The Great Piggy Bank Adventure- Flip Cam Giveaway

Posted on by Mandy

Being a good steward of money is definitely one of the hopes I have for my son.  We’ve started implementing a money management plan that is age-appropriate for him to teach him that money is earned (in his case, chores) and money is saved, spent, and tithed.  Our goal is to help him to learn to be financially savvy and independent by the time he reaches adulthood. 

Because it’s so important to teach children about saving and spending, T. Rowe Price has partnered with Disney to create The Great Piggy Bank Adventure , an online game and interactive experience at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® at the Walt Disney World®.  It is their hope that this will be a teaching tool for parents to use to talk with their children about good financial habits.

GIVEAWAY:

I would love to hear how YOU talk with your kids about money.  In return, one lucky winner will receive this awesome Great Piggy Bank Adventure Flip cam! 

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment below answering ONE of these questions.  Giveaway will close on Sunday, July 3, 2011 at 11 PM. U.S. Only.

*When do you talk to your kids about money? 
*Do you talk to your kids about money at the ATM or the grocery store?
*How do you teach your kids about financial concepts in the news today such as inflation and setting financial goals like saving for college?
*When you give your kids an allowance, do you ask them to set a goal for their spending and/or talk about ways to spend wisely?
*Do you ever use items in the news, such as inflation, as a chance to teach your kids about the concept? If so, what have you found works well to help them understand inflation or other financial concepts?

BONUS ENTRIES:

After you have answered one of the questions above, you can also earn up to 6 bonus entries by doing the following (but please leave a seperate comment for each):

1. Subscribe to Mommy Cracked in a reader by clicking here. (Leave a comment on this post telling me you did so).

2. Subscribe to Mommy Cracked by email and confirm the subscription. This option is in the sidebar. (Leave a comment on this post telling me you did so)

3. Tweet this contest and leave a comment on this post with your link on Twitter. (You can hit the Retweet button at the top of this post to make it easier.)

4. Click here to follow me on Twitter and leave a comment on this post telling me you did so.

5. Click here to become a fan of Mommy Cracked on Facebook and leave a comment on this post telling me you did so.

6.  Follow me on Google Friend Connect.  Just hit “Join” under “Followers” in the sidebar.

That’s it! Good luck!

A gift card and the Great Piggy Bank Adventure-branded Flip camera have been provided courtesy of T. Rowe Price. T. Rowe Price is not involved in or responsible for the outcome of this giveaway.

Fruit/Veggie Vinaigrette Salad

Posted on by Mandy

Now that summer is here, I love being able to enjoy all the fresh fruits and vegetables in season. Salads are so quick and easy to prepare, but I was getting a little bored with our regular salads made with lettuce, so a couple of weeks ago while looking into the refrigerator, the fruits and vegetables inside gave me a little inspiration to throw them together and try something different. It ended up being delicious, so I thought I’d share what I now call the Fruit/Veggie Vinaigrette Salad

What You’ll Need:

Cucumbers, small grape tomatoes, peaches, strawberries, and a bottle of Wishbone Red Wine Vinaigrette salad dressing.

Since my husband and I were the only ones eating this on this particular night, I only used the amounts of fruits and veggies you see below. You can add more or less and you can even throw in some other fruits/veggies that you like.

fruit veggie salad 1

Directions:

Wash your fruits and veggies thoroughly. Then, simply cut into bite size pieces.

fruit veggie salad 2

Next, add in some Wishbone Red Wine Vinaigrette salad dressing and toss together. Now, I didn’t measure how much of the red wine vinaigrette dressing I used, but you can add as much or as little as you’d like.

fruit veggie salad 3fruit veggie salad 5

The end result was a wonderful combination of sweet, tangy, and crunchy…a perfect side to any meat and extremely easy to put together. Definitely not your usual salad!

steak salad 

And I am all about some easy food prep!

Kick Off Summer Celebrations with Hormel

Posted on by Mandy

Now that summer is in full swing, you may find yourself attending graduations, back yard barbeques, and just enjoying more meals with your family and celebrating the end of the school year for the kids.  Around our home, we are relishing the slower pace of life that summer brings and have been enjoying afternoons at the swimming pool and ballpark.

If you’re looking for some inspiring ways to celebrate the milestones as summer begins, consider these:

*  Encourage your child to invite a couple of friends over to celebrate the end of this school year. They’ve worked hard all year (and so have you!), so take an afternoon or evening to reflect on the year and recognize everyone’s hard work.

Tip: Serve a new twist on an all-time favorite with Braided Stuffed Pizza Bread or Easy Pepperoni Pizzas and pop in a favorite movie.

*  Give a grad a unique gift with a copy of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss.  This classis is an inspiring story for any graduate starting a new chapter in life.

*  Celebrate the start of summer with a backyard barbeque with the whole family.  Be sure to have outdoor games like croquet and badminton that are easy to play and fun for everyone.

Tip: Everyone is sure to love BBQ Blue Sanwiches with a side of Grilled Fruits and Applewood Bacon Spinach Salad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’d love to hear in the comments section how you and your family will be kicking off the beginning of summer.  Whatever you plan, have fun and let Hormel help you make it a little more delicious.

I wrote this post as part of my participation in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Bloggers Program.