Military Support Series: CK Mondavi & Intrepid


I am thrilled to be able to be able to start the Military Support Series up again by highlighting CK Mondavi and their giving to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.  It is no surprise that this blog would jump at the opportunity to share when a civilian company chooses to give back to the Military.  It is something that I think is very important, important for our country as a whole.  With the days of the Vietnam War not too far removed from history, change has been coming.  Our Military service members deserve honor and respect, no matter ones political views.  They risk their lives, and volunteer for service that should be honored.  It truly warms this MilSo’s heart to see people give back and support this family that is the Military.  It is becoming the rule rather than the exception with so many organizations out there giving back to the Military community.

It also doesn’t hurt when one happens to really like the people giving back.  CK Mondavi is the only American-made wine you can find in the supermarket for under $10.  How about them apples?!  It’s a family run business, with Peter Mondavi, SR, a WWII Veteran, at the  helm. 

Between May and August CK Mondavi donates a portion of each sale to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (up to $50,000).  IFHF is a wonderful organization that gives back to the wounded and fallen military members and their families through Family Support, The Center for the Intrepid, National Intrepid Center for Excellence and NICoE Satellite Centers.  I have personally visited one of these facilities and I can tell you that the service they provide is exactly what these service members need.  It is unparalleled in its ability to provide 360degrees of care. 

IFHF is entirely funded by public donations, and now wine lovers can do their part to give back too.  Thankfully for those that are wine lovers, CK Mondavi has afforded one of my lucky winners to be entered into a grand prize drawing to have $500 donated to IFHF in their name.  You can do so by sharing with me your story of military support.  I will choose one of my readers, who shares their story, to be entered.  I can’t wait to hear your stories, because if I know the community of readers I have, they will be good.

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

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#TeachersChangeLives – with Office Depot and Adopt-A-Classroom

Many years ago a girl went to college to be a teacher….time passed, majors changed and that girl chose a different path. But the importance of teaching never left her. So that girl was me, and yes I moved on, but the value of teachers has never escaped me. Now that my son is school, I have a new perspective on teaching. It is very interesting to transition from being taught, wanting to be, teaching yourself and then watching your child be taught. Several of my friends are also teachers and it just amazed me how much time and devotion they put into their classrooms while not even in them. How much money they spend every year, out of pocket, to make sure their children and classrooms have what they need.

OfficeDepot and Adopt A Classroom have partnered in an effort to show the world what teachers do, and can accomplish!  Adopt A Classroom connects donors with classrooms and teachers to help them make the classroom experience better.  I wanted to share this with you because I think it’s important to be active in your child’s education, and that includes helping their classrooms function at as high of level as possible.  Whether it be donating your time or money (by randomly sending your child to school with extra supplies), it’s important.  Making sure I’m involved, and letting the teacher know that they are appreciated every day of the year is so important.  Teacher Appreciation Week is also coming up, and whether or not your school does something formal, it is so nice to take that extra time to honor them.

There are so many stories of how teachers are impacting and changing lives of kids across the United States!  I’ve chosen just a few for your to check out – 

You can register a classroom and donate by visiting the Teachers Change Lives website!  You can also visit the website and locate a teacher to help.  Teacher’s who have registered their classrooms can order supplies on line from Office Depot in an easy process.  As a donor you will receive updates on how the classroom you are impacting is doing.  The process is easy and rewarding.  I’m sure if we all thought about it, we could all remember a teacher that was special to us, whether by doing something extraordinary that impacted our educational path, or one that simply was there as a positive influence in our lives.

Has a teacher changed your life?  Do you have an amazing teacher in your life right now?  I want to hear about it!


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

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If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers

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#TeachersChangeLives – with Office Depot and Adopt-A-Classroom

Many years ago a girl went to college to be a teacher….time passed, majors changed and that girl chose a different path. But the importance of teaching never left her. So that girl was me, and yes I moved on, but the value of teachers has never escaped me. Now that my son is school, I have a new perspective on teaching. It is very interesting to transition from being taught, wanting to be, teaching yourself and then watching your child be taught. Several of my friends are also teachers and it just amazed me how much time and devotion they put into their classrooms while not even in them. How much money they spend every year, out of pocket, to make sure their children and classrooms have what they need.

OfficeDepot and Adopt A Classroom have partnered in an effort to show the world what teachers do, and can accomplish!  Adopt A Classroom connects donors with classrooms and teachers to help them make the classroom experience better.  I wanted to share this with you because I think it’s important to be active in your child’s education, and that includes helping their classrooms function at as high of level as possible.  Whether it be donating your time or money (by randomly sending your child to school with extra supplies), it’s important.  Making sure I’m involved, and letting the teacher know that they are appreciated every day of the year is so important.  Teacher Appreciation Week is also coming up, and whether or not your school does something formal, it is so nice to take that extra time to honor them.

There are so many stories of how teachers are impacting and changing lives of kids across the United States!  I’ve chosen just a few for your to check out – 

You can register a classroom and donate by visiting the Teachers Change Lives website!  You can also visit the website and locate a teacher to help.  Teacher’s who have registered their classrooms can order supplies on line from Office Depot in an easy process.  As a donor you will receive updates on how the classroom you are impacting is doing.  The process is easy and rewarding.  I’m sure if we all thought about it, we could all remember a teacher that was special to us, whether by doing something extraordinary that impacted our educational path, or one that simply was there as a positive influence in our lives.

