Contest: Kohl's Cares Scholarship

Kohl’s Department Stores will be accepting nominations for outstanding young volunteers beginning next week for the 2012 Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program. Nominations for kids ages six to 18 will be accepted February 1 – March 15 at kohlskids.com, and nominators must be 21 years or older. Through the program, Kohl’s will award more than 2,200 young volunteers more than $440,000 in scholarships and prizes honoring kids who have made a positive impact on their communities.

- Two nominees from each of the more than 1,100 Kohl’s stores nationwide will win a $50 Kohl’s gift card.
- More than 200 of the store winners will win regional scholarships worth $1,000 toward post-secondary education.
- Ten national winners will be awarded a total of $10,000 in scholarships for post-secondary education and Kohl’s will donate $1,000 to a nonprofit organization on each national winner’s behalf.

The Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program is part of Kohl’s Cares®, Kohl’s philanthropic program focused on improving the lives of children. Since the program began in 2001, Kohl’s has recognized more than 15,000 kids with more than $3 million in scholarships and prizes. To learn more about last year’s winners, visit kohlskids.com.

Shopping Savings: Healthy Choice Progressive Coupon

For the second year in a row, Healthy Choice is pleased to announce they are launching a Progressive Coupon(SM) on their Facebook page today. The coupon increases in value as more people sign up to receive one.

1. The coupon will begin at a value of $0.75 off one frozen entrée.
2. The coupon will increase based on the number of people who "like" the Healthy Choice Facebook page and reserve a coupon.
3. Coupon reservations close on February 1, 2012 or while supplies last.

To “Like” Healthy Choice on Facebook, reserve a coupon and spread the word, make sure to visit Healthy Choice on Facebook.

Fun Freetime: Activity Jar

If you have kids whine that they're bored when they're cooped up inside because it's too cold or wet to play outside, try filling a jar with activities. Then when they're bored, they can grab an idea out of the jar to do.

Shopping Savings: Rite Aid February Video Values

February Video Values offers go live this weekend and will remain up through March 3 (coupons expire March 17). The full video offer list so far is below, although there may be a few more offers to come. In all, the February program has more than 65 videos worth more than $160 in savings. And don't forget, the window to print January's Video Values closes Saturday. For more on Video Values at Rite Aid or other ways to save, check out http://savenow.riteaid.com/.

February Video Values list
$10.00 off Accu-Chek Aviva Meter
$10.00 off Accu-Chek Compact Plus Meter
$10.00 off Extenze 16oz Liquid
$10.00 off QuickTrim Extreme Burn 60ct or Burn & Cleanse 14 day Kit
$5.00 Off ANY (1) TENA® SERENITY® PAD, UNDERWEAR OR GUARD
$5.00 off any L'Oreal Age Perfect HydraNutrition Balm or Serum
$5.00 off any L'Oreal Revitalift Clinical Repair item
$5.00 off GUM PerioBalance
$5.00 off Multiclix Lancets
$5.00 off Nature Made COQ10
$5.00 off Quick Trim Hot Sticks 20ct, Aquaslim 20ct, Sugar & Carb Cheater 60ct, or Fast Cleanse 48her Super Diet Detox 16oz
$5.00 off Vick's Vaporizers or Humidifiers
$4.00 off Prevacid 24hr
$3 Off Revlon Age Defying with DNA Advantage™ Cream Makeup
$3.00 off any EPT
$3.00 off any Monistat Item
$3.00 off Citrucel
$3.00 off Osteo Bi-Flex
$3.00 off when you by one L'Oreal Colour Riche Lip Item and one Colour Rich Nail item together
One FREE FlavoRX Flavoring for Children's Liquid Medication
$2 Off Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick
$2.00 off Abreva
$2.00 off Airborne
$2.00 off any Dr. Scholl's Items $9.99 and up
$2.00 off any L'Oreal True Match Item
$2.00 off Clearasil Perfecta Wash Kit
$2.00 off Dark & Lovely Relaxers or Dark & Lovely Healthy Gloss Hair Care Items
$2.00 off Gas-X
$2.00 off Lamisil
$2.00 off L'Oreal Magic Lumi Concealer or Primer
$2.00 off Neosporin Eczema Essentials
$2.00 off Poise Hourglass Shape Pads
$2.00 off Samy Fat Foam
$1.50 off any Two Edge, Skintimate, or Schick Hydro Shave Gel or Cream
$1.50 off Mucinex Fast Max Adult Liquids
$1.00 off Adult Listerine 500ml
$1.00 off Aleve
$1.00 off all South Beach Diet Items
$1.00 Off Almay Smart Shade Foundation
$1.00 off any Clean & Clear Item
$1.00 off any L'Oreal EverCrème Item
$1.00 off any L'Oreal EverStyle Item
$1.00 off any L'Oreal Studio Styling Item
$1.00 off any Nature's Bounty Fish Oil or COQ10 Item
$1.00 off any Three Kleenex Facial Tissue 75-200ct
$1.00 off Bayer Aspirin
$1.00 off Delsym
$1.00 off Ester-C
$1.00 off GUM Soft-Picks 40ct
$1.00 off L'Oreal False Fiber Mascara
$1.00 off L'Oreal Sublime Mousse Hair Color
$1.00 off Luster's Hot Oil Treatment
$1.00 off Lysol Spray or Wipes
$1.00 off Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Relaxer Kits
$1.00 off Rimmel Scandal Eyes Mascara
$1.00 off Rite Aid Maxi Pads 36-48ct or Pantyliners 92ct
$1.00 off Rite Aid Tampons 40-54ct
$1.00 off Two bags of Hershey's Kisses
$1.00 off Two Diet Coke or Coke Zero 2 liters
$1.00 off Two Oreos
$1.00 off Two Revlon ColorSilk Hair Color Items
$1.00 off Viactiv
$0.50 off any Two Payday or York Peppermint Pattie Candy Bars
$0.50 off Skittles Singles
$0.50 off Two Hershey's Candy Bars
$0.30 off Libby's Fruit
$0.10 off Welch's Grape Juice 14oz or 64oz

