America's Supernanny Casting Call For Atlanta Area

As many of you may know, we live just north of Atlanta, Georgia, so I am very excited to tell you about this opportunity!

America's Supernanny is currently searching for families to be on their show. Could your family benefit from the help of the child/teen expert, Deborah Tillman? She has founded and runs 3 successful daycare centers in Virginia where she has worked with children and teens for many years. Her credentials are outstanding and she wants to help families!

America's Supenanny is coming to Atlanta, Georgia to interview families at the end of this month/beginning of June! Do you have behavioral difficulties with your children? Or do you know someone else who does? They could greatly benefit from this opportunity!

If you are interested or want to recommend a family for the show, please contact Robyn Kiyomi directly at 323.904.4680 or via email at rkiyomi@shedmediaus.com with your name, phone number, city/state, number of children and why you need help.

The deadline to apply is Friday, May 25th, 2012, so don't delay!

Together Counts Encourages Families To Become More Healthy & Active + 5 Fun Outdoor Activities

This year we've been very lucky with the weather here in Georgia. Spring arrived very early this year and at the beginning of March we've had highs in the 80s already! I'm so happy because we are an outdoor kind of family. We love being outside and, since we live in the mountains, there is always something fun to do. It's so important to stay active as a family, especially for children. Why? Being active benefits children in may ways, including promoting healthy growth and development, building strong bones and muscles, and improving self-esteem! I notice my children are much happier after spending time outside and I think we parents also benefit from getting some fresh air and letting the children burn off some of that extra energy!

There are many ways we stay active with this kids and I highly recommend as a family. Here are 5 ways to stay active outdoors with children this Spring and Summer!

1. Plan a visit to a national or state park! We live close to the Amicalola Falls State Park because there are several hiking trails, beautiful scenery and you can even hike to see the amazing falls. They even have a hike-inn where you hike up part of the mountain and spend the night.

2. Plant a garden! We plant a garden every year. The boys love digging in the dirt and it's great exercise! This year I bought them their own above-ground garden, which is an 8x8 area. They can dig in it, plan flowers and vegetables, etc. Not only is it fun for them, but they learn something from the experience and get to enjoy the results! We have already planted our flowers and have one tomato plant that has several tomatoes already forming.

3. Go fishing! Older kids may actually love to go fishing. We go out to our creek and walk along the rocks. Josiah enjoys casting his reel, but more than anything he just likes playing in the water. Encourage children to look for the fish and find other creatures in the water. We always find clam shells, crayfish and other goodies to tote home with us.

4. Backyard Water Games - We have 2 water tables and the kids go wild with them. You can also get cheap little pools or even just water guns and let them chase each other around. Kids love water!

Future Fortified Provides Mothers & Children With Essential Vitamins and Minerals

Yesterday I went to the grocery store to purchase milk, eggs, gummy vitamins, juice and other items for our week's meals. It's our weekly trip to the store and something I usually don't think twice about. It dawned on me that this is many of the daily occurrences we often take for granted. Many families around the world do not have this luxury. They struggle to provide even the most basic nutrients we are given each and every day. Future Fortified, a campaign of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), helps provide millions of women and children around the world with the essential nutrients needed.

In a perfect world all pregnant women, new mothers and their young would and could receive the appropriate nutrients needed. Future Fortified has invented creative and innovative ways to improve nutrition and health in a cost-efficient way. How? Home Nutrition Packets. These small single-serving packets, filled with essential vitamins and minerals, are sprinkled onto food and easily ingested a few times a week. These amazing little packets cost less than three cents each in countries such as Kenya and Bangladesh. It's such a wonderful, yet affordable way for low-income mothers and their children to receive the nutrition they need and deserve. 

I wanted to share the information about Future Fortified because it's such an amazing and necessary effort that deserves attention and donations. Can you imagine not being able to provide your own children with the vitamins and minerals needed? Though we have these items at our disposal, others do not and we should do our part to help. Please take a look at the Future Fortified website to see what you can do to help. You can also follow via Facebook and Twitter.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf Future Fortified. To thank me for my contribution, Mom Central donated $20 to the FutureFortified campaign.