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Blue Orange Games Make Excellent Holiday Gifts + A Giveaway

November 29, 2016 4

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Are you getting excited for the holidays? I know my family is! We all love the extra time we get to spend together, the fun seasonal activities, and delicious foods that come along with the holiday season. Of course, there are some additional stresses at this time of year—party planning, attending events or taking your kids on various outings, finishing end-of-year tasks, preparing to host family, and gift shopping, to name a few.

If you’re anything like me, coming up with gift ideas ahead of time takes away some of the pressure surrounding the holidays and makes everything more enjoyable. With that in mind, I thought I’d share a great gift idea for the kids or other families in your life! You may have seen me talking about Blue Orange Games before, because they’re a great company and their games are always a hit with Eben and Mr. Sweet Greens. With a chance to win a game from them in this blog post, hopefully they’ll become a favorite with your family, too!

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Why Blue Orange Games Make Great Gifts
These games get my seal of approval for gift giving for many reasons. The games produced by Blue Orange are heirloom quality, so you can pass them on to younger generations in the family when your own kids outgrow them. These games are also eco-friendly, made from high-quality materials that gets replenished by the Blue Orange Games commitment to plant 2 trees for each one used in creating their products. That kind of commitment to sustainability and keeping the planet green for our kids and grandkids makes you feel good about buying their games as gifts.

Beyond the basic facts of sustainability and good design, these games are my favorite ones to play with my family. They’re fun, they make you think, and they’re a convenient length to squeeze in between homework and dinner, or in between activities on the weekend. Many of the Blue Orange Games are also designed with families in mind, being fun to play with a small but flexible number of people; often 2-4 makes for a great gameplay experience (it’s great too because Eben and I can play together when Mr. Sweet Greens is at work!) Plus, they work on your cognitive skills, memory, creativity, fine motor skills, and more, so you’re getting some real benefits from playing!

I purchase a handful of these games every year to gift to Eben and Mr. Sweet Greens as our family gift. I always pair it with some of our favorite organic snacks and hot cocoa. It gives us something new and fun to play as a family during winter break, and is a really positive way to spend some of the extra time we have together. This year, I am also giving Blue Orange Games as gifts to my sister’s family, I’m hoping that her and her family will love them as much as we do!

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Enter the Giveaway
Want a chance to win your very own game from Blue Orange Games? I’m happy to be able to give away a copy of Flash! to one lucky winner. Flash! is a super quick and exciting dice game with multiple play variations and 8 challenges to complete. It has a fun element of competition and is great for all ages, from 7 to 97! It is a huge hit in our home and it will make a great holiday gift for your family.

Leave a comment below to enter. Tell me which game you’re most interested in, or what your family enjoys doing together over the holiday break.

For extra entries, follow Sweet Greens and Blue Orange Games via your favorite social media platforms and leave a separate comment for each!

Blue Orange Social Media Channels:

Facebook: Blue Orange Games USA
Twitter: @BlueOrangeGames
Pinterest: Blue Orange Games
Instagram: @blueorangegames

Sweet Greens Social Media Channels:

Facebook: Sweet Greens page
Twitter: @SweetGreens
Pinterest: Sweet Greens
Instagram: @SweetGreens

 

US winners only, please. Sorry to my international readers! Winner will be announced on December 13th!

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2016 0

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Hello, Friends! Happy, happy Halloween!

We have been celebrating Halloween all weekend long! We started by surprising the mister for his birthday by taking him to four haunted houses on Saturday night! Tonight, we are heading out for pizza and a scary movie at the theater! Hooray for Halloween.

What are your plans for tonight? Maybe some trick or treating with the littles? An adult costume party? Staying home in your jammies handing out treats? Whatever it is, I hope you and your family have a spooky, fun and safe Halloween.

xo,
Sweet Greens

p.s. The photo above is of some of my favorite Halloween decorations. I will be so sad to pack them up for the year! 

Happy Birthday to Mr. Sweet Greens!

October 29, 2016 0

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Today is Mr. Sweet Greens’ Birthday! Hooray! Eben and I have all kinds of surprises for him this weekend. He is worth it! He is the best husband and father, we are pretty darn lucky!

Happy Birthday Mister Sweet Greens!

P.S. Happy Halloween weekend, friends!

Healthy Habits for Green Kids Start at Home

October 19, 2016 0

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As parents, the most important lessons we can impress upon our kids are the sorts of healthy habits that will stick with them throughout life, especially once they’re off on their own for the first time. Healthy lifelong habits can include eating well and exercising, but also extend to things like keeping their living space clean and following good hygiene practices. Today I want to talk about the latter, as no parent wants to see their kid end up as a stereotypically smelly, unkempt teenager!

Of course, kids have to be given freedom to explore their identities and express themselves creatively with their clothing and hair choices. I think it’s only natural for kids developing their sense of self to explore those avenues. But good hygiene is simpler than that, and important for everyone. Teaching kids to maintain healthy habits and take good care of their bodies starts at home, and is something the mister and I have tried to approach in a positive way.

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Personal hygiene is also an area fraught with marketing campaigns (some of which rely on shaming tactics or other nasty approaches to selling their products) surrounding the products we supposedly need to use in order to keep clean. Many of these are full of synthetic scents, untested ingredients, or are otherwise not very eco-friendly, being tested on animals or produced in unsustainable ways. So even our choices of hygiene products can be a big influence on our kids, and what they choose to use in the future. One of my favorite brands of natural personal hygiene products is Tom’s of Maine, who never use artificial colors, flavors, fragrances, preservatives, or animal testing.

