DIY Valentine's Day Wreath In Less Than An Hour

Extra large DIY Valentine's Day Wreath.

Make this fast, easy and in less than an hour for under $25!

First, read this great tutorial from May May Made it on how to weave the deco mesh. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xisrAu1eHoY

Next, here are the supplies you'll need and where I found them. Using coupons at Michaels and Hobby Lobby help to make it so much cheaper! Both allow you to use mobile coupons. Your cost will vary depending on what you decide you want to include on your wreath. I used two rolls of deco mesh for a 20" frame, so if yours is smaller you may be able to use one. 

20" Box Style Wreath Frame $4. I used my 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby. $2.40

2 rolls of 21" Deco Mesh reg. $9.99/roll (on sale 50% off at Hobby Lobby this week)

2 Owls $3.49 each (on sale 30% off at Hobby Lobby this week)

1 pack of Valentine's Day hearts on a wire $1.99 at Michaels (40% off this week) $1.19

1 pack of Valentine's Day felt hearts $2.99 at Michaels (40% off this week) $1.80

1 pack of Valentine's Day heart stickers $2.99 at Michaels (40% off this week) $1.80

2 6" dowels for securing owls (had these at home already)
White duck tape for securing owls together (had this at home already)

Hot glue gun to secure decorations (had this at home already)

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Dining Out with Kids - Like a Boss.

I'd be lying if I told you each time we go out to dinner with our kids, ages 18 months and 5 years old, it's all perfect behavior and warm meals for Mom and Dad. However, for the  most part, we've come up with a plan of attack that allows us the flexibility to go out to dinner and enjoy ourselves with two in tow. Here are my quick and fast tips for Dining Out with Kids - Like a Boss.

1. Dine prepared - I have my dining out bag in my car at all times. It includes:

Bambinos Tidy Table Tray & Flexi Diner

• Wipes/Diapers
• Bambinos Tidy Table Tray & Flexi Diner (which I ADORE)
• Tiny play dough, matchbox cars, crayons, a small notebook of paper
• Snacks (This may sound odd, but think of it as an emergency appetizer if the service takes too long)
• Ipad/Iphone for desperate times and happy parents.

2.  Strategize

• Don't hesitate to ask for a slightly larger table, or a table off by itself, or a larger than necessary booth - this will give the kids a place for some potential wiggle room before the meal arrives. 
• Check out the kids menu first, and order their meals when you order your drinks. This way their food comes out first and you can get them started. By the time you've cooled down, and cut up their food your meal will be on its way, so you can eat while it's hot. 
• Eat on out on weekdays or odd hours on the weekends. If you know there will be a 45 minute wait and it's a Friday night - abort mission. 

3.  Dining out doesn't have to mean McDonald's

• Most nicer restaurants ($15-20/plate) have kids menus and cater to families, including changing tables in the restrooms.
• Don't be afraid to go to restaurants that have linens on the tables and  two sets of forks! Servers at these restaurants know how to meet your family's needs and are usually happy to provide a bread basket or quick munchie for kids to eat. 
• If your children don't like what's on the kid's menu ask if you can get a kids sized portion of an adult meal, they're usually happy to accommodate. 

4. If at first you don't succeed - keep on trying!

• It's not by accident our kids are well behaved when we go out to dinner, it's because we've done it often and they've learned 'how to eat out'
• Don't let a negative experience  make you run in fear!
• If all else fails send one parent to the car with the kids and get the meals boxed up. 

What are the tips and tricks YOU use to dine out with your kids - Like a Boss??

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A Unique Way To Tell Your Husband You're Pregnant

Telling your husband that he's going to be a Daddy is so exciting! I wanted my husband to have a unique memory of the moment I told him he was being upgraded to Dada.

My daughter (his step daughter) and I brought him to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. I had printed and stuffed the fortune cookie with a piece of paper saying 'You're going to be a Daddy! Lucky Numbers 7.5.2012' I asked our daughter to pass him the stuffed fortune cookie. He opened it and read it - looked at me and with a surprised smile said "Is this cookie real?!" It was a fun way to share the news. He carries the fortune around with him in his wallet next to a picture of our son. 

