Jumping To A Healthier You!

Happy Monday morning friends. 

I hope that you had a great weekend!

Today I want to talk to you about something near and dear to my heart,

 Exercise!

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite ways to add some fun to my exercise routine, the benefits it provides and a great new product that makes it easier.

Jumping rope can:

*Improve Coordination

*Decrease foot and ankle injuries

*Burn a high numbers of calories

*Improve cardiovascular health

*Increase endurance

And that only names some of the benefits.

Long gone are the days when jumping rope was something that little girls did with beaded jump ropes.

Allow me to introduce you to the TKO Soft Grip Jump Rope. 

It is 9 feet of smooth PVC rope, has comfortable soft grip handles and functions smooth enough to make the least coordinated of us look like a pro in not time. 

My favorite part about this rope is easily the handles. They are the perfect size making them really natural to hold and have an excellent grip. Did I mention they function perfectly too? Half of the battle of jumping rope is a rope that works smoothly. The TKO Soft Grip Jump Rope is top of the line.

TKO workout ropes are affordable and fun letting you add variety to your fitness routine. That means less boredom at the gym or anywhere you choose to take your TKO rope!

Jumping rope is such a versatile way of exercising.

HIIT  or endurance, traditional jumps, high leg, one leg, alternating. 

The options are abundant!

Utilizing your legs, arms and core muscles jumping rope is a full body workout that can burn up to 170 calories in 15 minutes, yes please! I have absolutely loved rediscovering my love for jumping rope and I know you would too.

Thank you TKO for letting me try your product and share it with my readers today. 

Be sure to check out these other great products from TKO as well.

 I received this product free in exchange for my review. 

For more info you can see my disclosure statement. 

Friday Highlights 8.28.15

Hello Friday!

It's Friday again and we some how miraculously managed to finish all of our school work during our four day school week. Which means it's a 3 day weekend for the Newman girls! Maybe we'll go to Hobby Lobby and spy out some fall decor, hit up Target, or look for new pumpkin recipes. #kiddingnotkidding.

Fall is coming and we are ready!

Now for this weeks Friday picks.

{ONE}  On The Blog This Week
This week: I did a guest post on Being Mrs. Beer answering the top 5 questions people ask me about homeschool.
Recapped our weekend at the 2015 HAMB Drag Nationals.
Shared some of my favorite tools and techniques for teaching pre-schoolers.
And told the story of the very first time I told Russ I was pregnant.
{TWO} 1953 Ford F100
Something about this time of year gives us the urge to buy another old car. Last year we picked up our still unfinished 37 Ford. This past Tuesday we went for a drive to take a look at this gem.
The Mr. knows I have ALWAYS wanted and old truck and I think he is taking advantage of that. Either that or being incredibly sweet.
We are still undecided on if we are going to take the plunge and buy her, but we should figure that out soon enough. Buying old ratty cars is just a way we invest money so as long as we get a good deal I am always happy about our purchases. After all they do just keep getting more and more rare. 
In the mean time at least I snapped this great photo. I see it framed and on display in our home in the very near future.
{THREE} Insta-lately
I have been trying to post at least one photo to Instagram every day lately. I don't want to over-gram my life and let's face it, there just isn't enough time. But I do love Instagram more than any other social media platform. 
Here are a few favorites from recently We all squeezed in the Model A and drove a couple blocks to a car show.

Weather in the 60's has meant LOTS of walks.

This is how I do it #momstyle

My chalkboard fun continued with a special one celebrating wedding anniversary #8!

If you aren't currently following my on Instagram I would LOVE to connect with you there. Find me here, leave me a comment and I'll be sure to follow you back!

{FOUR} Fall Bucket List

Is it too soon to start dreaming up our fall bucket list in my head?

I think not. 
This was last years Fall list.
I'd love to change it for the same of variety, but this list seems pretty hard to beat if you ask me!
What would you add or change?
{FIVE} Be Thou My Vision
The other day I was sitting at the desk writing up a list of to-do's when I was struck by this song.

Suddenly my goals, plans and visions seemed so worthless.  I laid my list aside and doodled up this.


My prayer for the week quickly became that I would desire God's vision more than my own. I have a feeling this prayer is going to stick around for quite some time.

Friday Linkup Parties

To see where I am linking up check out my link-up tab.
Have a great weekend! We will see you back here soon.

