Friday, February 14, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Peanut Butter Cereal Bars
These are fast, easy, and were a hit in my house! Great for a quick breakfast or snack on the run.
Ingredients:
2 cups Quick Oats
1 1/2 cup Crisp Rice Cereal
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Directions:
1. Line a 8x8 pan with aluminum foil.
2. In large bowl combine Quick Oats and Crisp Rice Cereal.
3. In a microwave safe bowl, combine peanut butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and Vanilla. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds and mix well.
4. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal and combine.
5. Press mixture into foil-lined pan. Allow to cool for 1 hour and then cut into bars.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
NEW Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash - A Review & Giveaway
NEW Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash gives your skin a daily boost of vitamins. The advanced formula, with a moisturizing Vitamin Complex, helps draw vitamins and moisture directly to your skin.
Some of the features I love:
- Lotion Infused - left my dry, winter skin feeling moisturized!
- New Vitamin Complex - I know it is a healthy choice for my skin!
I love using a body wash on a daily basis. Just a dime size amount on my poof, is enough to cleanse my entire body. Plus I know I can trust the Dial name to be safe and effective for everyday use!
Three Spend Less 2 Save More users will win a coupon for a FREE bottle of Dial body wash, enter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Dial brand provided me with a sample of Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash in exchange for a product review. However, as always, all the opinions expressed here are my own.
https://www.facebook.com/Spendless2savemore?ref=hl
Wordless Wednesday
My sweet, little girl is turning into such a monkey! She climbs on tables, chairs, couches, beds, anything! I have never experienced this before, my boys were so calm! I have to watch her like a hawk all day long!
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Transitioning to 1, to 2, and 3 Children – My Personal Experience
As a Mom of three, I always seem to get questions on how it
was to transition to two or three children.
I truly believe that every family situation is different due to the
dynamics of the family. Personally, I
experienced different emotions after having each of my three children. One significant factor is the spacing of your
children. My children are spaced between
almost 3 and 3 ½ years apart.
If I had to rank from how easy to hard it was to adjust to a
new family member, I would rank as the easiest for me was from 1 to 2 and the
hardest was from none to 1. As a
background, I have always worked full-time since graduating college until
present day. My largest struggle after
having all three of my kids was having to adjust to being home every day for 12
weeks. I am so use to getting up and
going, being constantly connected via e-mail, laptop, and cell phone, and not
having a lot of downtime. Here is my
story behind all three transitions:
From None to One:
Going from no children to one child was the hardest
transition for me. I was 28 when my
first born came into this world. It was
a long difficult labor of over 20 hours.
I then spent over 2 hours of pushing before they have to use the vacuum
to deliver him. I was exhausted and
never felt like I truly caught up on that missed sleep for about a month. There was quite an adjustment for me and my
husband since we were used to not being at home, eating out a lot, and leaving without
much preparation.
I struggled a lot early on with my son regarding
breastfeeding. I put a lot of pressure
on myself that I had to breastfeed and it was not happening for us. He was very colicky and there were days when
I was not able to put him down. When my
husband came home from work, we would eat dinner and then get in the car and go
for ice cream. This is the only way I
could get a break. I also spent the
nightly hours from 7 pm to 9 pm walking circles around my living room with a
screaming baby. I did not go out a lot
since he was born in January and it was a very snowy, cold winter. After my first was born, I did not want to
have any other children. I did not do
well with the sleep deprivation and did not want to go through those first few
months again. Well, after about a year,
I decided that I did not want to have an only child and eventually after about
2 years, I desperately wanted another child!
From One to Two:
Going from one child to two children was the easiest
transition for me. I was 31 when my
second child came into this world. My
first and second sons were 35 months apart.
Before my second son was born, I had decided I was going to do a few
things different than how I did it with my first since I struggled so
much. First was the breastfeeding, if he
didn’t take to it, I wasn’t going to overwhelm myself with guilt. My oldest son was a healthy, thriving 2 ½
year old who was mostly formula fed from 3 months to 12 months. Secondly, I was not going to stay in the
house every day. I was going to ensure I
got out at least once a day to get some fresh air and a new perspective (this
was a challenge since #2 was due to come in December).
My deliveries with my first and second children were
completely opposite experiences. The day
my 2nd child was born, I woke up with labor pains and made it
through most of the morning at home. My
husband took me in at 1 pm, they broke my water, gave me my epidural and I
delivered him at 4:20 pm after 20 minutes of pushing. I felt great right after delivery, like I
could go home right then! I still
remember saying to my husband, “wow that was easy”! Immediately after I delivered #2, I knew right
then and there I was not done having children.
I wanted to experience pregnancy and labor again and I wanted a third
child.
I really do not remember any struggles with child #2; we got
out of the house on the fairly regular basis going to story time and to the
play area at the mall. He slept really
well in his car seat carrier and we called him our “mobile baby”. He was a good sleeper and had no medical or
health issues. Easy as pie, bring on #3.
From Two to Three:
The transition from two to three had its good points and bad
points. Unfortunately, I had some other
health issues going on during this transition time that it often made this
change more difficult than it should have been.
It was hard to believe, but my labor and delivery with #3 was easier
than with #2. I was at 6 cm and barely
in active labor. They broke my water and
I delivered within an hour later with less than 10 minutes of pushing. The hardest part was there was no time for an
epidural! My third was born 3 ½ years
after my second child.
