Healthier Mud Pies / gluten and dairy free

I bought some Glutino oreo's for the boys. They love these cookies! I thought it would be fun to make them some mud pies with the cookies crumbled on top and a couple gummy worms. My mom sent them Albanese gummy worms. 

I found a chocolate chia pudding recipe on Pinterest. It was super easy to make. 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup dairy free milk - I used almond milk

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix it all together and chill for 4-6 hours in the fridge. 

I crumbled up the cookies, sprinkled them over the top and put 2 worms in each bowl. George thought they were super cute and delicious. Cash would only eat the worms. lol

George ended up thinking it was a cute idea, but only ate about 3 bites. George isn't a chocolate fan. Cash loves all sweets, so I am not sure why he wouldn't even try them. Cash just kept yelling he wanted more worms. Next time I will just try to see if he will eat the pudding without worms. 

Gut Health and why it's so important!

I learned about gut health around 4 years ago. My natural doctor and Dr. Wahl's talk about a leaky gut and gut health a lot. I was rather confused what in the world a leaky gut was until it was explained to me. What is a leaky gut? Leaky gut, also known as increased intestinal permeability, is a digestive condition in which bacteria and toxins are able to "leak" through the intestinal wall. The sad thing is mainstream medical doctors do not recognize leaky gut as a real condition. 

Symptoms of a leaky gut are:

• chronic diarrhea, constipation or bloating
• nutritional deficiencies
• fatigue
• headaches
• confusion
• difficulty concentrating
• skin problems, such as acne, rashes, or eczema
• joint pain
• widespread inflammation

I wrote a blog post on sugar HERE a couple weeks ago. Sugar is one way to cause a leaky gut and destroy good gut health. Avoid eating refined sugars, processed foods, refined oils and minimize your alcohol intake to help your gut health. 

Breakfast I try to have a smoothie with spinach, berries, coconut or almond milk, collagen peptides and chia seeds. We do eat a lot of eggs. I will either fry an egg in coconut oil until they are crispy which is my favorite way to eat them or I like to scramble them with some onions, jalapenos, and spinach. My boys love to eat scrambled eggs with salt. They need salt on their eggs or they won't eat them. I use pink Himalayan salt. 

Lunch I make a large salad. I use all different kinds of lettuce - romaine, arugula, spring mix. Whatever type of lettuce I feel like that week. I try to mix it up, so I don't get sick of the same thing. Then I add in the toppings - shredded carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken, sauerkraut, some nuts if I have them, and Whole 30 ranch. I think it was the Doctors on tv who were talking about how a really good salad has to be mixed really well. It's so true! Once you get everything into your salad it needs to be mixed well! It just makes the salad that much better! 

I started added sauerkraut or kimchi to my salads in the past year. Fermented foods are really great for gut health. Please read the ingredients on the fermented foods you are eating. Make sure there aren't colors, sugars etc added to it. If you are eating fermented foods with additives it pretty much defeats the whole purpose of adding them to your diet. 

A typical lunch for me. 

By having a smoothie and eating a large salad for lunch this pretty much will get 6-9 cups of veggies into my diet for the day. At dinner I might have some paleo tortillas for tacos, baked potato, paleo chicken pot pie or some other type of paleo starch to my dinner. 

Bone broth, sauerkraut, kombucha, are my go to items for helping my gut health besides eating a paleo diet and lots of veggies! I can't say enough of how great bone broth is for you! Not just for your gut health, but also your joints. Getting the collagen for your joints is so important! If you struggle with an autoimmune disease or inflammation add some bone broth into your diet. If you are buying bone broth please pay attention to the ingredients. 

Chris Freytag one of my favorite trainers always says fruit will not make you fat. This is such a good reminder for me. There are times when I want something sweet. Grabbing watermelon, berries, a banana with almond butter is so much better for you than grabbing a Reese's peanut butter cup. Here is what is in a Reese's peanut butter cup - milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin, pgpr, emulsifier), peanuts, sugar, dextrose, salt, tbhq (preservative), citric acid (to maintain freshness). 

When you are grabbing a banana with simple almond butter you are eating 2 natural items. You are not worrying about dextrose, citric acid and who knows what else being added to it. I feel fruit has been given a bad rap over the years. It has too much sugar, too many carbs, it's not good to eat it all the time - all lies! It's a natural thing that your body can easily process! If you have a leaky gut you may need to consider limiting the amount of fruit you eat until you get your gut health in a good place. 