Looking Back: The Very First Time I Told Him I Was Pregnant

Hello Thursday!

The week has been long but good and it is finally Friday Eve. Thank you Jesus!  The weekend just never seems to come fast enough.
Today I want to tell you a story that I have wanted to write about for almost a year now. The story of  the very first time I said the words "I'm pregnant".  I usually don't blog about the past but since my stories out date my blogging days I thought it may be fun to go back and share the special ones. 
*DISCLAIMER* I do feel the need to warn you that a curse word may or may not be involved, sorry mom. Secondly I also feel I should say that I now realize using a curse word and the phrase "I'm pregnant" in the same breath is not the classiest way to go about things. With that in mind, here we go!
October 2007
In October of 2007 we were newly married and on our way to Florida. This was our very first big trip together since we never really took a honeymoon. During our trip I was.... well lets just say some may use the word psycho. Crying at anything, mean, overly emotional, angry and more. The mood swings were strong, unpredictable and often. People aren't supposed to act like this on vacation, are they? It is a small miracle that Russ didn't divorce me as soon as we got back home friends. Thankfully he was and still is a man of patience and grace.

We arrived back home and the crazy came with us. I assumed I was just a hormonal train wreck but eventually I decided I had to rule out pregnancy. So Saturday morning I woke up peed in a cup and headed off to Walmart (wow this story gets classier every second). I ran in Walmart (leaving the pee in the car) grabbed the cheapest pregnancy test I could and ran back out before I bumped into any one. Which makes me wonder if any other happily married women ever have the fear of bumping into someone you know while buying a pregnancy test? Safely back in my car I dipped it, capped it and tossed that bad boy into the passenger floorboard. Then I pressed my head back into the seat and quietly waited. A minute later I did a peek followed by a double take and then a full body lean. 
There it was +. 
I was shocked.
One million thoughts and questions flooded my brain. Feeling of being completely ecstatic to worry over how he might react. We both wanted this but didn't expect the blessing to come so quickly. I went to work for what seemed like the longest Saturday morning ever, I am pretty sure I didn't even do any actual work. If my memory serves me correctly I secretly googled anything pregnancy related I could think of. Finally after what felt like forever my half day was over and I headed home, pregnant, to my husband who was still clueless.

And then things got interesting.

Did I brainstorm a way to announce the baby, No. Did I wrap the test up for him, No.  Did I buy a card, write a poem, make a dinner or buy a onesie?

No, No, No, NO!
So what did I do? 

I stormed into the house where he happened to be taking a shower. Banged on the bathroom door, flung it open and in a loud annoyed voice said "Well, I figured out why I've been so b*#%*y lately!" To which he responded, "Huh?" Then I angrily blurted out "I'm PREGNANT" slammed the door and walked off. 


I still can't believe that's how it all went down. 
Maybe it was the hormones, the so called crazy I was feeling. Maybe I was simply terrified and didn't know how to process my feelings. The good news is I look back at this story with no regrets. Sure it was less than ideal but at least it makes for a funny story. 
Besides when he finally came out of the shower and I showed him the test he still refused to believe I was actually pregnant and repeatedly told me I wasn't for days and weeks to come. It seems I'm not the only one who was caught off guard by the big news.
About 6 Weeks later we were both made believers when we saw our baby on screen for the first time.

We joyfully told our parents and friends and don't worry, I made sure to leave curse words out of those announcements.

How did you share the big news with your husband the very first time? (Go ahead with your sweet stories, I can take it.)

2015 HAMB Weekend

It may be Wednesday, but it's never too late for a weekend recap!

Last weekend was the 2015 HAMB Drag Nationals!

Friday night was date night and Saturday was a family day at the drag strip. On the Newman family calendar this is pretty much the biggest event of the year outside of the girls' birthdays and Christmas. It is marked, counted down and anticipated for weeks and months.

The event always falls around our anniversary so we often use it to celebrate the occasion.

Friday night was set to be our date night so I got ready with a touch of vintage flare.

I never feel more me than when I fix my hair and make up like this. I feel fairly positive that I MUST have been born in the wrong decade. If only it didn't take so much time (meaning more than 5 minutes) I would rock this look all the time. 

We headed to the hotel parking lot where we walked around, listened to motors, talked to random travelers and I snapped some (several) photos.

