Perfect Fall Yesteday.

The kids listened and played so very well together starting from Friday I couldn't believe it, I didn't have to cook or clean up for 2 nights in a row, my husband surprised me with a new cookware set I had my eye on . The only set back was getting our new elliptical shipped to us, spent 2 days putting it together, plug the damn thing in and NOTHING. We are assuming its a busted computer after all the trouble shooting failed but we kind of let that one roll off our backs today because today, this day was a PERFECT day it was ALL about family and only family.

We had nowhere to go, no soccer, no ballet, no lunches, no bible studies, no work call, nothing and it was fabulous. We made Halloween cookies, watched a movie, carved pumpkins, had a very long lazy lunch and somehow we even managed to squeeze in a family pile nap on the couch at one point (sounds very cute but not so comfortable or very long). Its one of those days that you wished didn't end.
(yes, if your looking closely that is a spider pumpkin and a deranged bunny pumpkin made with yellow zucchini)

Party of the year!!

We laughed, we ate, we took a million pictures and we loved our little boy turning one year old. To think back a year ago I can state the obvious of how uncomfortable and huge I was, or how I was nesting and folding baby clothes till late in the night. Those were days of preparation and anticipation but regardless of having children before you never are prepared for how full  your heart can become, how you can go on no sleep and feel no pain just from the high of love that you have for this new warm life snuggled on your chest. He was again more than I could have hoped for and he is still a high I can run on when I am empty.

I love you Adrian and you have made this family more beautiful for being in it. 

I have always loved the Very Hungry Caterpillar book and so that is where the theme grew from. I had a fabulous baker from Jackson Michigan 'Oh Susannah' make the Very hungry Caterpillar cake for me and she did a fabulous job. We had chocolate covered cherry, raspberry puree and marshmallow filled cupcakes. Everyone was very impressed and very full.

We had family up for the entire weekend to celebrate Adrian's birthday and it was really a joy. Adrian never once was too overwhelmed by the attention, the singing and the presents but I do thank the nap he had an hour or so before things started to that! He of course had his first taste of sugar with his first cupcake and he ate that thing in its entirety without making a peep just savoring the wonderful thing that is FROSTING. Adrian loved his birthday and the thing he loved the most where the balloons.


 

A few questions answered

I thought I would close out the week with a few questions I have been asked before which mean someone is mildly interested in my life, which does wonders for my social acceptance issues! HA!

1. What is your favorite blog? I think if I thought about this too much it would take me longer to decide but honestly the blog post I look forward to the most is HYPERBOLE AND A HALF! She is a literary genius and my husband, mom, sister all gather around the computer laughing at her genius! GO Run RIGHT NOW and check it out!

 

 2. Who is your favorite designer? Hands down Michael Kors! I alas can't afford most of his fabulous designs. I am currently obsessing over this

 3. The thing I struggle most with my marriage? I have to say is remembering to be more sensitive to my husband on a day to day basis. I get so caught up in maintaining the household, kids, and scheduling everyone that I forget that he is not on vacation from 8am to 5pm but has also been working. I want to hand off the kids so I can have a moment of quiet, basically asking him to keep them away from me while I cook dinner so they are not crawling in the dishwasher or asking for a snack in 20 creative ways before we eat. I know he is tired and need decompression time but I often forget and throw him from one job to another. Something I need to work on.

4. My biggest judgmental moments? Its a toss up between politics and beauty pageants and I know that sounds weird. If I coudl let loose and be completely Judgy McJudger, I refuse to even listen to why people put their babies and children in beauty pagents, I think its wrong, disgusting and unfortunate. Second politics or peoples view of them. When people are staunch Republican or Democrats and hate the other side just for being so. Its ignorant and puts us as a functioning society a hundred steps back. I know that is asinine and seems non progressive in itself but I don't hate either group of these people but hate the ideal instead.

5. My favorite recipe I make? Lamb meatballs and lasagna roll ups. Its simple and fabulous.

1 pound ground lamb
1 tsp. cumin
a handful of fresh chopped parsley
2 cloves minced garlic
1 egg (room temp)
sea salt
1Tbs fresh or freeze dried basil
Sm. package of crumbled feta

mix it all together in 2 tbl spoon meatballs put on broiler rack in oven 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
lasagna rollups- boil lasagna till done. mis feta, riccota, mozzerella, fresh parsely,basil and salt. spread mix on lasagna roll up place vertically in glass dish and cover with diced tomatoes mixed with pressed garlic,salt and a 1/2 pound pitted kalamata olives diced. spread over lasagna roll ups and bake at 350 for 15-20 mins.
ITS FABULOUS.

