Family — Page 15

What You Can Do To Help Protect Infants Now

Protect Infants Now from Meningococcal Meningitis

When I was approached by Mom Central about participating in this campaign, I of course gave an enthusiastic YES right away. Any time that I can use my voice her on my site to help spread the word about important causes, I jump at the opportunity to help. I have heard about Meningitis, and knew that it was a dangerous disease for babies – But I had thought that this was something all babies are vaccinated against regularly. I was shocked to learn more about what a devastating disease this is, and that the CDC does not currently require this to be a part of routine care for babies.

Leading Cause of Preventable Infant Death in the US

I had NO idea that, after neonatal complications and accidental injuries, this disease is one of the leading causes of death in infants. Very scary. One out of every 16 babies who contract this disease will die from it, and among the survivors, one in five will suffer seizures, blindness, amputation, paralysis or learning disabilities. I had no idea. The worst part? Over 50% of these deaths could have been prevented if the baby had been vaccinated. Right now, the CDC is trying to decide whether to recommend that all children ages 2 and under be vaccinated against this disease. Keep reading to see how you can help influence this decision.

Are you crying by now too?

This absolutely breaks my heart, and I cannot even imagine how life goes on when such a devastating loss happens in your life. I can’t imagine ever going through something like that, and I will do my part to ensure that no other mother has to endure that either. If you’d like to join us, learn more about how you can help…

Protect Infants Now!

Ask CDC to Recommend Infant Meningococcal Vaccines – Sign this petition to add your name to the growing number of parents who are showing support for this campaign.
Learn more about the Meningitis Angels, and what you do to show support.
Visit Protect Infants Now to learn more about the fight to vaccinate and educate to stop Meningitis.

Has your life been affected by this disease?

Have your friends or family ever been touched by this disease? How do you feel about the fight to vaccinate all babies against this tragic disease? Show your support by signing the petition, and share your stories in the comments below.

{I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central and Meningitis Angels. This campaign was made possible in part through support provided by Novartis Vaccines. A small donation to a charity of my choice was made in my name from Mom Central as a thank-you for participating. All opinions in this posting are 100% my own.}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 31, 2012 Filed Under: Mommy Thoughts | 1 Comment

Guarantee Your Child’s Future – & Enter to Win! {2/8}

Every mom knows the name Gerber – It’s a brand that even our moms trusted. We all know that Gerber cares about making sure babies are healthy and happy – but they also want to ensure that those babies are taken care of as they grow up. That’s why they started the Gerber Life College Plan – A plan that combines the best features a college savings account with the security of a life insurance plan, to build a brighter future for your child.

Building a Better Future for Your Child

The Gerber Life College Plan builds up a guaranteed savings account that your child can use for college, and includes an insurance policy in case something happens to either parent. Read more about all of the amazing benefits you get with this plan:

Coverage options available: $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, $150,000.
Maturity terms of 10, 15, 18 years (or other – as requested by customer), so you have great options for every age of child.
Guaranteed lump sum paid at maturity – so you know exactly what the money you invest will get you.
Affordable premiums that work with your budget, no matter how small.
Life insurance benefit – if the insured dies before the endowment matures, GLIC
will fund the remaining premiums so that the endowment still pays the full benefit.
Safe financial alternative in uncertain times – no risk involved. That means peace of mind.
The policy builds cash value over time, which can be borrowed against in an emergency.
You can use the money for any purpose – not just college, giving you flexibility to help your child with any future choices that they make.
Payments can be made monthly, semi-annually, annually.

There is so much flexibility and security built into this plan, making it the perfect fit for any young and growing family. You know that your investment is safe, you know just what you can expect when you access it in the future, and it can be used for other expenses if your child decides on a non-college route in the future.

GERBER LIFE AND READING IS FUNDAMENTAL LAUNCH PROJECT OPEN BOOK

Reading is Fundamental {RIF} is the nation’s largest children’s literacy non-profit, getting books into the hands of needy kids in communities across the country. Since Gerber Life’s goal is to help young families build brighter futures – this is a perfect partnership! This partnership has led to the Project Open Book, read more:

Project Open Book will last from January 19 through February 13, with a goal of donating $10,000 to RIF. To enter, visit the Gerber Life Facebook page, and follow the directions to upload a photo. Participants may enter once and a winner will be selected by random drawing of all eligible entrants. The grand prize winner will receive a $1,000 VISA gift card; two first place winners will receive a $500 VISA gift card. For complete contest rules, please visit the Gerber Life Facebook page to learn more.

