Join My Village

Did you know Malawi is among the world's least developed and most densely-populated countries? Because of the extreme poverty in the region, Malawi has a low life expectancy (44 years of age) and high infant mortality (89 deaths per 1,000 births, the 14th highest in the world).

As a member of MyBlogSpark, we wanted to share with you the news that was announced today at the Clinton Global Initiative Fifth Annual Meeting. President Clinton introduced a unique commitment between General Mills and CARE called Join My Village, an innovative online community that is fighting poverty in Malawi through the empowerment of women and girls.

Here's how you can get involved:

• Visit Join My Village and join one of ten village teams to benefit approximately 75 villages in Malawi
  
  
• As a village team member, you will get to know the women and families in Malawi through frequent updates, photos and stories



• You can also track how dollars are creating change and improving lives in Malawi


• Through simple online activities - answering a quiz question, telling a friend about Join My Village, or joining a village team - $1 will be unlocked by General Mills and will go to CARE's poverty fighting programs in the Malawi villages (limit of 3 activities per person per day, and $15,000 per online village team - or $150,000 in total)



• Additionally, General Mills will match personal contributions dollar-for-dollar for up to $50 per donor, $15,000 per village team or $150,000 in total



• CARE will distribute all funds raised directly to Malawi to provide economic opportunities for women and increase access to quality education for girls

Join My Village is setting out to drive measurable and long-term positive impact with women and families in Africa by tapping into the inherent power of women to connect with, and provide strength for, other women.

To learn more about Join My Village and help unlock funds to empower women and girls in Malawi, visit JoinMyVillage.com.

Courtesy of MyBlogSpark.

"Raise the Perfect Child! Be the Perfect Parent!"

The powerHouse Arena hosts a hilarious evening of stress-free parenting and

deliciously twisted child rearing tips on Wednesday, Oct. 14th with parenting manual authors:

Elizabeth Beckwith: Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation
and

Dale Hrabi: The Perfect Baby Handbook

Refreshments will be provided. Elizabeth and Dale will be available for interviews.

WHAT: Raise the Perfect Child! Be the Perfect Parent!

WHEN: Wednesday, October 14, 2009

TIME: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST

WHERE: The powerHouse Arena

37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 666-3049

Fitness Tips by Natasha Linton

Natasha Linton spoke with Connecting Women Radio on shaping up for the fall: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectingwomen/2009/07/25/Connecting-Women

Here are some tips by Linton for our readers.

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Eating Fruits and Vegetables Like Going to the Dentist?

TwitterMoms and Horizon Little Blends is sponsoring a contest for for parents to share how they have their children eat their fruits and vegetables.

For some parents, feeding fruits and vegetables to their children is like going to the dentist--scary and painful. However, it doesn't have to be.

Here are some ideas that I have done with my child and some I have done without my child knowing (no, it doesn't include bribing or blackmailing):

• I have had my son help me prepare dishes that include vegetables and fruits. The fact that he helped prepare them makes them more special to him that he sees it is as a reward of eating something from his own hand.
• I have often included a very puree vegetable mix in hamburger meat, shishkabobs, etc.
• My son and I have always made frozen popsicle by freezing 100 percent juices. He enjoyed the activity, while I got to remind him that not only these are fun to make, but also better and healthy for him.
• My son is a the age now that he loves to use a plastic knife or butter knife with supervision, for example like putting peanut butter on celery sticks.
• I also include my son when grocery shopping asking him what kinds of fruits or vegetables we need at home.

Share your tips with us.

Click to Be Counted! Fight Breast Cancer!

Not many people know about the BRCA gene, listen to Stephanie Robin's interview on Connecting Women Radio: http://tobtr.com/s/661984. Stephanie Robin is on a mission to inform as many people on the BRCA gene. Stephanie wants to at least one million visitors to be informed about the BRCA gene. Go to Think Pink Rocks and the upper right hand corner of the site, Click to Be Counted. Be sure to read and become an informed citizen on the BRCA gene.

Be sure to join:

Facebook:

THINK PINK ROCKS 2009 (Group) - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99763936269

THINK PINK ROCKS Invites You to Click and Be Counted (Cause) - http://apps.facebook.com/causes/346982/82426478?fb_page_id=100000181403726&m=6d54c0aa

Stephanie Robin (Profile) - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=712737187

Twitter: http://twitter.com/theBRCAgene

BLOG
www.thestephanierobinstory.com

Contest: Ready, Go, Play-Doh

Standing the test of time, shaping, molding and sculpting the Play-Doh compound never seems to get old! The creative, tactile experience of producing whatever comes to mind makes for awesome indoor fun with your kids.

Embracing the idea of creating food, Play-Doh has created a "Ready, Go Play-Doh" contest where our kids can come up with their own Play-Doh "food" creations for a chance to win a makeover of both their playroom and their school's playroom. You can visit www.ReadyGoPlayDoh.com to enter by uploading a photo of your child's food-inspired Play-Doh creation along with the "recipe" to make it.

The grand prize winner of the "Ready, Go Play-Doh" contest will win $10,000: $5,000 for a playroom makeover as well as a $5,000 "Doh-nation" to their child's school. Contest entries will be accepted through September 30, 2009. On October 15, 2009, the ten finalists will be posted on ReadyGoPlayDoh.com and the public will vote on who receives the $10,000 prize! The website will also feature a gallery of entries, so even if you don't win, everyone can see your child's creation.

