Bowling Pumpkins

We are in full holiday swing around here.  Seems like as the kids get older, the costumes get a little more complicated and involved.  It's all good as long as we start working on them early enough.  (Not always the case each year, but we are getting better.)

This year I was in charge of the game for my son's preschool class.  Since there are 7 little boys in that one class and no girls, I wanted something that involved lots of movement.  And, after doing some searching online and on Pinterest, I decided to do a little bowling.

Such a quick and easy project!  You'll probably even have all the supplies on hand.

Whatcha Need:

6 paper towel rolls
14 sheets of orange construction paper
1 sheet of green construction paper
Tape
Permanent marker

Whatcha Do:

Tape 2 & 1/3 sheets of orange paper together.

Roll the orange construction paper around a roll of paper towels.

Repeat for all 6 rolls.

Cut the green construction paper into 6 equal squares and draw stems on each one.

Tape the cut out stems on the orange 'pumpkins'.

Use a permanent marker to draw faces on the 'pumpkins'.  Then set them up to play.

Use a ball to knock the pumpkin pins over.

My little helper - the king of photo bombs!

The game seemed to be a big hit with all the boys at the party today.  Hooray!  They then played tackle bowling with the pins just before we decided it was the end of their party.  Such is life with little boys, right?!

Enjoy your Halloween!

Madi Made A Wish

A little over two years ago, our third child was diagnosed with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia).  It's been quite the journey.  If you would like to read more about this, feel free to visit Madi's Milestones.

As we near the end of this chapter in Madi's life, it seemed really appropriate to have Make-A-Wish contact us to find out what Madi's wish would be.  Is it any surprise a 7 year old girl wanted to make a trip to Disney World?!

This trip was definitely magical for our whole family.  That's right - the whole family, all 7 of us, got to go to Florida for a week.  Amazing!  Everything was taken care of for us.

We got a limo ride to and from the airport.  A first for all of us.

We then maneuvered through the St. Louis airport.  Kevin in the front, since he is very familiar with traveling in and out of this airport, and me in the back corralling little ones.  Not sure how many times on this trip I said 'eyes in front' to keep the kids from running into people.

Anxiously waiting for our plane to arrive.

Three of the five kids had flown in the past, but that was six or more years ago.  They will definitely remember this trip!

When we arrived in Orlando, there was a vehicle waiting for us to use the whole week we were staying.  So generous!

From the airport, we made our way to the village at Give Kids The World.  This place was amazing!  Here we are in front of our villa.  Our family of 7 was very comfortable in the space.

During our stay, we were able to visit Disney World and Universal Studios.  Both parks were a lot of fun for our family!  Disney's Magic Kingdom was definitely a favorite for our family, though.

While Magic Kingdom was a favorite, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure had the bigger rides to appeal to the older kids' adventurous side.

Lots of fun was had in both places, though.  Madi had special passes at all the parks that essentially worked like unlimited Fast Passes.  Very little waiting at either park with the passes and the smaller amount of visitors for the time of year.  (I can't imagine going during the summer months!)  We made sure to enjoy the perks.  If we go back, it won't ever be the same.  They definitely spoiled us!

There were a couple of hot days during our trip.  Lots of ice cream was consumed that week.

We even had a few meltdowns and 'moments'.

And we were all completely worn out by the end of each day.

Life got back to normal very quickly.  School the next day, church that evening, and treatment for Madi on Thursday.  Here's Mr. Tom playing a game with Madi during her appointment.  He spends time with any of the kids and helps keep them on track with their school work.  He and Madi worked on math before getting out the game.

Our weekend was full, too, with pre-teen Bible study Friday night, Tough Mudder on Saturday (for Kevin) and then church on Sunday.  I'm really not sure how all you that have kids in sports do it all!  I still don't feel fully recovered or caught up.

The memories from our trip are amazing!  Such perfect timing for our family, too.  Madi will soon be done with her treatments for leukemia and this was a great way to start the celebration.  She and the rest of the kids deserved to have this magical time for all they have been through.

Thanks for all your prayers on our family's behalf.  Please keep them coming!  Madi may only have one treatment left, but she will forever have to be monitored in life to make sure this nasty illness never comes back.

New Product Review - MindWorks, Immunity & Protein

I've been hard at 'work' these past couple of weeks testing Shaklee's new products - MindWorks, Vitalized Immunity and Vitalizing Protein. {Sometimes my life is rough ;)}  

Our reviews?  We are loving all of them!  

