Napturally Dany

Mattie James Consistency Challenge Recap

2020-07-31T17:44:00.000-04:00

GIRL! The Mattie James Consistency Challenge is officially over and yall…..sis is TI-RED! After getting through this month, I'm looking back at it with mixed feelings. Part of me sees all the things I could have done differently while the other part of me is so proud because I completed all 20 blog posts! They all may not have been perfect, but I pushed through.

I’ve had plenty of moments where I felt like I had nothing to write for the blog, wasn’t sure if a blog post would make it up that day (hence last night’s super late post, but sis got it done). But I’m proud of myself for sticking through it till the end.

So many late nights, and some early mornings just to prove to myself that I could do this and so many lessons along the way. The biggest lesson: work smarter not harder. Working smarter saves so much time and energy, and makes you so much more efficient. Also sets you up for consistency! Here are some of the ways I plan to work smarter, not harder:

PREP AND POSITION

I realize that I need to prepare and position myself if influencing is something I want to do full time. There’s so much that goes into content creation, and I need do the work to prepare and position myself for success. It’s not just going to fall into my lap.

MORNING ROUTINE

As much as it hurts my itty bitty soul to say this, cause I love my sleep, I really do need to establish a legit morning routine where I’m waking up significantly earlier than my kids and before my 8:30-5 starts so I can get some stuff done. Really hard to do, but on those mornings where I did get up early I knocked out quite a few things on my to-do list.

KEEP A SHORT TO-DO LIST

Sometimes I can be an over-acheiever, but with three kids and a full time job there isn’t a lot of room for that. Instead. Keeping a to-do list with three things I want to accomplish for the day helps keep me on task.

TIME BLOCK

I’ve said this before, but time blocking is a must for productivity! It keeps you on task, especially if you have a limited amount of time to accomplish something.

PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE

As weird as it feels to put yourself out there, I didn’t write 20 blog posts for people not to read it! So while I didn’t promote as much as I would have liked to during the consistency challenge, you best believe we’ll be optimizing these posts for Pinterest and driving even more traffic to the blog!

EDITORIAL PROCESS, SCHEDULE, & CALENDAR

There is so much that goes into producing great content consistently, and it’s my mission to really master it. I’ve really seen the benefit of having a process for content creation, a schedule on how to get it all done, and a calendar for when content will go live.

PUT YOURSELF FIRST

Part of the reason why starting this consistency challenge was so important for me was because I wanted to do something just for me. Its easy to get lost in motherhood and lose bits and pieces of yourself. Writing and creating has always been an outlet for me. It’s my thing outside of being mommy. So it was important I do this so I can prove to myself that it can indeed be done!

If you've rocked with me for this long THANK YOU! I hope you continue to follow along the journey!

Why You Should Follow Your Dreams When Others Don't Believe in You

2020-07-30T21:50:00.000-04:00

We often get these amazing ideas that surpass anything that we could even ask, think, or imagine. In some cases, when you share your ideas people can be really positive and supportive. In others, your ideas and dreams are sometimes shot to the ground. Others may not understand your vision. And guess what....that's okay! Here's a few reasons why:

1. Their faith doesn't match your faith.
2. They don't understand your industry or field and the potential you have.
3. They don't understand what God has placed on your heart.
4. They can't see past their current circumstances to think, dream, and accomplish more.

Sis, people may not always believe in you, but the most important thing is that you believe in yourself and that you believe in the gifts that God has placed on your heart. I don't believe God would place things in our hearts if there were no possibility of them ever coming to fruition. That's why for me, it's important that God become an integral part of my business plan so that I'm always operating under His will and getting the guidance, encouragement, and peace that man can't give me. Let me tell you something: the only yes you need to follow your dreams is yours. Your yes coupled with faith and hard work will get you far.

Sis, go for it. Do the thing that seems impossible, despite what others may say.

TULA Skincare - Is It Really Worth the Hype?

2020-07-29T16:53:00.000-04:00

I follow a lot of beauty influencers on the gram, and for the past year or so I've been seeing Tula products all over my feed. I mean, the girls have been raving about Tula! And to be quite honest, I can't blame them!

I was given the opportunity to become a #TULAPartner, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. As I’m in my late 20's and nearing 30, one of my goals is to start taking better care of my skin. I’ve always had pretty decent skin aside from the typical breakout here, but post pregnancy has made my skin more prone to dryness and looking and feeling a little lackluster. Tula has changed the game for me!

ALL ABOUT TULA

TULA is a doctor-founded cruelty free, clean + effective skincare brand that focuses on being healthy, not perfect, and empowering our community to feel confident in the skin they're in. What makes them different from other skincare brands is that their products are formulated with probiotics and prebiotics, meaning the products are made with good bacteria (like the ones found naturally in our bodies!) to help lock in moisture. TULA products are formulated without Phthalates, Parabens, Toxins, Carcinogens, Mineral Oil, Sodium Laurel Sulfate, and harmful preservatives. I love that they believe that the same ingredients that are good for the body is good for the skin - there's all kinds of good stuff in their products, like blueberry, papaya, and turmeric.

Now, prior to using TULA products I didn't really have a skincare regimen. I used mainly drugstore products, but after using TULA....yall! I felt the difference in my skin with the first use. My skin felt so hydrated and plump and I was GLOWING! One of my favorites has to be the Rose Glow & Get It Cooling & Brightening Eye Balm along with the 24/7 Moisture Hydrating Date & Night Cream.

Soon, I’ll be sharing more about my TULA must haves, as well as a bit of my skincare regimen since taking my skincare more seriously. And, if you didn’t know I have a coupon code for (DANY15) 15% off for any Tula product.

So tell me, have you tried TULA products? I’d love to know what you’ve tried that’s worked for you!

How to Survive a Beach Trip with Multiples

2020-07-28T12:57:00.001-04:00

Since being in quarantine, we finally made our way out to the beach! We've done the beach thing with multiples a few times now, so I thought I'd share some ways to survive a beach trip with multiples!

GO EARLY OR LATE AFTERNOON

You don’t want to go when the sun is at its highest because it'll be way too hot and unbearable for everyone. We went around 3 p.m.— the sun was still a bit hot, but

SUN SCREEN

Make sure you bring sunscreen to protect the kids skin. I’ve been looking for more natural sunscreen so we've been using raspberry seed oil on their skin. Keeps their skin moisturized and offers some UVA and UVB protection from the sun.

BEACH TOYS

Gotta have the beach toys. It’s the first thing Leilani asked for when we got our spot set up on the beach. Perfect way to keep the kids occupied, especially if you're at the beach with a group of people and want to have an adult moment for a while. Beach toys (shovel, pail, etc...) will keep them busy for a while.

TENT

We have been loving this Baby Delight Inc tent! We were using it in the house primarily for the kids as their little indoor tent and place to retreat to, but it’s perfect for those beach days when you toddler babies need a break from the sun. Super easy to assemble and Riley camped out in there most of the day and played in the sand!

COLD WATER

It was pretty hot when we went to the beach, so make sure you have lots of water on deck to keep the kids hydrated.

SNACKS

Make sure to have plenty of snacks on deck too. The kids will most likely be too busy playing in the sand and water, and will likely say they're not hungry when you ask. That moment when you least expect it of course is when they'll lay it on you, so make sure you have snacks and or food available!

CORNSTARTCH FOR REMOVING SAND

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this the day of, but cornstarch is perfect for removing sand! Just pour it on the sandy areas and brush it away. The kids had a gang of sand on all of them, and it was a bit of a pain trying to get them cleaned off before getting back in the car. Try cornstartch!

LET THE KIDS BE

Biggest tip I can give is to just let the kids do their thing. As much as I wanted to tell them not to lay in the sand because they’d get sand in their hair, I knoew it would just result in a tantrum. Letting the kids be and just do their things is less stress for everyone.

