Fit Pregnancy

One of the top questions I get is what workouts I do while pregnant. So I wanted to share what I’ve been doing to stay active, some things I eat, and other various questions I’ve gotten along the way!
Please note that I am not an expert nor your healthcare provider and before starting anything new you should check with them. From what I know though, if you’re active prior to becoming pregnant and you have a “normal/healthy” pregnancy, you can continue with your current workouts. Please also note, that what I say below is what works for me. It may or may not work for you but it’s something you could try and if you like it great, If not, find something else you like! I’m a firm believer in doing what’s best for you. Just like motherhood, pregnancy isn’t a one size fits all and there are many factors that can affect the way you feel and your ability to stay active!

Staying Active:

I’ve been doing the @sweat app since Sonny was 6 weeks old. It’s something I really enjoy because they offer a variety of different programs including a postpartum one, yoga one, and then strength training, and full body circuits. I also really love it because the app offers challenges that you can do when you may not have a full 30-45 minutes. Plus you can take the app with you wherever you go since it’s just on your phone! All in all it’s just something that really works for me.
I’ve now completed the BBG, BBG stronger, and PWR at home programs and I’m currently on week 9 of the Fierce at Home program. It includes lower body, upper body, abs, full body AMRAP, and full body tabata workouts that are usually 35-45 minutes long and require hand weights, kettlebells, and bands but not every workout uses all of these.
Some days, I choose to forgo a workout and just do 20-30 minutes on our stair stepper or stationary bike. (No we do not have a peloton) it’s an older stationary peddle bike that has a crank to adjust the resistance. And our stair stepper we found on Facebook marketplace!

I also love taking walks in the summer months, it’s a great workout pushing a double stroller while pregnant.

Nutrition:

I’ve continued to take my preworkout and collagen before each workout in the morning, usually on an empty stomach but sometimes I need a granola bar or toast to help ease the nausea. The preworkout I use is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Linked HERE and the collagen is use is linked HERE.

As far as other nutrition goes, I tend to be more lax when pregnant and give into my cravings more. I really believe in everything in moderation. We try to eat balanced meals and we eat at home a lot, I enjoy cooking. Some of my recent recipes I’ve been loving are from halfbakedharvest.com. But since we have kids and I try to make things they can eat as well (so I don’t have to make 7 different meals) our go to’s are tacos, spaghetti, burrito bowls, fajitas or grilling a meat with veggies or a salad! Also, always love cereal when pregnant 😬

Overcoming Nausea/lack of motivation:

I’ve had morning sickness/nausea with all of my pregnancies. Some have lasted up through 20 weeks, but overall I can’t complain. I’m still able to function and go on with my day, but it still sucks. With this current pregnancy I had nausea that would mostly be around in the mornings, but sometimes would come and go in the afternoons as well. Working out always helped me push through it. It definitely sucked right away and I would gag my way through the beginning of the workout but then it would usually subside and I really believe it’s because I was active and getting my heart rate up and moving.

Sometimes food would help, sometimes it would make it worse. In past pregnancies I’ve taken unisom tablets to help alleviate the nausea, but I was able to manage this time with a bland diet, peppermint EO, not drinking too much at a time, and exercise.

As far as motivation goes, it’s not always easy to find the motivation when you’re extremely exhausted and tired. The first trimester Is brutal for me in this way. I could literally fall asleep at 4 pm and stay sleeping through the next morning if I didn’t have three other children to care for. Letting go of expectations, accepting help (which I suck at) and just living a more carefree life is how I managed to get through.
It also helps to have someone to help you stay accountable or to help motivate you. Jay has always been my inspiration, and working out together or even keeping each other on track has always helped. It’s always easier to have your significant other on the same page as you, eating the same diet, staying motivated and healthy together.

Find a groove that you can stick with. A time each day you can dedicate to getting active, a workout that you enjoy but also hate (if you know what I mean) and someone or something to hold you accountable. It believe it helps and will definitely pay off! At least that’s my hope for postpartum. That’s my main reason I wanted to stay active throughout this entire pregnancy, so that postpartum would come a little easier for me!

Active wear:

I tend to live in active wear while pregnant, aside from lounge clothes. My top brands that I like to shop from are Blanqi, Free People, and of course Target.
I love the blanqi sport shorts, and over the belly leggings. I tend to buy a lot of my crop top/sports bras from Free People and Target, and I also love oversized shirts and sweatshirts/sweaters from Aerie.

