Starting a new journey

After a year off, I've thought and thought about what journey I would like to take. I am beginning a journey to lose weight, get fit and stay healthy. I will be using this blog to track my progress. I will blog the ups and downs. The wins and fails. I will be beginning the journey on October 1st. I look forward to sharing this journey with you all.

so much is happening

So much is happening !!! Since April we've been to over 10 Dr appts and finally have found that our youngest has  asthma. And possibly allergies. We've been so busy working with doctors to make sure she gets the right treatment plan worked out .she goes on the 26th for allergy testing and then we will have our long-term plan made up. but things are slowing down ,so I'mback to blogging and this week I'll be sharing some amazing products with you (: stay tuned.

Pulmonologist?!

So our Son Brennan has asthma which we've known since he was 5 months old. 


Our youngest , Shania, Has had Multiple occurrences of pneumonia since she was born so now we have a referral over to a pulmonologist to have some testing done to see if she has asthma, or Just had a really crappy winter.


Has anyone else taken an 18 month old to a pulmonologist ? How was the appointment?
She walks and is a wiggle worm so I'm hoping the appointment is not too terribly hard because she is not going to like it :(

Aden + Anais Dream Blankets

I recently had made a purchase for a dream blanket - unfortunately, after just one wash following exact manufacturer instructions the blanket had a hole.  I was heartbroken , as was Sweet Shania Renai - This was the ONLY blanket she liked and she would not sleep without it .

I contacted Aden + Anais and had quickly recieved an email asking for specifics about the blanket and they replaced it so quickly!!! I highly recommend these blankets to EVERYONE -- Child or Adult - They are so soft and their customer service is AMAZING!
Also -- they have new prints that are TOO CUTE!!!!!!!
and they have adult sized dream blankets ( daydreams )

so check them out!! 

on facebook -
on twitter - 
on instagram-
on pinterest- 
and on youtube 

Freddie Atlas - Amazing Music!!!!

*** Disclosure - I did receive payment for my review. All opinions are my own. All opinions are honest. ******

Let me introduce  you to what I'm sure will be one of your new musical favorites....Freddie Atlas

His Bio States " Born in 1988 as Frederic Casimir in Montreal (Canada), Freddie Atlas is a singer, songwriter and accomplished pianist. His central passion in childhood was to capture people’s imagination with tricks and entertainment.
Two of Freddie’s four academic degrees are from the Berklee College of Music. After his professional education, Freddie relocated to New York City in 2012 and started his career performing on the Lower East Side scene as a background singer for up-and-coming artist Katherine Hernandez.
His sound is unique – combining a 90’s pop touch with a hint of impressionism (late nineteenth century classical music). Freddie’s vision is to capture people’s imagination with the sounds of the human experience; psychology, impressions, time, universal love, pain and dreams. His fashion style and sound are polarized, bringing contemporary visuals to the classic ponders and orchestrations of humanity."

Let me tell you - His sound is Definitely unique. I have never heard music as beautiful as it is played by him. He takes simple songs and takes them to a whole new level -
I had the pleasure of listening to 2 of his covers, as well as 2 originals.

I will be reviewing one of his covers first - He covered  "My Valentine" by Paul McCartney , which is a bold move in and of itself -  I have never heard a cover of music by Paul McCartney that I liked... Until today - Freddie puts his own spin on it and makes it hauntingly beautiful  -
Now i'm a country girl-  You'll find country music on my radio at all times. We throw a mix of things in here and there for the kids but, its about 95% country --- That was, Until today! I will now be following Freddie and listening to all his music as it comes out!!

Next I Listened to his originals "Vain" and "Visions" - His originals are breathtaking - The vocals are beautiful, the music is so unique that really, I can't describe. You really need to check him out for yourself because trust me , It is WORTH the time it takes to listen to some new music..
His originals have a calming sound to them . It's nothing loud or harsh. They are beautiful.

