*I have been compensated by Box Tops For Education for this post; however, I am sharing my own thoughts. All opinions are my own. When I was growing up, I used to visit my aunt's classroom whenever I had a day off from school. She was a Special Education teacher for twenty years and she loved taking me to her school and having me spend time with her students. It was during that time that I decided that I wanted to grow up and become a teacher. I fell in love with everything about teaching from sharpened pencils to writing on the blackboard. I have now been a teacher for the past eighteen years and, while I still love teaching as much as I did when I was a kid, I have realized that many schools are in need of valuable resources that are not always readily available due to budget constraints. As a result, we teachers will often supplement those materials that aren't available from our own money. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to provide all of the supplies that my … [Read more...]
Support Your Local School! @Walmart @BoxTops #BoxTopsatWalmart #BuyScanEarn #ad
Mommy Must Haves When You Have Big Kids #MommyMustHaves @Walmart #Ad
*I have been compensated by JOHNSON'S® Baby and AVEENO® for this post; however, I am sharing my own thoughts. All opinions are my own. Ever since my boys were babies, I have relied on JOHNSON'S® Baby products as part of their daily and bedtime routines. As infants, I used their baby lotion to massage their new skin and keep it hydrated and their baby wash to clean their delicate little fingers and toes. I remember sniffing them before laying them down to go to sleep and loving how fresh and clean they smelled. Fast forward to these days and both of my boys have grown into two handsome young men. My oldest just started high school this past Fall and my youngest is now in middle school. As a mom, I still continue to purchase the products that I love and trust for them to use. Just like when they were babies, I continue to rely on JOHNSON'S®, especially when it comes to taking care of their skin. My younger son tends to suffer from dry skin and will often complain that … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Beach Trip Packing List
Is your family beach bound soon? If so, you want to make sure you are well prepared! Packing for the beach can be tricky, because you might be in such a hurry to get out and go that you forget some essentials. To make sure you are well prepared for your next trip of sun and sand, look below at the ultimate beach trip packing list. This list will help you arrive to the beach well stocked and well prepared for anything you are likely to encounter! 1. Mini first aid kit. Cuts, scratches, and other minor injuries can occur when at the beach. Save yourself a trip to the life guard stand or searching for a band aid when you bring your own mini first aid kit. It is an easy way to deal with minor injuries fast. 2. Inflatables. Don’t forget water wings or vests for kids as well as any inflatables adults may wish to use. Carry an air pump in your trunk so you can easily inflate your items without having to blow them up by mouth. 3. Baby wipes or wet wipes. Hands can get … [Read more...]
Invite Your Kids Into The Kitchen! #BensBeginners @UncleBens #Ad
Many parents don't realize that, in these modern technological times, they are forgetting to teach their children valuable life skills that will allow them to be self-sufficient in the future. One of these skills that seems to have gone by the wayside is learning how to cook. If we, as parents, only provide meals for our kids but never invite them into the kitchen we are not helping them to be independent and prepare their own meals as adults. The mission of the Fourth Annual Ben's Beginners™ Cooking Contest is quite simply to encourage parents and kids to cook together. The contest provides a platform for parents with kids in grades K-8 to connect with their children one meal at a time by going to unclebens.com and submitting a three-minute home video of their family preparing a rice-based dish while discussing their experience cooking together. Five winners will win $15,000 each for their family and a $30,000 cafeteria makeover for their … [Read more...]
Make Your Kids Smile Every Morning! #CinnamonRollSaturday #CinnamonRollSunday @Pillsbury #Ad
I have a guilty confession to make, I don't have time to prepare breakfast in the morning on weekdays. Between being behind both of my boys to get ready to go to school, I have to leave extra early for my commute to work and so I will find parking near my job. If you have ever been to New York City you know what a challenge it can be to find a parking spot. As a result, I try to make sure that I spend special time with our boys on the weekend making and enjoying special breakfast treats. When I ask my sons every weekend what they want to eat for breakfast, their immediate response is always Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls. They love them and we have a great time putting the icing on them as soon as they come right out of the oven. I'm sure we should probably wait until they cool off but it's just so hard to hold back when the whole house is filled with the delicious smell of warm cinnamon. As a family, we really … [Read more...]
