Our Family's Favorite Toddler Books

Hello! Today I wanted to share with you our family's favorite toddler books. We love to read in our home; the boys get stories before bed every night, and any time they bring a book to us during the day, Matt and I are happy to read to them! We want to instill good reading habits in them and encourage their imaginations through reading!
Here's a list of some of our favorites! 
Anything by Sandra Boynton - her books are funny and have a super fun cadence to them. Our favorites are Hippos Go Berserk, Hey! Wake Up, and The Going to Bed Book.
Goodnight Gorilla - this one really lets us and the boys use their imaginations to tell the story because it's just a picture book. 
Where's Spot? - this one is perfect for young toddlers, because they love to open the flaps.
Little Blue Truck - a fun, rhyming book that also teaches a lesson about helping others, even when they're being stinkers.
Home for a Bunny - a classic. In fact, the copy that we have is the one I had growing up...so it's OLD! I don't know what I like best about it- the gorgeous illustrations or the story line!
The Goodnight Train - it's so soothing for bedtime; it makes me sleep just reading it!
Anything by Mercer Mayer - we love the Little Critter books! They're sweet and funny, but always have a great moral to the story such as sharing 

What are your favorite books to read to your kids?

(Note: none of these links are affiliate links. I do not get paid if you click and purchase)

Easy Healthier "Cookie Dough" Bites | Recipe

My boys love to make cookies with me. Actually, they love to just eat the cookie dough! Who doesn't, right??
While I love to eat scoops of cookie dough, I know that it's really loaded with...well nothing healthy! And quite frankly, I get a stomachache if I eat too much! 
So here's a super easy, quick, healthier version of cookie dough bites that's loaded with protein and other natural ingredients.
I whipped them up after quiet time yesterday since the boys wanted a snack. Ya'll it took me less than five minutes to mix it all together and scoop the dough out on to a plate! I like mine cold, so I put them in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Recipe below...let me know if you make them and how you like them!

"Cookie Dough" Bites

• 1 cup of NonGMO protein powder- I mixed half of with chocolate and half with instant protein powder
• 1 cup of peanut butter
• 1/3 cup of honey

Mix these ingredients together, scoop it onto a plate, chill for a little bit, then enjoy! THAT'S IT!!!
What I really love about this recipe, is that we can add extras to it! This time around, I just mixed it up 'plain,' so they tasted like peanut butter cookies. But you can add chocolate chips, coconut, maybe some flax seed, chia seeds...really the possibilities are endless!
You can use any protein powder, but the Instant Protein and the Chocolate Protein are the only ones we trust for our family!
Have fun with it and mix it up!

Join me on Facebook!

 

Drink to Your Health | Green Smoothie Recipe

Did you get off your normal healthy eating track over the Christmas holiday?  We sure did, but we've found it easy to jump back on the clean eating wagon. Yay!
We love to drink green juices in the mornings. Even our boys love it which is great, because they're not the best at eating green veggies. Sometimes we can get them to eat broccoli or asparagus, but mostly it's a no go. So at this stage in our lives, we're focusing on giving them their greens via a healthy juice!
Today, we tried something different and made it into a smoothie, and boy...it was so good! It's loaded with all the healthy fruits and veggies, plus we topped it off with some protein powder to give us an extra boost! (This is the best NonGMO protein powder on the market)
Here's our recipe below. Note: we just add fruits and veggies to taste, based on four people. You'll need to adjust the amounts for your taste preferences!

Healthy, Happy Life Green Smoothie

• 1 grapefruit (peeled)
• 1 lemon
• 1 large apple
• 2-3 Clementine's (peeled)
• about 1-2 inches of fresh ginger (depends on how spicy you like it)
• 1 cucumber
• big handful of kale
• big handful of spinach

We put all this in our Breville juicer to squeeze out the juice. Next, we poured the juice into our Nutribullet, scooped out a big bunch of the pulp that was left over in the juicer and put that in, added 2 scoops of the protein powder, AND a frozen banana. Turn that Nutribullet on for about 10 seconds, serve, and enjoy!
What we love about doing it this way, is that it has the thicker consistency of a smoothie, it's not thin like juice.  Now, you could totally do it in just your Nutribullet, but we're still getting used to having 'pulpier' smoothies...we're slowing adding more in every time!

