Our Children are our Changemakers

I can’t believe it’s already that time of year again for kiddos to enter into the Changermaker Challenge from T-Mobile Foundation and Ashoka. Those of you who have kids ages 13-18 should pay attention!

Adventures of Cairo Podcast is a Screen Free Winner

 

Having something for our kiddos that is screen free AND they love, well that’s just ideal, isn’t it? Whenever I’m babysitting my grandson and don’t want the TV on I turn on the podcast Adventures of Cairo and Enzo is thrilled.

 

Happy Little Plants makes for perfect the snack

If your kids are anything like mine, then snacks are on the brain like immediately after a meal. It’s crazy how soon they will ask for one. I want to make sure my kiddos eat healthy, especially after the holiday season. When Fallon reaches for a bag of Happy Little Plants, I’m all for it, I don’t feel bad as I know she’s getting amazing ingredients and more importantly, protein first.

 

3Doodler helps kids with their imagination

“Everything that now exists was once imagined. So, if you want something to exist, you must first be able to imagine it.” ~Wayne Dyer I recently read this quote and it really spoke to me. Imagination is so important for kids and their development. Fallon imagined a Sun that is Yellow on the inside, Purple on the outside and orange. So now that sun exists, with the help of 3doodler she made that happen.

Lennon Bruce Fire Breather Children's book

We all need a little help sometimes dealing with our emotions especially our kiddos. It can be really hard to know what is right way to react. Kate Bartlein wrote a great book called Lennon Bruce Fire Breather that is just about this very topic.

Give a Baby Doll from Feltman Brothers

Fallon is getting more and more into dolls. She’s 8 now, so imagination play is really interesting as a mom watching her. She understands more of what she is saying now than she did before. I was trying to think of what to get her for her birthday and Feltman Brothers graciously sent us a baby, brush, and a new dress. Take a look below and what Fallon thought of them.

TMobile Helps Protect us Against Spam calls

We have all gotten spam calls, it’s seems pretty much a part of our daily life. Some are annoying you know, like the “your car warrantee call” or “calling from a certain hotel chain” call. Then there are calls that can be very dangerous. These are ones that we need to watch out for, especially when our teens are starting to get phones and they don’t know. T-Mobile has thought of a way to protect against those scammers.

Slammers has Protein for Back to School Snacks

Are you looking for a great snack for school or part of the kiddos lunch? I know I’m always looking for great snacks and lunch additions that my kids not only like but are good for them. Slammers from Go Gourmet is one of those snacks that I can feel good about giving to my kids.

Raising a Changemaker in Today's World with T-Mobile

2019 marks the second year T-Mobile and the T-Mobile Foundation launch their Changemaker challenge for Youth Visionaries. This is also the second year Ashoka is parting with T-Mobile. I seriously wish I knew about this contest last year as I would have insisted that a few of my friends’ kids entered and my 16 year old could have. I’ve seen some ideas that they have come up with.

Florida Prepaid Scholarship Contest- 10 Will Win 2-Year State College Scholarship

My three faces of Florida Prepaid College Plan

Its that time of year again! Open enrollment time for Florida Prepaid time! I have shared before, and I will share again why I am passionate about this program...its those three in the photo above. Those kids, my babies...they are going places, and with Florida prepaid we can afford the places they go a little easier. I can only imagine how hard it would be to have multiple children in college at once, so we are trying to offset that battle and have at least some of it paid by the time my babies go. We can only afford to purchase one year of university each, at a time, so right now my oldest will have one year paid for, the middle child will have three years paid for, and the princess should have her complete bachelors degree paid in full if we keep on this track!  

How would you like to win a scholarship for TWO years of Florida prepaid for your kids? 

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  Florida Prepaid is giving Florida families the opportunity to win one of 10, 2-Year Florida College Plans. 

Ten Florida families will win two free years of college from the Florida Prepaid College Foundation,which is launching its Florida Prepaid Scholarship Program. The annual scholarship program runs between September 19, 2017 and October 10, 2017. There are tons of ways to get many different entries, and over 50 different prize packages! Man, how nice would it be to tell your kids you had their first two years of college paid for, just by entering a contest? So enter, share with friends and family so they can enter, and keep coming back to the site every day to learn more and get extra chances to win!

Florida Prepaid Twitter Party and Open Enrollment

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Bloggin' Mamas & the Florida Prepaid College Board. All opinions expressed are my own.

It is that time again! Open Enrollment time for Florida Prepaid! Why does this excite me? Because education is something that I am passionate about and because my three kids are part of the Florida Prepaid plan themselves! Florida Prepaid makes college affordable with many pricing structures that work for all incomes, and guarantees our children college tuition even paid for, even though it may be much more expensive when they attend. We are currently doing the one year plan, and my oldest will have at least one year paid for, my middle will have three years paid and my youngest will have all of her college paid for if we continue on this path until high school graduation. If you have a bit more money available, or if you have less children there are other options available like paying all four years in full, or paying for the four years of college at once instead of one year at a time like we are doing. There is also the 2+2 option, which I love! This gives your kid a great foundation of having the community college background, but then attending the University afterward. Even better, students on this plan are guaranteed admission to a University when they have completed their state college requirements.

