Better Than Ever

If you had asked me about 10 years ago where I thought I would be today, I would have answered that I was sure that I would be climbing the career ladder, traveling, hanging with my friends, and just enjoying life as a single woman. I don't think I ever pictured myself as a wife or a mother. I wasn't against finding true love and "settling down" and having kids, I just wasn't sure it was in the cards for me and that was totally OK.

Now that I have those things, I can't imagine my life any other way. In many ways, my life is better than I ever could have dreamed it could be because I feel like I have it all, or as close to it all as you can get. I have a great job, and within 5 years of finishing my graduate degree I am the boss. I have a house, a car, a partner and a great kid. 

I feel like I have evolved so much in the last few years as well. Of course some of that comes from becoming a mom and learning to be more patient, less judgmental and more laid back. I've also learned to make myself a priority again after focusing almost all of my energy on my family. I now find time to exercise at least four times a week, I go get my nails done twice a month and I cook dinner almost every night and rely a lot less on take-out. 

Dove gofresh is currently sponsoring a Facebook photo contest looking for the best pictures of how your life is "better than ever." The winner of the contest will receive a spa weekend getaway in Sedona, AZ as well as thousands of dollars worth of Dove products! If you've got some great photos of your "better than ever" life, upload them to the Facebook page for a chance to win.

Is your life different than it used to be? Did you find a job you love, a new hobby, or finally start working on that novel you've been wanting to write? How are you better than ever?






I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Dove® gofresh™ blogging program, making me eligible to get a $25 gift card and some product. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

What did YOUR kid eat today?

As the mom of a toddler, I wonder all the time if my son is eating the best diet possible. Is it varied enough? Has he had enough fruits and veggies today? Does he eat too many hot dogs? Should I be concerned about his absolute refusal to even taste broccoli? When he was a baby it was a no-brainer: he was breastfed so I knew he was getting the perfect nutrition served up 24/7. Now things are a bit trickier.

I decided to look up what a kid of my son's age and weight should be eating. Thankfully the US government has created a food pyramid guide for pre-school age kids. You simply enter your kid's age, sex and activity level and you'll get a personalized look at what they should be eating. For our 2-year-old who gets more than 60 minutes of physical activity a day, he needs 3 ounces of grains, 1 cup of vegetables, 1 cup of fruit, 2 cups of milk and 2 ounces of protein and beans.

Are you surprised at easily attainable that seems? I was. I figured he'd need much more protein than that (how many times have I begged him to have one more bite of his burger?) and a lot more vegetables. In fact, I think he gets much more fruit and veg than this every day.

What if your kid is a picky eater? First of all, it's perfectly normal for toddlers to be picky eaters. A food they love on Monday will be refused on Tuesday (or vice versa...my kid wouldn't even look at eggs until yesterday when he hate most of mine off my plate. Today he asked for eggs again. Go figure!) I think the best thing you can do is to continue to offer them a wide variety of foods instead of just sticking to things that are "kid friendly" like macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets. Your kid might surprise you with just how sophisticated his palate is. I can remember being shocked when I made a baked brie and my son couldn't get enough of it and he was only 1.

When you need some inspiration, you can check out the many food blogs dedicated to toddlers. One I especially love is Weelicious. I love that she offers her kids a diet of whole foods and includes many recipes that are vegeterian and vegan. And none of this hiding vegetables in the brownies crap on this site. Her recipes highlight the good stuff and she doesn't assume that kids won't like vegetables if you serve them in healthy, tasty ways.

How do you keep your kids eating healthy? What are their favorite meals and snacks? I'm always looking for new ideas to keep our meals interesting AND healthy.

Five Fun Family Vacation Activities Your Kids Will Love

I love taking my family on vacations. Since we live in Florida, we're able to take a lot of one-tank road trips and end up somewhere with great food, scenic views and beautiful beaches. Here are my Top 5 Family Vacation Activities Your Kids Will Love!

1. Going to the beach! Who doesn't love frolicking in the ocean on a hot day? Bring along a cooler of cold drinks and snacks and don't forget the shovels and pails for building sandcastles and finding sea shells!