Kevin and I have both been taking MindWorks for a couple of months now and couldn't be more pleased with the results.  For me, I notice I'm able to be more focused overall and get a lot more done during the day.  I used to have a horrible problem with loosing my train of thought during conversations with others, but no more.  I also stay on task much better through my day.  Kevin says MindWorks helps get him though his days at work and helps him to be more efficient and focused during meetings and while working on projects.  It's been a great addition to our lives!

Vitalized Immunity provides the nutritional support your immune system needs to stay strong.  We were actually given the opportunity to put it to the test and not just taste it about a week after we received our order.  When you wake up one morning with all your usual symptoms of a nasty cold coming on - not to mention your two youngest are over productive snot factories at the time - you become pretty desperate to NOT get sick.  Naturally sweetened with monk fruit and as much Vitamin C as 16 oranges (!!), Vitalized Immunity has a clean citrus flavor that soothes as you drink.  Even better - IT WORKS!  No colds for us!

So, what about the Vitalizing Protein?  My morning ritual is to take MindWorks, Vitalizer and either Vitalizing Protein or 180 Smoothee with my breakfast.  If I miss the pills, I can't keep my mind on track or get much of anything done during the day.  If I skip the protein in my Vitalizing Protein or 180 Smoothee, I get hungry much earlier in the day and end up grazing on junk from the pantry.  All of these combined give me the energy and nutrients I need to get through my day and keep my life healthy.  I also find myself making a cup for an afternoon snack by mixing one scoop instead of two with my milk.

As you can tell, I have really enjoyed these new additions to the Shaklee family.  I thought you might enjoy some of the videos telling more about the science behind these items.  If you have any questions, I'll be happy to help in anyway I can.

The Science Behind MindWorks

The Science Behind Immunity

The Science Behind Vitalizing Protein

Paleo Birthday Meal

Yesterday was my husband's birthday.  He's getting OLD!  Not really.  If he's getting old, that means I'm getting old, too, and I'm not ready to accept that.  Our 30's are sure going by fast, though!

He's not big on celebrating, but I at least wanted to have a nice meal and dessert for him.  For most meals we keep things simple and last night was no different.  But, it was VERY flavorful and filling.

The pork chops were grilled to perfection by Kevin.  I always dry them out, so I definitely let the pro do the grillin'.  He's secret seasoning?  Season Salt.  (Um, guess it's not a secret any more, huh?)

The broccoli is surrounded by julienned sweet potato.  Both of these were sautéed together on the stove top in coconut oil and seasoned with garlic salt and some crushed red pepper flakes to taste.

I'm quite proud of dessert!  Kevin prefers to avoid refined sugars and leans more toward a paleo-ish diet.  (Hence the meat and veggies for supper.)  He would have eaten a blackberry cobbler or a lemon meringue pie, but I wanted to fix something he could really enjoy without all the extra stuff.  My quick search led me to Our Paleo Life and Kendra's Paleo Peach Cobbler recipe.  (So many good recipes on this site!)  It was a big hit with Kevin and most of the kidlets.

Overall, the evening and meal were a great success!

First Day of School.... Again

I hope all of you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!  We had my parents in for a visit and spent the time playing games and touring the Science Center here in St. Louis.  Lots of fun!!

Are you wondering about the title of this post?

School started August 11th for my 4 older kids.  Since then, I've been scrambling to keep up with all the new schedules, forms that need to be filled out, paying for field trips, packing lunches, helping with homework, and even drying a few tears when homework is forgotten.

My son and I have been able to have a lot of fun with just the two of us for the past three weeks, though.  We've run a lot of errands; but, we've also played at the park, had some playdates with friends and used the pool as much as possible.

Well, today, our youngest has his first day of PreK!  He was so ready!  Since he has the same school (and even the same teacher) as his sister had last year, he knew exactly what the routine would be.  He did such a good job, too.  An exciting new phase in his little life!

Now, I get to see how much I can get done during my three hours by myself three days a week.  Should be interesting!  Hopefully, I don't do too many projects that my husband gets upset with me.  I do try to restrain myself.  Truly, I do.  If only he had my vision....

New Ways to Join for FREE

August has become a very busy month for me!  Has it been for you?  Here I had high hopes for things to start slowing down around here - silly me!  We're still trying to have as much fun as possible, though!

Before the month is completely gone, I wanted to share the New Regimens by Shaklee.  All of these include free membership and free shipping for new members.