Let me know if you try it and how you like it. And please share some of your favorite smoothie recipes...we're always on the hunt for new ones!

Natural Supplements to Relax

Note: I'm not a doctor, nor am I here to give medical advice. I'm simply letting you know what works for our family. As always, please contact your doctor with any medical questions before starting any new supplements.  If you follow my Facebook page, you might remember that I posted about doing a little experiment with my boys about using a natural supplement to help relax and calm them down in the evenings.
Well, we've been doing that experiment for just over a week and now I'm ready to report our results! We have two young boys, ages 5 and 2. They are awesome and very much boys...high energy! Our oldest has always had a hard time settling down at night. We've tried lavender essential oil to help calm him at night and get ready for bed, but it just doesn't work for him. It seems to have no effect on him. Oh, well. Time to move on and look for another natural option.
After doing some research, I read about how magnesium is a natural muscle relaxer. In fact, it's the most used mineral in our bodies. It's used in hundreds of reaction a day and is vital to the function of every cell in our body. There's actually a huge magnesium deficiency in almost everyone thanks to poor diets, medications, and poor soil for our foods.
Some effects of magnesium deficiency are: muscle pain/spasms, cramps, neck pain, migraines, anxiety, depression, fatigue, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, asthma, PMS, restless leg syndrome...the list actually goes on and on!
Magnesium and calcium are considered sister minerals and need each other to work together efficiently. Calcium actually acts to excite nerves and is necessary for muscle contraction, while magnesium calms those nerves. You can think of it as an on/off switch....calcium is 'on', magnesium is 'off.'
Enter Shaklee's Chewable CalMag Plus. This natural supplement is what has been helping our boy calm down and relax much, much easier in the evenings! And it's been helping him sleep better at night...he's not waking up still looking tired! Hooray! We are THRILLED that this simple supplement is helping him so much! Since it's chewable and has a fruity flavor, he has no qualms about taking it. Of course, little brother has to get in on the action too!
After just a few days of using the CalMag Plus, we could see a difference so I told my brother about it. He's been dealing with restless leg syndrome for several years. I suggested he try it and he could tell a difference almost immediately after taking it! I'm so happy for him. I've heard that restless leg is awful!
I just cannot stop singing the praises of Shaklee's Chewable CalMag Plus! 

Free Shipping NOW until NOVEMBER 16!

Stock up for the winter, treat yourself to something new, or give the gift of health this year!

Starting now, I'm offering you FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $200 from NOW until NOVEMBER 16!
(Not a Shaklee member yet? Join today to get this special, plus lots of other goodies! You can get a FREE Shaklee membership with the purchase of Vitalizer.)

Need some ideas on what to get or give? Check out my gift guide!

1. Enfuselle Nutrition Skin Therapy Kit

The same nutrients that help keep you healthy on the inside also play a huge role in how you look on the outside. 50 years of scientific nutrition research has been applied to developing the most advanced therapeutic skincare system around providing you the answer to healthy-looking, beautiful skin. Look and feel 25 years younger!

2. 180 Turnaround Kit

Lose Weight
Go from before to after with clinically tested weight loss products** – and a program designed to burn fat, not muscle. This customizable two-meal kit delivers a complete program of smoothees, snacks, energizing tea and metabolic boost* – along with access to exclusive tools and rewards. Over $395 value in product, program tools and first-kit shipping upgrade.

** The weight loss portion of the Shaklee 180 Program was tested in a preliminary 12-week clinical study.Meal-in-a-bar was not included in this study.

3. Vivix

Global cutting-edge research in the fight against cellular aging and years spent in partnership with leading scientists have culminated in Vivix—a scientific breakthrough from Shaklee.

Only Vivix contains both resveratrol and a proprietary phytonutrient blend. This phytonutrient blend harnesses the powerful antioxidant properties of rare muscadine grapes and has been shown to be 10X more powerful than resveratrol alone in slowing a key mechanism of cellular aging.*

All natural. Patent pending. Clinically tested key ingredients. Exclusive.