LESS IS BEST

I’m the mom who likes to be overprepared for everything, but I’ve founds that with multiples, less is best. I just made sure to pack the essentials (swim diapers, towels, umbrella, water, snacks,etc…) and keep it at that. Way too much to lug around when trying to keep track of toddlers.

Life Lessons From My Toddlers

2020-07-27T18:56:00.005-04:00

Being a mom to three toddlers, you can only imagine the things that goes on and the many things that are said in the Jacobs household. One thing is for sure- these kids will teach you a whole lot and will gather you real quick, honey. Follow along with me as I share some of my musings on what my toddlers have taught me.

BE UNAPOLOGETICALLY YOU

All of my kids have this quirkiness about them that I love. Personally, I think they get it from me because I can be the same way at times. But seeing how they're able to be nothing but themselves every single day, no matter how silly or goofy it is, inspires me to do the same. Learning more to worry less about what others think of me and focus more on my own happiness.

SAY THAT THANG WITH YA CHEST

Josiah is good for this one. Whenever he asks me for something and I'm either distracted with something else or just simply ignoring him (don't act like your kids aren't annoying sometimes and you don't ignore them!), he'll ask again, but much louder. The kids makes sure I hear him the second time, okay? Leilani on the other hand is very articulate and outspoken and will say exactly how she feels (she gets it from her mama) and will ask why if she doesn't understand something. Riley, the one year old, will let you know exactly how she feels with her baby talk lol.

PERSISTANCE AND DETERMINATION WINS

Can't be the only parent who has given in after saying no fiftyleven times after your toddler has asked. Hey, it’s a game well played lol. While their goals and my goals are obviously different, their determination is teaching me that if I have that same drive, determination, and persistence, I can accomplish anything I want.

FORGIVENESS IS A CHOICE

As many times as my kids fight. Shoot, as many times as I've yelled out of frustration, these kids will burst into tears one second and graciously accept an apology the next and go on about their business as if it never happened. Much harder for us adults obviously because we're more developed in our emotions and our views of the world, but their willingness to forgive so easily is something I truly admire. Its something adults needs to do more of, one because holding onto unforgiveness is draining, and two, God calls us to love and forgive one another.

CHILDLIKE FAITH

I remember growing up and not necessarily having to worry about how the bills were going to get paid, or where food would come from because I knew my parents would take care of it. Every single day, they know mommy is gonna take care of them and meet all of their needs. Their innocence inspires me to have that same faith with my heavenly father.

What are some things that your little ones are teaching you?

Week Three, Consistency Challenge Recap

2020-07-24T17:56:00.002-04:00

Week three of the Mattie James Consistency Challenge is coming to a close. Next week is the final week, and I couldn't be more excited. One, because sis is tired lol. But two, because I'm really proud of myself for seeing this thing through.

You see, my whole brand started with this here blog six years ago. I was a sophomore in college back in 2013, really just trying to figure out what I could do in my spare time. I’ve never stuck to blogging consistently, so doing this consistency challenge has really pushed me to get back to my first love, which is writing!

Always loved writing. Went to a high school that focused heavily on writing, and also got my BA in English Literature and completed a thirty-six page honors thesis. Writing has been something that’s been a part of me for so long.

But then, life happened and I got very inconsistent. I was trying to get through finishing college, got married, had all the babies, bouts of postpartum depression. If I’m honest, I really just kind of got lost in my new roles as a wife and mother and lost pieces of my self. I tried to get back in the game last summer and started to lose confidence and also wondered if I was even built for this influencer lifestyle because there are so many other women out here killing it.

But when Mattie started these consistency challenges, as daunting as the tasks were, I decided to go for it and bet on myself. I’m really proud of myself for going for it these past few months and challenging myself to get back to what I’ve always loved, which is writing and creating. Sharing my story. Sharing my journey. Being an inspiration to other women. Like, ugh! My IG community leaves me feeling so full sometimes!

So for me, it was never about the money. I told myself at the beginning of this challenge that I would do it, and honey, I am doing it! I’m excited for week four. Excited to finish this challenge strong. I’ve learned so much about what I’m capable of when I really put my mind to what I love. And really just excited to get back to me and do something just for me!

Favorite Books for Brown Skinned Girls

2020-07-23T10:55:00.000-04:00

It’s no secret that we love books in our household. As a kid, I loved books, and we try our best to foster that same love for learning and books in our children.

One of the things that was important to me was to introduce books that feature characters that looks like my children and have brown skin. It’s important to me that they’re able to see themselves in the characters they read about. We've come across some great finds over the years, so I went ahead and compiled a few of our favorite books with a short review on them. I definitely plan on adding more books to their collection with diverse characters.

What’s the Commotion in the Ocean by Nyasha Williams

Awesome book teaching children about water pollution along with practical solutions to help save the ocean. I was blown away by the illustrations in this book— absolutely phenomenal!

Gigi's Little Dreamer by Carmen Maples

The author recently sent us this book and it’s become one of Leilani’s favorites. It’s a book about a little girl excited to go to her Grandma GiGi’s house and all of the fun adventures she has. Leilani has quite the imagination, so the imaginative text and storyline is perfect for her!

Princess Hair by Sharee Miller

This book teaches little girls to love their natural hair! As a mother to girls with curls, love having a book like this that teaches girls that their hair is indeed beautiful! This book celebrates hair of all different shapes, textures, and styles— everything from curls to dreadlocks, to braids. Love how it celebrates the diversity of black hair!

ABC What Can She Be

Love that this book represents all kids of girls with different skin colors and backgrounds and encourages all the different career paths girls can take! Also love the bold and vibrant illustrations!

God Knows my Name by Debby Anderson

Scripture tells us that God knows exactly who we are. He knows the number of hairs on our head. Love that this book incorporates scripture in way that young children can understand so that they know that they belong to God and that he knows and loves them!

When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner

I love the beautiful reminder in this book about how beautifully and wonderfully made we are because God made us. Something I want my children to always remember.

I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont

This is a fun book that we read time and time again and my kids absolutely love. Love how imaginative the book as, as well as the quirky illustrations that go along with the book. It encourages children to love and appreciate everything about themselves, from their eyes, nose fingers, and toes!

Peek-A-Boo Morning

All of my childen loved playing Peek-A-Boo, so this is just a fun book to read to them!

What books are your kids loving these days?

Quarantine Summer Fun with Chalkola

2020-07-22T07:30:00.002-04:00

Anyone else’s kids bored in the house and in the house bored? Sometimes it’s a complete struggle trying to find things to keep the kids occupied with because they get bored so quickly and can easily be done with an activity in a matter of minutes— hello toddlers with short attention spans?

At this point it feels like we’ve done all the quarantine things to keep them occupied— we’ve built the forts, blew the bubbles, played the board games. This mama has Pinterested all the age-appropriate activities. After a while the kids either get bored with the same activities, or they just simply can’t figure out how to do something together without fighting.

One thing my kids love doing is drawing and writing, so when Chalkola reached out to me about trying their chalkboard and chalk markers, I was all for it. Not only would it be something different, fun to keep the kids occupied, but it'd even be something I could incorporate into our day to day teaching sessions.

CHALKOLA MARKERS

Our Chalkola bundle came with a box of thirty markers filled with a variety of vibrant colors, as well as a 12.5 x 10.5 inch Chalkboard. The markers are the perfect size for little hands and helps with their fine motor skills as they learn how to use writing utensils better. Leilani for the most part knows how to use a pencil and, but Josiah is still learning, as he is just two.

The markers also come with a reversible tip, which I thought was absolutely genius! The round tip is perfect for writing while the chisel tip is great for more creative drawing and calligraphy.

To get the markers going, the instructions advise you to shake for thirty seconds with the cap on, and then press the tip multiple times to get the ink going. While I did this part, I sang some songs just to keep their attention until we got the ink flowing through the markers. Once the ink was there, the kids got to work!

I love how bright and vibrant the colors are, which is something I wasn't expecting. They also write really smooth and dry fairly quickly for liquid chalk markers, so that was also a plus.

