Join my FREE 30 Day Full Body Fitness Challenge!

So, maybe you aren't ready to commit to a 30 day, 6 week, or 10 week fitness program!  Or maybe you need to skip out on the fast food or trips to Target this month, so you can save a few bucks to afford that fun Hip Hop Abs workout that you saw on television the other night.  Well, whatever your case may be... I can GUARANTEE you have a few minutes, each day, for the next 30 days to complete these simple exercises that can get you started toward a healthier, more fit, version of YOU! I am doing this because I am genuinely in this Beachbody business in order to help people, like you!  If I can make a small difference in just one person's life, then I feel like I have accomplished something and fulfilled a purpose in my life!  So please, feel free to give this a try!

For the month of September, we will be doing full-body workouts, which will work a little bit of everything... the arms, abs, legs and some cardio. I started this yesterday, but since I'm just now posting this to my blog, ignore the days at the top of the page and just start from 1 and continue on each day.  Or if you have what it takes, you can do Friday and Saturday today to catch up. If you aren't able to do the listed amount of an exercise, then just do as many as you can, with good form. On the other hand, if the daily workout is too easy for you and you want more of a challenge, then you can either increase the numbers to what you prefer, or you can do an extra rep of each exercise. Totally up to you! (I also recommend grabbing a notebook or calendar and keeping track of your own personal number of reps, your beginning weight and your waist size. This way you are able to see your improvement over the course of the month) Also, remember to do your best to eat healthy.  This will provide you with the best results!  PLEASE share if you decide to do this workout! I would love any kind of feedback, motivation and inspiration from all of you!

Update on my 101 in 1001 Post

I was just sitting here thinking about how far I've come in the last couple of years... and then I remembered my list of 101 Things I wanted to do in 1001 Days Post back in March of 2011.  I'm not exactly how many days it's been, but I know I have a little time left to finish it up!  But as I went through my list, I realized I have checked off about 10 more things from my list since the last time I took a look at it!

A lot has happened since I made that list.  The biggest being: having my daughter!  (She just turned a year old!!! I can't believe how fast they grow!) So, let's see...I've gotten married, had a baby, started my own business (sort of), and then done a lot of other little things, which were obviously important enough for me to put on a list of my goals.  I think finding a reliable babysitter and going out on date nights with my husband on a regular basis was a big one too!  That has really helped us strengthen our relationship this past year.  With three kids under the age of 5, it can get difficult to find a quiet moment at home together, so date night is a must!

But I wanted to share this with everyone, and hope that maybe I motivate someone else out there to make their own list of 101 things to do in 1001 days!  You can make your very own list!  It's like a bucket list for the next 1001 days!  And the best part is...when you finish that list, you can make a whole new one!  So enjoy, have fun with it and do some of those things you've been putting off!  I'd love to see your list if you make you, so feel free to comment below with a link to your post!  Take care and good luck!

xoxo

Crystal

I think I finally found my dream "job" as a stay-at-home mom of 3!

Okay, everyone!  In case you can't tell by my blog remodel, I am so excited to announce that I have officially become a Team Beachbody "Coach"!  Now when I say coach, it's not what you may think!  I don't have to go to the gym, or pay for a really expensive gym membership, I don't have certain hours that I am required to work, and best of all, I don't have any kind of superior or boss telling me what to do.  I am my own boss!

 As a Beachbody Coach--my job, believe it or not, is simply to workout at home 25 minutes a day, drink my daily Shakeology, motivate my 'team' and inspire other's to join me in my challenge to get healthy and in great shape.  This is such a great opportunity for anyone and everyone who wants to become healthier, more fit and wants to make some extra income from home for their family in the meantime!  But I'm going to tell you now--if you're interested in starting up in this business solely for the money... it won't work for you!  And you aren't going to get rich overnight either... so forget about all that and just focus on getting in the best shape of your life and helping others achieve their dream body at the same time! 

The particular workout that I chose to do is the Focus T25 by Shaun T (the same trainer who does Insanity and some of the other popular workouts).  And the reason I chose this workout, again, is because I am a mother of 3 and hardly have time to shower most days, much less workout!  But I figured if I have time to facebook, instagram, tweet and blog, then I can find 25 minutes to workout! 

So as I wait for my challenge pack to come in the mail, I wanted to see if there's anyone out there who would be interested in joining me on this journey and joining me in a challenge group?  All you'll need to do is order your challenge pack from me, choose which flavor shake you prefer and then we can get started! I'm shooting to start the group right after labor day!  So if you order now, you'll get your package sometime next week and then after a nice, long three-day-weekend, we can get started!  I am a member of a private facebook group dedicated to the Focus T25 Challenge already, but if I can find enough of you out there to join me, we can make our very own group!  We can learn together, grow together and get fit together! On 

the days that we just don't feel like we have the motivation to get up and workout, we will have each other to help push one another and encourage our 'team'!  

