TheGreenGirls - Parenting--Family

Video: Turn Baby's Cot Blanket Into Poncho Top

Stitchless — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:19:00 -0700

Learn more about Stitchless @ http://www.stitchless.co.uk

(Video) Green Your School w/ Olivia Munn & DoSomething.org

GreenGirls — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:26:00 -0700

The Green Your School Challenge is a student led movement to shrink the carbon footprint of US schools. Teens rally their school community and lead projects to reduce waste, save energy, promote green agriculture and more. Participating students browse and select projects needed in their school and we provide action guides and one-on-one support to help.

Schools that make the biggest impact on their school win grants and prizes including:

A $5000 grant to the biggest impact on recycling, powered by Nestlé Waters.
A $5000 grant to the biggest impact on energy conservation, powered by Energy Star.
Five $1000 grants to the schools with the most people registered.

DoSomething.org will also award 4 $500 college scholarships to individuals who register as participants in the campaign by March 1st.

HOW IT WORKS

Join the Campaign
1) Sign up at www.dosomething.org/GreenYourSchool or text GREEN to 38383
2) Get all of your friends to sign up too. Schools must have 10 participants registered to be eligible to win.
3) Browse and select projects to tackle. Use our action guides to help!
4) Report back by April 22nd online or by text and be eligible to win great prizes.
5) Winning schools get $1000 and $5000 grants and a chance to be honored at the White House!
6) 4 individuals will be selected to win a $500 college scholarship for registering

TIMELINE:

February 1 – The Green Your School Challenge launches
February 1- April 22 - Campaign Runs. Students work with their school to complete projects
April 23-27 Judges review schools’ projects
May 1– Results announced!

GET INVOLVED:

1. Learn more and sign up to participate at DoSomething.org/GreenYourSchool
2. Text GREEN to 38383 for more information via text message
3. Got questions? E-mail green@dosomething.org

10 #FREE #Gardening, #Vegetarian & #Healthy Food eBooks!

GreenGirls — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:38:00 -0700

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Recipes:

Food & Health:

Gardening & Business:

More eBooks!

*Remember that Kindle eBook prices may change without notice. As of today, the books listed below are FREE. If you don't have the Kindle reading app for your gadget, you can download it here.

Green Your Nursery

Amanda — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:04:00 -0700

Be a Baby Hugger- Green Your Nursery

The phrase “going green” has often been thought of, and often is, about using environmentally sustainable products and having a low carbon footprint. It’s a hippy-dippy thing right? Wrong. Being green is more than that. For me it is about my family, specifically my toddler. I do NOT hug trees. I hug babies. I also love my husband, myself and even my dogs enough to give them a safe home. To me, green is synonymous with safe. When you look at it that way….

Cancer, nervous system disorders and birth defects are on the rise. It is reasonable to assume that the toxins our babies are born with coupled with ones they are exposed to postpartum are partially to blame. Our bodies are affected by the scads of new chemicals produced each year as well as the ones already being used. According to studies done by the Environmental Working Group, babies are born toxic. The toxins found in their cord blood are alarming: Dioxin is a hormone disruptor. PCBs can impair fetal development lowing IQ permanently. Methylmercury impairs brain function. Babies’ bodies are to a disadvantage at conception having to combat all the pollutants already in the mother’s womb. This makes it crucial for mom to take care of her body by avoiding as many harmful chemicals as possible. Once baby is born, it is important to continue this trend in the home environment especially her sleeping space.

Babies spend at least 10 hours asleep. Whether they sleep in your room or their own room, there are several places toxins can be found.

Let’s start with the mattress as that is where they are actually laying (hopefully). Infant and adult mattresses are not manufactured in a very responsible way. Whether your little sweetheart is sleeping in a bassinet, your bed or in his crib, the mattress needs to be SAFE. It should be made with organic cotton or wool and void of toxins. This means, no flame retardants, no synthetic fabrics, no boric acid or antimony and no vinyl. 100% cotton, bamboo and wool are best, ideally if they are grown and manufactured responsibly. Cotton should definitely be organic being it is heavily doused with pesticides. Follow suit with the mattress pad and sheets. That new jungle-themed bedding set you’ve been eyeing up can have the above mentioned chemicals as well. The packaging on the mattress and bedding you buy should boast its virtues as being certified organic, nontoxic, Green Guard certified, etc. A great choice is Naturepedic as they offer many sizes and styles of their nontoxic mattresses, sheets and mattress covers. There are many other good companies out there too. Do your research though.

