I know summer is here and you may be feeling that you should have stepped up your get fit routine way before it started. Don’t beat yourself up, you can’t go back but you can start over Did you know that making some diet changes along with exercise can be easier than you think? I was recently in Walmart and they have Balance Bar’s delicious and guilty tasting bare bars in special packs where you get one FREE bare bar and a coupon for $1 off in specially marked boxes like he ones below. If you can’t find them in your store, they are available online, see the links below in this post.
So you get 5 yummy bars for the price of 4 and you have coupon to save $1 on another pack. They come in great flavors like Mixed Berry which is my favorite and Sea Salt Caramel my next favorite flavor. the bars are gluten-free, soy-free, vegetarian and non -GMO. The Mixed Berry Bars are also dairy-free and vegan. Each delicious bar is only 160 calories and they really give you the energy you need to get your exercise routine in.
Some great ways you can fit exercise in is to plan a hike, bike ride, swim time or long walk with your family. Get it on the calendar at least 3 times a week and spend time together doing something that is good for everyone. That is what I am doing this summer, my kids love bike riding, swimming and hiking and I am making sure we are taking the time to do those activities together. My kids won’t let me forget thankfully and I love the time we spend together. It is truly good for our body and minds. For more ideas check out Gabby Reece’s quick and easy workout moves HERE!
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Balance Bar is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings! One lucky blog reader will win a $15 Walmart gift card and a variety of Balance bare bars. Open to US residents.
$15 Walmart Gift Card and Balance bare bars Giveaway on Mommy Ramblings Rules:
Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below. Good Luck!!!
Regarding fertility, I guess one could say, I’ve been lucky. I was able to conceive easily and usually on the first try. I however knew many friends and family that struggled trying to get pregnant. Month after month of disappointment instead of a positive pregnancy test can make stress levels rise. Couples are told to relax when that seems to be impossible. For some couples time is a factor and they don’t have the time to just wait and see. Many couples want to be proactive and increase their chances to conceive.
After our fourth child was born, we were shocked to find out we were pregnant again when he was just 3 months old. It was quite a shocker since we were not trying. We knew we wanted another baby just were not planning to try for another few months. Sadly about 2 months later we lost that baby. Our OB advised us to wait 3 months before attempting to conceive again. As soon as we had the green light we tried and 2 pink lines made us super excited but a few days later, out excitement turned to sadness as we lost that pregnancy.
I made an appointment to see a specialist as I was very concerned. My first babies were conceived on the first try and were successfully carried to term without any complications. Now here I was, albeit only 7 months after our 4th babies birth with two losses. The doctor told me the second loss was most likely a chemical pregnancy and that given the sensitivity of pregnancy test today they were seeing them more and more. In the past these chemical pregnancies would go unnoticed and a woman would just think she was 2-3 days late.
He told us that there was no reason to think anything was wrong and that there was no intervention that needed to be taken at that time. He told us just to try again and that very attempt ended in a live birth! I know that compared to couples struggling for months and years with difficulty conceiving this may seem trivial but when you are trying to achieve that desired pregnancy even a month or two of disappointment can be heartbreaking. When you add in the loss of a pregnancy, it kicks the fears up more than a notch.
For me the reassurance of that specialist really worked to reduce my stress. I am an anxious person and had thousands of thoughts running through my head. Some may say they cannot believe I would jump the gun and see a specialist so soon but for my stress it worked so well. I left the office feeling reassured and confident. When we conceived that month, I attributed much of it to that peace of mind he gave me. I think if anyone is concerned that something is not right they should go to see a doctor and not think they have to wait 6 months or a year before pursuing that. I truly believe the simple reassurance can reduce stress which has been shown to negatively affect the ability to conceive.
Many times the stress of trying to conceive can lead to vaginal dryness and discomfort. The tendency to reach for a lubricant may seem logical but all lubricants are not equal. Some lubricants can actually impede sperm which is certainly the opposite of what any couple trying to achieve pregnancy wants.
