I listened to a live town hall on the phone with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy this evening. Gina asked people to please take their children and grandchildren outside to play. She said that children need to learn to appreciate and connect with nature and this happens from going outside. This fit so well with my […]
Be Glad It’s Snowing In January
Posted on January 20, 2014 Written by 2 Comments
I’ve heard a lot of people recently either complain about the snow or express their happiness about how warm it was this month. I realize that it is human nature to talk about the weather and that most people like moderate weather. However, you should be really, really glad, that here in New England it […]
Unplug the Family
Posted on September 30, 2013 Written by 1 Comment
We’ve recently tried to reduce the amount of TV our kids watch and increase the amount of time we spend as a family by playing board games and card games after dinner. I wish I could say it has been a huge success, but I am glad to report we have made some progress. We […]
Picking Safe and Effective Sunscreen for the Family
Posted on September 14, 2013 Written by 7 Comments
Everyone agrees that protecting your skin from sun damage is important, but with all the toxic chemicals in sunscreen today, it is really hard for a parent to choose the right sunscreen for their kids and themselves. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts together their sunscreen guide each year carefully comparing the listed ingredients in over […]
Bathe Your Children Less Often
Posted on August 22, 2013 Written by 24 Comments
It’s really nice karma when doing what’s best for the planet, for your children’s health and saving time & money, all align. It turns out that this is the case with bathing children, particularly infants. I’ve consulted with several pediatricians and dermatologists they agree, if your child isn’t actually dirty, it’s not necessary to bathe […]
Celebrating Your Successes
Posted on August 4, 2013 Written by Leave a Comment
Living a green life isn’t always easy. Some things come naturally for us, like recycling, but other things take a real effort, like gardening. Today we are celebrating our successes. Ellie and I spent hours weeding the garden and front yard. We worked on it in fits and starts, but we got a tremendous amount […]
Need Help Picking New Mattresses For Our Children
Posted on July 13, 2013 Written by 3 Comments
When we first bought our house we considered it our “starter house.” Something that was big enough for the 2 of us, and maybe a kid or two. We thought that by the time our kids were ready for school we would be buying for bigger house in a different school district. But times and […]
Camping Desserts: Apple Crumble
Posted on May 27, 2013 Written by 5 Comments
We love to camp. We’ve been camping with a group of friends for years. In fact, it’s the group of friends that Alicia used to camp and rock climb with back in high school. Before any of us had kids we used to go for hiking trips where we would camp at a campground at […]
Never Too Young To Help In The Garden
Posted on May 19, 2013 Written by Leave a Comment
We had great weather this weekend and two local plant sales, so I was able to plant our garden! Our local Garden Club members grow extra seedlings and then sell them as their annual fundraiser in May and I picked up 4 varieties of tomatoes that I’ve never heard of, as well as a kohlrabi plant and an artichoke […]
Road Tripping with Our C-Max Hybrid
Posted on May 13, 2013 Written by 2 Comments
I recently took my three kids on a trip to New York City for the weekend in our new Ford C-Max. This was the first long road trip we had taken with our C-Max and the car performed beautifully. On this drive, I was solo parenting. All three kids (twins age 8 and a 3-year-old) […]
