Check out our Makeover by PIP Designs!

Many thanks to Tara, over at PIP Designs for the amazing makeover she gave my blog! I love it and couldn't be happier. She was fast, professional and made sure I had exactly what I wanted. Thanks again Tara!

The Sassy Mom is getting a Blog makeover by PIP Designs!

I've been a huge fan of Tara's work over at PIP Designs for some time now. So, when my friend Kim from Chubby Cheeks Thinks was having a blog makeover giveaway by Tara I jumped on the chance to win and entered as many ways as I could, as many times as I could! To my absolute amazement I won!

I can't wait to see what Tara has in store, I have no doubt that I will love it!

Team Beachbody

Meet Heather Roy. I have known Heather for most of my life well into my early childhood. Last May Heather decided to make the choice to become an Independent Beachbody Coach. Honestly, I didn't think much at first but wished her much luck on her journey. She started out as a coach doing the program p90x and their Shakeology program. What I have seen in the 7 months since she has started this program is absolutely amazing.

I watched as Heather went from this

To THIS!

Absolutely amazing!

This was Heather on Day 68 of her 90 program, p90x

Up until this point, she had been using a chair for support. Today, she didn't need a chair at all!

And, this was Heather after finishing p90x

She looks amazing! She feels amazing! 

I want to look amazing! I want to feel amazing! So, I asked Heather about her journey and her decision to become an Independent Beachbody Coach and here is what she had to say:

When did you start this program?

I had started p90x may 16th 2011

What made you decide to become a Team Beach body coach? 

Once I saw the fast results I was getting in just my first month of p90x I knew this program was no joke, It really WORKS. I found myself talking to everyone about it, People saw my results I was getting and wanted to know how I was doing it. So at that time I realized that I wanted to help others get healthy and physical.

I know that you've always been active and took your physical health seriously (swimming all through school) but did something happen, did you start to "slack off" (like me! hehe) or you just wanted to expand and try something new?

I have always been pretty active, Not an athelete at all though. Once I had my 2 children, I had a hard time losing weight (and keeping it off). I was tired all the time, eating the wrong foods, not exercising and It just hit me one day when I had to go buy the next size up clothes to go on vacation. I knew I had to do something, I was not happy with myself any more. I was almost at the weight of when I gave birth to my son!

When you began on this journey did you think you would ever be where you are now?

When I began my journey to fitness it became very addicting because of the results I got so fast, and because of the support system that comes with the beachbody team, I really feel that is a huge reason I was able to stay so focused.

Having lost so much weight, feeling so good, completing a course of p90x AND onto the next round of insanity? I am constantly looking forward to what I'm doing next. I have things on my calendar all threw the 2012 year with different events I want to take part in, the programs I'm doing is a great training program for these events.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember, you've also been stamina training for running at this time also?

I hated running lol, but its another challenge for me. Now, I love running. That said, I'am not much of a fan of the treadmill. I love hitting the road, finding new routes. I just signed on to a team in town called "see moms run" next may our team will be doing the Mass reach the beach. It's 200 miles in 24 hours, a relay race. I'am excited to connect with moms in the area that share the same passion as I do.

What is Shakeology? Is this more of a healthier way to help the body rid itself of toxins or considered more of a weight loss method? (like slimfast?) 

Shakeology is both, it will absolutely help you lose weight, but it is a daily nutritional shake helps your body gently eliminate toxins more efficiently while allowing for better absorption of the essential nutrients you need. At the same time, whole-food ingredients deliver the essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals your body needs to curb cravings, allowing your body to shed stored fat while the more than 20 different antioxidants and phytonutrients help reduce free radical damage that can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and stroke.. I could go on and on about the health benefits of shakeology. I have it every day, I love it. I will say also, it will not give you gas or the runs or load your body with tons of sugars like other meal replacements do.

What is a typical meal day for you? 