Astroglide TTC Trying to Conceive™ is a specially formulated for couples who are trying to conceive. Astroglide TTC supports fertility with adjusted pH levels, compatible osmolality and a consistency similar to your body’s cervical mucus. Providing the optimal environment for sperm survival is paramount when trying to conceive. Specially formulated with adjusted pH levels that are compatible with sperm Astroglide TTC™ is more like your own cervical mucus.
Astroglide TTC™ also contains galactose which is naturally found in semen and fructose which is the main source of energy for sperm, giving them a better chance of survival and ability to move freely when compared to traditional lubricants. Astroglide TTC™ is priced at only $12.99 and is the best value on the market in comparison to competitive lubricants. Click HERE to see where you can buy Astroglide TTC™. You can connect with Astroglide TTC™ on Facebook and Pinterest.
Did you have any difficulties conceiving? If so were there any tips or advice you want to share with those reading who may be going through something similar? If so, I would love for you to share them HERE!.
“Astroglide TTC™ sponsored this blog post. The opinions and text are all mine”
Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand
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Astroglide TTC™ sponsored this blog post. The opinions and text are all mine
I am really getting into essential oils and am learning a great deal about them I want to show you some great things I have found to make using my essential oils easier and more effective. I wanted to mix some of my oils with carrier oils, create blends or just put neat oils in roller bottles and I found a great deal on roller bottles on Amazon. I got 24 clear glass 1/3 oz roll on bottles for only $8.88 (keep in mind prices/products change rapidly on Amazon) and it was eligible for my Prime free shipping. Amazingly also included were 3 large transfer pipettes which are really nice for my carrier oil bottles.
If you want colored glass rollers they are available too in a variety of shades like cobalt, green, amber,pink, black even multi color packs. See the selection HERE.
Another super deal I got was 12 Amber 15 ml bottles with dropper tops that are awesome for storage, mixing and sharing your oils. The handy dropper top is perfect for dispensing and mixing. Best of all $6.99 with free Prime shipping!
Diffusing oils is a great way to benefit from the health and healing these oils are known for. The Riverrock Diffuser from Deneve is whisper quiet and so easy to use.
You just fill the chamber with water you can easily measure and pour using the included plastic beaker. You use room temperature water, that is very important. Then add 3-5 drops of you favorite oil or oils and replace the cover.
Turn the unit on and immediately the unit’s LED light band starts changing colors and dispensing the aromatic The diffuser is whisper quiet and has the faint sound of a distant, babbling brook to relax you. Without oil the unit functions as a humidifier. This diffuser covers about 250 square feet for best results.
A video posted by Mommy Ramblings (@mommyramblingsblog) on
The diffuser purifies, sterilizes, moisturizes and ionizes by producing the finest, lightest droplets of water and essential oils without degrading the true essence of the oils, allowing micro droplets to disperse more widely. Using your essential oils in a diffuser like his can help with relieving tension, relaxation, coughs, colds and skin conditions. The changing LED light band is a mood enhancer and accent light but if you want totally darkness, you can turn it off. The river rock sleek shape of the diffuser compliments nearly any decor in the home, office or spa.
Free Essential Oil Books
There are so many free ebooks on using Essential Oils HERE!
Share Your Experience, Recipes, Uses and More!
Please let me know if you have tried these products or are going to. I would love to hear your thoughts, just leave them in the comments.
It’s your Time to Thrive with these 101 inspiring stories about growth, wisdom, and dreams!
It’s your time to thrive — and these stories show you how! In Chicken Soup for the Soul:Time to Thrive you’ll learn how to take charge of your life, make time for what’s important, and do what’s right for you! These stories, from regular people who have taken control of their lives, show you how to do it yourself. Find new purpose, try new things, and take care of yourself, all while improving your relationships with family, friends, and co-workers.
You’ll read stories about:
• Making your own needs important again
• Carving out time for work–life balance
• Thriving on your own path
• Reinventing yourself
• Embracing adventure
• Pursuing your dreams
• Making time for relationships
• Taking time for your passions
• Learning how to say no
• Learning how to say yes to the things that will make you thrive!
