Blog - Wannabe Balanced Mom

July 20, 2015 · in Home decor and remodeling

Redecorating Again

I was looking through some old blog posts and found some pictures of our loft. I thought it would be fun to share some before and afters again because I recently changed up the decor.

This is what it looked like when we moved in almost 10 years ago.

And this is how I decorated it soon after we moved in.

And now this is what it looks like…

This loft is doubling as a bedroom at the moment. Brooklyn likes to sleep close to us. So the pullout couch just pretty much stays pulled out as a bed all the time.

Here are a few more pics.

Here’s the old…

And now the new…

July 19, 2015 · in Activities For Kids

In honor of my moms birthday, July 23rd and Pioneer Day, July 24th (celebrated in Utah), we made these cute and easy to make covered wagons. My mom recently told us about how her mom made these as party favors for one of her birthday parties as a child. So I thought it would be fun to have my kids make some.

What You’ll Need

* Large Marshmallows

* Granola Bars

* Pretzel sticks (for the wheels)

* Life Saver Gummies

* Fig Newtons

* Jelly Beans

* White Frosting (to use as glue)

I’m going to assume you can figure out how to assemble just by looking at the picture.

July 17, 2015 · in Inspiration

Write Down Your Prayers

Writing down your prayers. I never thought of this before. I got the idea from a book I read a while ago.

I thought this was brilliant! Not only does it get you to THINK more about your prayers, but it helps you remember what you prayed for and in turn will help you recognize when God ANSWERS your prayers. I’ve been guilty of praying for things, then just going about my day not noticing or even expecting my prayers to be answered. I’ve been trying harder to NOTICE the many miracles in my everyday. Trying to recognize every blessing and allow God to guide me in doing what HE wants me to do.

Affirmations can be considered prayers, but the only difference is with prayers, we are giving God the glory and taking away any assumption that we did it ourselves. Everything good comes from God, even our abilities to overcome and accomplish great things. He’s with us every step of the way.

July 15, 2015 · in Beauty· Life of a Wannabe

Loving Your Body After Baby

Not gonna lie, I’ve had the hardest time really LOVING my body with the after affects of having babies. I’ve been using a lot of affirmations this past year and reading them really helps me when I’m feeling down on myself. I’m learning that this is one of Satan’s greatest weapons against moms. Instead of rejoicing in the fact that our amazing bodies can create LIFE, we tear ourselves down and set these unrealistic expectations. Why are we women so obsessed with looking perfect?

It’s funny because not too long ago I thought I had this all figured out. I was in a good place with my body image and I accepted that it wasn’t perfect, aging, losing elasticity. I was okay with it. Content and confident. Another reminder that Satan is relentless. Just when you think you have it together, you’re reminded that you don’t. Like I was saying in my, Let The Scriptures Be Your Guide post, we need constant reminders. It takes daily effort on our part to remain in a good place mentally and spiritually.

“Clearly, Satan wants us to see ourselves as the world sees us, not as the Lord sees us, because the world’s mirror, like a circus mirror in which a five-foot, ten-inch women appears two feet tall, distorts and minimizes us. Satan tells us we’re not good enough. Not smart enough. Not thin enough. Not cute enough. Not clever enough. Not anything enough. And that is a big, fat, devilish lie. He wants us to believe that there is no status or significance in being a mother. That is a lie~ and an evil lie. He wants us to believe that the influence of women is inherently inferior. And that is a lie. “

–Sheri Dew (No Doubt About It)

We are amazing! Our bodies our amazing! God allows us to create an entire human being with our very own bodies. We get to carry them inside us for 9 months of their lives. Then we are able to FEED that child! Again, WITH our bodies. How amazing is that! Let’s not allow Satan to trick us into thinking that our stretch marks are not beautiful. They are reminders of the priceless gift God offers us.

When ever I think of the changes we go through as we age, I think of Gordan B. Hinckley and what he say’s about his wife in his book Standing For Something.

“As I looked at her across the table one evening recently, I noted the wrinkles in her face and hands. But are they less beautiful? NO; in fact, they are more so. Those wrinkles have a beauty of their own, and inherent in their presence is something that speaks reassuringly of strength and integrity, and a love that runs more deeply and quietly than ever before. “

Lets remember the aging process for what it really is, a sign of wisdom, experience, and strength. Each wrinkle, each stretch mark tells a beautiful story of a life LIVED!

July 13, 2015 · in Health· Isagenix· Weight Loss

Healthy Jello Snack

I’m all about finding fun and tasty ways to eat healthy. Jello was one of my favorite treats growing up. Something about the thick techture that melts in your mouth was so fun for me. I recently discovered how to make jello HEALTHY and learned that making it all natural from home can actually have some pretty awesome health benefits. Using REAL gelatin can help improve your skin, hair, nails, digestion, and joints. This homemade jello is made without the artificial colors and flavorings found in the store bought kind.

Have you ever tried natural grass fed gelatin?

Great Lakes Unflavored Beef Gelatin, Kosher, 16 Ounce Can

Neither have I until just recently. I never even knew that natural gelatin had so many great health benefits.

“Gelatin is the purified protein derived by the selective hydrolysis of collagen from the skin, the connective tissue and/or bones of animals. Great Lakes Gelatin provides you with the highest types of pure unflavored edible gelatin. It is available in type A (porcine), or type B (bovine or bone).”

You can find this on Amazon, that’s pretty much where I buy everything these days. Amazon prime baby, it’s the way to go.

So the way I prepared this was simply mixed up 3 1/2 cups of the Isagenix hibiscus Want More Energy/Replenish drink (I would recommend 5 scoops of the powder).

