Like many busy moms  I do not take great care of myself.  I KNOW what I should be doing, yet I do not do it. I am a registered nurse, I passed Nutrition in college with flying colors.   I encourage my children to live healthy lifestyles.  Why am I not living healthier?

If you asked this question to other moms like me they will most likely say the same thing : TIME and LACK OF ENERGY!

In our endless days of parenting, housework, blogging, working and trying to  maintain a social life we fail miserably with self-care.  This is true, but I think I have used this as an excuse as well.  There are many other moms out there far busier than I am who find the time to exercise and eat right.  I  need to find that achievable balance.  I don’t expect to be bikini-model-thin. I just want to fit into my clothes, not loose my breath so easily and feel BETTER.

My plans were to get my big butt moving with Elle (my youngest) started Kindergarten this August.  Self-imposed deadlines are never good I have found.  But in recent preparation for BlogHer 2010 (yeah!) I came across an offer from Healthy Choice that I could not refuse.  Getting Fit For BlogHer Challenge is a program put on by  Healthy Choice.  I will get nutrition and lifestyle tips while eating some yummy Healthy Choice everyday.  Over the Challenge time I will be writing several posts stating my progress with healthier eating and letting you know how the meals are.  This makes me commit to working on improving my health.  Win-win!

The cashier asked me if I liked Healthy Choicewhen I was buying the meals I will be eating for the challenge.  (It amazes me how the cashiers tend to comment on my purchases, but that is a whole other post! ) I told her I truly do like the meals.  In the past when I was working in the hospital scene I would take a Healthy Choice lunch to eat and have always enjoyed them.  As a nurse you never get a full lunch break and are often called away.  I loved having a quick and tasty meal ready for me to inhale!  This was several years ago and I am looking forward to seeing what is new for lunch.

Follow me along on my challenge.  I’ll be sure to share all I learn and pass on what my favorite meals are!  Check out Healthy Choice on Twitter and Facebook.  Let me know what meals you like best and how you stay healthy while being extremely busy.

(Disclosure:  I am being compensated for this challenge and received coupons. I was not asked to give a good review, just to write about my experience.)

Whoever said that  little girls are sweet and rosy smelling has never met my four daughters.  They have to have the smelliest feet  the world has ever smelled.  At least that is what I tell them anyway. I’m sure that there are other children that smell worse, but I really don’t plan on entering them in any contests to find out!

At a Girl Scout event I learned of a way to  keep down the shoe stench is using baking soda and some mis-matched socks.  I don’t know about you, but I have a few hundred socks with no mates in my basement and some of them are really cute Littlest Pet Shop or Wizards of Waverly Place socks.  The cuter the sock the more fun they have with this project.

Simply fill each sock with 1/3 cup of baking soda and tie tightly with a string or a rubber band.  I also tie the sock in a knot just to be sure.

Place filled socks into shoes to keep them fresh and clean!  These sachets can also go into drawers or sports duffel bags.

Notice who is still in her pajamas!

Enu was home sick for the day, so I put her to work.

Ahhhh...fresh smelling shoes...okay..Fresher smelling shoes!

This makes a great rainy day or lazy day project before the hot summer heat hits your house and their shoes! 

Some baking soda will ooze out of the sock if the sock is used as a weapon to hit with..not that my children would ever do such a thing…but I consider a little baking soda on the carpet deodorizer, so this works for me!

For more Baking Soda ideas check this out.