I really try to stay away from things that come out of a box. I eat 5 times a day, each time I have protein, if I cant eat the protein iill drink a whey protein shake. I have my carbs until lunch after lunch I try to stay away from carbs. I dont really measure, I eat so frequently that I dont really get hungry. The protein is very important when doing these types of programs. Now onto insanity I have added in some extra carbs to get me threw the day. The only other supplement I take other than my shakeology, and whey protein is the results and recovery formula from beachbody. I started working out with out having bought it, a week into my program I was so wiped, was getting dizzy, so sore. I figured I had to try it. I havent looked back, that stuff is worth every penny! And its not that expensive, so thats a bounus.

Have your kids and husband said anything about this, have they noticed in a positive way anything that reinforced your ambition to continue?

haha, my kids tell me im doing it wrong. So I try to get up at 5am so I dont have anyone telling me if im doing it right or wrong lol. My husband is great. He wants me to be happy, he could care less if im a size 4 or 14 though. Im really lucky in that area. He just now has started to make a change in his eating habits, so I think im rubbing off on him, not that ive asked him to change what he eats.

Alot of people I've spoken to thinks that p90x is hard and usually give up. Can you give a brief description of your journey through it? I remember seeing that you were able to do pull ups unassisted by day 68, can you tell me how much a transformation your body went through? 

I think people that dont go through with the program are not working with their coach, Beachbody gives you a free coach, some are afraid to reach out to them. The coaches open you to a whole support system we will not let you fail. I could NOT do a single pushup when I started, so I was told to modify them. The coaches have tons of tips so you wont fail. I am constantly telling people different moves they can do at their level. You WILL get better. You're not supposed to be able to do these programs like they do on the tv right out of the box. And each time you repeat the program you get better, It never gets easier because you push yourself harder so it will continue to deliver results for the level you are at. 

In the begining, I spent a lot of the videos pausing, doing a small fraction of the moves that they were doing. What was in the back of my mind the whole time was, I had a friend of mine do this program before me, she was very similar to my build/height, so I knew if she could do it than I could as well! Seeing real people (not the tv informercial people) transform their bodies and their mindset with exercise and food, is very motivating! 

Finally, if you choose to share because this is personal, how much have you lost in total? 

Since starting my weightloss journey I have went from 188 to 138 . It's much more than that though, It's the muscle definition I've gotten. Women do not have to worry about getting bulky and "man muscles" I lifted the heaviest weights I could, and It helped me lean right down, I think I got there faster becasue I wasnt using the light weights. I did not bulk up though, women wont unless your taking some sort of supplement to do so.

                                             ----------------------------------------------------

I've watched Heather go through this journey, I've seen her accomplish many things and transform her body, even her whole attitude about health, body image and weight loss in general. After a LOT of talks, and a lot of encouragement and support she has inspired me enough to where I have decided to become an Independent Beachbody Coach with her! I'm starting with the same program that she did, p90x and my target start date will be next Friday, November 25th. Just in time to rid myself of those unwanted lbs. from Thanksgiving! 

For the next three months I will be giving weekly updates about my progress and links with access to my personal Beachbody website and my Shakeology site. Stay tuned and wish me luck!

And, a personal thank you to Heather for getting my rear in gear doing what I need to do for a healthier me!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

A while back I had run across a blog that had a great recipe for making your own laundry detergent. The site isn't up anymore so I went on a mission to find another recipe. I found a ton! I decided on using one that had very basic ingredients, but that required more amounts than others.

For this recipe you will need:

1 bar of Fels Naptha Soap (I've also heard you can use Ivory)
2 cups of Borax
2 cups of Washing Soda

A grater or peeler for the soap (I used both)
A measuring cup for the water
A pot to boil the water and melt down the soap bar
A bucket that holds at least 2 gallons of water
Empty containers to store the detergent. (I used old empty detergent bottles)

I first started out grating the bar of Fels Naptha into the ceramic bowl. Normally, that would be a method most people could do easily. However, I  have a condition that causes my joints to swell and become very painful, so I switched to the vegetable peeler and it was much easier for me. 

