Pictures

Sophia LOVES playing outside...she already cries and throws a fit when it's time to come in.  She would sleep outside if we let her.  

I couldn't pick a favorite.....

A new venture

If you know me well, then you understand how little extra time I have to put towards anything new.  I am a real estate agent AND a full time mom.  Tim and I switch out...when he gets home, I go to work...so that way we don't have to pay out babysitter too often.  BUT, I came across something that I could not pass up.  I will make time for this, because this is to better my health, my family's health, and to help others do the same.  (...and please note the pictures of Sophia are for your entertainment...) HA!  

I'm sure many of you have heard of HERBALIFE, but you may not realize how amazing the products are.  Tim's brother and sister-in-law, Ben and Kacey, actually introduced us to Herbalife's products when we visited them in Orlando, and over the past month I have become a believer in its health benefits.

The Company:

Herbalife a global nutrition company that has helped people pursue a healthy, active life since 1980. Their nutrition, weight-management and personal care products are available exclusively through the more than 2.1 million independent Distributors in 75 countries.

They support the Herbalife Family Foundation (HFF) and its Casa Herbalife program to help bring good nutrition to children in need. Herbalife also sponsors world-class athletes, teams and events around the globe, including the LA Galaxy, FC Barcelona soccer clubs, and more.

The focus of the company: 

The main focus of Herbalife is a personalized nutrition plan for each individual based upon his/her particular goals.  There is literally something for everyone- even babies and children.  Whether you are looking to lose weight, maintain your weight, gain weight, or just gain more energy and improve your overall health, there are products for each plan.  And the basis of these plans are Herbalife's Nutritional Shakes.  These shakes are packed with all the essential vitamins, minerals, and protein that you would need for one meal, so it serves as a meal replacement if you are trying to lose weight (and there are 7 different flavors).   


This is an interesting approach and makes so much sense to me to have an actual meal replacement, rather than a supplement.   Me personally, I don't need to lose weight, but I'm not the healthiest person in the world.  And I desperately need energy to keep up with Sophia.  So I do one shake a day in the mornings, along with my breakfast.  You can make the shakes on the go by just adding water, or you can make them in a blender if you prefer to add fresh or frozen fruit, ice, etc., which Tim and I do.  But the shakes are only PART of Herbalife's nutritional products.  Another product that I LOVE is the Aloe Water Concentrate.  This is particularly for digestive health.  Those with stomach problems, indigestion, and reflux would greatly benefit from the Aloe's natural healing properties.  It comes in regular or mango flavor, but you just add a few capfulls to your water, or you can mix it in with your shake.  It's also great for you skin.   I love it and so does Sophia.  WIth all of her past reflux problems, I knew this would be great for her.  I add it to her water cup and she loves the taste.  It's a great flavorful alternative to the sugary apple juice.      

There are also personalized nutrition plans for 7 categories: Digestive Health, Healthy Aging, Women's, Men's, and Children's Health, Heart Health, Stress Management, Immune Solutions, Nutrition for 7 vital organs, Personal Care/Outer Nutrition, and Energy and Fitness.  

Herbalife uses the highest research, development, and manufacturing, including the finest raw ingredients.  Herbalife's Nutritional Advisory Board participates in sponsored, innovative university research worldwide.  

  

A couple of great facts:

• Herbalife is listed on the NYSE (new york stock exchange)
• One of the members on Herbalife's Nutrition Advisory Board won a Nobel Peace Prize- Dr. Lou Ignarro
• David Beckam (we all know who he is, lol) and his soccer team take the products and wear the Herbalife logo on their jersey's.  
• Herbalife did over 4 billion in sales last year alone.
• The company has existed for 30 years.

Herbalife's Mission is to change people’s lives by providing the best business opportunity in direct selling and the best nutrition and weight-management products in the world.

Why I got started:

Thanks to Ben and Kacey, Tim and I actually receive the nutrition we want and need but never had time for in the past.  Now we both drink at least 1 shake a day, and I personally can tell a difference when I miss my Herbalife routine.  Since we really did LOVE the shakes and were taking them everyday, I thought, why don't I just sign up to be a distributor and get the automatic 25% discount!  So I did!  BUT being the business minded person that I am, I started looking into the business model.  I did all of my own research - through non Herbalife websites - and came to the conclusion that Herbalife's business model is ingenious.  I explained everything to my very skeptical husband, and here I am..with him on board!

Referring back to my billeted facts....Herbalife was able to sell over 4 billion worth of products last year and has been a strong company for 30 years because of it's products.  They work! ...and people love them.  Who doesn't want a healthier lifestyle made easy?

So... if you are interested in achieving your nutritional goals in a simply and very affordable way, you can email or call me.  I can help you set up a personalized plan to meet your objectives.  OR if you are interested in the business aspect of the company, I would be more than happy to give you a rundown of everything.  This post has only scratched the surface of what all Herbalife has to offer, so visit my website to learn more about the nutritional products.  

www.shopherbalife.com/hrice 

my e-mail address is haleigh.rice1@gmail.com if you prefer to e-mail me.  


I look forward to writing more soon!  We love you all!

it's a single mom weekend!

Well, Tim is off to Seattle for the wedding of our dear friend Peyton (he's the best man).  CONGRATULATIONS PEYTON AND APRIL! LOVE YOU GUYS!

We dropped daddy off at the airport at 2pm, and I have been working ever since (working to get her to take a nap!).  As I write, I don't hear her on the monitor anymore, so i'm crossing my fingers that she finally fell asleep.  It's 4:30pm by the way...she's a tough one!

But i'm determined to have a nice, easy-going weekend...that is after my home showing appointment tomorrow.  OH BOY, SHE'S STILL AWAKE! aaaaahhhhh!

