Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Swanson Vitamins. I received the product as compensation. Happy New Year! We just came back from a quick vacation in the snow. I hope you all had a great Christmas and safe New Year celebrations! Today I am teaming up with Swanson Vitamins to give one lucky reader $100 to spend on products from their online store. My recent order from Swanson Vitamins included the following items: Nordic Naturals Prenatal dha Acure Argan Oil Garden of Life Prenatal Nordic Naturals Vitamin D3 Garden of Life Prenatal Probiotic Nordic Natural Kids Omega Acure Coconut Body Oil Spray Several of these items I have used before but a few of the products were new to me. After having Jesse and getting Mastitis I knew I needed to be taking a probiotic and was looking for something that would be good for myself and the baby. I happily discovered the Garden of Life Prenatal Probiotic and have been using it for the last several weeks. I … [Read more...]
On Becoming Babywise: Birth to 2 Weeks
Josh and I decided early on before our first baby was born that we would be following the schedule outlined in On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the GIFT of Nighttime Sleep. I blogged about our Babywise experience with Caden and was shocked by the response. To date, it is one of my more popular posts. I know there are many differing opinions on this book but for us it has been one of the best decisions we have made for our family. We used Babywise with Maisie as well, but because I was dealing with postpartum depression/anxiety and going to counseling it wasn't a huge priority on my list to be blogging. I found it very helpful when we started using Babywise with Caden to read posts from other mommy bloggers who had also used Babywise with their children. While I am no expert on sleeping babies, we have used Babywise twice before and had great success. If you are curious about Babywise or are using Babywise in your own home I hope you find this post and those that … [Read more...]
Joovy New Room Review
Disclosure: The Workout Mama is a Joovy Moms ambassador and as such is provided with product for reviews. All opinions are 100% honest and my own. Last summer after Josh had his vasectomy we thought we were done with the baby phase in our home. We went through our entire house and donated or sold all baby related items. It was great...until a few months later when I came to Josh and said that I would be open to fostering a child and adopting. This is another post for another day but needless to say he was elated because this has been something he has wanted to pursue since we dated. We slowly began gathering up hand me downs from our friends that they no longer needed. By the time we had our home inspection to get our foster care license we had a crib and a dresser. Several days after we passed our inspection we found out we were pregnant! You can listen to the entire story on our vlog Vasectomies, Foster Parenting, and a Pregnancy Test. Our little boy, Jesse, joined our … [Read more...]
Jesse’s Birth Story
Last Monday, I made an appointment to go and see my chiropractor for an adjustment and accunpuncture session. If you are local and looking for a chiropractor be sure to check out Spine and Disc Center of Arizona and schedule a visit with Dr. Jason Taylor. Josh and I have been going here for adjustments and massage for the last 10 years. With my due date coming up in two days I knew it would be beneficial to get an adjustment before labor. Plus, I was also hoping that the focused acupuncture session would encourage labor to start. I dropped the kids off at my parents house before heading over for my appointment at 5pm. By 6pm I was back at my parents house after having had an adjustment and an acupuncture session. Up until this session I had only been having inconsistent contractions and nothing that was indicative that I would be going into labor soon. I called Josh at the fire station and let him know to keep his phone nearby just case I went into labor. The kids and I got in … [Read more...]
What I Learned from Reading the Bible
For the last several years I have really wanted to read the entire Bible. I was just never disciplined enough to actually do it. I had super great intentions in January of every year but come March I just lost interest. I think my wanting to read the Bible can be equated to the same way the majority of the population makes New Years resolutions to go to the gym and eat healthier. We start out strong but without a realistic plan and a strong why behind the motive even our best intentions will fall short of our goal. My reason for wanting to read the Bible before was simply to be able to say I had read the Bible. When I began to really want to know God more and his character my why changed. This year when I started reading the Bible in January I didn't follow any plan. I decided I would start in the New Testament before I even attempted the Old Testament. And it totally worked! The New Testament was familiar and full of rich lessons and teachings. When I made my way to Genesis I … [Read more...]
Cheers to 9 Years
Josh was 34 years old on our wedding day and I was a few days shy of turning 24. Today I am a few days away from turning 33 and I as look back on the last 9 years of our marriage I can proudly say that our love story is my favorite, and the best part is it isn't over yet! I would be lying if I told you that everything has been smooth sailing since the day we said I do. Neither of us are perfect and thankfully we don't pretend to be...wellllll sometimes I can be pretty close, just kidding, just kidding. But in all honesty it takes two people to make a marriage work and Josh and I always joke that we are stuck with each other for life because of our covenant marriage*. With age comes more maturity and the ability to look back on life events from a different perspective. When Josh and I got married I thought I knew what love was. I knew love needed to be patient, kind, hold no record of wrong, not easily angered, not proud, not rude, not boastful, and not self seeking. I knew all … [Read more...]