I ended the day listening to his cover of " Wicked Game" - I will admit, this is a song I had never heard before so I searched the original to compare (because what kind of reviewer would I be if I didn't ...).  
I certainly prefer his cover . He brings a unique spin to a song I would typically not listen to, and makes it a song I'd come back and listen to again and again.


In the end , I found a new musician I will be following ( on facebook ) and I look forward to new music coming out --- and I hope you do too!!!

If you'd like, you can head over to facebook and show him some love * and let him know you heard about him here!! *

SAFE email for kids!!! kidsEMAIL.org!

**Disclosure - - - I was given a free trial as well as received payment for my review. All opinions are honest. All opinions are my own. **

Let me start this post by saying, as my kids get older I grow more and more concerned with their access on computers.
You get on a standard email and you're flooded with spam from day 1 no matter what you do.
Bailey and Brennan are turning 7 and 6 this year and with them being more active online , communicating with family via the internet I decided it was time to find a website offering user friendly Email for kids.

There are a lot of things I LOVE about this site, so I'm going to make a list .

• Parents can have copies of all incoming emails sent to their own so they know what has been sent to their child.
• You can add contacts to the child's email so YOU know who the child can email and who they can receive emails from!!
• Filters out bad words (This will filter out the most common bad words in incoming messages. )
• You can set it to remove images and attachments from incoming emails!

• 
  

Brennan go to try it first and it is SO simple to use!! He was able to safely securely email his grandma without any ads popping up!!
His favorite thing is HE got to choose what background he wanted for his email ( and he of course chose race cars) . This website is so cool for kids, and for adults too! I love being able to allow the kids to have an email Without all the unnecessary ads and junk mail following through!!!

The GREAT news is , KIDSEMAIL.ORG has a FREE 30 day trial (NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED!!) So you AND your child can test the site before you get fully involved.
The monthly cost if you choose to continue with your subscription -
Monthly is $4.95 per month OR you can purchase annual get 12 months for $38.95($2.99 month) plus you get an extra month free!!


You can get a better idea of how KIDSEMAIL works by watching this short video







Please also be sure to head over and check out kidsemail.org on FACEBOOK,TWITTER,, PINTEREST - You can even follow them on LINKEDIN

Happy Holidays!!

I hope everyone had an AMAZING Christmas, surrounded by those that they love the most! Ours was as good as it could have been, and now as the year comes to an end we prepare for  Our oldest daughter to have surgery on January 4th, 2016! This is the first surgery she actually knows whats going on so she of course is a nervous wreck, but its a simple surgery so she will be fine !! we also found out she has hearing loss, which we hope will correct itself after having tubes placed in her ear ! I'll be back tomorrow with a review blog :)

Giveaway -

On January 15th - I will be choosing One random follower to receive a $20 e-gift card to Walmart.com!

Simply comment ONCE below with what your goal for the new year is!!!

one thing right after the other!! 4 kids, ALL SICK!

Oh boy, I promise you all, I Would LOVE To have time to sit and blog again. I have so many I want to write, but barely any time.
 We have children all sick with a bug right now....
one had pneumonia, now bug,
one had a cold, now bug.
the older two also caught the bug.
too sick to do anything.

Sauteed Garlic Asparagus Recipe -

So , the other day we were having mac and cheese and I wanted a veggie beside it so I decided to make a sautéed garlic w/ asparagus -

Take one bundle of asparagus, prep it (Cut off dry ends)

4 tbs butter / 2 cloves garlic chopped

sautee for 5 minutes ( or longer depending on how you like your asparagus cooked )

pull out, top with the garlic from pan !
So delicious and so simple.

so much happening!!

