When Traveling with kids…

Hello beautiful people!

With school out and summer vacations in full gear I thought I’d share few tips when traveling with kids. We have had quite some traveling under our belt since our 8 years old was an infant and I think by now I have it figured out lol. (I think) If anyone has additional ideas feel free to add in the comments below 🙂

First thing I pack is medicine aka Emegency Kit.

1. Advil or Motrin
2. Benadryl (I would also bring EpiPen if you or your children have severe allergies. or asthma inhalers.)
3. Pepto-Bismol  (not on picture but Dramamine is highly recommended for motion sickness/nausea)
4. Anti-Diarrheal medicine (trust me you never know when you will need this)
5.  Alcohol wipes, Band-Aids, Neosporin
6. Vaseline (I use it for minor burns, blisters if you are walking a lot on vacay :-), dry skin)
7. Silverdene cream- this is a sulfa antibiotic. This is amazing for burns. Accidents happen, and this is a life saver if you get a burn. Last year one of my boys got bad sunburn on his shoulders, I mean bad! We used this on his shoulders.
8. I also keep a finger splint there.

Of course bring medicine for you if you take any.

CAR TRAVEL

If you are traveling by car depending on the ages of your children I recommend bringing some type of entertainment. DVD players, coloring books, or do good ol’ car games. Packing a new toy the children have not seen yet is always good entertainment.  I would also pack snacks (NO SUGAR) and water in a little cooler and keep in the car so you do not have to stop every time someone is hungry.

PLANE TRAVEL

Pack your documents/ flight tickets ahead of time and double check expiration dates on documents. Do you best to pack everything ahead of time so that you are not frazzled the day of you trip. I have learned from experience that our moods rub off on our children 🙂 If we are stressed they will be stressed too. Prepare flight entertainment just like you would for your car trip. For babies I always make sure that they have their pacifier or a sippy cup / bottle at take off, it helps with their ears. Also, our pediatrician has always recommended giving our kids Benadryl (dosage appropriate for age/weight) before take off if the trip is longer. Check with your pediatrician or advice nurse. It helps tremendously with decongestion (and of course some kids sleep well with Benadryl and that’s awesome lol). If you are traveling out of country its always recommended to check your children’s immunization record and make sure they are up to date and if they need additional travel immunizations/medications. Bring copy of immunizations along. Of course you should check this for your self as well. When at the airport let them run around, watch planes take off but please be with your children at all times and keep in mind people around you. I find that this exhausts them and they are calmer on flight. If you know you have a hyper or curious child (don’t we all) when you are seated in the plane and you know that your child may have a melt down or a tantrum introduce your self to the people in front, behind and next to you. Simply say I have a little one that is flying for the first time, I am sorry if she/he has tantrums or is upset during the flight. I promise this makes a world of difference, people immediately become more understanding. One of my friends flew to Japan from USA with her daughter under 2 years of age. She actually made little goody bags with a note introducing her daughter, apologizing in advance if child screams or cries and put little mints / candy in the baggies and placed them on the seats around them.

Here is her letter.

Isn’t she creative?! I am trying to persuade her to start blogging. She currently lives in Japan, her husband is in the Navy. She is a stay at home mom and student, and she is very crafty. Her little daughter is a kids fashion model and you can check out her Instagram @AidaHilgart.

Do you guys have any tips you would like to add for easy traveling with kids? Feel free to share in comments below 🙂

Have a great day!

The Creative Blogger Award!

Hello Beautiful People!

Thank you so much to my fellow Georgia girl Angela at The Keen Peach for nominating me for the Creative Blogger Award! I am so honored, as I am still a newbie blogger this is so exciting for me.

Rules/Instructions:

1. Thank and link back to the person who nominated you (mention your nominator in your own award post with a link back to their original award post, which would be this one).
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Nominate other bloggers and comment on their blogs (usually on their about page or contact directly if necessary) to let them know.

7 Things About Healthy Mom in a Busy World

1. English is my second (or so) language. 🙂 However, these days I speak English more than any other. Bosnian is my first language. I have learned German as well, however since I do not use it often it is fading. I can understand people fine but I have a hard time with response. I know a lot of Spanish words and if I really tried I believe I could learn it easily. I could also sit here and tell you that I am fluent in Croatian and Serbian but the languages are too similar so it will be cheating 🙂 To add to this I can understand people with really thick accents easy, everyone at work transfers those call to me 🙂

2. I have moved around a lot during my childhood due to the war in Bosnia in 1992 but I believe the experience has made me a better person and help me view the world differently. We settled in USA 17 years ago and I am a US citizen 🙂

              (My coworkers decorated my workstation the day after I became a naturalized citizen)
3. I plan everything. I feel like my mind is constantly checking off things and I kind of hate that I can not just relax. I do not write many things down but I have the whole week planned ahead including our weekly meals and grocery list (that I do not write down).

4. I love traveling and learning about different cultures. People and their stories are so fascinating to me, I feel like everyone has a story. When I was little I always wanted to work for the UNICEF to be able to travel and learn about people and help kids in need.

5. Audrey Hepburn and Angelina Jolie are my idols not because of their Hollywood careers but because of their dedication to the world.

6. I cry easily and it got worse since I had my kids. I am such a softie. I somewhat dislike this about my self because I trust people easily and think they mean well with everything they do. Even though I am a softie if I am hurt or angered I can be quite feisty.

7. And my favorite….This may be cliché but my husband is truly my best friend. This year we will be married 10 years and I would be lying if I said we did not have ups and downs but I feel like we are in a really good place in our life. Our boys are my life! The love I have for them sometimes frightens me.

Blogs I would like to nominate…..

Sarah at Sarahrammfit1

Ethan at RaisingTheBar

Beth Anne and her ladies at 4Mothers1Blog

and last but not least this awesome Mum at UrbanMumble
Thank you for reading!

Maya

Matcha!

Hello beautiful people!

Today I wanted to share my new addiction….MATCHA!

I have been seeing it on Intagram for a while with a few eating healthy accounts I follow but never actually paid much attention to it. Recently a nationally syndicated radio show host was talking about it. He said that he was not a big coffee lover and wanted to steer away from caffeine and stated ordering Matcha at Starbucks. He was ordering it with ice water in a tall cup with 2 scoops of Matcha shaken, and that would cost him 80 cents. Well after he spoke about it on the radio the price went up to $2.69 because of the amount of people that were ordering it. I went to Starbucks that day to test it out. As a matter of fact all of us from work went. LOL It looked very green, but it tasted good, sweet…..and that’s the bad part. Apparently Starbuck Matcha is loaded with sugar as a matter of fact 40grams per serving. WOWZA!

Then I did some research on Matcha.

It originated from Japan. The history and the cultivation of this tea is fascinating but what is matters the most is the amount of antioxidants it has.  It is a fat burner, cancer fighter, increases concentration and boosts energy. See here what BodyBuilding says about it. Here is what I found

• Is packed with antioxidants including the powerful EGCg
• Boosts metabolism and burns calories
• Detoxifies effectively and naturally
• Calms the mind and relaxes the body
• Is rich in fiber, chlorophyll and vitamins
• Enhances mood and aids in concentration
• Provides vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc and magnesium
• Prevents disease
• Lowers cholesterol and blood sugar

I did some research on different brands and I found an organic one on Amazon for $19.99. Sugar free. So when I make the match drink I add a packet of stevia to sweeten it.

I have been using it for 2 weeks. I bough some at my Sprouts Market till this one arrived. If you use any water flavoring like Crystal Lights you can mix it with that if you don’t like the taste of Matcha, but honestly if you ever drank green tea its pretty much the same taste. As you can see on the bag you can use it in smoothies, lattes, baking and many other recipes. I mainly drink it in water but did test it out in my greek yogurt parfait and it was delish. I am still experimenting with different recipes and will post them.

 In two weeks that I have been taking it I definitely have a noticed 3 things. A huge difference in energy. You can ask the people at work, my bff says I am happy and bouncing off the walls ha ha 🙂  Usually I drink coffee in the morning and at 2 PM I am exhausted and go to our work kitchen and start up another pot of coffee. With Matcha I do not do that anymore. I do not crash either after drinking it. The other major difference I noticed (excuse me this is a little TMI but I got to share lol) is my bowl movements are totally regulated, I have been having issues with this for years, since high school. I even went to a GI specialist who told me to take a bunch of different medicine that was still not doing a good job. Lastly, I have had some unexpected issues come up and I have been a little stressed to which my skin decided to have a freaking zit party. With Matcha it has definitely been clearing up. So far I love it and can not find any bad reviews or experience’s on it. Will you try it? Let me know your thoughts if you do 🙂

Everyday is Mother’s Day

Hello beautiful people! 

I don’t know if I mentioned before but some of you may know that I am originally from Europe. I moved to USA 17 years ago. Back home we did not have Mother’s Day, we had International Women’s day which falls on March 8th. So when I learned of another day to celebrate the beautiful and amazing women in our lives I was excited to celebrate my mom and spoil her with gifts, however no matter what gift I bough her it could not reward her for her endless love and support. I did not understand that until I became a mother myself. 

