Some people have their lives well planned out like when they’re going to have kids, how many, how many years apart, and all that stuff. I’m not one of those people… I’ve been more fly the seat of your pants and see what happens when it came to having kids…. until recently that is. That is what this story is all about.

This is #1…. this is an older picture because I can’t find a newer one she’d like. Anyway, she’s 17.

This is #2 and this is a recent picture. She all dressed up looking pretty for the end of the year Spring Fling dance at school. Born in 1999… that always makes me want to break out in song! You know… that party like it’s 1999 by Prince?

This bored one is #3…. and she was born in 2002 and the year that I turned 30. She was supposed to be the last baby because my goal was to be done having kids before I turned 30.

This… well, this is #4. He’s the youngest and the most planned baby ever… and my last baby and he was born in 2010.

And this is where the starting over story begins… I’d love for you to read more of it too! I’m over at Sippy Cup Mom’s place today sharing my story about becoming a mom again after your kids are half grown and self sufficient.

The post Starting Over appeared first on With Just a Bit of Magic.

Did I throw you off by posting this on Monday instead of Friday? Or was it because I haven’t written a letter in a while and finally got around to writing another? Oh wait… have you not seen this series before?

Well, if you haven’t seen it before I’ll give you a bit of a recap. This is a little meme that I started a while ago where I’d write a letter to one of my kids about something, anything, or nothing at all. It could be something that I’ve always wanted to say but couldn’t find the words or to share how proud I am of something they just did, or how they’ve done something to frustrate me to no ends. The fun part is that anyone can join in and write a letter to their kid, sister, brother, niece, nephew, or grandkids. So if you’re not sure what to write about this week draft a little letter and link up at the bottom of this post!

Dear Andrew,

You’re #4. The only boy and the baby of the family. Now, this doesn’t mean that you get away with everything all of the time… okay, okay… you do once in a while but that’s about it.

What’s really bothering me is nothing to do with what you get away with and what you don’t. It’s more that I feel like I’ve let you down somehow. You see, when your sisters were little I was home with them a lot more than I am with you and was able to spend time with them teaching them letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and all the fun preschool things that we should be doing.

I feel like you’re behind but maybe I’m just comparing you to where they were and really that’s not fair. Boys and girls are totally different creatures and learn, grown, and develop at different rates. This I know… everyone knows that. Maybe you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be and I shouldn’t worry.

You really didn’t have much of an interest in reading with me (or anyone) until recently and even now one book is about all we get through unless it’s a rare night and we actually read more and you’ve picked out the books we’re reading (always Green Eggs & Ham). I wish that you understood how important reading is and that it can be so much fun… probably more fun than playing cars or tractors! Am I stretching it a bit there?

I feel that you should be able to say the alphabet and count to 10 or 20… and once in a while, when you really want to you will count for me. I want you to start school ahead of the game and be the star of the class. I want you to be the one helping other kids with their school work and to be the one that the teacher gives extra work to so you stay busy.

My guess… my hope is that you’re just too busy doing all the fun things that little boys like to do and all of a sudden you’ll catch on and surprise us all. I’m sure that you will because the things that you pick up on amaze me daily!

I just hope that I haven’t let you down by not being home with you more, Andrew. I hope that you know how much I love you and want the best for you always.

Love,

Mom

I’d love for you to join in on the fun!

The post Letters to my kids – Andrew appeared first on With Just a Bit of Magic.

Well, it’s been 2 weeks since I started the Revolt program and I won’t lie…. it’s been really hard. Of course I knew that going into it because no diet and/or workout plan is ever easy, especially if you want to see results, right?

So the big news this week… I’ve lost about 5lbs total! Not ideal but it’s a start and it can only get better from here. I will admit that I have not stuck to the diet 100% and that I sometimes skip the icky green smoothies. I tried… honest I did but I just could not do it. It tasted and smelled like grass and was thick and clumpy. I’m sure that there are much better uses for kale than a smoothie no matter what the health benefits are.

Something I have noticed is that I’m getting stronger (and sore some days) and that means that I am building lean muscle which will help fuel the calories being used. The workouts are 5 days a week with Monday, Thursday, and Saturday being giant cardio circuits and Tuesday being lower body sculpting and Friday being upper body sculpting (Wednesday and Sunday are off days).

Exercises that I have learned to hate but that means they work.