OH what a whirlwind the last month has been! Started with me having a few issues with my laptop ( it crashed so i couldnt blog )  and ended with me having a hysterectomy and being out of comission ( so i couldnt blog !) -

SO here is a quick run down of whats going to happen in the next two weeks  - i will return to blogs everyfriday , review some favorite products for babies, toddlers,and  6 year olds - and a GIVEAWAY! Stay tuned! :)

Braised Balsamic Chicken

You'll need

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves 
• 1 teaspoon  garlic salt
• 4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 onion thinly sliced ( I used two, but you could get away with 1 ) 
• 1 can diced tomatoes ( 14.5 oz can , i recommend fire roasted ) 
• 2 cups balsamic vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Prep  approx-10 minutes
Cook Approx -25 minutes
Total - 35 minutes


Step 1 - Season both sides of chicken breast with salt and pepper
Step 2  -Heat oil in skillet over medium - medium/high heat  -Cook chicken until browned (Approx 4 minutes per side ) add onion cook /stir until onion is browned
Step 3- Pour tomatos and vinegar over chicken season with basil,oregano,rosemary , thyme - Simmer until chicken juices run clear ( Approx 15 minutes )
Meat thermometer should read 165* when done!


Serve with a side of  sauteed brussel sprouts or asparagus for a simple delicious meal .



Found on All Recipes 

Baby Led Weaning

"Baby-led weaning (often also referred to as BLW) is a method of adding complementary foods to a baby's diet of breastmilk or formula. A method of food progression, BLW facilitates the development of age appropriate oral motor control while maintain eating as a positive, interactive experience. Baby-led weaning allows babies to control their solid food consumption by "self-feeding" from the very beginning of their experiences with food. The term weaning should not be taken to imply giving up formula or breastmilk, but simply the introduction of foods other than formula or breastmilk." - Wikipedia 

I had heard of baby led weaning with my first two but honestly, I thought it was impossible..that kids could not possibly go without baby food and automatically start on regular table foods. 
I WAS WRONG . 
Since around 7 months i have used baby led weaning with our twin girls. We began feeding them soft foods such as boiled potatos, and fresh avocado. Once they had mastered eating that, we moved on to things such as turkey and chicken! Now at almost a year, they eat anything and everything we put in front of them! They LOVE Gerber arrowroot cookies and Gerber crunchies as well as eating anything our family has (Chicken rice is definitely a favorite! 


To find out more about babyledweaning follow the links below :} 


http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/babyledweaning.htm
https://www.facebook.com/BabyLedWeaningLetYourBabiesFeedThemselves
http://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/feeding-baby/baby-led-weaning-101.aspx

Nu skin Clear Action Acne Medication System!

If you're anything like me, you've had some form of acne at least once in your life.. I have had it my whole life, but my pregnancies always made it worse!

I couldn't stand to go out in public some days, because I was so embarrassed of the bright red blotches all over my face. I tried EVERYTHING. I tried the big name acne medication brands, I tried the store brands and I had all but given up.

Then, I got the chance to try © NU SKIN . I have been using it for two weeks now and the change is  unbelievable!!       

I started out with a lot of redness all over my face, worst than  it has ever been!

The Nu Skin Clear Action Acne Medication system is a very simple system with only 4 products

• Clear Action Cleanser
• Clear Action Toner
• Clear Action Day Treatment
• Clear Action Night Treatment

You start off  with the clear action cleanser which deep cleanses into your pores, and you know it is working because the cleanser  bubbles while it works and turns from white to clear! It leaves your face feeling smooth, but not dry or overly tight!

Next comes the clear action toner! The toner claims to calm "Angry,red skin" - I can testify to that!! I just a few days my skin had already began looking less red!

Then you follow up with the day treatment in the morning, and the night treatment at night!

The day treatment is used to revitalize and protect our complexion  using Salicylic acid that goes into your pores and dissolves the clogs that cause your breakouts.

The night treatment is used to help you wake up with healthier looking skin using  Retinol and their patented alpha lipoic acid that will clear up the remnants of your past breakouts and make your skin smoother!

