All the Campbells Had a Farm (E-I-E-I-O)

DAY 1

We love to grow things – flowers, veggies, herbs, you name it. Our gardens do need a lot of love and attention, which we are happy to give them. But, sometimes, it’s nice to be able to grow plants that require almost no effort. And, if we can eat the results, then all the better!

DAY 6

Here’s a gardening idea that costs pennies, requires no special equipment and can be done on a windowsill you already have laying around the house. What’s not to love?

It’s a well known fact that green onions are a delicious and nutritious addition to an unlimited variety of dishes. We put them in almost everything – salads, soups, veggie wraps – whatever our imaginations can come up with. Some time back, I learned that we can cut off the green parts of the onions and eat them, and instead of throwing the root parts away, they can be used to grow another batch of onions! I tried it out, and what do you know, it works!

Make Your Own Rules!

If you’re like most people, you probably have a word game or two sitting in a box somewhere in the dark corners of a closet. You know, the ones that have tiles with letters on them that you use to make words of varying point value? Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good, long game of Scrabble, or Boggle or any number of other similar games, but sometimes, you just don’t want to be so formal. Also, if you’ve got young children, like I do, these games are a bit over their heads.

I know that one of the most important things I can do as a mom is to foster a love of reading, learning and thinking in my children. And it’s no secret that making learning fun and game-like is the best way to do that. It’s also well-known that puzzles and critical thinking games develop their brains in a different way than do “non-thinking” games like tag or hide-and-go-seek.

One rainy day, we were hanging around the house, thinking of what we could do for fun. Nicholas found my box of Scrabble in the games cupboard and decided that he wanted to learn how to play. Well, at the time he was about 7 years old, and, while his vocabulary and spelling ability was well above the average for his age, I knew that he wasn’t quite ready for a full-fledged game.

So, I told him that I COULD teach him to play Scrabble, if that’s what he wanted, but I knew a SECRET way to play that was a lot more fun. That’s all I had to say and all three kids were jumping up and down, wanting to learn the secret game.

Help Me Win an Award!

I am so excited to share this news with you. My company, E3Live, has been nominated again for the Best of Raw Awards. We won last year, and of course, we hope to win this year!

Please vote, it's easy! Just click on this link: Best of Raw, then click on VOTE NOW, and choose the RAW PRODUCTS tab.

Click on LIQUID SUPPLEMENTS, and you will see E3LIVE as the first entry. Click the VOTE button under the picture and you're done!

Voting is open until February 10. Please vote and spread the word. Anyone can vote!

Thank you, friends!

Tamera

Go Climb a Tree

Every once in a while, Michael and I don’t quite see eye to eye.  Nothing unusual about that. Like most couples, we talk through the issues and come to a compromise. On the topic of child rearing, he tends to be a bit more overprotective than I am. Don’t get me wrong, I worry and fret about my babies’ emotional and physical well being just as much as he does, if not more. But, I know that part of my job as a mom is to prepare my children to function independently in a world that may be indifferent and even hostile at times.

After months of renovation work, we finally moved into our new house a couple of weeks ago. I love that we have plenty of room to spread out, and a yard full of lush greenery with magnificent trees. The kids love it, too. Especially the part about the trees.  And that’s where Michael and I disagree a bit.

He thinks that it’s far too dangerous for kids to climb trees. I say, let them climb. Is there a chance that they’ll fall and get a little scraped up? Sure. 

“What if they break an arm or a leg? What will you do then?” says Michael. 

That’s a bridge I’d rather not think about crossing. Of course, I’d be heartbroken, like any mother would be. My tears would flow more easily and with greater strength than my injured child’s. But we would get to a doctor, be fitted with a cast and learn to be more careful in the future.

I took an informal poll amongst my friends and was truly surprised at the differences of opinion. Then, I did a bit of searching on the Internet. It seems that the issue isn’t as straightforward as I had assumed. In my world, childhood equals playing in the dirt, climbing trees, scraping knees and going indoors only when the sun goes down.

But, for a lot of moms and dads – well, moms more than dads - the risks outweigh the advantages, it seems. I read about the hazards, the what-ifs and the keep-them-safe-at-all-costs opinions.

One Bite at a Time

It's that time of year again. The calendar counts us down, day by day, and we finally reach the dividing line. We let go of the old and welcome the new. Resolutions are made with the best of intentions, plans are created for a fresh outlook, a different way of being.  Excitement fills the air!  

Then the weeks roll by and we soon fall right back into the old patterns we wanted to get away from. Sound familiar?

We’ve all been there.

Why are we so predictable in giving up on our goals? Maybe it’s because we set ourselves up to fail before we’ve even started.