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Find the perfect Mother’s Day at Best Buy

May 2, 2014 by Jen

I has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, but odds are many people are still searching for that perfect gift. Your mother gave you the most precious gift of all – the gift of life – so you want to make sure you get her the absolute best present ever. If this sounds like you and you are still looking for a last minute mother’s day gift, here are some great ideas for mom this Mother’s Day from Best Buy!

New Gadgets

If your mom loves new toys, why not spring for a new camera for Mother’s Day? Moms love taking pictures (especially of their children and grandchildren), and there are many different cameras to choose from to make sure mom gets exactly what she wants. For the technologically advanced mom out there you could spring for a DSLR, or get her a simple point-and-shoot camera for fast set-up right out of the box. You can also get her a new tablet, e-reader, cell phone, or music player!

Get Cooking

It may sound cliché, but most moms really like cooking and baking for their families. If your mom loves to cook, find a cookware set that is sturdy and functional, but attractive enough that she won’t mind if pots and pans are left on the stove while company is visiting! If she prefers baking, a KitchenAid Ultra Power Tilt-Head Stand Mixer will really cut down on mixing and stirring time. If you’ve got a coffee addict for a mother, Keurig special edition is a perfect gift.

Get her moving

If your mom is anything like mine, she needs the motivation to get up and moving. So, things like Polar FT4 Women’s Heart Rate Monitor, Fitbit Aria Wifi Smart Scale Black, and MisFit Shine would be the perfect way! And as added bonus you can score, 20% off Misfit Shine Products to redeem coupon on bestbuy.com enter code MOMSHINE20 at check out.

Just Relax

Moms work hard and deserve some relaxation time. Find an electric pulse massager for moms who want to relieve minor muscle and joint pains, or a massaging footbath for an at-home spa experience. If you’re looking for something bigger with more substance, a whole new massage chair will really help her relax! Let mom put up her feet and relax this Mother’s Day.

Best Buy has all types of gifts for all types of Moms so there is something for everyone! If you need more ideas, make sure to check out Best Buy Gift Center! And remember with Best Buy’s Low-price guarantee and free shipping with qualified purchase you are going to save money in the process! Mother’s Day is the perfect day to recognize and thank your mom for all the hard work she does. Finding something special to celebrate the day will make her feel loved and appreciated! Flowers and chocolates are always a traditional gift, but they only last a finite amount of time. If you find her something she’ll really love—and use for a long time!—you’re sure to make a great impression.

12 Mouthwatering Salad Recipes

May 1, 2014 by Jen

This post is sponsored by Foodie.com. All opinions expressed are my own

Last month I shared with you that; I joined Foodie.com and all the great BBQ recipes that I found for our Sunday summer cookouts. This month I am happy to announce that I was once again approved for the May Foodie Contributor edition. This month’s theme was a little different and we were able to come up with our own. So, since I am trying to get more salads in my diet I decided to go with a salad theme! As you can see above these are not your Ordinary salads!

I get bored with the same salads and love to change things up. Little did I know that there are so many salads out there! So, be sure to a look at my collection and get ideas on how you can add life to your everyday salads!

Get the latest Spring Styles Like a Fashion Blogger at Marshalls!

April 30, 2014 by Jen

Video Description- Who What Wear Co-Founder, Katherine Power, and Ashley Murphy team up to shop on-trend pieces like light spring dresses, neutral sandals, and more from Marshalls.

As a Mommy blogger, I hate to admit that I don’t really read many “mommy blogs” these days. My oldest child is 15 so I have been there done that. However, I still love reading blogs but recently my blogs of choice are gossip, tech, and fashion blogs. Lately I have found a real interest in fashion blogs since my “mommy makeover”. I admit over the years my fashion style as been t-shirts and jeans! However, I am now trying to up my style game and thankfully, fashion bloggers are helping me do just that. I know I can always count on the top fashion bloggers to let me know what’s in, what’s out, what’s hot, and what’s NOT! I can’t stress enough how much I admire the fashion bloggers out there!

However, I have to admit some of these styles and outfits are out of my budget! That is why I am happy that I can find similar or even better styles at Marshalls at lower prices. I have always been a fan of Marshalls and even more now! So tell me how do you stay on style on a budget?

Give mom unlimited talk and data with Walmart Family Mobile this Mother’s Day! #CollectiveBias

April 28, 2014 by Jen

With Mother’s Day coming up this year, I already knew what I was going to get my mother and that was a new cell phone and service provider! After doing a lot of research, I decided that Walmart Family Mobile plan was the way to go, since they offer one of the Lowest Priced Unlimited Plans on the market. For the last 3 months, I know she has called me every other day complaining about her first new smart phone or her service! She would ask me to come over to help her fix her phone. The sad fact is she stays almost an hour away so I couldn’t always drop everything to run and help her. I would try to talk her through the steps over the phone but trust me when I say this woman is not tech savvy that is putting it lightly! I was so tired of the issues she was having with her service and phone that I even offered to put her on our family plan and purchase her a new phone! She finally decided to contact the service provider directly to see what her options were. The provider that she is with has no physical locations so she has to contact them by phone. That also means long hold times and sometimes being disconnected. When she finally got through, they advised her to send in her phone for repair. They promised her that she would get a replacement in just a few days. Well those few days and many calls to check on the update resulted in 3 long weeks! She is on a limited budget so she couldn’t afford to just go out and buy a replacement. So, during those 3 weeks she was without a cell and had to use my dad’s! Talk about a nightmare! When she got the phone back, it worked right for a good week and the same issues started!

