Summertime CrAzYness!!!!

Summertime is in full swing! With that being said my family and I have been working hard to complete our bucket list.

...and this is how it's looking

Whoo Hoo! Almost finished!!! 

Unfortunately, our time in St Louis went by faster than we wanted it to, so we weren't able to do a couple of things.

...but no worries! 

We'll be going back soon.

Till then, we can work on the second part of our summer bucket list. 

How's your summer going?

I hope your having as much fun as my family and I are. 

Our (not so) MAD, Tea Party!!!

One day my kids came down stairs, all dressed up but had no place to go.

...and since I know, one does not simply get dressed up and sit around all day. I decided to let them have their very own 

tea party. 

Lol, no worries! It looked nothing like this (although I know they probably would of loved splashing and pouring willy nilly!),

I must say our party was a little more reserved but just as awesome. 

Complete with...

Host/Hostesses/Guest:

Mikey with his guest Bear Bear

Izzy with her guest Patty Rabbit

Gabby with her guest Froggie 

and myself (the last minute invite. Lol)

Food and drinks:

Iced Tea

LOTS of Sugar

Pizza Rolls

and Skittles

Music:

Classical

This was the perfect opportunity to sit, chit chat and play with them, without the interruptions of TV, internet or video games. 

...and by doing this, it reminded me that it's ok to unplug and be a kid again!

What a great lesson! 

~Although the tea didn't go over well with anybody but me, we all enjoyed ourselves. I mean, who wouldn't want to dress nice, be fancy and down a bunch of pizza rolls and skittles?!?!? 

 ;D

Our Family Bucket List

About a week ago, during dinner, I asked my family what we should add to our summer bucket list.

Here's what the list consisted of:

Building a rocket 

Or fighting a mummy

Or climbing up the Eiffel Tower

Discovering something that doesn't exist (Hey!)

Or giving a monkey a shower

Surfing tidal waves

Creating nano bots

Or locating Frankenstein's brain (Over here!)

Finding a Dodo bird

Painting a continent

Or driving your sister insane (Phineas!)

As you can see there's a whole lot of stuff to do before school starts this fall (Come on Perry!)

So stick with us cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all

So stick with us cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all

(Mom, Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!!!)

Lol oh, you soooo just sang that and did "air guitar" didn't you?!?!? 

 Ok, so, that wasn't our bucket list, but it was fun to sing and rock out to it. 

...alright, back on track...

My family's Summer Bucket List

It's easy enough to add things on later, but my focus was to make a list that was short, sweet, and definitely do able. That way the kids can see all the things on the list get checked off.
Nothing better than a summer that you do EVERYTHING you wanted to do!

Whoo Hoo! Bring it on summer!!! 

What are your summer plans this year? Be sure to comment below. I would love to hear about them! 

Healthy Girl pt2 (Healthy Eats)

(Have you read Healthy girl pt1? If not click here!)

If you follow this blog or have read at least one other post, you can probably tell two things about me right away. I am a list maker and I love to share things I love.

To keep this post from falling short, I present you with a list of healthy foods I love!  

1. Dasani Sparkling Apple water. Yes Yes YES!!!! I absolutely LOVE this water. With Zero carbs and a ton of flavor this is, with no doubt, my go to drink. 

2. Tumaros- Low in Carb Multigrain Wraps. I love pairing these wraps up with my meat of choice, a ton of veggies and some kind of dressing to make a restaurant worthy wrap. Coming in at 4 carbs per wrap, these are a must have in my pantry!

3. Cheese. On the packages of most cheeses we buy the carb count reads, 1<. 

A good source of calcium and protein makes cheese the perfect snack with a bit of fruit. 

4. Veggies (Leafy greens). You can't go wrong with the leafy greens. Salad, cabbage, greens and even brussel sprouts will keep you on the low side of carbs.

Sorry vegetarians, #5 goes to MEAT!!! It's important that I get in plenty of protein. Grill it, bake it, Crock Pot it, whatever. Just make sure you bring the meat!!!

