It’s Wednesday and all over the internet you will find photos with no words of explanation. Why? Because pictures say a thousand words. This picture happens to have a thousand (not quite) words!

Yesterday I wrote a review of a wonderful vegan and vegetarian restaurant, Life Alive. This is a photo of a sign posted on their wall.

Why do you eat organic foods?

Make sure to check out these great blogs who also share on Wordless Wednesday: I Thought I Knew Mama, Dagmar’s Momsense, My Organized Chaos, Live and Love Out Loud, Frugally Sustainable, Hobo Mama

When a restaurant really knocks my socks off I want to share the news. On Mother’s Day we celebrated with another family and decided to try out a vegetarian restaurant, Life Alive in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The restaurant’s tag line is “Urban Oasis & Organic Cafe”-I was already sold before tasting a bite.  The exterior and interior of the space is hip and happening. The line to enter was out the door when we arrived, but it moved quickly. There were plenty of options-including vegan- and everything is fresh and organic. The organic vegetables looked like they were straight from a local garden.

The adults were able to chose quickly, but the kids took a while longer. They didn’t see the usual hamburger, hotdog and fries on this menu. The kids rose to the occasion-I loved their adventurous spirit and willingness to try new foods. The kicker was the lengthy smoothie selection. The kids were now sold. Many of the smoothies were dairy free, using almond milk and rice milk.

Check out this delicious sandwich:

The three bean chilli was delicious. My Explorer salad, with red lentil hummus, sesame stix and greens, was unbelievable. In addition to the cafe’s endless selection of vegetarian fare, the restaurant offers simple snacks such as The Crunchy Hippie, which is locally made granola and dried fruit.

If you’re in the Boston area this is one stop not to be missed.

Other locations for Life Alive: Lowell and Salem Massachusetts.

Do you have a vegetarian or organic restaurant near you?

Time Magazine

A controversial Time Magazine cover shot went viral last week. It was a photograph of a woman standing up breastfeeding her three year old son (who was standing on a small chair in order to reach his mother’s breast). The article linked to the photo discussed “why attachment parenting drives some mothers to extremes and how Dr. Bill Sears became their guru”. I haven’t read the article and have no plans to read it. If for some reason you missed the photo please Google it. I don’t want to share it in this space. Read on to see why.

The cover shot drew the attention of those in favor of breastfeeding, those opposed and those who could care less. It also drew attention from the those offended by title of the piece: “Are You Mom Enough?”. Moms Clean Air Force blogger, Molly Rauch did a fantastic job tying the cover of Time into a piece about how much we care about the health of our children.  Countless articles have popped up everywhere discussing the merits of such a bold and provocative photo.

Bravo Time Magazine (sarcasm intended). You have shocked the world with your photograph. As stated in the LA Times: “This is a cover that has the entire nation talking,”.

What about the little boy with those gorgeous eyes?

Last week I attended my first Boston Parent Bloggers event co-sponsored by Boston Parent Bloggers and Raising a Reader Massachusetts. The event was held at one of my all-time favorite children’s book shops, Barefoot Books.  It was wonderful meeting so many local bloggers at the event. The speaker for the evening was “Boston’s Original Mommy Blogger”, Barbara Meltz. As expected, she was wonderful.

Barbara has been writing a parenting column for the Boston Globe for 19 years. She came to us that night with one important message: protect your children’s privacy.

I found myself nodding my head in agreement as Barbara was talking about privacy issues and how we can protect our children’s privacy online. Then I asked her thoughts about the Time Magazine cover shot.  The conversation quickly turned to the photo of the 3 year old child.

Regardless of the issues raised by this controversial photo and where your loyalties lie, that little boy is in the limelight. Like it or not, his 15 plus minutes of fame are here and he had no say in the matter. He’s three years old. Even if he said yes to the photo it doesn’t matter. He’s too young make an educated decision about an occurrence that could impact his life. Will he be embarrassed someday? Will kids tease him? Did his mother think about these things before agreeing to the shoot? I hope so because she’s going to have to live with this.

My boys

Maybe the photo hit home so hard because my kids aren’t much older than that little boy. I’m a blogger and part of blogging is sharing. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that privacy was an issue with my kids. I was quoted in a Huffington Post piece about my son and his asthma (I’m not violating any privacy issues since the cat’s already out of the bag!). On the day the Huffington Post article went live my son came home from school and I was very excited to share the article with him. I didn’t receive the response I thought I would. He was beyond upset-and rightly so. I had made an assumption that he would want to be profiled in an article, but I had never asked him if that was OK. We ended up having a very long conversation about what was OK and what wasn’t. The final outcome was that my kids asked me to ALWAYS check in with them before sharing personal information. I have honored their request and now I’m very careful about what I share and what I post. I would never post a photo without their permission-on Facebook, my blog or anywhere else. I would never want my work or my carelessness to come between my relationships with my children.