Does this sound like something you may be interested in?  If so, please contact me and I can either get you more information or go ahead and walk you through the process of getting started!  Just make sure that if you do order a challenge pack, you order it from me so we can be on the same team!  I also have a coach who is helping me get started, so if there's anything that I'm not sure of at this point, I have her to help teach me the ropes so that you are getting the most knowledgeable information and answers to your questions!!  So comment below or message me if you are interested!  I'm looking to build a really great support group, make friends and get my booty in shape!  Whose with me???  :)

Click here to see a quick preview of Shaun T's Focus T25 Workout  Or if you want to browse around and see some of the other workouts, feel free to let me know if you find one that you think would be better for you! This is just the one that I chose to start off with since I don't always have an hour or so to workout at home.

-Crystal

Fun, cheap and easy! DIY Dr. Seuss T-shirt!

Dr. Seuss is one of the most well-known authors on the planet! And his Birthday is coming up on March 2nd. So what better way to celebrate our love for his amazing books, than to get creative and have fun, while making our very own Dr. Seuss t-shirts to wear around and show off!

This is one of my favorite activities because you can wear it over and over again and it won't end up in a trash can after all your hard work. It's also FUN, CHEAP & EASY! #winning

So all you need for this is:

• a plain white t-shirt (I found some here for cheap and free 1 day shipping if you have Amazon Prime! Plus you can get them in bulk if you're doing them with multiple children or for a classroom project)
• Fabric Markers

• Fabric Markers
• Puff Paints for less than $5 (not required, but a fun extra to use! Amazon even has a party pack for under $20 if you need more than just a couple of paints)
• or if you don't have any of the above, but you have some colorful permanent markers, you can use them instead!

That's literally it! And some of these you probably already have lying around the house, right? So good luck, have fun, be creative and post pictures for me to see what fun artwork you and your kids come up with!

~Crystal

Disclaimer: “As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases." Thank you so much and hope you've found this post helpful! :)

The End of the World...

So apparently, the Mayan's predicted that today will be the end of the world. While I don't necessarily believe the Mayan's theory is actually going to come true, I do think this gives us all an opportunity to hopefully look a little closer at how we live our lives each day. I guarantee if you knew, for a fact, that the world would end on a particular day, you would live a little bit differently than you do on a day-to-day basis. You wouldn't take the little things for granted. The things that you normally stress over, whether it be your job, cleaning the house, getting the kids to school on time, or even paying bills, wouldn't matter. I know for me, all that would matter is my family and how I spent that last day with them. I would kiss them every chance I got, hold them extra tight when I hugged them and would make sure that they knew how much I loved them (which I try to do every single day, anyways). I wouldn't stress over the floors that need sweeping or the dishes that need washing... I would run around outside with my kids all day, enjoying the fresh air, while laughing and listening to my children. Sometimes I notice that when my 4-year-old begins to ramble on and on about something, I tend to zone out and focus more on what I'm doing and I just nod and give a random "Oh wow!... really?... That's awesome!"... without really listening to exactly what he's talking about. (I do listen, but I have my moments where I am guilty of not giving him my 100% attention)

So the point that I'm trying to get to is this: Don't wait for something to happen, in order to live the life that you truly want to live. It shouldn't take the fear of the world ending to soak in every sweet, little moment with your loved ones. Tomorrow is never a guarantee for anyone, so live each and every day as if it were your last. Don't stress the small stuff in life, and make sure you have your priorities in the right order. Look to God for guidance and pray in times of need. These are words that I live by everyday and I try my best to live in the moment. It may sound strange, but sometimes when I'm playing with my kids, I imagine as if I'm in the future looking back on it. That way, I feel like I am truly cherishing that one single moment in time, and I spend it in a way where I would want to look back on and say that's exactly how I wanted to spend that time with my kids.

So on that note... when the world doesn't end today, don't look at it as more time to get things "right", but look at it as a new day and a fresh start to make any changes to your life that you feel will make a positive difference in your own life, your family's lives and maybe even a complete stranger's.

We had our baby girl!

