Jumpin-Beans

Healthy Summer Nutrition Tips from Funky Monkey Snacks: 1. Get Your Fill of Water. Hydration is critical, especially in the southern states where the sudden transition from air conditioning to high heat can shock the body. To help avoid muscle cramps and headaches—and to nourish skin—drink plenty of liquids, especially water. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition outlines the following choices along with the maximum recommended daily eight-ounce servings: water (9 for women, 13 for men), unsweetened tea (8), unsweetened coffee (4), diet sodas and calorie-free beverages (4), skim or low-fat milk (2), 100% fruit juices, whole milk, or sports drinks (1), soft drinks or juice drinks (1). 2. Find a Farmer. There isn ’t a better time of year to visit local farmers markets where an amazing array of healthy produce awaits. Many vegetables are high in nutrients and fiber—kale, chard, and mustard greens offer Vitamins C and E, which are good for eyes strained by the s...

I have got to tell you about the neatest shirt that I think I have seen in quite some time. I heard of this company, Three60Gear , but to see the shirt... WOW. There are no words to put it, unless you quote our friend, Mark... "That is killer!" When we took Broxton to the Cars2 tour, I had Marc wear the three60gear shirt. For starters, I wanted to get his opinion on it, but for the second reason, I wanted to see if anyone noticed it. Did they notice it? YEP! First of all, I knew that we were meeting our friend, Mark that is a die hard sports fan... I knew he would notice it ... and notice it he did! He wanted to know where he got it from, asking me a couple times what the site was... I told him to look here, so here you go, Mark... THREE60GEAR . He loved it and I am sure he will be wearing one at some point... When I told him that they made kids shirts, that just went to say that his sons would be wearing them as well! We were in the crowd looking around at all the cars stu...

I am not one for history, that is normally Marc's area. But, when I saw that there was a book out for children, I knew I wanted to add it to the ever growing library of Broxton's Books. My Best Friend Abe Lincoln by Robert L. Bloch is a great read with wonderful illustration. The book is actually an easy read and although it teaches about Abe Lincoln, it doesn't read like a textbook. We all know how hard those are to get into and enjoy, this just "flows." Broxton was actually sitting with Marc, but as I read it, he needed to get down and crawl in my lap to hold the book. In, My Best Friend Abe Lincoln , the book is told from the standpoint of Sam Harding, a fictional character created by Robert L. Bloch. Sam Harding tells of growing up in Indiana, setting up the area and the time frame for us to be introduced to Abe. As I said, it tells of Abe, without the boring textbook style writing. In this book, we learn of Abe and his ability to speak and entertain audie...

As a mom, I try and do anything and everything in my power to make sure to take care of Broxton as best as I can. I know when I was pregnant, I was so worried that I would not know what to do, or what was right. Sure, I had my ups and downs (still do!), but I call it learning! With that in mind, I knew that I would follow along my moms path and go with the name of familiarity. That being said, TYLENOL would be in our medicine cabinet. Not that I hoped to ever need it, but "just in case." I figure, if it was good enough for my mom to give to me... and Broxton's doctor to give to him.. Then it was the name we trusted to keep on hand! We have always depended and trusted in Tylenol. Did you know that they are rolling out new changes and improved Tylenol? They should be hitting the shelves as soon as this cold and flu season. I for one am very happy about this, as it has been hard for me to find a medicine with the same trust as Tylenol for us. Just what are the Tylenol Upd...

I know I have been talking about all the Cars2 stuff... Well, it is because Broxton LOVES the movie, Cars! We went to the Disney Store after meeting the Cars... We never bought anything, lol , I know... But Broxton enjoyed looking at all the stuff!!!! Aunt Jen and Baby Porter met up with us in there... Broxton LOVES seeing Baby Porter! See? We can have fun just looking! But seriously, have you been to the Disney Store near you? Wow, how fun! You can color/ watch different Disney Movie Clips and more!

***** THIS REVIEW POST IS NOW A GIVEAWAY POST!!!!!***** Giveaway ends : June 14 th . I was sent the book, Simple Food For Busy Families by Jeannette Bessinger and Tracee Yablon -Brenner . I originally thought that this book was going to be filled with easy and simple recipes. Boy was I wrong! (In a good way!) Remember me talking about my lack of cooking? My main reason? Not knowing foods and spices and all that what not! Well guess what?! I am learning now! Yep!!! Thanks to this book! The first half of this book tells you about "Whole Life Nutrition." They have basically simplified this into their 5 primary principals. 1- Quality 2- Balance 3- Seasonality 4- Quantity 5- Routine The pictures throughout the book make you hungry... Yes, that good! But the main thing is all of the information that they give you. The Quality of food breaks down fresh food, processed food, preserved food, organic food... You get where I am going, they explain it all! At the end of each section you...

