Last summer my eyes were opened to the reality that not all sunscreens are created equal. Being a pale faced, porcelain red head, the sun and I are not on good terms. I wear sunscreen to protect myself from the sun and prevent cancer, like most normal people. But what I found out was certain ingredients, found in most sunscreens, actually increase the likelihood of getting skin cancer. Seriously?! Once I snapped out of my shock I started doing some research into natural sun screen and what exactly I should be shopping for.

Let me save you some time and tell you about this amazing brand of organic, natural sunscreen: Goddess Garden. I will get to all the health benefits in a minute. First I have to tell you it works great! I am very, VERY picky about my sunscreen and for good reason. When you burn easily, you become an expert in what saves your skin and what fails. When I was sent the new adult and child continuous spray sunscreen I was excited to try it but nervous too. Sunscreen is one of those products that if it doesn’t work the results are bad. I knew the track record of the company is an awesome one so that made me feel a lot better. My daughter is like me, super pale and prone to burns. Before trying it on her, I tested out the sunscreen first. When I came back from my run burn free I used it on her for field day at school. We both are happy to tell you, we are burn free and Goddess Garden is fair skinned approved! Bonus: the continuous spray makes it quick and easy to apply sunscreen to your active kiddos who refuse to sit still longer than a second, like my boy!

Now for the health benefits.

Goddess Garden Sunscreens are water resistant, non-greasy, absorbs quickly, and contains the highest percentage of organic ingredients available in a sunscreen- over 92 percent! Their products are made of  natural occurring minerals Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide that act as a physical block to the sun rays. This causes the rays to bounce off and not be absorbed into the skin. If you have sensitive skin like me, the Goddess Garden sunscreen doesn’t irritate it but helps to hydrate my skin. Customers like myself love Goddess Garden sunscreen and here are some reasons why:

• Pure protection without chemicals
• 92% Certified Organic ingredients 
• Sheer & non-whitening minerals
• Non-greasy for face & body
• Sun protection effective immediately

You don’t just have to take my word for it. Goddess Garden Sunscreen has received Best Sunscreen Awards from Natural Solutions Magazine, Natural Foods Merchandiser, and Delicious Living magazines. The Environmental Working Group reviewed Goddess Garden’s Everyday Natural Sunscreen, Kid’s Natural Sunscreen, Baby Natural Sunscreen, and Facial Natural Sunscreen. All received a 1-2 rating, meaning they were recommended as a safe sunscreen to use!

We are ready for the pools to open this weekend!

Goddess Garden is giving one (1) Teachable Mommy reader a free bottle of their organic sunscreen!

Winner can choose between the adult, child, or baby formula for their prize. Giveaway is open to US and Canada residents.

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*This post is sponsored by Goddess Garden. I received free products for the purpose of this review. Opinions expressed are my own.

A few months ago I stumbled upon an article about the hidden dangers of fluoride. I was shocked and I remember thinking isn’t this the stuff most dentists tout as being a great thing? So I added finding a “healthy” toothpaste to my list. I wasn’t even sure such a thing existed because I never thought to look for it. I found several natural brands, some still contain fluoride (always read your labels!), and the one I tried it tasted like chalk. The husband uses mouthwash and finding one without harsh chemicals was next to impossible. My children also needed a safe toothpaste.

Then I found the Mouth Doctor.

OraMD by Trusted Health Products is a 100% natural toothpaste, mouthwash, and breath freshener all in one! It is a liquid oral hygiene product made up of only 3 ingredients, all 100% natural oils. That means no fluoride, alcohol, silica, GMOs, and no other harsh chemicals that are found in toothpaste. Can I get a cheer? When we first started using it we thought wow this stuff is great but a little strong. But I read that is perfectly normal in the first several uses. That feeling went away and now when I use it I don’t feel overpowered by the product. My mouth feels clean like, fresh from the dentist but without the sore gums clean. OraMD is not only in my bathroom but my purse too so I can refresh my breath during the day. The whole family enjoys using it and the novelty of only needing 2 drops (yes that is all you need!) has yet to wear off on the kids.

Ingredients:

• 100% Pure Peppermint, Spearmint, and Almond Oils

Benefits:

• Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Inflammatory properties
• Ingredients that kill harmful bacteria that lead to gum disease and other oral health problems. This helps to create and maintain a clean, healthy environment in your mouth.
• Fluoride-Free
• Safe for ages 3 & up (with no allergies to peppermint, spearmint, or nuts)
• No GMO’s
• Inter-dental access (gets between teeth and reaches hard to clean areas)
• Safe for braces, veneers, bonds, crowns, fillings, and dentures.