The crib and changing table need to be put together at least 3 months before baby arrives and allowed to air out. Ideally, this should be done outside as to keep the chemicals out of your home, but if that is not possible, let them off-gas in another room with a lot of open windows. This process takes between 2 to 3 months. The gas here is in the wood treatments and the wood itself if it is particle board or any other type of compressed wood. Formaldehyde and other VOCs are emitted from nursery furniture and other wood furniture in your home unless it is otherwise specified. If you can, it is really best to invest in a crib made from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood or reclaimed wood. Other safe materials are wicker and rattan. The finish on nursery furniture should be VOC-free! Often it is not. Again, research! Green Guard has a great database of cribs and mattresses that are tested to have low to no off-gassing.

Flooring is an important thing to consider as well. Whether the room rests on hardwoods, vinyl or wall to wall carpeting, there are some things to be aware of. Any flooring that involves adhesives is suspect when it comes to infant safety or your own for that matter. The adhesives used are often full of toxic chemicals. In addition, carpet can harbor a host of tiny particles including dust mites and pet dander. It is often treated with stain resistant chemicals that off-gas. If you already have wall-to-wall carpeting in the nursery steam-clean it rather than using carpet shampoo. It gives a deep clean and can be done with just plain old water! The most family-friendly flooring is FSC hardwood flooring with nontoxic treatment. Other good options are slate, ceramic tile, cork and bamboo. Cork is more forgiving for newly crawling or walking babies.

The drawback to avoiding wall-to-wall is that you are sacrificing comfort. Who doesn’t enjoy the feel of high pile carpeting under their feet? To remedy this, buy some safe area rugs with no backing that are made with natural fibers. Place organic rug pads underneath to keep them in place. Bamboo, organic cotton, hemp, wool and jute are good options. Make sure the dies are low-impact and nontoxic. Ideally they should be machine washable or easy to steam clean. DwellSmart offers some great options. This is a great way to warm up a cool slate or ceramic floor!

There should be no chipping paint, especially if your home is old. It is a good idea to have your home checked for lead paint before conception. Once pregnant, it is best not to remove the lead paint because it can release into the air. Paint over any exposed areas instead. If you’d like to repaint, this is not a job for pregnant women. It makes for cute pictures, but that’s about it. It is a disservice to your baby to be breathing in paint fumes. Have someone else do the dirty work. Your paint should be VOC free or low-voc after the coloring is added. Milk paint is another good option as it is naturally VOC free and free of many other chemicals. Wallpaper and borders should contain no vinyl and be applied with a nontoxic glue.

When cleaning the nursery, be mindful of chemicals! Use safe products like Seventh Generation, Method, Meyers or better yet, make your own! Recipes involve baking soda, vinegar, washing soda, lemon juice and essential oils for the most part. Then all you need are some spray bottles. Once you have all your ingredients you can make years worth of product. Eco-nomical right?

Loving the cute curtains at Babies R Us? Fabrics used in your new non-toxic nursery should be free of any treatments like water or stain-proofing and flame retardants. Avoid synthetic fabrics and stick with natural ones like organic cotton, wool, bamboo, silk, linen and hemp. Organic cotton is recommended because it will not emit chemicals found in pesticides. Not only that, but natural fabrics will not emit any type of smell and will look beautiful in any nursery. There are many adorable organic choices available. Check out www.babyearth.com.

The air quality in our homes is far worse than what we breathe outside, even in a heavily industrialized area. Air quality has been associated with SIDS, so make sure your nursery has excellent air flow. Fans are great. A window fan or air conditioner will work too. Open the windows and air your baby’s nursery a few times a day to release any toxic chemicals that have accumulated from furniture stains and paint. Keep your shoes off in your baby’s sleep space. Shoes track in pesticides, dirt and other harmful substances. Ideally, we shouldn’t be wearing our shoes in the house at all. Eastern cultures set good examples as they find it completely disgusting to wear shoes indoors. They are right.

