Lamberts Lately...: August 2013

Look at me. 2nd post of the day :-) (Still have a lot to catch up on....)

So we made a lifestyle change in our house over the past eh....3 months.

Phase 1. Started with the chemicals that we use (cleaning products). We switched everything to eco-friendly natural and I must say I'm LOVING it! I can clean the bathroom without kicking the boys out (which was kind of important when it was only me watching them). I'm sure there are other natural products that are just as good as what I'm using and I'm sure if I made them myself it would be cheaper but I don't have the time....but I'm using all products by The Honest Company. I started using their baby products first and still do for my sensitive bum nugget and did the trial of their house products and loved them as well. I'm not trying to push it on everyone else, but just stating the facts of my experience. If you are thinking of switching gears I'm very happy with them.

I get their Essentials Bundle for $35.95/month. The best part about it is, if you don't need anything that next month you can push the order date out. That I LOVE! They don't force that monthly charge on you. The other best part is you can pick which 5 products you want and can add 3 additional for an extra 25% off on each. Which I mainly use that feature since I order products every 2 months.

Products I've used and LOOOVE feeling:

Laundry Detergent (excellent for sensitive skin and doesn't have a fragrance smell which I hate)
Oxy Boost (perfect for those whites and clothes with baby spit up)
Stain Remover (works, but you need to let the clothes sit for 1 day before washing)
Multi-Surface Cleaner (my go-to! I use it everywhere!!! and the smell. YUM!!!!)
Dishwasher Pods
Bathroom Cleaner (um the smell YUM! lol Can't love this product enough. Works good on our soap scum)
Fruit + Veggie Wash (use it daily and a lot better than using vinegar washes.)
Dish Towels (Love these! I used to have william sonoma ones which they eventually began to have a stench, weird i know but they smelled awful! These have been washed multiple times and held up great!)
Shampoo + Body Wash (Love Love Love! I use it as a body wash and both the kids use it for their hair too.)
Conditioner (if you have thin hair this is a great conditioner. Boys use it. I need a super duper conditioner lol)
Face + Body Lotion (I use it on both boys and I use it for my face because its a lightweight lotion.)
Kids Toothpaste (great because Aiden will actually brush his teeth instead of wanting to eat the toothpaste!)
Sunscreen (well clearly I LOVE this! and use it on everyone. Small and perfect to throw in your bag)
Conditioning Mist (I use this to detangle my hair. Use lightly bc its oily but the smell YUM!)
Bug Spray (Can't praise this enough!!! It's a skinny bottle so perfect for your purse and the smell doesn't knock you down, and def keeps the bugs away)
Organic Lip Balm (never leave the house without this stuff)

Products I've used and have an ehhh it's okay feeling:

Dish soap (its good on dishes, but for bottles I have to scrub them really hard to get that formula residue off.)
Suds Up (nice thought but the dish is too small for the brush. you have to put it in slow to not catch any bristles on the side)
Toothpaste (very mild minty. I like my toothpaste to be very minty like I just popped an Altoids in my mouth lol)
Healing Balm (don't really use it, because Brody doesn't have rashes anymore, but when I tried the sample it was really thick gel kind of hard to smooth out...but it did moisturize good but left an oily feeling)
Bubble Bath (bubbles were thick so they were gone quickly but I did enjoy the smell)
Aromatic Soy Candle (I liked sniffing the candle but burning you could barely smell anything....I got the Orange Vanilla)
Baby & Toddler Multi (Aiden wouldn't touch this stuff!! I hid it in drinks, yogurt, etc. Then I tasted it. YUCK! I can see why!)

Are you tired of reading yet?!?!

Phase 2. Intake. I will admit I'm not the best eater. And now that Aiden is eating more I want him to make better decisions. So I couldn't expect him to do that when I wasn't. Now this kid surprises me daily for the things he likes. "I like that momma" is music to my ears. He LOOVES broccoli aka trees. and he LOVES tilapia and chopped chicken aka chicken nuggets. Example what he does now. When he would go to the grocery store with me once we stepped in the store he would BEG for cookies. But now he runs over to the veggie row and picks up a tray. Of course it's the biggest one they have lol so I have to talk him down to a smaller one, but I'm extremely happy he's even begging for it.

Here's his last tray. Ate the broccoli and carrots didn't like the grapes (aka tomatoes) and thought the celery was stinky. Win some lose some.

Step 1. Get rid of everything BAD. If it was a meal in a box or carbs or sweets it was packed up and donated to my sister in law. That's right. No pastas, no white rice, no cereals, no grits, no cookies, no gummies, no muffins, etc. Granted I did keep things like the pudding packs, but those are for Aiden's lunch. Literally 4 Walmart bags FULL! It will be much easier to not be tempted if it's not staring me in the face.

Step 2. Restock. Don't do any shopping down the center rows that's where you get in trouble. However I did go down the salad/condiment row. All natural peanut butter needed and picked up some almond butter too. Stocked up on a few different dressings. Lots and Lots of Almonds (hello snack time). FYI Blue Diamond is the way to go! Our fridge has never looked so green. We now are eating alot of egg whites and it's cheaper to buy 60 at a time (bulk shopping at Kroger)!! So yes we apparently need to raise chickens. lolol We grill so much now we had to get 2 tanks so we always have a backup. :-)

Step 3. Supplements. Wes has his own stuff that I'm not going over lol. Cause I'm mean like that ;-) Ladies blog! But he started his work out plan about a month earlier than me and has lost about 40+ lbs went from a pant size 38 to 32. Guys suck! lol So proud of him, but now it's momma's turn.

Every morning I start off with Shakeology. And Oh MY! I LOOOOVE!!! It keeps me full well through lunch and I definitely can notice my energy levels changing and I'm not constantly hungry. I didnt believe it at first but wow. No lie! I take a few other things but I don't have the brands in front of me so I'll update that later.

Step 4. Workouts. Wes goes when he gets off of work yes at 12am! Thanks ATC for being open 24/7. I can't do that. His parents watch the boys 3 nights a week for an hour right after work so I can go. SO thankful for that, because working out at home every night was getting difficult with boys that wake up at the sound of a pin dropping.

20 min cardio 30 min weights (alternate arms/shoulders and legs between days) 10 cardio

Then when we get home and the boys are asleep and I do T25. Holy Moly! 25 minutes but you sweat your booty off!! I only do this 3 days a week.The other 2 days it's all about ABS! The death of me....but mommy belly needs to be gone!

Now weekends its a hit and miss. If Wes is home I will sneak off during nap time for a 45 min cardio session if hes working then I'm relaxing with the boys and getting caught up on house chores.

Look at me acting like I've been doing this for months. haha I'm only on week 2. ;-) But it's working so far. I lost 4 lbs in week 1 and lost an additional pound by yesterday!!

How I'm keeping myself accountable. Meal planning. and tracking. Eventually I'll create another page for recipes, been pinning alot lately that I need to try out first.

It's quite cute when Aiden asks if he can work out with me instead of going to bed....sorry bud it's mommy time! Leave you with pics of my little guys

Oh the life of a single mom....well not really single mom, but single parenting. Kinda explains my blog absence. Went on about a 2 month span of Wes working 7 days a week. 1pm-12am he was gone and when he was awake we were at work or school. Occasionally they let them off early or he didn't have to come in on a Sat. but it was rare. So needless to say I know how a single/military mom lives. I do the pick up, the drop offs, the cooking, the cleaning, the appointment trips, the bathing, etc. Lets just say me and the hubs are really good communicators. Have to be since we really only saw each other when one was sleeping.

And I'm not going to lie it sucked. Big time! For both of us...but thankfully that has ended! It ended on a good note too, 3 day weekend for him last weekend. We got to have a much needed date night and kid free night on Friday, Saturday it was the Daddy-boys day, and Sunday it was family day. He will still have to work Saturdays here and there but not like before unless they get another high priority big bucks job. Which is good and yet bad at the same time :-/

The boys have been busy growing up and being little handfuls. Aiden is starting soccer again soon and Brody will be walking before I know it! I looked at my calender for the remainder of the year...literally every weekend is booked with something. Busy family! Breathe!

I won't bombard with pictures but these were taken over the last few weeks.