The parent birds are a little kooky. One, they hate me because I have to water the flowers which means moving the pot, but other times they’ll come sit right by me on the patio. I think they’re torn between liking me and not. But in any case the babies are hatched and here are some pictures…

How cute right!? If you have any nature or kids in nature images to share, you can send them in by contacting me. We’ve had some great photos sent in the past by Tree Hugging Family readers, such as…

• Meet One Tree Hugging Family
• An Adorable Tree Hugging Family
• Tree Hugging Families Love Fishing!
• One Tree Hugging Family – Nature Kids!
• One Tree Hugging Family: Playing in the Creek!
• My own tree hugging tot when he was tiny

It would be cool to get some new tree hugging families posted so send in your photos and if you’ve got one, a link to your blog (I like to link out).

[images via miss Jennifer]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Still, the point now is that these events fall on the same day. If you’re interested in celebrating both events, I’d snag some eco-friendly beans. Such as…

Surf Sweets Jelly Beans: Made with organic fruit juice and sweeteners, 100% Vitamin C per serving, no corn syrup or GMO’s, gluten free, made in a nut-free facility.

Green Beans Natural Jelly Beans: Green Beans are new and all-natural; the colors are bright and shiny – not muted like some organic candies. Flavors include: Black Cherry, Orange Punch, Strawberry, Vanilla Bean, Grape, Lemon, Pomegranate, Blueberry, Peach, Apple, and Root Beer.

Lotus Organic Jelly Beans: Made with natural colors and flavors, plus packed in an oxygen barrier pack, with special consideration of organic products’ natural susceptibility to infestation and mold, and discoloration caused by oxidation.

Vegan Jelly Beans: Made without beeswax, gelatin, insect-derived “confectioner`s glaze,” or any other animal-derived ingredients commonly found in jelly beans. Also made with non-bone-char processed sugar, corn syrup, corn starch, vegan natural and artificial colors and flavors, carnauba wax.

Organic Jelly Beans, 3-pack: Organic, gluten-free, and allergen free. Lemon, Grapefruit, Orange, Cherry and Grape flavors.

Sadly, I’m not a jelly bean fan. I’m more a chocolate kind of girl. Too bad national chocolate day doesn’t coincide with Earth Day. BUT if you are a fan, the above choices are pretty darn good.

[top jelly bean image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Remember my green New Year’s goals? One of them was to actually recycle those pesky toilet paper tubes. Well, I had a thought. Maybe I could track down some ways to actually put them to good use. And just maybe, these tips will help you too. I know we have a few other tube slackers here.

First I came up with some of my own ideas (using that old cerebral cortex)…

Baby safety: You probably know this one, but if it fits in a tube, it’s too small for a baby. This has got to be the cheapest child safety tool ever.

Cat safety: Um, Peggy and I chat often, and sometimes, sadly, compare cats to babies. She’s into cats. I’m into tots. In any case, I was thinking, if cats are so much like babies, and something fits in a tube, maybe your cat shouldn’t have it either. Other cat use – rolling toy!

Cord keeper: Roll your electrical cords up, pop them into a tube, and you’ve got a cheap and easy cord keeper.

Make kid gear: Need pretend binoculars, a telescope, a big ol’ marble run? You can make all these and scads more with toilet paper tubes. All you need is a little imagination.

Casual napkin rings: I’m not a napkin ring user. Frankly, I think they’re overkill, but you could make some.

Get published: Not typical, but since we’re talking tubes, I figured I’d mention that I wrote an entire post about toilet paper tubes here, and guess what? Someone put it in their book. Yup, it’s true. Write about tubes and maybe get in a book. It could happen. At any rate, if you like me, it gives you a reason to pick up the book now.

Then – I ran out of ideas, so I looked to the web (more brains, more ideas):

For anyone:

• Wrap small gifts
• Gerbil toy
• Make a kazoo
• Make an awesome modern fruit bowl
• Germinate seeds – I can’t believe I didn’t think of this.

