The Neat Things In Life | West Tennessee Mommy Blogger

Latest Posts

Picking Out The Best Plus Size Swim Wear

Tennessee Summers, can be down right miserable, that is why when you live in a hot state like Tennessee, having a swimming pool is a must. We recently, put our pool up, while it's not real big, it's big enough for my family to get in, and cool off on hot summer days and nights. With being a bigger person it can be hard to find the best selection plus size swim wear. While I am working to be a thinner me, I still need to find a swimsuit that will help hide some of the flab, so I can swim in … [Read More...]

Journey Gym 70 Day Challenge Day 34

Tomorrow marks the half way mark of the 70 day Journey Gym Challenge, can you believe I made it this far! I still need to work on my eating, and dropping those damn carbs, but I am a bread girl. I need to find an alternative, because I don't think I can give up my breads. I don't do the white breads, but I know bread is bread and I need to work on limiting myself. I got the BodyMedia Fit in the mail the other day, so I am going to be looking at the bigger picture. We also go the swimming … [Read More...]

Staying Safe During Family Road Trips

At The Neat Things in Life, we definitely aren't strangers to road trips. We live near my hometown, but we've took some long trips back and forth to Michigan for many years. Having moved between locations multiple times, I've come up with a few tips to ensure your family road trip is as safe as possible. Don't Leave Home Without It One of the biggest mistakes families make during road trips is forgetting essentialroad hazzard equipment and safety gear. Never leave for a road trip without a … [Read More...]

Get Fit Without The Gym

If you follow The Neat Things in Life, you know I am working on losing weight, and becoming fit. Often times, gym memberships can be costly, and if you're a heavier person, chances are you feel ashamed, or embarrassed, so actually going to the gym maybe out of the question. However, thanks to come great sites, you can get fit in the comfort of your own home. You don't need the costly gym equipment, you just need time, and direction. I was recently, introduced to a site called The Prime … [Read More...]

Round em Up Friday – 140

… [Read More...]

Giveaways and Reviews

Shake it Up: I <3 Dance CD Review

My daughter has been a big fan of Disney for as long as I can remember. She could sit for hours and watch her favorite shows which include Shake It Up, Dog with a Blog, Good Luck Charlie, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Gravity Falls. Recently, we … [Read More...]

Working Out With Ellie

With working on losing weight, it's important to have the proper workout gear. Have you ever tried working out in your jeans? Yea, I have, and well, I'll be honest, I don't have many clothes that are good for working out. I would often find myself … [Read More...]

MakIt.com Plate Review

MakIt.com has been capturing kids artwork since 1969! How many of you remember making fun things for your mom when you were growing up? I remember making all sorts of things for my mom, I would have loved to have had a drawing put on a plate for her … [Read More...]

Tennessee Living

Great Summer Fun On Top Of Old Smoky

Please note I have received compensation for this post, however, this is my own work. When I think of Summer, I think of fun family times and a chance to make many happy memories together. The summertime to me is when families get to head out of the house, and enjoy each other’s company. This is also a time when the kids don’t have to worry about school work, and they can enjoy being a kid. However, when summer draws {Read More}

The Croods Hits Theaters March 22!

How many of you have heard about The Croods? The first time I heard about them was when I received the email inviting my family to a special screening of The Croods in Memphis. I quickly went to Google to find the trailer, as soon as I seen the trailer, I knew we were going to reserve our spot. I was so excited I let our daughter know, went to show her the trailer and of course she seen it {Read More}

Stingray Exhibit Coming to Memphis Zoo

I love the Memphis Zoo, however, we don’t have the opportunity to go as much as I would like. If you are a Tennessee resident you can get in the zoo for free on Tuesdays. Plan for the park to be busy, thus the reason we have not been in awhile. I am thinking about getting a family pass this year so we can go whenever we would like. I just recently learned the Memphis Zoo will be getting a {Read More}

Family

How to Introduce Music into Your Child’s Homeschool Curriculum

From time to time, Jammie and I like to supplement our daughters conventional homeschool curriculum with enrichment classes. We believe this gives homeschooled children a more diverse learning experience without the creative limitations of public … [Read More...]

School is Almost Out!

I cannot believe the school year has come to an end, it seems just like yesterday when we started. While calendar school year is over, Gillian will still be doing Math this Summer. She has a love hate relationship with it, and she needs to find more … [Read More...]

Yoda, It Is!

With Bones having bad anxiety, we decided it was time we got him a little brother. Someone he can play with and a friend to have at home when we go places that he cannot to keep him company. This was a spur of the moment type thing, we really hadn't … [Read More...]

Fitness

Journey Gym 70 Day Challenge Day 33

Day 33 of the 70 Day Journey Gym is complete! My back is still messed up, but I am not letting that stop me from working out, I just make sure to stretch my back before working out, and if the exercise is to hard on my back I walk in place. I never thought this was going to happen, I didn’t think I would get to the point of doing a 20 minute workout and a 10 minute warm-up. {Read More}

Journey Gym 70 Day Challenge Day 31 & 32

On day 29 of the 70 day Journey Gym Challenge, I was being stupid and messed my back up. On day 30 I went ahead and worked out even though my husband advised against it. I woke up on day 31 feeling super sore, so on day 31 I took my husband’s advise, and I didn’t work out. I went and did some ice packs, and heating pad on my back in hopes it would get better. At bedtime last {Read More}

Journey Gym 70 Day Challenge Day 30

So let me tell you a story. Yesterday, as I was working out I was being stupid, and well what does being stupid and working out have in common? Getting hurt, yes, I pulled something in my lower back and I have been having a little trouble getting around. I have been doing some ice packs and heating pad rotation today, and I almost didn’t workout, but I was determined. Some of the workouts I couldn’t do, so I marched {Read More}

In The Kitchen

Southern Style Cajun CatFish (Recipe)

Moving away from fried foods can be a challenge, it's no secret everything usually tastes better fried. I have learned that, I don't have to sacrifice some of my favorite fried foods, I just have to learn to cook them a bit healthier. Pompeian oil … [Read More...]

Best Biscuits Ever and Only 3 Ingredients! (Recipe)

We tend to use a lot of flour, so when I went to the store and seen self-rise flour on sale, I purchased two bags. I normally get all-purpose, so when I went and made my breadsticks, and they didn't turn out as fluffy as normal. I turned to the … [Read More...]

Eating Healthy Has Been a Challenge

I am not going to lie, this eating healthy has been a challenge! Everything we love is so bad for us, so we have had to find ways to make what we love a bit healthier so that we can still enjoy it. One would say the best way to be healthy and to lose … [Read More...]

Health Matters

Picking Out The Best Plus Size Swim Wear

Get Fit Without The Gym

Intervention

When we had cable television, one of my favorite channels was A&E. So, in March 2005, when a show called Intervention came on, my husband new this would be a show I would like. So I sat down and started watching it, on most episodes I cried like … [Read More...]