The Parent Station ~ Hobbies & Leisure - Parents & Friends Connect at the Station!

Vegan Living
Become a Successful Vegan with Smart Food Substitutions
"Though the reasons may vary, veganism is on the rise. Some do it for health reasons, other do it for environmental reasons while still others do it for ethical reasons. Regardless of what your reason is, going from a cuisine that includes meats and dairy to one that is devoid of any animal produced substance can be extremely hard. While some of us may be able to go cold turkey, most of us need to be weaned off our habits and this includes meat and dairy. Here are some great ways to start working towards a completely vegan cuisine."

Cooking
Seven Tips for Successful Crockpot Creations
"Everyone today is so busy, with two worker households and the kids involved in numerous extra-curricular activities, many people are turning to "slow cookers" or crockpots to prepare nutritious and delicious family dinners."

Cats
Litter Box Choices
"With the increasing popularity of cats as pets, there have been many developments in the accessories we can get to help make their lives, and ours, much happier and more convenient. Litter boxes, for example, have come a long way from the simple, plastic rectangle filled with plain old sand. Now you can find boxes in many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as other litter disposal and handling mechanisms and systems."

Paranormal Ponderables
Paranormal - What Happens When We Die?
"Have you ever wonder what happens when you die? Well your not alone peole have been wondering this since the beginning of time & probably long before. Any answer to this question is theoretical at best. Why you ask? Because no one has ever died and returned to the mortal world with the memory of what it was like on the other side. There has however been a lot of conjecture as to what happens when we die."

Book Excerpts
Excerpt from Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Toddlers and Preschoolers
"If you've been looking for a fun and loving way to help your children learn and improve their development, look no further than Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Toddlers and Preschoolers. New studies show that young kids learn best through play and need at least 30 minutes of structured physical activity each day. There's no better way to engage your child than through the simple practice of yoga."

Green Living
Ten Ways to Green Your Home and Family
"We use a lot of energy in our daily lives, for heating, cooling, lighting, appliances and transportation. There are many ways to save energy and money by making a few simple changes."

Green Living
Organics Goes Beyond the Food We Eat
This is a special .pdf document about the benefits of going organic. You can click on the link and save the document to your computer, or you can right click and save the document from there.

Holiday Planning & Celebrations
Memorable Quotes About Mom
This pdf file lists some very heartfelt and memorable quotes about mom. You could use these quotes to create your own memorable gift to your mom this Mother's Day! You can right-click the file and save to your desktop or click the link to open in a new window.

Bird Watching
Hummingbirds - Watch These Amazing Birds Raise Their Family
"The name brings smiles to our faces. Hummingbird. You smile and can imagine this tiny bird darting from flower to flower, hovering in space, in its iridescent splendor. Every year we sit on the patio and watch as several males establish their territories in our backyard birding areas. There always seems to be one who thinks all the feeders are for him and him alone. After a while, it seems like a well laid battle plan. One hummingbird feeds while another draws the bully away - over and over again."

Holiday Planning & Celebrations
How to Make an Easter Egg Candy Bowl
"Easter is the one time of the year we can have chocolate and not feel guilty. So why not make nice and colorful decoration for your Easter table this year? Using fresh flowers, medium and small Easter eggs you could create a beautiful centre piece. The bonus with a centre piece like this is not only does it look good but bits of it are edible."

Gardening
Garden Pests
"If we could garden without any interference from the pests which attack plants, then indeed gardening would be a simple matter. But all the time we must watch out for these little foes little in size, but tremendous in the havoc they make."

Coffee
Coffee - A Safe, Healthy Beverage
"One of the nation's leading authorities on nutrition said most people would not have expected him to write this, but this is what he wrote in one of his books, "Coffee is a remarkably safe beverage. Its dubious health history, which stretches back hundreds of years, is more image than substance."

Book Reviews
Baby Signing for the Younger and Older Child
"When my son was born, I knew nothing about baby signing. The older he got, the more I started seeing topics on the internet about the benefits of baby signing. As mothers, we want our children to be the smartest, most intelligent child on the block. However, I thought I had cheated him out of this language skill because I didn't start him as soon as I could have. Then I was introduced to Baby Signing 1-2-3 by Nancy Cadjan, and to my surprise, it really doesn't matter when you begin baby signing because children of all ages will benefit from the use of ASL (American Sign Language)."

Book Reviews
No, I Love YOU More!
"My four year old refers to I Love You More as "the magic book" and he's been wanting to read it every night since it made its way into our home. Plus, as a mother I get to read him a feel-good story that leaves me knowing that he truly understands just how much I love him. That's the best feeling to give a child before bed, and that's exactly whatI Love You More delivers!"

Home Decorating
Basic Interior Design Principles for Everyday Use in Your Home
"All of these basic principles are used every day by designers all over the world. They are all necessary and often interdependent on each other. When a room fails one or more of these concepts is at fault. Often we can walk into a room, even one we have never been in before and notice that something feels off. This can be a subconscious reaction or very obvious. If you were to use these basic principles as a template for the room, you would easily uncover the problem."

Scrapbooking
Get Started in Scrapbooking-It's Easier Than You Think
"Scrapbooking is so much fun – everyone is doing it – and if you haven't started yet, you don't know what you are missing. Have you noticed all the scrapbook supplies they have in the stores? With the advancements in digital photography allowing you to modify and print your own pictures, there has never been a better time to get started in scrapbooking. Fresh ideas have never been so easy to come by, thanks to the internet. So, if you're feeling overwhelmed by it or don't know how to start, read on."

Tea
White Tea Quality - Tasting The Difference
"White tea has caught the wide attention of tea lovers, nutritionists, and scientists. The many studies indicating that white tea is rich in anti-oxidants, anti-viral and anti-bacterial benefits, are leading more people to drink white tea. Along with the increasing demand, more brands and even tea producing countries are now offering white tea. But it is important to understand that there are great differences in quality among the many brands that offer white tea products."

Photography
Night Photography: Photographing The Moon In The Landscape
"Photographers have been trying to utilize the light of the moon in their landscape photography ever since the photographic process was invented. It was not until World War II, however, that technology had improved enough to make night photography possible. Today, despite technological advances, knowing the phase of the moon during a nighttime photography shoot is important as it will affect everything from the type of equipment that you'll need to the actual composition of your photos. When embarking on a night photography trip, there are standard types of equipment that you will need to take with you."