Giveaway Coca-Cola Prize Pack for You + $100,000 Grant for Your Local Park, Ends 7/16

Quality Time
Giveaway details below

Parks. If you have kids or once were a kid yourself -- that covers us all -- who can imagine life without public parks?  That's why I'm excited to tell you about Coca-Cola, a family-friendly brand for generations, and the America is Your Park campaign that was just announced. In this post you'll learn about how to win a grant of $100,000, $50,000, $25,000 or $15,000 for your own local park. You will also be able to enter to win a prize pack for you right here on MommyBlogExpert that includes a $20 Subway giftcard and a Coca-Cola beach ball to enjoy with friends or family.

MommyBlogExpert.com

For generations, there has never been anything like a day at the park to chalk up some family quality time playing and being active outdoors with your kids. I know I have fond memories of frolicking in my small town's only public park as a little girl with my family. Now, as a mom myself, I've enjoyed many happy hours over the years staying physically fit alongside my own children at many public parks in Southern California where we live today.

MommyBlogExpert.com

MommyBlogExpert.com

MommyBlogExpert.com

MommyBlogExpert.com

And there's no better time to enjoy your favorite local park than in summer, the warmest, most happy go lucky season of the year, which officially just started. Thanks to Coca-Cola my family received a variety of fun things -- balls, jump rope, and frisbie ring as well as a branded lunch cooler and several other goodies -- to take to our own local park, Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills. What a fun and active time my kids, dog and I had hanging out together!

MommyBlogExpert.com

The hunt for America's Favorite Park is on and a park in your local community could be one of the lucky ones to win. Won't you join me in getting outside with you own family, voting for your favorite park and also entering to win the Coca-Cola giveaway I'm hosting featuring a $20 Subway giftcard and Coca-Cola beach ball?

Coca-Cola 

Take It to the Park

Giveaway

Ends 7/15/13

MommyBlogExpert.com

MommyBlogExpert.com

MommyBlogExpert's Take it to the Park Contest ends July 16, 2013 at 12 am ET and is open to legal residents of the U.S. only. One winner will receive a prize pack that includes a $20 Subway gift card and a Coca-Cola Beach Ball. Winner of the MBE prize package will be selected at random from all entries and will be notified via email and must respond within 48 hours to claim their prize. Share your own photos of your family having fun at the park on Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #takeittothepark or email them to me and I will share on Twitter or Facebook for you.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More Family-Friendly
Mommy Blog Expert Giveaways

ENTER Them All HERE

Thanks to Online-Sweepstakes.com for including this contest in their directory of current giveaways.

Image from Coca-Cola & SheSpeaks

MommyBlogExpert.com

Remember to #TakeittothePark

Vote Daily for Your
Favorite Park HERE

Stay in the know, follow Coca-Cola on Twitter

FTC Disclosure: This post is sponsored by SheSpeaks/Coca-Cola who provided me with a park fun prize package to play with my own kids to facilitate this post. The brand is also supplying the prizes and shipping for the giveaway I am hosting here on MommyBlogExpert. Additionally, Coca-Cola will be providing the grants for the contest they're sponsoring on their own site. MommyBlogExpert received no payment or other compensation for this post and thoughts here are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Kids Firework Safety Tips - 4th of July Guide for Parents & Families Safe Holiday Celebration

Safety

100s injured by fireworks daily during holiday

Independence Day is traditionally a day or long weekend when families, kids, and friends get together for watermelon eating contests, attending parades, making BBQs and all other kinds of fun and entertainment, including both watching professional firework displays and setting off backyard fireworks.

Fireworks & moon over San Diego Harbor, MommyBlogExpert.com

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC.gov reports that 60% of all fireworks-related injuries occur between June 22 and July 22, centering around the Fourth of July holiday. In fact during that one-month period alone an average of 200 people in the U.S. rush to seek medical treatment at emergency room around America.

According to the 2012 CPSC firework injury report there were about 8700 incidents (74% male, 26% female) last year involving a trip to the ER. Of these, 23% were caused by firecrackers and 36% encompassed sparklers, fountains, novelties. This doesn't even count all the minor burns and injuries that go unreported.

CPSC's Backyard Fireworks Safety Tips

• Make sure fireworks are legal where you want to use them before buying
• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks
• Always be sure age appropriate kids are supervised by an adult
• Be extremely careful even with sparklers which can burn at temperatures of 2000 degrees
• Keep a bucket of water on hand to immediately douse any fires
• Don't ever point or toss fireworks at another person
• Do not shoot off fireworks from glass or metal containers
• Light fireworks one at a time

This video was shot by my 17 year-old son using his Nokia Lumia 822 smartphone



For more information on fireworks safety, visit CPSC.gov

What precautions do you take to ensure safety when using fireworks with your children? Please feel free to share your tips and advice as a comment below this post.

FTC Disclosure: The safety tips in this post are provided by CPSC.gov and I am publishing them as a community service to MommyBlogExpert's readers. I received no payment or other compensation for this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Womens Guide Money, Retirement Planning

Women and Finance

3rd in a series of 5 posts


Thanks to modern educational, professional and social advancements women have never been in a better position of equality than we are today when it comes to comparing our status to that of male counterparts. Yet, despite all that progress for females, many of us still defer to dads, husbands, brothers and male significant others when seeking financial advice.

Me on a Shopping Trip in LA

MBE partnered with Genworth for this post

According to the U.S. Department of Education and National Center for Education Statistics nces.ed.gov since the 1970s large gaps in educational levels between men and women have virtually closed. In some cases we've even fared better than males with women earning many more college bachelor's and master's degrees than men in the same age group as early as 1992.

Ironically, though better educated than ever before, study after study still indicates that few of us ladies -- whether single or married; career workers or stay at home moms -- are comfortable with financial topics like general money management and life insurance.

Here I am with my first new car

From buying and financing my first new car to acquiring 100s shares of stock by the time I was 22, to paying my credit card bills in full every month, to setting up both 401(k) and IRA retirement accounts in my mid-20s, I know personally I always relied on my father for sound financial advice. Now, since I've been married, I've deferred the lion's share of money decision making and management to my husband.

Apparently I'm not alone in being fearful of all things to do with numbers. I confirmed that suspicion when I came across an informative article in Time magazine about that female weakness and why women need to take control over money and financial choices.

Money can be overwhelming for women

The reality is the thought of correctly handling cash freaks women out all too often. The good news is that it doesn't have to, especially if you take advantage of all the resources and information that are available to you online. 

One example, that I've tried out myself, is Genworth's free Plan for Living Workbook. Truly no discussion about women's finances -- regardless of your marital status and whether or not you have children -- is complete unless the inevitable is addressed: retirement. 

This guide, which took me about an hour to fill out, will get you thinking about something you may not have considered before: assessing your projected expenses and financial resources later in life. Watch for a dedicated Genworth Financial post applicable to both men and women with more on the secret to successful retirement in August.

The plain and simple solution is each of us gals -- whether in our 20s now or already approaching the Golden Years -- needs to make the immediate effort to educate ourselves about the basics of smart money management so we are equipped to manage our finances wisely. If we do just that, we won't be feeling so in over our heads and be afraid to deal with it ourselves instead of having to always ask someone with a male brain for help. 

Knowledge really is power. Now's the time to leverage it.

About Genworth
Genworth, headquartered in Richmond, VA, offers a range of services to client living in all 50 U.S. states. Among the products available are retirement income, life and long term care insurance and mortgage insurance. For more information visit Genworth.com and their Twitter and Facebook pages.

FTC Disclosure: Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network, however all opinions are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.