My Post Pregnancy Weight Loss

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Disclosure:  This is a post I did another site I own.  I am deleting the site little by little but wanted to share this post with my readers from BNB.  

After the birth of my 4th child the "baby weight" decided it didn't want to shed as easily.  My first two children were born when I was in my early 20's and quite frankly I didn't have to have to do anything to get back into shape.  I was fitting back into my size 0 jeans and looking fabulous within a few weeks.  Makes me sick thinking about it now!  I had my 3rd and 4th children while in my early and mid 30's.  By this time my metabolism had slowed down quite a bit and although I was still in shape  and wearing only a size 3 it definitely didn't come without me paying close attention to what I put in my body and exercising a few times per week.

She's Growing Up So Fast

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We are visiting two of the local preschools tomorrow and hopefully by the afternoon we will have enrolled Bella into one of them.  I hate how fast they grow up.  I am very excited about sending her to school because I know this is exactly what she needs to help her excel in her social, mental and behavioral development.  Right now she only has her 18 month sister to play with and unfortunately at many times they are treated as equals.  This is very unfair to her.   She really needs to be around kids her age and in a learning environment.

First day of PDO last year

If you read my blog you might remember a recent post I did titled "Is My Child Normal".   I have to tell you guys that since I wrote that post Bella has been doing great.  She hasn't been hurting her sister or the dog, she has been helping me with little things around the house, she has been much more affectionate, the tantrums have cut back by 90% and she has been trying very hard to sound out the words she has trouble with.   It has been amazing!  I don't know what caused this sudden change but I am extremely grateful.   We have been working on potty training this week so that she will be ready by the Fall and she has been very cooperative.  This sudden change in attitude has made things much more pleasant in the Ragan house.  We still need to see a speech therapist about her inability to put certain sounds together.
My question about tomorrow is what should we look for in a preschool? 

Blogger How to: Add Archive Thumbnails Under Posts

Have you ever wondered how other bloggers get those awesome thumbnails underneath their posts linking to   related stories from THEIR archive?  Well, it's super easy and in just a few steps I'll show you how.
First, go to LinkWithin and enter your blog info to get the widget.  LinkWithin has made it super easy to get set up with this feature that will encourage readers to want to click through archived posts.  I don't know about you but I'm a visual kinda gal and just seeing the word "Archives" in the sidebar doesn't really make me want to click on it.
Okay, back to the instructions... After you enter your blog info click on "Get Widget".

I work on the Blogger platform so I can only tell you what to do from this experience.   Now click Install Widget at the top.  If you have more than one blog, click on the one you want the widget to appear on.  Next click "Add Widget".  Go to your Blogger Dashboard and click on Layout.  Look for the "LinkWithin" gadget and move it under your posts.  Click "Save Arrangement".  That's it!  Awesome, huh?  Be prepared to see your bounce rate decrease, your traffic increase and keep your readers intrigued!!

Here is an example of what one of mine looks like...

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Elmo Sings to YOUR Child

OMG! I just saw this and I am definitely going to purchase this for Bella and Riley.  Bella is obsessed with Elmo!!  Has anyone heard this before?  How is it?

Update:  Go to this site and you can hear a clip with your child's name!!  
http://justmemusic.com/Pages/personalized-sesame-street-elmo-music-cd.html

Here he is singing it to Bella...
http://www.justmemusic.com/mp3/CD5/bellaclip.mp3

Here is the full track listing of each CD. Your child’s name is sung over 60 times throughout all these tracks!

1) Glad You’re Here (Dialogue)
2) Sesame Street Theme Song (Song)
3) Sing and Dance (Dialogue)
4) Tingalayo (Song)
5) Do What Elmo Says (Dialogue)
6) Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay (Song)
7) Enough Resting (Dialogue)
8) Sarasponda (Song)
9) Very Silly Word (Dialogue)
10) ABC-DEF-GHI (Song)
11) You’re Very Smart (Dialogue)
12) Transylvania 1-2-3-4-5 (Song)
13) Elmo Has an Idea (Dialogue)
14) Readers of the Open Range (Song)
15) Dancing Shoes (Dialogue)
16) Happy Tappin with Elmo (Song)
17) Our Own Party (Dialogue)
18) Splish Splash (Song)
19) All Cleaned Up (Dialogue)
20) One Fine Face (Song)
21) Singing with You (Dialogue)
22) Elmo’s World (Song)
23) Elmo Says He Loves You (Dialogue)

Homemade Jewelry Cleaner

I pinned it and I tested it...  

