Old Navy - It's Tee Time - Crowdtap Fun!

I may have mentioned before that I am a member of Crowdtap. Crowdtap is an interactive marketing platform that gets the consumers involved in answering questions and shaping brands.  Plus, you get FREE stuff!  Who doesn't like FREE??

I was selected to participate in an Old Navy Sample and Share for their awesome t-shirts.  I was SO excited to be chosen for this because I know that summer is just around the corner (please!) and who doesn't need a few more t-shirts to spice up their wardrobe?

Crowdtap sends you the coupons in the mail, and then you and a lucky friend get to head to Old Navy to scour the t-shirts and collect the goods!  

Sometimes it can be tricky to know exactly which t-shirts or products are included on a coupon, so I enlisted the help of an Old Navy employee right after entering the store.  The employee was SUPER nice and VERY helpful.  She led us over to the vintage and basic tees that were included in the coupon.  There were SO many to choose from!  The colors were awesome and bright and so spring-like.  Some of the basic tees were henley-styled with buttons on the front and the vintage tees were softer and some had stripes and other patterns on them.

Of course, we tried on a bunch of the shirts to see what we liked the best...

I was a big fan of the vintage tees because they were softer and longer (therefore giving me a little more room for my expanding belly)  :)

The perfect crew tees and perfect Henleys were super cute too and they came in great colors like this kelly green Henley:

Overall, a fun time was had by my friend and I.  We had no issues with the coupons working this time and the employees were super helpful (and even a little envious).  It was a great trip, and I've had a lot of complements on my t-shirts already!  I plan to wear them as long as I possibly can!

Introducing...

McTrois!

Coming to a crazy family near you mid-October 2013.

The Everyday Effect - Part Two

For part one of this series, click here.

If every company out there took an interest in the environment, like P&G has, can you imagine what impact it would have?  It would be HUGE!  To see all that P&G has changed and accomplished recently, check out their stance on Environmental Stability.  

As a conservationist, I was most impressed to see:

P&G is partnering with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to focus on sustainable sourcing of materials for P&G products, including renewable forest products and palm oil. As we move to using more renewable materials, particularly materials such as pulp and palm oil, we need to ensure that production does not lead to loss of natural ecosystems, with associated loss of biodiversity. Over the last five years, we’ve deepened our partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the WWF-led Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in order to ensure we support our critical programs that help us, and others, meet the challenges of sustainably using forest resources.

P&G is even packaging materials in plastics made from sustainably harvested SUGARCANE.  Little steps from a big company make a HUGE impact!

But at home, you might feel more overwhelmed in your ability to make a difference.  It is hard to see the impact that the 'little guy' makes, but that doesn't make that impact any less important (or necessary).  I am a firm believer in that the future of our Earth lies with the younger generations.  Which is why I may come across as the 'crazy granola mom' to others in my neighborhood or amongst my group of friends, but I'll tell you what -- my kids DON'T CARE (at least now, LOL). And while they are young, I CAN make an impression on them that will last a LIFETIME.  I want them to see me recycle, to see me pick up the trash that someone ahead of me threw on the ground.  I want to teach them about not being wasteful and to teach them instead to be respectful of their surroundings.  Kids are SO WILLING to help out for any 'cause' at this age.  Make it a good cause!!

With that in mind, I wanted my 5.5 and 3 year old at the forefront of my Earth day plans/activities.  P&G's Future Friendly program inspired me to sit them down and ask them what they thought they could do to 'help the Earth'.  Some are definitely more do-able than others.

1.  Turn off the water when brushing our teeth (Max)
2.  Wash all our clothes in cold water (Mom)
3.  Mulch grass back into the lawn instead of bagging it (Dad)
4.  a heart (Sam)
5.  Clean up garbage when we see it outside (Max)
6.  Turn off lights when we leave a room (Max)
7.  Eat all the food we put on our plates (don't waste food) (Mom)
8.  Draw on both sides of the paper (Max)
9.  Read a book (instead of watch TV) (Sam)
10.  Recycle (Dad)

We are going to work on all these things (not sure what to do about #4) up through Earth Day.  I hope to be back next week to post updates on our progress!

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/P&G

The Everyday Effect -- Part One

Earth day is approaching, April 22nd for those of you living under a rock.  I always think of April as a time of rebirth -- spring has usually sprung by now (except for this year where it is hiding out somewhere and only gives us brief glimpses of spring-like temperatures), some plants are starting to emerge from the ground, trees start to bud out.  Spring has always been my favorite season.  After months of a long, dull winter I am always ready for warmer temps and the ability to escape the house and be outdoors.

That's why I also like to take the month of April to look at what types of things we are doing as a family as see if there is any way to change them to make less of an impact on the earth and to reduce our waste impact.

So, I'm super excited this year to be partnering with P&G to make that happen this year, and to spread the word about waste reduction.

P&G has a great site set up to give you lots of ideas on how to improve your health and well-being, your home and garden, etc. called P&G Everyday.  Check it out, there are lots of great articles and resources (and coupons!).

About P&G Everyday Effect

Many people think their everyday actions are ordinary, and that the things they do every day can’t make a difference to help the environment. P&G believes the most effective changes don’t necessarily start with grand acts and can start much closer to home, by changing the way we think about things like waste.

Seemingly ordinary actions - like washing your laundry in lower temperatures, doing the dishes with concentrated products or changing a diaper that uses thinner materials – can be a surprising help to the world we share... allowing us all to reduce waste.

To kick off the month and choose our challenge(s) we're going to sit down at the dinner table tonight and talk about Earth day and what we can do to help reduce waste, save energy and help our planet.  With a 5 1/2 year old and a 3 year old contributing to the conversation, this could get interesting.  I look forward to seeing the final list we come up with.  Stay tuned!

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/P&G

Florida Vacation 2013: Day 6

Day 6 -  I invited my momma along for my morning run and she accepted!  She hadn't run in awhile (since she was injured running in July I think), but she did AWESOME!  I hope/aspire to be just like her when I am her age!

After that we headed down to Ft. Myers beach.  We all got beers...including little Max.  Although his was technically a ROOT beer.

Sam and Granna enjoyed some coloring.

Big Max enjoyed the sunshine.

Little Max and Grumps enjoyed a fierce game of tic-tac-toe.

After our delicious (and FRESH) lunch we headed to the beach.

We were even lucky enough to see a 'pirate ship' go by!

I love digging my toes into the soft sand...

Little Max practiced writing his name in the sand.

Just looking at these pictures make me miss the warm temps!  I wish spring would hurry up and get here already!  At least the grass is slowly turning a slight shade of green (versus the brown) and almost all the snow has finally melted.  It will be here soon!