mommyofamonster

A Yummy Frozen Treat: Frozen Banana and Nutella Bites

May 16, 2012 By mommyofamonster

Today over at ChiquitaMoms.com, I am sharing a super simple recipe that you and the kids will absolutely LOVE: Frozen Banana and Nutella Bites.

These little pieces of heaven are so yummy and I can’t make enough of them – the kids ask for them every morning!

What is great about this recipe is you could switch up the fruit or even use peanut or almond butter. I am going to continue to experiment and if you have any suggestions on what else would work, I’d love for you to leave me a comment and let me know.

So head over to read how simple Frozen Banana and Nutella Bites are to make!

Filed Under: chiquita moms, cooking, recipes

The Brazil Butt Lift: Does It Really Work?

May 14, 2012 By mommyofamonster 30 Comments

Just a month ago, I made a promise to myself to lose weight. It hasn’t been easy and I’m still not sure how long I will stick to it, but I promised I would try it for a month, and I did it! I’ve really got to give a huge thanks to my new favorite workout, the Brazil Butt Lift.

I also promised that after one month, I’d post before and after pictures (gulp), and now it’s time to do it. I’ve also posted my weight and measurements every week since I started.

During the first week, I lost 4 inches and almost five pounds…I’m pretty sure most of it was bloating, water weight, and my belly was just going back to it’s normal-not-over-extended size.

The second week I lost a few more inches, but no more weight. I think then is when I decided that cheating was going to have to happen for me to succeed this month long adventure and so I started eating and drinking in moderation.

Then during the third week, I lost another pound and a couple of inches. I was feeling good and still very much enjoying the workouts. It has now become habit and is just part of my routine. I look forward to the burn.

So far I have learned that eating and drinking isn’t worth all the extra work that it takes to get rid of the fat and calories. And while I did and will continue to cheat and eat and drink things I know wouldn’t be included in a “clean eating” menu, one thing I won’t cheat myself out of is working out. I enjoy it. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I need it for my sanity and for my overall self happiness. I know that now.

But you all want to see the pictures, don’t you? I still cannot believe I’m posting these. Let me first say that my body is nowhere near where I want it to be. There have been some significant improvements in how my body looks, but what has been even more important to me is how my body feels and how I feel overall. I’m taking care of myself more, being more mindful of what I’m putting into my body, and setting a good example for my kids.

So here they are…please don’t pay attention to my uneven tan lines, sunburn in the after pics, or all the bruises. Even though I’m treating my body better, I still am bruising like a peach anytime I bump up against anything.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

And final measurements…

Weight loss? I wish it was more. But it’s my fault for cheating so much! And like Jason keeps telling me, muscle weighs more than fat. But honestly, if I don’t lose another pound but keep losing inches I will be ecstatically happy!

And please don’t get me wrong, I swear I’m not an idiot. I knew when I started the Brazil Butt Lift that I would never look like this in just a month:

Let’s be honest: that girl lives and breathes health, taking care of her body, and eating right…not to mention she’s probably in her early 20s and has never had kids.

I wasn’t expecting miracles in a month, but I am extremely happy with the results. My muscles feel tighter and more toned, my stomach is getting some definition, and the cellulite is starting to be less noticeable. I am happy enough with these results that I’m going to stick to it for another month! I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

I am doing more now than just the Butt Lift. I have been walking three times a week with my mom (with both live in hilly neighborhoods so it’s more than just walking, it feels like a workout!) and I have started to do some yoga (though to be honest, the Brazil Butt Lift uses many of the exact same moves). I might whip out some of the other exercise DVDs I have just for variety, but I really REALLY love the Brazil Butt Lift High and Tight and Sculpt workouts. Those I will stick with for sure!

Are you trying to get back in shape? I know a lot of you are…how is it going for you?

Filed Under: getting my sexy back, health

Where Have You Been?

May 11, 2012 By mommyofamonster 12 Comments

Where are you? Is everything okay? I haven’t seen you on facebook or Twitter and your site is down…

Several of you contacted me this week to let me know my site might have been hacked, and that a trashy looking french maid hawking sex toys and fetishes had taken over my site. Thank you all for having my back, because I need all the looking after that I can get! I responded that yes, it was hacked, because it was easier to explain than what really happened.

Apparently my domain needed to be renewed and Google sent the notification to an email address I never use. Then the credit card they had on file had expired. I didn’t get either of these emails because, like I said, I never use the gmail account they sent the notices to.

So on Tuesday morning I woke up to find the french maid. I really wish I had a picture of her because she really was trashy and pretty worn out looking, not at all sexy. Google really should do a better job of trying to sell sex.

Anyways I immediately jumped on email and contacted Google who told me to check my emails…even though we were kind of past that point. It took me 3 days of running in circles trying to deal with Google to get my site back up and running. So long story short and moral of the story: do whatever you need to do to make sure your domain never expires!

Before Tuesday, I was up to my knees in paint, moving furniture and getting new carpet. We decided to have Ethan swap rooms with the girls because his room was bigger than theirs. So before the move I decided to repaint their rooms. This required me to remove wallpaper border that did NOT want to come off. This also required several coats of paint to cover up the colors that were in their rooms. I love to paint, but this time it was ridiculous.

