Its the last week of school around these parts! But even though my kids will be out of school for the next few months, I can still support their school by shopping the Box Tops for Education® Marketplace®! How cool is that?

I had never heard of the Box Top Marketplace, but you can login to the site, choose the school you want to benefit from your purchase and then shop over 300 retailers like Target, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and Macy’s, and even specialty shops like Oriental Trading Company and Build A Bear Workshop. It takes only a minute to sign up and designate a school that will automatically receive eBoxTops when you shop.

Its a completely painless, FREE way to give to your kid’s school! I love it! I clicked on Target.com through the Box Tops Marketplace, placed my order as usual and BAM!

My school earned money!

$1.11 may not seem like much, but over the summer that can really add up to some serious money for our school! I will be back and using this site frequently. Already this year, my school has earned $1,417 through the Box Tops Marketplace. That’s some serious money!

Box Tops for Education and its online Marketplace have helped nearly 90,000 schools across the country earn more than $525 million since the program started in 1996. Box Tops earnings are unrestricted dollars that schools can use for whatever they need most — from textbooks, laptops and musical instruments, to playground equipment, field trips and basic classroom supplies. Learn more about Box Tops for Education here.

I hope you will support your school alongside me this summer!
Disclosure: BTFE sent me a $100 gift card to use on the BTFE Marketplace site and asked me to write about my shopping experience. As always, all opinions are my own.

The kids and I are loving the brand new Peppa Pig and the Muddy Puddles book!

Peppa and George are so excited when it rains – they can’t wait to play in the puddles! But when the rain turns into a flood, they have to figure out how to get the food they need from the store, now that there is water everywhere. We loved how when Grandpa and Granny Pig show up in a boat and Peppa and George go with them to visit all the neighbors to see how they can help and make sure all their neighbors have what they need during the flood.

Its a terrific book for this current age where natural disasters seem to be appearing at every turn! Of course, my kids didn’t see that! They just saw a cute book about their favorite Peppa characters 🙂 But Mama knows that they are really learning a valuable lesson.  That especially in times of trouble, you should always be looking around you and seeing how you can help people.

Its a great reading level – my 8-year-old read it to her younger brother no problem. She claimed it was a ‘little kids book’ but when I was looking for it later, guess where I found it? On her bedside table. Not such a ‘little kid book’ after all, I think!

Peppa Pig and the Muddy Puddles is available in hardcover now for $12.99. And don’t forget to Friend Peppa on Facebook for fun activities and chances to win Peppa Pig prizes and follow them on Twitter for some fun, lively Peppa conversations.

disclosure: i received this book for free to facilitate this post. as always, all opinions are my own!

We are so lucky in our family – while one of us has a peanut allergy and two are lactose intolerant – we really have lucked out on food allergies. We have so many friends who have family members who really suffer. I often eat gluten-free just because it makes me feel better due to a mild gluten-sensitivity, but I have a good friend whose son was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

Until recently, I hadn’t really understood what Celiac was. But over three million people in the Unites States suffer from Celiac Disease and an alarming 85% of those who suffer are undiagnosed (or misdiagnosed). Celiac disease can be difficult to diagnose because it can cause numerous different symptoms, many of which mimic other diseases, such as IBS or Crohn’s. Through spreading awareness, our goal is to improve the diagnosis rate and help stop unexplained suffering. I remember when Colin was tested for it last year when he was so sick.

Currently the only treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet and, with products like Udi’s Gluten Free Goods, the transition to living gluten free can be completely seamless.  And for those of us who don’t personally suffer, being able to have Udi’s products that we can serve friends without worry are a lifesaver! I always pick up a pack of Udi’s cookies when Colin is having a play date with his friend – I have to fight my kids away from the Snickerdoodles. They’re moist, chewy and taste amazing.

Personally, I enjoy Udi’s bread almost every morning! I toast my sandwich bread and add an egg – YUM!  I find I really need some carbs with breakfast in order to stay full all morning, so this is one of my standard breakfasts. When I’m running late or on the go, I eat some Udi’s Granola (gluten AND peanut free!!) with greek yogurt or a Udi’s Granola Bar.

