6 Refreshing and Delightful Garden Party Drinks for Green Kids

Summer is slowly coming to an end (so soon)! The kids will be heading back to school in the next few weeks — so it’s time to gather your friends and family for one last garden party to celebrate the long warm days of leisure. I like to host a back to school party every year. It’s a great way to get the kids excited about the upcoming school year and it’s just another reason to have people over.

My favorite party to throw is a garden party. What could be better than being outside in the sunshine with flowers in bloom all around? I love coming up with fresh, fun and festive drinks to share at all of my gatherings, and I think a child’s garden party should be no different. Jump over to Inhabitots for six eco-friendly garden party drinks that would be perfect to serve up and enjoy at a garden party — or to indulge in on any warm day!

photo credit Blush Printables via Inhabitots

7 Green Crafts that are Perfect for Playdates

Summertime is all about having your child’s friends over for playdates. While kids in pairs or groups are great at figuring out games and activities to play on their own, having a fun craft planned is smart in case there’s a lull in the hoopla. The key here is to keep the crafts simple, economical and green. And your kid’s buddies will be so thrilled to take home a souvenir of their time spent hanging out at your house.

When choosing crafts to do with my son, I always use recycled and eco-friendly materials whenever possible. It makes craft time easy on the environment and my budget – and I also think that using recycled or found items is a great way for your child to use their imagination. To get started with any of these crafts, you will want to take a look at your recycling bin and craft closet, then jump over to Inhabitots for my favorite 7 eco-friendly and inexpensive crafts that are perfect fun for boys and girls ages 5-9.

photo credit Papery and Cakery via Inhabitots

Hodgson Mill Vegan Spiral Pasta with Vegetables Recipe + Giveaway

This is one of my favorite vegan pasta salads – I make it all of the time! You can add any vegetables you want, non-GMO Hodgson Mill whole wheat spiral pasta and this amazing homemade Italian dressing recipe. So good! Since this recipe is served cold, it is the perfect back to school lunchbox lunch. Eben loves it – so you know it is delicious! 

Want to try it for yourself? Hodgson Mill is giving one of my readers a $25 pasta pack, just in time for those back to school lunches. Just leave a comment telling me what you will whip up with your pasta pack below the recipe and good eating!

Ingredients:

Dressing:

  • 1 organic tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 organic tbsp onion powder
  • 1 organic tbsp sugar
  • 2 organic tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 organic tsp black pepper
  • 1 organic tsp salt
  • 1/4 organic tsp dried thyme
  • 1 organic tbsp dried parsley
  • 1/2 organic tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 organic cup red wine vinegar
  • 2/3 organic cup olive oil

Cook the pasta according to the packages directions, then rinse with cool water until the pasta is cold. Add your chopped vegetables and dressing to the cold pasta, mix well and enjoy. This salad is even better the next day, so go ahead and make it ahead of time.

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Stubby Pencil Studio Eco Back to School Giveaway + Discount Code

Hello, Friends! Today I have a fantastic back to school giveaway for you. It’s sponsored by Stubby Pencil Studio, and the prize is an amazing box of eco-friendly back to school supplies. Yay!

One lucky winner will receive a lovely bamboo storage box filled with the following eco-goodies:

  •  Eco Highlighter Pencils
  • Glue Sticks
  • Crayon Rocks
  • Pencil Sharpener
  • Washable Marker
  • Cedar Pencils
  • Clipper Jr. Pencils
  • Erasers 
  • Scissors
  • Triangular Colored Pencils
  • Prang Crayons

As you already know, Stubby Pencil Studio is my favorite online supplier of eco-friendly art and back to school supplies! Eben uses his recycled sketchbooks, black colored pencils, and markers every-single-day. You can see a lot of his Stubby Pencil Studios in his creative space below!

And with back to school right around the corner, now is the perfect time to stock up on all of your favorite eco-friendly supplies. Stubby Pencil Studio has everything you could possibly need from crayons and markers to scissors and glue – and everything is good for the environment too. Hooray!

Stubby Pencil Studio is also offering 15% off through August 31st – just use the discount code SAVE4SCHOOL at checkout.

Good Luck!

p.s. To keep up to date on the latest and greatest in eco-friendly art suplies for your children, like Stubby Pencil Studio on Facebook. 

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6 All-Natural Ways to Alleviate Your Child’s Ear Infection

Nothing is worse than having a little one who doesn’t feel well. One of the most common ailments for children is an earache. Children are more vulnerable to developing middle ear infections because their Eustachian tubes are shorter and more horizontal. We have all been there — your child wakes up in the middle of the night, crying that their ear hurts — it’s heartbreaking. It is guaranteed that if your child has an earache or infection that you can expect a child who is uncomfortable, tired and cranky to say the least. Trying to soothe a child with an ear infection isn’t fun and alleviating the pain that your child is feeling will definitely be at the top of your list. While it can seem tempting to get an antibiotic prescription from your doctor, antibiotics are over-prescribed, they can have adverse side effects and they aren’t always necessary.

The fact of the matter is, most ear infections will clear up on their own. We recommend that you consult your naturopathic doctor to determine whether the infection is viral or bacterial. Then, decide which all-natural remedy to utilize to make your child feel better quickly. You will feel good knowing that you are using common natural household ingredients to alleviate your child’s ear infection. Jump over to Inhabitots for 6 all-natural ways to alleviate a child’s ear infection so your child will start to feel relief.

photo credit via memekode via Inhabitots