Enter Our Giveaway!
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings! Three lucky blog readers will win their own copy of Time to Thrive. Thank you Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing for the review book and for sponsoring this fantastic giveaway on Mommy Ramblings!!! Open to US residents.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Time to Thrive Book Giveaway on Mommy Ramblings Rules:
Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below. Good Luck!!!
I would consider myself to have a green thumb, two in fact, but when it comes to orchids, something changes them both to brown. I love the look when I see them in the store but take them home, and soon all I have to show is a planter. Recently, I found a beautiful orchid that will stay that way.
At Silk Flowers Direct, I can shop online from a vast selection of silk flowers, plants, topiaries, palms, trees, containers, custom items and even commercial products. I love you can choose from various filters that let me find items by the type of flower or plant, color, shape, quantity, material and more. Silk Plants Direct offers the largest selection of lifelike faux plants and trees for your home or office decor. They not only offer a collection of stocked products, but they also manufacture plants and trees to each customers exact specifications for turn-key solution.
Here is the beautiful Orchid I received and it is so pretty. I put it next to my tub and it is a gorgeous, tranquil piece that is perfect for gazing at when relaxing in the tub.
Exclusive Discount Code-Save 10%
So take a look at the huge assortment of beautiful flowers, trees and plants at Silk Plants Direct and if you decide to purchase use the exclusive discount code, BLOGGER10 created for Mommy Ramblings’ Readers to save 10% on your order! Follow Silk Plants Direct on Facebook and Twitter to stay in the loop on the newest products and promotions.
I was sent the orchid silk plant to facilitate my review by Silk Plants Direct. As usual my words and views are 100% my own!
Graduation season is in full swing. Did you have any college graduations in your family? My daughter’s graduation with her masters degree was a very proud day for our family. It is hard to believe that she could be graduating when it seems like yesterday she was born. Life passes in the blink of an eye, so it is nice to have photographs and keepsakes from special events. With a graduation, all the years of hard work and dedication are represented in the diploma.
What better gift than a custom diploma frame that recognizes the graduate’s university and has styling options even medallions that can be added. Further customization can be made in the way of upgraded glass, finishes, frames and matting. I was so happy to present my daughter with a gorgeous presidential gold diploma frame that featured the university that she earned her graduate degree at. She was so thrilled to receive it, she was so surprised that the frame had her University on it and the medallion. She said it was the most impressive and meaningful diploma frame she had ever seen. Her diploma looks great in it and we know that it is protected and preserved.
If you are looking for a special gift to present to a recent graduate or to showcase any diploma, check out Church Hill Classics. Right now through June 3rd, in honor of Dads and Grads, they are offering free shipping when you use the code DF15B
This post is sponsored by Church Hill Classics but as always my words and views are 100% my own.
“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Mabel’s Labels. I received a voucher to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”
Are your kids going to day camp, sleep away camp or a summer swim program? My kids are g summer activities program at our local youth center. That means they will be bringing towels, water bottles, swim gear, bags, hoodies, toys, books and other things to a place where many other children have the same stuff. That’s a recipe for things getting lost or accidentally picked up by someone else.
To try to curtail lost or misidentified items, I label everything. Recently I went on Mabel’s Labels and ordered one of their Limited Edition Camp Packs. The website was easy to navigate and the camp pack gives you a ton of labels and tags for only $39.95! I was able to customize the labels and the include labels of various sizes that are durable, dishwasher safe and there are even 2 bag tags that can attach to luggage, duffel bags and more.
Limited Edition Camp Label Pack
Back by popular demand, the camp label pack is packed with a collection of UV resistant, waterproof labels and personalized tags designed especially for everything that goes to summer camp. Identify clothes and footwear, toiletries, swim gear, backpacks and more with these summer essentials.
