Greening Sam and Avery

Day 365: a whole year

A few vacation pictures for you to enjoy while I ramble on about this one year mark!

A whole year.

 
Of learning, crafting, exploring, attempting and being outdoors.

 

A year of challenging my skills and knowledge as an environmental educator.  

I have learned so much about what it takes to get little ones interested in and excited about nature.  

But I still have learned enough or taught enough.  

Raising responsible environmental citizens is a process that takes longer than just one year.  

People have asked me since I started this blog what will happen when I hit the one year mark and I have never had an answer. Until today... 

It occurred to me that their learning and my teaching does not stop today. I HAVE to keep going!  

Will I keep posting everyday? I think so. But maybe involve more guest posts and more links to resources.  
 

I am hoping that I still have something to offer all the moms and educators out there that read this little blog. And I know I have more to learn about early environmental education.
 

So, thats it. The journey continues. With more adventures, more learning, more reading, more exploring and discovering to come. I hope that our family continues to get "greener" everyday!

Now, for the winner! Dawn! Thanks for being a follower. Please email me within 24 hours with your mailing address to acknowledge the win, otherwise I will be forced to choose another winner!

________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

So, some of the things that I learned on this camping trip....

1. Lifejackets are a MUST! We actually saw quite a few little kids that weren't wearing them which really surprised me. Not only is it SO much safer for the girls but since there was almost no current to the river where we were swimming I really didn't have to worry about them. I could sit on the side of the river, play in the rocks with Avery and not have to worry that Sam was in water up to her chest. It took a HUGE load of stress off of me and made the water play time so much more enjoyable.

2. The clamp on highchair is a must for all camping trips. It was so easy to plop Avery in that chair while I made meals, waited for meals to be ready or just to keep her occupied for a few minutes. I could not imagine having to eat all of those meals with Avery on my lap and the clamp on chair was super easy to pack.

3. Inside toys are worth packing. Sometimes they just need some quiet inside time before bed or early in the morning. Packing a few puzzles, markers, books and coloring books was a huge help for us several times throughout the trip.

4. If you have a hang-up about your kids going to bathroom outside GET OVER IT! When the bathroom is 100 yards away sometimes it is just easier to let them go behind a tree. Make sure they understand when it is appropriate to do this and help them so that they don't make a big mess of it but otherwise I don't see the harm.

5. Let go of the schedule. I went on the trip thinking the girls would still go to bed on time and would still get naps. Some of that happened, but not everyday all the time. Yes, they were a little extra crabby but not too bad and they have certainly caught up now. I think letting go of the stress of keeping to the schedule would have really helped me.

Any other thoughts on camping with kids?

Day 343: announcing the green gift

So the girls and I have been on this journey for ALMOST a full year.

Almost.

But our one year anniversary is coming up soon and I am already thinking about how we will celebrate.

One thing that I knew I wanted to do was to thank all of you that have been with me from the beginning, those that have joined along the way and all the amazing people that have helped spread the word, offered advice or helped me out with this crazy project.

Which brings us to THE GIFT.  One of you, my awesome readers, will be getting all of the fun gear we have made and bought over the last year.

Things like the traveling toy, the homemade guessing game, the flower matching game, a set of lacing tree blocks and much more. I have added a link on my pages on the sidebar for THE GIFT. I will post everything that will be included in THE GIFT over there.

Would you like that awesome box to come to your house? Super easy, just head over the to the page on the sidebar and leave a comment. That is it. No need to promote it, spread the word or comment everyday. Just comment once. Then on Day 365 I will pick one of my amazing readers to send the box to. I know not everyone will need these little kid toys but I thought for those that might have a little one at home they would make a really fun box for that little one to get in the mail!

And I may be adding more things to it over the last few weeks...maybe even a surprise or two for the green mamas out there. Be sure to check back to THE GIFT page!

________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

My girls have had a great time with all these things. They love these toys and have learned a lot while playing with these. Avery would still get a lot of joy out of these toys but I can make them again. I will make a lot of them again. I just thought passing them along to someone else's home would be a really fun way to end the year. So, I hope you will will enter to recieve the box. Even if you don't need the toys maybe a little one in your life might like to see them under the Christmas tree or wrapped up for their birthday.

