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Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

7 Simple, Eco-Friendly Fall Family Traditions

September 21, 2012 0

I love fall – it is my favorite season! I am already craving fall and it doesn’t even start until Saturday. Even though we hardly have a fall season here in Florida, I still love to get into the fall mood. Today, I am wearing jeans and a stripey cardigan! We will kick off fall with our family trip to Montana, then when we get back, I look forward to starting our fall family traditions. Read on to learn the 7 simple, eco-friendly fall family traditions that my family enjoys each year and please add your suggestions to the list!

1. Spooky Tales by Candlelight
Our family loves to read – and reading spooky tales during the month of October by candlelight is fall perfection! This year, I have been scouring my local thrift shops for spooky books and plan to pull out a new one each night of October to read together as a family. It is crazy fun!

2. Make Recycled Halloween Decorations + Costumes
The first week of October we will start making our eco-friendly Halloween decorations and costumes. I can’t make up my mind as to what I would like to dress up as? Eben and Mr. Sweet Greens are pretty set on what they want to be! Stay tuned for our decorations and costumes in future posts. 

3. Organic Apples, Apples, Apples
One fruit that is very synonymous with fall is apples. Plan a weekend trip to an organic apple orchard this fall, spend the day picking apples and playing in the leaves. Then, come home and bake apple pies or make caramel apples with your children. What could be more fun! (Don’t have a local apple orchard? We don’t either – try a different orchard – this fall we will be visiting our local lemon orchard!)

5. Take a Walking Ghost Tour
October is the perfect month to get your spook on – why not start the month out right by taking a ghost tour with your family. Most areas have some sort of ghost tour that your family can take together. In fact, I found a great article on ghost tours in South Florida. And I am hoping that we can schedule this ghost tour while in Montana!

6. Start a Progressive Family Dinner Party
One of my favorite traditions that we enjoyed while living in Colorado, were our progressive family dinner parties. A group of our friends would meet to plan menu options, then each family would take a part of the meal to cook. Then, we would all arrive at the family’s home whose turn it was to serve appetizers and drinks. We would chat, hang out and enjoy the appetizers and drinks for an hour or so, then we would walk to the next family’s home who was serving the main meal and so forth for dessert and after dinner drinks! It was a great way to bond during the cold weather months and was tons of fun to look forward to!

7. Make Organic Pumpkin Treats
Once October arrives there is a pumpkin theme in our home; organic pumpkin waffles (in spooky shapes!), pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are some of our favorites! Pumpkin is just so much fun to bake with and you can add it to so many things!

What fall family traditions does your family keep? Which are your favorites?

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How to Talk to Your Children About Bullying

September 21, 2012 0

Now that your children are back in school full-swing, it’s the perfect time to discuss bullying. Chances are that sometime during your child’s school years they will either be bullied or (gasp!) be a bully. Teaching your children what bullying is, the qualities inherent in a bully, why they could become a victim and how to protect themselves is essential. Unfortunately, my son experienced bullying first hand last year. It was a very traumatic event — not only for him, but my husband and myself as well. So, we know firsthand how much of an impact bullying can have on a child. This year, he entered middle school, and we really wanted to ensure that he understood bullying. We answered all of the questions that he had in an effort to help him feel more comfortable standing up for himself and others. Jump over to Inhabitots to discover the questions my son asked, and to gain valuable insight into how to discuss bullying with your own children.

photo credit via Inhabitots

Organizational Systems for Montessori Middle School Students?

September 19, 2012 0

Hello, Friends. How are your children adjusting to back to school? Has your family fallen into a comfortable routine? For us, Montessori middle school is definitely taking a little more adjustment time than elementary. Eben and I have been trying different organizational systems to help him get into the groove. There is a lot to remember when it comes to middle school – it’s a whole new game! However, he LOVES school, which to me is one of the most important parts!

Every day he takes and brings home his laptop, text and workbooks, file folders for his work, and lunchbox. Then, twice a week he needs to remember his musical instrument for band practice. And, on Fridays, his P.E. clothes for gym. There has been a couple of times that he has forgotten to bring home his math book or take his History project with him in the morning. It’s understandable, there is a learning process involved and I am completely OK with that. However, if he forgets something, we have to jump in the car and head back for it – not exactly earth friendly!

So, I was wondering, has your child found an organizational system that works wonders for them? I would love to hear about it. 

P.S. Don’t you think all school should be as colorful as this school in France? Or how about this one with an amazing swimming pool! They make me smile!

8 Organic School Lunchbox Meals That Can Be Prepared the Night Before

September 19, 2012 0

Given the hustle and bustle of the morning routine on a school day, sometimes whipping up a healthy homemade meal to pack in my son’s lunchbox can be a real a challenge. Which is why I like to prepare his lunchbox meals the night before. I make his lunch for the next day at the same time I make dinner the evening before. That way I’m not in a rush, and I have the time to thoughtfully put the menu together. My son isn’t a picky eater, but he does prefer lunches that are complex and require a little bit of planning. He isn’t a fan of a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, he likes meals that are hot and savory, and he can usually eat a portion that would rival my husband. To make the lunchbox grade, I have a list of organic school lunchbox meals that I resort to. Jump over to Inhabitots to learn my eight favorite mid-day meals that can be prepared the night before.

photo credit via Inhabitots

Fall Family Trip 2012 | Montana

September 18, 2012 1

Fall starts on Saturday, September 22nd – which is perfect because we leave for our fall family trip that morning! This year, instead of heading to our favorite cabin in the woods in North Carolina – we are heading to Montana to stay with our best friends. They have lived in Montana for many years – however, just moved into a new home and it will be our first time visiting them in their new space. We love Montana – I am so excited I can barely contain myself!

This is what we have on our Montana schedule so far:

– Spending a day + night at Chico Hot Springs.
– Driving to the mountains to hear the Elk bugle.
– Hiking, hiking, hiking.
– Trip to Cousin’s Candy Store for caramel apples!
– The little town of Virginia City is supposedly haunted – I want to go on a ghost walk!
– Visiting North Yellowstone National Park. (We adore Yellowstone!)

And of course spending tons of time with our best friends! This is definitely a fall family vacation we will never forget! I will try to fit in a little time each day to show you the fun we are having. You can always follow our adventures via Instagram!

How about you lovely readers – are there places in or surrounding Bozeman, Montana that we should check out while we are there?

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