My dishwasher is lousy. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s the dishwasher or the soap we use or our extremely hard municipal water.

One of those things makes our dishes come out with a thick, white film that grosses me out. The only way to get rid of the film is to soak the dishes in vinegar, which stinks up the house. Blah.

I’ve resorted to doing a lot of hand washing. Mostly, I wash bottles, glasses, cups, and Grace’s melamine bowls and plates in hot water and then pile them up in the dish drainer in the sink.

That leads me to another problem because the dish drainer isn’t big enough. I end up with dripping wet dishes piled all over the counter surrounding the sink.

It’s not the best plan. There are usually pools of water on the counter, surprising me the next time I set something down. I often end up with a wet shirt because I’ve forgotten about the water and leaned into the counter.

Needless to say, I was excited when I had the opportunity to review The Original Dish Drying Mat by Envision Home.

The Dish Drying Mat is really cool. It combines a thick layer of foam laminated between two layers of microfiber. It’s so absorbent that it holds four times its weight in water.

I wondered what laminated fabric was, since the whole thing is soft and not coated in plastic. Here is Envision Home’s answer:

Laminated refers to our patented process for securing the layers for the dish mat together – mircofiber side 1, foam, microfiber side 2 are all flame laminated together. This process enables the dish mat to be machine washed and dried repeatedly without the layers separating.

Our competitors glue the layers together. BUT, during washing, the glue will lose its hold to the layers, causing the microfiber to easily separate from the foam inside. Depending on the amount of glue, this could happen after only one washing.

This mat is so good at holding water that I was able to take my dish drainer out of the sink and put it on top of the Dish Drying Mat on the counter. It soaks up all the water, leaving no puddles on the counter and no drips on the floor and, most importantly, no wet spots on my shirt.

The Dish Drying Mat is not just for drying dishes.

I never had anything like the Dish Drying Mat before, but I totally love it. I’ve found more uses for it than I ever imagined:

• Under my salad spinner, to catch the inevitable dribble when I open the lid
• Under my baking stones, to prevent them from scratching my counter or glass stove top (only when the stove top is cool, of course)
• I have been preparing bottles on top of the Dish Drying Mat. In order to run our fancy uv water filter less frequently, we keep filtered water for bottles in a Mason jar on the counter. Inevitably, some water gets spilled going from the Mason jar to the bottle. It gets soaked up by the mat.
• Under the bottles and sippy cups. I know this is technically part of the dishes, but we bought only 6 bottles (to be frugal), and we wash them twice a day. (Allie likes to drink smaller amounts more frequently.) I love being able to spread all of the seals and other parts out on the Dish Drying Mat to let them dry.
• Under apples or pears when they’ve just been washed (it would work for any fruit or veggie, really)
• Under cherry tomatoes and grapes when they’ve just been washed (because the foam inside is so thick, the tomatoes didn’t roll around or fall off the counter)
• Under my cutting board – When I sold Pampered Chef, our cutting boards came with this cool foamy thing to put underneath. The problem is that mine became disgusting and I threw it out. Ever since, my plastic-y cutting board has slid a little on the counter when I used it. Set atop my Dish Drying Mat, it stays put.
• This past week, Allie pooped on Grace’s Crocs. It’s a long story full of momma missteps, but I had to wash the Crocs thoroughly before Grace could wear them again. I turned the clean shoes upside down on the Dish Drying Mat to dry before she wore them.

Dish Drying Mat Use & Care

If you haven’t figured it out, the Dish Drying Mat has about three hundred and seven different uses. It will become one of your most-used kitchen helpers.

Daily, make sure it dries in between uses. You don’t want any mold or mildew to grow inside. I hang mine on the oven door when I take whatever I put on it off.

When your Dish Drying Mat gets dirty (or after drying your kid’s shoes), you can toss it in the washing machine with cold water and in the dryer on low.

Win a Dish Drying Mat!

