EASTER Printable with Purpose

This EASTER printable from LOVING EVERY SECOND is exactly what I have been looking for! I was just about to give up, carve out some time today and make one myself but now I don't have to, YAY!

I will be putting this in a small frame and adding it to the entry way table Easter decor.

ZUMBA - on Fitness Friday

"A fit mom is a happy mom."

The bumper sticker does not lie. I know some of us crafting moms don't like to hear that. So much of who we are is "creating" things. Reaching inside ourselves and bringing what we feel inside, out into the world, making the world prettier. It feels so good to do that, especially when it is turning out the way we envisioned it in our minds. There is only one problem. SO much of all of that is done SITTING DOWN. I have fought with that all my life. I am not a couch potato, but maybe a craft, um, cucumber? Suddenly it was getting harder for me to want to actively play with my kids. First it was just that I didn't feel like running around "this time" and soon, it was every time that I would choose to sit on the bench and watch. It wasn't long afterward that it actually began to hurt when I ran around with them. I thought, oh, I guess this is what late 30's feels like. But I was wrong, I was just OUT OF SHAPE from all the "creating". Not that crafting was wasted time. I treasure sharing that time with my children, but I also wanted to feel strong again.

So yes, I know, here is that word we are all tired of seeing : "ZUMBA" . I am really not a crowd follower. I somehow have the desire to ignore things that everyone else seems to love. I don't think I even do this consciously, and who do I think I am anyway? As if I have some sort of elite taste that is better than the masses?!

Okay, back to the point: Zumba was one of those things. You can't go anywhere on the internet without seeing something about ZUMBA. It is on all the gym schedules. There are dvd's, books, clothing, jewelry, it is an entire empire of ZUMBA. Nothing that huge can be worth doing right? Well.

We joined the gym where my children are on swim team. We figured we were there waiting for them anyway why not exercise a little, right? I assumed I would just be walking the treadmill. I am very tall, 5'11" and I really don't want to add any large muscles to my body, even though everyone swears by it and how it increase metabolism etc. I really just wanted to trim down. I had recently discovered Tracy Anderson (saving that for next Fitness Friday), the trainer to many of Hollywood's best bodies, and her method uses a lot of dance to trim down. Hmmm, I thought, I bet that could work well. So when a friend at the gym mentioned how much she enjoyed the Zumba class there I decided, despite it's popularity, I would try it.

I LOVED it!! I couldn't believe how much fun it was! The instructor was so inspiring. She looked great, and could dance so well, I kept thinking "I want to be able to move like that too!". The hardest part was seeing myself in the mirror. I usually avoided mirrors since I no longer really recognized the person looking back at me. I chose a back corner of the dance room where I couldn't see the mirror, and got to work. Tracy Anderson says to do well with your routine you have to "perform", you work your body so much better when you are trying to look good while you do it. Somehow "performing" works your core better, puts your mind/body connection thing into place and it all works together and gives you bigger results. So instead of being a little wallflower that was afraid to move her hips, I went for it. I moved it all and knew I looked ridiculous, but after two classes I was already beginning to feel a difference. So I kept going back and kept dancing as best as I could. I'm sure the instructor had to try very hard to keep from laughing. I didn't care. I finally was having some time for ME. After four children, this one hour of Zumba was "ME" time and I wasn't going to waste it by being self conscious. The fact that the lights are kept low helped too!

I started Zumba in October. I had time for two classes a week. I didn't exercise otherwise and I really didn't change the way I was eating, except I tried to add more fresh veggies and fruits to what I was already eating. By January, I took my three younger kids to a playground while we waited for my eldest to be done with her swim practice. Suddenly I found myself wanting to run around and PLAY with them on the playground. I wasn't pushing myself out of guilt, I was scampering after them up, over and through the various play equipment, almost like a giddy child. I still remember the look of shocked happiness on my 9 year-old's face. Once I realized what I was doing I almost cried with joy!! I had energy, agility and flexibility! No longer did I feel fragile, and old, or worrty that might break something if I fell. My joints didn't pinch when I ran. I didn't feel like I was carrying a couple sacks of flour around my ankles. I felt free! I felt STRONG!

The scale didn't change a whole lot, maybe about 8-10 pounds, but my body started looking younger. My rear end looked much more like the one I remembered. My back slimmed down A LOT! Even my chest looked better in my shirts, perhaps because my abs went down a bit. By February I was down one and a half clothing sizes. Now I realize to many people that isn't very much, but we tall people can hide a lot of weight within one clothing size. This is why so much weight had snuck up on me to begin with.

Now it is April, I am almost ready to be two whole sizes down, but I promise, even without the weight loss, which is inevitable with Zumba, it is the way my body feels and the confidence I now have in moving it that makes it all worth it.

I feel like I am getting a new life back. THANK YOU ZUMBA!!

FREE BOOKS from SCHOLASTIC

My kids LOVE to read so I was excited to see this chance to earn FREE books from Scholastic. Check out MONEY SAVING MOM's post about this here to get the details.

What I like about it was there was no signing up for an account, "liking" on Facebook or similar obligations. Simply download the math or reading activity sheets, listed by age, print and complete those pages. Print and complete the form choosing which books you'd like and mail it in! That it! It's that simple!

And NO you don't even have to pay shipping!! But it is "while supplies last" so get downloading!

