Teach them to never give up #JustAKidFrom

I can still remember when my daughter tried out softball for the first time. I had been through it with my son playing ball, but for some reason with her it was different. Maybe it was because she is a girl and well us mom's just tend to be a little over the top when it comes to our baby girl. Or maybe seeing my little girl as an athlete was just something I hadn't ever thought about before it actually happened. I remember going to every practice and every game, just watching with awe as she learned so many new things. And I remember biting my nails every time she was up to bat. I tried to never let her see the sadness in my face when she missed because I had always taught her to never feel bad if she missed and to never give up. So any time she looked my way I would give her a smile and a thumbs up. I think it was those moments that gave her the confidence to keep trying.

Eventually she was able to have the ball pitched to her instead of using the tee, and eventually she was able to hit it too. I never gave up on her or lost faith, and in turn she never gave up on herself. She grew as an athlete and matured through it all.

Of course through all those practices and games my daughter had to stay hydrated. I can still remember her carrying her little bottles of red POWERADE around with her. It was her favorite flavor and color at the time. POWERADE has always been a hit in our house, and with their latest campaign I know why as a mom it was a good choice.

About the POWERADE "Just A Kid" Campaign:
There is potential in all of us.  No matter what you achieve in life, you start in the same place as everyone else:  as a kid full of potential and big dreams.  At the end of the day, we are all “just a kid” from somewhere.

POWERADE believes that with the right motivation these everyday athletes can realize their potential and one day be the athletes that they look up to. Sports have a major impact on our communities. Whether it is t-ball or the pros, every athlete in every league has a story waiting to be told.

Represent your somewhere with custom "Just a Kid" apparel that features where you're from here. All net proceeds from the sale of "Just a Kid" apparel goes to the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Special Offer:
When shoppers purchase two 8-packs of 20 oz POWERADE at Walmart, they’ll be able to go online, submit their receipt, and order a free custom “Just a Kid” reusable sports bottle. Go to http://www.us.powerade.com/walmart/#pov2 to learn more.  The offer is good until April 4, 2016 or while supplies last.

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/POWERADE.

No job is too big for Scott Towels #pmedia #Scottvalue

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Scott Brand, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #Scottvalue http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV 

Yesterday after church we headed over to Kmart because I wanted to make sure we were able to take full advantage of the awesome offer that had just started for select Scott brand products at Kmart. This week only they are having a $5 sale on select Scott brand towels, toilet paper, and flushable moist wipes. And to make the deal even sweeter if you purchase $15 or more in any combination of these products (and scan your Shop Your Way Reward card) you will also get a $5 coupon to use on a future purchase.

Sometimes when we all go shopping together we get a little silly. Really it just lightens the mood a little when the kids get tired of following mom around the store. This trip happened to be one of those times. My daughter wanted to help out with the pictures for my post so I let her have a little fun. She did her "Here's the product" pose then cheesed it up with a package in her hands. Well after that dad decided to jump in and told her "Yep, I think this package of Scott just might be big enough to clean up your messes." Of course my son and I laughed like crazy, and as you can see my daughter just gave him a very strange look. In the end we were all in good spirits and began our descent to the check out.

After we checked out I immediately went through all the coupons the cashier handed me to make sure I got my $5 reward. Since it's a Shop Your Way Reward it comes on paper like your receipt. Make sure you don't lose it because it's not valid until 4/27.

The thing I like most about Scott towels (besides how well they clean up messes) is that the sheets are smaller. This makes it nice so you don't have to waste a big sheet on a small mess. I don't know how many times I epically failed at trying to tear off half a sheet of paper towel for a little spill. With Scott you can tear off a small sheet for a small mess, or multiple sheets for big messes.

