Category: Reviews & Partnerships

  • Together Counts: Desperately Seeking Healthy Living Through Energy Balance

    TogethercountsAs a mom of 3 teens and with our youngest insisting that I quit calling her the baby (she’s turning 12 this year, enough said!) I feel it safe to tell you that the secret to balance is really quite simple, because there is NO secret: balance is all a matter of perspective.  

    Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, while running in 6 different directions (sometimes, all in the same day) and having to plan meals around our collectively busy schedules — not to mention, those late night, last-minute school projects, due yesterday — without one (or all) of us experiencing the proverbial crash and burn is a challenge my family and I face, every day.

    That is why I am very honored to partner with TogetherCounts.com as an ambassador and contributor blogger to the Together Counts blog for 2013.

    (more…)

  • 28 Days of Impact: Why Are We Still Talking About Polio?

    28 Days of Impact is a blog relay celebrating the impact vaccines have on children in developing countries every day for the month of February.  Today I get to take a shot at it, here's my contribution:


    9_Ann Lee Hussey 2_Liz Thompson

    Photo by Mary Ellen Mark /Real Simple magazine

    Ann Lee Hussey contracted Polio when she was only seventeen months old in 1955 and suffered with the disease as a child. It paralyzed her from the waist down and she spent several weeks in the hospital. She has had countless treatments, can walk with limitations and now believes that she suffers from Post-Polio Syndrome (or PPS). 

    Although she admittedly fears PPS (the symptoms can significantly interfere with an individual's ability to function independently) Ann is dedicated to fighting Polio a world away. 

    Personally, I can remember receiving vaccines in grade school:  my classmates and I would march into the gym, line up and nervously wait for our turn.  However, I was very, very relieved to hear whispers that the school nurse was actually "dripping" the Polio vaccine onto a sugar cube.

    I hated shots (still do!) and I am what many doctors have since clinically, yet delicately, labeled as "a fainter".

    The fear of needles is a very difficult thing to overcome (trust me, I know, having suffered from tonsillitis as a child and endured dozens of penicillin shots, my backside STILL hurts just thinking about it) until I started having children.

    Raising 3 teens and 1 tween has pretty much helped me get over a lot of stuff:  like my fear of needles, or fainting at the sight of blood (especially, if it is mine!) not to mention, cleaning up after my children and basically every bodily function known to parenthood.

    Thankfully, I don't have to worry about stuff like my children contracting Polio or Measles and yet it is incredible for me to think that a child dies every 20 seconds from a vaccine preventable disease.


    9_Ann Lee Hussey 1_Liz Thompson (1)

    Photo credit: End Polio Now/Rotary

    Not when there are folks like Ann Lee, working on the ground to help ensure that all children have a shot at a healthy life, who has personally taken part in more than 20 immunization
    trips to help eradicate Polio, worldwide.

    How?  By helping parents (like you and me) understand that:

    • Vaccines are very safe, simple and one of the most cost-effective ways to save and improve the lives of children worldwide.
    • Vaccines work
    • Vaccines currently help save 2.5 million children from preventable diseases every year.
    • Vaccination efforts have already made a difference.  Thanks to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the number of cases of polio has dropped 99 percent and the Measles Initiative has vaccinated one billion children in 60 developing countries and has decreased measles deaths by 71 percent.
    • Vaccines can level the playing field so that all children, no matter their circumstances, have a shot at a healthy life.

    Okay, now it's your turn.  

    You can help sustain the impact by sending an email to your member of congress. Welcome your members to the 113th Congress and ask them to make sure that global health and vaccines are a priority in the new Congress. Take action and make an impact!

    Because, honestly, we really need to stop talking about Polio and give it the virtual bitch-slap it deserves!

    28-days-of-impact-logo
    This story comes from Rotary International and is part of Shot@Life’s ’28 Days of Impact’ Campaign. A follow up to Blogust to raise awareness for global vaccines and the work being done by Shot@Life and their partners to help give children around the world a shot at a healthy life. Each day in February, you can read another impactful story on global childhood vaccines.  Tomorrow, don’t miss Roxanna's post on Everyday Treats! Go to www.shotatlife.org/impact to learn more.

    © 2003 – 2013 This Full House

    Disclosure:  No payment was received for this blog post, this is my contribution to giving Polio the bitch-slap it deserves….YO!!!

  • Learning Curve: Yes, This Company Is Very Smart!

    Learningcurve150 I attended the M2Moms Conference in Chicago, last month, and had the pleasure of speaking to more than 250 national and international marketers and brand executives on how moms (like me) are using the internet.

    Yes, it was quite overwhelming and I'm still not over it…okay?

    Who knew that there are companies out there that really seem to want to know stuff about, you know, stuff we want to know…um, about.

    Confused?

    That's okay – I have kids, I know – because, you have enough on your plate (no doubt) already and that is why I want tell you about a company that was kind enough to introduce itself to me.

    Have you heard about Learning Curve?

