Category Archives: Going Green

Welcoming Naturepedic Into Our Home

We got a new Naturepedic organic mattress and our excitement can hardly be contained! After having to deal with getting uncomfortably hot in our old mattress for years, the time has finally arrived to improve an all too often overlooked aspect of health; sleep.

Naturepedic EOS Campaign_1

 

Not only was our old mattress uncomfortable, but it, like most mattresses, was plagued by flame retardants and a host of chemicals like phthalates that easily spread throughout the house. Basically, lots of nasty stuff that can pose harm to us and our little ones. Even during pregnancy, studies have shown mothers exposed to phthalates have been linked to their children having an increased risk of asthma.

Having grown up with asthma as a kid (luckily I don’t have it now), I know firsthand that it sucks, literally. It’s true, having asthma usually involves sucking wind when you exert yourself too much and have an attack or close to it. It’s not fun and I don’t wish it on anyone. Lets just say my childhood days of playing soccer had me clinging to an inhaler like Frodo Baggins with the One Ring.

Point is, there are things I never even considered to pose a threat to our health, but now know otherwise. One very big thing is the mattress we sleep on. After doing our research, Going Mom and I knew it was time to upgrade our sleep and health by getting a new mattress.

Our last mattress was a queen, but my wife, always thinking ahead, said we need a king for when someone *cough* Avery *cough cough* starts venturing into Mommy and Daddy’s room to join us. I guess the kitchen floor (note the picture above) doesn’t work so well.

naturepedic
Please let me sleep with you, Mommy and Daddy.

Thankfully, the super generous people at Naturepedic provided us the value of their queen mattress so all we had to do was make up the difference to buy a king! I can picture us now…

Naturepedic EOS Campaign_2

Except we won’t have the ocean as a backdrop and Avery will surely be in between or jumping us. You know, standard toddler. Speaking of, they do have crib and kid mattresses too.

Happy doesn’t even begin to describe how we feel about our new mattress. I think flabbergasted or elated would serve as a better word. Avery was excited the day the mattress arrived in, get this, several boxes.

Naturepedic mattress, organic, flame retardant free

That’s right, a king mattress in several boxes. We haven’t opened them since we’re waiting to set it up this weekend, but there are warnings to be careful when opening. I can just picture a giant snake-in-a-can effect happening from trying to be too quick to open! SURPRISE!!! Actually, they provide detailed assembly instructions and have a YouTube video.. It seems easy peasy to me, what do you think?

I guess that means no snake-in-a-can surprise. But seriously, watching that video gets me even more pumped up to set it up this weekend!

Anyway, I’ll be working hard (aka sleeping on this awesome mattress) to write a review post. Over the coming months, look for update posts and please feel free to ask any questions you have anytime. If I can’t answer them, Naturepedic’s website is packed full of useful info.

A big thanks to Naturepedic for allowing us the opportunity to sleep on their high quality organic mattress. I can’t wait to share with everyone how great it feels and why being free of flame retardants and other chemicals is so important.

To see why we’re so excited to welcome Naturepedic in our home, be sure to keep up to date by following them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and their blog.

Are you in the market for a new mattress?

Have you heard of Naturepedic?

Neighborhood Clean Up with Onya Baby and a Father’s Day Giveaway

Hey there! How’s your weekend going?

Pretty fan-freakin-tastic here; it helps that it’s my 30th birthday and I’m celebrating with the ones I love so much! Yeah, no more life in the twenties, but I can’t fight it so I might as well embrace it; right? I think those are lyrics to a song….

Luckily, I was able to make use of the last days in my twenties by running a 10k and placing first in my (then) age group, and second overall! I might be a little boastful, but why not, I’m proud!

And then, just yesterday, I ran a 5k with Avery; our first race together and my last race before turning another decade! We came in first overall, but I’ll post more on that later. Today, I want to share an exciting giveaway for a new Onya Baby Outback baby carrier and a set of Chewies!

As a dad, I felt like I had some catching up to do when it came to bonding with my daughter, Avery, when she was born. From the start, Going Mom had a generous head start; around 9 months to be exact! Avery and I had our very important skin to skin time at the hospital and soon after we brought her home, I started wearing her.

I didn’t have an Onya Baby carrier at first, but thankfully I connected with Diana who graciously agreed to send their Outback carrier for review. I haven’t looked back since; Onya Baby is my top choice and fits perfectly into my active lifestyle. Avery seems to enjoy it as well!

There's a smile hidden in there; promise!
There’s a smile hidden in there; promise!

Almost every day, I will go for a walk with Avery around our neighborhood, and when she’s not napping, I’ll describe the things we’re passing. These are mostly ducks or geese from the neighborhood lake, a donkey from a connecting ranch, or just some of our neighbors out and about.

Daddy and Avery with Donkey

But, since we live in a developing neighborhood, there is a lot of construction going on around us. And with construction, comes trash from building materials and from the workers themselves. Oh, and the port-a-potties don’t help either. Here’s one with a pleasant message; that’s our yard to the right.

DSC_0330

I try to find the humor in things and just laugh, but it doesn’t always work. But that’s not the issue, it’s the trash that gets blown down the street and in people’s yards that gets under my skin. Each day I go for a walk or run, I see bits and pieces spread around our otherwise beautiful neighborhood.

DSC_0333

Maybe it doesn’t look like much in one spot, but collectively….

DSC_0339

….it can add up quickly and….

DSC_0350

….turn a peaceful walk into one of disgust.

Most of our neighbors, myself included, take pride in where we live and hate to see so much litter spread across our community, so I want to take action and clean it up!

For the rest of this month, I will be posting photos of the piles of trash I collect while walking, and if it can be recycled, I’ll recycle it. This will be a great activity to do with Avery to show her how to take pride in where you live and how cleaning up even just a little each day can make a huge impact. I know our wildlife friends will appreciate it too!

When I mentioned to Diana at Onya Baby about my latest endeavor, she thought it would be perfect to incorporate into Onya Baby’s Father’s Day giveaway. So I’m thrilled to announce that I have partnered with Onya Baby to offer my readers (that’s you if you’re reading this) a chance to win an Onya Baby Outback and a set of Chewies. If your kid is like Avery, they will love to have these to chew while being carried, and they help soothe teething gums!

a;ls

How do you take part in this incredible chance to win your own Onya carrier? Simply follow this link and enter their RaffleCopter giveaway.

Complete the action steps as listed to earn entries and you’re all set at having your own Onya Outback to wear your baby in style and comfort!

I’d love for you to also take action and clean up your neighborhood or community with your kids and post a photo (with your Onya carrier if you have one) of the piles you collected. Share these photos on Twitter and tag @OnyaBaby and @Going_Dad with the hashtags #onyalove and #goanywhere. You can also share on my Facebook page or Onya’s page.

If you aren’t sure of just how awesome Onya baby carriers are, Paul from The Outdoor Adventure has an awesome video of it in use during his many….err, outdoor adventures!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKlqbXpFe8U&w=560&h=315]

Make sure to check out Paul’s blog and Amelia from Tales of a Mountain Mama, to see what they are doing with Onya Baby for the Father’s Day giveaway.

I’m looking forward to seeing how much you are able to clean up around where you live and hopefully your kids will see the good you’re doing and even help if they are old enough.

Being one who loves activity, this is a great way to get some extra exercise and bonding time with your children. Have fun setting a good example with your kids and good luck on the giveaway!

How do you feel about the cleanliness in your community? Could it use some cleaning?

Do you have an tips/advice on how to best approach the clean up?

Have you ever worn your child in an Onya Baby carrier?