 

Day 275: moo!

What an adventure we had today! It was the UW Science Fair and while most of it I was pretty sure would be too old for Sam and Avery the Cattle Milking Demonstration did catch my eye.

Wasn't I just asking on Facebook about finding a working farm with big animals in our area that we could visit? Love the timing!

OH! Before I move on to pictures from today I know you are all anxiously awaiting the results of the PlayOutdoors Deuter Backpack Giveaway.  The winner has 24 hours to email me with an address so that I can send the information on to PlayOutdoors to get your backpack to you.

And the winner is.....comment number 123......TAMI S.!  Yay! 

Okay, now back to today's adventure.

Not the most pleasant picture but I wanted to show what we were really there to see!

After the cows we walked to the UW greenhouse and had a good time walking through their conservatory and student greenhouses.

The BIG hit from the greenhouses were the plants we were allowed to eat off of! Sam hunted and hunted with one of the workers for the last of the beans for her to pick and enjoy. She did share ONE with her daddy.


This made Chris and I even more excited to see how she will react when we are picking and eating food from our own yard!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

Both girls were very captivated by the cows. I think they could have stood there watching them walk in, get milked and walk out for hours. It was really a neat process. By very limited farming experience means I have no idea of machines like these and set ups like there are commonly used but the cows were pushing there way to get into line to get milked and didn't seem to mind the process at all (both of which surprised me having been through nursing and not been a huge fan!).

But this experience did get me thinking... When do children learn where there food comes from? Do schools still do field trips to farms to see how beef, pork and chicken are raised? How grain is processed and mass amounts of vegeatables are grown? But, what they would see at a local family farm would not be the REAL situation for probably a majority of the food they would actually eat. With my environmental studies degree I have read and research the food industries; I KNOW where my food comes from, what has been done to it and what it really looks like (most of which is why I choose to eat the way I do!). But I learned all that in college and because I chose to. How do other people learn this stuff? And is it okay that there are some people that don't know?

I truly feel that more people really knew, I mean really knew, what happened to their food before it hit their table they might choose different options. And how do we reach those people that are okay with the "ignorance is bliss" mentality? 

Day 273: willow store cloth diaper giveaway - CLOSED

I am the first to admit that it has taken me some time to really come around on cloth diapers. The first set that we bought when Avery was born gave her horrible red marks, leaked and just didn't work well but I used them for a while. Then I started trying other brands. A couple of months ago I discovered The Willow Store. An online store that was LOCAL! Right here in Madison. I was intrigued. So I contacted them to see if they would be interested in letting me do a review. Catherine the amazing owner of this store was generous enough to let me test out her Sprout Change diaper.

When I first got it I instantly noticed that their packaging is super simple. No plastic, no unnecessary wrapping, no tags the have poked holes in the cloth, nothing. Just this.

And looks like this with the diaper.

So simple. So smart! So eco-friendly. But on to the actual diaper. The way they made this to me is genius.

See that snap in the middle. It opens up an inside compartment where you will find these -

Little bands of elastic with buttons. Just like on the inside of some pants for kids. The waist and leg elastics are all adjustable, with no velcro, no scratchy parts that leave red marks, just very easy adjustability.

It is soft and comfortable and for the first time she is wearing a cloth diaper that does not leave horrible red marks all over her stomach. I love these diapers.

BUT the best part about these diapers is the company, the families and the women behind the diapers. Catherine graciously allowed me to come to her home, her office, where the diapers and all of their products are made. By hand. By moms right here in Madison, WI. An American made, mom made product. Watching these women cut fabric, sew, stitch, attach buttons and package these diapers was incredible. She let me in and see the behind the scenes and I was blown away.

Check them out. Look at all the products that they have to offer. All made by hand, by moms.

While I was there I purchased a pull-up style potty training diaper for Sam to wear at nights. We are struggling with the night time potty training and I am so tired of the disposable pull ups. We have had great success with this diaper too and Sam loves wearing it! She feels special in her pink comfy underwear!

Now for the good part...Catherine gave me an extra diaper to GIVEAWAY to one of you! Woohoo!

