Home Painting is one of the fastest, easiest and most cost effective ways to make a big change in the appearance of your home.  This can, however, be one of those projects that eats up a lot of your time if you decide to DIY.  It's amazing how fast a painting crew can get it done with a professional look -- none of those little oopsies that I tend to get when I'm painting!

College Pro Painters have a two year guarantee on their work, do all the clean-up and prep for the job with competitive pricing and quality products.  When you call them to come out and give you a quote, ask them about using an eco-friendly paint option.  That way, you'll support local students and the environment by choosing this company as your painter!

College Pro not only hires students locally, they're also involved in a number of charity organizations such as Kids Help Phone, Race Across America and Footsteps For Hope.  They are also heavily involved in donating time, skills and paint to improve community spaces and homes in underprivileged areas across North America.  Many of these projects run through the student's spring break which goes to show the student's (and company's) dedication to helping those in need in any way that they can.

There are a variety of eco-friendly paints that are now on the market but the key is to ask for a paint with low VOCs (volatile organic compounds).  These compounds have been found to emit chemicals into the air which can be a huge source of indoor air contamination even for years after the paint has dried!  There is conflicting research as to the toxicity of these chemicals although some have labelled some of the chemicals as carcinogens.

Ask for a paint that has a Green Seal standard which means that it has met all of the regulations to become certified "green".  It's possible to get paints that are made from all natural ingredients although some of these paints are not very washable.  This means that you'd have to repaint (and use even more resources!) every time the walls got dirty.  There are also a number of recycled paints on the market which are made from leftover paints.  These paints usually come in a limited array of colors though.  Make sure that you ask your paint expert which kind of eco-friendly paint would best suit your needs!

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There are a ton of products for teens that can help them become as eco-friendly as the rest of the family.  A good place to start is by getting them using an organic acne treatment.  Organic ingredients are much better than chemicals for problem skin and help to maintain a sustainable base for the skin care industry.  When you buy organic, you are saying that you want them to keep producing organic products, that the earth is important to you and that you'll continue to ensure that organic farming exists.

There are many DIY acne skin care treatments that you can look up online.  Fresh and all natural ingredients are the way to begin.  Ensure that you research any information you receive thoroughly to make sure that you don't end up with skin that's in worse shape than it already is!  Be aware that some treatments may work better for others than it does for you.  Pay close attention to how your skin reacts and be willing to try something new if it doesn't work.  There are also tons of organic and eco-friendly acne treatments that are ready to buy from the shelf.  Again, just make sure that you understand what you're buying ahead of time.

I'm going to try to do more posts on eco-friendly living for teens as well as the rest of the family.  I realized that this is an area I've been forgetting.  I've got a teenage son and I want him to start picking up some green habits too!  The picture is from Flickr user Fotoos Van Robin who has an amazing array of great photos with clean, clear lines.

Check out this gorgeous wood high chair from Fab Baby Gear.  It's the Argington Babylon high chair and is much more eco-friendly than your standard all plastic high chair like the one I used for my kids.  It's made from FSC certified, sustainably harvest wood and put together with low VOC glues.  The finishing is all completely non-toxic and pollutant free which is important because if your kids are anything like mine, they'll be mouthing this all over the place!

The chair is made in energy efficient facilities and can be adjusted without any tools.  My favorite part is just how long you could use this chair for.  It holds up to 250 pounds and can be adjusted from bistro table height to coffee table height!  You can't get much more use than that.  From ages 6 months to adult is the recommended ages for use.  You want to wait until they're about 6 months so that they can sit up independently and not just slouch over to the side.

Organic Girl has another awesome giveaway -- she and Fab Baby Gear are giving away one of these chairs in either Birch or Cherry.  I follow this lady's blog like a maniac and enter nearly every contest.  I haven't won anything yet but you'll be sure to hear about it if I do!  She reviews a ton of great kids products, some are green-er than others but they're all kinda cool.  There's lots of great giveaways too that you can enter.  Maybe I shouldn't encourage that.  I don't really need the competition!! lol

This week's Etsy find was inspired by watching the reality show 18 Kids and Counting last night.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can check out this TLC reality show here.  Last night's episode showed Anna's labour and birth experience with baby McKynzie.  It was soooo beautiful that I just couldn't believe it.  They were "hoping" for a natural birth as many other parent's do and had a doula set up to assist the doctor in achieving their goals.

