloggiveaways.blogspot.com/) for listing me in the daily update and to Focus Organic for including me in the Blog Carnival  (http://focusorganic.com/all-things-eco-blog-carnival-volume-ninety-four/)!  So glad to be welcomed into the blog world with open arms. :)

SOS From Texas Giveaway!! Organic cotton at it's best!

1st Giveaway Time!!!

http://www.sosfromtexas.com/index.htm

I love finding green companies that I have never heard of, especially if they are fellow Texans. I ran across SOS from Texas while browsing for children’s organic clothing online. This company is based in North Texas, near Amarillo. Being from a small town myself, I was shocked to see the population in the town where this family is based is only 37 people! They told me that it’s actually less than that, more like 20. These days, family businesses are not easy to find unless you are tuned into it. SOS From Texas is a family business through and through. They make organic cotton products for the whole family, from comfy t-shirts, onesies, and socks, to tote bags.

The prints and catchphrases on the shirts are really vivid and catchy.

I really love the tie dyed shirt that is dyed to look like the Earth, it would be perfect for Earth Day 2010. Plenty of other prints for adults also and of course, plain t’s and hoodies. 

The kids’ printed shirts have a running theme of Go Outside! As a mom, this speaks to me for sure. There’s even art on the t’s from Santa Fe artist Holly McClellan which are beautiful. The Earth picture is amazing.

Another great find about this site is their Closeout, Irregulars and Bargains sections, where you can snag great stuff for cheap prices just because of small flaws in color, or maybe just an over abundance of the certain print. There are even value packs of t-shirts in this category! I will definitely be shopping at SOS From Texas, and what a great idea for baby shower gifts!

The most amazing part about this family owned company is that every part of the process is in America. The cotton is organically grown in Texas and it then travels to North Carolina and South Carolina for processing and sewing. There is a great YouTube video of the whole process.

For this giveaway SOS From Texas has generously offered a Baby Earth bath set. This hooded towel and washcloth are made out of their organic French terry and lined in the sherbert hued colors of peace green, laffy taffy yellow and cotton candy pink. Winner’s choice! This set usually retails for $20.00.

Now for the fun part….how you enter:

This is a giveaway open to all US residents.

You MUST be a follower of this blog.

To enter your name in the drawing you will need to go to SOS From Texas  http://www.sosfromtexas.com/index.htm and check out their site. Come back here and comment with what else you would buy from their great organic products.

This giveaway is open until April 3rd. Be sure to leave your e-mail address in the comment so I can get back to you if you are the winner!

First Giveaway Coming Soon........

I am so happy to announce that I will be posting my first GIVEAWAY soon!  Be on the look out because it's a good one.  Here's some hints: it's green, soft and Made in Texas.

Tell your friends! :) And keep checking back for the announcement.

Spring Break?

Who decided to call this Spring Break anyway? I know that the kids have a break from school but the moms have nothing of the sort. Who else wants to vote on a Summer Break for Stay at Home Moms and Dads? My hand is definitely raised!

We didn't go anywhere this Spring Break which leaves it completely up to me to find something to entertain the kids all day. The past few days have been gorgeous here in Texas, with 70 degree weather and sunshine galore. Today though it's nasty and rainy. Cabin fever is not a good thing to have with an 11, 8 and 3 year old. :)

Yesterday, we were able to lounge outside in the front yard, I had my feet kicked up (with a blanket over them) and a good book in my lap. My youngest ones played tea party to their hearts content with Goldfish and Quaker Oat Squares as the snacks and water for their "tea". My oldest would venture out every once in awhile to visit but with his iPod attached at the wrist. When hubby got home we ventured to our fave place to eat for the best Mexican food ever and then we had fun bowling (just one game, 3 year olds don't have much of an attention span).

Today's plans are nil because of the weather, maybe we'll have a movie day, hey, maybe I can even talk my daughter into a game of beauty shop! Who doesn't like their hair brushed repeatedly and put into a side ponytail??

Hubby might take off Friday and we're thinking about heading to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid on the opening day.

Happy Spring (not) Break everyone!!

My oldest is turning 11 tomorrow!

Tomorrow at 10:44am I will officially be the mom of an 11 year old.  This year isn't an extremely large milestone or anything but to me for some reason it has been.  Tyler was born to extremely young parents who had no clue what they were doing.  I barely recognize these people anymore as they were 11 years ago.  A naive 18 year old and her soulmate for life decided to start a family extremely early and through all of it the family is still kickin'!!  July 18th this year will mark our 12th year of marriage and we owe alot of our success to Tyler.  I would never advise any other just-turned-18yr old to get engaged, pregnant and married but we made it work.  Now, with any other kid this might not have been possible but Tyler has always pushed me to be a better mom than I thought I ever thought I could be.  Which is why that Teen Mom show on MTV just drives me nuts, by the way. 

Tyler created the mom that I am.  The mom that I am to Rhys and to Griffin.  I know there were moments when I probably acted like the 18 year old I was, wanting to sleep in, not wanting to cook or clean and I learned to get over it really fast.  I know for a fact that if I never had my kids holding me resposible I wouldn't have stuck it out through all the petty stuff that everyone goes through in a marriage.  I would have given up and treated our relationship like another high school crush, replaceable.

Now, I am not putting this all on Tyler's shoulders, I know that Bryan and I are good parents because we were meant to be and because we grew and learned how to be.  It didn't hurt though to have a great kid to start us off.  :)

We have since added 2 more kids to the mix and we could not be happier.  My kids are people who I genuinely like.  I know that sounds funny but you know you've loved people in your family but would you like them if you weren't related?  My kids are our glue, they are what keep us together, tightly and permanately. 

Tyler turning 11 tomorrow marks a milestone in our lives as a family....a continuance, a journey still being traveled.  He is an incredible person and I have no doubt that he'll be an incredible man.  He is open minded yet strong in his convictions.  He has a close relationship with God and is comfortable with himself and how others see him.  His confidence is something I wish I had.  He is extremely funny and such a big goofball you will never be bored with him around. He has accomplished any goal he has sought out, Student Council, Gifted and Talented, UIL competitions etc.   He is talented in everything he tries and he constantly is thinking outside of the box.  I am proud of the kid he has become so far and the gentleman he will be in the future. 

What a kid!