Freebies!

Versace Yellow Diamond fragrance

Parenting Pointers: Color and Mood

Want to provide a subtle mood adjustment to yourself or your family members? Try these color tricks:

Red - makes people pay more attention to details
Orange - makes people feel more stimulated (such as psyching yourself up to work out)
Yellow - makes people more active and energetic
Green - helps people relax
Blue - inspires creativity
Purple - helps people loosen up
Black - helps people feel more empowered and sophisticated
White - inspires optimism and hope
Brown - helps people feel cozy

Parenting Pointers: Breastfeeding Tips

Here are some breastfeeding tips from Sara Chana, international board-certified lactation consultant, birthing instructor, classical homeopath and herbalist.

· Don’t believe that breastfeeding is supposed to hurt and that sore nipples are the norm, or perhaps even a badge of courage for toughing-it-out. If the baby is latched on properly and draining the breast, it shouldn't hurt!
· Do teach your baby to “breastfeed” and not “nipple feed: To do so, start by holding your breast steady and compress it into a pointy shape with your hand.
· Don’t stuff your breast into the baby’s mouth. Instead, bring your baby “to you”. To accomplish this, support the baby well, holding him along his spine and at the base of his head.
· Do use RAM (rapid arm movement), and bring your baby (or RAM him) onto the breast in a quick-swift motion, allowing the baby to take the breast as deeply into his throat as he can.
· Don’t get discouraged. With practice, a mom will be able to nurse pain free, when she and her baby share the experience of being on the breast deeply.

Working Moms Do’s and Don’ts:
· Do assure that the breastfeeding is well established before the introduction of the bottle, if that has become your choice for getting back to work.
· Don’t introduce a bottle before six weeks. If possible, wait until eight to ten weeks. Most babies take a minimum of six weeks to learn how to master and become a professional on the breast.
· Don’t worry that your baby will not be able to learn to take the bottle. A baby who is nursing well and truly being satisfied on the breast, will be able to figure out and learn how to take a bottle in the mothers absence.
· Do make someone else introduce the bottle to your baby. It is better for someone other than the mother to introduce the bottle so that the baby identifies the bottle only with another caregiver and not with the mother.

Introducing Solid Foods Do’ and Don’ts
· Don’t rush the introduction of solid foods. Babies don’t need to eat solids until they have from four to eight teeth, or until they can sit up and support themselves in a high chair, and manage to get more food into their mouths, by themselves, than they do in their hair or on the floor
· Don’t confuse the need for oral discovery, with hunger. Babies become very orally excited from between five to nine months.
· Do let your infant explore the world of taste and texture by letting her smell, play and mush all kinds of foods. Give her different colors and textures to play with. Rather than push quantities of food into their little tummies that most babies don’t require, allow their inquisitive scientific minds develop.
· Do be aware that breast milk changes as the child grows, keeping up with the nutritional needs of the baby, so why the rush into solid foods? Your breast milk is as nutritious for a ten month old as it was for a two week old.

Sara Chana is a mother of 7 and was introduced to homeopathy as a result of her 2nd son’s severe eczema, reflux and asthma. As she went from specialist to specialist seeking a cure, each one told her that her son would need to be on medication for the rest of his life, Sara decided to look into alternative medicine. By educating herself and using homeopathic remedies, she was able to cure her son and now specializes in helping moms all over the country with natural remedies for their children.