Has a teacher changed your life?  Do you have an amazing teacher in your life right now?  I want to hear about it!


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

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CVS, Pampers and the Holiday Season…..

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you might know that I cloth diaper.  Its true I do.  But there is occasions when I use disposables.  I’m not perfect and I don’t pretend to be.  I really enjoy cloth diapering and I will be the first one in line to tell you to give it a try and that it isn’t as hard as it seems.  But sometimes it doesn’t work for everyone and sometimes it just doesn’t work for me!  Because lets be real….sometimes as moms we don’t have it all together.  Sometimes we leave the house and we wonder if the curling iron is still on.  Many times I’ve gone to the store, come home with a pile of groceries, only to discover that I didn’t even look in my refrigerator or freezer and discover that not only do I now have two of almost everything, but there is absolutely no where to stick anything into my freezer…whoops!!!  You know what’s awesome though…that’s okay.

 A healthy supply of Pampers at our local CVS

The Holiday season is prime “not having it all together” time.  Presents to wrap, cookies and pies to bake, grocery shopping and large meals to make.  We had some guests coming over so I was making sure I had enough of my fancy plates (I love using my wedding china) and enough chairs for everyone.  What I don’t want to be worrying about is my diapers, and what if the stores are open, or I have clean ones (my cloth ones).  I know my friendly neighborhood CVS will be open on those major holidays for any emergency that might pop up.  Why?  Because life happens and you gotta be real yo!  I also happen to love CVS because they are the ONLY place that has USAA atms.

Pampers are not diapers I’m super familiar with, other than the Swaddlers newborn size that the hospital uses and I used when my littles were their tiniest.  Recently I have been seeing the commercials for Swaddlers being carried in larger sizes, which I have to say is pretty cool.  Those are nifty diapers.  Name brand diapers are really expensive, but usually you get what you pay for.  I have been pretty impressed with the ones I’ve used so far.  I feel like they are brand new to me since its been forever since I used them.  You will usually find me skimping on the diapers….however you will never find me skimping on wipes.  I always shell out the big dough for wipes.  I love the Pampers Sensitive wipes….love love love them!  I snagged up the small pack with the adorable Giraffe’s on them.  What I appreciate about smaller stores like CVS is that its easy.  Its not a humongous parking lot, teeny tiny aisles packed with people.  I can run in and out with relative ease if facing the Commissary or my local grocery store is just too much for my fragile mom-mind to handle.  They may not have every single type of every single brand…but they will have the basics of what I need, and that is something I’m thankful for!

Make sure to enter to win a coupon so you can snag up your own free diapers and wipes from Pampers!!!

also, if you get a moment could you please go and like a new organization I am a getting behind.  They are doing their part to help clothe children in need in the VA/MD/DC area!  We need to help spread the word and get them some likes on Facebook!!! Thank you so much!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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#FierceFund – Find your Inner Fierceness

When was the last time you were fierce?  Sometimes I don’t think I give myself enough credit for my moments of fierceness.   As a milspouse I think my moments of fierceness have occurred mostly in around the military’s presence in my life.  When your husband goes gallivanting around the country and is gone at the most random of hours you kind of gotta be fierce.  You gotta just pick yourself up and move forward though.  When the water heater breaks, your kids are melting down and you can’t find your car keys….you gotta be fierce.  When your oldest son, whom you thought wouldn’t totally lose it this go around, completely and totally loses it because he just misses his daddy….and you’ve got to someone how explain that to the school, while dealing with everything else so YOU won’t lose it….you just gotta be fierce!

Some of the fiercest women I’ve met are my fellow MilSpouse friends.  I’ve been there and received the phone calls, and had the difficult conversations.  These women are fierce!  Two of my closest friends are millies, we’ve been through so much together, almost 100% virtually.  When I’m down and acting strange, they know somethings up…when breaking news airs about a situation where one of our husbands were, we are the first ones to call each other.  Fierce!

I really hope that I can pass on an attitude of fierceness to my daughter.  The ability to be strong and confident in her own skin; to exhibit grace and power all at the same time.   To be there for her friends and family.  To be FIERCE!

Clever Girls Collective has created the #FierceFund, which will donate $20,000 to initiatives that celebrate, encourage and elevate women and girls.  One of the co-founders of Clever Girls experienced going through Stage-2 Breast Cancer, and continued to move forward with life by working and being there for her kids.  It was then Clever Girls realized the importance of being there for our fellow women, and supporting them when they needed it most.  This inspired the Fierce Fund!

There are three amazing non-profits nominated this year:

CoachArt – provides free lessons in arts and athletics to terminally and chronically ill children and their siblings.

Dress For Success, San Francisco – provides professional attire, a network of support and career development tools to economically disadvantages women.

Girls Who Code – educates, inspires and equips young women to pursue academics and a career in the computing fields.

You can find out more about these amazing organizations and vote here, for who you think should be the recipient of the 2013 Fierce Fund.  You have until October 21st, to get your votes in. 

I’m doing my part by being a part of the “Traveling Blue Wig” project, and partnering with Clever Girls Collective to share stories of being Fierce!

When was a time you were fierce?  Do you have a “Fierce” someone in your life that has inspired you?
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