4. Vitalizer

Vitalizer is the most advanced multinutrient supplement in the marketplace today with 80 bio-optimized nutrients clinically proven to create a foundation for a longer, healthier life.* Vitalizer is the powerful and convenient approach to complete supplementation providing the best spectrum of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-aging phytonutrients, omega-3 fatty acids, and probiotics*, all in one daily serving.

• Custom formula created specifically for today’s healthy active men and women
• Patent-pending delivery system designed to enhance absorption of key nutrients
• Based on 12 clinical studies and a first-of-its-kind Landmark Study

Feel better in 30 days or your money back.

5. Shaklee Baby

Clean, fresh baby. These extra gentle products are naturally formulated to get your baby pip-squeaky clean from head to toe. Made with organic chamomile and lavender,  these products are pH balanced and sensitivity tested to shower, moisturize, and soothe even the most tender skin with love.

6. Basic H Organic Cleaning Concentrate

This little 16 oz bottle creates an unbelievable 48 gallons of super-safe, really powerful, all purpose cleaner. We challenge you to use it up any time soon to clean everything from spilled milk, to bug guts on the window, to splattered spaghetti sauce. Now go, get cleaning.
Basic H Instruction

For all-purpose cleaning:
Add 1/4 tsp. to 16 oz. of water.

For windows and mirrors:
Add 1-2 drops to 16 oz. of water.

For degreasing:
Add 1 1/2 tsp. to 16 oz. of water. For bigger jobs, add 2 oz. to 1 gallon of water.

7. Shaklee Sports Nutrition

Shaklee’s Sports Nutrition products are used at the highest level of competition so you can trust them every time you take them- before, during, and after your workouts. Everything you need. Nothing you don’t. No artificial flavors, sweeteners or added preservatives.

8. Get Clean Water

Cleaner, healthier water and a cleaner, healthier planet? We can all drink to that!

This Starter Pack contains all you need to get one full year of healthier, great-tasting water*:

• Get Clean®  Water Pitcher – Food Safe: BPA-Free; 10 cup capacity
• Get Clean®  Water refillable Filter Housing Kit (with 1 filter – 80 gallon capacity)
• Get Clean®  Water Filter Refill 3-pack (80 gallon capacity each)
• The only filter on the market to remove lead from water.

9. Enfuselle Spa Shea Butter Lotion

Enfuselle® Spa Ultra Moisturizing Shea Butter Cream - Pamper your skin. Luxurious shea butter is extracted from the fruit of the shea tree, and has amazing moisturizing properties. Back by popular demand, this Shea Butter Cream has a wonderful consistency and soaks deep into your skin, leaving it smooth and hydrated. We’ve added vitamin E for extra skin nourishment. For hand and body. Paraben Free.

10. Prosante Hair Care

The ProSanté Hair Care System provides one simple, flexible system that can be personalized to meet each individual’s unique hair needs in every situation. Each ProSanté system includes one each of the following products:

• Nourishing Scalp Treatment, 2 fluid ounces
• Revitalizing Shampoo, 10 fluid ounces
• Purifying Shampoo, 8 fluid ounces
• Lightweight Conditioner, 10 fluid ounces
• Replenishing Conditioner, 8 fluid ounces
• Long-Lasting Finishing Spray, 8 fluid ounce

11. Stress Relief Complex

Stress Relief Complex offers nutritional support that helps you get through the day in a calm, alert and healthy way.  It’s powerful ingredients are designed to provide relief from tension  — without making you drowsy.*  Includes L-theanine, ashwagandha, beta sitosterol, and L-tyrosine.

12. Nutriferon

A Shaklee exclusive, NutriFeron is a patented, clinically proven blend of immune-strengthening plant extracts. When used daily, it increases the production of your body’s natural interferon, a critical activator of the immune system. NutriFeron works at the cellular level, by rapidly activating your immune system’s defenses*

 Happy shopping! Remember to share this awesome special with your family and friends! The free shipping offer ends November 16!

Fall Fabric Pumpkins | Make Your Own

Today at my MOPS meeting we made these adorable fall pumpkins and I wanted to share them with you. By the way, if you're a mom of preschoolers, I highly encourage you to find a MOPS group in your area. This is my fourth year with MOPS and I love it!