I then boiled 4 cups of water. When the water reached a boil I added in very slowly the bowl of grated soap, gently stirring the whole time. If you pour it all in at once, or too fast, you will get big clumps of soap, which you don't want. I kept this at a rolling boil stirring constantly until all the soap was melted. I did not take pictures of this as I needed 2 hands!

I filled a 2 1/2 gallon bucket that I got at the dollar store to the 2 gallon mark and then slowly poured in the boiling soap mixture. 

I then added 2 cups of Borax. I initially began stirring with a slotted plastic spoon, then a whisk. Eventually I abandoned both of these utensils and stuck my whole arm right in the bucket and mixed by hand. The borax settled at the bottom and wasn't dissolving as nicely as I would have liked it to. Mixing by hand did the trick.

I then added 2 cups of the Washing Soda and went right to the hand mixing method. Let me just note, that stuff gets HOT when combined with water. Again, I made sure that it was completely dissolved and there was no residue left on the bottom. 

I mixed it up with the slotted spoon until it was well blended and then covered it with plastic wrap and let it sit for 24 hours. I was a bit concerned with the smell at this point because it didn't smell that great. I can't explain what it smelled like, but it wasn't good. I thought of putting some sort of essentials oils or fragrance oils in it but was afraid of how it would effect anything I washed, so I opted to leave it out. By the next morning when I checked on it the smell was fine, it took on the smell of the Fels Naptha soap, which isn't unpleasant. In my opinion anyhow. 

After 24 hours I removed the plastic and gave it a good stirring. It gelled up quite a bit, and that's ok. 

At this point, the consistency should be about what you see in the pictures. Pretty solid and jello like at first until you start stirring. I used a funnel and put the contents in an old empty detergent bottle I had laying around.

Seems like a lot of work, right? Well, it wasn't! the hardest and longest part was grating/shredding the soap. the entire process took me about 15 minutes and alot of that time was waiting for water to boil. 

Now, why would I do this? To save money of course! 

A 100 oz bottle of Tide at Walmart can run you around 12 dollars. The bottle or box claims you can get 64 loads out of the package. That runs you about .18 cents a load.

I paid 2.98 for a 76 oz. box of Borax at Walmart

.98 cents for a bar of Fels Naptha

About (can't remember exactly) 3.60 for a 55 oz. box of Super washing soda. 

This recipe calls for using a 1/4 cup of detergent per load. 

From the batch that I made this time I was able to get just a bit over 2 gallons. So we'll call it even at 2 gallons.

16 cups to a gallon = 32 cups

32 x's four 1/4 cups =  128 loads

If I were to use all of my ingredients at once I would have enough to make 6 gallons. (with some Borax and Washing Soda left over) equaling 384 loads!

Adding up all of my ingredients

Borax 2.98

Washing soda 3.60

Fels Naptha (x's 3 if I'm using the supplies in their entirety) 2.94

Total = 9.52

That's just about 2.5 cents a load! 

If you do one load of a laundry a day, you have more than enough for an entire year! If you have kids like me you sometimes end up doing 2 loads, that still enough for over half the year. 

I'm always looking for bigger and better deals and savings (with a product that works of course) so if you know of another recipe that saves even more I'd love to hear from you! 

Heart Strings Announcements

I met Sherry Orfin a little over 4 years ago. We met when we were both expecting our daughters. We've been friends ever since and I'm so grateful to have such a great friend with such a beautiful heart and soul in my life. We've gone through pregnancies together, then the births, then the first few months of "new" parenthood. She helped me through some hard times when I lost my twins and was a supreme source of support when trying to conceive our son.

So, it's no wonder that when I decided to open my own business Sherry had a hand in that too!

Sherry is the owner of Heart Strings Announcements, and she created a custom logo and business card package for me that I couldn't be happier with. In fact, when I first saw what she had come up with I was literally jumping up and down. I loved it that much!

From my Etsy shop banner:

To my business logo:

I couldn't be any more pleased than I am. In fact, Sherry is so good that all I did was give her the name of my business, told her what colors I was thinking of and this is what she came up with. It was almost startling how close she came to the image that I had in my head to what she created for me.

