I have year-round allergies. I take a decongestant every day and I use a rotating variety of nasal sprays and sinus rinses to stay comfortable throughout the year.

Far more concerning than my own health, however, is the health of my children. Haiden had asthma symptoms until he was just over two years old, and I’m relieved that he hasn’t shown any symptoms in several months.

I’d never really given much thought to the role my home’s air quality played in my own health. Although we changed our furnace air filter fairly regularly, we didn’t do it on a schedule and I only paid attention to the air filter’s price, not the brand or attributes. I only recently started thinking that the air inside our home might help keep Haiden as healthy as he’s been.

Jodi Marks offers these tips on keeping a healthier home:

1. Use a good furnace air filter: According to the EPA, indoor air quality can be 2 to 5 times worse than outdoor air. A high-performance furnace filter, like the Filtrete Elite Allergen Reduction filter from 3M. This filter captures 94% of large particles like dander, mold spores and dust mite debris.
2. Change your furnace filter regularly: The EPA recommends changing your furnace air filter every 3 months. Marks suggests changing it at the start of each season, making the schedule easy to remember.
3. Weatherproofing: Install weatherproofing materials around doors, windows, dryer vents, and other areas can reduce air leakage in your home and save on your heating bill. You should also check more unusual places like the around the kitchen exhaust hood vent and even the water bib for your outdoor hose.
4. Program your thermostat: Use a programmable thermostat to keep your home warm when you’re scheduled to be there and cooler when you’re not at home.
5. Clean your gutters: Gutters that are weighed down from leaves and water can pull them away from the house, which might lead to structural problems down the road.
6. Have your roof inspected: Small leaks can lead to large roof problems.Having shingles in place doesn’t mean that they’re not damaged, so Jodi Marks suggests having a a licensed professional inspect your roof for any potential problems.

All those tips will not only keep your home in good shape, they’ll help you save money! Keeping your home maintained is a great way to avoid unexpected repairs and plan for any impending issues that might come up.

For my family personally, keeping our home’s air quality at the best level it can possibly be will hopefully save us on health care and quality of life! Anything I can do to keep the asthmatic symptoms at bay and my allergy issues alleviated works for me! Using the Filtrete Elite Allergen Reduction Filter by 3M is a quick fix that could possibly improve our entire family’s overall health!

Interested in learning more about the Filtrete Elite Allergen Reduction Filter? Head to 3M’s product page to see all the rave customer reviews and find all the details about the features and benefits!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Filtrete and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

This post brought to you by Triad Retail Media. All opinions are 100% mine.

According to my mom, it’s no surprise that I’m such a fan of Fisher Price Little People®. Once my sister and I started having babies of our own, my parents and my aunt brought out a wealth of vintage Little People® sets for our our own toddlers to play with.

As my niece, nephews and my own babies have grown, their toy boxes have started to include new Little People sets. I have to admit, though, that I haven’t seen a set as cute as the Little People® ZooTalkers! This adorable playset features different habitats from grasslands to the arctic, and every included animal makes coordinating animal sounds and even identifies the animal by name when placed in the hut!

Even better, Fisher-Price is hosting an Animal Sounds Contest where you and your child can win $10,000 cash plus a fantastic prize package including:

• A trip for four to Fisher-Price headquarters for a special photo shoot and an opportunity to have your child featured on a Little People® toy package or website.
• A Zoo Talkers toy prize pack ($100 value) featuring the Animal Sounds Zoo™, Safari Truck and Zoo Talkers Animals!

Want to know how to enter the Fisher Price Animal Sounds Contest?

Just go to the Fisher-Price Little People website and send in a video of your child making his or her favorite zoo animal sounds—just like the new Little People® ZooTalkers animals do! 

Finally, there’s not just one winner: 10 runner-ups will also win a ZooTalkers toy prize pack valued at $100!

This post brought to you by Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’m feeling deprived. I haven’t been on a “real” vacation in over a year. Yes, this Minnesota mom blogger has been to a few places in neighboring states, but I haven’t been on a road trip or in an airplane in too long!

Since fall is such a beautiful time across the country, I think going somewhere to see the leaves change while the weather remains a bit warmer than my home state sounds fabulous! Why not make that destination Branson, Missouri?

