Week Two

EXERCISE
Well I have to admit I have not run in a week now. Of course when Mom and I decide to set a goal, it snows and I get sick! All this week has been either snowing or very cold. It wouldn't be that big of a deal for me to run in the cold, but considering I almost always have to bring the kids along, it gets quite chilly for them, especially little Sammi. So, instead of giving up for a week, I worked out in my own home. Having never been a runner (as in, when I run, I run fast and get it over with) I was thrilled. I exercised to this wonderful work out DVD that my sister-in-law gave me. It is one of the best videos that I have tried. Doesn't get you overly exhausted but you can definitely tell you work your muscle GOOD!! And the best part for me, being a parent, it is only 25 mins. long. Which is just about how long my little one will let me go without picking her up. Even then it is a challenge.

Give this a try if you are looking to get in shape without going to the gym. It has three different workouts ranging in difficulty, and all are 25 mins.

HEALTH:
As most of you know, my husband Rob is a self employed General Contractor and he quite literally works seven, sometimes six days a week and 14 hour days. I love him so much, he works so hard so I can stay home with our kids. Well, Tuesday we all woke up and it was snowing and VERY cold so we convinced him to stay home and have a vegg and movie day. So, I went to town got some snacks and movies.
Now you are probably wondering why I am telling you all of this in the Health portion of this blog, but when I say we had a vegg day, I made sure I had some good for you snacks.

While my kids and hubby had chips and dip with their favorite candy, I made air popped popcorn and had some good dark chocolate. Another health tip from Dr. Oz, is you should eat some good chocolate everyday. It has to be a least 80% cocoa. Cocoa is said to help lower blood pressure, soften skin, have many antioxidants, and boost your mood, Of course right!! And popcorn (has to been air popped) has many poly phenols in it that help fight cancer and prevent heart disease. I did add a little butter and salt.
See you can a vegg day and still feel good about what you eat.

Beauty

I have been a Pantene Pro V user for as long as I could wash my own hair, but after three kids I started to notice that my hair was falling out. And I am not talking about that little handfull at the end of your shower, I am talking gobs and gobs of my wonderful hair leaving my head. My hair was so dry and split end on literally every stand of hair. So, I decided it was time for a replacement. I had a coupon for John Frieda and decided to start there. I fell in love. My hair stopped falling out and my hair was thick and shinning and soft and wonderful and beautiful. Ok I will stop now. But, this stuff works. It may be a little bit more expense then Pantene but it actually evens out, due to the amount of conditioner I used to use. With John Frieda, my new and refurbished hair only requires a little bit and I have long hair. I love this stuff. Can I repeat I LOVE THIS STUFF. The other conditioner shown is Loreal, and this is good stuff too.

Well until next time. Have a great week!!!

SNOW IS HERE!!

We have finally got our first good snow! The boys loved it, and could not wait to get out to build a snowman, and eat some good snow. Rob was home was they got him to help build a snowman. I must say, his snowmen are very close to perfect.

At first Kemper didn't have any gloves on and about 5 mins. later the cold set in and he was not happy. After his hands warmed up, he got gloves on and was ready to go back outside. We also put snow clothes on Sammi and she loved being outisde while it was snowing.

Most kids when they come in from the snow, they ask for some hot chocolate with marshmellow. Well, that is not what my kids asked for. Tucker came in and said, "Mom you need to make me some eggs so I can warm up." Kids are so funny!! Love them so much!

Well, here is my first entry on my new found journey of health, beauty, and exercise. The first thing I did was go to Scheel's and buy some new running shoes. (Thank you to my husband for letting me use his gift card; what a truly good man he is). My feet thanked me too, seeing how I had my old shoes for going on five or six years. They weren't exactly supportive.


EXERCISE!!!

Sunday night Mom and I had decided to run Monday after she got off work. All day it was snowing and we got about 3 inches, so I called her up and in the end we decided to go ahead and run in the snow. Yes, it was cold and Mom was running in her dress coat, but it was worth it. The shoes worked Great!!!!Told Rob they would make me run better. HaHa! Now my Mom needs some new shoes!
We ran off and on for 3 miles; well on our way. It feels great to get outside and exercise even if it is snowing.

HEALTH!!!

These are the ingredients for my morning ritual; SMOOTHIES!!!! I get up in the morning do a 15 min yoga (great to stretch out after a night of getting up with kids and eventually having everyone in the same bed together; pretty tight space), then I have a least three glasses of water, and some coffee after that. This is a Dr. Oz tip; drink water before you drink your coffee in the morning; if you just drink coffee right when you wake up it actually makes you more tired because you are dehydrated and coffee drains what ever liquids you have left in your body. So, wake up drink some water then have your coffee.
After everyone is awake I make my liquid gold (don't want to wake the kids too early).

• Pomegranate Juice (great juice lots of antioxidants; if you don't want to use that green tea is good too).
• Frozen berries (mix of blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)
• Flax Seed ( This is the best type of grain for you; You have to grind them up to release their nutrients).
• Spinach
• Greek Yogurt ( Gives it a creamy texture and has lots of protein in it).
• Ice

This smoothie is so good; it gives me so much energy. Great way to start my day!!!

BEAUTY!!!!