Links

blanqi sport short, blanqi leggings

free people halter crop top, tighten up tank, free throw tie-dye crop

target sports bra

oversized shirts aerie

sweatshirt from aerie

Thanks for stopping by, I hope this was helpful for you in getting and staying motivated! Remember to listen to your body, do what feels right to you and what you’re able to do, give yourself grace, and even if you can make 10-20 minutes work for getting active throughout the day do it! It will help in the end and I believe help in your labor as well as your overall health! If you enjoyed this post, I’d love for you to share it, like it, comment below! As always your support is so appreciated and I hope you know I enjoy writing for all of you!

Please note that some of the links above are linked to my LTK and I will gain a small commission. Thank you in advance!

Workout Regimen

My leggings // top // loopy case use code “mariwags” to save 10%

When clicking on a link in this post, I may gain a small commission from you purchasing through my link. I appreciate your support more than you know!

My everyday:

I use to be a night owl, and would dread the mornings. allowing my children to wake me as my alarm clock. It made me crabby and put me in a bad mood for the remainder of the morning. I then one day realized I needed a change, to change not only my habits but my perspective. That’s when I started doing mindful mornings. Essentially a take on Tony Robbins and Hal Elrod’s miracle morning and it really changed my life. Waking up and getting my workout in as well as some time to myself to reflect, catch up on emails or do what I need to get done without interruption was what I needed to make self care a priority and get my well-being taken care of. You can read more about my mindful mornings HERE

Recently I’ve been skipping a majority of my mindful morning routine and just making time for my workout and getting ready because it’s winter and cold, and dreary. So I now wake up between 530-630am, some days I’m more tired than others and I allow myself some extra sleep. The boys rise time is 750am and for the most part they usually stay in their room until then which still allows me about an hour of time to myself. I’m eager to get back into my full morning routine once the weather warms up a bit.

My supplements:

I don’t eat or drink anything before my workout other than my pre-workout supplement. Sometimes I drink a tall drink of lemon water.

I take the Cara Loren bucked up girls prenatal pre-workout (pink lemonade flavor) every morning prior to working out. It’s safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women and taste really good but also gets me amped up to start sweating. You could say I’m slightly addicted, I look forward to it every morning. (I take my pre-workout in a blender bottle, it helps mix it up perfectly)

Obviously, talk with your health care provider if you have concerns or do your research. You can purchase from the bucked up girls website HERE

BCAA’s are a hot topic and under question if they actually work and are beneficial for you. I’ll let you do your own research in determining if they are right for you, but I do use the Cara Loren Bucked up girls BCAA’s (Pina Colada flavor) during my workout every day which you can purchase HERE. I like the taste better than just plain water, and I often mix it with my collagen that I buy from amazon HERE.

There are many benefits to taking collagen which include bone strength, joint health, hair, skin and nail health. I really believe that my hair is the healthiest when I take a collagen supplement, but I understand it may not be for everyone.

Lastly, I usually end my workout with a protein shake. I always use a blender bottle with about 8-12oz of almond milk to shake up my protein as it provides the best end result without a clumpy drink. You can get them anywhere but we’ve bought several from amazon HERE. My favorite protein is by Orgain, the vanilla or chocolate flavor, but I also like the Vega Cold Brew kind. Both are certified vegan and gluten free. I also occasionally have jays protein by 1st Phorm, they offer several super yummy flavors and do offer a vegan kind but he gets the level 1 and it’s tasty.

If you’re wanting to try out the Orgain protein you can get 30% off your first purchase using code: mariwags when shop on their direct site HERE.

My attire:

I have a variety of workout wear, I love athleisure clothes and pretty much live in that everyday. I love me some good high quality leggings (AKA expensive) but I also enjoy a good deal. I own about 6 pairs of the colorfolkala leggings on amazon and they’re only $23. I’ve posted about them several times and have had them for almost a year now and they still hold up. You can purchase through amazon HERE. I also love my army pattern that I own by the same brand but they are a little bit more money $29 however, thicker quality. You can find them HERE.

As for sports bras I love my free people tanks, but don’t think they are always the best for high intensity workouts. I still own several and wear them nearly daily. Purchase HERE. Otherwise I just like target sports bras that you can purchase HERE, HERE, HERE or HERE for a nursing friendly one.