We have yet to explore the endless possibilities of the markers, but I love the versatility. Not only can you use them on chalkboards, but they can be used on paper, dry erase boards, glass, windows, and any other non-porous surfaces.

CHALKOLA CHALKBOARD

Okay, so there's a few things about the Chalkola Chalkboard that I love:

The chalkboard is the perfect size for my kids to use, so both kids can write on the board at the same time without really fighting over it.
The chalkboard comes with a kick stand and tray to hold your markers.
The chalkboard is super versatile and is something everyone can use. It's perfect for quotes, signs, and even homeschool activities.
The chalkboard is big enough for both kids to use, but also small enough to store away when we're not using.

KID FRIENDLY

I try my best to make sure my kids are using things that are safe and non-toxic. I love that Chalkola is Child-safe, non toxic, acid free, and xylene free. The markers are also water-based, so they wash off clothes fairly easily. Don't know about you, but that is a #parentingwin in my book! I don't have to worry about the kids inhaling any strong odors, or worrying about any stains or adverse reactions if the ink happens to get on their hands.

GET CHALKOLA TODAY

It's official. I'm declaring Chalkola a mommy must-have and a summer essential for all the moms who are home trying to keep their kids busy! Literally so many uses out of this Chalkola bundle, making it perfect for all moms! Head on over to the Chalkola Website and make sure you use code DANYELLEJ10 for 10% off your Chalkola purchase.

Don't worry, if Amazon is more your thing, I got you there too sis! You can also find Chalkola products on Amazon, so head on over to Amazon and make sure you use code CHALKOLA10 for 10% off your Chalkola Bundle. I'm telling you, while summer is still here and we're still in the middle of being quarantine, I highly recommend stocking up on some essentials for your summer arts and crafts projects.

What Black Marriage Means to Me

2020-07-21T15:43:00.000-04:00

It’s crazy to think that on July 26, 2020, hubs and I would have been together for six years. We got married young. I was 22, and hubs was 24. But we got married because we knew that if we wanted to be together for the long run, we wanted to do it in a way that would honor God. We knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with each other. We did because we loved each other.

But, what I’ve learned is that love is not enough to hold a marriage together. What I have found to be enough is the foundation on which love is built, which is Christ, friendship, humility, communication, understanding, forgiveness, and grace.

We do not have the perfect marriage by any means. If I’m being honest, having children has made marriage for us a bit complicated and we’ve had some very trying times over the years. But for us, we wanted to rewrite the narrative of black marriages.

I grew up in a two parent household, but my parents were never married. My husband did as well, but his parents were married a little later into his childhood. It's propelled us to show our children different.

So when one asks the question, what does black marriage mean? It is love manifested in a culture that is ours. It means breaking generational curses. It means creating new traditions and setting the example for your children of what it is to truly love as Christ loved— without conditions. It means letting go of unhealthy habits, creating healthy boundaries, and demonstrating to our children how to be healthy and whole people in Christ.

Marriage take constant work. We’ve dealt with and still deal with harsh realities. Marriage has revealed some unhealthy habits that we've had to and are still unlearning. But it’s what’s helped us grow and keep growing. We are two imperfect people who make mistakes, but still fight for each other daily. Doing the work is what knits us closer together.

We love because God called us to love. We love and keep trying because we want to show our children and the world that God makes all things new. We love because we want to set a good example for our children and bring God glory through our union. We love because our union is bigger than "I love you and you love me."

Black marriage means purpose, love, security, wholeness. We are black marriage. Black marriage is us.

How I Find Peace in the Midst of Chaos

2020-07-20T17:49:00.003-04:00

Today has just been one of those days. I'm running on very little sleep, work is just hectic, trying to keep up with the many deadlines of blogger life, and the kids are being...well, kids lol. Not to mention we're still kind of in quarantine and my oldest is asking to do all of the things we simply just can’t do right now.

SHUT IN WITH THE FATHER

We can't talk about peace on the midst of chaos without bringing up the Prince of Peace— Jesus. Communicating with God through prayer, praise, and worship has gotten me through plenty of days. On days where I’ve felt like I couldn’t make it in my own strength, I’ve had to rely on my Heavenly Father to get me through. And he’s never failed me.

LOG OFF SOCIAL

With everything going on and new information coming out in the media, sometimes it’s best to just unplug. With my kids going crazy during the day and everything I’m seeing on social media, sometimes it all can just become to much. Consuming all of that information can definitely be overwhelming on top of your normal day to day. Log off social media if you have to for your own sanity and mental health.

SPEAK THE WORD

On those tough days, I have to remind myself of God’s promises. Reminding myself that His grace is sufficient for me(2 Corinthians 12:9) and that He is a very present help in my time of need (Psalm 46:1). So grateful for the Holy Spirit who is my help when I literally feel like I don't have the strength to make it through the day.

How do you find peace in the midst of chaos? If your a work from home mama especially, I'd love to know how you've been finding peace in the midst of everything going on.

STAYCATION × PUERTO RICO with Mapiful

2020-07-17T18:49:00.000-04:00

Our six year wedding anniversary is coming up and I'm getting all the feels thinking about our honeymoon trip to Puerto Rico! Brings back so many amazing memories of life before kids lol.

Mapiful kindly gifted us these wonderful prints. With Mapiful, you can create unique customizable prints of a place that is close to your heart and bring home a physical reminder of the moments you never forget.

This year, there isn’t much room for travel, but we most surely can dream. And since our honeymoon is right in the middle of the summer, I figured what better way to commemorate the moment than with these wonderful prints of the beautiful city we visited on our honeymoon: Rio Grande, Puerto Rico!

Our trip to Puerto Rico was extremely last minute. It almost didn’t happen since we were young and broke newlyweds LOL. Thank God for my grandmother who made the trip possible for us. While we didn’t have much time to really prepare, I wanted to share some things we discovered which turned out to be really helpful during our stay:

RENT A CAR

While the resort is beautiful it's great to be able to explore the city. This is especially important if there isn't much to do on the resort, or if you get bored with the same routine of visiting the pool or beach on the resort.

GROCERIES

Hit up the supermarket down the road to buy some groceries for your room. Room service can be quite pricey and before you know it your tab is high, so visit your local market to purchase some of your favorite snacks to take back with you to your room.

DINING

Find places to eat off of the resort. We stayed at the Gran Melia Resort, which didn’t have all-inclusive options, so we had to pay for our meals, which got expensive two days in. Not only are they much more affordable, but they're so delicious! Our favorite places to eat about 10 minutes off the resort was Lluvia Restaurant for breakfast and El Yunque Treehouse.

LA PLAYA

Visit your local beaches. We visited Luquillo Beach. The view of the nearby rainforest was amazing.

FUN AT THE RAIN FOREST

Take a trip to El Yunque Rainforest! We didn’t get to fully experience it since there was a hurricane warning the day we went, but we had heard great reviews about it and the amazing hiking trails. The drive to the top of the

Thanks so much to Mapiful for these beautiful prints! Definitely something we’ll have to look back on for years to come.

Self Care Tips for WFH Moms

2020-07-16T13:52:00.003-04:00

Working from home with kids is a whole struggle. Truth is, no one has experience working from home during a pandemic, ESPECIALLY with toddlers AND during the summer. Talk about the perfect storm! Their energy is on 100 all day while you're just trying to get through the work day and keep a level head. It can definitely take a toll on your mental health. Today, I’m sharing some self care tips for work from home mamas during these times to help us all keep things somewhat together.

CREATE A ROUTINE

Having some sort of structure to your day, especially with kids can be helpful. We follow a loose schedule around here since my work days can be pretty unpredictable given the kind of work I do, but having a general idea of when things happen (nap time, screen time, lunch time, activities, etc...) is great because I know what to expect and what to look forward to, to some extent.

