Adding Vitafusion MultiVites PLUS Gummy Vitamins to These 40-Somethings' Daily Routines (#healthyfusion #MC)

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Vitafusion. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and promotional item to thank me for participating.

As two working parents in their forties with three grade school-aged children, describing our daily lives as being a bit hectic would be an understatement.  My husband and I don't take the best care of ourselves because there are just not enough hours in the day.  The demand for our time and energy is high in our household, but the supply is very low.  My husband skips breakfast almost everyday.  I have been known to eat microwave popcorn for lunch now and then.  We have tried taking multivitamins in the past, but we were never able to stick with it.  Maybe it was because those horse pills didn't smell or taste pleasant.  Maybe it was because we had to drink a whole glass of water with them (who has time for that?).  Maybe it was because they did not agree with our digestive systems.

Bottom line . . . we needed a way to incorporate vitamins into our already busy routines that was not going to make our lives even more stressful.  If you're in a similar situation, I suggest you try MultiVites PLUS gummy multivitamins by Vitafusion and here's why . . .

• Vitafusion MultiVites don't require water.
• I can pop two in my mouth after I finish my breakfast and continue on with my morning.  All I need to do is chew and swallow.
• These vitamins taste like natural berry-flavored fruit snacks.
• There are a variety of formulas to meet our individual needs.  (I'm taking the Hair, Skin & Nail Support and my husband is taking the Heart Support formula.)
• We've been taking these gummy vitamins for about 2 weeks and neither of us have experienced any digestive issues.

As previously mentioned, there are other varieties of MultiVites PLUS vitamins in addition to the ones my husband and I are taking, such as Digestive Support and Immune Support.  When choosing the right formula for you, be sure to read the labels carefully, as each formula has significant differences.  For example, my Hair, Skin & Nails Support offers at least 100% of the daily recommended amounts of essential vitamins, such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin B-6, and Vitamin B-12.  My husband's Heart Support formula offers 50% of the recommended Vitamin A, C, and E, but offers 200% of Vitamin D, B-6, and B-12.

The Vitafusion MultiVites PLUS Heart Support is the perfect vitamin for my husband because he was diagnosed with high blood pressure last year.  These gummy vitamins add extra Omega-3, Vitamin B-6 and B-12, Folic Acid, and Niacin to his diet.  Did I mention that his gummies are heart-shaped?

My Vitafusion MultiVites PLUS Hair, Skin & Nails Support gives me extra Vitamin E to help my skin, plus Biotin and Lutein to help make my hair and nails be stronger.  I may decide to switch to the Immune Support formula in the fall because I think my immune system needs an extra boost during cold and flu season.

These gummy vitamins are designed for adults only and are not meant to replace a healthy diet.  Since we have only been using them for about two weeks, it's difficult to gauge the effects.  I did notice that I'm losing slightly less hair in the shower.  I am looking for a boost to my metabolism in the long-run, but mostly my husband and I both would like to just be healthier so we can continue to be there to meet the needs of our children everyday.

Visit www.gummyvites.com to learn more about their products and which one might be the best for your body and lifestyle.  (They even make gummy prenatal vitamins! Where were those 8 years ago?!!)

Of All the Things Our 4th Grader Could Inherit from His Parents . . .

Every month, our son is required to do a 4th grade Book Talk Project.  This month's genre is poetry.  Not having had much experience with reading or writing poetry, he did not know which book to choose.  I named several famous American poets and, when I came to Robert Frost, he chose that one.  I think he chose Frost because that's the only name he remotely recognized.

After thinking about this for a day, I thought I could solve the problem by buying the book American Poetry from the Poetry For Young People book series, which contained poems from a wide array of American poets.  Unfortunately, after looking through the book, our son said he did not understand any of the poems.  I certainly do not blame him.  He's 10 and I'm 40, and I still needed to read the explanatory paragraph that accompanied each poem in this book.  I even tried to walk through Walt Whitman's Oh Captain! My Captain with him since it was about Abraham Lincoln, one of his favorite historical figures.  He still just looked at me blankly . . .

That's when I pulled out this book titled Kids Pick the Funniest Poems: Poems That Make Kids Laugh, a book I had previously purchased, but had not given to him yet.  I have to say that he loved this book and is anxious to share his favorite poems from this book with his class.  The poems are about topics that every child can relate to.  For this project, he chose to create a book jacket as part of his presentation.  He's nowhere near done with it yet, but I was so impressed with his illustration for the front cover that I just had to share it.

Of all the things our 4th grader could inherit from his parents, I am thrilled that he has inherited my husband's and my love of drawing.  Of course he also inherited my need for perfection, which is why it took him 3 hours to complete this illustration.  And, he inherited my husbands tendency to procrastinate, which is why he started on his monthly project six days before it's due.  Still, in the end, he always produces something wonderful that we can all be proud of.

A Simple Reminder to Maintain Balance in Our Lives

If you are a longtime reader, then you may have noticed that things have slowed down here on 3G2S.  This blog will be turning 6 years old in March and this is post number 3,838!  Until 2014 rolled around, I could barely bring myself to go a whole 24 hours without publishing a post.  In fact, I was often publishing multiple blog posts daily and getting by on 4 hours of sleep per night just to make my deadlines.  The truth is that I had burnt out nearly a year ago, but kept going at the same pace.  Why?  Well, partially because I had set a standard and did not want to let my readers down.  The other part was needing to contribute to our household finances as much as possible.

I have shared a few inspirational quotes I've come across in the past, but this is the first and only quote I have displayed in our home (well . . . aside from a few refrigerator magnets).  It reads . . .

"Never get so busy making a living, that you forget to make a life."