Shimmer and Shine: Magical Pets of Zahramay Falls

My kids love Shimmer and Shine, and I will admit that I find myself watching the show more times than not. It is a great little show that definitely shows how people, kids, genies...anyone really, working together, can accomplish most anything. A new DVD was just released last week, and is another one that my kids love watching!

Able United Waves Fees Until 2018! Savings Account Especially for the Disabled.

When he was born, we had no way of knowing the road we would take with him. All we saw was our beautiful baby boy, and to this day we would not change one single things about him! He is our sunshine on a rainy day and never lets his Apraxia of speech and many retained reflexes get him down. Even though we go to four therapy appointments a week for occupational therapies and speech, he is still our "little trooper" and my mom dubbed him at an early age. We are told this disability may be something he has to deal with for the rest of his life, and he is the face of thousands of children in the state of Florida with a disability. I know if you are reading this post, there is a good chance that you have your own little ray of sunshine in your life. You have your own survivor, your own little trooper..maybe even your own miracle baby. If so, Able United wants you to know about them. They are celebrating their one year anniversary and offering an amazing deal by waving all fees until July 2018!

 What is Able United?

 When receiving Government funded programs like SSI you can only have a certain amount of money in the bank in order to keep receiving the check. There does not seem to be many ways around that unless you would like to keep cash in a box in your house, and we all know how safe that may (or may not be). Able United has a way around this and allows you to save for the future. You can open an account, which only takes about 15 minutes to do and save TAX-FREE for your Qualified Disability Expenses. There are absolutely no minimums that you need to put in, and you can save up to a total of $14k per year and then you can pick how you would like to invest the money. The funds are very easy for you to take out and you can ask that a paper check be sent or you can request an electronic transfer to your account. 

Multicultural Starpath Dolls- A Doll for Every Princess!

Starpath Dolls are amazing. I will just start this review off by saying this. They are similarly sized to many other popular dolls but this company gives the dolls a unique twist! They offer dolls which have features from different ethnicities. Every little girl needs her own BFF, and often times it is hard to find dolls of certain exotic looks, but Starpath Dolls are here to help with that! 

We were lucky enough to receive the gorgeous Shining Star doll, whose features closely resemble my daughters very Italian looks. She even has the same hazel eye color. As you can see from the picture, my princess was absolutely in love with Shining Star. She just keep staring at her, and playing with her hair. She was treating this doll the exact way that I treat her, and that really warmed my heart. At only 18 months old, I think she recognized some of her self in this doll, and immediately fell in love with her! I love that we can purchase more outfits for the dolls, and can even purchase her pajamas so she can get ready for bed with us. 

If You or Your Child Has a Disability and Qualifies for SSI, Able United has a Contest for You!

This is the face of an amazing little boy. He has the most sparkling blue eyes, and an equally sparkling personality. He is so smart, and can tell you directions of how to get to any town within a 30 mile radius of us. He is delighted by dinosaurs and loves playing Lego's and Mine Craft. This is also the face of a little boy with a very severe speech delay. Even after being in therapy for a year, he is still significantly delayed, and struggles daily to help us understand him.  He is very patient with us not understanding and thinks of other ways that we may "get" what he is trying to say. We are told this disability may be something he has to deal with for the rest of his life, and he is the face of thousands of children in the state of Florida with a disability. 

When receiving Government funded programs like SSI you can only have a certain amount of money in the bank in order to keep receiving the check. There does not seem to be many ways around that unless you would like to keep cash in a box in your house, and we all know how safe that may (or may not be). Able United has a way around this and allows you to save for the future. You can open an account ,which only takes about 15 minutes to do and save TAX-FREE for your Qualified Disability Expenses. There are absolutely no minimums that you need to put in, and you can save uo to a total of $14k per year and then you can pick how you would like to invest the money. The funds are very easy for you to take out and you can ask that a paper check be sent or you can request an electronic transfer to your account.

Right now, Able United has an awesome contest going on between now and June 15, 2017. Florida residents who qualify for the Able United can enter to be one of five people who win $500 to start off their savings account! That is an awesome way to jump start your much needed savings. You can enter right now on Able United's Facebook Page! Good luck to you! I hope you are one of the lucky ones.

JUST RELEASED: Bubble Guppies: Super Guppies

One of our favorite Nick Jr shows has released a new DVD just in time to have your kids home for summer! This Bubble Guppies DVD packed full of all of your favorites is sure to bring hours of entertainment as you kids watch it again and again! I know all three of my kids love it! Even my nine year old is caught staring at it from time to time!