This Before pic isn't very good but my stuff was gross

I wiped it down about a minute after soaking it and then placed back in solution

Soaked it for 5 minutes



This was the clean water used to rinse after


After... this pic doesn't do them justice

Here is what I did....

Pernil/Lechon Recipe (Puerto Rican Pork)

I am Puerto Rican and I have never made lechon but let me tell you, it is one of my favorite dishes at family functions.  I'm salivating thinking about it!

Here is the original post...

Puerto Rican Pernil (also known as lechon asado)

Pernil Recipe (courtesy of the New York Times)

Time: at least 3 hours
Yield: at least 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 pork shoulder, 4 to 7 pounds (or use fresh ham)
4 or more cloves garlic, peeled
1 large onion, quartered
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho or other mild chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil as needed
1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar
Lime wedges for serving.

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Score meat's skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.
2. Rub this mixture well into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Roast pork for several hours (a 4-pound shoulder may be done in 3 hours), turning every hour or so and adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, raising heat at end of cooking if necessary.
3. Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime

Best Hair Color for Brown Eyes (recycled post)

I was sitting in bed this morning thinking about how pathetic it is that I have not had my hair "professionally" cut since November 2011 or "professionally" colored since ???  I can't even remember! Oh wait, it was when I was pregnant with Bella! Holy Cow! That was three years ago!!! Wow!  I think I will treat myself to a mini makeover soon after we move to St. Louis next month.  Now here comes the real question... what color(s) do I go with?  I'm not into this whole 'ombre' thing. Why would I want my hair to look like I haven't been able to afford a touch-up?  I'm thinking something that will compliment my brown eyes and olive skin color but also something that will transition well from Summer to Autumn.  I did a little research and this is what I learned.

Diaper Genie Refills

Having 2 kids in diapers gets pretty dang expensive these days.  Diapers cost $35/ box and one box will last us about a week.  Diaper Genie refills are $6 and each one will last about 1.5 weeks.  It's ridiculous.  So I stumbled upon this pin by MagnificentBliss.com on Pinterest and I will be forever grateful.  I tried it and it works!!  I love it!  

Check out the original post for yourself HERE.

In It 2 Pin It

I started a blog a few years after I started Boogies N BooBoos (formerly known as This Is What Mommy Has to Say).  InIt2PinIt.com was just a little blog to show off some of the Pins I tried testing off of Pinterest and showing off some of my own ideas.  As I started focusing more on Boogies N BooBoos I stopped focusing on In It 2 Pin It.  I decided check some of the stats on my old posts and was blown away by the numbers.  This blog has 24 followers and my Alexa rank and Google Page Rank are twice as good as the blog I pour my heart and soul into.  WTH??  
I decided today that I am going to delete In It 2 Pin It and transfer those old, but for some reason very popular, posts to BnB.
Please be patient with me as I crowd your Blog Reader.

40 Things to Do With Your Kids

Making memories for our children is so important.  Today I will be going on a one-on-one date with my daughter, Bella.  We have not been able to spend alone time together in quite awhile.  Not being the baby anymore has been quite tough on her.  She sees me always having to give Riley a different kind of attention than she gets.  Riley is 18 months old and is still breastfed (See Post).   I try and spend alone time with Bella when Riley takes a nap but it's jut not the quality time she needs and deserves.