***** Updated to make this a giveaway post! ***** Best Food for Your Baby and Toddler by Jeanette L. Bessinger with Tracee Yablon - Brenner is one of those books you do not really think you need, until you see it. Well, that was what I thought... I was able to review it and I am glad I did! The book was broken down into three parts. Part One - They Are What They Eat Part Two - Feeding Your Child Part Three- Real Food for Real Kids As you can imagine, the first part of the book is filled with useful information about the eating habits! You learn about the Obesity Epidemic, as well as Prevention. You also learn about the "real food" versus S.A.D. food. Part One also shares with us information about the basic nutritional information and the pros/cons of having a vegetarian child. Whoa! That is just part one! (I told you, LOTS of information!) Part Two Starts to explore more into the feeding of your little one. From the Section of FEEDING Your Child, The First Year... You learn...

Summer starts tomorrow for the boys. We will have them for the summer! Well, for most of the summer... We are not getting them yet... What plans do we have? Well, POOL of course! There is also the pool.. and if that gets to be a bit boring, we can go to the pool! Can you tell that we love the pool? I have just found out about another cool thing that we can do... AND YOU CAN HAVE THE SAME FUN! Select AMF Bowling centers are offering TWO FREE GAMES OF BOWLING PER DAY for kids 16 and under! (You have to pay for the shoe rental, but still... Two games per day for free!) Want to know all the details? Who: Select AMF Bowling What: Two FREE bowling games PER day for kids 16 and under When: May 30, 2011 until September 5, 2011 Where: CLICK HERE to see if there is a participating center near you Why: To help you have an enjoyable summer and beat the heat! After you click to see if there is a participating location near you, you just register your children... Also, they have a Summer 17 Plus P...

Just received this email... Thought I would pass along in case any of you might want to check it out: Today, Wednesday, May 25 th starting at 9am EDT, Coastal Contacts is giving away 10,000 free pairs of glasses to Facebook fans of the brand. The giveaway is applicable to first-time participants in the US. Here’s how it works: 1. Visit our Facebook Page and click on the ‘Free Glasses!!’ tab on the left side of our page. 2. Click the “like” button to reveal the coupon code or if you’ve already “liked” us the code will be displayed when you click on the tab. 3. Visit our website www.CoastalContacts.com and select a pair of glasses (we suggest picking out 3-5 pairs ahead of time). 4. Starting on Wednesday, May 25 th at 9am EDT, place your order and enter the coupon code at checkout to get your free pair of glasses. *Shipping and handling costs will be applied to your order. Typically, this will be about $10-15.*

We went to the Cars2 Tour the other day... You can read all about it (and see more pictures) in my earlier post, here . I just wanted to share a few more with you... Yes, I know that the hat has seen better days... It is Marc's hat and Broxton felt the need to wear it. I am not really sure why, but he had to grab it before we left the house!

Every single time we go to Wal -Mart, I see the Dr. Scholl's Custom Fit Orthodic kiosk . I have wondered who actually buys them, as I never see anyone on the machine. I looked at the price and thought they were a bit steep for just a random pair of shoe inserts... According to Marc... I am wrong. These are not "just a random pair of shoe inserts." Working with Mom Central, I was able to review a pair of the Custom Fit Orthodics and since I am such a wonderful and loving wife... (Okay, since I stay home with Broxton and Marc goes to work on his feet...) I thought it would be great to let Marc be the one to try them out. We went to Wal -Mart, as that is where I always see the kiosk... You can click here to see where one is located close to you ... You just go up and stand there on the machine. They ask you a few questions... It makes you stand on one leg at a time... (They have bars to hold onto, so its not like you are going to fall over when you lose your balance! It...

Modern, Hip, and Stylish Announcements are Here! Now is your chance to get chic and modern announcements, invitations, and holiday greeting cards! Keeping Me Posted is an amazing site that helps you create the best designs with just a few clicks of a mouse. The state-of-the-art photo personalization tools allow you to upload your favorite photos from Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, and SmugMug. Hundreds of stylish designs are available to choose from. Personalization tools can be used on the site to change the font color, size, and style. The tools can also be used to change your photo from color to black and white or sepia. You can preview your customized card design free of charge before you buy it. However, if you need another design, let Keeping Me Posted know. A personalized design can be made just for you at no extra cost. The cards are printed on top-quality thick matte paper using HP Indigo printing presses. Each and every card is carefully reviewed during the...

