Trista Laborn's Blog, page 9
July 13, 2017
How to make a chill pill candy jar
Sometimes in the middle of the day, you need a little pick-me-up. Making a jar filled with candy is a great way to get a quick satifisying treat.
For the past couple of months, I’ve been in school, finishing up the last bit of my classes and soon, by the end of the year, I will have my degree (YAY!). I’ve been busy with getting back into vlogging, blogging and volunteering at my church. I’m busy! All things I LOVE and have a passion for. Recently, I just back from summer break and started taking summer classes, as I stated above. It takes a lot for me to get focus, to study, write papers and read. I needed a little pick-me-up to get me started and back to my routine. It is setting right on my desk, where I can work and enjoy some chocolate!
I came across this idea, at the dollar store, looking for little projects to keep the kids off-screen time. I thought I can create a jar filled with candy… for me! I showed a video of the kids and I shopping at the Dollar store, check that out. All the items I got to make the candy-filled jar was less $5 and the kids thought it was a fun idea.
Supplies:
A small glass jar
Labels
Marker* (If you don’t have one at home, you can easily get one from the dollar store)
3 packs of candy or chocolate to fill the Jar
That’s it! I picked 3 different kinds of candies that… #1- I loved. #2- that looked the same. I wanted to get a surprise everytime, I went in the jar. I picked: Plain chocolate M&Ms, Reese Pieces and Skittles. You might be wondering why skittles… Well… I wanted a surprise in the jar and skittles is a nice twist to the chocolate theme. I choose the different combinations of candy, but when you’re making the candy Jar, you can choose any kind of combination of candy that you enjoy or you can choose one and go nuts! 
June 28, 2017
Restore Gut Health
Disclosure: This post was made possible by Moms Meet and Restore. I was Compensation for this post and all opinions are 100% honest and my own.
Since January I’ve lost about 20 lbs. I was close to 200 lbs and decided to take my health seriously. Learning more and more about my health and especially more about my gut health is important to me in my fitness Journey. Learning about probiotics, vitamins and the benefits to my health is important to me. So, when I learned about Restore mineral supplement I was excited to try.
About Restore
Restore is a unique dietary supplement that strengthens the gut lining, which supplies the first line of defense against everyday exposures to environmental and food-borne factors.
Restore creates an optimal environment in the gut membrane for good gut bacteria to flourish.
This supplement enhances mental clarity, mood, and even happiness.
How Restore Works
Restore helps to create a biological environment for good gut bacteria to grow and flourish, to support improvement of overall health. Here’s a video for more information:
I’ve tried Restore Mineral supplement for the past few weeks. Just 1 teaspoon, 3 times a day for a total of 1 Tablespoon daily. What I LOVE about Restore is that it is tasteless. The taste is light enough to put smoothies and Juices. In the morning and throughout my day, I make A LOT of drinks and smoothies. I’ve noticed that I don’t need naps during the day and the versatility of Restore, it fits into my fitness lifestyle.
Fun Fact about Restore:
It has been estimated that the optimal healthy human gut should contain about 20,000 species of bacteria.
More about Restore:
Balance Gut Health
Support Respiratory Wellness
Combat Environment Exposures
Promote Immune Function
Enhance Mental Clarity
* Restore strengthens the gut lining, which keeps chemicals and fiber from escaping through that lining and getting out into the bloodstream, which the immune system would have to deal with.
Unfortunately, the chemicals in our modern world, including the chemicals in processed foods and in agriculture, such as pesticides, weed killers, and the antibiotics fed to farm animals, have invaded our food supply.
* Restore is the first-of-its-kind gut health supplement, and it contains no probiotics (or prebiotics). The strongest probiotic on the market contains up to 50 strands of bacteria, but your body optimally contains up to 20,000. Good benefits of probiotics can plateau after a few weeks, because they support a monoculture by containing so few species. But Restore works as a communication network that gives our bodies the tools to create support through its own bacterial ecosystem again that has been dramatically affected by environmental toxins
such as antibiotics and pesticides. Think of Restore as a “liquid circuit board,” boosting gut biome diversity—as Mother Nature intended—and therefore immunity.
Where to Purchase:
Restore is available to purchase at: restore4life.com, in practitioner offices, health food stores, and GNC stores nationwide, and at amazon.com. To
find Restore in your area, visit:restore4life.com/health-storefor the full list of locations.