6. Thing I would change about myself if I could? I am tempted to say a boob job but that's an obvious go to after 3 babes. Honestly I really wish I had the motivation and know how to do my hair everyday. If I could just do my hair everyday I know I would feel better about myself as a whole but that's hard when you realize it 4pm and you have yet to do anything but throw it in a lazy, frizzy ponytail. The days I do my hair I feel more organized and put together. It sounds to simple to be a wish but it is!

Go ahead and leave a comment answering a few of these questions yourself!!

You think your kids is awesome, they have nothing on my daughter!

First I will show you the pics because it hard to describe with out a visual aid.

 She is your typical 5 year old, quirky, rambunctious, mouthy, loving, mommas girl and anxiously awaiting her first day of kindergarten BUT, this little sweetheart is hiding a deep dark secret underneath that cute smile and I do mean that literally. Are you ready for this?, because I was SOO not ready for this shocker!

Do you see IT? My little girl is a shark! I noticed this little surprise during church and instead of being able to run to the internet to figure out what kind of issue this truly was I had to sit there for another 40 minutes listening to the pastor on the sermon on the mount but kept having mixed visions of Kya growing her full set of "shark teeth" and Jesus beating her off with a stick! So anyways as soon as I could get my hands on the trusty internet I found that this is a common problem and is ironically called "shark mouth". After the shock wore off I thought "how the hell did I never hear about this if its so common?" So once again you are not fully prepared for these little surprises along the road. So the question is really what are we going to do about it? She has a dentist appointment on the 9th and the dentist will tell us if we leave them till the adult teeth rot out the baby teeth root (disgusting) and they fall out or he may have to pull the baby teeth so the adult teeth can move forward properly.  So let me be the "shark tale" to all you mothers out there, this stuff happens its apparently normal and besides that fact it will still shock the crap out of you!

My crazy zoo boys!

The decibel level in my house with 3 kids and 2 dogs is deafening sometimes but I love the noise.

Soooo I'm lazy or too busy.

I feel bad loyal followers that I have not updated in a week but with back to school coming, last weekends garage sale, Adrians 1st birthday party to plan and my sons new crazy soccer schedule I'm getting a whole lot of nothing done and running around like a crazy woman or as much as I want to be getting done! So for the next little while I will be hit or miss. Although I'm not sure why I'm apologizing for my apathy I'm sure many of you had no idea I had gone! Alright now I feel better and worse at the same time because 1. this is not an interesting post and 2. that I explained my absence. Enjoy the last of August, I know I will as I'm trying to soak in every bit of summer that is  left with the kiddies.

The kids taught me a lot this week!

You get cocky after a few kids, with your confidence in how well you schedule everyone, run the house and manage not losing your mind in the process. Then either your rose colored glasses fall off or just plain ol' reality sets in that in fact you DO NOT have it all under your badly manicured thumb and can be surprised daily.
What the kids taught me this week were not life lesson but lessons nonetheless.

1. Being an 8 year old boy around other 8 year boy all playing soccer means that he will not converse with you while you are on the sidelines asking him question. You are on your own and he does not know you until he needs food or water.

2. A 10 moth old refuses to nice and neatly feed himself so that the food falls on his over size bib but feeds himself so that it only falls beside him to stick to the fabric covering  and his pants. So I have refused to put the adorable cover on the highchair (the reason I bought it) so I can just disinfect it after each meal with out doing a load of laundry and save a lot of time! It now does not look cute but is more functional, oh well sa la vie.

3. A 10 month old does know how to feed the dog from the table.

4. 5 year olds are incapable of putting their shoes on unless you actually check to see that they are actually on their little feet because it is possible that you will drive an hour from home get out of the car and hear "Mommy I don't have any shoes on." and then walk your child into Target barefoot to purchase some new shoes.

You will be keeping your eyes to your nose as people MUST be judging you, thinking how you are an incapable and neglectful mother. Put some rocking new pink Converse shoes on her and then hear "your the best mommy" and be suddenly okay with the whole situation.


