Heather's Mommy Life

Cleaning Power Hour - What Finally Worked For Me

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 18:29:00 +0000

Cleaning Power Hour Series

Just Give It 15 Minutes

I love my blog because I can share more in depth info about my videos than I can in the video itself, or things I forget to talk about.

My latest series on YouTube is about how I clean my house now, get a lot done and have fun while doing it. Really the video just shows me cleaning so I thought I'd share more about what I actually do.

First, I've tried all kinds of cleaning routines, Fly Lady, CleanMama.net and tons of other cleaning schedules I've found on pinterest. I have nothing against any of those routines and think they are wonderful for a jumping off point and I know they have helped many people get their homes in order. My problem is I cannot fit into any one box. I would do great for a couple of days and then I'd be out of the house one day and miss cleaning that day and it would throw my whole schedule off and discourage me. I need variety, flexibility and I need to want to do something not be told I have to do it on a certain day.

So after a long time of trying all kinds of different methods I finally came up with something that works for me, my schedule and my house.

It's very simple, my house has 7 rooms and I give myself an hour most days, there are days where I'm gone all day so I start where I left off the next time I clean. I tackle 4 rooms a day at 15 minutes each. I set a timer and get done as much as I can in that 15 minutes as possible. It's enough time to get a lot done, is not overwhelming and kind of makes it a fun game to see how much I can get done in 15 minutes. Sometimes I go over if there is a big mess or I want to deep clean but that's what is great is I can make it work for what I want at the time.

My trick is I treat my house like a clock, so the first day I started, I tackled my laundry/mud room first which is on the end of my house, then I did the kitchen, living room and then my daughters room. I work in a circle, so that next day I would start where I left off, my son's room, the bathroom, our bedroom and then back to the laundry room. This way I start somewhere different everyday and I'm hitting the rooms multiple times a week so I'm staying on top of the mess. If there isn't much of a mess then I don't spend all 15 minutes, it either cuts my power hour time down or I dedicate more time to another room if needed.

The kitchen gets cleaned every day no matter what, I dedicate 10-15 minutes every night after everyone is in bed to get it tidied up for the next morning. The kitchen has always been a struggle for me and for most of our marriage it has gone uncleaned at night but when I finally buckled down and realized it just needed a short amount of time at night my reward was so great in the morning when I start my day with a clean kitchen!

I feel like this system has finally given me success and keeps me from getting bored. Homemaking and taking care of my family is my number one job and I want to enjoy it. Do I like cleaning no, but I do enjoy the fruits of my labor even though it usually only lasts 30 minutes before the kid/husband tornado hits, ;).

I hope that this idea helps you mix things up in your house and get out a cleaning rut like I was in.

❤️ Heather

YouTube Channel

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 20:56:00 +0000

YouTube Channel

Come join our family journey on HeathersMommyLife! Subscribe so you always get notified when I upload new videos!

Hey! Welcome to my channel and thank you for checking it out! The videos I post will contain a wide variety of topics mostly related to motherhood with lots of hauls because apparently I shop alot, living in our 1947 true vintage home that my husband's Grandpa built and my simple everyday life. I've been married for 11 years, I have a 16 year old son Brenden who also has a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCixiq5GgWmM1D4VGG0lW4Zw), a 6 year old daughter Hannah and 4 year old son Daniel. One of my innate passions as you'll see from my videos is saving money. If I'm not getting some sort of deal, my stomach hurts, lol.

I would love for you to follow along on our journey by subscribing, and leave all the comments!! ;) ❤️, Heather

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Channel Stats October 2016 - March 2017: 2400 lifetime video views - 38 subscribers

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bind my heart

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 17:21:00 +0000

bind my heart to the holy interests of that unseen world. - DOPP, John Baillie

S. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. John 20:29 - Streams in the Dessert Aug. 31

O. Sometimes God has to keep away encouraging results until we learn to trust without them.

A. I have to learn to look away from myself and trust God alone and then I will see that what God promises He will perform.

P. Father God, help me to put you first. Help me to put all of my trust in you. You will help me do things I thought impossible. Help me believe! Amen.

This fall is going to be full of things I would have thought impossible 5, 3, 1 year(s) ago. The biggest of which is I will be helping co-lead a mom's group at my church and I have to share my story in front of the women in a couple of weeks. At this point I don't even know what that story is or really how to summarize it. Accepting this role has brought about many emotions I didn't know were there. I feel beyond blessed to have even been considered for such a role but then it brings up all of those voices inside my head of how unworthy I am. So I wanted to stop by here today and share what I'm going through. The truth is, is that God has put me here for a reason it is not by mistake or coincidence, now I pray that I believe He will get me through and help me not continually beat myself up and doubt myself along the way. I am so grateful for the moms that have come along side me and that is one of my biggest reasons for being a part of this mom's group. Praying for a year of meaningful togetherness, growth and support....and that I can figure out what I should talk about and that it makes sense!

early to bed early to rise

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 05:42:00 +0000

A wise writer says, "I look with wonder on that old time, and ask myself how it is that most of the things I suppose my father and mother built on, especially to mold me to a right manhood are forgotten and lost out of my life. But the things they hardly ever thought of—the shadow of blessing cast by the home, the tender, unspoken love, the sacrifices made and never thought of, it was so natural to make them—ten thousand little things so simple as to attract no notice—and yet so sublime as I look back at them—they fill my heart still and always, with tenderness when I remember them and my eyes with tears." - J.R. Miller Home-Making

My bed where she usually ends up in the late morning.

One of my biggest yearnings is for our home to be cozy and inviting. A place of refuge and comfort. A place that gives the children when they are grown a memory and feeling of warmth and safety. Perhaps they will also yearn to be back there some time and make it a goal to give this to their children.

One of my favorite moments is being in a cozy bed with a dim light on reading a book. Some how bedtime in our home has become quite the opposite of warm and cozy. Somewhere along the road we got completely off course and bedtime got later and later and became a mad dash to get the kids in bed. I've known for a long time that it was a mess but some how every night it was way too late again and we were rushing to get everyone in bed. Rushing around and bedtime do not go well together.

Recently we went a week with getting to bed on time and it was glorious! But it was still summer time and somehow we ended up getting back to a late bedtime. A late bedtime (9 or usually later) for our 3 and 5 year old never really mattered because they could sleep in until later. We weren't usually up early for anything so the kids always got plenty of sleep. But I have always secretly wished for a little more down time before I have to go to bed. The plan is if they go down earlier then I will too without feeling like I haven't had a wind down time.

Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

With the new school year quickly approaching and a new commitment of needing to be somewhere before 9 am Monday through Friday I've vowed to get us on a better schedule. We have a little over a month to whip our bottoms into shape and by ours I mean my husband and I. Because let's face it we're the ones not sticking to our guns. Tonight was the first night of many nights ahead of wrapping up the evening in a calm blanket and slowly moving towards the bedrooms.

With more time to get to bed things are much more calm. We do not do baths every night and sometimes they are during the day so we start our down time usually with a show (usually Caillou or Berenstein Bears). We like this because it gives the kids one last thing to enjoy, a wind down time and it's easy to see when it ends it's time to brush teeth, the kids understand it and they can't argue.

Then it's pj time, diaper changing, singing songs ( always "You Are My Sunshine" and "Jesus Loves Me"), then story time, prayers, kisses ( always counted for her and usually 19 and sometimes 5 extra), drinks of water and then night night. For the most part they stay in bed even though it is now 2 hours after we put them to bed and he is still awake. We all have to adjust.

