Friday Faves

1. baby laughter and slobbery baby kisses 

2. 5 year old laughter

3. The excitement my daughter when she lost her first tooth!  

We seriously had no idea she had a loose tooth.  She was eating 

a carrot and spit something out which she thought was a seed.

I said, "Honey, that is a tooth."  

She has a 2nd tooth lose and is hoping that comes out soon.

She wants more coins from the tooth fairy.

4. Extra snuggles with my kids

5. Thanking God for a healthy family

6. A full night of sleep (wait, what??!!  My body almost doesn't know what to do!)
7. My Serola Sacroiliac Belt has been a lifesaver since my back went out
a week and a half ago. I didn't realize when I got it how
crucial it would be to my recovery!
8. Physical therapy is scheduled for next week.  I'm so relieved!
9. Our 9 year wedding anniversary...haven't had time to celebrate yet
but am looking forward to it when we do! I told my hubby happy
anniversary as he headed out the door for work...how romantic ;-)
Happy 9 years to Matt and Catrina too!
10. My little man is now 4 months old!  He now weighs well over 16 pounds.
I have no doubt that my back issues have something to do with a growing baby!

Tired Tuesday

My brother in law got married on Saturday.  I got a pedicure with the girls, which was fun!

Nailcolor: OPI Goldeneye from the James Bond collection

My daughter was disappointed she didn't get to join us.  I promised her I would work it out to do her nails.  She said she wanted rainbow colors.  I grabbed what we had at home and this is what she chose(lots of thanks to Gram for doing her nails!):

She also had an opinion about the colors of my fingers!  It took me a bit to get used to my rainbow colors.

The wedding was at a beautiful house that was remodeled into a restaurant.  

I have a favorite quote from my daughter to the bride and groom:  

Thank you for turning your house into a restaurant for us!  

Monday Makeover: Postpartum workouts

So, after a week of focusing on getting  housework done(not all the credit is mine...thanks mom), along with a family wedding..maybe it's time to relax???? Most likely not, but onto the next project.  The list goes on and on so I'll squeeze in naps as I can to try to get enough sleep.

The new focus on Monday makeover is my workout routine.  When I was pregnant, I had a specific fitness plan I had hoped to follow.

Here's my post:

 Fitness plan 

Then I wrote about how I was having a hard time sticking to working out:Pregnancy fitness.  

I was so uncomfortable the last 3 months of my pregnancy, and anything I did actually caused more pain.  At that point I threw my workout plan out the window. Once I had my son, I realized why I was so uncomfortable.  He was born weighing in at 10 pounds  4 ounces and almost 23 inches long!

I was so excited when I was able to get in 4 days of workouts a week ago.  I rode my bike, did yoga, and a couple jillian michaels workouts.  This past week was quite disappointing for me though.  On Tuesday my back went out, which has been a chronic issue.

Here's a couple of my past posts about my back: 

Starting over with workouts

March 2012 Journey to a new back

 Journey to a new back: What's working

My back is improving, but I'm also being very careful and cautious.  I see a doctor on Wednesday and I'm hoping to get a referral for post partum physical therapy.  When my daughter was 3(she's now 5)  I went to physical therapy and was told my pelvis was still tilted from pregnancy.  I was also told this is a common issue for women.  Knowing my issues and that pregnancy enahances it my hope is to get on top of it before it gets worse. 

I've been a little discouraged, but I'm also hopeful that with some physical therapy I'll be able to get back into the workouts that I truly love!  And, I'm so thankful for my mom, who came out the following day after my back went out.  She did housework, brought lunch AND dinner along with cofffee and treats.  Thanks Mom, you are the best!

Taking some time off...

for now. Hoping to get back into my normal posting next week.

Friday Faves

1.  My friend sent me this cool nail polish it's called Blasted by Sephora So, I blasted my toes.  White nail polish and then blasted black:

It blasts or cracks differently every single time!  So far my favorite is pink under the black.

2. Baby laughter (my son just began to laugh!)

3. 5 year olds in tutus...post to come soon
4. Stress relief workouts
5. Naps
6. Time by myself
7. Friends that have become family (you know who you are:)
8. An apartment that is looking somewhat organized (yay, GO me!)
9.  Finding ways to set myself up for success
10. My hubby

Tired Tuesday: New Leaf Wellness

Now, I'm playing catch up from clear back in December! I was given an eCookbook to review from Dr Kelly L McNelis, owner of  New Leaf Wellness.

I truly love what her goals are: 

"New Leaf wellness is all about balancing motherhood and a healthy lifestyle."

Oh boy, do I ever need help with that right now!  I'm trying to figure out life as a mother of 2!

