Busy boy mom

When you're a mom of 6, 4 of them being busy athletic boys, there is typically no such thing as Summer vacation.
In years past between Aaron, Joel, Trevor and Asher we at times were involved in no less than 5 or 6 baseball teams at a time.
Regular season teams. High school or middle school teams. Rec ball teams. All star teams. Travel ball teams.
You get the idea.

Now that 2 of our oldest are graduated and pretty much on their own ( Aaron is a US Marine and stationed on NC. Joel is still living at home but working about 32-40 hours a week at a local restaurant and still doesn't have his license or a vehicle) we are still busier than ever.

Summer here in Myrtle Beach means ocean time, pool time, fun time but YES... football practices for high school have been going on 3 mornings a week for the last 3 weeks. They take their football VERY serious down here! Trevor and Asher are a shoe-in for spots on the freshman team so they have been busting their butts from 7am-11 Tues, Wed and Thur.
They also just finished up Allstars for baseball (on the same team Thank God for my sanity ) as well as Ashers travel team with tournaments every other weekend.

This year... we have jumped in with a crazy schedule for Jo as well.
Our little media/tech daughter has been given the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing Christian bands this summer on Sundays from 1pm to 10pm helping in the Summer Concert series here at the beach.
So even with help from some wonderful young ladies from our church & Jo's pretty cool boyfriend ( yes... our little Jojo has a pretty cool young boyfriend )... we still have been providing transportation quite a bit for her as well.

Fourth of July.... our 2 youngest boys along with Jo and her bf Austin worked at the local exclusive community The Dunes Club, with Awesome Inflatables...  ( the wonderful couple that Aaron worked for a year with before going onto the Corps).
They were paid a generous amount of money to "man" the jumpies... during the Dunes large family fourth of July celebration/party.

That was cool to see them earning some extra money for themselves.

So...
Very proud of all my kiddos.

But... summer vacation?
What is that???
I guess when you live at the beach everyday is a vacation!!!
Happy Summer yall!

Crankiness, menopause, busy schedules and some yoga...

So...
It has been going on for the better part of 2 years.
The M word.
Menopause.
Hot flashes.
Night sweats.
Moodiness. Scratch that. Bitchiness.
Outright nastiness.
By Moi.
And it's not fun fair or joyous

I am in need of a Dr.
A good one. With meds.
But alas right now I am without health insurance to cover said Dr visit and meds
So...
I drink my Shakeology everyday.
I get a workout in.
I do yoga
I meditate
I pray

Anyone else going through this?
Sometimes I feel like I need to be exiled to a tropical island alone for the rest of my life. Ya know,  like Naked & Afraid. But without all the nakedness and bugs. And I'll need some food. Oh. And some Internet so I can blog and watch Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead
Ya.
I am a busy mom of 6 kids..  4 of whom still reside in my home. A dedicated husband who is currently out of work due to a major neck injury / surgery but always manages to stay joyful and have the house clean for me.
Why am I a raging bitch most of the time then?
Help 
SOS.
Anyone else?
I need some female insight and advice and suggestions 
Xanax, maybe?
Maybe I should take up drinking wine at night? Nope. I'm not a drinker! Lol.
Maybe I need to just lean on my fellow mommy's who have gone before me into this abyss of miserableness and come out OK on the other side
Did I mention I have 4 more years and we are empty nesters? Oh and I live less than 10 min from the BEACH!
Miserable?
I have no earthly right to be
HELP.
SOS.

Share YOUR stories with me .
Please!!!

Breathe Right Strips REVIEW

Once again, allergy season is upon us.

With 4 of my 6 children remaining in  our home and 3 of them being BOYZ.... Baseball season + allergy season = Snoring and sneezing and lack of sleep for this mama and her cubs.

My husband... God love him to death... happens to have the teeniest tiniest problem with snoring since his neck surgery and some nights are worse than others. 

and... to be fair and honest, when my allergies flair up I have been told I snore a tad bit also.

Breathe Right strips to the rescue!!!

I was asked to try the Lavender Strips and though (disclosure here) I actually have an allergy to Lavender... but my  children and hubby DO NOT and they LOVED them!