Discount Savings! 20% off everything at restore4life.com/try-restore-today/ using code B7X66JY. Code expires July 16, 2017
Catch up with Restore online:
Website
YouTube
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May 20, 2017
Once Again Nut Butters- Vegan Cashew Mango “Lassi” Smoothie
I received this product for free from Moms Meet, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are 100% my own.
I’m always on the look out for creamy nut butter. I love making smoothies, protein shakes with added nut butter for that extra protein.
Almond butter is the most I’ve tried. There’s so many out there, Sunflower, Cashew, of Course, peanut butter and more. My favorite has to be cashew. I was excited to see that Once Again Nut Butters are AMAZINGLY creamy, organic and delicious. I was so excited to try it. Recently I’ve been consistent in my fitness Journey and been looking for different ways to incorporate more protein into my eating routine. I LOVE sunflower seed butter, tastes just like sunflower seeds and my favorite part was how lightly sweetened it was with organic sugar, which is a plus in my book.
About Once Again Nut Butter
Once Again Nut Butter is an employee-owned business, located in upstate New York, that has been manufacturing nut butters, seed butters, and honey since 1976. Their nut and seed butters are all gluten-free certified, non-GMO verified, certified organic, vegan, and kosher. Once Again Nut Butter follows Fair Trade and Sustainability standards for their farm partners, suppliers, and prices.
Here’s a fun recipe I used from Once Again Nut Butter, with a little bit of history and so AMAZINGLY delicious, creamy and yummy.
Cashew Mango “Lassi” Smoothie
A lassi is a yogurt-based drink popular in India and Pakistan. This version is dairy-free to keep it vegan so it gets its creaminess from creamed coconut instead. For many years, coconut was thought to be an unhealthy food because of its high-fat content. Research in recent years has shown, however, that the fat in coconut is unique and provides many health benefits studies have even shown that regular consumption of coconut oil can actually reduce cholesterol levels and help maintain a healthy weight.
Ingredients:
1 cup diced mango (about 1 small mango)
1 small banana
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp Once Again Nut Butter Cashew Butter
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
1 tsp agave (I didn’t use any sweetener, I thought it was sweet enough with the banana)
1 tsp creamed coconut (I used Coconut Vanilla Yogurt)
3 ice cubes
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
Serve immediately in a chilled glass.
Once you open the Jar and use it, the instructions say to place in the fridge. I thought after placing in fridge, it will get hard and I would have to microwave it to get it soft and creamy again to use and go through the whole process again. Not with Once Again Nut Butter, I placed the Sunflower seed butter and Cashew butter in the fridge and later on in the day, I used it and it was creamy and delicious as it was when I first opened it. This blew my mind because of my past experience with other kinds of nut butter products. I LOVE Once Again Nut Butters and would recommend it to my friends, family, and anyone looking to try out the creamy nut and seed butters.
Learn more online:
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May 7, 2017
Health & Wellness for women
The one thing I have learned for the past 12+ years as a mom is that my overall health and wellness as a women matters to my family.
Disclaimer: “I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided, all my opinions are honest and 100% my own”
I realized a healthy diet can provide everything I need for my everyday lifestyle and its a blessing to my family. I now take my health very seriously but watching what I eat and I exercise almost every day. I had the opportunity to try Women’s Probiotic 20 billion from NOW. The biggest thing I’ve been hearing about is probiotic. I know very little about it and after doing some research this is what I found, It helps with normal digestive and Immune system health function and there are good bacteria in your body and bad bacteria. You can also get probiotics from fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and kimchi and from dairy foods such as kefir and yogurt.
How does Women’s Probiotic help:
It helps to maintain vaginal pH
It helps to maintain a healthy immune system function
Helps to reduce gas & bloating
It helps women of all ages.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
After reading about all the benefits I was definitely excited about trying it. If I don’t watch what I eat, I can suffer from gas and bloating which slows me down in my everyday life and I need to stay healthy for my family.
Did you know:
You have trillions of microorganisms, including bacteria and yeast, living in and on your body at any given time. In fact, microorganisms outnumber the cells in our body by about 10 to 1.
