As anyone with children know, Box Tops for Education are HUGE in the elementary school world :-) When my son started kindergarten last year, I really didn’t know what they were except for the fact that I saw them on so much of what I buy. Well, now I know that they are worth money to every school who turns them in.

Each little tiny box top is worth $.10 for the school. That might not sound like much, but so far this year alone I have saved up over 100 just since July. That is $10 worth – just for me in about 2 months. You figure that would put me at about $60 a year. If everyone did that – we have 900 people in our school – that would be about $5400 in extra money for things like sports and music equipment as well as money towards the arts and performances.

The fact is, saving up Box Tops is EASY money! Box Tops has helped America’s schools earn over $300 million since 1996…and we need to keep that going.

Sam’s Club is the perfect place to shop for and collect Box Tops from your favorite brands. Right now, you can get MORE Box Tops on your favorite back-to-school brands and maximize your earnings for YOUR SCHOOL! For example, I went to Sam’s club and bought cereal – and it came with an extra 5 Box Tops! That’s $.60 for each box of cereal. Not to mention I got a heck of a deal at Sam’s Club like I always do – they have some of the best prices.

Some of the participating brands include; Cheerios, Ziploc, Honey Nut Cheerios, Pillsbury, Fiber One Bars, Nature Valley Bars, Scott products, Huggies & Kleenex, to name a few. I bet if you looked in your pantry right now you would find a ton of them… just because you don’t have kids doesn’t mean you shoudln’t save them either. I would make a wager that you know SOMEONE who has a kid in elementary school that could use them. So instead of throwing them out, start saving them now!

Also, from now until October 31, 2009 Box Tops is giving away 1,000,000 Bonus Box Tops to America’s Schools. All you have to do is go to Box Tops for Education for your chance to WIN a Grand Prize of 500,000 Bonus Box Tops (a $50,000 value!) & Two First Prizes of 250,000 Bonus Box Tops (a $25,000 value!)

Plus, look for specially-marked Bonus Box Tops packages and Bonus Box Tops offers at Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club not only saves you money but it earns money for your school as well… It’s a Win-Win situation!

CONTEST ALERT!!!!

Sam’s Club & Box Tops for Education are giving 5 (FIVE!) of my readers complimentary one-day passes to your local Sam’s Club to see for yourself the savings and how many Box Tops you can clip for your school.

One person who enters will not only get a free one day membership – but they will also get a $25 gift card to Sam’s!!!!

To ENTER: Leave a comment telling me where you find the most Box Tops for your school!

This is a quick contest so make sure to enter before Sunday September 6th to win your free gift card from Sam’s!!!!

Thank You to My Blog Spark for providing me with this opportunity to share this great contest with you!!!

As adults we already have the common sense to know exactly what is going on with the world… but do your kids?

The internet is a powerful thing – you can do, see, explore, and learn almost anything on it. But what if what your kids are seeing, learning and doing isn’t necessarily something that is good for them. It happens everyday on the internet. Your child has a hidden account on MySpace or Facebook…. they chat with people they don’t know… they look up videos on YouTube about things they shouldn’t see… although thankfully this hasn’t happened to me yet as my son is only 6, I know the day will come VERY soon. So what do you do to protect your children?

The answer is simple –

You get a program that will allow you to monitor and stop them from going to sites that you do not allow. Allow of people think of it as spying, but honestly, I think of it as protection for your whole family.

McAfee Family Protection is one of the best products out there for protecting your family. It has SO many features such as social network monitoring which means you can see who they talk to and what they are posting on sites like Facebook and MySpace. You can stop your children from sharing their own personal information such as their age, what school they go to and that sort of thing. You can even limit their time on the computer so that when you leave you know they won’t be able to stay on it all day long.

My son is not the most adept at the computer, and one of the first times he went online he started typing in random things… a porn site popped up, lol. I was SO not happy. He was a bit too young to get it, but if he had been older, he would have seen an eyeful! With McAfee Family Protection I am able to ban nudity sites altogether so that he will never be able to get on one. I also banned all gambling sites, as well as many sites that are just completely inappropriate for him like things that show violence.

I downloaded McAfee Family Protection and within minutes I was up and running and logging every thing that was done on this computer. I can see where he goes, what he does, if he IM’s anyone… everything! This is perfect for those with children between the ages of 10 and 18 – the ages that are most likely to get into trouble online. You’ve seen the stories about the children thinking they are talking to other children when in fact they are talking to pedophiles, you have seen the stories about kidnappings, sexual abuse, and so forth… why take the chance? This is one of the best products you can get – easy to install, easy to use, and most of all, McAfee Family Protection makes it easy to protect your children from the internet when they don’t know what can really hurt them.

