That said, I do everything I can to make each day great, and sometimes the best way to make a good day even better is to get off on the right foot from the start — first thing in the morning!

To get my day started right, I like to jump out of bed and get my blood pumping with a quick workout or jog. Even though the idea of jogging first thing in the morning might not seem like the best idea when you crawl out of bed, it’s a fantastic way to energize your body and your spirit for the day ahead.

Of course, after the jog, I like to take a refreshing shower. This really helps me wake up, and it also relaxes me and gives me a moment to reflect before starting my day.

Breakfast is also an important part of my morning routine. I don’t like to eat a large breakfast, but I do try to get a little protein into my morning meal to fuel my body for the entire day. I usually have two scrambled eggs, a piece of whole wheat toast, and some fruit for breakfast.

I don’t always have time for breakfast, but I can see a definite improvement in my day when I make the time to whip up something quick while I’m cooking for the kids in the morning.

Finally, my favorite way to ensure I have a fantastic day is to have a cup of my favorite coffee. If you’re a Keurig fan like me, you probably enjoy several different kinds of K-Cup packs, but you also probably have that one real favorite brand. For me, it’s Green Mountain Coffee.

Green Mountain Coffee is exceptionally smooth and perfectly balanced for a harmonious blend of flavor, body and aroma. It’s really amazing how a simple cup of coffee can make even a good day better. Green Mountain Coffee compliments my morning routine perfectly!

I’m actually wrapping up my morning routine as I write this post. Green Mountain Coffee is also a big part of my blogging routine, and I love enjoying a cup while I work!

So, those are my tips for making a good day even better. Do you find that your morning routine affects how you feel throughout the day? I’d love to hear how you start your day off right!

Thank you to Green Mountain Coffee and Technorati for being sponsors of this article. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The post Making A Good Day Better #BrewABetterDay #Spon appeared first on Dear Crissy.

In that moment I was filled with joy at the sight of such beauty. I was also haunted by deep insecurity and sorrow.

I had failed to breastfeed my first child, and honestly, I was reluctant to even attempt it again with baby number two. I was scared and unsure. I was so scared and unsure, that I fed Kara formula through her first two days of life, and left the hospital feeling defeated.

I didn’t breastfeed her in the hospital, because I didn’t want to cope with falling short, not again.

I didn’t even try… How could I not have even tried?

When I got home from the hospital, I pushed the thoughts of breastfeeding completely out of my mind. I told myself that I could accept things the way they were, after all, I formula fed Evan, and he is a beautiful, brilliant, and healthy child. I don’t judge any mother who formula-feeds her child, even when it’s simply a choice.

The last thing a mother needs is scorn from other mothers—this—I know.

How everything changed…

On my second home with Kara, during a bottle-feeding and while breathing-in her intoxicating baby-scent, I felt the urge to pluck the latex nipple from her tiny mouth and to replace it with my own.

Within the lonely silence of that late-night feeding, when I knew that no nurses, or lactation consultants, or well-meaning family members were watching me, I tried, and I tried, and I tried again.

Please latch, please, PLEASE just do this.

And she did. I did.

The connection was made, Kara had latched, and I enjoyed the euphoria of motherhood and the tingle of pain that comes from a latch that isn’t quite perfected, for fifteen minutes.

I wasn’t sure if I had waited too long by not trying to breastfeed her for 48 hours after giving birth, I wasn’t sure if this was a fluke, and I really wasn’t sure why I had waited to give this my best effort the second time around. The only thing I did know, was that she seemed eager to breastfeed, and from the start, it was a totally unique experience when compared to the breastfeeding experience I had with Evan.

Kara is now 17-months-old. I exclusively breastfed her until she was 6-months-old, and continued to breastfeed until she was 15-months-old. I kind of feel like a rock star about the whole thing, if I’m being completely honest. I’m totally a rock star, right?

What I want you to know

I want you to know—yes, you—that just because your experience with breastfeeding wasn’t perfect the first time, it doesn’t mean you’re out of the game.

Truly, the second time, or third time, or seventh time may be the charm. If you want to breastfeed a subsequent child, try. Even if you’re scared of failing. Reach out for help, be patient, give it your best effort again.

If it still doesn’t work for you? Everything will be okay in that case, too. You’re still an amazing mom.

I’m so glad that I followed my motherly instincts during that 3:00 a.m. feeding, and that I was finally inspired enough to just keep trying.

It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t perfect, but it was worth it in every way.

Every. Single. Way.

Moms, were your breastfeeding experiences different from child-to-child?

I’d love to hear your stories in the comment section.