Have you ever heard of gut health or a leaky gut? What are things you do to keep a healthy gut?

Refined sugars and your body!

When I started my weight loss journey almost 10 years ago sugar was one thing that really was eye opening. When I was doing the HCG diet I really had to pay attention to ingredients in things. Then when I started eating paleo again back to the sugar watching. 

Have you ever looked at the grams of sugar in that Starbucks drink? What about in the ketchup, crackers, lunch meat, or the processed foods you are eating? Start looking at ingredients on the things you are eating and see how many of them have sugar added to them. 

Here is a list of refined sugar. 

• white flour.
• evaporated cane juice.
• instant starches.
• corn syrup.
• high fructose corn syrup.
• brown sugar (made by adding molasses back into refined white sugar)
• fructose.
• processed artificial sweeteners

Here is what the Cancer Center had to stay in 2016:

"The body breaks down refined sugar rapidly, causing insulin and blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Because refined sugar is digested quickly, you don't feel full after you're done eating, no matter how many calories you consumed. The fiber in fruit slows down metabolism, as fruit in the gut expands to make you feel full".

Refined sugars may increase your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. They're also linked to a higher likelihood of depression, dementia, liver disease, and certain types of cancer.

In the brain, excess sugar impairs both our cognitive skills and our self-control. For many people, having a little sugar stimulates a craving for more. Sugar has drug-like effects in the reward center of the brain. Scientists have proposed that sweet foods—along with salty and fatty foods—can produce addiction-like effects in the human brain, driving the loss of self-control, overeating, and subsequent weight gain.

The NIH did a study in mice modeling autoimmune issues gave them sugary water and saw the diseases worsen by activating inflammatory immune cells. The findings suggest that a low-sugar diet may help prevent or treat autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Sugar stimulates the production of free fatty acids in the liver. When the body digests these free fatty acids, the resulting compounds can trigger inflammatory processes. Different kinds of sugar may contribute more or less to inflammation.

If you have any type of autoimmune diseases sugar is not your friend whatsoever! I can really tell a difference when I eliminate sugar from my diet. My inflammation really seems to decrease and my I don't crave sugar either. When I am eating sugar on a daily basis my craving for sugar is insane! I also feel my entire body become inflamed in a short amount of time. 

It blows my mind how people do not pay attention to the amount of sugar they are putting in their bodies every single day. I keep seeing all these people making coffees on social media adding tablespoons upon tablespoons of sugar to their coffee. People do you know what this is doing to your body? You are poisoning your body on a daily basis adding all that sugar. 

If I am going to use sugar or give my kids sugar I like to use maple syrup or honey. They are a natural sugar that your body can process. I would like to challenge you to pay attention to the amount of refined sugars you are consuming on a daily basis. Try cutting them out and see how you feel. Also think about what your kids are eating and how much refined sugars they are eating. Mamas we need to consider what our kids tiny bodies are consuming and setting them up for a healthy adults. Our world is consumed with autoimmune diseases, cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol and so much more. Refined sugars are related to so many of these diseases!

I really feel I need to share more about living healthy, multiple sclerosis and easy ways to help people live a healthier lifestyle. I feel this is part of my calling as a person and mother. I can only control what my children eat, but I can help other mothers make better choices for their kids if they want the help. 

My tip to adding Liver to your Diet!

I started adding organ meat to our diet about 4 years ago. Growing up my mom use to make liver and onions. I loved it as a kid with some ketchup.

Liver is high in vitamin A, folic acid, iron and zinc. Liver is one of the most nutrient dense organ meat with a powerful source of vitamin A. Vitamin A is extremely beneficial for reducing diseases that cause inflammation like multiple sclerosis, arthritis and Alzheimer's along with great benefits for eye health. I am always looking for ways to reduce inflammation, since I struggle with it so bad from my multiple sclerosis. 

I have fried it with bacon grease and onions, but I struggle with the texture of it. I got an idea one day to buy some liver from a local organic natural market Victoria's Natural Market in Tomball, TX. I love going to Victoria's to get my chicken bones to make bone broth, liver, local honey and various other organic local items. 

