Welcome to "To mommies and beyond"!

Welcome to a mommy blog for family well-being, going green, learning to spend quality time with your wee ones through play and crafts, going green, reviewing new children and baby products, household gadgets and everything important to mommies and BEYOND.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Herbalife Journey Shake 1



I embarked on my journey this afternnon with a great deal of excitement. Upon mixing my first shake which consisted of:
  • Herbalife Healthy Meal Nutitional Shake Mix Wild Berry flavor
  • Herbalige Protein Drink Mix
  • 8 0z. Skim milk
  • a lot of water.
My ititial thoughts on the taste and quality:
  • 3 year old taste the Strawberry tasting shake and comments' Hmm , taste like Pepsi "( everything is Pepsi except for milk.) 3 year old likes the Pepsi logo and therefore everything is Pepsi!
  • Upon first taste, My thought was that the Wild Berry shake does taste like Strawberry. It has a nice flavor. For a product that is packed with vitamins, there is not a vitamin after taste. A nice flavor is an added bonus compared to some of the "other" name brand meal replacement shakes.
  • Note to self: ICE ICE ICE. The shake would taste wonderful with ice as a smoothie.
  • I added a lot of water to attempt to get my daily requirement of water intake. I believe that I over-watered the product. I think even with this amount of water, it would taste great, providing that I thicken the shake. I have heard that Greek Yogurt would be a beneficial addition as would sugar free pudding mix.
  • There is a lot of potential with this product.
Overall, I give the product a thumbs up review!  There are many ways to dress up the Herbalife while remaining in my estimated caloric intake. I enjoyed the Herbalife Shake/Dinner #1.

Herbalife has three core products. I will begin my adventure slowly and then build up.

** SHhhh I am $76.59 in. I must produce results to keep this wonderful product and life changing personal challenge and journey justifiable.


***** I have purchased the Herbalife Healthy Nutritional Shake Mix and Protein Drink Mix on my accord and without Herbalife Sponsorship or advertisement.( although Sponsorship and sample products would be an appealing and acceptable offer). The opinions stated are my true and honest opinion based upon my personal experience.



Photos compliments of Herbalife.



  

Friendship Sticks

Celebrate the upcoming Friendship day( June 8) and the end of the school year by creating a fantastic friendship necklace for your best friend(s) or your entire classroom. The picture features a necklace that has been panted  with six colors, one for each letter in the word friend. As an option, you could use a different color for each letter in your friends name. This is a fun and easy craft project.Friendship Sticks Necklace Project
Photo and project idea compliments of http://familyfun.go.com/

New Journey

 I am about to embark on an amazing new journey in my weight loss efforts. I have been there done that with a variety of diets, tricks, fads a college weight training class ( + 2 pounds) in the summer of 2009 and even administering my very own Byetta Diabetes medication injections twice a day for a weight loss experiment with very little results.(-10 pounds after 8 months and $$$)

 I finally  experienced a bit of success with the South Beach Diet. I had a whopping 60 pound loss. I was so excited and pleased with my results. After a while I switched to the next phase and thought that I would stay there to avoid a plateau.


Advance one 1, 200 mile move away from all of my family and friends and add a nice hearty Midwestern winter. I found myself enjoying the beautiful scenery of the midwest with a much thicker middle. My very first Michigan winter awarded me a 37 pound weight gain. I was shocked at my first step back on the scale. What was I thinking to allow a 37 pound comfort zone? Talk about fat and sassy!

I returned to a "modified" version of the South Beach Diet. I am now at a -12 pound loss. My Midwestern home-cooking winter bound scale now reads at a + 25 pound post South Beach Diet weight.

 I recently learned of the wonderful Herbalife program. While attending a soccer game, I noticed another soccer mom that I had to take a double-take to recongnize. She began the Herbalife program approximatley 5 months ago with a -59 pound weight loss to date. She looks amazing and feels so much better. Boy was I intrigued.

Today will begin my Herbalife program. Sunday will be my official start date. Today, I will sample my first meal replacement shake for my dinner. I am really excited to get my weight loss underway. Wish me luck. I invite you to join me along my journey and perhaps begin your very own. I will have a body scan on Wednesday to see the cold hard truth "magical numbers" that will tell me where my BMI stands, My lean ( ha, lol, me + the word lean) muscle percentage and necessary fat, bones, cartilage and so forth. My true estimated healthy weight will be revealed.


Photo compliments of : Amas Ben-Arie@ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pinqo_The_Cat_In_A_Basket.jpg

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Tons of Trucks

Do you have a toddler that loves transportation and vehicles? If you can answer yes, here is a terrific day trip for your wee one.
What?
The 6th annual Tons of Trucks event - hop into the driver's seat of a police car, a giant backhoe and even a fire truck. Read more.

