Mother's Day By The Numbers (Infographic)

Mother's Day is around the corner (Sunday, May 8th) and if you haven't started already, now's the time to remember all the little things the moms around us do every day and get them a token of your appreciation. Moms are creative, capable, and resourceful. Moms work hard! That’s why moms deserve the best and Swagbucks wants to make sure your Mom gets the best. 

Right now you can earn up to 35% Cash Back on gifts for Mom at her favorite retailers when you shop through the Swagbucks Mother’s Day Sale, saving you lots of pennies and allowing you to splurge a little extra on mom!

Need more help shopping for mom? It’s no surprise that the Swagbucks community is packed with moms. So they surveyed their member base at the end of March to find out how moms view Mother’s Day. 

Swagbucks received more than 10,000 email responses and found the following:  

I realize the graphic is blurry, answers are below:

Moms around the world spoke out and this is what they want on their special day:

45% - quality family time
22% - a spa day
10% - a date night

Moms Don't Have These Items on Their Wish List:

22% - tech gadgets
14% - home goods
11% - clothing

Thinking of Making Something For Your Mom?

66% of moms prefer sentimental handmade gifts

Moms May Love the Sentimental Behind a Homemade Gift, But They May Not Keep It Forever

28% of moms admit throwing away a handmade gift from their child

Of These Moms:

35% said they didn't have a reason for it
14% said it broke
7% said it was ugly

Mother's Day is May 8th, 2016! What are your plans?




***I get awarded SB for posting in this information through my partnership with Swagbucks****


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(Video) 5-Year-Old Paddled By School Principal - Right or Wrong?

Parents: Is it acceptable for administrators to use corporal punishment on kids as discipline in school?

My thoughts? No way is someone else going to put their hands - or anything else - on my child!

Unfortunately, this mother stood by and "allowed" it, as she was in a position she felt as if she had no choice. In Georgia, corporal punishment is legal in schools. And, considering the facts that she's spent time in jail already for her son missing too much school (truancy) and the school called the police when she tried to take her son home to avoid the spanking, she gave in and allowed it.

According to her post on Facebook, the mother was told if she did not allow the paddling, her son would be suspended and if he was suspended, she would go to jail again for truancy.

Here's the video that mother, Shana Perez, captured while pretending to text:



That, in my opinion, is punishing her child physically without her consent. Perez absolutely did not give her consent, despite the fact that Jasper County School's Superintendent, Mike Newton, Ed.D said in a written statement that corporal punishment is used with parental consent.

I would not call be threatened and given an ultimatum - jail or we get to hit your child with a large wooden paddle - giving consent. On the contrary, correct me if I am wrong, but is that not a form of duress?

Someone is going to have to hogtie me to some alloy and cement before they get my permission to hit any of my children in any shape, fashion, or form, believe that!

The county sheriff also says nothing illegal has happened.

But, that's America for you! And, more specifically, the South.

I bet if the tables were turned and the principal video taped the mother paddling her son, and then called Child Protective Services and showed them the video, this would be an entirely different story. The mother would be criminalized and law enforcement would be singing a song of child abuse.

Immediately after the paddling incident, the principal is heard telling the mom not to console her child.

He Spit On a Teacher

Yes, he did. He was misbehaving. And he was way out of line. Even his mother says what he did was wrong. BUT it is up to Shana Perez to raise her child with the type of discipline she feels is best for him. She is his mother. It is up to CPS to decide whether she is a fit mother. Not the school's!

What was the principal trying to do? Teach the mother and the child a "lesson?" We know that was wrong!

What Needs to Happen Now? 

Obviously, it is not going to happen, but this is what should happen.

The school should "listen" to the comments on Facebook and the news. Feel out how the pubic is reacting. It is not good, Superintendent Mike Newton. Your school was wrong and the least the mother deserves is an apology. The school's policy on corporal punishment seriously needs to be rethought, based on the observations of the outcries of parents publicly.

As for Shana Perez and your son...pull your son out of that school and put him somewhere else or home school him! He is acting out at school, and that tells you right there something is wrong. I am not dogging out teachers here, just saying that maybe it is not the right environment for him right now. Check out your options!