Hopefully I can get this disaster area of a house in some type of livable order.

But cheers to a girls weekend!

p.s. we had another dr. appt today for Sophia, and her ct scan results came back negative!  our baby is healthy and happy.  Just hard-headed...now let's get her to sleep!

Pictures

Paw and Sophia- Texarkana, May 2011

Daddy and Sophia- Daytona Beach, June 2011

Miss Priss with an oversized bow, haha

Daytona Beach- June 2011

Finally a quiet moment to blog (she's napping)

Hi blog world!  It's been way too long (i say that every time).  Tim and I have been extremely busy!  With our trips to Texas and Florida, then back home to real estate and an Arabic class at Georgetown, life never stands still!  And not to mention Sophia is developing and walking so fast that we can barely keep up!

Sophia updates:
She turned 1 on May 12!  Gosh, we have a 1 year old...crazy!


She's walking everywhere (for about 2 months now).  In to EVERYTHING!  I can't baby proof our house enough!  This kid always finds something to get in to, pull off of a shelf, or put in her mouth.

She talks (babbles) NON-STOP.  It's the cutest thing because she acts like she knows exactly what she is saying, but it just comes out as mumbles (except for a few words that we can make out).  She says cracker so clearly. She'll say thank you, every now and then, daddy, ma ma when i don't ask her to.  She repeats A LOT of things we say..or she tries to anyway. It's so funny.  Most of the things she tries to repeat starts out with a D sound, so everything sounds similar.

She loves being outside and will throw a fit when you bring her in..already!  Geez, we're in trouble.  And to touch on fits, she throws them when you tell her no, take her away from something she's not suppose to do, or if you do something she doesn't like.  OH BOY!  This doesn't fly very well in my house.  AND she has started to HIT.  my little hitter!  I don't even know how to handle it..i thought we would have this quiet, reserved child (like i was)..but she's quiet the opposite...loud, outgoing, STRONG-WILLED, and hard-headed.

BUT...she. is. HILARIOUS!!!  Tim and I laugh non stop at her.  We wonder where she comes up with all of her cute little bits.  I don't get it...she has the most hilarious personality already.  It's like she knows she a jokester!

Sophia still wakes up in the middle of the night, but she's so dang cute and funny, i don't even care! haha.  She had a CT scan last week, and we are still waiting on results.  But no news is good news, says the nurse.  Her pedi wanted this done mostly as a follow-up.  She had bleeding on her brain when she was born and coupled with her night-waking, her doctor wanted to do this as mostly precautionary.  But everything should be fine.

One last thing!  Tim and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary on June 11th...he surprised me with U2 concert tickets.....TWAS AMAZING!!!!!!  Bono is incredible!

I have another post coming soon about my new business venture!  Stay tuned, all (if anyone actually reads this, haha).

Ohh, and i will post pics of Sophia soon..i forgot to send them from my phone to cp.  

Time flies!

It's been a very fast 5 months since I have updated the blog.  Apologies to those who come to our blog dissapointed, :)

Most important developments over the past few months:

Sophia is almost 11 months old! April 12th to be exact.  She is hilarious and so much fun!  She is cruising around everywhere and standing on her own for a bit.  She hasn't had the guts to try and take a step, but I bet she could if she tried!

Tim got accepted into law school (University of Baltimore) and he also received the " Linguist of the Year for Department of the Army" award, which means out of the entire army!  He also got accepted into an accelerated Arabic program at Georgetown University this summer- 6 weeks long i believe.

I finally got my Real Estate License here in Maryland.  One week after I passed my exams, I signed with a Broker (1 mile from my house) as an Independent Contractor.  I'm loving it!

And we on the countdown to ending Tim's military career.  May 10 is his out-processing day.  We cannot wait!  After 6 years of service, it's his time!

Sophia will be turning 1 on May 12th, and we are having her party in Texarkana!  We are so excited to be able to celebrate her first birthday with all of our friends and family.

May 10 we fly to Texarkana for 3 weeks..Then to Florida to visit Ben, Kacey, and our new nephew, sweet little Maddox that was born yesterday, April 7th.

This summer is busy, busy, but we can't wait!  Bring on the heat!

Some of my favs that Mike and Jess took.  (thanks for the dress Aunt Jessica...and the fish shorts!) lol

  

Home Again

It's good to be back to our home in Maryland.  Tim completed his two months of training in San Angelo, TX.  Sophia and I spent the first month in Texarkana with our families, and the second month we got a furnished apartment in San Angelo with Tim.  We have been home almost two weeks, and i'm still unpacking and cleaning..sad!  All of my free time is spent working on my real estate class, which I will finish this week and take the final test. 

Sophia is growing like a flower.  "Growing like a weed" isn't as pretty.  She will hit 6 1/2 months this friday.  I can't even believe it.  She is rolling all the time, "talking" non-stop, and eating so much more baby food..so cute!  Her favorite is sweet potatoes.  Ohh, and she is teething, so you can imagine the drool. 

This past friday I made a last minute appointment for Sophia to see her Dr.  I have been concerned about her spitting up more than normal still, night waking constantly, screaming out randomly like she is in pain, and a few other things.  Of course I have researched all the symptoms, and they all lead to GER or GERD.  Gastroesophegial Reflux (disease).  Sophia does not sleep more than 3 hours at a time.  She wakes up constantly throughout the night, seeming to be uncomfortable.  Nobody gets much sleep in this house.  Anyway, the Dr. put her on prevacid (reflux medicine) and told me to call in two weeks.  If I haven't seen any change, she will refer us to a GI specialist.  Lets hope this works!

                                                    Winter hat that NanaDee made Sophia

 

A warm Russian Princess

Sophia's first Halloween (in San Angelo)

My 25th surprise birthday present from Tim! (ignore the mess)