We also had to move all the ~~crap~~ furniture and toys out of their rooms, and our room too since we decided to recarpet all three rooms. It was a lot of work.

Thank God it’s all done and the kids are happy with their new rooms. We even converted the girls’ cribs into regular beds and they’ve been sleeping in them all night!

You might have noticed that I updated my header! Thanks again to Kristi of Creative Kristi Designs, who has taken care of my blog now for the last year, who surprised me with it. Well, what actually happened was I wanted to do an entire blog makeover and then decided to hold off on it. So she said “Let’s just update the header” and I LOVE it! What do you think?

And since my blog has been down, you might have missed my latest Brazil Butt Lift update. Head over to see how many inches I’ve lost in just a month! Next week is the big before & after picture reveal and I really don’t want to show those before pics! But since I committed to it, I’m still going to do it. Gulp.

Have a Happy Mother’s Day!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Brazil Butt Lift Workout: Three Weeks Down, 1 More To Go!

May 8, 2012 By mommyofamonster 5 Comments

Let me just say that I have NEVER stuck to a exercise/diet program for an entire month. Ever. So to know that I have committed – and actually followed through – with the Brazil Butt Lift for a month really says something about the program!

I’m still having fun, I’m still enjoying the workouts, and I’m still sore…AFTER FOUR WEEKS! Because I’m really pushing myself because I want my body to look different.

I have only missed one day of working out according to the plan. It was on Monday, and we were getting new carpet installed upstairs. My excuse is that I didn’t have anywhere to do it (I won’t do it anywhere Jason might potentially see me.) As I’ve said before, these workouts require coordination and rhythm that I do not possess. The last thing I need is someone laughing at me! Not that he would, but still, why run the risk?

Anyways, I could have done it on Monday night, but after moving furniture in and out of bedrooms all day, I figured I got some good cardio in. That has to count for something.

Yep, I am still cheating when it comes to food and booze. BUT…I am doing the cheating in moderation. So instead of eating an entire bag of potato chips, I have a handful. Instead of eating the entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s, I savor a few spoonfuls.

And the inches continue to come off – I’m more than satisfied with these results because it has been a definite challenge, but a fun one that I haven’t minded doing and making part of my routine. On Tuesday, I was tired from that damn bird that has been keeping me up at night, but I made myself do the workouts and felt 100 times better after doing it.

So here are the results so far:

Over 8 inches lost in just 3 weeks (well, 3 weeks of the program plus a week of the Supermodel Slim Down)! And almost 6 pounds…just imagine how good I’d be doing if I wasn’t cheating!

Next week is the big Before & After pictures reveal…stay tuned!

Filed Under: getting my sexy back, health

I’m Talking About The Midnight Warbler

May 7, 2012 By mommyofamonster 6 Comments

One of the things I look forward to every spring is being able to bust the windows open in our bedroom and to sleep with them open all night. Being able to hear the sounds of the night and that cool air is really relaxing. Seems I just sleep better with the windows open. It is worth pointing out that we have a two-story house and that’s the only reason I leave the windows open, because I’d be too chicken to have them open on the first story.

Anyways.

The crickets chirping, the wind rustling the leaves, the occasional dog or coyote bark are all soothing and I’ve never been bothered by them. But lately, something has been keeping me up (or waking me up) all night long. It’s this damn bird. I am assuming it’s the same one because it is only one singing his sad song all night long, and it’s always the same sound that he makes: “Ah-Ahh, Ah-Ahh, Ah-Ahh” over and over and over and over again. It’s like he’s got it on a loop or something.

It is driving me absolutely insane. Why? Because he usually starts the first round around midnight. Next one starts around 2-ish, and then 3:30 seems to be the main event. By daylight, he’s done. When does this bird sleep?

When it happened for the first time last week, I laughed it off and so did Jason. By Friday, I started keeping one earplug by the side of the bed because I knew that damn bird would start his melancholy chirping. Why only one you ask? Because Jason is such a heavy sleeper that I’m afraid that if I put both in one of the girls would wake up crying and he would ~~ignore her~~ wouldn’t hear her.

But I might have to start wearing two because last night I swear I could still hear that damn bird through the pillow! It’s Ah-Ahh travels into our room, underneath and through the pillow, and into my earplug-less ear.

Now the weird thing about this is that it doesn’t bother Jason at all. I am ready to stab pencils in my ears so I don’t have to listen to Ah-Ahh one more time, but he can’t figure out why it bothers me.

And if you are curious, I looked it up to see what kinds of birds chirp at night in Southern California. There weren’t a whole lot of choices, but if I had to guess it must be a Mockingbird. Wikipedia says: They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession.

Loud and in rapid succession? Sounds like that damn bird. It could be a Whipperwill too, but those seem to be native to Southern US.

So I jest (kind of) when I say this: I want to kill this bird. It’s gotten to the point when I think I hear it even when I don’t! I’m cranky for being woke up even more often than normal during the middle of the night, and I want it to go away.

Anybody know how to get rid of an irritating Mockingbird?

Yeah, I stole the idea for the title of this post from Rolling Stones’ Midnight Rambler. I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as a Midnight Warbler, but if there was, I would want to shoot him, too.

Photo Source: Wikipedia