This picture was taken the day I started  ( 09/ 03/ 2015 )

you can see around my nose the worst spots - Very red, very angry!

before - 9/3/15 

After 1 week  9/10/2015 

You can see a change already! The redness has begun to fade and my skin was definitely feeling smoother! I am a big fan of this product, just from the one week I've used it! 

week 1 - 9/10/15 

And the 2nd week - 9/17/2015!!

Look how clear my skin is. It has literally never been THIS clear. I am very glad i got the chance to try this product ! I know that I will continue use with nu skin because it works for me!!

One more thing I should note is that all of the other brands I tried, my face was left feeling dry, the medication tingled and or made my face feel hot, I never had that issue with this product line, my face is feeling smooth, and healthier, than it ever has!!

Learn More about Nu Skin here !

Buy Nu Skin Clear Action Medication System here! And if you purchase through that link you receive 20% off using the coupon code   EXCLUSIVE20

Slow cooker General Tsos Chicken Recipe!

This is seriously a fast prep ( 15 minutes ) GREAT meal for dinner, you can add or reduce the spice to your liking!

SLOW COOKER GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

COOK TIME

Cook Time -4 hours

TOTAL TIME

4 hours 15 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 5 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3 pounds), cut into 'bite'size pieces
• 4 tablespoons oil ( I used peanut oil! ) 
• 1 cup corn starch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2  teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon pepper

sauce

• 11 tablespoons hoisin sauce( i used a full 8.5 oz jar. )
• 8 tablespoons soy sauce
• 8 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic (or garlic powder)
• 4 tablespoons water
• 4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes ( I used about 1/4 of a cup, but my family loves spice ) 
• Brown Rice For serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oil in a nonstick pan or skillet over medium heat. Whisk together corn starch, salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and pepper.
2. Add corn starch mixture and chicken pieces to a large zip lock bag. Seal and shake to coat chicken.
3. Add coated chicken pieces to pan. Saute 1-2 minutes until browned. (It chicken will still be raw in the middle at this point, that's okay)
4. combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl  and blend . Add half to the crockpot along with chicken pieces. Cook on low for 4 hours.
5. Immediately before serving, Add remaining sauce to the crockpot and stir gently. Serve with rice.

********* This recipe was found on lecremedelacrumb and altered to my families liking *********** 

Favorite Products for Twins -

Today I'm going to write about my favorite products that I have used from Birth - Now ( 10 months )

First are the Fisher-Price Papasan Cradle Swings

These are AMAZING for use from newborn to (Around)6 months...once your baby starts sitting up though... the baby ALWAYS finds ways to escape    ;) 

I got to use them until around 7 months.

I also used the Comfort & Harmony Cradling Bouncer in Merry Monkeys

 Best to take whenever we went to visit family and friends and the babies love the taggies on it!!!

Moving on to learning to sit, and playing we use the Summer Infant 3-in-1 Activity and Booster SuperSeat

This thing is PERFECT for contained play when mom needs to get something done, or for feeding  using the detachable snack tray . . . . . My daughters love gerber puffs and This seat is perfect for using when it is snack time, contains the puff mess. 

We are not fans of walkers and jumperoos, but we did like the exersaucer, although my girls only liked it for a few weeks, and decided they dont want it anymore. 

Homeschooling!!

Today was Baileys Very first day of school!! The best part ?!? She never left!!! She is homeschooling and we are SO excited to take this new road in her life! She is attending K12- Ohio virtual academy . Some schooling is online and some is offline in work books, She did really well for her first day, jumping into her lessons without a problem! She is excited for tomorrow where she will begin science and history as well as continuing language arts and math! So far, her favorite class is Math , but we will see if that changes as the year goes on!