Branson is a great vacation destination for family fun through the fall and winter months! There are fun attractions like Silver Dollar City, the 1880′s themed experience set before the picturesque Ozark Mountains.  You can also visit the Titanic Museum, outlet shopping or take in a show at one of 49 live theaters!

If you need a luxurious hotel to make your visit as stress-free as possible, there’s either the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing or the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. Both offer convenient access to many of the area’s premier attractions, and they offer plenty of amazing features if you’d rather stay at the hotel.

One of the best features is the Level 2 Steakhouse located within the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing, where you can get the “perfect steak.” Perfect means aged, corn-fed, Midwest beef seared in a 1600-degree oven, served with sides of your choosing. Sides include macaroni and cheese, creamed spinach, steamed asparagus or even onion rings!

On vacation, breakfast is a must. You can also visit Level 2 Steakhouse for breakfast and lunch. Offerings like pancakes, omlets and biscuits and gravy means there’s something for everyone! If you’re visiting this Thanksgiving,Level 2 Steakhouse is hosting a Thanksgiving brunch and will have a “turkey-to-go” option as well!

While I’m not certain we’ll be making any vacation plans within the next few weeks, Branson, Missouri is definitely on my list of places I want to visit!

This post brought to you by TracFone. All opinions are 100% mine.

Tracfone is a familiar name within our family. In general, my parents are not “early adopters” of technology. It took a long time for my mom to get a cell phone. She just wasn’t convinced that she’d need it or use it. After many, many conversations about all the affordable, pay-as-you-go phones on the market, my mom got a Tracfone of her own.

The Tracfone absolutely the perfect choice for someone who knows she doesn’t want to frequently use a cell phone. It costs about $10 per month to stay in service, and now my mom carries a phone with her in case she needs to be reached in an emergency!

The great thing about the Tracfone is that it’s not for emergencies only. The Get into Everywhereness feature of the tracfone means that Tracfone customers can expect to enjoy the same strong network service as any other cell phone user at often half the price if not more. So, if I’m shopping and I find a stellar deal on something my mom might want, I can reach her when she’s not home. It’s pretty nice that she can do the same thing for me!

I was so happy that my mom had a cell phone that she’ll actually use (when necessary) that I got my dad his own Tracfone last January for his birthday!

In this day and age, I think it’s really important for anyone to have a means to reach emergency services and be reached for urgent matters. The Tracfone makes cell phones accessible to everyone, especially with their Senior Value cell services.

Here’s a video explaining a bit more about Get into Everywhereness:
Over a decade means reliability with Tracfone by LittleBard95

As my babies are getting older, I’m learning more and more about how the whole back-to-school thing works. I knew that shopping was required, but I didn’t know about all the meetings, introductory sessions and all those other time commitments that happen before school even starts!

I also found out that, after school begins, there are more meetings, student and parent activities, field trips, in-services, late starts, half days, days off, and anything in between that needs to be planned for. I’m telling you, it’s enough to make a disorganized mom like me start to panic, and I don’t even have kids in school!

Just as I was starting to worry about how any parent could manage all of this without forgetting everything something, Blue Sky Home sent me a selection of new organization products designed by Susy Jack.

Blue Sky recently released a line of home oranization products that are absolutely brilliant: they’ll help any mom keep it together! They’re also stylish and affordable. Everything in the line is under $10, and prices start at just $3.99!

The thing I like best about this entire line is that Blue Sky worked directly with moms to develop organizing solutions that were realistic and applicable to everyday home management. After thoroughly checking out these products, I realized my favorite thing about them: the spaces are generous enough that I can write what I need to write without squishing my words and mutilating my already-questionable penmanship!

In addition to the gorgeous calendars and planners, the Susy Jack for Blue Sky line also includes some handy organizing extras that just make life easier for moms and families.

I’m especially enamored with this “don’t forget” lined pad with a big circle cut out so it can hang on the door. My husband and I are habitually leaving sticky notes on our door to remind ourselves of important pieces of information. This little pad is so much cuter than a crooked little note!

If you’d like to purchase any or all of products featured here, you can find them in Target stores through the middle of September. Prices range from $3.99 to $9.99. 

Disclosure: Blue Sky Home sent me a selection of products to review. I stand behind all opinions expressed in this article.