Question what you’re sharing

There are plenty who don’t adhere to this system of protecting our children’s privacy. Many are open-books online and I’m fine with that. I only throw this information out there so maybe the next time you share a photo of your child or something very personal you’ll think about the long-term effect. If your child is too young to have a say in the matter-just give some thought as to how whatever you are sharing will affect your child down the road.

Do you share photos of your children online? Do you have a privacy policy in your family?

Read Barbara Meltz’s response to the Time Magazine photo HERE.

Read Boston Parent Blogger co-founder Christy’s response HERE.

[Photo used under Creative Commons from Mark Audette/Flickr]

Are you having as much trouble as I am accepting that Mother’s Day is this weekend?  It’s already May 2012. I’m reminded of how quickly time is flying every day when my kids walk through the door and announce the number of days until summer. My heart starts to race and I begin to panic as I quickly realize that I have failed in the planning department. Usually by this time in past years our summer plans have been meticulously laid out. Not this year. I still have some work to do. I’m telling you all of this with the hope that some of you will be inclined to give me that little, extra needed push to help me get my act together.  If not, it will be a long summer without much writing over here.

Happy Mother’s Day to All Mothers

Every Mother’s Day I celebrate my three boys, since without them I couldn’t wear my treasured “mother” hat. On this Mother’s Day it is my hope that my children grow up in a world where some pretty significant change takes place. Read about the rest of my wishes for all children in my post: A Mother’s Day Gift to My Boys, on the Healthy Child Healthy World blog of the week.

Eco Moms Who Made a Difference

I’m honored to have been included in Earth911’s list of 6 Eco Moms Who Made a Difference. Some of my eco-heroes are included in the piece-Corey and Lynn from Celebrate Green, Sommer from Green and Clean Mom, and Karen from EcoKaren and EcoEtsy. I was also excited to see Candace the owner of GROOVY GLOBE (how could I not love this business?) who sells some pretty awesome eco apparel, which I will be reviewing very soon! I’m looking forward to getting to know the three sisters who created Bebo Naturals organic baby food line. Check out our family photo-it was pretty windy that day so my hair is looking a bit out of control.

Moms Share Their Wishes

Thanks to Jenn over at Mother Nature Network for putting together a great roundup of what mom’s really want for Mother’s Day (mine’s included!).  What do you really want this Mother’s Day?

It’s Party Time!

Looking for a way to party? The non-profit, Women’s Voices for the Earth has developed the “Green Momma Party Guide,” which has everything you need to host a great party and make a green house detox fun, rather than a chore.  Moms and moms-to-be can sign up for parties online and download the guide for free to get non-toxic tips for each room in the house recipes that have been pre-tested by parents and verified by scientific experts, and more.

Happy Mother’s Day! How are you celebrating the day?

[Photo used under Creative Commons by D. Sharon Pruitt/Flickr]

Welcome to Green Questions, Groovy Answers-your opportunity to get your pressing green questions answered each week.

This week’s question comes from a Twitter fan, Ashley (@AEB624) in Boston. Thanks Ashley!

Are there any eco-friendly alternatives to using plastic wrap?

Plastic wrap has been around for generations, preserving leftovers and keeping food from becoming stale. Unfortunately, our convenient, handy plastic wrap is made from a form of plastic called low-density polyethylene (LDPE). After we use plastic wrap it ends up in our overflowing landfills and takes forever to decompose.

If you’re looking for a simple way to green up your kitchen- swapping out your plastic wrap for a more environmentally friendly option is an easy change. There are quite a few plastic wrap alternatives out there. Take a look at these non-toxic plastic wrap replacements:

Glass food storage containers

Glass containers (with a top that a seals well) works well for storing leftovers.  In our fridge it’s very important to have a see through container since the leftover situation can sometimes get out of hand.

Glass storage canning jars

Don’t reach for the plastic wrap – put your soups, stews and other foods in a glass storage jar. They are air tight and reusable and a great way to preserve your food.

Abeego Flats

Abeego Flats are made from hemp and cotton fabric and comes in a few different sizes. The warmth of your hands combined with pressure causes the flat to form tightly around the item to be stored. The best part: hand wash your flat in cold, soapy water and air dry.

I haven’t tried them out, but my friend Alicia over at The Soft Landing wrote a review.

Cloth or towel

A cloth or towels are perfect for fresh produce. I gently wrap my produce from our CSA in a cloth or kitchen towel and place it in the refrigerator. Cloth can also be used over the top of a bowl. Just add a rubber band and your container is virtually airtight.  No need for any plastic.

Reusable sandwich and snack bags

Don’t wrap those sandwiches in Saran. Use a reusable sandwich bag to keep those sandwiches fresh on their way to school.

Nothing at all

Could you, would you leave some leftovers on a plate and put them in the fridge without plastic wrap?  I’m guessing there are quite a few things that end up covered in plastic wrap that don’t really need to be covered at all. Think twice before wrapping.

Can you think of any other plastic wrap alternatives?

[Photo used under Creative Commons from dvs/Flickr]

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Linked up with Natural Mothers Network