How did you tell your husband you were expecting?

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Sexy After Baby

Laundry. Kids. Exhaustion. Lactation.

It's a universal truth - once you become a mommy your body isn't quite the same again. There's a little something extra here, a little something deflated there - but overall still in good working condition.

Once I had my daughter I awarded my body a badge of WOW for it's ability to develop, birth and nourish a child. I felt my body was pretty amazing, but between the wee hour nursing marathons and baby puke covered clothes my sexy was running on empty - and I needed a tune up.

It was time to take a quick break from mommy duties, ditch the burp cloth and step out of my comfort zone. I decided I wanted to take a pole dance class at Pole Dance Charlotte. I love to dance and I'm pretty outgoing, but I was still VERY intimidated to try it. 

The biggest issue to overcome was that I didn't fit my pre-conceived mental image of who takes these classes - I was a real housewife but looked nothing like the Real Housewives. I was worried I'd feel awkward and uncomfortable and that there would be LIVE NUDE WOMEN swinging from poles while I tried to hold on without twisting my ankle. Getting my sexy on was going to take a little leap of faith.

I grabbed my only pair of heels and donned shorts and a tank top. When I arrived at the class I was relieved to see other women who ranged in size, age and fitness level - all fully clothed. The other class members were so welcoming, and I found the atmosphere to be supportive and encouraging.

Kelly, the owner and instructor made the class fun, a good kind of challenging and gave us all encouragement to move our bodies to awaken the slumbering sex goddess within. I smiled, laughed and cheered on my fellow dancers as we learned spins, cheeky moves and how to shake our booty.

My first class had me hooked. I felt sexy, strong and empowered. I've taken pole dance classes for nearly 5 years and continue to enjoy each class and all the amazing ladies I meet. I've also learned fun moves for the bedroom from the 'Sexy Chair Dance' classes I've taken - and it certainly gets the husband's seal of approval.

Kelly at Pole Dance Charlotte offers classes, packages and private parties for birthdays, mom's nights out and bachelorette parties. I've booked several of her private parties for mom's nights outs and the ladies who show up always have a blast. One of my good friends told me that Kelly's class helped to re-ignite the flame she feared she had lost for good after giving birth to her daughter.

With Valentine's Day approaching Pole Dance Charlotte is running a 'Sexy Chair Dance' class Monday 2/10/14 - Wednesday 2/12/14 at 7:15 PM and a 'Sexy Chair Dance with Twerking Workshop' on Thursday 2/13/14 at 7:15. The class is first come first serve and ONLY $5! For more information you can call Kelly at 980-226-1718 or visit PoleDanceCharlotte.com which is located at 1127 S. Mint St. Suite B Charlotte, NC 28203.

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The 'Must Know' While in the Parks - Tips for Disney World with Kids

Looking for NO-FEE Concierge Disney Vacation Planning? I'd love to chat with you about how to make your family's Disney Vacation (World, Land, Cruise, Aulani, Hilton Head, Adventures) seamless, fun (even for you Mom!) and full of life-long memories. Email me at Lareina@WaltsWorldVacations or on Facebook at Lareina with Walt's World Vacations.

We brought our 5 year old daughter "S" and our 17 month old son "E" to Disney in December 2013 - here are my take away tips for what made our experience MAGICAL!

1. Pack a Grab Bag

I used a backpack with several pouches. No, my husband didn't care at all that it was pink - he doesn't mind our life of glitter and princesses ;) This is what I included in my bag so we could grab and go quickly when we had to park the stroller. FYI : All bags have to be checked before you enter into the park.