You’ve probably seen Tom’s at your local drug store or grocery, and they’ve been around since the ‘70s. I would bet that they’re the most recognizable brand of natural body products around today, not just relegated to health stores or other specialty retailers. I think Tom’s of Maine is great because they aim to operate sustainably and care for both the environment and the communities we live in.

I would say that three of the most important hygiene habits to build with your kids are the following:

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Brushing Teeth: Keeping teeth and gums in good shape is important to overall health and maintaining good breath. It can also be a task which kids (especially young ones) are more likely to shirk or do a half-hearted job of. Being a good role model by brushing and flossing with your children can go a long way to building good dental hygiene habits. Tom’s makes a wide range of oral care products including all-natural toothpaste that my family loves using.

Washing Up: Whether we’re talking regular hand washing to prevent the spread of germs, washing your face each day to help with teenage skin concerns, or getting active kids into the shower to rinse off sweat and dirt after they’ve been out playing, washing up is a huge part of personal hygiene.

Using Deodorant: This one can be a little more controversial, as depending on how you were raised, you might not think of deodorizing products as a necessity. However, in modern society they’re a pretty prevalent part of personal hygiene, and even if you choose not to use antiperspirants due to health concerns, a simple, natural deodorant is a good choice. Tom’s is probably best known for their extensive line of natural deodorants, for men, women, and children. If you’re looking for a healthy, natural deodorant, I don’t think these ones can be beat. My whole family uses them, and we’ve been really impressed by the quality and effectiveness.

I’d love to hear your tricks for helping your kids develop healthy hygiene habits, or your experiences trying natural body products. Have you successfully swapped your conventional hygiene products for eco-friendlier options? How do you teach your kids about the importance of taking good care of their bodies? Have you tried any Tom’s of Maine products that I haven’t mentioned? Let me know in the comments!

 

This post was created in partnership with Stonyfield.  All opinions are always my own.

All Work & No Play? Keep Your Kids Active After School With CLIF Kid

October 13, 2016 0

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With the school year in full swing, it’s important to remember that our kids need regular playtime to remain happy and healthy. Balancing playtime with homework can sometimes seem like a difficult task, but the creativity that play allows for helps kids develop in ways that aren’t always focused on at school. I know I always try my best to keep playtime at the forefront of Eben’s life despite his busy school schedule and my own work picking up at this time of year. Today I want to talk about how I help incorporate play into our daily lives, and keep Eben fueled so he can do his best at school and have energy for fun activities afterward.

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Our favorite after school activities include taking the dogs for an evening walk around the lake or taking a stroll on the beach to chat about his week. It’s a great way for us to connect and helps me stay in the loop with what’s going on in his life. We also have family game night at least once a week and the two of us also spend every Friday night doing a mom-and-son “date night”. This usually means that we go out for sushi and then we hit the bookstore or a movie.

To keep him fueled at school, I always tuck a CLIF Kid ZbarÂŽ in his backpack. (In fact, he has a late-start school day today – so I slipped an apple and CLIF Kid Zbar in!) It is perfect for late afternoons when he gets hungry, or for after school when he stays later to work on a project or study for a test. The bars are great to snack on during class too, since they are easy to eat without having to pull out his whole lunch box. I also have a few approved snacks always available in the refrigerator and on the counter top. That way when Eben gets hungry during homework time or a video game session, he has easy access to healthy snacks! He loves their flavor, and I love that they’re made with organic ingredients, and no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, or synthetic preservatives. They’re also made in appropriate portion sizes for growing kids, which a lot of snack bars aimed at adults are not, and have important nutrients for active kids.

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Eben also incorporates playtime into his busy schedule in a number of ways. He rides his bike to and from school, which is a great way to get kids energized and focused for a day of studying. We slip in family time whenever possible by having family game nights, making organic milkshakes together, and having make-your-own-pizza and movie nights on the weekend. We also do a lot of cooking together —especially Mr. Sweet Greens and Eben, which is a great way for him to learn life skills and healthy eating habits.

We like to take a fall vacation each year, to get some hiking in when the weather is beautiful and there’s a lot to see. It’s a great way to make family memories—I have lots of pictures from these trips that are great to look at again later!  Of course, CLIF Kid Zbars ÂŽ are Eben’s fave hiking treat, because they’re just the right combination of sweet treat and satisfying fuel without feeling too heavy when being physically active. We do a lot of outdoor stuff together as a family, including paddleboarding, bike riding, walking, hiking, and more depending on the season and location. Making sure we all have the energy to live an active lifestyle is one of my priorities, packing in CLIF bars is just part of our routine!

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Playtime is important for a kid’s growth all year long, and shouldn’t be pushed to the side during the school year. Unfortunately, as our society gets busier and we spend more time in the digital world, active play is disappearing at home, in school, and in communities. 70% of moms (like me, and probably you, too!) played outside when they were kids, but only 31% of our kids play outside today. That’s something we should all be focused on changing. CLIF Kid understands the importance of keeping kids active, and have a great video on getting your kids outside to push their boundaries and have adventures while staying properly fueled. take the initiative in this post to combine school activities and play.

What about your kids? How do you incorporate active and creative play into their lives? I’m always interested in hearing how my readers balance their busy lives to prioritize healthy habits!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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