Of the five women, there was one clear winner – Janel! Congratulations Janel on being selected to win a $100 gift card from Target. Janel was nominated by not one, but two friends, Amy and Gina, because they really wanted to recognize her for being such a great mom and being so inspiring. She received hundreds of votes and I’m thrilled that this giveaway gave some of her friends the opportunity to bless her in this way.

Thank you to all of you for participating, and happy Mother’s Day to all!

1. JESSICA – I’d like to nominate Jessica, a mom and animal rights attorney in Washington, DC. She and her husband have a 7 year-old daughter that loves to read. Though Jessica has her hands full, she has combined her passion for animal rights with her love of children’s books and is the founder of Vegbooks.org which reviews children’s literature with supporting vegan and vegetarian families in mind. She is also a dear and supportive friend.

2. JANEL – (two nominations)
a. I am nominating Janel, a most special mom. Janel is currently undergoing major treatment for Melanoma. As her friends rallied around to come up with ways to help her, the words she gave us dealt with how to help her son and ensure he has as normal a summer as possible. A truly amazing mother puts her children first and although facing some trying time Janel wants her son to come first.

b. I nominate Janel. When Janel was battling infertility she started a group called The Braces Bunch where women in similar situations could support one another through snail mail-making lifetime friends along the way. Janel now has a 4 year old son and is currently in an uphill battle with Melanoma. She is an amazing mother, woman and friend who gives tirelessly and whole heartily no matter what to everyone she loves.

3. AMY – Amy is soon graduating with a double major at the U of M, works in the U’s NOvA neutrino lab, plays roller derby, and is on a St. Louis Park environmental/sustainability task force. She selflessly supports and serves as mom and dad to her 14-year-old daughter. Amy attends all of her daughter’s synchro swimming and roller derby meets, band, drama and Girl Scouting activities. Amy deserves to splurge a little on herself – a luxury she doesn’t often have.

4. KARA – I nominate Kara for a deserving mom. Kara faces daily challenges managing the health of her 3 children, and her husband, who all have EoE, One son has a feeding tube, She must juggle multiple different food restrictions, She has had to move 2x in the past year. Her children struggle with anaphylaxis, asthma, rashes, and normal boys getting hurt playing rough- all with humor, and optimism- even when most of us would be in tears or have crawled into a wine bottle!

5. RENEE – I nominate my mom. She is deserving because she (and my dad) raised five children, including two with special needs who continue to live at home. She has been to countless doctor appointments, and recently my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and adds to my mom’s responsibilities. Essentially she is a caregiver to three people in her home. And she also works a demanding job. But, despite all of these circumstances, she never complains and keeps her head up.

(voting is now closed)

Fine print: Target is sponsoring this giveaway and will provide the prize directly to the winner. All people nominated must live in the United States. I am receiving a gift in kind for my time. People in my family are not eligible, including myself, my mother, sisters, aunts or in-laws.

Please consider nominating a mom you think is deserving. Here’s how it works:

1. Email me {missy at themarketingmama dot com} with “Target Mom” in the subject and tell me in 75 words or less who you nominate and why she could use a $100 Target gift card! Submit your nomination by Thursday 5/9/13 at noon central time. (The nominee mom should be someone you know and have an address for so we can mail her prize. She must live in the United States.)

2. I’ll post the best nominations and you all vote for the winner! Voting will begin when I post the nominations (likely Thursday night) and will continue through Mother’s Day at noon.

3. The person who receives the most votes at the end of the contest will be the winning Mom. I’ll announce the winner on Sunday evening. They will win a $100 gift card from our friends at Target. How awesome is that?

Nominate a deserving mom today and come back later to vote for the winner! I’m turning off the comments on this post – nominations can only be submitted by email.

Fine print: Target is sponsoring this giveaway and will provide the prize directly to the winner. All people nominated must live in the United States. I am receiving a gift in kind for my time. People in my family are not eligible, including myself, my mother, sisters, aunts or in-laws.

Every couple of months I bake up some cupcakes and freeze them. With food allergies, we always need to be prepared for parties and school events.

Today I posted this picture on my Marketing Mama Facebook page to share how I store them, in these cute Cup-a-Cake containers. There was so much excitement, I realized I should share here, too.

These handy little containers store cupcakes in the center of the unit so they don’t lose their frosting or get crushed. They are a big improvement over regular storage containers.

I freeze cupcakes for 3-4 months at a time, with the frosting on, and they still taste great. The frosting does get a little gritty (in a sugary-sort of way) from freezing, but is not a big deal.

I run them through the top rack of the dishwasher or wash by hand. They are very durable and run about $3 each or you can buy in groups. They come in many different colors. All families who need to bring their own cupcakes along for dietary reasons should have these – we love them!