The post Breastfeeding Second Or Third Child May Be A Charm #bfing #breastfeeding appeared first on Dear Crissy.

I haven’t done a Wordless Wednesday in… forever.

Did you know that green is my favorite color? It is!

Be sure to check out Tiffany’s Wordless Wednesday Linky if you’d like to see more great images and link up!

The post Wordless Wednesday: Green appeared first on Dear Crissy.

Oh, my babies. My sweet, adorable, hilarious babies — how I love to film you!

There’s really nothing like taking an amazingly-cute video of your little ones with your iPhone, only to receive a message letting you know it’s is too large to send via message.

Sure, YouTube and Facebook are great, but I don’t necessarily want to share all of my private family videos with hundreds of people. In fact, I often only want to share videos with the kids’ grandparents!

Enter Joya App. Joya allows you to send your videos, small and large, to your contacts via email or text — for free. I tried sending a few videos to my mom over the weekend, and found the process not only easy, but really fast.

You’ll be getting notifications that your movies are being viewed in no time!

How does Joya work?

• Just download the Joya app on your iPhone.
• Add contact information for your favorite people (cell or email) to your “favorites.”
• Connect to your iPhone library.
• Send one or multiple videos to your list of favorites.
• The recipient will receive a link via text or email, click it and watch it. No iPhone or software required.

Why I love Joya App

While I am a huge fan of photography, there is something special and visceral about a video.

I know that when I share a video of my children with my parents, they will feel an immediate connection to the kids through the sight of blossoming smiles and the sounds of high-pitched voices and belly-laughter.

Video is emotional. It’s also one of the best ways I know to stay connected, and to share the beautiful and joyful glimpses of my life with the people I love the most in this world — my family and close friends.

Joya App let’s me make those connections easier, and I love that.

Be sure to visit the iTunes store to download Joya, and start sharing your videos today. You can also follow Joya on Twitter and Facebook. Happy video sharing!

The post Joya App Makes Video Sharing Simple #GetJoya appeared first on Dear Crissy.

I’ve really enjoyed sharing my experiences from the #IronMan3Event with all of you, and a lot of the reason, is that it’s been a joy reliving each of the parts of my trip over again as I edit images and write the posts!

A really fun and interesting portion of my time in LA was spent touring and learning more about the El Capitan Theatre, and also, having the opportunity to visit the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store!

Our tour began with a very special breakfast at the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store! Bloggers were served Mickey Mouse waffles, and wow, were they every sweet, fluffy, and delicious. It was a really great way to start the day, and a really unique experience.

We were then led upstairs to begin our tour of the famous El Capitan Theater. Did you know that the legendary El Capitan Theatre opened on May 3rd, 1926, as “Hollywood’s First Home of Spoken Drama?”

In 1989, The Walt Disney Company began a museum-quality restoration of the El Capitan. The theatre reopened in June, 1991, with the world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures’ “The Rocketeer.”

The El Capitan’s glamours history is apparent in every inch of this gorgeous Hollywood landmark, and I am still amazed that I had the opportunity to watch a blockbuster film premiere there! Isn’t it magical?

After our tour of the theatre, we headed back to the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store.

Disney’s Soda Fountain offers a truly charming, old-fashioned ice cream parlor experience, and you can also find a large selection of fun Disney merchandise in the studio store.

Oh, look! It’s the Disney Vault!

I adored having the chance to visit the El Capitan Theatre and Disney Soda Fountain, and I highly recommend these stops for anyone visiting Hollywood!

Iron Man 3 is currently playing at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA until June 20th in Disney Digital 3D and Real D 3D. You can also see a Display of Collectibles & Comic Books from the Private Collection of Stan Lee!

Coming this summer at the El Capitan Theatre

June 21st through August 8th: Monsters University (Plus, see Mike & Sulley in the MU Pep Rally with the Sprit Squad Live on Stage!)

August 9th through September 19th: Disney’s Planes.

For tickets call 1 (800) DISNEY6 or visit www.elcapitantickets.com.

More about Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 opens in theaters on May 3rd. Be sure to like Iron Man 3 on Facebook! You can also visit the Iron Man 3 site, or follow @Iron_Man on Twitter. If you would like to follow along with me and the other bloggers on Twitter, check out hashtag #IronMan3Event, and say hello!

More Iron Man 3 Posts on Dear Crissy

An Interview With Gwyneth Paltrow
‘Iron Man 3′ Red Carpet Premiere At El Capitan Theatre
12 Quirky Homemade Iron Man Finds on Etsy
5 Fun Iron Man-icures!
Iron Man 3 Posters

I received an expenses-paid trip to LA from Disney in exchange for my posts before, during, and after the #IronMan3Event. Opinions are genuine, and all mine.

