Living Green with Your Kids | Don’t Just Stand There, Plant a Tree | Sophias Style | Louis Robinson

It is a pretty common school of thought that habits taught to your children when young, will translate into habits they practice when older. If we do our part to conserve the earth now with strong teachings of green living, we can knock out two goals at once, and I’m going to tell you how.

The first objective is to teach our kids strong conservation practices. Maybe you can start with something that will enrich the earth and your child’s mind. Get outside and plant a tree! Nebraska is the home of Arbor Day and we are all about increasing the amount of trees. Head to your local nursery and pick up a small tree that you and your children can plant together. Not only will you be doing something inventive and fun with your children, you will be doing your part to conserve the environment.

Other great outdoor activities range from the obvious sports and games, to some other not so obvious activities like nature camps and fun science projects. With spring finally here, you could start a leaf hunting project. Collect different types of leaves out at whatever local forests you can, and have them organize and identify them all.

The secondary goal of all this is to get kids up and more active. By providing them with fun and nature oriented activities, you are encouraging your children to get outside and be active! With the growing amount of overweight kids, it is more important now than ever before to encourage active healthy lifestyles!

Get online at http://www.sophiasstyle.com/ and check out all of our new girls spring clothes. Find new girls spring outfits and all just in time to send your kids outside in the sun!

Sophias Style Girls Clothing Store | Sophias Style Fit Tip

Mandy

As a fitness instructor I am always looking for great new articles, or learning fit tips from others that are involved in this industry. I came across this article and thought to share it with you all.

Sophias Style Fit Tip- Since fitness levels can be hard to measure, many schools and local YMCA's follow the President's Challenge, a federally supported program for kids ages six to 17, to gauge physical fitness in kids and motivate them to get fit. The challenge offers five assessment tests to measure a child's level of fitness in the areas of endurance, strength and flexibility. Through your child's school or on his own, she can win awards of achievement, active lifestyle, and more. Visit www.PresidentsChallenge.org to learn more. Encourage your child to practice to improve and reach the fitness targets for each test.

The Push-Ups Assessment Test:
This test measures your child's upper body strength. Have her lie on the floor, face down, hands under shoulders, fingers straight, knees bent (or straight). Instruct her to lift her body, keeping knees/toes on the floor until her arms are straight. Lower down until her elbows bend at 90-degrees to complete one rep. See how many she can do in a row.

Push-Ups Fitness Targets:
7-Year-Olds: Boys 8, Girls 8
10-Year-Olds: Boys 14, Girls 13
14-Year-Olds: Boys 24, Girls 10
17-Year-Olds: Boys 37, Girls 16

Article Courtsey of Family Health and Wellness By SparkPeople

Sophias Style | Swimming Lessons

Mandy

We are fast approaching the warmer season, a time to play outside! Most of you moms would probably agree that getting out and keeping busy is great, but how do you enjoy your time and keep your baby happy.

Enroll in swimming lessons with him or her. Because you are not able to just leave an infant in the hands of the swimming instructor you will have to take the lessons as well. This is a perfect time to bond with your baby and perhaps re learn those "swimming basics" that you may have forgotten.

You can expect very basic swimming techniques, such as blowing bubbles in the water, and the pre stages of floating. These lessons will help your little one start to feel comfortable in water. Of course you will have to wait until he or she is 6mos old before you begin, but keep in mind this is a great activity to do together while they are still young!
Shop SophiasStyle.com for girls swimwear at discount prices.

Easter Egg Decorating | Sophia's Style Boutique

Easter is coming!! The folks here at SophiasStyle.com are busy scrambling (pardon the egg pun) to get all the preparations ready for our Easter traditions. I was listening to everyone getting ready to color eggs, and it made me think about the other ways to decorate eggs that do not involve food coloring or vinegar! The cutest idea I found was in Parents Magazine. They call these Sheep-er by the Dozen. Fuzzy white baby socks and felt transform eggs into a fun flock.

What you'll need: Fuzzy white baby sock (0-6 months), scissors, tan felt, pink felt, tacky glue, two googly eyes, black embroidery floss, needle, two 1/2-inch white pom-poms.

