If you have kids, you are probably well aware that adding ranch dressing will help get your kids to eat any raw vegetable. Let's face it - the stuff is tasty and it adds pizazz to an otherwise boring snack.  The makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressings have created a free online game, called Veggie Adventures that can be played now at LoveYourVeggies.com. Keeping in mind a recent study that indicated that 60 percent of parents play computer games with their kids, the makers of Hidden Valley Dressings hope Veggie Adventures will be yet another tool for moms to utilize to expand their young children's appreciation for vegetables.

Veggie Adventures engages families in a three-part vegetable adventure that begins with growing vegetables on the farm and ends with serving and sharing vegetables with friends.  Along with fun and easy game-play, Veggie Adventures provides players with great tips and vegetable facts meant to be transplanted outside of the gaming experience. At the end of each stage, players receive a printable certificate to commemorate their success.

Head on over to their website and try it out! You know you want to...It's actually really cute. I'm so glad I learned about this site from the great ladies over at Mom Central.

Have you heard about the St. Xavier MS Nursing Program? They offer this Master of Science in Nursing along with the Clinical Nurse Leader Masters Degree.  Of course, if you are interested in pursuing this degree, you must already have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college.  The great thing about St. Xavier's is that they offer online courses. This makes it so much more practical, and allows you to continue with your current job.  One weekend of applied campus experience is also included.  If you are looking to increase your salary and your demand in this market, getting a Master of Science in Nursing, or in Clinical Nurse Leadership will definitely make this possible!  Having an advanced degree will help you find the exact job that you've always wanted. 

There are so many different supplements out there that claim to help you get the toned, healthy body that we all want.  I have heard about HGH supplements, different types of weighloss pills, and then of course all the vitamins and herbs that are supposed to help.  I think that some people probably see benefits from some of these things. But, for me, I'll stick to attempting to eat pretty well and getting about thirty minutes of exercise a day.  It really isn't that hard if you make yourself a priority.

I have always wanted to try running a franchised business.  One of my relatives once had a yogurt shop, but it wasn't part of a franchise. With a franchise, you naturally get the name recognition that inevitably brings warm bodies through the door. The down side is that your profits are shared up the corporate ladder. Recently I heard about a franchise opportunity that sounded fun.  I wish I had the startup cash to get it rolling!

I have tried lots of "work from home" jobs.  I still piddle in doing paid blog posts (obviously).  But, I haven't found the perfect "work from home" opportunity. I've started tutoring from home, and that is actually really fun. I enjoy interacting with students that might be anywhere in North America.  I also heard about insurance lead generation.  This might be something to learn more about.

At our house, we've been using Listerine for years.  I especially like the citrus flavored variety. So when I was asked by the nice ladies at Mom Central and Johnson's to try a sample of Listerine Total Care and to blog about it, I was thrilled!

One of our most important jobs as Moms is to make sure that everyone in our family takes care of themselves. In the midst of this, we often completely overlook our own healthy habits. Case in point: oral health care. For me, brushing teeth: check. Flossing: well I try for twice a day, once realistically. But rinsing with mouthwash is such an important step that many people skip!

With our ever growing to-do lists it can be so easy to neglect our personal oral health, but with 92% of adults ages 20 to 64 experiencing dental decay in our permanent teeth at some point in our lives, proper oral care routines and preventive dental care visits prove more essential than ever for achieving a cleaner, healthier mouth. We need to take notes from what we tell our kids - by doing simple things regularly including brushing, flossing and rinsing twice daily and visiting your dentist twice a year for preventative care, you can avoid bigger problems down the line that require painful oral procedures and may cost thousands of dollars. An alarming recent survey by Cigna indicates that 41 percent of Americans are taking worse care of their health because of the economy.

 LISTERINE® TOTAL CARE, Anticavity Fluoride Mouthwash, now available, is the only fluoride mouthwash that contains six benefits in one:

·    Helping to prevent cavities
·    Restoring enamel
·    Strengthening teeth
·    Killing bad breath germs
·    Freshening breath
·    Fighting unsightly plaque above the gum line

Go out and get a bottle of this stuff the next time you're shopping. You owe it to yourself and your family!