The post El Capitan Theatre and Disney Soda Fountain #IronMan3Event appeared first on Dear Crissy.

This was our kitchen a few weeks ago.

Because I bought the home I grew up in, it’s also a space where I’ve spent countless hours of my life. Countless hours.

When my husband and I bought the house, those old cabinets (built with the house in 1954) were actually blue. The walls were papered, and the countertops were retro… but not in a good way. Even our kitchen table is a hand-me-down, and not exactly my style.

We made a few minor changes, but in the 5 years since my husband and I bought the house, the kitchen has never felt good to us.

We knew that we wanted to do a true renovation on the kitchen, but we also knew that it would be some time before we had the means to begin. We made a few changes just to get by, but the room still felt dark and outdated.

We have now embarked on a true renovation.

RENOVATION:

1: to restore to a former better state by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding.
2: to restore to life, vigor, or activity: revive.

Don’t mind the huge dish explosion. I was trying to get everything clean before packing it up prior to the tear-out. I’ve actually never owned a dishwasher, and that’s one of the things I’m most excited about having in the new kitchen!

We’ll be putting in an LG dishwasher with TrueSteam technology. In case you’re wondering, that’s a big leap from Crissy’s-hands-in-dishwater technology.

I know that this isn’t the worst kitchen in the world, but we are definitely excited about upgrading.

I want our kitchen to feel fresh, clean, and most of all, I want it to be a functional room for our family. I want to feel like the kitchen is the heart of our home, because that’s what it should be.

My husband and I are SO ready to have the kitchen of our dreams, but we also know that renovation can be a hard road. We also know that there may be unexpected bumps in that road, that there will be periods of time when we’ll all have to be inconvenienced to reach our ultimate goal, but that in the end, this kitchen renovation is going to have an incredibly positive impact on our little family!

My husband is multi-talented, and much of this renovation will be DIY!

As ready as I was, it was still a shock to go from that before photo, to this…

Oh, and, the things we discovered in those ancient wall cavities. Let’s just say, insulation wasn’t one of them! Sixty years worth of nastiness, that we’ve been living and eating just inches away from? Check.

You also find things like this in the walls of a house built in 1954. Hello, Hopalong Cassidy!

We’re in the trenches of our kitchen renovation now! We have so many changes coming, and I can’t wait to show you different parts of the project along the way. You can also check out this Inspiration & Progress Pinterest Board that will be documenting the process!

Have you ever renovated a major living space in your home? What was the best part about accomplishing your renovation?

LG is providing appliances for my kitchen remodel. Opinions are genuine, and my own. Stay tuned for much more information about my kitchen remodel, and our LG appliances!

The post Our Kitchen Renovation: Before appeared first on Dear Crissy.

Homemade Face Mask Recipes

1. Nutmeg, Honey, and Cinnamon Mask Recipe — This soothing facial mask recipe is the perfect way to relax after a long day. Nutmeg and honey are natural anti-inflammatories, which can reduce swelling and redness in your skin. This homemade face mask recipe sounds lovely!

2. Heavenly Honey Citrus Mask — Marie Clare offers this honey citrus face mask recipe. This luscious honey and orange based mask will give your skin a beautiful healthy glow. Sounds good enough to eat!

3. Avocado Egg White Face Mask Recipe — Combine the oil-fighting powers of avocado with the pore-tightening properties in egg whites, and you get one powerful acne-fighting homemade facial mask! This avocado egg white face mask will do wonders for oily skin.

4. Nourishing Honey and Oatmeal Facial Mask Recipe — If you have dry skin, you’ll want to find a facial mask that can moisturize and nourish. This honey and oatmeal mask will not only add moisture to your skin, but it will soften and smooth even the most tired skin.

5. Homemade Cucumber Mask Recipe — I adore the fresh scent of cucumber, so this cooling cucumber facial mask recipe is definitely at the top of my list. Cucumbers are full of water, so they will not only hydrate your skin, they are loaded with Vitamin A, B, and C, as well as minerals including: magnesium, potassium, manganese, and silicon. You truly can’t go wrong with a cucumber mask!

6. Brightening Daisy Mask — Who ever would have guessed that daisies would be great for your skin? This video tutorial teaches you how to make your own daisy mask at home for brighter, youthful skin.

