Researching our benefit options

 

October is a big milestone month for many people. It's the month that we transition to the fall with cooler temperatures and even busier calendars. We think about all things pumpkin, scarves and boots, hayrides and haunted houses, and watching the leaves turn into the beautiful rich colors of red, yellow, orange, and brown. Maybe even take a moment to jump in them with our children. It's the month before the big holidays sneak up on us, and not to mention the winter weather that always catches us off guard. But aside from the fun and excitement and beautiful weather, it's also often the month where people start thinking again about their benefits.

 

Open enrollment.

 

For years, open enrollment for my family meant logging into my work account, clicking the checkbox stating no changes to be made, and submitting my information for approval. For 6 years we had done that with not a single thought in mind---on my part. My husband tried to talk to me about switching, but for some reason I was convinced that we were in the best situation possible. Rates went up, policies changed, and we even went through 4 different insurance companies. Yet, I never put any importance at looking at researching and further understanding our policy. Last year, we decided to look further into my husband's employment insurance options, and after digging deeper, punching numbers on the calculator, and comparing his to mine, we realized that we had been making a huge financial mistake by continuing to click that little box year after year.

 

In fact, because of this, I probably cost my family thousands of dollars.

 

I was surprised to find out that I was not one of the only ones that has made this common mistake. A survey completed by Aflac on open enrollment found that individuals, on average {41 percent}, spent 15 minutes or less researching their benefit options. Another 24 percent spent 5 minutes or less. That was me. You know what other statistic I fell into? The 90 percent that were commonly "auto-enrolling" year after year.

 

We fixed that mistake quickly {not quickly enough}, and made sure that every year we sat down as a couple and reviewed the options available to us. Another thing we learned was that there were voluntary policies, such as Aflac, to help eliminate the financial stress that often times burdens families in medical situations.

 

Important Things to note about Aflac

 

A Fortune 500 company with individual and group voluntary insurance that provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide with accident, dental, life, vision, cancer, hospital intensive care and more voluntary insurance policies.

 

It is available in all 50 states, including Puerto Rico.

 

Eight years in a row, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere magazine as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies, and was included in the Fortune magazine list as one of the World's most ethical companies.

 

Do you have questions about open enrollment? Click here for further information provided by Aflac WorkForces Report website.

 

 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Two books the redefine the meaning of: Book.

Often times we think of books as something that we strictly read. As children we start with picture books, then we add more and more words as we get older, and eventually we dive into books that the only image we will see will be the one that is on the front cover.

I love when we discover books that are outside of what one may expect, and I love even more when they allow us to get creative and think outside of the box.
I have two new books to share with you today: Dino Supersaurus build and Play Box set and Live, Imagine, Draw. Two very different books, but both resulting in the same thing: smiles on kids faces.

The Dino book is obviously great for all the dinosaur loving boys and girls out there. There are 6 dinosaurs for the kids to put together and this is wonderful for the fine motor skills.  The book includes different activities for the kids to work on. I would definitely recommend this book for the older kids, 6+. I have this tucked away on the bookshelf for my little man when he reaches of age to do the actual activities. In the meantime, we pretend play with our dinos.

The second book Live, Imagine, Draw is the perfect example of a book with a different purpose. The purpose being to get those creative juices flowing. There are so many great qualities about this book, and the first one that comes to mind are all the art that went into creating this book, as well as the wonderful quotes to go along.

"Every artist was first an amateur." Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The pages are fun for the kids to draw, write, and imagine– just like the title suggests. For instance, they have a picture of different animals and asks the child to "add some hats to these animals." Do animals wear hats? No. But how fun for the kid to imagine what kind of hat they would wear if they did. Other pages as the child to draw a portrait of themselves, draw a dream, something blue, something old, a journey, and so forth. I would also recommend these books for kids 6-7+, or whenever a parent feels a child is ready.

To be honest? I want to keep it for myself and draw all my wildest dreams and journeys...... however, I still draw in stick figures.

So another two great finds, and really redefine the definition of a book. 

**As part of a blogger for Parragon Book buddies, I received these books to review, however, all opinions stated are that of my own.

What it's like to be rich.

Have I mentioned recently how much I love being home with my babies? I know I have said it before—many times. I know that I've explained on multiple occasions why I do what I do because of my babies. But sometimes, it's nice to be reminded of these things as life quickly zips on by.