Envision Home is providing me with red Dish Drying Mats to give away to three lucky Feels Like Home readers. All you have to do to enter is visit the Envision Home site and choose your favorite color. Please share in a comment.

For extra entries:

• Like Feels Like Home on Facebook and leave a comment about it
• Subscribe to Feels Like Home via RSS or email and leave a comment about it
• Follow Feels Like Home on Google Friend Connect and leave a comment about it
• Tweet the following (once per day):

Win one of 33 Original Dish Drying Mats from @TaraZiegmont at @FeelsLikeHome! http://bit.ly/oWbHcP #dishmat

Good luck! I’ll choose a winner randomly from the comments after noon on October 20.

Want to win a different color?

My blog friends are doing Dish Drying Mat giveaways now, too. You can enter any or all of them. Each of us is giving away 3 mats in the color listed. Mine are red.

• A Slob Comes Clean –Coastal Blue
• Spell Outloud — Coastal Blue
• Many Little Blessings –Sage Green
• Finding Joy — Sage Green
• Jimmie’s Collage — Gray
• Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers — Gray
• Raising Arrows –Red
• Somewhat Crunchy — Black
• An Oregon Cottage — Cream
• Mama’s Learning Corner — Black

RULES:  Prizes can be shipped only to continental US addresses. You will be contacted by email and must reply within 48 hours to claim your prize. If you do not claim your prize, another winner will be chosen.

This is a compensated review. I received dish mats and a stipend. All opinions are my own.

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

I am delighted to be one of twenty bloggers featured in Arm & Hammer’s Switch & Save Challenge. For the last four months, I’ve been testing several Arm & Hammer products and sharing my experiences with you.

With a husband in the construction industry, a 4-year-old who likes to do crafty projects, a baby who spits up frequently, and four crazy cats who occasionally deposit bodily fluids here and there, I do a lot of laundry.

As in, every single day.

2 to 4 loads most days.

The Lord rested on the seventh day, but my washing machine’s work is never done.

My fancy new washer has a liquid detergent dispenser that’s supposed to streamline the laundry process. You fill it up, and it squirts exactly the right amount of stuff into the water as each wash cycle begins.  We typically use a powdered detergent, so I have not been able to use this feature before, to my chagrin.

A week or so ago, I received a bottle of Arm & Hammer Plus OxiClean Power Gel Laundry Detergent (that’s good for both regular and high efficiency washers). Almost immediately, I filled my detergent dispenser and washed some bedspreads.

The bedspreads came out clean. They hadn’t been all that dirty to begin with, so clean wasn’t a surprise. I was surprised by the strong scent the detergent leaves in the fabric.

On the other hand, our linen closet smells really nice, and I know the blankets will still smell nice when I finally get around to putting them on the bed in a month or so later.

I haven’t used a scented detergent in years, so I’m not sure how the Power Gel compares to other scented detergents. I think the scent is strong, but Joe never noticed it at all.

The next load I washed was Joe’s work clothes. They are seriously muddy, sweaty, and stinky when he gets home, and I typically add a scoop of OxiClean to the washer with them. It was nice to have that already added in the Power Gel; cutting a step saves me some hassle. In the end, the Power Gel on the Heavy Duty cycle got everything out, and the work clothes smelled nice for a brief, shining moment.

Next up was a mixed load of the girls’ stuff and my own. Typically, our clothes are loaded with random stains from spit up to ranch dressing and ketchup to PlayDoh to marker and glue.

I have never gotten into the habit of pre-treating stains; I generally toss them into the washing machine and hope for the best. I washed our clothes on the Kidswear cycle of my washer, and all the fresh gunk came out. The old stains didn’t come out, but at least no new ones showed up.

The last load of laundry I tried that day was soaked with cat pee. I normally add OxiClean to the washer when there is cat pee involved, but I didn’t have to do that. This load came out clean and smelling nice, too.