You can find more of my food allergy posts, tips & recipes on my Food Allergy page. I’d also love to connect with you on my Marketing Mama facebook page and twitter. This post, and all posts on this blog, are written from my experiences as a parent of a child with food allergies. I am not a medical expert and encourage you to consult with a doctor on your personal medical situation.

EpiPens come in two strengths, regular and junior. The junior size is for children up to 66 lbs. Both strengths are eligible for the $0 co-pay promotion by Mylan Specialty.

If you or someone you know has food allergies or insect allergies, you should see an allergist (special doctor trained in allergies) to learn if you need to carry epinephrine (commonly known as the Epi Pen) with you. Most families I know with food allergies are told to carry epinephrine (2 doses at all times). When a severe reaction hits, this medication can be critical for survival.

I’ve learned you cannot predict the severity of a food allergy reaction based on previous reactions. I’ve witnessed reactions that are mild for one exposure and very serious the next. In other words, I can’t just expect it will be the same type of reaction each time and need to prepare for serious reactions.

Many people KNOW they should carry an Epi Pen for severe allergies, but don’t actually do it for a number of reasons. I’ve heard:

• It’s expired and I need a new prescription
• They are so expensive
• I’ll just give an antihistamine or call 911 if needed
• I keep forgetting it at home

Friends – NO MORE EXCUSES!

The reason the FDA gives average people like you and me auto-injector needles with epinephrine in them is because people suffering from a severe allergic reaction need the medicine administered IMMEDIATELY – survival rates are highest when the epi is given in under 2 minutes from onset of symptoms. This means we need to act quickly and not “wait for the paramedics” or try to drive the person to the hospital ourselves.

Just read this story of the 11 year old boy who died recently of a food allergy reaction when he accidentally popped a pretzel with peanut butter in it into his mouth. He spit it out right away but started having symptoms of a reaction. Unfortunately he did NOT have an Epi Pen with him at a friend’s house that day and by the time his mom was able to get him home to his Epi Pen (four minutes away) his throat closed and he couldn’t breathe. This young boy tragically died. It breaks my heart and serves as a painful reminder how important it is to ALWAYS have epinephrine on hand.

You can get the Epi Pen for free through the end of the year.

This is what the $0 co-pay card looks like when it comes in the mail. It has numbers printed on it that make it valid for the pharmacy (I blurred mine out in the photo).

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the EpiPen and to celebrate and increase access to epinepherine for families, schools and communities, Mylan Specialty (makers of EpiPen) is giving away $0 co-pay cards to anyone, which can be redeemed at your pharmacy to cover the co-pay portion of the prescription cost.

“Mylan has a long-standing dedication to increasing access to epinephrine auto-injectors through innovative access solutions such as the EpiPen4Schools program, and we’re pleased to continue that commitment by introducing our $0 Co-Pay Offer,” said Heather Bresch , CEO of Mylan.

How to get the Epi Pen for free

Even though I knew about this promotion for some time, I wanted to wait to write about it until I went through the entire process myself and could tell you first hand that it works and is not a scam or over-hyped promotion. I went through each of these steps and was able to get my EpiPen 2 pack for free and you can, too. Here’s how:

1. Call 1-800-395-3376 and give your name and address to the folks at Mylan Specialty (the makers of the Epi Pen). You can see this number online at epipen.com. They will mail you the $0 Co-Pay Offer card. It took about 2 weeks for me to receive mine.

2. Make sure you have a valid prescription for an Epi Pen or Epi Pen Jr. (the card works for both). If you don’t have one, renew through your pharmacy or talk to your doctor.

3. When you go to pick up your prescription, hand over the $0 Co-Pay Offer card along with your insurance info. This worked for me – I was able to walk out without paying a cent. Which was awesome, because typically I pay about $100 for each prescription.

TIP: Before you walk out of the pharmacy, make sure the prescription is good for 12 months and that you have a pharmacy label on each of the Epi-Pens if you plan to store them at school or drop them off at child care. I’ve refused to take Epi Pens that expire in under 11 months before.

The $0 Co-Pay Offer card is good for as many Epi Pens as you need through the end of the year. NOW is the time to get an Epi Pen if you don’t already have one or two — or stock up for an extra set for school.

You can find more of my food allergy posts, tips & recipes on my Food Allergy page. I’d also love to connect with you on my Marketing Mama facebook page and twitter. This post, and all posts on this blog, are written from my experiences as a parent of a child with food allergies. I am not a medical expert and encourage you to consult with a doctor on your personal medical situation.

I am not affiliated with Mylan Specialties and received no compensation for this post. I was a guest of Mylan Specialties earlier this year as an attendee at a special event they hosted for food allergy bloggers.