Celebrate Earth Week with a Share & Tell Party with Yerdle and NBCUniversal #ShareandTell

Monday is Earth Day and we've been celebrating all month long with some great reviews and giveaways. We want to continue this celebration by telling you about NBC's Share and Tell! This Earth Week, NBCUniversal is partnering with the sharing site yerdle to help you minimize your impact on the planet by sharing your stuff! We absolutely love this idea!

What the heck is Yerdle?
Yerdle is the new mission-driven California Benefit corporation that’s out to help people share with their friends rather than buying things new. On yerdle, friends post items they're willing to give away or loan, search for items they're looking to get, and nab the things they want. Simple. 

We threw a Share & Tell Party last year at a friend's house and had so much fun. Plus, we all came home with some new-to-us clothes! Okay, here is how it works:
1. Join or host a Share & Tell Party (by clicking the "Join the Party button in the app below)!
2. Post your stuff to share with friends. Discover other items that are up for grabs, too!
3. Tell the story of your sharing experiences on your favorite social media site with hashtag #ShareandTell

Did you know 71 pounds of waste are generated during the manufacturing of products? Why not share items and cut down on this amount of waste? This is why I think the idea of a Share & Tell Party is great! I love that we can do something like this online and share with friends across the country. You invite friends to come, but they can come anytime to check everything out. Or you can do it at your own house like we did. Either way, it's sure to be great fun for all!

So, ever wonder just how Green you are? I know I did, so I took the quiz found in the widget below. You can also find some other information within the widget, including ways to start sharing with others and creating healthier, happier families and communities. In addition, you can read and also add sharing stories!  My results say I am a Sensational Sharer. I have to admit I was quite surprised and happy with that.

Take the quiz below, check out the great eco-friendly info and sign up to start sharing with friends via yerdle! We are going to make an account right now.

Disclosure: I was provided a eco-friendly gift pack for posting the Share & Tell information. All opinions written are my own.

Protecting Your Entire Family Against Identity Theft with Identity Guard

There are so many reasons I love the Spring season! The weather is warmer, the flowers start to bloom and we get our tax returns! However, there are other things we must deal with, too, like all of the tax forms we have to submit and, of course, spring cleaning. Eck! I never look forward to cleaning, but I get my cleaning gloves on and clean the house from top to bottom each April. Some things can simply be thrown away while others must be handled more carefully, such as important papers. We have some great ideas for properly disposing of these items!

Since my husband started his business this year, we've had even more paperwork that usual. To avoid Identity Theft, we cannot get rid of our old paperwork like the other spring cleaning trash. Instead, we've shredded the important paperwork to make sure it does not get into someone else's hands. That includes tax forms, business information and anything that is personal.

I'm not sure if you are like us, but somehow we've ended up with more magazine subscriptions that I ever thought possible. As I was gathering all the trash during my big cleaning day, I realized that magazines have our names and address printed on them. Would I really want someone else finding this at the dump? Not really. This is why I keep a black sharpie handy and can black out all the information.

In addition to our magazines and my husband's business papers, we've also had to fill out many forms for my son this year. Since he was accepted into Make A Wish and other programs for his Neurofibromatosis, We've had to submit information we normally wouldn't, such as his social security number. To guard against Child Identity Theft, we have to get rid of these papers properly, too. That means deleting all files from the computer as well as shredding any papers we still have at home. All other important papers we need to keep are always stored in a lock box for safe keeping.

We have been working with Identity Guard® for the past few months to share information with our readers about Identity Theft and how to protect yourself against it. Not only can you protect yourself, but, with  Identity Guard® kID Sure®, you can easily protect your children as well. Yes, children are also at risk for ID theft. As the world becomes more mobile and internet based, this opens up so many ways for thieves to access personal information you would not willingly want them to have.

Did you know that Identity Guard® has been protecting others against Identity Theft for over a decade now? They have an amazing program with solid technological solutions that very quickly alert you if any type of activity with your personal information should arise. The latest innovation is kID Sure®, making it possible to now protect the entire family from identity theft. Even when you aren't online, Identity Theft continues to work and keep your family's information safe. Just knowing that the program is always there to keep our personal information safe makes me feel more at easy when working online each day.