Not only is OraMD good for your body but it is good for the environment and your wallet too! OraMD is vegan, not tested on animals, and the convenient size means I can carry it in my  purse, gym bag, or diaper bag! And since it functions as a toothpaste, mouthwash, and breath mint you won’t need to spend extra money buying three different products. One bottle can last a month; that’s a savings I can live with.

For more information, cost comparisons, and ordering visit Trusted Health Products OraMD

THREE (3) Lucky Teachable Mommy readers will win a bottle of OraMD!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you don’t win you can still try a bottle for FREE! Trusted Health Products will send you  a bottle of OraMD for free all you have to pay is shipping & handling. Also included are 2 eye-opening reports called “The 6 Hidden Dangers in Toothpaste” and “Why the FDA Requires a Warning Label on your Toothpaste.” Total Value: Over $40!  Click here to get your FREE bottle and FREE reports now.

*This post is sponsored by OraMD. I received free product for the purpose of this review. Any facts stated were supplied by the manufacture. Opinions expressed are my own. Prize fulfillment is handled by OraMD.*

It’s been a rough past 2 weeks and I have been to the gym maybe once! Yikes. But it’s not from being lazy it’s just life took over. Can you relate? I promise I have thought about working out, felt the guilt of not making it to the gym, but a mom needs to sleep at some point right? Over the past month and some change I have been assisting the music teacher at my kid’s school. Every year the elementary classes put on a huge musical production. She has never really had someone there all the time to help her and I was happy to be of service. However it consumed my life and left no time (or energy) for the gym.

That all ended last week and I am excited to get back to my regularly scheduled gym visits. I’m even, dare I say, looking forward to running again! As far as food goes I would like to say I was excellent in my choices but that wouldn’t be true. I was eating whenever I got a chance and I even broke down and got a few frappes just to satisfy my sweet tooth. Today is a new day and this is a new week. I have 2 weeks to get in my running before school ends here and BAM life gets crazy again!

This week on Mamavation TV Tracy and Charley Vega are teaching on self defense for women. I have never taken a self defense class but I have always wanted to. Self defense is an important lesson not only for women but children as well. With the amount of bad people increasing in the world I want myself and my kids to be protected as much as possible.

Have you ever taken a self defense class?

*This post is sponsored by Simple Self Defense for Women and Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway

The day of my baby shower for my son was a hot one. I think I was 36 weeks along, a walking furnace by this point. He was born at the end of June and here on the east coast we jump from cold winter to scorching hot summer in a matter of weeks! I remember that we could not figure out how to get the air conditioning to come on in the building and someone found a box fan which I immediately turned on high and pointed at myself. Hey, no shame in this preggo mama’s game. When you’re hot looking dignified and classy is the last thing on your mind! In the end, despite the sweat, we played games, laughed, and everyone enjoyed some good ol’ Italian food.

Whenever and however you are celebrating baby, Tiny Prints has you covered. Tiny Prints offers a variety of designs, layouts, and extra options, like glitter ( all the girly girls squeal!) for all your Baby Shower and Birth Announcement needs.

Tiny Prints Baby Shower Invitations are trendy and as radiant as the mom to be! You can search designs based on gender, multiples, photo layouts, and even gender reveal invites. Also, Tiny Prints also offers a RSVP manager for your baby shower. It is a free customized ad and spam-free website available to you when you purchase invitations through Tiny Prints, allowing you to easily keep track of your guest list, update event details as needed, and more!

I think the photo baby shower invitations are adorable! This one would have been my choice for my daughter.

Fun and heart warming maternity photos seem to be the thing to do for all moms-to-be. Show off that bump in your baby shower invitations!

Tiny Prints Birth Announcements are beautiful, trend-forward designs as unique and special as your baby. Find announcements for your baby girl, sweet little boy, twins, or for your adoption. Upload your favorite photos and enter all of baby’s information in a simple tool. Ta-Da you have a personal and precious card to showoff to your family and friends!

I loved the new sibling announcements, a new and fun take on the traditional announcements. So cute and they help big sister or big brother not to feel left out!

When I ordered my Christmas Cards from Tiny Prints, one of the coolest features in my opinion was having a design on the back as well. Tiny Prints Birth Announcements all you to choose between several layout options including single to multiple photos on the front and plain or extra photos and/or text on the back.

Are you looking for premium stationary but trying to be fabulous on a budget? Tiny Prints offers cards as low as $0.79 each! You all know how much a I enjoy a good deal!

Also available are matching address labels, thank you cards, and gift tags! I am kinda obsessed with matching stationary. When everything meshes together it makes me happy. Bonus: One stop shopping saves you time, because we all know new babies= no free time. (and if you do get a minute you use it to shower)

Tiny Prints wants to give One (1) lucky Teachable Mommy reader $50 to spend at Tiny Prints!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Don’t miss the Tiny Prints #TinyPrintsBaby Pinning Party with @ResourcefulMom on May 20t 8pm ET! RSVP and see the awesome prize list: http://www.reasourcefulmommy.com/12097/tiny-prints-baby-pinning-party/ ***

*This post is sponsored by Tiny Prints. I received a gift in return for this post No monetary compensation was received and opinions as always are my own. One winner will be chosen using Random.org and Rafflecopter. Winner will be contacted and given 24hrs to respond before another is drawn. Prize fulfillment is handled by Tiny Prints.

