Thirty Days of Truth- Day 1

So, I have decided to participate in the 30 days of Truth. What a therapeutic way to spend the month of December! Maybe by January I will have learned something new about myself and be able to make a New Years Resolution that matters.

Day 1: What do you hate about yourself?

I don't really hate anything about myself, but I do have some traits that are less than savory.

Ok, I really don't like that I tend to be so forgiving. It is totally irritating to have people do the same things to me over and over and never even be angry for it! I mean really. Someone can do something terrible and two days later I don't even think about it! Some people would say that's kind of a blessing but really. It isn't. It leaves me more open to having people use me and run over me.

I decided several years ago that I would be a good person no matter what. I am not particularly religious even though I was brought up in church and my family are all believers. I do think that we all pay for our actions at sometime, whether through Karma or whatever else. I don't want to be a good person because someone was nice to me, even though its always a good thing to have someone appreciate you. I want to be a good person to everyone because its what I personally believe is right.

Which is all great, but in the end you really need to learn to stand up for yourself. I love that I am able to look past peoples appearances and that I am willing to help friends, family and even strangers but I still find it irritating that sometimes my way of thinking ends with someone taking advantage of my forgiving nature. I don't think that being straightforward and honest is being a terrible person at all and when you think about it, standing up for yourself is really just telling the truth.

X-Box, Cartoon Network and Other Evil Things Corrupting My Baby

OK, maybe "evil" is just a tad overreactive. Those things reeally aren't evil, but they are ruining my life right now. My 3 year old, Little Zelda Fanatic, is just zoned out on X-Box games and cartoons all the time. It isn't that I don't encourage him to do other things. I get him dressed, take him out, buy him art supplies and crafty things, entice him with bribes...wait, did I say bribes? Nevermind that.

I have no idea why the same things aren't working with him that worked with my older kids. Who, by the way, could write their names and say the ABC's by the time they were three. Maybe I was just a more involved parent back then?

I am totally up for suggestions. What to you do to rid your home of the powers of evil and get your kids motivated to do other things?

Getting More Fiber to Stay Healthy Through the Holidays

Fiber isn't really a glam topic, and it isn't something that I really think about a whole lot. Getting enough fiber is actually a good way to prevent diseases, however, so everyone should have it on their mind. My family has a much larger than average propensity for heart disease, which IS something I think about.

In an effort to combat heart disease and stick around long enough to enjoy my kids I have been working on including more fiber in my diet. We are talkin' whole grain oats (not instant) and tons of fresh fruits and veggies. The oats is simple because I love it but I also love bread. Switching to whole grains was a little harder than I expected because the texture is a little different but I must say that since my switch (or, basically my avoidance of bread in general lol) I feel much better.

An adult female needs about 25 grams of fiber a day. One piece of fruit contains a few grams of fiber while one serving of high fiber cereal contain about 10. Beans and legumes are a great way to get fiber, too. Grab a bowl of chickpeas and you have an amazing 7 grams of fiber!

The holiday season is coming and we are facing tables of pies and turkey, but where is the fiber? I always grab some veggies first, along with some lean turkey to make up the bulk of any holiday meal. I also love that my Dad is a whole wheat advocate and has healthy foods stocked for visitors. It makes getting my fiber a lot easier.

I also start every day with a bowl of old-fashioned oats. I like the texture and I know that oats are high in fiber. Plus, when you eat high fiber foods like oats you stay fuller longer. For me, that means I tend to overeat less throughout the day. Oats are totally satisfying with just some fresh fruit, you don't have to overload it with sugar! I love blueberries so that's what I use. I pick them up from the freezer section and toss them in once my oats are ready.

I also have some great lentil recipes that I use to help keep my day full of fiber, but I must say nothing beats a bowl of butter beans for lunch of dinner. I'm not sure what people who aren't from the South call them, but they are the large navy beans. Delicious, and full of fiber!

So, what are your plans for keeping fiber in your diet throughout the holidays?