I haven’t been able to find anything that the Arm & Hammer Plus OxiClean Power Gel Laundry Detergent couldn’t tackle, so it may get a permanent spot in our laundry room.

I have no laundry skills to speak of, so please share your best laundry tip in the comments.

This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of Arm & Hammer branded products. Church & Dwight Co., Inc is compensating me to try different products. All opinions are my own.

Save $1.00 on any 3 ARM & HAMMER Laundry Detergents then head over to The Switch & Save Challenge to keep up with all of the bloggers and enter to win $25,000.

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

I am delighted to be one of twenty bloggers featured in Arm & Hammer’s Switch & Save Challenge. For the last four months, I’ve been testing several Arm & Hammer products and sharing my experiences with you.

I know have said this before, but I think (I hope) the toothbrushing war is over. I’m pretty sure it is.

After my last tooth brushing post, I received lots of advice on Twitter. The best was this one:

That very same day, we went to the store and picked up some of the Agent Blue she mentioned. It is mouthwash that tints plaque blue so that kids can see where they need to brush.

I’m not sure that it tints anything any color (maybe because her teeth were just cleaned at the procedure 3 weeks ago), but Grace thinks it does. She swishes for 30 seconds, spits out the Agent Blue, then brushes her teeth happily.

After the brushing, she rinses for 30 seconds with a fluoride mouthwash, and she flosses with kids-sized, cool colored, berry-flavored floss picks.

And?

She hasn’t fought about toothbrushing even once since we started this routine.

Not. even. once.

I’m not sure whether the war has been won by persistence or if the new products are the key. It doesn’t matter.

We brush together more often than not, me with Arm & Hammer’s Advance White Brilliant Sparkle Toothpaste and Grace with her pink princess training toothpaste.

I’m happy to report that my teeth only hurt during brushing for a couple of days. After that, my teeth just felt clean after I brushed.

It’s a win-win. I’m very pleased.

Win a $25 Visa Gift Card

Church & Dwight Co., Inc provided me with a $25 Visa gift card to give away to one lucky Feels Like Home reader. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment.

For extra entries:

• Like Feels Like Home on Facebook and leave a comment about it
• Subscribe to Feels Like Home via RSS or email and leave a comment about it
• Follow Feels Like Home on Google Friend Connect and leave a comment about it
• Tweet about this giveaway including @TaraZiegmont and the link (only once)

Good luck! I’ll choose a winner randomly from the comments after noon on September 20.

This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of Arm & Hammer branded products. Church & Dwight Co., Inc is compensating me to try different products. All opinions are my own.

Sign up for a free sample of Advance White Brilliant Sparkle Toothpaste then head over to The Switch & Save Challenge to keep up with all of the bloggers and enter to win $25,000.

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

I am delighted to be one of twenty bloggers featured in Arm & Hammer’s Switch & Save Challenge. During the next five months, I’ll be testing several Arm & Hammer products and sharing my experiences with you.

I hate my teeth.

Really.

When I was 23, I tried to convince a dental surgeon to remove them all and implant fake ones.

No joke.

He declined.

No, not really declined. He flat out refused and told me that I was crazy. And then he sent me to his friend, a dentist.

I’ve gone to his friend, the dentist, ever since. I like him; he’s a good dentist. I used to be very anxious about have dental work, but he is kind and gentle and patient. I am not anxious at all about going to his office.

Anyway, this isn’t about my dentist. It’s about my new toothpaste.

When I leave the dentist’s office, my teeth feel clean. Not squeaky clean (that’s how my previous, cheap toothpaste made them feel), but real, fresh, authentic clean.

That’s how my teeth feel when I use Arm & Hammer’s Advance White Brilliant Sparkle Toothpaste.

I didn’t know that switching toothpastes would make such a difference in my teeth. I could tell right away that the Advance White toothpaste was working differently than my old stuff; my tongue, gums, and cheeks tingled.

