28 Day Detox Challenge Update: Weeks 3 & 4

Woo hoo! I did it!

I wanted to post my results sooner, but life happens : ) Thankfully, it was all good! Hopefully, you have had the opportunity to read about the amazing results I had on the first two weeks of the 28 Day Detox Challenge?! I wanted to share my results from weeks 3 & 4, as well.

Basically, the positive results continued.  I would say the biggest change/addition would be in regards to my energy level.  I may have been called annoying peppy last week! ; )  I decided to take it as a compliment and realized that it must be from increased energy from the extra vitamins and minerals in the Arbonne supplements and from the major decrease of toxins in my body. Yay! This is a very good thing.  

Otherwise here is...


...a summary of the results from the 28 days:

love handles - bye bye!

joint pain - gone!

remaining pregnancy weight - adios!

digestive issues - see ya!

toxic addictions (a.k.a diet pop) - get lost!

new habits - yes ma'am!

more energy - uh huh!

better nutritional choices - let's go!

lovin' Abonne even more - oh yeah!

(OK, so I was trying to make it fun. Was that too annoying peppy?)

So now what?
Because of the unbelievable results I have been feeling, I am going to continue to follow the program at a minimum of 80/20%. Meaning, I will continue to eat clean and try to avoid acidic, addictive and allergenic foods (dairy, coffee, gluten,etc.) for at least 80% of the time, if not more. Don't get me wrong...I will still enjoy my chai latte here and there and some chocolate now and then, but I'm going to be consistent. 

I have come too far and feel too great to throw it all away for a measly "toxic treat".  I will continue to implement the protein shakes, detox tea and energy drinks into my daily routine.  My family has come to love all of the products, as well, and my husband will be joining the 28 day challenge soon!  (Thankfully, I'm a consultant, so we can get them at a discount) : )))))

Thank you for following my progress and for caring! So many of you have been interested and encouraging and have even decided to take the step yourself. I'm so excited for you! We only get one life and one body. I want to do this right! 

I have had several people join me on this program.  Will you be the next to make an amazing life change such as this?

* This is not to take place of or act as medical advice.  Please consult your physician for any nutritional plans or diets. These are my personal and true experiences.  I am an Independent Consultant for Arbonne. Check out Arbonne and/or order (ID #14414570) or contact me for details. toniafrederick@myarbonne.com

What we are learning: Spanish

Hola amigos!  So, to tell the truth, I've been a bit disappointed with myself in regards to our progress in Spanish. My goal/dream was for our kids to be bilingual at a young age. : (  Being bilingual myself, having a major in Spanish and a passion for the language and culture, that would have been completely possible... However (with a capital H).

Life has been a bit busy over the last several years, adding new babies to our family almost consecutively for four years, "officially" beginning homeschooling and all of the other things that fill our time, I haven't implemented second language training as well as I would have liked.  It's much easier to stress out in your first language. ha ha

Don't get me wrong, some of my children's first words were "leche", "agua" "hola" and "jugo", but fluency just hasn't happened, yet.

Because I realize there is no time like el presente (the present), we are kicking into high gear. On top of our newly implemented "Taco Tuesdays", where we eat Mexican and latin inspired foods and speak Spanish, we have begun to step up our Spanish during the time we do our other work.

This week, our theme is la comida - food. 

Here are some of the ways we are studying and reinforcing the names of foods in Spanish:

studying flash cards (Ready for School (Flash Kids Spanish Flash Cards)

playing Spanish bingo (Eeboo Spanish Bingo)

reading in Spanish (Ana Cultiva Manzanas / Apple Farmer Annie)

looking at Spanish/English dictionaries (My First Book of Spanish Words (Bilingual Picture Dictionaries)

I don't have a personal picture, but this is one of the best CD's I've heard for learning Spanish terms. The songs have such fun latin rhythms and are separated into themes, you cannot help but pick up on the catchy tunes. : )

 

  SARA JORDAN PUBLISHING VOL 1 BILINGUAL SONGS ENGLISH - SPANISH  (Multilingual Edition)  

And of course....

ROSETTA STONE: SPANISH

Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) Level 1

Check out some of our previous posts about how we practice  Spanish. I hope this helps for those of you wanting to give your children the gift of a second language.  Adios!

Ideas for Busy Toddlers

The timing of this post could not be more appropriate for many of us in the North, Midwest and East who are experiencing a harsh winter.  

Our area of the country is currently on the second round of snow days in 2014. This has made for a lot of happy kids : ) with extra time at home. Which, although many parents may be happy too, the extra time at home may cause some scrambling for ideas.

I often get asked how we homeschool with two toddlers in our house and how we are able to "get anything done."  Although the original idea of post was focused on keeping toddlers busy/productive while homeschooling older children, these ideas are obviously appropriate for toddlers at home in any situation.

Below are some of the activities that keep our toddlers occupied while I'm working with the older girls on their school work.  These activities also help build various skills such as fine motor skills, sorting, numbers, colors, patterns.  These are also great ways to help build focus and concentration etc. 




Sorting: This is a homemade activity.  We use a ice tray from Target dollar bin, fuzzy pom poms (also from that bin) and toaster tongs that we found at Bed, Bath and Beyond.


                       


 Lacing: 

Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Pets

(And yes, friends, we do school in our bathing suits in the middle of winter. Don't you?! ha ha)

 Magnets: Orb Factory Magnetic Color Cubes mosaics a great one for building colorful pictures and patterns.  you can even use a clean baking sheet to make this mobile. (Be careful with younger toddlers and young children who tend to think all things are edible as these contain small pieces.)

                                                    Orb Factory Magnetic Color Cubes

 Beads:

                                                      Wooden Beads


Patterns:                                   

Melissa & Doug Pattern Blocks and Boards 

Numbers/Counting:

Match It! Puzzle Games Counting

Puzzles: 

                                                 Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wire Puzzle Rack



And yes, there are days when these activities get thrown to the wind...

 ...and this happens. : )

...and this!

...and this!

All while mommy and big sisters are engrossed in schoolwork. : )

Last, but not least, these cuties love doing their "big girl" work in tot school just like their older sisters and we attempt to work on tracing, letter recognition, colors, numbers, Spanish, calendar etc. 

What are some ways that you keep your toddler(s) busy and learning at home outside of time for free/imaginative play?

28 Day Detox Challenge Update : Week 2

Last week, I posted about my reasons for starting this 28 Day Challenge and my experiences/results so far.  So appropriately, I wanted to share my week 2 findings with you, as well. Here's where I'm at:

• Energy: My energy levels are up this week. Work outs were easier than last week. My body is adjusting to the detoxification process. The B vitamins in the all natural Fizz Sticks drinks have been the missing link in my vegetarian diet over the years.  I have not been very good at supplementing those and I can tell a difference now!

• Digestive/GI: Major bloating and abdominal pain (that I have had checked out various times - long story) has almost completely resolved.  Most likely due to eliminating toxic foods and drinks and adding nutritional and safe supplements such as the Arbonne's Digestive Plus (pro/prebiotics & digestive enzymes).

• Joint Pain: Still feeling great and literally having no joint pain. Even my lower back pain seems to have resolved. This is CRAZY to me! It's most likely due to eliminating foods that cause inflammation?! Made it through an intense cardio kickbox class which usually kills my knees.

• Learning: Still enjoying all the new clean eating recipes (Eggplant "Pizzas" tonight, yum!) I'm also learning about new ingredients to add to our clean eating pantry.  Finally, I'm learning that this is very possible with the right mindset.  

• Cravings:  Week 2 was a bit more intense in this area.  So many people sipping coffee around me and eating yummy toxic foods has been a bit tempting at times.  I'm staying strong, however, because I know how great I feel and I know the benefits from staying disciplined in this. 

• Weight/inches: Down almost 6 lbs. and 3 inches as a bonus.  This was not my main goal for doing this detox, but I will definitely take this added benefit post 5 pregnancies. (My babies were worth every pound ; ) I wanted to focus more on internal issues/changes, but this kind of change happens from the inside out and I'm definitely OK with that : )

* This is not to take place of or act as medical advice.  Please consult your physician for any nutritional plans or diets. These are my personal and true experiences.  I am an Independent Consultant (ID # 14414570) for Arbonne. Check out Arbonne and/or order (ID #14414570).

28 Day Detox groups start every other monday.  Leave a comment if you'd like more info.  You are worth this!

Kids and the Bible

Our faith is the foundation of our lives and our family.  It is our hearts' desire that our kids develop a love for God and his Word....at even a younger age than we did.

We don't want to our kids to view the Bible as a book of rules or stop at memorizing the names of the 66 books. As Jefferson Bethke says, "The Bible is not a rule book, it's a love letter."


We want the Bible/Word of God to be:

a lamp unto their feet and a light unto their path (Psalm 119:105)

their well of living water (John 7:38)

their daily bread, their bread of life (John 6:48)

their comfort in times of brokenness (Psalm 34:18)

the mercy they need in failure (Lamentations 3:22-23)

their strength in times of weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)

their help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16)

their source for character transformation (Romans 12:2)

....and SO much more!

So that our children may be:

pure in heart (Matthew 5:8)

strong and courageous (Deuteronomy 31:6)

 compassionate, humble, patient and kind (Colossians 3:12)

trees planted by the water and yields fruit (Psalm 1:3)

women who fear the Lord (Proverbs 31:30)

loving - doing ALL things in love (1 Corinthians 13)

In order for these things to become part of the very breath they breathe. In order for the living breathing Word of God to help form and transform their daily habits and character, it takes time and intention.  This is not something we can cram in 1 hour on Sundays.

Developing a passion and understanding for God's Word comes by reading, discussing, praying, understanding, singing and memorizing and meditating on the Scriptures.  And we, as their parents have the great responsibility to lead them in this journey. 


I wanted to share some of our family's favorite resources that make learning and understanding the Bible fun and simple:

Read and Share DVD Bible Box Set

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

The Big Picture Story Bible (Book with CD)

 

Hide Em In Your Heart Vol 1

(These are Bible verses made into songs. Catchy tunes help make learning the verses SO easy peasy.)

 

  365 Bedtime Devotions for Little Girls

Other helpful resources/links:

The girls LOVE this song by Phil Joel (former Newsboys member). It's the Old Testament song a.k.a Ice Cream Song) Check it out here. We jam to this in our car : ) Who ever would of thought you could jam to the books of the Old Testament?! 

Daily Audio Bible Kids - an audio daily Bible reading for kids (and adults)



Awanas - an international program that works with churches and parents to develop spiritually strong children

I hope this post has helped inspire some to become intentional in leading children in the greatest "job" we'll ever have on earth - discipleship.

What are some fun and helpful ways that you have implemented Scripture into your daily lives and time with your kids?  We'd love to hear.