We love them and sometimes, we become them. Whether she carried you inside of her for nine months or if she put her life aside and adopted you and you became her life most people can identify a person who they can be thankful for on this holiday. These women work hard, especially these days where most women are employed and stay at home moms are so rare. Wether you are a stay at home  Mom or a working Mom I know you are wonderful and hard working. I know you fill your roll with so much love and you are so selfless. I know that you put your kids first no matter what, I know that you are tired but you rarely complain, I know that no matter what you would do it all over again for their smile and a hug. Being a Mom is a lot of work but it’s worth it. 

My mom is my best friend, she is my hero, my cheerleader, and my rock, and if that was not enough God blessed me with another wonderful mother figure and that is my mother in law. I wish nothing but the best for them, and hope that one day I can be as half as good as them and that my children appreciate as much as I appreciate them.

  

And those of you without your Mom’s on this day I know it sucks. I can’t even imagine the pain. Celebrate her and most importantly, remember that even in the darkest days of life you still have her in your heart. 

Mothering has been the richest experience of my life, and we should celebrate our families everyday not just on this day. I want to thank my husband for supporting me and helping me be the best mom that I can to our boys, and for keeping me sane with this mom has a “moment” 😂😂. 

Few more breakfast ideas

Hello my beautiful friends!!!

I know I have been totally MIA. Let me tell you searching for a car is very stressful lol. Now that we finally found my new home on wheels I can return to my normal schedule. I have been jotting down breakfast ideas, most of them can be made ahead and stored in fridge or freezer. Veggies and fruits as usual can be pre diced, cleaned and stored in fridge for faster preps. I have been jotting them down on sticky notes and typed them all up for those of you interested to print it off and make some of these. PDF link under picture.

 

 Click here for PDF

Let me know if you try any of these. Feel free to post a picture on my Facebook page or tweet me @BusyHealthyMom. I would love to see if some of my readers are making any of these. I would also love your healthy recipe ideas so feel free to share them with me with me. Thanks for reading and stopping by!

Shoes shoes and more shoes

Why are all the shoes so cute!!! Why do we women need so many!!! Lol

I find myself wanting to wear tennis shoes whenever possible. I mean I work in them everyday but I do not know if anyone has noticed the new trend of wearing them with dresses, cute shortstops stuff. I wanted to buy another pair but I can not make my pick. I am absolutely loving the New Balance collection. 

Here are some of my favorite bloggers pulling off these looks. 

Anna from South Molton Street Style

  
Christine from Hello Fashion Blog 

 
You get the point yet?? So cute yet comfortable!!! 

I need to win some type of new balance lottery, I can not pick!! 

   

What do you think?  

Headspace

I am so sorry I have not been posting for a week. My goal is to post at least once a week. I was involved in a car accident Monday. I caused it! Its a shame the way it happened. It happened on the way to work I was standing on a red light, staring straight into it. The car next to me pulled up to stop and I guess I saw movement and I just started to drive, slamming straight into the person coming from my left on their green light, driving minding their own business. I was devastated when I saw two kids in the car. I was shaking so bad took me three times to push 911. The kids were ok, I slammed into her passenger door and luckily did not touch the kids in the back. Bless her heart she came out yelling at me that she has two kids in the car…I was in my pediatric nursing uniform and she looked at me and just hugged me. We were both standing in the middle of the road hugging and crying her son was looking at us like we lost our minds. Of course I am not happy that it happened, I am upset with my self for not thinking, I can’t say I was not paying attention because sadly I was looking straight in the red light. My mind was somewhere else.

Like the name of my blog, we all have busy lives. Sometimes I feel like we are all robots and everything is constantly moving just in different speeds for each of us. I have so much on my mind lately its crazy. I had some health issues (all good and well now thank God) since December, death in the family, boys were sick for a couple of weeks back to back, hubby had back pain again, my dad was in the hospital. Needless to say its been CRAZY!

So I set a new daily goal for my self. It is a absolute must. When I run its my way of clearing my head, but I do not run everyday. I do weight lifting and other exercises that I count reps in and stuff and that does not clear my head like running. So instead I promised my self a daily 10 minute meditation. I sit somewhere alone, even if its on the floor of my closet :-), and meditate. I found this awesome app called Headspace. You must try it.

I have been using it for four days and I love it. 

  

Our mind needs exercise as much as our bodies do, so let’s take care of our mind.

