Plexus Slim 7 Day Trial Giveaway!!

So if you know me at all in "real life", you know that I am a Plexus-For-Lifer. I have experienced benefits from Plexus products that I didn't think were possible as someone with an auto-immune disease. 

The best part of being a Plexus Ambassador is helping others feel healthier, too. I was just telling someone on my team this morning that I can hardly talk about testimonies (my own included!) without crying. I just get so emotionally invested!

Without rambling any further, I present to you- a GIVEAWAY! (and the crowd goes wiiiiiiild)

The Deets (I feel like such an old person typing that, but this is my attempt at hip-ness):

1. This giveaway will run until the 15th of October, 2014.

2. Due to shipping restrictions, I may not be able to send this seven day trial to the country in which you reside. If you have a question and are from another country (or if you have a question at all!), send me an email: mackenzeebeth[at]gmail[dot]com (with the proper symbols)

Yesterday, I had the privilege of meeting two AMAZING Diamond Ambassadors- Sheila Medina and Sonya Dudley. They are inspiring and so, so down to earth. 

If you would like to learn more about Plexus and their fantastic supplements, go to my website: http://mackenzeemcwilliams.myplexusproducts.com/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We're Raising Men and Women

There we were, perusing the toddler shoe section at our local Target, finding the pair that I want for Molly in every size BUT her own. I heard two boys in the next aisle over with their mother and grandmother, trying on boys' shoes. 

After hearing the same noise over and over, I peeked through the empty shelf to see what was going on. The older boy (about 6 years old) was sweeping the open boxes of shoes off the shelves and letting them fall wildly onto the floor. My initial reaction was - 'Oh no, that poor mom! She's having a rough time in Target today!'

The grandmother loudly demanded that the boy stop doing that, but neither of the adults turned to look at him, so he continued. I tried to mind my own business, but it was so hard to ignore them! 

The grandmother, once again, raised her voice to the boy - and it did not one lick of good. The mother continued to shoe shop. The boy swept one more box of shoes onto the floor and, as I peered through the shelf again, I saw the grandmother raise her hand and advance towards him, as though hitting him would teach him to behave. 

The boy dodged her hand and yelled, "COME AT ME, OLD LADY." And that's not even the worst part. 

Guys. Guys. Really. This is serious. I'm not making this up. 

The grandmother and the mother laughed.

They laughed! They thought it was FUNNY. He was still angry and sulking, but they LAUGHED.

I bit my tongue and wheeled my cart (and Molly) far, far away. My thoughts were whirling and even now, I get a little worked up about it.

We all have bad days. We have days when our children showcase a special brand of disobedience that they have saved particularly for Target, in front of strangers. Hey, Molly used to whine, "Heeelllppp meeee!" to passersby from her buckled-up spot in the cart. 

The one thought that keeps rushing through my brain is this:

That little boy will grow up to be a man, and he will potentially interact with my little girl when she grows up to be a woman. If this path he is on continues, he will have no respect for women unless they are physically violent to him (so sad) and even then, he may not take them seriously. I feel sadness for that little boy, and sadness for how he may react to the women in his life once he is bigger than they are.

This post is not meant to be a "Shame on you!" to the grandmother and mother of those two boys, although I wish that someone would say that to them, but it also got me thinking about other behaviors we are fostering in our children who will, one day, be men and women.

I am ALL ABOUT letting kids be kids - just for the record- so take these things with a grain of salt and the knowledge that my 2 year old has many habits and personality traits that need to be molded and shaped and corrected before she hits adulthood and I am not necessarily cracking down on anything past the standard 'share your toys and don't scream at me/daddy/everyone who annoys you'. ;-)

And because this was heavy-- I leave with this oh-so-true e-card.

Plankin' and Stuff

Use Grammarly's grammar check, because if your blog has bad grammar, I will unfollow you on Pinterest - unless you pin lots of Ryan Gosling memes, in which case I will never unfollow you.

So, as you all know by now, I am a lackadaisical exerciser. I want to love exercise, I really do. But I just don't love it. I enjoyed running last Fall but then it got cold and miserable.

 I got a gym membership so that I could keep running on the treadmill. Let me tell you what...running on a treadmill, while easier on my legs, is B O R I N G. Even with 800 TVs in the gym, I find myself watching the miles I've run and feeling like they are taking forever!

To break up my obnoxious winter lull that I am in, I had a little fun and created a 30 Day Plank Challenge! WOOHOO. Not. I hate planks, but I notice that they seem to do more for me than most other strengthening exercises. I made it cute and pink to try and trick myself into being excited about it. 

Anyway, this challenge starts TOMORROW (March 8th) and ends on April 1st! Sooooo, who's in?