I am very familiar with the NOW brand. I have used their beauty products for years now, for my hair and my children’s hair. I have also used their essential oils as well. I trust the products and I am so happy to have the opportunity to have tried their Women’s probiotic 20 billion. This is a family-owned company since 1968, was founded on the principle that quality natural health products should be affordable to everyone. Nearly 50 years later, NOW is a leader in the natural products industry, and their mission has remained the same: to provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives. NOW’s extensive line of 1400 products, most of which are non-GMO, includes dietary supplements, health and beauty products, essential oils, healthy foods, sports nutrition, and pet supplements.
NOW even has probiotic vitamins for kids and my children, especially my youngest daughter LOVES it!
She couldn’t wait to take her vitamins, she says it tastes so good!
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May 1, 2017
How to form a cleaning routine for busy moms
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a percentage off your purchase, to help with the content of this site.
I’m sharing with you guys how I came up with a cleaning routine for my household that has worked for busy moms.
Here’s how it all started:
This routine took a lot of trial and error. I did not grow up wanting to be a SAHM mom. It was not model to me and it wasn’t even in my mindset. I wanted to go to college and work at a business company in wall street. I also didn’t know the Lord until after I had my twins and even then I struggled a lot with wanting to stay home with them. When my husband and I got married we decided that it would be financially better for us that I stay home with the kids, while he worked. At first, I was all for it but then He started going on deployments and I was not happy about that. That is when I started looking for jobs that would pay for daycare, gas, and any other extra things I wanted.
During this time, I was not happy, I thought this was what I wanted. I was always stressed, always running around and was struggling to manage my home. During this season of my life, God was working on my heart and when I gave birth to my youngest baby girl, I thought I was ready to stay home but I still had that selfish side of me that wanted to work outside the home. God really did a work in me and it changed the way I run my household today!
Fast forward to today and the way I handle my home and my schedule is so much better now because I’ve FINALLY embraced God’s call in my life as a SAHM. I know during those years I fought against God and the things He was trying to do in my life. I share all of that, to tell you this, I have experience in not wanting to have a routine and always fighting with my husband about what is clean and not clean, to now, loving what I do and getting things done in my home.
Tips to get started:
First, What is the first thing people see, when walking into your home, Is it the kitchen, Living room, dining room? Get that situated first. I know that in the beginning of me forming a routine, I thought I had to get EVERY. SINGLE. THING. cleaned and that is not the case. Begin with the area where everyone will see and start with that.
I did a video (You can watch it below) of the layout of my home and how you can get started with forming a routine and why I have one. I work, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Wednesday is the day I have class. So, for me, that means, I hardly have time to get ANYTHING done, I drop all 3 of my children at school, I go to work, pick them up from school, take them home, make sure dinner is ready for the family and i’m off to class but I have created systems in place to handle situations like Wednesday’s. Did I mention I was a student as well? I’m working on my business degree and I’m super busy. I’m also active at my church in addition to managing my home. So for me, the first thing people see when entering my home from the front door is my stairs covered with shoes. I took care of that.
Next, when you walk further into my home, you will see my living room covered with clean clothes that needed to be folded. I tackled that, I also utilized my helpers. My twins are now 12 years old going on 13 and I definitely get them involved. They took care of their clothes and my son took out the garbage, which helped lessen the amount of work I had to do. If you are not at that point, again give yourself some grace and tackle one thing at a time.
Here’s some motivation, I did that helped me, I have a 10 minute tidy up for busy moms and a 15 minute night routine, there is so much you can do in just 10 to 15 minutes and I show what that looks like. I challenge you to try it and see if that works.
Lastly, Relax. Take it one day at a time and you will soon figure out, just like I did, what will work for you and your family. There are different options out there like, the Fly Lady Method. I have tried a few of her methods but I have found, what I’m currently doing is working best for my family. Definitely, give this a try and see what DOES work. In the video, I show you guys what I’ve done. Everything was cleaned and dinner was done. For dinner, the kids had leftovers. I cook two different types of dinner for my kids and my husband. My husband doesn’t eat meat so, I cooked him baked fish with rice and beans (His Favorite). Tomorrow, I will tackle that when it comes.
Here are some books (tools) to help you get started:
Five Love Languages the Military Edition
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April 23, 2017
PACT Organic clothing review
PACT Organic makes super soft cotton clothing that is better for both people and planet.
