A New Venture...yes, you heard me right! I'm taking on something else!

So…I suck as a blogger…I really and truly do! For that I apologize! I am going to make up my 31 for 21 posts…so there will be 31 posts…eventually! So what does today’s post hold?! Today is about Juice Plus…I’m pretty excited to share this…

When Jack was born, I was on a mad search to find something to narrow the developmental delays, sharpen his memory, decrease his risk for Alzheimer’s, improve his cognition, help his immune system…you get the idea. After countless recommendations by parents of kiddos with DS and countless hours of research, I began giving Jack Juice Plus to bridge the gap on what he needs and what he’s actually getting nutrition-wise…eventually, I began taking Juice Plus myself…let’s face it…four kiddos + not enough sleep + a zillion things going on + poor eating habits = a VERY tired and sick all the time me! Several months ago, I began to make some changes in my life to better take care of the one who takes care of everyone else. I can honestly say that the combination of these things has increased my energy level 10 fold…I am not tired during the day…EVER! No more crashing in the afternoon…it’s literally miraculous to me…I’ve never NOT been so tired I can barely stand up by the time 3:00 in the afternoon hits…it’s not about the quantity of things I do for my health, it’s about the quality…this is one of the essentials. My health and energy level has also made a believer out of my husband…right now, he is tired exhausted ALL DAY LONG…we are about to start him and the rest of my kiddos on JP…will keep you posted on John’s results…no doubt they will be the same as mine.

So here’s the deal…

What exactly IS Juice Plus?
WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION from naturally occurring phytonutrients from 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains in capsule or gummie form. No kidding…17 fruits and vegetables juiced and then made into a powder,,,all of the nutrition is there. And the results are backed by tons of clinical research.

Why does every person on the planet, ESPECIALLY OUR KIDDOS, need it?
In simple terms, we’re unhealthy! Based on the Archives or Pediatrics and Medicine, Over 93% of kids don’t get the recommended 3 servings of veggies a day.

• 1 in 3 Americans born in 2000 will develop diabetes.
• 1 in 4 children is obese.
• 80 million people have some sort of heart disease (American Heart Disease).
• 1 in 3 and 1 in 2 men will have some sort of cancer in his or her lifetime (National Cancer Institute).
• 64% of adults are overweight (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Our national healthcare expenditures were 2 TRILLION in 2005 or $6,700 per person.

Why are we so unhealthy?
Poor Food Choices (ME!)
Not enough Water (ME!)
Not enough exercise (AT LEAST I DO THIS!)
Stress (ME!)
Sleep Deprivation (SOO ME!)
Approach to medicine: “Treatment” instead of “Prevention” (SOOOO TRUE!) No wonder we spend so much…if it ain’t broke, we don't try to prevent...we just wait until it is broke...that = more $$$$ spent!

SOOOOO, what to do about this…
PREVENT disease instead of CURE disease…what’s the recommendation?
7-13 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables EVERY DAY!

What is the problem? Almost NO ONE does this…

So how does Juice Plus help?

It’s the not a REPLACEMENT for fruits and vegetables..it’s the next best thing!
Seriously, it’s convenient, easy to take whole food based nutrition, rich in vitamins, fiber, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. We need to eat 7 to 13 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Because we are busy, most of us can’t, don’t, or won’t!

For less than a cup of coffee a day, I’m worth it, and my kids are worth it…I haven’t been this excited about something since Thinking Maps, LOL. And those of you who know me know that that is MAJOR! I am so sold that I’ve done something a little crazy (I mean exciting!). I recently became a distributor of Juice Plus…now I know what you are thinking…don’t you have enough on your plate as it is???!!! Yes, I do in fact…but that’s how important this is to me…

I equate this to my job working for Thinking Maps…TM is a research based, brain based strategy that will increase critical thinking and achievement in ALL kids if implemented the right way, and it is backed by tons of research. I have seen it work for kids when nothing else seems to work. When I go into a school, I ALWAYS have skeptics…sometimes it’s the whole staff…I have walked into trainings where I have 50 teachers giving me dirty looks…they don’t scare me, LOL…because I have never walked out of a training where at least 90% of the teachers weren’t sold…it’s just good teaching…it’s simple, and it works to the highest power for our kids. Teachers see the passion I have, and it rubs off…but the thing is...I could suck as a presenter (hopefully I don’t, LOL), and teachers would still love Thinking Maps…they truly sell themselves…they just make sense. It’s the QUALITY of the strategy not the QUANTITY of strategies/programs that teachers should have.

Juice Plus is the same…there will be skeptics, but there is no denying the research and anecdotal evidence…it truly is what it says it is...nothing more and nothing less. I don’t need to sell it…it sells itself. I sought out my own distributor because I wanted this for my family…she did not seek me out. I want my family to be as healthy as possible…and it’s not about the quantity of things I do to make that happen, it’s about the quality of the things I do…it’s that simple.