McAfee is offering a discount through August 31, 2009 to save $5 off the McAfee Family Protection. The promo code is: 5familyprotection.

* I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of McAfee and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, McAfee sent me a blanket and care package to thank me for taking the time to participate.

I have, on more than one occasion, mentioned my love of Guitar Hero… first of all, I totally can rock Sweet Home Alabama on the Guitar Hero World Tour, but more than that, it is a fantastic way to enjoy music and show my competetive edge ;) So, when Mom Central sent me the Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits game for the Nintendo DS, I JUMPED at the chance to review it!!!

But… I ran into a slight problem :-) My son ran into it first, lol. We decided to take it with us to Myrtle Beach so I set it all up for him so he could use it on the drive down. It took a few minutes but it was relative easy. It comes with not only the game, but the hand grip to play, so I put the handgrip on the DS and set up the game and off we went. 3 hours later he was STILL playing it! The kid was as good as I am on it :-) The next day I whipped out my DS and started playing with him, because we were lucky enough to be able to try Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades game too! The Decades game was totally for me! I knew a lot more songs, and I knew I could play them better, lol. So, using our wireless connection we were able to share songs and play against each other… FOR HOURS! And you know what? Out of the 6 or so games we played right then, my son totally killed me on 5 of them, lol.

I have to admit, he was definitely more adept at “strumming” the guitar which you do with the little pick they give you especially made for the DS. But I got the hang of it and played it frequently on our trip. Since getting home, it has literally been attached to my son. He is thrilled with the fact that you can unlock songs as you go along, so there is more and more music to listen to and to play.

The groups include people like Coldplay, Evanescence, Fall Out Boy and even my own Ringtone – Paralyzer by Finger 11!! On the Guitar Hero: Decades Tour you have some great songs from the 70’s through now, and they even have Sweet Home Alabama!! But alas, I haven’t unlocked it yet, but I’m getting there for sure!!

Here are just some of the things that make Guitar Hero on Tour for the DS so awesome:

KEY FEATURES:

Shred along to 28 master tracks, all modern rock hits from some of the hottest bands including Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Tenacious D, Weezer, The Strokes and more. Players will tour through five all-new venues that are as extreme as the tunes played in them.

For the first time ever, players can choose how they take their band from the underground music scene to worldwide rock stardom with the exciting non-linear gameplay progression in Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits.

Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits delivers an all-new gameplay experience with Fan Requests. By completing Fan Requests players build their fan base and open up new challenges to rock-out like never before including jamming to an entire song in Hyperspeed, battling it out in a Guitar Duel with active Bomb Notes or whammying every single hold note in a song.

Fans can take the Guitar Hero experience wherever they go with Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits. The Guitar Hero™ Guitar Grip™ mimics a guitar fret board and fits seamlessly in people’s hands to deliver the same core gameplay that defines Guitar Hero.

Song streaming features allow players of Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits and its predecessors, Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, to share songs via local wireless connectivity. Players can rock out together in multiplayer modes, jamming to tracks from all three versions of the game.

If you love Guitar Hero and you love your Nintendo DS then you will LOVE Guitar Hero on Tour: Modern Hits and Guitar Hero on Tour: Decades!!

If you haven’t figured out what to give your father, your husband, your brother, your son, or virtually any man in your life that is a father himself, then you are running out of time :-) Father’s Day is just a few days away!!

It’s hard isn’t though? It seems like men always just buy what they want rather than waiting for it, which makes our job as a woman that much harder when trying to buy them something! Well luckily for us Mom Central has put together a great Father’s Day Gift Guide & Giveaway! Not only can you enter to win one of the many great prizes but you can also get links to purchase any item you see there in case you see something you like!

The gifts that you can win are amazing too… today for instance they have an awesome Jeep Family Cabin Dome which is great for camping, as well as a personalized gift from Things Remembered. They have new stuff every day so you have to go back there and enter every single day… but that just gives you more chances to win! Not only that, take a look at the gift guide itself and it will give you some great ideas of what you can buy your own man in your life!

So, stop on by Mom Central’s Father’s Day Gift Guide & Giveaway and then get to entering! And shopping!! Only a few more days left ;)

As a Democrat for all of my life, when I saw Barack Obama inaugurated I was a bit overwhelmed with emotion… It was such a turning point in America and in history. The one thing I thought about though was how to really show my son how important this day was. As an adult you totally get it, but as a child, it seems like any other day. So, when I had a chance to review The New York Times book OBAMA – This Historic Journey the young readers edition, I was thrilled to have this book to enjoy with my son in a way that he could understand.

