The Stork by Rinovum

This post is brought to you by The Stork and The Motherhood. Opinions are my own.

Rinovum is a Pittsburgh based company dedicated to empowering women to take charge of their health. Their first product is a s Rx device called The Stork designed to help the 7.3 million, United States couples who have difficulty conceiving.

When I first heard that number as the number of couples with conception difficulty I was stunned! I do know people who I know have fertility problems but when you put that large of a number in front of me it seems staggering so I was grateful for a little more information on the why behind these fertility issues.

About 40% of fertility issues are attributed to the male, the major factor being that estrogen levels are high resulting in low sperm counts, motility and morphology issues. Another 40% of fertility issues are attributed to the female, the major factor being imbalanced vaginal pH. The last 20% of fertility issues are diagnosed as unexplained.

When I think of this large number of Americans who have trouble conceiving I look at my four little blessings and am amazed at how lucky I am to have them. Then I think about all the things that these couples go though to try for a baby and again stand in awe (if this is you, WOW!!!). I know treatments today are slow, invasive and costly and that is why I am so excited to share The Stork's Conception System with you today!

There are three BIG things that I love about the Stork. It is easy to obtain, minimally invasive, and low cost. The Stork was created to provide at home assisted insemination in instances where low sperm count, sperm immobility, or hostile vaginal environment has been diagnosed.

The Stork is an FDA Authorized prescription product that is drug free and a proven Physician technique that is now available to use at home. Using The Stork is a simple process. You can see a full video on how to use The Stork here (this video is best watched in the privacy of your home).

If you're interested in trying The Stork please contact your healthcare provider for a prescription then order from The Stork's website. Priced at $79 for one kit or $210 for a one-month supply of three the stork is very affordable and will ship directly to your home. In the near future The Stork will also be available over the counter at Amazon and CVS in the family planning aisle as well.

Since we obviously won't be trying The Stork in the near future (since baby is due in about 2 months) we would love to hear your comments, and hopefully success stories, as you try out The Stork. Make sure to come back here and let us know what you think!

Laminate It for Back To School + Giveaway

We're doing back to school for the first time at the Kerr house. I still can't believe that B is starting kindergarten. He's grown up so fast! Even though school is still a month away for us we still have a lot to get done. We starting things off right this year by getting all of his school supplies during back to school sales and then working to get them organized and put together at home so they are ready for his first day.
One tool we just received that I am loving is our new Fellowes Saturn2 95 laminator. So far the big project we have used it on is for making labels for our buckets of toys, crafts, and school supplies and it did a wonderful job!

I will be honest and say that I have never used a laminator before this so I was somewhat concerned about it taking too much time for the everyday projects I had planned to use it for as a mother and I teacher but I was very pleased to see that this Fellowes laminator is very easy and quick to use.

The first step was to get the things I needed laminated and turn on the laminator. In this case my items were a set of photos to organize toy and craft bins. I then cut them apart and put them inside the appropriate sized pouch.

Once the items were in the pouch I carefully picked up the pouch and slid it through the laminator beginning with the folded end (this is important or everything will fall out). Once I got it started the laminator carried it through the rest of the way and out the other side. Once it was out the page was warm for just a second but that was it. My pictures were done and ready to be cut apart to put on the appropriate bins.

I was absolutely amazed at how easy this process was and I am very excited to use this laminator for projects in my classroom and for projects at home, including preserving some of those first homework assignments of B's school career.

There are so many reasons I'm loving this new "toy" but here are just a few:

o   HeatGuard™ Technology: Double-walled insulation keeps heat inside so laminator is comfortable to touch, making it safe for homes and classrooms with children

o   Advanced Temperature Control: Hot and cold laminating capabilities ensure consistent, smooth results every time

o   Release Lever: Permits easy removal or re-centering of stalled pouches to prevent jams

o   Laminates up to 9.5″ wide documents

I think that the Fellows Saturn2 95 laminator should be a part of every home and classroom and right now you can help make that happen!

To get a Fellows laminator in your child's classroom make sure to nominate their teacher and Fellowes Facebook page. Submitting an entry is easy and your teacher will thank you when they win!