Use incandescent light bulbs to sidestep the mercury found in compact fluorescent ones. When broken, the mercury is released into the air of your home. Yikes. Incandescent also cast a more pleasant light. There is a reason babies scream at Wal-Mart.

The designers from Inspired Everyday Living recommend light or neutral colors in a nursery because bright ones can be over-stimulating for babies. That is the last thing parents want when putting baby to bed for the evening! This is a place for sleep so design it as such. Keep clutter as low as possible using furniture that multitasks, shelves and hidden storage areas. Clutter causes stress, which is something we have enough. And as you probably know, our babies can sense our stress and will respond accordingly.

If you can’t afford to buy the nontoxic crib or install cork flooring, make small changes. Opening windows and starting a “no shoes” rule will be a great start. So will cleaning with nontoxic products which can be made for pennies on the dollar. You can also purchase a Babe-safe mattress wrap which will block any off-gassing from your little one’s mattress. Find them on Amazon.com.

It may be frightening to hear all the things in your home that could potentially harm your baby. The only thing more frightening is the ignorance we as parents have about these dangers. We certainly aren’t warned about them like we are about placing baby to sleep on his back. So empower yourself with information on these topics by doing research on your own. Use what you learn to make changes in your environment and feel good because you are truly taking care of your family. Love is an amazing motivator.

Sources

www.inspiredeverdayliving.com Healthy Decorating, www.ewg.org
Ecologist- How to Reduce Toxins and Green your Baby’s Nursery by Laura Sevier, 2009
www.healthychild.com Carcinogenic Cribs and Changing Tables? Jennifer Taggart, 2008
www.healthychild.com Trimester Calender Laura Forbes Carlin and Alison Forbes, 2008

Learn more about Amanda Hammond at www.readyornotbabyplanning.com

4 Her Life 10k Challenge

GreenGirls — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:29:00 -0700

Life's a Race ~ Be First!

1. 29.12

10k | 5k | Run | Walk | 5k Team Challenge

New 2012 Race Route!

Competitive races on a fast rolling course.

Xbox interactive expo & continuous entertainment.

7a – 11a

5k start is 8:30a with celebrity Ivan Sergei

10k & 5k Team Walk start is 8:45a.

Cash Prize for 1, 2, 3 male & female winners in the 5k & 10k races!

PERK ALERT: one free upper level NBA Clippers v. Denver Nuggets non-transferable ticket to the Thursday 2/2 game at 7:30p with race registration. Additional tickets may be available at http://clippers.com

Just Run With It!

DIY Natural Winter Chest Rub

Mindy — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:00:00 -0700

Toss the OTC meds for common colds! Synthetically suppressing cold symptoms could not only bring about other illnesses like liver disease and kidney issues, but it prevents the body from properly healing and doing its job of ridding itself of phlegm and germs and fills your children's bodies with dangerous artificial dyes weakening the immune system and actually lengthening the life of the virus.

This winter and flu season try this DIY organic decongestant recipe. It is sure to come in handy and naturally relieve nasal congestion and help to clear/break up mucus that settles in the back of the throat and in the chest.

When my children get colds and noses get stuffy, I mix 1 heaping tablespoon of coconut oil and 8-9 drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil in a bowl and rub on their chest and place a warm heating pad (or warm washcloth) over the chest for about 10-15 minutes before they go to bed. This mixture was especially great when my daughter suffered from asthma in her younger years but works just as fabulous for adults too.

AMAZING TIP: A great tip many people aren't aware of is to also take the same mixture and rub on the bottoms of feet and slip on a pair of thick cozy socks. When the mixture is applied to feet, it settles coughs throughout the night so you or your little one can get a good night's rest.

After one to two nights of applying this mixture, you will probably begin to cough quite heavily as the mucus will begin to break up and loosen. Encourage your children to cough out the phlegm and spit (preferrably into the toilet to prevent the spreading of germs) to help speed up the healing process.

Just another PHENOMENAL use for coconut oil!

Works wonders for adults as well. Please spot test prior to use for allergies and don't use more eucalyptus oil than suggested or can cause skin irritation.