5. When an 8 year old is allowed toe ride in the front seat he automatically thinks he is DJ Jazzy Fresh, allowed to rule the radio an CD player with a 5 year old shouting request like a 13 yr old at a New Kids On The Block concert ( is that reference out of date?) from the back seat!

6. You will never get used to the first time your baby says mama out of the blue while eating dinner and smiles at you. You also forget that you go crazy and become addicted to them saying it over and over again like crack until your husbands says "hon give him a break".

7. An 8 year olds socks can smell so bad coming out of their soccer bag that it can make you dry heave.

It's official I'm not 20 anymore. McFatty Monday

Regardless of birthday gifts, cake, candles and friends all gathering at your favorite restaurant. Aging doesn't always click. Do we celebrate birthdays to say "Congrats you didn't die this year."?  "Congrats and hey, try not to die this coming year so we can party again".? or is it " Congrats and we better party because you are saying goodbye to the best years of your life"? Yeah those might be a slight morbid but in my opinion more accurate than not! So I haven't been 20 for a while and I'm fine with it as long as I felt young or as young as you can feel after 3 kids. Feeling young to me is possessing the ability to stay up late, wake up early and still function, falling and healing without breaking a stride. endless endurance that could come from eating Mountain Dew, cold pizza, taco bell  non stop and not calling in to work with stomach cramps and bathroom runs. Each year I take better and better care of my body and I seem to have less and less of those qualities.
So the big realization that I am not 20 anymore is not because my** birthday is coming up but because yesterday I played in a 4v4 sand volleyball tournament with some friends and I experienced something completely new. Fear of getting hurt, being right about getting hurt, complaining like my grandmother about my feet, and drinking a gallon of water just to be able to stand up right. This all proved to me more that if I want to be "Demi Moore in shape" as I get older ( yes I do realize the she is a result of good genes and plastic docs though)
I need to freaking get on the ball.

When did you realize that you are not immortal and have to try harder?

and no there are no fabulous pictures of me eating sand at this glorious event so don't ask.

No-Go BlogHer blog hop and questions!!!

 

Yes I do wish I could go to BlogHer but I'm not sure if its because that it would be three days of not being  "a  full time mom". Wear heels without carrying a diaper bag and dropping kids off to soccer or to network with other great mom bloggers that I love! Either way life did not have it in the cards. The kids are hitting a climax of activity this time of year and with a husband on call as much as he is there is no way I could make it. So I am stoked (is stoked still a cool word to use?) to be joining the NoGo BlogHer!

 
 When did you start blogging? I never even knew anything of the blogging world till I joined a site called The Bump during my last pregnancy with my son and started talking to other moms out there and seeing what blogs where all about.  
 
Why did you start blogging?
I loved the idea of blogging first. I have always as a kid wanted to keep a diary. I had locked unicorn diaries,  Lisa Frank diaries and many other glittery things that I never finished. I always started out well with 2 weeks of solid entries and then blank pages. So the idea of blogging and having a record of my life was very intriguing.  

What is one thing you are doing this week that is way cooler than attending BlogHer?
We have swim lesson for the kids the rest of the week and then Saturday I was asked to play in a 4v4 sand volleyball tournament. Right now I'm thinking "how the hell am I not going to die while I pretend to be 22 again". UGH! 

Share a post that is your favorite or the best description of you.
     http://nicolesspirit878.blogspot.com/2010/04/5-things-about-us.html

My thought on "the mom tattoo".

Today we went and had little Kyas hair cut at a new salon in town and as I was being type A all over the hairdresser to make sure they didn't give her the "pineapple" cut I noticed  the stylist on break lounging in her chair with a little tattoo on her foot and it intrigued me.  She had a small pair of scissors tattoo in just black and white something similar looking to this.

Now I have been thinking for years now about getting a tattoo and what I could live with for the rest of my life. I really was struck by this young hairdressers choice because its her career, maybe her passion and apparently something she can and will live with for the rest of her life. I thought about other professionals that decide to have it imprinted forever on their bodies.

Seamstress                                                                         

Chefs

To have the guts to put this on yourself you had better be dang good at your job otherwise you just kinda look like well...an ass.

Now as a stay at home mother what kind of instrument displays my joy of motherhood? A diaper? A bottle? A soccer schedule? Folded laundry? A child climbing my leg? The more I thought about it I realized unlike many professions out there motherhood has no specific instrument that defines your "job". So I'm still thinking about what I want to get but it could be years away still or maybe next month but I do know its not any easy decision and the only thing I do know I carry everyday as I do my "job" is a heart bursting with love. Although I don't think that a graphic tattoo of a heart bursting is going to look very good.