 Did you know that only 46% of people treat wounds to soothe them and relieve pain?  Painful wounds including splinters, shaving cuts, blisters, hang nails, ripped cuticles, paper cuts and burns account for nearly 40% of wound types that people sustain. Sound familiar?  Even minor cuts and scrapes can become contaminated with dirt and germs, which may cause infection.  I really wish that I could go an entire week without somehow getting a scrape or cut. While this rarely happens, at least I can feel good in knowing that I have something that will help me feel better and prevent infection at the same time. 

Neosporin + Pain Relief First Aid Antibiotic/Pain Relieving Ointment and Cream help prevent infection and provide temporary relief of pain or discomfort in minor cuts, scrapes, and burns.  What I love about Neosporin is that it is suitable for ages 2 and up.  They even now make Neosporin Neo to Go! First Aid Antiseptic/Pain Relieving Spray. This stuff comes in a cool pocket size spray that you can bring everywhere!

I am so glad that I was asked to review this product by the nice ladies over at Mom Central and Johnson's.  Feel free to click here to learn more about Neosporin. 

I hope that we can go somewhere really fun this summer.  I would love to rent an rv and drive to Florida. That's my goal, but it may not happen this year.  I know that you can rent a space in rv parks for a very reasonable price.  I suppose the gas might be just as expensive as staying in a hotel, but I just think it would be really fun. Plus, we could bring Buster and Cameron would really enjoy that aspect.

I really like how the area we live in has been landscaped. Everything has been remulched and it is starting to look like spring around here. Even though the trees in our own yard are pretty puny, there are plenty of nice mature trees around the parks and greenbelts.  Apricot trees, Live Oaks, Magnolias, and Sycamore trees are my favorites. Hopefully the little trees in our front yard will withstand another hurricane season. 

Do you ever get the feeling that you don't have enough insurance coverage? Sometimes I think we need to get more. I know you can find affordable term life insurance quotes online.  Even though we're fairly young, you just never know what will happen.  We want Cameron to be financially protected should something happen to us.  We all have to be prepared for almost anything. I know when Hurricane Ike hit our area, we were happy to have flood insurance. Thank God we didn't have to file any claims.

I think I have finally found the office furniture I want to buy for Chris' office. Yes, it probably should be his decision. But, the space is limited in the bedroom. I found a great set of filing drawers (goodbye stacks of paper all over the house!) and a small computer desk that will fit perfectly in there. The room also contains my elliptical machine and the exercise bike, so there wasn't much room for error.

Have you ever wondered how you can positively impact the relationship your kids have with money?  With the current economic crisis going on right now, our wallets and savings accounts have all been hit pretty hard.  This has resulted in most of us reevaluating our discretionary spending.  Kids must learn about the relationship between work and money, and how to keep a budget of some sort. 

To help us balance the desire of our kids with the balance in our checking accounts, Discover Card came up with a truly innovative debit card called Current by Discover Card. It is designed especially for kids ages 13 to 18.  The Current Card helps us teach our kids (born in a digital age) how to manage spending. Like car companies that allow you to set the maximum speed limit on your teen's car, Current by Discover Card puts moms in control by letting you set (daily, weekly, monthly) spending limits, block, certain merchant categories (like ATMs and liquor stores) and track your teen's spending online or through email and text message alerts. Plus, because it's a debit card product, the card stops working when the limit is reached without incurring any additional fees, which protects your teens from overspending.

As parents, we have the responsibility to discuss wise spending habits as a family. Discover Card created an online resource, www.currentbydiscover.com, to help us talk with our kids about managing and spending money, and the importance of setting limits.

Experience often serves as the best teacher. The Current by Discover Card provides kids with access to money in the way they want it while still giving us Moms what we need - independent spending by our kids without debt or incurring hidden fees. No more surprise credit card balances from your teen's "minor" shopping spree.