Mama is looking forward to an earlier bedtime and getting up earlier. The plan is to get up earlier and get some Bible time in with a real Bible not laying in bed and doing devotions on my phone, which isn't a bad thing I just want to start journaling and making more of an effort, especially with the fall approaching. I'm just really looking forward to coffee, lit candles, pen, paper, Bible and time with my Teacher. Praying we keep this up!

Wishing for all of you a warm evening, sweet rest and refreshed soul.

slow Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 17:28:00 +0000

The desire to blog again has been growing for a while. I've been debating on starting up again and trying to decide on topics. After not being able to land on anything specific but continuing to feel the tug on my heart I've just decided to write about what's going on in the everyday. The not so exciting day to day stuff.

I feel the Holy Spirit moving I'm just not sure where we're going. I will take your hand in trust and follow you where you want me to go. Even if it's not what I except.

The youngest started off the morning with some counting. He's able to count to 12 on his own and he's working on recognizing the numbers. This little bundle of joy has come so far in his short 3 years. I'm so proud of him and I'm happy he's taking his time because I'm not ready to let go.

The family enjoyed pancakes this morning cooked in bacon grease. I'm on my second round of the Whole 30 so I enjoyed some banana pancakes, sugar free bacon, strawberries and fried eggs. Any form of pancake isn't really part of the Whole 30 program but there are just some traditions that are traditions for a reason.

Eloise, our new kitten is really settling in. We've had her for about 4 weeks now. She has constant companionship and has brought some precious moments to our lives. Caillou is on repeat most days at my house and this reminded me of when he was pushing his cat around in a stroller.

One of the biggest things of the Whole 30 is no sugar and guess what has sugar in it, everything, seriously and mayo. It has sugar and many other things that are unnecessary. So if you want mayo then you have to make your own. When I first learned this I was a bit overwhelmed, it seems like a daunting task to me. Much to my surprise it's quite quick and easy.

One of my favorite Whole 30 lunches to make is Salmon Salad. The first time I made this I adapted it from another recipe with what I had on hand. It's pretty much my own original creation. The secret to this recipe is the raisins, I know it sounds weird but just trust me. Even my 15 year old took a bite and said the raisins make a huge difference.

Salmon Salad

Whole 30 Approved

1 can pink salmon

2 baby carrots chopped

1 stalk celery chopped

handful of raisins

red onion (as much as you like)

homemade mayo

mustard

Mix all ingredients together. Enjoys on lettuce as a wrap or salad or on sliced cucumber.

It's very light and refreshing but very filling.

For dinner we barbecued, which was a great ending to the day. Here I have just a hamburger patty, homemade mayo, mustard, onion, tomato, W30 compliant pickle in a lettuce wrap held together by a toothpick and some watermelon on the side.

We didn't really do much else on this slow rainy Sunday. It hasn't rained much here in forever and today it was storming. It felt great just to stay inside and get some cleaning done and some relaxing. I know I should be living in the moment but I am definitely looking forward to the fall, my favorite time of year.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

Pray, Pray and then Pray again.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Jul 2015 03:13:00 +0000

Here I am o Lord, here my prayer.

Change is on the horizon with the ever creeping fall season. We decided months ago that Hannah would be going to public school this fall and with that brings much change. The house will be missing two little feet running around all day, it will be quieter and both of us will gain a little breathing room in different aspects.

Danny will still be at home and I'm looking forward to spending some one on one time with him. I just realized that I got to have Hannah to myself up until she was two and now I get to have Danny for two years to myself until he heads off to Kindergarten.

I'm trying to spend this time preparing for the fall, reflecting on how far we've come, soaking up the summer with these little precious people and peaking over the horizon to what is next.

Change is coming as it always is and all I can do is pray...pray pray pray.

Weaver Interlock: Pre-k Week 6

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 13:00:00 +0000

((Hannah is 4))

((Danny is 2))

((Weaver Interlock Curriculum))

((Pre-K))

This week started with finishing up the week before, week five's lesson. We had one more day of studying clouds. We were able to go on a nice walk around the neighborhood, there were only a couple of clouds this time. They were in the far right distance and I didn't get a picture. They were literally the only clouds in the sky.

Here's what the set up looked like prior to the lesson. That way I can go over everything real quick and get the supplies ready to go to keep school time quick.

Here Hannah is counting on her number line up to twenty. This week she actually learned to count to 29, we use the 100 days of school chart to continue counting above 20.

A week or two ago she painted a picture of the sky. The lesson told us to save it for a future project which we completed here. She glued cottons balls on to represent clouds, her cotton balls went in a row. She's very orderly, this one.

We of course did more Hooked on Phonics. We got to make a kooky K and lightening L.

More number tracing, she is much more willing to try this now. She does still prefer to do it on a dry erase board over paper.

Danny and I had a rare snuggle time this week in bed. He never sits still long enough to cuddle and he's not really the snuggle type. So this was extra special.

On the Tuesday that we go to our therapy sessions we have about 45 minutes to spare while Danny is in his speech therapy that comes after physical therapy. So Hannah and I had another little date at a local coffee shop.

The next weeks lesson, week 6, was about how God created dry land. So of course I had to pull out my fancy vintage globe to show where all the dry land is compared to the water.

More number tracing and review.

I am very proud of the hand writing for this 26-29.Compared to the 20's she traced on paper these are so much more clear, I think the smoothness of the dry erase really helps her.

We talked some about rocks during this weeks lesson. So we go to go outside and collect some. They are pictured to the left of the Hooked On Phonics book. This weeks HOP lesson was about review and rhyming sounds.

We had a very productive week this week. Weaver is such a blessing. We are learning so much and spending wonderful time bonding.

Heard about tsu.co?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:18:00 +0000

What if you go paid for all of the posting that you did on FB, Instagram or any other social media platform? You would be a millionaire right? Why not, come over to tsu.co (pronounced sue). It is a fun supportive community. It is very similar to FB's layout but you have the chance to get paid for posting. It is a way for social media, something you use already anyways, to give back to the people using it. Go check it out the video at tsu.co that shares the idea of what tsu.co is all about. If then you are interested in joining use my code tsu.co/everydayforthem to join. It is by invitation only so take this opportunity to join the new exciting social media platform. Come on over, let's be friends there too!

Five Friday Faves: Hair Care Picks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:00:00 +0000

The topic this week is inexpensive go to hair care products and my routine.

I have tried loads and loads of different hair care products from expensive to inexpensive. Some have worked great and some have not regardless of the price. Recently I was watching the Youtube video below. Anna, whom I adore for fashion, beauty and all things mommy related mentioned she used Aussie hair products. I hadn't used them in years and actually had forgotten about them. I was in desperate need of a whole new line up of hair care products so I decided to go with all Aussie for washing and conditioning.

I'm so glad I listened to her advice. These products are truly a great value for the price. You can find them at most big box stores and drug store chains. I purchased the big pump bottles from Target. I have the opposite problem of Anna as my hair is very fine and oily so I wash most days. The Aussome Volume shampoo gives me a great clean and does add volume. The smell is amazing. I will definitely be repurchasing this shampoo which is a big deal for me!

I went ahead and went with the conditioner that goes along with the shampoo. This is the conditioner I use daily. It also smells wonderful and does not weigh down my hair. Most days I only condition the ends but occasionally I will condition my whole head and it does not leave my hair greasy or heavy at all.