So I know I have been M.I.A from the blog for a while, but that is because we have been super busy at home with the boys and our newest little addition.  Our princess was born on Tuesday, August 7th at 9 o' clock in the evening.  I checked into the hospital the day before I was to be 39 weeks, due to a decrease in fetal movement.  The doctor's concluded it wasn't anything serious once they got the heart rate up on the monitors and did an ultrasound to look at baby.  They would have been willing to get pitocin started to get labor going since I was full term, but when they checked me, I wasn't dilated and baby's head was still way too high up, so as they were about to send me home, they noticed a quick decrease in her heart rate.  They kept me hooked up for another 30 minutes or so to keep an eye on her heart rate and sure enough, it dropped again.  That's all it took for them to realize something wasn't right and the baby wanted out.  So the doctors threw my husband a mask and scrubs and rushed me off to the operation room right away.  YIKES!  I definitely hadn't come in with the mindset that I would be having a baby that evening, much less a cesarean section.  I had a VBAC with my last pregnancy and was planning on doing so again.  But luckily, the operation went smoothly and our baby girl arrived with a super set of lungs and a perfectly rounded head.  Her big brothers adore her and I feel like the luckiest mom in the world.  I couldn't be more excited to have another girl in the house!  I love all my boys more than you could imagine, but it's about time we get some more estrogen in here.

I just can't believe she's already over 3 weeks old!  The time sure does fly.  Especially that newborn baby phase... it goes by in the blink of an eye.  That's why you've got to cherish every precious second with your babies.  I can't believe my big boy starts preschool on Wednesday.  It seems like just yesterday that he was a little, itty-bitty baby.  And my other little guy will be turning 2 in a couple of weeks!  Wait!  Is that?... Yup!  My little princess is now crying for me, so I am off to go feed my munchkin.  But I will be sure to update you all on our latest family excitement!  So be sure to check in! I will also be posting some of the fun pinterest activities that the boys and I have been doing lately.

Welcome Princess!
6lbs 9oz 19 3/4inch
September 7, 2012
9:00PM

5 Ways to Naturally Induce Labor

Since I have officially hit the 37 week mark and am considered full term (meaning baby is fully developed and ready for the outside world at any time now) I have decided it is time to do whatever I can to help convince this baby girl that it is time to start thinking about checking out of hotel mama.  Don't get me wrong, I love pregnancy and I am all for this baby coming out on her own terms, when I know she's ready, but if I can do little things to naturally help convince her to come out sooner than later, then you better believe I'm going to do it.  With the temperatures rising over 100 degrees this summer and trying to keep up with a 4 year old and a 22 month old, while also making sure the house is presentable, laundry is clean and folded and food is on the table, I am very anxious to get this baby out of my belly and into my arms.

So here are the top 5 ways I've found to naturally induce labor:

1.  My favorite: EAT PINEAPPLE!  This is one of my favorite fruits and I could eat an entire pineapple in one sitting, no problem.  The key is to get only fresh pineapple though.  The reason for this is that pineapples contain a natural enzyme called Bromelain, which is believed to work like a prostagladin and aid in the ripening and softening of the cervix.  If you buy the canned fruit, the enzyme has already diminished and will not help to induce labor.  (You can read more here)

2.  Eat Spicy Food!  Not sure if this one really works or not, but I love spicy food and if it could possibly help induce labor, I'm all for it!

3.  Walk!  As I mentioned before, I have a 4 year old and a 22 month old, so evening walks are my favorite!  We get some nice quality, family time, it wears the kids out before bed and it hopefully gets me a few steps closer to meeting my baby girl.  Not to mention, it helps me get my lazy, pregnant butt up burn some extra calories.

4.  Sex!  While sex is not the most comfortable thing at this point of my pregnancy, it does prove to help induce labor.  Like the pineapple, semen releases prostaglandin, which is said to stimulate the cervix and possibly cause contractions.

5.  Nipple Stimulation!  This is said to produce a release of oxytocin (the body's natural form of pitocin, which is what doctor's use in order to induce labor in the hospitals).  The release of this oxytocin causes contractions and can ultimately lead to labor.  So get to rubbing those boobies! lol

I've heard of others, such as using Castor Oil, but this is not one that I would actually try out, myself.  Although my mom did it with her third and she went into labor that night (after sitting on a toilet for a couple hours first).  Sorry, but flushing out my intestines and causing intestinal contractions is not my idea of a fun labor, but go for it if you're into that).  Other ways that I've read about, but haven't tried and probably won't try, include: Bumpy car rides, accupressure, raspberry leaf tea, Cohosh and Evening Primrose Oil (which are herbal solutions that can help ripen the cervix) There haven't been enough studies done on herbal use during pregnancy for me to trust that these are completely safe and effective, so definitely consult your doctor before using any of these methods).  

Please feel free to share any methods you may have used or share with us whether any of these actually worked for you.  Wish me luck!