Pinterest Round Up 2/11

My days have been filled to the brim with many things lately and I have a post in the making about a new health supplement system I have been using called Plexus - but that will have to wait for another day.

Today's post is a conglomeration of random Pinterest pins that I have done over the past few months! I don't have pictures of my completed projects because I am a slacker like that. 

1. Christmas 'presents'. These sat on a shelf in my dining room for the whole Christmas season and they were fun to make. I hit a couple of bumps though - burlap doesn't really take kindly to stamps. Sooo, I used a little scrap of muslin from my sister-in-law. I also accidentally hot-glued the pieces of burlap to the wrong sides of the presents....but that was user error, clearly.

  Go HERE to see the original blog and instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

2. Super cutie-cute way to give a Starbucks gift card to someone. I did this for my sister-in-law and it turned out adorably!!

 Go HERE to see the original blog and instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

3. Slow Cooker Ham & White Beans - This was great, in theory. But it turned out crazy salty, and I could hardly eat much of it. I would make it again, but less salt. 

 Go HERE to see the original blog and for instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

4. Arm Knitting - Scarves. EASY EASY! And SO rewarding!! I did mine in green, so I don't have a lot to wear with it, unfortunately, but it turned out so nice! It takes a little patience to get going and you're going to want to wad up the yarn and throw it across the room for about 10 minutes. BUT, you will get it - and then you will be like, "Dude, how did I not get this in the first place?" :-)

 Go HERE to see the original blog and for instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

5. Annnd, the final project from Pinterest. Smoked Sausage and Roasted Potatoes. AKA, comfort food. My potatoes weren't soft enough, but I needed to cut them into smaller pieces I think. ALSO, we're a meat lovin' family...soo....next time I will do double the kielbasa/sausage. This was just as good leftover, too!

 Go HERE to see the original blog and for instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

Pride and the Holidays

The first thing you should know about me is that I LOVE CHRISTMASTIME. I don't even mind when the local radio station starts playing Christmas music more than a month before Christmas. I mean, I don't listen to it 24/7 until after Thanksgiving, but when I need a little Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole fix - it's there.

That being said - one thing that I battle during the holidays is pride. I want to be able to do it all. I want to be the mom with fresh baked Christmas cookies, the advent calendar, the decorations, the presents, the parties, the cards! But guess what? If I am struggling in the day-to-day responsibilities, I should probably take a step back and NOT pre-plan my Christmas morning menu. Maybe I ought to take care of the laundry pile first.

This year, I am purposing to be more laid back. I am a perfectionist by nature and I need to focus on making sure that the basics are taken care of before I jump onto the next Polar Express to decorating my whole house for Christmas. 

Laundry done, bathrooms cleaned, dishes done, dinner on the table. Those are my every day goals. Those have to come before designing the perfect Christmas banner or scouring the Internet for the perfect gift(s) for my husband.

Please don't misunderstand me - those things are important, too - but if I choose to neglect my basic responsibilities, I will become overwhelmed, and eventually will find myself curled up in my bed eating peppermint chocolate M&M's, wrapping Christmas gifts, while my house is in shambles! (This might happen anyway)

Two things I am letting go of this year are:

1. Christmas cards. It just didn't happen, and honestly, I will be glad to have the money I would have spent on cards for gifts!

2. Advent calendar. I had high hopes of making the cutest little calendar with fun little gifts for each day. Thanks, Pinterest, for tempting me. But seriously...Molly won't know the difference this year, so I'm skipping it.

So there you go. I can't do it all during the every day routine, so I need to own the fact that I can't do it all around Christmas either - and I'm not going to make it look like I can, because I think other mothers out there need to know that it's okay if your stockings don't all match and you don't do the most creative Elf on the Shelf ever. Oh, and don't even get me started on Elf on the Shelf.... :-p

Lyme Disease and Productivity

I have Chronic Lyme Disease. I have not had a terrible flare up since I was pregnant with Molly - and man, that one was a doozy! I can say that with some humor now that I am so far removed from this, but the truth is, autoimmune diseases are way more common than you think, and it's not a laughing matter. While the jury is still out on the causes of Lyme Disease and other similar co-infections, I'm sure that a lot of you know that my whole family has been affected in some way or another by Lyme Disease.

My main symptoms are debilitating migraine headaches, arthritis-like symptoms in my joints, low energy, and insomnia. While I am not in a flare up, I still have days where I experience any number of these symptoms for no apparent reason, or sometimes due to humidity/drastic weather change. I should be used to that, I live on the Eastern Shore!!

Lest you be bored by my ramble about medical conditions, there really is a point to all of this! 