Let me know if this works just as well for you as it does for our family and pass along this flu season! :)

M.

Mindy Perez
www.EVOKEElegance.com
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Blog

#FREE Children's Kindle eBook!

GreenGirls — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:00:00 -0700

This fun and colorful children's book is FREE this week to download.

*** Remember that Kindle eBook prices may change without notice. Until Jan 22nd, this book is FREE. If you don't have the Kindle reading app for your gadget, you can download it here.

Enjoy!

The Adventures of Lemon Drop, The Recycled Rag Doll (With Fun & Colorful Photos)

About the book:

Inspired by a series of true stories, this books is a small collection of adventures a little recycled rag doll named Lemon Drop has experienced with her creator and friend Lexy. From meeting the entire family to distant travels, the colorful photographs will bring you right into the adventures.

At the end of this book, you will find instructions on how you can make your very own rag doll of memories.

With each chapter, you will find examples of friendship, responsibility and the true value something has when love is in the mix.

10 #FREE #Homelife Kindle eBooks

GreenGirls — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:50:00 -0700

*** Remember that Kindle eBook prices may change without notice. As of today, the books listed below are FREE. If you don't have the Kindle reading app for your gadget, you can download it here.

Enjoy!

More eBooks!

(Video) Twilight Star Booboo Stewart Supports Teen Charity Campaign

GreenGirls — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:53:00 -0700

You'll find Twilight star Booboo Stewart at charity events all over LA. This week, he attended the Teens For Jeans annual event to lend a hand and to donate a few pairs of jeans from his closet.

Learn more about Teen For Jeans and DoSomething.org

(Video) Miranda Cosgrove Interview | First Lady Michelle Obama on iCarly

GreenGirls — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:51:00 -0700

Nickelodeon and the White House are joining forces to bring awareness to ways kids can support U.S. military families with a special episode of iCarly titled "iMeet the First Lady," featuring the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, premiering Monday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

First Lady of The United States Of America, Michelle Obama, makes a special appearance on Nickelodeon's hit series "iCarly" at Nick On Sunset studio in Hollywood, CA. Mrs. Obama taped the special episode on Monday, June 13 to bring awareness to Joining Forces, an initiative that supports and honors U.S. military families. Pictured L-R (Jerry Trainor, Michelle Obama, Taran Killam, Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Cress, Jennette McCurdy) Photo credit: Lisa Rose

Watch the video for a behind the scenes look at the episode and an interview with iCarly star, Miranda Cosgrove.

Mrs. Obama watches iCarly with her daughters and chose to appear on the show because the lead character, Carly Shay (played by Miranda Cosgrove), is the daughter of an Air Force Colonel currently serving overseas in the military. In "iMeet the First Lady," Mrs. Obama talks to Carly about her service to America as a member of a military family and thank her friends for supporting Carly during her father's deployment.

(Video) Julianne Hough Donates "Footloose" Jeans to Charity

GreenGirls — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:15:00 -0700

Did you know that 1 in 3 homeless people in the US are under the age of 18?

This was news to Julianne Hough as she joins gal pal, Kristen Bell at the 5th Annual Teens For Jeans where she donates a pair of jeans to the campaign. A pair that she wore on 'Footloose'. Watch the video interview.

Learn more about Teen For Jeans and DoSomething.org

(Video) Kristen Bell @ Teens For Jeans w/ @DoSomething

GreenGirls — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:32:00 -0700

Kristen Bell joins DoSomething.org for their 5th Annual Teens for Jean campaign. Kristen talks about her involvement with Teens for Jeans, her new show on ShowTime "House of Lies" and how he feels about co-star & fellow activist Don Cheadle.

Kristen Bell @ 5th Annual Teens For Jeans with DoSomething.org

What is Teens for Jeans?

DoSomething, Aéropostale and P.S. from Aéropostale have partnered with over 1000 homeless shelters across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Your jeans will be donated to a homeless shelter in your local community.

10 #FREE Kids Kindle eBooks

GreenGirls — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:15:00 -0700

Here are some books you can download for free and share with your little ones. Remember that Kindle eBook prices may change without notice. As of today, the books listed below are FREE. If you don't have the Kindle reading app for your gadget, you can download it here.

Enjoy!