My Workout:

/:/=I try and work out everyday. As a nurse working nightshift though, I sometimes just don’t have the energy to get up so I choose to sleep instead. A usual work weekend for me looks like… work out mon-fri, may or may not wake up early to work out saturday/sunday before work and then work out after I sleep on monday. If you didn’t know I work 12 hour night shifts so on my days I work I would wake up around 3/330 to work out and get ready, cook dinner before I leave my house at 6pm to head into work. I get home around 8am the next day, head to bed and then wake up around 3/330 again to work out. Sleep is very important when working shift work though so sometimes that just trumps working out and that’s okay.

I have been using the sweat app as my work outs for over a year now. It’s convenient because it’s on my phone, I can take it anywhere at anytime, and if you do the kayla workouts you don’t usually need more than just some dumbells to get through your workout. I am currently doing the Power at home program by Kelsey Wells. It requires more gym equipment and I would say is more strength training which is nice to switch things up. Other than the luxury of a daycare at a fitness center, I have never been a fan of packing up and driving to a gym to get my work out in. Home workouts are just what I prefer. It’s easier for me, it’s more convenient and I feel like I save a lot of time just walking downstairs rather than getting everyone ready, driving, and checking everyone in at the fitness center. Whatever you prefer, do it because you enjoy it.

Want a FREE weeks trial of the sweat app? Click HERE

What my typical week looks like. Mon/Wed/Fri I do 10-20 minutes of cardio followed by a resistance workout in the sweat app (currently doing the power at home program). Tuesday/Thursday I will do 30-45 minutes straight cardio on either the stair stepper or stationary bike or a combination of both. Saturday/Sunday I will do 10-30 minutes of cardio mixed with a challenge workout of any kind on the sweat app. Sometimes I will do a workout with jay instead. In the summer months I usually walk the boys everyday around our neighborhood, to the park or on a family walk which is just on top of my morning work out.

Postpartum, I started working out at 6weeks. I did two weeks of the post-pregnancy program and then two weeks of the power post-pregnancy program and then jumped right into the BBG workouts by Kayla Itsines. I had to take lots of breaks in the beginning and modified a lot of moves until my core strength started coming back but it slowly got easier and I slowly got better and stronger. In the beginning months I would shoot for working out 4-5 times a week and have progressed to 7 days a week.

Diastasis Recti is very common in postpartum mothers. For months I was eating healthy and working out and was just really dissatisfied with how my stomach was looking despite how hard I was working to get into shape. I had several people suggest going in to see if I had DR and I kind of ignored it for a while because I didn’t want to make an excuse for my stomach being the way it was, and was so grateful for birthing three babies so was actually okay with the fact that might just be how it is forever type of thing. But I then after reading that abs and core work outs could harm DR and make it worse I decided to go ahead and schedule an appointment with a physical therapist that specializes in pelvic floor muscles. I figured that if there isn’t anything I can do to change it then fine, but if there is, than why not learn the correct way to strengthen my core so that I can heal it and improve my pelvic floor strength. It turns out I had about a 2 inch gap in my lower abs. Seeing a PT was important to me to learn the best exercises for me and what I specifically needed to work out. There are tons of pinterest/internet DR workouts out there, but how do you know what you really need to work on without being seen and evaluated.

My Home Gym:

We have slowly acquired a home gym. It’s far from fancy, but it’s functional and gets the job done. Everything we own is second hand either from craigs list, facebook market place or play it again sports. We have a bench press, stationary bike (not a pelaton) a stair stepper, leg press, and a handful of weights, bands and a ball. It’s in in our basement with a pool table in the way and a shit ton of toys and sits next to our downstairs family room. If they are up during our workouts, they either watch the TV down there or play with their toys while we work out. Below are some pics of the space.

Mindful Mornings

I'm not a morning person. Hence, why I work nightshift. The thought of waking up early is soooo daunting and I dread it, or at least I use to. I few weeks ago I felt myself in a rut you could say.. constantly crabby, irritable, frustrated with not getting anything I wanted done, or having time for myself. I wasn't being the mother or wife that my kids and husband deserve. That's when I knew I needed to make a change.

For months I've been saying that I wanted to read this book or that book, or start listening to podcasts, or learn the skills I needed to become the best parent I could be. To foster their development with healthy and effective discipline that will give them honest and compassionate leadership that they will use for years and years to come. That's when my husband Jay suggested I start doing "mindful mornings" with him.