Disclosure: This service was provided to me for review at no charge. In addition I received monetary compensation. All opinions are my own.

Hilton HHonors Supports Teachers With The Teacher Treks Travel Grant Contest

Looking back at my middle school experience, I was just a growing girl, uncertain of myself and my abilities. Going into the 6th grade, we entered a new school with new teachers, which was both exciting and frightening. Well, frightening until I walked into Mrs. Oxford's English class. She was the type of teacher who cared for her students and wanted to see them not only succeed, but to better themselves and grow as a person. I never have been a great writer, but do enjoy writing, which Mrs. Oxford sensed immediately. From that moment on, she helped me with my stories and poems, telling me how great they were. It gave me confidence not only as a writer, but helped me learn something about myself.

Until that moment, I'd never had a teacher who cared for her students and really wanted to make such a difference. At 32 years old, I still think about her and the profound effect she had on me. I was such an awkward little tomgirl who was shy, but by the end of the year, I had a deeper love of literature and writing, which has stuck with me ever since.

Hilton HHonors wants to recognize amazing teachers like Mrs. Oxford with the Hilton HHonors Teacher Treks Travel Grant Competition! Hilton HHonors is the loyalty program for Hilton Worldwide's hotel brands and has now announced the 30 finalists of its Teacher Treks Travel Grand Competition. Which means that from now until April 30th, 2013, they need your help narrowing down these awesome teachers to 15 winners!

It will be a tough decision, so take a look at all of the great entries and make your votes. The 15 winning teachers will be provided travel and experience related to the subject they teach, which helps enrich their curriculum and further inspire students. What better way than experiencing the world first-hand!

The finalists are from several states, including North Carolina, New Mexico, Texas, Illinois and Michigan. Take a look and see if there are any finalists from your home state
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Need another reason to go and vote? Each vote you make counts as an entry for a $250 Hilton HHonors Gift Card! So, not only can you help someone win, but you have a chance to win, too! There will be 10 winners for the $250 Hilton HHonors Gift Card, so go vote.

The 15 top winners will receive a $6,000 travel grant to the destination of their choice. In addition, the teacher's school will receive a $2,500 grant for cultural activities and enhancements. That's not all, though. The 15 runners-up will also receive a $2,500 grand for their school and one winner will receive a cultural excursion for their classroom valued at $1500.

Hilton HHonors knows the power of travel, which brings people together and helps us understand different cultures and countries. As someone who has traveled often, I can say that this will be an amazing experience for the winners and something that will change them for the rest of their lives. I love that they will be able to not only get to go on such a wonderful trip, but will also be able to share their experiences with students from that moment forward. This can inspire and encourage students to also travel, learn and experience the world.

Click here to also sign up for the Hilton HHonors program! We've been a member for over a year now and have gotten some great discounts in our weekly newsletter.

Disclosure: This post was written in conjunction with Hilton HHonors and Global Influence. I was paid for this post, though all opinions provided are my own.

Get Your License To Spill With Mohawk Flooring #LicenseToSpill #CBias

Last week I was super excited to receive an invitation to not only attend the Dogwood Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, but to also hang out with the Mohawk Flooring gang at their booth! We have worked with Mohawk in the past on reviews and giveaways, so I was familiar with the brand. Mohawk is one of the world's largest flooring manufacturer and sells its beautiful flooring products in a variety of retailers, including Home Depot (where we've purchase a Mohawk rug in the past) and Kohl's!

My son Josiah and I headed to Atlanta and couldn't wait to get there. As soon as we walked in the front gates, we spotted the Mohawk Flooring License To Spill Atlanta Tour Booth area complete with some fun and amazing things. I noticed Josiah's eyes get bigger as we neared the first table full of SmallCakes Cupcakery cupcakes. They had the most delicious peach and cinnamon peach cupcakes. What a perfect choice for all of us Georgia Peaches!

When we arrived, Audra Lowe was there filming a spot with Mohawk Flooring! For those of you who do not know the name, Audra is the co-host of nationally syndicated The Better Show. True to her demeanor on tv, she was so nice and down to earth. I even ran into her later and she gave me directions back to another part of the park!