To win a laminator for your home simply enter using the entry form below. The winner will receive the same Fellowes Saturn2 95 laminator that I received (retail value

Entry-Form

School's Out, It's Time to Clean + Giveaway

Don't get me wrong, I love learning and going to school. What I don't love is that my house gets neglected during the winter. Yes, we have a small break for Christmas but the holiday of itself makes a big enough mess that any cleaning that actually gets done is counteracted by the mess of a family at the holidays. Now that school is finally over I'm excited to be able to clean and air out the house. We started this last week and I still have a long list but we're slowly making progress.
This week our big jobs include conquering the kitchen and the bathrooms. These are probably the two areas I clean the most often but twice a year I go extra deep and  do things like organizing the cupboards, moving and cleaning under the fridge and stove, and other such jobs that I just don't have time for every week. It's a nasty job but I always feel so much better when it's done! I just love things being clean.
Because I love clean one of my go to brands is Clorox. I love knowing that when I use their products I am getting a good clean. I can't tell you how many times Clorox has saved us when we've had sick kids (or animals) and needed to disinfect everything, something that seems to happen all to often at our house. This year when I purchased my spring cleaning supplies I was excited to find Clorox's new spray every drop bottles. They are so simple and yet genius because they really do allow you to completely empty the bottle without having to do the whole dump method. I am so excited to have these in my house! It's just one more way that Clorox is going above and beyond and giving moms the chance to have the clean they want on the budget they can handle. You can save $1.50 on these new bottles by visiting their website and watching a short video. And make sure you enter below to win a set of coupons to stock your cleaning closet with FREE bottles of Clorox!

Entry-Form

Today I Declare War on Apathy

Apathy: 

1. Lack of feeling or emotion

2. Lack of interest or concern

(merriam-webster.com)

It's midterms week at the Kerr house and what are we dealing with? Apathy. Such a horrible opponent! There is nothing worse than an apathetic student when you are trying to teach, tutor, or simply paying for a college degree.
Recently I have been following a series of Facebook posts by a dear friend on this subject. She is a Middle School history teacher in our area who is struggling with apathy in her classroom. Here's what she had to say:

Jan 9 - 
Today I declare war on apathy. I am tired of being around youth who just don't care. I'm not sure what to load into my arsenal as I head into this war, I might even pull out the angry voice.

I'm locking and loading now: Arsenal list: Anger, compassion, Constant follow-up, Rewards, Punishments, Demands, Leniency, Vision!!!! Lots of opposites, but all may be necessary.

Jan 10 -

Day 2 of war on apathy: Weapon: one on one attention
Success rate: 7/9 success in task completion, but unclear if the kids actually care.
Remaining student's behavior- generally good, until the end of the day. Then general behavior pretty much flew out the window.

Jan 11 - 
Day 3: angry voice... Whole 6th hour class immediately on task... Me hating it :( .

Jan 20 - 
War on apathy... I actually filled in zeroes for all the missing work. I'm hoping they all panic and get in gear.

Jan 26 - 

Good news: my war on apathy has encouraged at least 10 students to raise their grade out of the D/F range. It doesn't seem like much, but it's a beginning. I have at least 5 more that I think are working on a recovery plan.

Feb 7 - 
War on Apathy part 43: EVEN MORE creativity in the classroom. If you would like to join me in my war, you can help by donating to my art supply in the classroom by going to: http://www.dickblick.com/ara/lists/2930/home

LETS HELP FIGHT APATHY!

Art in the classroom is a great way to help fight apathy! We all know that kids are way more involved, and learn a lot more, when there are projects involved. This great teacher wants to help her kids bring history to life by creating their own life sized museum. I know the kids are going to love it!

To help fund the project our wonderful teacher has set up an account through Art Room Aid. This is a great place for teachers of any age or subject. People can then donate by either adding to a gift card amount or buying specific things on their wish list to help them keep art in the classroom.

Today, help me help this history teacher! Simply visit her wish list and donate to the cause (every dollar makes a difference). Her wish list includes things like scissors, markers, paint and clay that students can use for this project and may others. The children will thank you!

Scream For Ice Cream Twitter Party

I am super excited to be co-hosting my first Twitter party with the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and The Motherhood!  July is Ice Cream Month, one of my very favorite things, and I am so excited  we’ll be sharing fun ice cream facts and giving away great prizes.

When: Wednesday, July 25, 2-3 p.m. ET

Where: The party will take place on Twitter, using the #IceCreamMonth hashtag.

Who: IDFA (@dairyidfa) and The Motherhood (@theMotherhood) will be hosting. 

Five prize packs will be given away throughout the hour, based on responses to trivia questions.  Each prize pack will contain all of the fixings for your own ice cream party – bowls, scoops and coupons for lots of free ice cream. 

Please say you'll join us by clicking this link and press the orange “count me in” button on the right-hand side -http://twtvite.com/icecreammonth