Recycling Empty Shake Canisters

March 25, 2013 By Crystal 2 Comments

Most of you already know Sean and I are huge fans of Isagenix. It’s what we do full time and it’s all we’ve done for the past 8 years. I drink the shakes EVERY day for breakfast, so you can imagine how much of these canisters I’ve gone through over the years. After throwing away dozens of empty canisters, I finally decided to make use out of them. I wanted to show you just a few of the ways I’ve re-purposed these things.

I’ve used them in my pantry to hold different things like rice and oatmeal. I use them in my bathroom, school room, and nail salon. I just washed them out and covered them with some cute shelf paper. I even spray painted some of the lids just for fun.

Some other ways I’ve covered them is by using mod podge to stick on some cute scrapbook paper or photos. Look how nicely they fit in my IKEA shelves.

This may seem a little funny to you, but I just like the uniform look in my pantry so I made a removable fabric slip for the shake canister that I’m using. When it’s gone, I just remove the slip and slide it on a new canister. The slip is a “no sew” project. Took my about 5 minutes. Just cut a piece of fabric and hot glued the edges to make it look like I hemmed it . It’s cute right:). We all know how important it is that your pantry looks CUTE . It’s just one of those things that makes me feel good when I see it. I don’t know why.

Here’s a fun little idea. I hot glued a magnet on the bottom of this one and decorated it with some shelf paper and gems. You can use this little guy for lots of different things. In your office you can put paper clips, or thumb tacs in it. In your craft room you can use it for safety pins or sequens. In your pantry you can use it for spices or sweeteners. The ideas are endless.

Here’s a fun one. We call it the “I’m Bored Jar”. It’s filled with little folded up papers, each one has an activity idea for the kids to do when they are bored. I think they like the idea of not knowing what they might draw. I’m always adding new things to it too. When ever I see something fun on Pinterest, I add it to the pot. It’s actually used quite a bit too. The activities include things like, play house, have a puppet show, make an obstacle course, scavenger hunt (I’ll give them a list of items they need to find around the house), play legos, play-doh, write a story, read a book, draw, color, paint, hide and go seek, Barbies, cars, board games, put on a play, make up a dance, write a letter, dress up, tea party, ect.

The last idea is this one. I spray painted it, added some ribbon and now I’ve got a cute pen holder for the school room.

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Filed Under: Crafts, Home Making, Life of a Wanna Be, Mom Stuff, organization

Motherhood

March 18, 2013 By Crystal 3 Comments

The other night I had quite the scare. Sean was gone doing an Isagenix meeting and I was home trying to get the kids to bed. I went to put Brooklyn to bed first. Usually I nurse her for about 10 minutes to help her wind down. When I came out I didn’t see Oliver anywhere. I asked Lily where he was and she said she didn’t know. After looking throughout the house and not being able to find him I started to get a little worried. We have an alarm on the house so the doors beep when they are opened. I didn’t recall hearing any of them beep. I began calling out his name… no answer. I called out the back door, called out the front door. At this point I really started to panic. I was running around the house like a mad women. Screaming his name. On the verge of tears, hands shaking as I tried calling Sean’s cell. By now I’m desperately looking in every little nook and cranny of the house until finally… I found him… asleep in a closet.

I have never been more scared in my life. I thought maybe he wondered off, or he was hurt badly, passed out somewhere, choking, drowning, suffocating. It all crossed my mind. It took me a good 2 hours to calm down. My heart was pounding, my hands were shaking. I felt so overwhelmed with the feelings of fear. Fear of something happening to one of my little babies.

Last night I came across a story about motherhood. Tears filled my eyes as I read this. It describes so perfectly what it’s like to be a mom.

From the book Chicken Soup for the Women’s Soul.

MOTHERHOOD

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of “starting a family.” “We’re taking a survey,” she says half-joking. “Do you think I should have a baby?”

“It will change your life,” I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

“I know,” she says, “no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations.”

