JAK CHAT

Because You're Worth It Mother's Day is just around the corner. Can you believe it?  Honestly, I don't know where the heck the month of April went.  With that, Just Add Kids is in the heat of contest time!The Just Add Kids "Color Mom Beautiful" Kid's Coloring Contest is in full swing.  As in the past two years, Educators Credit Union is sponsoring this awesome promotion, with awarding the winner child artist with a gift basket including a $100 Toys R Us gift card...sweet! Timber Ridge Lodge & Waterpark is also sponsoring. Wanna know what our winning mom prize is? Read More... ...Mother's Day Overnight Stay Package* (min. value $199) for the winning mom's family. Download your child's/ren's contest entry form here: "Color Mom Beautiful" If you are having problems downloading PDF file, please email your request to  contest@justaddkidsonline.net Ready? Set. COLOR! Entries will be accepted/received through Friday, May 4th, 2012.....

Again! by JAK's guest mom blogger from Caledonia, Mollie Bartelt Do you want to make a difference in your life this spring? Or make a difference for a child who has a life threatening illness? Or win $500 in a fun challenge? The game is on again! As a mom of a child who had successfully came through a life threatening illness, I am so excited to invite you to MINUTE TO WISH IT! -  a super fun family fundraiser set to go this weekend. Would you please consider joining us Sunday afternoon and celebrate the blessings in your family's life by playing some fun Minute to Win It games?. Read More MINUTE TO WISH IT Sunday, April 22nd, 1 to 4 pm Racine Family YMCA Our second annual event, this is a family fundraiser where people compete in a fast paced series of challenges ($1 each) where winners will proceed to the next challenge. The final team left will have the opportunity to win up to $500 in the Final Round of Minute to Wish It challenges. There are a ton of activities for the ...

Check "Yes" or "No" by JAK's guest mom blogger from Racine, Jenni Monteblanco Four months ago, I said "yes." No, it wasn't to anything fancy like saying "yes to the dress". I did that twelve years ago. I said yes to a slew of things to add to my already busy life. It was the beginning of a new year and somehow each item fit into my "goal" for 2012. I had this great idea (ok, so I stole it from a post on Facebook ) in late December/early January to choose a word for 2012. This word was going to be the focus of everything I did. My husband and I discussed it and decided we would make this goal together. Our words (yeah, we couldn't just choose one) for 2012 are... Read More... “discipline” and “balance.” You would think that this would have helped me as I started to say yes, but somehow I found a way to fit all my yeses around my goals. Four months ago I said yes to becoming an Uppercase Living Demonstrator (shameless plug: ...

Autism and Running. Everything IS possible ! by JAK's guest mom blogger from Burlington, Colleen Nagle Watching my 13 year old nonverbal son sitting lazily on HIS oversized chair, legs sprawled across the ottoman, concern drifted through my mind. Not unusual to worry over my son with Autism, but now it was extending to his physical or lack of physical activity. So many kids today seem to be less active than when we were kids due to video games, texting, iPods, computers, etc.. For my son Dylan his lack of activity is related to his disability. He has no friends, there is no riding his bike to a friend’s house, no football or soccer, no gym class because he is home schooled. He and I, his mom, both needed to find a way to incorporate activity into our lifestyle. It began simply by getting outdoors. Going anywhere we could wander...we took our first steps at outdoor garden centers, park paths, outdoor art expos, farmers markets, anywhere we could stretch our legs. It was easy to see ...

Turn the Town Blue There are so many campaigns, fundraisers, and events that are awesomely relevant in my personal life and your lives too, yet there is one common denominator that binds us JAK people together, and that's our interest in the health and well-being of children.  Our own children and our community' s children. Nothing was more heart-wrenching than the recent report of the Madison 15 year old girl that was held captive, repeatedly raped, denied food and access to normal hygiene practices right in her own family's home, rather basement. Thanks, stepmonster and dad.  Read More I am a strong proponent of eradicating child abuse and neglect!  And this story is so horrific that I felt the time is more than appropriate for me to take a public stand and join in the campaign in a bigger way than ever.  So I am going to use Just Add Kids' platforms to take a stand by turning blue in support of Kenosha County's Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Campaign ...

JAK, The Fragrance Oh my gosh, I am SO kidding.  Yet, I wonder, why not!?  I haven't looked into the truth about this, yet besides Madonna, I've heard that the Pope is also coming out with a new signature fragrance*.  Please understand I have nothing against the Pope, but oh puleez ! Read More... In a previous life, I worked in the cosmetic/fragrance industry.  The companies would have these fabulous launch events when new fragrances were introduced.  They were special, there were maybe one to two major introductions per season.  These days, in my opinion, new fragrances are a dime a dozen.  I am so not impressed, especially when celebrities come out with a fragrance line.  I take exception with Elizabeth Taylor, who introduced the classic White Diamonds that has remained one of the top 10 best selling fragrances for more than a decade.  Most others I see are cashing in on their short-lived fame...it's their right.  So yeah, maybe... JAK The Fragrance ! Now that I've ...

The New "Ninety Percent" You sponsored by Nailed It! I started my family very young; I was married just out of high school, and my oldest child was born before I could drink alcohol legally.  My second child quickly followed the first, and the next thing I knew, I could recite the words to every song ever sung by a big purple dinosaur before I was old enough to earn a college diploma, had I been inclined to actually go to college. When my two oldest were still in diapers, I rarely left the house. We didn't have much money, and taking my two toddlers anywhere was an exercise in exhaustion.  Just thinking about fumbling with diaper bags, car seats, and strollers was enough to make me yearn for a nap, so most excursions into the big, wide world ended in the planning stages. Then there was the total lack of time for myself.  Any parent of a young child knows that it's impossible to use the bathroom without an audience; it takes special ops skills on par with Seal Team Six...