6. Peanuts. Not the lowest in carbs, but it's a good source of protein and fiber. 

7. Quest Bars. High in protein, low in carbs, easy to take on the go, plus ...they're yummy!

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough

Cinnamon Roll

White Chocolate Raspberry

...just to name a few   

There are many more flavors at GNC, if you're interested.

8. Gold Standard Whey Protein. I drink these only after running or lifting weights. There are many debates on the pros and cons of drinking protein shakes.
I say, If it's not for you, don't drink them, but if you're like me and the pros outweigh the cons I suggest finding flavors you like. This brand has Chocolate, Strawberry and my favorite Cookies and Cream. 

9. Skim Milk. Milk is another one of those things that are debated, upon in the fitness world. I only use skim milk to mix my protein shakes because I don't want my body to absorb the fat from 2% or whole milk during my post workout routine. (I'll explain all of that in a future post.)

10. Fiber. Not my favorite to eat because of flavor but to keep my body in check. With all the protein I take in, things begin to slow down. 

It's not only uncomfortable but unhealthy too. 

Unflavored fiber is definitely the way to go. 

...and saving the best for last #11 Twizzlers. Fat free candy is my "BFF" when it comes to candy, for my post workout. I need that sugar to spike my insulin right before I drink my protein shake. Talk about a "sweet" treat at the end of a workout!!!

Don't like Twizzlers? Try

Gummy Bears

Gummy Works 

or even

Jelly beans!

Do you have a go to food or drink that makes your fit journey a little more bearable? Do tell!!! I would love to try it!

~Note, I am not a nutritionist or personal trainer nor was I paid to endorse any of the products I just mentioned in this post. I am simply a mommy on a personal journey to become a "Healthy Girl". 

April is the month of...

Call me crazy, but I can make a "favorites" list for just about anything.

Favorite:

Cupcake- Oreo Truffle

Colors- Tiffany Blue & Pink

Animal- Donkey

Sports team- St Louis Cardinals

Month- April
...and so on...

Even crazier than making a list of favorites is picking my favorite of favorites. (Stick with me, there's a method to my madness!) 

...so of my favorites, my top pick is:

The Month of April

*baseball season

*my birthday

*spring time 

*flowers

and most important

So don't mind me, I am going to share some of my favorite photos of some of my favorite Army babies!

Military kids are, simple put, amazing. They deal with situations most people try to avoid.

-leaving behind family and friends to move to different cities, states or even countries.
-watching a parent on go away for deployments, months at a time.
-switching schools in the middle of a school year and being the dreaded "new kid" yet again.
-being disciplined "military style" (yes ALL of our kids know how to do push ups!!)

So raise your root beer mugs and yell out a big "HOOAH" for the amazingly awesome military child!

Healthy Girl pt1

Just like almost everybody in America, I made a New Year's resolution to eat "right" and get "bikini ready".

Just like almost everybody in America, I quickly lost my motivation.

Lucky for me, I have a husband who is super supportive of my crazy antics and wild ideas. So when I come up with something that isn't so far fetched, such as getting fit and healthy, he's even more in my corner. 

(It's not that I need to shed a lot of pounds nor does my husband want to see me bench press 6x my weight, we are just about living a healthier lifestyle.) 

To start things off we decided to change our diet and to exercise regularly.

• Cutting out the fast food was one of the first things we did. "Ok, this isn't so bad. I kinda like homemade cheeseburgers better anyway!"

• Next was ditching the sodas. "WHOA NELLY!!!!!! I did NOT sign up for this!!!!!" At the time, giving up my sodas felt harder for me, than signing the dotted lines to join the Army. 

• About the same time as I gave up my bubbly beverages, we began taking morning walks everyday. 1 mile then 2. (As of now we are striding at about 3 miles an hour!)

Once April came around our diet plan got even harder. 

• Low carbs and high protein. Nope no Olive Garden for this girl. (sad face) 

• No sugar, yup you read that right NO SUGAR!!!!! **I was not a happy girl on my birthday when I wasn't able to eat my beloved cupcakes.

• LOTS OF WATER!!!!!  ...and I mean LOTS OF WATER!!!!! I keep a water bottle next to me all day long, no matter were I go. Although my hubby has to remind me to drink, I still have easy access to it.

