I’m not saying that flossing everyday and doing pilates will make your family sick for months
BUT…
Late November I started doing pilates (working on that 2 babies in 18 months tummy) and flossing everyday (see picture below) and we haven’t been able to shake this illness.
Coincidence?
I’ll let you decide.
I’m so sick of being sick (pun intended)!

We have a lot of “stuff,” mainly toys.

This is what the toy chests looked like before Christmas… Then the Christmas toy train took a dump and we were left with even more…

Mind you we only got our kiddos three gifties each. Eli – guitar, shoes and a card game. Cora – book, DVD and shoes (ahem… Nana and Nonno!).

It was time to purge and find a new way to organize!

We found this little beauty on Craig’s List for $20 from the nicest family ever!!

(BTW Craig’s List is the best site ever for buying and selling locally, check it out!)

I got some bins and Wa-La! All the little stuff goes in here and the big stuff can be stowed away in the toy chests above.

I still need to do some organizing and a bit more purging but at least Eli isn’t overwhelmed with the toy mountain and my mental clutter is gone.

Today’s post written by Donna at Blessed Nest.

Just in case you’re wondering….I am by no means a nutritional or “green” expert. I am a mom who cares about my family’s well being ( just like you) and have learned from experience…

Life is the best teacher!

My approach to organic living is a bit different then you may see around the blogosphere. I am not crunchy, so to speak. I recycle (but who doesn’t in California). I would love to start a compost this year because it is such a cool science experiment for my homeschooled kids plus my garden can use all the help it can get. I’m a common sense kinda gal. Eating organic (non-processed food), creating a non-toxic environment for my kids to live in (so they will not have breathing difficulties) and respecting the Earth God has given to us just makes sense to me.

Walk with me on my organic journey…..

YOUR CHALLENGE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY: If you are not leading a organic lifestyle but would love to start somewhere….take High Fructose Corn Syrup out of your diet. It is a big step but in the right direction. It’s the first thing I did 4 1/2 years ago and I don’t miss it AT ALL!When I think of organic living; I think of healthy living. My journey towards an organic lifestyle began when I had severe stomach issues and went to a nutritionist. The first thing she said was to leave out all products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup (not to be confused with natural fructose in fruits). HFCS is a manufactured product that is used in almost all processed foods. I found this out when I began to read labels. Another comment that my nutritionist said was that “HFCS is the worst possible thing you can give to children.” It is like injecting sugar right into their blood stream. It goes right to the blood stream, not metabolizing , causing mood swings in children. I won’t get into the debate as to nutrition verses emotional well being but I will say this….My children act completely different (in a bad sort of way) when they have had foods with HFCS.

About the weight debate…. I think a lot of things contribute to obesity in our society but what I do know is by simply cutting out HFCS in my diet; I have lost 45 pounds in 3 1/2 years without dieting. I Simply cut out HFCS and processed, bleached flours such as white flour.(Having two children in 3 years at age 37 and 39 took a tole on my body. My baby weight was not going bye bye) ugh so turning to an organic lifestyle, helped my body to get what it needs and I feel great! The weight stays off because it is a lifestyle not a diet!

My friend Heather cuts HFCS out of her diet for yet another reason. Heather suffers from debilitating migraines. She researched the connection between HFCS and migraines and decided to cut it out of her diet. She has been migraine free ever since. When she accidentally eats a food with HFCS in it; the migraine immediately flairs up.

My favorite link this week… A wonderful article written about HFCS at Epinions.

Up and coming posts will include practical tips for going green at home , creating a Eco environment on a budget as well as Eco tips for creating a organic nursery on a budget and the benefits for you and your baby!
Xo Donna

Donna is the of VP Sales/Marketing for Blessed Nest Inc (one of the first products I got to review!) Blessed Nest has created a nursing pillow like you have NEVER seen before… because it totally works! She is also a homeschooling mama of two beautiful girls and a certified Lid Lover!

See her fantastical (yes, that says fantastical) blog here.

It’s officially over!
Hot Hubby insisted that we take down Christmas last weekend… and we did. While both kiddos were awake. Cora ate candles and Eli cried the whole time because we were taking down “his” Christmas tree. It was just dandy!
Anyway, I have been clinging on to the last shreds of Christmas… the wreath on the door and the Christmas cards… but alas, they are all packed away now. I thought I would highlight the two BEST cards I got this year… notice that Eli’s Lids was featured on both of them!!! Maybe next year yours will too!!

I was blog hopping (term I made up for randomly going one people’s blogs without rhyme or reason… the only rule… you have to leave a comment if you like what you see!!) and I came across Annie Blogs. She had the best idea to summarize the year in pictures… she chose one picture each month to represent what happened. How cool is that!?!?!!! I had a hard time choosing just one picture… but I scaled down as much as possible and here is what I came up with. Please join me in my year review (also the most-hair-styles-I-have-ever-had year)….January…I was savoring the last month before becoming a mom of two… those were some of the most precious times I had with Eli.
(btw- hot hubby thinks I look like I’m giving birth in this picture… I think I’m telling a funny story)
February…Cora arrives on Valentines Day… 9 days LATE!!!

March…

We are getting to know Cora Jane. Her high pitched screams make our ears bleed but her smiles make our hearts melt!!

April…

Life is getting more and more “normal…”

May…

June…

July…

We get loads of time with our friends… building our relationships and strengthening our faith!

August…
I start to get back into the Eli’s Lids groove with some AWESOME new ideas…

September…

October…

November…

December…

My hair is even lighter… finally getting back to the look I want…

Coming Soon:
2008 Review
New Year’s Eve Festivities
Packing up Christmas
New Year = New Things for the Eli’s Lids Blog…

• Donna over at Blessed Nest will be sharing with us about her Going Green Journey AND giving us Green Tips!
• Cheri from The Stabile Family in Illinois will be giving us Monthly Recipes to try at home or impress our friends.
• Eli’s Lids will be hosting a Monthly Linky called Remember When… yes I’m attempting a Linky!! The first one will be Tuesday the 27th. Remember When you got married? You have a few weeks to scan in those pix and share the best of that awesome day as you “Remember When” with all of us!
• I had so much fun featuring other handmade products during the Homemade Christmas series that I’m going to feature a new one every month. Side Note: These are businesses that I have found or bought stuff from and I DO NOT get freebies from them and I will never become a review blog (not that there is anything wrong with that).
• It’s a little known fact among my blogging buddies that I taught aerobics (at a famous gym open 24 hours a day) for 8 years. I taught all through college (up to 3 classes a day… I was crazy!), and even through my 1st and 2nd pregnancies. I stopped after Cora was born and we found out Eli had asthma and couldn’t do a lot of the childcare stuff and Cora was such a mama’s girl she would scream the whole hour I was teaching. So in an attempt to get some sort of body back I’ll be doing a monthly workout starting in Feduary that will focus on one part of the body… I’m super excited about it and I hope you will be too!

Suzie Says: Life was so much easier when I was shallow!

My amazing mama coined this little family favorite quite a few years back… when it seemed like everyone was going through a rough time. You know that point (or many points) in your life when the weight of the world just seems so heavy? How much easier it would be if you were shallow… not a care in the world… no one caring for you!
Easier… YES!
Better… NO!
There is no guarantee of an easy life only the hope that life can be better with faith, family and friends (friends=family in our little world).
This has become a bit of a mantra for our family because it reminds us that there is so much more than us… the world is so much broader than our decorating or thank you notes or play dates. And though the world is a gigantic place, we are loved… we are children of a King!

Check out my Baby Food post on Blessed Nest.