TAKE BREAKS DURING THE DAY

Breaks are definitely necessary when working from home with kids. Sometimes I steal away from my desk to go hang out with the kids. That in itself is self care sometimes because they're always doing something funny and amazing, which really just takes my mind off the stresses of work. I also retreat to the bathroom for a break from everything when I can just to have time to myself. Those naps aren't always guaranteed, so having some kind of break during the day is important for my own sanity and mental health.

FEUL YOUR BODY

There have definitely been days where I have skipped breakfast, and some days breakfast and lunch all together because I just didn't have the time. It's important we take care of ourselves by feeding our bodies good stuff.

ASK FOR & ACCEPT HELP

Self care sometimes means learning to accept help. When they say it takes a village to raise a child, it definitely rings true because raising a child, especially more than one can be a lot. Giving up some of that control and accepting when you need help doesn't make you a bad mom. You are only human and definitely can't do it all. In my case, my mother in law is here during the day to help with the kids, and I definitely feel the need sometimes to do it all (work and take care of the kids) even when she is here sometimes. Reality is I simply can't. And that's okay!

FOCUS ON YOUR GOALS

Being home all day with the kids, is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life that we forget about our own goals. This oftentimes leaves us feeling unfulfilled. Take some time during the day to do something for yourself and focus on some of your goals. Tackle those emails, write that blog post, workout. I have a list of things three things I want to accomplish for the day and make sure to knock out at least one goal.

MAKE YOURSELF A PRIORITY

At the end of the day, your no good to anyone if you don't make yourself a priority. Do something for yourself during the day. For me, making sure I follow through with my skincare routine in the morning is what makes me feel most like myself. That 10 minutes to myself is everything! With all that's going on it may seem like you don't have the time, but you have to make time. You are just as important as everyone and everything else!

GET OUT

Safely, of course. While things have started to open up here in NY, I’m still very cautious and mindful of where I’m taking the kids. So far since parks have been opened, we’ve allowed out kids to play on the playground whereas before we would just take walks around the trail when playgrounds were closed. Definitely looking into what else we can get into once the workday is over so they can release all of their built up energy. The fresh air and some vitamin D will do you some good as well!

What things have you found that have helped you stay sane while working from home?

Why Your Kids Will Love Wellvites Gummies

2020-07-15T08:30:00.000-04:00

How many moms have a hard time getting their toddlers to eat their vegetables everyday? My kids haven't always been the best eaters. It's a constant fight, trying to get them to eat their vegetables consistently. One thing they won't fight over is taking their multivitamin!

That's why I'm so glad to have found these multivitamin gummies from Wellvites!

Wellvites Kids Complete is a healthy daily supplement for your children. What I love about these vitamins is that it's a super clean vitamin option not just for your kids, but your family as well. Yes adults can take these gummies too! I'm all for making things as simple as possible for my family.

As a parent, nothing means more to me than my children and making sure they stay healthy. Now more than ever it's important that my kiddos get the essential vitamins and minerals necessary to boost their immune system and keep them healthy.

ABOUT WELLVITES

Wellvites has spent the last two years developing a rich and nutritious Kids' Multi-Vitamin that we believe to be the healthiest vitamin for kids on the market. Wellvites gummy vitamins are rich in vitamins and nutrients and are delicious without the harmful additives that most other vitamin brands contain. Parents everywhere will love that Wellvites multivitamins are vegan, non-gmo, contain no gelatin, no sugar, no artificial sugar, no dairy, no peanuts, no eggs, no gluten, and no wheat!
your child!

MY THOUGHTS

I love that Wellvites just gets the job done with their vitamin and nutrient rich gummies without all the extra crap that you find in some multivitamins, which is really important to me as a mom of toddlers. When you turn over the bottle and read the label for some of your other favorite kids multivitamins, you'll often find that they're full of sugar. Extra sugar is something my kids definitely do not need since they already have so much energy all on their own!

Toddlers can also be very picky eaters. As much as I do try, they don't always have a balanced diet so Wellvites just helps fill in the gaps for us. They also have fiber in them, which is really good because children's diets can tend to lack fiber.

Leilani is absolutely obsessed with these vitamins. I often have to remind her that they aren't candy. Yes, they are still quite delicious even without sugar or artificial sweeteners. You can get these gummies on Amazon or the WELLVITES website!

If you're looking for a new multivitamin for your kids, check out Wellvites on their website. They are also available for purchase on Amazon Prime! They are now offering a 10% discount (usually 5%) for those who 'subscribe & save' when you checkout on Amazon. This is a limited time offer that will eventually go back down to 5%. Once you subscribe, you will receive 10% off your bottle of multi-vitamins each month for life—or however for long you subscribe!

Keeping a Tidy House with Toddlers

2020-07-14T10:22:00.000-04:00

If you have kids that are anything like mine, then you know how hard it can be to keep your house clean with toddlers who run through the house like a tornado!

I'm not a neat freak by any means. I think my husband is way more of a neat freak than I am, but I do like for things to look decent. Look, I'm out here with three kids and working from home full time. This mama does not have time to do deep cleans of the house every other day!

I’m currently in the rough trenches of toddlerhood with a four year old, three year old, and one year old, all of which are very active, so you can imagine how hard it is keeping the bedrooms, living room, bathrooms, and kitchen clean! These are some of the things I do to help keep things looking put together.

STRAIGHTEN UP THE NIGHT BEFORE

I find that I feel more relaxed when my house is clean at night before bed. I hate going to bed with a sink full of dirty dishes, crumbs all over the floor, and the garbage piling up, so the kitchen is usually the first thing I tackle after dinner. Spend 10-15 minutes picking up around the house the night before so your mornings can run smoother— the last thing you want to worry about when dealing with toddlers is waking up and cleaning. More than likely, they'll be messing up as you're cleaning up!

CLEAN AS YOU GO

I mentioned before, I don’t like doing deep cleans all at once. For one, it’s hard to do with kids running around and it also takes a really long time to spend time deep cleaning our space. I try to tackle things little by little when I can. Bathroom sink needs cleaning? Take a second and clean it while you’re already in there.

MAKE YOUR BED

I mentioned in my post on my morning habits that making my bed is one of the things I do daily. This is one of the first things I do when I get out of bed in the morning. It instantly makes your bedroom look clean and put together. I try to keep my bedroom straight since it's one of the rooms that I really have to myself. Every other room is consumed by the kids and their toys, so keeping this room straight as my own little oasis away from the kids and clutter is important.

HAVE A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING

I don’t like the look of clutter, so I try to make sure that there is a place for everything. As my kids get older and accumulate more things, I'm always thinking of ways to declutter and reorganize our space just so spaces look put together. Also a big fan of throwing out things when needed.

INCLUDE YOUR TODLER

They can’t help with everything, but do try to make them apart of what you’re doing. Doing laundry? Have them put clothes in a pile or help load the washing machine. Is their room a mess? Help them gather all the toys off the floor and clean. I've found that leaving them to clean their room by themselves is a hot mess of a situation every single time, so being in the room to guide them helps.

DON'T STRESS

At the end of the day, don't stress yourself if your house isn't spic and span clean everyday. Mirror grace over perfection. I don't beat myself up for the days where my house isn't clean, sink is overflowing with dishes, and the kids room is a mess. This house sees a lot of traffic with all these kids running around, so I try not to cause myself any unnecessary stress worrying if my house is clean every second of the day.

How are you keeping your house together with toddlers?

6 Small Habits To Jumpstart My Day

2020-07-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

Since working from home due to COVID, there’s been a few habits I’ve adapted that really just helps jumpstart my day, makes life easier for me, and helps me feel like myself. Being a work from home mom (for the time being), my days can get pretty hectic with work, the kids, and everything in between. Having a few habits that I stick to consistently helps me get on the good foot each morning and are just small things that really do make a difference.