So, let's get started.

Mandatory Entry - Head over to the Willow Store and tell me one thing that you learned about this great company. Be sure to leave a comment that includes your email.

Additional Entries -Leave one comment for each thing that you do.

• Follow The Willow Store Blog via GFC.
• Follow Greening Sam and Avery via GFC.
• Follow The Willow Store on Twitter.
• Follow ME on twitter.
• Like The Willow Store on FB and be sure to tell them that Greening Sam and Avery sent you.
• Like Greening Sam and Avery on FB.
• Tweet - Entered #giveaway to win a #clothdiaper @alenlund @thewillowstore www.greeningsamandavery.typepad.com
• Share giveaway on Facebook or any other social networking site (be sure to leave a link or someway to verify that this was done!).

Okay, that is it. One cloth diaper, in the brown and blue color, is up for grabs! The giveaway starts tonight and will go until April 10th at noon. So get busy entering!! 

 

 

Current Giveaways

Be sure to check out the giveaways that are going on right now:

PlayOutdoors - Deuter Junior Lightweight Kid's Backpack - Ends April 2nd at noon. Lots of ways to enter. CLOSED! Congrats Tami on winning this one! And thanks to everyone that entered.

Willow Store - Sprout Change Cloth Diaper - Ends April 10th at noon. Lots of ways to enter.

Day 265: playoutdoors guest post and giveaway

If you haven't headed over to PlayOutdoors - Campfire Blog to check out my guest post I hope that you will! I relaly enjoy the information, guest posts and gear reviews that they do over there. It is the best place to get information on how to get your kids outside because they are all gearheads and parents! They understand the struggles and the joys of taking our little ones outside. Today I am super excited to have one of the Campfire crew guest posting over here today!

And be sure to read all the way to the end to see about the GREAT giveaway they are offering my readers.

That Totally Rocks! Outdoor Gear Your Crew’s Gonna Flip For

By Heidi Drake

The dream of packing up the crew and engaging in outdoor adventures can be pretty far off from the reality of actually being outside for an extended period of time—unless you’ve got the right family outdoor gear http://www.playoutdoors.com/ to make the rough parts a bit less painful. Don’t try to take the mall stroller on the beach!

From venturing outside with a newborn to keeping your adrenaline-junkie 10-year-old pumped up, here’s a taste of some of the innovative gear you’ll find to help you get outside this spring.

Ergonomic and lightweight child carriers. Soft carriers like ERGObaby’s organic cotton models and light-but-durable framed packs like the multitasking Deuter Kid Comfort series child carriers http://www.playoutdoors.com/category/baby-child-carriers.aspx make hiking (or shopping) with a pre-walker a lot more fun for everyone. Look for adjustable carriers that both Mom and Dad can use!

Transformer-like strollers. Grab Junior and head for the beach or that rocky singletrack with a Mountain Buggy Terrain stroller, or maneuver with your two munchkins in a Phil and Teds Inline 2-kid model. Not hard core enough? Okay… pick up a Chariot system and adapt it to take your kids biking, running, or skiing.

Infant travel beds. Not much can ruin a trip like a tired, cranky baby, and no matter how much you want to take your littlest family members along, they sleep best in their own beds. Say bye-bye to backbreaking port-a-cribs and get a Phil and Teds Traveller bed. It folds down to fit in most overhead compartments, works as a playpen and a bed, and it weighs less than the average newborn at just 5 ½ lbs.!

Beginner bikes and wheels. Seriously, learning to ride a bike is one of the scariest things ever. Not anymore, thanks to pedal-free balance bikes for toddlers http://www.playoutdoors.com/category/cycling.aspx like Early Rider’s supercool wooden bikes and the super-adjustable Strider balance bike. Got an older kid who’s a two-wheelin’ newbie? Replace the front wheel of their bike with a Gyrowheel and watch them pedal off solo!

Kid-sized backpacks. Nothing makes a kid feel self-sufficient like packing their own gear—in a comfortable backpack that’s actually designed for their little bodies. The Deuter Junior kids’ pack fits most kindergarteners and can even adjust to suit some small adults! Or eliminate the need for both a backpack and a water bottle with a hydration pack like Camelbak’s popular models.

