A few weeks ago, I told you that I had signed up for the MapMyFitness Quaker Challenge to complete 15 workouts in 30 days.

To be perfectly honest, I haven’t come anywhere near that goal…YET. I have definitely fallen off the wagon, but I know I can get back on it and start kicking butt again. Tomorrow, I’m starting the MapMyFitness Quaker Challenge again and I’m going to really work hard to hit that goal of 15 workouts in 30 days.

The best part about this challenge is that it syncs with my iMapMyFitness app that I use every time I go walking. So, when I go out to take a quick walk, I just tap “Record Workout” and it automatically tracks my distance, duration, pace and calories burned. Then it updates the MapMyFitness Quaker Challenge, so I don’t even have to remember to log it there, too!

So, will you join me in this challenge? If you joined up last time I wrote about it, how did you do?

February is National Heart Health month. Even if it’s only 5 more minutes a day, what extra step will you take to stay fit?

For your chance to win $750 complete these two steps:

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Quaker Oats Company. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

INC International Concepts offers their Pattie Pump in gorgeous blue and green suede. You’ll love these peep toes and the daring, yet tasteful, color blocking. With their graceful 4 1/2 inch heel, darling stitching accent, and of course, the vibrant blues, turquoises, and even splashes of lime green, these pumps will make your entire outfit!

Even boots get a taste of the color adventure this season. Rachel Roy Shoes presents their take on the ever-popular ankle boots with their Evvah Booties. These boots are every woman’s dream: made from luxurious suede, designed with a feminine peep toe, and they feature stylish knotted detailing at the ankle to make these shoes pop. These booties exude modern elegance and you can choose them in bold purple or green, or both!

From the office to a weekend with the girls, flats are perfect for almost every occasion. Give your flats some flair by choosing bright colors and bold designs. For an added bit of fun, look for great embellishments like rhinestones or beads. The Claton Flats from Enzo Angiolini Shoes have everything you could possibly want in a flat. The glossy patent leather is a wonderful teal and your toes will be feeling pretty with the gunmetal beading decorations. Go adventurous, and give your feet a sweet treat this season with flirty designs and bold, radiant colors.

Well, the time that many of us have been waiting for is here: The Fresh Beat Band Live Tour! Unfortunately, all of the tickets for their show in Atlanta are already sold out (*sad face*) but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the music anyway. Enter on the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win The Fresh Beat Band (Music from the Hit TV Show) CD!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more information, check out the Fresh Beat Band on Nick Jr and Facebook!

You can also check out The Fresh Beat Band LIVE to check for shows near you!

I did not receive any compensation for hosting this giveaway. My only payment is knowing that whoever wins will love their prize!

Andrea Riggs: Get Body Beautiful

Part of the Wholesome Choices Blogger Program is learning how to make good choices in our everyday lives to make a positive impact on our bodies. The wonderful fitness expert, Andrea Riggs, joined a group of us at the Doraville McDonald’s to share her tips on how to make small changes in our lifestyle, nutrition and fitness that can make a big impact!

After hearing Andrea talk to us about the small changes we can make, I can’t wait to check out her book, Get Body Beautiful. A few of her tips are so simple, I am definitely going to incorporate them into my daily life:

• Lifestyle - Set your goal and see it. Write it down. Make a vision board. Whatever you have to do to get that goal in front of your face so you are more motivated to stick to it.
• Nutrition - Drink water (duh). A good way to figure out how much water your body needs every day is to take your body weight and divide that number by two. That is how many ounces of water you should be drinking each and every day. Water not only helps you feel full, it’s also essential to your body’s fat burning process.
• Fitness - Park farther away. This is so simple, but if you’re out and about a lot, it can make a big difference without you even realizing it. It might not be much, but something is better than nothing!

Wholesome Choices at McDonald’s?

Andrea gave us a good baseline to go by: try for 4-5 meals a day that are about 300 calories each. Typically, we associate McDonald’s with burgers, fries and soda that simply isn’t good for us. That just isn’t true anymore. McDonald’s is committed to giving us more delicious choices to feel good about in the months and years to come. Regardless of your dietary needs, you’ll find nutrient-minded choices at McDonald’s.

• Breakfast - Egg McMuffin (300 calories), Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait (160 calories), Fruit & Walnuts (210 calories), Fruit & Maple Oatmeal (290 calories)
• Lunch or Dinner - Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich (350 calories), 4 Piece Chicken Nuggets (190 calories), Chicken McBites Snack Size (310 calories), Honey Mustard Snack Wrap Grilled (250 calories), Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken (190 calories)
• Snack - Apple Dippers with Low Fat Caramel Dip (100 calories), Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream Cone (150 calories), Medium Iced Coffee (190 calories)

Learn More

Follow McDonald’s Atlanta on Twitter @McDonaldsATLand check out their website for real-time promos, meal ideas and how to make the most of your McDonald’s experience: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/food_quality/nutrition_choices.html

McDonald’s partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Wholesome Choices” Blogger Program.  As part of that program, I received compensation.  They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used, and believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. McDonald’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Kindergarten is coming

This is my Pumpkin on the first day of Pre-K last year

Pumpkin was born in October – which means that she will be starting kindergarten when she’s almost six. That means that she is starting kindergarten this year. Holy cow! I can’t believe it’s time for big kid school already!

The good news of the year is that we were lucky enough to be selected in the local charter school’s lottery, so she’ll get to attend there instead of the local public school (which doesn’t have the greatest ratings). When hubby and I visited this school a while back, we fell in love. They have a curriculum based completely around science and math (even art is math-based!) and a very unique way of helping the students to succeed based on their individual learning styles and strengths.

