Team Freedom is a group of 200 runners, each running at least one of the races during the Gasparilla Distance Classic Weekend. There is a 5k, an 8k, 15k and a half marathon during the weekend. Team Freedom has come together as part of an outreach through The Joy FM as a fundraiser for Abolition International.

Abolition International is an organization that fights sex trafficking and exploitation.. There are 21 million slaves in the world today. Sex trafficking is estimated to be a 35 BILLION dollar industry. Abolition International educates professionals and communities about the plight of human trafficking. They empower people to help end modern-day slavery and they invest in comprehensive care of those rescued from slavery.

We are running for those who aren’t free to run…yet. To be a part of Team Freedom, I need to raise at least $400 for Abolition International before January 31, 2014! This is where I need YOUR help. If my readers each gave something I could more than meet my goal and you can all run with me, in spirit. I will be making strips to hang off my race belt with the names of everyone who donates at least $20 to my fundraising efforts! To donate, just click on my TEAM FREEDOM link to give securely. Thank-you so much for your support. Please share this post with your friends and family so they can join my team too.

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Signing up for Walgreens Balance Rewards is easy, just visit the Walgreens website and click on the “Join Now” button. If you already have a Walgreens.com account you sign in with that otherwise you just create a new account and you are all set.

Here is the breakdown of how the #BalanceRewards are going to work.

After I signed up online I downloaded the Walgreens App to my Android phone so that I could see how the app makes my shopping trip even easier. You can use the app to request refills on your medications just by using the scanner in the app to scan the barcode on your prescription, I wish the pharmacy I have my prescriptions at included that option!

You can also use the app to order prints from pictures you take with you phone or from Facebook. I used the app to order 2 pictures of my puppy, Mushu and one of me with Rene Syler that we took after dinner one night in Charlotte at Type-A.

It was easy to use the app to upload my photos to be printed and they were ready in about an hour.

I plan all of my shopping trips ahead of time so I know what I am going to buy and which coupons I am going to use. I was excited to see that there are a few mobile coupons on the Walgreens app. I planned on buying the 6 pack of Reese’s candy bars and using the $1 off coupon but…they were sold out of the candy bars when we went shopping. I also used the weekly ad, located in the app to create my final shopping list. This interface was a bit clunky. You can view each page of the ad but then you need to click to list view to see each individual item and there is where you can click on the item to add it to your shopping list.

After creating my shopping list on the app and clipping my coupons, my husband and I headed to Walgreens to pick up our photos and purchase the items on our list.

As we entered Walgreens I was expecting to be bombarded with signage and information about the new Balance Rewards program…but there were none! There was this sign about the app though.

I was looking forward to using the store map feature in the Walgreens app to help me find the items on my list more swiftly but, I had such bad cell service in the store I wasn’t able to try that feature out. I did purchase most of the items on my list and I picked up my photos from the photo department before we checked out. At check out was another opportunity to be introduced to the Balance Rewards program but again there was no signage and the cashier didn’t mention it to us.

I took a lot more pictures during this project so please check out my slideshow, it goes into much more detail than I could in this post.

You can stay up to date with everything going on with the Balance Rewards program by following Walgreens on Facebook and on Twitter. You can also check out the #BalanceRewards and #cbias hashtags on Twitter. Please share this post with your friends, it would be awesome if a MomMaven reader won 1 million points!!

Disclosure: 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 Walgreens  #CBias #SocialFabric all opinions are 100% mine.

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 Ingredients (this is per child)

1 1/2 small tortillas

2 graham cracker squares

3 pretzel sticks

6 animal crackers in pairs

peanut butter **Allergy Warning** if you have kids with peanut allergies you can use cake frosting instead.

Accessories

paper plates

sharp knife (for leader)

plastic knives for children

Finding pairs of animal crackers

Preparation

1. Before starting the craft find the pairs of animal crackers, this was the hardest part of the craft and I had 2 teachers working on it while I did the rest of the craft with the girls.
2. Cut all of the tortilla shells in half, every child gets 3 halves.
   

