LISTERINE® Healthy Habits For A Lifetime Oral Care Challenge: Part Two!

Three weeks ago I told you about how the boys and I were going to take part in the Listerine Healthy Habits for A Lifetime Oral Care Challenge. Basically, we brushed, flossed and rinsed our teeth  Now, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you it was easy but nothing worth doing is ever easy, right?

First, the neighbor's dog chewed up our progress chart. I am not even kidding. It was a sad day. Instead, we kept track of our progress on my phone, putting a little star every time we went through the whole routine. All in all, we only missed twice! Not bad!

I think its fair to say that our oral care routine has firmed up though. The boys have gotten to where they ask to brush their teeth. Which of course not only helps remind me but it also means that its something they enjoy. Win, win!

Check out Mr. D doing his nightly routine!




Of course the both still need a little help from mama, and we also had to stop flossing D's teeth halfway through because he fell and bruised his gums on the side of his mouth (unlucky much?). Overall though, I am calling this a huge success!

Have you joined in on the challenge yet? You can check out Walmart's website to join in and shop for the best oral care products you can get from Listerine! If you did the challenge already, how did it go for your family?

Need a little more encouragement? You can explore the connection between your health and your mouth on the Listerine website!

Looking for some tips and tricks? Check out the American Dental Association's website for some of those too!

Disclosure: I received products and compensation from Johnson & Johnson and The Motherhood
as part of my participation in the Oral Care Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Mama Loses! A lot! #WW

30 days, 30 lbs! What, what??

Start Your Day Off Right with @BJsWholesale

We all know the drill. The kids get up and are demanding food. They are likely whiney and hungry from all that sleeping (or not sleeping). Its easy to turn to the sugary, processed cereals in the pantry just to be able to get your coffee made in peace before the real fun and push of the day begins. Don't get me wrong, I always do my best to make the boys a homemade breakfast but some days that just doesn't happen. For one reason or another, I have to turn to either the homemade convenience foods or something store bought.

The good news is, BJ's wholesale has come up with some quick, easy was to skip that morning cereal and replace it with wholesome, cheap alternatives! Sprucing up breakfast time with five fast, easy, natural and organic breakfasts choices has never been easier on morning mommy brain.

BJ’s carries all-natural and organic products in a variety of categories from milk and cheese to poultry, meats, fruits and vegetables. There is still a perception that natural and organic items are pricey, time consuming, bland and difficult to cook. However, BJ’s offers delicious organic breakfast items at low prices with recipes anyone can make at 7 a.m

Start your day off right with these 5 easy and delicious options from BJ’s:



Sunny Side-Up Sunday Brunch- Complete the classic breakfast of bacon and organic eggs with an all-natural Finagle a Bagel mini bagel, Earth’s Pride Organics coffee and splash of Horizon Organic half-and-half. Approximately $1.25 per serving.




A Berry Good Start to Your Day- Start with Aunt Cyndi’s all-natural wild blueberry muffin mix and Horizon Organic unsalted butter to create the perfect healthy muffins. Then make a hot cup of Bigelow organic green tea to sip and savor the morning. Approximately 75 cents per serving.


Delightfully Decadent Dessert for Breakfast- Create scrumptious French toast with Wellsley Farms Artisan Organic Sourdough Boule bread with organic eggs, Earth’s Pride organic frozen triple berry blend and Natural by Nature whipped cream on top. This breakfast is packed with dessert flavor and a great way to get in antioxidants. Approximately $2.50 per serving.


One Bowl Full of Wonderful- Take cereal to the next level with Quaker Granola, Oats & Honey with a splash of Earth’s Pride Organics milk and a side of tart organic Granny Smith apples. Approximately $1.25 per serving.


Fast, Fresh and Fruity Fix- A protein packed cup of Chobani Vanilla Greek yogurt, Kashi GOLEAN Crunch! Cereal and fresh organic strawberries creates a beautiful parfait packed with protein. Just add a cup of Uncle Matt’s Organic or Organic Valley orange juice on the side and your breakfast is complete. Approximately $2.75 per serving.


I don't know about you, but those are all ideas that both me and my kids can get behind. Especially the yogurt parfait!

What are some of your favorite quick breakfast ideas? Are you a cereal family or a hot breakfast family?

Harlem Globetrotters Are Coming to @PhilipsArena!

The Harlem Globetrotters began in 1926 as the Savoy Big Five. Now more than 85 years and 20,000 games later, the team has become one of the most recognizable franchises in sports. The "New York Harlem Globe Trotters" started by touring Illinois and Iowa led by Tommy Brookins. The Globetrotters gradually worked comic routines into their act until they became known more for entertainment than sports. The Globetrotters' acts often feature incredible coordination and skillful handling of one or more basketballs, such as passing or juggling balls between players, balancing or spinning balls on their fingertips, and making unusual, difficult shots.