2. Theme parks! We've got access to a ton of theme parks here in Florida and they're all a ton of fun for the whole family. Most theme parks include activities that are also educational. Don't forget the souvenirs to remember your vacation by!

3. Museums! Whenever I go on vacation, I try to hit up at least one museum in whatever town I am visiting. Every town is famous for something and you'll be surprised at how many places have museums that are either downright kooky or huge and teeming with cool artifacts.


4. Restaurants! Vacations often give you the opportunity to experience new and exciting types of cuisine and ingredients that are local. Plus kids always love eating out in restaurants, getting to indulge in their faves like pizza or macaroni and cheese.

5. Camping! Although I personally hate camping, kids love being amongst nature and the great outdoors! Your kids will love helping you cook hot dogs on the grill, investigating the various bugs and animals and sleeping outside in their own tent!


I wrote this blog post while participating in the Williamsburg Tourism and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

How to be fashionable on a budget

Although I earn a decent living, like most moms, I don't like to spend a lot of money on myself. I feel guilty for buying pricey clothes and shoes when I can use that money to buy clothes and toys for my son, or sock some away for her college fund. Fortunately you can still be fashionable and look great on a budget! Here are my Top 10 Tips for Fashionistas on a Budget!

1. Ross/T.J. Maxx/Marshalls
I love shopping for clothes at the big discount chains. Every time you visit, they've restocked and you can pick up everything from shoes and clothes to purses, jewelry and bedding. These are also great places to shop for lingerie, which can get pricey quickly.

2. DIY
If you like to sew, know how to do beadwork or are otherwise crafty, you can DIY...do it yourself! Making your own clothing and jewelry not only saves a ton of money, but can provide fun things for you to do with your kids after school and on the weekends.

3. eBay
I love scouring eBay for discounted designer dresses and shoes. Watch out for scams, but overall, eBay has some of the best deals on designer duds.

4. Amazon
You may think Amazon is only for books and DVDs, but they also have a wide variety of clothing, shoe and beauty product options. I have gotten ridiculous steals on shoes at Amazon.com.

5. Retailmenot.com
Although there are tons of coupon and deal sites on the web, I have found that Retailmenot.com has the best collection of coupons for the top online shopping destinations. I do not buy anything online without looking for a coupon code on Retailmenot first!

6. Outlet shopping
I am lucky to live near one of the largest outlet shopping malls in the country and I try to take advantage of the  bargains to be found there a few times a year. Outlet shopping is not for the faint of heart, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes, arrive early and plan to stay late. If you can, get a sitter for the kids so you can literally shop to you drop!

7. Stick to the basics
Invest in pieces that will take you through season to season, year to year. That way, even if you have to spend a little more, you know you're getting the most bang for your buck. Every woman should have a sexy black dress, a classic white button down shirt, a great pair of dressy jeans and a blazer. Build your wardrobe around these few key pieces.

8. Costume jewelery
You can dress up any look with some funky chunky jewelry! I love costume jewelry because you can experiment with lots of different looks and it won't break the bank.

9. Sales
Of course it goes without saying that you should hold off on shopping for clothing until your favorite store is having a sale. Most department stores put a lot of their inventory on sale every weekend, so if you find something you love on Thursday, ask to put it on hold and come back on Saturday. It may be 20% off!

10.Thrift stores
Yes you have to put in work to find great pieces at a thrift store, but it can be oh so worth it! I found a pair of Stuart Weitzman shoes at a thrift store for $5 once. You will have to rummage but you never know what you might find!

What are your tips for being fashionable on a budget?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Gap Outlet blogging program to be eligible to win a $20 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Yachting with Mya

On Sunday we had the pleasure of attending a party thrown by Escada on the Venetian Lady yacht. It was an intimate crowd of about 50 and the guest of honor was singer Mya. No, our lives are typically not this exciting, but thanks to my friend Jewel we had the opportunity to rub elbows with the rich and fabulous for three hours on the Bay in Miami.

The party was in honor of Escada's latest fragrance, Marine Groove. Mya is the face of the fragrance and joined us on the yacht for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Mya is as ridiculously pretty in real life as she is on TV and in magazines. She was also really nice and took the time to take pictures with everyone.