I bought some liver and took it home to grind it up. I decided to add it to meatballs the first time. No one even knew it was in there and you couldn't taste it at all! I took the remaining ground up liver and put it in little baggies to freeze. When I make anything with ground meat I will add beef or chicken liver to it. I have found beef liver really gives ground turkey a lot of flavor! 

Ground up liver in my freezer

My family has no clue they are eating liver, but they are getting all the amazing benefits from the liver! I most likely wouldn't sit down to eat a plate of fried liver these days, so I can't expect my kids to eat it. I normally do not hide foods to get my family to eat them. I serve them the item and they decide if they want to eat it or not. To me adding the liver to ground meat is like adding in some extra vitamins. We all need to take vitamins, so let's add a little to what we are going to be eating.
Do you like liver? Have you ever ground it up to eat it? 

Paleo Whipped Coffee

Paleo Non Dairy Whipped Coffee!!! Testing out new coffee recipes seems to be my quarantine past time. I keep hearing about whipped coffee all over social media. The regular whipped coffee has a lot of refined sugar. I try to avoid refined sugar, so I decided to try to make a paleo non dairy version. 

Recipe:

1 TBSP instant coffee

4 TBSP hot water

1 TBSP coconut sugar

Blend this all together - I put it in my ninja blender for 1-2 minutes

I warmed 1/2 cup almond milk & 1/2 cup coconut milk. I poured the milk into my mug and put the whipped coffee on top. Then I slowly stirred it all together. Sooooo yummy!

You could also make this iced by not warming up your milk and pouring it all over ice. I like it both hot and cold. Whipped coffee is amazing! It changes up the daily cup of black coffee into a fancier latte! Have you tried whipped coffee?  Let me know if you try this paleo non dairy version! 

Gestational Diabetes Test while Eating Paleo

I have ate a paleo diet during this pregnancy. I felt it was important to hopefully keep any MS attacks at bay while I’m pregnant and hopefully have a less severe attack afterwards. Autoimmune issues seem to go into remission during pregnancy then rear their ugly heads with a vengeance after you give birth.  

I did a lot of google searches to see what people did for the gestational diabetes tests that didn’t drink that nasty drink. I was determined I would not drink that stuff. You can google it to see what’s all in it and decide if it’s right for you. For me it wasn’t the right choice. It has corn, dyes, and sugar. Things I don’t consume. I feel drinking that stuff would make my sugar go insane and wouldn’t give me a clear reading.  I did do the glucose test when I was pregnant with G. I felt extremely awful the rest of the day after the test was over. 

I had read about different tests that some doctors will do instead. When my doctor brought up that I needed to get my test I had done my research as to why I wouldn’t take the test. I told her my reasons. She tried to tell me medicals reasons why I should. I asked her for other options. I was very clear I wouldn’t drink the glucose drink. I asked for another test or told her I would check my sugar daily. Thankfully they allowed me to get my sugar tested after fasting 8 hours and used those numbers. I passed with flying colors. Actually my fasting numbers were almost below normal. 

I really feel that eating a paleo diet has helped me have a much more normal pregnancy than I had with G. This baby is growing on track and my sugar has been stable. My fasting sugar levels were high with G. I was able to keep it controlled with diet. He ended up being induced because they didn’t feel he was growing well inside me. These are things I’m not experiencing this time. I also know that every pregnancy is different. I do feel having a healthy diet has helped me greatly with my MS and this pregnancy. I do experience MS issues daily, but it isn't as severe as when I was eating anything and everything. 

Disclaimer: these opinions are all my own. You need to follow your doctors advice. 

Colic Game Changer!

I have been thinking about writing a post on colic for over a year. Long before I ever got pregnant with baby #2. When G was a baby I remember when his colic started so vividly. It was on Halloween. My mom had left on October 30 after being with us the month. I spent the entire day holding him as he cried. Finally in the evening he was able to release some gas and was so happy. I was exhausted! Over the next few months the colic only got worse. 

He would be colicky in the evening from around 4pm through 7 or 8pm. It was rough! Once I had gone back to work I would come home and hold him for hours. I would try not to move him once I would get him in a position where he wasn't crying. Occasionally the colic would let us if he sat in the Bumbo chair. Whatever position relieved his pain I would try to leave him as long as possible. 

I tried numerous gripe drops. Colic Calm was my favorite. It helped some times to help relieve the colic for G. It would help the colic from screaming to just fussing, but it didn't take the colic away for him.