PACT uses organic cotton to minimize the impact on the environment and improve the conditions and quality of life for the people who make clothing. As stated on their website, PACT believes organic cotton is the foundation for addressing labor and environmental challenges that surround clothing. Their mission is to change the apparel industry for good.
Did you know:
Organic cotton doesn’t pollute the soil or air and uses 71% less water and 62% less energy than conventional cotton. Growing organic cotton keeps farmers and their families safe because
they are not exposed to toxic chemicals.
PACT Organic clothing is Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified, Organic Content Standard (OCS) certified, and Fair Trade Certified. Which means the GOTS requires compliance with high level environmental and human criteria. The Fair Trade program is built to empower family farmers and workers around the world through direct, equitable trade. This company take their work seriously, which I love.
I received a few pieces of clothing to try and I love that it is breathable. I sweat a lot, especially walking my dog and doing exercises, so it’s important that the fabric doesn’t hold sweat after working out or walking my dog.
PACT clothing provides just enough stretch for the perfect fit every time. PACT apparel is ethically produced, and the company is part of a movement transforming the way apparel is made in the industry, which makes me even happier to wear. Everything is so soft, breathable, comfortable and cute for working out as well as everyday wear.
My favorite is the hoodie. Stated on the website, the hoodie is light weight, designed perfectly for everyday wear. I wore my hoodie, running errands all day and LOVED it. It is also designed to be shrink resistant, with extra stretch and made with pre-washed fabric. An A+ in my book.
Where to Purchase:
PACT Organic is available to purchase at: pactorganic.com and receive 25% off your entire order.
Learn More:
Connect with PACT Organic Clothing online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pactorganic/?ref=br_rs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pactorganic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pactorganic/
Disclaimer: I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are 100% my own.
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April 7, 2017
Once upon a time Holy Bible and Storybook Bible Review
I’m excited to share with you a fun and exciting storybook for children.
With the popularity of fairy tales and Disney animation, and especially with the new release of Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast on March 17, Zonderkidz wanted to publish a storybook Bible and full -text Bible (Holy Bible offered in hardcover, and pink leather soft editions) that would resonate with children and families who loved those types of movies, and loved reading a great story.
I’m always looking for different ways for my children to enjoy the bible. Sharing this book, in a more fun and colorful way to make the bible more relatable and reading it in a more story book form is fun for them.
The Storybook Bible utilizes even more of the captivating art style and beautiful narrative to tell the major stories of the Bible (http://www.zondervan.com/once-upon-a-time-storybook-bible) , and the Holy Bible (http://www.zondervan.com/nirv-once-upon-a-time-holy-bible-hardcover & (http://www.zondervan.com/nirv-once-upon-a-time-holy-bible-imitation-leather) includes the full-text of the bestselling New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) translation, and highlights 6 great stories of the Bible in full-color tip-in pages. (there will be 6 stories, and each story is told on 4 illustrated pages.)
More about the bible storybooks:
* The art will captivate Disney lovers with similar looking characters and color palettes
* Zonderkidz wanted to capture fans of this genre, but introduce young children to the word of God, and introduce them to the great characters of the Bible. It’s important to note that this brand serves to resound the theme that the Bible is NOT a fairy tale, but every great Bible story happened once upon a time. The Bible is the ultimate Happily Ever After story!
* What Christian parent doesn’t want to tie in Bible learning fun with what their kids already love, but also have the opportunity to teach them that the real heroes and stories of our faith come straight from God’s Word.
Bibles: Available where books are sold and the Storybook Bible: Available at Sam’s Club or wherever books are sold.
BUY LINKS: http://media.harpercollinschristian.c...
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April 3, 2017
Smurfs the lost village movie
I’m so excited to share with my children the NEW animated movie of the smurfs.
In this new animated (From the website), Smurfs movie, the lost village, a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her best friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty on an exciting and thrilling race through the forbidden forest filled with magical creatures to find a mysterious lost village before the evil Gargamel does. Embarking on a rollercoaster journey full of action and danger, the smurfs are on a course that leads to the discovery of the biggest secret in smurfs history! This new movie releases nationwide on April 7th, Check out the trailer below.
I’m excited about this movie being a lot more animated and shows each of the smurfs personality which I love. This was a cartoon, I grew up with and the smurfs personality was something that stood out to me. I’m looking forward to taking my kids, even my 3 year to the movies to see this movie and share with my kids, the cartoon I grew up with.
