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« Previous EntriesRally for Recess with Danimals
Monday, September 12th, 2011I have to admit something right now. When I was teaching, recess duty was one of my least favorite parts of the day. You see, recess meant heading outside with the kids, often freezing while they ran around and got rid of some much needed energy. Living in the northeast, even on those cold and snowy days, we were outside. There were only certain temperatures and wind chills that would keep us inside. On those days, I could see the importance of recess. It was a time for the kids to run, play, and get stresses out. They would walk around the track and chat with buddies, or chase each other around and climb on a playground. It really didn’t matter what they did – it was their free time to move their bodies before heading back inside to work for the rest of the afternoon.
Now, as the parent of two children in school, I watch to see if they have recess every day. In addition to this, I want to know if they will have PE and or time in the gross motor room (that’s the preschool indoor room). I know the days that my older son has PE. He seems more focused and still adores learning to play sports and I hope he keeps this throughout his lifetime.
When I received an e-mail from Mom Central telling me about the new Danimals ‘Rally for Recess’ Blog Tour, I immediately signed up. If I could help to spread the word about this great project they have I wanted to. We were sent a giftcard to purchase our own Danimals products. I would share a picture, but, well, they gobbled the Smoothies before I was able to get a photo.
So what do you do?
- Purchase specially marked Danimals products that have codes on them.
- Sign up online and enter codes for credit
- Help your school earn the most points in their league
The top five schools will win a $20,000 playground makeover and ultimate recess day. There are also instant prizes and other details available on the Rally for Recess website. The programs runs through February 8, 2012. You can find codes on Danimals packaging (or free by mail) to enter and register schools online. The top school in each of the five categories (based on size) with the most codes registered wins!
Be sure to tell your school about this opportunity. With recent budget cuts, they can use your help to try to revamp their recess equipment. Lots of families probably purchase Danimals for yogurt snack options and can take a few moments to register their school for possible prizes. Imagine the smile on the faces of the children if your school wins the big prize.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Danimals and received a gift card to facilitate my review. In addition to this, I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate. All opinions are 100% mine and in no way influenced.
Lucky to Have Friends Like You – Movie Fun
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011I wish we were able to go to the movies to see films when they are on the big screen. The reality is that we can not afford to do this too often given the price of a movie experience. Of course, this does not stop us from having a family movie night. We are able to make our own Whirly Pop Popcorn, curl up on the couch, and watch a rented DVD. It’s all about family time. Now thanks to a Global Influence campaign (see my disclosure below), I have some fun news to share with you.
Details about the Lucky to Have Friends Like You from Redbox:
From today to St. Patrick’s Day (Thursday, March 17th), Redbox is giving everyone a chance to receive as many free one night movie rentals as you can. What’s the catch? Nothing more than telling your friends and family via spreading the word about the fun.
How does it work?
- Sign up at www.redbox,com/luckyus
- Redbox will e-mail you a unique web address for your referrals.
- Each time someone reserves a movie online through your unique web address, you will get a credit for a one-night DVD rental FREE.
- If your friend has never reserved a Redbox DVD online before, they will also receive a credit for a free one-night rental.
- Please note that rental credits are valid for 10 days after they are deposited into your account. This means you can have quite a nice movie filled March.
So what are you waiting for? Head on over to score some free movie nights with your family and friends. Then spread the lucky news by e-mailing it, posting to Facebook, and sending Tweets to everyone you know.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post from Global Influence and Redbox. For sharing this information, I will be receiving compensation.
Living with Epilepsy
Sunday, December 5th, 2010Seizures scare me. There are no other words for how I feel about watching someone seize. As a mother, I have seen it many times. Both of my boys have had febrile seizures. NHL (7) had one at 11 months old. At three and a half, JSL has already had four and is susceptible to more because of his young age and tendency toward them.