Having child number three was a complete joy for me for many
reasons. First is the fact that we did
not find out the sex of the baby until SHE was born! I had found out with both of my boys and this
was by far the best surprise ever when the doctor told me it was a girl. In fact, I did not believe her and she had to
take the baby back from the nurses to show me again! My baby girl was an AMAZING sleeper from the
start. Yes it is true that some babies
start out by sleeping 6 hours straight.
She literally slept all day long and all night for the most part. She almost slept too much because I was bored
at home! I told my husband I needed a
hobby because I was so bored. I had
never read so much in my life than during those first 3 months.
About a month after I had her, I started having extremely
bad pains in my side and up my back in the evenings. They got so back that I could not lay flat and
almost ended up in the emergency room one night. Turns out I had gall stones and the only cure
is to have my gall bladder out. When my
baby girl was 10 weeks old, I had to do outpatient surgery which left me out of
commission completely for almost a week.
This was a very difficult struggle for me to get back up and on me feet
again.
Along with the medical issues, I was struggling with some
awful feelings like this new baby was causing me to miss out on a lot of things
with my boys. She was born in the middle
of a HOT summer. The boys got to go
swimming with their Dad and play with their friends. I was forced to miss out and stay home with
the baby. I knew I hit a wall when I was
crying constantly and kept thinking how different it would be if I did not have
her. My Mom was my lifesaver. I called her one evening hysterically crying
and she made me go to my doctor the very next day. I had developed post-partum depression and
I needed treatment immediately. Once my
doctor had diagnosed me and put me on proper medication, within weeks I was
feeling my old self again. I highly
encourage any new moms to seek medical help if they are just not feeling right
after having a baby. The medication made
a world of difference in my life and I am forever thankful for my Mom for the
encouragement she gave me!
I believe everyone’s situations are different, but I wanted
to give my perspective on my transitions from none to one to two to three
kids.
How were your experiences when adding a new baby to your
family?
Saturday, February 1, 2014
12 Months to a Healthier You: February’s Challenge
I am joining Money Saving Mom in 2014 on her 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge!
Every month she is focusing on one challenge area each month — all with the goal of being in a healthier place as a person by the end of the year. The hope is that as we work on instilling one new healthy habits each month, they won’t just be month-long challenges, but lifelong changes.
12 Months to a Healthier You Focus Areas for 2014
January: Exercise Regularly
February: Eat More Fresh Fruits & Veggies
March: Drink More Water
April: Cut Back on Sugar
May: Get More Rest
June: Create a Morning Routine
July: Read More
August: Go to Bed Earlier
September: Declutter Your Home
October: Cut Back on Caffeine
November: Keep a Gratitude Journal
December: Simplify & Say No
For January, I committed to 30 minutes of vigorous walking three times a week. The verdict? I did it! Most weeks in January, I was able to walk 4 -5 times. The best part is, I am now walking on my lunch break at work with four other ladies. We started doing the DVD Walk Away the Pounds by Leslie Sansone. We do the 2 mile walk and it takes us a little over 30 minutes to complete. This also does an upper body workout using weights. I am so excited that I am reaching my goal and that I have a great group of women to motivate me. This habit will definitely continue in 2014!
For February, the challenge is to eat more fruits and vegetables. To achieve this goal, I am going to pack a least one fruit and one vegetable for snacks every day at work. This will guarantee me to eat a fruit and vegetable at least 5 times per week!
2014 Goals - January Recap
Its February 1st, so that means it is time to check in on our goals for 2014. I am quite proud of my progress so far.
I am making a real, conscious effort to set goals in 2014 and stick to them. The best way I can think of is to hold myself accountable on a monthly basis. Be sure to check back in the first of every month to see my progress as well as link up your progress.
1. Relationship with God - Do one activity a month to strength my relationship with God (going to mass on Sunday does not count).
I attended a weekday mass on January 28th to celebrate my sister's birthday
2. Relationship with my Husband - Go on one date night a month with my husband. Plan an overnight trip of at least 2 nights away to take in 2014
We did dinner out and our Saturday night bowling league
3. Family Time - Do one activity as a family once a month. Take one family vacation and one long weekend getaway in 2014.
We celebrated our son's 8th birthday and went to The Jump Yard
Vacation #1 is booked for April!!!
4. Relationships with my Kids - Do a one-on-one activity with each child each month (3 a month).
I took each of the 3 kids on a shopping trip alone with only me
5. Declutter - sell at least 5 items per month.
I sold 15 items this month for a total of over $60
6. Debt - Pay off Debt #1 and reduce Debt #2 by 50%
Made a large payment on Debt #1 and reduced Debt #2 by 5%
7. Me Time - Say "no" to one extra commitment a month. Do an only me or "girls night" activity once a month.
I said "no" to making my son's 8th birthday cake and ordered the cake. I had a dinner night out with work colleagues
8. Budget Buster - Keep library fines to under $5 for the entire year (this is so hard for me).
No library fines this month, I am committed to checking my account online first thing Monday morning
9. Work/Life Balance - Friday at 5 pm - until Monday at 8 am - do not check work e-mails (I am off the clock).
Struggling here a bit, I still look at my iPhone too much to see e-mails, however I have not opened my laptop on the weekends
10. Have an online business (this idea has been in my head for over a year) fully functioning by the end of 2014. I need to take one giant step every month to achieve this goal!
I started writing my business plan and have a pretty good outline thus far
How are you doing on your goals thus far? Feel free to leave a comment or link up!
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
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