Ha yea right I thought to myself. I am NOT I repeat NOT waking up early, before the kids wake up to get shit done. I will be sooo tired. Believe me, I dreaded it. However, to my surprise I have been loving it! The whole waking up thing is still not my favorite, but once I wake up, I'm up. There's no laying in bed, questioning if I should get up or not. There's no thinking about how tired I am or am going to be. I just get up and do it. In a podcast I've been listening to called Find the Magic, they have an episode about making your morning routine happen. They mention that if you let your kids or your alarm clock wake you up, but you continue to lay there and try to sleep... you’re not sleeping. You’re getting irritated sleep thinking of all the things you have to do and get done so it's best to just wake up instead of pressing snooze for a few more minutes... That's step one, making the time to get up and get your day started before anyone else.

Jay adapted his mindful morning routine from a guy named Tony Robbins and he actually calls it the power hour, or 30 minutes to thrive. It's intent is to boost your energy and become positive. There is also the miracle morning by the author Hal Elrod which consist of 6 habits or rituals to get your morning started. The acronym SAVERS stands for silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading and scribing.

I've kind of taken a mixture of these routines and made them my own. I start my day off at 530am with washing my face and drinking a cold glass of water. (Jay takes a cold shower, I think he’s crazy but he insist on the switch in body temperature is good for you) We then go for a mile walk down our street. During our walk we practice breathing exercises, gratefulness, visualization, and incantations (a series of words said over and over as a magic spell or charm). For example, I would say "I am patient" over and over again. We do each of these for 5 minutes, so it equates to about a 20 minute walk. When we return home I go out on our deck and read 10 pages, watch the sunrise and say a prayer. Then I take my pre-workout and head downstairs to do 30-45 minutes of a bbg work out. While I work out I like to listen to a podcast, sometimes I get to listen to 2 depending on how long they are. I'm really into learning how to parent through respectful parenting, so I usually listen to the Find the Magic or Unruffled podcast which are both great for self bettering and learning skills to practice respectful parenting.

After I've completed all of this I sometimes have time to make my coffee, or eat breakfast alone, or get ready for the day and I'm eager and excited for my kids to wake up. I went from being pissed from being woken up by crying or whiny kids to waking up feeling fresh, alive and ready to take on the day.

One thing I've learned from all of this is to remain consistent just like a routine, do the same thing every day and each day you will look forward to it. Change your mindset from dreading the morning to looking forward to the morning.. it's easy to dwell on the amount of hours of sleep you won't get before you go to bed, but instead of thinking about that try and tell give yourself affirmations by saying that you are going to bed grateful and you will be well rested in the morning when you wake up. It's important to make this your own, you can follow a specific routine, but if you're not loving it then switch it up and add or take away things you don't like. There is no right or wrong way to have a mindful morning. Lastly, if you are thinking how could you possibly get up before your kids if they are early risers or after a full night of cluster feeding your newborn, then do a 6 minute morning and condense it, or wait a few weeks til things settle down. My kids are sleeping through the night which I would agree makes it 100% easier.

Before I wrap up, I wanted to touch on how we are able to go for a walk without our kids in the morning and what we do with them. Like I mentioned before, they sleep through the night and their “risetime” is set for 730am so that gives me about 2 hours to myself. (It didn’t use to be that way, my kids use to wake up at 6am but since having that hatch nursery I’ve slowly pushed back their rise time and now they sleep in their room until that magical light turns blue) When we go for our walk, it’s down our road which is about a mile total, there and back. We can see our home from the end of the street. Our alarm system is set, all the doors are locked so that no one can get in or out and we wear our iwatches which are connected to our lollipop baby camera so that if by chance anyone does wake up, we are notified and can run home! Also, there have been times when they wake up early, and if that happens I allow them to come sit quietly and watch me, play near me, or go back into their room until the light turns blue!

I hope this helps answer some questions about my Mindful Mornings! Remember, there is no right or wrong way to do it. You can adapt to any practice you see fit and that works for you! Make it your own, if you’re not loving it, switch it up and just be consistent with your routine! It will get easier, and if you’re like me then you’ll grow to love it! I hope I’ve inspired you to get started, I just want you to live your best life and make the most of your time for yourself, your family and your friends. You deserve it.

xoxo Mari

Photos above taken by Erica Schmidt Photography

How to Spark Joy in your IG

Number one rule: Don’t give a fuck. I mean I’m kinda kidding, but not really. Ya know.. Instagram can suck you in DEEEEEEP. Like reeeeaaaaal deep. You go on thinking I’ll just scroll for a few minutes, see what everyone is up to and then like 5 hours later you’re still scrolling and you find yourself either 1. Super inspired to recreate like 500 photos with your kids 2. You’ve found yourself following 50 new adorable small shops that will now take all your money, or 3. Feeling super bad for being on instagram for so long scrolling and liking pictures of people you love to follow but don’t actually know, when you could of been spending all that quality time with your family or playing with your kiddos or cleaning and Marie Kondo-ing your entire house, or GOING TO BED! Don’t tell me you’ve never found yourself in one or all of these scenerios. I know I have, not always, but I have been that person.