Man, I love being home with my babies. Being able to wake up and get them dressed and ready for the day. Cooking their meals for them. Reading them stories. Going to the library, the zoo, the museum, multiple parks, and fun little play dates. Watching them reach their milestones. Watching them learn. Watching them discover themselves and the people that live around them.

And I get to be right there with them, watching them.

Elliana is sitting quietly playing with cars —the favorite thing around this house. Graham is already down for a nap at 9:30 —must be going through a growth spurt. And I sit here on the couch by the window watching as the rain pours down on the trees that have now started to turn golden orange, yellow, and red. Gosh, I sure do love October. And what is it about rain that makes things so calm and serene?

You know....

I've been so deep into our family that I have not taken the time to just sit down and reflect lately. It's good for my soul to sit down and write, and yet, it's something that I push off the agenda more times than not. But I promised myself to sit here for 5 minutes and do just that– write. So here I am. Writing.

Don't ask me about what.

Just life. I guess.

We are in a great place right now with the kids. Life is so much easier {yet busier}. We have a set routine, the kids are pretty predictable, and there is so much less stress and much more fun these days that it's hard not to think about how lucky we are for our health and the people and things in our lives. It's hard for me though not to think about the what-ifs, the why us, and the when will something bad happen to us moments? I'm constantly surrounded by so much sadness at work and the stories that we hear, that it's hard for me not to think about how tomorrow is never guaranteed and how easily our world can change in just a split second. We shouldn't go there. We shouldn't think that way. But it's also helped me enjoy each and every moment with my children and my husband. Even the not so picture perfect ones.

We cook a lot together. We play pretend a lot together. We read a lot together. We dance a lot together. And sing {although neither one of us four are any good}. And we laugh a lot. And we take a lot of pictures. And we do a lot of looking at those pictures {and videos}. And we love a lot.

Andrew and I were doing silly dances in our small bathroom while the kids bathed and sang one of our favorite songs, and I caught myself look at these three family members of mine and thinking... this is exactly what life is all about.

Not the money. Not the things. Not the parties or the trips or the people that we know in our lives. Not our status. Not our careers. Not our cars, homes, or toys.

But the people.

Our family. Our love. Our relationships among one another.

My kids make me feel like the richest celebrity alive.
And I hope that I make them feel the same way one day.

Until then, I'll just keep dancing, singing, playing, and getting messy with them.

Speaking of playing, time for me to go play cars. My 5 minutes {eh, 10} of fame is up.
Happy Weekend. 

VTECH Innotab 3 review and giveaway! Can't put it down!

***VTech product, information, and additional playset have all been provided by VTech. This review however are my own honest opinions of the product.

In our family, we try to minimize the amount of technology use that not only our children use, but that we use as well. We want them to grow up playing and exploring and seeking educational opportunities that they can physically attain versus those on a screen. That being said, we do however enjoy and support any technology that helps stimulate further learning in a way that is fun and thought provoking. VTech®’s InnoTab® 3 Plus kids’ learning tablet was provided to us for review, and I was so excited to get my hands on it and start figuring all the ins and outs.

Elli is only 3 and was able to figure out this device almost immediately with little assistance from myself. She created her own user name and was able to take a picture of herself, which then automatically set the notion that she actually owned something and most importantly that she had to take care of it. We had this important conversation.

We went through all the different apps that were programmed into the device, and the camera was definitely a big time favorite from the start. Walking around the house and taking "pictures" of her baby brother, the dog, and an arm and a leg, was definitely quite the entertainment.  She continued on to read "books" and all I kept hearing from her is "this is cool" and "so fun!" Needless to say, there were be lots of chores done around the house so that she can download new books and learning apps to work on. 

Some of our favorite things about the Innotab include:

• Innotab 3 comes with a rechargeable battery pack! It really doesn't get much better than that. So important when we are already eating through batteries every day, and in this case, I'll never have to worry about replacing batteries in the tablet ever again.
• There are more than 800 apps that are education driven and can be purchased through the Vtech learning app store. That's a lot of skimming through on my part!
• The camera isn't just your basic every day snap and shoot camera. It has a 180° rotating camera with over 55 special effect. They can also make their own videos and even store their own music!
•  The price is definitely right. InnoTab 3 Plus comes with 12 apps at an affordable price of only $59.99. You know my thoughts on this right? Great Christmas gift!

Better yet, a great gift to giveaway! You can now have the opportunity to win on to gift to a special little someone in your life that will most certainly light up when they find out what's inside the package!



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