BODYARMOR Sports Drink

The following is a review which was facilitated with a sample and coupons from the sponsor.  All opinions are my own.

Are you tired of your kids grabbing for brightly colored sodium filled sports drinks?  Why is it OK for sports drinks to be brightly colored, but you would never accept that for your fruit juice?  The answer is, that it isn’t OK.  Food dyes are food dyes, and the bright colors are not natural.  Maybe in a field in the Spring, but not being chugged by your 10 year old.  So why not grab for a more naturally geared sports drink, like one from BODYARMOR.

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BODYARMOR has a line of sports drinks out now which are all natural and based on coconut water.  With coconut water, you know the vitamin content is going to be high, as will be the potassium levels and the amount of electrolytes.  You get 200% RDI of vitamin B3, B5, B6, B9, B12 and 100% of vitamins A, C, and E.  The electrolytes help  maintain fluid balance, muscle contraction and nervous system activity, all of which are very important during physical activity.  The big difference between BODYARMOR and other sports drinks is the electrolytes- instead of using sodium, they use potassium, which has been found to be lacking in many athletes.  Some of the athletes who use BODYARMOR include: Mike Trout, Andrew Luck, James Harden, Buster Posey, Rob Gronkowski, Kevin Love, Richard Sherman, Skylar Diggins, and Sydney LeRoux.
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Stress Relief- Do you need a Rescue? #StressLess2BMyBest

Stress is a silent killer, building in strength with every little issue until “boom”. You end up with a stress related illness.  To name a few, they are: heart disease, asthma, obesity, headaches, depression and anxiety, gastrointestinal problems, and Alzheimer’s disease. Now the scary stuff is out of the way. What do we do about it? How do you unwind after a long day?

I personally do yoga and go to the gym. Yoga is a great way to center yourself and bring your body to a better place, too. It gets to a point where if I miss my yoga during the week, within a few days I am stressed out, not sleeping well, and more easily agitated. My husband likes loud music and video games to unwind and de-stress. Any form of music that is loud works, preferably something abrasive as well as loud. Thank goodness for headphones.  My son likes to take apart his Masher action figures and put them back together, watch tv, or play video games. There are many great ways to get your mind off of its current stresser and relax.

Below are Top 10 De-stress techniques

9 Meditation
8 Writing in a journal

7 Breathing exercises

6 Wherever stress finds you – you can be ready…Take natural RESCUE: Take on stress and be at your best!
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The Listerine 21 Day Challenge

Disclosure:I received LISTERINE® Brand products and a Walgreens gift card from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the LISTERINE® 21-Day Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

pic6Recently, my family and I took the Listerine 21 Day Challenge.   You might recall the blog post I wrote about it when we first started.  It was an easy challenge to take- not really all that challenging- and our mouths are that much happier for it.  It was made even easier with the emails and reminders that LISTERINE sent on a daily basis. Our breath is better for longer, and my mouth does feel fresh and clean.

pic8You might be wondering what the challenge consisted of.  If you decide to take it as well, you choose an expert in fitness, nutrition or home organization from whom you will receive daily personalized emails with tips, video content, and guidance from. By signing up for the 21 Day Challenge and sticking with your twice daily rinsing routine, you will have a daily opportunity to instantly win exciting prizes, including a Fitbit®, a $100 Container Store® Gift Card, an Amazon Fire TV, or more.  For every seven consecutive days you swish, you’ll be entered into one of the sweepstakes drawings for a grand prize.  It’s a win-win situation, really.   (See what I did there?)
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#LISTERINE 21-Day Challenge

I am a little bit…hyper-vigilant, shall we say, about oral hygiene.  We don’t miss our 6 month dentist appointments, we brush three times a day (the boy and I do, the husband is twice- what can I say), and floss daily.  We use mouthwash.  I bought my son those little dinosaur “picks” that help him floss (you know, they have the floss on the dinosaur’s “mouth” to help kids floss?)  My son has mouthwash and a toothbrush at school, and he uses it after lunch.  Really.  He gets a nebulizer treatment after lunch every day, and he uses mouthwash and brushes his teeth both for hygiene and to keep his teeth from getting soft from the treatments.

oral health

I might have a problem.