Honestly, finding joy in instagram for me has been about building connections. Using that space as a creative outlet, a place to post pictures of my cute kids, and create content. I’ve taken a step back on my blog recently because I’ve got soo many things I want to accomplish but I just can’t get it all done. That’s besides the point. Finding joy while scrolling the gram.. follow accounts you truly love and are inspired by. Don’t play the follow unfollow game. Engage, interact, comment, like each others photos. It's not a freaking competition, although it seems that way sometimes. Cheer each other on! It’s all about building connections, finding your niche, and sharing what you love. That’s the most important part is sharing what brings you joy, not what you think others will like. That will get you nowhere, other than feeling like a loser when you your post doesn’t do as well as you’d like.

How to Grow

The question everyone asks when they’re just starting out and wanting to “grow” on instagram. It’s hard. Let me tell you. And this is where those feelings of not good enough, why don’t they like my picture, yadda yadda yadda come into play. Here’s what I know about growing on the gram. Create content that people can relate to, that people find pretty, but most importantly what YOU love. When you create content that you love, that shines through and makes you “authentic”. I use quotations because that word gets thrown out a lot in this space. Being authentic. It really comes down to just being you.

Other ways to grow. Build connections. Support other women, moms, accounts on IG that inspire you. Support small shops and share the brands that you love, not what everyone else loves or you think you need to love because everyone has it. The key to getting “featured” on a shops page is to obviously tag them, but also be sure you are showcasing their product. If you want to collaborate with a company, small shop, certain brand, believe me when I tell you it helps if you are already supporting them. Have already bought their products and love them and then want to continue that partnership with a collaboration or discount code for your followers. They will appreciate that and that is called being AUTHENTIC. Sharing brands that you love with your following because you love it too, not just because your getting a free product or getting paid.

Lastly, I will say that giveaways with large amounts of following will help! Putting together a giveaway with large accounts will get you soo much exposure. Loop giveaways will for sure give you a boost, but you can’t always count on those followers staying. Most, probably half will drop off because they entered the giveaway just for the chance to win and then they go unfollow the accounts they don’t really care about. lol Anyways, I feel it’s best to put together giveaways with brands that you truly love and other accounts that you truly love because that will you get you the most authentic following. That will help you build connections and truly keep the joy in your instagram.

Lots of rambling, but I thought I might add that in 5 maybe 10 years when instagram isn’t a thing anymore.. will you be grateful for all your time spent on here or will you regret it. Something I keep asking myself daily to keep me in tune with my actual life, my babies and my family.

Thanks for stopping by,

Mari

Celery Juicing

I’ll be honest, celery juicing is nasty.. the taste is down right disgusting but the benefits are so so great which is why I started to do it. It’s been a couple weeks now and I think I’m sort of getting use to it, and by use to it I mean it’s tolerable. I don’t enjoy it but I will say I definitely think it helps with bloating… like majorly!! This is one of the benefits to celery juice and I swear by it. It took a while for me to really notice any difference, but I went one day without juicing and I could totally tell. I felt off, extremely bloated, and just kind of yucky.

So, why is it so great?

1. Promotes bone and heart health

2. Helps lower high cholesterol

3. Prevents high blood pressure

4. Lowers inflammation

5. Supports weight loss

6. Helps heal digestion

7. Can help heal acne

8. Fights infections

9. Reduces bloating

10. Helps eczema and psoriasis

How to Prepare it:

• Rinse one whole stalk of celery

• Get a juicer! We love our Breville, you can shop HERE!

It’s best to drink about 16oz of celery juice on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, unless you drink a glass of warm lemon water which is something I’ve also been doing, and I think it’s been really helpful in aiding in my metabolism and digestion. You should then eat something afterwards, but should wait about 15-30 minutes until consuming anything. It’s also best to drink the celery juice on its own without adding anything else to it, and honestly I’ve tried juicing other fruits with it and it still taste gross and like celery juice so I just stick to it straight.