I haven't had an opportunity to cook any of the recipes from the cookbook yet, but I'm excited to try them.  So, my review of the cookbook right now will be what I really like about how she put it all together.

*Each recipe is it's own page

*Each recipe can be prepped in 15 minutes or less (exactly what I need!)

*Shopping list for all recipes is included, even the size of casserole dishes you'll need  and freezer bags needed. (AWESOME!)

*Nutritional information included for each recipe

*Labels are at the end of it too, to make it easy to put the meals in the freezer!

*Freezer meal tips section is quite helpful!

Seriously, why haven't I made these recipes yet??!!! I'm not quite sure, but I do remember getting this cookbook and getting quite overwhelmed when I was hugely pregnant.  I sat it aside knowing someday I'd get back to it! I guess my new goal is to get everything on the shopping list and have a day where I put all the recipes together(I may have to split it up to be multiple days).  Or maybe I'll get a babysitter. Not really sure, but I LOVE trying new recipes!

Since you are already on my page, please head on over to Kelly's business page and check out her eCookbook.  You can get it in 2 ways and it's reasonably priced!  Also, she has other services she offers too, like personal coaching.  

Below is Kelly with her beautiful girls, Cameran (3) and Isla (1).

Make sure to check out her website: http://www.newleafwellness.biz/

Monday Makeover: Healthy hair

I took last week off to focus on my daughter's birthday party.  So hard to believe she turned 5!

I'm continuing on the no shampoo journey.  It has been over a month since I started and I have figured out some things that work. Here's what I've been doing:

1.  1 tablespoon baking soda mixed with 1 cup water (in a spray bottle).

On the day I wash my hair, I spray it with he baking soda mixture.  I treat my hair as if I'm shampooing it and then rinse very well.

2. 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar in 1/2 cup water (in spray bottle)

This is my conditioner.  I spray my hair really well making sure to massage my scalp.  Then I put my hair in a clip and leave it till the end of my shower.  The last thing I do in my shower is remove the clip and rinse my hair very well.  After that I wring out my hair, flip my head over, then run my fingers through my hair(this replaces brushing my hair because I have natural curls). This is one of the best ways to get great curls!  After I take the towel off my head, I use my spray curling gel and scrunch my curls with a cotton T-shirt.

*I use the baking soda rinse every other day.  On the days I don't use the baking soda wash, I still use the cider vinegar rinse. This rinses any product that was used the previous day.

3. 1 time per week I moisturize with a honey/olive oil mixture.  It is easiest to do this in the shower.  My hair is left feeling nice and it took away my itchy scalp/dandruff.

Next week I plan on focusing on workouts and refocusing my life as a mother of 2.

Friday Faves

1. Baby snuggles

2. Waking up to baby chatter instead of the "I'm hungry" cry

3. Impromptu park playdates with family

4. My brother walking!
Got his prosthetic leg today(I'll write more about this another time)
5.  Shimmied into a pair of pre-pregnancy pants today.
You mamas out there know what I mean ;-)
They are a little snug, but I'm wearing them!
6. God's unconditional love
7. Beautiful weather

Firmoo Crazy Giveaway

I have been approached by an eyeglass company to post about their current offer and giveaway.  They have been pleasant to work with so far.  Because of that I have agreed to work with them. At this point I haven't been able to use their product, but hope to soon! Basically, the following is a paid advertisement, but for those of you who have prescription glasses the free glasses might be useful.

Don't Miss Out on this free offer from firmoo.com!
I am now so excited to share some awesome news:  firmoo.com is giving out free glasses!

Are you looking for a new style or just needing new reading glasses? Now is the time for you to find a new fashionable look that is a perfect fit for your personality! And, as you already know, you need to have your eyes checked and prescription updated one time per year.  So, if it's time for your annual checkup, this will be the perfect time to check out Firmoo's line of eyeglasses, sunglasses, and safety goggles. They would like to support you in reducing the risk of your eyesight deteriorating by using your outdated prescriptions.  Which is why I thought it was cool when I found out that Firmoo is having a giveaway. They are offering FREE glasses (Frames + Lenses + Shipping = $0!) as well as discount coupons, so you can take an advantage of these offers!

Furthermore, if you are a first time customer at Firmoo, you can also get your first pair for free . Only pay a minimum $6.95 shipping fee.

But for those who missed the free pair, you still don't have to be discouraged because they have another limited time offer which will save you 20% off on frames + total shipping fee.

Isn't all that awesome?!Take time to visit their site. Good Luck with the giveaway! http://www.firmoo.com/z/crazy-giveaway.html