I'm a Guest Blogger!

I was recently asked to do my first guest blog spot for a great website, DietsInReview.com! You can read my article "Creating Lasting Healthy Habits for Kids this Summer" in their blog section as part of their Healthy Kids Summer Series.

Head on over there and check it out along with the other great posts in the series!

This morning we put those words into practice! Me and all three kids headed up to the park for class. No one showed up! Come on people, the weather is not that bad! Still, I decided to do our class anyway. My 7 year old did tricep dip/push up combos with me and all three of us did some running! I wish I had brought my camera (I did, it but it was in the car)!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

We made it out to the Got Milk? tour!

Riley is still dealing with an upper respiratory bug but she seemed to be in a well enough mood to go to the Got Milk? event. I had these wonderfully high hopes of getting this adorable picture of me and my kiddos with milk mustaches but the kids were not exactly cooperative once we got there!

They did enjoy the free bottles of chocolate milk they were given and enjoyed making fun of me and my milk-stache!

Before we left I was given a cute tote bag with a got milk? tee! It was a fun outing for me and my tots!

Riley was obviously not digging picture time! Joshua was OK with taking pictures but didn't want to do the milk mustache! My milk-stache started to wear off after trying to get the kids to stay still!

Here they were serving smoothies...yum! These smoothies were the source of the 'stache!

Let's not forget the 5 minute massage!

A 1/2 Day in the Life..

For anyone out there who thinks that being work at home mom allows for more free time...Think Again!

I just found a spare 20 minutes and could not think of what to do so I figured I'd throw in a blog post!

Here is my day so far and it is pretty typical on a daily basis...

- Woke up to a fussy baby in my face wanting chocolate milk.

- Got up and fixed chocolate milk x2...I knew I had to have milk for the other tot after he wakes up! Also turned on the TV to Disney to entertain Riley while I get everything ready.

- Took clothes out of the dryer...then put clothes from the washer in the dryer...then put new load of laundry in the washer. Moms I know you know that routine!

- Brushed teeth and got dressed. Gave my son his first wake up call. Riley calls out and says she done with her milk and now wants cereal. Retrieve milk cup and fix cereal cups.

- Tot wake up call #2. Check and send a few emails.

- Prepare sippy cups and snacks and do a diaper bag check for all of the basic necessities (diapers, wipes, changes of clothes). Notice need spare undies and shorts for Joshua.

- Time for Riley to get a new diaper and get dressed. Wake up call #3 for Josh!

- Put stuff in the car. Storm into Joshua's room and start dressing him while he's asleep. He wakes up and protests! I convince him to go potty and brush teeth.

- Argue with Joshua about his shorts and shoes. He is not cooperating!

- Time to leave...we are late...as usual! Joshua is purposely walking extra slow to the car. Mommy wishes for coffee!

- Finally made it to the car. Arguing with the kids about where they need to sit. Finally get them in their seats and seat belts on.

- Drive to Stroller Strides! It starts raining on the way there. Uh-Oh, I hope it doesn't last long!

-Yay made it and it is not raining! Love to see the moms and their kiddos! Had a fun class. The weather cooperated...unlike Joshua!

- Stopped at mom's to drop something off. Argue with the kids to get back in their seats!

- Drive to Chick -Fil - A to meet Amy and Gavin for lunch. Had a great lunch! Mandy and Andy, nice to meet ya!

- We let the kids play in the indoor playground while we tried to carry a conversation over the screaming kiddos!

- Joshua takes off to the bathroom. He's holding his bum, must mean #2!

- I was right, it was #2! Joshua runs out of the bathroom holding a pair of poop filled undies. I grab the diaper bag (thank heavens I refilled the undies and shorts), head the bathroom, and clean him up. Put on clean undies and shorts, scrub the hands, back to more playing!

- Finish up our playtime and leave for home. Riley falls alseep in the car! She played hard!

- Arrive back home. Let the dog out and see that the cat puked in the hall...again! Put Riley down on the bed, have to change her in a few minutes!

- Clean up cat puke then change Riley's diaper and clothes.

- Take out clothes from dryer, put clothes from washer into dryer, put today's yucky kid clothes into the washer!

- Call Joshua and Domino in. Notice the cat has pooped outside of her litter box...again!

- Clean up the poop. Notice that the toilet is clogged! When will it end!

- Unclog toilet and then clean out litter box so it is fresh and clean!

- Take out the trash and scrub hands! Put on a Scooby Doo movie for Joshua and realize I have 2o minutes before I have to leave to pickup my 1st grader! Hmmm, what to do in 20 minutes??

- Alarm on my clock just went off. Time to leave!

Off to part two of my day!

More Stroller Strides Fun!

It was another beautiful day today and did an extended ground workout! I thought it would be fun to get down to the kiddos' level!

A Beautiful Morning!

Today was the perfect day for Stroller Strides! It was sunny, breezy, and just the right temp! Those days in Houston are few and far between so we savor them when we've got em'!

I finally got some more pics from class! Thanks Sylwia for figuring out the timer on my camera!

The best part about Stroller Strides...

...for the kids anyway is the playtime!

Even though it was a rainy day today we still had a great workout at the mall! The nice thing about the mall (other than the new Cold Stone I just found) is the indoor playground!

Here are a few pics of our cuties having fun!

A Mom's 12 Days of Christmas

I follow Dawn Meehan's blog because she is so funny! Here is a great song that every mom can relate too!

Here's to enjoying the Christmas season!

Let's Say Thanks

Send a card to our troops and show your support this holiday season.

First Place 4 Health

I am so excited because I just got confirmation that I will be able to co-teach this Spring a program called First Place 4 Health which teaches Christ-centered healthy living.

There are several class times offered at Houston's First Baptist Church and the one I will teaching will be on Tues nights at 6pm.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions about this great program!

Happy Birthday Riley!!!

The one that started it all! It was while I was on bed rest (of sorts) with Riley that I discovered Stroller Strides. Beth Moore stated in one of her books that when she looks for something she always finds something else that not only distracts from what she was originally looking for but also happens to be the one thing she needed! That was the case with Stroller Strides!

Now two years later, I am joyful and thankful that I have been able to spend most of this time home with Riley and of course my other two! It has flown by! I cleaned out her closet yesterday of all of the 12 month and most of the 18 month clothing since it no longer fits her and filled it with lots of new 2T clothes. She now has a closet full of cute girlie clothes to show off!

Nov 15th 2006

Here is my baby girl on her 2nd birthday!

Looking beautiful!

The number #1 mall hazard...

Target! With our last few classes moved indoors to the mall, Target has had a few more customers! It is funny! Every mom that has come to the mall class has taken a trip to Target...myself included! The change of scenery is nice, esp with all of the lights and giant Christmas trees everywhere, but I have had to definitely put forth some effort to stay clear of "that" side of the mall!

What is it about that giant red logo that attracts all women and convinces us to willingly dish out $100+ in one visit? My husband is still trying to figure that one out!

HOLY COW!!!

I just checked our stats and Wow!

Compare the map from this morning with this one...


This is awesome! It is so wonderful to be able to reach out to this many moms around the world! I love the web!

To further demonstrate my dorkdom (is that a word). I am going to be posting mini exercise videos showing some of our most popular exercises. These can be done at home any time during the day! Even if they are only "mom" minutes you'll have all day, they will be well spent!

Hello Mommies Around the World!

OK, so I'll admit, I am an all around geek/dork. I truly enjoy keeping up the blog as well as a few others. I have and I started using a site analyzer to see who's reading, etc. One thing I was surprised to see was that we have several readers from not only all over Houston, but all over the US and all over the world!

That is awesome! So to all of our readers I say welcome! We're happy to have you!

Here is a partial map of our visitors! We have one in Indonesia as well, but I couldn't squeeze that into the frame without making everything else very tiny!

Another Beautiful Morning...

It was bright, sunny, and breezy this morning...perfect for Stroller Strides! We had a big class and all our moms did a great job...as usual!

OK, time for a sentimental twist....

On the way home I heard a song on the radio that nearly had me tears. It was called One Life to Love by 33 Miles.

Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

You only get just one time around,
You only get one shot at this,
One chance,
To find out,
The one thing that you don't wanna miss,
One day when its all said and done
I hope you see that it was enough,
This one ride,
One try,
One life,
To love.

This was a great reminder for me to keep focus on the things that truly matter. It is definitely easy to become consumed by the mounting pressures and nuisances life can bring, esp with motherhood!

On those moments when your little ones are acting up or extremely fussy, just stop and remember to love those moments because they belong to you in your one precious life!

A Great Day for Stroller Strides

Today was awesome! We had great weather, no mosquitos, and a great workout! All of the babies were perfect and even my two weren't too bad! If this is a glimpse of the fun to be had this Fall, then I am thrilled!

Its been 6 months since the birth of Stroller Strides Memorial and I am so happy and honored to be part of the lives of our founding moms. When we started their babies were all just a few months old and now they are celebrating or about to celebrate their first birthdays! We've all been there to share the tips, the milestones, and the laughs!

What a wonderful world Stroller Strides brings!