The doctor ended up being out of town when they went into labour so they opted for a home birth instead of dealing with a doctor that they've never met before.  I think that this situation happens frequently.  It even happened to me during my first labour and delivery experience.  I was only 19 and ended up naturally delivering my son at the hospital with a doctor I've never met before or since.  This really took alot of the intimacy of the experience out of the equation unfortunately.

Josh and Anna asked their doula to help them with a home delivery and she managed the pain naturally with the aid of showering, massage and a series of exercises.  I've never seen birth portrayed in such a natural, beautiful way!  Their experience was completely different than all 3 of my births.  I'd love to be able to experience birth in a more natural way.

Maybe using Etsy seller JoyfulGirlNature's products could help women reconnect with having a more natural and calmer birthing experience.  As a mom of five and a grandmother of 2, she certainly has experienced birth in a variety of ways!  She uses natural and organic ingredients to create her own recipes that have been found to be effective for their intended use.

This back pain relief oil is made of organic almond oil, lavender and frankincense.  The frankincense is especially good for natural labour because it aids in meditation which slows and deepens breathing.  It's very hard to stay calm and focused during labour and birth because of the intense pain.  Anything at all that can help mothers to achieve their goals of having a natural birth or to just calm them during labour is definitely worth a shot, right?  This product also can help provide sedative effects as well as being a natural muscle relaxer.  To make it even better, she uses PET packaging for all of her packaging!

She even has a pain relief labor package that contains a relaxation pillow with organix flaxseed and lavender, a labor relaxation oil, 2 lip balms, a natural peri-care spray and the back pain relief oil described above.  This would make a great gift for any Moms-to-be!!  If I ever get pregnant again, this is definitely on my must-have list.

She also offers a huge variety of other products for kids, men, women and even cats and dogs!  She has cleaning products, shampoos, moisturizers, face and body products and a huge array of natural remedies available.  All natural products by an Etsy crafter...fantastic!  I'd love to have the opportunity to review some of these products one day.  This is definitely a site that I'll be re-visiting in future posts (and purchases!).

I was reading the weather forecasts for this weekend here in Canada and they're calling for the "S" word.  I dread even saying it...that's right, it's snow!  I think it's absolutely time for my family to pack up for a beach vacation!  I'd love to head back to California and hit up a store with beach cruisers for sale.  They'd have to be super affordable cruisers though in a range of styles just like those available in South Cali at cruiser style.  We could all hop on bikes and get out and enjoy nature.  Cruisers are awesome for all members of the family that want to take a casual ride because they're so simple to ride...even for kids!  Pedal forward to go and back to stop, just like when you were a kid!  That's the best kind of vacation after all -- one where you become one with the environment again.  To refocus and shake up the day to day grind that everyone seems to fall victim to.  If we head out soon, maybe the "s" word in the forecast will be sunshine instead of snow.  California dreaming....

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September is the busiest, craziest month for families which is closely followed by the fast approaching month of December.  It seems like I'm just running from one thing to another from the second I get up to the time I go to bed!  My son has just started his first year of high school.  Now he has to take the bus every morning, there's more homework and more travel time.  He's also in fencing lessons twice a week and volunteering at the local Food Bank once every two weeks.  It's hard to keep his schedule organized never mind him!

My daughter has just started her first year of preschool (huge age difference, I know).  She needs a snack, a ride there and back, hair done, battle over the clothes, volunteering at the preschool from time to time, etc. etc.  She's also got ballet and gymnastics both starting this week...yikes!