(Keep an eye out for "Healthy Girl pt2" for my "Low Carb Favs" list where I will feature some of my favorite recipes, water, and foods.)

• Mo veggies Mo veggies Mo veggies!! Fruit, not so much, they are higher in carbs than I would of ever thought. 

Now that our diet is (for the most part) in order, we have added weight lifting to our routine. Despite sore muscles this has to be my favorite part of being a fit and healthy girl!

Throughout the last two months I have craved food, soda and candy, lost motivation at times and have almost given up. 

ALMOST! 

On the other hand, I have been less tired, I have more time to talk to my husband during our walks (kinda like a mini date!), seen numbers go down on the scale (muscle weighs more than fat so those numbers might climb again) and more important than the numbers, I've seen changes in my body! 

I am excited about my "Healthy Girl" journey and I hope you will join and follow along every step of the way!

Best of Luck to you on your journey!

What are you doing to be more healthy? Please feel free to share, I can't wait to hear from you!!!

Curse of the mommy blogger?!?!?

So as I sit here bundled up in my blanket on this 40 degree spring day, I find myself browsing different blogs. You know just to see how the "pros" do it, when I run into a couple of blogs actually dissing "mommy bloggers"!!!!

WHAAAA???

They say mommy bloggers post over the top things such as, "How teach your child to do things they would obviously learn on their own", "to homeschool or not to homeschool", they even attack the adorable Bento box lunches. (Pictured on the left)

Now wait a minute, somebody please tell me, what is wrong with making a lunch for your child or loved one, making it as pleasing to the eye as it is on their tummy and sharing what you did online? I can do the same designs on cupcakes (and post them on my cupcake blog) and it be all the rage, but if I do it on this blog for my kids, its annoying and over the top! 

Hmmm, interesting!

They say, reading mommy blogs make them feel like their family could never be as good as the blogger's.

Wow, there's the problem right there, and no the problem isn't with the mommy blogger! 

Whether you are looking at a mommy blog, on Facebook or any other  social media outlet, you shouldn't compare yourself or your family to any body else's! I know God blessed me with my husband when he walked into my life. Granted me the chance to have BONUS babies and He knew exactly what He was doing when He entrusted me to love, care and raise my Belly babies. I couldn't be happier with my family, (even though we are FAR from perfect),

 and there is no blog out there that will make me feel otherwise!

I didn't start this blog to try to make my family look perfect or to make anybody else's feel less than mine or to convince anybody that homeschooling is better than any other option and "how to's" are fun crafts that I want to share with you ...just because! 

"Hello, my name is Mommy" is strictly about fun things I do with my family, recipes and pretty much whatever else. 

With that being said, I hope you enjoy my blog!! I have so much more I want to share with you. 

...Oh & don't forget to comment and share!

Confessions of an Army Wife

Kay, so I know it's been a while since I last posted, but my family and I have been unpacking boxes and reassembling furniture like crazy since late last month.

 ~Oh the joys of PCSing!!!!! (Relocating, in Army terms.)

Anyway, PCSing my not be what I call "fun" (that is unless you're moving to a different country)

 ...but I digress!

... and neither are staff duty days (24 hr shifts) or the dreaded, DEPLOYMENT.

But no worries here!!! (<-- wow, I really started my sentence off with "But"?!?!) There's always a brighter side.

• PCSing gives you the chance to meet new people, live where you never would of gone otherwise and sometimes give you the chance of experiencing a new culture. 

• 24 hr duty gives you a chance to blog (wink wink) or hang out on Pinterest, be in control of the remote and even sprawl out on the bed and hog the blanket to yourself.

• Deployments stink, plain and simple. (Two days after my husband left for deployment, I had our son) I didn't think I could make it through it, but I did! I learned so much about myself and got to hang out with my baby boy for, two weeks shy of, a year. Not to mention I redecorated, and hogged the bed to myself! LOL 

       Eventually my "brighter side" rolled around,  prepping

 for my best friends return!!!

There is NOTHING like military life (I know from both sides), but everything is what you make of it! ツ

Have a beautiful day!