Jiminy Christmas…this gets the award for the longest blog post ever, LOL…if you made it this far, I thank you. ☺ If you have questions or just want to know more, I am launching my business at a Wellness Presentation next Thursday, December 2 at my house (details below). I’d love for you to stop by…It will be short and sweet…if you don’t care about Juice Plus, come by anyways to have a glass of wine! ☺

A Long Overdue Blog Post

For those I owe a phone call, it will happen eventually…but until then, I wanted to take my newly found free time to update everyone on Jack and his new school adventures.

For everyone who didn’t know, my little angel Jack turned 3 a few weeks ago. This is a huge milestone as this is the time he enters into the public school system. We have been transitioning him out of Early Intervention for about six months now in preparation for this new journey. During the six month process, John and I were overwhelmed with meetings and assessments meant to help us and the school district decide on the best services for Jack once he turned 3. It all culminated a week before his birthday with the BIG meeting (also known as an Individualized Education Plan or IEP) that put in writing where he would go and what services he would receive. John and I decided early on in the process that we wanted Jack to be in a Special Education preschool right now with a long term goal being in a typical classroom when he enters Kindergarten. This all fits in with our lifelong goals for Jack. We see him as a kid first…we don’t define him by his disability, and we want the world to see him in the same light. He is an integral part of our family, and in the same turn, we want him to be an integral part of society. Soooooo, with that in mind, John and I thought that being in “Special Ed” for preschool, where he is getting the intensive schooling he needs to prepare him for the real world of Kindergarten is an A-OK place to be.

So fast forward to April 13…Jack’s first day of school…well, let me back up for a minute…there are a few important points to mention…our biggest push was that Jack go to our home school where Bella will start in the Fall. We thought that since they had a Special Day Class (SDC), it would be perfect to have Jack around his sister and at the same time, get used to the school that he will (hopefully) be attending for the duration. Fortunately for us, the school district agreed. They also agreed to five half days a week of preschool with individual pull outs for Speech, Adaptive PE, and Occupational Therapy. He got everything we asked for…phew!
So back to the first day…Jack goes in the afternoons…it’s tough because he doesn’t really have time to take a nap…so I guess naps are history! We got him all spiffed up, armed him with his lunch and new Elmo backpack, and took him to school. We walked in the classroom, and the meltdown began…flop, drop, and roll, screaming, hysterical Jack. We eventually left, and I had a bad feeling the whole time he was gone. Sure enough, when I arrived to pick him up, the teacher said she almost called me because Jack supposedly banged his head against the door and sobbed for an hour L. My child does not bang his head, and if he was, why DIDN’T she call me?! I was miffed with a capital M. I was miffed she didn’t call me, and I was miffed because I wasn’t so sure now about this teacher who I was SO sure about at the IEP. Long story short, John told me I needed to mellow out and that it would be fine sooner than I thought…he was right…what else is new?! LOL
Day Two…30 seconds of crying…1 flop drop and roll…great day.
Day Three…no crying…was fine with me leaving…blew me a kiss goodbye.
Day Four…Had his backpack on at 10:00 ready for school...two hours early.
Today…Day 14…Ran in the door yelling Hi! Hi!!!!!!! to his classmates…Sat right down with his lunch in his special chair by the teacher…forgot I was there…I walked out…as his teacher told John the other day, “He LOVES school!”

So needless to say, I’m thrilled. So far, I’m very pleased with everything…some cute things that the teacher and aides have told us about Jack so far…
-The 5th graders come to be book buddies on Friday afternoons…Jack’s teacher told me, “He’s died and gone to heaven!” LOL
-Yesterday they told me Jack wins the best dressed award…duh!
-Jack is about HALF the size of everyone in his class…they all love him and think he’s their pet…they actually pet his head…LOL!
-He is talking A LOT! And sitting for 20 minute periods of time! And standing in line with his class without running away! Cool Stuff!

So that’s the latest…I am actually getting some actual TIME to do things (like blogging right now!) because on Tues, Wed, Thursday, Jack and Bella are in school and Grant has been napping all the way through…things are finally STARTING to calm down for me…my house has stayed clean all week and my laundry is all caught up…all good things! Hopefully this isn’t the last you’ll hear from me for awhile, but…

Get it Down: 31 for 21 Day Eighteen

Video Update of Jack Crawling...these are short and sweet. He's just getting started with this. Here is the first time he ever got up on all fours and just went!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

31 for 21: Get it Down Day One

It's Signing Time with Alex and Leah...Come and Playyyyyyy!

Our TV is up in an armoire...too high to reach for the kiddos...so when Jack was over at his Great Grandma's house where the TV was within arm's reach, he was AMAZED that he could actually touch Rachel...he never sat down. Jack has never liked TV, but he LOVES his Signing Time DVDs...move over Elmo!