Enter to Win!

To help build even MORE excitement about this great partnership, I’m giving away a $25 Snapfish Gift Card to one lucky winner, just for sharing your thoughts on the new Gerber Life College Plan in the comments. Use the easy peasy Rafflecopter form to get your entries in – and if you’re feeling lucky, enter the rest of my fun giveaways over in the sidebar too!

Have fun & Good Luck!

{Disclaimer: This promotional sponsored post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I was compensated for my time investment and work on this campaign. All prizing for MSM giveaways is handled by a third party unless otherwise noted. For this reason prize fulfillment can take up to 90 days after the winners information is received.}

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 31, 2012 Filed Under: Giveaways | 25 Comments

Love Yourself Giveaway: Supporting Domestic Violence Survivors

Love Yourself Giveaway Event

CEO of Me, Inc.com, Sunshine & Sippy Cups & This n That with Olivia are very excited to be teaming up with 40 other amazing Blogs and great Sponsors for the “Love Yourself Event & Giveaway” from Feb 1-14. The mission of this event is to raise awareness about domestic violence and to celebrate the brave women, children (and men) who have made the decision to leave abusive relationships and environments.

This Giveaway is very near to my heart…

Each of the blogs participating paid a fee to participate. 50% of that fee was donated to Brave Woman.org. (The other 50% went towards the grand prize Kindle Touch & Amazon Gift Card). Brave Woman.org is a wonderful charity that supports domestic violence awareness and changing the perception of victims of domestic violence. Many of you may remember me sharing my story, and how the Brave Woman organization helps domestic violence victims, in a post about a month ago – It was the hardest post I’ve ever written, but the feedback from other women was amazing.

Domestic Violence Survivor – My Story

Brave Woman.org is much more than a charity though, it is a movement. It is about brave women, children, (and men) coming together “with messages of overcoming life fears, picking ourselves up and trying again” to support survivors of domestic violence. There is no need to be ashamed if you have been a victim of domestic violence. You can find support, information and assistance through many resources.

We want to encourage you to visit Brave Woman.org and Take the Pledge and support this cause by joining the community of other Brave Women. Please also consider donating or volunteering to Domestic Violence shelters, centers and charities local to you.

If you have been or are currently in an abusive relationship or environment, please reach out and let other Brave Women & men help you. “You are not alone, even when you feel small, unsure and maybe even terrified.” – BraveWoman.org

To enter this giveaway use the Rafflecopter form below!

Thank you so much to the participating blogs and sponsors. Please be sure to visit their sites too!

Frugal Fanatic, Thrifty Jinxy, Coupon Spice, Kat’s Cafe, Rainy Day Pennies, Tracer’s Coupon Affair, I am a Couponer, Food N Service, My Un-entitled Life, Meg’s Moxie, Madame Deals, This n That with Olivia, Suburban Coupon Mom, Coupon Savings in the South, Coping with Frugality, Money Saving Parent, Sunshine & Sippy Cups, Rewards Station, Front Page Freebies, CentsLess Deals, 4 Little Monsters and Me, CEO of Me, Inc., Full Price? Never!, Cori’s Coupon Corner, Debt Free Spending, Sweeties Freebies, The Shopper’s Apprentice, Whole Lotta Mama, MyCouportiera, Growth in God, SAVING with a Working Mom, The Tales of Bubba & Mack, Pharmapack, Fit Moms for Life, Sunshine of Autumn, Scentsy Consultant Jennen Gonzalez, AVON Consultant Sandy Kearns, Zija Weight Management, Mary Kay Consultant Olivia Douglass and The Homestead Company.