I don't know where this original idea came from, so I'm sorry I can't give proper credit for this project. It's so easy that I just let our 4.5 year old loose with the supplies and he made five of them all by himself! This is a great activity for kids! Plus, you can keep them up all during the autumn season!

Anyway, so all you need for these cute pumpkins are: A roll of toilet paper (yes, toilet paper!) 6 plastic grocery sacks A fat quarter piece of fabric Torn brown kraft paper, or brown paper sacks
Put one sack inside another, just shove it in there. Next, you basically want to loop the handles through the toilet paper tube and then make a 'side' of the pumpkin with the sack. Do that with the remaining sacks. Just kind of roll, fluff, shape the 'sides' the way you want. Does that make a lick of sense? Next, put your pumpkin in the middle of your fabric, then begin to shape your pumpkin by pushing the corners of the fabric into the toilet paper tube. You'll need to work the fabric to make the shape that you want. I found that making little pleats as we stuff helps it take shape. Once you get your pumpkin to your desired shape, take some brown kraft paper and make a little stem.  Easy peasy! Don't over think it or try to make them perfect...I think they look cute when they're not perfect circular pumpkins!
Below are photos, which may well be more clear than my written directions! 

Homemade Apple & Pear Sauce | Healthy Recipe

Woo-hoo, it's Friday! Do you have any big plans for the weekend? We will be watching the annual OU/TX football game and doing some projects around the house. (In case you're wondering, I'm a Sooner fan and hubs is a Texas fan!)

Easy Ways to Take Control of YOU!

As a work at home mom, with a husband, two kids, and two small businesses, I get asked all the time, "How do you do it? How do you keep the house clean, food on the table, businesses running, a everyone happy? Do you have a full time nanny or babysitter?" No, though there are times I wish I did!
Truth? I DON'T do it all, hardly ever. I do A LOT though. I'm constantly working, and after awhile, if I don't get it break it can really take a toll on me. If you're in a similar situation, I'm sure you can understand.
So what do I do when I start to feel overwhelmed by not being able to do it all? Or when I feel like I need just five minutes to myself before I crack?
I just tell myself to make a change. Change my attitude, change my thoughts...you get the idea!
Along with the mental pep talk, here are some of my tried and true ways to take back control of that overwhelmed feeling.

Take Care of Myself, Too! This is the NUMBER ONE thing to do! If I'm going to be on top of my game for my husband and kids, I need to take care of myself. So I make it a point to exercise at least 4x's per week, whether it's Zumba, an Insanity class, or just doing my own workout at home. If I go more than two days without exercise, I feel jumpy. I also really strive to eat right and keep my nutrition intake up. For the past 15 months I've been very consistent in taking my daily multivitamins. I've seen a great improvement in my overall energy and I have been sick only once, which is great since I'm chasing two active boys all day!


Cut Myself Some Slack I'm not perfect. No one is. It's hard being a grown up with kids. Heck, sometimes it's just hard BEING! In today's world of social media and everyone posting only the good things about their lives, it's easy to get caught up in that and think you're not doing enough. You are. I am. And I have to remind myself of it almost daily. No, the kitchen isn't always sparkling. In fact, it's pretty darn messy right now. No, the laundry isn't put away yet. No, my kids aren't perfectly behaved all the time. Sometimes money is tight. But that's ok...I am doing the best I can and that's enough!

Get the To Do List Under Control I'm a list maker, but when I write out a list of 20 things to accomplish in one day, I get too overwhelmed and end up getting nothing done! I have my basic to do's that are what keep my home livable at any given time. If I can accomplish that list everyday, then I feel great. Special projects are ongoing and I just have to work on them when (and if) I can during the week.  I have a small planner that I keep next to my laptop in the kitchen. It's easy for me to jot stuff down as I think of it or check off my list.

Schedules, Schedules, Schedules Working at home is rewarding, but challenging. Until recently, I would do work throughout the day, but didn't really have a chance to focus on what I was doing. At the end of the day, I felt like I hadn't done much work at all. So I made a change and have declared the boys quiet time to be my work only time. Ya'll, it has HELPED so much! I'm able to focus more and I get a lot more done than I used to. Having a set work schedule, mine is 1pm-2:30pm, will help you feel in control of your day!