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, “What if that had been MY child?” That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.
That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of “Mom!” will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby’s sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy’s desire to go to the men’s room rather than the women’s at McDonald’s will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.

That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My daughter’s relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.

I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.

I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter’s quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. “You’ll never regret it,” I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter’s hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.

By Dale Hanson Bourke
‘Chicken soup for the woman’s soul’!

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Filed Under: Life of a Wanna Be, Mom Stuff Tagged With: motherhood

St. Patricks Day

March 13, 2013 By Crystal 3 Comments

I never really thought much of St. Patricks day growing up. It was just the day to wear green so I wouldn’t get pinched. Now it’s become such a fun holiday for me. Having kids makes holidays so much more fun! Last year we did some fun things for St. Patty’s so now I’m kinda forced to keep it going . Gotta make a leprechaun trap and all.

Here are some of the things we’ve done this year so far. Keep in mind, this did not all happen in one day. We started doing stuff the day after Valentines day.

I put together this fun little sensory bin (The purpose of sensory bins is for children to develop their senses. Sensory bins are usually filled with items that not only look cool, but feel and sometimes sound cool as well. Right there is visual, sensual and audible senses.)

I used dollar store trinkets and colored rice. I even cut out the little leprechaun from the Lucky Charms box I bought for them recently (I don’t usually by sugar cereals for the kids, only occasionally and they eat them as a dessert, not breakfast).

Colored rice is easy to make. Just add a few tablespoons of rubbing alcohol to a bowl of rice. Then add a few drops of food coloring. Stir it around really well and let dry overnight.

I added some green bling to my nails .

Lily finished her school early last week, so I surprised them with a little St. Patricks party. This is what I bought the Lucky Charms for. I also found some fun tatoos, socks, hats, and necklaces to give them.

I video taped them coming into the room… not quite the reaction I was going for. Must watch!

I even brought out the letter we got from the Leprechaun last year.

Then we moved the party upstairs to the bathtub and I gave them some green shaving cream paint (a little washable finger mixed with shaving cream) to play with.

We made and decorated sugar cookies. We just used the store bought cookie dough and added food coloring to some white frosting. Very simple, but fun.

Here is a preschool math activity we did. I saw something similar to this on Pinterest and I thought it would be so fun. Basically I just cut out the shamrocks using foam. Then painted the popsicle sticks. I wrote different math problems on each one, and we used the gold coins to create the math problem. After he figured out the answer he’d place it under the correct shamrock.

I found these fun cookies in the baby food section at the grocery store. Perfect for a little letter recognition practice. And of course we used green frosting in lieu of St. Patricks day.

Then we colored our dog Dresden green. You can’t tell so much in this picture, but she looks pretty green in real life . We just used a little food coloring .

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Filed Under: Activities For Kids, Home Making, St. Patricks Day Tagged With: home school, preschool, st.patricks day

Three’s a Crowd

March 5, 2013 By Crystal 1 Comment

I was once a blogger ya know. Two, three times a week I would be posting. Now I’m lucky if I even get one a month on here.

I think I’m going on three weeks since I blogged last. There have been many attempts, trust me. Usually I get about 5 minutes into a post when I’m so rudely interrupted by one of my little babes. I’ve got so many ideas and thoughts running through my head, I just wish I could find the time to share them.

I tell ya, three kids changes EVERYTHING! As Brooklyn turns into a little toddler I’m getting busier and busier. SHE’S getting busier and busier I should say.

Here’s how my day goes.

I wake up around 8 or 8:30. Sometimes I try to get up a little before my kids and do a quick work out or blog post, ect. But with the cold winter weather and all the sicknesses going around, can’t say that’s been happening these days. So hard to get out of bed when it’s cold outside.

It takes me a good 2 hours before I’m fully ready to take on the day. By then, I’m ready to rock. It’s like suddenly I push fast forward and I’m running a mile a minute trying to get everything in.