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 31, 2012 Filed Under: Giveaways | 25 Comments

All Children Can Be Great Listeners – Learn How

All Children Can Be Great Listeners

If you have a preschooler that you’re helping prepare for Kindergarten, or big kids who are already in grade school – You will love School Sparks. I found this site about a year ago, and fell in love right away –

It’s packed full of super helpful child development information.
I love the selection of free printable worksheets to help kids enjoy learning.
The site is just so cheery, fun, and easy to use!

It’s fun by a former Kindergarten teacher, so you know you can trust the info that you find, and you can be sure that it’s just what your children need to be successful in school. She’s put together 500 Free Printable Kindergarten Worksheets that you can print to help your child develop their skills in a really wide variety of areas – cutting and tracing sheets for motor development, math and alphabet worksheets to boost their core skills, and fun printables featuring holidays and characters too!

Get the book free!

In addition to all of the amazing worksheets, early childhood development information, and my favorite – the Kindergarten Readiness Test – You can also find this amazing ebook totally free!

Free eBook – All Children Can Be Great Listeners

You’ll find it in the upper right corner – Just click to download your own copy to improve the way your family communicates. I just skimmed through it tonight, and I know you’ll love it as much as I do!

Get School Spark’s fun email updates!
Follow them on Facebook!
Catch their latest Tweets!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 25, 2012 Filed Under: Freebies | 1 Comment

Finding Nemo 3D in Theaters – Take a Sneak Peek!

Finding Nemo in 3D!

I am so super excited about this – Did you know that Finding Nemo is going to be in theaters, in 3D!! – September 14th, 2012??!! Love it. This was one of my very favorite movies… Although I admit, I’m a sap, and always fast forwarded through the very beginning. I hated watching the family getting taken away. Take a sneak peek at the trailer…

Perfect Family Movie

Doesn’t that make you excited to see this again – especially in 3D? The animation in this movie is already so beautiful, I can’t wait to see how cool in looks in the updated version. It’s also super funny and entertaining – I’m a lot like Dory, so she’s my favorite :) And, it’s such a good message for parents – While we all want to hold on to our babies as tight as we can, our job is to teach them to fend for themselves, and eventually let them go. The whole, giving them wings to leave the nest thing. Yes, like I said, I’m a sap! This movie makes me cry every time….

Who else is super excited for this to hit theaters?

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 25, 2012 Filed Under: Reviews | 2 Comments

Busy Moms Movie Night – #CouchCritics #CBias

“The phrase ‘working mother’ is redundant.” – Jane Sellman

December was such a busy month around our house. I took on way more projects than I should have – {I have much more enthusiasm than I do time, lol} – plus the traditional craziness of the holidays. By the time January rolled in, we were all pretty worn out, I was definitely over-worked, and we were all ready for things to get back to normal again. So of course, instead of that – we all got sick! Abby and I both have been sick for weeks now, so I figured that this was a perfect time for a lazy, mommy-baby, snuggle up movie night. I had just the movie in mind too – “I Don’t Know How She Does It”, with the always fun Sarah Jessica Parker, since it’s all about life as a busy momma. So we headed to our favorite Redbox kiosk up the road to get this “Girls Night In” started.

Things {as usual} did not go as planned

We live a ways out of town, so there is only one store with a Redbox anywhere near-by. And wouldn’t you know it – the movie wasn’t available! I wasn’t sure what else to get, since my heart was totally set on this movie. Then I remembered – Redbox.com! I hopped online, typed in the movie name and my zip code – and BAM, it showed me the closest three rental kiosks to go and pick it up. Awesome, right? You can even pay for the movie right on the site, to reserve your copy until you get there – so you KNOW you can get it. Perfect.

“A suburban mother’s role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car for ever after.” – Peter De Vries

We drove into town and found the next closest kiosk, and since I’d already paid for my movie online, I only had to hop out into the cold for a minute to get my movie – which was great, since it was starting to snow! Luckily, this Redbox is under the roof of the store, and tucked into a cozy corner, so it wasn’t tooooo cold. Getting the movie I had reserved was quick and easy as can be.

