Sponsor Spotlight: Easy, creative uses for Ziploc Brand bags and Containers

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This is a sponsored post written on behalf of The Women Bloggers and advertiser SC Johnson, A Family Company. All opinions are our own. #ZiplocHolidayUAI

I absolutely love the holidays! I love decorating, shopping, cooking and all the things the holiday’s bring. What I don’t love, however, is organizing for the holidays… You’re probably asking yourself what do you mean by this? Well, I have three little girls and with three girls brings a lot of “stuff.”

One thing the girls and I do before the holiday season “officially” hits is clean, clean, and clean. Instead of spring cleaning we like to do what we call “holiday cleaning.” I have to say it isn’t my favorite thing to do, but after it’s over it’s so worth it.

The girls and I have started a tradition the past few years of donating toys and items we don’t use or play with anymore to local charities around town. At first they give each toy a good look over to make sure they really want to donate it. By the end of the day they are getting rid of toys so quickly that I can’t even keep up.

During our holiday cleaning session I had to run down stairs and put a few lose items in my oldest daughters drawer. Boy, was I ever sorry I did that. The drawer was such a disaster something had to be done with it immediately. We quickly stopped what we were doing, loaded up the car and headed out to Walmart. We needed  to grab a few items to keep this drawer organized. I found these super cute and inexpensive Ziploc® Brand products available at our local Walmart. Ziploc® Brand has a wide variety of storage options of all shapes and sizes. We were able to use these cute extra small Ziploc® Brand containers for her hair accessories and earrings. Then for her larger headbands and bows we able to us the large rectangle Ziploc® Brand container. Just look at the difference a few Ziploc® Brand containers made in a small un-organized space!!

Now, we have one happy momma and can finish our holiday cleaning and get to the rest of our items on our to-do list.

After we finished our cleaning we could get to the things we enjoy! The girls and I love creating gifts for their teachers and classmates. This year we thought it would be fun and cute to create “snowman soup”. Ziploc® brand snack bags makes it super easy to create such an easy, fun gift to hand out at their parties.

Items needed:

  • Ziploc® Brand snack bags or when you can find them, the Holiday print versions of Ziploc® brand bags
  • Ready-to-mix hot chocolate packages
  • Mini marshmallows
  • Candy canes
  • Hershey’s peppermint kisses

Directions:

Stuff the Ziploc® brand snack bags with the goodies and seal with the snowman soup directions. Easy peasy!

We’d love to see how you use both the regular Ziploc® brand bags and the special holiday print editions!

Ziploc® Brand bags and containers are available at your local Walmart (along with everything else you need for the holidays).

Happy Holidays Mommas!!

Exeter Corn Maze: Fall into Fun with your Family and Friends

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Can you believe Fall is nearly over!? How did this even happen? Did you get to do some fun Fall activities this season?

If you didn’t get a chance to visit the cutest Corn Maze in the SWMO area, you’re still in luck! You can go for the first time or for the tenth time to the Exeter Corn Maze this weekend. They are saying goodbye this Sunday November 5th for the 2017 Fall season.

Check out all the fun some of local friends have had this year. They have the best Corn Maze around, a cow train, a pumpkin pillow, corn cannons, firepits, ziplining, face painting, pedal karts, combat archery, and much much more!

See you next year Exeter Corn Maze!! We can’t wait to see what new ideas you have up your sleeve for the 2018 season!!

Sponsor Spotlight: Recess & Results

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If you’re like us, you might be looking for ways to keep your kids active and away from electronic devices.  Of course you can go to the Farmer’s Market, take a hike, go on a family walk, have them play outside- those are lots of fun, but what about exercise?  Sometimes for us it’s hard to fit in an exercise routine between school, work, after school activities, cooking dinner, and the list goes on and on.

In all honesty, between the many questions from my offspring and their reoccurring urgent restroom requests, I usually just get my workout in when the kids are asleep or at school. [Sigh.] I wish it were not so.  I am so ready for my kids to have FUN with me while they make healthy choices!

So how do we make exercise fun and exciting and get the kids involved? Meet Beth, owner, mom and mom-entrepreneur of Recess and Results.

Name: Beth Vazquez

Kids and ages: Victor 14, Zeke, 2…. baby due Nov. 21st!

What motivated you to start with Recess and Results:  I founded Recess & Results with my sister initially in response to the childhood obesity epidemic and lack of age-appropriate exercise options for kids.  Our mission grew as the “technology takeover” and high academic pressures impacted our youth even more – not just in a physical way, but emotional, social, and spiritual as well.

How do you manage being a mom and business owner: I live by my calendar!  I schedule in times for work and time for “mom-ing” so I can be present and intentional with each.  Zeke can soon start coming to the preschool RR classes I teach and I’m so excited for that! Moms are superheros – we can do it all!

Tell us more about Recess and Results: Recess & Results is more than a kids fitness program. Committed to creating “happier + healthier tomorrow’s” and “saving the world, one recess at a time”, we use re-purposed recess games as a vehicle to teach healthy lifestyle habits and to speak life into kids. We are committed to the families we serve via our RR programs and outreach, as well as the owners + instructors we serve via our business opportunity. We strongly believe that individuals should not have to sacrifice their personal values, priorities or beliefs for a career. Recess & Results allows individuals to GET PAID TO PLAY, teaching RR programs on a schedule that is flexible to that their faith, and their own families can always come first. We provide the initial training and consistent business coaching needed to make sure our owners are successful. Learn more about what makes RR unique, and what others are saying about us here! 