You KNOW you want to sing the song now... We love it here, Broxton enjoys singing it!!!!! I had the chance to try out the HINT beverage line before... You can read my earlier post about it HERE . Well, with the sequel to Kung Fu Panda coming out, HINT water has all sorts of fun in store for you!!!! First of all, hurry on over and buy some of their delicious HINT water... If you are not a fan of flavored water, remember... THIS ONLY HAS A HINT of flavor... NOT OVERWHELMING!!!! As Marc says, it just has a hint of flavor... Now, I had my brother taste it, he said he could not taste anything. I tried to explain it was not a full blown flavored water, but rather a water with a HINT of flavor.. HELLO, can you read the name on the bottle?! I also gave a bottle to my UPS guy, I mean, he did deliver it and all.. It was hot... He had ice in the truck. He agreed, it does have a small hint. Nothing to overwhelming, but it was still there! I like it, I like it alot ! Now, if buying the bottle w...

***** This is a repost because ONE LUCKY WINNER IS GOING TO WIN A SCARE ME NOT OF THEIR OWN!***** We are lucky that Broxton doesn't have Monsters or anything that scares him, yet... But, we are prepared if that day comes!!! We have FEARLESS FRED ! Have you heard of the Scare Me Not Gang yet? If not... Let me fill you in! They have all graduated from ScareMeNot Academy. How cool is this school? They have been trained to stay awake at night, hang from their tails AND see in the dark! The Scare Me Nots stay awake to make sure your little ones get a good night sleep, as they are watching over them!!!! (Okay, you know this is just the cutest!!!) We were sent Fred, he is a pretty cool guy! As soon as we got him, Broxton had to show him his toys... and the birds outside. Then, we had to go and let Fred see Broxton's room. Fred just hangs around, making sure that all is okay! Broxton enjoys showing Fred things and they really do get along quite nice! :) I really think that this...

"Falling in love is easy; sustaining love is difficult." That was the first sentence on the back of the book. Talk about the truth reaching out and grabbing you! Every Day Love by Judy Ford is 259 pages that are great for each and every one of us. You do not have to read it all at once, you can space it out however long you need to. It is filled with "Love Lessons that you can complete in whatever time frame works for you. Every Day Love is broken down into 10 Chapters with each one having its own share of Love Lessons. Chapter 1 - Nothing is Guaranteed Chapter 2 - A Lifelong Study Chapter 3 - Sweet Surrender Chapter 4 - The Realms of Love Chapter 5 - Goodwill Gestures Chapter 6 - Simple Connections Chapter 7 - Kiss, Kiss, Cuddle, Cuddle Chapter 8 - A Rewarding Vicious Circle Chapter 9 - All for the Better Chapter 10 - Moments of Awakening Just what type of Love Lessons am I referring to? They range from all sorts of things... Here is one Love Lesson: "Say Thank Yo...

When Broxton was just a baby, I started noticing his skin would get red and blotchy and just out right nasty looking. I did not know what it was, but it was mostly on his elbows and in the inner fold of the arm (other side of the elbow, don't know what it is called) as well as the backs of his knees. I took him to the doctor because I was not sure what to do. At that point, it was decided, he had eczema. I knew nothing of it until that day... When I received this article, I just thought it would be nice to share with you in case you were in my situation. Hope the information is helpful. Facts About Eczema in Babies By Eirian Hallinan If your baby is going to suffer from eczema , it usually appears before he is two years old and affects 15 to 20 per cent of children at some stage. It is an itchy and dry skin condition. Eczema is also referred to as atopic eczema or dermatitis. Atopic means the tendency to develop conditions like eczema , asthma or hay fever. The...

I told you about the Cars 2 Tour heading to Atlanta ... Well, we went and although it was hotter than anything... It was super fun! (Mental note, next time... BRING WATER! LoL ) If you have a Cars fan... You need to head on over HERE to see if they are coming your way! State Farm and Disney Pixar have teamed up to let us all get up close and personal with the Cars2 Gang!!!! Cars2 : Agents On a Mission Tour! We went today and let me tell you....... It is hard to miss!!!! We pulled up and saw the huge 18 wheeler with the picture of the Cars on the side. We parked and then we saw... THEM!!!! We got to see Lightning McQueen: We saw Mater: We even met Finn McMissile , the newbie to the group!!!! You get in line (and yes, there is a line... I mean, everyone wants to meet them! Not everyday that you can meet them without heading to Disney!) At our location, you got a State Farm Pencil, a key-chain OR a magnet, and a little photo-card. Then, you got to go and get your picture taken... Bring...