Samsung Power Foam

Winner Update: The BlogHer randomly selected winner is #72, who is:

Congrats, Janna! Check your email!

Ahem...testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...

Can I have your attention please?! I have something to tell you, something very exciting that could change your life forever and ever, amen.

Are you ready?

Okay...there's this new laundry technology from Samsung, that (excuse me please, while I try to contain my excitement...squeeeeeeee!!!!) sounds like my dream come true. Friends...this new "Power Foam" technology may be the best invention since sliced bread.

First of all, lets talk size...and when we're talkin' laundry, size really DOES matter! You guys, this machine can wash up to 28 towels. Did you hear that? TWENTY EIGHT!! I'm not even sure I own 28 towels, but you can bet your cute little heiny that I'd be dancing a happy jig to be able to wash every single stinkin' one of my towels...IN ONE LOAD.

I'll betcha anything that that means I could also wash all of our jeans at once. I don't know for sure, but 1 pair of jeans has to be pretty close to one towel, right?

See, here's the thing...my husband is a hard worker, he wears jeans to work everyday (and gets them really dirty) and our kids (and I) each wear jeans most days of the week, which means at the end of the day, we've got 7 pair of jeans, 4 days into the week and we're at 28 pair. Currently, I can fit about 7 pair of jeans into our machine (and that's pushing it)...so, imagine if you will, (oh, I'm getting a little giddy thinking about this!!) that instead of doing 4 loads of laundry, I could do one instead.

ONE!!!!!

*THUD* <------------ That was me fainting from excitement!

Holy smokes...with all that time I'd save, just THINK about what I could do!! 1 load vs. 4? Since laundry takes of 99.9% of my time, I could maybe focus on keeping the rest of my house in order, or maybe I could finally get around to sorting through all the baby toys in our closets, or cooking up fabulous nutritious meals every night, or, gosh...forget all this "work" stuff, imagine the FUN we could have with all the extra time I'd be saving!

Trips to the zoo, days at the beach, picnics on the lawn, shopping with friends (which, really, only ends up equaling more laundry, right?!), evenings to enjoy the company of my hubby!

Honestly, this Power Foam technology sounds like music to my ears (oh, and BONUS!!, it also has technology that keeps it virtually silent! Perfect for my main floor laundry room!) and I'm pretty sure I need it. Like, NEED, as in "need" like I need air, food, and water.

Now...if only Samsung could come up with a way to fold my laundry... ;)

Samsung and BlogHer are giving YOU a chance to win a $100 Best Buy gift card! Just leave me a comment telling me what YOU would do with the extra time you'd save with the Power Foam technology and you'll be entered!

Visit the Promotions & Prizes section at BlogHer and Visit the Official Rules. Sweepstakes runs from 6/8-6/30:

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.


This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

Gatorade Sports Moms and Stephanie Hamm

Winner Update: I received word from BlogHer on the winner...their randomly selected number was #50, who was:

Congrats, angie lilly!! I've sent you a confirmation email that needs your attention!

"Athletes are athletes all day long."

-Lisa, GSSI Scientist

I recently had the opportunity to take part in a conference call with Stephanie Hamm (mother of famed soccer star, Mia Hamm) and Lisa Esposito, scientist with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.

Holy smokes, guys, did I learn a lot!

First off...Stephanie Hamm is an inspiration! She raised six kids as a "military mom/wife" and had some great tips for those of us who are "Sports Moms". What amazed me about Stephanie, was her ability to provide attention to each one of her children while raising a superstar athlete!

Stephanie was amazingly down to earth and candid about her life as a Sports Mom. I would've LOVED to have been able to sit down, one-on-one, with her and pick her brain about her life as a super Sports Mom!

Gatorade.com/moms features Stephanie Hamm as their "Sports Mom" in their recent YouTube video...check it out, you'll see what I mean about how amazing Stephanie is!

Our time on the call with Lisa was incredible. The information that we received was eye-opening, and made me realize how little I knew about the science behind Gatorade and the needs of our young athletes.

"The better you fuel, the better you feel." Like mentioned in my last Gatorade post, 70% of our young athletes are showing up to perform dehydrated. THREE out of FOUR kids are exerting their bodies when they are not at their prime.

That still amazes me.

Sweating is our body's way of cooling us down and, obviously, when we sweat, we lose fluid. Think, then, that most of us are sending our kids to their sporting events with depleted fluid reserves...in other words, with less reserves to cool their bodies when they need it most!

When we sweat, not only do we lose fluid, we lose sodium among other electrolytes. The more sodium lost, the greater the likelihood of your athlete getting cramps.

I also mentioned in my last post, that it is important for our athletes to consume protein after exercise...but did you know that carbohydrates before AND during activity can improve performance?

(Oh, and also, sticking out your tongue may also improve performance...or maybe not!) ;)

It's true! Do you know what this means for your runner or your swimmer? Talk about bettering their times!

Taking what I learned from this call, I have realized that I need to focus on getting my kids to eat differently and DRINK MORE!! Particularly during our summer sports, when kids lose fluid from exertion, as well as from the heat. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Do the pee test to see how well hydrated you are. Your pee should have a slight color to it (clear pee means you're over hydrated, which means that what you're putting in is basically just going right through...)...if it's dark, like apple juice, that can signify dehydration.

Lemonade pee? Just about perfect! ;)

All of this said, I realize I need to step up my game. I need to take the knowledge I received and act on it. Packing protein for the Pal to snack on during the bus ride home, encouraging him to push the fluids during games (preferably, carbohydrate containing fluids, like Gatorade), and making sure he is well hydrated to begin with!

Want a chance to win a $100 Dick's Sporting Goods gift card? Just leave me a comment (official sweepstakes dates are 6/1-6/30), and tell me how you fuel up your kids before performance!

Be sure you check out the Prizes & Promotions section for more posts from Sports Moms and more chances to win!

Don't forget, you can Visit the Official site to check out everything Gatorade has to offer.

Visit the Official Rules and see the following for the complete list of rules:

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.


This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.

The Official Rules are available here.