Those are my top must-do's for getting that in control feeling back. I hope this helps you if you're feeling a little off! Let me know what you think!
I'd love to connect with you in my Facebook community!

Keeping Kids Healthy | Back to School Tips

It seems like most families in states around us have already started school. Here in north Texas school doesn't start until next week, and our boys start preschool in September! Now is the time to get organized for our kids health for this school year! If you're like me, an ideal school year would involve no sick days, no tummy aches, no runny noses...could we just keep them in a sterile little bubble? Here are a few of my best tips for starting the school year off happy and healthy!
Eat Clean and Healthy! When our boys (and us parents too!) are eating clean with minimal junk food, their little bodies don't have to work as hard to stay healthy. We juice almost daily, we offer fresh fruits and vegetables at every meal and for most snacks, and we eat fish and chicken a few times per week for proteins. 
Here are some of our favorite clean eating recipes: Juice recipes Grilled Veggie Tacos Homemade Honey Wheat Bread Grilled Fish Tacos Eggplant Caponata
Pop Those Multivitamins! Even though we strive to get the most nutrients we can through food, it's just not enough...for various reasons. We can't always afford to buy organic but we do the best we can. To supplement the nutritional gaps, we started the whole family on a great natural vitamin and supplement regimen about a year ago. I partner with the number one natural nutrition company, so naturally I recommend their vitamins, but it's really more than that. We've been really healthy since starting this regimen and being consistent about it. This past winter was our least sick winter on record! We had ZERO sick visits to the doctor for the entire family for NINE MONTHS! Woot!
Here's what the boys take daily. In fact, they call me out if I get distracted and forget!

• VitaLea OceanWonders for their multivitamin
• Chewable Vitamin C for added immunity
• Optiflora Probiotic to keep their stomachs in tip top shape

You can read about what's in our natural medicine cabinet here.
Keep Germs Away! This goes without saying, but since our kids are going to be around other kids and in more germy places, remind them to wash their hands with soap frequently! And do it at home too! Sometimes it's not possible to wash hands, so keeping a safe, nontoxic hand sanitizer with you (and even in the kids backpacks) is a good idea. Our favorite it Young Living's Thieves. 
Another thing I do to help keep the bacteria and germs at bay is to apply Thieves essential oil to the bottoms of the boys feet before they head off to school, playdates, or places like a bounce house. It smells just like the Thieves hand sanitizer. Yum!

Get Some Zzzz's! I don't know about you, but I feel so much better when I'm well rested and have had enough sleep at night. We are pretty structured when it comes to sleep for our kids...they're both in bed by 8pm every night. Our boys need their 10-11 hours of sleep. When they don't get it, they're overly tired and their little bodies have a harder time fighting off the germs! 
I'd love to hear what you do to help keep your kids healthy through the school year and answer any questions you may have!
Join my Facebook group page today!

Juicing Recipes! | Drink to Your Health!

We've totally gotten addicted to this juicing phenomenon! It's a great way to get the boys to have their daily greens that they're not so good at eating. We still give them actual veggies at mealtimes but juicing is just an extra way to keep them healthy!

While juicing is healthy, it's really just fiber. So we give each juice concoction an extra healthy punch by adding instant soy protein mix to the juice. It adds 16g of non GMO soy protein! It's flavorless and can be used for so many other things that need that extra bit of protein. We love it and you can get it here!

We are still experimenting with our juice recipes, but here are two of our favorites! Let me know if you try them!

Strawberry-Watermelon Popsicles | Easy Healthy Treat

Our boys love popsicles. As in they request them even when it's 40 degrees outside! Crazy boys! Anyway, I don't like to buy popsicles from the store because they're loaded with HFCS, food dyes, loads of sugar, and other fake ingredients. And really, making your own popsicles is so easy! And it's a great activity for the kids to do. Who doesn't want to push the ON button on the blender??

Here are our favorite summer popsicles: Strawberry-Watermelon! It seriously takes less than five minutes to whip these babies up! Plus, it's a great way to use up some produce that may be on it's last leg in the fridge.