I was introduced to several other bloggers and then we moved on to the really interesting part of the License To Spill Tour! Mohawk Flooring was introducing their SmartStrand carpeting.

About SmartStrand
This awesome material is permanent stain AND soil resist in a way that never wears off or gets old. Most other carpets have a stain resistant treatment applied to the top of the fabric, which actually wears off after time. We learned this from carpeting we purchased for my mom's house. With SmartStrand, as long as you have the carpet in your home, it will have stain protection because it is much different than other carpets, having the stain protection actually built into the carpet fiber!

Knowing this information, we were given License to Spill! Actually, Josiah was in charge and allowed to make a mess for once! He was asked to spray a variety of staining liquids onto a piece of carpet... and boy did he! The entire piece of carpet was covered in red wine and juice stains. You can see it here:

All we had to do was clean with a spray bottle of water and then wipe dry with a cloth before the carpeting looked like new again. How amazing is that?

I swear it is like magic. For those of us with kids, this would be the perfect carpeting for our homes, right? I don't know how many times the kids have spilled drinks or foods on the floor. Being able to easily clean up the mess would be wonderful!

As you can see, SmartStrand is so easy to clean. This means you don't have to spend a bundle of money on those expensive carpet cleaners any more. No more harsh chemicals are needed either! All you need is a cloth, some warm water, maybe some mild detergent or dish soap. Then, you are ready to clean. We saw this amazing carpeting get rid of stains in less than a minute. This is why the SmartStrand carpet is rated #1 in consumer satisfaction.

We had such a wonderful time meeting other Atlanta area bloggers and learning about SmartStrand carpet. Now I know what carpeting we are going to look at when we get our new house! My son is already asking when we can go back to the Dogwood Festival, so I know we'll definitely go back next year. You can check out our Twitter account at @Children Teach to see the tweets we sent throughout the day and you can also follow Mohawk Flooring on Twitter, too! Also, be sure to go to the Mohawk Flooring website for your chance to win a 6'x9' SmartStrand Silk bound carpet rug. (This material is unbelievably soft! We got to feel it today and loved it!)

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Mohawk Flooring #cbias #SocialFabric #licensetospill

Shake Up Your Wake Up with Silk Fruit & Protein #SilkFruit @LoveMySilk

There was a time in my life when I did not pay close attention to what I ate and, as I got older, I could tell a decline in my energy and health. After having children, my body and my life changed, so I had to adjust to the change and knew it was time to start eating healthier. The first step to altering my eating habits was to eat a healthy breakfast. Starting the morning out right really does set the tone for the rest of the day. Thanks to SocialMoms and Silk, I am participating in a sponsored blogging program to tell you about my new breakfast routine!

I had the same morning routine for years and years. You know, the glass of juice, cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal or cereal routine. After a while this really got monotonous and, when you have kids, they definitely let you know when they are ready for a change. This is why we decided to really shake things up by incorporating Silk Fruit & Protein into our morning routine. We are huge Silk fans, so when this came out, we had to give it a try.

What makes Silk Fruit & Protein so special? It contains a great source of protein, something that other juices do not provide. It is an excellent source of Calcium, Vitamin D and Vitamin C! In fact, it contains a full day's supply of vitamin C! Plus, it comes in three delicious flavors, including Mixed Berry, Mango Peach and Strawberry Banana. We've purchased Silk Soy Milk for years because my husband and I are lactose intolerant. Just like with their other products, the Silk Fruit & Protein is lactose, dairy, gluten, casein, egg and MSG-Free! In addition, it contains no cholesterol, saturated fat, artificial coloring or flavors, so you know what you are drinking is not only delicious, but healthy for your body!

So, back to our morning routine... My favorite of the Silk Fruit & Protein options is definitely the Mango Peach. I love mango and this one has a great flavor with a hint of peach that is not overwhelming. I love it so much that I even made a smoothie from it and talk about delicious! The boys LOVE the Mango Peach smoothie, so it has been high on the breakfast request list lately. In fact, they like drinking it at snack time, too.

Celebrate Earth Day With A Conscious Box Subscription - 3-Month Subscription Giveaway

I get so excited when I find other companies with eco-conscious values. When I received an email from Conscious Box, I had to check them out immediately. This awesome company is all about promoting eco-friendly products at great prices.