I definitely plan to build on this list throughout the year and as I find more of a rhythm. It’s most certainly not perfect, as some days I’m not able to get to all of these things depending on what's going on in my household. What does help me get these little pockets of time is having my mother-in-law here to help with the kids during the day while I work from home. I have more opportunity to steal away for a moment to knock some of these things out. Definitely looking to have more of a solid routine, especially a morning routine, by the end of the year that I can stick to consistently every single day. But for now, here's a few habits that I try to stick to daily:

PRAY

I'll be honest, most days I don't have a full hour or even 20 minutes to dedicate to sitting down in prayer. But I do the best I can with what I have and try to find moments and opportunities for prayer. That can be when I’m making the kids breakfast, in the shower, or even when I steal away for my “bathroom breaks.” Even as I’m going about my day, I pray in the spirit just because it renews my spirit to do so.

MAKE THE BED

I have to make my bed every single morning. The day just isn't right if I don't make my bed. It’s one of those habits I’m glad my mom drilled into us as kids because now it just flows so easily into adulthood. Making the bed is like a fresh start to the day and one of the things I'm sure to stay consistent in, if nothing else. It just makes the room look totally put together. On mornings where things are a bit crazy and I don’t get to it right away, hubs will go ahead and make the bed for me, which I appreciate. Our bedroom is just about the only room that’s off limits since our kids leave a trail of their things in just about every other room. I try to make sure the bedroom looks put together for peace of mind.

SKINCARE

I recently became more invested in my skincare, and its easily become one of those things I HAVE to do. If I do nothing else for myself that day, my skincare routine is the very least I can and will do for myself. It’s easy for your day to become filled with all the mom and kid things that you forget the pieces of life that make you feel like a woman and that make you feel like you. It’s important for my own sanity that I have at least 10 minutes to myself to love on my skin!

HYDRATE

There are so many benefits to drinking water when you first wake up in the morning, like flushing out toxins, awakening your metabolism, and fueling your brain. I try to start my mornings off drinking a full 16 oz bottle of water. Some days I’m better about this than other days, but being hydrated during the day really does help with my mood and really just helps to nourish my body, hair, skin, and nails from the inside out.

COFFEE

I LOVE coffee! When I say my mornings are run on Jesus and coffee, I mean it. Can't get through them any other way. There’s nothing like a good cup of Joe to start the day off right.

CREATE

Because I’m in ABC/123 land with my toddlers even during the work day, it’s important for me to have something that’s just for me that I can stick to every single day. For me, that’s creating content. This brand has been part of me for the past six years now, and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed pursuing. I always say it’s my little passion project. Being able to pursue my passions as a mom is super important to me because so often we get so lost in motherhood that we forget about ourselves.

Now that I’m home, I have more time to create- whether that be writing a blog post, shooting content, editing some photos in Lightroom, or snapping photos of my kids and figuring out ways to tell my story through the moments captured. Creating something totally puts me in my element.

Doing these five things every single day are truly what helps make me feel most like myself and helps make a big difference in my day to day life. Are these habits perfect? Absolutely not. A lot of times, we judge our loves based on what other people think we should be doing. The truth is, do what’s best for you and whatever works for you, your lifestyle, and your family.

What small daily habits are you applying to your life that has helped make you feel most like yourself?

What I Learned This Week

2020-07-10T17:33:00.002-04:00

Another week in quarantine. Another week working from home with kids. And, week one down of the consistency challenge. Usually I go to bed after 12 because my mind is racing and I’m usually researching and working on a few things. But ya’ll, the consistency challenge this week almost took me out! I was in bed right after my one year old knocked out for the night at 10 p.m. That is a rare occurrence for me around these parts.

Blogging every day is work! It is not for the faint of heart, especially if you want to add value to your audience instead of posting content just to post. There were so many times this week where I wanted to be like forget this, but I told myself that I’d do it. And I’m gonna do it! I’ll tell you what I am doing though and what I’m taking with me into next week:

DEVELOP PROCESSES FOR EVERYTHING

Having a process broken down for how to execute each blog post is way more than just a pretty picture and some words. Blogging intentionally takes work, and this consistency challenge has really opened my eyes to the process.

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. And that's just it!

TIME BLOCK FOR PRODUCTIVITY

I can easily become distracted and often struggle with staying on task. I will have a number of tabs open in my brain and try to work on all of them at once. Time blocking is something I tried in my college years and it really did work when it came to my productivity. Going to try to implement it when possible this upcoming week.

TAKE A MENTAL BREAK

I’m the queen of overwhelming myself and not realizing when I’m doing it until I’ve reached my breaking point. Next week, I’m taking control of those moments where I truly need a break and taking one when necessary.

SHOW MYSELF MORE GRACE

As people, we can be our biggest critics, especially when things don’t go as we’d like them to. Here’s to showing ourselves a lot more grace next week. The plan isn’t to show up perfect. It’s just to show up.

Eating Solids with Yumi Baby Food

2020-07-09T13:41:00.000-04:00

Most days, I can barely feed myself. Literally, my mother in law will come into my office as I'm working and kindly let me know that it's 12 pm and I still haven't eaten breakfast. The days get ahead of me so quickly being a work from home mom all while managing three active toddlers running around and making their demands known. I barely have the time or the energy to keep up.

Riley is now one years old, so when she officially transitioned to eating real food, I didn't know what to do! Feedings toddlers can be quite tricky because they can be so picky. There were things I had fed her previously that she no longer liked all of a sudden, and I felt stuck! That's why I'm so glad Yumi reached out to me and offered to send over some food for Riley to try. They make it so convenient for me when figuring out what to feed Riley!

Yumi is a science based meal delivery program that provides over 60 chef-curated baby meals made with fresh, organic ingredients and high quality superfoods. The meals are nutrient dense with no additives, and straight up delicious! What I love most is that Yumi meets your child's need at every stage, whether they're just starting out with single-ingredient meals, to blends which help broaden baby's tase palette, and chunky combos and bites for toddler babes like mine.

The combos and blends are great by themselves for Riley, and also work great paired with something I've already created for her. Here, Riley is enjoying the South west Bites. As a busy mom, Yumi literally takes the guesswork out of mealtime for me, and I feel confident that I'm feeding Riley nothing but the best!

How to Love Your Postpartum Body

2020-07-08T08:51:00.001-04:00

Having a baby really does a number on your body. I mean, your body literally grew and entire human!

Between stretch marks, weight gain, and loose skin, I honestly don't think you ever truly feel like yourself again post baby, but there are things you can do to help make yourself feel good in the skin you're in postpartum.

I’ve always been self-conscious about my weight and size for as long as I can remember, and being pregnant only heightened some of those inner struggles. Thanks to breastfeeding, weight has fallen off, but a snap back is a work in progress.

Looking at my body every day used to be filled with disappointment, but I’ve learned (and still learning some days) to accept that this is the mom body I have now.

That said, here are a few tips on how to love yourself postpartum:

Remember, No One is Perfect // Seriously, no one. Even those celebrities who you think have the perfect bodies. Trust me, some of the snap back you see is nothing but angles and waist snatchers, honey! Everyone has flaws, so learn to love yourself flaws and all. Ladies, its okay that our bodies are not perfect after giving birth. And it's totally normal too! Give yourself time!

Be Kind to Yourself // While it's easy for us to look at our postpartum bodies with a critical eye, its important that we be kind to ourselves. Be grateful for all that your body has done! Your body went through this miraculous process of growing and nurturing life for 10 months. Admire your body for its strength, its power, its endurance, and its grace, not just its physical appearance. Your body is powerful, and your self-worth is not in the way your body looks.

Stop Comparing // Social media does a great job at depicting what a woman's snap back should be after having a bay. You're flooded with images of how women, mainly celebrities, "snap back" in weeks, and sometimes days, after pregnancy. The important thing to remember is every woman is different and unique, and so are our bodies. You grew and housed a whole entire human in your womb for 9 months, so it's okay if you don't snap back weeks and even months after. Write your own narrative and stop letting the world write it for you.