Do you have any tattoos? What do you think is the best mom tattoo?

The kids new favorite game and a giveaway!

I was contacted by JumpStart a few weeks ago to test out their program for kids and I graciously accepted. I wasn't sure what to expect. I consider myself a kid game conasuir. We own the Playstion 3, Wii, Leapfrog Leapster x2 and the DS. I know what is appropriate for kids, what is easy for kids, what is actually educational for kids and what if fun for any age between 4-10.

Also because of this overload of gaming systems in our house the kids are critical of games and get bored very easily, so we were really a great family to review this. We logged in together and since the minute they got to custom design their character they were HOOKED. They love it and I love it. The kids love the fact that it is a free range game that allows them to go and do whatever they want. If they want to follow a laid out adventure they can and receive certain special prizes. They are responsible for how far they go and can advance by earning coins by playing many games in adventure land and spend their earned credit to make changes to the character or homes. The game offers many educational games put in a fun field for kids so that they are actually having fun but learning and sharpening their reading, math or logic skills while they do it.  I love how I can sit in the other room and hear "awesome", "that's sweet" "mom come look at my score". So bravo to JumpStart and their product.

Now on to fun stuff for you. JumpStart is a membership only site and they have generously offered to provide one of my lucky readers a 3-month completely free membership. WOOT! If you have a child between ages 5-10 I would really recommend you sign up.

**Now for the details**
Mandatory entry:  Like JumpStart on Facebook
                             Tell me who you want the membership for

 Extra entries:  Follow the JumpStart blog
                      Follow my blog
                      Follow me on twitter

Leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure you have an email for me to contact you in case of a win! Good luck and check out there site. Giveaway will close on August 8th at midnight.

“Disclosure: I was provided with a JumpStart membership at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.”

So are we in this together?

My husband at dinner last night made the grandiose statement of "okay enough is enough , I need to get back in shape". I have heard him say he was getting back in shape a dozen times all with no results. He was always chubby and I have to admit that I kind like a chubby guy. Alas I was excited to hear this news because I know that doing the weight loss thing alone has been a failure and in all honesty I am kinda hoping that it can only improve our sex life..right? If I have a partner, my husband by my side admonishing each other during this journey I think we may very well have lasting results. So he has committed to using that much neglected gym membership and I saw him pack his gym clothes while getting ready this morning. I have not decided what I am going to do for an exercise routine but I know I have a slew of DVDs collecting dust. We both can no longer use the excuse of baby weight because well... hes not a little baby any more and it was a cope out originally anyways. So wish us luck as we keep each other in line, encourage each other when we are too tired to push it for 30 more minutes and giving each other the side eye when we reach for some cookies at 10 pm.

Welcome to the new view and oh yeah, a rocking giveaway.

 THE WINNER IS http://marblesrolling.blogspot.com/ 

CONGRATS

So I have taken a little hiatus, while my blog was being redesigned by the fabulous, creative blog savior Laura Jane. I just threw a few pics her way and a VERY broad idea of what I wanted and she created this. She has a knack for what she does and is now number 1 on my referral list. I love it and it really fits me so perfectly. If your looking to reinvent yourself, look like a million bucks but not spend a million she is YOUR girl, go run and check her out.  http://laurajanedesigns.blogspot.com/  Okay enough singing her praises but I really could go on. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Okay so a couple of weeks ago I had received an e-mail from an anonymous reader who said that they would read more often if I did less fluff pieces and something more real and meaty. I never thought I was fluff but I looked through my archives and ...yeah I'm a little fluffy. I find it hard to blog honestly and as grotesque as I want to be sometimes because people read this, that I may not want to be burdened by my rough edge writing. So right now I am writing a disclaimer. There may be some things here in the future that may not be so puppies and rainbows. Things that will leave me open for judgment and paint a more realistic picture on my thought process through marriage, motherhood and everything between which I am realizing is less and less these days. Now what is my first blog nitty gritty post... I have no idea but please don't hate me if its pictures of our new dog! ::shamed::

Now for a very exciting giveaway which I know EVERYONE can love. My brand new obsession