One thing that I have learned through all of this is perseverance in productivity. There are days (like today) when my head is pounding, and not even excedrin migraine can 'fix' me back to full power, but if I let myself sink onto the couch for the whole day and not even attempt to be productive, I will start a habit that is not easily broken. The mentality of - "If I waste what little energy I have now, I won't have any if I need it later" is a common one among people who suffer from chronic pain of one kind or another. You conserve energy, just in case. But guess what? That's not productive, and it certainly won't make you feel better.

I used to have a lot of guilt, because sometimes I really can't pull myself out of it, and things would literally be a mess when Patrick got home from work. But as long as those days are few and far between, a little PB&J for dinner never hurt anyone!

The important thing to remember is that if you have the energy: USE IT. You won't regret it. Don't push yourself too far, but by using that energy to be productive, you won't struggle with the guilt of being 'down' later in the day. 

P.s. I'm preaching this to myself. There are days that this whole mentality goes out the window and I lay on the couch and throw myself a giant pity party. :)

Seven Questions I Ask My 18 Month Old (On A Daily Basis)

This is a drive-by post that will hopefully make you giggle. I just made note of the things I've asked Molly so far today. This is what I've come up with, and I'm guessing this is pretty standard:

1. What are you eating?

2. Why are you so quiet?

3. Where are your ponytail holders?

4. Why are you licking that?

5. What's wrong???????

6. Why are you yelling at me?

7. Did you poop?

Thiiiis Is How We Dooooo Itttt!

Listen to the first line of the above song so that you can fully appreciate the title of this blog post. 'Cause that's how I say/sing that sentence in my head every time I say it (I won't tell anyone if you end up listening to the whole song, and then putting it on repeat for the rest of the day).

ANYWAY, back to the original reason for this post -

  Money Making Tips for the Stay At Home Mom!

AND, you really don't have to be a SAHM to do these, either - they just take a few minutes to do!

1. Writer's Domain

This has been my #1 way of contributing to the family, financially, over the past year and a half. I have gone through cycles where I've used it heavily ($300+/month), and some where I only made $20/month. 

You do have to have a basic level of understanding of grammar and writing, and there is a little test in order to qualify to be a writer. It isn't for the faint of heart or the easily bored - these are filler articles with dry (and I mean DRY dry) topics. But if you're dreaming of writing 40 articles about including the line 'dentist in Ontario' - this is right up your alley!

The articles are graded by the reviewers on a scale of 5 stars. Once for grammar, once for content. The average is what determines how much you receive for each article written. Typically, though, you will receive $3.30 for each 200-word article. I have received a couple of 5-star reviews now, but never received $4.00 - still hangin' out at $3.30.

You do have to pay taxes on the articles that you write, and if you make over $600, Writer's Domain will send you a W-4. If not, you can request one. I saved 10% of my earnings last year and it worked out perfectly with what I owed to the IRS. Easy, peasy.

2. I-say by Ipsos - Surveys!

I haven't had a lot of success or rewards with survey taking yet, but it really doesn't take up too much of my time, and I think the rewards will begin to rack up in a couple of months once I build up my points. This website seems to be consistently reputable, and I like that they give you points even if they don't use you for the survey for which you were eligible. You can trade in your points for Amazon gift cards, Visa gift cards, etc.!

3. If you live in our geographical area - Delmarva Sensory!

This is a branch of Perdue that pays $20 (cash!) each time that you come in for a 'taste test'. These are few and far between, but sometimes Patrick and I will both get one in the same week - holla for a dolla (or 40..)! In fact, I just signed us up for one next week. 

If you don't have the privilege of living on the Eastern Shore - look into some places that do food production in your area! I'd bet that they have similar opportunities available!

Keep It Simple

I have been hesitant to post about finances, but I think our generation has a severe lack of understanding what is necessary and what is extra, and maybe it's time to start talking about getting back to the basics.

Before I start explaining what we do and why we do it, I want to be very clear: This is not an attack on anyone else's lifestyle. You can choose to do things differently, and that's just fine. This is meant as an encouragement for those that desire to lower their monthly bills, but feel trapped by the social norms. Annnnd, go:

1. Cellular Devices: People are always shocked that Patrick and I shared a cell phone for the first year+ of our marriage, and we still carry two of the most pre-historic cell phones around. We simply do not need an astronomical cell phone bill due to bells, whistles, and data charges. Since just about everywhere has free wi-fi, we did invest in a Samsung Galaxy Tablet this year without the data plan. 