I wrote this blog post while participating in the Bookieboo and Coach's Oats Fiber blogging program, making me eligible to win a $50 American Express gift card and free product. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Go Green Diapers Giveaway on One Little Mister!

Go Green Diapers are pocket diapers that are priced very affordably. When I checked out their website at www.gogreenpocketdiapers.com I was really surprised at the wide selection of colors and styles. If you are familiar with Kawaii diapers you may notice some of the same patterns, but I really think Go Green Diapers has a much wider selection!

I really like the three and six packs of diapers at a discount, but you can buy one packet diaper for less than $10! That's amazing, especially since pockets are the simplest way to cloth diaper.

Right now One Little Mister is having a giveaway. Go Green Diapers has provided three two-packs of pockets for followers to try and win here: http://www.onelittlemister.com/2010/11/affordable-cloth-diapers-happy-flute.html

Good Luck!

Vera Bradley Giveaway on One Little Mister!

There is an awesome giveaway for a Vera Bradley Miller bag + a travel kit on One Little Mister right now, so go enter here: http://www.onelittlemister.com/2010/11/bags-by-vera-bradley-review-and.html
Good luck everyone! And, really, I hope you love it if you win!

Mr Coffee Giveaway on 5 Vinez Monkeys

I LOVE coffee, lets just get that out of the way. There is nothing so exciting that I skip my morning cup...or eight cups...of Tasters Choice. And yes, it usually has to be Tasters Choice, but sometimes I do crave a nice cup of brewed coffee. And I use my coffee pot to keep hot water for a quick cup. Now, Mr. Coffee and 5 Vinez Monkeys are offering one lucky reader a chance to win a single serve coffee pot. I have been dreaming of a single serve coffee pot forever, I am just way too cheap and practical to buy one. But, I did enter to win one here: http://www.5vinezmonkeys.com/2010/11/dont-forget-your-morning-coffee-mr.html?

If you are less cheap and practical than I am, you can also buy one here: http://www.mrcoffee.com/ for a fresh cup of coffee anytime. I hate making full pots of coffee since they burn before I can drink it, and since I am a total coffee geek I absolutely cannot stand the taste of burnt or old coffee. I think if I had a single serve pot I might drink brewed coffee much more often!

Swagbucks: Is It Worth It?

I started using Swagbucks just within the last year. So far, I have earned over $70 in gift cards for Earth Mama, Angel Baby and Amazon.com. Realistically you can get at least one or two five dollar gift cards a month if you use the search engine daily. By daily, I mean as you normally would not searching just to get Swagbucks. I know that some people who search to earn bucks get tons of gift cards but I don't have the patience or inclination to repeatedly search and I don't search for things if I know where they are.

So, the bottom line is YES! Swagbucks gift cards can be stacked on Amazon.com so if you have three five dollar gift cards you really have $15 off whatever you are buying.

Monster Bowling Giveaway on Edu Toys!

If you are looking for toy giveaways, make sure you check out this link for a monster bowling set. Super cute, fluffy, and gets those toddlers up and playing! Here is the link, and good luck! http://blog.edutoysplanet.com/2667

My Kids are Hilarious

My kids are constantly cracking me up. For instance, my 11 year old D wants a monocle because his eyesight is only bad in one eye. A monocle?!? I had to look that up in the dictionary to even find out what it is. Turns out, its a one piece eyeglass that you hold up to your eye, kind of like a pirate turned librarian.

OK, I get that its not practical for an 11 year old to have a monocle, but how AWESOME would it be to be sitting in class and pull one out to read Social Studies? That would be the coolest thing ever. I'm so glad that my kids are just like me. It really does make life a lot more interesting!

What Are Your Favorite Blogs?

I probably have at least 50 blogs on my blogroll! I love reading through blogs, getting information and entering contests. So far, I think Scary Mommy and Stark.Raving.Mad are my favorites! You should definitely check them out sometime when you aren't busy.