Photo compliments of Robert Pernell | Dreamstime.com

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Free Sample Special K Cereal Bar

You can request a FREE sample of Special K  cereal's Protein pack and E-newsletter. Get your Free Sample.
Photo compliments of http://www.specialk.com/meal-bars/strawberry/

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Father's Day Craft Ideas

Father's Day is just around the corner. With school letting out and summer activities beginning, it is a great time to start thinking ahead. How would you like to honor your father and your children's father? Read more: Father's Day Craft Ideas.
Photo Credit: Robert G. via http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_Granada_Mark_I_%28Europe%29_2.jpg

Monday, May 24, 2010

DIY Foaming Bubble Bath

You can make your own foaming bubble bath.You will need:
  • 1 cup of any type of vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup liquid soap. it can be antibacterial or any scent of your choice
  • 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract ( for a vanilla foam bath)
Read more: 
Photo compliments:  

DIY Bath Salts

Bath salts!
Bath salts!
compliments of acclain images.com

You can create unique bath salts.
You will need:
  • a container or Ziplock bag to hold your bath salts
  • sea salt
  • baking soda
  •   Epsomsalts
The bath salt recipe:
  • 1 part sea salt
  • 2 parts baking soda
  • 3 parts Epsom salts
  • Read more:
     

Jack and the Beanstalk Craft n' story

Read The folklore story, Jack and the Beanstalk and then make a Jack and the Beanstalk planter. Read more:


Photo Credit:
http://www.priceinspector.co.uk/p/Garden%20Design%20Package/f/desc,True/

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Scissor skill builders

Pre-school aged children are expected to meet specific guidelines prior to the start of their official academic career. The ability to know how to use a pair of scissors is a skill that kindergartners are expected to have mastered before the start of school. http://www.examiner.com/x-33503-Ann-Arbor-Childrens-Crafts-Examiner~y2010m4d29-Scissor-skill-builders

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Busy bees circle fun


A fun lesson for toddlers to learn about shapes. Allow your child to explore circles. Toddlers will squeal in delight with this fun lesson.Contine reading

Granola bars forever

 Do you have a toddler that snacks away the day? My wee one is always on the hunt for a "bar". There is never a preference of brand, flavor, ingredients, or any of the health and nutrition concerns of mom. As long as it is a "bar", peace prevails. Numerous melt - downs have occurred when the pantry has become bar-less or the grocery store clerk has been a little slow at ringing up the purchase.http://www.examiner.com/x-33503-Ann-Arbor-Childrens-Crafts-Examiner~y2010m5d19-Granola-bars-forever#

Friday, May 21, 2010

To mommies and Beyond's Fabulous Alight give-away

    If you are heading to the office, school, or vacation. Alight plus size clothing offers trendy jeans, adorable tunics, elegant dresses for formal and casual wear in sizes 14W-30W. You can browse the online catalog at alight.com and find something to accentuate your business, or casual trends! Alight offers a lovely variety of plus size hard to find junior sizes. Over 25 boutique themes and nearly 80 brands are available via the online catalog. I am impressed with the attention to style and fashion trends.
To mommies and Beyond is offering the chance for one winner to win a Plus size top from Alight Plus size clothing. This give-away will run until August 2010. A new winner be drawn June 20, July 20, and August 19, 2010.

To register for this give-away :
  • Subscribe to Alight email/newsletter and tell me an item that you would love to have.(alight will choose the winning prize) It is required that you subscribe to the Alight newsletter. Winners will be randomly chosen, if email subscription can not be confirmed, a new winner will be chosen. Comment below and include each entry requirement as well as your email contact information. Be sure to add a new comment for each entry requirement that you have completed.
Would you like an additional chance to win this fabulous give-away?
  • Follow to mommies and beyond-1 additional entry
  • follow alight on facebook-1 additional entry
  • follow alight on twitter-1 additional entry
  • Retweet the alight.com giveaway ( To mommies and Beyond alight.com clothing giveaway http://mommiesandbeyond.blogspot.com ). - 2 additional entries.
  • follow craftsexaminer on twitter-1 additional entry
  • Purchase at least one item from alight.com. Purchase must be confirmed to win. For each item that you purchase, you will earn an additional 5 entries. Remember to keep proof of your purchase for confirmation. If you win and the purchase cannot be confirmed, You will be disqualified and a new winner will be chosen.
* All winner will be randomly chosen.
* Alight will send the winners of each months giveaway an Alight top of their choice. Visit alight.com today!
 Plus size clothing

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Make a bird feeder

Make a bird feeder with your family. It is a fun and easy project. Children love to paint and create. You can easily create a bird feeder by recycling kitchen product containers.

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