And even for grilling – no need for anyone to miss out just because they’re gluten-free! Udi’s buns are SO yummy – and you can hardly taste the difference! I love them for really hearty burgers – they can really hold up to whatever you dish out!!  (Cause we do NOT to boring burgers in our house. Pile on the toppings!!)

disclosure: i received a box of udi’s goodies to facilitate this post.

My kids are pretty creative individuals, but there are those days when they still need to be entertained (like every day). When I first heard about Wummelbox, I knew this would be a really great way to keep them busy but learning.

So what is a Wummelbox?  Wummelbox is a European-style arts & crafts subscription service for kids that is designed to inspire learning, creativity and exploration. Wummelbox provides families with all the materials needed for hours of hands-on fun all in one box. The best part for busy parents? It’s conveniently delivered right to your doorstep!

Appropriate for ages 3-8, each Wummelbox is based on a particular theme (i.e., Nutrition, Music, or Color and Light) and includes all the materials needed (plus instructions) for a child to create 3-4 projects. We received the “Nutrition” themed box:

The nutrition-themed Wummelbox had four arts & crafts projects that invite kids to explore the delicious world of food and cooking:

•  We opened our own colorful grocery store and sell our handmade fruit and veggies (Recycle the Wummelbox and turn it into a cash register for your grocery store!) Check out our mad sewing skillz:

•  Become your own head chef and decide what goes into your very own cookbook.  Decorate and personalize your own chef’s apron, too!

•  Play a fruit and veggie game and learn which foods grow on trees or in the ground.

•  Experiment and learn with food. Make paste for art projects out of potatoes and discover how water separates from starch or conduct a “full-feeling” experiment to see how the pace of eating influences how quickly you feel.

My girls had a great time playing the fruit and veggie game with their little brother. They tried many times to trick him but he knew his stuff! And of course, they were all totally inspired and “helped” me make dinner that evening! I decided to make a big salad so they could see all of the ingredients, how it was prepared and learn how important vegetables are to a healthy diet.  After dinner, we all sat down as a family and created our own fruits and veggies and set up a pretend grocery store in our living room. Wummelbox entertained my kids that entire day and they still break it out to create more! Its perfect for a rainy day at home when the kids are getting stir-crazy!  I highly recommend Wummelbox for busy moms.

Wummelbox subscription packages include: Try A Wummel, a 1 month subscription priced at $34.95; Little Wummel, 3-month subscription priced at $24.95 per month; and Big Wummel, a 12-month subscription priced at $19.95 per month.

To learn more about Wummelbox, visit wummelbox.com or facebook.com/wummelbox

Every year around this time, I’m reminded about all of the ways I want to go green. And the many ways that I totally fail. I really, really do want to be super green, but honestly, life just gets in the way and I run out of time or its just too much for our busy lives. But there is one way that we have gone green that I wanted to share. Washdrops is a product that we’ve been using for several years now to clean our cars. And – are you ready?

Its not only green, but it actually is EASIER and CHEAPER than traditional car washing.

Really!!!

Washdrops is a NEW unique Wash and Shine Solution. Use only one bucket, no hose, no rinse! You can wash any average-sized vehicle anywhere with only one gallon of water and one fluid ounce of Washdrops powerful yet gentle proprietary scientific formula. Plus, Washdrops leaves a beautiful shine! My car looks so much better when I use Washdrops, as opposed to the traditional hose and soap method.

I used to wash my car with dish soap. Because soap is soap, right? WRONG. Dishwashing detergent will remove everything from the surface of your car –that will include stripping the polymers of the paint surface and drying out the paint on your car. Dish soap and laundry detergent are actually counterproductive because they speed up the oxidation process and shorten the life of your car’s paint. Not only that, traditional car washing used almost 100 gallons of water for just a ten-minute wash! While Washdrops only uses about ONE GALLON.

Washdrops helps comply with the US  Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Water Act. It is biodegradable, solvent-free, butyl free, phosphate free, ammonia free. Washdrops is completely non-hazardous – you can even dispose of Washdrops on a lawn or flowerbed.

That’s a pretty clear GREEN winner to me!  I love when little, simple discoveries can make a big GREEN difference!!!

disclosure: this is a sponsored post