I usually let the kids play and run around with each other and do what they want in the morning (with the exception of tv and video games). I try to promote playing and using their imaginations. Then Lily always gets to a point where she starts asking what the plan is for the day. That’s when I get her going on her school work. She’s finally getting to an age where she can do a lot of it on her own which has been so nice. She will start with her reading, writing and math. Then we do lunch and afterwards I put Brooklyn down for her nap.

Once Brooklyn is down I feel like we can actually focus on what needs to be done. I help Lily finish her school work and do chores, then I try to work a little with Olly. It never goes as planned and even with just the two of them I still feel like it’s quite the juggling act.

When Brooklyn wakes up, things get crazy again. The nap is never long enough to do all the things I planned to do, so we usually put things on hold until after dinner, when Sean is there to help me.

At this point I invite friends to come over. The kids are happy and entertained while I work on getting dinner prepared. Then by the time I have that ready the house is a mess of course. We have dinner, then clean up. I TRY to get the kids to help, but there’s usually so much crying and whining going on that I ask Sean to start with the bedtime routine while I finish cleaning.

I get Brooklyn down, then go read to the other two. I’ve found that this is the best time of day to get the lessons in, history, science, life skills, ect. They actually focus better and aren’t so distracted by every little thing. Olly usually falls asleep while I’m reading, then I try to finish up any school work of Lily’s we weren’t able to get to.

Usually it’s about 10:00 or 10:30 when I finish up. So I rush to get ready for bed thinking perhaps I might have time to blog a little. I get all cozied up in bed with my lap top, start writing a little, then realize I’m completely exhausted, so I call it quits.

One thing I HAVE been able to find time for is Instagram. It’s so quick and easy to share what we’re doing each day. It’s taken the place of blogging for now. I pretty much share all the same things I would normally share on here, just shorter versions of it. So go follow me over there. Other ways you can keep tabs is, Facebook, Pinterest, or you can even subscribe to my blog via email. Look for it in my sidebar.

Here’s a few of the pics I’ve posted in Instagram and Pinterest over the last week.

Filed Under: Life of a Wanna Be, Mom Stuff

Fun Family Home Evening

February 18, 2013 By Crystal 6 Comments

What is Family Home Evening?

Family home evening is a special time set aside each week that brings family members together and strengthens their love for each other, helps them draw closer to Heavenly Father, and encourages them to live righteously.

FHE is hit or miss with us. Brooklyn makes it a little difficult to spend the evening playing games with the kids. I have to get really creative and think of things that are fun but doesn’t require a bunch of little pieces, or sitting still for very long. I’ve found some great ideas on Pinterest and also recently purchased this little book called Choose The Right (FHE book).

Crazy days mean no time to plan family nights. With the all your Family Home Evening lessons are done for a whole year, complete with activities, games, scriptures, songs, challenges, and a CD-Rom with printable handouts! Spend quality time with your children as you make family night the best night!

I wanted to share our recent FHE lesson we did using this book. The kids thought it was so much. We started with a prayer, then a song, I Will Follow God’s Plan For Me. Then we briefly talked about how when we follow Jesus Christ and choose the right, we will be happy. Heavenly Father will bless us for choosing the right and good things will happen.

The book suggested making a trail of footprints leading to a surprise at the end.

I just traced my own feet on a small stack of printing paper. Then cut them out keeping it in a stack, that way it didn’t require a lot of cutting. Then I quickly taped the prints to the ground.

It took me like 5 minutes of prep and then we were set. That’s one thing I’m a huge fan of. FUN idea’s that don’t require a lot of preparation. Because really, who has the time to spend hours preparing a lesson or activity. Between catering to my kids EVERY need, keeping the house clean, and making meals, I’m pretty much booked.

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Filed Under: Activities For Kids, FHE, Home Making Tagged With: choose the right, family home evening, kids

Homeschooling in St. George

February 12, 2013 By Crystal 2 Comments

We have had quite the week. Our whole family ended up getting the Flu, yuck! Now we’re finally coming out of hiding. I tell ya, getting sick when you’re a mom is tough. It’s not like you can call in sick and take the week off to rest up so you can get better. Thankfully Sean was there for me for the first part of it, then HE got sick so that wasn’t fun.