7. DIY Mud Mask Recipe — Of course, the most common type of mask is a mud mask. I love the way a good mud mask makes my skin feel, and this DIY mud mask recipe looks really nice. This mud mask is particularly great for oily skin.

8. Strawberry Face Mask Recipe — Actually, the strawberry facial mask recipe (which is super-simple) is only one of many in this fabulous round-up of homemade face mask recipes that offers a variety of easy mask recipes for different skin types. This is a great resource, you’ll definitely want to bookmark it!

9. Coffee and Cocoa Face Mask Recipe — Yum, how does a coffee and cocoa facial mask sound? When it comes to homemade face mask recipes, this one is perfect for waking up dull skin, and really, it just sounds too yummy not to try!

10. Lemon-Milk Alpha Hydroxy Mask — Why spend money on expensive alpha hydroxy facial masks, when you can prepare your own homemade face mask recipe at home? This Lemon-Milk Alpha Hydroxy Mask will perk-up your sleepy skin, making it feel fresh and look bright. Both milk and lemon contain natural alpha hydroxy acids. This is such a great way to save money and kickstart your beauty routine!

Whether you have normal, oily, or dry skin, there is a mask for you. I’m a sucker for at-home spa treatments, so I’ll be trying several of these facial mask recipes this summer! Hope you enjoyed learning more about these 10 incredible homemade face mask recipes!

More Beauty Articles on Dear Crissy

Oil Cleansing Method Tutorial
10 Homemade Sugar Scrub Recipes
Homemade Lip Balm Recipes

Images licensed through iStock Photo.

The post Homemade Face Mask Recipes appeared first on Dear Crissy.

I was fortunate enough to receive a signed copy of Gwyneth’s new book recently, and also had the chance to participate in a fun group interview with the actress. Gwyneth really opened up, and shared some fun and personal insights into her life and her motivations for writing this book.

As I mentioned in my interview with Gwyneth about Iron Man 3, she is such a sweet and funny person. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to speak with her, and I’ll tell you, the recipes in her new book look incredibly wholesome and delicious. The food photography in the book is just stunning, and I can’t wait to try some of the recipes!

I hope you enjoy this fun interview with Gwyneth Paltrow as much as I did!

How did you get into doing cookbooks?

I started writing down my recipes because I was always a cook and a foodie. My dad was the one who taught me cook; we learned together and our connection to food was such a part of our relationship, and so I thought it would be really nice, because I sort of felt him in the kitchen, and I sort of felt it would be nice to write the recipes and pay homage to him and our relationship at the same time, and it was cathartic.

My son has really bad eczema, and he’s really allergic to gluten and cow’s milk. And it’s been incredible because so many people are trying to avoid gluten either for weight, or, they’re allergic to it, so that’s sort of how it all happened.

What advice do you have regarding nutrition?

Someone told me the best thing; a nutritionist once told me, the way that we’ve changed our diet in the last fifty years is crazy. If you showed our grandmothers, or our great grandmothers the way we’re eating, they’d be like, this isn’t even food. What are you doing? And she said the best thing to do when you’re at the supermarket is to shop the periphery. That’s where all the fresh food is.

How do you keep your kids healthy when you’re away from home?

You know, I try. We were just in Paris; I was on the Iron Man press tour. Try eating gluten free in Paris. It is a nightmare, my poor child. So, one day I was like, let’s go find Japanese food. Asian foods are amazing for avoiding a lot of that stuff.

When you cook, do you rap?

Do you have a hidden camera in my kitchen? That is so crazy. How do you know that? Yes, we are a hip hop household, a hundred percent!

Do your kids cook with you a lot?

Oh, yes. My son, especially, is really, really into it, and he can perfectly crack an egg. Every weekend, we’d cook something together. He loves it.

Who ever would have guessed that Gwyneth raps in the kitchen? That was truly one of the funniest moments of the entire interview, and Gwyneth was really laughing when she was asked the question!

If you’re looking for healthy and wholesome meals that will please your entire family, be sure to check out Gwyneth’s cookbook!

More about Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 opens in theaters on May 3rd. Be sure to like Iron Man 3 on Facebook! You can also visit the Iron Man 3 site, or follow @Iron_Man on Twitter. If you would like to follow along with me and the other bloggers on Twitter, check out hashtag #IronMan3Event, and say hello!

More Iron Man 3 Posts on Dear Crissy

An Interview With Gwyneth Paltrow
‘Iron Man 3′ Red Carpet Premiere At El Capitan Theatre
12 Quirky Homemade Iron Man Finds on Etsy
5 Fun Iron Man-icures!
Iron Man 3 Posters

I received an expenses-paid trip to LA from Disney in exchange for my posts before, during, and after the #IronMan3Event. Opinions are genuine, and all mine.