 

 

Don’t forget the snacks and the sunscreen, and you’re good to go! There are just no excuses for keeping the kids inside, so get out and let the ruckus begin. It’s what having kids is all about.

Technically, Play Outdoors are purveyors of certified Ruckus-Ready outdoor gear for children. Untechnically, they’re here to help turn the time families spend outdoors with their kids into moments that will stay with them for a lifetime. So, let the ruckus begin by visiting them at PlayOutdoors.com http://www.playoutdoors.com/, and check out more from Heidi Drake and the rest of the gang of parent-expert bloggers at the Campfire Blog http://blog.playoutdoors.com/.  

THE GIVEAWAY!

PlayOutdoors has graciously offered one of these to one lucky reader!

A Deuter Junior Lightweight Kids Backpack.

So here is how you can enter  -

MANDATORY ENTRY - Visit PlayOutdoors and then come back here to let me know what piece of kid gear your family needs this year.

Extra Entries - Be sure to leave one comment for each thing that you do.

• Follow Greening Sam and Avery through Google Friend Connect
• Follow me on Twitter.
• Like Greening Sam and Avery on Facebook.
• Follow PlayOutdoors on Twitter.
• Like PlayOutdoors on Facebook and be sure to tell them that Greening Sam and Avery sent you.
• Share this giveaway on Facebook (once a day).
• Tweet this giveaway; Just entered Deuter Backpack #giveaway @alenlund @playoutdoors  (twice a day, must be at least three hours a part) 

Giveaway begins NOW and will be open until April 2nd at noon.

Thank you so much to the folks at PlayOutdoors for this great giveaway. Good luck to everyone!

Day 259: the big birthday

Sam's first big girl birthday party will be in just a few short days. Three little friends from her class, one friend from...well life, and two of her cousins will be with us to celebrate. Along with Pawpaw, Grandma and a few other adults and siblings.

I am super excited that the party is going to be held at my work, Aldo Leopold Nature Center. Could not be a more perfect setting in my eyes. Because I have posted about other birthday parties that I have worked I thought I would share all the plans for the two hour event with you all.

I showed you all the goodie bags that I put together for all the kids the other day. You can check them out here.

While the kids are all arriving I am going to have a craft set up that they can be working on.

Sam picked out the seeds that she wanted today at the hardware store and we picked up the potting soil and pots. I found those cute stickers at a crafting store and then made the little flags out of scrapbook paper and lollipop sticks.Each kid will get to decorate their pot, plant a seed and then label their pot with the type of plant using the flag.

Once all the kids have made their plant to take home then we will take a look at some of the mounts that the nature center has. I want to talk with them a little bit about where certain animals live; pond vs. forest.

Then we will head out to explore. I plan on taking them all on a pretty good hike around the property so that they can explore the woods, the wetlands and the pond. We will play on the docks, maybe add some sticks to the shelter in the woods (or at least play in it for a little bit) and see what kind of wildlife we can spot.

Cake, ice cream, fruit kabobs and juice will be had back inside after all the outdoor fun!

Super simple party but I think it will be a lot of fun for everyone.

Ever hosted a nature themed birthday party before? What did you do?

________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

If you are in the Madison area you should definitely check out the Nature Center as a spot to have a birthday party. They are super flexible with themes and will pretty much let you plan whatever you would like and then you get the expert knowledge of one of their naturalists (maybe me!).

Stuff that is coming up....

ME guest posting over at Campfire TOMORROW! Show me some comment love over there people, please!

Guest post by My Zero Waste on Saturday!

Zero Waste Day on Tuesday!

Guest Post from PlayOutdoors on Wednesday! With an AWESOME giveaway too.

Review of cloth diaper from Willow Store coming soon. With a CLOTH DIAPER GIVEAWAY!

Review of Let's Go Chipper coming soon. Possible giveaway with this one too!

Whew, that's a lot. Make my head spin just listing it all out. Busy weeks ahead. Hope you will all join in on all the fun!

 

Day 257: a busy day

Yes I did do other things today besides just focusing on trash! HA! Check the post below if you are confused and please join in the conversation!