Let It Go // *cue Disney's Frozen* No, seriously, let it go sis. While some women are able to get their old bodies back postpartum, most women aren't. At this point, you've already had the baby. And if you're anything like me, you've had more than one. This is your body now. The loose skin. The extra stretch marks. I've had to let go of looking like the old Danyelle, and I find a new confidence in how I look every day.

Make an Effort // While you're adjusting to this new normal, make an effort to look and feel good in your new body. I used to wallow in how terrible I thought I looked. There was a point where I stopped caring about myself, to be totally honest. Since I've been working from home the past few months, I’m making an effort to do more with how I look so I can feel better about myself. It’s easy to walk around the house all day in a baggy t-shirt with my head scarf still on at 4 p.m. But, some cute loungewear or some cute athleisure, like this set from Katie K Active, is an instant mood booster for me and has me feeling and looking cute! And when I do go out, oh you best believe I'm making sure I look goodt Okay?! The saying "when you look good, you feel good" really does ring true and it truly makes a world of a difference.

Set Goals & Do the Work // If losing the baby weight is what you want to do, don't be afraid to do the work, but do it on your own timeline and on your own terms. Don't feel pressure by the images you see floating around on social that tell you you need to be doing these things. And definitely don't feel like you need to punish yourself. Start with small goals, like working out 3-4 times a week. As much as I'd like to go ape and workout six times a week, I know it's not realistic and it's not something I'd be able to keep up with my hectic life and schedule. Start slowly, go at your own pace, listen to your body, and most importantly, be honest with yourself and remain consistent. And if you miss a day, that's totally fine too. Setting goals and crushing them will make you aware of what your body is actually capable of, making you that much more appreciative of it. Most importantly, setting the goal and holding yourself accountable keeps you disciplined because let's be honest, you won't always feel motivated.

Learning to love your postpartum body and getting your confidence back isn't always easy. I’ve learned that feeling good and owning your body is really up to you. If you don’t feel good about something, you have the power to fix it. You can change how you feel about your postpartum body with a simple shift in perspective.

10 Quarantine Summer Activities for Kids

2020-07-07T10:38:00.000-04:00

I know. COVID happened and everybody is like "what are we gonna do with these kids!" It’s bad enough that kids were locked in for the remainder of the school year. But, just because COVID-19 is happening does not mean that summer is cancelled for these kids! Honestly, my kids could care less about what's happening. They want their fun and they want it now!

Things are a bit different for my household. I've been working remotely for the past four months and my husband is an essential worker, so a lot of our summer fun happens late evenings and sometimes even on Saturdays when hubby and I are both off the clock. Nonetheless, we still do what we can to make sure our kids are engaged and having fun.

Before we get into the nitty gritty, one thing that should be discussed and (hopefully) understood is that this summer will be quite unconventional. A lot of kids' normal summer activities will indeed be cancelled due to COVID, especially with cases rising again with the reopen in several cities. However, it doesn’t mean we can’t make the best out of what we have. So, just be honest with your kids. Let them know that some things will indeed be closed (up to you whether or not you want to get into the specifics of why, depending on your children's age and level of understanding). For us, our four year old asked to go to some of her favorite places and we simply explained to her that those place were closed and we'd have to find other things to do. And those normal day to day activities became our norm and she began to ask to do them.

While there are things open like the beach, pool, some amusement parks and zoos, we’re still trying to figure out how to navigate those things safely with three small children. But in the meantime, here are 10 Indoor Quarantine Activities for you and your littles!

Painting

Painting is one of those activities you HAVE TO HAVE in your back pocket. Easiest activity that require little instruction from mom, so the kids can just have at it while you take a bit of a breather.

Science experiments

Leilani has taken great interest in doing science experiments lately, so we’ve been doing age-appropriate experiments. One that we visit time and time again is the milk food coloring, and dish soap experiment. It’s a hit in our house!

Board games

We were recently gifted this Educational Sorting Sensory Game by Wily Fox called Animal Homes. The kids love identifying the animals and putting them in their proper homes! This game is pretty versatile, so there are endless possibilities for games you can play with your kids. The game can be purchased on Amazon here.

Bubble Time

It wouldn’t be a quarantine party without bubbles! My kids love playing in the bubbles and seeing who can blow the biggest bubble and who can pop the most bubbles!

Scavenger Hunts

Just yesterday we played a scavenger hunt game as part of their online learning summer session where we broke things down into categories and counted who could find the most of that item. The kids loved it!

Family Walks

Walks have become a thing for us to break up the monotony of staying in the house all day while mommy works. Leilani asks to go on little walks now, and it’s a time the kids truly enjoy.

Indoor Camping

The kids recently got a little indoor tent and sleeping bags. Safe to say indoor camping and movie nights will be revved up in our house!

Dance Party

Quickest way to help toddlers burn some energy during the day since they can’t really get outside. Dance parties are a hit!

Online Adventure Day Camp

We just discovered that our favorite, Monica J. Sutton, now have online adventure Day Camp! We were huge fans of her morning circle times for the kids these past three months, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that she’d be doing an online adventure day camp!

Dinosaur Family Play

I recently bought some dinosaur face masks for the kids, and we all decided to be a dinosaur family and wear the face masks! Even Riley, the one year old, participated!

Don't let a pandemic stop your fun this summer!

Mattie Made Me Do It // Consistency Challenge

2020-07-06T15:35:00.001-04:00

This isn't the first challenge of Mattie's I've taken. I took her May consistency challenge of posting once a day to Instagram for the month of May. And while I didn't win, I was so proud of myself for showing up every single day on Instagram. I proved to myself that I could do it. I was even proud of the results as well- my engagement sky rocketed that month and I gained about 800 new followers in just a month!

This time around, Mattie's consistency challenge is specifically geared towards helping us get consistent with the content we actually own: our blogs! Monday through Friday this entire month, I will be posting on the blog! That's right- 20 blog posts for the entire month!

After so much back and forth and talking myself out of it, convincing myself it was too hard, even up until this very moment where I'm about to hit publish, I finally built up the courage and told myself I was doing this challenge so I can get consistent with one of the things I've been inconsistent on the most. No more telling myself I don't have time to blog. I'm just gonna do it!

In going through the battle in my mind on whether or not I wanted to do this challenge, I had to reflect on what was truly holding me back. Why was I so quick to back down initially? Four things:

Imposter's Syndrome
Procrastination
Perfection
Fear

These four things have held me back for way too long, and it's honestly a terrible cycle to keep going through. Feelings of inadequacy which lead to putting things off has been a major hinderance for me. Then once the things are actually done, I never put it out either because I'm fearful of how it will be received, or because it doesn't meet my standard of "perfect." Done is better than perfect.

I really want to begin focusing on other areas of my brand, and my blog is the only piece I actually own. This consistency challenge couldn't have come at a better time. Instagram can go down tomorrow forever, and I'd no longer have access to any of the content on there or my audience. I want to be able to reach my audience in more ways than one and still discuss some of my favorite topics.

While I may not always show up perfect, the goals is to just show up period. All month long, the blog will be jam packed with all the things I love from motherhood to beauty, to self care. Expect to see a little bit of everything sprinkled throughout the blog this month.

Here's to showing up scared. Cheers to consistency.

Lifestyle Changes with Always Eat After 7 PM

2020-06-16T11:03:00.001-04:00

This post is brought to you by our sponsor, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

Hey Hey! It's week four already. Crazy how fast time flies! I've challenged myself with a new way to diet, and that's been with following the Always Eat After 7 pm: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion. Check out previous week's posts here:

In case you've missed it, the “Always Eat After 7 pm is a three-phase program that teaches you how to lose big by strategically eating big when you are naturally hungriest—in the evening. This may sound too good to be true, but let me assure you it is no gimmick. It’s all about making strategic and smart food swaps, and you can still eat your favorite foods.”