For kids…

• Puppets
• Rain Sticks
• Party Poppers
• Dinosaur bone (actually it says you need a paper towel tube, but since we frown on paper towels around here, I’m gonna say, tape two tubes together.)
• Totem Pole

For criminals:

Break into locked laptops

For people with WAY too much time on their hands:

I found this totally bizarre idea at the Mothering forums. Someone said, “Tape a bunch together so that the outcome is about the size of your t.v. screen. Attach this to the screen, turn on the t.v. (sound off). It creates a neat kaleidoscope effect.”

Wow. Really this sounds like something a bunch of twenty something guys might do after a night of too much bad keg beer and Pink Floyd. I’m not judging, I’m just saying. If you’re really so inclined, I bet kids would find this experiment very interesting.

What will you be doing with your tubes this week? Note that after I spent all this time on these tips, if you say “recycling” I’ll just die.

OR post your own toilet paper tube reuse tip in the comments.

[image via stock.xchng - altered by miss Jennifer]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I just got a heads up about a cool new club for earth-loving kids. The Clean Air Club, is an interactive website that helps to teach kids about the importance of protecting their environment. The club (and website) are appropriate for kiddos 14 and under.

The club was started by Cook-Illinois Corporation, the nation’s largest independently owned and operated school bus company. Recently, Cook-Illinois Corporation made some eco-changes to their company; they switched most of their fleet of 1,700 schools buses to bio-diesel fuel. This switch reduces around 1000 tons of toxic emissions in Chicago.

About the club – perks for kids:

• Any kid under 14 can join nationwide, not just Chicago youth.
• All members receive a free gift for joining plus a quarterly newsletter.
• Kids who join up can enter to win prizes for writing essays.
• There are lots of cool kid-friendly learning materials at the site about bio-diesel plus games and activities.

About that killer bus above:

The Clean Air Club Bus, is a recycled school bus, created by Cook-Illinois Corporation. It travels to local Chicago area schools to share hands-on, interactive exhibits with kids.

Get your littles online, and head over to the new Clean Air Club to learn more.

[bus image via Clean Air Club]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Lyra Face Paint Pencils are not tested on animals, dermatologically tested for safety, and are certified nontoxic by the Art and Craft Materials Institute.

Available at the ever delightful and child friendly Oompa Toys.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes and everything else going on at Tree Hugging Family in October 2008

[image via Oompa Toys]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I’m back from my vacation in Chicago. What were some of my favorite things?

• You can see buildings in other buildings. Hence the photo above!

• There’s a Calder exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art. And yes, there’s a cat mobile! I couldn’t take photos though.

• I had a great taste of Armenian food at Sayat-Nova. So, I take photos of restaurant signs to remember the name…

• Plus, an awesome Picasso sculpture (below) in Daley Plaza. It’s often called “The Picasso.” It’s untitled and the artist never explained what it’s meant to represent. It was a gift from Picasso, so I guess he didn’t have to explain!

If I listed everything, I’d have 100 bullets and not get anything else done. But, I wanted to let you know I’m back! Do you have any favorite Chicago sites?

Images by Peggy Rowland.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in September 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I’ll be on vacation next week, but there will still be plenty to read here. I’ve set some posts ahead, plus Jennifer will be around with some great green baby posts for you.

And I’ll come back with some cool photos to share. I decided to let you guess where I’m going.

The image is a hint.

Can you guess?

(Image via Serge Melki flickr.)

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Here at Tree Hugging Family I shared 10 tips for an easy green picnic or green potluck

At Declutter It you can read five tips to help you organize your summer BBQ. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch by Robust Cooking

Watermelon Raspberry Lemonade at All Holiday Cafe

Rice Krispie Treats at Keeping the Castle

Homemade Oreo Ice Cream at Chocolate Bytes

Cool Summer Snacking at Inside Motherhood

Pasta Salad at Thrifty Mommy

Baking Delights is bringing enough chocolate for everyone to catch a chocobuzz with her favorite brownies

Nothing like sweet tea on a hot, summer day…Wait..I taste lime..mint…is that a non-alcoholic Mojito? Kettle and Cup has the answer.

