Clean Green Event

With our first baby on the way, there is no better time to change over to 'green' products around our house. There are a ton of benefits to more earthly materials, but the two that come to mind the quickest are the health of my family and keeping the Earth beautiful for our children of the future!

My husband and I recently started recycling at home and have been doing so at work throughout the year. Okay, so I may be joining the movement a bit late, but that is better than never. We also plan on cloth diapering our little guy to save room at the landfills (and health benefits among others).

Knowing that the nesting phase has begun and will only increase as the due date comes, I want to clean the house using only green products. I am looking to host a review/giveaway event here at the end of March, if you would like to see a company on here let me know and I will try my best. I currently have a great package lined up from Seventh Generation and am hoping for many more.

Geocaching 101

As much as my husband and I enjoy geocaching I told myself I would blog about it when I initially started this, that was 4 months ago and this is my second log. A goal of mine is to write more about this amazing sport to inform others so that they might also join in.

Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which the cacher uses a GPS system to locate hidden items. Geocaching requires internet access so you can determine the coordinates and a GPS system so you can go on the hunt. People of all ages enjoy geocaching, I look forward to our entire family getting out for hikes.

To begin, go to the geocaching website and click on 'getting started' to sign up for a FREE membership.Now, you can get a premium membership for $30 which will give you a few extra benefits and access to some 'members only' caches, but to begin with I would suggest the FREE membership to see if you really like it.

Type in your home zip code and a list of local geocaches will pop up. Choose one that is close and read more about it. Then you just need to put the coordinates into your GPS system and head on out.

Once you find the geocache, you will need to sign your geocaching handle along with the date. Once you are back on the computer, go back to the cache page and on the top right hand side, choose to log your visit. Click and choose that you found it (hopefully) and write a note about your find.

Now you are ready to find your next cache!! Over the next few weeks I will post more information about geocaching hoping to interest many more people in the sport.


The Groundspeak Geocaching Logo is a registered trademark of Groundspeak, Inc. used with permission.

Babywearing

With our baby due in a little over 7 weeks, I have to really consider how much I want to 'wear' our baby. With all of this I decided to check around online and share it with my readers.
So with what I found, babywearing simply means to wear your baby in a sling or carrier. Since most parents do this at some point or another, I typically consider babywearing to mean carrying your baby in a sling for long periods of time and throughout most of the day.

There are many benefits of babywearing, including:

• Happy babies - carried babies cry less
• Confident parents - parents that carry their babies begin to learn their expressions and cues quicker than those that do not carry their babies
• Healthy babies - this is especially beneficial for premature or special needs babies
• Comfort and convenience - you can get housework done without putting your baby down!
• Good for mental development - babies are comfortable and in the 'quiet, alert state' which is most conducive for learning
• Good for emotional development - babies develop sense of trust and security

When I looked up the cons of babyweearing, the only thing I could find was that some carriers are uncomfortable...not really a con if you ask me, just find one that you like.

I was surprised at the little bit of information I found; yes, there are more sites out there but I guess I was hoping for more information.

So, will we babywear? I do have a sling and have registered for a carrier as I think my husband will be more comfortable with a tradional carrier. I am fortunate and will not return to work until our little guy is 4 months old (I teach and will have the summer off) so I will have the opportunity to have him on me as much as possible. However, I strongly feel that if a baby is held a lot, it will expect to be carried and in somebody's arms most of the time; this is not something I want in our household. Yes, I love my baby and want to cuddle with him, but I know I can't do it at all times! I want our baby to be able to play independently and believe this starts at an early age. Does this mean that I will put him down and leave him for long periods of time? No way!! What it means is we will get him used to playing with his toys, falling asleep on his own, etc.

What I don't like and see a lot of is taking their child in their carseat everywhere they go. Thise are the times that I will wear Tate - church, grocery store, restaurants, etc.

Do you babywear? Please share your thoughts with me.

Information for this blog somes fromt eh following sites:

Baby Wearing International http://babywearinginternational.org/pages/whatisbabywearing.php

thebabywearer.com
http://www.thebabywearer.com/index.php?page=bwgreatthings

askdrseaers.com
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t051100.asp#T051103

Holey Donuts Contest

Wow, don't they look delicious? Want to try some for yourself? Head on over to Holey Donuts and buy some or sign up for their mailing list and you will be entered to win the February Love Assortment consisting of 4 boxes of our latest, best selling, super yummy Holey Donuts! Low Fat Treats and $250 Holey Donuts! store credit good for 1 year. That right there would be enough for me to sign up!! But, there's more - sign up and you receive special offers, free shipping, super private discount codes!!
To enter into this contest go to their website, head down to the bottom and click on 'contact us'. From there all you will need to do is enter your email address and in the message box tell them you are interested in entering the contest and that you found out about it on the 'Caching Family' blog. You may be wondering why I would have you do this... Well, I can honestly say that I want to win $500!!! The blogger that gets the most people to sign up will win that in cash; I know we can use that money toward bills and the baby on the way!
I have never tried their products but they are sending me some samples and I will be sure to review them - if I get any with my husband around!! A good friend of mine has tried the donuts and really enjoyed them so I can't wait!
The low fat cinnamon bun middles pictured above are only 100 calories or 2 weight watchers points each!! All I can say is wow!!! These are one of their newest - jumbo low fat chocolate chip donuts - only 5 grams of fat apiece, how can you feel guilty about that?!?

How about these for Valentine's Day? Wouldn't your sweetheart enjoy waking up Sunday morning to these delicious donuts - you don't have to mention that they are only 3 grams of fat each, but that would make it SOOOO much sweeter!!

Be sure to enter for your change to win 4 boxes of donuts and $200 store credit and enter 'Caching Family' into the box.

Free Kashi Sample

Who doesn't love a satisfying, healthy meal or snack? I know I do and most often turn to Kashi brand products to fill that need. They are currently giving away a free sample of either GOLEAN Crisp!™ Toasted Berry Crumble cereal, TLC® Dark Chocolate Coconut Fruit & Grain bar, or GOLEAN Crunch!® Honey Almond Flax cereal. Personally I am going to try the toasted berry cereal since that is one I haven't tried before.
To get your FREE sample, go to www.kashi.com and click to get your free sample. You will then be given a choice of the 3 products mentioned above and then you will be prompted to give your mailing information. The hardest part is having patience as it does take 4-6 weeks to get your sample.
Kashi offers a variety of products from frozen entrees to delicious cookies. Here are a couple of my favorite products. The original 7 grain crackers are great on their own or can be paired with cheese and be mighty tasty!! Be careful, you might want to eat most of the box!!

I also love their cookies, especially the oatmeal dark chocolate. Imagine a cookie that is actually healthy for you!!! Of course, you can't eat the entire container and consider it to be healthy but 1 or 2 sure does satisfy a craving!!

Be sure to get your free sample and check out some of their other products the next time you are getting groceries!!!