Reston Mom

Tees for Change

Here's a great company - Tees for Change; sustainable tees on a mission.  I adore the baby line, but I'm sure you'll love the women's and men's tees too.  The company was started by a mom during her first pregnancy.  She was bombarded by negative and fearful responses from others when she desired to have a home birth, so she made herself a tee with the words "be courageous" and wore it during her successful delivery.  From that was also birthed this company whose mission is to inspire people to live with passion, purpose, and positivity.  The shirts are fair-trade, organic, and made under sweatshop-free conditions...plus, for every shirt you buy, they will plant a tree through American Forests' Global Relief. 

From now through August 31st, YOU CAN RECEIVE 15% OFF of your purchase just by using the coupon code "RESTON".

booth at the Reston Festival

This Saturday and Sunday, I'll be hanging out at the Reston Festival with my fam and a bunch of other people at a booth to raise money for Blood:Water Mission - an organization that is working to make clean water and clean blood available to African people who live among a shortage of water and an AIDS pandemic.  It is definitely a worthwhile organization that makes a real difference.  Did you know that for $1, one African can have clean water for one whole year? We live in such a crazy rich country...can you imagine needing something so bad and the possibility of getting it being within the reach of a single buck?  Anyway, if you'll be visiting the Reston Festival this weekend, feel free to come by just to say hello. 

TOMS shoes for tomorrow

I think that the buffalo print and picnic canvas print in these tiny TOMS shoes are adorable, but I must say that the pink camo is probably my favorite (as are all things pink).  The thing I love the most about these shoes?  That for every pair you buy, they will give a free pair to a child in need.  They come in pre-walker and toddler sizes...and because we like to wear cute things too - adult sizes. 

global food crisis and making a difference

It is shameful how easy it is to complain about rising costs of gas and groceries from the comfort of the richest nation in the world. I have to fight to keep perspective.  I don't know if you are aware that there is a global food crisis happening right now and that people are suffering.  It has been said that this crisis could potentially plunge an additional 100 million families on each continent into hunger.
"A combination of natural disasters, rising oil prices, and a reduction in staple food items like rice are ravaging families who were already struggling to buy food for their family. Because of these factors inflation has kicked in and caused food prices to soar over the past few months. This rise in food prices triggered the recent outbreak of violence in Haiti and in Bangladesh the cost of a kilo of rice went from $.31 to $.56 in less than 3 months. Most of these families living in poverty earn less than $2 per day and most of them are skipping meals because of the increase in costs." 
Brian Seay summarizes a massive issue - and his family has decided to make a small change to help make a difference. They aren't the only ones. A few families I know have decided to give up one dinner meal each week to just eat rice, only rice.  They will spend that evening teaching their children about a different country and families in crisis.  They have also decided to give 10% of their weekly grocery budget to the Compassion Food Crisis Fund.  Brian has said that he will write a weekly post with stories from these countries and their specific needs to help any family who would join their efforts.  I am so inspired by these families and appreciate the fact that they will not only make a difference by contributing financially, but they will also make a difference by raising compassionate children who will continue to look beyond themselves into the world around them. 

Book Wish Foundation

I received a message from Logan Kleinwaks about his Reston-based non-profit organization and thought it was such a worthy cause that I definitely wanted to share it with you all.  The Book Wish Foundation provides books, reading glasses, libraries, and school supplies for Darfur refugees.  We so often take our education and access to all kinds of resources, such as books, for granted - you can hardly imagine the difference that these materials are making in the lives of children and people elsewhere. It isn't just about the books....but the hope of a better future.  Hope is a powerful thing and the most amazing gift.   It would be great if you would just take a minute to read more about this organization, and more importantly about the people who are benefiting from it.  You can check out the recent article in the Reston Connection here, or visit the Book Wish Foundation website. 
(this picture taken from the BWF website shows children hungrily learning in 113 degree heat - now that's dedication!)

Green for St. Patty's Day

In honor of the holiday that touts green as it's theme color and in honor of the country that can easily claim to be literally the most brilliantly green place in the world (I can testify - amazingly beautiful!), I thought I'd post links to my favorite "green" sites to help us all "go green" and arm our attitudes with green thinking for the sake of our planet and the generations which follow us.  Enjoy!

Green Daily
Ideal Bite
I Go Green
Green Mom Finds
The Green Guide
livingreen
green baby guide
ecofabulous

Green-washing

"Going Green" is all the rage right now, and for good purpose.  But, with so many companies apt to jump on the bandwagon simply in order to gain customer approval, we may be falling for green-washing and feeling good about buying a product advertised as environmentally friendly while missing the entire point.  This month's issue of FastCompany magazine had a great article (read it here)about this that I really appreciated, in fact I thought it was so poignant that I've copied a big portion of it below. Please read it.
"The challenge of green living is similarly simple: Achieve the same quality of life using less stuff and less energy.  A truly green consumer won't buy 8,000 square feet of bamboo flooring because the label said it had been hand-rubbed by Nepalese children for a fair wage; she'll dump the McMansion and try to live in a walkable area close to work.  A green business will not deploy teams of researchers to figure out which 20% post-recycled-content copy paper to use; it will offer free bus of subway vouchers, start a carpooling program, and let workers telecommute one day a week.  Being efficient on the big stuff packs much more environmental punch than the benefits that come from choosing between competing light-green product A and the kelly-green product B.  The uncomfortable fact for many green marketers - and targets of that marketing - is that genuinely going green would mean giving up most of the products and services that clutter our consumer culture.  It would mean simplifying, valuing time and people over stuff.  How can most products avoid the sin of the hidden trade-off?  With a simple label; "You don't really need this." Green washing isn't merely a result of poor labeling standards and consumer protection.  It's part and parcel of an economy built on trade in material and energy waste.  Until we are collectively ready to really go green, greenwashing will be with us. Naturally."

what kind of world do you want?

Go to this site (the first video community that gives back)....watch a very short video....and $1 will be donated to the charity that is listed beside the video - such as autism speaks and save the children.  It's definitely worth your time, you'll be moved and others will be helped!

feed your brain and feed the world!

My sister recently pointed me to this great site -  Free Rice.  I had so much fun testing my own knowledge and thought it would be a great activity for older children and teens to challenge and develop their vocabulary.  The site presents you with a word and four possible definitions.   For every definition you answer correctly, ten grains of rice will be donated through the United Nations towards ending world hunger.  If you are tired of conversing on the level of a 2 or 3 year old all day, you mind find this to be refreshingly stimulating to your brain, plus you can feel good about helping other people.