It’s summer… That means it’s time to start thinking about school supplies for next year.

The last two years running I ordered school supplies from someone else. But this year, depending on the school lists, I will be going with EZSchoolSupplies.com.

The good people sent me a sample pack of supplies:

After having handled them, they are good quality products from known brands.

The company is headquartered in Denver, CO and have been around for five years. They provide their services to thousands of schools and parents across the country. Mothers love them because they can order online the exact school supplies requested by the school or the teachers for each specific grade level and have them delivered right to their home.

They offer over 26,000 brand name items on their website and can deliver from 32 distribution centers strategically located throughout the U.S. Us moms no longer have to go on the dreaded scavenger-hunt to four different stores to search for their school supplies.

You can purchase individually, but for the schools that have signed up with them, they give them back a 10% donation to assist them with their fund raising efforts.

And to make it even sweeter for you to do so, EZSchoolSupplies.com has even given me a promotional code to give YOU 10% off.

If this entry gets pushed off the page, you can still find it in my sidebar as well.

So take this offer, and make your shopping for school supplies easier this year!

Note: This is NOT a product review… I haven’t actually used the site. However, they were willing to give my readers 25% off - so I’m posting about it in - in case it meets a need for one of you lovely people.

From their email to me:

Despite economic concerns and rising gasoline prices, 70% of U.S. families intend to travel this summer, according to a new survey sponsored by ADlytics. However, shifts in demographics and lifestyles have broadened our definition of “family” and nuclear family travel is no longer the norm.According to the 2006 Statistics for the Travel & Tourism Industry, 43% of weekend trips are taken by couples without their children. In addition, children are now more likely to travel with family members other than their parents:

* 20% of grandparents have been on a trip with their grandchildren in the past year and,
* 15% of singles have been on a vacation with their nieces, nephews or other young relatives in the past year

So how do you ensure that your children remain safe and protected while traveling without you? Forms4Parents.com is a website that allows parents to customize forms to their unique family situation and provide travel consents, temporary custodial authority and medical authorizations, with important medical information about your child along with emergency contacts and insurance information. This is all clarified in a comprehensive legal consent form designed for your family. The forms are prepared online and downloaded in a matter of minutes!

Launched in February 2008, Forms4Parents.com addresses the need to provide security for children and peace of mind for parents and guardians alike when traveling.Created by mother and attorney Linda Kagan, Forms4Parents.com allows parents to customize consent forms to their unique family situation and specify travel authority, temporary custodial authority, medical authority with important information about your child along with emergency contacts and necessary insurance information.

Forms are separated individually by category and may be purchased individually or as packages such as Traveling Parents; Traveling with Relatives; Babysitter or Relatives Caring for Baby, Toddler or Children; Traveling Children & Teenagers (Domestic & International Travel); and Americans Living Abroad. Individual forms are priced at $16.95 and packages are $34.95.

So, what’s in it for you? From now until Labor Day (Monday September 1, 2008) Forms4Parents.com is offering 25% off your total purchase.

Enter promotional code SUMMERTRAVEL for a 25% discount off your total purchase.

I know my little blog here isn’t that popular. But what that means on Giveaways is - you have a really great shot. And on this one - 1 in 3!

Our winner for the SmartyPig Giveaway is Kimberly! I would link you, but you didn’t leave a website, just your email. I’ve sent you an email to get your address, so be sure to get back to me.

Congratulations! and use your savings wisely

I’ve got another giveaway for you! A $50 SmartyPig gift card! Basically a free $50 to start a savings account on SmartyPig.com.

About SmartyPig: Opening an account on SmartyPig is absolutely FREE. In fact, you can open your account, create a goal, reach your goal, and redeem your goal, and SmartyPig won’t charge you a thing.

SmartyPig savings accounts are held in West Bank (NASDAQ: WTBA) and are FDIC insured, so consumers can be confident their financial information and savings are secure. SmartyPig also utilizes the services of VeriSign, HACKER SAFE and TRUSTe.

SmartyPig is the only banking application that is social. The technology is one-of-a-kind. SmartyPig allows family and friends to help consumers reach their savings goals. This is free to SmartyPig customers, as well.

SmartyPig has been described as “Banking 2.0″ and is a cool way for parents trying to teach their children about good financial habits in a world where the concept of saving up for something before buying it has become foreign.

SmartyPig currently offers the highly competitive interest rate of 3.9% (Annual Percentage Yield)* and will always maintain a competitive interest rate for account holders.

