Happy Marriage vs Busy Parents

Have you ever noticed how different newly weds are from a couple that has kids? You can always tell what married couples have kids and what married couples doesn't. How? Well, the couple that does not have any children or are newly weds are very affectionate with each other publicly. You can see them hold hands more, hug more often and caring towards each other. The couple with children do not show that much affection towards each other and if the kids are present they are usually paying attention to them. This, by all means, does not mean they do not love each other. It just means they are usually tired and consumed with taking care of their kids. Many parents do not make an effort to spice up their marriage because they are dealing with the guilt of being away from their children while at work. By the time they are ready to have a conversation with their spouse they are too tired and just want to rest or sleep.

So how can we have a happy marriage while being busy parents? Is there a happy medium? Is it even possible? The answer is YES! However, it does take serious commitment and effort to make it happen. Strong and healthy marriage brings security to our children and happiness. Sometimes I hear parents saying that they feel guilty to have date nights after their children have been at the sitter all day long. The children WILL survive so let's remove this false belief out of our minds. Here are some tips on how to improve our marriages: 

1. Learn how to pick your battles: we can honestly say we can argue and fight for a lot of things. I know it annoys me to pick up clothes off the floor. However, we must pick our battles. Instead of arguing for every bad habit look for compliments. It is way easier to find the negatives than the positives. Make an effort to search for compliments even if they are simple. Make it a goal to give 2 compliments daily to your spouse! And when a fight is about to rise, ask yourself what would be accomplished, how important is it to you and if its worth fighting over.

2. Be nice: men like to be respected and women like to be appreciated. So, do not ridicule your husband in front of others. Treat him with respect especially in front of others. There is nothing worse than to hurt a man's ego. Of something really bothered you, wait until you are alone and discuss it. 

3. Quality time: it is very challenging to take time away from the kids and focus on each other. But it is very nurturing to your marriage. Just taking time to talk to each AND to listen to each other goes a long way. My husband loves to build stuff and to talk about projects which I have absolute no interest in. But I make it a point to have a conversation with him and actually listen to what he has to say. The same works with him. This works best AFTER bedtime. So if your kids do not have a bedtime establish one right away. 

4. Physical Touch: make it a point to TOUCH each other. I read about a 60 second cuddle rule. If you spent some time away from each make sure you spend 60 seconds (at least) to cuddle!!! And see how your love will blossom!!!!

Good luck mommas and go ignite your marriage!!!

Tootles......

Fitness Tips: Working Mother

Every where you look you see and read how important it is to eat healthy, exercise, spend time with your family, self care and maintaining the marriage happy. Sounds extremely overwhelming if you ask me!!!! I will be honest with you, being a full time working mother and wife AND accomplishing all these MUST do sounds completely insane and impossible to do. But I am trying my absolute best to accomplish as much as I can. In search f tips I found a very good article about fitness for working mothers.

The article states that the minimum requirement for healthy fitness is 20 minutes 3x a week!!! I was very pleased to know that because hours at the gym is just too hard right now. 

Some of the things they suggest are as follows: 

1. Make fitness a priority and put in your calendar like any other appointments. Instead of eating lunch out take 20 minutes and walk around. You can eat a light lunch that day, walk and then go back to work. 

2. Get your family involved. Take a family walk after dinner or ride bicycles. If you have a pool then go swimming! This will allow you to get your workout and spend some quality time with your family. 

3. If it has been a long time since you worked out then pace yourself and work yourself up to the 20 minutes. 

I hope you found these tips useful. For more information and other articles visit childdevelopmentinfo.com. 

Fashion Tip: Glam on a Budget

Here I go again!!! I will not stop emphasizing that I do not need to break my bank to look good and to pamper myself!!! I am forever looking and searching for decent deals. "I can't afford  it" is slowly leaving my vocabulary.

So, my new tip for glam on a budget is GROUPON!!!! Awesome company, great customer service and hassle free which are my favorite phrases. Just in case (which I doubt) you didn't know, groupon is a website and app that shows deals I mean DEALS from your nearby places. The deals range from dining to traveling!!! They differ every day and sometimes totally worth it!! Living Social does the same thing if you want to check them out. However I had a bad experience with their customer service therefore I rather groupon all the way. 

So why not stay up to date with all the fashion looks and all the pampering we need once in a while at an affordable price?????