No Eggs, No problem...Grab a Soda

I've had this box of Betty Crocker yellow cake mix in my pantry for over 6 months.  In fact, I think it followed me from Chicago to St. Louis during our move!  I gained a few pounds since leaving Chicago so I've tried my best to stay away from my passion... baking!
Today I decided that maybe I could do a little experiment and use the box of cake mix at the same time.  I keep seeing these pins on Pinterest about using Coke, or soda of any kind, as a substitute for eggs and oil in cake mix.  Hey, what do I have to lose?  If it fails, I save myself a few unwanted calories.  If it works, the recipe still has fewer calories than the traditional method.   I didn't have any Coke but I did have RC.

Making Money and Making Space

As a SAHM I hate that I don't bring in my own income.  I have worked since I was 18 years old and never depended on anyone until I decided to quit working outside of the home to raise our kids.  This has been a very rewarding experience and I feel blessed that we do not "need" 2 incomes to survive but it still feels great to bring home money that I earned on my own.  Poshmark has been awesome at helping me make extra cash while cleaning out our closets as well.   I have been using  the extra money to treat myself to new clothes or shoes and to help decorate the house.  I love it!  I'm able to sell stuff I'd either throw away or give away.  I've sold over $250 in clothes in just a few weeks.
If you're interested in making a little cash you should check it out.

Shop my closet on @poshmark - free iPhone App. $5 Credit with code: HJBOK 

FamilyShare.com ... Check it Out!

I want to share an amazing new website called FamilyShare.com that was brought to my attention recently.  FamilyShare.com is loaded with practical advice and tips to help strengthen families and marriages.  It really is your one stop shop for all your family and personal needs and questions.  FamilyShare.com covers topics ranging from relationships, to marriage, to pregnancy and all the way to parenting adult children.  But it doesn't stop there because FamilyShare.com also covers the single life, money advice, health and fitness, spiritual growth and so much more.  I love it!  I bookmarked FamilyShare.com and it has become a great source for many of the issues that have come up in my life over the last few weeks.  They truly have the tools to help strengthen families!

At FamilyShare.com, their mission is to be trusted voices that enlighten, inspire and strengthen hundreds of millions of families worldwide.  Their site is dedicated to helping individuals find practical solutions for their families.
They have over 350+ contributors from a variety of backgrounds and life situations.  By sharing our life stories each of us can help others who want to learn from people who have "been there and done that."
In addition to articles, they also have groups, crowd sourced questions and answers, and topical groups with discussion boards.  They firmly believe that online crowd sourcing is the most effective way to bring a large group of people together to share their collective knowledge to help others.

I Just Want My Boobs Back!

She's 18 months old!! Will this breast feeding ever come to end?? Yes, it's great bonding and very good for her but I'm tired! I've been over this for a few months now and was hoping she'd slowly wean herself off. No such luck! This little momma is nursing more than ever these days. I've tried putting garlic, lemon juice and mustard on my nipples and what does she do? She smacks her lips together and says, "Yumm!" Are you kidding me?!
I need advice, ladies! Quick!! Her mouth full of teeth has taken the joy out of this.

Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget - Home Decorating Stores for Every Budget

Furnishing and decorating a large new home is a lot of work and can be very expensive.  I've learned how to be quite frugal during this time (see post Craigslist).  I have also had to do a lot of digging around on the Internet to find stores that would have quality furnishings and accents at reasonable prices.   There are some amazing deals out there if you just do your homework.   When we first moved in to our house I was very discouraged.  We were moving into a home with an extra 1000 square feet of space that needed to be filled. We also have a new mortgage and more expenses as homeowners.  I just wanted to make my home beautiful as quickly as possible.  I now know I need to take my time, find the deals and do it the right way.   I know I'm not the only new homeowner out there trying to decorate on a budget plus I know many of you are always looking for new ways to freshen up your current decor... This is why I decided to share my favorite online shops for home decorating with you!   Enjoy!!  Let me know if you have any I may have missed.

The Lakeside Collection

Z Gallerie

Kirklands

Pottery Barn

West Elm

Hayneedle

Home Decor Liquidators

Wayfair

Ashley Furniture

CB2

Home Decorators Collection - Outlet

Home Decorators Collection

Joss & Main

Wisteria

Pier 1 Imports

Cost Plus World Market

Overstock

eBay

Etsy