The most difficult part of having Type 2 diabetes for me is not being able to enjoy as many sweets whenever I want them.  In moderation is fine, but when it comes to candy, it’s easy to hit the limit of sugar intake pretty quickly.  In the beginning of my diagnosis, I was pleased to know that there are many sugar free candies available to diabetics, and I’ve tried quite a few.  However, the less than awesome taste always left me sorry I had bought them and generally turned off to sugar free candy in general.  As a result, I would always reach for something filled with sugar to satisfy my sweet tooth. 

I recently had the opportunity to try out all four flavors of Werther’s Original Sugar Free Candy.  I wasn’t expecting much because I had yet to find a sugar free candy I was impressed with.  I am here to say I was proven completely and utterly wrong.  I have never put more delicious sugar free candy in my mouth and cannot rave enough about this.

Werther’s Original Sugar Free Candy comes in four flavors:  Classic Caramel, Caramel Apple, Caramel Coffee, and Caramel Cinnamon. 

After the very difficult task of tasting them all (wink, wink), it’s a tough call for the favorite.  The Caramel Coffee tastes exactly the way I love my coffee in the morning and the Classic Caramel is just what I crave when I want something sweet.  One thing I am definitely sure about is that they both taste too good to be sugar free.  I have been putting a few in my in my purse and enjoying them at work and at home when I sit down to blog.

I am completely sold on Werther’s Original Sugar Free Candy and encourage anyone who is diabetic to give them a try.  They’re only 8 calories  and 3 grams of carbs a piece.  Stay up on the latest from Werther’s by liking the Werther’s Sugar Free Facebook page.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for MetLife. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Mother’s Day is always a very low-key holiday around our home.  We usually start the morning off by attending church services and then go to lunch as a big extended family, or my grandmother cooks for all of us.  We beg her not to because Mother’s Day is her special day too, but she insists.  The rest of the afternoon is filled with family visiting and taking pictures.  Whatever we do, we make sure to make our mothers feel special and show them how much we care for them. 

I’m very blessed to have my mother living so close by and a part of my daily life.  Even in her retirement, she keeps very busy and sometimes we only get a quick hello in passing due my working schedule and her plans.  It’s always great to sit down and catch up with her whenever possible.  I’m so thankful to have her in my life and she is an excellent role model for me as I navigate raising my own son. 

MetLife has created the #SocialBlackout movement, challenging everyone to log off social media on Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 12th) and give mom the undivided attention she deserves.  If you are fortunate to spend some time with your mom this Sunday or someone else who has been like a mother to you in your life, make sure the focus is on them when you are with them and not your screen.  I know I am very guilty about checking emails and Facebook whenever I get a spare moment.  I’m pledging this Sunday to put away the phone when I’m with my mom and soak up as much quality time with her as I can. 

To learn more about the #SocialBlackout movement, visit MetLife’s Facebook page.  Will you be participating?

Making sure my son brushes his teeth properly has always been a concern of mine. As an 8 year old, I can tell you that oral care is not very high on his list of priorities. I still have to supervise him to make sure he is brushing long enough and, more importantly, to make sure he turns off the water from the sink. His little mind tends to wander a bit. In any case, I nag and he brushes, and that’s probably a parenting job I know I’m not alone in.

We recently had the chance to check out the new FireFly Ready Go Brush, which is the new toothbrush from FireFly that mimics a traffic light, lighting up green when it’s time to start brushing, yellow to signal “almost done”, and red to let kids know that they have brushed long enough and are finished with the first row. The toothbrush then completes the cycle for the next row of teeth. I love this concept and let’s face it; sometimes kids need a little entertainment to keep them motivated about those mundane tasks.

Why FireFly Ready Go Brush?

Hurried and insufficient brushing is one of the leading causes of cavities in early childhood. Dentists recommend that 60 seconds of brushing per row of teeth is the amount of brushing time needed to be most effective. The FireFly Ready Go Toothbrush encourages children to take charge of their own oral care and establish good oral healthcare habits for a lifetime, giving parents peace of mind.

Banish Boring Brushing!

The FireFly Ready Go Brush comes in four great designs featuring top entertainment characters kids love:

Barbie

Spider Man

Angry Birds

FireFly

The FireFly Ready Go Brush features soft, high quality DuPont Tynex bristles that are gentle on children’s delicate gums, accepted by the American Dental Association, and are recommended for children ages 3-12. The brushes have a suggested retail price of $3.99 and can be found at Target, Kroger, Meijer stores, Drugstore.com and Amazon.com .

Even More Brushing Fun!

What’s a fun toothbrush without some fun toothpaste to go along with it? FireFly also has a great line of FireFly Fluoride Foam Toothpaste, available in the above characters, which can be squirted directly into your child’s mouth, eliminating messy spills, leaks, and dried-up toothpaste mess on counters and sinks. This light, foamy formula flushes out bacteria and gets into those hard-to-reach spots, which is perfect for kids with braces. Paired with the FireFly Ready Go Brush, this toothpaste provides the ultimate platform in oral care for children. Recommended for ages 3-12, the FireFly Fluoride Foam Toothpaste retails for $2.99 at the major retailers listed above.

Be sure and check out FireFly on Facebook and get ready for the ultimate in tooth brushing fun!

This post is sponsored by Firefly as part of a sponsored blog tour with Burst Media, but all opinions are my own.

It’s National Library Week and it goes without saying that I love my job as a school librarian.  I can’t think of any better job for me than spending my day reading to students, helping them select books that they will fall in love with, and cheering them on as they take computerized quizzes on the books they read to help with comprehension.

My classes and I recently had the opportunity to participate in creating the very first kid-created infographic along with TeachHUB, a free resource for teachers and parents who want the latest in education news and technology. TeachHUB.com provides the latest in education technology, news and tools. It’s a great free resource for all K-12 teachers.

My students had so much fun answering a survey filled with questions aimed to pick their developing brains about what they love about school, how they use technology, what interests them, and what they want to be when they grow up.  It sparked much lively discussions and they were so excited to be a part of this.  I was excited because most of them had never seen an infographic, so this was an excellent teaching tool as well.

I couldn’t wait to see the infographic once it was completed.  Below are the results.

I can’t wait to share the final results with my students.  I have to admit it was pretty funny reading some of their answers, especially the question that asked them if the paper or computer folder was invented first.  I was really surprised by the number of students who read books on tablets and readers.  It was definitely an eye-opener for me as far as how things have changed since I was a young girl.  Isn’t technology amazing?

According to the teachers at TeachHUB.com success in education starts with curiosity, and curiosity starts at home. For National Library Week, encourage your kids to explore a topic they’re interested in learning more about. Sit down at a library and read together – and ask them what they learned!

You can see the latest articles from TeachHUB by subscribing to their Facebook page or following them on Twitter

I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, and content and opinions expressed here are all my own. To learn more about the TeachHUB.com, visit their website. #CleverTeachers #NLW13