Personalized Kids Table & Chairs Set Giveaway ($120 Value)

We love personalized items for our kids, so imagine our surprise and delight when we found out about this awesome giveaway! Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets has a great giveaway going on now. One very lucky winner will receive a Personalized Kids Table & Chairs Set designed just for them. This cute round table comes complete with two chairs and retails at $120. The chairs can each be personalized with a different name for your little ones!

As a homeschooling mom, we use our table often for just about everything from lunch and reading to crafts and pretend play. Liam loves tea time with his tea set and Josiah loves painting. This table is the perfect place for your little ones to do all of the above. Plus, the table and chairs can be handpainted with your choice of over 60 designs so you can make it special for your child or children. Some of the designs include ladybugs, ballerinas and jungle animals, so there are choices for both boys and girls! See for yourself below.

Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. This giveaway is open to Continental US Residents, 18+ years of age and ends on Sunday, March 3rd! Good Luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Benefits Of Insception Lifebank Cord Blood Service

Having a child is such a special moment in your life and one we have experienced twice. With our first, Josiah, he was born without issue, was happy, healthy and came home from the hospital shortly after delivery. Liam's birth, on the other hand, was a little more complicated. He was born 5 weeks early and his lungs were not fully developed. This caused a variety of issues and set the scene for what was to come in his life. Since then he has been diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis, brain tumors and may cause a variety of other issues in his future.

Of course, you never expect anything like this to happen to your own family. Before this, we'd never thought about banking cord blood, but now that Liam has gone through so much, this is definitely a consideration when having our next child. The viable stem cells found in cord blood can be used to treat 75 conditions and medical experts are working to find more ways cord blood can be used to help families like our own. 

Yes, banking cord blood can get expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Doing our research, we found that Insception Lifebank is offering a $100 off coupon for cord blood services for Canadian residents. The amazing thing about the cord blood service is that you can reserve your spot just by entering your baby's due date and your name. Then, when your baby is born you have 10 days to use the coupon and save the cord blood with Insception. 

If you are wondering about how this effects your baby, there is nothing to worry about. This is a noninvasive procedure, which in no way effects the birth or health of your baby. However, the cord blood is there if ever needed in the future. For example, cord blood has been used to treat a variety of issues, from autism and diabetes to spinal cord injuries and cerebral palsy. 

Of course, we hope nothing like this will ever be needed, but wouldn't you rather take this step now than wish you had later on? We never knew what we would go through with our little Liam and, with all of the new treatments using cord blood, we are positive this may be able to help his diagnosis in the future. 

Have you used a cord banking service or do you plan to after having your child?

Disclosure: I was compensated for this sponsored post made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. Coupons for this promotion are available to Canadian residents only. American registrations are welcome but unfortunately do not qualify for the coupons. 

Guard Yourself Against Tax-Time Identity Theft

It's tax season again, a time of the year my husband and I never look forward to... unless we actually get money back, of course. Some of the companies I work with send electronic copies of the 1099 forms via email and others arrive in our mailbox. As we've learned, identity theft is at an all-time high, which means we need to guard ourselves against the possibility and do what we can to keep safe from potential predators.

Where do you keep and compile your tax forms? Tax forms contain a great deal of our own personal information and it is very, very important to keep these private and safe. When I was younger, I never took much care putting away my tax forms and just put them in a drawer in my room, but now I know better. When I receive the forms via email, I print them out and make sure the email is completely deleted and erased not only from my inbox, but also from trash. Why? Because I've had my email hacked before and no telling what kind of information they could have retrieved. Tax forms not only include information about income, but also has social security numbers and birth dates. When attempting to guard against Tax-Time Identity Theft, it is important to keep this in mind and be safe with your forms.


Once the forms are printed out and received in our mailbox, we keep them filed in folders to keep them nice and neat, but, as an extra precaution, we keep them stored in our lock box, which we keep hidden in our home. All of our important information, from passports and birth certificates to taxes and car papers, are stored in a lock box to which only my husband and I have a key.

We've written about Child Identity Theft in the past and I believe this time of year is the time to start guarding not only yourself, but your children against identity theft. Billions of dollars are given out to people who have used fraudulent social security numbers. Even worse, these social security numbers usually belong to children. They are less likely to be discovered for many years and, by then, the perpetrator is usually long gone, leaving a financial disaster for the child.


We recommend Identity Guard because they have been protecting people from the threat of identity theft for over a decade. They also offer a new program, kID Sure, which helps guard children, so the entire family can be better protected from the risk of identity theft. Do you guard yourself against identity theft? If not, now may be the time to do so!