The Bubble Guppies are back with an all-new DVD collection featuring five heroic "tails" in Bubble Guppies: Super Guppies. Whether they're diving into a comic book, going on a treasure hunt or helping to keep the streets safe, the Bubble Guppies prove that being a hero is a lot more than just fighting crime. Produced by Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Home Media Distribution, Bubble Guppies: Super Guppies will be available on DVD May 16, for the suggested retail price of $14.99.

 

Bubble Guppies: Super Guppies contains the following episodes: 

• Super Guppies!                
• X Marks the Spot!                        
• Haunted House Party!                  
• The Unidentified Flying Orchestra!                       
• Police Cop-etition!                       

Water Wubble is Reusable Water Balloons That Do Not Pop!

It is hot in Florida, so all we are thinking about now is a pool, but unfortunately we do not have one. However, Water Wubble has made our days a little more bearable and this kids have had a blast playing with them. I can now send them outside to play without the fear of them getting over headed, or without having to worry about picking up the carcass of left behind water balloons. My sons had some friends over last weekend and they thoroughly enjoyed the Water Wubble, while jumping on the trampoline.

These water balloons that DO NOT POP are super easy to full up and you do not have to tie them either. This makes them easier to use and more affordable because they can be used over and over again. As I mentioned above, as a mom, the thing I like best is that after the kids play with them they WANT to bring them back inside because they realize that they can use them again. I have never let me kids have water balloons because I know what a mess they leave behind when the balloons pop. Not to mention how bad for the environment they are! All of the popped plastic that either sits on the ground and does not decay, or it goes into the land fill. The Water Wubble offers a fun alternative to that, and my kids could not have been happier with them! They had an absolute blast, and I had a blast watching them enjoy them. 

Family Night in with Kate and Mim-Mim

We just received the perfect family night in package from Kate and Mim-Mim and we had an amazing night coloring and doing the activities in the Make Believe with Kate and Mim-Mim book. This fun paper back book has stickers, friendship cards, coloring pages and activities that my two younger children and I enjoyed.

After coloring, we read Happy Birthday Kate and Mim-Mim which the kids really loved. This book is so colorful and fun, and is something that every Kate and Mim-Mim fan needs in their collection. It is all about them planning a secret party in the land of Mimiloo, and is full of fun and surprises throughout. My kids loved the activity book so much we had to make extra printables so that everyone could have their own sheet and did not fight over the activity book. This worked out perfectly for us, and everyone was happy with the picture they got.

Join in on the #startingisbelieving twitter party tonight for awesome info and prizes on prepaid college!

Promo

Join Bloggin Mamas & Florida Prepaid as we host the #StartingisBelieving Twitter Chat on Thursday, 2/23/1 at 9p EST! Join us as we discuss saving for your child’s future using Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans, as well as the open enrollment period ending on the 28th. (Plus, there will be some prizes too!) Date: Thursday, February 23, 2017 Time: 9:00–10:00pm EST / 6:00–7:00pm PST Hashtag: #StartingisBelieving Sponsored By: @FloridaPrepaid Presented by: @BlogginMamas Moderators: English– @HeLoEnterprises Spanish– @BBabushka Co-hosts: @SunnySweetDays @JetSetting_Mom @MommyMafia @JustMarlaZ @RealAdviceGal @TopNotchBlog @ModernBocaMom @WorkingMomof2 @OurPotluckFam @WorkingMomMagic @xxplumcrazeexx @MakeItAllWork @TampaMama @UCTampa Synopsis:

1. We will be focusing on the importance of savings for college. Florida Prepaid Open Enrollment is now open and ends on 2/28/17.
2. There are different options in higher education – colleges, universities, technical degrees and Florida Prepaid has 5 different plan options to cover any route. We will share them with you during the chat.

Open Enrollment for Florida Prepaid College Ends 2/28!

These are the newest faces of the Florida Prepaid College program. Years ago we had checked into it but decided against it because we thought if we moved away our son would be forced to come back to Florida to come to college, and to be honest, "mama doesn't have time for that!" I want to keep my kids close to me and really hope they go to college close by and I was under the mistaken idea that he would HAVE to use it in Florida but that isn't true. Nope, the money amount that Florida Prepaid covers can be used at school nation wide. In fact, there is an added bonus. If we do move out of state and our son does decide to go to school here- he will still get IN STATE tuition fees. That is a HUGE savings!! If our oldest doesn't go to college or if he gets a scholarship, we could change the beneficiary to his younger siblings. Since we are only paying for one year of university at a time, he will probably have made his decision about college and scholarships before his siblings are ready to go, so we can definitely transfer it over then! If none of our kids decide to go to college (ummmm, they better!) then you can cash out the amount paid in.