In addition to the great photo op, we also each got a bottle of Marine Groove to take home and it was right on time as I had just finished my bottle of Chanel Chance and was looking for something new and different to try. Marine Groove is a sultry scent, very citrusy, with hints of jasmine.

I am really loving it (and the bottle is gorgeous, too) but the scent doesn't last quite as long as I'd hoped. I may add in the body lotion to build the fragrance so it lasts all day. The scent is very different and unique, not like anything I've ever worn before. I can definitely see this becoming my every day perfume!

50 Million Pound Challenge Review

My New Year's Resolution this year wasn't particularly unique or original. I promised myself that in 2010 I would lose the 50 pounds I had gained during my pregnancy (back in 2007....ahem) plus the extra I'd managed to pack on since then, eating like a pig, the way pregnant women and breastfeeding moms tend to do. I decided to go back to my tried and true old stand-by, the low-carb Atkins diet. For the first time in my life, it wasn't working for me. I know it isn't particularly healthy in the first place, but I figured if I could at least drop the weight, I could worry about eating sensibly after that.

So since Atkins wasn't working, I looked around online for a diet that would allow me to eat the carbs I crave, but keep me at a low daily caloric intake, and also not make me feel hungry and deprived. A super tall order, but I have found it in the 50 Million Pound Challenge. The 50 Million Pound Challenge is a whole weight loss system created by Dr. Ian Smith from VH-1's "Celebrity Fit Club." And it's actually a challenge: everyone who's on the diet logs their weight loss on the website and the goal is for everyone to lose a cumulative 50 million pounds.

What I like about the diet is that it's completely reasonable and doable. Dr. Ian provides you with a 30-day meal plan that includes real and easy to prepare foods like soup, sandwiches, salads, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, fruit and smoothies. You don't feel deprived because you eat four small meals and two snacks per day and the diet is filled with lean protein and LOTS of veggies. For example, here's the food I had today:

Breakfast: 2 three-inch pancakes, 2 strips of turkey bacon, coffee
2nd meal: 1 cup of grapes
Lunch: 3 cups of salad, 1 cup of beans, 3 tbsp low fat salad dressing
Snack: low fat granola bar
Dinner: 2 small slices of veggie supreme pizza, 2 cups of salad
Snack: 2 small chocolate chip cookies
(the full list of snack options is here )

Pancakes? Cookies? Pizza? Yes, all that and more really yummy food, including sushi and veggie burgers. The only thing off-limits on this diet is white bread, regular pasta, white potatoes and white rice. You can eat real sugar, you can use Splenda, you can have a diet soda and a cup of coffee every day and you can eat like a real person! The first week on the diet I lost NINE pounds. While my weight loss has slowed down since, I am on week 3 and still losing 3-5 pounds per week. I am starting to understand what a portion looks like and I am for the most part enjoying my food.

The only thing I don't like about the diet is that the meal plans online don't list calorie counts. I can tell that some days are more like 1,200 calories while others seem much higher, like 1,800 calories. If there is some rhyme or reason to why you might want to mix it up like this, it's not explained on the site. I know Dr. Ian has written some diet books, so these things might be explained there. It would also be helpful to have calorie counts so that once I reach my goal weight, I can mix and match foods and create my own meal plans, or figure out how to go out to dinner with friends and not wreck my diet. So far I've avoided restaurants, opting to cook and prepare all my own food (another bonus....saving money!) I wish I had more time to work out and I know I lost a ton the first week because I got my butt on the elliptical every day. However, even though I've been slacking on the gym portion, I've still lost.

So overall I am loving the diet and I plan to stick with it for the long haul. It is definitely an easy plan to follow, but it requires preparation and a decent amount of cooking. The discipline required to pack my meals and snacks the night before was hard at first, but I am getting into the swing of things and it's becoming a part of my evening routine.

Anyone else doing the 50 Million Pound Challenge? What do you think? Do you have another diet plan that you love?

Cinnabon Sweet Retreat & Giveaway!

