I’ve become a victim of my own circumstances, combined with an out and out lack of motivation. It’s time to get my act together, though. It’s time to take back control of my body, as well as the other factors in my life that I’m working on. I’ve decided that joining the ladies of Mamavation will help me to stay motivated and on track. I’ve seen the amazing support that they give each other, and think that it will be crucial for me as I start on this long journey.

My weight scares me a bit now, especially with Mother’s Day approaching. Sounds strange, I know. For those who don’t know me well, I lost my own mom 2 years ago in July. Heart disease stole her from me at just 58 years old. One of her biggest contributing factors was her weight. She yo-yo’d back and forth for years, never getting to an ideal and healthy weight again after having my brother and I. I don’t want to put my kids through the pain of losing me before my time. Plain and simple.

I’m trying to go into this with realistic expectations and to not do too much to start. My first steps are going to be meal planning the week, so that I don’t have to turn to fast food options for lack of something to make for dinner, plus cutting out soda in exchange for water. I also need to get moving, so am committing to a half hour of exercise every other day, to start.

I’m not the most comfortable sharing my weight with the world, but will say that I’m in a size 16 right now, shooting to get back into a size 8 eventually. I have a specific goal weight in mind, but for me it’s not going to be about the numbers. It’s going to be about feeling good and in control again.

Wish me luck, everyone and I hope that you’ll follow along with me as I start down the road to being a healthier mom!

With the holiday season moving into full swing, families across the country are in the car and on the go. Whether you’re driving across the country to visit family or across town to holiday shop, it is important that your child passengers are riding safely and that child safety seats are used correctly.

AAA estimated that 30 million people travelled this Thanksgiving holiday alone , and for many this is just the beginning of the holiday hustle and bustle. Now is the time to utilize the Child Car Safety tools provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council to learn more about proper car seat use and installation. You will find informative resources that include instructional videos.

Have child passenger safety questions that you need answered before you travel over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s? NHTSA is always available to answer your questions online through Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/childpassengersafety) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/childseatsafety).

We don’t do a lot of long distance traveling for the holidays, but with all the shopping trips, family gatherings, and fun events to attend, we do spend a good bit of time in the car. Making sure that the kids are buckled in snugly and that their car seats are properly installed when we switch back and forth between vehicles is so important, whether we are driving across the street or across the country. Do your children a favor this holiday season and make sure that they are as safe as they could possibly be when in the car. Their lives may depend on it!

Where: Twitter - please tweet with the hashtag #strollerbrigade to participate in the conversation. New to hashtagged events? Try Tweetchat for ease of use.

Who: Please follow moderator @ResourcefulMom and MaryLee Allen, Director, Child Welfare & Mental Health at @ChildDefender.

What: Children’s Defense Fund has been working hard to ensure a level playing field for all children for the last 35 years. The Champion’s for Children’s Health Stroller Brigade is working to demand that Congress and the President must support changes that provide comprehensive, affordable, accessible care for all children no matter where they live. Join us to learn more about how you can get involved in this movement, what the goals are for the Stroller Brigade, and about the Children’s Defense Fund in general.

Non-bloggers are welcome as well, to find out what they can do to join the Stroller Brigade in fighting for Children’s Health Care.

To RSVP, just sign the Linky at ResourcefulMommy – Hope to see you there!

I’ll be tweeting on Wednesday night and I hope to see you all there, as well! RSVP and join us!

Amy Lupold Bair, founder of Momfluence, is acting on behalf of NHTSA’s child passenger safety efforts.

A few weeks back, I was given some products to review by ecostoreUSA . I chose three from their hair and personal care line, since I had never bought anything chemical free to use in the bath. (I know, I know, poisoning myself, don’t lecture me.)

From their website:

ecostore was founded in 1993 by longtime organic gardener and environmental pioneer Malcolm Rands from his family’s home in an Eco Village in New Zealand. ecostore began as a mail-order business promoting eco-friendly products to a small group of dedicated organic gardeners. Known throughout New Zealand and Australia today as “ecoman,” his dream was to create a healthier and more sustainable world through the development of a permaculture, or self-sustaining ecosystem village.

ecostore USA has formulated its products without toxic petrochemicals, phosphates, nitrates, chlorine, ammonia, enzymes, synthetic perfumes, coloring or dyes, optical whiteners/brighteners or chemical preservatives. Instead, ecostore USA uses sustainable ingredients derived from plants and minerals, producing safer products that work equally as effectively as those that are chemical-based. Customers anecdotally have reported that, after using ecostore USA laundry products to wash clothes and linens, children’s eczema and dermatitis have disappeared, while allergies and asthma symptoms have decreased.

