I just had to post about this amazing video I saw from Beth at My Plastic Free Life. It really shows how ANYONE can stop using and buying so much plastic. If Beth can do it (without any known superpowers) than surely we can to. It sure as heck motivated me to try even harder! Enjoy!

Something miraculous has happened in our home. Every morning I get to wake up to a clean house and the feeling is sooooo nice!!

A couple weeks ago I bartered for house cleaning services and my house was whipped into shape. I absolutely LOVE getting up to sparkly floors and NO toys on the floor. Gone were the days of pretending that the kids toys, books, and clothing all over the floor was actually a burglary early warning system. BUT after everything was super clean I started to notice every little thing that was carelessly tossed or dirtied without cleaning up afterwards. I would seethe upon finding the sink full of dishes after dinner from the night before since we have always agreed to a “the cook doesn’t clean” policy. When someone “put away” the clean clothes from the dryer by throwing them on the desk nearby I thought I was going to implode soon. Rather than implode I opted to request… no, insist… I get help.

I have always loved that poem about letting things get dirty while you raise your babies because you won’t get that time back… you know the one I am talking about? But my kids are getting older and I spend all day with them already so now I got to thinking that it was time to start keeping things clean AND having them take responsibility for their own messes. But I have always resisted chores. I guess it is because I really only had one chore growing up (dishes) and the only other families I knew who had “chores”… well sorry but to me it looked like lazy parents who sat on their butts while the kids did all the cleaning. I remember being at their houses while the parents sat in recliners barking orders while kids scrubbed toilets and mopped floors, all the while listening to lectures about how they (the parents) have jobs and kids are leaches. I swore I would never do that to my kids.. that I would adopt a “get off your butt” style of parenting and not make my kids be my servants. And yet here I was needing their help.

I still think the best way to teach kids something is by modeling it. They have no idea how hard you work at your job they only know what they see when they are with you. So the solution to my problem was obvious. We would all clean together.

I sat everyone down and told them about a new 15 minute clean-up we would be having every evening. Every member of the family would have to pitch in and help, we would throw on some on groovy dance music while we worked, and the kids would be paid for their help. The result has been miraculous.

Each child has a specific area to clean up.. my daughter picks up in the living room and hallway and wipes down the kitchen table, my oldest son picks up in the den and vacuums or sweeps the den and kitchen, and my youngest is given random tasks. If I cooked than hubby cleans the kitchen while I dust the house and clean up desks, bookshelves, sort laundry, etc. We reverse that if he cooks. In the evening when they are in bed I usually mop the kitchen floor and the living room. Some nights they are grumpy or tired and ask why they have to do this and I just say that we makes messes together so we need to clean up together.

Every evening the house gets cleaned and I am so thrilled! If only I could find a solution for their bedrooms.

Do you have chores in your home? Why of why not? What works for you?

See there… I am already keeping my New Year's goals! Two of them of in fact:

1. Up our winter activities with winter hikes, sledding, ice skating, snow tubing, and evening walks.

2. Get more involved with our metro parks and our city parks and recreation offerings… nature hikes, educational classes, etc.

Yesterday we hiked the first in a series of 13 Winter Hikes hosted by the parks system in our area. I LOVE our metro parks!!! All year long they organize activities that are perfect for families and this was no exception. I keep telling my husband and my parents that the metro parks in Central Ohio are reason alone NOT to move back to Arizona. Frankly the parks in Phoenix kinda suck in comparison. A couple acres of grass and a playground and they call it a park. In the Columbus area we have 15 gorgeous parks representing 23,500 acres of unspoiled beauty… woods, rivers, ponds, waterfalls, caves, marshes, and TONS of organized activities. Some you pay for but many are free. You can take a photography class, go on a guided moonlight hike, listen to a lecture on winter wilderness survival or rain barrel water collection, and even attend a preschooler nature crafts groups for FREE.. and that it just the very tip of the iceberg. Since there are 15 parks that offer a range of things each week you could be overloaded with fun stuff to do.

Anyway, today marked the beginning of their 37th annual winter hike series and it kicked off with a 2 or 4 mile hike in Blacklick Woods.

I would guesstimate that a couple hundred people attended, including my brood.

We almost didn't go since we all stayed up past 11:00 PM the previous night playing Uno. We woke up with only 20 minutes to get ready and in a flurry found our gloves, hats, snow boots, snow pants, etc. and headed to the park. We didn't even eat or drink anything before taking off which was probably not the best of ideas. We need to plan better next time.