When the book first arrived I noticed how beautifully it was designed. The pictures are amazing! And when you start to read it, you notice how detailed it is, but done in a way that can easily be read by an adult and understood by a child. It takes you on a journey of Barack Obama’s life from his childhood through the day of the inauguration, as well as what his goals are, how he wants to change America and even his shoe size, lol (size 11 if you are curious!). It is the complete book, and it truly is wonderful. The New York Times captures the moments of the election as well as personal moments with his wife and children so beautifully. Again, I can’t stress how amazing the pictures are.

When I read it with my son, he was so enthralled with this man whom he heard so much about. He read some of the words himself, and then I read some of it to him, and he had more questions than I could even imagine. It was like he was saving it up after hearing all about it since Obama was elected, and finally, I had the information that he needed to understand who Obama was and how important he is to our country. OBAMA – The Historic Journey is a wonderful way to engage your children and teach them about this man who is now our President.

No matter what your political affiliation may be, this is a fantastic way to teach your kids about the President, who he was, how far he has come, and what a huge milestone it was the day he was elected.

Thanks Mom Central for giving both myself and my son the ability to learn about this amazing man in a way we never could have before.

As you know, I have been watching my calories and trying to lose this weight that I have kept on pretty much my entire life! With my big commitment to going to the gym and getting into shape, I have really cut back on my eating.. particularly sweets which I, like almost everyone, LOVE. But as we all know, if you deprive yourself of something that you crave, you’ll just end up binging on everything that is bad for you.

Well, to be honest, I refuse to give up things like ice cream, even though I know it isn’t all that healthy for you. Luckily, thanks to Mom Central, I was able to find something that satisfies the cravings that I have at night, and doesn’t add thousands of calories to my day!

It is the absolutely delectable Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches. OMG – to say that they are amazing is simply an understatement. With only 150 calories and 2 grams of fat, I don’t have to feel guilty about Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches when reaching into the freezer for a snack (which happens more often than you may believe, lol). The light and creamy frozen treats come in seven different flavors, including cookies ‘n cream, chocolate peanut butter, and mint, which are not only indulgent but satisfy every ice cream craving that I have.

When you think of low fat and low calorie ice cream you often think of ice cream that is chalky and tastes horrible. But I have to say, the Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches taste JUST AS GOOD as full fat ice cream, without nearly the calories that regular ice cream sandwiches have. It is literally like you are eating a 500 calorie ice cream sandwich… they are huge too! They aren’t like some tiny portion… in each package the ice cream sandwiches are just as large, if not larger, than typical ice cream sandwiches. I had one tonight after my dinner, because honestly, cutting calories at first can make you pretty hungry. They totally satisfied my hunger and gave me the great tasting dessert I was looking for, and I still kept within my 1400 calorie limit for the day! I also got the Skinny Cow Truffle Bar which is so light but so filling… just delicious! I went through an entire box in about 1 1/2 weeks, but I didn’t even worry about it, lol.

So, the next time you want to reach for some ice cream, but you know your diet is telling you not to, reach for Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches instead… I’m telling you, you will love them!

Where do you go if you have to find information on just about anything? Google right? Well, what about if you have to find out information regarding something to do with your child such as “What do you do when your 5 year old has a fever?” or “What should your 7 year old be learning in school?” Well for that, there is no other place to go then to Mamapedia.

Mamapedia is the best site for questions dealing with your children. Considered “the wisdom of moms” it truly is an awesome wealth of information dealing with only one thing… your children of course! Let’s face it.. there are times that no one can answer your question other than another mom who has already been there. Mamapedia knows that… so instead of searching random search engines to dig through information that may not be prevelant to what your needs are, you can go to just one place! A place for mothers with kids of all ages… a place where you can read and answer questions by moms, which have been answered by moms who have already been there, and a place where you can literally find the answer to almost any question from what is the best age to start a playdate to teenage dating.

Mamapedia is an extensive website that is easy to search and browse, so it won’t take you long before you find the burning question of what to do when a child sticks a pea up his nose. It is 100% free and one of the most wonderful sites I have ever been to that is for sure! What I love the most is that you can search through questions of children by age, so if you have a 6 year old, you can browse strictly the category of ages 6-10 which make the answers to your most important questions that much more relevant to what you are looking for.

Not to mention there is also a ton of information for moms too… such as health, finances, and even where to vacation. If you are a mom or even a soon to be mom, there is no other place that can answer all the questions you have and give you as much information as Mamapedia!

Brought to you of course by my #1 favorite site – Mom Central!