Or you can use 100% fruit juice. In a separate bowl, pour 1/2 cup of the juice or WME drink in and mix with 2 T of the gelatin (needs to soak for a few minutes). Then pour 1/2 cup of boiling water into the gelatin/juice mixture. Stir until desolves then add the rest of the juice/WME. After its all mixed together then pour into a greased or lined pan and let chill in the fridge for a couple hours.

After mine was done I cut into squares and placed in tupperware for a quick snack.

I like to top mine with non dairy coconut whip cream and fresh blueberries. So yummy!!!

Coconut Whipped Cream

Just whip up a can of coconut milk that has been chilled for a few hours,

I like to make big batches at a time so I usually use 3 cans. Separate the thick cream from the runny watery part. Use the watery part for smoothies, and save the thick part for your whipped Cream. Use an electric beater and whip the cream with a little bit of honey and vanilla extract. I usually always have some ready made in my fridge cause I LOVE this stuff on everything. Pancakes, fruit, smoothies, yum!!!

So now tell me, what are your thoughts? Have any of you made homemade gummies with this stuff? That’s next on my list. Leave a comment below if you have any tips or tricks to add? I love to hear what other people are doing, especially when it comes to improving the skin.

UPDATE:

I just made another batch of jello using 100% grape juice and I added another tablespoon of the gelatin. I have to say that I really liked the texture better. Much more dense.

July 11, 2015 · in Life of a Wannabe· Spirituality

Discovering Your Mission In Each Season Of Life: Understanding the Scriptures With This Bible Reference Guide

Recently I was having this feeling, and the only way I know how to describe it is BLAH. Not depressed, but not completely happy. Just kinda bored I guess you could say. This feeling comes every now and then. Usually it happens right before a big burst of motivation to do something new and creative. I’ve learned to just wait for the inspiration to flow and allow God to guide me in the right direction. This is exactly what happened to me way back in 2010 right before I first started this blog. Blogging became such a great creative outlet for me at the time. I’ve missed those blogging days when I could share my passions with so many of you. From homeschooling to natural birth, to healthy living, weight loss, fashion and parenting.

Now I have 4 children and things are quite a bit busier, but I feel I should make the time to share my thoughts and the things I’m learning.

So here I am again, ready to share my life with my lovely friends!!!

I prayed for motivation to do something that would get me excited. I needed guidance, a project, SOMETHING. God led me straight to the Bible reference guide. Which is what inspired me to blog again. Sharing the things that I’m learning not only brings great fulfillment for me knowing that I might be able to help someone, but it also enhances the whole learning experience for me. Becomes more ingrained in who I am as a person and the desire to reach my full potential becomes magnified.

For those of you who don’t know, I am LDS (Mormon). I’m a Christian. I believe in the Bible and The Book of Mormon (another testament of Jesus Christ). I’ve read the scriptures here and there but I admit, I’m not too familiar with them. I usually make a goal to read them daily but would quickly lose motivation to be consistent. Because of the somewhat hard to understand scripture language I found myself dozing off or easily distracted instead of looking at the Bible reference guide. I had a really hard time focusing on what I was reading.

This is the first time in my life that I’m actually understanding and enjoying the scriptures. Two reasons, one is because I have the desire to learn more. And two, because I’ve been using some great study guides that are helping me tremendously.

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I am really loving this one. Shannon Foster is also known as The Red Headed Hostess (that’s the name of her blog). She has so many great resources, some are downloads she sells directly on her site and others you can find on Amazon. That’s where I found this doodle book.

The next resource is this book?

Your Study of the Book of Mormon Made Easier, Part 1: 1 Nephi Through Words of Mormon (Gospel Studies)

I REALLY love this book! Basically it’s the Book of Mormon with commentary. It has been extremely helpful in helping me understand.

Right now I’m reading the words of Isaiah (also found in the Bible), which are known to be some of the most difficult scriptures to understand. Isaiah has a very poetic way of teaching which is beautiful but not always easy to follow.

“We need to develop the ability to see applications in the scriptures which would parallel conditions or situations in our own lives. Then the scriptures come to life.” -David J. Ridges

This is such a fun thing to do! Sometimes it seems so hard to relate to those ancient times, but if we really TRY, we will start to see how every scripture can apply to our lives in some way.

Isaiah talks about the scriptures being our guide and how we don’t have to be lost or depressed, wondering what our purpose is. The scriptures gives us the answers, inspiration, motivation and guidance. They truly lift us up and keep us going with goals and purposes in our every day.

I’m seeing the scriptures in a whole new light, a way I have never experienced, not even on my mission. It’s so fun to be able to learn and understand new things each day!!!

Another thing I’m noticing about Isaiah’s way of teaching is that he’s also very repetative. It might seem annoying to some people but I think for this reason he was so inspired. God knows that the natural man easily forgets or can be “hard heads”. That’s why it’s important that we study DAILY, and attend church regularly. We need constant reminders.

When we “liken” this unto our parenting, it might help us be a little more patient with our own children. We are constantly repeating ourselves, “put your shoes away!”, “clean up your mess”, ect. No need to get irritated by this. They are normal human beings, they FORGET. It’s our job as parents to remind (repeat ourselves), over and over and over and over again. We should be grateful for every teaching opportunity even if we’ve said it a MILLION times before.

Redecorating Again

Pioneer Day

Write Down Your Prayers

Loving Your Body After Baby

Healthy Jello Snack

Discovering Your Mission In Each Season Of Life: Understanding the Scriptures With This Bible Reference Guide

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