I started taking him to the chiropractor maybe when he was about 2.5 months. At 3 months old I added a probiotic to a bottle once a day. I bought Flora Infant's Probiotic at Whole Foods or Sprout's. It was in the refrigerated section by the vitamins. I would not recommend buying this online. I would go to a store and buy it from the fridge section and keep it in your fridge at home. I started off with maybe a 1/8 of a teaspoon once a day and worked up to 1/4 teaspoon. Between taking him to the chiropractor and the probiotics it was a TOTAL game changer!!! 

We went from screaming between 3-4 hours a night to laughing and cooing within 1-2 days. If he skipped a day or two without probiotics his poor little tummy was in trouble. Once he was a year old he didn't require it anymore, but I still continued to give it to him. I noticed what a change in his health. If he didn't have a probiotic he would get sick. Probiotics are so important for a healthy gut! I will be starting the new baby out on a probiotic from day 1. I will have Art bring some to the hospital after he is born. I will add the probiotic to a bottle of breast milk each day. I also take a daily probiotic myself.

I wonder at times if maybe he had a reaction when I ate dairy. I am not sure. I didn't even know that I should try to eliminate foods from my diet to see if it made a difference. Looking back now that I eat Paleo grains and dairy cause me a lot of problems. I had asked his pediatrician if he had reflux which the doctor didn't think he had. 

This is my recommendation for anyone dealing with colic or any type of stomach issues with their infant. A probiotic won't hurt anyone. If you have to give other medicine the doctor recommends a probiotic is always helpful too! 

How To Balance Working Out and Motherhood!

Each week my goal is to workout 3-5 days a week. I would really like every week to have 5 workouts. I feel a lot better physically and mentally when I am able to get 5 workouts in. In the past weekends were my time to get in extra long workouts. I should say that was how it was pre-kid. I could go to the gym and possibly run. Now weekends are family time. 

I had an exciting opportunity to collaborate with Ethona and try out a piece of their workout gear! I decided to go outside of the box and get an item that I wouldn't normally wear. I picked a piece from their Studio collection the Gleaming Bralette in Snow Grey. I have really been wanting to try a strappy sports bra. When you are wearing a tank top I think it's really cute to wear a strappy sports bra. 

The bralette is so very soft and comfortable. This bralette works better for small chested women. I however am not small chested, so I wore it under a low cut top doing a low intensity workout. It also was great to just wear around the house in some comfy clothes. This bralette is also great for when I go on walks with G. We go on a 3 mile walk around a neighborhood next to our house where we stop half way through at a playground. A lot of times when we stop at the playground I will do push ups, jumping backs, bring a kettle bell or other various exercises while G plays. 

It can be hard to get in a workout in with kids! I find that a brisk walk with G in the jogging stroller is great for both of us. We get out of the house, get some exercise and G will get to play at the playground. He is able to burn some of his energy from riding in the stroller. There are other days he wants to just stay at home all day. On those days I like to do a Chris Freytag workout. You can find her workouts on YouTube or on her website. I paid $20 yearly fee for a subscription to her website where I am able to access tons of workouts. 

If you are interested in checking out Ethona apparel Casey Kniffin has been amazing to work with!  You can contact Casey at ethona.casey@gmail.com. You can also click HERE to go to Ethona website.

Monday Thrive August 28

1) I have always loved back to school stuff in the stores. I love school supplies. It's been a long time since I have been in school or needed to buy school supplies. When I see school supplies on sale for $.25 for a box of crayons I think I need to buy like 10 of them. lol I do try to avoid that area of the store because honestly how many pens or boxes of crayons does one person need? 

G is now going to preschool, but we don't have to take any supplies. He will be going 2 days for 3 hours a day. All supplies are provided and snacks, so we just send him in play clothes. They do lots of art and play outside a lot. He comes home usually with paint and dirt all over himself. I learned very quickly do not send him in cute good clothes. They won't make it! One of his sweatshirts still has red paint on the sleeve. That will be his school jacket from now on. lol

2) During Nordstroms Anniversary Sale I bought the Barefoot Dreams circle cardigan. I wasn't sure about it, but I had heard so many great reviews about Barefoot Dreams items. I decided to order one. If I hated it I would just return it. OMG! This thing is the softest thing in the world! I wish I had ordered another color. I wear it all the time! I really want the mink one next! 