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

February $400 Extreme Cash Giveaway

Welcome to the February Extreme Cash Giveaway! Children Teaching Mama has teamed up with Oh My Gosh Beck! and other fabulous blogs to give our readers the chance to win an awesomely extreme $400 prize!

The February Extreme Cash Giveaway will run for a total of four week, which will give you plenty of time to complete any entries you choose to do. Remember, all entries are OPTIONAL. There are many 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!

This giveaway is co-hosted by: This Mama Loves Her Bargains, Just Married with Coupons, Broward Saves, Making of a Mom, ShopaholicMommy, SmartySaver and Coupons In Motion

Giveaway is open worldwide and ends March 14th  at 11:59 PM EST. Good luck!

Umi Shoes Deal Of The Month : Boys Torrance Shoes 40% Off

This month the adorable Torrance shoes by Umi are on sale for 40% off! Regularly priced at $60,  you can pick them up for only $36! What a great deal. They come in black, brown and navy blue!

Capturing Beautiful Baby Pictures With SanDisk & Erin Manning

When I was growing up, my mom always took pictures of big moments, vacations and holidays. I love looking at all of the picture albums she made for me over the years and, now that I have children, I want to do the same for them! From the moment my boys were born, my husband and I were snapping photos left and right. I love taking photos with my Canon Rebel and have always used SanDisk memory cards for my pictures because I want my pictures to be safely stored for many years and it is a brand I trust. 

Need some ideas and tips for taking great pictures of your baby? 

Well, SanDisk and photographer, author, and educator Erin Manning are here to help! In the video below, Erin Manning shares her Top 3 Tips for capturing some great baby photos. The advice she gives is very helpful, including how to set the scene, how to get beautiful up-close pictures of baby, and why she uses a SanDisk Ultra SDHC card to be sure she never misses a shot.

What tips do you have for taking great baby photos? Give the tips above a try and let me know how it goes! We will definitely give them a try and share the pictures with everyone.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for SanDisk. I received a product sample to thank me for participating.

EdenFantasys Has Perfect Gifts For Your Valentine!

I love getting presents for others, but my husband is not the easiest person to buy for. In fact, I usually save his gifts until last because I have no idea what to get. This Valentine's Day the opposite occurred. I remembered how much I love EdenFantasys and started looking around for Valentine's presents we could both enjoy.

Last Christmas I found the best bubble bath for gifts and they were such a hit. I went to buy more and they were all gone, but I found so many other kids in their place. My husband would never admit it, but he loves things like this. Bubble bath and bath salts are among his favorites when he has a chance to take a bath and relax. EdenFantasys has a great variety of products that are sure to please in the bath and shower.

Kama Sutra Massage Candle

I am planning on taking my husband away soon and also found a fun gift we can both enjoy... a massage candle! I love candles and massages, so finding something that includes both is just amazing! The massage candles can provide a romantic setting and, after melting, they provide the perfect warm oil for a wonderful massage! Luckily, they have many massage candles from which to choose on EdenFantasys.

Want to make some money from purchases? Join the EdenFantasys affiliate program today and earn money every time one of your friends makes a purchase! It's so easy, especially if you have a blog. Also, be sure to use code: HOT4U to receive 25% off any purchase from now until 2/15, so it is not too late to get your loved one a Valentine gift at a great price!

To help celebrate Valentine's Day, EdenFantasys has a great giveaway for Children Teaching Mama Readers!

One Reader Will Win a $25 Gift Code To use on EdenFantasys.com! 

Yo Gabba Gabba! Hello Friends! App Review & $10 Amazon or iTunes Gift Card Giveaway

My kids are actually pretty picky about the types of shows they watch on tv. They like Caillou and a few other animated shows, but they absolutely love Yo Gabba Gabba because it is so interactive, fast paced and just pure fun. This is why we were so excited to find out about the new Yo Gabba Gabba! Hello Friends! App and couldn't wait to give it a try.

My kids enjoy stealing my iPad from me on a daily basis, so I've tried to load it down with quite a few apps to keep them happy. This helps so much when we are at the doctor, waiting in line or just stuck inside on a rainy day. I downloaded the Hello Friends! app on via iTunes and, shortly after, the kids were ready to play.

Many apps just focus on one game or activity, but not this one! There are many activities to keep little ones happy, including music videos and songs that fans will recognize from the hit show. Liam favorites are the stickers. You can put them on the Yo Gabba Gabba characters and decorate a scene the way you want it. He just laughs and laughs at his creations.