We got to tour a local cloth diaper "factory". SO COOL! And are super excited to show off these amazing locally made cloth diapers. WITH a GIVEAWAY! Coming soon. While at the cloth diaper tour Sam also had a close encounter with a chicken that was awesome. She was convinced it was trying to climb in our car, pretty sure it was just curious about us but Avery shrieked and it moved away pretty quickly. Great animal encounter.

We are also working on increasing our outdoor time each day. My hope is to have a pretty clean house this spring/summer because the girls and I are spending so much time outside. This means that right now I am working on getting more of their outdoor toys set up, picking up a winter's worth of dog poop (YUCK!) and raking our last bit of snow to make it go away faster. (yes, you read that correctly. I am CRAZY when it comes to the end of the season snow. I hate when it lingers in random piles. So I take a rake and spread it out so it melts faster. Again, yes I know I am crazy!)

Plus we had our gardening supplies delivered today! Landscaping ties, rebar and a big tool shed. Chris and I have to work tonight to get the tool shed put together and then hopefully we will break ground on the garden in the next week or so. Sam loved watched the fork lift bring all the supplies off the truck and into our driveway.

Chris is coming home work a bit early today so we can do family bike ride before dinner! Gotta run and get drinks and snacks ready so we have happy kiddos in the trailer.

Happy Tuesday everyone.

________________________________________________________________________________________
The Nitty Gritty!
Okay, seriously gotta go. So no more details for ya!

"Outdoor Parents Outdoor Kids" book review and giveaway

Outdoor Parents Outdoor Kids: A Guide to Getting Your Kids Active in the Great Outdoors; by Eugene Buchanan. You can find them at Recreating with Kids.

It's a good book. 

A lot of times these kinds of books will have great information, good topics and helpful tips but they aren't the kinds of books you necessarily stay up too late reading because you just can't put it down. This book is a page turner. The writing is really good and the author is hilarious!

He nails it on the head constantly when he talks about what it is like to get active in the outdoors with kids, what the struggles are and how they can be overcome.

"Before, it was easy. You could do things spontaneously. "Hey, honey!" you'd cheerfully suggest over coffee. "Let's go for a hike today." And then you'd be merrily on your way, stopping for a leisurely latte beforehand. Little Johnny Burpalot has changed things. Now you'll need that latte, and the time to enjoy it, more than ever. Because here's the thing: while you're out feeding your own rat, your spouse is at home feeding the rugrat creamed peas. And that spouse is counting the minutes with rolling pin in hand, until you return. When you do, that warm kiss on the cheek you used to get, and genunine inquiry into your activity, evaporates like spilt milk. It's replaced as quickly as a pedal crank by your little bundle of joy, deposited into your arms." First chapter - Getting Out While You Can.

The author goes on to write how he is not trying to scare people away from having kids but is just making it very clear that things will change and emphasising the importance of enjoying the freedom of recreation while you still have it. This section made me very nastalgic for those days and wishing that Chris and I had taken better advantage of our years together before kids.

But moving on....one chapter that I was really intrigued about was the paddling with kids chapter. Since we are planning our first river trip with the girls this summer I knew I wanted to thoroughly read and take notes on this section. Again, I laughed, nodded in agreement and ah-hah! my way through this chapter. The tips about creating shade over the canoe for little ones, realizing that you may only have one paddler for the trip and planning distance accordingly and a whole page of tips for multi-day trips was all very helpful.

I am not going to giveaway all of the tips and advice from this book because I really do hope that a lot of you will check it out.

The outdoor activities covered in this book include bicycling, snowsports, camping, hiking, jogging, paddling, climbing, fishing, swimming and more. All throughout the book there are special sections that include advice on kid-friendly places to go, resources, websites and gear suggestions. I love finding gear suggestions from parents that have been there done that. Why should waste money on brands that will fail or fall apart, instead trust a parent that has been there and just buy what they bought!  

Enough rambling, if you have any interest in adding your children to one of your favorite outdoor pasttimes I think you should pick up this book. If you are already taking the kids along on a lot of advetures I STILL think you should pick up this book. The stories are great, the advice is outstanding and the inspiration that you feel after reading it is priceless! I am SO pumped for spring and to start doing more camping, hiking, paddling and biking!