So, this weekend I headed to Walmart wireless department. I already done a lot of research online but I still had questions. The lady in the wireless department answered all my questions and gave me some great information that I didn’t know. I knew that my mom wanted a smart phone but it had to be something that was easy enough for her to use. So we decided to go with the Alcatel ONE TOUCH Evolve.

About Alcatel One Touch Evolve

Affordable! This phone is priced below $100!

Vivid 4″ color display

Camera

Multimedia games

Screen saver and wallpaper

Android 4.1 phone (Jelly Bean)

Battery talk time up to 13 hours and Standby time up to 410 hours

Simple and easy to use smartphone

Intuitive user-interface

Bluetooth

Why Walmart Family Plan is the right choice for my Mom

She is on a limited budget and it fits in perfectly!

CONTRACT FREE and no CANCELLATION FEES!

The option to sign up for either the unlimited talk & text for only $29.88/month or unlimited everything that includes web for just $39.88/month. (I signed my mom up for the unlimited everything, but to be honest she don’t even need the web! But for her sake I decided to just add it in case lol)

She can manage her phone and payments in the store or online. (I am sure she will be using the in store option) So that also means no more calling me to come help her all the time!

I decided to activate it at home, which was a big mistake on my part. Usually I am good at these types of things but just my luck my SIM card was damaged! So I ran back to Walmart and they were able to switch the Sim Card out for me and insure I was up and running! So just to be on the safe side, I would advise you to have the wireless rep help you while your there to ensure you don’t run into any issues. However, if you do decided to do it at home and run into any issues be assured that you can go back to the store and they will help you, which I appreciate very much!

After I got that resolved, I came home and completed the set up. This way my Mom won’t have to do anything but take it out of the box and use it! I have been playing with the phone non-stop to make sure the phone and service are working right, and I have yet to run into any issues! I even took it upon myself to bookmark my website so my mom can keep up tabs on me online lol. Over all I must admit that I’m actually impressed with this smartphone and that says a lot since I am #teamIphone. I will continue to use the device till Mother’s Day to ensure I personally know how to do everything so I can teach my mother before leaving that afternoon! (This is going to be fun)

So, what are you getting your Mom this Mother’s day? If it’s time for her to join the smart phone users, be sure to check out Alcatel One Touch Evolve and the Walmart Family plan! And make sure to check back after Mother’s day to see how my lovely mother likes her new phone with pictures and video lol.

How to talk to your teen about underage drinking.

April 27, 2014 by Jen

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Anheuser-Busch’s Family Talk About Drinking program. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

As a mother of two teens, I am happy to announce that I was recently selected to be a part of the Anheuser-Busch “Family Talk About Drinking” Ambassador Program through Mom Central. Over the next few weeks I will be posting about ways parents can talk to their teens about and preventing underage drinking. My son is currently a freshman and my oldest daughter will be going to high school next year. To be honest I really thought as a parent I was prepared for all the teen issues parents face. I admit I was expecting the attitude, occasional back talking and at times, making my teens so angry they wasn’t speaking to me, then of course the peer pressure that teens face daily. However, I don’t think that I was aware how different this generation of teens is compared to when I was that age. Sure, they face the same issues as we did but now it seems like they have so much more pressure as before.

As parents, we know that teenagers are faced with decisions about underage drinking throughout the year, but with proms, graduations and all the after parties that are coming up, their mood is high and they may be more vulnerable to drinking alcohol. The sad fact is, these events and parties can encourage underage drinking. My kids are great kids for the most part and I want to say they are not going to be easily influenced. I also think as parents we have properly educated and prepared them on how to make the right choices.

I have always felt that it was a good idea to begin talking my children about underage drinking and all the other import topics when they are young. However, I know that I need to continue to have these talks whenever the opportunity arises, or whenever they ask related question. I have learned over the years if parents speak calmly about the subject and maintain eye contact with their child, your children will listen to you. When parents resort to lectures and don’t actively listen to what their teens have to say, they probably will tune their parents out.

What aspects of underage drinking should parents and teens talk about?

Emphasize that driving while underage is against the law and an arrest is possible.

Underage drinking is not a healthy lifestyle. It can affect the development of the brain.

Car accidents can happen resulting in serious injuries.

Drinking can lead to impulsive behavior such as unintended sex and pregnancy.

There is a difference in how alcohol affects girls and boys.

These are strategies for parents to help teens deal with drinking situations.

Be sure to set up clear boundaries and consequences for non-compliance.

Have a conversation about underage drinking situations in the past and how your teen dealt with them. Talk about their uncomfortable feelings.

Talk about ways your teen can tell friends or strangers they decline to drink alcohol.

Let them know that they can always call you to get picked up if they are in an uncomfortable situation.

Be sure to check back on my blog for other great tips but in the meantime make sure to head on over to Anheuser-Busch Family Facebook page to download the Family Talk About Drinking guide today!