You NEED this Dishmat-- Review and Giveaway. CLOSED

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Let's face it. We all have dishes. And more dishes. And even more dishes.

And most of us have bath toys. Many of them. All needing to be dried.

I'm here to tell you that you might just positively need this Garden Botanika DISHMAT.

Now, I know that it says dishmat on the label, and of course it's an amazing dishmat. It's ultra absorbant, is washable, protects your glasses, and looks awesome {check out the site envision to find out more and check out the change in my kitchen!} Of course, I left one dishmat in my kitchen to put to good use drying those pans of mine. Which, I love, especially because my sink is now free of the constant pile of pans drying there.

But, me, being the out-of-the-box thinker decided to put that dishmat to good use in my house. So, I brought it up to the bathroom and there it got put to excellent use -- as the mat for drying those many bath toys. And yes, John Deere tractors make excellent bath toys.

Those toys were always my nemesis. We'd either a} leave them in the tub to dry b} put them in one of those mesh basket things that sometimes hangs well but then falls over and never seems to dry out or c} threw them in a bucket and then after a while threw them out because they got gross. I've done them all.

But, then, I took another one of those amazing mats and brought it upstairs in the bathroom for bath toys. And I love it. The mat, which is made of this crazy awesome super absorbant microfiber absorbs 4 times its weight in water. You heard that right -- those bath toys that trap all the water and then drip every where can now be placed on here to dry completely. And because it's a breathable microfiber air can dry around all those pieces easier.  And when it's dry, simply fold and put away. I keep mine right on top of the bath toy box. Perfect.

Now,  I know you need one. Well, you could order one {or two or three} here:

Or you could win one. 

Here's how

Schroeder & Tremayne are generously giving away 3 - 16x18 Sage Green Dishmats to three of you. And not only that, ten blogging friends of mine are each giving away three additional dishmats on their blogs in different colors. It's a  super crazy and super fun dishmat blogging blitz!

Dish Mat Blogging Blitz Participants
A Slob Comes Clean --Coastal Blue
Spell Outloud -- Coastal Blue
Many Little Blessings --Sage Green
Finding Joy -- Sage Green
Jimmie's Collage -- Gray
Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers -- Gray
Raising Arrows --Red
Crispy Not Crunchy -- Black
Feels Like Home --Red
An Oregon Cottage -- Cream
Mama's Learning Corner -- Black

So first here's how to enter to win one here. You have three opportunities to win - please make sure to use a separate comment for each entry and to leave a way for me to contact you. Thanks! And make sure to pop around to the other sites for even more chances to win -- imagine that, some presents done just like that!

Dishmat Entries
1} tell me how you would use the dishmat
2} follow finding_joy on twitter - click HERE to follow & if you already do just let me know -- tweeting is fun. :)
3} tweet about this giveaway - get a #dishmat from @finding_joy at http://bit.ly/rn8BH1

To visit my blog's main page please click HERE.

RULES:  Prizes can be shipped only to continental US addresses. You will be contacted by email and must reply within 48 hours to claim your prize. If you do not claim your prize, another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open from today, October 14 till October 20, 2011 at 6pm CST. The three winners will be chosen using Random Number Generator and then each winner will have 48 hours to notify me otherwise a new winner will be drawn.
DISCLAIMER: I received free dish mats and was compensated for my time in this review/giveaway post.

BECOME with Gatorade - review and $100 giftcard giveaway

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

My girls dance.

My girls dance hard.

My girls are athletes.

{that girl can jump}

When Blogher approached me and asked if I'd be interested in joining a web conference with Gatorade -- where we'd discuss being a Sports Mom, would learn about the science of sports nutrition with The Gatorade Sports Science Institute, would view Gatorade's new site geared for moms, and would be given the opportunity to chat with the ultimate Gatorade Sport's Mom, Stephanie Hamm { the awesome and amazing Olympic Gold soccer player, Mia Hamma's mom } -- I knew I was in.

I was blessed.

Stephanie Hamm is incredibly encouraging and supportive of parents raising athletes. She took time to answer questions from each of us and offer advice how to raise athletic children.  I loved how she addressed incorporating family time with athletic dreams.  Her words that truly impacted me? Talk with your kids. Be involved. Sit on the sidelines. Cheer. Support. Encourage. Connect with your kids.

I love that. It speaks to my parenting heart.

You can listen to her share her story in this video -- Stephanie Hamm's Sport's Mom Story

Stephanie encouraged us mothers to check out the new Gatorade {click to visit} site  -- gatorade.com/moms -- that is designed specifically for moms -- The Gatorade Sports Mom. Studies have shown that mothers of athletes are a unique and distinct group of parents. Gatorade.com/moms is designed for this mom -- loaded with tips, questions, and advice -- an unbelievable resource for a mom whose child is in any stage of the athletic journey.

The theme of the Gatorade mom's site which echoes Stephanie Hamm's advice? BECOME.

The second half of the call was spent with Lisa Esposito from the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. I cannot even begin to tell you how much information -- valuable information -- was shared.  Gatorade embraces the athlete and is founded in science.  She discussed the science behind exercise and emphasized that the "better an athlete fuels the better they feel."

As a mother of four current athletes {with three more waiting to join the ranks} I took away several critical points from this portion.

1} Mom's most influence is in nutrition
2} 70% of teens are dehydrated coming into practice.
3} Athletes should NOT skip meals
4} Athletes should eat protein within 30-60 minutes of performance.

I learned that as a mother, I have direct influence in helping my child athletes -- from the younger soccer players to my older intensely driven ballet dancers -- perform at their peak. If I make a conscious effort to, as Gatorade promotes, "fuel the body" then my daughters will be able to leap higher, turn stronger, and dance longer.  Their bodies are fueled.

Gatorade provides three different products for fueling the athlete. They are: Prime {taken before exercise}, Perform {during}, and Recover {afterwards}.  I know that my cart will be stocked now with these products. My oldest daughter {shown in the pictures} dances close to 20 hours a week. Hard, physical, taxing work. And now, I can help her, thanks to Gatorade's advice and research, fuel herself.

Thank you Gatorade for caring about nutrition because that's caring about my kids.

Now for the awesome giveaway, thanks to Gatorade and Blogher.  I am thrilled to have the opportunity to give my readers an opportunity to win a

  $100 giftcard to Dick's Sporting Goods 

{how awesome is that?}

To enter -- simply leave a comment telling me:

What sports does your child 
participate in that makes you a Sports Mom??

Rules:

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

No duplicate comments. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. This give-away runs from June 1 - June 30, 2011. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available Visit the Official Rules

For more chances to win visit Blogher's Prizes & Promotions section
Remember to  Visit the Official Gatorade Site