Based on surprising science, Always Eat After 7 PM debunks popular diet myths and offers an easy-to-follow diet that accelerates fat-burning and allows you to indulge in your most intense food cravings: Eating the majority of your calories at night. We’ve been traditionally taught to avoid carbs, have an early dinner, and never eat before bed. But the fact is, the latest scientific research shows us this earlier model is not the most ideal.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I've really enjoyed the Always Eat After 7 PM program. It's a realistic program for me to follow based on my lifestyle, and has definitely spoken to some of the things I knew to do for weightless in terms of macronutrients.

I love how passionate Joel Marion is about helping people lose weight in such a non-restrictive way, which works out well for me. I've tried many restrictive diets in the past, and they only ended up doing more harm than good. He even goes as far as to debunk the popular myth that all carbs should be avoided after 7 PM by encouraging you to eat your carbs past 7 PM, the time where you're usually the most hungry.

The best part? You can still do all of this and still lose weight and get in the best shape of your life. I'm all for eating to lose weight, especially since sometimes my busy lifestyle doesn't allow for a workout daily.

About a month into the program, I've shed about six pounds being on the diet and I feel more energized. I've even adopted a new habit, Intermittent Fasting, which I was already unknowingly doing prior to reading the book and even realizing. It fits in perfectly with my busy lifestyle and I actually have more energy these days.

There's definitely a wealth of knowledge in this book, and I'm glad to have this book as a resource to revisit time and time again. I walk away from this experience more knowledgable on how different carbs, fats, and proteins interact with our bodies. I also feel like I have a much healthier relationship with food now that I know what to eat and how much of it too eat without feeling like I'm totally depriving myself of the things I love.

Definitely an easy read, which says a lot for this busy mom of three. There's easy recipes to follow, and most of all, the plan is extremely realistic. I plan to revisit the recipes for meals to follow to take me along the rest of my weightless journey. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves food but wants to lose weight with no restrictions.

Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase. Learn more about the book and where to purchase here

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with “Always Eat After 7 PM” for the creation and sharing of this post. All opinions expressed below are my own.

An Easy Way to Weight Loss

2020-06-11T08:55:00.000-04:00

This post is brought to you by our sponsor, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

If you've been following along for a while, you know that I've been reading a new book by Joel Marion called Always Eat After 7 pm: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight. I shared with you all the start of the journey and shared why I decided to start the program along with an author Q+A.

After reading through the book, I'm really pleased with the wealth of information Joel Marion gives readers on weight loss. If I've learned anything from this book at all, I've learned that it is absolutely OK to eat after 7 PM! The book is super easy to follow, great recipes, and really just gives me hope that after having three children back to back, I can take control of my health and loose the extra weight I've been wanting to shed for such a long time! The best thing? I can eat my way to weight loss!

Bestselling author, Joel Marion, is a fitness expert and nutritionist debunking the myths underlying traditional dieting and offers a simple, highly effective weight loss program. Based on surprising science, Always Eat After 7 PM debunks popular diet myths and offers an easy-to-follow diet that accelerates fat-burning and allows you to indulge in your most intense food cravings: Eating the majority of your calories at night.

“Having carbs in the evening is also a great weight loss strategy. When you’re active, your body burns mainly carbohydrates and muscle glycogen for energy. By eating carbs at night, you allow your body to use them to restore glycogen for energy the next day and provide your body with the glucose it needs to regulate your blood sugar levels during sleep.”

Who knew that eating carbs at night would be good for you in the long run?

As a busy mom of three, I wanted more energy. Surprisingly, I've gained some energy back by following one simple rule: Intermittent Fasting!

For those of you who don't know, “Going without breakfast is part of intermittent fasting (IF), also called time-restricted feeding (TRF). IF is a pattern of food consumption that cycles between fasting and eating in specific time periods. There are various ways to do it; one of the most common is the 16/8 protocol, which involves 16 hours of fasting—typically done overnight—with an 8-hour window in which to eat each day.”

When first hearing of IF, I didn't think it was realistic for me, until I thought about my current lifestyle. I'm currently working from home with three toddlers, and I sometimes don't get to eat "breakfast" until around noon anyway. One thing I love about it too is that there are so many health benefits to IF that I didn't even know of.

Joel Marion explains that “Intermittent fasting really shines when it comes to improving the hormones that directly affect your hunger, blood sugar, and metabolism. One is insulin. IF combats insulin resistance, meaning that it helps your body use insulin more normally, thereby lowering your diabetes risk and boosting your metabolism.”

Since I was already kind of doing Intermittent Fasting, I decided to take things a step further. In the mornings while I'm still in my "fasted" state, I'll typically drink a glass of lemon water as part of the Fat Burning Morning Rituals during the Acceleration Phase of the program. "This drink provides all the benefits of regular drinking water, which supports weight loss, digestive health, physical performance, and cognitive function.”

What I love most about the book is that Joel Marion lays everything out for you, so there's no guessing involved. There's food lists, recipes (even desserts!), and sample meal plans, which takes the guesswork out of losing weight and gives me one less thing to worry about.

One meal that's a favorite of mine is the Cheesy Ground Beef Skillet. Since my family doesn't eat beef, I just replace the ground beef for ground chicken or chicken sausages (whichever is available).
Takes less than an hour to prepare, which fits in perfectly with my lifestyle since some nights I don't have a lot of time to cook!

The diet plan even includes recipes for snacks and desserts, which is perfect for me because I have such. sweet tooth! I'm really excited to see how my body transforms as I continue with this new lifestyle.

Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase. Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with “Always Eat After 7 PM” for the creation and sharing of this post. All opinions expressed below are my own.

Why Eating After 7PM Is Perfectly Okay!

2020-06-08T12:01:00.002-04:00

This post is brought to you by our sponsor, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

Just in case you missed it, in last week's post, I introduced a New Way To Diet by way of a new book I'm reading called Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion. Bestselling author, Joel Marion, is a fitness expert and nutritionist debunking the myths underlying traditional dieting and offers a simple, highly effective weight loss program. The Always Eat After 7 pm Program "is a three-phase program that teaches you how to lose big by strategically eating big when you are naturally hungriest—in the evening. This may sound too good to be true, but let me assure you it is no gimmick. It’s all about making strategic and smart food swaps, and you can still eat your favorite foods.”

I've shared my long time struggle with weight-loss especially after having three children back to back. Losing the baby weight has been quite the struggle. I thought I'd be able to lose weight with breastfeeding this time around, and while I did in the very beginning, it was a matter of time before the pounds started to pack on.

Now that my daughter is almost one years old, I'm ready to reclaim my body back. More than anything, I really just want to be in the best shape of my life especially with the big 3-0 looming on the horizon in the next two years. I want to enter my 30's feeling like a totally new woman, having much more knowledge on how to eat, what foods to eat, and really just taking on a whole new lifestyle without worrying about restrictive diet plans that just leave me feeling hungry and falling back into the same bad eating habits.

As I've mentioned in my previous post diets with lots of restrictions have always been a downfall for me, particularly because I love food! I wanted to choose a program that would allow me to shed the baby weight I've been dying to lose for the past year all while still being able to eat some of the foods. I also needed something that would be easy to follow and fit in best with my busy lifestyle and follow some of my natural hunger cues. Most importantly, learning how and what to eat for weight-loss will help jumpstart some of my fitness goals.

In an interview with the author, Joel answers several questions about the program, which really just hit the nail on the head for me and made me feel comfortable in my decision to move forward.

When asked what inspired him to write the book, he answers, "After authoring 6 best selling books it was glaringly obvious there were 2 huge misconceptions about dieting that needed to be exposed. The first is that you can't eat late at night or before bed, which science now shows is NOT true. And second, you can't eat large portions that satisfy your natural instinct. This book solves both these problems by providing an evidence-based, enjoyable approach to dieting that can be used by any person to quickly achieve their weight loss goals."

So not only can I eat at night, which is when I usually I am most hungry, I don't have to skimp on my portion sizes either. Super important for me, considering I am still breastfeeding my one year old and don't wan't to restrict how much food I am able to eat.