Because of my excitement for the school, I have already been scoping out the school uniform market (yep, they have uniforms), filling out registration paperwork (which is not due until the beginning of March) and generally getting ready for the excitement that is to come. I’ve even already sent off an email to join the school’s PTO because all I’ve ever wanted to do is be a room mother and be completely involved in my children’s education the best way I can.

Plus, since Pumpkin was selected in the lottery this year, that means Dumpling is automatically given a spot next year. Double yay!!

Loose teeth already!?

To get ready for the upcoming school year, I needed to get Pumpkin’s dental, vision and hearing forms all ready to go, so we made an appointment for both girls with the dentist. There are no cavities to report and both girls have good looking teeth! But, I was a bit confused by one thing – the dentist said that Pumpkin already has two teeth that are a little loose.

What?! She’s only FIVE!

Apparently, there have already been a few kids in her Pre-K class that have lost a tooth or two. Can you believe that!? I don’t think I lost my first tooth until I was around 8 years old and now there are four and five year olds losing their baby teeth? They’re still babies!

Anyway, that news put her over the moon into the Land of Super Excited Children. She checks them regularly to see if they’re any loser than they were five minutes earlier and if there’s even the slightest hint of progress, I am given an immediate update. It’s kind of cool, but also really spooky.

Birthday parties with the rat

Let me be clear. I am not a fan of Chuck E. Cheese. I think it’s overrated, dirty and generally a rip-off. I would much rather take my children to Monkey Joes where they can play to their hearts’ content and not have to worry about tokens or tickets or anything of the sort. They go. They Play. That’s it.

However, I realize that the rat’s place (aka Chuck E. Cheese) is a popular location for children’s birthday parties so I wasn’t all that shocked to see an invitation from one of Pumpkin’s friends in her cubby when we picked her up the other day. This is her first time going to a non-close friend/family birthday party, so she was ecstatic!

So, yes I took her to Chuck E. Cheese, where she played happily for 2 hours with her friends. It was actually kind of nice to see her in her element and it was equally nice to get to talk to the other parents. I see several of the kids on a regular basis, but I never get to meet the parents. It was nice, but exhausting!

Such a little grown up

The only down side was that the birthday cake had what appeared to be peanuts on the sides (although that’s up for debate) so she and one of her friends (also with a nut allergy) were not able to partake in the birthday cake. The good news is that neither of them seemed to mind too terribly much and continued playing happily with all of the other girls until it was time to leave. To make up for the lost dessert opportunity, we went to a drive-thru on the way home and picked up some ice cream.

Time to relax!

The past two months have been crazy busy, so I’m looking forward to getting some rest and relaxation this weekend. I’m going to take my Dumpling to see The Secret World of Arrietty.

She was so sad tonight when she couldn’t come to the birthday party that I really want to make it up to her and she specifically told me the other day that she wanted to see this movie after she saw the preview on TV. So, tomorrow, Dumpling and I have a date. I can’t wait!

Alright, so there’s my busy busy life for the moment. There’s lots more craziness going on, but not enough space to write it all. What’s going on in your world?

But, they can be messy little beasts. Especially if they eat pizza. Not that I would ever feed my dog pizza, but I bet they have sensitive tummies.

Anyway…

If Buddy eats anything out of the ordinary, it is inevitable that he will do the unthinkable on my carpet. Our old house (the one with used-to-be-white carpet) had dalmatian carpet when we moved out.

Granted, it’s not entirely his fault – a dog’s gotta go when a dog’s gotta go – so I tend not to get angry with him for accidents. I do hate the stain and odor left behind, though.

I’ve tried everything to get the smell and stain to go away: sprays, powders, deep cleaners, vacuums, fragrance. You name it, we’ve tried it. I have finally found the solution to pet stains!

SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner

Lucky for me, about a week after our SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner arrived (for the second time – that thievery is another story entirely) Buddy had an accident. I’ve never been so excited about dog poop in all my life! I was really excited to try out the SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner, though.

It all started with a stain…

Yep, isn’t it lovely? My beige carpet had a nice brown spot on it. So, I got to give the SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner a whirl! First, I filled the tank up with water and the solution that came with the cleaner.

The cleaning was the easiest part. I just had to place the SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner directly on top of the stain, select the cycle needed (I chose the Surface Stain Cycle since the stain wasn’t that old) and then watch it scrub away the stain.

Watching the SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner work is seriously cool. When you turn it on, there are several different things that happen all at once – the cleaner has three things that work on your carpet: an automated cleaning brush, suction nozzles to help dry the solution quickly and the patented Deep Reach Technology that are like rubber fingers working the stain out.

With all that going on, that stain didn’t stand a chance!

I also love that I can store the SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner without having to empty out all of the clean water that is still left in the tank. All I had to do was dump out the dirty water in the other small tank, wipe down the cleaning area window with a soft cloth and store it. When using the hose (which also gave me good results on a smaller stain), you do have to suction just a bit of clean water to get all of the gunk out of the hose, but it’s a super easy way to clean the hose.

The Pros

Simply put, the SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner worked. The stain is no longer there and I had to do very little work to make that happen. It uses very little water and I am able to store the unused water with the cleaner. I also like that I can choose to use either the automatic cycles or the manual hose, depending on my needs.

The Cons

Honestly, there isn’t much negative to say about the SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner. It does what it says it will do and it does it quietly and quickly. I have no complaints. If anything, I wish the hose was a wee bit longer.

The Bottom Line

I love my SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner and have recommended it to everyone who complains about their pets’ stains. I can’t say enough good things about it.

You can buy your own SpotBot® Pet Deep Cleaner for around $150 by clicking here or you can find them in many retail locations.

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