Usually one day a week sometimes two I will do a deep condition with the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Moist Conditioner. This stuff really is a miracle in a bottle. The smell is beyond amazing, my favorite, and it feels like a super fancy hair treatment. A tiny little bit goes a long way with this product. Sometimes I do just the ends and sometimes my whole head. It takes a little longer than the Aussome Volume conditioner to rinse out but the the result is worth it. I feel like I'm really taking care of my hair when I use this. Also, even though it is a thick heavy conditioner it does not weigh my hair down at all.

Some days I do not wash my hair. I either don't have time or just don't feel like getting to it when I know I'm just staying home. But that doesn't mean that I want to look like I didn't wash my hair. By the time I wake up every morning my hair is a greasy mess. I can't figure out how to change this so I blame it on my genes. Luckily I discovered dry shampoo a few years back. Some of them can get pretty expensive but this Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo was super affordable at Target again. It smells wonderful and gives your hair a fresh smell to start your day. I spray it along my part at the roots and then along my hair line at my face and then in the crown area and sometimes along my neck line. I wait a minute and then rub it in with my fingers. It really does a great job of freshening my hair and taking away the oil.

The other product I use on no wash days is the Big Sexy Hair Powder Play. I sprinkle this along my part area and rub it in after I've used the dry shampoo. This adds some texture to my hair and soaks up any remaining oil that could be there. Once I've rubbed it in I brush and style and I'm ready to go.

All in all I try to keep my hair care routine pretty quick. I do use other products when styling my hair after a wash but I wanted to share only my washing/refreshening products today. I have reviewed all of these products on Influenster as well. If you have not signed up for Influenster yet check my out the link below. It is a site where you can give your opinions on products that you use everyday and have the possibility of receiving boxes of free products to review called VoxBoxes. It's a fun community where your voice is really heard and put to use.

Weaver Interlock: Pre-K Week 5

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 22:39:00 +0000

((Hannah is 4))

((Danny is 2))

((Weaver Interlock Curriculum))

((Pre-K))

We had a little bit of an off week for the fifth week of preschool. We ended up getting a day or two behind because I got sick and needed rest time instead of school time. Another thing I love about preschool homeschool. There was no need to worry about missing a day or two and there is plenty of time to get caught up.

Our Weaver Interlock lesson was about how God created air on the second day of creation. We also learned about wind and clouds. On the day that we were supposed to go for a walk and look at clouds it was a wonderfully beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, lol. But we enjoyed our walk anyways. Luckily we had some good books on clouds.

My favorite books so far this year have been from the series "Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science" We have used several of these already in our lessons. They are easy to read, very informative and have great illustrations.

Hannah is just whizzing along in her Get Ready for the Code book. We just do two pages a day two times a week.

As well as her Hooked on Phonics lessons. I'm still so happy that I found something that is quick and simple but is really teaching her.

The past three times we have gone outside to play we had a friend visit us. He was in a different spot every time but in the same general area of the yard. This time he was at the bottom of the slide. He nearly escaped his death as Danny slid down the slide landing millimeters in front of him. I grabbed a branch and moved him onto the slide to get some photos. I eventually moved him to another part of the yard hoping to prevent his death or injury.

Even though I was not feeling well this week we ended up getting alot of learning time in. Hannah now knows how to count to 20 even though Interlock only wants her to count to 19. Looking forward to what each new week brings.

Five Friday Faves: Five Pinterest Dinners

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 13:00:00 +0000

This weeks topic is some of the dinners I've made from Pinterest. I've made many but these are some of my favorites. They are all very simple and delicious. Hope you enjoy!

The first is a Veggie Burrito Bowl. I've made these several times, they are quick and very very good. The are great addition to Meatless Monday or any day of the week. It is also a great recipe to substitute ingredients with if you don't have something on hand.

This next dish is a vegan dish called Creamy Tuscan White Bean Soup that I fell in love with. It certainly does not skimp on flavor. The whole family liked it for a cold winter day. It is a great way to sneak in some veggies. You could easily swap out the kale for spinach if someone doesn't like kale like my husband. I ended up freezing what we didn't eat and once thawed it was thicker so I spooned over couscous and had a super tasty quick healthy meal.

California Bowls are one my absolute favorites. It just has everything yummy mixed together and I'm a huge fan of blue cheese so I knew it would be good. It can be great anytime of year if you have an indoor grill.

This pin for Chicken Gnocchi Soup is actually a recipe video from a mom I follow on youtube. I've made a few of her recipes and they have all been good but this is by far my favorite. The whole family loves it and it tastes just like the real thing from Olive Garden.

Last but certainly not least is Pioneer Woman's Corn and Cheese Chowder. Beyond delicious and comforting, need I say more? I didn't use bread bowls for this recipe I just made some corn bread to go along.

I really hope you try and make some of these super yummy meals. You won't be disappointed!

Weaver Interlock: Pre-K Week 4

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 22:11:00 +0000

((Hannah is 4))

((Danny is 2))

This weeks Interlock lesson was all about how God made light and how light relates to shadows, reflection and colors. There are not any pictures that really reflect this part of the lesson. Most of the pictures cover our math lessons.

Hannah shocked me when she diligently traced her number worksheet.

We had a morning of errands and park time so we grabbed some quick lunch and then came home to go some school. Here she was working on a family color book. She colored a page for every member of the family and their favorite colors. This will be a cute keepsake.

Danny got in some computer time. This was his first time sitting at the desk by himself. He can't really do anything yet but had fun watching the screen.

Hannah was successful at her first alphabet dot-to-dot. Then she decided to color it. She does this thing where she lines up each color and then colors a little bit with each color as she goes down the line. The picture ends up looking like a rainbow. She's very particular about this.

More number tracing. I've learned that she will do the tracing if I put it in her dry erase activity board. This is helping build her handwriting skill confidence which is great.

Some outside time, we've had a little bit of rain so far but not too much so we're trying to get out as much as possible.

The last Friday that we did school we weren't able to finish everything so I made sure to add it into the next week. As part of the light lesson we learned about sight. How we wouldn't be able to see without light. We also learned about Helen Keller and her accomplishments. Another part of that lesson was learning about Braille. Here I wrote Hannah's name with Braille dots and added the glass beads so that Hannah could feel each letter of her name. Pretty neat idea.

Here we used the glass beads to work on our math lesson. We worked on counting to 10.

She really loved playing with the glass beads.

Sammy square says "hi"! He is Sammy square and he has four sides.

More tracing, she kept asking to do this. Who am I to say no?

Another successful week in the books. I can't believe the first month of preschool is over! That flew by fast. We aren't doing everything I planned like being out of the house every morning like we were over the summer. I quickly realized that the summer was different because there was no school so once I was able to be home I could clean and do other things as time permitted but now that we've added school to our day I have less time to clean among other things. But we still go with the flow.

Five Friday Faves: September's Instagrams

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Five Friday Faves!

It's been a long time since I've done a series like this but I think I'm ready to start again. Each Friday I want to share pictures of some things that I am loving at the moment. This week includes my five favorite Instagrams from September and why I love them.

Our first day of homeschool preschool started off with great success. I woke up early, ran on the treadmill, showered and got completely ready for the day and had my some Bible time and coffee all before the kids woke up. Yeah, well that was the only morning all of that happened. Each day after that I got up later and later and low and behold I was getting sick. I had a horrible cough so I wasn't able to run for 3 weeks. It's now October and I still haven't started the routine again. But it's a dream of mine. This picture is a reminder of that blissful morning. I guess it would help if I got to bed before 11!