Join Us For Our After-School Snacking Adventure! #Snackation @Smuckers @Walmart #Ad
Recently, I shared with you all how our family headed to Walmart to shop for our after-school snack sampling adventure. We were inspired by Smucker’s® to come up with some delicious snacks for our boys to take with them to enjoy while they wait for me to pick them up from school after I get out of work. Of course, their first choice for what types of snacks we could make was anything containing peanut butter and jelly. In our home, we love Smucker’s® products. My boys had a great idea and told my husband and I that they wanted us to have a snack sampling adventure right at home where we make a variety of snacks and they taste them to choose their favorite. During our shopping trip to Walmart, we were able to pick up Smucker’s® jelly and JIF peanut butter and Whips. We also purchased Uncrustables and Goober spread. Having such delicious foods made it easy to come up with simple snack ideas that a Working … [Read more...]
Planning Our Snack Sampling Adventure With Smucker’s® #Snackation @Smuckers @Walmart #Ad
Last year, my brother and my sister in law picked up both of my boys and watched them until I got home from work. Since they recently moved to another state, our boys now have to stay in their school's after-school program for a little while and wait for me to pick them up after work. Recently, my younger son shared with me that he would like to be able to take special snacks to the program because he gets hungry after being in school all day. After speaking to him, I immediately knew that we would have to take a trip to our local Walmart to purchase some Smucker's® snacks to allow me to prepare some treats for both of them to take with them every day. Our family loves going to Walmart because they always have all of our favorite snacks at great prices. After all, now that my husband and I will be paying for the after-school program too, we appreciate being able to save the extra money. Of course, our first stop was … [Read more...]
Bring Families Back Together At The Dinner Table! #BillionDinners @BillionDinners #Ad
When my siblings and I were growing up, we would set the table every evening and sit down to eat dinner with our parents. During this time, we discussed how our day had gone with one another and engaged in discussion about a variety of topics. Now that I have my own family, my husband and I try to make sure that we eat together as a family daily but there are many distractions that we have to compete with. These days, we live in a technologically advanced society and it can sometimes be difficult to tear the kids away from their video games or tablets. Many families struggle with finding balance between using electronics and fostering meaningful communication with one another. Launching this week The Billion Family Dinners Challenge calls for busy Americans to re-connect at mealtime. Support for shared family meals has grown in recent years, with studies from leading researchers in family psychology finding … [Read more...]
Feeling Safer Away From Home Just Got Easier! @LifeFone #Giveaway #Partner
As many of you know, my nine year-old son was diagnosed with epilepsy this year. This has not been an easy journey because, as parents, we want to protect our children all the time from every potential danger. Unfortunately, that is not always possible when you are a Working Mom and your children attend school during the day. Not being able to protect him from having seizures at all times can be very frightening and difficult. LifeFone Mobile Alert and LifeFone Family Guard are enabling parents across the country to protect their children and families even when they are not physically together. Through the use of smartphone app enabled services, you can have access to a trained central station professional who can immediately alert First Responders until you or your loved one is safe. As parents we know that sometimes emergencies arise in the least likely places like the mall, at school, away at … [Read more...]
Tips For Spending More Time Together As A Family
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to spend more time together as a family? What’s stopping you? There are ways you can spend more time together as a family without breaking the budget or driving each other crazy. Don’t Forget the Ride Home Although you may all be in a car together, riding in a car home together is one way to spend more time as a family. It’s a great time to talk and discuss how the day went. You may not be sitting face to face, but this is a nice way to unwind and catch up as a family. Push Back Bedtime 30 Minutes Okay, so not every family can push back bedtime by 30 minutes, but if you can it’s a great way to go. Why? Well, many families don’t get home till 6 o’clock at night and it can be difficult to get anytime in together. Pushing back bedtime can help give a little more “time” together. If you can’t push back bedtime, then consider getting up 30 minutes earlier and eating an unrushed breakfast together. Spend Time Eating … [Read more...]