• T-shirt, shorts, pants, long sleeved shirt, socks, underwear in a large plastic ziploc bag (which can be handy to repurpose in case of vomit, accidents or wet clothes) for each kiddo plus a jacket if necessary. 
• Sippy Cups filled with ice (they will melt throughout the day keeping water cold) - plus at any quick service restaurant at Disney they will give you a FREE cup of water and ice to refresh your sippy cups throughout the day. 
• Snacks - I used a snack tower that had freeze dried yogurt, crackers, puffs, honey nut cheerios, and goldfish. The squeeze apple sauce was great too - perfect for when you're waiting in line and the kids are hungry between meals. 
• Mini first aid kit - band aids, alcohol swabs, triple antibiotic, advil
• Sunscreen - spray, cream and stick - multiple applications will be necessary
• Diapers/Wipes (grab 3 more than you think you'll need).
• Toys/Entertainment - I brought tiny play dough containers, bubbles, crayons and a small pad of paper. Using small light things that will entertain the kids are great for when you're waiting in line or at a restaurant.  
• Autograph books w/ attached pen
• Ponchos (if we thought we might need them) if the weather looked good we left them in the car. 
• Camera, camcorder
• Wallet 
• Phone & charger

2.  Bring food and one frozen bottle of water with you.

As of the writing of this blog Disney will give you a free cup of ice water at any quick serve location, and we poured those cups of water into our wide-mouthed water bottles to keep hydrated around the park. We used the frozen water bottle as an ice pack in our insulated bags with our lunch, cheese sticks and frozen yogurts (a frozen cup of yogurt that thaws over the day) to save $ on food.

3. Get a mommy hook - or two! We used these to hook our back pack on for easy grab and go access, and it came in handy for any purchases we made around the park.

4. Find your stroller day or night.

Stroller parking is required for the majority of rides, and those f**king impish stroller attendants will move them - often clear to the opposite side of where you parked it.

I combated this in two ways.

Daytime: Flag or balloon attached so you could look out over the sea of strollers and spot yours. I think a neon flag would be best. 

Nighttime: Bike blinker to help us locate it. The parking areas are not well lit and finding the right stroller in the dark can get.. time consuming.

I've never seen so many double strollers in my life. 

5. Buy glow necklaces at the Dollar Tree before you go - this will save you mad $ and help keep track of your kids when the sun goes down. We got matching ones for the whole family for easy visualization in the crowds of people.

6. DIY personalized autograph book and save $$.

 
Ours cost about $3 and we were able to personalize it instead of the $15 they charge in the park. I got the notebooks at the Dollar Tree, we had the pens, and I bought the stickers at Hobby Lobby.  Attach a click gel pen to the book with a ribbon so everything is all put together and you're not left looking for the pen.

7. Label your kids Magic Bands with Information - I used a sharpie and wrote "S's" name and our cell phone numbers in case she got lost. We also instructed her that if she did get lost to find an adult that had a kid with them, or find a cast member that was wearing a Disney name tag for help.

8. Let your kids nap wherever, and take the day as it goes - I read a lot of blogs urging me to go back to the hotel for nap time with our 17 month old. I felt like this was going to KILL our ability to see everything. We decided to press our luck and let E just pass out where he may in the reclined stroller - and it worked like a charm.

He'd fall asleep for an hour or so as we were walking from ride to ride and we would pick attractions where one of us would have had to wait anyway, like Splash Mountain.  We also got them up earlier than normal and they went to bed far later than normal. We didn't go back to the hotel once for a nap and had no melt downs - Disney Magic.

9. Park & Eat at the Hotels - We went and grabbed a quick breakfast at the walk up counter at the Polynesian and parked our car there letting them know we were getting breakfast. Then we were able to check out the hotel (for future stays) and take the monorail right in to Magic Kindgom.

When we were going to Epcot we would park at The Boardwalk and were able to walk right into the back of Epcot by England. This was helpful when we had reservations in the World Showcase and didn't have a lot of time to get there. It's also helpful to cut the cost of parking at the park's lots and will save you $18 a car if you're not staying on site. I'd rather spend that on breakfast than on parking! An added bonus is that you don't have to fold up the stroller to get on the trams from the parking lots at the parks.

10. Make sure you have comfortable sneakers - I had to end up buying a new pair while we were there. They felt OK at home but after hours of walking, not so much. The new Nike Airs worked wonders for my poor feet.

11. Fully charge your electronics (cell phones, cameras, camcorders) - Bring an extra memory card and your cell phone and camera chargers into the park - you can often charge while you are eating lunch.

12. Have fun, take lots of pictures and video and check out my other Disney Tip Blogs below!

The 'Must Know' for Planning Disney World with Kids
http://momaboutcharlotte.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-must-know-for-planning-disney-world.html

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I've Lost My Son - In Weight...