Weigh in, I know you are itching to say something!


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Where In The World are your SB?

Swagbucks is full of ways to earn from searching the net and watching videos, to taking surveys and shopping. There are so many ways to earn, sometimes it’s tough to explore all the different avenues. One person might only earn SB through surveys while another might only earn through watching videos; the Swagbucks community really is diverse. That’s the great thing about their promotions though, it allows Swagbucks to show you a whole new world. If you think of Swagbucks as a globe, there’s a whole world of SB to explore, why not check it out?

Where In The World Are Your SB? Swag Code Extravaganza!

• Study that globe because it all goes down on Wednesday, April 13th from 7am PDT/10am EDT to 6pm PDT/9pm EDT
• Spot 6 Swag Codes throughout the day worth a total of 30 SB
• You’ll be seeking out Swag Codes across the world including locales like:
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Team Challenge
• Search
• Refer & Earn
• Mother’s Day Sale

Please note: The above times are for US only.


***I love earning gift cards with Swagbucks! I am a Swagbucks influencer and often receive SB for posting promotions. 

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Using the 2016 Presidential Campaign (and Trump's Ignorance) to Teach Our Children - And Ourselves

When election year comes around, it is like the Superbowl - or maybe American Idol - for me, for a year straight. (Only, obviously much more important.) I am totally in my glory, hooting and hollering for my candidate as the winners of the caucuses are announced. You should be a fly on the wall in my house on Super Tuesday...never mind election day. My eyes are glued to the screen of the television as the votes are counted and displayed.

Who becomes president is important to me. My kids have obviously seen this in my house, and also tend to get into paying attention to the polls and the rallies that only come around every four years. As a matter of fact, when President Obama was elected, we made sure my kids watched as he was inaugurated. We were so proud to tell our children they could be President one day...that moment in time, it seemed all racial barriers in their future had been eliminated.

Not So Fast

There is no doubt that presidential campaigns can get dirty. The advertising alone, slamming other candidates on often delicate subjects, can go beyond what we want our children to see and hear. However, this time around, one particular candidate (need I mention names?) has stirred up hate and discontent, violence, misogyny, racism. Other candidates have followed suit, maybe not as strong, but some very disgusting things have been said. Leading me to believe the excitement I felt about the breaking down of racial barriers was just a pipe dream.

Hearing the nastiness, watching the hate-inspired anger, it all makes me want to turn the television off and block my (sheltered) kids from the Internet, but I cannot block their ears from hearing what other children - or the teachers - are talking about at school.

Instead, I have turned the presidential campaign into a teaching lesson.

MyGiftCardsPlus & Swagbucks Offers - Summer Travel Planner

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***Sponsored SB awarded for this post.


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WANTED: BABY - Sue & Gary's Story (Couples Take to Social Media Due to Lack of Adoption Process)

Imagine the heartache of not being able to have a baby.

That deep down yearning for a little tiny being to come into your life and fulfill that need that nothing else can quite come close to. After trying just about every option there is in the world of Western Medicine to have a baby, the end result is...

Disappointment. Heartache. It's not going to happen.

So, you resolve your inner issues about bearing a child the best you can. But, deep down inside, you know that your life just will not be fulfilled unless you can share it with a child of your own. So, you and your husband start thinking about adopting a child.

Only to find out there is no "adoption process" in the U.S. and international adoption policies are tricky, at best.

Dear Baby: I’m Sorry… by Sarah Showfety (GIVEAWAY)

Release Date: April 5, 2016

About the Book

Dear Baby: I’m Sorry is the perfect compilation of all those parenting moments we should apologize for. Probably.

Dear Baby:

Sorry that half of your calories today came from dust bunnies.

Sorry I refer to your morning nap as my first victory of the day.

Sorry I put you to bed knowing full well you had avocado in your hair.

Sorry I timed how long it was after you woke up before you cried about nothing. It was fifty-seven seconds. Try harder.

Dear Baby: I’m Sorry captures the comical, everyday mishaps of parenting—and the poor kids who have to put up with us.