Healthy Habits: Ask the Kids

Watch this video from Horizon Organic for kids' perspectives on healthy eating!
Click here to view

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.

Thrifty Thinking: Last-MInute Tax Tips

If you’re just beginning to think about your 2011 income tax return, you’ve got a late start – but it’s still not too late to cash in on some savings.

“A lot of the deductions associated with the economic stimulus package will disappear in 2012, so if you want to take advantage of them, you’ve got only until Dec. 31,” says Jessica James, CPA and author of Justice for None (www.AuthorJessicaJames.com), an insider look at IRS tactics in a tax fraud investigation and trial.

But, she says, there’s still plenty of time for some other measures to ease your share of the tax burden. Now is also a good time to resolve to start earlier in 2012 to minimize that year’s tax bill. Here are some tips for both 2011 and 2012 savings:

• Contribute to retirement accounts. If you haven’t already put money into your traditional or ROTH IRA account for 2011, you’ve got until April 17 to do it. If you have a Keogh or SEP (Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Arrangement for businesses), and you get a filing extension to Oct. 15, you’ve got until then to make your 2011 deposits. The maximum IRA contribution for 2011 is $5,000, or $6,000 if you’re 50 or older by the end of the year. For self-employed people, the maximum for SEPs and Keoghs for 2011 is $49,000.

• Don't fear the home office deduction. In the past, many tax filers didn’t claim a home office deduction because it was seen as an IRS red flag. But the requirements and forms have been clarified so people can do that properly – and not make mistakes that can lead to an audit. Also, the rules have been expanded so more people can claim the deduction. If you use a home office exclusively for business, even if you don’t meet your clients there, you’re eligible. For instance, a handyman who does his work other people’s houses can claim the deduction if he does his paperwork at his home office. Another change is that, in the past, if you claimed 10 percent of your home as an office, that amount would not be included in the $250,000 tax-free profit from the home’s sale that’s allowed for an individual by the IRS. Be sure to make your claim reasonable, or it will get questioned; a $25,000 home office deduction for a business with $50,000 annual gross revenue is not reasonable.

• Maximize your Flexible Spending Account. The Health Care Act will limit the maximum you can put into these pre-tax medical expense accounts in 2013. So 2012 is the last year to use an FSA to pay for orthodontics and other large medical expenses using pre-tax earnings. A medical expense flexible spending account, or FSA, allows you to use before-tax earnings to pay for medical or health care expenses not covered by your health insurance. Assuming a 25 percent tax rate, you avoid $25 in taxes for every $100 you spend from your FSA.

• Need to sell an investment? Next year may be the time. The Tax Relief Act maintains the tax rate cap on capital gains and dividends at 15 percent through 2012. In 2013, the cap for capital gains will increase to 20 percent and for dividends, 39.6 percent. The Health Care Act also created a 3.8 percent Medicare tax on investment income, effective in 2013. Given those scheduled increases, plan to take advantage of the rates next year.

James is an author pseudonym used because she fears her novel may provoke IRS retaliation. It’s a fictionalized account of her experience as a minor player swept up in an IRS probe that included anyone associated with the primary target, a corporation. She says that, though she was innocent of any wrongdoing, she was coerced into accepting a plea deal by the IRS, which was bent on amassing adjudications of guilt to justify the investigation’s expense. She pled guilty to a count of falsifying a tax return and continues to work as a CPA.

About Jessica James

Jessica James is a CPA and the author of a novel, Justice for None, about her experiences as a minor target in a major federal tax fraud case. After her ordeal, she decided to write about it as a warning to others who think they can take on the government and win.

Consumer Critique: Cougar Cub Tales Sneezy Wheezy Day

I recently had the opportunity to review Cougar Cub Tales:The Sneezy Wheezy Day (free ebook on Amazon until January 27th; you can also buy a hard copy from Amazon or other booksellers). This book joins other Cougar Cub Tales books as being a cute story for kids that teaches them a lesson at the same time.

The Sneezy Wheezy Day follows the cougar cubs as they try to seek a rememdy for brother cub's cold. They do a variety of crazy things suggested by other animals, while the cub keeps feeling worse and worse. All along, the sister accompanies him and supports him in his quest to feel better. It's a touching display of sibling love and companionship.

The author, Sharon Cramer, is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and avid competitive equestrian. She is also the author of, soon to be released, Marlo and the Monster, and is working on a new young adult series called The Cerulean Star. She lives in Spokane, Wash. She also illustrates her own books in watercolor, with each picture taking 18-24 hours. You can tell that she puts a lot of effort into the book - I like the illustrations even more than the story, and there's so much detail in them that adults will be captivated by the book as the kids listen to the rhythm of the rhyming story. Cramer chose cougar cubs for her series because she wanted to create characters that spoke strongly of the Pacific Northwest, where she lives.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to facilitate this review.