Playhouse Fun & Sunflower Beauty

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My lil Buckaroo, Tristan, received this KidKraft playhouse for his 2nd birthday. It’s made out of sustainable FTC wood. We bought it at Costco and went in on it with my parents and the hubs! The playhouse does have a plastic roof and plastic sand and water trays + other misc. plastic but for the most part it’s wood. Yay! He loves it. I think it’s super duper cute. It’s just the right size. Some of the features include a doorbell, puppet theater, sand and water play, and basketball hoop. My son really likes to check the mailbox it has too.

I pretend to read letters from grandma and grandpa, it’s fun. My husband put a sandbox in so between the playhouse and that it keeps him pretty busy. My husband actually dug dirt out , layed down rubber and poured in beach sand (you can buy it bagged at Lowe’s). For me, it’s a huge zen box. I love having a piece of the beach in my backyard. The sunflowers grew wildly in a row along the edge of his sandbox. We get volunteers every year after we planted several in the garden one year. I {HEART} sunflowers! Besides their vibrancy it’s especially neat to see how they follow the sun- I’ll go out in the mid afternoon and their heads will be turned in the direction of the sun- it’s wild (no pun!).

Can you see the bee I captured in the first sunflower shot?

Organic Cherries Glee =)

On Sunday, my sister’s family and I went to Leona Valley (neighboring mountain town) to pick cherries. It’s a yearly tradition and has been since we were young. Ahh, memories. I love going fruit picking. So much fun is had by all. It makes me so happy to pass this tradition onto my son’s.

This year we’d gone to our usual cherry orchards and both were closed. On the way in we saw a sign for organic cherries so we backtracked a little and headed to Leona Valley Organics cherry orchard. It was our destiny!

The cherries were so juicy and sweet we couldn’t stop popping them into our mouth as we picked. They were Burlap and Rainier variety. The best part was the organic factor. No need to worry about nasty chemicals entering our system. I remember just last summer in Chico watching the crop dusters hover over the fields. I was in complete shock at how low they were and how white everything was. It was scary white. Nothing was going to survive that dusting. We were driving along the road as the airplane went back and forth across the field. For miles all you could see was white. YUCK.

This is not the case at all (crop dusting), when you’re considering an organic farmer. I had the opportunity to speak with the owners and they were very excited to talk to us about what it takes to be an organic orchard. It is their first season open and we we’re all very impressed. I’m definitely planning on returning with my husband and the kiddo’s. I was thrilled to take home a brown bag full of organic cherries and some buckwheat honey. What impressed us most about the owner was his dedication to organic farming while stressing the importance it was for his children. He recognized that being able to freely pick off a fruit tree without the worry of chemicals was key to producing a delicious yield and keeping your kids safe from toxic substances.

I’m planning to go back and interview the family for a local post in the paper! Green local businesses ROCK! We don’t have many so I get gitty when sustainable practices are being well, practiced!!!

Picking fruits or veggies is a rite of passage during the summer, no? Go outside and be with nature and your loved ones. We were filled with cherry glee!

Wooden Tool Box by Maggie Blue Designs

I tipped my mother in law off at Christmas time for this wooden tool box. Fortunately, for my son Grandma and Grandpa spoiled him and bought it! It’s made by Maggie Blue Designs. My son absolutely loves to play with it. He pretends to fix his toys or take things apart. He was showing me what each tool did and naming them in these pics. It was cute. The screwdriver isn’t featured but he tends to play with it a lot.

This handmade wooden tool box is top quality. The wood has a nice smooth surface and each tool is perfectly made. It’s sturdy and solid. I love the personalization bonus too! The tool box is just the right size and holds all the tools nicely.It’s lightweight and easy for my son to carry around and act like daddy. He loves to mimic my husband- especially since “daddy” is a contractor! It also entertains him for quite awhile.

Maggie Blue Designs also carries personalized handmade aprons, totes, and other handmade miscellaneous for boys and girls. Check em’ out. Handmade rocks!

I {HEART} wooden toys!

Celebrate Earth Day the Eco Way!

Make Everyday Earthday- Love and Support Your Planet- think green, and be eco-conscience!

10 WAYS TO CELEBRATE-

1. REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE!
2. Plan your meals for the day using organic ingredients or have an Earth Dinner Party!
3. Incorporate Earth Hour into your life- turn off the lights for an hr. or one day month and have fun!
4. Use cloth bags when shopping- Paper or Plastic? Neither- Bring your own bag!
5. Plant a tree or garden- Or Wildlife Habitat for the children
6. Make your own green cleaners
7. Adopt an eco-resolution- ex: kick the water bottle habit and start using a reusable H20 bottle!!!
8. Walk, ride a bike, carpool to work! Commuting without polluting!
9. Purchase recycled products…and know you’re sustaining our future!
10- CALL FOR CLIMATE- Call your Representative or Senator today!!! Demand a tougher action on the current GLOBAL WARMING CRISIS!!

US Capitol Switchboard: 202 – 224 – 3121
Ask for your representative. Tell them the current global warming proposals in Congress are inadequate. Tell them you want:
A moratorium on new coal-burning plants, Renewable energy, Carbon-neutral buildings, Protection for the poor and middle class in the new green economy.

Remember, it only takes one person to make a difference and if everyone was doing their part we’d be saving the planet, one household at a time.

A few other ways to be more eco-friendly are:

* Make the switch- change out all those incandescent bulbs to CFL’s! Energy efficient light bulbs last for year. They cost more to buy, but are well worth it.
* Disposable items are generally not recyclable so try to avoid them.
* Grow your own garden this year. The White House is on board and you should be too!
* Compost to reduce waste and keep your garden happy and healthy.

Did you hear Reynolds Wrap is debuting their RECYCLED foil tomorrow? I was so happy when I heard about this. We buy recycled foil at the health food store and it’s a bit expensive so I’m hoping this will be a much more affordable option. Plus, not to mention the fact that a big company like this is making a big switch that will make a BIG DIFFERENCE for our planet.

The packaging and core are made from 100% recovered paper and the inks used on the product packaging are water-based!

Sustainable Living: Raising Chicks into Hens

It’s almost been a year since we picked up our spring chicks- Henrietta and Dixie. In all honesty, we did have four Spring chicks but our dog Durgen, killed two of them (Fluffy and Lois). It was devastating to say the least.  We decided that two was our lucky number. Having chickens has been such an adventure. When you first get them as chicks they do require to be under a heat lamp for about 2-3 weeks until they get bigger and can face the temperature variations outside. They require a little heat, food (medicated), water, your attention and love. Just before they get bigger you want to teach them to perch so that they are accustomed to doing so when moved into the coop. All you need to do is add a piece of wood inside the box you’re using to house them; elevate it so that they learn to jump up and perch. It’s really that simple.

My husband built the coop and we reused as much material as we could to get it up. For instance, the door was leftover fencing material and some of the wood was from older jobs that didn’t require as much wood as expected. Building the coop didn’t take much time and before we knew it the chickens had there own place to live and roam. Besides the coop they need a nesting box which is where they’ll lay their eggs. Add straw to the nesting box and make it nice and comfy. Some people will put in a golf ball or alabaster eggs in the box so that the chickens get the idea that they should lay the eggs inside the box. We did not do this. Our chickens learned on their own. It took them a few weeks but they figured it out.

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