I urge you to check out her Blog and Website, where you can see some of her work. She is incredibly talented and her prices are very affordable! 

You can also connect with her on her Facebook Fan Page for Heart Strings Announcements, or contact her through E-mail. 

I am so thrilled with my custom logo package and I know you will be too, whatever your printing or design needs are! 

The Way We Were (with Fire and Gun Safety Tips)

Today is November 9th.  Should be an ordinary day like any other. For many people, it is. For me, it isn't. Today signifies a turning point in my youth, a day that changed my life and who I am forever.

Saturday November 9th, 1986 as I was away for the weekend in Lynn, Mass with my mother visiting her High School best friend, Ludlow Massachusetts firefighters saw what was at the time the worst house fire in it's history. It was the the home of my grandparents and it claimed the lives of my Grandmother, Aunt and my 9 year old cousin Rachel. I was 7 years old.

Cousin Rachel and Auntie Diane on top
 and Rachel cutting her first communion cake on the bottom

My Mother, myself and Rachel on top,
Rachel and our Grandparents in Old Orchard Beach, ME.

My Memere, Aunt Diane, Pepere, and cousin Rachel.
Those were the days!

On November 9, 1991 a classmate of mine was fatally wounded by a gunshot. It was accidental. I was 12. Out of respect for his family and all of those involved, I will not reveal his name or any other details. Although, I know many of you have this date and his name etched into your hearts and minds forever.

In honor of them, in rememberance and respect, I light these candles, For my family, and, My dear friend.

I'd also like to take this time to talk a little bit about fire and gun safety.

The U.S. Fire Administration has some great tips and resources on fire prevention.

Please, remember, to always test your smoke detectors and fire alarms! You never know when you are going to need them!

If your children are old enough make sure to talk to them about the dangers of fires.

Plan an escape route and designate a meeting place outside of your home!

Make sure you have two exits out of each room of your home with a clear path to each.

Always keep a fire extinguisher in your home, especially in your kitchen.

Gun Safety

The National Rifle Association has some great tips for parents  and a great safety program called The Eddie Eagle Safety Program.

What happened to my friend was a tragic accident, and nobody's fault. However, knowledge is power and you can never, ever be too careful.

A White Halloween?

In the aftermath of October 29th's snow storm, Halloween in all surrounding towns was sadly, cancelled.  How on earth was I supposed to tell my little Rapunzel that she couldn't go trick or treating? And, really, my little man's first Halloween wasn't going to be? Not if this Mama could help it!

We were fortunate enough to be taken in by my mother in law during that time since we had no power and she had a generator! We were even more more fortunate that the street she lives on is filled with a good portion of our family, so Halloween was still on for this family!

Meet Rapunzel!

Rapunzel really wanted her own little Pascal but she had to settle for the Cowardly Lion instead

We went down the street once, hit just a handful of houses and we had two of the happiest kids ever! One little girl was none the wiser that Halloween was cancelled. I think it was the best Halloween so far!

The storm of the century?

On October 29th my family gathered together at my father's home in Belchertown, Massachusetts for the celebration of my nephew's 15th birthday. At around 3pm we noticed a white haze outside of the windows. My husband and I looked at eachother and said "Snow? In OCTOBER?"

By the time we packed up our family and went home for the night, it was a full blown snow storm. The usual 15 minute drive from Belchertown to our home in Palmer, Ma. took us what seemed an eternity. In my lifetime I've seen many snow storms, I've driven in horrendous road conditions. This was, by far, the scariest car ride of my life. Our vehicle spun out of control at one point, trees were falling in the roads behind us and it seemed every usual road to take to our home was blocked off. I found myself thinking to myself "this is what Stephen King books are made of". We came upon a tree that had fallen in the road in front of us only to realized there was a car underneath.

This was no ordinary storm.

