Thank You Lord

...for busy days.  They can be fun when you are actually accomplishing something!

...for trying tiny violins.  I hope we have one in our home very soon!

...for my hardworking husband.  What would we do without his serious dedication to this family.

...for new students and meeting new families. I love seeing their delight at learning music.

...for one happy year with my nephew, Bryce.  Happy Birthday Brycie Boy!

...for a good friend who scored me some lower organic prices today! 

...for celebrating my mom's birthday at Phipps with my mom and Aunt.  Being there twice in a month was a rare treat!

...for our health and an amazing outlook for 2013!

Reader, what are you thankful for today?

10 Houseplants for Clean Air and Eco Kids

My two trips to Phipps Conservatory in the past month have put houseplants on my mind.  Houseplants are the natural answer for ridding our homes of many of the chemicals that are out-gassed from our carpet, furniture, and cleaning products. Some houseplants are better than others at removing chemicals such as benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, toluene, and ammonia than others.  Below is a list, based on research done by NASA, of 10 of the most effective houseplants for filtering air.  Don't just stop at one.  NASA recommends 15 plants for a 1,800 square foot space to improve air quality. 

1. Peace Lily (Spathyphyllium)

2. Pot Mum

3. Red-edged dracaena

4, Golden Devil's Ivy or Pothos (Epipremnum)

5. Snake Plant or Mother-In-Law's Tongue (Sanseveria)

6. Warneck dracaena

7.  Gerbera Daisy

8. Lilyturf

9. Janet Craig dracaena

10. English Ivy

Some of my favorite posts from Eco Kids last week are featured below.

 Christmas Outdoor Play by Taming the Goblin



DIY Herbal Shampoo by the Nerdy Farm Wife 


 DIY Ballerina Foofa Hair Garland by Learning and Growing the Piwi Way

Men's Shirt into Singlet Top Refashion by Lisa Unhemmed

Spinning by Highhill Homeschool

 If you've been featured, please grab a button:

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Please join me for the Eco-Kids Linky!  I hope that you'll share some great family-friendly posts that are also friendly for the environment. Some ideas include:

•  Nature Activities
• Outdoor Activities
• Crafts made with re-purposed or recycled materials
•  Sewing and DIY home projects
• Science Experiments
• Posts on environmental issues for kids or families
• Non-toxic living
• Homeopathic Remedies

Eco-Kids Tuesdays is co-hosted by Organic Aspirations and Like Mama~Like Daughter this means that anything you link-up shows up on both blogs!

Feel free to link up several of your posts.

There are only a few rules:

Please follow both co-hostess' blogs, and visit some of the other posts and give them some encouragement!   Please stick to posts and photos not giveaways or items for sale.

By linking up, you are agreeing that Organic Aspirations or Like Mama~Like Daughter can feature your photos next week with a link back to your site.  

 Please link back to my site using this button:

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Little Snips

I hate taking my kids into hair salons.  I take one whiff of the air, and my heart sinks.  I do everything I can to keep my kids from the chemical exposure found in personal care products.  I especially avoid hairspray and nail polish which can contain dangerous pthalates and even cancer-causing formaldehyde. I have never gotten Addie's hair cut in 19 months, and it has been almost that long since Ana's haircut.

Yesterday was the day though.  Addie's was in desperate need of a trim, and Ana wanted a change.  So, before heading out to the typical big name salons, I did a quick search.  I was surprised to find a salon especially for children right up the street from me!  Not only is their entire business geared towards children, but they use all natural and organic products as well.  I figured that this place would be way out of my price range, but nope!  They are only a few dollars more than the big name chains, and there was a coupon for first time customers.

Check out our photos.  Who wouldn't love this place! Not only was the decor beautiful, the products organic, and the stylists wonderful, but the air was fresh and clean!  In addition, our stylist was skilled with hair and amazing with children.  From now on, my kids come here!  I'm not being paid in any way for this post.  I was just so happy to find this place, I thought I would share.  Pittsburgh people, consider supporting this great business: Little Snips.

Ana Before

Ana Before

Ana After

Addie Before

Addie Before

Addie After

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by soulemama.

 

 

Tags: elephant, zoo, pittsburgh, family, zoo boo, halloween

A Surprise in the Park

There's a park near our house called Settlers Cabin Park.  This park it aptly named because in the lower half of the park, there is a true settler's cabin.  Built in 1780, the Walker-Ewing-Glass Log House still stands in the lower part of the park.  I honestly never even knew it was there.  I was familiar only with the other log house that still stands nearby, but it's not in the park.  Imagine my surprise when we were geocaching and we stumbled upon this house! It was a beautiful day for hiking and appreciating a 1780 hand built log house!

 Tags: log house, log cabin, settler's cabin, hiking, geocaching, geocache, woods, path, John Henry, 1780

Wild and Wonderful

Since we've gotten our membership to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, I've gotten good at managing two kids, a packed lunch, and heavy crowds on my own.  Add taking pictures to that, and well...  I guess I just can't take as many pictures as I would like.

As I was pouring over my pictures this morning, I was wondering- How eco-friendly is a zoo?  I've heard people say that they don't lie zoos because its mean to cage an animal.  Is there more to it than that?  So I started searching..

What I came up with is a very clear answer- it depends.  Ha!  Of course that would be the answer.  On one side, zoos try to protect endangered species, and the zoo is a great lace to educate the public about conservation.  The other side of the story, however, is that all zoos are not created equal.  Some zoos even poorly house and inadequately feed the endangered species that they are claiming to save.  This is especially true of small zoos.   Here is a list of all the zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA).  I was happy to see that the Pittsburgh Zoo was on there!

This is by no means a complete study of the Eco-friendlyness of zoos, and I think that there are usually ways to get better and change.  I was curious though, and I thought I'd share some of the tidbits that I found.

Tags: zoo, aquarium, fish, kids, summer, Pittsburgh, water play, sleeping, water's edge, jellyfish, elephant