If you have a favorite blog that you want to share, do so! I love checking out new blogs!

As a member of the Taster Choice Network, I am finding great new blogs to read everyday!

I Live With Little Smarties

I just have to brag for a moment. My kids are constantly impressing me with their involvment, committment and success in school. I recently attended parent teacher conferences and was so excited to hear how well my youngest daughter, S, is doing in school.

First, I have to explain S at home. She is a sweetheart, totally into drama (like, acting on stage except she acts through normal conversations. Its hard to explain, but its like living with an actress 100% of the time!) She builds forts, has a ten second attention span, and is generally go-get-'em. I love all of this about her, but the attention span kills me! I was sure that, when she started first grade, the teacher would be sending me a note with something about ADHD in it sometime soon, but it never happened.

Anyway. I walk into her classroom to hear the teacher literally gush about how wonderful it is to have her in the class. Not only that, they are actually setting a group up in her classroom just for her to help teach other students some concepts that they are having a hard time with! How excited I am as a parent to have a child who not only understands her education, but that is also willing to spend her time helping others.

I really am blessed to have kids that succeed academically and that love school in general. I personally disliked school and everything about it, so I guess I am doubly blessed in that regard.

Boiron Cyclease Review for Women!

I am a Mom Ambassador for Boiron, a company that makes homeopathic medicines. They have sent me two products to review, Cyclease for cramps and Cyclease PMS. I tried both of these on different occasions, and can say they really do work.

Let me just say that I am pretty much a skeptic concerning homeopathic medicines. I am just way too science-based-show-me-some-evidence to think that these medicines would work, but I must say I was pretty impressed. I am really, really new to homeopathic medicines but I researched all of the ingredients in these medicines and have found that they are derived from natural sources and that these medicines are well known in the world of homeopathy.

I also found that the Cyclease PMS helps with migraines associated with PMS, which is really helpful to me. I have tons of headaches but the migraines I get when I have PMS are really unbearable. Aspirin really doesn't help at all, so I am going to try the Cyclease PMS the next time that I have one. The biggest obstacle for me is actually identifying PMS for what it is! I never relate my irritability, migraines and bloating to PMS until afterward, and then I realized what was going on with my terrible mood.

I do have cramping, and it can be severe but since I switched to mama cloth it really isn't as bad as it once was. The Boiron Cyclease Cramps was just right for getting rid of the cramping.

While I am on the topic of homeopathic medicines, I should also mention that I tried the Roxalia for a sore throat I was dealing with recently. I really, really worked. I used the medicine for the first hour, as recommended,and drank some OJ that night. I felt so much better the next morning, and I didn't have to worry about going to the doctor. Anytime I have a sore throat I end up on antibiotics, so the Roxalia really was an amazing product for me.

The Cyclease is something that I think a majority of women could use and that would really work. The medicines are easy to use, and don't have any side effects. I like that I can take these with my prescriptions and don't have to worry about anything weird happening.

If you want to try Cyclease for cramps for Cyclease PMS, you can visit the Boiron website to order. It is at www.boironusa.com. There is a wide range of medicines for kids and adults to use for all kinds of conditions, including colds, flus, PMS and sore throats.

Moby Wrap Giveaway!

If you need a wrap, then you should go to Natural Family Supplies! They are hosting a giveaway for a Moby wrap! You can enter here http://naturalfamilysupplies.myshopify.com/blogs/going-down-the-road-with-mountaintop-tribe/2201002-day-five-of-giveaways-moby-wrap

Entry is super simple and only takes a few minutes! Good luck!

Pentel Giveaway!

I truly love pens and paper more than any other thing you can buy. A fresh notebook or journal and a nice pen can keep me occupied for hours! Right now there is a giveaway for a mini recycling bin stuffed with pens from Pentel! 12 people will win, so go and enter now!
Here is the link: http://blog.shoplet.com/giveaways/12-pentel-recycling-bins-full-of-goodies-to-giveaway

Good luck!