BUY IT - Head over to Recreating With Kids and pick up your own copy.

WIN IT - Passing along my copy to one lucky reader!

No mandatory entry, just do any of the following and leave me a comment letting me know you did it. Leave multiple comments for things worth multiple entries. And be sure to include an email, or at least have an updated profile!

Follow publicly through Google Friend Connect (1 entry).

Like Greening Sam and Avery on Facebook (1 entry). 

Follow me on Twitter (1 entry).

Follow me on Networked Blogs, see sidebar (2 entries).

Blog about this giveaway (3 entries).

Tweet this giveaway, once a day (1 entry).

Share on Facebook, once a day (1 entry).

Giveaway begins NOW and ends on March 10th at noon! Good luck.

"Nature Smart" book review and giveaway

"Nature Smart is a book for families and individuals who love the outdoors and wish they had an interpretive naturalist with them when something provokes their curiosity". 

I couldn't describe this book any better than that!

I recently found Nature Smart: A Family Guide to Nature, by Stan Tekiela and Karen Shanberg, at a book store and knew I needed to review a copy for all of you. It just looked like something that is perfect for young families wanting to get outside. The folks at Adventure Publications were nice enough to send me a copy to review for them and to GIVEAWAY to one of you!

But let me back up a bit...

Sam has entered the question asking phase. Every time we go outside she has a handful of questions for me about what we see, hear or are doing. Why is the ice dripping? Where did the snow go? Why is it crawling across the snow? What is this? Where do those tracks go? What lives in this hole? What bird sound is that? And on and on and on. Fortunately for me with my background and her still pretty simple questions I have most of the knowledge already to answer her questions. But I would think that a lot of parents don't. And what happens when her questions get more complicated and/or more specific? I won't always have all the answers.

When I saw this book and started looking at the chapters it just really struck a cord with me because of the way it is laid out and the information that it had.

Nature Smart: A Family Guide to Nature has chapters covering most of the topics families might need help with and kids would find interesting. Each chapter has an introductory section with basic information but then has a whole section that is organized by questions. Simple questions that sound just like something a young child might ask.

• Why do birds fly in "V" formation?
• If I stop feeding birds, will they die?
• How do insects breathe without lungs?
• How long do adult insects live?
• Why do squirrels chase each other?
• Where do all these animal trails go?
• Can I raise a baby raccoon as a pet?
• Why do turtles and snakes sunbathe?
• What's the difference between frogs and toads?
• How many mushrooms are there?
• Why are plants green?
• Where does soil come from?
• Can I find gold?
• How old is the "old man in the moon"?
• And many more!

After answering a ton of great questions in each section there is even more information at the end of each chapter. Specifics about common birds, insects, plants, animals, how to identify certain things and more.

Now because of this last little part in each chapter the book is a bit area specific; it is labeled at the top Midwest and Eastern. But the information that they give about the questions (at least most of them) would be the same in a larger range than that.

This is a great reference book for nature centers, classrooms and parents to have on hand to answer all those crazy questions that kids ask on a daily basis!

SO.....BUY ONE by visiting Adventure Publications . While you are there you can pick up some of the best identification and guide books out there (I have several of their books in my library already!). Plus they have some great kids journals and nature logs. Not age appropriate for Sam but for a slightly older kid they would be amazing.

OR....WIN ONE by entering here!  Giveaway of "Nature Smart: A Family Guide to Nature" begins tonight and will run till Saturday, March 5th at noon.

No mandatory entry just simply do any of the following and leave me a comment telling me you did it. Leave mutiple comments for the things that have multiple entry amounts.

Follow publicly through Google Friend Connect (1 entry).

Like Greening Sam and Avery on Facebook (1 entry).

Like Adventure Publications on Facebook (1 entry).

Follow me on Twitter (1 entry).

Follow me on Networked Blogs, see sidebar (2 entries).

Blog about this giveaway (3 entries).

Tweet this giveaway, once a day (1 entry).

Share on Facebook, once a day (1 entry).

Lots of ways to enter and win! Good luck!

Thank you so much Adventure Publications for the chance to read and pass along this great book.