10 Personalized Name Stickers: 70mm x 16mm (2-3/4″ x 5/8″)
24 Mini Custom Name Stickers: 38mm x 8mm (1-1/2″ x 5/16″)
8 Custom Shoe Stickers: 33mm (1.3″)
50 Tag Mates™ Stick On Clothing Labels: 21mm x 10mm (13/16″ x 3/8″)
2 Personalized Bag Tags: 57mm x 32mm (2-1/4″ x 1-1/4″)
Bonus! Get a set of five fun postcards so your child can keep in touch the old fashioned way. *While supplies last.
You can stay in touch with Mabel’s Labels on Facebook and Twitter. Mommy Ramblings’ Blog Readers from now until June 22nd, if you sign up for the Mabel’s Labels Newsletter and complete one additional social share, you will be given a one-time use coupon code. The discount coupons range between 15-50% off and there are free item coupons too! Go to Mabelslabels.com to get your discount coupon!
The United States has long been called the world’s melting pot due to the great number of immigrants that moved here at the beginning of the twentieth century and continue to come. Today, many cities welcome immigrants with open arms. Here are a few of the country’s most culturally diverse cities.
New York, New York
New York City was the starting point for many Europeans as they made their way to America in search of paradise. However, much of the cultural landscape has since changed; 28.6 percent is Latino, 33.3 percent is white, 22.9 percent black, and 12.7 percent is Pacific Islander. Within each of these groups is a range of people from various countries, primarily Italy, Ireland, China, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean, creating an eclectic mix of food, art, music, and overall culture. If you love diversity, New York is definitely one of the best places to live.
San Francisco, California
Beginning in the 1850s, Chinese immigrants came in masses to San Francisco for a better quality of life. Today, the city has over 150,000 residents of Chinese heritage which comprise 21.4 percent of the population. San Francisco’s Chinatown is the largest outside of Asia – even larger than New York’s. An additional 15.4 percent of the population is Hispanic, making San Francisco the second largest melting pot on the west coast.
Miami, Florida
Miami’s proximity to the Caribbean gives it a unique identity. Cuban, Puerto Rican, Haitian, and Dominican populations are large, each with their own unique neighborhood. This lends itself to a unique mix of food, music, and architecture. If you are in Miami, make sure you try a Cuban sandwich, made with pork, swiss cheese, and pickles on Cuban bread – a true delicacy.
San Antonio, Texas
Even before Texas became a state, it had a large Hispanic population, and today, the city has a completely different demographic. Over 50 percent of the population is Hispanic, making it the largest Hispanic population in the country. Authentic Mexican and Central American food is abundant, and many bars and restaurants deal strictly in Spanish. When in San Antonio, visit the Hispanic Heritage Jalapeno Festival and check out a Mariachi band or two.
Los Angeles, California
The beautiful weather and scenery attracts not only Americans from around the country, but also people from all over the world. Almost half of the population has Hispanic ancestry, 14 percent are Asian, and nine percent are black. The true beauty of the city is that its ethnic and cultural diversity creates a creative atmosphere that is found only in Los Angeles. Plus, if you love film festivals, Los Angeles churns them out in different styles and languages, from blockbusters to small, independent films.
Cultural diversity is the catalyst to attaining a more creative and tolerable living situation. Whether your family came 100 years ago or just last month, the country provides fertile cities to plant new roots for anyone searching for the “American Dream”. All you have to do is find out what that dream is.
This post is a sponsored guest post on Mommy Ramblings.
Older moms have been flooding the news the last few days. There is the 61-year-old mom who carried her own grandson for her infertile daughter. She is not the first to do this and it’s an incredible gift most are applauding her for. There is a much more controversial older mom making headlines today. Annegret Raunigk an elementary school teacher in Germany and mother of 13 is pregnant.
You may be amazed she is pregnant for her 14th child or given the Duggars you may find it not too newsworthy. If I told you she was 65, you may find it newsworthy, but if I add that she is not just pregnant for baby number 13 but for quadruplets…I think it is fair to say you would be shocked.