Panera Quinoa Bowl my way

  I went to Panera last week with a friend fro lunch and saw this new Quinoa Chicken Broth Bowl. I ordered it, tried it, and absolutely fell in love with it. I immediately put it on my to do list to try and make a copy of this recipe. The nutrition is great…..well excepts the SODIUM.

410 Calories  9g Total Fat  1390mg Sodium  52g Total Carb 7g Fiber  34g Protein

Here is my recipe. I suggest doing this with your left over grilled chicken. I made mine the day after we grilled for dinner. Because I planned to make it the next day I soaked lentils over night to be ready for the next day. You can even precook all ingredients then just prepare the broth the day off arrange and serve.

WHAT YOU NEED

1 chicken breast grilled and sliced
1 cup of Fresh Spinach
1 handful chopped kale
1 cup cooked lentils (cook according to package instructions or you can buy precooked at Trader Joe’s)
1 cup of cooked Quinoa (I cook 1 cup of quinoa in 1 cup of water and 1 cup of vegetable stock for flavor but you can cook however you like or according to package instructions.)
You can add other steamed vegetables like carrots and peppers if you would like

For the Broth
1 cup of LOW SODIUM Vegetable stock (I buy mine at Kroger or Sprouts organic section)
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of light soy sauce
1/2-1 Tbsp red miso paste (to taste) OR 1 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
1/2 lemon squeezed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tsp Garlic Powder or 1 minced garlic glove

Prepare broth by whisking together the above ingredients and bring to temperature in sauce pan. Simmer on low while arranging your bowl.

Build a bowl
In a bowl layer lentils, spinach, kale, other optional veggies if you steamed them. Place sliced chicken on top and pour hot broth over top. You can add freshly sliced cilantro, sesame seeds or even diced avocado on top if you wish. I was out of avocado when I was making mine but will add it next time 🙂

Let me know if you add anything different or have any suggestions. I did not add any salt but you can if you wish I just prefer less sodium.

Rainy Monday!

It is such a gloomy and rainy day here today…makes Monday that much more exciting lol. Even through the day is gloomy and tiring especially first work day of the week I still plan a workout tonight. Monday’s are the most challenging to me and that’s exactly why I never skip Monday..because it’s my personal challange and because it’s a way for me to destress and burn off some steam.

The weekend was awesome!, especially Friday. Hubby and I took the day off and the kiddos were in school so we used that time to spend outside. We really needed this break and time to our selves. I know all your Moms and Dads can relate.  We went to Stone Mountain and hiked the Cherokee Trail. The view was amazing!! Must do if you are in GA.

    

I also recreated  Panera’s Quinoa bowl (if you have not tried this magic yet you should, it’s so delish) which I will post soon.

Saturday we spent with the kids doing whatever they wanted.

Sunday I ate horribly!!!! Mainly sweets 🙊🙈 still got another hike up the mountain and weight lifting but then ate more sweets ha ha!

This little fella worked out too. If he can do it you can too

You are being watched

While no one expects us to be a “perfect” parents it really isn’t that complicated to raise happy, healthy, well adjusted kids. I am no expert and I am still raising my kids..(not out of the woods yet ha ha) but I did learn so far that kids need love. Kids need boundaries. Kids need someone to look up to and learn from.

 This post was inspired by our older son. Couple of weeks ago he did his first 5k with me and loved it. Today he did his first solo 1k. He is only 8 and it was a big deal for him. He completed it effortlessly and was so happy about his accomplishment. On the way home he actually thanked me for signing him up and said he loved it and he has been wanting to do it because he loves that I do them. He said that one day his wish was to complete a stop free 5k with me in under 30 minutes. That is a huge reward to me. I knew this before and it was just a reminder that kids look up to us, they see what we do, what we say, how we act, if we work hard for something and how we react to things. How we go through life teaches our children how to go through life. That goes for anything. If they see us making a goal and working on that goal wether we accomplish it out not it teaches them to try. If you are using bad language or bad behavior,  do not be surprised if you hear your child speaking like that tomorrow. If we eat healthy and take care of our selves we teach them to love their body and nourish it with the best quality it deserves. 

Our job, as a parent, is to lead by example. Modeling the kind of behavior that we want our kids to adopt. Becoming a role model, of course, often means taking a close, honest look at how we live our own life. This kind of self-examination can be uncomfortable, but it’s absolutely necessary for the well-being of our children. This may be a great discovery for us and them. 

• Be your best 
• Be dependable
• Take care of yourself 
• Be attentive
• Be loyal
• Be honest
• Admit when you do something wrong, and teach what’s right. 
• Enforce consequences when your children do something wrong. 
• START NOW. You are being watched. 

  

  

So proud of him and his friend and all the children and parents involved today.