More on Healthy Air for the Holidays

If you are lucky enough to have a wood burning fireplace...

Remember to
1. Only burn dry seasoned hardwoods like oak, hickory, and ash.
2. Avoid soft woods like pine and cedar.
3. Avoid wet wood and any treated or painted wood.
4. Never burn plastics, cardboard, garbage, magazines, etc.
This will minimize the effects of toxic chemicals from your wood burning fireplaces this holiday season.

For those of you without a fireplace you can still enjoy the beauty of candles! Get several large pillar candles of varying heights and place them on a flat surface. Make sure to burn soy or beeswax candles- they are cleaner and gentler on the environment, but are every bit as beautiful and fragrant. Plus, they last longer!

Enjoy Healthier Air During the Holidays

From Healthy Child, Healthy World

To perfume the air with a holiday fragrance, simmer spices such as cinnamon sticks and whole cloves - Special scents create a festive holiday mood. However, scented candles, incense, air fresheners and other fragrance products are filled with chemical cocktails that can pollute indoor air, causing headaches, fatigue and other symptoms.

Fresh air helps keep the holidays healthy - Even though it may be cold outside, remember to crack the windows a bit each day to let fresh air in and polluted air out. Chemicals, smoke and soot build up indoors if there's no place for them to go. Healthier Indoor Air has more tips on keeping your air "fresh" for the holidays

As you cozy up to the fireplace this winter, remember that particles and gases from fires can make breathing difficult, especially for asthmatics. Make sure you ventilate well. Dry wood burns hotter and cleaner than "green" wood and hardwoods are better than coniferous trees, or evergreens. (That includes your Christmas tree, which is better off recycled.) For more tips, see How To Build a Safer Fire. Note: Fires also emit carcinogens, so keep fires to a minimum.

Learn more about how you can have a healthier holiday season at Healthy Child Healthy World.

My First Year as a Stroller Strides Franchise Owner!

November marks my 1 yr anniversary as a Stroller Strides franchise owner! When I started going to class, my 2nd was 8 wks old, I was on leave and was struggling with being at home. I needed to get out of the house but there were so many reasons to stay in. I was feeling overwhelmed and alone. Through Stroller Strides, I found friends that could relate and a great workout my kids and I loved! I returned to work after 3 months but childcare for 2 kids was so expensive we couldn't make ends meet. And I missed my little guys! When I heard that Karen, the current owner, was selling the franchise I jumped on the opportunity. It was the best decision I could have made! Now I can focus on my kids while contributing to the household, I am passing on a love of health to my children and I am making a difference in other mom’s lives, just as Karen had made a difference in mine when Ethan was 8 weeks old. With the support and the education given by Stroller Strides, I have become a leader in my mom community, so different from the lonely mom that existed just 1 year ago. I now have such a sense of accomplishment, confidence, peace and purpose! Thanks Stroller Strides for this wonderful opportunity- I can’t wait to see what year 2 has to offer!