Free Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is giving away supplies of Flat Rate Boxes. Go to prioritymail.com/offer24 to receive a free supply of Flat Rate Boxes and other offers.

*** CRAZY CLEANING CONFESSIONS*** Are You A Crazy Cleaner?

What is your cleaning profile? Are you proud of your cleaning habits? Or are they so unusual and comical you might be afraid to reveal them?

Cleaning experts say there are several major cleaning profiles including:

One step ahead of the dirt pile

Average, organized cleaners

Queens of Clean

Unusual and Humorous – bordering on Crazy Cleaners

Many women have tips they’ve learned from their mothers and grandmothers – although they might require more time and effort, they are supposed to ensure a thorough cleaning.

Some use unusual products to clean common household stains. While others may use unique cleaning tools and ideas that will sweep you away!

So what type of Crazy Cleaner are you? Noted Expert on Cleaning Dirt & Grime, Amy Clark, will help you decide. She’ll also surprise you with her unique cleaning ideas and advice. Amy is the founder of MomAdvice.com, a community for women looking for ways to stay organized, stay sane and stay within their budget especially when it comes to saving on energy and water to lower utility bills.

She’ll also tell you about a new contest going on now – the Crazy Cleaning Confessions Contest – where you can vote on the winning video where people confess their crazy cleaning habits and demonstrate them – showing some of the most extreme cleaning measures you’ll ever see! You’ll get a laugh out of these crazy videos and will be helping the environment and our communities at the same time – Kenmore will donate $10,000 as well as 50 cents for each video viewed (up to $25,000 for the total donation) to the Jane Goodall Institute for use in its programs.

Listen to Connecting Women Radio, this Thursday night Sept. 17th 9 p.m. CST for more on the Crazy Cleaning Confessions.

Coupons Database Available Here!

Connecting Women Media and WeUseCoupons.com have partnered together to bring our readers a coupons database. On the right side of this blog, scroll down till you see the We Use Coupons button (where it will be permanently located). Click on it. You will still be on our blog. Once you are finished using the Database, you can click on the Connecting Women header to go back to our blog.

You can search a coupon by description, UPC, Value, Origin, Expiration date, Source, and even Quantity. The Coupon Database is sure to be a time saver! I also highly recommend being a member of WeUseCoupons.com.

The Coupon Database will be one of many resources available to our readers and listeners of Connecting Women Radio.

Word of advice: Please be patient as the Coupons Database loads due to lots of information researched and found. Also, any searches found on the Database is from WeUseCoupons.com, not from Connecting Women Media.

Take a Stand: Luvs $ 5 Coupon

Luvs.com is taking a stand. A stand with mothers. A stand against increasing prices of items, such as diapers. "Take a Stand" campaign, rallies moms to unite and take a stand on things that are important to them, such as not paying too much money for everyday items such as diapers! Every little bit helps, right?

On September 15th, you want to go to Luvs.com and print off your $5 off coupon.

Marissa Jaret Winokur, Tony-Award-winning actress, Dancing With the Stars contestant, and host of Oxygen Network's Dance Your Ass Off, is leading the charge for the Luvs "Take a Stand" campaign. Marissa absolutely believes in the idea of empowering moms to stand for things that are important to them, and you can watch a series of videos on Luvs.com where she talks about all sorts of things that she stands for—from charitable giving, to just trusting your gut when it comes to parenting. Marissa's very adorable baby avatar is the "celebrity" site host!

If you go to Luvs.com, there's an opportunity to share your own inspiring "Take a Stand" story with other moms in the Luvs online community.

To learn more about the Luvs "Take a Stand" campaign, visit www.luvs.com.

Review: YourVoice-Grandparents.com

I had the opportunity to review YourVoice-Grandparents.com with my son, DS. The steps were so easy to do. The directions were easy as 1, 2, 3. No pun intended!

You need a cell phone or landline. Dial the number that is given to you, then input the pin number at the appropriate timing, and begin recording immediately. After you are finished recording, you can then send the recording immediately from the site. What I noticed though is you can't listen to your recording before you send it to family or other loved ones.

Once, you have completed the steps, you have the option of sending another recording. Be careful, it can get addicting!

Here is the greeting that my son sent to our family members:

Son's Greeting



Note: I was compensated by MomSelect.com to review YourVoice at Grandparents.com.

Deal: Crocs' Buy One, Get One Free

Great deal by Crocs: Buy One, Get One sale going on: http://bit.ly/FLGtD.

Go to http://blog.crocs.com/ to follow Crocs on FB, Youtube and other places around the net.

JuiceBoxJungle's Widget and Special Discount

You've got to check out my sidebar. JuiceBoxJungle has a brand new widget that lets you, among other things, send an ecard to a friend right from this blog (click around and check it out). They also have a cool new sponsor, Paper Culture, a modern, eco-friendly premium stationary company that will actually address, message and mail your cards for free. AND, Paper Culture is offering 30% off to my readers for a limited time (promo code SAVE30NOW).



Source: JuiceBoxJungle

Free Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is giving away supplies of Flat Rate Boxes. Go to prioritymail.com/offer39 to receive a free supply of Flat Rate Boxes.