Reviews

Child Hunger Ends Here: Map the Meal Gap and How We Can Help

August 15, 2014 by Sandra 2 Comments

This is a sponsored collaboration with The Motherhood and Child Hunger Ends Here
to bring awareness to child hunger in our country.

When I read the online headlines or simply check my Facebook news feed, it seems like there’s no shortage of bad things happening in this world.

They’re everywhere. And it all seems so overwhelming.

I’m sure you know a lot of the headlines I’m eluding to, but one particular issue that has my attention right now is child hunger. To be more specific, child hunger that’s happening here in the United States — in our own backyard.

Child Hunger Ends Here Program

Last month, I talked about the Child Hunger Ends Here program and how you can easily make a difference in a child’s life by simply buying foods your family already loves and entering the codes found on certain products into the widget in my sidebar.

For those families and others across the country, every meal counts, and you can help! You can continue to visit the Child Hunger Ends Here website to enter codes found on participating ConAgra Foods product packaging through August 28, 2014.

Each code represents one meal for a child who needs it!

Map the Meal Gap

This month, I want to show you one way you can get an idea of how child hunger impacts your state and even your local community by using this hunger map. I checked my home state of Illinois and found that there are nearly two million people that are food insecure! That simply should not be true! 🙁

The hunger map actually lets you take things a step further and allows you to see how many people need meals in your local community. This was also eye-opening for me.

DID YOU KNOW? Child hunger is an issue that is closer than you think. You can find hunger statistics for your area on the Child Hunger Ends Here website.

Just select your state and county from the interactive map and learn more about your neighbors struggling with hunger and the food banks that serve them.

Teachable Moments

I’ve been working on planning our home school year, and I’m going to add a lesson on child hunger and what we can do about it. I’m hoping my kids take it to heart and it becomes teaching that sticks with them for a long time to come. 🙂

Did you check out the hunger map for your area? What are some ways you’ve helped fight hunger in your local community?

A Quick 1 to 2 Minute Survey

Would you be willing to take a quick 1 to 2 minute survey to help gauge awareness about child hunger? If so, head on over here to share your thoughts. Thank you kindly.

Remarkable Waterproof Smartphone: The Kyocera Hydro Vibe 4G LTE

July 11, 2014 by Sandra 2 Comments

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Sprint. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and to thank me for participating. #SprintMom

As a 2014 Sprint Ambassador, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to try out various Sprint devices and services, and then share my experiences with you here on The Sensible Mom.

Today, I’m sharing what I love most about the new Kyocera Hydro Vibe waterproof 4G LTE smartphone.

Without a doubt, my very favorite thing about this phone is that it is waterproof.

A Funny Story

A few years ago, I was driving home from somewhere, and at the time I had a habit of getting into our car and sitting my phone in one of the car’s cup holders. Well, I happened to do that very thing that particular day and much to my surprise, when I looked down at the cup holder after I arrived home, I realized that I had put my phone into a cup holder that was filled with some sort of liquid. It was probably what’s known as “pop” here in Illinois. 😉

Anyway, my phone died, and it never regained consciousness.

That incident would have turned out differently had my phone been a waterproof Kyocera Hydro Vibe, because this phone can handle hanging out in liquid for a while.

The Day I Took a Million Pictures at the Pool

I recently took the Kyocera Hydro Vibe smartphone with me to our local waterpark, and it was fantastic being able to carry it around and snap pictures of my kids without the fear of accidentally dropping it in pool.

Nope. With this phone, I was able to take tons of great quality pictures and videos of my family and even had a little fun dunking it in the water on purpose! 🙂

The Kyocera Hydro Vibe smartphone has an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and video camera.

I shared this collage in another post but wanted to post it again, so that you can see the truly high-quality pictures you can take with the Kyocera Hydro Vibe 4G LTE smartphone.

Besides the fact that it’s waterproof and takes high-quality pictures and videos, I love that this smartphone’s battery lasts all day.

Even after using the phone quite a bit on the day we spent seven hours at the waterpark, it didn’t need to be charged at all while we were there.

I’m loving this trusty new waterproof smartphone. Bath time, pool time, or backyard water hose, I can be worry-free with the Kyocera Hydro Vibe.