My heart breaks for people that have epilepsy and must battle seizures within their everyday lives. I can not even imagine having epileptic seizures or caring for someone that does. It is because of this that I signed up for a blog tour from Mom Central to show my support of the new HealthyWomen.org “Women Succeeding with Epilepsy” campaign.
HealthyWomen.org knows that many people are living with epilepsy and/or caring for someone (possibly a child) that has it. Thanks to this, they have created an area on their web site that highlights a video series about Women Succeeding With Epilepsy.
Navigating life with epilepsy can present many challenges, particularly for women. Whether a woman has epilepsy or cares for a loved one, she often has to balance epilepsy with her responsibilities as a mother, wife and healthcare decision maker for the family.
The "Women Succeeding with Epilepsy" video series highlights the stories of two women who are living well with epilepsy. Their stories will both educate and inspire you.
The website has a tip sheet that you can print called 10 Tips for Supporting Someone Living With Epilepsy. The tip sheet also points people to Epilepsy Advocate web site.The videos of women living with epilepsy in their lives are powerful. The one with Amy W about how her son Spencer and his diagnosis at three hit hard. It reminded me of how I felt when my little one had his first seizure and how the time after can often be worse to watch. Amy W does two other videos about helping your child to succeed with epilepsy, along with living beyond epilepsy. Spencer is now 11 and Amy shares her experience as an advocate for a child with epilepsy.
If you know someone with Epilepsy, I highly recommend looking over some of the resource within the HealthyWomen web site. This website is also a great place for people that are newly diagnosed to seek support and information.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of HealthyWomen’s “Women Succeeding with Epilepsy” sponsored by UCB, Inc. and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Flushable Moist Wipes
Sunday, November 7th, 2010For over seven years now, wiping the rear ends of my children has been part of my daily routine. When we potty trained my oldest son, over five years ago, we knew that we needed to look into some moist flushable wipes. The products available at the time were far from the ones available now. At that time, they were fruit scented, thin, and did not have much wiping potential if you know what I mean.
Fast forward to when we started potty training my youngest son this summer. Now there were moist wipes made for adults. No longer did I have to worry about fruity smells after helping my little guy in the bathroom. One of the products that I bought was the Cottonelle brand Flushable Moist Wipes. These are made to help adult, and kid tushies feel fresher and cleaner than plain TP. We tried these out and really liked them. They were thick, had just the right moisture (not too dry – not bubbling with suds like some brands), and did not have a kiddy scent associated with them. ,
I know, this is an odd topic to talk about. Let’s face it, we all wipe our rears and as a parent many of us help wipe other deririeres.
When Mom Central asked me to participate in their Cottonelle brand Flushable Moist Wipe tour, I signed up since we had already used them. I was happy to share our experience, along with give some information about their current Get Fresh With a Friend campaign. Since this campaign started in September, they have sent out over half a million samples of their product. Another way of looking at it is they have given away 15,000 wipes per minute!
About the Cottonelle brand Flushable Moist Wipes:
With a Pop-Up® Tub for single-sheet dispensing, Cottonelle Fresh® Flushable Moist Wipes remove what dry toilet paper leaves behind. Cottonelle® brand provides a shower-fresh feeling that leaves you confidently clean every day.
And now, it’s never been easier to get hooked on Cottonelle Fresh® Flushable Moist Wipes, thanks to the Cottonelle EasyReach™ hanger with Command™ brand strips from 3M for damage-free hanging. With Command™ strips’ strong hold, the EasyReach™ hanger stays where you put it.
Get a hanger free with every tub of Cottonelle Fresh® Flushable Moist Wipes for a limited time in specially marked packages.
I know that we will continue to purchase the Cottonelle brand Flushable wipes. After all, you never know when you may need that extra little bit for the kids or adults in the house to feel fresh and clean.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of the Cottonelle brand and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate. As mentioned in the review, we had already been paying consumers of this product and will continue to. All opinons expressed are 100% mine and not influenced by the blog tour.