I also discovered for the first time probably in my entire life I actually need a black cardigan. The black and mink cardigans are going on my wish list! I will be ordering another one of these next year during the sale. 

3) I started listening to Jen Hatmaker podcasts when I was flying back from ND. I LOVE this podcast!!!!!! Her recently one with Brene' Brown is a must listen too! Sometimes I need something uplifting. This podcast is exactly that! I always feel so much better about what is going on in my life after listening to Jen. She makes you feel like you are doing your best and your best is good enough!

4) The hurricane/flooding in Texas is so very sad! Last year Art and I went to the Houston area to look at possibly moving there. Maybe one day we will, but right now we aren't. The area that is flooding is right where we looked at moving. I saw pictures of MD Anderson the medical facility I want to go to. It is terrible! The place that helps thousands of people is flooded. It's really heart breaking to see MD Anderson flooded! I know so many people that go there. They are one of the few places that understand Medullary Thyroid Cancer and actually help people fight this ugly cancer. Lots of thoughts and prayers for everyone dealing with this catastrophe. 

5) I am not sure if I shared these paleo chocolate chip cookies on the blog in the past. Sometimes you just need chocolate chip cookies even when you are eating as healthy as possible. These cookies are amazing! My dad even liked them which says a lot. He thinks I eat the craziest stuff. If you want something healthy, non-dairy and paleo these are your go to cookies! I actually haven't bought the ingredients for them because I can't avoid them. 

I hope everyone has a great week!

Menu August 20

I barely did any cooking while I was at my parents compared to my weekly routine when I am home. I cook 3 meals a day when I am home. We go out to eat maybe 3-4 times a month. I will say it was really nice to have a break from meal planning and cooking, but man is it hard to get back into it. At my parents we ate at least one meal a day at the my mom's restaurant when it was open. She is a seasonal business, so she is only open Wednesday through Sunday. 

I will say I ate more hamburgers in the month I was in ND than I eat in probably a full year. Hamburgers are something that are easy to get that are paleo approved. I just have to ask for a hamburger, no bun, tomato, lettuce and no cheese when I was there. Can you believe they don't bring tomato and lettuce with every burger? I found that so crazy! Hamburgers, steak and some salads I could make a few exceptions for to stick to paleo. The rest of the foods seemed to have some type of breading on them. 

A few days before I came home I ordered some food from Amazon Fresh to be delivered to the house. Art needed some food, so I added extra stuff that I knew I would like when I got home. The first day I was home I made a menu and grocery list. I ate a lot of fried tator tots. My mom had some gluten free ones. They were so yummy and just went so well with hamburgers!!! It was time to get back on track once we were home! I had joked we were going to need to detox once we were home. G ate so much junk. There were some things I would say he couldn't have, but I tried to just take a deep breath and let my family give him some treats. It isn't every day he eats these things. Once in awhile it will be ok. 

Here is the menu I put together for this week. 

Main Dishes:

Cracklin Chicken

Salmon

Zucchini Spaghetti

Beef & Broccoli

Breakfast

Taco Salad

Sausages

We have a TON of tomatoes right now. My mom made this really good tomato salad for her salad bar. I just had to take out the cheese. 

slice cherry tomatoes in 4's

dice an avocado 

drizzle olive oil over the top of them

mince 3 cloves of garlic 

mince fresh basil

mix all together, put in fridge for a few hours and serve cold

My mom added these little mozzarella cheeses to the salad. 

Sides:

Roasted broccoli

Baked potatoes

Coleslaw

BLT salad

Tomato salad - see above

Greek salad

Roasted veggies - zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, onions, peppers

Brushies Review!

G LOVES to brush his teeth! He will brush his teeth numerous times per day. He doesn't like a lot of help either. I usually can get him to let me do a quick brush to make sure he is getting all his teeth.  At our last dentist appointment they told us to make sure we are brushing his gums and teeth. It's important to get all the food off both. 

I was excited when I got the opportunity to try out Brushies. The book is adorable and the brush is super cute too. I love that they are designed and manufactured in the USA! I love supporting companies who support US! 