SmartyPig gives consumers even more for their money by offering additional incentive boosts (up to 5%) from best-in-class retailer partners like Best Buy, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Sandals and Home Depot when they reach a savings goal.

SmartyPig’s smart, simple and secure approach to savings teaches the benefits of good financial habits, reverses the credit card “buy now, pay later” mentality and makes saving money a fun and easy experience.

In just 10 weeks, SmartyPig has customers in all 50 states and D.C.

SmartyPig was awarded “Best of the Web” by NetBanker.com.

*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of May 28, 2008. Rates may change at any time without prior notice. Fees could reduce earnings on the account. Minimum opening balance is $25.

So… If you want the chance to open a savings account with SmartyPig… Leave a comment here. You have until 11:59pm on Monday June, 30th. I’ll pick someone with a random generator, and send the lucky winner the card that I happen to have in my hot little hands!

Well, my mother is out of ICU.  She’s not out of danger, and she’s not getting better, but she’s no longer getting worse.

Posting is likely to still be light, as I get all my ducks in a row, and get back on my feet with everything that went by the wayside.  Stay tuned.

My mom is in the ICU.  I will be back when I can concentrate.  Have a bunch of reviews, codes, and giveaways.  It’ll need to wait til I can focus.

Well we have a winner for a case of Primo Water! There were only 4 comments - so you truly had great chances.

And that commenter is Rhi!

Rhi - I’ve sent you an email as well… But don’t forget to send me your address, and Congratulations!

Thank you to all who participated! I’ve got some more fun stuff in store.

Updated:  We have a winner!

We have a new giveaway! How’d you like a free case of water?

While we’re all trying to go green and such, we still have the need for portable mass quantities - such as snack mom at the soccer game?

Here’s your chance to score some, and not take it out of your own pocket.

Here’s their recent Press Release:

Primo Launches More Environmentally-Friendly Bottled WaterInnovative Single-Serve Bottles Made from Plants, Not Crude Oil

Winston Salem, NC, April 28, 2008 – Busy consumers can now enjoy the convenience of bottled water while reducing their impact on the planet with Primo water, a great-tasting water in a more environmentally-friendly, single serve bottle. Traditional water bottles are made from crude oil, a non-renewable resource. The Primo bottle is different from all other water bottles sold in the U.S. because it is made from plants, a natural, renewable resource grown on American soil.

Plastic water bottles are created from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a petroleum-based plastic derived from limited and depleting reserves of crude oil and natural gas. These fossil fuels take millions of years to regenerate. Primo is unique and more environmentally-friendly because it is made from Ingeo™ natural plastic, the world’s first and only performance plastic made from 100% annually renewable-resources. This plastic is also commonly known by its generic name, PLA (polylactide). Primo water bottles are as durable as other water bottles, but because they are manufactured from an annually-renewable resource, they have less impact on the environment than other plastic bottles. In fact, if all plastic PET beverage bottles made from crude oil sold today in the U.S. were instead made from Ingeo™ natural plastic, Americans would save the equivalent of a billion gallons of gas each year.

Consumers will not only enjoy Primo for its environmental benefits, but also for its great taste. In blind taste tests conducted at the end of 2007 across the U.S., three out of four consumers preferred Primo over the leading spring water and four out of five preferred Primo over tap water. In fact, Primo water was enjoyed at the MusiCares® Person of the Year event, on the red carpet and in the green room of the first “green” GRAMMY awards ceremony held in Los Angeles on February 10th.

“We’re proud to bring consumers a more environmentally-friendly bottled water,” said Billy Prim, CEO of Primo Water Corporation. “Not only does Primo give consumers the great taste, convenience, everyday price value and availability that they’ve been looking for in a bottled water, it also helps them to leave a better world for their children.”

“With Primo, consumers have told us they feel good twice; once for promoting their own health by drinking more water and avoiding sugar, and twice, for helping to preserve the precious and depleting resources of our planet,” said Dave Burke, President and COO of Primo To Go.

Primo will be sold in a multipack of eighteen 16.9 oz. bottles and will be available nationally this spring in select leading retailers, including all Kroger stores in April. Suggested retail price is $4.99.