Being winter and all it is definitely hard to get some good sun on your skin, and forget about your legs. This is the best sunless tanning lotion I have tried. You can tell a difference right away and doesn't leave a yellow and orange on your skin. I like using this in the winter because just like a little black dress makes you look skinny, having tan legs makes you looks trimmer. By the way it is Loreal; the picture makes it hard to see.

Hope you enjoyed the first post!!!!! Tune in next week!! Or whenever I have something fun!!:)

Sammi is seven months!!!

Our baby girl is such a wonderful addition to our family. Her two brothers love her so much and she enjoys watching them play, of course wishing she could run around with them. Sam has such a personality already, if you are not paying attention to her she lets an upset scream to get you to look at her, she loves being apart of the crowd; if we are sitting at the table for dinner without her she gets quite upset, and she love to smile and laugh. Some of her milestones are:

• Weight: Around 16 pounds
• Not sure what her height is, but definetly shorter than her two brothers where at this age.
• Size 2 shoes, 6-9 month sleepers, and 6 months clothes.
• Has her two bottom teeth!!
• Absolutely no hair, poor baby, I'm sorry Sissy, I think that comes from my side.
• She has been sitting up by herself for around two months now, so she has that down pat.



• She is starting to wiggle her way around the floor and trying her legs out at crawling. She has made a few inches on her hands and knees attempting the crawling motion, but hasn't taken off yet.

Health Food, Exercise, and Beauty!!

I have finally found something to blog about other than my wonderful family. I have been on a health kick these past few months and thanks to my new addictive show "Dr. Oz," I am learning more about health and beauty each day and are eager to try some of these things. So, I thought why not take you on this wonderful journey with me, so you could try them yourselves, or just laugh at me and how crazy I sound! :)

• For food I am going to try new healthy versions of our family favorites, new low calorie recipes, and favorite health drinks. Since my kids LOVE pancakes ( and when I say love, I mean they could quite possibly eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner), I thought I would begin with vegan pancakes!! I will post later the recipe, pictures, and how the taste testers rate this new favorite. Because after all I do not want to post anything that does not have my approval, and most importantly the approval of my kids (including my husband).
• Next, there are so many beauty items out there, from trying to look younger, moisturizers, and many others, that sometimes I get lost and don't know where to begin. Now, I know I am only 27 and hardly need a anti-aging serum, but there are others that will benefit my younger skin and I am eager to try them.

• And last but not least, the thing that a lot of you dread. Me being one of them, exercise is quite hard to get motivated to do, seeing how I have three kids, five times the laundry, a house to clean that never is clean, and a homemade meal every night to cook. But, believe it or not getting past the initial get up off my butt and move, I feel more motivated and more energized than ever. Today I actually ran with my mom, which probably has never happened in my whole life, and we have decided to set a goal!!! Yeh!!! At the end of May there is a benefit run in Chico, Ca. and we are going to run a 5K. It might not sound like much to some of you, but it is a good start for us. I am going to post you on how we do each week and reveal our big day when it comes.

So, embark with me on this life changing journey, that I am so eager to share with you, and my family is unfortunately forced to go along with. But, they will thank me later you'll see!! Can't wait to share with you all of our adventures! Beginning with vegan pancakes tomorrow morning!!!

Veggi Chili? What??! Yes Pure Goodness!!

As most of you know I LOVE to cook. It is my relaxing time, sound weird, yes I know, but I love getting into the kitchen and making new things. I am NOT a big fan of chili, but lately I am looking for good eats that the husband will approve of and I will not gain a million pounds. So this veggie chili is so hearty and scrumptious, with a little bit of a kick and full of wonderful spice. The best thing about it is that it only has 240calories for two heaping ladles and a whopping 8grams of fiber. I know I am a little bit of a health nut lately, but I feel great and have more energy to keep up with my three energizer bunnies. Give this a try, you will love it and those meat lovers out there, you might miss the meat, but it is very good without.

1 Can Pinto Beans
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Kidney Beans
1 Cup Corn (frozen or canned; frozen is better for you)
1/4 Cup Lentils ( love these little black beauties)
1 28 oz canned whole tomatoes
2 Cups Veggie Broth
1 Onion, diced
5 Cloves garlic
2 Bell Peppers ( Red and green go great together)
1 Heaping tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cocoa powder (weird, but adds a wonderful flavor; add it trust me)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne ( I wouldn't add more, you might overpower the whole dish)
dash of soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
Some pepper and Paprika to taste.

Saute onions, bells, and garlic; then add rest of ingredients and simmer for 30 mins. or until you are ready to eat.
Absolutely fab the next day!!! Sorry I didn't get a picture before we all chowed down. Give it a try you'll love it.

Six Months

It is hard to believe that my baby girl is already six months, but on the other hand it seems like she has been in this family for ever. She is now six months and growing fast. She is a very petite girl, not much to her, but her personality makes up for lack of weight. She absolutely loves her brothers and enjoys watching them play. She definitely wants to be part of the crowd. If we are eating dinner at the table and she is somewhere else she gets upset because she wants to be apart of the conversation. She rolls over both ways like a champ, and will sit up by herself for awhile until she gets excited about something and falls over. In the past week she is really trying to crawl. She gets quite frustrated when she can't get anywhere. I feel it won't be long before she takes off!!