As we drove further towards our house, taking detours at almost every turn it seemed, something started to dawn on me. None of the houses we passed had lights on. Street lights were out and by the time we got into the center of our town, the traffic lights were also out. As we approached our house we discovered two things. 1. The road was blocked by trees on the right side of our driveway and the house was dark. We had no power. We decided to go inside and see how long it would take for the power to come back on. By midnight we were freezing, the power was still out and decided we needed to get our children, ages 5 months and 3 years out of there and into somewhere warm. Until we heard a crash. Another tree had come down in our road, on the left side of our driveway this time, blocking us in entirely. We couldn't leave if we wanted to. So, we blew up an air matress, took every blanket and flashlight we owned and all huddled up in our living room. It was one of the most terrifying nights of my life. You could hear the trees snapping and falling constantly in what seemed every direction. I prayed none would hit our house. We still had cell service at that point and learned that a tree, had in fact fallen on my fathers house. What damage it caused was still unknown at that point. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.

At six am the next morning my husband was outside with a handsaw cutting up the trees that had fallen in the road blocking us in. We still had  no power and had been told it would be 3-7 days until we were restored.

Each side of our driveway blocking us in on both sides. 

After what seemed an eternity my husband was able to clear away most of the fallen trees, limbs and branches on the left side and we were able to leave. I hadn't been outside yet and was greeted with a real mess of the outside of our home.

I had seen enough and just wanted to get out of there. We decided to drive to Belchertown to check on my fathers house. During our travels we realized things weren't looking any better anywhere else.

In Palmer

The Belchertown Common

Last, but not least, my father's house.

Tree that fell in front of the front shed

My brother's car is somwhere under there!

The trees that hit the house and took out the back deck.

We now know that the tree also hit the roof and side of the house. There is currently a hole in the roof over a foot and half wide that opens directly into my fathers bedroom.

Our power was not restored until Thursday November 3rd. We were fortunate that we were not one of the people from Belchertown that had to wait until Saturday or Sunday to have it restored. On Friday November 4th, Massachusetts Govenor Deval Patrick paid a visit to the town of Belchertown

Christine Molloy of Belchertown, also has much to say about the situation. And, a news website from the UK, DailyMail even picked up the story.

If this storm is any indication of what this winter has in store for us it's going to be a long season!

And the winner is......

The winner of the The Sassy Mom's 50 Facebook fan Giveaway sponsored by Dark Moon Essentials is:

Angela, from The Southern Fried Bride! Congrats Angela, you're the winner of my first giveaway!

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day

October 15th is Pregnancy and infant loss awareness day. For those of us who have lost a child in someway, this can be the hardest day of the year for us. Sometimes even harder than the the day we actually lost our children. It is a day where we don't just think about what we have lost, what our babies lost, but we think about all of the other women who have lost the same thing, all of the other babies who have lost the same thing. Sometimes, on this day, I swear I can feel the pain and the sadness in the air spread across our nation.

I am 1 in 4. 

If you are 1 in 4, you don't have to suffer alone. If you aren't already in a support group, or don't have support in your daily life to help you deal with this, please find a resource to help you. You don't have to suffer in silence. October15th.com , I am the Face and Rowan Tree Foundation are great places to start. 

October 15th was a hard day for me. The month of October is child loss awareness month. My husband and I have lost three children and I would like to take this moment to remember them. Remember how very much they are loved and how very much they were wanted. How very, very much we miss them. We have two beautiful healthy children and we love them with everything we have. But, we will always love just as much those precious babies, that never even had a chance to be held. But, we will hold them, in our hearts for the rest of our lives. 

Fly with the Angels my sweet babies. 

The Sassy Mom's 50 facebook fan Giveaway sponsored by Dark Moon Essentials

The Sassy Mom has reached 50 fans on Facebook! That means it's time for a giveaway!

I will be giving away 1 Deluxe Sea Salt Sampler package from my Etsy Store, DarkMoonEssentials. This package consists of three 3.5 oz Sea Salt Sachets in the scents of your choice, a matching bath pouf and a bonus sample packet of my new fizzing bath powders yet to be released!