With busy kids, a full time job, a hubby and a dog, the house keeping seems to be the first thing to fall by the wayside.  I can't imagine what my house would look like without the modern conveniences that make things a little faster.  My favorite, by far, is the central vacuum.  I can't imagine having to lug a vacuum up and down two sets of stairs to clean up after the dog, the kids and, let's face it, my husband! lol  Having a built in vacuum makes life much easier because of the ease and accessibility of the vacuum on all three floors of the house.  I especially love the vacuum dustpan in the kitchen so that you can sweep up messes quickly and easily without having to bend down or find anything except the broom!

My other favorite quick cleaning tools are my steam mop and array of chemical free, eco-friendly cleaners.  My daughter has asthma so that makes getting rid of dusts and germs essential in our house.  I am committed to lively as green-ly as possible so eco, chem-free cleaners are the only way to go for me.  With kids and a dog as well, I really think that more traditional cleaners can be harmful.  You never know what might be licked (everything!) or gotten into (okay, everything there too!).  Better safe than sorry!!  Plus, the added benefit of a cleaner planet for our children to inherit makes all the difference.

I better run and get cleaning!!  *sigh*

There are so many kids out there that spend their lives glued to a screen of one kind (computer) or another (television).  It's so important to teach kids a love of nature so that they cherish the planet that they will inherit.  Living in a city only seems to make this problem worse because there is less of the green stuff and a lot less freedom for kids.  Kids are no longer free to roam and play outside free of supervision because of safety concerns.

It's great to teach kids about recycling, nature, the environment, and animals but what they really need is hands on experience to develop a true appreciation of it.  On my quest to "green up" my family, I've tried to discover some experiences for my kids to truly get it.

Our trip to the Calgary Corn Maze really seemed to make it click.  My kids have a huge difference in age -- one is 15 and the other is 3.  The thing is, this place really kept both of them interested and busy all day!  My teenage son loved the corn cannon which was actually shooting garlic cloves that day.  They had high pressure air "cannons" that staff loaded and let the kids shoot off into the corn fields.  If the clove landed in the bucket, they won a free t-shirt!  These suckers really did shoot too much farther than even I expected.

The maze itself kept my teenage son and his best friend busy trying to win the race through the maze against the grown ups and toddler.  We were defeated but the war has not been won yet!  I plan to avenge my defeat on our next trip through the maze.  They had different levels of mazes too with big ones for big kids and little ones for little kids.  That's probably the version that I should take!  They even had stone and string mazes for those of you with Children of the Corn issues.

There's a huge play center with swings and play houses and slides.  They've even got a pyramid built of hay bales with slides leaning down the outside for the little ones to enjoy.  There's teeter totters, picnic tables and a concession stand for those afternoon snacks that are a must when travelling with kids.

My preschool daughter especially loved the train rides though.  The train itself was made of repurposed barrels painted like cows for the kids to ride in.  The barrels are all hitched together and pulled around the area with a tractor.  Super bumpy with lots of giggles!  The whole center is exceptionally well set up and designed with the entire family in mind.  My son even gave the tricycle track a try!  They have special events where you can bring your dog or go through the maze with flashlights afterdark.  They even have a pumpkin patch and Halloween events at the maze.

The highlight of the day for both of my kids was the animals.  My daughter loved the petting zoo.  There was sheep, goats, donkeys, a pony, rabbits, chickens, a rooster, pigs, piglets, a turkey, ducks and most importantly -- baby kittens.  I actually checked her pockets on the way out to make sure that we didn't end up with a new pet when we got home!  My son and his friend loved that there were frogs everywhere and spent a ton of time trying to catch them.

It's great to feed your kids organic foods and get them involved in home recycling but what is most important is teaching them why these things are truly important.  Going green is for the planet.  It's not a fad or a trend.  It's a genuine love of nature and everything in it.  This is something that I think we're born with but society kind of beats out of you with technology and boredom.  The Calgary Corn Maze is only 8 km out of the city but you can truly experience a return to nature by spending the day out in it.  If you're not living in Calgary or the surrounding area, try to locate a corn maze near you or a farm that lets kids go and play and truly be kids.  It will be a great day for all and maybe change your kids minds about the way they view nature.