BE FEARLESS

Well, we've had one warm day so far and it has us thinking ahead to summer swim team. This past summer was my son's first year on the team, you have to be 5. He has been a spectator at his sister's meets since he was a baby, so this was finally his turn. He was so excited to finally be on the team that he was fearless.
That is my blog for today. Let's all believe in ourselves a little more. Stop the worrying, the "what if's" and believe in who we are. Stop avoiding those projects, messy junk drawers, or whatever it is that is holding you back. Perhaps it is a project you care so much about that you are too afraid to start it because you don't want it to turn out wrong and disappoint you.
For me, this means starting a felt quiet book that I have been wanting to do since my first child was born years ago! One of the first things I realized when we found out we were going to have baby number four is "Hey, I get another chance to do that quiet book". Baby number four turns 2 in July, and I really, really want to have some quiet book pages done for her for her birthday. It has meant so much to me that I have been pretty much frozen with indecision about it, which way to bind it? Felt or duck cloth? Should it be themed or just random pages? See, I am stumping my creativity by worrying about perfection!!
Does anyone else do that?? If for some crazy reason, someone actually reads this blog, I would love to hear what things you avoid, or what things you over-think to the point that it never gets started. Anyone?

FREEZER FRIDAY - Breakfast Burritos

I have four kids, three of which participate in various sports and church activities. We try to keep their activities to the minimum but even so, they are plenty busy. With busy kids, it is very helpful to have something waiting in the freezer that is filling, nutritious and ready to go in minutes.

This is why, one day a week, I pick a recipe, triple it, prepare it and freeze it. It feels so good to have something that I can heat up in a hurry that isn't packaged and filled with additives. Not to mention the money I save versus all those pre-packaged snacks.

Family dinner is a priority in our house, but even so, these freezer snacks really come in handy to fuel them for their sports and tide them over until we can all meet up again for dinner. I notice a big difference in their performance when I give them a good snack before practice.

I found this Breakfast Burrito recipe in my friend Brenda's family cookbook. It was written by Jan McInnes whom I've never met but "THANKS JAN" for this recipe. I've tweeked it just a tad but I never would have thought to add the hash browns, yum!

Ingredients:

Tortillas at room temperature (burrito size) I use whole grain.
onion
one pacakge Canadian Bacon (or to your liking)
One package Frozen Hash Browns (thawed)
18 eggs
1-2 Cups Cheese (to your liking)

This makes about 24 small burritos

Directions:
Saute chopped onion and Canadian Bacon until onions are soft. Add the thawed hash browns, cook until dried out a bit.

Pour that mixture into a large bowl. Cook 18 scrambled eggs until dry (so they don't get soggy when frozen) and add them to the mixture. Let cool partially. Add grated cheese.

Whole grain tortillas tend to tear if you don't heat them up first. I heat up a stack of three or four on low in my cast iron skillet as I cook, flipping them occasionally and adding more as I work through the stack. You can also warm them in the microwave following package directions.

Roll into tortillas, place into a freezer ziploc bag and freeze. TA-DA!
To serve, cook in the microwave for one minute on each side.

Do you know how to fold the tortilla into a burrito?

Near where I grew up there was an awesome little burrito stand called Juanitas. People would be line up in the hot sun, 20 deep for a chance to buy these delicious burritos. I loved when it was my turn at the front of the line because it was fun to watch them fold the burritos. There hands flew over the tortillas and created this perfect little package of food. I would watch their hands like a kid watching the hands of magician, trying to discover their secrets so that I could make my own burritos. I never did completely master it, but I did pick up a few tips for folding a burrito:

• Don't over-fill, that is a rookie error we all make. The ratio of filling to tortilla is smaller than you think.

• Don't place your filling in the center of the tortilla. Place your filling slightly off-center so that you have room to fold over twice.

• Fold the tortilla over the filling, toward the center of the tortilla, tuck in the sides (tucking in the sides is where the advanced artistry comes in, when using extremely large tortillas, you form a bit of a "pleat"). Fold again in the same direction and you are done!

My husband and I like to add Chipotle Pepper Tabasco Sauce after we heat it up. It is yummy and is reported to boost your metabolism. (Whoop-whoop) I also add a handful of organic mixed lettuce leaves to mine, to up the nutrient content. I try to fit in my leafy greens anywhere I can. Juanita would probably not have approved.

BABY GIFT

I came across this picture of a baby onesie and burp cloth that I made for my friend Deborah's cute baby boy Eldon. I thought it would be fun to add this to my blog since this was my first ever sewing project. If you could see the underside of the burp cloth you would see that I used dark brown thread in the bobbin which looked very obvious, duh. Next time, I will use white thread so it won't show. For this project I:

1. printed out the letters I liked on the computer onto card stock,
2. cut the letters out with a craft knife to make a template,
3. then used that template to trace those letters onto fabric already prepared with the fusible webbing.
4.I cut out the letters from the fabric with sewing scissors,
5. ironed them onto the onesie/burp cloth, and finally,
6. sewed around the edges.

Phew. My husband recently bought me a Silhouette machine, which will reduce all of these steps down to two! I can't wait to get started on some t-shirts and cloth quiet books!
For the gift tag I used a piece of the same fabric I used for the tie on the onesie. I used spray adhesive to apply it to card stock. I simply used Microsoft Word to type Eldon on card stock and tied it all together with matching ribbon. Ta-daa! A fun baby gift!

MUST SEE GIVEAWAY at KIKI CREATES

This looks like the giveaway of the year!! Amazing things from amazing shops!! Very difficult for me to say which one I am most excited because it is all adorable. I entered to win and the results are being announced on April 10th which just so happens to be my wedding anniversary weekend, what a incredible gift this would be, right?!!!

But of course, you will want to head on over to KIKI Creates for your chance to win