Perhaps the biggest shocker would be that this elementary school teacher is 65 years old. She is also not carrying the babies for an infertile child but to give a sibling to her 13th child that she gave birth to 9 years ago at the age of 55. Her naturally achieved pregnancy at the age of 55 was considered something close to a miracle. At the age of 65 though Annegret turned to fertility specialists.
Annegret’s other children range in age from 22 to 44 and she balks at being told she is too old to have more children. She finds cliches about being too old exhausting. I am sure having quadruplets at 65 or any age for that matter is the true meaning of exhausting. However Dr. Holger Stepan, head of obstetrics at the University Hospital of Leipzig, called the pregnancy “an absolute disaster.” He told Berliner Morgenpost that it wasn’t just Raunigk who’s at risk — so are her four fetuses.
Annegret expecting quadruplets at age 65. Photo credit RTL/Pfeiffer
Picture after the birth of her daughter naturally conceived at age 55. Photo credit ABC News.
As with any controversial topic, the public is also voicing their opinions. Some are calling Annegret selfish and irresponsible. Others are saying that the medical professionals that allowed this are at fault. While others are voicing their opinion that it’s no one else’s business and more power to her.
I remember when I was expecting my son Ethan there was a woman Frieda Birnbaum, 60, from my home town in Bergen County, NJ that was expecting twins. The twins were born and mother and babies did well but it was not without controversy.
Frieda also wished to give her young son a sibling as well as go against the stigma attached to older women giving birth. Birnbaum and her attorney husband were married for 38 years and had two children at the time ages 33 and 6. Mrs. Birnbaum went to South Africa for the fertility treatments that made her the oldest American woman to give birth to twins.
If all goes well Annegret will be the oldest mother to give birth to quadruplets. So far the pregnancy has been free of major complications and she is due in the summer. Annegret underwent several unsuccessful IVF attempts before becoming pregnant with the quads and was said to be shocked to learn she was carrying four babies. She has not considered selective reduction in order to reduce the risks to her and the babies.
So what do you think? Should people just mind their own business? Are the doctors irresponsible? How old is too old? Should women’s rights mean that a woman can choose to have a baby at any age? Let me hear what you think. If you like reading about pregnancy, you can see more at borncute.
Do you ever wonder if you are truly prepared for an emergency? I mean, we all try to be but life gets in the way. We have some things in place but are lacking in other areas of preparedness. We have an escape ladder for our second and third story windows in case fire prevented us from exiting the home through the stairways. However, if you asked me right now where it is, I would tell you where it should be but since that area of our home is under construction…yeah. I think you understand what I mean. We do have big things in place but I suppose we need to go over things and find out where we are lacking.
Recently, I found out about a site that does just that for you. MBIntel is a site you can go to and begin a free home risk analysis. It only takes about 15 minutes to answer the questions about home safety and security as well as emergency preparedness. When you are finished you will be given the results and shown the areas that need improvement if applicable. I went to their website today and answered the questions to get my home risk analysis. Overall I did well, but there are some issues we need to address to really be in top-notch shape. I plan to go over this with my husband and get the things we need in place to ensure our home is as safe as can be. You can upgrade to a paid version that gives you more detailed reporting of any issues so that you can see clearly what you need to do to fix them. I upgraded to a paid version and was able to print out a full report so that I could share that with my husband and we can make the changes we need to. If you are looking to see how secure, safe and ready you are for a disaster, check out MBIntel and get your free home analysis. If you do please let me know your results and what you thought in the comments.
The image below is a sample of how the overall results are shown.
The chart below outlines the differences in the free and paid version.
You can follow MBIntel on Facebook and Twitter!
This post was created in partnership with Mom Buzz Media. As always all my words and opinions are 100% my own.
Hello, I’m Carolyn! I am a PR Savvy, WAH Mom to 5! I love Photography, Baking, DIY Projects, Crafts, Cooking and making memories with my family. I love sharing reviews and giveaways too!