Month three on Weight Watchers posed some challenges. In fact, one week I decided that I needed a break from the non-stop tracking. I didn't go crazy eating though, I just didn't track for that week but went with a mental sense of what I should and shouldn't eat - and isn't that the point of a lifestyle change like this? That week I lost about 1 pound, but I felt any loss was a win.

Weight watchers is work, but I'm finding that the work is worth the rewards. I feel like I want to randomly break out in dance (so if you see some crazy lady dancing in the aisles of Target it's probably me), and get down on the floor with my kids - I feel lighter on my feet (because I am) and I'm really feeling my body and the power in my body. I'm also noticing changes in the mirror and in my clothes.

This month I worked out a lot. I would drop my daughter off at pre-school and hit the YMCA. There was a great booty-shakin hip-hop dance class on Mondays, a knock me down and out intervals class on Tuesday, and a high energy Zumba class on Wednesday that I rotated through. I pretty much rested or took walks the rest of the days. I was feeling the work outs from head to toe. I also worked out at home on my dance pole which has helped me improve my upper body strength. I even 'taught' an intro to pole dance class for some friends in my home - which was a lot of fun, but even more laughs. I was excited I was able to do some core strength moves I hadn't been able to do before. 

I felt really frustrated for portions of this month because the weight was coming off SO SLOWLY - or at least it felt that way for all the extra work I was putting in at the gym. 

Ultimately in my last month I lost an additional eight pounds for a total of 30 lbs in three months. I did it. Not only did I lose the baby #2 weight, but I lost the amount of weight my son  weighs! I let that sink in and have felt very accomplished. However, there is MUCH work to still be done and more weight to be lost. Each day is a process - and some days feel like a battle. I'm glad I have my arsenal of helpful Weight Watchers tools, facebook support groups and my wonderful family to support me in my goals.

Here is my before and after three months picture. Not a huge difference, but I'm noticing a change and that's the most important part for me.

Now I have to pay out of pocket for weight watchers and I'm all signed up and ready to go. I'm paying a total of $65 for the first 3 months of online only access, which in my opinion is a bargain!

I'm planning to continue to blog about my weight loss experience, because it's a great way to keep me accountable. I also want to show that I'm no one special - and that anyone can work toward their weight loss goals with the right helpful tools. 

Weight Watchers Disclosure: People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

MomAboutCharlotte.com Disclosure: I have received a free 3-month pass to experience Weight Watchers online. I am not being paid to use or endorse Weight Watchers and thoughts are my own.

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Raising Thankful Kids - Thanksgiving Edition

This year for Thanksgiving we wanted to make sure our family was giving back to our community. We are so blessed, and there are so many people experiencing truly difficult realities.

We want to instill a sense of appreciation and service to our community in our children. We started talking to our 5 year old about Thanksgiving and all that we have to be thankful for and how we were going to include her in giving back. We discussed how there are many families who don't have important things they need, like food, for the holidays. This is a concept that I'm not sure S completely understands, because she's never experienced any true need.

I loaded the kids up and we went shopping for non-perishable Thanksgiving food items. I let S help think of all the foods eaten at Thanksgiving, and she picked out which we should purchase. She was very proud that we were going to help a family in the community to have a Thanksgiving Dinner. We also purchased a rectangle laundry basket to donate with the goods for delivery to local families.

We're donating our basket to The Sandbox, a wonderful local organization in Charlotte that locks arms with families whose children are battling cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. They help these families throughout the year by assisting them with the day to day needs that are out of reach because they are caring for a sick child. The Sandbox has many fundraisers and events throughout the year, including the annual 'Evening of Believing' prom that I've lucky to be involved with for the past 3 years.

If you want to get your children on board, helping other children with cancer and their families, check out how The Sandbox is helping with the holidays by clicking here.

All Thanksgiving donations are asked to be dropped off at one of their 3 South Charlotte locations by THIS Friday, November 15th.

No time to shop? You can donate a grocery gift card, or donate $80 to feed a family of 4 and The Sandbox volunteers will do the shopping for you!

http://gotsandbox.org/ThanksGIVING/

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