Anyway, we are all feeling much better now and I’m anxious to get back to normal life again. This last week was just a blur, but BEFORE the sickness hit, here is what we’ve been up to.

Most of these pics I’ve already shared on Instagram.

We’ve spent the last month down at our St. George home. We wanted to get out of the snow and the inversion. It’s been so nice to be outside enjoying the sunshine.

This little Brooklyn actually LOVES to wear her sunglasses. It’s so cute!

This little stream is actually right behind our house. It’s the kids favorite place to go. We’ve spent many hours doing nature walks, throwing rocks in the water, playing in the sand and the water, and catching frogs. They can’t get enough of this place and I just love how convenient it is.

Brooklyn couldn’t be happier than when she’s fully covered in dirt and mud.

We’ve been busy doing our homeschool work too. We spend a lot of time on reading, writing and math, but then we try to go outdoors to explore nature and get some exercise too.

One of the best things about homeschool is that you can do it anywhere. Including the park!!! We just packed up a little picnic and our books, then enjoyed a nice day at the park playing and reading in the sun. Right now we are doing history lessons out of the What Your First Grader Needs to Know book. We are reading the American Girl books on Samantha, we are also reading one of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, a book on manners called Dude, That’s Rude! Then I got this fun little daily devotional book called the One Year Devotions for Preschoolers. It’s great because it has a simple thought and scripture for each day of the year. Then I have a lot of different math, spelling and grammar work books that she does.

For Science we’ve been creating habitats…

planting seeds…

Catching lizards with the Lizard Lasso

going on nature walks…

Then we journal about it. I started this new thing where I do school stuff WITH Lily. Like when she reads her book, I read mine. When she writes in her journal, I write in mine. When she’s reading her Book of Mormon, I read mine. She really loves it . Just another thing I’m trying out as I go. Got to keep finding ways to motivate her. She likes it when I change things up. Don’t we all? We like each day to be new and exciting, right? So that’s what I’m constantly trying to do with homeschool. Learning should be fun!

For the Super Bowl, I tried to make it a fun learning experience. I found some great printables online. We talked about the different teams, what their uniforms looked like. We pulled out our globe and pointed out where each team was from and where the Super Bowl was taking place.

Sean taught Lily about how the game worked. The kids each decided which team they wanted to win, based on which color they liked better of course . Then they also kept track of the score with this fun printable chart.

One day when I was passed out on cold medicine, Sean took the kids on a little field trip to the St. George Temple visitors center. They got to watch all the fun videos they have there and Lily thought it was the coolest thing ever. She talked about it for days and kept BEGGING me to take her there so she could watch all the videos again. Made me so happy to see how much she enjoyed it.

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Filed Under: Home Making, Homeschool, Life of a Wanna Be Tagged With: homeschool, science, super bowl

Veggie Tales

I love the Veggie Tales DVD’s. Cute and fun cartoons that teach valuable lessons right out of the Bible. Their most recent one is called: Lettuce Love One Another! comes out just in time for Valentine’s Day, as it explores valuable lessons about love and putting others first!

They have a great website too. Lots of music videos, games and even an app.

National Geographic Kids

This is such a great website, full of educational videos on animals, nature, science and space. The kids could spend hours watching these videos and I wouldn’t mind one bit.

Neo K12

Kids learn best by seeing and doing. This website has an amazing selection of educational videos, lessons, quizzes, games and puzzles. Categories include: physical science, life science, earth and space, human body, geography, social studies, history, math and english.

Netflix

With a Netflix membership you can get instant access to hundreds of educational shows from Sid the Science Kid, Word World, Leap Frog, to Documentaries and anything and everything. My kids really the the TV series, How it’s Made.

Teach Me

This is one of my most favorite apps.