The board book is adorable with a really cute story! The little finger puppet brush is super cute! The bristles are very soft. I like they it's a character too. We play little games to brush after G eats. He thinks it's funny to bite my finger. At least with this my finger is protected some lol

Brushies recommends starting to brush babies gums as early as 4 weeks old to start the routine early on! 

Brushies are very affordable and would make a great baby gift or birthday gift! We will be adding these to our next gift ideas! 

This post was generously supported by ihelpmoms.com, a professional resource for mothers!

My New Love for Hot Yoga!!!!

I bought a Groupon for 10 yoga classes a couple months ago for like $20. I was a little nervous to try out these classes for a few reasons. I was nervous how hot the rooms would actually get, could I do all the moves and would I pass out from the heat. Now I find these worries funny. 

The teachers are very good with providing different levels of the movements. I love how all the teachers talk about how each person practice is individual. No one is expected to do the same as the next. They have all been very encouraging. 

I am going to talk about the 3 class types I have tried. 

Power Hot Yoga

Power yoga is an amazing workout! It takes a lot of body strength to do the moves. I took a class on a Saturday with about 20 other people. The room was cool when it started out. As the class went on the room got warmer and warmer. I was a sweaty mess by the time it was over. I didn't feel like the heat was overwhelming at all. It gradually heated up. I didn't feel like I was a super sweaty during class. At one point I touched my shoulder and was like wow I am really sweaty.  I came in with dry clothes and my shirt was drenched when I left. It really felt amazing. 

VinyaRestore Hot Yoga

I loved this class! We did a lot of sun salutation poses in honor of National Yoga Day. The day I took this class I had really tight hips from working out. My right hip was super tight and sore. All the tightness and soreness was completely gone by the time the class was over. This class had people of all ages. There was a lady probably in her late 60's that was soooo flexible. Her form was amazing. If I ever questioned what we should be doing I would look at her because she knew all the poses. 

At one point of this class the heat got to me. We had been having some really hot weather, so I think it was just too much heat for too long for me. I didn't have to leave the class. I just had to breath through some of the poses, so I didn't let the heat overcome me. I really liked this teacher. She talked about making the practice your own. She was very encouraging. The class was packed! I plan to take another one of her classes. 

Yin Hot Yoga

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Yin!!!! My first class I tried was Yin. I was nervous to try this class mostly because I had no idea what to expect. I remember going into that class dealing with a lot of anxiety in my life at the time. I walked out so incredibly relaxed. Three weeks after I had been going to the Yin classes I realized I hadn't dealt with any anxiety since I started. It not only helped me relax in the class, but in my every day life. It is the one hour in a day where I can let go of all the craziness in my life and relax. Often times I go into class feeling tense, but by the time it is over my mind and body are so relaxed. I don't do yoga moves at home or practice any type of breathing at home. These classes once a week have just tremendously helped me. Art has even noticed a change in me. 

There is a lot of stretching, relaxing, breathing, and holding poses in this class. The room is hot, but the temperature has never bothered me at all.  There have been times my body has been tight before class and I leave so relaxed. A day or two later my muscles are a little sore from the moves. I love the teacher of this class! If she offered more classes I would take everyone one of hers. She is so calming, helps you if you are struggling to find a comfortable position and has the most encouraging classes. One week she talked about family. She would read quotes on family. She did the same for fathers day. 

Friday nights are my Yin Yoga nights! I am able to sleep great after a class. I asked G the other night where did mommy go? He said you go to yo yo. lol So funny! I am not sure if he thinks I am going to eat yogurt for awhile or where he thinks I am going. I did show him some yoga moves. He really liked to do down dog and lift his legs. He would watch me do a move then he would get under me and do the same pose. Such a funny kid!

Have you tried hot yoga? I highly recommend finding a studio to try out a few classes! 

Monday Thrive June 26

1) Holy bazooka we had one of the hottest weeks ever last week! It was AWFUL! We had days of high 90's to 100. We have a portable AC unit that we normally set up in our family room. Honestly we usually need this in August-October for a day here and there. We rarely run the thing. Well this year it was pulled out of storage in June! We decided to set it up in our bedroom this year. I am so glad we did! I would usually turn it on around nap time and leave it on until morning. It has kept our room cool. We have been able to sleep through this awful weather.