What is a Conscious Box? It's a monthly subscription service that delivers the purest, most natural products on the planet, right to your doorstep! You can discover new products each month that are non-toxic, earth-friendly and sustainable. Plus, you can also receive discounts on those products for future purchases.

Here are some of the awesome types of products you can expect to find in your Conscious Box:

It is seriously packed full of mother-nature goodness! I cannot wait to start receiving my subscription... which reminds me, we have an awesome code for our readers. Want to try out a Conscious Box for FREE? Yes, I wrote FREE. We have a secret code to share with you. Use: SECRETCODE at checkout and you will only be required to pay about $12 for shipping! This way you can check it out for yourself, become addicted and then subscribe to receive goodies every month if you wish. OR, use this code: LOVELIFE to receive 50% off any package! Click here to get started.

Ready for a giveaway?

Conscious Box is giving away a 3-Month Subscription to Conscious Box to one lucky Children Teaching Mama Reader!!! That is a $60 value!

Celebrating Aveeno for Earth Month & Pure Renewal Collection Gift Package Giveaway

 I am a huge AVEENO fan and have used their products for many years. I am so excited to be an AVEENO Ambassador because that means I get to share with you many of their awesome products and host some amazing giveaways!

To celebrate Earth Month, we wanted to highlight the PURE RENEWAL Hair Care Collection! Created by AVEENO scientists with the help of eco-friendly celebrity stylist, Patrick Melville, this awesome collection allows hair to be cleansed without sulfates, parabens or synthetic dyes that can further damage hair. AVEENO wanted to provide consumers with hair care products that are non-abrasive and clean hair in a way other sulfate-free products fail to do.

How is the AVEENO PURE RENEWAL Hair Care Collection eco-friendly? Well, the bottles are comprised of 48% pre-consumer recycled materials. Plus, the formula is 90% renewable and produced using a low-energy, solvent-free process that creates zero waste. In addition, the formula is starch-based, actually derived from potatoes, which means a high performing shampoo for consumers without releasing pollution of chemicals into the environment.

How about a celebration giveaway?

Thanks to Aveeno, Children Teaching Mama Readers Have A Chance To Win A Great AVEENO PURE RENEWALS Gift Package, which includes:

• AVEENO® PURE RENEWAL™ Shampoo – naturally-derived cleansers carefully lift away impurities and rebalance hair’s optimal moisture
• AVEENO® PURE RENEWAL™ Conditioner – conditions and softens without weighing hair down, for more manageable hair
• AVEENO® PURE RENEWAL™ Dry Shampoo – refreshes hair for a clean, healthy look between washes
• The Tree Planting Kit pictured below!

Just use the Rafflecopter form below to enter! This giveaway is open to US Residents, 18+ years and ends on Monday, May 13th at 11:59pm. Good Luck!

A Healthier Mama With Provella Probiotics & 30-Day Supply Giveaway *5 Winners*

A few years ago, I came down with the flu while my husband was at work. It was the worst day of my life. Since then, I've tried to keep my body healthier, in shape and feeling good. There isn't just one way to become healthy. You have to find what works for you. For myself, exercise is a must each day. Yes, as a stay at home mom, it would be easy to lay around on the couch all day with the kids watching tv, but I don't want to become a couch potato and I certainly don't want that happening to my children. Each day we go outside for at least one hour. Although I don't jog or run, just playing with the kids is a great workout. The weather has been great for this lately, so we've been outside even more than usual.

Another important factor in my health is diet. Eating right changes the way I feel, from the energy I have to the way my stomach digests food. Before I had children, I never had any stomach issues, but now things are unfortunately much different. Shortly after having Liam, I noticed my stomach was hurting much more often, I became constipated more often and just didn't feel very well. I spent more time trying to sit still so my tummy wouldn't hurt, which made me feel even less healthy. I knew something had to change, but I had no idea what to do. Then, a friend suggested probiotics and this changed everything!