TeachMe: Kindergarten is an educational iPhone app which teaches four different age appropriate subjects to Kindergarten aged children: sight words, addition, subtraction and spelling. Parents can select which subjects they want, set different difficulty levels, and even choose specific questions. Parents can review performance history for each subject to check how their child is doing.

TeachMe: Kindergarten keeps children engaged with a rather unique reward system where children earn a coin for every three correct answers. Coins can then be used to purchase stickers to place in fun sticker scenes or to purchase items for the new virtual aquarium. Sticker scenes can be exported as wallpaper or emailed to family and friends.

The simple and intuitive user interface is designed to be child friendly, which allows children to play without help from an adult. An animated teacher (Mimi Mouse) gives verbal instructions and feedback to the child which makes learning fun.

Starfall

This is a great website for pre k and kindergarten. They have a few apps too which is always nice.

Starfall is a free public service to teach children to read with phonics. Our systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.

Oh Pinterest… how I love thee…

Seriously, I would say that Pinterest is probably my favorite website these days. I could spend hours on there. It has been the best homeschooling resource for me by far. I use Pinterest for everything now. Meal planning, school activities and craft planning, hair styles for Lily, science experiments, ect. Decorating, organization tips, which of course I can’t get enough of, and so many fun ideas for the holidays. The list goes on and on and on. That’s why I need to start limiting my Pinterest usage. It can be way addicting.

Here are some of our recent school projects, inspired by Pinterest.

Ice cube tray, label maker, and candy for preschool math.

We were learning about habitats and dioramas.

We made a parking lot for Oliver’s cars. It’s a fun way to help your preschooler recognize letters and site words. I would just call out a letter and he would drive one of his cars into the parking space. He really enjoyed this one.

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for regular updates on what kinds of fun things we’re doing each day.

Signing Time

I just love Signing Time. I’ve been using these DVD’s since Lily was a baby. It’s so fun to be able to communicate with you baby. Brooklyn watches these videos and is always signing now. She can say, “more”, “eat”, and “drink” so far. Cutest thing ever!

American Sign Language stimulates learning through different senses. Sign language is a blessing for children that are “visual”, “spatial” or “tactile learners.” Learning a second language raises your child’s IQ. One in ten Americans have some degree of hearing loss. Knowing a few signs can give your child the confidence to engage and interact with a deaf child rather than both children feeling awkward and helpless.

The Quirkles

The Quirkles is a fun website that explores science through phonics. They have a fun youtube channel which shows a ton of different science experiments you can do with your kids. They also have a website where you can buy all kinds of different things to go along with the experiments. Such a fun way to teach science.

In most classrooms there’s not much science happening. For one thing, in the early elementary years, so much time is devoted to reading and literacy development, there’s little time for everything else. And because most elementary teachers do not have a strong science background themselves, they are often afraid to tackle the subject. Finally, to make science hands-on and interactive, it takes a lot of time to research and gather materials.

Research suggests that by fourth grade, most students say they hate science. Why? Their exposure has been limited to reading assignments in traditional texts and then answering questions at the end of the chapter. How boring is that? Learning about science is like driving a car or learning to ski! Granted, you need to study the subject, but it’s not fun or often meaningful until you get in and do it!

The Quirkles® were created to address all these issues. These 26 imaginary scientists help children every day, all over the world, develop a love and appreciation for science. They offer a fresh new way to integrate literacy and science at school, for educational programs, or at home. Vocabulary builders, two related science experiments, and a character education lesson are also included in each of the 26 alphabet-series books. The Quirkles® create excitement for reading and science through whimsical illustrations, alliteration, and fun hands-on science.

The Quirkles® offer a multitude of differentiated learning opportunities for older/more advanced students too. These science concepts are robust! From an introduction and shared reading experience for the youngest learners, to an independent reading or mentoring experience for older children, the Quirkles® offers something for everyone.

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

*** FEATURES ***
-7 different games that teach kids about colors, letters, counting, shapes, sizes, matching, and differences.