Make it: Cut sock to 2 1/2 inches tall. Cut two outer ear pieces from tan felt and two inner ear pieces from pink felt using the templates. Glue the pink piece to the center of the tan piece and repeat for other ear. Once dry, glue ears to the sides of the sock, pink side down. Cut a circle 1 1/4 inches in diameter out of tan felt and glue to sock. Glue googly eyes on the circle and stitch an upper-case "Y" below the eyes with embroidery floss for the nose and mouth. Glue two 1/2-inch white pom-poms to the front bottom edge for the feet.

Make sure to try these for easy and fun Easter decorations. Also, make sure to visit SophiasStyle.com for that perfect girls Easter dress or accessory. Our customer service reps are here to help make your holiday fashion purchasing easy.
Courtesy of Parents.com.

Living Green | Green Giving | SophiasStyle.com | Louis Robinson

SophiasStyle.com definitely believes in the importance of charity work and the community. As a small company, it is not always easy to raise large amounts of funds or organize huge events without the help of people like you and partner companies. To find a way to give in the past we have sort of “banded together” in the office to donate diapers and clothes to local charities here in our hometown. I thought that, in addition to our own charity work, I could find ways to encourage others to give, and hopefully find green ways to do it.

The idea that I “came up with” was actually influenced by one of my favorite green sites, TheDailyGreen.com advertising used items on eBay. So I began thinking about all the children’s toys that use batteries, and have electric or computerized parts. If these items are thrown away in landfills, they can have a terrible impact on the environment. Why not give these items to charity? There are a lot of charities out there that accept used or slightly used items. The kids that are not fortunate enough to have them will love the toys, the environment will love not having the waste, and you will be teaching your kids valuable lessons they will keep forever!

Here is an interesting side note. A colleague of mine came across a super interesting article about a study on the environmental effects of e-commerce. To the extreme satisfaction of the folks here at SophiasStyle.com we discovered that the carbon footprint of e-commerce is 1/3 the size of traditional shopping methods. Of course the study done at Carnegie Mellon University is only preliminary but it could easily bode well for e-commerce and the planet.

Sophias Style Girls Clothing Store | Sophias Style Fit Tip

Mandy

It is a known fact that obesity has become a major issue for both children and adults today. As a certified aerobic instructor, and a firm believer in being active I encourage you this season to spring into shape!

Sophias Style Fit Tip- Make it appoint to incorporate some form of activity into your families daily routine. Be creative as walking can tend to become mundane and your children may view this as a chore. " We play washers in the backyard most nights in the spring and summer, my family decided to make this into a competition and we now look forward to getting out, being active, and spending time together," says Jennifer Wilson full time working mother of three.

Visit SophiasStyle.com and our trendy girls fashion blog on Tuesdays for our Living Healthy With Your Kids Sophias Style Fit tips. Provide us with more tips or comments on family fitness and be sure to also check out SophiasStyle.com a girls clothing store

Sophias Style | 5 Minutes of FUN For Babies and Toddlers

Mandy

If your children keep you busy and you need 5 minutes of free time, keep these quick ideas in mind. You can get your task accomplished and they will have fun while you work.

1. Give them a calculator, or old cell phone- the buttons are very enticing for young children and they always seem to be mesmerized by these simple everyday items.

2. Photo albums work well - they always like seeing old pictures of themselves, ie.. she will remember her favorite birthday dress and might recognize her cousins and friends too.

3. Let them clean- hand them a damp wash cloth and have them wipe off counters and tables "like mommy does." They will feel proud to help you.

4. Lay out a foam place mat and foam stickers. They will spent quite a bit of time sticking the sticker on and then pulling it off.

It does not always have to be a big deal the small things really do matter . Keep them smiling and you will be a much happier mommy too. Share some of your 5 minute activities or post a comment, we would love to hear from you.

Spring is coming soon; make sure to check out our new girls spring clothes arrivals. We have tons of beautiful new girls Easter dresses here and all at prices that will save you tons.