Healthy Foundations*

Healthy Solutions

Healthy Solutions Plus

SmartHeart Blood Pressure

SmartHeart Colesterol

Shaklee 180 Lean & Healthy

Shaklee 180 Turn Around

Enfuselle Nutrition Therapy Skin Care Kit

Get Clean Starter Kit

I have used or currently use many of these products and absolutely love them.  All of these products are all natural and are backed by Shaklee's 30 day 100% Money Back Guarantee.  If you have any questions, contact me and we can talk about what is best for you.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

*place on autoship and receive and extra 10% off the price

Drink More Water

Quick question - How much water do you drink?

I mean, we all know it's important to drink lots of water.  We hear it on the news, read it in magazines and internet articles, and talk about it with our doctor and friends.  Yet, it can be hard to actually drink the amount of water experts tell us we need.

And, let's face it.  We feel better when we're properly hydrated.  Water is now my first line of defense around our house.

'Mom, I'm tired.'
'Drink a glass of water and lay down for a bit."

'Mom, I have a headache.'
'Drink a glass of water and let me know how you feel in 10 minutes.'

'I'm not hungry.'
'Grab a cup of water and see if that helps.'
(This is for my daughter who's medicine acts as an appetite suppressant.)

'Mom, I'm still hungry after eating everything in sight.' (Steroids are great.)
'Drink some water and let me know if you are still hungry.'

'Mom, my legs/arms/tummy/muscles hurt.'
'Drink a glass of water.'

And, I'll admit, drinking water has been a struggle for all of us until recently.  Not too many years ago, we kept all kinds of beverages in our home: Kool-aid, coke {er... soda?, pop?}, juice.  We just didn't care for drinking plain, ol' water.  Can you blame us with all those other highly sweetened drinks?  It took us a long time to wean ourselves off these other beverages and start CRAVING water.

I used to struggle to drink enough water through the day.  Now, I have some tricks up my sleeve that make it a little easier for me, and my family, get more water in our bodies daily.  Some tricks I'm going to share with you.

Eliminate Other Options

Just like in any other situation: if you don't have in the house to reach for when thirsty, you won't be able to drink it.  To say that is easy, but it really can be hard in actuality.  There were many times I would think 'Oh, we need a treat this weekend.', and I would scurry down the beverage isle in our local grocery store to pick up our favorite root beer.  I finally had to realize we were better off without it and just bypass that isle altogether.  Now we have trouble drinking more than a few sips because of the overwhelming sweetness we are no longer use to.

Add A Straw

This is such a simple thing, but it will make drinking water SO much easier.  I'm sure there are all kinds of scientific reasons for this being a help - I don't know them, though.  All I do know, is that I can drink about twice the amount of water in a day with a straw than I can just drinking from a cup without a straw.  WIN!

Add Some Flavor

Yes.  I know.  I told you to basically kick the flavored beverages to the proverbial curb earlier.  However, there are many healthy ways to add some flavor to an otherwise boring drink and still keep it natural and good for you.

• Fresh or Frozen Fruit :  A little splash of fresh lemon, lime or even orange can make water a little more enjoyable for many people.  There are also times our family will add frozen blueberries, raspberries or strawberries.  This serves many purposes: acts as 'ice' to help keep the water cold, adds some flavor and the kids love eating the frozen fruit when the water is gone.
• Energizing Tea:  Both the Green Tea and Pomegranate Tea have great flavor, are all natural and will give you an extra boost of energy to help you get through your day.  The Pomegranate Tea has replaced my multiple cups of coffee I used to drink every day.  I LOVE it!  Both of these are made with Matcha Green Tea which has many health benefits - high in antioxidants, helps with stress, increases metabolism without negative side-effects and promotes overall health.
• Performance:  Extra hydration is needed on those hot or extra active days.  Shaklee Performance helps us stay hydrated while maintaining blood-glucose levels without added preservatives, artificial flavors or sweeteners.

Find the Right Temperature

There is nothing I like better than a tall glass of ice water on a hot summer day.  But, when the snow is flying outside and I'm standing next to the fire in the living room trying to stay warm, it's the absolute last thing I want.  So, what to do?  I've learned a cup of water in the microwave for 30 seconds or so can make water a good temperature for me to drink during the winter.  It takes a little getting used to, but at least I'm drinking it.  Also, both the Energizing Teas are equally good hot as they are cold.

Measure It

To help me know how much (or how little) water I've had through the day, I always use the same cup.    Since it holds 2 cups, or 16 oz, of water each time I refill it, I'm able to easily keep track of the amount of water I'm consuming.  Much easier than using multiple glasses and only being able to guess at how much each holds.

Hopefully, some of these ideas will help you increase your water intake like they have helped us.  Do you have other suggestions that have helped you?