-Lovable animated monkey helps kids along as they play the games.

-Dozens of sounds and voice recordings of colors, letters, fruit names, and more.

-Animated Stickers! Kids get a sticker reward after every other game they win.

-Designed for preschoolers — no confusing menus or navigation.

-Unlimited play! Each game flows right into the next.

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Filed Under: Activities For Kids, Home Making, Homeschool Tagged With: apps, educational, videos, websites

No More Soda

January 21, 2013 By Crystal 6 Comments

How many of you are trying to stop drinking that Diet Coke? I’ve been guilty of indulging in that awful stuff. Let’s face it, many times we feel as though we “deserve” it after a long crazy day with the kids. It’s kind of like our special little treat. We think it’s okay because it has the caffein without the calories right?

WRONG!

The aspartame is just as bad, if not worse, than drinking regular Coke. PLUS, research seems to confirm that there is a significant correlation between drinking diet sodas and weight gain. So not cool.

We all know that soda pop is bad for us. No need to go into all the reasons why. The purpose of this post is to share with you my most favorite alternative to drinking Diet Coke.

It’s called Yerba Mate!

Health Benefits

Yerba Mate Provides a Wealth of Nutrients:

The Pasteur Institute and the Paris Scientific society in 1964 were interested in this healthy source of vitamins and did a thorough study of its properties. The investigators concluded “it is difficult to find a plant in any area of the world equal to mate in nutritional value” and that yerba mate contains “practically all of the vitamins necessary to sustain life.” In addition, results from a study done by researchers at the University of Madrid assert a high content of mineral elements, especially K, Mg, and Mn, in mate. They considered those findings “to be of great relevance” to the nutritional value of mate infusions.

Yerba mate is more nutritious than green tea.

Yerba mate has been used as a base for herbal medicines in South America for centuries, and the plant’s benefits and therapeutic properties have recently been verified by a number of scientific studies. The chemical components of yerba mate are similar to those found in green tea; however, yerba mate is more nutritious than green tea.

Of the six commonly used stimulants in the world: yerba mate, coffee, tea, kola nut, cocoa and guarana, yerba mate triumphs as the most balanced, delivering both energy and nutrition.

Yerba mate contains:

• Vitamins: A, C, E, B1, B2, Niacin (B3), B5, B Complex

• Minerals: Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Selenium, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc

• Additional Compounds: Carotene, Fatty Acids, Chlorophyll, Flavonols, Polyphenols, Inositol, Trace Minerals, Antioxidants, Tannins, Pantothenic Acid and 15 Amino Acids.

• Theophylline, theobromine, and caffeine

[ Find more information on the onlinelibrary.com ]

YERBA MATE:

Helps Stimulate Focus and Clarity*

Boosts Physical Energy*

Traditionally Used to Support Weight Loss Programs that Include a Balanced Diet and Exercise*

Aids Elimination*

Contains Antioxidants*

The above information was taken directly from the Guayaki website.

I tried switching to Green Tea, but we all know how nasty Green Tea can taste. Then I found this amazing stuff!

They have a bunch of different flavors, but the chocolate one is my favorite. I brew this stuff up every day now. LOVE it! Once I let it seep for a few minutes, I add some Vanilla flavored stevia,

then a little organic rice milk. We buy the rice milk in bulk from Costco. I like to buy the Yerba Mate on Amazon, but I know that Harmons and all other health food stores carry it.

Tastes AMAZING and gives me that little boost I need.

Isagenix actually just came up with their own HEALTHIER version of the 5 hour energy shot. It’s called the e+ Energy shot. I love it because it is made with Yerba Mate, Green Tea, and Stevia. How cool is that. So if you’re looking for a healthier alternative to your energy drinks or shots you can be sure that the e+ energy shot is the way to go.