My first memory of the Harlem Globetrotters was when my Grandmother took my sister and I to see them one summer when the tour came through her hometown while we were there visiting. I remember the entertainment factor still and its been at least 20 years since then. I remember being in awe of the sportsmanship and how it looked like they were having so much fun. Style and grace at its finest!

If you are in or around the Atlanta area, you're in luck!

The Harlem Globetrotters are coming to Philips Arena March 17 @ 7pm and are offering you a special family discount! Through this special offer, you can purchase four tickets and receive a voucher for a free hotdog and soda with each ticket (savings of $34 or more)!

The Family Four Pack offer is valid on the $48, $38 and $27 tickets. Additional fees may apply.

To purchase your Family Four Pack, click THIS LINK and select the Family Four Pack option.


Have you ever seen a Globetrotter show? What are your memories?

On Birth and Feminism

Yesterday, I came across a post on HuffPost Parents. One that warmed my heart. Its about birth stories. One of my most favorite subjects related to parenting but one that is often very one sided. Women feeling like they have to defend their births like some sort of parenting Gladiator challenge. Each one competing to have the best, be the most informed, be the most shamed. Women are made to feel like if they didn't have "the perfect, drug free birth: then they are less of a parent.

Honestly, in any birth where there is a healthy mama and baby (even if its eventual) at the end of it all is an amazing birth story. It always irritates me to hear women putting down another's birth choices. Feminism is about choice, right? The ability to make our own and do what we believe is best for us. Who is anyone to try to take that away. To take someone's joy or hurt and use it against them? I am assuming that women have done their research and have made the best choice for them and their baby. Not once have I ever heard a woman say "The doctor said he should come out fine but I pushed for a c section so I could go to Disney." Not once. Not ever. To hear people talk, you would think it happened all the time.

D baby.

My two boys had different stories like so many others. My first came out over 9lbs and sunny side up (face up instead of face down) after 10 hours of induced labor. They induced me for low fluid and being post due. I opted for the epidural with him and I was thankful in the end even though I was anxious about the choice. He quite literally ripped me a new one. My poor nether regions... Pushing with him was awkward even though they had turned off the epidural and I was feeling it, it took me a bit to figure out just where to push. Once we realized he was the wrong way up, it made sense why he wasn't coming out quicker. Eventually he did though. They always do. The first time I saw his little face still brings tears to my eyes. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. His little face was bruised from being banged against my pelvis but he was so amazing and pitiful.

The last picture of me pregnant. 

My second was much shorter but much more intense. Induced again but was only an hour and a half which made my plan to skip the epidural blissfully easy. I had gone in with a very specific clause in my birth plan about not being checked but after an hour I just needed to know something was happening. About 20 minutes later a nurse came in and checked me. He was still floating, I was 100% effaced but only 3cm. I was progressing well. She talked me into getting up on the bed and hugging the back of it to open up my pelvis and see if we could ramp up the contractions. I will never forget the feeling I had when he went from floating in my uterus to *RIGHT THERE* in a matter of less than a minute. I started yelling "he is coming out!" and the nurse and my husband just laughed like I was nuts, assuring me it was just pressure and my water was probably about to break. After what felt like an eternity but was probably 30 seconds of telling them he was coming, the nurse finally lifted up the back of my gown to humor me and said "oh, sh!!! He is crowning!!". The next few minutes were a blur. They ended up pulling a midwife out of another woman's room to deliver my baby since we didn't have time to wait for mine to get there and my little man was born under the caul 8 minutes after I was checked. They put him up on my chest and it took him a few seconds to take his first breath. He was all blue and make that face that babies make. The angry troll face. I remember rubbing his little back and saying "hi my little angel, can you breathe for me? I love you, give mama a scream" and he did. It was just as amazing as it was the first time. He was so handsome. He looked like me with a head full of rich, black hair. He was perfect. Best of all, my nether regions were still intact.

K baby.

So, knowing that I was induced, does that make me less of a parent? Does it mean I was less "informed" about my choices? The answer is no. I did my research. I knew the ups and downs. I made an informed choice. I am confident in that. Every one should be allowed to feel that way. As much as I feel that every woman should feel the empowerment that comes with a med free birth, I am not delusional enough to believe that every one is capable of that.

Birth is the beginning of your journey as a parent but its not even close to a fraction of what being a parent means. Being a good parent isn't a epidural/ not epidural question. It goes so much deeper than that. Do you love them? Are you looking out for their best interests for the rest of their life? That is something worth striving for. Worth worrying about.

That's not to say you shouldn't look into all of your options. You do the best with what you have at the time these things happen. Do your research so you can be best prepared but don't do one sided research. Just because you don't want to have xyz doesn't mean it won't happen in an emergency.

What do you think? Have you ever altered your birth story to escape the mama drama? Have you eve been made to feel like your birth was inferior?