My boys love to help out around the house. I think kids instinctively want to contribute to a family, and to love to engage in tasks where their efforts are valued. In order to encourage these sorts of behaviors, my husband and I try to have the boys work beside us whenever we can.
When I cook, I try to find simple tasks for my boys that are appropriate for their skill and coordination levels.… Continue reading
With warmer weather approaching, this typically means more time outside. It also means more time sweating, and more times when you’re likely to feel thirsty while you’re out and about. We carry our water bottles with us year round, wherever we go. But this becomes especially important in the summer time.
Why should you carry a reusable water bottle too?
Every year one of my dear friends throws an Opening Day party for the Rockies home opener at Coors Field. He invites lots of friends, and we all have a terrific time. I’m not a big sports fan, and I still have a lot of fun. There’s something about being a part of a huge group of people all cheering for the athletes to do well that feels exciting.… Continue reading
Food waste is a problem. A huge problem. It may not seem like much when we toss out some leftovers, whether at home or from a restaurant, or when we throw out produce that we didn’t eat before it started to go bad, but it all adds up. Researchers have calculated that the average person produces nearly 475 pounds of food waste each year (GRACE, 2015).… Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago, my 6-year old announced that he wanted to do something special to celebrate spring’s arrival. Spring arrived on a warm, clear, sunny day. Here’s how we welcomed the change of seasons:
We forced tulip bulbs. It’ll be a while before outdoor tulips will bloom in our mountain yard. But we bought a bunch of tulip bulbs, placed them in a large glass vase with a small amount of water, and watched them sprout and grow.… Continue reading
Over the last couple of weeks, it seems like we’ve been invited to take on a number of commitments for the upcoming months. Most of these sound great, but I don’t know that all of them are the best use of our time.
I have particular goals for our family and for our boys. My boys have interests that I want to foster.… Continue reading
Our local Natural History Museum has a water bottle filling station connected to its drinking fountain. Every time we walk past it, it makes me smile. We head to the museum about once a month, and each time we look to see how much the number of refills has increased. It now stands at over 15,793.
It can be challenging to fill a reusable water bottle from a typical drinking fountain; this spigot makes it easy.… Continue reading
The huge amount of snow we’ve received over the last two weeks left all of us ready to celebrate when it was followed by a week of bright, sunny 50+ degree days.
Warm sun rays, natural vitamin D, and a general longing to be outdoors after staying snuggled up inside for a couple of weeks has energized all of us. After spending the afternoon playing in the sandbox, my 6-year-old asked, “Mama, I know there’s still some snow, but can we plant our garden tomorrow?”… Continue reading