Next we had dinner with Phil and Anna then walked around some more. Sadly after dinner it was dark and taking photos was almost pointless.
After a late night we headed to bed and woke up to this. 


It rained and poured for hours. The streets were flooding and my husbands heart was sunk. 
Finally after raining all morning it stopped and things started to turn around. Our morning and plans may not have gone like we hoped and expected them to but we made the best of the situation and ended up at the drag strip almost 3 hours later than planned.


We picked out our newest car (we wish).

Walked around the soggy fields.

I would hang this tail gate on our wall.

Not even kidding. Random Beth fact: I would LOVE to learn how to do old school hand pin-striping like this someday.

I thought this reflection shot was pretty cool.

The girls (and their friend Oliver) were SO good. 

Drag strip cuties.

The drags finally began hours after they were scheduled to start. I went to get a closer look and shoot some video by the start line. After all hearing is so overrated. 

The weekend may not have gone exactly like I planned or hoped it would, but it was still good and so much fun. Date night, awesome cars, taking the girls to the drag strip and friends. It doesn't get much better than that and leaves me a bit sad that we have to wait a whole year before it all happens again.
But something tells me we'll definitely be going to more car events before then...

My Favorite Pre-K Teaching Tools & Techniques

Welcome to Tuesday talk! Meet your hosts! Becky from BYBMG, Beth from Our Pretty Little Girls, Whitney from Polka-Dotty Place, Elizabeth from All Kinds of Things, Tara from Mrs.Coach Sims, Keri from Living In This Season, Sarah from Abiding In Grace, Lauren from Simply Free , Emily from Morning Motivated Mom, and Jessica & Katie from Sweet Little Ones, Christina from Waltzing In Beauty, Amy from Go Forth and Mother & Michelle from Grammie Time
We are so glad you are here and hope that you will link up with us this week!
This week I am also joining Stephanie from Wife Mommy Me for Mom Talk Tuesdays.

This months theme is: Teaching Tools & Techniques.
As a homeschool mom I am always on board to talk about education on any level but today I want to keep things simple and share some of my Pre-K favorites.

Dot Markers//

Any project that involves dot markers is better than one that doesn't. They are fun, easy to use and free printables are abundant online, like these. Dot marker worksheets offer loads of flexibility as well. If you don't feel like using the dot markers use stickers instead and refine those fine motor skills. 

Scissor Skills//

Scissor skills may be slightly terrifying but under close supervision they are always a hit. What little kid doesn't want to cut thing? They just need some guidance and ground rules on where and when that is okay. I love finding fun and interesting books like Let's Cut Paper. The pages are a bit thicker than regular paper providing the perfect sturdiness for beginners.

You can also find loads of cutting printables online too. 

Workbooks//

Never underestimate a trip to the Dollar Tree or better yet the Target dollar bins. Pres-school work should be simple and fun. Online sheets and printables are abundant but if grabbing some workbooks from the dollar bin is more your style go for it with no guilt. I have been using cheap workbooks for years and I think they are fantastic.

Computer Games//
Nothing makes Emily happier than computer time. We love playing fun educational games on Disney but I try and keep her school games more "business" and less "distracting".

My favorite site to do this is easily Turtlediary.com. They offer a HUGE variety of simple, free games that Emily loves and they even keep them sorted by grade level and subject.

Proper Writing Technique//

As a first time clueless mama I really dropped the ball on this one. I assumed if she was writing letters and they looked decent we were all good (and some may still argue that we were). It wasn't until we began Kindergarten and I started the Handwriting Without Tears book with Marissa that I began to realize just how improper her handwriting formation was. Bad habits were already formed and I spent most of that first year reprogramming her to efficiently and properly write her letters.

If I had to do this all over again (and I have with Emily) I would have done more research on teaching a child how to properly for their letters and supervised those early letter tracing days much more closely. With some work on both of our ends I am proud to say that second grade Marissa has better handwriting than I do when she really applies herself. 

Make Learning Fun//

Most important remember to have fun! Early childhood education should be hands on and exciting. Never underestimate how much a child can learn while playing and when it's not fun any more put it away. Don't worry yourself over what your pre-schooler doesn't know and embrace some of the best years of playing and learning together.

What are some of your favorite Tools & Techniques for Pre-schoolers?!

Now it's your turn.
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