The very first time, the toothpaste (and my fancy electric toothbrush) buffed my teeth to a sparkling shine. Some of my normal sensitive spots were a little aggrevated, evidence that the deep cleaning Arm & Hammer claims is really going on. There’s no doubt in my mind that it penetrates the tiny cracks in my teeth to polish away discolored spots.

I felt it.

I am going to continue using Advance White toothpaste, even after the Switch & Save challenge is over; my teeth need the help. After 31 years of abuse from pop, candy, and lollipops, they are discolored do a dull yellow.

I took a before picture when I first started using Arm & Hammer’s Advance White Brilliant Sparkle Toothpaste. I’ll let you know if there’s a difference in my last post.

This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of Arm & Hammer branded products. Church & Dwight Co., Inc is compensating me to try different products. All opinions are my own.

Sign up for a free sample of Advance White Brilliant Sparkle Toothpaste then head over to The Switch & Save Challenge to keep up with all of the bloggers and enter to win $25,000.

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

This week is unique in my life.

For the last 27 years, during this week, I have been preparing for a new school year.

Until 6th grade, I was an eager student. I loved school; I couldn’t wait to go. 6th grade is when things got hard socially and a move a few weeks into 6th grade made it harder still. Even so, I looked forward to the start of school each year – new adventures, new classes, new friends.

For the last couple of years, I looked forward to the end of August with dread. The last thing I wanted to do was leave my wingless cherubim to go off to work every day. Worse, to leave her in the care of strangers while I taught other people’s children created pervasive guilt in my psyche.

It hurt my heart.

But now, for the first time since 1983, I am not going back to school this August.

I’m irreverently excited about that.

Not even Grace is going back to school this year, as we started our new homeschool year a month ago. For her, we’re just following our normal routine. Get up, play, do school, eat lunch.

At any rate, I know most people are preparing for the busy back to school season right now, and so I wanted to share the cool things going on at Tiny Prints. They are featuring planners, notebooks, stationary, and all kinds of cool school-themed things right now.

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

I am delighted to be one of twenty bloggers featured in Arm & Hammer’s Switch & Save Challenge. During the next five months, I’ll be testing several Arm & Hammer products and sharing my experiences with you.

For me, a home isn’t a home without pets. We have 4 cats, 1 turtle, 2 goldfish, and 7 5 4 3 hermit crabs.

Like the people who live here, each of our cats has a unique personality.

Zeus is a big baby, wanting to sit on my lap and knead me whenever I’ll let him. Molly is simultaneously antisocial and wanting to be near; she refuses to be petted. Gracie-Cat is a loner who complains loudly whenever something displeases her. Sammy is the friendliest cat I’ve ever seen, preferring to sit on my lap, and he drools when he purrs.

They are quite a bunch. They like to sleep on Grace’s bed whenever possible. They like their water to come from a fountain. They each have a special spot at which they like to eat (1 in the kitchen, 2 in the dining room, and 1 in my bedroom) and use the litter box (2 upstairs and 2 downstairs).

They think they run the show around here.

(They might be right.)

Four cats in a 1600-square-foot house can get a little smelly, especially when the litter boxes get dirty.

One of the requirements of the Switch & Save Challenge was that we switch to Arm & Hammer brand products. When I received this month’s product – Arm & Hammer’s Double Duty Clumping Cat Litter – I tried to remember why I chose my old brand. I’ve used it exclusively for more than 10 years, but I can’t remember why.

To be honest, my old brand doesn’t work very well. It is a clumping brand, but the clumps are soft and fall apart easily, requiring frequent complete changes of the litter box to minimize the stink.

It doesn’t help that my cats don’t cover up their messes. I thought that was instinctual, but mine seem to have unlearned it.

In more than 10 years, I never thought to switch in hopes of finding a less smelly brand. I just assumed that all cat littler stunk.

A lot.

Our boxes are cleaned every couple of days (usually by Joe who never had a pet before he met me but somehow became the patron saint of cat poop), but they always stink.

