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The best gifts are always those that keep on giving. Through Cook for the Cure, a 15-year partnership between KitchenAid and Susan G. Komen, more than $10.7 million has been raised for the fight against breast cancer. In 2016, KitchenAid will donate at least $450,000 to Komen through the program, regardless of sales. The Cook for the Cure product collection, ranging from pink stand mixers and polka dot bowls to pink food choppers, painted plates and hand mixers, is an easy way to give thanks to mom and raise awareness for a cause that benefits so many women.

For other gift ideas that help support the cause, visit www.KitchenAid.com and http://CookfortheCure.KitchenAid.com.

An Essential, Everyday Tool

If some of her best culinary creations include savory sauces, delightful dressings and delicious dips, Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to treat mom to an upgrade. This 3.5-cup Food Chopper in Pink is convenient for everyday use and takes up minimal space in the kitchen. With two one-touch speed settings for chop and puree, this chopper ($49.99) is ideal for creating a spicy salsa, creamy hummus or garden-fresh pesto.

Blending Style with Power

With its roomy, 60-ounce patented diamond pitcher design and stainless steel blades, the 5-Speed Diamond Blender in Cranberry creates a powerful vortex to thoroughly blend everything from soups to smoothies. Automatic Soft Start(r) technology pulls ingredients into the blade rather than splattering them outward, keeping them together for controlled blending. This colorful blender ($159.99) offers stir, chop, mix, puree, liquefy and pulse options – everything mom needs to create her favorite dishes.

Handy Little Helper

Whether you need to blend up a milkshake or puree cooked vegetables directly in the pot, this 2-Speed Hand Blender in Pink gets the job done with ease. Two speeds provide blending control for more delicate foods, such as smoothies and baby food. The blending arm twists off for quick and easy cleanup. This hand blender ($59.99) comes with a 3-cup BPA-free jar with lid, so mom can blend away, safely.

Plated Perfection

Featuring artwork by PBS cooking show host Jacques Pepin, the Pass the Plate serving platter generates a $5 donation each time one of these individually numbered platters is passed and registered online. With its fresh and cheery design, this unique serving piece makes sharing even more fun. A great gift for mom, the platter ($24.95) is available at Villeroy & Boch stores or by calling 1-888-886-8318.

Mix in Some Style

Turn Mom’s stand mixer into a standalone work of art this Mother’s Day with the new Pink Polka Dot ceramic bowl. This delightfully dappled 5-quart bowl ($99.99) is microwave, oven, freezer and dishwasher safe, and features a comfortable handle and easy pour spout – a perfect pick for all of mom’s mixing tasks.

Timeless Kitchen Addition

Add a pop of pink to mom’s kitchen with a classic gift that will endure for years. With an elegant 5-quart capacity glass bowl, the Artisan Design(r) Series’ premium metallic Raspberry Ice finish adds radiance to any kitchen countertop. It can handle multiple batches of dough while its 10 speed settings allow cooks to knead, mix and whip a variety of foods and ingredients. With additional attachments that can make everything from pasta to ice cream to spiralized fruits and vegetables, this mixer ($459.99) helps mom take her culinary creativity to a whole new level.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (women exchanging gifts)
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Source: KitchenAid

*FF

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Between going to work, driving the carpool, and running errands, Moms spend a lot of time in their cars!  Let’s be real, it can be hard for the busy mom to stay looking (and feeling) her best.  The secret to looking great is all in a well-stocked glove box!  Keeping a few necessities in the car will help keep you looking great even on those hectic days!

Here are my essentials:

• Blotting papers

Oil absorbing papers are great to have on hand for those moments when you look in the mirror and see a little too much shine!  I love Clean and Clear’s Oil Blotting Sheets because they are super portable and affordable.  If you are feeling like a DIY, I have a friend who swears by regular white tissue paper that she cut into squares and keeps in a business card holder.

• Healthy Snack

We have all had that moment where you realize that between the PTA meeting, soccer practice and grocery shopping, you haven’t eaten and have no time for a meal.  Reluctantly, you turn to the nearest fast food joint to choke down something that probably shouldn’t ever be able to be called food.  This scenario is easily avoided by stashing a baggie of almonds or a few Cliff Bars in the glove box.  You will have higher energy, save money and your body will thank you!

• Cotton Swabs

Half way through the day, especially when it’s hot out, your eye make up is probably melting half way down your face.  Warning: the raccoon-eyed look does not work for anyone!  Next time your make up is making you resemble an angst-y teen just reach for a cotton swab, moisten it slightly, and run it gently under your eyes just beneath your lower lash lines.  Instantly you will look fresher and more put together!

• Essential Oils

I always keep one energizing oil and one calming in my car at all times, that way I have boost when I need one and something to clam me on those crazy days!  For my pick-me-up I like peppermint, lemon, grapefruit or sweet basil.  For relaxing oils, chamomile, jasmine and lavender are a few of my favorites.  How do you use them?  I like to dab a drop on the inside of each wrist and maybe even a drop right under my nose for a stronger effect.

• Dry Shampoo

When your hair falls flat simply flip it over, spry with dry shampoo and shake it out!  The dry shampoo will not only absorb any grease that may have accumulated during your hours in the car, but it will also give you ‘do new life and volume.  I do recommend stepping outside your car before you spray so that you don’t have to breath it!