Blogfabulous is serving up a super easy, keep your butt out of the hot kitchen solution to Hors’ devours.

Weary Parent is serving Chocolate Puppy Chow, a snack that’s bound to be popular with the kids

Offbeat Homes is sharing details on how to hold an offbeat picnic in four easy steps.

Just because you choose to live thrifty doesn’t mean you have to throw a thrifty picnic. Simply Thrifty shares tips for an elegant and inexpensive potluck

10 Summer party ideas and themes for your next backyard barbecue, or potluck.

Add some backyard Olympic games to your next barbecue, in honor of the Summer Olympics

And speaking of games, Marriage Actually is bringing a fun game for the grownups. Life Stories – a fun way to find out more about your spouse, friends and extended family.

Cyndi won’t go anyplace to picnic unless she can grill, but she doesn’t want to spend all day doing it. Try her tips for Grilling Chicken Fast, and get a jumpstart on your next picnic!

Who says picnics have to be complicated affairs? Keep it simple with cheeses, meats and homemade bread. Brewha-ha.com has a few suggestions – including a recipe for Polish beer rye bread

Whether you’re having a picnic, a barbecue or just looking for a fun activity to do with your kids outside, Susan at PlayLibrary offers a list of 50 outdoor toys and games that are perfect for summer.

This time of year there are bugs everywhere, don’t forget to bring the bug repellent along with your favorite dish to your next cookout.

Christine at Mad Cropper not only shares her favorite winter or summer recipe but also shares that you can turn recipes into creative works of arts. Find out how!

And while you’re out having all the fun and good food you can handle, don’t forget your pets – they enjoy special summer treats too!

At Quilting and Patchwork enjoy an array of potluck foods and memories from the Food Bloggers.

You never know what medical emergency could happen while your are picnicking…Marye at Simply Home Remedies is bringing the antidote for nearly ANYTHING!

Eliza at Babylune provides a checklist of tips to consider when taking baby picnicking.

Finally, when it’s all said and done – perhaps you can kick back with a nice frozen beverage. MomGadget prefers the Dominican Coco Loco

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

1. Pack green silverware and plates. That means real dishes or at the very least a smart eco-alternative.
2. Bring at least one meatless main dish.
3. Aim for a healthy organic picnic.
4. Block the sun with eco friendly sunglasses.
5. Toss an earth friendly Frisbee.
6. Don’t forget the human safe bug spray and sunscreen.
7. Forget stuff like balloons to mark your picnic spot. Use something safer for the environment like paper streamers. If you must have balloons make sure you don’t allow them to fly free.
8. Take something fun along for water play.
9. Don’t take too much stuff – if you’re out in nature, explore, and learn about the area, before relying on tools and games. Make sure to take a map, and stick with your pals.
10. Take it with you: Don’t pollute nature. When the fun is over, put out all fires, pack up, and haul out all your picnic trash, and that includes food. Human leftovers are no good for animals.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in July 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I’m a Sagittarius. Sagittarius folks are the best – in case you were wondering. Offhand, I also tend to like people who are a Leo, Scorpio, or a Aries. Oddly I’ve liked some Cancers too.

Capricorns and I don’t mix; at all. Every Capricorn I’ve EVER met has manged to make me overly mad, get on my nerves, or otherwise annoy me, to the point of freak out at some point. I’m open to them, but I’m telling you, the odds of a Cap and I getting on in some stellar fashion – not good. By the way, I don’t really base all my likes and dislikes on signs, this is just my experience.

All my opinions aside, Green Daily has a cool green weekly horoscope you can check out. Not sure how I missed this feature before, but I like it. It’s nice and original. They note, “It’s your weekly horoscope with a Green Daily twist!” They also mention that’s it’s just for kicks – which of course, is the reason most of us read horoscopes.

My horoscope for this week says, “Your wardrobe could use a shot of fashion upgrade but luckily one or two accessory pieces should do it, may we recommend something in hemp?” Oddly, that’s pretty true. I like old school stuff and almost never change. Sad. Is your green horoscope right on, or off target?

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in July 2008

[image via public domain]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family