Imagine with me a showdown between mother and son. Both want their way and both are unwilling to yield.What are they fighting over? Lunch. Mom wants to pack something healthy albeit boring. Rice cakes, melon, raw broccoli (no dip), and water. Oh and if you find yourself with free time, practice math problems. Son wants to load up his lunch with cotton candy, koolaid, popcorn (gotta have veggies), and an iPod to get taken away by the teacher.

Who should win? In my opinion: Neither.

Your daily lunch struggles may not be that bad but it can be a battle to find a balance between healthy and awesome. Packing a nutritional, fun, and yummy school lunch can be hard! Is there a solution to this age old struggle? Yes! Here is one way I make my daughter’s lunch both mom and kid approved.

My daughter’s school is Peanut Free which is great for kids who are highly allergic. However, it can make finding ideas for lunch a challenge.

• Kidz ZonePerfect yellow cupcake bar for snack.
  • It is a great source of fiber, protein, and 23 vitamins & minerals for active kids . Also, who wouldn’t want a cupcake for snack?
  • This also makes a great snack for moms on the go, not that I would steal from my children or anything… moving on
• Sun-butter and Jelly on Whole Wheat Bread.
  • Sun-Butter is made from sunflower seeds and is a great source of vitamin E, essential fatty acids, magnesium, and protein.
  • Resuseable containers are not only more fun but they are great for the environment too!
• Kid sized Apple.
  • Apples are a good source of vitamin C and soluble fiber to help keep the kids feeling full the rest of the day.
• Carrot Sticks and Whole Wheat Pita Bites with Roasted Garlic Hummus.
  • Carrots are great for your eyes. No excuse for missing that test question!
  • Chickpeas are a good source of fiber, protein, folic acid, zinc, and iron.
  • Garlic contains immune boosting properties. Less sick days? Can I get a hallelujah?
• Water.
  • Milk-okay. Juice- ehhh. Soda- bad. Go with water we all know it’s better!
• A Note of Encouragement.
  • Gives extra encouragement especially when their day isn’t going quite right or they have a lot of tests.
  • Also gives you a chance to flex some creative muscle or at least the satisfaction of finishing a project without your preschooler coloring all over it. Or is that just me?

I believe in you Mom and Dad. You can come up with a lunch that is as fabulous as your kid and healthy too!

*This post is sponsored by ZonePerfect. I received free products in exchange and no other compensation was received. Opinions expressed are my own. Also, I have nothing against melons, broccoli (although I can only eat it raw with dip), or rice cakes. We eat them here, don’t throw rotten veggies at me!*

 Stop Eating Junk. Start Eating Food.

Lousie’s Foods Chia Granola is a healthy and tasty way to start your day! Or if you are a gym rat like me you will love it as a filling and nutritious post workout snack.

Before trying out Chia Granola I would have said a no oats granola would not taste good. It was not until after I was happily munching away that I realized this granola is grain free and I didn’t even mind! The flavors marry together so well you won’t even miss the oats. Whether you are just looking for no junk granola or you are on a gluten free and/or paleo diet this granola is what you are looking for!

I love sprinkling it on top of my favorite organic Greek yogurt or mixing it into my raisin bran cereal for added crunch. No matter how you choose to indulge, you will love Louise’s Chia Granola!

Healthy Facts:

• Paleo granola
• Gluten Free
• Grain Free
• Rich in Omega-3 Chia
• Zero Added Sugar
• Zero Preservatives
• 100% Natural

Louise’s Foods was mentioned in Rich Food Poor Food as a steer here choice for granola and was featured on Fox and Friends!

Tastes like an oatmeal raisin cookie and I am so okay with that!

A little bit about Louise’s Foods:

Louise’s Foods specializes in the creation and production of foods that are 100% All-Natural and Grain-Free. What that means is that every product we produce contains no refined sugars, no grains of any type (wheat, corn, or rice), and no artificial preservatives or flavors.

Like countless other people, we have found that eating whole foods instead of grains and other processed foods has changed our health and our lives. Unfortunately, one of the ways that it has changed our life is by limiting our choices in the supermarket. We want that to change.

Our products are as close as you can get to foods that you would find growing in nature – yet in a convenient, delicious, ready-to-eat form. Check our nutrition and ingredient info – we’ve got nothing to hide.