ROCKIN GREEN Detergent

I will be giving away one Rockin Green detergent or Pail freshener of the winners choice. I have tried a few different detergents for my cloth diapers and they were all OKAY but nothing really stood out and worked. This product has done both. A scented detergent, that is free of dyes, chemicals, enzymes. It works on the most sensitive butt and the hardest waters. I really love the concept behind this product and the results that live up to the name. The site is very informative and can answers anything you can think of regarding wash.  

http://rockingreensoap.com/
Now our family has a front loading HE washer and dryer and we have always used an HE free and clear detergent but we are switching primarily to Rockin Green for ALL our laundry. We love the scents and my husband is very grateful for the pail freshener in Smashing Watermelons, its smells deliciously edible and edible is not exactly what one thinks when thinking of a "wet bag"

RULES- 
 Mandatory entry- Visit Rockin Green detergent and tell me what product you would like if you win. That's it. Must be done for additional entries to be counted
                            

Extra Entries-
                       - Tweet this giveaway
                          RockinGreen Detergent Giveaway http://nicolesspirit878.blogspot.com/                           One tweet per day- leave separate comment for each tweet.

                      -Tell me a topic you would like me to blog about (one entry)
                  
                      -Join my fabulous new blog. 
    
                      -Join me on twitter (button on top of the page)
                     
Giveaway ends 7/31 at midnight and the winner will be chosen at random through random.org

Its that easy. Good luck and check out my new favorites   
http://laurajanedesigns.blogspot.com/
http://rockingreensoap.com/

Sitting in the grass with fluffy butt!

ADRIAN ZIV

This child has tested my mothering abilities more than my other two ever had as a infant and baby. He is often demanding, is VERY attached to me and only me, did not sleep for 7 months and still does not take good naps.I could keep going but really most of it is your normal run of the mill parenting struggles. Every morning when he stand up in his crib smiles and jumps up and down, all of my stress melts away. When he tries to give me kisses and I have drool running down my cheek, all of my worries melt away. When he cuddles with me before bedtime, playing with my hair and looking in my eyes not a thing in this world could ever be more important. He is proof your heart can bust at the seams with love.

Who's better Working mom or Stay at home mom? Part 1

Well first off let me say that with the blogspehere on fire with this question lately I have yet to read a post that is not biased but desperately trying to make one or the other group feel bad. All of them have been and everyone has an agenda they would like to get across and that's fine but don't disguise it as "I'm a blessed stay at home mom" and sum it up with I could never work, not that there is anything wrong with that. We can all hear the judging under tones. There also have been a lot of "I work, still do the laundry and raise a happy baby" holier than thou statements and I know that's a bunch of BS too.
Now will this post be completely unbiased? Probably not but I'm not going to lie and say that it is because blogs should be about saying what ever you want and who cares if a couple people stop following you.
I have done the working mother thing and I have done the stay at home thing. Which is better? When my first son was born I had to go back to work at 6 weeks even after he was in NICU for 2 and I had a c-section I was not ready for that at all. I went to work 2nd shift and my husband at the time worked 1st. We traded off baby and I worked close enough (walking distance) that he would bring him in to my work to breastfeed because I refused to give that up so soon and I really thought that I was super mom. A mere month later all that stopped when my work suffered or I could no longer get away and I pumped when I could but the bottle was inevitable. My husbands and I's relationship dissolved and looking back I can't even pinpoint the main problem. Blame it on age, blame it one work but apparently no one wanted to work hard enough on the marriage and I moved out. So I was doing the single mom thing and that kicked my ass. There are many moments of his first years I don't even remember and it was because I was working all the time and between split custody I just plain ol missed out on them. Did I have a choice but to work? No. I had to work but I still felt so guilty. Many women say "why do you feel guilty? women have worked hard to get where we are and you should take advantage of the education and career options you have, make your children proud". I still felt guilty, and I would still change it if I could and I could not explain it away or justify it. It plain sucks to drop your kid off to daycare to have someone else feed, change and play with them so that you can work and barely pay that bill alone. It was a catch 22 and I felt bad everyday. Now when I had my daughter I was back in a relationship but the worse one imaginable and I worked and I felt ridiculously guilty this time as well. I made good money, my hours sucked and I got home in time to do everything domestic, do my part in parenting and it started all over again before I had a chance to breath. Working mothers say how that you can have it all and I have to disagree, whenever you have more than one working mother in a room with another, the conversation will turn to how hard it is to leave them and the guilt they sometimes feel. Do they say they want to stay home NO and for good reason because that's not awesome either all the time. Some people have great jobs, they worked very hard to get and they do "want it all" so they juggle as best they can but that is what they are doing juggling. You can set up an Army regimented schedule for everyone to follow and you can work, cook dinner, clean the house, do the shopping, have a relationship with your significant other, sleep and be a good parent BUT and yes there is a but because in my years of doing the working mom thing I felt like I was BARELY doing all of those, yes I did them and yes I was good at what I was doing and to the outside world I looked like I was really holding it together but honestly I felt like I was walking the thinnest line and one little breeze could throw it all spiraling out of control. The guilt that would occur after realizing that I COULD NOT spend as much time as I wanted on the kids or Fill in the blank was overwhelming. I was committed and unfortunately I was committed to my job first and if many mothers are honest you are too because you cant just call in day after day to take your child's needs first without losing said job and you can't just leave when you want if they get sick instead you sit at your desk dialing a bunch of numbers to figure out who can get there instead of you because you HAVE to stay. I felt like this and I don't think many mothers explain this feeling well enough to future working mothers. To the mothers that have the choice to work not have to work you are in a different realm because you no that you can take it or leave it you had to but being cornered in your working status is a very taxing feeling. Its hard, Its stressful and its demanding. I am saying this even if you have some great job you love, I would assume you still would feel this pull. Now not all situations are the same. I worked 40+ hours a week and at one point I had an hour commute both ways, I worked some weekends and holidays. Those things really add to the hard task of working with kids. Now after I said all of that, even in my guilt to drop them off at the sitter at God awful early hours, there where days I was happy to go to work and I dreaded coming home (no one saw that coming)I knew how much work awaited me at home and at work at least I had a set schedule of what needed done and after a very long day of working knowing that you are going home to everyone NEEDING you, physically and emotionally was mentally draining to prepare for and there where many days I was not prepared and I got by, by going through the motions and it is to this day the hardest thing I have ever had to do.
I have realized that I am now making this a 2 parter because there is too much to read here as it is. I'm looking forward to the comments and I'm sure some will be a shame on you but remember I said before this is not unbiased and I still don't think I have joined a side on this debate. Stay tuned for part 2 in a day or so.