Bing and the Our School Needs program
Thursday, October 7th, 2010Right now, budgets are extremely limited in schools. At my son’s school, nurse teachers were cut, librarians let go, and many programs slashed. Thanks to this and other local issues, the school has been on the chopping block year after year. Below is a photo of my son last year at a rally to save his school (something no child should ever need to go to).
Our school is currently trying to implement a gifted and talent program for students that need to advance in their studies and have enrichment. The problem – no money. Parents like myself are trying to help and research items to use in the school that are cost-effective and will not burden the teachers any more than they already are. It is a very trying time to say the least, especially as the parent of a child that needs this programing.
Our PTA works hard to supplement the school with field trips, speakers and other programs for the students. Together, as a team, we work to better the educational experience for our children. I have to admit that we are very lucky that we have a groups of parents that genuinely care and come into the school to volunteer their time. This year, I am hoping to assist more in the classrooms as well. As a certified reading teacher, I hope to volunteer and help children that need a little more help with their literacy skills. With my little guy in nursery school a few days, I can do this and it always feels amazing to see the twinkle in a child’s eyes when they have an "ah-ha" moment.
So what can we do to help our school? First, go to your school join the PTA, ask your child’s teacher or principal how you can help. Perhaps sending in extra classroom supplies, working in the lunch room, or assisting with another item would help. Of course, companies like Bing are trying to help. Bing just announced their "Our School Needs" program. Here is a video about the submission process for the program.
General info about Our School Needs:
How the Our School Needs Contest Works
We want to hear from teachers and students about what their school needs most. Look around your school and think about how it would benefit from winning $100,000.
What To Do
Students can work in groups, classes, or even school-wide to write an essay and take pictures finishing the sentence "Our School Needs: ___________." To enter:
- Write an essay (500 to 800 words)
- Take pictures (3 to 5 photos)
- Film a video (not required, but fun! Maximum of 3 minutes in length)
Who Can Enter
Any student or teacher from a K-12 school can enter. While students under 18 are encouraged to create the entry, a parent, legal guardian or a teacher must submit it.
What Could Our School Win?
Bing will award a quarter-million dollars, divided among four schools—$50,000 to three first-prize winners, and one $100,000 grand prize.
Categories
Schools will be broken out into 3 categories, K-6, 7-9 and 10-12. The top-voted entry in each category will be awarded a first prize of $50,000. The entry that receives the largest number of overall votes during the voting phase will receive the grand prize of $100,000.
To read more information about the Bing My School Needs contest, please go to their web site. I know that I will be forwarding this to my son’s school in hopes that we can apply and ease some of the yearly fears about keeping our school open and programs within it. Don’t forget, the last day to enter is Friday, October 22!
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and received a DonorsChoose.org giving code and a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Smucker’s Uncrustables to the rescue
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010Swim lessons, school clubs/events, and Hebrew School often mean late dinners where we need to have something quick that the kids will eat. The little guy is especially fussy. Last year while shopping, I saw a grilled cheese Uncrustables variety that we bought. These are great for quick meals at home, but not on the go. Thanks to Mom Central, I heard about the new Smucker’s Uncrustables and signed up for their Blog Tour.
We received a coupon and bought a package of the new PB and grape jelly on whole wheat Uncrustables. I think we would have preferred the ones with strawberry jelly, or perhaps the PB and honey. Still, the grape jelly ones were good. I liked that they were easy to prepare and contain trusted ingredients for my family.
I can already see us getting a package and tossing them in the car for our amusement park trips. It will be a nice easy, cost effective lunch on the go. Since they will defrost while going, they are perfect for road trips and even brown bagging field trip lunches for school. I know we will be buying these again in the future.
We were also sent a coupon for a new product from Smucker’s called Snack’n Waffles.
We have not been able to find these locally yet, but I hope to soon. The waffles are ready in 15 seconds in the microwave and come in the four varities above. Once we try them, I promise to update.