The post Gwyneth Paltrow Talks About Her New Cookbook, ‘It’s All Good’ #IronMan3Event appeared first on Dear Crissy.

When I was asked by Kohl’s to do a Mother’s Day shop using a $100 Kohl’s gift card, I knew it was going to be a fun process. You see, I listen to my mom. I know what’s on her wish list at all times, so, I went into my Kohl’s store prepared!

First on my shopping list was a new pair of Adidas sandals. My mom loves this particular shoe, and the pair she purchased at Kohl’s two years ago are finally starting to show their age. I knew she has been wanting to pick up a new pair, so I grabbed them for her!

Have you tried the athletic sandals from Kohl’s? Both the Adidas and Nike versions are extremely comfortable, and great for wearing around the house. I have some that I love, too. I actually ended up grabbing another version of this Adidas sandal, with gel in the sole (almost identical to this shoe but with a different sole). They were $34.99, and I saved $8.00, making them just $26.99.

I also know that my mom has been wanting a new watch. Since we have similar taste, I figured it would be pretty easy to choose one.

The only thing that made it more difficult than what I had anticipated, was the huge sale on watches! There were so many beautiful watches on sale, that I had a hard time choosing my favorite. There were actually more watches in my budget than I had expected.

I ended up landing on this simple and elegant watch from Relic. The regular price was $70.00, and I got it on sale for just $49.00! Isn’t it pretty? I’m a bit jealous.

The associate working behind the jewelry counter was very helpful, and after my deliberation over which style of watch to choose, she rang me up, and I was on my way!

I saved a total of $29.00 on my purchases at Kohl’s, and still had a bit of money left over on my gift card!

I love that I can find such a variety of high-quality brands, all in one place, at my local Kohl’s store. I always have a pleasant experience at Kohl’s, and this Mother’s Day shop was no different!

I know that my mom is going to be so excited with her gifts! Every mom deserves a great gift on Mother’s Day, and with so many great brands and sales at Kohl’s, your only problem will be deciding what to buy!

Win a $100 Kohl’s Gift Card

To honor moms this Mother’s Day, Kohl’s has generously provided a $100 gift card for one lucky Dear Crissy reader! Enter below to win, and happy Mother’s Day! US entrants only, 18+. Ends May 23rd, 2013 at 12:00 a.m. Good luck!

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Kohl’s. Opinions are genuine, and my own.

The post Find The Perfect Gifts For Mom At Kohl’s: $100 GC #Sweepstakes #Kohls appeared first on Dear Crissy.

One of the best parts of living in a rural area is having the opportunity to experience nature with my children on a regular basis.

Recently, an adorable little turtle made his way through our back yard, and of course, Evan was quite eager to study him as he traversed our property. I knew that the turtle was an Eastern Box Turtle, but honestly, I didn’t have much knowledge about the cute little critter beyond that fact.

Because Evan has such a thirst for knowledge, he asked me if we could learn more about the turtle on the computer, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test our search phrase using Microsoft’s Bing It On Challenge. You’ve probably seen commercials for the Bing It On Challenge on TV, but if not, check out the screenshot below and you’ll see a sample of my results. The results on the left are so much more appealing, wouldn’t you agree?

Microsoft doesn’t expect Bing to win every time for every person, but they’ve created a tool to help people determine which web results are best for them based on their personal preferences, and in the case of my search for Eastern Box Turtle, I absolutely loved the results including the image thumbnails, and Evan wanted to look at every single photo.

We learned a lot about the Eastern Box Turtle, most importantly, that this turtle is considered endangered in Ohio. I learned that the greatest threat to Ohio’s box turtles are drivers who make no attempt to avoid them on the roads.

I know that growing up, my dad stopped to help an Eastern Box Turtle cross the road many times. I never realized what a great favor he was really doing for this species of turtle!

I browsed the Bing results for the Eastern Box Turtle with Evan for almost an hour. We loved looking through all of the bright and beautiful image results, and we learned a lot about this turtle’s habitat and behaviors.

Have you tried the Bing It On Challenge yet? You might be surprised to see which search engine’s results you prefer!

Thank you to Bing and Technorati for being sponsors of this article. All opinions expressed here are my own.

* Based on a comparison of web search results pane only; excludes ads, Bing’s Snapshot and Social Search panes and Google’s Knowledge Graph. Learn about the study.

The post Bing It On Challenge: Eastern Box Turtle #BingItOn #Spon appeared first on Dear Crissy.