I have this wooden sign displayed where my husband and I can see it multiple times per day.  We both work more than we would like because it's necessary, but we need to remember why we are doing it.  It's not so we can buy a larger television or a nicer car.  It's so we can provide for our children, whom we want to be happy and well-rounded.  Part of that is having parents who aren't exhausted and grouchy all the time, who have just enough time and energy to help them with their homework and prepare the meals, but little else.

When I put my mind to it, I am able to make some lasting fond memories for our children.  So, if you don't see a new post from me for 2 or 3 (or 5) days, it doesn't mean I've deserted you.  I'm talking with my children, playing games with them, surprising them with freshly baked cookies,  . . . or taking a much-needed nap.

I haven't quite achieved the perfect balance in my life yet, but I think I'm on the right track by accepting the fact that I cannot have so many full time jobs at once.  It is impossible to be successful at all of them.

What do you do to help maintain balance in your life?

Silly Monkey Stories: What We Say vs. What They Hear

A few weeks ago, I shared about a project we were undertaking to organize small toys more effectively.  Well, the photos had shown that the project was still unfinished.  It actually took quite a long while for the children to get motivated enough to complete their part of the task.  Well, that's what they were working on upstairs while I was working at my desk downstairs yesterday.

Every few minutes, I was interrupted by one of the three children with an "I'm thirsty!" or a "What should we do next?"  At one point, I told our 6 year old son to ask his big brother whether all the pockets in the carousel are full.  He nods at me and runs upstairs.

Then I hear . . .

"Jake, are all the possums in the caramel full?"

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Dad's The Word!: An Important Dinner Date

Each one of our kids was challenged with improving in one or more categories on their report card this past year. As reward they were able to pick out something special to have or do for their hard work. Jake picked out an “instant” comic book collection and Luke wanted a hermit crab, but Makenzie picked out something very special: A date night with her dad.

I am happy to state that all three kids made the requested improvements on their report cards and it was our pleasure to deliver the rewards. I was excited to follow through on all the rewards, but I was especially excited to make good on Makenzie’s. What a great opportunity to have special time with my most precious little girl.

On the evening of our date, I picked her up after work with some flowers. She was dressed cute as a button and ready to go. Makenzie chose the most posh fine dining establishment in all of Boston's MetroWest: Chez TGI Friday's.

Makenzie chose an excellent vintage Raspberry Slushie to complement her exquisite Mac N’ Cheese main course. We talked about all the current events gripping the world today: SpongeBob, crayons, Minecraft, etc. We followed up the cuisine with a brownie and ice cream.

After dinner we chose Toys'R'Us to walk off our meal before the conclusion of our date. And of course, I could not resist treating her to a toy before bringing her back home.  Of all things, she chose this Princess Merida Bow and Arrow Set.

It was one of the best dates I have ever had, and I don’t think I could have been more pleased that she chose time with me as her reward. I just hope she still likes me this much when I won't let her have another date until she's 30!

Click here to read more words from this Dad!

Silly Monkey Stories: Will the Hunger Never Cease?

Luke is a personality. Luke and his charm will get him far in life (one way or another). But one of the dozens of charming things he does turned out to be not so charming last week.

Luke is always hungry, ALWAYS. He will complain about being hungry while eating a meal. He will ask about dinner while eating lunch.

Apparently Luke has been talking non-stop to his reading teachers about how hungry he is. Well, his teachers aren't accustomed to Luke’s line of hunger jokes or charm and took his non-stop complaints of hunger very seriously. After class last Thursday, one of Luke's teachers approached my wife with some serious inquiries about when and how we feed him. I half expect to get a call from DSS (Department of Social Services)!

I explained to him that we (his immediate family) all think his jokes about being hungry are funny, but he can’t make those jokes outside of the house any longer. He understood and promised he would stop.

When I got home from work today I was dying to ask him about reading class and if he had managed to keep his hunger humor to himself. This was his response:

“I didn't talk about being hungry today like you asked.....I talked about how tired I was!”

I just smacked my head and expect a call anytime....

Click here to read all our Silly Monkey Stories!

For Better or For Worse: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Since we've been married, my husband and I have gotten through some difficult situations together.  The past two days have been one of the toughest we have had to face in awhile.  You see, in the middle of the night on Saturday, I woke up feeling very sick.  My husband also said he was not feeling very well, leading me to believe that we perhaps had food poisoning.  We did share a steak tip dinner the evening before.

By morning, we were sure we had food poisoning.  Here we were sick as dogs with three active children in our care.  Then our nearly 4 year old daughter became sick and after dinner that evening our 7 year old son became sick.  So it turned out not to be food poisoning at all, but rather a severe stomach flu.  We were kidding ourselves when we thought nothing could be more difficult than having two sick adults with three active children.  We found out it was much more difficult to have two sick adults, two sick children, and one active preschooler, who could not understand why nobody could play with him.

After our oldest threw up his dinner on the upstairs landing, every time my husband or myself tried to get near it to clean it up, we would both start to feel ourselves getting sick.  Looking back now, it was almost funny, but it definitely was not at the time.  After several attempts and an hour and a half later, my husband managed to clean it up in stages, even after it made him sick once.  Then, all day today, when everyone seemed to be feeling a little better except for me, he took care of the kids all day even though he wasn't 100% better himself, just so I could rest in bed.  My hero!!

Silly Monkey Stories: Too Many Mommies

I don't know why, but our 3 year old twins always confuse my husband and myself. They often call me "Baba" and call my husband "MumMum." Sometimes they even call us "BahMum" or "MumBah."

So I am one MumMum and my husband is another. There is also a third MumMum in our household. When the children play pretend, our 3yr old daughter often pretends to be MumMum. When I hear her twin brother yell, "MumMum! MumMum!" I really have no idea which one of the three of us he is speaking to . . . me, his father, or his twin sister.

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