It’s a nutrient-packed, naturally-caffeinated energy shot that gets–and keeps–you active and alert. e+ contains caffeine derived from green tea and yerba maté and a proprietary, scientifically proven blend of adaptogenic botanicals that increase energy, stamina and mental alertness. e+ is a healthy and safe way to provide that “get-up-and-go” needed for both the average person and the competitive athlete.

These shots are great for quick and on the go. Contact me for information on ordering them.

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Filed Under: Isagenix, Mom Stuff, Weight Loss Tagged With: caffeine drink, energy shot, healthy

Healthy Weight Loss Tips

January 14, 2013 By Crystal 4 Comments

Losing weight…

It’s definitely the most popular trend these days. Over the years I’ve learned that losing weight isn’t everything, but being HEALTHY is. Once I stopped worrying so much about my weight and more about my health, the pounds started melting away.

Being healthy= BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS, VIBRANT, HAPPY, ENERGETIC!!!

I’ve got some tips to share with you today. Tips that will help you focus more on being healthy. I’m not going to teach you how to to count calories, cut carbs, exercise like a maniac, hang pictures of skinny super models to motivate you. It’s about providing your body with an abundance of nutrients, getting plenty of sleep, exercising 15 minutes a day (yes I said 15 minutes, that’s all it takes), looking in the mirror and loving YOUR body just the way it is.

TIP #1~ SLEEP

First and foremost. You’re not going to get anywhere on less sleep. You may think that waking up earlier and staying up later will provide more time to get things done, but you won’t be doing your body any favors. I’m learning this. Us moms could ALWAYS use more time in the day right? Often times we try to fit it ALL in each day. We get up before the kids, and stay up way after they fall asleep. But we all know how this makes us feel. TIRED. ALL. THE. TIME. So the solution is to take a few things off your to-do list in exchange for a little more sleep. This will have huge benefits in all aspects of your life.

TIP #2~ LESS IS MORE

I’m talking about your exercise routine. How many of you think that in order to see results you have to kill yourself at the gym for at least an hour each day? I’ve recently been introduced to a new way of thinking when it comes to working out. Pete Cerque, the author of the new book called The High Intensity Fitness Revolution has taught me that shorter more intense work outs are WAY more effective. In this book he explains the science behind it along with step by step pictures of how to do his work out program in 15 minutes or less. It all makes complete sense to me. Back when I was in my early 20′s I used to work out like a maniac, even trained and ran a marathon. I was heavier and thicker than ever before. I’m not just talking about muscle. I was definitely flabby and this was even BEFORE having kids.

He has a book for women and one for men. Pete Cerque owns and operates the 90-Second Fitness flagship studio in New York City. He’s one of New York’s most respected and in-demand fitness trainers. People are paying top dollar for a training session with him. He has been helping people lose weight for more than twenty years.

I LOVE the idea of shorter work outs. It’s hard as moms to find the time to sneak away to the gym, or to even work out at home. I’ve tried getting on my treadmill regularly but rarely do I finish without an interruption or two. The kids are fighting, need me to help them with something, want a snack, a drink, a toy. It’s always something. I’m sure all you moms can appreciate the “less is more” concept. We want results, but the reality is we only have 15 minutes. Also, I’ve actually been doing the work outs WITH the kids and they are loving it. It’s become a family affair. So here’s your challenge:

TRY this work out program, the book is less than $10 on amazon. What do you have to lose? You’ve got your baby weight to lose that’s what. Don’t we all .

TIP #3~ CLEANSE

Cleansing the body is a MUST! Imagine never changing the oil in your car for 30 years. That’s pretty much what it’s like when you don’t cleanse the body regularly (about every 3-6 months is recommended). Our food isn’t what it once was, neither is the air we breath or the water we drink. Unfortunately times have changed over the last 100 years. Obesity rates are staggering and serious health conditions continue to rise.

The purpose of cleansing:

To dissolve and eliminate toxins and congestion that have formed inside your body.
To cleanse the kidneys and the digestive system.
To purify the glands and cells throughout the entire body.
To build a healthy blood stream.
To keep youth and skin elasticity regardless of our years.
To lose excess weight.
To increase energy, and mental clarity.

