During warmer months it is easy to send kids outdoors for some fun in the sun and fresh air. Bike riding, tree climbing, soccer, hopscotch, and dozens of other outdoor activities provide children with hours upon hours of creative play that is healthy for their bodies and mind. Less than favorable weather such as rain and extreme cold may present a problem at times though and moms need to get creative in helping their kids to find productive play activities. In an age where video games and TV can easily become too important in a child’s life, many parents are reluctant to encourage these things. Luckily there are many alternatives for parents that want to stress productive and creative play.

Help Them Make Believe

Pretend play is particularly important for a young child’s development. It helps them to develop their critical thinking and communication abilities. The great outdoors provides a grand stage for this type of play but parents can facilitate make believe any time with just a few clever props. A box of costumes can create hours of pretend play fun as your kids pretend they are pirates, fairies, knights, or even characters from their favorite movies and books. Homemade forts also provide an excellent opportunity for kids to imagine they are playing in a log cabin, a castle, or a tent. A simple sheet draped over a table can provide hours of fun and creative play.

Creative Toys

Instead of toys with lights, sounds, and movement give your children some basic toys that they can use to build and create. Legos and wooden blocks are usually very popular among kids as they can spend hours creating virtually anything they can come up with. Take some pictures of their creations and help them create a photo journal to record all of their inventions and accomplishments as mini architects.

Play kitchens and play food can also provide hours of creative play as kids pretend to cook their favorite meals and serve their family. Even an item as simple as a playsilk can be used as a flag, as part of a costume, as a sail on a boat, or a doll sling or hammock. Give them the raw materials and watch them create!

Books for Homegrown Adventure

For younger and older kids it is great fun to read a book aloud and ask them to re-enact it in a play or with puppets. They can build the set, create the costumes, and then act out the part of their favorite character. If you have a video camera handy you or an older child can record these performances to let them view later and to create memories that the whole family will treasure for years.

For children that insist on TV time perhaps you can strike a deal asking them to select a movie that originated from a book and then after they read it you can all watch the movie together and discuss how the book and movie compared.
These are just a few of the ways that parents can encourage creative and productive play and leisure within their children.

I try not to buy too many magazines because they seem so wasteful. One magazine subscription that I cannot do without though is my subscription to Mother Earth News. This is one subscription that really helps me to stay true to my goals to live green and be more self sufficient.

It features articles covering sustainable, self-reliant living and homesteading. Topics include green building, renewable energy, gardening, do-it-yourself projects, farming, and so much more. In addition to great information about these topics it also has feature stories about families that are actually living this lifestyle and they share their journey. You don’t need to be a homesteader or a wanna-be hippie to like this magazine either. Even if you just want to grow more of your own food, or reduce energy costs, or raise some chickens for farm fresh eggs, this magazine is like a guide book and an inspiration.

Personally I think the do-it-yourself projects are the most useful. Not everyone can afford to hire someone to make a chicken coup or a lean-to shed and not everyone knows how to install Photovoltaic solar panels. The guides in Mother Earth News provide step by step instructions and pictures that even novices can understand. You can even buy back issues of their magazines to expand on your collection of DIY guides and they come on CD so they are earth friendly too.

A subscription can be purchased here:

Kangaroo Korner sells adjustable pouches in fleece, cotton, Solarveil, and mesh. The pouch has four rows of snaps and is available in 4 sizes. A sizing chart on the Web lets you determine the best fit, and the company recommends you get a slightly smaller fit so that you can tighten the snaps as the fabric naturally stretches. Depending on the fabric, the pouch can hold children up to 40 pounds. A variety of colors and patterns are available and two fabric types are waterproof. The pouches are handmade in the United States.

The construction is very good and the color selection is nice. It is very simple to place a baby or child in the pouch - no wrapping or tying required. The pouch can be used several different ways, including wearing the child on your back. The pouch is designed to drape over your shoulder so the weight is spread across your back, rather than on your shoulder. All the advantages of baby wearing apply; my 9-month-old loves to be in the sling and it keeps my hands free.
You can get it here: Kangaroo Korner

One of the biggest parts of a wedding is the flowers
that are included. There are flowers for the bouquets,
flowers for the church, and flowers for the mothers,
grandmothers, groom, and ushers, as well as
centerpieces for the reception.
Something that should be taken into consideration when
selecting the flowers to use in a wedding is that
sometimes there are people who have allergies and may
be affected by the scent of the flowers.

When you are choosing the type of flowers for your
wedding, think about yourself and your attendants
especially. Are there any sensitive noses The last
thing that you will need on your wedding day Is to
have yourself or one of your attendants having a
sneezing fit in the middle of the ceremony.

Once you have chosen what type of flower you want to
have for your wedding, the next thing is to decide on
the colors. Usually the colors for bridesmaids and
groomsmen will correspond to the colors of the
bridesmaids’ dresses for the bouquets. But when it
comes to the grandmothers and mothers flowers it may
be a good idea to find out what color their dresses
will be so their flowers will match.

So that there aren’t a lot of flowers left over from
the reception, it’s not a bad idea to mark a chair and
whoever sits in that chair gets to take home the
centerpiece. This way the flowers can be enjoyed for
longer than a day and you don’t have to worry about
what to do with them.

Wedding Reception Food
Something that people often remember when they go to a
wedding reception is the food, whether it’s good or
bad. Something to consider when you are choosing your
wedding menu is your guests.
Yes, it’s your wedding but you are spending a lot of
money so you want people to like what is being served.
Here are some tips so that people enjoy your reception
food.

Give them a choice -

It’s always a good idea to offer your guests a choice
on what they would like to eat for your wedding
reception People may have food allergies, so this way
they can choose what they would like to eat. Two
choices is enough.

Keep it simple -

Just because it’s not something fancy, it doesn’t
mean that it won’t taste good. If they are faced with
something that they aren’t sure what it is, they may
be reluctant to eat it so don’t go for things that
people can’t identify.

Keep it clean -

Everyone at your wedding reception is going to be
wearing their best clothes. You want to stay away from
food that is very messy or could cause stains that
will be hard to remove.

Remember, you are going to be wearing a white dress.
The last thing you will want is to have something
spill on it that may ruin it, or will be very
noticeable.

Think about what you have had in the past at wedding
receptions, and what you liked or didn’t like about
them. That will help you plan your own wedding
reception menu.

One of the biggest focal points of a wedding reception
is the beautiful wedding cake. That towering,
flowering, blinding beautiful wedding cake with the
two people standing on top, that the bride and groom
cut and then feed to one another.
Although a lot of brides and grooms go with the
traditional pound cake taste, it doesn’t have to be
that way.

Flavor -

If you don’t go with the traditional pound cake taste
for all of your layers, keep in mind that not everyone
is going to like lemon or raspberry, or any other
exotic flavors.

One popular alternative is chocolate chip cake.
Another idea is to go with alternating chocolate and
vanilla.

The top of your cake is traditionally saved and eaten
on your first wedding anniversary. So choose the
flavor that both of you will enjoy and make that your
wedding topper.

Although a lot of cakes are purchased in a traditional
bakery, there are a lot of supermarkets that make
delicious cakes that aren’t as expensive.

If you are working on a budget, shop around for prices
on wedding cakes and be sure to sample them. You may
be surprised at what supermarkets can do.

If you have someone that has taken a cake decorating
class and makes great cakes, you may find that they
will do it as a wedding present and it will save you
some money.

A wedding cake doesn’t have to be expensive to be
delicious, and you can find plenty of money saving
ideas when looking for your wedding cake.