About Primo Water Corporation
Primo Water Corporation, a privately-held company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, manufactures, markets, and services mineral enriched bottled water that meets both the convenience consumers seek and the environmental benefits they desire. Today, three product lines make up Primo Water Corporation’s portfolio. The first, introduced in June of 2005, offers three- and five-gallon Zero Waste bottles and an exchange program that rewards consumers for recycling their bottles for refills. The second, launched in April of 2008, is a new line of Energy Star rated and stylish water coolers. And the third is a single-serve bottled water, in a more-environmentally-friendly bottle made from plants, not crude oil. According to blind taste tests, three out of four consumers prefer Primo over the leading spring water and four out of five prefer Primo over tap water. To learn more, visit www.primowater.com.

# # #

You can see their three Webisodes on YouTube, which show their innovative process to make the bottle.

So. The details on the giveaway - I’m giving you a week! Leave a comment (including your email address please) on this post by Monday, June 9th, at 11:59pm. I’ll use a random generator to pick the winner from the comments. Sorry, one entry only please, or I’ll delete them. Then those primo Primo peeps will send you a whole case of water! Good Luck!

Equation: Another Thing to Fall is the latest Tess Monaghan novel by Laura Lippman. From the flyleaf:

The California dream weavers have invaded Charm City with their cameras, their stars, and their controversy…

When private investigator Tess Monaghan literally runs into the crew of the fledgling TV series Mann of Steel while sculling, she expects sharp words and evil looks, not an assignment. But the company has been plagued by a series of disturbing incidents since its arrival on location in Baltimore: bad press, union threats, and small, costly on-set “accidents” that have wreaked havoc with its shooting schedule. As a result, Mann’s creator, Flip Tumulty, the son of a Hollywood legend, is worried for the safety of his young female lead, Selene Waites, and asks Tess to serve as her bodyguard/babysitter. Tumulty’s concern may be well founded. Not long ago a Baltimore man was discovered dead in his own home, surrounded by photos of the beautiful, difficult superstar-in-the-making.

In the past, Tess has had enough trouble guarding her own body. Keeping a spoiled movie princess under wraps may be more than she can handle - even with the help of Tess’s Icily unflappable friend Whitney - since Selene is not as naive as everyone seems to think, and far more devious than she initially appears to be. This is not Tess’s world. And these are not her kind of people, with their vanities, their self-serving agendas and invented personas, and their remarkably skewed visions of reality - from the series’ aging, shallow, former pretty boy leading man to its resentful, always on the make cowriter to the officious young assistant who may be too hungry for her own good.

Plus: It’s a good old fashioned mystery - and those can usually be great. I love female PI leads. There is quite a bit of character construction which adds to the story and their development is part of the story. If you’re into movies, there’s plenty of references here both to the process of making a television series to film history.

Minus: When I took this book as a review, I didn’t realize that this was a sequel. As a result, sometimes I felt I was missing something somewhere - and then would realize that that was probably fleshed out in a previous novel. This, obviously, isn’t a problem for someone who’s read the series until now. Some of the characters, perhaps didn’t need as much development. I felt some of the characterizations were strictly there to confuse rather than enhance the understanding of the character. The ending could have been fleshed out a bit more. I felt a little cheated by how it ended in some way.

Equals: Actually - I’m giving this one a positive review. Why? I was hooked into the story - not just reading it because I “had” to for the review. I wanted to find out how it ended. In addition, this has made me want to go back and fine the other Tess Monaghan novels, and read about her adventures from the beginning. If an author is able to do that for me I must say “read this.”

This mother’s day, I’d like to be honored…  Yes.  Maybe the traditional breakfast (cold) in bed (while it’s bounced on).  And I’d love a gift, the more handmade the better (and of course told what it is before I can get it open.)

But you know what I’d really love?  A spa day - in silence.  A massage, facial, and footrub - in silence.

Really?  I’d just be happy with silence.  No talking.  No screaming.  No crying.  No chasing.  No hitting.  No complaining.  No whining.  No fussing.  No tattling.  And no husbands thinking that once the cold breakfast and gifts have been given thinking their responsibility is completely done, and go back to playing computer games while I take care of everything for the rest of the day.

Basically, I want to be TRULY honored.  With my wants/needs taken into consideration, not just lip service played in order for their “responsibilities” to be fulfilled.  I’d like someone to really take the time to tell me that I’m valued and loved as a mother, and that on this day I shall be pampered.

I mean it’s really just one day - is that so hard to accomplish?  What’s worse is, I don’t think my husband’s even thought about it.

This post is brought to you by The Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast and Johnson’s Baby Cause.

As part of their responsibility to the global community, Johnson’s has hand-selected dozens of charities around the world that mirror their deep commitment to caring for the health and well-being of mothers and children - not just on Mother’s Day, but every day of the year.