Get weight loss and cleansing off to a fast start with the 9-day supply of the Cleansing and Fat Burning System. Seven pounds is the average weight loss for people using the Cleanse and Fat Burning System for nine days.* The five nutritional components of the system help you cleanse while infusing your body with premium nutrients for optimum health and safe weight loss. Stimulant free.

Here are the before and after photos of my sister in-law Andrea. She lost over 90 lbs with this system.

Check out the videos in the front page of my website (www.wannabelean.com) to learn more about cleansing.

One thing you might like to know about this system, is that it comes with FREE coaching. Guess who will be your personal cleansing coach and cheerleader???? Yours truly . I get so excited about this program because I’ve seen hundreds of amazing stories just like Andrea’s. I was personally able to lose 25 lbs and go from a size 10 to a 5 (you’ll see my before and after pics in my sidebar) and keep it off for almost 9 years now. I’ve even had THREE kids since then. I never thought in a million years I’d be a size 5 after having 3 kids. It’s been a dream come true for me. Check out the FAQ blog post I did a while back as well as our Financial Success Story.

TIP #4~ DRINK

No I’m not talking about alcohol. I’m talking about water of course. Duh, we all know this right? water is essential to better health. Try drinking warm lemon water first thing in the mornings.

Water is not the only thing you should drink. . Drink 2 oz. of cleanse juice every day. Drink green tea. Drink the Isalean protein shakes. Drink my healthy energy/weight loss drink.

Juice regularly. Read more on the benefits of juicing and about the juicer I have.

Here is my favorite juicing recipe.

Drink green smoothies. I like to alternate between juicing and having smoothies. Juicing can be a lot of work so I’d say I juice about 2-3 times a week and have green smoothies on every other day. I like to add all kinds of things to my green smoothies. Kale, ginger, spinach, parsley, pineapple, cucumber, kiwi, strawberries, banana, and squeeze some lemon juice in there. I just throw in what ever I have.

TIP #5~ PLAN AHEAD

I’ve found it to be much easier to eat healthy when I plan out my week. Plan out your meals, buy a bunch of fresh produce and spend a day preparing what you can. Chop up the carrots, celery, apples, ect. Put them in separate baggies so they are ready to go. I also like to prepare a few salads for the week. Of course don’t add the dressing or cheese until just before you’re ready to eat it. This will keep the lettuce nice and crisp for you.

TIP #6~ USE HEALTHY SUBSTITUTES

We all know that the healthiest diet is RAW fruits and veggies. But WHO can really do that? I sure can’t. I love bread. I love cheese and I love ice-cream even more. So the only way to do this is to find healthy alternatives. Like this yummy cauliflower crust pizza. We tried this recipe last week and it was AMAZING!!!

Here’s a healthy alternative to a banana split. So yummy!!!

I’ve also tried using coconut flour, almond flour, and brown rice flour instead of regular white flour. You can make some pretty awesome treats with this stuff and it’s WAY better for you and gluten free. Check out the recipes on this website.

TIP #7~ LOVE YOUR BODY

Look in the mirror every day and tell yourself you are one sexy chick! Love your shape, love your curves, love your saggy stretched out skin your sweet babies gave you. We wouldn’t change it for the world right. Be grateful for your HEALTH.

People are always asking me what my secret to staying thin is. So there ya have it. My 7 secrets to a healthy body. Now I want to know YOUR secrets.

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Filed Under: Diet, Isagenix, Weight Loss, Work Out Program Tagged With: beauty, cleanse, detox, diet, health, juicing, weight loss

Flour Paint

January 9, 2013 By Crystal Leave a Comment

There are so many ways to create art. My goal is to expose my kids to as many of them as possible. So we got some finger paint, flour and a little water. Mix it all up in a ziplock, then cut the corner off so they can squeeze it out onto a large piece of cardboard.