2. Housing: We just moved into our first actual house. It's still a rental, but until now, we've lived places that were not our ideal, simply because we believe it is better to save your money for the right opportunity rather than spend what you don't have in order to live somewhere 'comfortable'. I consider doing laundry in my own home a luxury and a privilege.

3. Good Credit: While it is an asset to have 'good credit', credit card companies reel you in by making you think that you NEED to have a credit card to build 'good credit'. There is a way to keep a credit card responsibly, but it is also a slippery slope and once you start to charge things like a Venti Double Triple Espresso Mocha Caramel Whipped Soy Latte (that probably doesn't exist, but if it did, it would be called the 'I Have A Newborn') because you don't really have money for it in your bank account -- there is a problem. 

4. Television: We have never had TV channels anywhere that we've lived. In fact, our television is so old that it isn't compatible with even the three "basic" channels that everyone is supposed to get for free. We don't actually watch a whole lot of TV anyway, so we mostly use it for movies - but one awesome thing is Netflix! We can watch Netflix streaming through our Wii, and while we may have to be the LAST people to see the final season of The Office - oh well! It's not really the end of the world!

5. Kids Cost A Lot: This is true. My hospital bills were astronomical. Diapers cost an arm & a leg. BUT, I think that people inflate in their minds what is "necessary" for babies/children based on what the media tells us. Do we really need everything in Babies R Us to keep our babies well fed, safe, and happy? Thanks to the generosity of friends and family, I received LOTS of awesome things for Molly at my baby shower, and we saved gift cards to help purchase the things that we still needed. I almost never purchase things new from a store. I always check yard sales, consignment shops, and online for anything from clothing to toys to yes, even diapers! And lets be honest, Molly would prefer to play with a toilet paper tube and some packing peanuts over most of her toys anyway.

This blog post took me about a week to complete, working in 10 minute intervals. I'm trying out this new thing where I limit my time on the Internet while Molly is napping..you know, to help with my productivity. ;-) At any rate, the next post will not take this long to go up...it's already in process!

It Happens in Threes

This past weekend was anything but uneventful, and not particularly in the way that I had hoped!

We went to visit some friends in the DC area for a birthday party, but on the way back, it began to snow, and (long, long, long story short) we ended up completely turned around in downtown DC, in the snow, for almost 2 hours. I had assumed the GPS was in the car somewhere, and hadn't checked before we left earlier that morning. Ugh, total fail on my part! Mad props to my sister-in-law Amanda for not whining (too much anyway) about seeing the Washington Monument from just about every angle...twice.

The next morning, bright and early, my beloved almost-one-year-old (yikes!) smacked me in the eye with an iPod touch. My first child induced black eye. Thanks, kid! I tried to cover it up with makeup, but it just ended up brown/blue..and sparkly.

Next, we discovered around 5pm that our keys had been stolen earlier in the day. Yet another very long story short, we were unable to retrieve them, although we were/are fairly certain we know where they are. Thankfully, we have family that is willing to step up and take us in on short notice for a couple of days while we wait for our replacement vehicle key and for the locks to be changed on our house. Sigh.

The main purpose to this post is this: Have you ever heard of the saying that bad things happen in threes? I heard it maybe a year ago, and since then, I have had several rounds of "3" fall into my lap. My question is, do I notice that things happen in threes because I heard that phrase, or do things really happen in threes? Hmmm...food for thought.

A Tiny Challenge

I may have alluded to this before, or you may have met and observed this about Molly in person...or maybe you don't know at all, but I have a daughter with a very strong will! She is not laid back, she throws temper tantrums that 2 year old children would be envious of, and she is sassy as can be.

I would not have her any other way!

I knew pretty early on that she was going to be a Tiny Challenge. She picks up on things very quickly, and was mobile at a very young age. She is the child that scopes out where all the plug sockets are in a room within 10 seconds of entering.

This type of personality is a blessing and a curse, just like any. Yes, she is mobile and tends to go straight for the "No no" items in a room, throws royal fits (complete with head flinging and body limping -- speaking of which, I might have a black eye in the morning), smacks me right in my face when I tell her "no", and all out SCREAMS if I am not doing something quickly enough for her liking...but....

She is also extremely loving. She gives kisses and hugs and pat/scratches my back. She tries to wipe my nose with tissues and feed me some of her snacks. She is a very good communicator and between pointing and gesturing and making little noises (sometimes almost words!), I usually know exactly what it is that she would like to be doing.

I am learning to choose my battles early. Yes, lovey girl, we must put pants on...society and Mommy declare that it is necessary, and no amount of fit-throwing will change that fact. But ripping up the tissue into a thousand pieces and handing it to me (saying, "Here") while I write this blog? I'm not gonna fight that one today. :-)

My "Tiny Challenge":