"very soothing" 

" very mild and nice scent"

" ma, I can breathe!"

YUP...

win win!!!

So if you are like us and plagued with stuffy noses this time of the year, or even a snoring husband or kids... give the Breathe Right family a try!

We love them and always have them in the bed side table!

Best of all you can find them anywhere.. Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and so many other places!

* This review is the opinion of the writer and owner of Welcome to Our Ark and is that only... my opinion. I have not been compensated for my review, positive or  negative and was only supplied with samples to use for my review. *

Body image.. who cares?

So as I've posted here and on my FB pages... and many of you may know, I am a Beachbody coach. What that means is... I use incredible workout programs, drink my Shakeology daily and get to work with an amazing team of men and women..  like minded friends..  who are passionate about getting and staying fit and healthy.

It's a lifestyle for us.
For years, ok, for most of my life, I have been on a quest for the perfect body.

In my early 20s it was the muscle..  the stamina to teach and complete two 45 minute step classes 3 or 4 times a week at a gym I worked at. Training HUGE muscle bound men... and yes, some not so bulky guys..  to get in shape and they chose ME for a trainer. 

Then after my kids it was mostly to peel off the baby weight so I dieted and tried my hand at cardio  ( mainly aerobics again and running)

Then with the birth of my 3rd child I was limited to light physical activity so I tried Yoga and fell in love.

Then it was the Bowflex and the total GYM ( you know the one endorsed by Chuck Norris....) as well as owning my very own ballet bar. Had a full gym with a treadmill and stairmaster..  and I ended up getting my ass handed to me by Jillian Michaels during the 30 day Shred ( thank you Sarah Viz!!)

I'd lose 10 pounds... drop a size or 2 then gain it back when I thought I could take a week or 2 off.

Then... divorce and along with that came stress, low finances and little food... causing me to drop to anorexic- type dangerous low weight with NO muscle tone at all!

Then... something amazing happened.  I met Noah.. my husband, a personal trainer and my all around support network and motivator.

We hit the gym EVERY MORNING at 5am, he monitored my diet, forcing me to eat healthier and add protein to my life and I started to fill out in the right places and lose fat, build muscle.

Then... laziness and injury happened and here comes another 15-20 pounds like snapping fingers.

Crossfit was my saving grace the next round and I peeled off 20+ pounds of fat and frustration while toning up and feeling STRONG!

Then... we moved. 
Here comes another 20 pounds of sweet iced tea and junk food.

Then... enter Beachbody. Shakeology.

The 21 Day Fix was my light!!!

It has worked for me now for almost 2 years and while I teeter between a size 4 and 6 now... yes I have a little pooch belly and I still indulge in junk food and have lazy mornings when the last thing I'm gonna do is work out..  and.. gasp. .. I am probably gonna buy a 1 piece bathing suit for the first time in my life... ( it will be sexy and I will rock it!) I continue to drink my shake every morning. I continue to use the amazing Beachbody programs and I've gotten back into the Yoga I loved so much.

This time I'm not watching the scale. I'm not worried about my 4s or 6s being a little snug. I'm not freaking out about my muffin top or my lack of "cut" in my arms and shoulders. ..
I'm just gonna focus on being ME..
Being healthy.
Eating to fuel my body with healthy food.
Stretching.
Having some ME meditation time every morning.

And enjoying how I am and how I feel

So...
I would urge you to get moving,  but do something you love.
If you love running then RUN.
If you love lifting then LIFT.
If you love Crossfit... the THROW DOWN.
If you love yoga then Downward Dog.

Just breathe and just BE YOU.
You only have one body.
Be healthy and happy and comfortable in your skin!
God made you beautiful.
Namaste

New exciting and scary changes

Hey yall!
Greetings from down south!
It's been forever and I haven't blogged in ages!
And ya know what?
I've missed it and through the ups and downs in my life lately I have come to realize I miss it. I miss writing and sharing my feelings and putting them down in a journal (y) way.
So...
Here goes.
We've had some challenges the last few months. Nothing that we can't handle with God at he wheel in our lives.
We've also had some amazing accomplishments.