   Our arks in progress

Directions

1. Lay one tortilla on the bottom center of your plate.
2. Lay the other two tortillas on top of the first one, keeping the straight edge even, making the shape of a boat.
3. Break the graham cracker squares into rectangles.
4. Place two graham cracker pieces at the top of the two top tortillas, centered. Place a third graham cracker piece centered on top of the first two. Eat the fourth graham cracker piece.
5. Line up the two pretzel sticks in a triangular position on top as the roof.
6. Break the remaining pretzel sticks in half make one half a little longer than the other.
7. Place two broken pretzel pieces on top of the top graham cracker, the larger piece first, then the smaller piece on top. (inside the pretzel stick triangle you already made)
8. Position animal crackers in pairs around the tops of the tortillas.
9. When you have everything where you want it, use a plastic butter knife and peanut butter to glue everything together.
   

   Edible Noah’s Ark Craft

Once the craft is finished you can save it for snack time or take it home.
The girls had a blast making the ark. I actually did it with 3 classes of girls in grades K-5 and they all followed directions well and enjoyed eating their creations.

The post Easy Recipes-Edible Noah’s Ark Craft appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Why would parents give their children generic, sugar-filled juice from concentrate when they can give them a glass of Blackberry Banana Blast, Pineapple Tangerine Twister, or Green Veggie Goodness? When study after study shows that store-bought juices can be more trouble than they’re worth, it’s time parents turned to their own kitchens to find sources for the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients growing kids need. With this book, parents will introduce their children to the wonderful flavors of fruits and vegetables with every delightful glass—and the kids will be begging for more! Here is just one of the 201 easy recipes:

Breakfast Banana Band Smoothie- a source of Vitamin C, Potassium, Lycopene and Fiber

makes 4 1 cup servings

Ingredients

1 cup romaine lettuce

1 cup pineapple peeled and cored

1 pint strawberries

1 banana peeled

1 cup Greek-styled yogurt

1. Place romaine, pineapple, strawberries, and 1/2 cup yogurt in a blender and blend for 30 seconds.

2. Add remaining yogurt and blend until smoothie is desired consistency.

In 201 Healthy Juices and Smoothies for Kids, readers find all the essential recipes they’ll need to replace boring, sugary, one-fruit bottled juice with delicious, nourishing combinations that will:

• Boost children’s immune system
• Balance natural sugars with essential vitamins and nutrients
• Sneak in extra servings of fruits and vegetables even the pickiest eaters won’t pick up on
• Replace soda and pricey store-bought drinks—for good!

Amy Roskelley, Founder of SuperHealthyKids.com (Lehi, UT), is a mom of three and a graduate of Health Education. She counseled Department of Health employees on healthy lifestyles for ten years. SuperHealthyKids.com won the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Blog of the Month in January 2011.

This giveaway is open to US residents only. The giveaway will end at 12:01am EDT 6/20/12. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize by email. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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2012 Blog Goals

• Finish the re-design-I need to get my header fixed and I accidentally deleted some important badges from my sidebar that I need to reconstruct
• Engage my readers-There are a lot of you out there, and for that I am very thankful. Unfortunately, very few of you respond or leave comments-unless I’m running a giveaway. Leaving meaningful comments on blog posts is how readers tip the author. When you interact with posts I write and topics I cover, I know you are interested too. I’d love to know what subjects in the realms of parenting, homeschooling, family entertainment and family travel you would like to know more about so please, leave a comment on this post letting me know.
• Crack the 1000 subscriber mark. I know it isn’t all about numbers, but I have been hovering in the mid-900s for a very long time.
• To complete the 2012 Blog Dare (I’m already behind-this is actually the post for January 1st!)
• To attend Blissdom, Reviewer’s Retreat, Type-A Parent Conference and BlogHer12. If you or your company would like to sponsor me you can check out my Sponsor Opps page.

Social Media Goals for 2012

Twitter: To be more active. My Twitter usage declined the second half of 2011.

Facebook: To get more conversations going on my Facebook page.

Google+: To learn the best way to use this tool and to set up a page for my blog.

LinkedIn: To learn how to use this more effectively.

Pinterest: To finally get my invitation so I can check this new hot spot out.

I am excited for another great year here in my corner of the blogosphere and I can’t wait to share it with you!

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