This picture will forever remind me of the excitement we both had for her first day of pre-k. What a special time in our lives.

Our first week of pre-k included a homeschool mama meet-up. We got to take some professional pictures but mama had to get some of her own. My candid cuties.

Another exciting event that took place in September is that Hannah is now an official Awana Cubbie. I remember going to Awanas when I was about her age and I remember how fun it was. She is having a blast learning scripture, playing games, doing crafts and meeting new friends. I'm so proud of her!

This picture is very special to me. I haven't talked much about it on the blog but Danny attends physical therapy and speech therapy for his delays from being 6 weeks early and Hannah attends occupational therapy for what we've recently discovered is Sensory Processing Disorder. We go to therapy every Tuesday for an hour and 45 min. But this day Hannah's therapist wasn't able to make it in so we got to have a special mommy daughter date while Danny did his therapy. We ran an errand, I got a Starbucks coffee and she got a cake pop and then we headed to Goodwill for some vintage thrifting, a favorite hobby of mine. I was unsuccessful that morning but she made out great, she ended up with a pink Barbie car, 2 books and a cute shirt from Crazy8. It was so fun to spend time with my special girl.

Hooked on Phonics Pre-K Edition Review

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 14:00:00 +0000

I don't know about you but I very clearly remember the Hooked on Phonics commercials from the 90's. "Hooked on Phonics worked for me!" But I had no idea they were still around until recently.

When I decided that I was going to homeschool my littles, I quickly realized that researching curriculum was going to be one of the best parts, as least for me. I started researching well before a year prior to starting our preschool year. I really wasn't sure where to start with phonics, there are many programs out there and they all have very different approaches. I kept hearing about Hooked on Phonics through different sources but didn't realize they are still in business and that so many people use the program. I happened upon a youtube "curriculum choice" video where the mom highly praised HOP and showed some of what comes in the package and why her kids loved it. After that I was pretty much sold on giving it a go for our preschool year.

After ordering it I anxiously awaited the package to arrive on my doorstep. Once I opened it I was even more excited. I knew that Hannah would love the colorful workbooks, story book, flash cards, progress posters, stickers, DVD and CD-ROM. I loved the idea of an easy to follow program, with everything included and a great parents guide.

Our schedule consists of two pages a day when working on a letters and one page a day when working on review or new concepts. We use the program two days a week.

Hannah really likes the activities for the letter pages, she gets to do something different everytime. We end the lesson with working on the CD-ROM. She really enjoys the music and games.

On the review days or new concepts days we work with the workbook, flash cards and CD-ROM, we have fun playing card games with the flash cards. We love the mommy, daughter time of playing games and learning at the same time.

The program is easy to follow, fun and the most important and exciting thing is Hannah is really learning her alphabet frontwards and backwards and all of the phonetic sounds. This being our first official year of homeschooling it really helps boost my confidence to have a well laid out program like Hooked on Phonics. I definitely plan on using the program for future years and recommend it to my homeschooling friends.

This review is based solely on my own opinions, I'm not being compensated to provide this review. I just like this program and wanted to share my experience with others.

Weaver Interlock: Pre-K Week 3

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 23:22:00 +0000

((Hannah is 4))

((Danny is 2))

This week we concentrated on putting on our listening ears and looking eyes. I decided to let Hannah use silly putty and masa flour in a pan to have some sensory work to help her listen. It actually worked quite well. She kept her hands busy which freed up her ears to listen better. The Weaver lesson focused on the first day of creation, how God made light and how light provides colors.

We worked on patterning, which is an area that she hasn't quite grasped yet. We also concentrated on the concept of one.

As we get further in the Get Ready for the Code book the handwriting is getting easier. She's getting more confidence which makes her more willing to do the work.

She absolutely loves Hooked on Phonics. The lessons are super quick, brightly colored and the cd-rom takes it to another level of fun for her.

We worked on counting to ten with manipulatives. She really enjoyed working with all of the bright colors and different textures. She has counting to ten down.

She got to do some fun painting with a rainbow of colors, the finished product is mostly brown from all of the color mixing.

Random cuteness at the park.

Hannah had her first official week at Awanas. She is having a blast and is soooo good at memorizing. I'm totally shocked at how well she is doing. It's very exciting. We work in her workbook twice a week and then work on the memorizing the rest of the week and I drill her on the way to the meeting. I love the lessons that Awanas teaches and the fun environment they provide.

Weaver Interlock: Pre-k Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 21:48:00 +0000

((Hannah is 4))

((Danny is 2))

The second week of preschool flew by. It was a lighter week as far as Weaver was concerned. The main topic this week was the Trinity and how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all helped in the making of our world. I had never actually paid attention to this detail of creation so it was enlightening to me.

We started off with helping mommy fold the laundry. This took alot of concentration. We did many activities that focused on helping.

We worked on learning biggest to smallest.

We used our bodies to express smallest and largest.

I created a chore chart like the one you might have seen on here.

As the child is done they flip up the tab and it says "done". This is a great, simple and motivating way to get little ones to start helping around the house. The yellow chart is for morning, it includes making the bed, putting clothes in the hamper, brushing hair and teeth. The blue chart is for the evening, it includes picking up toys, putting clothes in the hamper, brushing teeth and going potty before bed. This really helps with setting a routine and gaining responsibilities.

Working on more activities for biggest to smallest.

Working on her preschool workbook.

Doing her phonics work in her Get Ready for the Code book. I love these books! It really drills in the letter and the phonics sound. She is picking it up very quickly. The only downfall is all of the handwriting. This is a an area of major struggle for her. I'm not concerned but it's just difficult when the workbook requires so much, but we get through it.

The weather is still super warm here so we're making sure to have a lot of outside time and we picked some plums and had a snack.

All in all it was a great week. We actually skipped Wednesday's lesson and moved it to Thursday. Luckily the lessons are so light we just added it to Thursday with our phonics and workbook work. We're having a blast so far.

Weaver Interlock: Pre-K Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 04:55:00 +0000

(( Hannah is 4 ))

(( Danny is 2 ))

We survived and thrived and I couldn't be more happy. I finished planning our preschool year in mid August and waited a long 2 weeks before we could begin. I decided that since daddy had to work on Labor Day that we would use that day to start preschool. That way we could get a full week in right from the start.

The curriculum that I chose is called Weaver Interlock. It is a Bible based, hands-on, pre-planned program for preschool and kindergarten. The Bible is "weaved" all throughout each lesson, hence the title. My husband was homeschooled from kindergarten through 7th grade and they used Weaver throughout that time. My mother-in-law still has all of the volumes so I looked into it to see if it would fit our homeschooling needs and it was exactly how I wanted to homeschool. At least that's the plan. I do not believe that the preschool program Interlock existed when they were using Weaver so I was excited to find out about it. I thought it would be a great way to get our feet wet. I found a copy used online for a great price last year. When I read through the lessons that Rebecca Avery, the writer, wrote I fell in love. It is a beautifully written curriculum and I can't wait to learn right along side my little ones.

The plan is to use Weaver Interlock 3 days a week and then we use the other 2 days for phonics and play. The Interlock lessons take an hour at the most and the phonics days take 20-30 minutes at the most. So far, so good. For phonics we are using Hooked On Phonics Preschool Edition which I also found used online and the Get Ready for the Code workbooks.

