EmpowerMoms

The Berenstain Bears Christmas Fun Sticker and Activity Book (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights) by Jan & Mike Berenstain

We love getting new Berenstain Bears book at our house! Can you tell?

My son is 6 and loves us reading books to him. He is also a beginner reader so he loves trying to read some of the Berenstain Bear books on his own. We have never had a Berenstain Bears sticker book though, so this was a pleasant surprise!

This sticker book centers around Christmas of course and includes activities like counting, patterns, finding objects, matches, connect the dotes, mazes, and crossword puzzles to name a few. It even comes with stickers!

The crossword puzzles were too hard for my 6 year old to do alone, but I was able to help him. He loved the stickers and I found it very helpful that the stickers were labeled with what page they corresponded with.

This sticker and activity book has been alot of fun to do and we love it! It would be a great Christmas gift!

I received a copy of this book complimentary for blog and social media review. All opinions are my own.

About the Book
The Berenstain Bears come to life this holiday season with puzzles, activity pages, and more than 50 reusable stickers in The Berenstain Bears’ Christmas Fun Sticker and Activity Book.

Featuring Papa, Mama, Brother, Sister, and Honey and the rest of the Bear Country gang, kids are sure to find lots to do helping Honey Bear find the missing piece of the Bear family Nativity scene, doing crosswords and word searches with Brother and Sister, and even helping out at the Christmas Eve service at Chapel in the Woods.

About the Author
Stan and Jan Berenstain introduced the first Berenstain Bear books in 1962. Mike Berenstain grew up watching his parents work together to write about and draw these lovable bears. Eventually he started drawing and writing about them too. Though Stan died in 2005, and Jan in 2012, Mike continues to create the delightful Bear adventures from the family home and studio in Pennsylvania, in an area that looks much like the sunny dirt road deep in Bear Country.

DAY 2 workout here:

30 Minute Fat Burning Indoor Cardio Full Workout No Equipment Needed for All Levels

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: NONE

LEVEL: All

This full length cardio workout video features a low impact, moderate intensity cardio session you can easily in a small space, with no equipment. We’ll use moves like walking, skaters, side steps and more basic coordination and agility patterns to help keep your heart rate steady but strong.

We’ll be focused on steady state cardio, performed at a moderate intensity for this 30 minute at home workout. Our goal is to keep your heart rate at endurance training level, at around 60-70% of your max heart rate (an effort of 5-6 on a 1-10 scale, with 3 being easy breezy and a 9 being all out effort that’s not sustainable for long).

Full Details about the free challenge here:
http://empowermoms.net/2016/10/fall-back-into-fitness-challenge-with-mfp-and-jessica-smith-free-5-day-challenge.html

DAY 1 workout here:

30 Minute Total Body Strength Training Full Workout with Dumbbells …

**The message below was posted by Jessica Smith TV yesterday**

JOIN OUR FREE “FALL BACK INTO FITNESS” CHALLENGE WITH MYFITNESSPAL!

We’re thrilled to be teaming up MyFitnessPal to bring you another FREE 5-Day Fall Challenge program! Starting this Monday, we’ll be posting 5 brand new workout videos on our YouTube Channel that correspond to the “Fall Back Into Fitness” Challenge we’re hosting with MyFitnessPal here:
http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/fall-back-fitness-pledge/

The workout of the day will be posted Monday – Friday next week on the MyFitnessPal blog and on our YouTube Channel [don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE if you haven’t already!] so feel free to check in daily to make sure you fit in your daily session.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7wvgp4HUBe5TD10jIgxDg

And please let us a comment on this page here and/or let us know on social media that you’ll be joining in with us [be sure to use the hashtag #MFPFallIntoFitness and tag @myfitnesspal and @jessicasmithtv

The Suggested Fall Back into Fitness Schedule:
Day 1: Total-Body Strength Training

Day 2: Steady-State Cardio

Day 3: Interval Cardio + Core

Day 4: Strength Circuits

Day 5: Total Stretch

Days 6 & 7: Active Rest Days — Optional gentle yoga, cycling, walking and/or any add-on workouts of your choice (regular exercisers may want to add strength training, for example)

DAY 1 workout here:

30 Minute Total Body Strength Training Full Workout with Dumbbells …

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: Dumbbells, a sturdy chair

LEVEL: All

In this full length total body sculpting workout, we’ll be using dumbbells [grab one heavier set for larger muscle groups in your legs, chest and back and one lighter set for your arms, shoulders and upper back, if available] and a sturdy chair to help us target all your major muscle groups with exercises like squat sits, chest presses, bent over rows, overhead presses, biceps curls, lunges, triceps extensions, planks and standing cross crunches. Instead of using a specific rep count, we’ll be focused more on time under tension during the exercises, so feel free to adjust the amount of repetitions based on your current fitness level. The goal is to hit muscular fatigue while still being able to use proper form and alignment during each rep.