I found a deal for a well reputable salon and was able to get haircut, style and treatment for $40!!!! Here in Denver just cuts range anywhere from $50 and up!!! So I saved 60% and look fab!!!! This particular place does your hair while you sip a good glass of wine and they have refills!!! Oh, did I forget to say its complimentary?!?! SCORE....

You too can enjoy deals like this and live a fab life without the fab cost!!!! What are you waiting for???? Go and hit up groupon.com....

Fashion: June's Hot Trends

Just because we are moms or just had a baby (in my case) doesn't mean we cant brush up on trends out there! Here is what I discovered for June:

1. Revlon's monthly color: Fruity Coral- love this color because it's a fresh summer color and it really gives you that pop of color

2. Definitely DO for June: fuchsia lipstick- I gotta try this because I am not a pink fan but it looks fab!

3. Blues: every shade of it!!!! So nice and cool. Perfect for any occasion!!!

4. Jewelry for your feet: gemstone sandals- great for beach, bar and dinner!!!

5. Wavy Hairstyles: check out glamour.com for ideas for all lengths and textures. And bangs are making a comback so I gotta see what works for me!

Also don't forget it's beach and pool season so pretty up those nails and toes and go out there on your best bathing suit outfit!!!!

Loosing my Motivation!

There is nothing worse than to loose your motivation for anything! And noone is exempt from this.... What should I do when all of the sudden I just want to give up and throw in the towel? This can happen with exercising, dieting, trying to look good or even with relationships. Everything requires work otherwise it is usually not worth it. We tend to treasure those thing we work so hard for! For example, one is most likely to stay away from unhealthy foods if you worked so hard to loose weight, etc.

I struggle with time management and wanting to do so much! I want to give up exercising and eating healthy and just trying! It's those stubborn last 10lbs that does it to me....

So how did I get that motivation back? Well by speaking up my frustration and surrounding myself with positive people that will not let me give up! If I am lacking in the mommy hood dept then I have my new mommies to help me up. If my relationship/marriage is lacking I have people to give me words of wisdom! And when I want to give up working out and eating well I have my positive people to motivate me. So the key to increasing your motivation is to surround yourself with positive people!!!!

Baby Fashion on a Budget

Before I became a mom I heard a mom state that she refuses to look good and have her kids look bad! That statement stuck with me for years and I realized how many moms spend their times looking great and neglect their children's fashion. Other moms believe that keeping up with their kids' just cost too much money. Whatever the reason is, kids' are sometimes out of season fashion (because its cheaper) or just not matching.   I can already hear comments in the back of my head telling me how this is only because I am a first time mom and a new mom and this fad will fade away.  I refuse to believe this lie! I also refuse to believe that I cant dress up my baby cute without spending tons of money.....so this is what I do so far....

I always make sure my daughter matches from head to toe. Keep in mind this is just my fashion sense and everyone is different. I buy my daughter's clothes at Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Ross. These stores are very affordable and are not out of season bargains. I do shop out of season sales because sometimes is not really out of season. Let's talk about bargains. Define what is a bargain for you. For me, a bargain is an outfit for less than $10 and separates for less than $5. I don't spend more than that and I don't buy too many outfits from a specific size. Truth is kids out grow their clothes very quick so I budget quantity and price! Do not be afraid of major department stores like Macys, Bbaies R Us and The Children Place. You will be amazed with their sales and clearance. These stores are a season ahead so they will clearance out summer clothes in summer etc. I bought bathing suits for $1, outfits sets for $6, etc. I have gone to thrift stores and I get better bargains at regular stores and the clothes are brand new. Children can be expensive with diapers, food and wipes so why not save every time you can!!!!

Here are some of the outfits my daughter is rocking!!!!!

Proud Mommy and Baby

Spring Baby Fashion

Fun in the sun 

Baby Spring/Summer Outfit 

Give yourself a break!

There will be moments were you just want to throw in the towel and not care about anything! I sure felt like that yesterday. It's like you want to do all these great things but sometimes doubt that you can do it. My solution to this problem was "catching a break of myself"! It's really easy to take a break from everyone else but it's hard to give yourself a break from yourself. Did you know we are our worst critic? At least I am. Well I took a break and I ate whatever I wanted, didn't work out, left the baby in onesies and ordered a pizza and ate it on the couch with pjs! Funny part is my husband loved it and my baby even decided to go to bed earlier. Needless to say, I didn't care and it turned out good!