--When Chris is not busy cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog.
--When Chris is not busy cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog.
The ASPCA website has a great list with photos of Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants
You can also search the plant database using common or scientific names or even symptoms. The list includes categories for plants toxic to dogs, cats and horses. Remember the "common name" of a plant in one part of the country or world might refer to a completely different plant someplace else. Make sure to check the scientific name of the plant to get the most accurate plant information. Using the scientific name is important because some regional plants with common names might not appear on the poisonous plant list.
Please note that I am not a vet or an animal health expert. According to the ASPCA, the information contained on the ASPCA "plant list is not meant to be all-inclusive, but rather a compilation of the most frequently encountered plants."
Concerned about a potential poisoning?
If you think that your animal is ill or may have ingested a poisonous substance,
contact your local veterinarian or the ASPCA 24-hour emergency poison hotline
directly at 1-888-426-4435.
You might be surprised to find out that some of the plants you thought were safe are dangerous to pets. Did you know Aloe Vera is toxic to dogs and cats?
(Photo above: ASPCA website)
Keep your garden safe by also using nontoxic gardening products. Certain toxic products like slug and snail bait might seem tasty to pets but they can cause life-threatening side-effects within minutes! Always contact your vet or an animal emergency hotline poison hotline for the best advice to treat your pet. You need a vet's expertise because methods that work on humans are not meant to be used on pets.
Other resources:Common Poisonous Plants | The Humane Society of the United States
Common Plants Are Toxic to Pets | NBC New York
--When Chris is not busy cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog. You can see her illustrations and photography at her online Etsy.com shop LunaBlueStudio: Eco-chic cards and prints. Each time you purchase a Luna Blue Studio card, card set or print I will donate 20% of the profits to animal rescue groups.
Often nature creates the most magical artwork. All we need to do is slow down and look around us.
--When Chris is not busy cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog. You can see her illustrations and photography at her online Etsy.com shop LunaBlueStudio: Eco-chic cards and prints. Each time you purchase a Luna Blue Studio card, card set or print I will donate 20% of the profits to animal rescue groups.
]]>An easy-to-grow plant, mint grows well in an area with morning sun and shade after 2 p.m.
--When Chris is not busy cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog. You can see her illustrations and photography at her online Etsy.com shop LunaBlueStudio: Eco-chic cards and prints. Each time you purchase a Luna Blue Studio card, card set or print I will donate 20% of the profits to animal rescue groups.
]]>Parenting is a time of rewards, laughter, and love. But we all know it can also be a time of challenges. It's one tough job.
OneToughJob.org sponsored by the Children's Trust Fund of Massachusetts has been an online source of positive parenting advice since 2006.
The CTFs OneToughJob.org offers parents information on a variety of parenting topics from birth to age 18 including:
Summer fun: Many of the OTJ articles focus on summer topics such as selecting a summer day camp, getting your kids to help out around the house, age-specific personal safety tips, and creative activites to do with your kids.
Internet safety: If your kids love technology, then check out the OTJ Technology Articles including:
--When Chris is not busy cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog. You can see her illustrations and photography at her online Etsy.com shop LunaBlueStudio: Eco-chic cards and prints. Each time you purchase a Luna Blue Studio card, card set or print I will donate 20% of the profits to animal rescue groups.
]]>The good news is you can minimize the disruption to your bag by placing related items such as clothing (folded), toys, and gadgets in quart, gallon and larger baggies. When your bag is examined, the baggies make it easier to keep related items together. If you travel with kids, placing toys and clothes in baggies makes it easy to control clutter when they pack. On a recent trip when we forgot to use the baggies system, my son's carry-on bag was so "overloaded" that when he was asked to remove all items at a security checkpoint he was unable to get all his things back into his bag! Since we have adopted using the baggie packing system, it's much easier to keep the bags organized. Remember to recycle your baggies on your next trip.
Happy travels!
--When Chris is not busy carpooling, cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog. You can see her illustrations and photography at her online Etsy.com shop LunaBlueStudio: Eco-chic, bleach-free cards and prints.
]]>
Whenever I transplant new plants in my garden, I end up with a pile of discarded plastic pots the plants are sold in. Some of the temporary pots are recyclable, but many are not.
This year I discovered eco-friendly peat pots. Love them. Easy to plant. Better for your plants. My new herbs for the garden came in biodegradable Bonnie Peat Pots. The green peat pots make it super simple to garden with kids. Here's how:
--When Chris is not busy carpooling, cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog. You can see her illustrations and photography at her online Etsy.com shop LunaBlueStudio: Eco-chic, bleach-free cards and prints.
]]>I am a fan of online shopping. And I love books. When I discovered Zoomii--a "real" bookstore online that replicates the browsing of bookstore--I fell deeply in love.
The books available on Zoomii.com are Amazon.com books at Amazon's great prices, thanks to their affiliate program.
Curious how it works? Check out a virtual tour of the bookstore in a YouTube video on my Momathon Blog post today.
--When Chris is not busy carpooling, cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog. You can see her illustrations and photography at her online Etsy.com shop LunaBlueStudio: Eco-chic, bleach-free cards and prints.
]]>
]]>
If you want to learn how to pan sear tuna or grill a rack of lamb sesame style without leaving the US, check out the EVOO Cannon Beach Cooking School on the Oregon coast. No passport required. Chef Robert Neroni leads the classes. The school offers a wide variety of classes. A 2-day Vegetarian Fundamental class in June where students learn to plan menus and create vegetarian meals is $125/day. The Dinner Show class featuring coriander seared wild salmon, halibut and grilled prosciutto, garlic seared lamb chop, and strawberry sorbet shortcake with whipped creme fraiche is a festive three course format--2 1/2 hours of dinner, entertainment, and lively interactive educational banter--$89 per person.
