I have two small children, one who was born at a preemie weight at 38 weeks, and the other born with a  collapsed lung at 37 weeks.  The health and nutrition of my children have always been a priority.  For my daughter it was weight gain and making sure I integrated proper nutrition into her diet.  And, for my son, it was making sure his immune system was high enough to ward off any unwanted bacteria that could creep into his lungs to cause pneumonia, bronchitis or even meningitis. 

With this in mind, a friend/family member of mine who was an expert in health and nutritional supplements (her husband happened to be a retired pediatrician as well) pointed me in the direction of some fascinating research.  Which, if you know me at all, I absorb every new piece of information that someone can put on my plate.  The most profound statement she made to me that day was, "not ALL vitamins are created equal!" 

Yes, there are different types of vitamins or health supplements.  Both for children and adults, but for me, it started with my kids!  There are 2 important things to know and take away...the first is that there are pharmaceutical grade vitamins.  What this means (you check out some more info by clicking here) is that because the FDA is not able to regulate the standards of these vitamins, companies can put different elements besides the actual vitamin in the ingredients, but still call it whatever!  So, how do you know it is of Grade A quality or pharmaceutical grade.  Well, the difference is in the purity of the vitamin itself.  Grade A simply means that it is completely pure and must have a quality of 99% pure. 

The next piece of information I got regarding what I was giving my children (I was a Flinstone vitamin mommy, can anyone relate?) was the facts about absorption rates.  Which simply means how fast do the vitamins absorb into the blood stream so that my children's body is able to use the supplements I am giving them.  Try this, I was shocked, take one of your vitamin pills, put it into a glass of water and see how long it takes to dissolve! 

So, how do you reach maximum absorption, so that your kids are getting not only the best ingredients, but that the best ingredients are actually being absorbed into their bloodstream so their bodies can use it?  The trick is to make sure the vitamins you are giving your children are in an isotonic format.  What does this mean?  "Isotonic solutions bear the same chemical resemblance to blood and tears allowing for superior delivery and complete absorption." (isotonix.com).  I now use a certain type of product and their multi-vitamin, their OMEGA3's are all in this format.  I don't let them leave home without it.  During cold and flu season, they also get a healthy dose of Vitamin C.  To know what I am actually giving my kids is not only the best ingredients but is being used by their body at 95-99% is unbelievable!  Thank you to my friend for the wonderful information!  I feel smarter, and a better mommy because of it! 

If you would like to find out how to get some of these products, you can contact me directly and I will point you in the right direction. 

Other articles you might like:
Omega 3 and its impact on children's health
Omega 3 and ADD or ADHD
Calcium and Women's Health

Everyone LOVES beef stew!  So, I am going to share a simple family recipe with you for beef stew.  You may have one as well!  Would love to hear it and try it!  This is one, naturally, the kids can help you with, and its healthy, so you can't go wrong. 

You can do this in a crockpot OR...I prefer a stone egg. 

Preset your oven to about 250 and plan to make this for dinner so that you can begin around lunch time it needs to cook for at least 3hrs - preferred is 4 depending on your oven! 

Now for the ingredients:

• 1-2lbs of stew beef from the butcher - of course your local grocery store may have good beef, but I like it nice and tender, so fresh is better!
• pack of baby carrots
• Fresh green beans (however you will need to string them if you get fresh) or 1 can of french style green beans
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 packet of onion soup mix
• 1 cup water
• 7-10 baby red potatoes (amount depends on size)

In order for the kids to help, make sure you precut your potatoes, predrain your can of green beans, and prepare your gravy (mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup, with water and onion soup mix in a mixing bowl with a spout).  I cut my potatoes with a crinkle cutter from pampered chef...super great and cut them into fours makes for easy eating later.

You put the meat in first in your crockpot or slow cooking egg, and then have your little one add the rest!  Top with the gravy! 

Cover, and let cook for 3-4hrs!  Serve immediately after taking out and YUMMY!

School has started, cooler weather, and lots more!  Today became FALL DAY!  I couldn't help myself...my favorite season needed to be celebrated.  Here are just a few ideas so that you too, can have a FALL DAY with the kids! 

Books:  SEASONS, Fancy Nancy's Halloween or Bust, Book on Thanks

Theme was ALL about Fall!

Lunch:  PB&J sandwich, cheese and yogurt

Craft:  Tree of Many Colors.

Snack:  Cranberry and White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies




For Lunch was some yummy PB&J but I used the Pampered Chef (click on the link for my pampered chef lady, if you don't have one) small cookie cutter set, to carve out some lovely "fall" like shapes for the kids to eat.  Today, I just so happened to be in the mood for pumpkins.

From Target!  All you need is 1 egg, water, and a good bit of butter...or I use yogurt based margarine. I used this as a great opportunity to let the kids help.  Each of them had 2 ingredients and we just mixed in the bowl.  I gave them each a spoon and let them spoon the contents on the pan.

Here I just took construction paper and made a tree and cut out some dots for leaves.  We talked about how the leaves change color and how they fall (which is why my daughter put them all over the tree).