We decided to do the red trail (2 miles) since we hadn't eaten and my kids haven't done much winter hiking. Is was about 15 degrees so it was fairly cold!! If you took your gloves off for more than 5 minutes your hands felt like they were on fire. If you count the hike from one of the secondary parking lots (since the primary was full) it was about 2.5 miles in all.

At the halfway point the park people pretty much demanded we stop at the Nature Center to warm up (since they saw we had kids) and we were thankful. We spent 10 minutes warming up and looking at the animals they had in there and then we were off again. My oldest picked up a park magazine at the Nature Center so he could perfect his reading/hiking technique.

Three quarters of the way through the kidlets started getting cranky. I have almost no smiling face pictures beyond this point, hehe. They were cold, they hadn't eaten, and they had walked 2 miles in heavy boots on ice and snow.

This is my daughter's thumbs up that accompanied her triumphant "Victory is Mine!!" when we reached the lodge and concluded the hike (minus the hike back to the car).

Luckily the wonderful parks people… have I mentioned how I love our parks… greeted us with hot cocoa and vegetarian minestrone soup with crackers. Delicious!

See that cranky, hungry, wind whipped face? After the brief rest and the arduous hike back to our car, during which our toddler had a full on melt down and had to be carried, we all collapsed for the ride home. Their exhaustion was quickly forgotten 5 minutes after we got home. All in all it was a great way to start the morning. My husband agreed and that stinker had hemmed and hawed about going. ROFL! He's all about water sports, not winter sports.

Looking forward to next week!  

The benefits of children meditating are well documented. It provides instant stress relief, it helps with their ability to focus and concentrate, it develops their memory, and it can have a calming effect on hyperactive kids. All these potential benefits and it can easily be incorporated into their everyday lives with a little help.

Sensational Meditation for Children is the 2009 Nautilus Silver Medal Winner in the Parenting and Family Category and the 2009 Living Now Bronze Medal Winner in the Meditation Category. It provides parents with the necessary skills to teach their children how to meditate. Adults who are unfamiliar with meditation also use it.

It gives a wealth of information about meditation and also benefits from supporting science, practical examples and the philosophy behind it. The book contains 12 easy to learn meditations, such as Sleeping Cloud, Grounding Cord, What Does My Body Have to Say, Healing Heart and The Happy Tree. Also included are fun-filled exercises for before and after the meditation.

Family Volunteering Vacations – What are They?

The typical family vacations are normally all about having fun or visiting with family you don't see often. And of course there is nothing wrong with that! But another option to consider is a family volunteering vacation. Rather than spending your time lounging on the beach or standing in line at a high-priced amusement park, you can travel to a different area of the country or the world and help those less fortunate. Imagine what you and your kids could learn and from such an experience. I would wager it would be something they would remember much longer than they would riding Splash Mountain.

You’d be amazed at the number of organizations around the country and the world needing volunteers. While volunteering you may be able to help build an orphanage, help at centers for the disabled, or help build a home. With the number of natural disasters happening around the world and the large group of people who have been adversely affected by them, there is no shortage of things a family could do to help.

If you are interested in finding an opportunity for your family to volunteer during your next vacation, you can try to find something on your own. However, for the best volunteer opportunity abroad, you may want to contact an organization which specializes in setting up this type of vacation.

Global Citizens’ Network is one such organization. They welcome families with family members as young as eight and are looking for families which are open to new experiences. This may mean traveling to a foreign country, working long and hard hours, and being flexible. This type of program can cost as much as $2,000. Travel expenses are not included. Check with the organization to ensure they have staff that can accommodate the ages of your children if they are under the age of twelve.

Cross-Cultural Solutions is another organization which families can use to find volunteer opportunities, either in the United States or one of any number of countries. Those volunteering their time may plan a trip at any time during the year and may remain on the volunteer site for up to twelve weeks. 

Heritage Conservation Network specializes in setting up volunteering workshops for families at historic sites in the United States and the world. While the goal is to supply volunteer labor for preservation projects, those assisting can also learn a great deal about the local culture. Prices range from $300 to $2000 per week and are dependent upon the location where you’re volunteering.

You can find other family volunteering vacation ideas by searching on the internet. You can find an opportunity you like and perhaps look at home swaps or renting a private condo for a couple of weeks. Some children may balk at the idea of going on vacation and working the entire time. After the vacation is over, however, you may hear your children make comments about how much they’ve enjoyed themselves. They will certainly have some amazing stories to share in school. Don’t be surprised if they even ask you if they can do something similar the next year.