So are you ready to jump on the celery band wagon yet? I think you will enjoy the benefits, tag me on insta if you start! As always, thanks for stopping by!

xoxo Mari

Most of the information is taken from the medical medium, the guy who started the movement. You can read more about the benefits HERE

New Year Better for You

Happy New Year!! I’m not one to usually set resolutions, I just don’t like the commitment of sticking to something that I don’t know I will like doing lol So I try to set goals rather and hope that by the end of the year I’ve accomplished them.

This years Goals: 2019

1. Parent with patience and positivity

2. Play with my children more

3. Live in the moment

4. Go on more adventures

5. Drink a shit ton of water

6. Learn to love my body

7. Read more, learn more

Last year however, I made a vow to myself to try and get rid of all the chemical based products in my house and switch to better skin care, beauty products, household products, and just all around safer for you ingredients. It took me ALL year to make the switch, it’s a big investment and very time consuming and I wanted to use up all my old products and gradually make the change so it wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg all at once. Back in August I became a Beauty Counter Consultant, you can read more about what it is and why I chose to use this line of products HERE, or you can shop Beauty Counter products HERE.

I also chose to become a Young Living Consultant, this is the area I’d love to grow in this year as I am not excellent at knowing what to do with it all. This is where I say that it is very time consuming. Making your own cleaners, knowing what oils go well with one another, knowing what oil to use when. It all takes a lot of time to research and money to buy everything to make them in. Pinterest is obviously my inspiration when I am looking at making something, and what I like to do is search “essential Oils blends for…….” and I put the word cold or for children or roller blends. This way recipes come up for exactly what I’m looking for! I buy all of my bottles and rollers from amazon. You can shop below… If you’re interested in buying products through me from Young Living, you can visit the site www.youngliving.com and use my member ID 13393894 at checkout!

Easy Immune Roller Blend

Recipe:

• 20 drops lemon oil

• 10 drops oregano oil

• 10 drops thieves oil

• 10 drops frankincense oil

• 10 drops peppermint oil

• 10 drops purification oil

• coconut carrier oil

Directions:

In 10ml amber roller bottle, add all oils listed above and mix together and label “immune blend”. In separate 10ml roller bottle add 15-20 drops of the immune blend, fill remainder with coconut carrier oil, shake, label and your done!

• For children and infants: 1 drop essential oil per 1 Tbsp carrier oil is usually a safe rule to follow

• For adults: 2 drops essential oil per tsp of carrier oil

Remember, essential oils are potent and a little amount goes a long way, meaning you don’t need very much to get the therapeutic benefits!

Last week when we were all sick with the flu, I woke up feeling achy and thinking I was also going to get the flu, but I applied this immune roller to the inside of my ankles and back of my neck and by the evening I wasn’t achy anymore.. I shit you not. This mixed with drinking lots of water, green tea, and taking my Emergen-C and placenta pills, to my surprise I never got it!

I wish you all the very best, Happy New Year to you and your family. Cheers to 2019!

xoxo Mari

Skin Care Routine

Background 

Believe it or not I'm pretty minimal when it comes to a skin care routine. Back in the day I use to wash my face in Noxzema (Which is basically a jar of cancer causing cream.. that rates an 8 on the "think dirty app".. but it smells good and made my face feel awesome so I didn't care or even know the harmful ingredients it had in it) Then I started using Cetaphil which is slightly better for my skin (rating a 5 on the "think dirty app") plus I could buy 2 huge containers from Coscto for only $19.99 and since it's from Costco it has to be good, right?! I also lathered my face in Neutrogena combination skin oil free moisturizer which rates an 8 on the "think dirty app" but it was light weight, I could buy it at any local convenient store and I liked the way it felt on!

It wasn't until I went to my first Norwex party that I really understood how harmful many of the products that my family and I were using were. It was then that I wanted to take those steps in becoming more intentional with what products I bought and used in my everyday life. I started with the boys products, specifically the Johnson & Johnson products I was using. These rank among the highest toxic products on the "think dirty app" which I was honestly shocked about! I mean we use these on our babies in the NICU, the smell is soooo dreamy, and I always thought so highly of this classic baby brand. This is when I started to do more research.. I knew I wanted to switch over my products, but it was also going to be a big investment and I was nervous about that. I wrote a blog post on safer baby products last winter if you'd like to read it HERE. In the post I researched a variety of products, from store bought to small shop to larger investments and it was then that I was introduced to Beauty Counter. 