The smaller size sheets also make for perfect refrigerator door shelf liners. With the Scott sheets you can line the bottom of the shelf and save yourself from scrubbing sticky messes and spills. I discovered this trick after having to soak and scrub out one of my shelves after my daughter put back a flip top container of honey upside down and not fully closed. It slowly leaked out and went unnoticed until sometime later when the next person went to take the container out and it left a stringy trail as they pulled it out of the shelf. I'm sure you can imagine my reaction. Honey by itself is sticky...and here I was with cold honey all over the bottom of the shelf and everything that sat next to it. Let me tell you it took a lot of hot water to warm the honey enough to even begin to get it all off everything. After that I decided something had to be done because I wasn't about to take on this type of mess again.

And I figured while I was at it I should also line my crisper drawers. Sometimes we have a very full fridge so I use my crisper drawer for things other than fresh fruits and vegetables. And I've encountered similar situations in these drawers too. Usually it's a little big of juice from a package of open baby carrots, or a not quite sealed container of lunch meat. Nothing drastic like the honey episode. But now that my drawers are all lined with Scott paper towels I can easily switch them out if I see that it's gotten wet from something leaking. Definitely much faster and easier than finding out something leaked and then dried up in the bottom of the drawer.

Check out Kmart's Shop Your Way Rewards for great coupon offers on Scott Tissue products this week!

Make sure you also follow Scott Brands on Facebook to keep up on all the latest from Scott.

Introducing Marco's Pizza with Spinach! #MarcosFreshSpinach

This is a sponsored post in partnership with  The Niche Parent Network & Conference and Marco's Pizza. However all thoughts and opinions stated are my own.

When I received my Marco's Pizza package in the mail my mouth immediately began to water as I studied the pictures on the free pizza coupons I got. Looking at the brightly colored tomatoes, onions, and spinach made my stomach hungry. Thanks to my partnership with Marco's Pizza I got the opportunity to try their new Grilled Chicken Florentine Pizza and a cheese pizza with spinach as soon as they came out.

Here's our local Marco's Pizza, it's actually just a little corner of a big marketplace building just off the local collage campus.

It's a little hard to see in this picture (I didn't want to look crazy standing in the one-way drive taking pictures so I took it quick) but right on the door they have an advertisement for the new Grilled Chicken Florentine Pizza at a special price of $10.99 for a medium.

Since my husband was driving I took the opportunity to snap a shot of the top of one of the boxes. I thought it was pretty cool that it included coupons we could use on our next visit. And it again mentioned the special offer on the Grilled Chicken Florentine Pizza. It even had a code to enter if you ordered online. I could hardly stand it as we headed to our destination with the pizzas on my lap. Man did they both smell so good! Finally we arrived and I was able to open them up to see just how tasty they looked inside the boxes.

The first box I opened contained the Grilled Chicken Florentine Pizza. Imagine, tender grilled chicken, parmesan garlic sauce, four cheeses, fresh spinach, sliced tomatoes, and chopped red onions all on dough made fresh daily. Now tell me that doesn't make your mouth water. I wasn't really keen on the red onions part, but they were nice sized pieces so I was easily able to slip them out and onto my husbands pizza. They didn't even leave their taste behind on my slices. The pizza didn't exactly look quite as colorful as the one in the picture on my coupon, or the box coupon. I think they had to cook the spinach under the cheese to keep it nice and soft and not dehydrated like it may have gotten if cooked on the very top like the picture shows. Either way I wasn't complaining because it tasted just as good as it smelled.

And now for the cheese pizza with spinach. Spinach is a whole new topping for Marco's that you can order on any pizza, not just as part of the Grilled Chicken Florentine Pizza. Marco's cheese pizza is made with a three cheese blend of fresh never frozen cheese on fresh never-frozen dough made daily. Add some spinach and you're all set with a simple, yet tasteful dinner.

I would have to say I really liked both pizzas about the same. The spinach added a new flavor I had never had before on pizza, and it was just subtle enough even my daughter (who won't eat lettuce on a taco) said she liked it and asked for seconds and thirds. I think this mom just found a new way to get some more greens into her kids diet! I can't wait to see what other toppings I can pair along with the spinach next time.

You can check to see if there's a Marco's Pizza in your area right on their website. And if there is you can even place your order while you're there for carry-out or delivery.