Last year I told you about World Vision as a great way to give to your friends and give back to the community. This year I am here again to remind you that you have the opportunity to help kids around the world while you do your Christmas shopping.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Alberstsons/Safeway. All opinions expressed are my own.

Did you know that one in five children in America live in a household without consistent access to adequate food? This means that in your child classroom there might be at least one child that might not be fortunate enough to have three meals and snacks available everyday.

Disclosure: The opinions in this article are my own. I do not work for, or with, any brand mentioned in this article, nor do I have any official relationship with them.  I have a relationship with HelpFul Honda, for whom I create original editorial content

Last weekend the family took a trip to the StubHub center to watch LA Galaxy play against Seattle. We got great seats, thanks to the helpful guys in blue. Did you know that Honda Owners can possibly score seat upgrades the next time they watch a LA Galaxy Game because the guys on blue choose up to four fans per game for random seat upgrades. This is part of the Helpful Honda's Random Acts of Helpfulness. But the helpful guys do not stop there.

1. SoCal Honda is offering seat upgrade promotions: 4 fans are surprised with SoCal Honda shirts and the ability to watch warm-ups from the field of play and they are also upgraded to exclusive club seats.
   
2. SoCal Honda is setting up a 6 clinic series for under-serviced areas around LA. The helpul Honda guys in blue will help out the participants during practice sessions and provide them with water.
   
3. Set up of 6 soccer clinics, SCHDA also sponsors 6 community service series events this fall. Kids can donate an item (perishable food, school supplies, clothing, etc.) as an entry fee into a free soccer clinic hosted by the Galaxy. The helpful guys in Blue will be assisting with donations/registration/water distribution/etc.
   
4. The “Pass It Forward” promotion is a community-based initiative where fans and members of the community can support the LA Galaxy team and help raise awareness for charities. Participants can win tickets to games and one lucky grand prize winner will receive a VIP experience package, which includes private access to Galaxy training session and the opportunity to meet a player. For more information visit
   lagalaxy.com/passitforward
   

It was a very good game. LA Galaxy did not win, but the game ended tied. We had a great time. I love opportunities like this to teach my son all about soccer and of course have a family outing with great food as well. I am looking forward for our next game.

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

Since a was a teenager I have had dogs. I love all dogs, however Shepherds are my favorite type of dogs. When I left Colombia to come to the US my two German Shepherds stayed with my parents. I knew they were in good hands, but I was missing my fury babies. 

As soon as my son was old enough to help take care or a pet, I got the most adorable Christmas present. I was given Da Vinci, our handsome German Shepherd. Well, call us crazy, but we went and adopted another dog a couple of weeks ago. Yes, you read it right. We got a new dog. He is a Shepherd Chow mix and we named him Donatello. (no, we will not be getting two more dogs to complete the Renaissance artists).

Why do we adopt and rescue? The answer is simple. There are so many dogs that need a home and when you adopt you are saving an animal live and guess what? they are saving yours too. They give you so much love and become a very important part of your family. We find adopting dogs from the shelter rewarding and we know that we are doing good by doing so. However, let me assure you, it is a win-win situation. I feel that the dogs have rescued me as well with all their love.

You can buy any of the following products and Pedigree with donate a bowl of food to a shelter to help feed dogs because #PedigreeGives #CollectiveBias

• Pedigree Adult Dry Dog Food 55 Lb
• Pedigree Choice Cuts Dog Food 30 ct
• Pedigree Dentastix Variety Pack 51 ct
• Pedigree Small Breed Dry Dog Food 20 Lb
• Pedigree Puppy Dry Dog Food 16.3 Lb

I would advice you to visit the web page for your local shelter. They usually have a list of all the dogs available. You do not need to adopt a big dog as we did. There is plenty of small dogs available. There is also other animals that might be a better suit for your family. Yes, you can buy a pet, however I recommend adoption because we find it more rewarding. 

After you visit the shelter website, you can also pay a visit and get to know the animals. Learn about the reason they are at the pound. There is plenty of good animals that were abandoned because their family moved and they were not able to take them with them. Not always that a dog is at the shelter is because of behavior problems. In most cases the families are unable to keep them but the dogs are great dogs. If you want a pet, give the shelter a chance.

Disclosure: I received complementary products to facilitate this review, however all opinions expressed are my own.

Summer is almost over and it is time for kids to go back to school. We had a great summer, but I think all parents will agree it is time for kids to go back to school. We just got our classroom assignment letter and we cannot be happier. My son's teacher will be the same teacher he had last year. She is an awesome teacher and we like her a lot.

Since, we are so happy with our teacher assignment we have decided to put together a welcome gift basket for the teacher. Just a little token of appreciation for what we know it is going to be hard work for a whole year. I have always thought being a teacher cannot be easy, and I think teachers deserve support from parents and all the help they can get.

When I started shopping for our welcome basket, I knew I needed to include some hand sanitizer. Yes, i need to make sure kids have clean hands, so maybe my son will not get sick all the time. Let's face it kids go back to school and all the germs come home with them. They get sick and parents get sick. And who has time to be sick? well, not me, not this year.

As far as hand sanitizers goes, there is a few brands our there, however I found a cool brand that is made in the USA and is triclosan-free. 

b4 products are packaged hand sanitizers that are convenient for anyone on the go, especially with kids and off course they are perfect for school backpacks and for teachers to have on their classrooms. Small packages that will avoid waste, although the product also comes in a wall dispenser and hand pumps.

The best part about b4 hand sanitizer is that they give 50 percent of all profits from sales to children-focused causes. The profits are donated through The Midway Foundation and more than $1.3 millions have already been donated to more than 150 organizations.

You can shop online and use code “b4health” and get 15% off any online orders. All orders over $35 receive free shipping.
b4 products will be available at Staples store starting Sept. 9th so you can buy them locally too.