Our vacation and hurricane Alex

So we booked our vacation for Riviera Maya 2 months ago and we counted down everyday till we left. We arrived in Mexico on Thursday and it was beautiful weather, the resort was fabulous and the food was PHENOMENAL. We booked an adults only resort and I'll tell you if your traveling without kids that is the way to go, no screaming, no splashing at the pool, and no complaining in the restaurants.
It was all 5-star treatment the whole time we were there and between 8 restaurants, 5 bars we were a very indulged couple the whole time. Little did we know that hurricane Alex also wanted to go on vacation in Mexico and everyday after our first day there was full of extreme winds, and sideways rain but it did not stop us from sitting in that hot tub ordering drinks. It was still 80+ degrees out so us Michiganders didn't hesitate and let the big bad hurricane stop us from enjoying it. Many tourist stayed inside playing Monoploy but we opted out of being losers and stuck it out.

 The picture above is me thinking taking a shot of Sake would be good, the next picture is of me trying to not vomit up said Sake.

We did hit up the spa a couple days and there is nothing better than getting a couples massage and then still be on vacation after. We met a fabulous crew of people and did almost everything together. Our room was amazing, and i am going to pre-apologize to parents and parent like figures in my life for the next statement but vacation sex is truly awesome and was much needed. We connected to home by Facebook and internet. My lovely sister nannied for us the whole time, which gave us such a safe feeling about everything back home. So we left the morning that Hurricane Alex passed the Yucatan by and we flew out in gorgeous weather.

 

In the end though we were completely ready to go home to our babes.

I'm leaving on a jet plane and I'm pumped.

Mimosas, swim up bar, sleeping in Late, yoga on the beach and time alone with my amazing husband! We are going on vacation and we could not be more excited. Its our first "official" trip away as we never did the honeymoon thing, husbands work schedule just didn't allow it and instead of going on a trip we got a Jeep Commander so that kinda blew the budget. So we are leaving today for Secrets Capri in the Riviera Maya.

Obviously I won't be posting for a bit but I will be posting plenty of pictures and resort reviews when I get back. Have a great week everyone!

I'm not doing this ALL for me.