We've all been on those roller coaster diets where we start, stop, start, and then stop again, so it was really important for me to do something that would fit in with my lifestyle and be easy to follow. I'm a busy mom of a four year old, two year old, and one year old - the easier it is to follow the more likely I am to stick with it.

When asked how difficult is the Always Eat After 7 PM program to follow, he says, "It's not. And that's exactly why I wrote the book. While any diet is never truly easy, it can be more enjoyable and much easier to adhere to when you understand how Always Eat After 7pm works because it caters to our bodies natural instincts."

His program makes dieting easy and eliminates 90% of reasons for resistance. The great thing about the Always Eat After 7 PM program is that you can eat from all of the major food groups, which was not only a surprising discovery for me, but for the author as well. When researching scientific data for the diet, he found that "almost everything my college education and certifications taught me was NOT grounded in published scientific research." Literally mind blowing, considering I've tried many many diets over the years and and followed what I thought was sound research, but just was not. The deeper I dive into this book,

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with “Always Eat After 7 PM” for the creation and sharing of this post. All opinions expressed below are my own.

A New Way to Diet: Always Eat After 7 P.M.

2020-05-27T14:35:00.000-04:00

This post is brought to you by our sponsor, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

Summer is coming friends! Whether we're ready for it or not, its managed to sneak up on us. With everyone being home if you've found yourself gaining the #quarantine15 or are looking for an easy way to jumpstart your weight-loss, then this post is for you.

Battling my weight has been a reoccurring struggle for me for as long as I can remember. Especially after each baby, losing the weight has been challenging to say the least. While I do believe I'm beautiful at any size, being as small as I am and carrying the extra weight just became too much for me. Not only is not just not healthy, but it's hard to keep up with three energetic toddlers when you're carrying around more weight than you should be.

I've tried my fair share of mainstream dieting fads over the years, and I can tell you I've struggled with each and every one of them. They're all extremely restricting and are all about what you can't have, which is completely unrealistic more often than not.

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've tried diets like this and felt absolutely miserable because of all of the restrictions, eliminating things like carbs and proteins so not to gain weight. In the end, it only led to binge eating because I had eliminated so much from my diet. I got tired of failing.

Introducing, the book Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion. I was so excited when I was offered the opportunity to review this book, especially given my history of failed fad diets.

Bestselling author, Joel Marion, is a fitness expert and nutritionist debunking the myths underlying traditional dieting and offers a simple, highly effective weight loss program. Based on surprising science, Always Eat After 7 PM debunks popular diet myths and offers an easy-to-follow diet that accelerates fat-burning and allows you to indulge in your most intense food cravings: Eating the majority of your calories at night.

Not convinced? Check out the below author video to learn the science behind the program:

What was surprising to me was reading about how this plan actually encourages eating carbs! Count me in! I was also pleasantly surprised when reading about how restricting entire food groups can actually have adverse effects on your health: “Avoiding carbohydrates and restricting calories later in the day can have an adverse effect on your thyroid hormones, which play a major role in metabolism. When the thyroid fails to secrete enough of the hormones that control metabolism, this can trigger symptoms like fatigue, depression, weight gain, thinning hair, and dry skin.”

This book has really changed the way I think about food and dieting, and I'm super excited to be on this journey. It's so necessary so I can get back to feeling like my old self, and for my family. I loved reading about Joel Marion's success story, sharing how “At [his] next medical checkup, [his] doctor was shocked at how good [his] blood work had gotten, so quickly. And let’s not forget the most important part: for the first time in months, [he] had the energy to keep up with [his] little girls.”

That's what I look forward to most from following this plan. Having the energy to keep up with my children and not feel winded so easily or feel achey because of the extra weight I'm carrying for my frame. I'm excited to get started on this journey and will be taking you along with me.

Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase. Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.

Have you heard about the eating before bed myth? What is your experience with eating before bed? Let me know in the comments.

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with “Always Eat After 7 PM” for the creation and sharing of this post. All opinions expressed below are my own.

Adjusting to Life with a Newborn

2019-10-24T09:11:00.000-04:00

When will this get easier? Why won't she stay asleep? I'm so freaking tired! When will he sleep through the night?

Does this sound like something you've said, mama? I know I've said it at least a thousand times over, especially when I first became a mom three years ago. Being a mother is probably one of the hardest jobs I'll ever have. Three years and two more babies later, the newborn stage is something I'm all too familiar with. I feel like I've survived my fair share of new mom woes and can offer a word of advice on pushing through the first few weeks that is the newborn stage and make it to the other side.

Me and my girl Celeste of Lessy's World got you covered with 10 tips to make it easier for you to adjust to life with a newborn. She just had the cutest baby boy, Cayden, and is also a mama to her "Little Sugah" Nicholas! I'll be sharing my 5 tips here, but make sure you head on over to Celeste's blog to read her five tips as well.

Adjust Your Expectations // First things first, adjusting your expectations will help prevent a lot of frustration and disappointment in the future. Your life now revolves around your newborn, so you'll have to make adjustments accordingly. Things like your sleep schedule, everyday tasks around the house, scheduling visitors will all have to be shifted. Even your expectations for your baby and what you think he/she should be doing will have to shift. With my oldest, I remember being so disappointed when she a newborn because she didn't sleep through the night by six weeks old like other people's babies. I just wanted sleep! And you know what? She never slept through the night - not until she was almost one years old. Motherhood is a lot of letting go of your expectations and rolling with the punches.

Outsource What You Can // Before my daughter was born, and even before, I knew one of the things I could not do continuously was go out to get groceries every week with three children. The thought of that just screamed trouble, mainly because of my two toddlers who are always on ten. During the newborn stage, and even after, outsource what you can - grocery shopping, laundry, etc... My household uses Instacart just about every single week for grocery deliveries, and it's literally been a game changer. It has given us back about three hours of time in our week. I'm able to communicate with my shopper via the chat about items out of stock, replacements, the quality of the produce, etc.... Instacart has been a Godsend for us, and I recommend giving them a try.

If you're unable to utilize a service like this, see if you have family members who are willing to help you out with grocery shopping for a couple of weeks, doing some of your laundry, or help with cooking meals. It will really take the stress off of you so you can focus on bonding and getting adjusted to life with a newborn baby.

Find Your Rhythm // The first week with your newborn will be quite hectic. For one, you don't get much sleep while in the hospital since nurses come in and out of your room to do routine checks. Add a newborn who cluster feeds and needs to be fed every two hours, sleep is pretty much non-existent. It can take a while to settle into a routine with your newborn, so in the beginning try and follow your baby's lead in terms of their sleeping and napping schedule. Once that's mapped out, you'll find that you're able to schedule your house hold tasks/to-do lists around that. Keep in mind to be very flexible, as newborns are subject to change without warning. As they get older and become more aware of the things around them and what they can do, your newborn who slept three hours for naps may now decide to only sleep for 45 minutes.

Find Your Tribe // The support of a community of people behind you goes a long way. Literally. This time around with my third child, I've connected with so many mamas on Instagram and its literally been a breathe of fresh air knowing that I'm not alone in this motherhood journey. Of course, I have the support of my husband and family, but it's great when you can connect with other moms going through the exact same thing you're going through. They just get you, and really root for you!

Embrace the Season You're In // When the going gets tough, it's easy to become overwhelmed and feel anxious. Your baby might be super fussy and you don't know why. You haven't showered in days. You just want about four hours of solid sleep. Know that this is just a season. The newborn stage does end. Embrace it while you're in it because babies don't stay babies forever. Don't try to rush past the difficult stages, but be hopeful that those hard days will pass and better days are yet to come. Drink your coffee, give yourself a little pep talk, and pray for strength daily until you get through it. This too shall pass.

Remember, the days may seem long, but the years are short and you'll never get these precious moments back. Embrace every high and low of every stage, not just the newborn stage. Let me know in the comments what's helped you when adjusting to the newborn stage. Also, don't forget to head on over to Lessy's World for the remaining five tips.