#OneBigHappy Play Day + 50.00 Gymboree GC GIVEAWAY!

this is a sponsored post on behalf of Gymboree's #OneBigHappy campaign.  we received complimentary clothing in exchange for an honest review.  all opinions are my very own, always. 

 3 words. christmas in july! they were crazy excited when i told them this bright orange box was filled with goodies just for them.  receiving mail with my name on it as a child always made me feel so special.  even if it was junk mail, haha. is summer vacation not the perfect time for a play day?!  my boys know how important getting out from in front of the TV and going outside is to me, and well, they show me daily that they’re listening.  they are constantly asking to go 'somewhere fun' and the park is usually their number one choice.  it's definitely one of their favorite past times.  i hope staying active continues to be something they enjoy doing throughout their lives. Gymboree's activewear collection, Gymgo, is made to keep up with active kids, so they basically need to live in these clothes!  by their request, i took them to one of their favorite parks to play and sport their gear.Chiso is such an accessories type of guy. the hat, the shades; he's gotta wear it all at once to complete his look. as hot as the texas summer heat is, i don't blame him!the eye-catching, bold, bright colors stood out to me the most. matches their little rambunctious personalities perfectly!  the breathable, cool fabric is a plus as these guys sweat a ton when they play.  heck, we work up a sweat just getting in and out of the car down in texas.

Dego's,  "who's about to go run out there in this heat? not me." look. smart man.

they kicked the soccer ball around for a while but then we took a much-needed water and snack break. ice cream cookie sandwiches on deck!  err, ice cream cookie soupwiches.

that didn't stop them from sopping that ice cream up like biscuits and gravy though, LOL.don't worry Dego, you won't be the youngest for too much longer, bud :) . alright, sugar rush kicking in! time to play some more.

i could learn a thing or two from this kid when it comes to posing! i asked Chiso what he loved most about his Gymgo gear:  

"i love how soft the fabric is and how cool the colors and patterns are.  i love blue so much!!"  he also loved the "Jump, Dunk, Score" tee (pictured at the very top) as basketball is one of his favorite sports to play with his Papa right now. 

meanwhile, Dego clearly came to play, not pose.

   ok, ok, just two pics, mama, that's it! 

quality playwear that stands the test of playtime.

it's a pass from us.  with flying colors, of course ;)

-----> GIVEAWAY TIME!!! <-----

do your kiddos LOVE to play!? awesome, because you could win a 50.00 gift card to get them some of their own Gymgo Active clothing! back to school is waaay too close for comfort but this will help you prepare no doubt. one lucky reader will win, so make sure you're fully qualified to enter!  how? see the no-fuss criteria below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 you must give Gymboree a follow & Like via Instagram, and Facebook!  comment below and let me know you're done, then consider yourself qualified.  what are your favorite looks??  let me know below and good luck!

K E E P   U P   W I T H   U S !

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my #StartFreshii Juice. Cleanse. Energize. experience!

the results from my 1 day #StartFreshii juice cleanse are in: i survived, woo hoo!  in all honesty, it wasn't that bad.  i'm definitely saying that cause it was only 1 day though, haaaa. when those hunger pangs kicked in i was totally transported back in time to my 1st bikini competition prep. good times, lol! mix that in with a couple "come on, Leah..just a few more hours. you can do this. focus." moments and that was my day in a nutshell.  i explained on Periscope (are you following me yet? have you checked out the app? leave your ID below so i can look you up!) that i'm breastfeeding and can't afford to go longer than one day to keep from putting a big dent in my milk production (gotta keep those calories up!).  plus, i'm a group fitness instructor and although light exercise (yoga, walking, stretching)  is ok when detoxing, strenuous activity is not recommended.  bummer.  anyway, i've gotten the 'do you juice? do you detox?' questions over the years and can finally say, 'Yes! i've done one!' however, i have always turned them down in the past because:

• fearful of feeling way too hungry (and crappy) to deal
• i prefer eating calories over drinking them
• cannot be sustained long-term
• prohibited strenuous exercise (booooo.)
• generally low in protein

what i do believe they are great for:

• complete system reset
• rid body of toxins and excess waste
• improved complexion, hair & skin (clean eating cleared my skin up completely by the way...no more Proactive!)
• promotes/jump starts healthy lifestyle changes
• increased mental clarity, energy, stamina
• a healthier, nourished colon

when the #StartFreshii Challenge was presented to me, i finally decided to take the plunge! i love Freshii cause they offer a variety of healthy, nutritious, fast-food items for people on the go. i just wish they had a drive through! the decor is fun, bright, and contemporary, and kid friendly items make this the perfect healthy family eatery.

again i did the 1 day, but if you decide to give this a whirl yourself, you've got 3 or 5 day options too.  pick the one that best suits your lifestyle and schedule for best results.

i ordered some oatmeal for the boy's breakfast.

adorable presentation! and i am thrilled they both love oats so much.

  my eyes!! i was LOVING all that beautiful, healthy color! the smoothies were labeled and to be consumed in a certain order every 2.5-3 hrs;  the detoxifying Metaboost salad was to be eaten at the end of my day.

1. Green Energy - apple, cucumber, kale, lemon, carrot, romaine, spinach (my fave!)
2. Carrot Zinger - carrot, apple, ginger
3. Mighty Detox - pineapple, cucumber, celery, apple, ginger
4. Red Power - beet, carrot, lemon, ginger (2nd fave!)
5. Metaboost Salad - field greens, spinach, kale, carrots, mango, edamame, almonds, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette

staying busy between meals was going to be key in getting me through this! we explored the city a little before running errands.

one of the calming fountains at a small, contemporary park just down the street.

the sun was out but thankfully there was still a nice breeze at 10am! so Chiso got to run around and play a bit as i finished up juice #1.  i sipped all of them suuuuuuuper slow.