Thank you Smucker’s for helping to make family life a little easier with some items that are convenient for families on the run.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Smucker’s and received products necessary to facilitate my review. In addition to this, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate. All opinions are 100% mine and in no way influenced.
Engage young Scientists with KNOW magazine
Sunday, September 19th, 2010Early on in life, I was fascinated with all things related to science. I was lucky that my mother, a biology major in college, engaged us in experiments at home, trips to science museums and ordering magazines. My fifth grade teacher was also a HUGE science buff. He spurred not only my desire to do bigger and better science fair projects, but to become a teacher.
For months now, TechyDad and I have been looking for just the right magazine for our son. NHL just turned 7 and is always asking questions about the world around him. He wants to know why items look the way they do and how machines work. When Mom Central introduced me to a new science magazine for children called KNOW (A Mad Science Publication), I immediately signed up for the blog tour. The teacher in me wanted to see this new and fun looking resource for elementary ages children.
More about KNOW Magazine:
Geared to children 6 to 9, KNOW Magazine provides kids with age-appropriate articles, fun science and technology facts, games, puzzles, and experiments. With six issues per year all free of outside advertising, the magazine covers everything from dinosaurs and animals, to the solar system and the human body to keep kids engaged year-round. The magazine’s educational focus combines learning and entertainment in a way Moms can feel good about.
Right now, the publishers of KNOW magazine are allowing people to download a free copy of the September/October issue of the magazine. You can obtain your own copy, like I did, from their website. A one year subscription (6 issues) can be purchased for $26, and for older children there is also YES Mag.
What I thought:
As a parent and teacher, I adored exploring the free copy of KNOW magazine with my son. We were both drawn to the article about the glass frog. NHL and I both liked the crisp, detailed photos with this and other articles. Too many times, children’s magazine have less than average pictures. The Shapes and Patterns issue was chock full of information that was developmentally appropriate for children in the target 6-9 year audience. The featured theme section about A World of Shape and Pattern had a wealth of information. Rather than explain it, I encourage you to download the magazine yourself to learn about stripes, spots, fractals and even Fibonacci! NHL has asked to read more of the magazine together and is curious what will be in the November/December issue that we will be receiving down the road.
Another nice item to note, KNOW magazine is not filled with constant ads for toys and other items. Children do reviews of science related books, but only a small page is sectioned off to introduce people to products and classes from Mad Science. The magazine is interactive and allows children to help out with monthly projects like "Comic Captions" within the publication. Some of the articles may be short, but they are a great diving point to encourage children to research more about topics that they are interested in, while exposing them to many new and wonderful science related items.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Mad Science and received the products necessary to facilitate my review. In addition to this, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate. All opinions are 100% mine and in no way influenced.
Meet the Divas – Twitter Edition w/Giveaway
Monday, August 23rd, 2010On our bus ride back to the airport from the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration in February, I saw several familiar faces. Among them were Cecelia and Bridgette. Then I realized that I not only knew them from their blogs and recent venture, they were the ones that had won a night IN Cinderella’s Castle. There they were holding the key, a glass slipper and sharing their magical memories with us.
We talked briefly about their new adventure with the Double Duty Divas. In August of 2009, while at BlogHer in Chicago, they decided to start this project together. To learn more about the Divas head over here.
When I arrived home from Disney, I went to the Double Duty Divas website and signed up to be a part of the group. While at BlogHer in NYC, I was supposed to go for a few minutes to meet up with the other Divas for coffee at Starbucks. Unfortunately, I had a prior commitment and was not able to get there in time. I was in one session with the ladies and Tweeted to them from the front of the room, but never got a chance to say hello.
One of the fabulous things about the Divas is they share with the community of bloggers. An example of this is going on right now!