I’m paranoid that my whole house smells like the cat box. Probably because it does.

As soon as he poured it into the upstairs litter box, Joe noticed a difference in the scent. “This one smells a lot better than that one,” he said, motioning towards the old box. Because it’s made by Arm & Hammer, this cat litter contains baking soda to eliminate both urine and feces odors.

When one of the cats uses the box containing the Double Duty litter, I can smell the deposit. I’m happy to report, though, that the smell fades quickly and becomes unnoticeable (even by someone like me, who has a near-bionic sense of smell).

Unless they neglect to cover it, but no litter in the world could fix that.

I think we’ll keep using the Arm & Hammer’s Double Duty Clumping Cat Litter for a long time to come.

This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of ARM & HAMMER branded products, who is compensating me to try different products.

Save $1.00 on any ARM & HAMMER Clumping Cat Litter and be sure to enter to win $25,000 at The Switch & Save Challenge.

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

I am delighted to be one of twenty bloggers featured in Arm & Hammer’s Switch & Save Challenge. During the next five months, I’ll be testing several Arm & Hammer products and sharing my experiences with you.

One of the factors that complicated my transition from full time working mom to stay home at home mom was healthcare. I had a great benefits package as a public school teacher, and Joe had significantly fewer (and more expensive) benefits.

I did choose to stay home with my children, but that meant giving up our dental insurance.

We have to pay out of pocket for cleanings and fillings and, well, everything. It’s more important than ever to be diligent about keeping our teeth clean and healthy.

It’s an easy choice, right? Brush and floss religiously or pay $100 a tooth (or more!) to have cavities filled.

And let’s not talk about the unpleasantness of drilling and filling and spraying and suction.

Brushing Effectively

I mentioned before that I had balked at buying a high priced battery-powered toothbrush. The Arm & Hammer Spinbrush is the perfect frugal alternative. It costs around $9 (less if you use a coupon from the Spinbrush website) and cleans 70% more plaque than a manual toothbrush.

Plus, my Spinbrush came with a coupon for replacement heads. I like the idea of replacing only the toothbrush heads, even if the Spinbrush itself is inexpensive.

Floss Daily

We are keeping trips to the dentist at a minimum by flossing daily.

I used to hate to floss. Flossing was an unpleasant task; the floss always made my fingertips hurt.

That sounds lame, doesn’t it?

But it’s true. I hated to floss because they floss itself cut off the circulation to my chubby fingertips.

A few years ago, I discovered floss picks. They are little strips of dental floss with a handle.

Floss picks are more expensive than a box of plain old dental floss, but they make the chore easier. No more red fingertips, and my teeth reap the benefits.

Use Coupons

I included a link above to the Spinbrush website where you can download a coupon for $2 off the Spinbrush.

You can also check the Arm & Hammer Savings Center for coupons.

This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of Arm & Hammer branded products. Church & Dwight Co., Inc is compensating me to try different products. All opinions are my own.

Get a $4.00 coupon for Arm & Hammer Spinbrush then head over to The Switch & Save Challenge where you can enter to win $25,000.

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

I am delighted to be one of twenty bloggers featured in Arm & Hammer’s Switch & Save Challenge. During the next five months, I’ll be testing several Arm & Hammer products and sharing my experiences with you.

A few weeks ago, Grace decided that she was scared of brushing her teeth.

I’m pretty sure that I’m scared of brushing my teeth! is a euphemism for I don’t want to, and you can’t make me! but I could be wrong.

I’m not, but I could be.

It doesn’t matter, really. The result is the same.

She doesn’t want to brush her teeth.

Not in the morning.

Not after lunch.

Not at bedtime.

As soon as she sees the toothbrush, she clenches and purses her lips and shakes her head. Usually, she also runs away screaming, leaving me to chase her with a tiny toothbrush covered in pink goo.

To say it’s a struggle would be an understatement.

