Drink it, Feel it, Share it...

In April I was introduced to something that I never though would have the impact it has had.

I have been trying to eat cleaner for a couple of years now. I never did do a complete cold turkey cut of foods, but have slowly eliminated them and after time, forgot them and don't even want them anymore. Especially after I've learned what they do to my body and have seen how much better I feel without them.

Eating fruits and vegetables has never been a problem for me, I love them. I am not too picky and am willing to try new ones when given the chance. I started juicing earlier this year and felt I was getting "plenty of fruits and veggies" doing it that way. I was healthy. I was detoxifying my body.

But was I really? I was still really tired all of the time, not sleeping well and my skin was breaking out again like I was a high school sophomore. Something was missing and I couldn't quite figure it out.

My yoga instructor had briefly mentioned MonaVie while finishing up class one day and offered up a chance to receive our "Life Score" or antioxidant levels score. I thought, sure! What the heck! I eat lots of blueberries, I juice, and I drink that lovely green juice from Costco called Green Machine. I stuck my finger in the little black contraption that she carries around with her (my husband says it looks like an electronic stapler) and within a few seconds I had my score...

Photo Credit: www.monavie.com 

It was low. Very low... 

The score ranges from red, to orange, yellow, green, blue then purple. The lowest score being in the red range and highest being purple. I was orange. The lowest range of orange, almost red. 

I was shocked. How could I score so low when I ate so well? I don't eat a lot of processed foods, I eat several servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day but still... not enough. 

That is when she told me about "the juice". Juice that is made from real fruits and vegetables. 100% pureed wild organic fruits and vegetables with glucosamine for your bones and joints, wellmune to get your immune system primed up for fighting off sicknesses, and flax seed oil to help nourish you cell membranes making your cells more susceptible to all of this good nutrition. If I try this juice for 60 days and my score doesn't go up, I will get my money back. 

I decided to try it for a week... see what I thought and then I'd go from there. It's just 2oz twice a day and I could easily add that supplement to my day. 

I was given a bottle of the MX blend to try and just two days later I placed my first order. I am proud to say that I am a distributor and the only regret I've had is that I didn't start drinking this stuff sooner! Even though I was eating healthy and exercising regularly something was missing and I've found the missing block. I can't even begin to list the benefits that I have felt in such a short period of time and now it's completely my passion to share better health with those I care about. Great health starts internally. 

Photo credit: www.monavie.com 

Don't hesitate to leave me a comment with questions, concerns or just to say hi! I love answering questions about MonaVie and just plain old chit-chat about the kids!

High School

I remember how nervous I was going in to high school. The school was so big, classes were spread far apart and my biggest fear was that I'd forget my combination to my locker.

My oldest son starts high school next week. Less than a week away and I am pretty sure I am more nervous than he is. He hasn't said much about it, but I'm sure he's a little scared, right?

In just two days we'll be going to pick up his schedule, drop some money on books, classes and extra curricular activities. I'm most excited about him getting his Freshman ID card - yes, I still have mine. Of course we will pre-order his year book and pay for him to go to dances.

Dances.

Oh my goodness... didn't even think about dances. Homecoming, Holiday, Sadie Hawkins (do they still do that?), Prom... so many. That topic leaves me questioning, will I chaperone? Will he even want me to? I don't even feel old enough to be chaperoning a high school dance! Of course then I start thinking back to when I went to dances, every single dance except for my Junior and Senior Prom, and feel he probably won't want me there and I'm going to have to be ok with that.

Our babies grow up so fast. Seems like just yesterday he was starting Kindergarten and now he's off to high school. Before I know it, he'll be going to college and my littlest human will be starting school. I want to make a change over the next four years, make great memories and really help my son grow in to the already wonderful young man his is becoming.

Sun, Sand & Waves

Vacation.

We needed it.

So we went. 

To Newport Beach, CA. 

We swam and laid by the pool. 

Travis saw the ocean for the first time... 

...and loved it. 

I enjoyed my beach time, and my beach hair. 

And Travis napped, very little. 

I did cartwheels in the sand... 

And stood with my feet in the sand. 

We jumped for joy... 