• Planks. The first 30 second plank is easy peasy… the 2nd… it’s starts to get a little challenging, the 3rd… my muscles are shaking and it takes a lot of focus to stay in place…. the 4th… well, lets just say that I don’t always make it to the 4th one.
• Stability ball pass through. The first time I did this I could not keep my legs straight and move them slowly down to the floor because my core was/is just not strong enough. I had to pause the video because Nichole can do them at an unnatural rate of speed and has 10 or 12 done before I’m on to number 4. But… slow & steady wins the race! Today I was actually able to do them (my legs weren’t totally straight) but I didn’t have to pause in between each one.
• Wall squats. 30 seconds. I needn’t say more.

The exercises are broken down into level 1, 2, and 3 and level 1 does 3 circuits and 2 and 3 do 4 circuits. I do the level 2 exercises but I’ll admit that there are times that I’ve had to stop after 3 circuits because I simply can’t do anymore. To make up for that and to help speed up the changes in my body I head out for a run or a walk in the evenings.

My goal is not have a baby belly or thunder thighs! I don’t expect to walk away looking as awesome as Nichole but I do want to look good in a swimsuit again.

What exercise or weight loss goals do you have? How are you achieving them?

Why yes, this is a sponsored post. I am a Revolt blogger and have been given access to the meal plans and all the workout videos for free in return for my honest thoughts and opinions about the program. 

The post Fitness Friday – Revolt Update appeared first on With Just a Bit of Magic.

I have to let you know that this is a sponsored post. But that’s okay because I’d still think that Invisalign was pretty awesome even if it wasn’t.

Once upon a time… a long, long time ago in a far off distant place I was a teen. I was young, naive, beautiful, still skinny because I hadn’t given birth multiple times, and I was graced with crooked teeth and a mouth that was to narrow.

So like any good parent mine took me to the dentist and then to the orthodontist and the torture fun began. My teeth and mouth were poked and prodded while the man behind the instrument spoke to the lady taking meticulous notes. No sooner had that ended and they brought out a bowl and started mixing and stirring up a strange concoction that looked like really soft play dough. The goop was slopped into a tray which was unkindly placed in my mouth where the goop squished and oozed around my teeth and was so very close to making me gag. Hold it in place for a few moments more is what they told me but those moments were never ending. Relief finally came when they took it out and showed me an the impression my crooked teeth had left.

I was on the road to being a brace face.

This story is similar to so many of you isn’t it? That’s because it’s not a story… it’s real life. It’s braces in the 80′s!

(Head gear, straight talk, and 80′s style hair & braces were all part of the fun with friends last week)

Here’s something pretty funny. So at one point in my life I thought that braces were pretty cool and my friends and I would even go so far as to pretend we had braces with tin foil or our gum. Silly kids… little did we know that braces weren’t half as fun!

Every month my dad would take me to the orthodontist where I would sit in the chair while they smiled at my discomfort and sometimes sheer pain as they pulled out one wire for another.

Oh but times have changed! Things are so much better than the medieval torture devices once knows as braces. Now there is Invisalign and it is here to save the day of so many people. No more monthly trips to the dentist, no more worry about breaking a brackets or a wire, and no more wax stuck to a bracket because it’s ripping a hole through the side of your mouth.

One of the best things about Invisalign is that there is no more goop. There have been revolutionary breakthroughs in orthodontia with the use of digital imaginimg to take dental impressions for teeth straightening with Invisalign. No more goopy molds to gag on, now with digital scanners like iTero, patients are comfortable while taking dental impressions and the orthodontist is able to receive precise 3D imagery through the use of an iTero wand to create a teeth straightening treatment plan with Invisalign. Now, with that being said I should also say that some dentists still do the traditional impressions, but more and more are offering the digital scans.

With Invisalign gone are the days of the metal brackets that wrap around your teeth, the rubber band spacers, and the dreaded head gear (thankfully I didn’t have to wear that). Invisalign is a clear alternative to the traditional metal braces that uses a series of removable aligners that gradually move teeth overtime and because they’re removable you can eat anything that you want. The treatment capabilities of Invisalign are pretty vast and can help over crowded teeth, widely spaced teeth, overbite, underbite and other dental issues.

If I haven’t convinced you yet that Invisalign is the way to go then think about this… there are few office visits with Invisalign, the visits you do have are shorter, and there are no emergency visits for broken brackets or wires from the metal braces.

Because my daughter didn’t have all of her adult teeth in yet I had to subject her to the metal braces. Sorry, Nat. But if she has to actually have phase 2 orthodontic work done then it’s very possible that Invisalign could be an option for her.