Have you ever thought about choosing a waterproof smartphone? Do you have a funny smartphone water mishap story? 🙂

Entertainment for the Whole Family: Raging Waves Waterpark

July 10, 2014 by Sandra 4 Comments

My family and I enjoyed an amazing, fun, free Family Day at Raging Waves Waterpark in exchange for sharing this review. #WelcomeToSummer

We make a big deal about “Family Days” around our home.

They are must-do.

Can’t miss.

We’ve got to schedule a Family Day and make it happen at least once a week.

And if it looks like we aren’t going to be able to enjoy family time on our regular “Family Day” of the week, Sunday, then we plan ahead and schedule it for a different day. It’s that important.

Plus, we love this time together, because we realize that our days together are precious. And they’re not guaranteed. In fact, that truth became far too real for me this past year, and I guess that’s part of the reason why I strive to make family time a high priority — every single week.

Raging Waves Waterpark

Most of the time, we spend family days at home. But recently, we were able to experience an unforgettable time together at Raging Waves Waterpark, which happens to be located in the Chicagoland city of Yorkville, Illinois.

Seven Hours Later…We Barely Scratched the Surface

It was our very first time at Raging Waves, and we can see why it’s Illinois’ Largest Waterpark. Raging Waves is enormous, and it has something for everyone!

The Fun at Raging Waves Includes:

17 Waterslides

The Lazy River

1 Wave Pool

2 Huge Kiddie Areas

Good Food

Sandy Beach Areas

A Family-Friendly Show

So Much More!

We split most of our time between the two kiddie areas and the wave pool. David and Isaac loved the slides in the kiddie area, and everyone had a blast in the wave pool! We hung out at the shallow end of the wave pool. And that turned to be a good idea, because those waves are powerful and have the ability to knock little ones over. 😉

When Fire and Water Make Great Entertainment

Besides everything you can do in the water at Raging Waves, there’s also a new show you can sit down and take in with your family. It’s called “Sinbad and the Search for the Golden Pineapple.” And if you wait to see the last show of the day, you can watch one of the performers be lit on fire before jumping into a giant pool of water.

It’s pretty spectacular.

Cleanliness, Friendliness, and Safety

While we were at the park, we had the opportunity to learn more about the people who work there and how they go all out and do their best to make sure that Raging Waves is a clean, friendly, and safe place to be.

As a mom (and germaphobe because I have to be), this made me incredibly happy to hear.

Our family day at Raging Waves was awesome. I’m thankful for all the memories made and know that my kids will remember all the fun for a long time to come. 🙂

Have you visited a waterpark this Summer?

JORD Wood Watch Review and Giveaway!

June 24, 2014 by Sandra 20 Comments

Thanks to JORD for partnering with me on this review and giveaway.

My husband is a special guy.

He handles so many things for our family — even most of the errands and grocery shopping. So when JORD (pronounced “YORD”) asked if I’d like to review one of their gorgeous wood watches on my blog, I knew I wanted Ruben (my husband) to have it.

Ruben hasn’t owned a watch in a very long time. I believe the last watch he bought for himself was before we were married, and I was probably around 17-years-old.

I’m in my thirties now, so that was ages ago. 😉

So Many Watches, So Hard to Choose

JORD has so many beautiful watches to choose from for men and women that selecting the right one wasn’t easy. After visiting the JORD website and taking a peek at pictures and even videos online, Ruben decided he preferred the Cherry & Maple Sully Series JORD Watch.

I think he made a great choice.

I know it’s hard to tell from the pictures, but this watch is truly lightweight and not clunky at all. I love the colors and the intricate design, but most of all, I’m happy that Ruben finally has a new watch that he enjoys wearing.

That’s the best part.

And…It’s Giveaway Time!

Now that you know more about JORD wood watches and how delightful they are, let’s talk about this fabulous giveaway! JORD has generously offered to give one of my readers a JORD wood watch of their own! 🙂

How to Enter the Giveaway

Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from now until July 1st at 12:00am. The giveaway is open to US Residents ONLY, ages 18-years-old and above. The winner will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winner an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winner must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner.

Enter Below
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do you wear a watch?