Getting Our Health On!

14 Oct

Some friends recently watched the movie Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, and decided to start juicing.  I have always eaten healthy, and constantly preach about everything in moderation.  I do love the ABC (with spinach added) from Robeks, but don’t know that I could do a juice fast.  People who know me will tell you, I NEED food, and lots of it!  I realize that I have a fast metabolism, and I am fortunate for that, but I always do my best to make sure that I am making healthy food choices.  This is especially important to me since my son has a congenital heart defect (feel free to ask me anything about it) and has already had five open heart surgeries!  I need to build a good foundation for him to understand healthy living, which is why I always promote healthy eating and discuss food choices with him.  My husband and I watched the movie this weekend, and we are now the proud owners of a…

Breville Juice Fountain Plus

We purchased it with a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath & Beyond!  Do I need to remind you how much I love a deal?!

While I don’t intend on putting the kids on a juice fast, I think they would benefit from the surge of nutrients they would get from a morning juice with their normal breakfast.  Additionally, I have been planning to add a “Dad’s Corner” section to this blog, so be on the lookout for posts from Luke as he learns to juice and incorporates more fruits and vegetable into his diet!

Here’s to healthy eating!!

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Man, I LOVE a good deal!

12 Oct

I have been eyeing the poufs at West Elm, but the $249 price tag has been keeping me from making the purchase.  We have been holding off on getting another coffee table since we still have one little one mastering walking, and two others who would probably knock each other’s heads into the corner of a table.  And, let’s just be honest, those same kids are the reason I can’t bring myself to spend $249 on a pouf!  In the meantime, our current ottomans have seen better days and I really need to replace them.

West Elm Pouf

I usually try to resist the ads that run on the side of my Gmail or Facebook, but something caught my eye today.  I clicked it, and I’m so glad I did!!  If you have never heard of Joss and Main, it’s a site that sells discount, brand named home goods.  I was able to find bean bag ottomans for a fraction of the cost of the ones at West Elm!

My new Majestic ottoman purchased at Joss and Main!

Now I just have to be patient until they arrive…I CAN’T WAIT!  Did I mention how much I love a good deal?!

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The Best of Intentions

9 Oct

Prep, clean, quiet, blah, blah, blah…

While I was downstairs getting things ready for our dinner tonight, a tornado was at work upstairs.  Introducing our beautiful, middle child…our tiny tornado!  THIS, is the reality of how our anniversary evening is starting.

Tiny tornado

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Faith, Hope and Love

7 Oct

Three little words, that have proved to be HUGE in my family!  On Tuesday, I will celebrate eight wonderful years with the man I always dreamed of!  Our marriage started with these words, and continues to this day.  We have faced many challenges, but always manage to see our way through; leaning on each other, when just holding hands isn’t enough.

Of course, this post had to be a little more practical than merely an anniversary wish to my Love!  Since our anniversary falls on a Tuesday, which is also a school/work day and karate lessons for one of the littles – we had some serious prep to do this weekend!  We have been scouring the house, every few months I go through and purge clothes and toys that are outgrown or no longer used.  First grade homework has been completed a few days ahead of schedule and we’ve also been deciding which slow cooker recipe we will be cooking with the kids.  We will prep the recipe on Monday, so we just have to plug it in on Tuesday.  Karate nights tend to make us run a little late.  Since dinner will be cooking itself all day, we’ll be able to have dinner, get the kids to bed, then sit down (in a CLEAN house) for a low-key, quiet night.  We recently figured out how to set up our Wii to stream Netflix, so we are planning a movie night.

Let’s hope the kids cooperate and go to bed on time, because I am REALLY looking forward to just the two of us on the couch, with a glass of champagne, watching something that isn’t animated!

No big plans needed.  Just a simple night.  It is, afterall, Our Life with Kids!