Courtesy of Parents; April 2008 : 100 ways to keep little kids happy

Planning That First Birthday Party-Invitations | SophiasStyle.com

Patricia
First birthday parties are lots of fun to arrange, especially because it's a party for yourself even more than it is your baby (but, don't tell anyone!). After all, your little prince or princess doesn't really understand what the whole ruckus is all about. While you're celebrating a year since giving birth, which in itself is an exhilarating occasion, you're also celebrating that your little tyke is moving forward (literally). The staff here at SophiasStyle.com is here to help make that first birthday party planning easy and less expensive. Let's chat about party invitations.

A diaper invitation is a great idea for first birthday parties. You simply would cut a piece of paper into a square, fold it in half to make a triangle and fold the corners of the triangle toward the center. This should look somewhat like a diaper. You can even add a real safety pin to hold the triangles. Wording the invitation can be a fun experience as well. You can write the invitation like a newspaper headline: "_______Just Turned One!!" You can also print on them a little story like "One year ago, on (date of birth) a little angel blessed our lives. We named her/him (baby's name). In the past year, she/he has learned so much...how to drink from a cup, feed herself/himself, crawl , almost walk, talk, laugh and love. Now, she/he is calling on her/his favorite friends and family to help celebrate a wonderful past year and big kick off for the next. Your presences is requested at the very first birthday party for (baby's name)". You can add the location, date and time. You can even photocopy or scan a picture into your invite. What a memorable keepsake this will be for family and friends. Make sure that you keep a few extra to put in her baby book. Who knows, maybe she'll use this idea for her child's first birthday!

Make sure to visit SophiasStyle.com for the perfect girls birthday dress. Our selection is outstanding, allowing you to dress your little girl in the perfect dress while still saving money.

Living Green with Your Kids | Greener Lunches Pt. 2 | SophiasStyle.com | Louis Robinson

So I don’t know anybody over at laptoplunches.com but I’m hoping a few of you checked out their awesome recycled lunch container. I thought about using one of them myself and making my co-workers at SophiaStyle.com “green” with envy (corny, I know)! Now that you are on your way to greener lunches with a new recyclable lunch box, and you’ve stopped buying those pre-made lunches for the kids, let’s talk about what to put in our box.

Kids love to get down and dirty and eat with their hands. And why wouldn’t they, it’s a completely natural and fun way to get your daily meals. A nice way to get them involved is to prepare lunches together, and make items that they can make and eat with their hands. Lunch wraps in organic tortillas are a perfect idea, and you can use the same foods you would put in your sandwiches normally. Try quesadillas or soft tacos, or you could even put the fixings for the sandwich in your re-usable container and have them put it together themselves once they get to the lunch room.

For clean-up, pack them a re-usable cloth napkin. Not only does it eliminate waste, it cuts down on the amount you have to spend on paper products from day to day. Make sure they bring it home to rinse and re-use and you also lower your impact on the school itself.

Spring is coming soon; make sure to check out our new girls spring clothes arrivals. We have tons of beautiful new girls Easter dresses here and all at prices that will save you some green!

Sophias Style | Fun Ideas For Rainy Days

Mandy

If you have any idea how hard it is to keep an active child busy during the day, especially when it is raining, than this is for you! Here are some simple things to put a smile on that little ones face during a not so sunny day.

1. Dress for the weather- play a game of make believe, and dress for all seasons. Have her lay out clothes and dress for fall, winter, spring, and summer. You can find great girls spring clothes at SophiasStyle.com.

2. Celebrate a new holiday- Polka Dot Day is always fun, or better yet I'm sure she has lots of pink in her closet. Have her put on a show in her latest girl clothes, whether it be pink or polka.

3. Go camping - That's right , set up camp in your living room. Grab the tent, sleeping bags and smores and stay out for the night.

The list can go on, be creative, spontaneous, and make it a family affair.

Courtesy of Parents; April 2008 : 100 ways to keep little kids happy

Kids Party Planning | Fun & Inexpensive Party Games | SophiasStyle.com

Patricia

Planning your child's birthday party can be stressful, both on the mind and the pocketbook. SophiasStyle.com knows that nowadays every cent counts. You want to have the most perfect party for them, but you still want to be able to enjoy it and not worry the whole time. There are a few key areas of a birthday party that need attention. Let's start off with games!