I used to be that chick and I still have my moments where if  there was a big lady walking and wearing way too tight of clothing  and rocking a camel toe like a Grammy I was the first to comment on how I would never allow myself to get that big or wear such inappropriate clothing. Well Karma is a bitch because all too often I now find myself showing ass crack for all to see because I'm in some loop hole in the universe where my butt is either to big to fit in the jeans or the jeans are too loose and either way the result is me showing off my crack. Completely embarrassing! I used to have a staple of tank tops and shorts for summer and now the shorts cut my circulation off and the tank tops are made of Lycra or something because they cling to me like I'm in some wet t-shirt contest. I never thought I would be "that girl" but it didn't take much to get "there" and most days I don't think I look that bad at all. So all of those times where I judged someone based on their outfit I am fully reaping what I sowed.
My sister the skinniest person alive and 17 informed me the other day how her and her boyfriend where holding back from vomiting when a lady in a bikini top bent over and she had all kinds of stomach fat rolls smooshing together. Yeah, to realize that I am probably going to be the butt of someones joke (no pun intended) is sad but deserved since I used to do it.
Everyone always says how "I'm losing weight for me", but if we are honest we are ALSO doing it because we want to look like a hot mom at the pool, we want our husbands to look at us like he did at our wedding, or simply to buy the clothes off the rack and not have to dig through the bottom shelves where they keep "the fat clothes". I fully admit that I am not trying to lose weight for myself, I am trying to lose weight for many other silly reasons which put much unnecessary stress on myself but I think we all do that!
The other day at the lake with the kids while I am fully clothed sitting in my lounge chair knitting, I checked out this girl that was swimming with her boyfriend (we also have to admit we totally check out other chicks). I started thinking to  myself "God I would kill for those thighs" the kind that won't wear out a pair of jeans if worn for 5 hours. Then I thought "Why do I not have a stomach you can bounce a coin off of?" I was thinking all these depressing thoughts till I over hear them saying "I'm so excited next year we get to go to Junior prom". Switch over to me with my mouth wide open and then I was thinking "What the hell?, I'm dying to look like a 16 year old?" That thought put it all in perspective. This girl has barley hit puberty, has not had thee babies, has not breastfed three babies, is not in her late 20's. So why should I expect to look like that?  The answer is easy... I WILL NEVER LOOK LIKE A 16 YEAR OLD. I think I'm okay with that now because  I'm pretty darn normal for what I have done and for that I have to be grateful, or at least I'm trying.

Wanna see what we do on Wednesdays?

We have been blessed to become involved at a local farm Natures Bounty. We have been interested in bounty baskets, organic meat (in bulk), organic eggs,raw milk and butter. They have it all and are a phenomanal family to boot. They share so many of our personal beliefs about wholesome living, that I love being able to support them and their farm. Amy and Lowell run a great, organized, clean and healthy farm. Its small but not really.

We get a lot of questions about raw milk and even a few of you readers have e-mailed me questions. Now first my husband being a doctor we really have researched everything about raw milk and the benefits are too much too ignore. I love that with our milk we can make sour cream, cream cheese, or add cream to any recipe I'm making.Click here for more facts on raw milk

I am going to just state some of the big factors in why we chose raw milk for our family:
*Raw milk is the natural unaltered milk usually from cows, goats or sheep but in some countries it is camel or buffalo. It is not heated above the animal's highest body temperature which is usually 101-105 degrees F. (38 degrees C.) Raw milk is not pasteurized, homogenized or frozen, nor has it been altered with additives, chemicals, light or homogenization.

*They add large amounts of dolomite (mined calcium carbonate, that is rock) to make it white and add irradiated hydrogenated vegetable oil as Vitamin D. Hydrogenated oil has the same molecular structure as plastic unlike natural raw milk.

* 90% of cows are milked during pregnancy, they are only allowed to nurse for a few weeks and then the calves are put on supplement and the mother is put on the milking line and will stay there while inseminated gets pregnant again and that causes many problems with the milk such as: IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor),bovine growth hormone (rBGH),placenta-derived progesterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
All of these things increase acne,early periods,earlybreast development, immature body stimulation in boys.

I have a big problem with over processed, chemical like substances called food and I blame and point fingers at companies like Monsanto.http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/genetically-engineered-foods.htm  (please click on this link)

Anyways the main purpose of this post is to think outside of the box, support your local farmers,visit farmers market and be a healthy example for your family!