Josiah, my 5 year old, is also a fan, but needs a bit more to keep him occupied. He loves the games included in the Hello Friends! app and especially likes Brobee Jump, which is similar to another game he has played.

I love that there are so many different activities packed into this app and, for only $3.99 from iTunes, it's quite a bargain! It is also available for Android devices. Plus, there will be even more activities added to the app, so there is no end to the possibilities! Check your updates every week because you never know when something new may pop up!

Because we love Yo Gabba Gabba so much and we are excited about their upcoming visit to Atlanta (we will write about this shortly), we have a great giveaway!

One Lucky CTM Reader Will Receive a $10 Amazon.com GC OR $10 iTunes GC! Winner's Choice!

Four-Wheeled Wonders: Shopping Cart History

You probably use one day without really thinking about it. All of your necessities find their way into it, your children ride in it, and it adds convenience to your life unheard of just a century ago. And it’s not your car.

Shopping trolley, shopping carriage, bascart, barrae, buggie – no matter what you call your shopping cart, without it, your daily errands would be entirely more daunting. Do you take the time to appreciate that four-wheeled wonder? Well, maybe it’s about time you do.

The invention of the shopping cart

Let’s take a trip back in time to Oklahoma City, 1936. Before the days of Black Friday and Walmart coupons. The owner of a local supermarket chain, Piggly Wiggly, is sitting in his office, scratching his head. How could he enable his customers to get more groceries, he wonders. While looking around the room, his eyes fall on a wooden folding chair, and he’s struck with an idea that will revolutionize the way people shop forever. What if, Sylvan Goldman wonders, I put a basket on the seat and wheels on the feet?  Not only would grocery shopping become far less of a hassle, but customers would be able to purchase more. It was a win-win situation – and there’s nothing better than that.

Goldman brought this rough idea to one of his employees, a mechanic, and they set out to streamline the new contraption. Replace the wooden chair with a metal frame, add a couple of baskets, and they had themselves the first shopping cart – or as Goldman called it, “the folding basket carrier.” Not as catchy, we know.

The folding basket carriage is born

Eventually, Goldman found another mechanic to mass-produce his new invention. He applied in 1938, and, after a two-year wait, was awarded the patent for the “Folding Basket Carriage for Self-Service Stores.” Now Goldman was ready to bring his creation to the public. Advertising them as part of a “no-basket carrying plan,” he brought the carts to his market and introduced them to his customers.

But his folding basket carrier did not receive a warm welcome (people are always resistant to change, aren’t they?). The carriers were deemed too effeminate for men, and women were initially dissuaded by their resemblance to baby carriages. So the public turned a cold shoulder to Goldman’s shiny new carriers, but he wasn’t about to give up. He hired male and female models to push the carts around his stores and animate just how helpful the carriers truly were. And that was really all it took. Soon enough, everyone was using the basket carriers and Goldman had changed grocery and retail shopping forever. Now shopping carts are ubiquitous, a mainstay of the modern consumer experience.

And to think, some people just abandon their carts in an empty lot. Next time you’re shopping, take some time to thank Sylvan Goldman and appreciate the wheeled wizardry of the shopping cart. And buy yourself a little present while you’re at it.

Coupon Chief Helps You Save Money & $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

As a family on a budget, I am always trying to save money in any way possible. That doesn't mean I have to sacrifice quality, though. When I am in need of something, I do my research to not only find the best deal, but to also find any relevant coupons. A few years ago, when we moved to a rural area, I began shopping online more and this is when I realized I could actually save even more money this way! Just like in-store purchases, I can find deals and stack coupons on top of them! Sometimes I can even find better sales and clearance sections online than in-store, which is something I really love!

When I first started couponing, I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but I feel like a deal-finding pro now that I've found Coupon Chief! Just recently I had to purchase new clothes for Liam. There is no way I am going to pay full price, especially when there are so many end-of-the-season sales going on now.  In fact, Coupon Chief coupon codes saved me a bundle just this week. Gap is one of my favorite clothing brands, but it can be pricey. I found a 30% off coupon and, combined with the website sales and clearance section, I saved over $100 on my purchase! My husband was very impressed with my shopping skills, so he wants me to update his wardrobe, too. I cannot wait to do that.

Ready to go shopping for a new wardrobe? Here is a giveaway that will help fund your online shopping excursion! 

Thanks to Coupon Chief, One Lucky Children Teaching Mama Reader Will Win a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card!