Treasure Box

So school got out this week.  Now that it's summer time, and the kids will be home ALL day, I thought it was time to implement a new positive reinforcement system to help motivate them to get along with each other.  (The first day of summer was pretty rough, haha!  The kids were pretty wired and unruly.) 

So I took them to the store with me today to pick out some special surprises for the treasure box (mostly consumable stuff- like bubbles, chapstick, treats, etc.)  They're SO thrilled about it.  And it really works!  Today was AMAZING.  The kids were SO good, haha!!

When I asked them to do their chores, (I often get complaints or sighs) they said, "YES Mommy, I'll do it right away!"  Aw, love it.  Isn't that music to every mom's ears?!  I've learned the first couple days you have to be very serious about it, and only allow a reward if they're on their best behavior.  That way they know you mean business, and you won't just dole it out at the end of the day no matter what.  And the newness can wear off over time, so you have to make sure the reward is really something that they're excited about!

I think this is so much better than the alternative of constantly criticizing, nagging, and scolding them to behave all summer.  Hopefully this system will make the summer more enjoyable for us all.

Cutest Stowaway

Look what I found in my suitcase tonight!  I'm leaving for Europe in the morning, and he was hoping to come along too. Aw, I'll miss my little sweeties!

Amazing Brothers!

These videos were just posted on Youtube- and I had to share them.  These are my extremely talented brothers.  God has given them both a gift- and they have worked hard to develop their talent, and it inspires me everytime I hear them sing.  They are both voice teachers- helping others develop their talents too.  Love them both!  I'm actually going to have an opportunity THIS weekend to go to Europe and sing with them!!  It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for me- so I'm thrilled!  Plus, I've basically been a single mom for the last 5 months- (Jon has been working crazy hours) so I could seriously use a break. 

(Just thinking about it though- I miss Mr. Wonderful and the kids already.)  :(

Anway, so here they are:

Ben as Tony in West Side Story:

Um yeah- he's pretty much amazing!!  His acting is incredible too. I know I'm biased- but I'm not the only one who thinks he's talented. Leonard Bernstein's (the composer of West Side Story) son and daughter were actually in the audience one night! And after the show while we were standing there, his daughter approached him and said that in the last 25 years that she had been touring around the world and watching different West Side Story productions, Ben was the best Tony she had ever seen! Talk about a compliment!

And here's one of Joey and Ben together performing the lead roles in The Secret Garden:

Aren't they great?  I also need to get a video on here of Joey singing Stars from Les Mis.  It's incredible.  I'm so proud of them both!!

(Can you tell?)

Isagenix

                                                                             Before:

After:

I'd like to share something I'm so excited about! I mentioned a little about it in my last post, but here are more details.  So I love being a mother- there is nothing else I would rather do with my life- it is the most rewarding thing I have ever experienced.  But it has also been the most exhausting and challenging experience of my life.  After Jarom was born, the stress of motherhood and 5 pregnancies in 6 years had definitely taken a toll on me physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I have always been passionate about health and fitness and even became a part-time Turbo Kick instructor after my 4th child was born in hopes that I could help people achieve their health goals.  I don't believe in diets- since they're not an effective long term solution.  My motto for weight loss and good health after each pregnancy was always- "Eat less- move more."  And after each of the first 4 pregnancies, the baby weight fell off quickly as I tried to apply this principle.

But after I had our 5th child, eating less and moving more was simply NOT working.  I could not get the extra weight off despite my best efforts.  10 months went by- and I had lost very little of the extra prego pounds.

  

The change for me came just this last April after watching "Food Inc".  I learned more about how nutritionally bankrupt our food has become, and I wanted to DO something about it.  I was concerned about the state of our health, running on low energy much of the time, dealing with sugar highs and crashes, and feeling overwhelmingly frustrated that I couldn't drop the baby weight.  I believe in the power of prayer, so I poured out my heart in prayer about all these concerns, asked for help... and the next day I stumbled upon a video about Isagenix.  I knew immediately that it was an answer to that prayer.  The fact that it was not a diet, and not a fast- but a total body nutritional cleanse really appealed to me, so I decided to give it a try- plus with a 100% moneyback guarantee, I felt I had nothing to lose.  I knew it was time to make a change and regain control of my unhealthy eating habits. 

I was so excited to start a new lifestyle!  And the results blew me away.  I lost 10 lbs. and 11 inches on the 9 day system, and went on to lose another 11 lbs. and dropped 4 dress sizes.  More importantly, I feel more energy than I have had in years and my cravings are supressed.  It feels so liberating to develop greater self-control over my sugar habit- (and hopefully save money on dental bills).  I rarely crave processed, refined, nutritionally void foods now because my body is finally getting the nutrients, vitamins and minerals it was really hungry for.  I can FEEL the difference.  The visible results are just a bonus. :)  What kept me on track during the cleanse was a clear motive that I kept in mind.  My motive was to have greater health and more energy to better serve my family.  I wanted to be an example of excellent health for my children.  Another critical factor in achieving this goal was the support of a fabulous coach and a network of new Isagenix friends from a support group to keep me accountable and inspired.

So it has clearly been a great blessing in my life.  So much so that I've decided to share it forward and become involved in promoting and teaching people about it.  So I'm now a nutritional cleanse coach- helping others achieve their health goals too.  What I love about this is I can work from home during the kids quiet time- and coach people as they make this healthy lifestyle change.  In this business, we can only succeed by helping others succeed!  What a blessing to have a chance to make an impact in the world and enrich people's lives through sharing this phenomenal product and opportunity.  There are a lot of misconceptions about it, so I'll clear some of those up in a follow-up post soon.  But if anyone wants more info- check out http://www.isagenix.com/ and watch the Isavideos.  And let me know if you have any questions about it.  It could change your life. :)