This post is dedicated to a friend of mine who is an excellent gardner and excellent cook.  She made this for me when I came over to visit her daughter, and it bursted with yummy fresh flavor!  I recently tried the recipe for myself with some fresh veggies and herbs from my own garden, and I am thrilled to be sharing it with you!  It is a great summer/fall dish, rich with flavor and color!  And...as always under 30 minutes from start to the table. 

I like to make this recipe for myself and then make another to share with a neighbor or friend.  Mostly because it is so easy to make 2!

Groceries:

4 -6 Large Tomatoes (fresh from the garden or organic give better flavor)
2 pkg. of Italian 6 blend cheese (Sargento is good)
4 long stalks of basil leaves from the garden. 
Your Choice:  Orzo Pasta, White Rice, or Whole Grain Rice

You are going to layer these like you would a lasanga.  Start with the tomatos and layer a 9x13 pan with cut tomatoes.  Then layer with basil leaves (take off the stalk), then layer with cheese.  Repeat.  Bake in oven on 350 until cheese is slighly brown (approx. 15-20min.).  Try not to bake too much or you will stew your tomatoes. 

While the pie is in the oven, cook your pasta or rice.  On a plate, place your pasta or rice, take your pie out of the oven and serve your pie over your pasta or rice!  That is it! 

Thanks Leta for the yummy recipe!  Glad I can share!

So, I thought I would write a brief blurb about how my life has changed since I had kids.  I have never had a "normal" job.  9-5 just isn't my forte' ask my previous supervisors.  They would be honest with you and me!  But, when my husband and I decided to have kids you probably wouldn't have convinced me that I would be one to stay at home with them.  Partly because the people around me sent their kids to the preschool that was in the place that I worked, so they could see them any time, pick them up at a decent hour, then spend the rest of their day with their children.  Seemed like the right way to go for me too. 

However, things change, times change, jobs change, lots of change going on, and it became more apparent, that the hours and time that I enjoyed working just would not mesh with a family.  I was the 70 hour/week workaholic and probably not in the good sense.  Boundaries to me, were a not in line with what they should be about.  I had a hard time saying no.  In fact, I was crazy enough to apply to get my PhD after graduate school (I did get in) just to have something to do and to possibly continue my writing.  It was rediculous now that I look back on it.  But, I was in my twenties and my husband and I were living in a small town home struggling to get by so to have big dreams seemed the only right thing to do. 

THEN...the actual kid came!  My daughter was born, and weeks before (actually, just a few weeks) we decided that I wanted to stay at home with her and get a feel for this motherhood thing.  It did help that I started this little business on the side that I could do from home, thanks to my older brother who needed some administrative help.  This virtual assistant idea bloomed into a larger idea and a mission that would far surpass anything I had ever thought of.  And...to be frank, I clearly heard the mission and the vision from God myself and I wish to this day I would have wrote down His exact words.  Now, I can just summarize the message.

It is Friday!  I can't believe it!  I have been thinking long and hard about my fabulous find for today!  Especially for us parents who struggle with teaching balance for our children in regards to playing by themselves, playing with each other (if you have more than one) and me playing with them!  So...stay tuned, as I have a terrific fabulous find! 

First and foremost I need to give a shout out to my husband who treated me to a date last night!  It wasn't just a normal date, it was the American Idol concert.  If you didn't watch last season, the talent on there was amazing.  Last night proved to be some of their best talent coming out!  Wow...some of the folks that I didn't even vote for did the best performances!  Here is a little pic from last night...what fun!  We were too high up to get a face to face shot with Scotty McCreery! 

If you haven't been on a date with your spouse lately, make the time, not only is it well worth it, but it was just more than nice to just hold hands, hang out, and scream like crazy fans with my best friend! 

Now onto my fabulous find...although, my husband is surely to be my most treasured and best fabulous find!
This book!  Its amazing!  Great ideas for parents for their children.  And...best of all it is all with stuff that you would normally find around the house!

Got it on Barnes and Nobles website through my new favorite place!  Additional 4% cashback.  Plus a great price!  You do have to click on Partner Stores and Search for Barnes and Noble! 

Unplugged Play!

 I apologize I have not written in so long!  Our household has been a bit of a crazy mess.  This week I happened to get sick with a disasterous cold.  However, I feel like I need to share two great things on this FABULOUS FRIDAY!

My daughter starts dance lessons today!  She looks absolutely adorable, and she is super excited!  I can't wait to hear how her experience is once I drop her off. 

AND...finally, I found a GREAT website for any kind of shoes!

The story behind it is...my son has incredibly odd feet...fat in all directions!  So, reluctant to buy shoes that hurt his feet, I just kept socks on him, but with a rambunctious 18 month old comes the need for new shoes.  A friend of mine recommended Keens.  After looking them up online and taking a large gulp at the price I decided to check out a new shopping portal that is like an Amazon, but it finds the customer additional deals.  So after searching the site, I was able to get him a pair of shoes, for 60% off, then with my FREE membership to this shopping site, I got an additional 11% PLUS free two day shipping!  Super cool!  Now my son has a great pair of shoes that fit him very well!

Zach's New Shoes!

Here they are!  Click HERE, and it will take you to the site that I got my great deal from!  You will need to fill out an EZ Registration with just an email address so that it can give you the additional member benefits.  BUT...it is free and they have a bunch of other stores.  I typed in Toddler Keens in the search box, in case you are on the hunt for the same shoes!