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Mom’s Famous Immune Boosting Wassail

It is no secret that we are getting closer to “Cold and Flu Season”…

There are many reasons why we may get sick more often in the winter (and some may surprise you!)

  • Less sunlight or time spent outdoors (means less Vitamin D for us)
  • We eat more sugar which naturally suppresses our immune system
  • Breathing in less fresh air (possibly spreading more germs in closed buildings)

Whatever the reasons are… I’ll just be over here sipping on some immune boosting wassail in my Christmas cup : )

When I posted on Facebook about my mom’s wassail, I got so many questions about what wassail is – which was surprising since I grew up drinking it during the fall and winter months. read more

Low Carb Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Fall is my favorite!! One of my favorite parts of fall is the food, smells, and cooler weather…

Imagine this…. You all curled up on the couch (in your favorite fuzzy socks) sipping on a cup of healthy coffee, and enjoying a piece of your favorite low carb bread…

It will be so perfect – “You should be on a Christmas card!”

 

via GIPHY

My girls and I had so much throwing this recipe together… I love showing them that you can eat yummy treats that are healthy too!! You don’t have to eat like a rabbit – you can enjoy food that is healthy! read more

Your Healthy Back To School Guide!

Fall is my FAVORITE Time of Year!

Back to school is always exciting too, I always think of one of my favorite lines from “You’ve Got Mail” (even if I don’t live in New York!)

As summer days give way to fall, it’s back to school with busier schedules that can leave us with less sleep, less relaxing, and less sunshine and vitamin D. It’s no wonder your family can start to move a little slow, and even start getting sick! read more

How Failing is the Key to your Success

Do you like it when you fail at something?

So many people (including me!) don’t do things that they would really like to do because they are afraid of failing…

I’ll admit it… I LOVE winning – I don’t like failing.

That’s human nature!

But to be successful at anything, you really must be willing to fail (and fall) forward and learn from the experience.

The key to success is actually failing… and doing it over and over.

My daughter very wisely explained this to me after ice skating this weekend, she says it better than I could have! read more

How to Have Your Best Autumn Ever

Autumn is my favorite time of year!

I love the cooler nights, the changing leaves, the special traditions… There are so many things to love about fall.

But there are lots of things that I don’t like about this time of year.

More people feeling sick.

More people stressed out about the holidays.

More people worried about gaining those unwanted pounds.

How can you enjoy fall if you are sick, tired, and stressed? 

Since I love helping people feel their best and live longer… I created a special Facebook Event for this whole week to give some extra LIVE videos to help you have Your Best Autumn Ever!! read more

Enter to Win a Trim Healthy Mama Fall Giveaway

Who LOVES Fall??

Seriously, I couldn’t be any happier that fall is just around the corner. I already have my canned pumpkin ready to be baked into delicious fall treats. Last weekend, we made pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread and a pumpkin shake too! Oh, it made my kitchen smell amazing!!!

Now, we want to spoil YOU and make sure you are ready for fall too with this AWESOME giveaway!!

I love coming together with friends, sharing laughs, and enjoying something baked fresh in the kitchen. There is nothing better. But fall is also the time when it gets really hard to follow our healthy lifestyle and we tend to gain a few extra pounds (eek). read more

10 Tips for Better Sleep

Sleep is something so crucial to our health. So many of us struggle to wake up rested and sometimes it can be a simple change that is all you need to get the sleep you desire.

Have you ever noticed that when you are running short on sleep you are more prone to getting sick?

It’s true that for your immune system to be its strongest, you need to rest. Lack of sleep can also effect your adrenals and how you deal with stress.

Here are 10 Quick Tips to Help you get Better Sleep

Make the Room Darker

As someone who has struggled with sleep for many years… one thing that bothers me is when the room is too bright. I just can’t fall asleep! I have been using a face mask for the past 15 years or so to block out all the light, but you could start with darker shades in your room. read more

17 Reasons to Live in the Mountains

You may not know that Adam and I have just moved into our Dream House – we traveled for almost 3 months through different cities across  the mid-south looking for the next place we would call home. We work from home, so we could live anywhere!

We did have some interesting criteria… I wanted to live in the mountains.

I may need to define my “definition” of what a mountain is… I’ll just start with I grew up in Louisiana. You will see the most amazing sunsets ever in south Louisiana because you can see for miles and miles. But this means that it is flat as a pancake. 

We landed in North West Arkansas! If you haven’t driven from Fort Smith to Fayetteville… You need to! It has the most beautiful views I have ever seen in my life.

So this is going to be this Louisiana Girl’s 17 Reasons to Live in the Mountains:

 

Snow

Growing up as a kid in Louisiana… I dreamed of snow. I remember one winter night, snow was falling about 3 hours north of where we lived. We all piled into a tiny red truck and drove up just to play in the snow. It was SO rare to get snow even close in North Louisiana. Now after living in Virginia for 4 years, I just don’t want to give up that experience.

Waterfalls

There is something so magical about a waterfall.

I just can’t explain how calming yet invigorating it is to listen to the water cascading off of the ledge and crashing at the bottom. Here in North West Arkansas there are many waterfalls that we can explore. Here is a waterfall that is about 15 minutes from our new house 🙂

 

Hiking

I love being able to go on long walks as a family. My favorite walks are on the trails. Hiking is a way to get back to nature and just explore your local plants and listen to the birds chirping. It is great to go hiking with kids and letting them get some outdoor time. Plus, it is a great exercise experience! It just isn’t as fun to hike unless you are in a hilly/changing terrain area.

Biking

Along with hiking, we can’t forget bike rides. I love going on bike rides as a family – and although we can’t handle too extreme climbs, we do enjoy trails that give us a challenge. In North West Arkansas, there are many public biking trails for everyone to enjoy.

 

 

The View

Wow.

The Views.

Views that will take your breath away.

I just went on a walk in my neighborhood yesterday with my girls and looked out to where the sun was setting over the valley. It was amazing.

17 Reasons to Live in the Mountains

Leaves Changing

Growing up in Louisiana… fall just meant that everything turned brown and fell on the ground. We missed out on all the beautiful fall colors that we could see in Virginia. Golds, Oranges, Reds. Something that everyone should experience in the fall.

 

Road Trips

We love going on road trips. Just this weekend we drove up to Missouri twice. What I love about this area is that the changing topography gives so much more interest to your drive. Driving from Fort Smith to Fayetteville has the best views of the area!

 

Mountain Lakes

There is something so majestic to be canoeing in a mountain lake with cliffs on both sides and calm water resting between. We were just driving around and found this amazing view of one of the lakes in our area.

 

Higher Elevation

When you live in an area with higher elevation, you have less humidity, cooler air, and more breeze. Adam is so hot natured it was certainly on his list to live in a place that was cooler.

 

Caves

We went to a park about 15 minutes from our house and found a natural cave with an active spring. It was pretty amazing to be a part of nature. We loved showing the girls how powerful water is that it made this cave by running through it daily. It was also a nice break from the sun.

 

Less Traffic

We did move to a smaller community in Arkansas than we lived in Virginia. Just in general, less people means less traffic. I really didn’t realize it, but I had stopped wanting to leave my house because I knew I would end up in a crowded street. I have to be honest when I say that I’m an introvert… so it has been more comfortable to me being in a smaller town. Adam just doesn’t like traffic lol.

 

Fresh Air

Living in the mountains, I feel like the air is just fresher. Smells clean and easy to breathe. It may be more the humidity of the south, but I love the smell of fresh air.

 

Less Mosquitoes

Growing up in Louisiana… mosquitoes were like that crazy uncle that ruined all the parties and never would go away.

Adam and my oldest daughter are pretty allergic to their bite as well, so it was always stressful to be outside and worried about them. I love living in an area with less mosquitoes and living where we have seasons that help keep their population down.

 

No Hurricanes

After Adam and I were married, we moved to south Louisiana for 8 years. During that time, I had to evacuate from 4 hurricanes. That was enough for me to realize that I didn’t want to live in an area that was prone to getting hurricanes.

To avoid them, just move to an area that is more inland and not close to the coast.

 

Boot Season

Okay, I know this is silly, but growing up in Louisiana I had all these winter clothes that we could only wear for like 1 week. I loved living in an area where we actually had a winter season. When you live in higher elevation, you should have more seasons and be able to wear all your cute winter clothes much longer.

 

Farm to Table Culture

This is something that I have been passionate for about 10 years. Having a community that values their local farmers and celebrates their food. Here in North West Arkansas we have been so impressed with the local restaurants and farmers who work together to bring the best to this community. I would expect to see that in many areas, but that was aspect that impressed me here.

 

Not the Beach

I know many people would probably disagree with me… and that’s okay. I don’t mind visiting the beach. I just don’t want to live there.

Maybe you didn’t see my profile picture… I’m a fair skinned red head lol. It just was not meant to be for me to love the beach.

So what I love is that the mountains just feel like home to me… I feel like I belong here.

 

Do you live in the Mountains? What do you love about it?

 

 

 

 

Are you Stuck in Your Comfort Zone?

Are you riding your Tricycle when you could be driving your Tahoe?

Everything happens in stages. We learn to roll over, then rock back and forth.. Crawl… and eventually walk and run.

This development isn’t questioned by anyone. It is expected by all.

At some point as adults… We get stagnant.

We stop developing. We stop striving to become something better.

We are stuck riding around on a tiny tricycle…

We are missing out on our potential for greater things, because we are scared to take off the training wheels…

Scared to try something new… Scared to fall.

As for me, I came to the point when I outgrew where I was… and I had to become (un)comfortable again.

Maybe you don’t realize your potential right now… But maybe something inside you screams that you were made for something more.

I know comfort zones are safe… But great things never happen in them.

Take the first step towards the steering wheel.

 

comfort zones

 

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How to Establish a Bedtime Routine

How to Establish a Bedtime Routine

How to Establish a Bedtime Routine

We are creatures of habit. We like to be able to predict what is coming next. Babies are no different. When they are learning about the world around them, it gives them security when they can predict and know that an action follows another action.

Routines are great for babies and kids alike. You will have less tantrums from your toddler and preschooler if you stick to a routine. The minute you change things up on them, expect some protest in the form of a tantrum.

Kids in general don’t like to be surprised. That’s why they like the same book or movie over and over. They are learning language and they are learning to be able to predict what is coming next. They find security in being able to know and predict.  

Routines are very important at bedtime. This is a time that you are going to leave them alone and they need to know they are safe and secure. How would you feel if you were dropped off and had no idea when your ride was going to pick you up?

Letting your child fall asleep knowing that this is normal and that you will come and get them will help them fall asleep in a safe state. 

Establishing a bedtime routine 

When should you establish a bedtime routine? As soon as you are able to! Babies are learning from the moment they are born.

If you plan to do a bath time before bed, start it early on. Think about what steps you want to include in your routine. Is it able to be followed away from home? How long does it take to complete the routine?

Aidalyn had a solid bedtime routine in place by 6-8 weeks. We would swaddle her, give her a pacifier, her lovey (Charlie) and turn on her sound machine. She was sleeping through the night in her crib by 8 weeks. This child loves routine though. She never would adapt well when we weren’t at home.

Here is the sound machine we use:

Aidalyn is now 3 and her

bedtime and nap routines have developed to meet her needs. read more