So then I decided to make this an informational site and I posted a giant list of questions to ask your care provider, the controversies of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, planning your baby’s first birthday party,  top 10 maternity style essentials, and the embarrassing situation of asking a non pregnant woman when she’s due. Oh, let’s not forget the top 5 things pregnant women hate to hear.

Not quite sure why my focus was so set on pregnancy, but maybe I was going through a bout of baby fever at that time. It happens sometimes. It comes, it goes. I think it’s hard to imagine being completely done having kids forever, especially as my “babies” keep getting bigger. As they get bigger, things get easier in a way, but they also bring on a new set of challenges.

This year has been a challenge and I am glad to see it end. I welcome 2012 with open arms and know that it will be a much better year. Happy New Year to all of you! I wish you all a wonderful year ahead full of health, happiness and success in all that you do!

My promise to myself is to take better care of me. I will go to doctor’s appointments as recommended, continue to exercise as often as possible, eat and cook healthy for my family, go to sleep earlier and not waste time. If something is not beneficial to me or my family, I won’t do it. I will make this year successful in every way possible. I will be a more patient mother, a more encouraging wife, a better friend and a more positive person. Cheers!

week 1: Calendars/summer months (i.e. color calendars, read books about summer, talk about summer plans and make refreshing summer snacks and drinks)

week 2: summer safety/water safety

week 3: The Ocean

week 4: Common Cents: all about money

week 5: history of America ( for the 4th of July)

week 6: What is a stranger?

week 7: Healthy eating/healthy bodies

week 8: My Family tree

week 9: I like me! All about self esteem

week 10: friendship – what it means to be a good friend

week 11: manners matter

week 12: ready, get set, GO! Getting ready to go back to school! (work on simple things like carrying your own backpack, opening containers for lunchboxes, and creating morning routines and charts)

I woke up determined to get at least some amount of exercise in. I dressed in workout clothes and everything. It ended up being a really busy day, but I was able to complete Day 5 of my 30 day challenge on Wii Active.

I ate pretty darn healthy today too.

Breakfast: one piece of ezekiel sesame sprouted toast with almond butter and raisins.

Lunch: spicy tuna roll made with brown rice and 2 clementines

Snack: dried pineapple and dried banana

Dinner: pesto salmon (this is so good and so easy to make – recipe below), green beans, half of an oatbran pita toasted and topped with smart balance

Pesto Salmon Recipe
1. wash and pat dry skinned and boned salmon fillet
2. place in microwave safe dish
3. top with pesto sauce
4. cover with wax paper
5. microwave (I did about 3 minutes for a lb. of salmon – I’m sure microwaves vary and obviously the size of fish you use)

Last night I made a pitcher of Sassy Water – the staple of the Flat Belly Diet (which again, I am not doing, but maybe I should since my belly just won’t freaking shrink!!). Anyway, it is supposed to be a natural flush and diuretic. I’m not drinking the entire 2 quarts of water, but heck, maybe I should.

So, here is what you need:

Sassy Water Recipe
2 quarts water
Lemon
Cucumber
Mint
Ginger Root

Directions
Slice one lemon into thin slices. Peel and slice one cucumber (or half if it’s a big cucumber) into thin slices.  Pinch 12 mint leaves. And grate 1 teaspoon of ginger root with a fine grater.  Dump all prepped ingredients into a pitcher, add two quarts water, gently stir, and let sit in refrigerator overnight to infuse.

Start drinking it from the time you wake up in the morning and finish the pitcher throughout the day. Oh but here is the catch, you are supposed to avoid drinking all of that other stuff that won’t help you achieve a flat belly like diet coke and coffee. Oops!

Jax loves Batman, so naturally I wanted to make him a Batman cake. For 4 years I’ve been wanting to make his cake myself. This year, I finally did it and I think it came out great. I loved seeing his eyes light up at the sight of his cake. It was so simple to make too.

First, I used two boxes of Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix. I would have made my own cake mix, I really wanted to, but it’s a bit hard with a 10 month old hanging onto my legs at all times. In fact, I made it super easy by using store bought everything…….cake mix, brownie mix, frosting, and obviously M & M’s. .

yellow cake batter

After my extremely hard work (LOL) of adding some oil, water and eggs to the mix, I put the cakes in the oven to bake.

baking cakes

Meanwhile, I started on the brownie mix. (you will see why in a moment)

brownie mix

When the cakes were finished baking, I took them out of their baking pans and cut off one edge of both so they would fit together.

cutting cakes to fit together

When the cakes and brownies were cooled, the real fun began. We iced the cake.

icing the cake

We cut out the Batman logo from the brownie, which I baked as a very thin layer.

cutting out the bat logo

Then we carefully placed the bat onto the iced cake and started adding yellow M & M’s around it to make the Batman logo.

adding yellow M and M's

The finished Batman logo:

Batman logo

Then I wrote my son’s name out of M & M’s and tada……….

The Jaxman Cake

First, for my older son, in size 4-5 year is the Pirate Line, which included a pirate raincoat (complete with detachable eye patch) and matching hanger, a pirate umbrella and a hooded towel.

Pirate Raincoat - Front View

Pirate Raincoat - Back View

Pirate Towel

Pirate Towel Back

The pirate umbrella is not pictured because it is in my car!! We have already used it several times due to the rainy afternoons when I have to pick up my son from camp. The first day that I brought it was a surprise and he was thrilled. He was so excited to carry his “sword” to the car all by himself. I got wet, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself and that’s what matters, right?!

Next, is my 10 month old son with the Frog Line in size 2 year.  This also included a raincoat with matching hanger, hooded towel and an umbrella.

Baby Frog Stuff

Froggie Towel

As you can see, these products are too cute.  The pictures don’t even do them justice because they look even better in person. The raincoats can double as costumes. They are very well made. The towels are great. They are really soft and a generous size. I love that they have a snap in the front so they stay on. Both boys have been using them for the past few days in a row after we’ve gone  in the pool. I wish they made this stuff in my size!

I had heard that Chiropractors were supposed to help with ear infections. Apparently they correct misalignments (called subluxations) and allow normal fluid drainage from the middle ear.  Chiropractic care is simply the art and science of aligning the spine to take pressure off the nerve and ultimately allow the body to heal itself.  So, what happens with the adjustment, is that it allows for the ear canals to open up and the ears will drain, preventing any ear infection.

So, we have been going to the Chiro for almost 2 months and I see a dramatic improvement. There has been no stuffy nose, seems to be no sleep apnea, no colds, no ear infections, etc. We were going twice weekly for a while, then switched to once a week last week and this week, we didn’t go at all. I’m not sure if I should continue going once a week (and for how long?? because it really gets expensive) or if we should just see what happens and hope he doesn’t get sick again. Any thoughts?