One word to describe you: Blessed

Here are a few more fun facts about Recess & Results:

Recess & Results is an exciting answer to this need of getting families more active!  This program appropriately calls their age-appropriate entertaining exercise sessions, “recess. I love that because isn’t that what we want to feel like when exercising- like we are at recess? RR offers different programs for preschoolers, elementary age kids, a Mom & Me walking wellness group (for babies & moms) and our favorite- Rejoice at Recess, which is a program that includes biblical teaching, games and worship!

The over-the-top bonus is that Recess & Results isn’t only going to solve the issue of having fun while exercising with the kiddos.  Recess & Results also offers you the opportunity to earn an income! What?! Yes.

So, how does this work?  Well, if you would like to own a small business that supports your values and a flexible schedule while still fostering faith and keeping you active, then you should consider this outlet and investment!

There is a reasonable start-up cost to becoming a certified Recess & Results trainer and then from there you pay a monthly membership fee (which allows you to have your own personalized RR website, marketing materials, ongoing education and more).  You can find the details here.

Beyond that, you get to keep 100% of what you earn and Recess & Results is the only Christian business opportunity focused on kids and fitness! How cool is that?!

Interested in starting your own, Christian based, fun business on your terms? Recess and Results is offering a special discount on the initial investment for Southwest Missouri Moms for a limited time only. For more information and to reserve this discount, visit us online by clicking here and complete the form and note “Southwest Missouri Moms” in the comments, or simply contact Beth Vazquez by clicking here.

We look forward to seeing you at Recess!

(Not for Profit) Business Spotlight: Baking Memories 4 Kids

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Note from Kelli and Mindi: We recently found out about the neatest not-for-profit, right here in SWMO! Baking Memories 4 Kids is searching for kids locally that are battling life threatening or terminal illnesses. Enjoy today’s guest blog post about this unique organization with a big heart for kids in our area. If you or somebody you know could benefit from these services, please contact them today!

Baking Memories 4 Kids, established in 2012 by cancer survivor Frank Squeo, is a non-profit foundation that provides children with life threatening or terminal illnesses and their families an all-expense paid vacation to ALL the theme parks in Orlando, Florida.  For one week, these courageous families will be able to focus on the joys of life and put aside the daily struggles of having a loved one with a serious illness.

Traditionally Baking Memories 4 Kids sells chocolate chip cookies during the holiday season, the profits from which go directly to providing these amazing trips to children from throughout the US. In order for us to focus those funds on the children and their families, we keep our operating costs to a minimum by having no direct employees and no offices. Because of this we have been able to sell over 30,000 containers of cookies and  have already surprised over 50 families and counting with a trips of a lifetime.

BM4K and several franchises of Panera Bread have partnered together to help local communities provide these life changing moments for sick children and their families from within neighborhoods.

Traditional Bakery, Inc, which operates Panera Bread Cafes in Joplin, Branson and Springfield, MO,  is one of those franchises. Since April,  they have been encouraging their customers to round up their orders so that the change can be donated to Baking Memories 4 Kids.  Our commitment to them is that we try to utilize those donations right in the areas where the money was raised.  We are happy to say that because of the generosity of the Southwest Missouri  community, we now have the available funds to provide several families a trip of a lifetime.

We are reaching out to several groups in the Joplin, Branson and Springfield areas in hope of locating special children who would qualify for one of our trips.  We are asking all those who know of a family who has been experiencing the weight and fear of having a sick child to go to our website and nominate them so we can help them create some once in a lifetime memories.

Qualifications are simple:

  • the child needs to be between the ages of 3 &18
  • they have to have a condition that a doctor will verify is terminal or life threatening
  • they may not have had a wish granted for them by any other organization
  • they need to be open to publicity.

That’s it-  if the child hits all those requirements then the family is pre- approved to go to Orlando and we will send them an application.

Whether it be physical, emotional or financial,  having a loved one with a serious illness effects the entire family not just the one who is afflicted. We offer them the chance to reconnect, recharge and re-energize their spirits and relationships in a way they only could have imagined.

Sponsor Spotlight (and recipe too!): Produce for Kids

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Produce For Kids LogoWhen we have the opportunity to tell you all about something great going on for kids in our community, we gladly say YES!

Our sponsors at Produce for Kids are teaming up with select grocers in Arkansas and Missouri to support local Feeding America® food banks offering shoppers healthy meal solutions and registered dietitian-approved recipes and tips. One reason we love this project is because like you, we are always on the hunt of quick, nutritious yummy meals we can share with our family (and share with you too, of course!).

Never heard of Feeding America®? It is a nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the US, providing food to more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across America–many right here in Southwest Missouri–helping our own friends and neighbors.

Feeding America® also supports programs that improve food security among the people they serve, educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry.

There are several grocers that are participating in this initiative, including, Harps, Woods Supermarkets, Country Mart, Food Pyramid and Price Cutter. Click here to view the full list of participating grocers.

Several trusted brands are getting behind this initiative too! Click here to view the full list of participating brands.Produce For Kids Graphic

We have spent some time browsing their collection of recipes and had to share this Easy One Dish Chicken and Veggie Bake. Looks like a great week-night meal option when you need to get dinner on the table in a flash!

easy-one-dish-chicken-veggie-bake-lr-wmIngredients

  • 1 pound chicken breast, cut in fourths
  • 12 Melissa’s Baby Dutch Yellow® Potatoes, quartered
  • 12 ounces fresh green beans
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon herds de Provence
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken, potatoes and green beans in rows in 13×9 inch baking dish with chicken in the middle. Drizzle with olive oil and season with garlic, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. Bake 50 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 and potatoes are tender.

Hungry for more recipes? Visit ProduceForKids.com for more than 300 registered dietitian-approved and family-tested recipes, meal planning tools, grocery store specific campaign details and healthy tips from real parents.

You can also find more information by following Produce for Kids on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat (ProduceforKids) for more recipe ideas and healthy eating tips all year long.