Scents available

1. Pink Sugar

2. Juniper Breeze

3. Pear Spice

4. White Tea & Ginger

5. Love Spell

6. French Vanilla & Amber

7. Cranberry Apple Marmalade

8. Nag Champa

9. Sweet Pumpkin Spice

10. Banana Nut Bread

11. Blueberry Muffin

12. Cozy Christmas

Rules of entry

 Mandatory entry: You must leave a comment on which scents you would like if you are chosen as the winner.

After you have completed the mandatory entry you will qualify for one additional entry by doing each of following:

1.  Follow me via Google Friend Connect

2. Follow me on Facebook

3. Follow me on Twitter

4. Share my Facebook Fan page on your wall

Remember to leave separate comments for each item you complete, you can gain up to 4 additional entries by completing the items above!

You will receive 5 additional entries EACH by completing the following:

1. Blog about this giveaway including a link to this post.

You will receive 1 additional entry per day by doing the following.

(For every day that you complete this)

2. Tweet about this giveaway including a link to this post. 

Again, be sure to leave me a separate comment for each item you complete.

This giveaway will be open until Friday, October 21st, at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard time. At that time I will choose a winner through random.org and I will announce the winner on Saturday, October 22nd.. Make sure that in your comments you leave a way for me to contact you! 

This contest is open to U.S. participants 18 years or older. 

This giveaway is now closed!

Viva Las Vegas and Wedding Bells

Three years ago today, my husband I awoke in the wee hours of the morning and boarded a plane heading to Vegas. We were getting married!

A lot of  people ask us what made us decide to "run off to Vegas". The simple answer is that is just "so us". If you knew us personally you would understand completely. But, it wasn't something that I ever thought I would do until after we were engaged and planning a wedding.

We always knew we would get married. We knew from the moment we met. One afternoon in July, after we had been dating for 4 years, living together most of that time, Adam came home from work particularly early. I had a terrible morning and was so grateful for the added hands. Our 8 week old daughter was really giving me a run for my money. She didn't sleep well the night before, neither had I and a nap was not in her future. So, there I was still in my pajamas, hair a mess, eyes all bloodshot and swollen, when I turned around to find my now husband on one knee in our dining room with a diamond ring in his hands. I've never seen my husband nervous a day in his life. Not even when our daughter was born. He was a nervous wreck.

That morning turned into one of the best mornings of my life!

So, now the question was, when and where? We went back and forth, a November wedding? A Christmas wedding? We were new parents, stressed out already as our daughter was not a good sleeper. We'd had a particularly bad year in 2007, losing our first child in miscarriage, and the death of my mother and Adam's grandfather. One night as we were sitting together on the couch watching one of our favorite shows "Las Vegas", we both slowly looked at each  other, grinned and said YUP! So, that's what we did and we've never regretted it a single day.

So, after kissing our 4 month old goodbye (some tears were shed and not by me surprisingly) we headed out that cold October morning from my brothers home in MD and headed to BWI to catch our flight to Vegas. From the moment we left we were like giddy school kids in love. I've always heard about newlyweds acting that way but I never "got it" until then.

Upon arrive at McCarran International the first thing we saw (besides slot machines!) was this:

And on the shuttle going towards downtown Fremont Street where we were staying we saw

Our Hotel On Fremont Street                                                 

                                                                                                    

We chose to use Vegas Weddings and we are very happy that we did. They picked us up in a White Stretch Limo,which I have no pictures of as we were just so taken in by everything and in awe of everything around us. We chose to get married on the Stone Terrace at night and it was absolutely beautiful. Truly romantic!

Right before the ceremony began

During the ceremony

Adam saying his vows

First kiss as husband and wife!

We spent four glorious days in Vegas and had the time of our lives. It was filled with relaxation, romance, and excitement. We loved having four days to ourselves to just enjoy each other. We couldn't have hoped for a better honeymoon.

Some of the really cool things we saw:

Just us!

We had a wonderful time, but by the end of the trip we were anxious to get home to our little girl who we missed so very much! 

Just a few shots of us goofing off while waiting to board our plane:

So, happy Anniversary to the most amazing husband I could have ever hoped for. I truly hope the next 50 years are filled with as much love as we have today, as we raise our children and build our legacy.