I have tried everything I could think of to get Grace to brush her teeth (except for actually sitting on her and forcing the toothbrush into her mouth).

• I bought a variety of fancy toothbrushes with different shapes, sizes, and character decorations – including a fancy Spinbrush that she could decorate with stickers. She was into the stickers and the decorating, but not the actual use of the brush to clean her teeth.
• I bought a couple of different kinds of toothpaste with different flavors and colors. She likes to taste them, but she doesn’t want to waste them on her toothbrush.
• I made a sticker chart.
• I set a timer. Unfortunately, timers only work once the toothbrush is making contact with the teeth. Children think they are finished if the time goes off, whether the toothbrush has entered their mouths or not.
• I explained the consequences of not brushing. Cavities and fillings and trips to the dentist did not make an impression.
• I took her to the dentist for a cleaning. She sat in the hygienist’s chair, eager to ride up and down. But then the hygienist asked Grace to open her mouth and have her teeth counted and that was the end of the cooperation. She cried and screamed and shrieked and refused to have her teeth counted. She acted like counting teeth involved removing a few. It was embarrassing.

According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists, the key to successfully convincing a preschooler to brush her teeth is cheerful persistence.

I am cheerful, and I am persistent, but most days, Grace’s teeth do not get brushed adequately.

It is my daily dose of frustration and futility, so I’m going to plead for your help.

How do you convince a reluctant preschooler to brush her teeth?

Church & Dwight Co., Inc provided me with a $25 Visa gift card to give away to one lucky Feels Like Home reader. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with a suggestion for convincing Grace to brush.

For extra entries:

• Like Feels Like Home on Facebook and leave a comment about it
• Subscribe to Feels Like Home via RSS or email and leave a comment about it
• Follow Feels Like Home on Google Friend Connect and leave a comment about it

Good luck! I’ll choose a winner randomly from the comments after noon on June 15.

This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of Arm & Hammer branded products. Church & Dwight Co., Inc is compensating me to try different products. All opinions are my own (and that of my dental hygienist, Jenn).

Get a $4.00 coupon for Arm & Hammer Spinbrush then head over to The Switch & Save Challenge where you can enter to win $25,000.

Photo source

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

I am delighted to be one of twenty bloggers featured in Arm & Hammer’s Switch & Save Challenge. During the next five months, I’ll be testing several Arm & Hammer products and sharing my experiences with you.

Jenn, the hygienist at my dentist’s office, has been telling me for years that I need a different toothbrush.

I don’t have terrific teeth to begin with. The enamel is soft, and I’m prone to cavities. Apparently, using a manual toothbrush doesn’t help matters at all.

I guess you really didn’t need to know that.

Anyway, Jenn keeps telling me that a battery-powered toothbrush would clean my teeth much better – removing more of the plaque – than an old fashioned one, but I’ve hesitated because they are so expensive.

Jenn and I both approve of the Arm & Hammer Spinbrush ProClean.

The Spinbrush ProClean only costs about $9 (less when you use a coupon). It’s an even better deal when you consider that the brush head and batteries are removable, so you can replace only the parts that wear out. You won’t need to buy a whole new unit several times a year.

According to its website, the Spinbrush ProClean uses dual action technology to clean your teeth, meaning that there are a combination of spinning bristles and ones that move back and forth. All that action removes up to 70% more plaque than an old-fashioned toothbrush.

I’ve been using my new Spinbrush for two weeks now. Honestly, my teeth feel the same clean as before, but I know that the Spinbrush is doing a better job. Instead of manually moving my toothbrush up and down, I just move the Spinbrush around my mouth. Because the bristles move quickly and in multiple directions, they reach more spaces than my old fashioned toothbrush can.

It’s also easier to brush for two minutes since I’m not actually doing the brushing.

In the days immediately following my toothbrush switch, I noticed that my gums were bleeding when I rinsed. Apparently, I haven’t been doing a great job of massaging my gums with my old manual toothbrush – something else that Jenn told me to do. I’m doing a much better job with the Spinbrush of getting down to my gums and getting them nice and clean, too, because the bleeding has stopped.

With lots of options, including a GloBrush that changes color when you’ve brushed for 2 minutes, a whitening brush, and decorated options for kids, the Arm & Hammer Spinbrush series has something for everybody.

This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of Arm & Hammer branded products. Church & Dwight Co., Inc is compensating me to try different products. All opinions are my own (and that of my dental hygienist, Jenn).

Get a $4.00 coupon for Arm & Hammer Spinbrush then head over to The Switch & Save Challenge where you can enter to win $25,000.

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

According to the Center for Disease Control, two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, putting themselves at increased risk for heart disease, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome.

I am one of those individuals.

Over the last four years, I have often talked about my struggles with my weight. I have revealed highs and lows and successes and failures.

Eighteen months ago, I committed to lose 100 pounds in one year. I was off to a great start, losing around thirty pounds in three months. I led a group into Freeman Michaels’ Weight Release program. I made profound discoveries that I knew would help me make big changes in my life.

And then I became pregnant.

Anyone who has ever been pregnant will tell you that the fatigue you feel during the first trimester is like none you’ve ever experienced before. I spent months lying on the couch, tired and sick.

Exercise and healthy eating were not on my radar.

One day at a time, I just survived.

I quit the Weight Release program, even though it had helped me to make profound changes in my life. I didn’t have the energy or the motivation to care.

I am fortunate that my body, when pregnant, finds a metabolism I never thought possible. Once morning sickness subsided, I was ravenous. I could eat whatever I wanted (albeit in small amounts), and I never gained weight.

By the time Allison was born, my lifestyle had become abysmal. I was on bedrest; exercise was completely removed from my life by medical necessity.

I am an emotional eater, and I was extremely depressed. I was eating two or three half-gallons of ice cream every week. I ate candy and fried foods and fast food whenever I wanted it. I drank a 2-liter of Mountain Dew every day or two. I let my cravings completely dictate what and when I ate.

I formed some habits during those months that have been hard to break. Candy, caffeine, soda, ice cream.

The last four months have been a fog of postpartum depression. I haven’t thought much about food or exercise because simply living took so much effort.

When Allie was about two months old, I realized that I could fit into my prepregnancy pants. Nothing felt normal, but I could at least see that I was headed in the general direction of normal.

I paid for Weight Watchers online, and then I never signed in again.  Eventually, I cancelled my membership.

On Easter morning, I tried on a pair of pants that I had never worn before. I bought them in 2009 to wear at the Type-A Mom conference, but they were too small by the time the conference rolled around.

On Easter morning, those pants fit.

I have been wearing those dress pants at every opportunity, and I have been telling everyone who would listen that they are smaller than my pre-pregnancy size.

At the end of my pregnancy, I wore a size 36W. Did you even know that you could buy a size 36W?

Now, I am down about 20 pounds, and I am wearing a size 24W.

Hello, Motivation! Nice to see you again!

I am just starting to feel like I am in control of my days and nights and schedule. Grace and I are finding time to play because Allie takes a nice nap in her bassinet right after lunch. I’m getting back into my blogging groove.

I finally feel like I am a normal, functioning human being. The fog has mostly lifted, and I am ready to take care of myself again.

With my first big push toward healthy living in 2010, I learned that making small changes is the way to achieve big results. I’ve started making small changes again.

I am not eating junk food.

I’ve long known that the key (for me) to avoiding a daily junk food binge is to simply refrain from buying it in the first place.

I have not purchased ice cream in two months (though I still have to talk myself out of it every time I’m in the grocery store). There is a still some Easter candy lingering here, but it is dwindling. It will soon be gone all together, and I will not buy more.

I’ve been trying in earnest to wean myself off of Mountain Dew. It’s not been entirely successful, but I am down to one can per day. As long as I have that one can, I feel like I have energy.