I tried the Vanilla Shampoo and Conditioner, as well as the Vanilla scented bar soap. I was feeling matchy the day I picked my products. I was a bit apprehensive about how well the shampoo and conditioner would work, being that I was a natural hair care products “virgin.”

The shampoo and conditioner had a great vanilla scent, which hubby even complimented me on. My hair felt very clean and soft after using it and after a few days, I’m pretty sure it had stripped some of the nasty buildup from my hair that had been left behind from months (years?) of product use. I’ve even started using the conditioner on the baby, because with his thick curls, the kids 2-in-1 I’ve been using just isn’t cutting the mustard. With this conditioner, I can now get a brush through his hair without meltdowns ensuing.

The soap is great, too. It also has a nice scent, though it doesn’t last quite as long as regular soaps with perfumes and chemicals. On the whole, I don’t often use bar soap because of the icky residue left behind after you rinse. I did not get that feeling at all with the soaps from ecostore.

Overall, I was very pleased with the items I was sent to review and will be very likely to purchase more from them in the future. If you are interested in giving some of their product line a shot, you can visit the ecostoreUSA website, or stop by your local Meijer, as they are introducing their line in those stores.

I have also been given a $25 gift certificate to give to one lucky reader! If you want a shot at winning $25 in products from ecostoreUSA, all you need to do is go to the ecostoreUSA website and come back and leave a comment with what you would like to try.

For additional entries (main entry must be completed first), you can:

• Tell me what national retail chain you would love to see feature ecostore products.

• Tweet about this giveaway (up to 3 times)

• Subscribe to my feed

• Blog about this giveaway

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Winner will be drawn by Random.org, after the close of the contest. Contest will end on Friday, July 10, at 11:59 pm. Winner will be emailed and will have 72 hrs to claim their prize, or another winner will be drawn.

Good luck!

Product was provided for this review.

The 30-Day Shred is BRUTAL. I think Jillian Michaels has some kind of vendetta against me and wants me to die a slow and painful death. I didn’t even make it all the way through yesterday, thanks to the assistance of 2 little boys who find it fun to sit on me when I try to do the floor work. I still woke up sore in places that I didn’t know existed. I got smart today and got up before the kids to exercise. I made it through, but it was a total STRUGGLE. I hope it gets easier as the days go on!

I’m waiting for the cool new scale I ordered to come in. It’s supposed to figure body fat and water percentage (or something like that) so I can get a better idea of my overall health and weight loss, as thing move along. Who knew I’d ever WANT to get on a scale?!

So far, the motivation level is staying up and I’m not having any major cravings that are tempting me to cheat. Ok, I know, it’s been a whopping 24 hrs, but every little step is something, right?? I’ll check back in after my first full week and we’ll see how much the numbers shrunk!

About 2 months after the wedding, I was pregnant…which makes me think I have a license to eat. Everything. All the time. 

Now with one pregnancy, I can recover from this, but when K was just six months old, I got hit with a shocker — Dev was on the way. So I start pregnancy number 2 still 35 lbs up from pregnancy number 1…and well, you can imagine the outcome. Add to that starting a work at home career that leaves me stuck in the house, in a computer chair the biggest part of the day…bad news. 

If you’ve read here at all, you probably know about my mom passing away last July, which I’m still struggling with even today. I still can’t come to grips with the idea that she’s really gone some days, and battle with bouts of depression. 

Guess what depression does to me, ladies and gentlemen? Yep! I eat! It really is a miracle I can still haul my butt off the couch, at this point. 

Well, I’m fed up now. I want to go back to somewhat looking like that chick up there. I owe it to myself to feel good about who I am and how I look, and I owe it to my kids to have  a healthy mom, who’ll be around for all the special events in their lives and the lives of their kids. I know that my own mom’s weight issues were a very big factor in her death at such an early age (58) and I can’t let myself go down the same path. I don’t want spend another year looking like this:

So I’m jumping in with both feet. I’ve joined Weight Watchers (though I’m having signup issues and can’t log in yet) and I ordered the 30-day Shred to help me get started. I’m hoping that by Blogher there will be a little less of me to hug, and by this time next year, I’ll love myself a little more. Wish me luck and keep checking back for updates!