**Louise’s Foods wants to give one Teachable Mommy reader a chance to try out their Chia Granola!**

Winner will receive a full sized bag of Chia Granola!

To enter leave a blog post comment for each action. Giveaway Ends May 17th 2013. One (1) winner will be chosen using Random.org and notified via email.

• Leave a blog post comment telling me what you would use the Chia Granola on.
• Like Lousie’s Foods on Facebook
• Like Teachable Mommy on Facebook
• Follow @Irishred02 on Twitter
• Sign up for the Teachable Mommy newsletter so you never miss a giveaway!
• Share this post!

*This post is sponsored by Louise’s Foods. I received free product in exchange for this post. No monetary compensation was received and the opinions expressed are my own

What a Teacher Really Wants to Say

Paper Culture is an Eco-friendly company specializing in modern styled birthday invitations, labels, birth announcements and more! Whether you are looking for baby, kids, adults, or even a furry child, Paper Culture has you covered. With 1,000s of modern designs to choose from it might be hard to pick just one! Stationary, thank you cards, and address labels are also available (and can be ordered to match your cards). Paper Culture also has bamboo wall art, an environmentally friendly way of decorating your home.

For my order I was very interested in their Birthday Party Invitations. My son is turning 4 and we are having a pirate themed party. They had several cute pirate designs which made it hard for me to choose! Then I played around with the photo card options and my mind was made up. Although it’s not pirate-y we have never used invitations with the kids pictures and I just love the idea of it! Paper Culture also allows you to customized the back of your card for free. I used the back space to include all the RSVP information so the front didn’t have to be so crowded.

Out of all the cards I adored, I finally decided on this one for my little man.

To see the pirate cards you can look at my Pinterest board: Party Ideas

Not only was I completely happy with my cards, I loved, loved, LOVED the Tree Dedication aspect of my purchase! It is such an unique feature of Paper Culture: with each purchase they plant a tree! Over 300,000 trees planted to date, how cool is that?! Not only does it make my inner green child jump for joy, I loved being able to choose a design and write out a personal dedication. I chose the Christmas tree design because it reminded me of all the times as a little girl I would help my grandmother decorate her tree.

Not only does Paper Culture plant trees with each purchase but all their cards and envelopes are made from 100% post consumer recycled paper. That means no new trees are cut down to make your cards or envelopes. Between the recycled paper and the tree planting, Paper Culture offsets it’s entire carbon footprint! Can I get a cheer?

It’s not just their commitment to Mother Earth that makes Paper Culture stand out but also their service.

For the paper gurus out there, Paper Culture uses 130lb, 17 pt thick paper compared to other companies that use lighter and thinner paper. Want to jazz up your cards but hate that it always costs extra? All cards and address labels feature rounded corners for free. Don’t have time to mail your cards but hate paying extra for the convenience of having someone else do it? The Mail & Message feature is what you need. They will stamp, address, and mail your cards. You only need to pay the cost of the stamp. Rounded corners and mailing services at no cost to you, one word: awesome! Also, everything is backed by their 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee.

Incase I am not a big enough celeb for you Hollywood’s elite and magazines that I am sure you have heard of are also singing the praises of this company. Paper Culture has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, People, Real Simple, and more. Visit the Press Room for more. Celebrities like Jewel, Jason Bateman, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck also love Paper Culture. See what other celebrities are saying: Celebrities love Paper Culture.

Get connected with Paper Culture:

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/paperculture

Facebook: http://facebook.com/paperculture

Twitter: http://twitter.com/paperculture

Blog: http://paperculture.com/blog

What is your favorite card by Paper Culture?

*This post is sponsored by Paper Culture. I received free products in exchange for this post. No monetary compensation was received and the opinions expressed are my own.*

COLOR ME RAD was AWESOME!!! Or RAD but regardless of the adjective you choose to use I had a BLAST! Never ever, ever thought I would ever say that about running. If you haven’t done a Color Me Rad race you have to. Seriously, sign up like yesterday! If you’re like um what the heck is color me rad, I have a post all about it: Color Me Rad 5K: Fitness Shouldn’t Be Lame

So my non-scale victory is I finished my first ever 5K! It was outside which I had not truly prepared for. I did run outside but I kept to the paved trails. This race was through a field and off road basically so I had to slow up a bit but it was all good. We crossed the finish line strong and actually in less time than it usually takes to get 3.1 miles in. So yeah, pretty awesome.

I sure did not step on the scale this weekend or last week. In fact I probably wouldn’t like what I saw since we were spoiled by family this weekend with more food than I usually eat in a week! Well maybe not that bad but it was a lot of food.

A full recap of the race will be coming soon. Let’s just say I had so much fun, I want to do it again!

How was your weekend? Did you conquer a mountain like I did?

This post is sponsored by Dr. Ken and Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway