Starting Over Is Not Easy ... Mother Baby Child Blog
I was over 35 when I gave birth to Baby Max. My middle son was 11 years old and my older son had just turned seventeen. It wasn't easy starting over again ... Mother Baby Child is a blog to share parenting experiences, as well as what marriage is like after being a single mom for so many years. Get info on having a baby, raising children, babies, tweens, teens, homeschooling, mom blogs, work at home mom. business marketing, Christian and celebrity moms blog posts.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. ~ Philippians 4:13 (KJV)
7 Months Later & Excited To Share This Business Info With You!
I don't know if you remember or not, but I wrote a blog post about needing to lose weight and a 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge I joined at the end of July 2012. I was really excited to get started in losing weight. After a few months of getting results via weight loss and decreasing my blood pressure, I became even more excited to share the information and build a work at home business with this company. I started sharing the product information as well as the changes that I was making in getting healthier. My business grew over the months from 1-2 hours a week invested. All I did was share the info through my personal weight loss blog and then share the blog post link at my social networks. People really liked the information :)
I have been blogging here for years and never shared anything like this with you before, therefore you can take it to heart as valuable business information if you have been looking for a work at home business - not job - with products that flat out work. I have been on the Internet for many years and tried a lot of things. This is a business that I am proud to stand behind and I have not done that with any other business for years because I just did not have the same experience with other ones I tried. Additionally, if you have been looking for a good work at home business, though did not do well in another company in the past or had a bad work at home experience, keep an open mind because I would never post anything unless I knew it was a good business.
BENEFITS OF THIS $10 WORK AT HOME BUSINESS
No parties! No confusion! Family type business culture!
No need for products on hand unless you want them!
National and International business potential for you!
No stressing out family and friends; let them contact you!
Affordable, fun and totally at your own pace :)
Complete virtual office for building and managing your business.
One time $10 to become distributor with product purchase.
Not only is this a work at home business with real products that work, it is a company where people with no experience in direct sales or online marketing are doing very well, too. This is a totally legit and debt free company that pays each week and is affordable to do. Unlike companies that tell you they will help you and do not, you will get full training, free resources and even team support from our company, as well as direct help from me. All you have to do is want to help people that use our products and 90 day challenge, as well as have the commitment to build a business during whatever hours you set each week. There is a system in place that works for everyone in the business if they follow instructions, and you're a blogger, therefore you know the power of sharing information when a product or service is working well for you :)
You can visit my other blog to learn more about the products, business and read my blog posts (found on the left hand side of the homepage) ... everything you need is there. You can contact me directly with any questions that you have; we can email or chat by phone; whichever is most convenient for you.
* I won't post my earnings here because I think it is tacky, but will confirm that you can easily make a PT or FT income with this business with just a few hours a week by just copying what we do.
Here's to your starting to fulfilling your health and financial goals before summer :) If you just want to join our 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge, that is cool, too. The info is there on my other blog ... we welcome you :)
The past few months have been very busy for me. My family and I committed to an organic / natural lifestyle back in March 2012. This has taken a lot of research and major changes to how we shop, eat and live. The greatest challenge has been finding food that is really organic and really natural. We now shop between farms, stores and markets for the different foods we eat instead of the convenience of just going to one store for groceries. It has been a challenge, though worth it not to have to worry about the chemicals going into our children's bodies. Yet, organic foods or natural foods does not mean that someone will lose a bunch of weight. It is the same for those who become vegetarians. The food quality is one thing, but if you are frying, over eating or eating a bunch of fatty foods, then you will not lose weight just because the food is organic or natural. This is where my 90 day weight loss challenge comes into play, but I want to share a few more things before I give you that info.
IF YOU WANT TO SKIP TO THE 90 DAY WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE I WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO HAVE YOU JOIN ME, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT THE REST OF THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING TO YOU, TOO :)
If you have been following me on Twitter or Instagram, you know that I have taken up organic gardening and am pretty "into it" by now. Our tomato plants are like trees, we have 4 types of pepper plants going, I have already harvested radishes, basil, onions, chives and one carrot. Summer is not even our best growing season in Florida, but we are doing well and learning a lot. The greatest challenge has been dealing with the leafminers which I have found helpful in learning how to prune tomato plants (LOL) regularly :) I just love watching these plants grow and caring for them. During this process, I have learned that there are a ton of people on Instagram that are VERY into sharing their gardening tips and pictures, too. You can see all of these pictures on my Twitter or by joining me on Instagram (viralmarketingmom).
I have also been very busy with client's websites since Google launched Google + and had the Panda and Penguin search engine changes. These business owners always have online marketing needs that keep me busy and it can be a bit much because the search engines are always changing.
As you can imagine, my stress level has been higher than usual. The organic gardening has been helpful with handling the stress because it is my time to think, plan and have some physical activity. It is sometimes when I do not think about everything and that is cool, too. Regardless, I decided that I needed more exercise because I am not losing the baby weight as I had planned to do. I wanted to take a diet pill (like I used to before Baby Max), but I could not risk increasing my blood pressure after having the baby ... PLUS, we went organic / natural in March and I do not want to have those chemicals in my body.
So, I started walking again and taking aerobics a few days a week.
This has all encouraged me to see if a certain supplement was natural or not. I had been watching friends promoting in on Facebook. They always post before and after weight loss pictures from their clients ... Most have lost a significant amount of weight, so I was interested in finding out more, but I was not quite motivated to buy until my husband received an email and asked me if I knew anything about it. That was all it took ... I am now in their 90 day weight loss challenge and feeling excited about it. We all win t-shirts if we stick with the weight loss program for the 90 days. 3 people will win $1000 for being the biggest losers in the group.
It's fun! It's motivating! It's challenging! People are losing weight!
Plus, I get to make money while losing weight, and help other moms do the same. This is not a requirement for doing the 90 day challenge, but they have the best compensation plan and home business structure that I have seen over the past 13 years in wahm business. I don't have a lot of extra time, so this fits with our schedule and healthy lifestyle changes we are making as a family. I am excited to finally start losing this baby weight again because I was at a stand still ...
April 2nd - World Autism Awareness Day - Autism Awareness Month
Today is Autism Awareness Day which kicks off Authism Awareness Month 2012. I wrote about Autism Day last year, and a little about my experience with having a child within spectrum(s). I encourage you to learn more about AUTISM and comment with your resources, so that more people know what to watch for in children, family and friends. The current stats are staggering ... most recent study is 1 in 88 eight year olds are autistic. I know from experience and media of children doing extraordinary things despite of their autism / spectrum disorders, though families of children with autism know that this is not always the case. Visit http://www.worldautismawarenessday.org and http://www.AutismSpeaks.org to learn more and make year long / lifetime commitment for those with Autism / ASD.
Please make sure to Pinterest Pin this image if you have a child, grandchild or other family member with Autism!
This is not a radical anti-establishment / horrible Monsanto post, that will come later. Mine is a story of guilt and anger over processed foods, genetically altered, pesticide & fast foods ... How could we let them do this to us? How could I ignore the facts and God's will?
I have struggled with my weight since having children (18 years ago). This is not because I didn't eat my veges or couldn't lose weight, but that the "bad foods" always took over my willpower; especially when it came to choosing which foods to buy according to our budget (I love a good deal) and portion sizes. As a result, it would take me years to lose weight after having a baby. I also fed my family professed foods, genetically altered foods, fast foods, corn syrup and pesticide infected meats and vegetables that I thought were healthy.
Sustainable Food Movement - Pesticide Free / Healthy Organic Foods Movement
This chapter of my life is titled "My Personal Struggle". It involves guilt ridden realizations that motivated me into taking responsibility for the food choices that I have made for my family and dedication to breaking the cycle.
It really broke my heart when my husband gave our baby a hotdog for the first time. I swore that I wasn't going to do "THAT" to "THIS" child, but who cold blame him? I fed the baby a chicken nugget, crackers and cookies, so many times, and gave him toddler baby formula (soy) after he weaned from breastfeeding. In fact, I put the hotdogs on the store list despite knowing that they are not good for us (even our preferred store bought beef hotdogs). Prior to this baby, my entire family and I have been feeding children and eateneating "bad foods" for generations. It was only my step mother's health obsession (as I was growing up), my grandparent's gardening and fostering my love of vegetables, my mother's "fat" prejudice and going to the farmer's market when I was young, that confirm that I am right about how I feel regardless of whether I ever read an article, food label or warning about the type of food we eat in the United States. Ironically, it was also these family members that embraced processed foods, fad dieting, chemicals, pesticides, fast food, etc, as fell as fostering larger food portions, eating everything on my plate whether I was fool or not, and sweet foods made from unhealthy flours, sugars, etc. I would never blame them because that is how life transpired as we became more industrial in this nation, but they could have done better despite the food fads (like turning off the TV and educating themselves on how to keep "things" as simple as what they had learned from family members on the farms and remembered from their radio listening childhoods. Instead of preserving the "old school" and flower child ideals, they sold out to the bigger, larger, more is better, brainwashing that our corporations and government has supported for decades!
Healthy Food & Lifestyle | Taking Responsibility & Making Changes
I heard the "rumors" about genetically altered foods; knew the benefits of exercising and eating healthy, since I was a child. I know that cigarettes cause cancer, as well as Aspartame and other chemicals in our foods. I remember reading about the first case of BSE when I was a kid (1980s) and especially the Mad Cow Disease epidemic in 1993 because that was when my son was born. It wasn't long after that my mother bought 1/2 a cow from an organic farm near our city and gave me plenty to last. My guilt is in knowing all of the basic health information and ignoring it, as well as not researching and learning more about the "rumors" ... especially since I was a biology student for so many years. I have no excuse for not feeding my children natural / organic foods except for the fact that it was easier, cheaper and, sometimes, more fun to be irresponsible about our health. I also have no excuse for all of the years of smoking, drinking and, various forms of, gluttony after having children. I was just sick with regret for all of the years that I let my children eat processed foods and fast foods, and then anger for feeding them pesticide foods that I thought were good for us once I decided to drop the other bad foods and make more healthy choices.
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Even non-Christians know this scripture quote about our body being temple, yet we ignore it as easily as we ignore God's other instructions and laws. It starts from the top of the food chain and ends in our hearts. The problem that we are having (others and my family) is that the government and corporations have made it virtually impossible to go "back to basics" in this world. I am not only referring to our food sources, but also the generations of change in products, utilities and leadership in this nation.
My husband and I have been making changes since the beginning of this year. It started with childhood and adult experience, listening to people trying to educate us on what is wrong and right according to the Bible, health, etc. I sat and watched Fresh The Movie when they made it available online and free in January 2012. I highly recommend attending a viewing or buying this movie if you can ... it is safe enough for children to watch and educational for those who are interested in a healthier way of life. The problem that I have had since watching Fresh The Movie is the extreme guilt of what I have done to my body and the health of those I love, as well as anger towards the impact of media, corporations and government for the choices they have made for us. For example, soy, potatoes, tomatoes, apples, corn, ice cream, pet food, etc. genetically engineered? Why is our infant formula, flour, syrup, oil, pet food, processed foods, etc made with non conventional ingredients? Why does a bottle of vitamin C taste like salt, plus have sodium and Yellow 6 in it? Why does Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) infect meats, dairy and pesticides on the vegetables needed to eat and make flour, corn meal, coffee, etc. Why does our local food get shipped to other states and out of the country ... why do we eat imported foods when the exact same foods are exported from our country?
Most importantly ... why is it so hard to find and buy organic foods; especially 100% organic local foods and at the same market value as the "bad foods" that companies and the government approves for us? Why can't I find non-GMO (GMO - Genetically Motified Food) in some cases? Why does the government let Monsanto have such control over our foods and fund industrial farming? I even have to screen every single farmer and take tours in order to buy local organic foods. In many cases, such as pork and certain vegetables, only natural is available and this upsets me.
Change is not easy! On the other hand, it should not be this difficult for those who chose to shop for natural / organic food and products. Our family is making this change despite the costs and time; including growing some of our own foods, exercise and educating our other family members. I am wondering if you have been considering or have made the change to Organic Foods and healthier life changes? Please comment below and follow at networks; I will follow back so that we can learn and share with one another.
Please make sure to register at http://www.freshthemovie.com to learn more about the sustainable food movement and how you can improve the quality of food that you are feeding your family, too!
Our baby is almost 2 months old. Sleep, life and work is almost back to "normal". The 6 week waiting period has passed and I am ready to lose this pregnancy weight. Some has come off naturally and I am still drumming up the motivation to get started with an exercise routine. It is not that I don't want to lose weight. I am certainly not in denial about needing to lose the pregnancy weight. It is more of a motivational issue because of the following:
TIME & SPACE
It was hard enough to make time to exercise before I had the baby, now there is much less "me" time. Plus, it seems like everyone is always around me in the house. If I have to leave the home to exercise, it takes me extra time to get ready because I have to settle my other son for homeschooling, get presentable, make sure my business needs are met, prepare and support the milk filled breasts, etc. This all makes it a hassle to go to the gym or aerobics class. I know this will pass as the baby gets older and life becomes even more organized. For now, I need to make myself add this one more thing (exercise) to the schedule and have everything else work around it. This is hard!
* I have to make time to exercise NO MATTER WHAT and remain consistent.
EATING HABITS
I just noticed that the whole family's eating habits have been changed for the worse. It is not that I did not eat healthy while pregnant, but I was much more flexible about portion sizes, starches and junk that I typically did not permit in my diet (lots of craving given into). Max's dad put on weight, too. He has become totally unrestrained and obsessed with fast foods (cinnamon buns, burgers, pizza, ice cream, pop, etc.). My 2nd oldest son, Jonny, is now addicted to things I monitored more closely. I didn't realize this until I saw empty pop cans in his room. Last night, he told my mother that French fries are his NEW favorite food. What a bummer coming from the mouth of a child that used to prefer to drink water to any other beverage and loved eating broccoli with dip. Yesterday, I had a totally healthy eating day that ended with a sweet attack. My will power is shot
* I have to established the better eating habits and exercise will power. Hopefully, my changes will carry over to the other family members , though I will not give in when other family members choose not to do what is best for their bodies.
MOTIVATION (Self-Motivation & Motivation From Others)
The time, space and eating habits are common issues for why healthy people have a hard time losing weight. Losing weight after pregnancy is not much different, though can be a challenge for breastfeeding or single mothers. Regardless, doable in any case so long as one knows the issues are and how they can solve them. This is where the self-motivation comes in to play.
* I have narrowed down to what I need to do to lose weight.
GETTING STARTED - "The best laid plans of mice and men" ...
No matter how carefully a project is planned, something still may go wrong, therefore I better make reasonable plans according to my "issues". 1) Time / Space = I will set my schedule to exercise AT LEAST 3 times a week and for AT LEAST 1/2 HOUR each session. If I can do more ... great! If not, I can do at least what I committed to do for my body. 2) Eating Habits = I'm 5'8 and medium boned, so I Googled to find the ideal weight for my height and got the following: "According to your height of 5' 8" your ideal healthy weight is 147 pounds. Your recommended weight range is between 131 and 164 pounds." I think 1600 calories a day will work fine for my starting goal. It just depends on how my body feels and nursing. I will start by going back to the way that I ate before I got pregnant (cutting down breads, sugars, chocolate ... lots of water) and then work down to a low fat, high protein and vegetable diet. I'll post again to let you know how "it's" going, but I am interested in your motivational tips, challenges, success stories, etc.
If you are in the process of losing weight after pregnancy or have already accomplished your weight loss goals? Please make sure to share your experience in the comment section below.