Our first day was off to a great start. We started with some errand running in the morning and a stop at the park. I plan on doing school time with Hannah while Danny takes his afternoon nap. That way I can really concentrate on her with little distractions.

Once we start school time we start with calendar time. I found an adorable calendar at Michael's and used a 40% off coupon so it was a great investment. Used a bunch of velcro and 3M command strips to stick it up in a calendar corner. I also posted a bunch of Carissa's at 1+1+1=1 calendar time songs for learning days of the week, months and 100 days of school chart. I also went through all of Interlock and printed the memory verses so we can work on those.

The first week of Interlock consists of learning about God our Father, how much He loves us, how He made the world for us and appreciation for our own fathers.

Here Hannah is drawing a picture as a gift for her daddy.

As part of the lesson daddy had to give Hannah a special gift to explain the special gift that God made for us, the world. Hannah's special gift was a set of Hello Kitty rings she had been eyeing at the grocery store for quite some time. She was so surprised!

Another part of the lesson was to associate different daddies around the world and I added in how different daddies look different and also how daddies of adopted children may look different but still love their children as their own. Yes that is Brad Pitt pictured below, he was a great example of an adoptive father. What do you do? Also, on a side note Hannah looks just like me as a little girl in the cutting picture, it's the angle because she doesn't really look like me at all.

One highlight of homeschooling is you can snack while your work.

Our second day of school included a Homeschool Mama meet up where we got to take professional pictures for a great price. Still waiting to receive mine. It was neat getting to meet other homeshcool mamas and see other homeschooling friends. Hannah and Danny on down on the left.

My goofy grapes.

On mornings that we stay home I like to get some table time in so that Danny can participate too and Hannah can get in some extra fine motor/sensory work. I play fun VBS or kiddy music in the background. This day was play-doh and beans and lasted a good 30 minutes. Great morning!

This is a picture of my prep. I read over the week on Sunday to make sure I have any odd supplies I might need to if there is a field trip coming up. Then the morning of, after breakfast I read over the days lesson and read the Bible reference verse so I know what we are covering. Then after lunch I pull it back out along with the printables I printed in August and organized by day and week and get everything prepared. Another reason why I love doing school time after lunch is that it gives me plenty of time to properly prepare for the day.

This collage was an example of God's beautiful world and how God and Jesus were together to make the world and how Jesus also came to earth. The writer and I both know that these concepts might not be completely understood but it is laying a solid Biblical foundation to build on in the future. Plus it helps me understand more as well.

For part of the math lesson we went on a "shape walk" around the yard and had to stop and swing.

Another day that started with errands and a stop at the park while we still can before the rain sets in. This is her first time swinging on the monkey bars by herself.

This is Hannah's least favorite thing to do. Handwriting/Tracing/Coloring. But she gets through it and I don't push her. We're working on hand strength exercises to hopefully make this more enjoyable for her. Here she is working in her Get Ready for the Code book.

Reinforcing the shapes that she already knows with some sponge painting.

We had an amazing week! I'm so excited that I found this program and I look forward to our year ahead.

It wasn't for lack of effort...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 05:01:00 +0000

Five months, that's all I lasted. It happened one evening at a birthday BBQ, it was with an Omaha Steak burger. I knew once I took a bite that it would be a slippery slope, it was and it was worth that! Slowly but surely I integrated myself back into the standard American diet. And I will tell you something I feel relieved and free! I put more effort into going plant based than I have any other way of eating ever before. I would even say I gave it a valiant effort but five months is all I could do. I really thought that I was going to completely change my lifestyle forever. In the process I learned that it's really hard to completely change your lifestyle and your families along with it. Not to say that it cannot be done.

I was tired of being in a constant state of mourning for my old life. I thought I would move past it eventually and maybe I would have after more time, quite frankly I wanted to feel normal again. For me things just started to all add up together, I stopped losing weight, I was still in pain, not gout pain that was gone, but pain everywhere else, my passion for cooking was zapped, my love of baking no longer existed, I pretty much didn't want to be in the kitchen any more. That is not like me. When I first went plant based I looked at what I could have and not at what I couldn't have, but as I went on and on it started to be more about what I couldn't have and mostly about what I couldn't make for my family or enjoy with my family and friends. It was just difficult as time went on.

Last week I went shopping, standard American grocery shopping. It was weird, I hadn't realized that I had not shopped like that in so long. But it was nice because it's so easy. It was more expensive though, that's for sure. But we were also kind of starting over again so we needed more than normal. I even realized that I have never shopped at Costco as a non-vegan so that's going to be a fun experience. Better make a budget, yeah right it's Costco. Anyways, when I brought the food home and filled with fridge I felt comforted. I know, that's weird and probably very unhealthy but I did. I made the mistake of deleting every recipe I had on pinterest and replacing it with vegan options, so I have to start all over again. But, what do you do? I also have to relearn how to cook some things that I used to make, because I literally forgot.

I definitely do not feel like I failed in any way. I feel proud of myself that I was able to go as long as I did. It was a HUGE lifestyle change for me and I gave it everything I had, I changed what I ate, I read several books and did hours of research. It is a little hard now knowing what I know after reading The China Study and The Starch Solution and other books but life is so short as it is. I still don't know how I really feel about all of it. I'm torn, it's pretty much like most things in life, you know what's good for you but you do the bad thing anyways. I was never in it for the animals or environment. I'm also not saying I will never do it again. I'm just taking an indefinite break for now.

Going plant based did teach me about myself however. It taught me that I can do it in the future if I need to. At least for short periods of time. That life really does revolve around food. And that at this point in my life I want to make things easier not more complicated for myself. There I've come clean.

I also had my first cronut, a croissant deep fried and glazed like a donut. There are no words. The End.

Before Five in a Row: Katy No-Pocket

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 May 2014 21:09:00 +0000

((Hannah is 4))

((Danny is 2))

As of right now Katy No-Pocket is the last book we will be rowing this year. Not sure what we're going to be doing now but with summer right around the corner we might just take some time off and focus on lots of outdoor time. As I go on this journey I'm starting to realize some things. One is that Hannah needs activity time, two is that she gets bored with the same activities every week. She started getting really bored with the printable activities that go along with the books we are rowing. Even though they were different subjects and different activities she would get bored. This was tricky. I'm still trying to figure this out. I'm hoping that the preschool program that I've chosen will fix this. From reading it so far it looks like we're doing something different everyday. So besides focusing on outdoor time now, which the kids can never get enough of, I want to make sure Hannah is having some sort of book time and table activity still, they probably won't be related though like when rowing books.

On to Katy No-Pocket.

Danny was really focusing on putting the pom poms into the bowls, it was so cute.

Hannah painted the cover for the folder that will store this books activities.

More cuteness, he just likes to flip the squares up and then swipe them all down with this hand, good for fine motor skills.

They wore their little aprons and you can't really see it but they have tools in the pockets like the nice man in the book.

More play-doh and straws, so much fun, who knew?

I put this whole book together for her, she was not interested at all, but once it was done she really enjoyed looking at the Daddy, Mommy and baby animals.

She also had fun naming the pictures on the cards. All in all it was a good week, I'm so glad we tried Before Five in a Row and I love the concept. I might come back to it for Danny when he's a little older, but right now I think it's time to move on to a different style for learning time. I had planned on rowing through the summer so now that I've changed my mind I'm not sure what we will be doing.