Q: what is THE very first thing that pops into your mind when you read that question? comment below.

A: before i die...i want to live out and fulfill His purpose for my life. that's #1. i will remember and cherish these days forever!!! so grateful to be able to do what i love with the people i love.

after that, errand time.  running around in the Texas heat and jumping in and out of the car with kids is a workout in itself. whew.

i said all that to say that at 2pm, i cracked.

lol! keeping it real! i'm used to eating over 2k cals a day so i was really going through it at that point.

i just hope there was nobody sitting in their car watching me tear this salad UP. wasn't it pretty though?

 after that, i felt like i could actually finish this thing strong.

3rd juice done with one left to go as we finally headed home.  you're supposed to drink 8-10 glasses of water in between 'meals' when doing a cleanse as well. i did my best.

by 6pm? DONE. finished a lil early, haha.  the Freshii cleanse pamphlet did suggest that if hunger overtakes you, increase your water intake, drink a herbal tea, or reach for raw or lightly cooked fruits and vegetables.  that said, i had grape tomatoes and half a cucumber before finally getting in bed around 10pm.  the next morning i felt lighter, and my mid section's skin was noticeably tighter.  that's what cutting out refined sugars does for me though, immediately. my tummy and waist are the first to respond when i tweak my nutrition.

takeaways:

• this was a mental battle more than anything! once i woke up the next morning with no pressure to stick to the cleanse, i wanted to keep going. go figure.
• not having to chew overall made it feel like i had not eaten a thing = hoogry
• great for resetting/restarting your system.  i am now motivated to keep my refined sugar intake low and my raw fruit/veggies intake high. this is when i feel and look my best.
• not great as a lifestyle (possibly once a week at best) or for fat loss.  the diet is already low in protein and calories and the body goes into starvation mode after a while which conflicts with the fat burning process.
• unless you have your own juicer at home and get a great, cheap deal on produce, juicing can get rather expensive.
• we CAN do anything we put our minds to

fyi! many times the media choses to focus on the short-terms results produced by these cleanses.  know that your results won't last if you don't make it a point to move more and maintain and healthy, low-no processed diet.

i highly recommend you accept the #StartFreshii juice cleanse challenge! all 4 juices are delish and refreshing but my fave was definitly #1. tell me about your cleanse/detox experience below.

le

vlog: 3 things i like about natural hair!

happy sunday to yaaaaaaa!

this is what Sonny and Dego did all afternoon,

but Chi and i had way too much energy for a nap!  so we took a long walk and hit the park.

i also had a little time to get my vlogging game UP!  hope you guys had a great weekend too.  check out my vlog and subscribe to my YouTube channel here. i got recipes and workouts ON THA WAY.

[wpvideo fyYG5w9b]

Q: if you're natural, what do you LOVE about it?

le

pancakes + homemade greek fro-yo + REST

oooh the time really got the best of me today.  i said i would rest the entire Saturday after teaching 6 classes this week, all of which included weights.   when i first started teaching, i wanted to teach the ALL OF HOUSTON, and i did. i think i was up to like 9 or 10 classes a week plus my  full time job.  oh and doing boot camps on the side for high school girls twice a week.  i actually kept up with it for longer than you might have expected, but then the health issues started kicking in (duh) as well as complete burn out from working out altogether!  you know the saying..too much of something isn't good, i know, i know.  that was obviously all pre-Chiso... speaking of Chiso, i really did keep my word to rest today so we walked over to the park for some play time.

from the swings,

to the slide,

back to the swings,

to the couch.  snacking on goldfish. watching cartoons.

i promised my pumpkin pancake recipe from this morning and here it is, you fit foodies, you!  i have so much more to catch you up on (v-day, etc) and i WILL! tomorrow.  i'll definitely be having these again before i head out to teach my class in tha morning and you should too.

pumpkin pie pancakes

the stuff:

• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 3/4 cup wheat bran
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (ya might need more)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 heaping tbsp 0% plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup pure pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp all spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 5-7 drops of vanilla creme stevia
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 packet granulated stevia
• 2 egg whites

do this:

mix!  in a medium heated pan sprayed with no-stick cooking spray, pan fry them up like cakes.  once one side starts to bubble, flip it.   couldn't be any easier, right?  OH, the topping is 1 tbsp greek yogurt, 1 tbsp pure pumpkin, and 1 tbsp walden farms pancake syrup.  whip it up and make a pretty dollop on top of your stack.

for the whole shabang:

now, i MUST post this before i let ya go- a reader of mine and her husband are NOT fond of chocolate, so i vow to post more clean, healthy desserts of all varieties more often! there will be plen-tay in my e-book as well.  this dessert was an Instagram inspiration gone RIGHT.

blueberry greek fro-yo

the stuff:

1 packet granulated stevia

1 single size tub 0%-2% plain greek yogurt

couple drops of vanilla creme stevia (3-5-7)

1/4 cup blueberries (any kind!)

do this:

mix; you can throw this all in a blender for a smooth texture, or you can do it by hand.  since i like the fruit chunks i did it by hand as you can see.  put it in the freezer for about 30 min...you gotta watch it though cause i left mine in there too long and i had to wait until it defrosted some before i could inhale it. the longest 17 minutes, ever.  oh and i added pistachios, but it's your call on the nuts.

what day of the week is your rest day on and why?

have a beautiful evening!!!!

le