Well, as problems go, it’s not the worst one to have, right?  So, when we were asked to take the Listerine 21 Day Challenge, I said yes- and I’m taking it as just that, a challenge.  Will it do anything to improve our current regime?  I don’ t know.  We start Monday, so I will let you know.
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Botox For Migraines – Have You Tried It? I did.

pic4Many of you know I get migraines.  Migraines are NOT “just headaches”, as anyone who as ever gotten one  (or lives with someone who gets them) that they are no joke.  They are really debilitating, and can come with auras, blind spots, flashing lights, spots, lines, fuzziness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, pain on one or both sides, the whole head, neck and shoulders- it really varies.  Some people get one kind, some get more then one.  The more kinds you get, the more difficult they are to deal with or medicate properly.

A very basic definition- “A migraine is a common type of headache that may occur with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light. In many people, a throbbing pain is felt only on one side of the head. Some people who get migraines have warning symptoms, called an aura, before the actual headache begins.”

Doctors don’t really know all that much about them and what causes them, so people who live with regular migraines often don’t have much of a choice but to deal with the pain- there are not a lot of great options if nothing is working.  Most migraine medications given are really for something else, like seizures, depression, epilepsy, or  etc.

Recently the FD approved Botox for the treatment of migraines and other disorders, like lazy eyes, bladder dysfunctions, spasticity, multiple sclerosis, and more. I have tried everything, so I called my doctor to talk about it.
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Winter Skin Care

With the weather this season doing a number on skin, leaving it dry, chapped, burned, and in general feeling terrible, here are some great products to try out that can help ease winter’s woes.

pic5Hyaluronic Shea Mask ($15)

The mask feels like a lotion going on, and after the recommended 15-20 minutes drying time, is still wet.  It is pretty much entirely clear at that time, and feels gel-like.  It wipes off with warm water and a washcloth.  Formulated with the moisture-binding hyaluronic acid, this deep conditioning mask prevents water loss, dryness and roughness, providing intensive, long-lasting hydration. A rejuvenating blend of soothing oils and botanical extracts deeply nourish dry, damaged and mature skin, while improving elasticity.

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Phyto-Nutrient Cleansing Gel ($24)

Featuring phytonutrient mirco-bubbles, this lightweight foaming gel removes makeup and surface impurities, while maintaining the skin’s natural, essential moisture balance and improving hydration, tone and texture. The Phyto-Nutrient Cleansing Gel also features brown, green and red algae extracts that smooth and nourish skin.
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Cold and Flu Season Made Easy with Dr. Cocoa

This is a product-provided, sponsored conversation that contains affiliate links. However, all opinions, text and experiences are my own.


Cold and Flu season is in full effect. Not only kids, but everyone across the country is getting sick and for those in school, school age kids get around 8-12 colds per year so what is your trick?  How do you get your kids to take medicine they don’t like the taste of? Why not change the medicine instead of fighting to get the medicine down. Dr. Cocoa™ can help parents fight the cold, not the child. Dr. Cocoa™ for Children is the first-ever cough and cold medicine for children with patented formulas combining trusted, effective ingredients with 10% real cocoa for great chocolate taste to make giving medicine to kids easier. With a flavor kids actually enjoy chocolate. Dr Cocoa uses real chocolate to flavor its medicine which comes in three varieties, Dr. Cocoa™ Long-Acting Cough Relief which relieves coughs for up to eight hours without causing drowsiness in children ages 4-13 (active ingredient: Dextromethorphan). Dr. Cocoa™ Daytime Cough + Cold Relief: relieves stuffy nose and cough for children ages 4-13.
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Rosetta Translation Services

Speaking another language can be difficult when in a foreign country, especially if that particular country is quite different from your native language and culture. For a small taste of this, try walking into your local ethnic market, of a different ethnicity then yourself of course, and try going grocery shopping. This will give you an idea of a different culture without veering too far from home.

pic2I say to try this, because we all need to step out of our comfort zone sometimes and into another person ‘s shoes.  Those of us who take for granted our ability to understand everything, should try to remember that it’s not that easy for visitors or tourists.  For those of us who love to travel, this means us ourselves from time to time.  Hey, I don’t speak Slavic!  Let’s say you are in a foreign country and, God forbid, something horrific happens where you need medical records translated into another language or legal documents, even financial information. Who can you trust with these sensitive translation services? Well that is where translation companies like Rosetta Translations can be a huge help. They are located in London and specialize in legal, financial, technical and medical translations.  These translations can be tricky and involve sensitive information that you can’t trust with just anyone, but only with the most professional of services. The service provided by Rosetta is guaranteed a consistently and excellent quality of translation in each of these various fields by making sure each document translation is given to the most appropriate specialized team of highly qualified translators, proofreaders, and editors. In this way, errors are a minimum and work quality is a maximum.
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