Nuby™ Natural Touch Bottles

** I did not receive product or compensation for this post This is my opinion after a long search for a bottle that my daughters would take**

As mentioned on my 'About Me' blog , I have two older children as well as 10 month old twins . My 10 month old twins were born prematurely.  From the very beginning I pumped to make sure that they got breast milk to make them stronger and grow better so hopefully they could come home from the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). When we finally came home I was determined to get them from bottle onto breast, and after weeks of stress, tears, and moments of just wanting to quit, they FINALLY latched. Ever since then they've been great at latching and eating  never needing a bottle.. That was until, I had surgery. I was forced to give them a bottle and to my surprise , finding a bottle that they would willingly take was painstaking. They got so hungry that they gave up and took the bottle. They didn't like the ones we offered ( They were generic, given to us by the hospital when they were discharged) So I went on a search to find bottles they would take, in case of emergency..  Fast forward 5 months, we had tried every bottle, sippy cup, and regular cup I could think of and they just were not happy.. That was until yesterday, when on my shopping trip ( Where else? Meijer! ) I spotted some bottles I had never seen before.. Nuby™ Natural Touch bottles. The girls took to them instantly without a fight. These bottles are amazing . From the Nuby webpage :  Nuby’s Natural Touch bottle now comes with a NEW super soft nipple. The nipple is inspired by the shape, texture and natural flex of Mom’s breast encouraging babies to latch on more easily. With its wide breast like nipple and unique skin like feel, the Easy Latch nipple encourages natural latch on making it easier to combine breast and bottle feeding. The nipple also features 3 valves that allow air to flow back into the bottle resulting in a continuous feed and contented baby.


-- These bottles are truly the most breastfed baby friendly bottles that I have seen. My daughters take them without question and that is truly a testimony in and of itself . --  Miah-Lee is pictured enjoying her first bottle with Nuby, She literally grabbed the bottle and latched on perfectly! These are going to be our go-to bottles and I cant wait to start exploring more products Nuby offers!

 

You can find the bottles online for $4.05  I purchased a 3 pack with bonus pacifier for $12.99 at Meijer

 

While we were there I also stopped by the teething aisle because well.. both babies have FOUR teeth coming in at the same time .... so they are chewing everything!! That is where I found the  Nuby Chewbies™ Soft Silicone Teether which is a fan favorite for the girls they wont let go of them and they chew ALL day on it .

 

The website is quoted " The new Nûby™Chewbies™ teether’s unique textured design provides comfort to baby’s delicate gums. It provides stimulus to the lips and tongue which promote the transition from nursing to chewing"

 

and it has saved the day Instead of my finger being a chew toy they now play with chewbies!

 

The best thing is the chewbies are only $4.00 online here I believe I paid $3.99 instore at Meijer

 

 

 

 

Find out more about all of the nuby products here

Meijer Mperks - Ways to save :)

If you have a Meijer near you, I highly recommend you sign up for their program " Mperks" . Mperks is a program designed to clip digital coupons and earn rewards for use at checkout simply by entering your 10 digit phone number and pin . You can "clip" Mperks to your account for use on purchases, and there also rewards you can earn ( Such as $12 off a future purchase after spending $425 in total purchases in an allotted amount of time ) They also have a Baby reward program where you get $10 off a future purchase for every $100 you spend on ANYTHING in the baby section! I earn my credits there, especially with Twins in diapers and all the toys and food they need ( HAH! ) Below shows just a few of the current available mperks ( They typically change monthly )
By shopping at Meijer, since signing up for mperks on march 12 I have saved 440.45- $324.50 with their specials , $14.79 ( I just began using these... I haven't know about them long lol )  and $101.36 on Mperks . It may not be a big amount  but that is $440.45 I can spend on other things :)

 

 

*** This is NOT a sponsored post! I selected to write this blog myself as I love mperks and the ways you can save ***

Starting New -

It has been a long time since I did a full blog. . . So I am starting new. That's right. New Blogs. At least ONE per week . About my family, about medical issues that we have faced, or are facing. Coupons available to help get you the best deals you can. Product Reviews  Maybe even some giveaways :) Every Friday there will be a new blog up :)