Meet the Divas Twitter Edition
To help others to see who the Divas are within Twitter, the fabulous Double Duty Divas are having a Blog Tour promoting everyone on Twitter. So why not join in the fun? If you do, you have a chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card (Note: one winner will be randomly selected from all participating blogs).
From the Divas: This is a Twitter only giveaway since Twitter followers is our main focus. Readers can use this link to follow the participating Divas with one click. When you click the link and are in the TweepML site, you can uncheck individual Divas to not follow.
So, if you are a member of Twitter and want to have some fun, meet new people and have a chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card click on over and follow some of the other amazing Double Duty Divas. Leave me a comment with three members of the Divas that you are following on Twitter along with your Twitter name – it’s that easy!
Extra chances:
Since this is a collaborative giveaway you can get extra chances by going to other Divas blogs and entering at their posts. Come on back here and let me know where you entered for another entry. Please leave a comment for each comment on another bloggers post with a link. You may do this each time.
You may also Tweet the following for an addition entry: #Win a $20 Amazon GC from @DoubleDutyDivas Twitter follow. Open to everyone. @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/cxPMEx #DDDivas
This opportunity will end on September 2, 2010 at 10:59 EST, so I have time to forward the entries to the head Divas to be included in the prize drawing. Good luck, have fun and happy Tweeting!
Breakfast fun with Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010I will admit it, breakfast in our house can be a bit crazy, especially when my oldest is at school. TechyDad is busy getting ready for work, NHL is eating breakfast before school and JSL is usually refusing to anything/everything we ask him to eat. Some mornings, it is cereal, breakfast bars, waffles or even yogurt. It really depends on what we have and how much time is left before running out the door.
When I was asked by Mom Central to try the new Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas, I jumped at the opportunity. Both of my kids love pizza, they like Eggo products and it was a chance to get them to eat a little fruit.
More about Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas:
A new morning delivery from Kellogg is warming up the frozen food aisle. As breakfast products such as cereal, snack and energy cars, fruit and yogurt are gaining popularity, this unique and flavorful introduction is giving breakfast enthusiasts a tasty breakfast option. New Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas combine all your great-tasting favorite breakfast items into one delicious offering
Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas are an all-in-one combination of fruit and warm toasted granola on an oven-baked cinnamon and maple-flavored crust. Available in Strawberry Granola and Mixed Berry Granola varieties, Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas join other Eggo favorites like Homestyle, Buttermilk and Blueberry Eggo waffles – all part of a great-tasting family of products that consumers have loved for years
Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas after just one minute in the microwave. The Strawberry Granola has 400 calories and the Mixed Berry Granola 390 – both made with real fruit. They are now available in the freezer section of the grocery stores. One item I noted in particular, they also contain 4 grams of fiber in each pizza.
What we thought:
Both of the boys were very excited about having Eggo Pizza for dinner one night. We often do breakfast for dinner, so why not let them try this one night?! NHL kept watching us as we prepared the pizza. He wanted to see them before and after they went into the microwave. This is what he saw:
When we put them onto the table to split for the boys, NHL ran over and took his place. Then it was time to get the three year old who often refuses to each anything/everything we make. He looked at the table and saw this:
The large amounts of fruit that NHL, TechyDad and I saw as a fabulous perk sent him screaming from the table. He chanted "Me no eat pizza!" *sigh* That left us with NHL having it for dinner and the two adults snacking on some with him. Here are some photos of NHL as he was devouring the fruit pizzas. Please excuse the goofy shots, he was trying to make me laugh as I was taking the photos and it worked nicely.
NHL thoroughly enjoyed his Eggo Real Fruit Pizza halves. I was lucky I snapped pictures quickly because they disappeared before I blinked. When asked which was his favorite, he said strawberry since they are his favorite fruit. I asked if he would like them again and he immediately wanted to know if we had more in the freezer.