• Simply cut up strawberries and watermelon (or any fruit of your choice).
• Blend it up in the blender. No sugar needed for these!
• Pour into your favorite popsicle molds and pop in the freezer! These Norpro Silicone Molds and the Orka Twist Pop Molds are our favorites. The twisted ones are perfect for the toddler and the Norpro's are great for the preschooler.
• A refreshing healthy treat for the family will be ready in about two hours!

What's your family's favorite popsicle combination?

Getting Juiced Up | Adding Nutrition to Your Diet

While we work really hard to get the best nutrition possible into our boys, they are young still and can be a bit picky when it comes to vegetable eating. Our oldest is pretty good about it; he loves red bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and he'll even eat salad on occasion. The youngest...not so much. He does like broccoli but that's about it.

Do you juice? It seems to be a big deal lately! We recently inherited a Jack Lalanne juicer and decided to give juicing a try so we can get some of those veggies into the boys. So far we really like it! Along with their daily multivitamin and probiotics, we think adding the veggie juices to their diet will really help round out their nutrition!

We've used several recipes, but have found that we just like to clean out the fridge and put a bunch of fruits and veggies together. We've been guilty in the past of not going through our produce quick enough and having to throw it away...not anymore!

For this juice, we used apples, oranges, spinach, ginger, carrots, lemon, and cucumber. It was tasty!

What are your favorite juice recipes? I'd love for you to share them in the comments or join my Facebook community group!

Easy & Healthy Breakfast Ideas | New Series

We love breakfast at our house, especially me. It's the ONE meal I consistently eat everyday. I actually adore cereal, and would eat it all the time if I could but 1) I don't have the metabolism of a 21 year old anymore and 2) most cereals don't have tons of nutritional value!

So we try to mix it up a bit with the kids and not get in too much of a rut. Here are a few of our favorite things. Stay tuned for more breakfast ideas!

Egg in a Basket
This is a classic. Simply turn on your skillet, lightly butter your bread of choice and cut a hole in the middle using a biscuit cutter.
Next, put the bread in the skillet, crack an egg in the hole and toast/cook the egg to your liking. I like my egg yolks just a little runny, but the rest of the family likes them cooked through!
Add a little salt and pepper to taste if you prefer.
This is super easy and the egg adds a good bit of protein first thing in the morning!

Ham and Cheese Muffins
Toast an english muffin, add lower sodium ham, and sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top.
Pop in the microwave for about 15 seconds to melt the cheese.
Yum! Again, this is a great way to get some protein in the kiddos...even our picky toddler eats this up!

'Homemade' Strawberry Yogurt
Our boys would eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if we let them!
We mix together organic vanilla yogurt, sliced strawberries, and a scoop of Shaklee 180 Strawberry Smoothee mix. It's healthy, yummy, and filling! And we don't have to think about where the pink color of their yogurt comes from. There is zero added food coloring in this fun yogurt!

'Homemade' Chocolate- Banana Yogurt
Along the same lines as the above, we mix together organic vanilla yogurt, sliced bananas, and a scoop Bavarian Chocolate Shaklee Meal Shake mix. It's like having dessert for breakfast!










What are your family's favorite breakfasts? Share them below!

All That Glitters | Fun with Art

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week! Here's a quick post on one of my son's favorite art activities!

My boy loves to do arts and crafts. He's really gotten into it lately...drawing, cutting, glueing, the whole bit. He also LOVES glitter.

And we all know how much moms love glitter too, right?

Not so much. It gets everywhere, it sticks to everything, it's a real pain in the rear.

But the joy it brings my boy when he sees his art supplies for the day contain bottles of glitter...well that's priceless!

Here's how we keep the glitter mess to a minimum while still having a great time!

TAKE IT OUTSIDE! Save yourself the annoyance of a glitter-fied kitchen and just take that mess right outside.

Use a cookie sheet to 'contain' the glitter. We put his paper right on the cookie sheet so when he goes to town sprinkling his glitter then shaking it off, it stays on the cookie sheet so we can use it again!

 

 

What are some of your family's favorite arts and crafts activities?

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to join my Facebook community and connect with me on Twitter!