    Well, if you are a parent (or, grandparent) of a child age 0-6, Learning Curve is perhaps a company you should get to know.

    Why?

    [cleans off a chair and offers a seat]

    For starters, they have ideas for expectant parents and recommendations on age-appropriate toys, learning activities and safety products for children ranging from newborns to kindergarten.

    Oh, and they carry a wide range of brands to choose from, including some of our family favorites: Disney Baby, Lamaze and The First Years.

    As a mother of four, I feel it safe to say that product safety is a major concern for parents – especially, when the holiday shopping season kicks-off in…GULP…NEXT WEEK!?!? – and restoring our faith in manufacturers and distributors should be at the top of everyone's list, this year.

    Learning Curve is doing their part with a Multi-Check Safety System, which includes this closing statement:

    "Going forward, the truest measure of our success is and always will be the trust parents place in our products. We are working very hard to preserve and strengthen that trust. And, we hope that you and other parents recognize that our products have been subjected to intense internal scrutiny and testing and are the safer for it."

    It's not just about shopping, either.

    Their website is chock-full with offers tips and articles on prevalent parenting issues, like potty training your child and transitioning to daycare or preschool, and provides opportunities for moms to join the Learning Curve Mom research team.

    Yes, they want YOU!

    • You may have the opportunity to test and help develop new products
    • Take surveys to let us know your expert Mom opinion
    • This is your chance to make a difference in the world of Learning

    Learning Curve also provides a portal for moms (and dads) looking for a little sense of community – heck, some of my best friends ARE bloggers – take a few minutes, grab a cup of your favorite hot (or, cold) beverage and check out their Parents Council:

    "It's our network of expectant and experienced parents designed to help you get the information you want and need for your child."

    There's the Learning Curve Shop, cool kids games and activities and…well…much, much more and to make a long story, short (I know, too late!) this a very smart website that has received our This Full House Stamp of Approval!

    Why?

    [see sidebar at right]

    Because, they are taking the time to listen and understand what parents today truly want – or, at least looking for – and that makes Learning Curve worth a click!

    [Right now, you can get 25% discount and free shipping on orders of $75 or more at Learning Curve, good through 12/31/07.  Just enter the following code at checkout:  FULLHOUSE]

    ©2003 -2014 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

    Disclosure: No payment was received for this blog post.

  • A Gift From The Heart: I Love You More

    I_love_you_more72rgb_2_4 Are you one of about a gazillion (yes, it's a word!) people who use the phrase, "I love you," everyday?  Are you part of that magical giving and receiving of love?  Have you heard of the Hippie Bald Chick? No? Wait, which one?

    No matter, let me start by telling you a little about Author Laura Duksta (a.k.a. "The Bald Chick") and Illustrator, Karen Kessler who earned the nickname "Hippie" from her love for people and the planet.

    The Bald Chick? Well, quoting Laura directly from her website:

    "The first thing most people notice about me is my head. At the age of 11, I lost all of my hair to a 'disease' called Alopecia Areata. Besides having no hair, I am perfectly healthy. This is a condition that affects about 5 million people in America and 1.7 percent of the total population. It's not been an easy journey, though it's one that I am eternally grateful for."

    After 19 years of wearing wigs, Laura made a decision on her 30th birthday to throw a coming out party as "The Bad Chick."

    Her mission is to share her story so that others might see that no matter what challenges they are facing, anything is possible with love.  She is now fulfilling this mission with her book, I Love You More.

    Well, quoting from the letter I received from their publicity manager:

    "Once opened, I Love You More is a gorgeous and touching combination of heartfelt message, rhyme and rhythm and child-like illustrations.  Its cleverly conceived flip story, which ends in the middle and starts from either side, will show you what love looks like from both a parent's and a child's perspective."

    Upon receiving a copy of the book in the mail, I was instantly drawn to its beautifully illustrated cover (being child-like and all) of a woman, holding a child, with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, and placed the book aside to read with my 6-year-old, later.

    Much later.

    "What's this?"

    We had just finished chasing our 4 children off to bed (read:  on our last nerve and having given our final warning) and I was trying to clean something very, very sticky off the kitchen table.

    "Oh, it's a book I was going to read with Mini-Me at bedtime."

    Whenever, she finishes brushing her teeth…that is.

    "What's it about?"

    Well, quoting Mini-Me's response with a toothbrush in her mouth:

    "It's about a mommy…who says she wuvs her baby more dan any-fing…and den da baby gwo-ohs up…wuving her more…you know, Daddy…just wike our mommy…except, she's your wife!"

    Yes, she gets it and so should you!

    In the meantime, I'd like to personally thank "Hippie and The Bald Chick" for reminding my husband Garth (not his real name, either) and me to go ahead and tell our children, "I love more!"

    Even if it is, you know, way passed their bedtime.

    ©2003 -2014 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

    Disclosure: No payment, service or product, other than a complimentary book to facilitate this review, was received for this blog post.