--When Chris is not busy carpooling, cooking, walking her dog, or just having fun with her kids, she is a freelance writer and illustrator. Chris writes about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog. You can see her illustrations and photography at her online Etsy.com shop LunaBlueStudio: Eco-chic, bleach-free cards and prints.
]]>It has been raining like crazy all month here and it's all too easy to forget about the fact we still need to conserve water.
According to Planet Green here are 6 easy things you can do to save big:
Take a 5-minute shower instead of a 10-minute shower (Savings: 12.5 gallons)
Put a bottle filled with gravel in your toilet tank (Savings: 7.5 gallons)
Turn off the water while brushing teeth and sharing (Savings: 8 gallons)
Filling your dishwasher to max capacity (Savings: 2 gallons)
Mulching your garden (Savings: 25 gallons)
Fix that leaky faucet (Savings: 5 gallons)
TOTAL Water Savings: 60 gallons
Don't forget to talk to your kids about the water saving tips. If you do, your family could save more than 60 gallons today. You can follow PlanetGreen.com on Twitter
(Thanks for the tips Planet Green.) --Chris writes the about parenting and families in her blog Momathon Blog.
]]>At my house I've found the best way to make sure the chores get done is to stick to a routine. I even put the chores on a chart for the kids to read (or add photos for younger kids). If you have a regular schedule with a set chore routine it is also easier to check to see if the kitchen floor got vacuumed or the dog was fed dinner.
My kids love to procrastinate and this can make their To Do list of chores linger for hours...even days. I hate this. Now I set a specific time as a deadline and once the chores are done, then the kids get to go and play, watch, TV or whatever.
"There's a lot of good things about household chores because they teach kids social and organisational skills, to be an active member of a group and make a contribution and take on responsibility which is something that is good to learn early and to carry on later in life. Kids have to learn life is not all about having fun and play," says Curtin University psychologist Melissa Davis in the Essential Baby article Recipe for domestic harmony.
My kids like to compare what they are expected to do with what their friends have to do for chores. And they want to know if a friend gets a bigger allowance for doing daily/weekly chores. I don't have a great answer for this discrepancy. Every family has different standards and different expectations. This explanation never seems to satisfy my kids when they have friends with no chores. All I can do then is tell my kids that in our house we have our own rules for chores, we don't follow a community guideline for chores. --Chris writes about parenting and families on the blog Momathon Blog.
]]>I love to make things: Sew, cook, draw, paint, knit, bead, and more. Reading a crafting book always motivates me to start a new project.
]]>I love to make things: Sew, cook, draw, paint, knit, bead, and more. Reading a crafting book always motivates me to start a new project.
Now more and more women are turning their love of crafts into a business. Here are a few books that just might inspire you to do the same.
Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business
Meg Mateo Ilasco
Designer, writer and pro crafter Meg Mateo Ilasco offers a step-by-step guide to everything from developing products and naming the company to writing a business plan, applying for licenses, and paying taxes.
My favorite part: in-depth interviews with such craft luminaries as Jonathan Adler, Lotta Jansdotter, Denyse Schmidt, and Jill Bliss provide inspiration and practical advice.
Country Living Crafting a Business: Make Money Doing What You LoveKathie FitzgeraldIf you are thinking of starting a home-based craft business, this book by the editors of Country Living tells the real-life success stories of women artisans.
My favorite part: Even if you are only interested in one type of craft, the diversity of in-depth profiles featured in this book is a real plus. As crafters we can learn so much from successful women--from hand-weaving, doll making, and rug hooking to travel, interior design, and photography. Filled with great advice on how to get started, develop a saleable product, organize a company, market your goods, manage the finances, and handle staffing.
--Chris writes the blog Momathon Blog]]>
]]>
Mompreneurs are LinkedIn. Are you? A LinkedIn mom is the one who networks on the web instead of the soccer fields or at PTO meetings. Over 40 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. The best part of this networking site is the fact it's not just a group of connections, at LinkedIn your network is alive and easy to navigate.
According to the media gurus at wowOwow, LinkedIn is:
"A network for professional connections, and instead of sharing info on your children and pets, you share business information. It is a fantastic networking tool for job searching and for promoting a business or service. It also doubles as a terrific database for all your business contacts."
If you know how Facebook or Twitter works, then you know how important social networking sites can be. LinkedIn offers a professional slant on networking.
Want to get started? Check out the simple step-by-step direction by the gals at wowOwow: How to Get Started on LinkedIn. You can also find out how to grow your network to help you get your message out to the appropriate contacts. Just check out this wowOwow link.
The YouTube video clip on my Momathon Blog post today explains LinkedIn in plain English.
]]>
If you're a mom, you probably don't need to hear a hypnotist's voice to make you fall asleep. Sleep deprivation is a fact of mommy life. The problem is squeezing in enough sleep seems impossible for most moms.
You probably have your our own way to deal with sleep deprivation. Caffeine gives a jump start to help you feel more energized. Chocolate anything makes you smile. But nothing makes your sleepy head feel refreshed like a good night's sleep.
It's time to change your sleep patterns with a sleep makeover. BlogHer cofounder Jory Des Jardins and life coach Laurie Santos offer simple steps to get a better night's sleep in a new web episode of The Juice, "A Good Night for a Good Morning." For tips on doing your own sleep makeover watch The Juice webisode on my Momathon Blog.