Easy Peasy and Ready to Roll

A few buttons to push, and out came my movie! I love Redbox. And I loooved this movie, in case you were wondering if it was worth the bit of extra trouble that I went through to get it. Here’s the basics – Sarah Jessica Parker plays a super busy mom named Kate, who is struggling to balance life as a mom, and as a businesswoman. {Um, can you say – totally relate?} Years ago, we grew up with our own moms telling us that we can “have it all” – a family and a career. I grew up thinking that I could be super woman. But – once you have it “all”, it’s a lot harder to manage than anyone told me it would be! This movie really focuses on those struggles that we all go through, whether you work out of the home or from your home, like I do. Being a mom, a wife, a boss, a friend – there are so many roles that we play each day. Watching Kate do her best to find the balance that we all search for made for a totally entertaining movie – Loved it.

Love Movie Night Too?

If you’re a Redbox junkie like we are – make sure that you’re following them on Facebook, and find them on Twitter, @redbox – You’ll find out about cool promotions, discount codes, and new releases!

{Disclaimer: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. Photos and movie review are 100% my own opinions.}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 16, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 1 Comment

Smile – It’s Party Time! #OralBCrestFORME & Cars 2

“The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.” Author Unknown

When I found out that I’d been picked by MomSelect to host a MommyParties Crest and Oral-B Pro Health for ME Party, I was super excited. When I found out that it included the new Cars 2 – my excitement level doubled! I had an eye appointment at Costco a few weeks before that, and Abby got to watch about 20 minutes of Cars 2 on the big screen TV’s with Daddy while they waited for me – ever since, when she sees a commercial or a product in the store featuring the characters, she says, “Vrrrrrooooommmmmmm – Cars! Cars momma? Vroooommmmm….” She’s hooked. And, Abby loves brushing her teeth. LOVES. She steals everyone’s toothbrushes out of the bathroom, and walks around brushing her “teef” all the time. So – new “toof”-brushes + Cars 2 + friends over? Yep, that equals a happy little girl!

Oral-B & Crest Pro-Health FOR ME!

Here’s a little peek inside the awesome goodie bags that each child received when they arrived at the party – new toothbrushes, rinse, coupons, flossers, and more! These kiddo’s were super excited to see their goodies – and they all had to compare toothbrushes, and do a little trading, until they all had the perfect one. So cute.

“You don’t have to brush your teeth – just the ones you want to keep.” – Author Unknown

The kids thought that these were hilarious – we added a set of fake super-yucky teeth to the floss picks, to show the kids why it’s so important to brush and floss every day. The boys put them in their mouths and tried to scare the girls with their gross smiles – but the girls just chased them around with their toothbrushes to try and clean them up! It was a mad house, but we had sooo much fun.

“Other than a dimple in a cute little chin, What’s more adorable than a toothless grin?” – Azu “Betty” Espezi

This little guy didn’t have that many teeth left to brush – lol – but was still excited to show us his new toothpaste! He said he will use it every night to keep the “sugar bugs” away, and make sure his new teeth are shiny and white when they grow back. Smart boy, right?

“Having a two-year-old is like having a blender that you don’t have the top for.” – Jerry Seinfeld

And of course, no movie party is complete without popcorn! We had it all set up before the kids got there – and since we have an old-fashioned popper, they all wanted to gather around while we popped it. And a BIG thank you to Mommy Parties for sending these super fun popcorn boxes – I’m going to have to find some to purchase for our next play date – the kids thought these were the neatest thing. We ended up with a huge mess, and lots of tired kids – but this party was a total success, and everyone went home incredibly happy.

Wrapping it up

Abby loved the Cars 2 movie, and still watches it at least a couple of times each week! All of the kids had a blast, and the moms are still thanking me for getting them excited about brushing and flossing – which is so great to hear. In our house we use printable brushing charts, so I had printed some to hand out too. Since all of the other parents wanted more, I figured I’d share the link with you guys too – Printable Tooth Brushing Charts for Kids. And visit me on Facebook to check out more pictures too!

Next time you’re shopping, make sure to watch for these great new Oral-B Stages products for kids, and the very cool new Crest Pro-Health FOR ME line of products, including toothpaste and rinse. Keep your families smiles bright!

Follow @OralB and @Crest on Twitter, and use hashtag #OralBCrestFORME to share YOUR favorite products too!

{Disclaimer: I received a complimentary party pack to help me host this party – all photos, opinions, and overuse of exclamation points is 100% my own!}