People in my area of Nor Cal don't handle the heat. We act like we are dying! People in the south roll their eyes at us whining. We don't have humidity or I might have packed my bags for Alaska. lol I spent most evenings in my room soaking in the AC. On a few occasions during this heat wave I brought different toys into our room to play with G. We also watched some movies from the Ipad. We also spent a lot of time in the pool. I have a nice tan which I am not complaining about. 

G had a great time dressing up his little guy in a knight, fireman, police man and other outfits. I was laughing to myself thinking G you probably won't ever understand the paper dolls I use to have. You had to fold the little tabs behind the doll with all the different outfits. Now they have magnetic ones where the outfits stay put. 

Magnetic Dress Up

2) We bought this little car for Kaleb when he was about 9 months old about 4 years ago. He was starting to walk around furniture, so we thought he would like to push and ride on a car. This is the most used toy we have bought. Any kid that comes over has to drive it. Well Kaleb and G decided to drive it together the other day. Crazy kids! We bought it at Walmart for about $20. We've kept it as an inside toy. I would highly recommend this toy for anyone. It was well worth the $20 we spent! 

Target Version & Amazon Version

3) Did you see my skin care routine post that I posted last week? I shared the products I use for morning and evening skin care routine. I just ran out of my moisturizers a couple days after my post. I had them over 8 months! You don't have to switch over to everything all at one time. You can slowly add one product at a time as you run out of things. You can make the foaming face wash and buy the day cream to start. Your body and health deserve the very best! Do research to make sure you are using the safest things for your skin! Beauty products effect our health! 

4) Oh I found a Paleo pancake recipe that we all love!!! Thank you Pinterest!!! A couple weeks ago I decided I was going to try a new recipe every day until I found one that everyone would eat. I only had to try 2 recipes before I found one we all loved. Target had our favorite paleo pancake mix on sale, so I grabbed 2 of them to take to ND. I love this mix because all you need is water. This will work great for my sisters and parents house. I also thought about mixing all the dry ingredients in a baggy to take with us to ND of the recipe above. 

I have all the ingredients in the recipe on hand all the time. Arrowroot powder is a staple in my house along with coconut flour. These are not staples in peoples homes who do not eat paleo. lol I will grab a couple more packages of the premixed pancake mix for when we go on vacation later this year. Easy to throw in a suitcase to have for breakfast! We usually stay in a condo with a full kitchen. I end up cooking breakfast the majority of the time. 

5) I have been enjoying my 3 hours a day while G spent the past 2 weeks in school. It's amazing how much you can get accomplished in 3 hours alone. 

• I have been going to hot yoga. I was concerned I wouldn't like it because the room is too hot. I actually LOVE it!!! When you come into the room it is a normal temperature. They heat the room slowly as you work out. I am planning a blog post on the different type of yoga classes I have tried. I have been so much more relaxed since I started doing yoga.

• Painted all the trim in our hallway and caulk the trim. It looks sooooo much better! I need to work on the kitchen next. I am hoping to have this all completed before we leave for ND. 

• I can run all my errands, grocery shop, doctor appointments, exercise all within 3 hours. It's amazing to me what I all get done. lol

I do feel every day preschool is too much for G. I am glad this fall he will go 2 days a week for 3 hours. I think that will be the perfect amount for him at this age. Mornings are also not his thing. The afternoon class will be perfect for him too. He doesn't like to wake up and go in the AM.

He is always so happy when I pick him up from school. He has been learning so much too! The other day Art went with us to drop him off. He was so proud to take his dad to his class. I will try to work it out next year for us to go to ND maybe the middle of June through July, so he can take 1 summer session of preschool late in July. We are all learning what works best with a growing little boy! 

Hope you have a fabulous week!

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Monday Thrive appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant.  

Weekly Menu - Paleo

I try to only go grocery shopping once every two weeks. I make a list for Costco and one for the grocery store. Lately I have been using Amazon Fresh. The things I can't get at Costco I have Amazon Fresh deliver to me. Amazon Fresh does have a service charge they charge you on a monthly basis. I have been debating if I should continue with the service or not. I love that I can order $40 worth of groceries for a free delivery fee and pick when I want them delivered. I can get things from them cheaper than going to the store. Sometimes I feel I have to go to numerous stores to get things. There are certain things Sprout's carries that my regular store doesn't carry. I can get things cheaper at the regular store then Sprout's. Amazon Fresh just helps me eliminate running to 2-3 stores. You can get some great deals from Amazon Fresh too. Sometimes they offer $.25 or $1.00 items. 