So… brace face or Invisalign?

Disclaimer: Yes, this is a sponsored post. I will say that the story about my torturous braces, thoughts, and opinions are all mine.

The post Brace Face – then and now appeared first on With Just a Bit of Magic.

I’m one of those odd people who looks forward to seeing what came in the mail each day because you never know what you’re going to get when you open that mailbox. We rarely get bills in the mail because my husband has all of that set up electronically so that only leaves the fun stuff to show up… like my monthly Birchbox, random things I’ve ordered online, and once in a while a fun letter or card. The latter is always unexpected and more welcome than anything else.

There is something special about getting a little note in the mail from someone. It puts a smile on my face and brightens my day and I hope that when I send one that it does the same for them. Physical mail is so much more than what an email could ever hope to be… when you take the time to find someone a special card or just write them a little note it shows that you were really thinking of them.

I joined up with some lovely ladies for the Karing Card Club where each month there is a theme and you’re paired up with another blogger and you send cards to one another based on that theme. In April, the theme was  happiness.  I had the perfect card lined up for happiness too thanks to the Hallmark Get Carded challenge.

With the Hallmark Get Carded challenge I sent a card a day to 7 lucky people in hopes that I would brighten their day and put a smile on their face. And you know what… it worked! The feedback that I got from my friends was great! They never expected the card that they got and the note that I wrote made them laugh, giggle, and smile at the end of a busy day.

I’ll let you in on a little secret… I have cards put away in a box from my childhood. They’re birthday cards, Halloween cards, Thanksgiving cards, and cards for all sorts of reasons from my family. Each and every one of them holds a special place in my heart.

You can take part in both the Hallmark Get Carded Challenge AND the Karing Card Club! May’s theme is Friendship. To participate in the card exchange, click here and fill out the form by May 17th and encourage your friends to join in the fun and spread the word using the #karecard when using Twitter.

I was provided a great assortment of cards & stamps by Hallmark to take part in the Get Carded Challenge but all thoughts, opinions, and crazy mail checking is all mine.

The post Give a card… Get a card… appeared first on With Just a Bit of Magic.

This may be a rant… just thought that I’d warn you ahead of time. Okay… it will be a rant but that’s okay because that’s what our own personal blogs are for, right?

There are things that grate at me, get under my skin, annoy me, or just flat out piss me off. And this week there were two things that have been bugging me and here’s the kicker… they’re both the same or related.

What is it?

The hate for “fat” people. There are a lot of people out there passing judgement on others who are not rail thin without knowing the person, their health history, or what caused them to get the way and what’s preventing them from losing the weight.

The first thing that happened was my daughter told me that the high school band director did not want her to be one of the majorettes for the marching band. Why? Because she is not a rail thin, 5’0 – 5’5″ girl who went along with what she was told all the time. The dance coaches from a local dance studio and her friends fought for her because she was the best, she worked the hardest, and deserved it more than the other girls. The girl the director wanted… well she wasn’t good, didn’t practice, and thought that she was entitled to the position…. Oh, and met his vision of the perfect majorette.

The second thing was Mike Jeffries statement about not marketing to the uncool, fat girls. WTF!! They don’t stock XL or XXL sizes in women’s clothing because they don’t want overweight women wearing their brand. BUT they do make XL and XXL for men because those teen guys might be beefy because they play football or are wrestlers.

In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he says. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either.

So, if I put a few things together I can come up with a conclusion of sorts. The cool kids in school play sports, are good looking, thin, the guys are muscular, the girls have that long, flowing hair, both are sexy as hell, and above all else they are NOT fat.

Now, the fat kids. Well they’re the losers that the popular kids make fun of.

These stereotypes piss me off! They do nothing to help kids with how they feel about themselves at all. What they do is help kids feel out of place and that if they’re not the picture perfect all-American kid they’re not going to fit in, have friends, be popular, or go somewhere in life. No moral boosting here… nope, just dragging the kids down.

It’s hard enough as it is to be a teen, but when you have companies and the media telling you what you should look like, how you should dress, and a that size 0 thin is what you should be life becomes a lot more difficult.

Abercrombie & Fitch has made it very clear in what they’ve said, their ads, the people that they hire, and the sizes of their clothing that they’re targeting a very specific demographic. One that usually gets their spending money from their parents by the way… I wonder if they have given thought to the fact that some parents will refuse to buy clothes for their “cool” kids from the A&F stores because of the statements they’ve made? My guess is that they didn’t and if they did they simply don’t care.

I know that I won’t be buying anything from them.

I think that Mr. Jeffries as well as my daughter’s band director need to take hard look at the world around them and realize that the average size is not a 0, or a 1, 3, or a freakin’ 5. I’m here to tell you that it’s probably closer to a 10 /12 or hell even a 14.

My daughter is an amazing person. She is smart, beautiful, talented, and you know what…. she’s in the “cool” kids group. I couldn’t be more proud of her and all that she has achieved and learned and the one thing that I know for sure is that she will do anything that she sets her mind to.

My fat, size 12 self won’t be caught inside an A&F store… or Hollister for that matter since they’re owned by the same company. I will however roll myself into H&M and American Eagle because they see that we all can’t be waifs and have larger sizes.

The post A&F CEO Mike Jeffries hates fat girls… but he’s not alone appeared first on With Just a Bit of Magic.

I’ve been on and off this weight loss wagon ever since finishing the Shaklee 180 program and I’ve been trying to get rid of these last 10 – 20 pounds and it’s been so difficult. I will admit that I haven’t made the best choices when it has come to what I eat at meal time or snacks. Then there is the “witching” hour when I get home from work and it’s before dinner… I get the munchies. I will snack on just about anything that I can get my hands on and then add to that the holidays and weight came creeping back.

Now, I am doing great! I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to join a group of great bloggers who are working on the Revolt Fitness program!

Revolt is a total fitness plan that is a combination of workouts and meal plans to get you in shape 6 weeks. The workouts are led by Nichole and change from week to week and follow a similar routine where there are 3 days of cardio, 1 day of lower body strength training, and 1 day of upper body strength training with two days off in between. These workouts are not easy…. not at all and they’re designed to get proven results. I have had days where it hurt like hell to sit down because my leg muscles were very sore and this is after going to the gym regularly.

I started the diet with a detox which was meant to help my body rid it of the effects of all the sugar I eat. I’m here to tell you that it was a rough week… and I followed it pretty closely except for one day where I messed up. Now, I’m on the next phase and have been able to increase the types of foods that I’m able to eat and there is even dessert. Yum!!

I will be following the program for the full six weeks and will be sharing my thoughts and progress each week. Below are my stats from the start of the program on April 29th and they’re similar to what they were at the end of the Shaklee 180 program except for the weight… that’s a little higher. As I get a little braver and whole lot more fit I’ll be sharing some pictures of my progress (my initial pics were shared in a private FB group and even that was a challenge).

My goals are to fit into a size 10, lose the baby belly, and look fit and tone overall.

Height: 5’8″
Weight: 160lbs
Chest: 32in
Waist: 31.5in
Hips: 43in
R. Arm: 12.5in
L. Arm: 12in
R. Thigh: 22.5in
L. Thigh: 21.5

You can join Revolt at any time for $9.99 a month of course you can cancel at anytime but after seeing the results you’ll want to keep with the program.

 I was chosen as a Revolt Fitness Program blogger and received free membership to try the program out. All opinions, pics, aches & pains are my very own. 

The post Revolting Wednesday! appeared first on With Just a Bit of Magic.

Remember last week when I shared that I was going to the Allstate Foundation Drive it Home event? Well, at first I went and didn’t think that I was going to learn much… I mean I was a teen driver at one point, I have a teen that drives, and I’ve seen the stats here and there over the years and even more since my daughter started driving. But I learned a great deal and some of the stats that they shared were eye opening.

• According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 367 fatalities in crashes involving at least one 15- to 19-year-old motor vehicle driver in Michigan from 2009-11. A total of 120 teen drivers (15-19), 74 teen passengers (15-19) and 24 other age passengers in the teen’s vehicle and 149 others were killed in those crashes.
• Michigan teens must log a minimum of 50 hours of driving practice before they can obtain a driver’s license.

I knew that my daughter had to get a minimum of 50 hours and we made sure that she drove us around every chance that we had and we even made her wait to get her license well after her birthday in December because we didn’t want her first time driving alone to be in the middle of winter. It was a wise choice in our eyes and it gave her more practice time behind the wheel in the various winter conditions here in Michigan.

Here are a few other things that I learned that will be useful tips.

• You need to let them earn their freedom and let then earn your trust.
• Crashes are the leading cause of death for teens – inexperience is the biggest reason
• There are twice as many crashes before cell phones
• Most moms teach parallel parking more than anything else.
• Leading cause of crashes is not looking ahead at what’s coming… Teens look at the headlights in front of them instead of what’s going on around them.
• Kids are the group least likely to wear seat belts and many of the kids who died in crashes would have survived if they wore seat belts.

Recently, Michigan passed Kelsey’s Law which states that teen drivers with Level 1 or Level 2 licenses under the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program are prohibited from using a cell phone while driving. Violations of Kelsey’s Law will be a civil infraction with fines up to $100 as well as possible additional costs up to $100. There are no points associated with this civil infraction and it does not impact status in the GDL program. Exemptions to the law include emergency situations and integrated, voice-operated devices.

We have Bonnie Raffaele to thank for advocating for this law but it was not without a cause very near and dear to her. Bonnie’s teenaged daughter, Kelsey, died in a crash in 2010 just around the corner from the high school she attended and was on the phone while she tried to pass another car. She misjudged the distance of the oncoming car.

She also started the KDR Challenge which focuses on the youth in Michigan and educating them on the dangers of using a cell phone while driving. KDR stands for Kids Driving Responsibly and are Kelsey’s initials.

If you have the opportunity to attend one of the Drive It Home events I highly suggest that you check it out… even if your kids aren’t teens quite yet. It’s definitely worth it and the information is priceless.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

The post Drive It Home: Keeping teen drivers safe appeared first on With Just a Bit of Magic.

Before you read any further about the great breakfast debate you should know that this is a sponsored post. I thought that I should let you know since it’s kinda the law and all that now. You should keep reading though… it could get interesting and I have a freebie for you at the end. I promise.

Every day as my two oldest (the teens) are getting ready to head out the door for school I always ask if they ate breakfast and what it was. Often though, I get the answer that they didn’t because they didn’t have time and of course I explain to them that it’s important for so many reasons to take a few minutes to eat something even if it’s just toast with peanut butter or something like that.

The great breakfast debate starts because they’re in a hurry… they need to go right now… or “I know, mom”, accompanied by an eye roll. Oh.. the joy of teens! But really they’re not that bad & they are great girls. That still need to eat breakfast.

So how do I get them to eat? Make it for them… wake them up earlier than what their alarms are set for… stand in front of the door so they can’t leave till they eat? Maybe, those are all options really but it’ll make for angry teens.

Now I have a little secret. Shhh…. don’t tell them that it’s good for them or anything like because they might not drink it. But I can make smoothies with Silk Fruit & Protein that they can take with them and drink on the way to school.

You know what Silk Fruit & Protein is right? It’s delicious that’s one thing, especially the mixed berry, but there are other reasons that you should give it a try instead of regular juice.

• Silk Fruit&Protein is a delicious fruit juice blend
• Contains a good source of protein (that other juices don’t have)
• Available in three amazing flavors: Mixed Berry, Mango Peach, Strawberry Banana
• Excellent source of Calcium, Vitamin D, & Vitamin C

So run out to the store and grab some! You’ll find it near the soy milk and stuff like that… not by the juice. Odd, I know.

So the freebie that I told about that the beginning of this post? It’s a coupon for $1 off your next purchase of Silk Fruit & Protein.

Okay, so back the kids. I can throw some fresh fruit and maybe some spinach into the blender with a few ice cubes and some Silk Fruit & Protein and TADA…. a healthy breakfast to go. So ends the great breakfast debate.

This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Silk blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.

The post The great breakfast debate appeared first on With Just a Bit of Magic.

I know… I know…. another monthly box subscription. But this one is a little different in that it’s something that the entire family could benefit from for a change.

Conscious Box helps you find some great new products that are healthy, natural, non-toxic, and come from ethical companies from around the world. They have everything from beauty products to food to cleaning supplies for your home from brands like Chef Sleeve, Dapple, Teatulia Tea & Coffee, and LaLicious (you must check out the coconut cream body butter!).

Each month you’ll get a box jam packed with all sorts of wonderful goodies that you can try out. After that you can leave feedback and reviews on the Conscious Box site to earn points and then purchase your favorite products at incredible discounts. They even have certified vegan and gluten-free boxes too!

If you’re not sure if you want to commit to another monthly box subscription use the handy Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win a Conscious Box to try out.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One winner from the U.S. will be selected and then contacted via email. The winner will then have 48 hours in which to respond before another winner is selected.
All entries will be verified.
In return for this giveaway I will be given a Conscious Box as well. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

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