Home Cooking Veganized: Creamy Tortilla Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 May 2014 23:07:00 +0000

Recently I posted a recipe that my family had fallen in love with. It was a chicken tortilla soup that tasted just like a recipe at a restaurant I used to eat at. It was amazing and my husband wanted it weekly. So when I changed my diet a few months back I was determined to figure out how to change the recipe to be healthier and plant-based. It ended up being much easier than I anticipated and it turned out great. Read ahead before you make this recipe so you don't forget to soak your cashews! However if you do forget, I've gotten away with soaking them in hot water for 30 minutes prior to making this.

Creamy Tortilla Soup

6 cups No-Chicken or Veggie Broth

1 15oz can crushed or diced tomatoes

1-2 small cans green chiles

1/4 cup dried minced onion

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp pepper

1 cup crushed Juanita's tortilla chips

1/4 - 1/2 cup rehydrated TVP (optional, textured vegetable protein, amount depends on how thick you want the soup)

1 tsp poultry seasoning (there is no poultry in poultry seasoning)

8 oz homemade cashew sour cream, I only use 1 tsp of lemon juice instead of 2

Garnish: Juanita's tortilla chips, green onions

The version I made in the pictures was actually without TVP, I completely forgot to add it in. It still turned out great! Really the TVP would just be for added protein.

Directions:

To rehydrate the TVP, add equal amount of boiling water to equal amount of dry TVP. Add poultry seasoning and let sit while you start the soup.

In a large covered pot, add broth, tomatoes (with all the juice), green chiles, dried onion, cumin, pepper and Juanita's tortilla chips. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and then reduce to medium and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add already prepped TVP and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes until heated through. Remove pot from heat and stir in cashew sour cream until thoroughly incorporated.
To serve, top with crushed chips and green onions.

If you cannot find Juanita's tortilla chips in your local grocery store, look for a chip that is more authentic and is a "oilier, greasier" chip.

Hope you enjoy! Be plant strong!

Veganizing Family Meals

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 May 2014 01:45:00 +0000

The biggest question I had when changing my diet was "what in the world was I going to make for dinner that tasted good, was familiar but didn't have any animal products in it?". I knew during the days while the hubby was a work it would be easy, the kids will eat what I make but dinner was another story. We have certain associations with dinner especially comforting dinners and certain dinners on nights when my husband has had a rough day, he doesn't exactly want to come home to a salad.

In the beginning I was making a ton of different recipes every day of the week and soon realized that this was getting expensive and taking too much time to plan, shop, make and not everything turned out so great. One night my husband mentioned doing the same meals every week. I thought this was a great idea, it would keep the cost down, I could start to perfect recipes and shopping would be much quicker and cheaper as I could stock up on items I was using weekly. So I came up with a simple plan that went like this.

Sundays - New Recipe

Mondays - Soup/Salad

Tuesday - Tacos

Wednesdays - Italian

Thursdays - Asian

Fridays - Burgers and Home Fries (occasional vegan fast food)

Saturdays - Homemade Pizza & Salad (occasional vegan fast food or family gathering)

This might seem boring to some people but it worked for us. These were all pretty much comfort foods for us, were super easy to make and shop for. I highly recommend for any family transitioning or who wants to try it out to figure out how to veganize your favorite meals instead of trying a bunch of new foods, especially if you have a family, it could be too much too fast for them. Maybe just start with one meal a week. With a little research this was easier than I thought. The one thing I make sure to do for most meals is have a big salad before I eat the main dish. Even though the main dish is vegan and helps with weight loss and other health issues just by being plant-based I like to make sure I get a big portion of fresh veggies in with only a little dressing if I'm using a store bought plant-based dressing. This also helps tremendously with digestion which I'm finding is a huge key to weight release.

The best advice I have for beginning this lifestyle is keep it simple and take it slow. It is easy to get overwhelmed with all of the new products and how healthy you want to be. This lifestyle isn't about perfection or purity it is about living a life that is better for your health, animals and the environment. Educate yourself, once you know why you are doing this whether it be health, animals, the environment or all three you will have the motivation to swap out old foods for new foods. Then once you start eating the new foods and start feeling so much better it will get easier and easier. You'll see that this isn't a fad diet or a quick weight loss gimmick but a complete lifestyle upgrade. You will have more energy, you will look at life differently, you will start eating to live not living to eat and you will be set free from the foods that have been keeping you a slave all these years.

Follow my Pinterest boards for great tips and recipes. Pinterest and YouTube have been my best friends through this change. Once I decided that I was going to be open to a plant-based diet the first thing I did was go on YouTube and search "vegan". I just wanted to see what it was all about. There is a plethora of information on there. I will write another post about everything to watch on YouTube and the best people to follow.

YouTube has allowed me to educate myself quicker than reading a book. I'm reading books too, but I like to have quick tips, see how other people are implementing this lifestyle, get encouragement, know there is a large community of people all over the world doing this and I get to see their results.

I will have my recipes soon. I'm a bad blogger, I keep making the recipes and forgetting to take all of the pictures I want before it's too late, soon though, soon.

Transition Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 May 2014 21:08:00 +0000

The hardest part about incorporating a new lifestyle is how to blend your old life with your new life, especially when you have a family that isn't interested in your new lifestyle. It's so difficult because I have all of these new convictions, new knowledge, and dedication to do this for my and my families health. But when they, mainly my husband is not on board that can make things tricky. I knew that the kids wouldn't be that difficult to transition because they naturally do not like meat, well real meat anyways, they love chicken nuggets and hot dogs but I do not consider those real meat and haven't for a long time. But my husband on the other hand was another story. But he wanted to start eating healthier which I was happy about, at least he was taking that step forward with me in my journey.

Image via Veggieboards.com

But, I made the classic mistake of going too far too fast. After my initial introduction of no red meat and meatless Monday went over well I was feeling great about it. I took that part slow. But then once I decided that I was going vegan for the first time I wanted to make all of our meals plant-based. This was a bit trickier because I went against my instinct to take it slow. I was smart enough not to clear out the pantry and fridge and start over with all new plant-based options, I knew that would be too much even for me, not to mention way too expensive. So I replaced things as they ran out with new plant-based items. Since I make all of the meals and do all of the shopping for our family this was easy to control. But then I made a mistake I wasn't into the idea of making a meal for them and a different for me especially wanting them to give up animal products like I did. So I just stopped buying certain products hoping that my husband would just forget about them, mainly milk. I'm laughing as I write this now because I had high hopes that would soon be dashed. I quickly learned that he would not forget and after a couple of heated discussions I soon realized that my new lifestyle changes were not worth ruining my marriage over. It never got to that point but it wasn't worth arguing over. It wasn't my place to make those decisions for him especially since I'm the one who decided to change years into our marriage. It makes me sad knowing that he still eats mostly the same way but he has accepted some new changes and I'm happy with that. I have managed to keep the dinners that I cook plant-based but I do still buy animal products that he can add to the meals to make it like he likes, mainly cheese. Some meals he will do this to and others he will leave all plant-based. I feel this is a good compromise, the main part of the meal is plant-based and healthy so that is a step in the right direction for him. He also is willing to give things a try which is great but he will quickly speak up if he doesn't like it.