I buy most of my veggies at Costco. They will last us two weeks. Things like celery, potatoes, onions, and carrots last us a lot longer. I go through usually two packs of the kale salad, cherry tomatoes, 5 heads of romaine lettuce, and cauliflower each week. There are a lot of other things I go through on a weekly basis, but those veggies are always on the list. 

Main Dishes:

Cobb Salads 
Beef & Broccoli
Tilapia Fish
Chick Fil A Chicken Nuggets
Meatballs
Enchiladas

We will have similar side dishes from last week. I have also been putting a bowl of raw veggies on the table with homemade paleo ranch dressing. G likes to dip, so this is a hit. It's also a way to get everyone to eat more veggies. If I need a crunchy snack I will grab a bowl of carrots and broccoli with ranch. 

What's on your menu for this week? 

Happy Friday!

I recently saw this on social media. I love it! It is so true! We need to be kinder to ourselves. I hope you gave yourself some love this week! Get some rest, work out, drink plenty of water and have lots of fun! Enjoy your weekend.

Monday Thrive

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend! It has been soooo hot for us. It has been running in the high 80's. Thankfully it has been cooling off at night, so the house cools off too. 

1) I have been going to the thrift store for the past year and a half to buy G jeans. I usually buy him 1-2 pair from Gap. I buy him 5-7 pairs for play at the thrift store. I usually can buy them for about $1.50-$2 a pair. Depending on the brand and condition I will pay up to $4 a pair. 

I have a system I use when I am at the thrift store. I start a pile of his current size, must have an adjustable waist, straight leg and the knees need to look good. If they don't fit those requirements they stay on the rack. Once I have a pile I then go through my pile and pick out the best pairs. I went to the thrift store last weekend and I was able to score 5 pairs for $11. One pair is a 5T, but they were in really great condition for only $2.25. If the jeans get ruined for whatever reason I am not upset because I got a deal on them. 

2) I recently bought a new tumblers. I don't want to use plastic cups anymore, so I bought a stainless steal one on Amazon. It's a Haute 30 oz tumbler in a light pink. Let me just say this thing is AMAZING! I left it in the car twice on days when it was 80 degrees for up to 4 hours. I had ice water in the cup. When I returned to the car there was still ice in the thing! 

I bought these straws to go with my tumbler. I really like them. When I run the dishwasher I just through the straws in. I have enough to rotate. 

The instructions for the tumbler said not to put it in the dishwasher. I have been diligent about hand washing each time. I love this thing! It is worth the money especially for the summer! I took it with me to the zoo last week. It fits in my stroller cup holder. I had nice cold ice water through our entire zoo visit. If you know me then you know I drink A LOT of water. Water is so important for your health! Make sure you are getting your water in each day. 

3) I have talked about BeautyCounter's Mattifying Powder during a previous Monday Thrive. I have to say again how much I just love it. This past weekend like I said it was really hot. One morning I didn't put any powder on after I did my make up. Usually I put on my concealer, then put on some powder. Once I have completed all my eye make up right before my mascara I also put on the powder. I have noticed it helps my mascara stay in place better all day. Well I noticed a HUGE difference by not using it at all one day. Possibly from the heat too but I looked like a raccoon half way through the day. I don't have a problem with my eye make up coming off if I use the powder. 

4) Can we talk about toddlers and straws? Why do they need to bite the ends of them? This cup was like 5 minutes old and already the straw was destroyed. A week later this same straw is bitten up half way down. I had to buy more sippy cups since we stopped using bottles. It has been 3 weeks since we took his bottles away. He doesn't ask for them anymore. Once in awhile he will mention them. If he wants milk he is happy to have it in a cup. 

5) I took Bart to work almost every day for 7 years. I usually had a good store about the riders at least once a week. You do become immune to the insanity going on around you. I learned very early on to put headphones on or I would end up being highly annoyed every day on my commute. I don't have patience for nonsense in the mornings and some of these folks - holy cow!  Well last week I took G to San Francisco. On the way home we were at one of the stations. I looked to see some person sleeping on a bench, but they had so kindly taken their shoes. It cracked me up! They weren't on their couch. People walk all over those benches, so they could have kept their shoes on. 

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Monday Thrive appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant.