Jump onboard Trekaroo’s KidsMobile ~ Visit Denver, Colorado

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TKidsMobile_jumponoday MomActive takes you on a special tour of Denver, Colorado via Trekaroo’s KidsMobile!  If you’ve never been to the Mile High City you’ll want to put it on your list of places to visit with your families.  Our city is beautiful, healthy, and just a short trek to the snowy mountains and world class ski resorts.

Here are quick links to the wonderful recommendations from Trekaroo Families and those of local Colorado mom bloggers who jumped onboard the Trekaroo KidsMobile for it’s stop in Denver.

Read all about Trekaroo’s KidsMobile Stop in Denver, CO

Other Resources for Denver, CO

Next stop for the KidsMobile – Charlotte, North Carolina

The Trekaroo KidsMobile is a blog carnival with a twist. It’s designed to provide a unique opportunity for mom and dad bloggers to be featured on Trekaroo while

1) expressing their unique point of view.  2) getting a web of link exchanges.  Jump on board!

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Join us!! Virtual Book Launch Event with Daddy Bookins

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front cover Our very own Daddy Bookins of PeasandBananas.com has finally released his first childrens book Outside with Lil’ Boo!  We are so proud to announce an exciting virtual book launch event that will be held January 28th 8-10pm EST. boo

Twitter Party #LilBoo ~ 8-9pm ET ~ Reading to Children – we’ll discuss early childhood development and the importance of reading aloud to our children.

MomTV MomActive Channel ~ 9-10pm ET ~ Meet the Author!  Daddy Bookins will answer questions and discuss the book Outside with Lil Boo.

Follow @banteringblonde @childhood @peasandbananas @savorthethyme @momactive


RSVP on Mcklinky below using your TWITTER ID and Enter to Win LOTS of great prizes including:

Autographed copies of Outside with Lil’ Boo

Huge gift basket from Earth’s Best

Webkinz Jr. from Ganz

$50 Amazon gift card

$25 Starbucks gift card

$50 gift card for Label Daddy from The PR Place

Keurig Platinum Brewer and K-cups

Gift card for Planetshoes.com

e.l.f French Manicure Kit

…………and stay tuned for several super surprise items!!!

images n43081595964_864 starbucks webkinzjr planet shoes

keurig vert.ashx label daddy elf



MckLinky Blog Hop

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When Spores Attack

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germsAs soon as a germ enters our house, I always wonder, “Which one of us is next?!” I put multiple sanitizers around the house, I follow the germ-ee with a tissue, I bark at everyone,”Wash your hands!” “Cough into your elbow!” I use sanitizing wipes on everything, I try to minimize the damage. Because I’m in charge of the “damage control.”

And inevitably, I get it. Which makes sense. I’m the primary caretaker and I’m (almost) ok with being the fall guy. In fact, I claim victory if the son who brings it into the house from school and I are the only ones who get sick.

Since the preschool years have begun, we’ve gotten all of the colds and flus (except for the swine flu — not yet, anyway!) We’ve also been lucky to avoid that stomach one. You know the one.

Until this year.

And it.was.evil. Truly evil. I have heard how evil that stomach flu is and there truly are no words for just how evil that one is. There is only one man left standing and it’s my husband who never seems to catch anything that levels the rest of us. Lucky.

So after the dust settles, did you know that the evil germ still lurks everywhere? Of course you do, you’re a mom! It’s in the couch. It’s in the blankets. It’s in the towels you used. It’s in the carpet, on the toys, on the surfaces, it’s everywhere!

So here are some ways to avoid getting sick again, and also to avoid spreading it to your visitors.

  • First, try to make sure whoever is sick stays in one area of the house while they’re sick so it’s easier to clean up if things get messy. Also, other family members can avoid that area. Bonus if there’s a second bathroom for that person to use.
  • Take all the garbage out and sanitize the garbage can with bleach diluted with water.
  • Clean all linens, sheets and towels that were used by washing them on the “hot” or “sanitize” cyle of the washing machine.
  • Sanitize any and all surfaces that may have come in contact with the sick person with sanitizing wipes or a bleach and water solution. You can also use Lysol spray on light switches, door knobs, remotes, phones, almost anywhere. Go crazy with it. I do!
  • Sanitize the bathroom, from the toilet to the floors and the faucets. Don’t forget the toilet bowl handle!
  • Shampoo the carpets and/or upholstery.
  • Vaccuum.
  • Bleach the toys. If you can limit the number of toys the sick child/children are playing with, all the better! If not, grab a bucket, pour one or two teaspoons of bleach per gallon of water into it, and put as many toys as you can that will survive this type of washing in it. Repeat. The ones that won’t survive, like the motorized toys, spray with Lysol. You can also wash stuffed animals in the washing machine. I personally have a “survivor” policy with stuffed animals. If they “survive” the washing machine and the dryer, then they get to stay. We have too many stuffed animals anyway.
  • Wash hands all the time. Everyone.
  • Buy an air purifier.

The best case scenario here is that everyone stays stomach-flu-free this season! We weren’t so lucky, but we hope we’re in the clear now! Stay healthy!

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The Mommyhood Balancing Act (Part 1)

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balancing motherhood

I’ve recently noticed that my life has become unbalanced and I desperately need to regain it. The good thing is that I am pretty sure that I am not alone in this thought. The bad thing is that there is no equation that tells us exactly how to achieve balance. This two-part series will touch on what we need to consider and how we can find our way back to a better-balanced lifestyle.

What are the areas in life we need to balance?

Children
Being a mom means being “on” 100% of the time. Even if we aren’t physically with the kids, we are with them mentally, so it’s no wonder we are exhausted much of the time. And it’s no wonder that we find it hard to fit much else in. Especially when you are a stay-at-home mom, you start to feel like all you ever do is spend time with your kids. So how do we find time for our kids without ignoring the time we need for our own wants and needs?

Spouses/Significant Other
This relationship is the first to become unbalanced. Since the children need so much of our attention and time, that tends to eat into the time we used to set aside for our spouse. Evening cuddle time turns into “Since we’re so tired, let’s just go to bed” or, if you still have little kids, “I’ll see you after I feed the baby and put him to sleep” (by which time, you’re both too tired anyhow). So how do we put this relationship higher on our priority list when there are so many things already so high on the list?

Work
Whether this is working outside or inside of the home, or working on your hobby, blogging, this is one of the toughest areas to find time for. Since I started blogging, I have found that it can take up a lot of time. And with only 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, the time I set aside for blogging often overlaps other tasks. Unfortunately, if our work is at home, it’s very hard to balance spending time with kids and actually achieving something work-related. If you’re like me, you find yourself working on things in 5-minute increments, which means it takes forever to finish something. So how do we carve out time to be productive, even if we only have short periods of time in which to work?

Mommy Time
This is the thing that often gets pushed to the very bottom of the list; so far down that you have to squint to see it. However, many moms claim that if they get a little bit of personal time weekly, they are much happier moms, which in turn means for a happier family. Whether it’s working out, spending time with friends, reading a book, or something else you enjoy, finding our own personal time needs to be more of a priority. So how do we find even a small chunk of time for this when we are already overscheduled in our lives?

The 2nd part in this series will look at what questions we need to ask ourselves in order to create an action plan to get back to a balanced life.

You can find more of my thoughts on the difficult task of balancing motherhood at my blog, The (Un)Experienced Mom.

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EA Sports Active More Workouts with Michele McGraw

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Our guest author today is official EA Sport Active Six Week Challenger, Michele McGraw.  Many of our readers have expressed interest in taking on the EA Sports Active More Workouts Six Week Challenge so we decided to start an official MomActive challenge beginning this MONDAY January 11th.  If you are interested in participating with us email info@momactive.com.  You can find Michele at ScrapsofMyGeekLife.com and @ScrappinMichele on Twitter. Michele will be our coach and share some of the awesome tips she learned while in HOLLYWOOD with EA Sports Active this weekend!


blogher_smile_300In the last few years, I have struggled with trying to live a healthy lifestyle for me and for my family. I can convince myself of the benefits of working out and eating healthy, but it’s much more difficult to convince my family (especially my kids) that eating healthy foods and working out is a lot more fun that eating candy and playing video games.

When I saw that EA SPORTS was coming out with an interactive fitness product for the Wii, I jumped on it. I hoped I could convince my family to use the Wii. I purchased EA SPORTS Active Personal Trainer the day it came out and put it in the Wii when the kids got home from school. I didn’t ask them to play, I just worked out and slowly one by one (I have four), they came in to see why Mom was jumping around so much. They all wanted to play along and fought over who gets to play next. That was my strategy for getting my family hooked and it worked.

I completed the 30 day workout and lost 6 pounds and 6 inches, but more importantly, I continued to workout because it was fun. And I noticed a few other benefits:

  • More energy throughout my day.
  • I wanted to eat healthier because I felt better.
  • I looked forward to my workouts instead of dreading them.
  • My kids began to ask me lots of questions about healthy foods. Which foods are healthy? Which foods are not good for you?

The best benefit for me was running a 5k with my family this past October. We participated in the EA SPORTS Active 5K challenge after training and using the program set up by EA SPORTS Active. My 10 and 13 year old kids ran the entire 5k with me during a very cold, windy and (pouring) rainy morning.

When the 5k was over, my 13 year old said to me, “When do we start training for next year?”

I knew then that I had succeeded in showing my kids that living a healthy lifestyle can be fun. I felt such pride in my family for such a great accomplishment. I wanted to share that with others which is why I wanted to be an EA SPORTS Active 6 Week Challenger.

One of my biggest hurdles every year is Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve. Every year I easily gain up to 10 pounds. The food is abundant and delicious and my time is scarce and chaotic.

This past holiday season, I am proud to say that because of the 6 week challenge in the EA Sports Active More Workouts, I lost 6 lbs and 5.5 inches. I still was able to enjoy my holiday meals, some cookies, holiday parties, a trip away with my husband and because I continued to workout with the EA Sports Active, I managed to lose weight. I did not feel deprived at all instead I feel really proud.

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Learn How this Mompreneur Built a Business from a Love Letter!

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Nothing puts a smile on your face, like getting a love letter.  And apparently no one knew this better than Linda, wife, mother and founder/ owner of Kind Notes, a successful mompreneur business that sells decorative jars filled with customizable kind notes.

Her imaginative idea came to her a few years ago when she wanted to send her boyfriend (now husband) a love letter for each day he was away, but thought a daily love letter might be a bit much.  So instead she sent him short and sweet little notes, a new one for each day.

Linda’s hubby really enjoyed reading a new note each day.  It wasn’t long after that, Linda realized that other people might also enjoy the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from starting a new day with a special, little note from someone who loves them. She also thought people might appreciate a business that sells these kind notes already packaged elegantly for them.

She was right.

Linda-Kindnotes

Below is my interview this lovely mompreneur.  She talks about her biz, how it started, where it is now and how she manages this successful company that sells worldwide while putting her family first!  If you are a budding mompreneur looking for a little inspiration…then grab a cup of coffee and read on…

1.) What is your business? Please describe in detail.

We exclusively manufacture customizable jars of messages enclosed in mini decorative envelopes, to be opened each day. Words of inspiration, love or thanks, or even a fond memory, these 31 notes will send a smile to the recipient.  KindNotes has been said by many to be a unique gift that is expressive and meaningful, suitable for any occasion and everyone, especially for those who have everything.

You may choose from a variety of collections or add your personal touch by customizing your KindNotes® in five quick and easy steps with an interactive wizard, selecting the container, filling, ribbon, envelope design, and message options (A. Choose from our library of more than 500 messages; B. Request blank papers; C. Request your personalized messages to be handwritten for you).

Each order is completely assembled and put together according to the customization so that you don’t have to do a thing, from your messages being folded and stuffed into each envelope, to their very presentation inside the container.

Our products are made with high quality materials and are finely crafted to be treasured and reopened year after year.

2.) Is it a local, national or int’l business?

We offer our products and services worldwide.

3.) Who is your target market?

Our market consists of both men and women between the ages of 18-65.

4.) What made you decide to go into business for yourself?

I made the first version of KindNotes for my then-boyfriend-now-husband several years ago. I thought about the pleasant feeling of receiving a personal letter in the mail each day, but soon-after thought the long letters might just scare him away so I wrote 31 short notes onto small pieces of paper, stuffed them into plain miniature envelopes and put them in an embellished jar. My husband then began each day with a note that made him smile.

Several years later, we decided to share the idea and make it available to everyone, knowing that people have no time, have trouble thinking of unique gifts, or have a difficult time expressing their thoughts. It’s a great way to spread kindness!

5.) What made you decide on this particular business?

I’ve always liked crafting meaningful gifts and my husband loved opening the notes each morning – if he liked it that much, why not share the idea with others and provide a service to hand-make it for them? It was worth a try and soon proved to be a great decision.

6.) How long have you been working at it now?

It’s been about 3 years.

7.) Are you working to supplement household income or replace your previous full time income? Or just as an outlet for yourself?

It’s truly rewarding to know that people out there are beginning each day with a smile. Even if it requires a good amount of time to make the KindNotes according to each customization, we make sure that our prices are affordable and reasonable. It’s worth it to know that our products help spread kindness to others.

8.) How many kids do you have or planning to have?

I have a 5-month-old son, Preston.

9.)If you currently have kids, describe in detail how you manage your kids, husband, home and business?

There is so much to do in a day that I sometimes stare blankly across the room, not knowing how or where to start. Luckily it lasts for only half a minute and I move forward with tackling my list of priorities. I always manage to keep a balanced schedule and make time to spend with my family. Making to-do lists and prioritizing are key.

10.) What are your future plans for the business and home life?

We keep our inventory fresh with new product releases throughout the year. We continuously look for ways to improve our products/services and hope to grow our marketing efforts for 2010. As for home life, I plan to keep my family close no matter how busy I become, giving my son the love and attention he needs.

11.) What is your best weapon against the stress of managing business and home?

If my mind is occupied with too many things that are causing me to become stressed, I remind myself “one thing at a time” and do the next most important thing on my list. My other favorite reminder is, “Be thankful for what you have”.

12.) Do you have any advice/tips on becoming successful as a mompreneur?

When I was younger, I would always hear the adults say “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it”. Now I know that this is a true piece of advice. If you feel strongly about something, just do it. If you turn out to be wrong, you’ll learn from it and move on to better opportunities.

Any additional thoughts?

**We offer envelopes/papers sold separately for those who want to make their own KindNotes – this saves them a lot of time. Strips of paper alone can be used but enclosing them in envelopes make it more exciting for the recipient to open and the presentation of the jar looks even better with the decorative envelopes.**

**We offer all troops an additional 20% off to help them stay connected with their family. They would need to request their discount code by emailing us at info@kindnotes.com using their military email address.**

Here are several ways to connect with us:

info@kindnotes.com

www.kindnotes.com

www.blog.kindnotes.com

www.twitter.com/kindnotes

Thanks so much for your time Linda!  Blessings to you and your family in 2010!  For more great mompreneur stories, check out Featured Mompreneur at The Pursuit of Mommyness!

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Healthy Habits – Start Young!

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photo_8409_20090922Healthy children are healthy because of the practices of their parents. However, healthy children don’t always grow into healthy adults. As humans, we are creatures of habit… Emotional health, mental health, spiritual health, and physical health all tie into the development of healthy habits. Many parents tend to do so much for their children that they inadvertently prevent their children from developing good habits themselves.

As parents, personally living a life full of healthy habits is essential because our children learn a great deal from watching us – example is a major educator for children! To take the example we set and transform it into a course of action habitually executed by our kids requires conditioning them to make good decisions regarding things that directly influence or affect their health. Here are a few tips to aid you in assisting your child in developing health-conscious habits:

  1. Rather than providing only healthy options to your children, start presenting them with several options and allowing them to choose for themselves. If they make an unhealthy selection, explain to them why the alternative is better for them. This helps them to understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy as well as why making good choices for themselves is important.
  2. Purposely set good examples for them. Go out of your way to ensure that they actually see you make healthy decisions. This will provide you with a great point of reference for discussions with your child later.
  3. Don’t make a huge deal about it when your child doesn’t make good decisions unless the situation warrants a major scene {like if your child exhibits actions that could potentially be detrimental to themselves or someone else}. However, go overboard with kudos when they make the right choices. Getting much more attention when they do something positive encourages them to continue doing so.
  4. Be sure to recognize things they may not even think about. When they react calmly to a situation that you know upset them, let your children know you noticed how well they processed their emotions. Make them proud to possess a high level of emotional strength! If they choose a banana over a piece of chocolate… or commend them for remembering each night to say their prayers on their own… Give them subtle encouragement to continue doing things to develop positive habits which contribute to their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.

Comment and let us know:

What ways do YOU help your children develop healthy habits they will carry throughout their lives?

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The Tale of a Resolution

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A couple years ago I made a New Year’s resolution. It was to stop making New Year’s resolutions.

Like the gaggles of people before me, I had resolved time and time again to lose weight. Because every January first, this time was different.

But was it?

No. It would turn into February and even though I was so “Gung Ho!” on January 1st and joined the millions of others flocking to the gym in January, my motivation eventually waned within weeks and my poor little resolution crumpled. Oh, it was a sad state.

One year, instead, I began to make goals. January 1st was as good a time as any to wipe the slate clean. To reflect at the previous year, learn from mistakes, make new goals and move forward.

So what’s so different about a goal, anyway, and why did that seem to work instead? In the dictionary, “resolution” means, “A formal expression of opinion or intention made.” Or, “A resolving to do something.” Whereas, “goal” means, “The result or achievement toward which effort is directed.”

Where the fatal flaw in my whole “losing weight” scheme was that I was basically standing up, putting my finger up in the air and declaring to the world in my loudest voice, “This year I’m losing weight!”

Which would be all fine and good, but the words “losing weight” are such a blanket statement that I would just begin pounding away at the gym and “dieting” with very little results. Which in hindsight made sense because honestly, I wasn’t sure what the end goal was anyway! I failed to answer some very important questions in my declaration; questions that would point me to a specific goal and a road to get there.

What was my BMI? What was a healthy BMI? What exactly should I be doing at the gym to achieve this? Cardio? Weights? Some combination? Was I making conscious decisions daily about my health? Why was I going into the gym and doing weights but nothing was happening? How was I going to eat? You mean skipping meals isn’t a form of calorie counting?

What would come along with my resolution-wrecking would be the guilt of failing, the feeling of being overwhelmed and not knowing where to start, and of course, in the end, still being overweight. Square one. Year after year. And I finally decided that resolutions just didn’t work for me.

The year I resolved to stop making resolutions (and making my own head hurt!), I began to look at weight-loss as the big picture (no pun intended) and break up the big picture into smaller, individual goals. Not only did the smaller goals look less overwhelming, they actually looked achieveable!

  • Instead of looking at my weight-loss goal in one giant number, like, say 50 pounds, I broke it up into 10 pound increments and focused on just those 10. Having to lose 10 pounds takes a lot less time than 50, and plus it gave me a focus. What I found that when I was getting close to my 10 pound “mini-goal”, it would make me work that much harder because I was about to see a whole new “decade” of numbers!
  • A ten pound loss meant a pants size! Which coincidentally meant shopping…(a nice reward!)
  • Quicker results meant continued motivation. By breaking up my bigger goal into smaller, more achievable ones, I was constantly being refreshed by new motivation.
  • Reaching more goals meant more rewards for me! I like a system based on rewards…

Meeting all the little goals eventually meant that the starting point was eventually further away than the finish line. And what became even more valuable was the journey itself. And rather than another failed resolution, I was finally meeting my goal. I was in the driver’s seat this time.

So what about you? Do you make resolutions or have goals and what are they?

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Training Your Inner Monologue

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sunrays“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they
become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your
habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your
destiny.”-Unknown.

2009 was a good year for me. I lost the rest of the babyweight (finally), I ran a half-marathon and I did a triathlon. For someone who doesn’t even really like to run, I call that crazy. I learned a lot in 2009. I learned about fear because apparently I fear open water swimming (and the prospect of sharks) and I learned about facing it (aka the jelly fish swimming right into my face). My husband ran right alongside me through all of it and we inspired each other to keep upping the ante. I learned I have strength.

In reflecting on 2009, like most people do, I started thinking about what’s in store for 2010. 2009 really surprised me, so what will 2010 be like? Will I fail? What will I accomplish? How will I change? What will I face? And then I ask myself the really deep questions like, will my skivvies fall out of my backpack and onto the floor in the middle of the gym again? (Hopefully not.)

One of my biggest demons, as I’ve known for quite some time, is my own head. My inner monologue. And how dire a seemingly innocuous situation can turn when those thoughts of mine become negative. Because negative self-talk is a downward spiral and it’s like quicksand.

I am a positive person and I still often fall victim to the negative self-talk and here’s how it happens. First, the negative thought enters your mind. Then, just because it’s there, you actually start to believe it (even if you didn’t at first!) Then, it follows through and becomes a reality.

The scary part is that if you’re not careful, the process begins all over again.

The negative self-talk can start by merely not being able to accept a compliment, something that I have struggled with myself. (“Oh, this old thing?”) Or questioning whether you can actually do something.

The minute I think about swimming in the open water and the fear I have surrounding it, I try to banish it. Because what inevitably follows is that I make the mistake of mentioning it to my swim partner, and now it’s out there. It’s tangible. And then because I’ve thought it and subsequently said it, I ultimately play the part and do not do well. And just so you know, panicking in the ocean is pretty much the worst thing you can do. (You know, on account of the possibility of drowning and all.)

But the key here is to listen to what your inner monologue is saying and see how often it speaks
to you negatively. Think about how often you question yourself in your head or say that you can’t do something (lose weight, win Powerball, move to a chalet in the Swiss Alps – not necessarily in that order). And then reverse the cycle by finding the positive, by highlighting your strengths in your mind instead of your weaknesses, and by using positive words in your mind. Write them down. Say them.

And then rinse and repeat.

Because 2010 is here. It’s a nice, fresh, new beginning, and a time to think about what you want to take with you from 2009 and what you want to leave in 2009 (like perhaps, a certain embarrassing skivvies situation).

What we are each capable of is entirely up to us and it all starts with our thoughts.

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Goals vs Resolutions

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It’s January again, which means that everyone is talking about making New Year’s resolutions. Some of the most common resolutions are to lose weight, stop smoking, and make more money. While there’s lots of talk about achieving these goals, there’s less talk about how or what’s important about achieving them.

In my opinion, using the term resolution has a negative connotation since many of us abandon our New Year’s resolutions by February anyhow. I refer to my resolutions as goals, but I also take it one step further and redefine what that means.

Redefining Goals: What’s Really Important?
Ask yourself this question: What’s most important? Reaching the finish line or learning something from the journey?

Sometimes we get so caught up in the need to achieve our goals that we lose our focus or even ourselves along the way. Sure, being successful at something or being able to cross a goal off your list feels great, but sometimes what we learn from the process is more valuable. For instance, my goal of shedding those stubborn 15 pounds of leftover baby weight initially became a goal because I wanted to feel good about myself again. But as I’ve been working towards that, I’ve realized that even if I don’t get to that magic number, I’ve still achieved something. Becoming healthier and being a role model for my children, and even my husband, is equally, if not more important than looking great.

How Do We Achieve Our Goals?
The best way to achieve our goals is to start them when we feel motivated…NOW! Don’t wait until a future date to begin working towards something because the more we put something off, the less we feel motivated. And motivation is extremely important because it’s what keeps us focused on our goals. Without motivation, excuses start to creep in and before you know it, you’ve decided that your goals are no longer important.

Another key to achieving goals is to constantly reassess them. When you revisit your goals regularly, you may realize that you need to alter or make them more realistic. There’s nothing wrong with tweaking goals along the way, especially if it will help you achieve them.

You can read more of my thoughts about redefining resolutions on my blog,  The (Un)Experienced Mom.

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