• Tinted Lip Balm

There is no better way to brighten up a tired look than with a tinted lip!  While lipstick is classic, I find it to be too high maintenance for my busy life so I stick with tinted lip balms.  Moisturizing, subtle yet noticeable, and easy to apply, what more could you ask for?  My absolute favorite set is from Fresh called Sugar Lip Treatment.  I know that these are a little pricy, but the color is great and they leave you with ultra-soft lips, they are so worth it!

One final piece of advice is that if it is as hot where you are as it is where I am, you might want to bring anything that may melt (ex. lip balm) inside at the end of the day to prevent a mess.  So, load up your glove box with your necessities, relax, and enjoy driving pretty!

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(BPT) – Any mom will tell you there are never enough hours in the day to “do it all.” Research indicates working moms spend 10 hours more a week multitasking than working dads – making useful, efficient tools Mom’s secret weapon for getting more done.

“I multitask from the moment the sun comes up,” says Brittany Bailey, busy mother, wife, DIY renovator and the blogger behind PrettyHandyGirl.com. “Shaving mere minutes off my day-to-day routine lets me cross more tasks off my to-do list and spend more time with my family.”

Whether yours is a family of three or 13, try these multi-functional tools to keep up around the house:

Family room

Whether you’re playing educational games with the kids, catching up on emails during nap time or creating a new chill-out music mix, multitasking moms can tackle all of this with a tablet or smartphone – without taking up a lot of floor space in the family room. Refreshing your device with new apps just for the kids can help keep things calm for the long family road trip or the short wait at the dentist’s office, too.

Kitchen

Any mom knows keeping the kitchen tidy is a formidable task, with snacks, baking ingredients and trinkets that don’t make it into the junk drawer. Consider recycling heavy-duty glass jars for extra storage without adding clutter to your countertop. Empty glass jars look chic on display, but also are hard at work when filled with sugar, cookies or even knick-knacks like keys or change. Because you can see into the jars, you’ll always know what’s inside.

Bathroom

Dad wants a powerful showerhead but Mom wants a hand shower to spray down messy tots, so who wins? Parents can end the debate with the Delta In2ition shower with H2Okinetic technology. This two-in-one shower system simultaneously offers the comfort of water streaming from a showerhead and a hand shower and uses an internal system to control the droplet size of the water to create the feeling of more water than a standard shower. The embedded hand shower offers the flexibility to accomplish other tasks such as bathing children, washing pets and cleaning the shower. When not in use, it easily slips back into place on the shower head.

Utilizing two-in-one tools around the house can help busy moms stay ahead of the curve and reserve time for what really matters: quality time with family. If she’s lucky, maybe she can even carve out some of that precious time just for her.

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Mother’s Day is just around the corner.  It’s the time of year we can show mom just how much we love and appreciate her. I’ve put together some creative ways to show Mom just how much she is loved on her special day:

Breakfast in Bed:  As kids get older, they love to make things for Mom.  Nothing is more special than making a memory!  Mother’s Day morning, surprise Mom in bed with her favorite breakfast foods. Bring up family photos to share and talk about special moments of family times spent together.

Plant a Garden:  What Mom doesn’t love to use fresh ingredients in her meals?  Even if you have a small space, you can plant a special garden for Mom to enjoy.  Consider using a beautiful planter with ingredients to make her own special salsa.  Include items like sweet peppers, jalapenos, onions, Chile peppers, cilantro, and tomatoes. Not only will planting the garden together be memorable, but every time she gathers ingredients from the garden she will be reminded of the time spent tighter as a family.

Spa Day: Set the mood for a nice relaxing day for Mom.  Let her know how much you appreciate her by creating a family spa experience.  Light candles in her favorite scent to set the mood.  Play some of her favorite songs in the back ground.  Start the experience with stretching or yoga to loosen up her muscles.  Have a fruit smoothie ready for her when she is done.  Fill a basin with warm water to soak her feet, give her a hand massage then paint her nails.  While her polish is drying slip some cucumbers on her eyes while her egg white/yogurt (2 egg whites combined with 2 T plain Greek yogurt) facial refreshes her skin.  After a nice hot shower, have lunch on the patio.

Create at Blessings Book:  Cover a composition book with patterned paper.  Inside, use special writing pens to jot down special memories shared with Mom or words of wisdom she has shared.  Include family photos of favorite times shared together.  Leave space at the back of the book for her to write down the things he is most grateful for in her life.  This will be a gift she will cherish forever.

Make a Family Video – Pretend you’re a journalist writing a story about Mom.  Interview all of the kids in the family and have them share what makes their Mom so special.  Be sure to include things special memories like stories she read to you, family traditions, and favorite recipes.  You can also include interviews with her parents and siblings to document her success as a Mom.  This will also make a sentimental family heirloom to be passed down through generations.

Don’t forget how much mom loves a homemade card from the kids or a framed picture.  You can also pitch in around the house and give mom a break. Whatever you decide to do for mom, it will be appreciated!

Happy Mother’s Day

Sincerely,

Daddy Nickell

Robert Nickell, aka Daddy Nickell, father of 7, offers his “5 cents” worth of advice to expectant and new parents.  Daddy Nickell is the founder of Daddyscrubs.com, delivery room duds and daddy gifts and apparel, and the DaddyScrubs blog where he covers topics about parenting all from a Dad’s perspective.

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