This 70-minute DVD features 6, 10-Minute Walking Segments plus our BONUS 10-Minute Chair Stretch

Burn Fat + Boost Metabolism with our 3 Calorie Burning Walks and 3 Strength Walks

Choose Your Favorite Sessions or Follow Our 5-Day Premix Plan!

No Floor Work, Equipment Optional, Minimal Space Required

Kick start your workout program in just 10 minutes a day! Start with 10 minutes and build your way up into our longer, premixed sessions to create a 5-day-a-week fitness habit. Play your favorite segments easily from the main menu or follow our weekly premix options for a specific workout schedule. Join Jessica, her Mom Debbie and their friend Raquel for these fun, walking-based quick routines that you can amp up or tone down depending on your current fitness and energy level.

Our Walks Include:

#1 – 10-Minute Powered Up Walk

#2 – 10-Minute Steppin’ Strength Walk*

#3 – 10-Minute Happy HIIT Walk

#4 – 10-Minute Dance Walk

#5 – 10-Minute Abs + Arms Walk*

#6 – 10-Minute Buns + Thighs Walk*

BONUS: 10-Minute Chair Stretch*

Want a specific plan to follow? Use our premixes to train with us every day of your work week!

Premix #1 [Monday, Wednesday, Friday]: Strength + Stretch Session [40 Minutes]

Premix #2 [Tuesday, Thursday] : 2-Mile Cardio Fitness Walk [30 Minutes]

*OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT: One set of 2-8 pound dumbbells [depending on level], or follow Debbie for bodyweight only options! A sturdy chair is used for our chair stretch segment.

Please note DVD menu options include Play All, Premixes and Mix and Match (which makes it easy to select your favorite chapters from the menu, but is not customizable).

This brand new title is on sale for 25% off the original purchase price for a limited time, so please don’t wait to place your order!
PURCHASE IT HERE:

40 Days to a Joyful Motherhood: Devotions and Coloring Book to Nourish Mom by Sarah Humphrey

I have read thru this book and I am currently on day 4 with reading the daily page and coloring. Each page has a scripture, thought and experience from the author, usually some questions, and then ends with a simple prayer.

Specific days deal with a particular theme. For example, days 1-5 are “Identity for Motherhood”. Days 6-10 are “Expectations, Pain, Hopes and Dreams”. Days 11-15 are “Releasing Grief and Receiving New Life”… All the way up to day 40. There are 8 total themes.

I love that this book is a coloring book, but its not so detailed that I feel overwhelmed and the need to color each page. Because us busy moms have tons of time each day to color, right? 😉 I decided that I would only color a little bit of each page each day, and then in the future I can color more when I go back to reread sections.

I used markers in my book which I should not have done-I’ve used them before in other coloring book so I thought it would be okay. The pages aren’t as thick as I thought, so colored pencils would be best for this book. I feel like I’ve ruined some of my book because the colors are bleeding into the next page.

Overall, I really like this book! As a busy mom of 2 boys I appreciate all the advice, taking the time for coloring, answering thought provoking questions, and reading daily scriptures.

I received a copy of this book complimentary for blog and social media review. All opinions are my own.

About the book:
40 Days to a Joyful Motherhood: Devotions and Coloring Book to Nourish Mom

Nourishment for a mother’s soul through 40 days of devotion and . . . doodling!

Wouldn’t it be marvelous if mothering came with a concrete set of instructions—an easy recipe we could follow? Instead, motherhood challenges women to find their faith, their true selves, and their family through daily doses of trial and error. It is a brilliant and healing time of life that is full of joy, pain, and beauty with a small side of crisis (and humor). What mothers do not know, they learn. And through this lifelong process of learning, they nurture and care for the most precious gifts on earth: children. In a modern society where moms often have a full and busy plate, these 10 minute daily devotions focus on six key topics of motherhood:

-Self-acceptance
-Self-care
-Reconciling with grief, hope and expectations
-Generosity
-Presence
-Forgiveness

In addition to the devotions, these beautiful pages are adorned with handmade illustrations to help you refresh from long days or even occasional sleepless nights. So, grab your colors and a little quiet time for yourself while doodling at the kitchen table. You will be grateful you did!

Purchase a copy:

About the author:
Often considered a dreamer and silly heart, Sarah Humphrey uses inspiration from her most beloved career, motherhood, to fuel her passion for writing, creative movement and teaching. She has and is authoring several books and children’s books. Sarah currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and three beautiful, bouncy kids.