Since JSL was not eating his, TechyDad and I both were able to sample his part of the Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas. I really liked the taste of the fruit, granola and "sauce" (not sure if it was yogurt or a strawberry cream cheese). With the strawberry variety you really could taste all of the different flavors coming together to make this unique breakfast option. Although I liked the Mixed Berry Pizza, I thought that the tart raspberry presence was a bit overwhelming.
Verdict: We would definitely buy these again. I like that they are easy to make and have real fruit and four grams of fiber in them. Next time I am at the store and see them, I will grab a few for NHL with the hopes that JSL actually tries them next time.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Eggo Real Fruit Pizza and received samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central will also be sending me a $20 Amazon gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.
The Mommy Moment (aka The moment I knew)
Thursday, July 8th, 2010Do you remember that moment? You know, the moment you saw the line on the pregnancy test and knew that you were having a baby. I remember both times pretty well.
Let me take you back to the end of December 2002. TechyDad and I had just gotten back from Las Vegas and were upset to learn that our digital camera had been stolen from our backpack while we were in the Pittsburgh airport coming home. We went to bed that night furious about the memories of Cows on Parade that were gone. Still, we both knew that the next morning our lives may change. We had bought a pregnancy test and I planned to use it first thing in the morning when I woke up.
At about 5 in the morning, I woke TechyDad up and told him that I had to use the bathroom. Unlike my usual self, I was having to make pretty frequent trips to the restroom. My teacher bladder had gone out the window, making us curious if I was indeed pregnant. So we went into the bathroom and I did my thing with the stick. We walked out and waited. When we both went back into the bathroom to check, we were greeted with a plus sign! We never took photos of that positive sign, but we did make calls to relatives at that early hour. We also made a special book of sonogram photos of NHL as he grew from a little bean shape into the little guy who would be born.
At the end of August 2006, just before I was heading back to teaching, I had a feeling that I was pregnant. We had bought a kit of ovulation and pregnancy tests to use. One morning, I left the bed and went into the bathroom while TechyDad still slept. I did the test and hardly had to wait. Within seconds I saw the following:
Yes, I took a picture later on. I planned to use this picture to e-mail to family and friends to announce that we were expecting our second little one. I did and it was fun seeing/hearing/reading their reactions. After I saw the positive test, I ran into the bedroom and woke TechyDad up telling him he was going to be a Daddy again! Over the next nine months, we took photos of me pregnant and kept the sonogram photos of the little guy who looked like this once he arrived on the scene.
What did you keep, document, or take photos of when you were expecting? Did you take a photo of your pregnancy test, or dare I ask . . . do you still have it? Yes, I’m serious. Apparently, people keep their positive pregnancy tests as keepsakes. When Mom Central asked people to sign up to tell people about our Mommy Moments, I signed up because it sounded like fun. As my baby days are behind me, I still cherish that time in my life.
Mom Central also let me in on the pregnancy test keeping thing. I had never heard of this before (I’m naive I guess) and E.P.T. is making it easier for those that want to keep their pregnancy test memories for years to come.
Yes, if you go to the e.p.t.. website you can read about their keepsake case and products. Here is a little more information:
According to a recent survey commissioned by the makers of e.p.t. brand, the top three pregnancy keepsakes are ultrasound photos, items from the delivery day and at-home pregnancy tests. What’s more, 67% of expectant mothers saved their at-home pregnancy test – the first proof that they were pregnant – for reasons ranging from showing it to a partner to saving it as a poignant life-milestone keepsake. Now, e.p.t. offers women a commemorative Keepsake Case and scrapbook card to mark the life-changing occasion (available with a mail-in proof-of-purchase).
I guess I am in the minority since I never saved my test longer than to take a photo for later use. Am I sad about this? No, not really since I have the memories of those magical moments to last me along with my two beautiful little boys.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of e.p.t. keepsake case. I received a keepsake case to facilitate my review (willing to donate to anyone interested) and will also be receiving a $20 gift card to JustGive.org for my participation. I look forward to donating this to a great charity close to my heart.
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