We all know there are good and bad bacteria in our bodies, but did you know they can severely disrupt your system's performance if unbalanced? Most noticeably, it can upset your digestive and feminine health. Probiotics aren't drugs or vitamins. In fact, they contain live microorganisms that work within your body to restore the balance of good and bad bacteria in our bodies. There are many factors that can cause an imbalance, including diet, hormonal fluctuations, sickness and more.
The probiotic I am trying right now is Provella, a probiotic specifically for women. Provella contains 6 bacteria strains, which specifically give support to digestive feminine and immune health. This is something different from other probiotics and I love that there is one specifically for women. Another fact that makes Provella unique is the patented controlled-release technology, which allows the probiotic bacteria to better survive stomach acid, so it can get to the intestines and start working!

I take one each day with or without food and that's it! I don't have take medicines or other drugs to target stomach issues because probiotics do this naturally for me. Having an alternative like this for myself is always preferred because I don't like taking medicines unless completely necessary. I feel healthier, my energy is restored and I can keep up with my kids. There are many benefits to taking probiotics and I, personally, can tell a difference in my digestive health.

Want to give Provella a try? Click Here to print out a $6 coupon for your next purchase of Provella! Provella is available at drugstores around the United States and can also be purchase via Drugstore.com.

Giveaway Time

Now that you've ready a little about probiotics, would you like a chance to try Provella? We are so excited to offer our readers an awesome giveaway:

FIVE Children Teaching Mama Readers Will Win A 30-Day Supply of Provella!

Just use the GiveawayTools form below to enter. This giveaway is open to continental US readers 18+ years of age and will end on Tuesday, April 23rd at 11:59pm. Be sure to come back daily for extra entry options. Good Luck!

State Farm Helps Assist Neighborhoods & So Can You! Vote Today!

Have you ever wished you could give something back to your community or help improve it in some way? When I was younger, our Girl Scout Troop helped build a nature trail at our park with the Boy Scouts and, today, that trail is still used and loved by the community. This would not have been possible without help from other companies and their donations. Well, State Farm is doing their part to give back to communities, too, and we just had to tell our readers about this wonderful cause.

The State Farm Neighborhood Assist Program is a yearly chance for State Farm to give back to 40 communities to help make a difference. Yes, 40 winners will receive a $25,000 grant, so they are giving away a total of $1 million!!! Isn't that amazing?

As a mom who tries to do our part for our small community, I know $25,000 can go a very long way! Just imagine a community garden or a program for our children. I think Canton, where I live, could definitely benefit from a community garden where our children can learn all about organic gardening. They could learn about each of the plants, their nutritional value as well as how to grow a successful garden. Something else I think our community needs is a program or resource for children with Neurofibromatosis. There is nothing like that around here and, with so many children being diagnosed, this would be a wonderful resource for parents and children that educates and shows them support. I think our children are our future, so programs for children are what most interest me.

Help Communities Win By Voting!
You Can Help State Farm choose the winners!! That's right! The top 200 submissions were announced on April 4th, so from now until Just go to the State Farm Facebook app to read all about the communities who have submitted their ideas to win the $25,000 grants. You get 10 votes each day, so come back each day to cast votes. The hardest part is deciding who to give votes to each day. All of the causes are worthy of votes!

What improvements or betterments would you like to see in your own community? Check out this video of one of the winners from the 2012!

Please take a moment each day for the next 5 days to vote and support communities nationwide! Give them a chance to do something amazing for their residents. Who knows, maybe you will even find your own community and can vote for it!

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for MomCentral Consulting on behalf of State Farm and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

April Extreme $400 Cash Giveaway Event

Welcome to the April Extreme Cash Giveaway! Children Teaching Mama has teamed up with some of our favorite blogger friends to give our fabulous readers the chance to win $400 cash! How exciting is that?

The April Extreme Cash Giveaway will run for four weeks giving you plenty of time to complete any entries you choose to do. Remember, all entries are OPTIONAL. There are lots of daily entries for you to take advantage of as well, so don’t forget to bookmark this giveaway and come back everyday for more chances to win!

A huge thanks to our awesome co-hosts who made this giveaway possible: GeminiRed Creations, FreeMakeupandBeautySamples.com, Beauty Brite, Shopaholicmommy.com, My Vegan Gluten-Free Life, Life With Levi, Must Love Coupons, Broward Saves

Just use the Rafflecopter form below to enter! Giveaway is open worldwide and ends May 12th  at 11:59 PM EST. Good luck!