And did some yoga... 

Made lots of good memories with family and friends. 

I never thought I'd ever move back to California.... but someday, I just might. I loved the area and will definitely be returning in the near future. 

We had so much fun hanging out at the pool, drinking Margaritas at Fred's in Huntington and being silly on the beach. 

It was by far the best family vacation we have been on yet! 

Unfinished me

I have always been somewhat of a perfectionist. Ok, not somewhat, but 100% perfectionist. I strive for flawlessness and always set extremely high, sometimes unattainable standards. Some would even describe me as a little bit neurotic.

It's not always a good thing to want to strive for perfection. It has come back at me several times. Ok, several times one-thousand times...

As of late, I've battled with my inner perfectionism demons. I have unfinished projects, unorganized closets and stacks of paper in my office. These are all things that I never used to have and if I did, I was a major stress case and wouldn't go to bed at night until everything was, perfect.

I blame a couple things for my leniency. Children and my new found love for the the universe and what it has to offer. When I am busy cleaning away or wanting to finish painting bathroom trim that I started three months ago, it is then that I realize my toddler is busy playing in this room talking away to his stuffed animals. Yes, that is a good thing but I also want to be the one he's talking to...

While my teenager is busy being, well, a teenager and wanting his space from mom, my toddler is at such a prime learning age. He is two and at two he is like a little sponge. I can really teach him anything I want right now from how to count to ten in Spanish or the difference between an ant and a spider. I don't want to miss these moments because I was too busy cleaning closets or organizing silverware drawers. The unfinished paint project in the boys' bathroom drives me nuts - Every. Single. Day- but I have taught myself not to care anymore; because honestly, who is judging me for not finishing the job? If they are, then they don't know me and don't really need to be a part of my life.

I am still high strung, and still a perfectionist, but I have learned to control it quite a bit. Analyzing everything I do and how I do it was getting me nowhere.  If something isn't worth stressing over or isn't attainable then, meh, I move on and worry about the bigger, more important things. The things that breathe and giggle and make me smile. My children. My perfect children who think I am the perfect mom.

Public Pool Adventure

Summer has arrived. The heat, more heat, and even more heat. I find that if I don't look at the weather reports, it doesn't seem as bad. To me, anything over 100 degrees feels the same. Hot.

I have been so busy over the past few weeks and really haven't made the time to sit down and write. I've been handwriting, just haven't made it a point to type it up. Between my toddler, my teenager, my husband, workouts, cooking, cleaning, Monavie, swimming and whatever else we might be doing I've been busy.

Today, the toddler and I ventured out the Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center. I had been looking forward to it for a few weeks now, tagging along with my "bff's" for one of their children's birthday.

We lathered up before we left the house, since I knew it'd already be 100 degrees by the time we got there at 10am, loaded up the car and headed out on our new adventure to the "water park".

Travis isn't always the easiest traveler. He's impatient, stubborn, strong willed and TWO. Grocery store trips aren't even fun most days. I was feeling very optimistic about his mood for today's excursion since he loves water. We've been swimming every day, going to the splash pads often and the kid would be happy with a hose if I let him play with it all day. So, yes, I was feeling optimistic.

As we started playing in the water, Travis was very timid. Not like he is at home. He was very overwhelmed by the loud music, screaming, laughing and chattering children and the very large bucket of water that dumps from atop the play structure. He's used to swimming with his arm floaties and they are not allowed at the pool so we had to get a life-vest for him. He wasn't so sure about that...

Needless to say, it wasn't a fun trip for me.

Travis was overstimulated, I was moody because he wasn't having fun and I wasn't able to talk with my friends. Travis didn't want to share the small water spout in the splash pad area and I was getting the evil eye from two different parents. Really? Can't we all just get along? He's TWO! He's just learning to share, and he's finally happy and now you are going to make me piss him off? That's when I knew it was best if we just left.

Moral of my story is... always leave the house with a smile and a positive attitude. You never know when you'll need that extra happiness and positivity to get you through a very minor tough time. Had I left the house grumpy today, expecting it to go bad, it would have been a lot worse. I keep my chin up and at least now I know he prefers the private pool in our backyard, for now.