If I skip that one can of Mountain Dew in the morning, I get a horrible migraine by lunchtime. Migraines prevent me from living, so I’m at peace with the morning can of pop. For now.

I am becoming aware of portion sizes.

I like to eat.

When I was working on the Weight Release program, I learned that I tune out when I’m eating. I eat good tasting food until it is all gone, no matter how much of it there is.

One cupcake or a plate of cupcakes. Isn’t that ridiculous? But, for me, unless I make a conscious decision, I will eat the whole plate.

I have tried a couple of Healthy Choice meals this week that have helped a lot with portion control. They tasted good, and I didn’t have to worry about how much to eat.

The meals were considerably smaller than the portions I would have given myself, so it worked very well.

I am exercising.

I have a love-hate relationship with exercising.

When I’m not doing it, I hate the thought of exercising. I don’t want to get sweaty. I don’t want to move my body and ache and work.

Once I’ve been doing it a couple of weeks, though, it’s fine. I love it. I feel vigorous and powerful.

I’m not there yet.

But I’ll get there.

Making Healthier Choices for Life

After reading the following, I tried some Healthy Choices meals -

A 2010 study funded by ConAgra Foods asked participants to replace 10 meals each week with a portion-controlled Healthy Choice meal. In addition to replacing lunch or dinner (or both) with a Healthy Choice meal, the participants added 2-3 fruits and vegetables to their daily food intake.

After one month, the participants had lost an average of six pounds and an inch from their waists and improved their diets significantly.

“This study reinforces the fact that portion control is fundamental to successful weight loss,” said Mark Andon, Ph.D., vice president, Nutrition, ConAgra Foods. “What’s new and exciting is that study participants enjoying portion-controlled Healthy Choice frozen meals for lunch or dinner not only improved the quality of their diets, they also reported an increased sense of well being, having more energy and feeling healthier after just 30 days.”

I am looking for ways to make small, positive changes in my diet. Incorporating a portion-controlled meal, like Healthy Choice, could be a simple way to do that.

The Meals

This was my first time ever trying Healthy Choice meals. I didn’t know what I was missing!

I had a couple dozen frozen Healthy Choice meals from which to choose at my local grocery store. I picked General Tso’s Spicy Chicken (one of the new Cafe Steamers) and Beef Tips Portobello. All of the meals looked good; I had a hard time deciding.

Incidentally, they are on sale this week at Giant grocery stores. Now that I’ve tried a couple, I think I’ll pick up more!

I really like that each meals’ nutritional highlights are on the front of the package. At a glance, I could tell which meals had the most protein, the least fat, and the number of calories.

The General Tso’s Spicy Chicken came in a two-part bowl, and it was totally unlike any prepared meal I’d ever made before. The instructions said to put the whole thing into the microwave without venting it. I was skeptical, but I did exactly as the instructions said.

The rice was cooked perfectly, the veggies were not mushy at all, and the chicken was moist. General Tso’s Spicy Chicken tasted great. It was very flavorful; I was not expecting it to be as spicy as it was (perfect for me, but I really like spicy foods). It didn’t look like enough food, but it was filling. When I’d finished the meal, I was satisfied.

Obviously, my portion control meter is off.

The Beef Tips Portobello looked like the tv dinners I remember; it even included dessert.

I’ll admit that I didn’t have high hopes. I was expecting this meal to be bland and mushy, especially after the unique design of the Cafe Steamers.

It was neither bland nor mushy. The beef tips were tender, and the mushrooms were perfectly firm. The vegetables were a little softer than I prefer, but not mushy. They had lots of flavor, as did the rest of the meal.

Including the caramel apple crisp.

Both meals were very good, much better than I expected of packaged, frozen meals.

This post was sponsored by Healthy Choice and The Motherhood. I received 2 free meal coupons as well as a stipend for my time. A positive review was not required, and all opinions are my own.

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