Some of the easiest food changes I've made are mayonnaise, margarine, chicken nuggets and baking. Vegenaise is a great eggless mayo replacement. I can find it a my local grocery store and even found a large jar at Costco. Earth Balance is my new favorite margarine replacement, we were big Country Crock fans and I find this to taste the same, with no casein or whey. Baking has been easy too, I've made a ton of vegan cookies and even Duncan Hines cupcakes. For Duncan Hines just check the ingredients but most of their cake mixes and frostings are animal product free. I'm still working on the perfect egg replacer that actually keeps the cake together better but the taste is spot on and using a fork to eat the cupcakes fixes the crumbly problem. Gardein's crispy tenders and Madarin orange crispy chick'n nuggets have been a yummy addition to our meals. The first time I made the the orange chick'n with a stir-fry my husband kept asking me why I was eating meat. All I could do was giggle. He was shocked at how yummy they were, I even turned my in-laws onto them. Costco has them available in a large bag, so these have become a staple. Last week I put them on top of a salad with the orange sauce as a dressing and it was amazing!

Image via namelymarly.com

Other products that I love and my family will eat are Gardein's beefless grounds, burger patties and Life Lite Smart Dogs. These aren't their favorites but they will eat them. I know these products aren't the healthiest way to eat and some might call these vegan junk foods but they are great and much healthier when trying to incorporate the whole family in a plant-based life style. There are many other brands of beelfless grounds and "meat" products that I've tried and that work but the brands listed above are my favorites. It is so easy these days to go plant-based. There are countless products and tons of information out there, it really is much easier than you might think.

However I will not lie, vegan cheese just doesn't do it for any of us. That is the one thing that I just cannot seem to get on board with. It makes me sad to say that but I'm not going to lie about it. I love the taste of animals products and I try not to compare them to their vegan counterparts because I know they will not be the same but I just cannot do cheese. Luckily I've finally gotten to the point where I can just eat things without cheese or a cheese substitute. This has been very freeing. I'm not a slave to cheese anymore. There is only one cheese product that I have been able to tolerate so far and that is the Daiya Havarti Style Wedge. But I do not use it much at all.

Milk has been a super easy item to replace because I already liked almond milk and rice milk. I do not like soy or hemp milk though. But to each their own. My favorite almond milk is Silk Unsweetened Original Almond Milk which is Non GMO Project Verified and my favorite rice milk is Costco's Kirkland Organic Rice Milk. I don't exactly drink these by the glass full but they are great in cereal, baking and cooking. I've also completely replaced Daniel's bottles of cows milk with these.

I know there are many more products that I've purchased and used but these are some of the staples that have helped me and my family transition to a healthier way of eating without changing our weekly meals too much. So my advice is take it slowly. Replace items as needed when transitioning. Do not go cold turkey especially if you have a family that isn't on board. We still have a freezer full of meat because I used to stock up on marked down meat. I still occassionally make a meal that has meat as the main dish and I just eat the side dishes and a big salad usually. I still buy dairy, eggs and meat for my husband. I don't like to but I do because I love him and respect his wishes.

Sorry if this was kind of a boring post but I wanted to share the things that have helped us transition and keep transitioning as a family. I feel it's very important to be honest and real. It's hasn't been the easiest transition for us but it's been easier than I thought it would in the beginning. It is so worth it for long term health.

My Journey to Plant-Based. Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 May 2014 06:37:00 +0000

I forgot to add in the last post that I also have some type of autoimmune disorder, which is why I had arthritis at such a young age but the doctors aren't able to diagnose it yet. Which is the case with many autoimmune disorders. I've been tested for Lupus twice, which my mom has, but it's been negative both times. I tested positive for Sjogren's syndrome but it was only for one of the two antibodies and I don't have the actual symptoms that come with Sjogrens. So I was told I don't actually have it but there is something definitely going on. This was another reason for changing my diet. I've known for a long time that diet is related to how you feel and as I've learned more about autoimmune disorders I've learned that they can be related to diet as well.

So even though I heard the message about animal products and it clicked I decided I was going to become vegetarian. No meat is easy, no dairy is another issue. That would literally require a complete lifestyle change and something I never thought I would do. I've never ever met a vegan in real life and quite frankly I didn't have a good representation of them. In other words I was ignorant to the whole lifestyle. There is way more to it than I ever thought.

It just so happened by accident that my first meatless day was February 1 and I haven't looked back since. I will admit meat smells good and looks good. My hubby still eats it and when we BBQ his juicy burger smells so good, but I have come so far now that I would hate to eat it, oh yeah and it's not good for ME. Other than everything I learned from Forks Over Knives and other documentaries, books and the online community, I have a literal reason why not to eat meat. It physically causes my body harm. I'm only 32, I can't imagine if I would have kept eating meat how I would feel in 10, 20, 30 years. I was miserable now and ready to change. I finally had the education about meat and dairy and since I had real life proof about what was said I knew it was true and everything made sense.

Another reason to cut animal protein, uric acid increase and calcium leaching. Got milk? Has another meaning to me now that I've learned the truth.

As I continued not eating meat I started to learn more about the plant-based diet and cholesterol. I didn't realize that the only way we put cholesterol into our bodies is through animal products. Our bodies produce it on their own so why did we need to add more? These new things that I've learned go against everything that I've been told my whole life. But look around, why are we obese? Why are we the leading country with osteoporosis, yet we consume the most dairy in the world? Why is cancer getting worse when we spend more money than ever on research? Why are our kids getting type 2 diabetes? Why is heart disease, a completely unnecessary disease the number 1 killer in America? To me it is not a mystery anymore. It is simply what we choose to put in our mouths at every meal. I understand the people who don't want to know, my husband is one of those people. But I was finally ready to know and take action. I was done with the SAD.

There is way more information out there than this but I like how short and to the point this video is.

As I learned more and more I knew that I needed to go plant-based. So I slowly stopped drinking milk, eating cheese and eggs by themselves. Everything was a process, I slowly cleaned out our fridge and replaced animal products with vegan alternatives as needed. This made the change doable. (I will write another post in more detail about what foods I changed and what I do for meals.) I started to try to go most days without any animal products. Even though something would slip in here in there because I'm still learning what has animal products in it and what doesn't. We also stopped fast food for a month or so. And you know what started to happen? I started to lose weight! By eliminating animal products and eating a ton more fruits and veggies the weight started to fall off. I wasn't even working out, no exercise at all. I was eating all I wanted, no calorie counting, I was even eating baked vegan goods daily and still the weight was falling off. I felt so much lighter, my stomach started to flatten more and I felt unencumbered, if you know what I mean. I now call it weight release instead of weight loss. My body started to release what it had been holding on to this whole time but I also started to go through detox. I believe the majority of that weight release was toxins my body had been holding onto. I started to get acne again and started needing more sleep, water and rest in general. I was in full on detox mode and I didn't really realize it.

One of the meals that really helped me transition and is still my favorite meal is taco salad. This is a mountain of taco salad on my plate. I use lettuce, a few Juanita's tortilla chips, Gardien meatless grounds with taco seasoning or brown rice and black beans with taco seasoning, Wholly Guacamole or avocado, bell peppers, green onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and salsa.