I always thought that only people without kids grew to love them as family members until I got my first dog a few months ago from a couple who didn't want him anymore.  Look at that face, how could someone not fall head over heels for the little boy?  Bonsai has most definitely become a member of our family as loved by me (maybe more because I have pick up the poop!) as by my kids.  I worry about him when I'm at work or when he's feeling under the weather.  His groomers are choosen with thought and care to his emotional as well as physical well being.  Now, I'm wishing that we lived in Toronto because they really seem to have cornered the market on pet grooming in Toronto.

Check out the site called vipSITTERS.  They offer a huge range of services for pet owners in the greater Toronto area while assuring the well being of both the pet and owners.  They have groomers who will come to your home, walking services, pet sitting, doggy daycare, house sitting, cremation and burial services and even a pet ambulance service!  Heck, they even have shipping and relocation services specifically designed with your pet's emotional and physical needs in mind.  I definitely wish they had a service like this closer to home.  We are looking hard for a groomer that offers personal service for our pup without the noise and anxiety that going to the groomers salon for the day entails.

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Could there be anything greener than an organic nursing top?  Yeah, um, I don't think so!  This is exactly what us breastfeeding moms have been looking for -- a sustainably produced shirt that fits properly, looks great and keeps us covered when feeding babes in public!  These tops are designed with the post-natal, nursing mom's body in mind.  They are larger in the bust (because the buyers are) and are wider across the hips for exactly the same reason.  They're long enough to cover the tummy that may not be exactly back to it's pre-baby self and they're made of 8% spandex to ensure that they're comfy and stretchy to boot.

The shirt is made by Momzelle and it's available in a variety of designs, styles and colours.  They have tee-shirts, long sleeves, turtle necks, v-necks, tank tops and round crew neck tops so there is definitely something for every style and season available.  These shirts keep the tummy and back covered while providing your baby with the best nutrition available.  Even the shiest mom should feel more comfortable feeding the little one in public with this shirt on because you can't even tell that the wearer is nursing!  It really does cover that much.

Another great thing about this company is the amount of information available on it's site to breastfeeding Moms.  It is definitely a learned skill to breastfeed not something that just spontaneously occurs naturally unlike common thought on the issue.  It takes patience, dedication and conviction to establish a good nursing routine and any product that offers more information, beauty and support to this habit is a great one.  There is absolutely nothing better you can do for your little one than breast feed.

I again heard of this product through Organicgirl's giveaway blog.  Her latest contest involves receiving one of these shirts as the prize.  Wish me luck!!  I'm not nursing any little ones at the moment but am currently trying to conceive again.  I'd love to try this shirt out, especially because it's made of 92% organic cotton!

Woo hoo!  It's Earth Day!  It's hard to explain to a 3 year old that one day it's her birthday and the next day it's Earth Day.  It makes it even more confusing because she shares her birthday with the Queen. lol

For Earth Day this year I think we'll be picking up garbage for a while.  I really want to teach her the importance of doing your part in working towards a greener future.  Every piece of litter contributes to an overall problem of lack of respect for the planet that we live on.  If we teach our children at a young age to respect and love nature then I think that they're more likely to carry this morals into adulthood.  To me, it's just as important as teaching them not to smoke or do drugs.

I'm ecstatic that more and more people are recognizing the importance of raising green kids.  Organically grown cotton is now used to make more and more kids products.  Bamboo and soy ink toys are gaining in popularity.  People are learning to buy less, even if it's only the recession that is making them do so.  Plastic bags are becoming a thing of the past.  Heck, even my redneck, way behind the times, Western Canadian city (Calgary) is finally getting curbside recycling!  There's so much to be happy about.

In our joy though, let's not forget all the work that still remains to be done.  Even little things like picking up litter and random dog poo at your local park can help.  Not only does it get rid of that garbage, it also makes anyone who sees you doing it (or better yet, works at it with you!) think twice about doing their part.

So get out there and enjoy the day.  I've got to get at it if I want to get any litter picked up before the snow hits today.  Oh, why oh why do I still live here?  Winter is a beautiful season but I wish that it wasn't so long here.