Where to start?
Let's jump right in..
Our oldest daughter Kylie settled down here with us last year. She found an amazing job right away. Got a brand new car within the first 2 months.  Has made some great friends and just moved into her very own 1 bedroom apartment about 20 minutes away from us. So exciting for her!  She's become quite the amazing young woman!

Aaron, our oldest son has also had a major accomplishment this past year.
He emerged in October as a United States Marine after completing the countries toughest boot camp at Parris Island. He went on to graduate as a Private First Class from Infantry school and is now permanently stationed in NC. As I write this he is in Yuma Arizona for helo training!
We are so proud that words can not express our pride in him and all he has done and will do to defend this country of ours. Just so amazed.

Joel is going to be graduating from high school this spring and has some ideas of what he'd like to do... one of them is looking into joining the Army.
Joel has done so well this year including working full time all last summer and pretty much managing the local new Dunkin Donuts.  We are so proud of him.

Jocelyn has not only thrown herself into serving every Sunday at church on the media team but she has become an integral part of the Verge (Tuesday night youth groups) praise and worship team and sings most Tuesdays. Her confidence and voice has just blossomed tremendously!  She also was just accepted into the Academy for Arts Science and Technology and will complete her last 2 years of high school there as a student of their Digital Communications division. 
We continue to be amazed by her drive and ambition as well as inspired by her love and passion for God.

Trevor and Asher are doing amazing also.
Asher tried out for and was accepted to play on the high school B Baseball team for our local high school. Plus he's still actively playing on his travel team The Diamond Stars. His skill and love of the game has taken him to new heights this year and we believe if he chooses so... it may offer him a career down the road. Though he still often talks of the Navy.
Trevor chose to sit out the baseball team this season though he wants to play rec ball this summer to keep active.
Both boys had an amazing Basketball season and Trevor is currently training with the high school football team and trainers in the weight room in preparation for his freshman year playing for the high school team. He's quite the little "surprise" on the team and has earned the nickname the "honey badger ". Look it up and you'll know why!

Now...
On the challenging news front... Noah was in a car accident last year and suffered a major neck and spinal cord injury.
Finally after almost a year of fighting with workers comp, Dr's and insurance and lawyers... he had surgery in January.
His recovery is going slowly and he's still suffering pain and effects of the damage.
We are grateful for the workers comp payments and are managing to stay afloat though it still comes with stress and challenges.

We also decided as a family that we were needing to add to our family.
Help our family.
Noah's parents were living in NY and not thriving. Health issues and raising costs of living just were too much for them to handle on their own.
We have moved them here in with us, we have the extra room,  until we can get them settled into their own place down here near us.
Costs are better and it gives us all a chance to spend some time with them. 
So important to our family and our children.
Now, I have stresses and anxiety about this because frankly I'm not a good care giver AT ALL.
like... AT ALL.
So... this will require some patience on my part and heavy prayer.
Ok. A lot of patience on my part and a lot of God's presence in my life over the next few weeks or months.
But today was a good day.
Yesterday. .. not so much.  Getting a family our size on schedule is hard enough, but add to the mix,  two other people who are also very independent but slow to get moving and slow compared to our fast paced lifestyle can create a pressure cooker.

We got through yesterday and today was better.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring but I'm reminded of a time when my saint of a step mother took in my dad's parents.
Dialysis for my gram everyday. 
A stubborn set in his way grandfather.
All under one roof.
A step mother who had almost no relationship with her father.... embraced my dad's parents through all the mess. Helped and was supportive even when my own dad was at his wits end. Was the peacekeeper in the house
So while I admire my own mother so much for doing all she has done for me...
At this moment I am leaning on my step mothers wisdom, guidance, and trying to tap into some of the grace and patience she developed.

God is with me and I will be ok.
We will all be ok.
We are changing our lives for the better and I will see that through the clouds.
And the fog and the struggles.

So... pray for me.
Pray with me.
For my kids.
For their achievements.
For my husband.
For my in laws.
Thank you!!!