But at the same time people were telling me I looked different, I had a glow about myself. This made me feel awesome and fueled my passion. Which I needed while detoxing. But then April hit. Life started to get busier again which made it harder. I started telling myself that I'm just going to stick with the vegetarian thing full time and be vegan when I can. We started to eat fast food again and I just made sure it was vegan when I could or at least vegetarian. So I had cheese pizza here and there and birthday cake and ice cream. But then what happened, they weight release stopped. *insert sad face*. I wasn't gaining any weight thank God but I wasn't losing anymore. I started to feel encumbered again and I knew exactly what was causing it. I was eating things with animal products in them, eggs, milk, cheese. I wasn't eating the foods by themselves but they were hidden in the things I was eating. Like a certain peanut butter cracker we get has cheddar cheese in the ingredients. This shocked me! If I wanted cheese crackers I would get cheese crackers, not peanut butter crackers.

I was proud of myself for ordering a veggie pizza (sans cheese) for the kids birthday party but I did eat cake and a little ice cream. I was trying but not very hard.

Once the birthdays were over at the end of April I had decided I was done with animal products all together and remembered everything I had learned before. Now that I knew the truth and how I felt without eating animal products I wanted that back. The emotional tie that I have to cheese isn't worth how I feel after eating it. Also, I want to be clear, when I was eating the SAD I didn't have problems with digestion, I didn't have heart burn or bloating most of the time. So when I say now that I feel yucky after eating cheese I never felt that before when eating cheese or dairy, it is because my body has reset to what it is supposed to be. When I put these animal products in it, I feel weighed down, I feel like I have a rock in my stomach and sometimes my stomach hurts. It just isn't worth the discomfort for a few seconds of pleasure that I know is making me sick.

Now that I've recommitted myself, it is the second week of May and I am feeling great. I'm down another 2 lbs. I've started to incorporate some more changes into my diet this week which are very exciting and very new and foreign. I'm still nervous about it which is something else I'm dealing with, but I'm again immersing myself into research. All I know is the two days that I've done it I felt great! I didn't do it today and felt a difference and can't wait to get back at it tomorrow. Once I have more time under my belt I will share more.

Here's a hint of what I'm doing. Mangos, Ataulfo mangos, bananas, Asian pears, pineapple, Medjool dates, avocados, cantaloupes, watermelons, apples and oranges. #fruitstash

My journey to Plant-Based. Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 May 2014 23:53:00 +0000

I've been completely quiet about this on the blog so far because everything was so new and I wanted to see if this was going to stick or fail. But I'm finally ready to share what I've been doing and why I haven't posted any recipes lately, though I've been cooking up a storm.

In short I have become a vegan. I eat a completely plant-based diet, no animal products at all go into my body. Here is the story as to why I decided to switch from the standard American diet (SAD) to a vibrant abundant plant-based lifestyle.

Eating vibrant colorful food in abundance makes you feel vibrant and colorful. You are what you eat!

Over the past few months I've made some pretty major changes in my life concerning what I eat. This past fall I went into the doctor for some pain in my thumb that I embarrassingly enough thought might be from being on my phone too much, but to my surprise I was diagnosed with Gout. Gout is a form of arthritis. It comes from having high uric acid levels in your body and this creates crystal like formations around your joints causing a lot of pain. Usually it occurs in the big toe but mine was mostly in my right thumb. I've had arthritis since I was 11 in most of my major joints but this was a new one to me. At that Dr.'s appointment I also discovered that my blood pressure was higher than it ever had been (it was always perfect in the past even during pregnancies), my cholesterol was heading in a bad direction, I was 60 lbs overweight (which I already knew!), and the big kicker was that I was .4 points away from being pre-diabetic!

Even though I was in pain from the gout all I could think about was that I was almost diabetic. I had always wondered about diabetes but never thought I could actually come close to having it. Even though I had gained the least amount of weight with my third pregnancy I already had so much from the second that the measly 11 lb gain from the third completely put me over the top. I was in pain all of the time, I knew I wasn't supposed to be that heavy and my body was screaming at me. But I just didn't know what to do. I had lost complete control of what I was eating and had some how slipped into binge eating and I was scared to death of not having any control.

The Dr. had prescribed an arthritis medication for me that I was supposed to take everyday. We ended up having trouble with insurance every time I went to pick up this medication and I hated taking pills everyday, so all of that combined with my declining health, I knew I had to do something once and for all but I didn't know what that was or when I was going to be ready to do that. Oddly enough I actually look at my Gout diagnosis as a blessing now because it has started me down a path that I never would have imagined. Gout is a food related disease and it really hit me that you are what you eat. The main thing you need to stay away from with gout is red meat, it causes high uric acid levels. So that was my first step on my journey. I cut out red meat, it was super easy, I just replaced it with ground turkey and chicken in any recipe that called for ground beef. At the time we were eating too much spaghetti with meat sauce and hamburger helper (I know, mom of the year right here). But I was exhausted all of the time and it was a favorite dinner that the kids loved and would actually eat. Little did I know that I was killing myself with my food choices.

100% Cherry juice and carbonated beverages are supposed to help fight uric acid levels, so I combined the two for a tasty spritzer.

Soon after that I decided to figure out how to make boxed meals from scratch because I knew we were eating way too much processed foods. Thanks to Pinterest that was super easy. I pretty much looked up whatever we were eating from a box ( hamburger helper, rice-a-roni, etc.) and found lots of recipes from scratch. Then I started to incorporate Meatless Monday into our weekly menu. Again this was super easy there are so many delicious vegetarian dishes out there, our whole family enjoyed this.

Then sometime after that "the major change" occurred. We had decided to down grade our cable to the most basic local channels to save money and get rid of junk TV and we decided to try Netflix. Always being someone who was interested in being healthy, I was 40 lbs lighter before my second child, I was hardcore into lifting, running and eating clean. I felt great but once I became pregnant everything fell apart big time. Anyways back to what I was saying, I was interested in losing weight and nutrition; and I always like learning new things. So I started watching a bunch of documentaries and then it happened, I watched Forks Over Knives (free on Netflix). Something inside me clicked but I felt I needed to keep it secret because my husband still isn't on board fully. He fully supports me and my efforts but he himself isn't ready to make any "crazy" changes. This was sometime in early January 2014, that whole month I couldn't get Forks Over Knives out of my head. So I immersed myself into learning more about the plant based vegan lifestyle. I tried to be a vegetarian for a week when I was like 12 but when I went over to a friends house and her grandmother got mad at me for not eating the meat she had prepared I thought it was too difficult and quickly gave up. So not eating meat wasn't a foreign concept, but veganism was. No eggs? No milk? No butter? No CHEESE? Excuse me, I eat that stuff with every meal, how am I going to live and....be happy?

Before Five in a Row: If Jesus Came to My House

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 May 2014 18:57:00 +0000

((Hannah is 3 1/2))

((Danny is 1 1/2))

It's been a while since we did these activities, these past few weeks have been super busy. I haven't really had time to sit down and blog.

Reading If Jesus Came to My House every day was great. It really put how we are supposed to love people like Jesus into easy to understand perspective. Great lessons. The part that stood out to Hannah the most was having Jesus near all of the time so there is no need to be afraid, especially at night time shadows like the boy in the story.We used the lapbook activities from Home School Share.

It worked out great that we were on the letter J while rowing this story. As you can see she's very enthused. She actually does still enjoy these Alphabet Cut & Paste sheets, they really help with phonics.

Danny had some fun playing with little bells and a bottle. Hannah had to get in on the fun, she's still more interested in Danny's activities.

A little more enthused after finishing her dot letter J. She does still love this activity.

We did the cutest art work for the Alphabet Art Book. I had no idea what to do for jellyfish so I looked on Pinterest and found this idea.