When you check out the website there’s a lot more information about the movie, meeting the characters and fun recipes and coloring activities for the kids.
SMU-Coloring-Page—Brainy-and-Kissing-Plants
The Smurfberry pie, I may try out with the kids. It looks fun and easy.
For more information about the movie, the recipe I posted and coloring pages, Go to: http://www.smurfsmovie.com/
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April 1, 2017
Family bible study devotions
I LOVE family bible studies. It’s a time, we get to sit down and share about our day and about God.
While my kids got up this morning, they started eating breakfast and I was up and ready to start bible study. Eating and talking about God is one of the best time we have together. I got the opportunity to read Tony Evans and his son Jonathan Evans, new devotional book: Kingdom Family devotional 52 weeks of growing together.
I LOVE it. I started with Jesus Calling for kids. This devotional is great and filled with fun stories and scripture they can memorize and run with. I felt that my kids needed something more meatier, but still gives a fun twist to scripture that’s rememberable and at the same time gives the opportunity for deep conversations about God. I LOVE moments like this.
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The devotions are done weekly with one theme per week. On Friday’s, there are activities, we can try as a family. I LOVE it. It’s Fun, Short, and my family enjoys it. Below is a video of how we did the devotional. You start with Prayer, I read the scripture of the day, the theme for the week was LOVE and I had both of my kids read the scripture and then there’s a story that is connected to the scripture and theme. You answer questions at the end, which causes my kids to have deeper questions. It was AWESOME. We had a great time.
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March 20, 2017
5 tips to organize your workspace
Today is the first day of spring and what better way to start those spring cleaning projects. Today I’m going to start with my workspace.
Organize your Workspace:
My workspace is the main part of my room where I write down ideas, schoolwork, work on projects, etc. As busy moms sometimes the workspace becomes the catch all area. Reading books, hair products, lotion, combs, brushes, paperwork, bills, etc. I had it all… Every Monday morning, I go to a moms group called: MOPS (Mother’s of preschoolers International) and we meet 2x a month, we get to hang out with other moms and eat.
At this particular meeting, we had a speaker named Peggy W. Barnes who is life coach, organizer and speaker, she gave great tips and spoke on being the “Organized Mom” What does it take to be her? You know, that person that has everything in its place, organized and clean… As moms… No one has time for that! (Lol!) So Peggy gave us some great tips to stay organize and encouraged us that what works for one mom, may not work for someone else.
Why you should declutter:
Here are a few reasons why, having a cluttered workspace can cause stress, anxiety, and guilt, from the article Psychology Today.
Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli, causing our brains to work over time. As moms, our brains already working overtime. We don’t need anything, unnecessary, stopping our creativity as mompreneurs.
Clutter makes it hard for us to relax physically and mentally. We need a space as mompreneurs to get things done.
Clutter causes us to get anxious and guilt. We don’t need this in our lives at all.
Here are some Quick Tips to get you started:
I was tired of looking at my cluttered workspace. I do everything at my desk. I go to school, online, I blog and vlog, full time. So a lot of my time is spent at this desk. You look at this video, where I exercise and show my cluttered desk… It was like this for about a month!
Declutter– Limit the amount of items on your workspace. If you have projects, don’t use post-it notes, use your planner or the calendar on your phone (Which is what I use), to write down anything that needs to be done.
Utilize– Use what your not using. In the video I had a box I got from the dollar store, I had pushed aside that I wasn’t using and ended up using that for my desk. In the video, I mentioned my box was used for my memory cards and anything related to my computer. It’s out of the way from little, curious hands that like to get into things (Out of sight out of mind).
Minimize– Throw away as much as possible. I had a plastic bag and it was very helpful to just go through all of the unnecessary paper that was creating clutter in my work area. Anything I was not using or would ever use was thrown away.
Organize– Everything needs to have a home. The papers I did need, I had a spare folder and put that on the side of my computer desk. Easy access to the things I need. Anything I will need later, I can easily get to, without having to stress to look for it.
Inspire– Hang something that helps to motivate, inspire and encourage you to think, create and inspire. In the video I have a plaque of a poem, my husband wrote me (Everytime, I look at it, it causes me to smile, it makes me happy). I also have an inspirational quote, I LIVE by and it’s a great reminder for me in the things I do in my school and work life.
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Trista Laborn's Blog
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