Another little secret!

Another one of my favorite It Works products are the chews!  I love the chews, not only for myself but for my whole family.  They taste great and help with digestion which is super important this time of year.  Especially if you want your immune system to function on all cylinders!  My kids love them too, so I feel good about adding 1 or 2 in their lunch box each day, even thought they think they are eating candy!  Here is the link to order if you are interested www.naturallywraptastic.myitworks.com.   I promise I won't tell your family that they are actually good for you!

Time to get back in the game!

I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with exercise!  I love the way that I feel when I exercise, I love the feeling of healthy!  It gives me more energy, it motivates me to want to make healthier food choices and it feels good to fit into my clothes!

 I am not particularly fond of trying to fit one more thing into the schedule and to be honest, the immediate needs of my family (meals, homework, housework, dirty diapers and activities)  is so cumbersome that by the time I get an opportunity to do something for myself, I much prefer a good cup of coffee and some piece and quiet.


I know I am not alone!  Anyone that knows me knows that a healthy lifestyle is a huge priority for me and my family.  It is my passion and I have spent numerous hours over the course of the years learning more about living a healthy lifestyle.  I have read books, researched the Internet, and followed blogs.  I drove myself crazy trying to feed my family a strictly "clean diet", tried eliminating gluten, tried cutting back on dairy, limiting mean, and followed many of the trends in the health community.  I have also observed the health of my grandparents and great grand parents and wondered how they could eat bacon and eggs  and bake with lard and live to be in their 90's.  Much of my research would make a great blog post for another day.

My most recent conclusion (and the one that has given me the most peace about what I feed my family) is that of balance and consistency...plain and simple! The best nutrition./exercise program that I can adopt is one that I know I will be able to stick to.  Sure I could do a complete over-hall of my pantry and schedule to make a healthier lifestyle more of a priority BUT...the reality is that there will be many interruptions to that plan.  So here is MY plan....make several small changes that will make the biggest impact!

1).  Drink 1 bottle of water with my greens in it.  For those of you that don't  know about It Works greens, they are amazing!  They detox, alkalize and provide you with an excellent boost of nutrition as well as enhancing your immune system.  They come in a berry or orange flavor.

Here is the link to purchase them if you are interested!  www.naturallywraptastic.myitworks.com




 2).  Include some exercise into my day.  I am a busy..busy...busy and almost always moving, so I know that I don't need to incorporate a ton of cardio into my fitness plan.  I can commit to 3 burst exercises that work the major muscle groups, boost metabolism and energize me, and do them in 5 sets of 12.  Exercises  such push-ups, jump squats, and bicycle crunches.

Hey it's a start!  I will keep you posted on my progress!

1 Time Management Strategy that Revolutioninzed My Day!

I have tried schedules....systems....programs...and just about every other idea that someone pitched on Pinterest!  The fact is that I struggle with balancing working full time outside of the home, and spending quality time with my family.  If you are like me, you start out with a strong focus for the day and then by lunch time (after many distractions) you are lucky to have crossed anything off of your monstrous to do list AND you are already exhausted!  This was my frustration for many years.  I would wake up, get a cup of coffee, and start to make my list of things to do for the day.  I became so attached to this list and took delight in crossing items off of the list.  It was great satisfaction to go to bed at night knowing that I was able to get a lot accomplished throughout the day.  THEN....I had kids.  What a game changer!  ;)  I would start my day the same, with my coffee and my to do list, but I was lucky if I was able to accomplish half of it.  By the end of the week, I would have several lists with 2 or 3 items still on them that needed to be completed.

Then I had a revelation!  Instead of focusing on all of the smaller chores to tackle and then getting frustrated with all of the interruptions that prevent me from getting them done, I will focus on the 3 most important chores.  This included the 3 things that would make the most impact on the outcome of the day.  Most of the time, I am able to get those 3 things done and OH MY, what a difference it has made!  I still get frustrated, but I am able to stay on top of my house work better and it has allowed me to spend more quality time with my 4 little priority blessings because I am not as focused on everything that needs to be done!

A fall drink that will rival any latte from your favorite coffee shop

Guilty...I love all things fall, especially pumpkin anything!  I especially love pumpkin spice coffees and lattes!  What I don't love is the cost of these delicious little treats or all of the artificial junk that it is used to make it.  So I got busy and searched the internet for a tasty alternative.  I found some very delicious copycat recipes of my favorite drink, but I also found that it requires a little bit more time than this busy mom of 4 has to devote to my addiction of the season.  I wasn't going to give up on it though.  An afternoon cup of coffee is my one indulgence!  I gave it some more thought and what I came up with is even better than the coffee I buy at my local coffee shop, super easy to make and a whole lot healthier.  In fact, some of the ingredients are even good for you!  What did I do?  I simply added Pumpkin Pie spice to my coffee grounds before I brewed it!  Easy right?  The great thing, is that I still get to flavor my coffee with the right amount of sugar and cream, just how I like it and I can feel good about drinking it.

Give it a try, I hope you love it as much as I do!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Thank you for joining my blog!  Before you begin this is not another mommy blog dedicated to recipes, cleaning, organization, saving money and kids.....although you will see this alot ;)  You will not see a picture perfect house, picture perfect kids and picture perfect meals.  What you will see is the outcome that a full time working mommy of 4 (ages 8,6,3 and 5 months) can provide for her family.

 I strive daily to provide for my family without sacrificing traditional values such as healthy home cooked meals and a welcoming home for my family.  This is a something that I struggle with daily!  I have prayed for the winning lottery numbers and tricked myself into thinking that winning the lottery will be a good solution to my struggles.  And then God reminded me that HE needs me where I am at.  He needs me at work to take care of His business at work.  This revelation has given me a new perspective not only on what I am doing, but why I am doing it and because of this, I am seeing a different kind of fruit in my life.  He also reminded me that I am not alone......LOTS of moms struggle with the same thing!  My goal through this blog is to encourage Moms...plain and simple!  Working full time outside of the home does not mean that we have to submit to take out and processed convenience food all the time.

We Moms can be very hard on ourselves, but I have learned that living a lifestyle of a stay at home mom with a working mom's time constraints isn't too far out of the realm of possibility.  Traditional living in a modern society is possible and is a faith in progress!  Please join me in this journey!  I don't have all of the answers but together we can improve the quality of our families and start thriving!


P.S.  Please don't pass by on this blog because of the mention of God!  My faith is important to me, it is a huge part of my life! So you will also see scripture and the ways that God is speaking to me alot BUT the purpose is to encourage ALL moms, whether faith believing or not.  Moms get enough slack and feel judged way too often!  Please use this blog to be encouraged and get ideas on how to improve the quality of your family lifestyle.