I am back from my trip to Seattle and I had such an amazing time on my Cinnabon Sweet Retreat* that it will be hard to put it into words. It's amazing how much fun we managed to cram into one day! It definitely took me a few days to get myself back together, but it was so worth it to go on this fantastic trip!

I arrived in Seattle on Tuesday evening and was greeted by Cathy from Gastronomy Blog and Sarah, the PR Rep who works with Cinnabon. We had a lively chat on the way to the hotel and I instantly liked these girls. In fact, once we checked into the hotel, all of the bloggers invited to the event met up for cocktails and appetizers and everyone was so nice and friendly. Seriously, a great group, and zero drama. I finally met Mommy Perks, Mommy Mandy, Mommy Goggles, and the food bloggers from Cupcakes Take the Cake, Gigachef, Serious Eats and Savory Sweet Life in person and all of the ladies were fantastic. Unfortunately, since I was on east coast time and ready to collapse, I had to call it a night pretty early. I didn't mind retreating to my room, though. The hotel we were in was fantastic and each room had its own fireplace, controlled by a switch on the wall. Sweet.

The next day after a quick breakfast we were off to take the ferry to Bainbridge Island. Once we arrived on the island, we immediately headed to Cafe Nola for lunch (this day was ALL about delicious food!) and then headed over to the home of the "Cinnamom," Jerilyn Brusseau. Jerilyn lives in an adorable little cottage home that she describes as "a kitchen with a bed." It's true, her home was about 700 square feet and most of it was in the kitchen, which included two ovens and a giant island in the center that was covered in Cinnabon's new product........cupcakes!

Yes, yours truly was one of the first people to taste test Cinnabon's new line of cupcakes and I can report that they are delicious.

The four new flavors are Cinnacake (literally a Cinnabon in cupcake form!), 24-Carrot Cake, Chocolate Passion and Vanilla Bliss. They were all delectable, but I'd have to say my favorite was the Vanilla Bliss, a moist vanilla cupcake topped with creamy vanilla frosting. The Cinnacake was a close second.

If you are a chocoholic you'll love the Chocolate Passion and fans of Carrot Cake should definitely try the 24 Carrot (the carrot cake cupcakes don't contain any raisins or nuts, which is either a good or bad thing depending on your tastes.) The Cinnabon Cupcakes are available in many markets already and will be available everywhere by mid-March.

In addition to getting to taste the new product line, we also got the chance to decorate our own cupcakes (I sucked at this but it was fun! I'm OK with the fact that I'll never have a career in cupcake decorating!) Jerilyn also shared with us her amazing recipe for coconut cream cupcakes and we all baked a batch together. Jerilyn gave us some cooking tips (add your vanilla in when you cream together your butter and sugar, regardless of when the recipe tells you to add it, and dissolve your salt in your milk or cream when baking, rather than adding them in separately.)

Jerilyn also shared with us the story of how Cinnabon came to be. Jerilyn owned her own bakery and cafe in the 80s when she was approached to create the "world's greatest cinnamon bun." She created the Cinnabon we know and love today and also created this new line of cupcakes. In addition to being a mom, business woman and baker, Jerilyn is also a humanitarian whose organization Peace Trees Vietnam works to remove land mines in Vietnam and replace them with new trees. What a woman! So now you can feel free to run to your local mall and enjoy these Cinnabons and cupcakes, knowing that they're not only delicious, but that they're produced by a company you can get behind.

Cinnabon has also been great enough to offer TWO of my readers a $20 gift certificate to use at their local Cinnabon!  Be the office hero by bringing in warm Cinnabons to your next meeting or bring some cupcakes for the office party or your kid's birthday. All you have to do to enter is tell me which cupcake flavor you think will be your favorite.

You can earn four extra entries by 1) Following @soulparents on Twitter and 2) Tweeting about this giveaway, 3)Becoming a fan of Soul Parents on Facebook and 4) following Soul Parents through Google Friend Connect. Please leave a separate comment for each entry and a link if applicable or the entry will NOT count. This giveaway will end on Wednesday, February 24th at 11:59 PM EST. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond, or another winner may be chosen. Good luck!

*My trip was sponsored by Cinnabon, as were the two $20 gift certificates.