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In Their Tummies

1 Oct

I have been wanting to add a section for cooking with the kiddos, and have also been very intrigued by all of the prep your meals for a week/month/slow cooker recipes that have been posted around the internet.  Since the little-ones who will be cooking with me are 3 and 6, I don’t want anything too elaborate and think starting them with food prep for a slow cooker will be a great introduction.  Another consideration is that my 6-year-old has a congenital heart defect (CHD), so I don’t necessarily want to resort to old-school slow cooker recipes that seem to be higher in fat and salt.  I have been preaching healthy eating from the beginning; healthy fats versus unhealthy, not too much salt, not too much sugar, everything in moderation.  I was so excited today, when I learned that the American Heart Association had just released their latest version of their Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook!

I jumped right on Amazon and ordered a copy with my Amazon Prime membership!  Be on the lookout for our review of the recipes and track my progress cooking with the littles!

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I blame Pinterest! ;)

28 Sep

Hubby and I continue to TRY to take a few minutes alone, just catching up on each other’s day, as soon as he gets home from work.  As much as we try, this time is usually overlooked due to the kids asking for something. We have also been trying to figure out a way to rearrange our bedroom.  Due to the way it is designed, there aren’t a lot of options and we were left with a 10′ x 14′ area with nothing in it.  I saw this picture on Pinterest, and have become obsessed with trying to make this sitting area work for our room.  It will be so nice to have our own little place to relax and catch up!

One of my pet peeves on Pinterest is when someone posts a picture with no link and no description.  After some searching, I discovered that the picture above was somehow linked to HomeGoods.  I found one of these stores near our house and went for the first time today.  I think I may LOVE this store!!  It is clean, everything is very well-organized (unlike many of those other discount clearance stores) and to top it off — inexpensive!  I love order, and the fact that I have three kids, the inexpensive part is right up my alley!  I didn’t find the right chairs today, so I’ll go back in a few weeks and check again, but I did find so many other great pieces for around the house!  Since I didn’t have a plan for the other areas of the house, I refrained from buying all of the things I was finding…but I WILL be going back with a plan next time!

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How They Learn

27 Sep

And sometimes, what they teach us!

Reminder from Landon was to literally “stop and smell the roses!” I was stuck on a project and frustrated. Two huge roses had bloomed in our yard and he asked me to “come smell the roses, mommy?” I paused as I thought of the meaning of his request, but still said “I can’t right now.” He picked one of the roses, ran over to me and said “you REALLY need to smell these, they smell so pretty!” He was right; it was the best smelling rose I have ever encountered, and he made me laugh at myself for overlooking the simplicity! I love that boy!!

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A Gift From a Gifted Heart!

25 Sep
I am so happy to share that Landon raised the $500 necessary to receive the designation of MIRACLE MAKER at Rady Children’s Hospital for his fundraising efforts!  A few Payments are still processing, but he raised $960 in time to celebrate his success on his 6th birthday on Sunday!  Even though this year’s birthday has passed, our desire to continue to raise money for The Heart Institute at Rady Children’s Hospital has not!  The site will remain active and we continue to ask you to share our site with your friends.  Thank you to everyone who helped us reach our goal!
Photo courtesy of:
http://www.brandoncolbertphotography.com/

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Time to Get Crafty

25 Sep
Ever since we got our Keurig brewer, I have realized that our coffee cups are rather small.  They are also pretty plain!  I suppose it’s time to get crafty!

I came across this site this morning and LOVE their ideas!  I’m looking forward to trying out a few new painting projects; maybe it will even help cross a few people off my holiday shopping list!  Wish me luck – I’ll let you know how it goes!

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Holiday pictures already?!

20 Sep

Believe it or not, in the next month I will be scheduling our photo session for our Christmas pictures.  It feels like each year flies by faster than the last!  Luke and I have sent a photo Christmas card every year since we were married; this will be our 9th card.  I have been planning on framing them all together, then add to them year after year…that’s a project that hasn’t been completed (or even started) yet!  Once it is finally completed, I will post pics!

This is my favorite picture from last year’s photo session!  It looks like the baby is trying to eat her brother and sister, but she was really trying to give kisses!

Thanks Brandon for the great pictures!
http://www.brandoncolbertphotography.com/

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