It literally took me months, I mean MONTHS to finally take that leap to switching over my skin care/hair care products. It was always in the back of my mind to sign up for Beauty Counter, but the investment was also in the back of my mind. So I product jumped, buying "safer" products from my local stores or ordering products from online boutiques and they were all fine, I just didn't LOVE any of them. Then a friend reached out and asked if I wanted to sign up, and for whatever reason I said yes and that's when my Beauty Counter journey started!

I literally had been hearing TONS of great things about this company, soooo many big bloggers that I follow were also using it, and they have this thing called the never list which was very intriguing to me! What I love about this brand is their commitment to a health and safety standard that goes beyond U.S. laws, which is really like nothing.. they've prohibited over 1500 questionable or harmful chemicals while still making amazing products that actually work! I've been using my products now for about 2 weeks and I couldn't say enough about how well they are working, the way the smell which is amazing, and just the fact that I can feel good about using them. Soooo this brings me to my routine which is what this post was about anyways... lol

Routine

Norwex Face Cloth: Still using my norwex cloth to wash my face. There is just something I love about washing my face with just a cloth and warm water. I do think that as I continue to age I would like to start adding in creams and cleansers that are safe and beneficial for my face and skin. 

Adaptive Moisture lotion: I've been using this in the morning and night after I wash my face with my norwex cloth. It reminds me of my neutrogena moisturizer that I use to use and loved. It's lightweight which is what I love, and perfect for my "combination" skin type. I tend to get oily in the summer and dry in the winter and this moisturizer helps the skin adapt to those changes. 

Tint Skin: This lightweight creamy foundation reminds me of a BB cream because it blends all those imperfections, covers blemishes, and evens out your skin tone. I'm really picky when it comes to face make up because I hate the way it feels to have too much make up on, and this does not make me feel that way! 

Bio Oil: I've used this with each pregnancy and lather it on my belly and breast. I can't say that its the perfect oil to use because I haven't used any other products, but I have loved it so far. 

Volume and Shape Shampoo/Conditioner: I've been using this shampoo and conditioner for about two weeks now and at first it just made my hair feel really clean which is great but I wanted a boost. After a few washes, I could start to tell the difference and I absolutely love it. 

Products that I'm looking forward to trying from Beauty Counter are....

• No. 3 Balancing + charcoal face mask

• charcoal cleansing bar

• Overnight resurfacing peel

• SOS acne spot treatment

• Body wash

You can shop/browse all the beauty counter products HERE

The charcoal bar is suppose to do wonders in absorbing impurities in your skin without drying it out. Ever since giving birth to Oliver I've had these little red bumps on the back of my arms that I am so self conscious about. I don't know how to get rid of them, but I'm thinking that this charcoal bar will do the trick so I will take some before and after pictures and post my results after I've used it for a while! 

What I love about Beauty Counter is the variety of products they have to offer from skin care, to make up, to body wash, to hair products! So I can purchase many safer ingredients from one brand that I truly believe in. 

Local Beauty Product Company: Penny & Pine

Before I signed up for beauty counter I was sent some samples from penny & pine, a local company that is also looking to take their beauty products to the next level by making them cruelty free, paraben free, and earth friendly. I never have time to pamper myself, but a simple face mask is easy to put on and take off while I'm in the midst of being a mom. 

I haven't tried much of their products, and what really intrigued me was the peppermint exfoliating cleanser mainly because I thought of my husband Jay who uses that black head scrub from walmart and is most likely horrible for your skin lol I'm trying to get him to make the switch with me to using safer products so I've ordered him a few things from Beauty Counter and thought why not try a local company as well!

They are a brand new company and offer a variety of skin care products from lash boost to face masks to eye creams. If you're looking to shop small Penny & Pine may be a great option for you!

One thing that made my decision easier to make the switch was using up all my old products so that I didn't feel so bad about throwing them away when I finally made the investment. Knowing that I took this step to bettering myself and my family in simply buying safer products makes me feel really good and I'm excited to continue to make these little yet big steps in using safer ingredients. After all, it's the steps I take now that will effect our future! 

Hope you enjoyed today's post, if you every have any questions or are interested in Norwex or Beauty Counter, reach out and let me know, I'd love to chat! OR if you want to browse the product list or learn more about Beauty Counter you can visit my site HERE

XOXO Mari