WOW! How time flies! I cannot believe we are into the school year already! It has been a bit of an adjustment for us this year being in a new place and getting used to a new school for the kids. We have had to make a lot of changes. In fact, we at the Beckee's Deals house are using the new school year as an opportunity to make some New (School) Year's resolutions! We want to start this year out right! Apparently we are not the only ones that make resolutions for the new school year! The makers of Plackers Oral Care and the makers of Van's Natural Foods shared this great New (School) Years resolutions list with me and I want to share it with you:

• Make breakfast a priority. Kids who start the day right with a solid breakfast keep their minds on their studies and not on their stomachs. Plan ahead to have some quick, easy breakfasts that are high in protein and whole grains and low in sugar (for example, Van’s Natural Foods 8 Whole Grains Pancakes and Waffles, or its latest better-for-you option, Ancient Grains cereal featuring 6g of protein and 5g of fiber), and make sure your morning routine includes time for kids to eat.
• Have happier trips to the dentist. The morning rush can make time for brushing and flossing scarce. Plan time for kids to brush their teeth before school and add a Plackers Kids flosser, in fun animal shapes and tasty berry flavors, to help keep the dentist’s drill at bay all year long.
• Go to bed earlier. A good night’s sleep is important for concentration and mood. Reading and other quiet activities before bedtime help children wind down better than TV or video games.
• Exercise. Kids who play outdoors after school, whether in organized school or community sports or just with friends at the local park, are less likely to gain weight than kids who flop on the couch for hours of TV, and they have an easier time falling asleep at bedtime because they are actually tired.
• Eat healthier. Lunches and after school snacks don’t have to include chips, cookies and sodas. Healthy snacks like cheese sticks, cut-up fruits, veggies and dip, frozen yogurt, whole-grain versions of kid favorites like Goldfish are just a few ideas for kids who need a snack between and dinner.

All of these items were on our back to school/new years resolutions. One thing in particular I have been trying to improve is to eat healthier and ESPECIALLY to make breakfast a priority.

I have to admit (as I have admitted before on here) that I am not a breakfast eater. Never have been. And as a mom that means it is hard for me to even remember to offer breakfast most days. We are a help yourself to some cereal type breakfast family here, but I am trying to stop that! I am trying to make breakfast good, healthy and something the kids look forward to. SO, I was very glad to get some help from Van's Natural Foods. I was sent 4 coupons-1 for free waffles, one for free English Muffins, and 2 for $ off those same 2 items. I bought the 8 whole Grain Waffles and the 8 Whole Grain English Muffins (thinking I would enjoy them and the kids would not touch them). I was SOOOO wrong! They loved the waffles and the English Muffins and were asking for more! It was an easy and healthy breakfast for my kiddos! (Easy enough for this breakfast deficient mom!!) Fantastic!

I hate to admit 2 terrible things in one post, but another area in which I have been deficient is in Dental work. With our financial situation over the past few years, I admittedly skipped the dentist for all of us. We were obviously still taking very good care of our teeth but we just skipped going  to the expensive dentist (stupidly). About 6 months ago, I made it a priority to get everyone back into the dentist and on a regular schedule again. We all went in and learned that overall, in spite of the lack of dental visits (bad mom!) everyone was doing well-only one cavity in 7 people is pretty amazing. I honestly give a lot of the credit for the great teeth health to the Plackers Kids Dental Flossers. With these babies, my kids LIKE to floss! They ASK to floss and they floss WELL! It is like a mini miracle for me to have this product around...really!

I hope you have had the chance to make some New (School) Year resolutions yourself as a family! If any of your resolutions fall along the lines of ours (healthy foods, great dental care), I have just the giveaway for you! The fantastic people over at Plackers Oral Care and Van's Natural Foods have provided me with a great pack to giveaway that includes the same products I was given: a bag of Plackers Kids flossers, 2 coupons for free Van’s products, plus additional samples/coupons for other Plackers products and a $1 and $2 coupon for Van’s products.

Want to win this? Enter on the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway As the Rafflecopter says: Please note that the giveaway will end on 10/12 at 12:01 AM EASTERN time. That means you have until 11:01 PM on 10/11 Central time to get in entries (That is only 9:01PM here in AZ).  Please note that winners will be picked at random by Rafflecopter after the giveaway ends!  Also, Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and cannot be held responsible for it in any way.

By way of disclosure, I was provided the same prize pack I am giving away for the sake of this post by the pr company as well as information about the New Years resolutions! I was not compensated in any other way and as always all opinions are my own.

Thanks for reading and good luck on the giveaway!!