Think about it..you're going to have all of these kids in your house for say 2 hours. Let's make sure to have some fun activities planned, so these little munchkins are not destroying your house (and your nerves). Now, you can go all out and rent an inflatable bounce house or have some miniature ponies come make a visit. But, we're talking about saving money...those things are very expensive. There are inexpensive game ideas out there for every age group.

For infants and toddlers - make it simple. They love to play with things they can throw. Take a large box, paint it green and cut a large hole in the top. Then take some scrap fabric, sew a pocket and fill it with rice. Make sure you close that pocket up well (you can even use glue). Then have the toddlers toss the beanbag into the green box. You can always say you're feeding
the frog his dinner. Kids love this! You can award prizes (of course, each child would end up winning a prize eventually--to make things fair). Toddler girls love dress up. Visit a local thrift store and buy some cute costume or dress up pieces (boas, high heels, hats, costume jewelry, etc). You can have them dress up. It's hilarious to see what these little ones will come up with for their outfits. (Make sure to have your camera handy to capture those future high fashion models) You can save the dress up kits for a future rainy day, that way you don't feel like the investment would be just for a one use venture.

For younger children-they love crafts. You can put out construction paper, yarn, glue sticks, crayons and have them make cards for the birthday child, or do their own version of a self portrait. Something that works for most ages, except for the younger ones is a pinata. You can make one very easily from home. Click here for a site that gives you instructions. You can also buy one at your local discount store or party store. Buying the empty one is an inexpensive version, because you can pick what goes inside. It does not have to be all candy, it can be plastic rings, erasers, stickers, etc. You personalize it to match your party guests. All you do is grab a handkerchief from your drawer, a whiffle ball bat and clear the room while they're swinging. With some of the younger ones, you may need to "pre-split" the pinata for them. Just don't tell them that you did that!

These are just some ideas on planning that perfect and inexpensive birthday party. Check out SophiasStyle.com to find the perfect birthday dress and birthday hat, that will help to get the party started in style, while not breaking the bank to do it.

Living Green with Your Kids-Greener Lunches pt. 1 | SophiasStyle.com | Louis Robinson

Our little ones are the bright future of Mother Earth and if we set them up for success today, they can help keep this Earth in tip-top shape for years to come. SophiasStyle.com is making everyday changes to lower our impact on the environment, and one of our steps is to blog about living green. Fortunately, there are a ton of people out there on the same page (made from recycled paper of course!).


Laptoplunches.com is one of those people. They have come up with a simple idea that, if you think about, we used to do anyway. They have created a line of environmentally friendly lunch boxes with an emphasis on re-usable products and healthy lunches. The boxes are themselves recyclable and are completely lead free. They also include re-useable lunch and drink containers to cut down on waste, and a handy lunch guide to help you make more nutritious lunches.


So send your kids to school knowing that through simple everyday changes, you are shaping them today for a brighter future tomorrow. Check out SophiasStyle.com’s line of organic clothing and lower your impact through comfortable and fashionable wear.

First Communion Dresses | Sophia's Style Boutique

Patricia

It's been very busy here at Sophia's Style. What a fun season this is. Picking out that perfect First Communion Dress is a huge decision. We being the parents or grandparents may have the perfect dress in mind, but our little girls have a mind of their own. We may think something traditional and long in mind, they may pick out something off the shoulders and tea-length. The one thing that helps is our selection of dresses will help you in that decision making. We have a wide selection of First Communion Dresses that will please both the adult and the little girl. We have brands such as Lito, Rare Editions and US Angels that are boutique designers but we have them at discount prices. We know that this is a stressful time, coming together with a dress decision. Our consultants are here to help you through this. We also have a great selection of accessories like first communion veils, slippers and gloves. Plus, with our great return policy, if you get this home and she does not like it...no worries!!

Give us a call, we're here to help you through this special but stressful time. SophiasStyle.com is a great resource for planning for that First Communion or any special event.