Noodles & Company - Fast, Healthy, Delicious!

Finding a quick meal while out and about is a challenge for many Moms, including myself. Most choices includes fries on the menu...and we all know how healthy those meals are.

A great alternative to those 'other' fast food restaurants is Noodles & Company. It's inexpensive and fast....you can take it to go or have a sit down meal with your Family. They offer delicious and healthy noodle choices, along with salads, soups, and some add on meats. With options like Buttered Noodles and Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, even your picky eaters will find something they love at Noodles & Company!

Mom Central recently sent my Family some Free bowl coupons so that we could try out our local Noodles & Company. The atmosphere was very fun, casual, and family friendly. I saw SO many menu choices that looked delicious, but with the morning sickness I have been struggling with, I decided to stick to something familiar...spaghetti and meatballs! I got a regular sized bowl, and the portion was huge! The two giant meatballs were my favorite part :)


My Husband chose the Japanese Pan Noodles, which was a colorful assortment of broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, sprouts, black sesame, cilantro, and noodles. What's great about Noodles & Company is that they incorporate veggies into so many of their dishes, and they blend right into the meal so that Kids will eat them without thinking twice!

We got our dinner to go, because we usually like to eat at home. We only had to wait a couple of minutes for our food....just as fast as McDonalds without all of the Fat and unhealthy calories!

If you have a crowd to feed, Noodles & Company also offers Square Bowls that help you cater to your Guests' taste buds! Just in time for Summer, Noodles & Company has introduced their new Lemon & Asparagus dish...in fact they have created a whole website dedicated to Asparagus that includes cooking tips, recipes, and other fun ideas!

You can see more Menu options and check restaurant locations by visiting http://www.noodles.com/

"I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Noodles and Company and received five Noodles and Company bowl cards to facilitate my review. Mom Central also sent me a thank-you gift certificate."

Getting Through My Day, Despite Sickness. And a Fun Wedding!

Last night I decided to take a whole Unisom instead of just a half. My midwife said 1/2 may make me less drowsy, so to start with that. As you know, it wasn't cutting it so I took 1 pill.

Needless to say, no miracles today. that's a huge disappointment, let me tell you.

But I am more active today and more mobile. Yesterday it took everything I had to get up and take a shower for my Sister's wedding rehearsal dinner last night. The day was spent on the couch, not moving, trying to hold down my food. Miserable.

But today, I folded some clothes. Made cookies (the tear and bake kind, but hey it still counts!), built a Little Tykes Slide/Castle thing for my Daughter (no Husband help - go me!), and plucked my eyebrows. Which takes forever, because it's been too long and I have stupidly thick eyebrows. It's a pain, but I am in a wedding tomorrow and I am not going to ruin my Sister's pictures with those things. :) I feel sick right now, and I am sure I will need to throw up again soon. But I am trying to stay strong.

Of course I had to stop in between to throw up...it hits me about 1 hour after I eat a meal. But I did not allow myself to be scared to eat anything today. usually I avoid eating because I know I will get so sick after, and that makes it worse. Today I just ate and accepted that some may come back up. I threw up, and felt a little relief, and moved on.

Far from perfect, but today I feel like I am fighting back a little.

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! My Sister is getting married, I am the Maid of Honor, and my Daughter is the flower girl. It's going to be a great day...morning sickness or not. Distraction and fresh air can really help my nausea, so I am hoping I have that on my side tomorrow.

I'll get ready with her in the morning, then the limo will pick up us Girls and bring us to the church for pictures. Then the Wedding Ceremony, and we'll ride to the reception hall. Then dinner & dancing! Oh, and I have to think of a short speech....eek! Better get on that!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday: First Time Fishing!

On Memorial Day we took my Daughter fishing for the very first time! She had been waiting for this day ever since she got to pick out her very own Tinker Bell fishing pole. She was very excited :)

We caught about 10-12 fish, all Sunnies of course. It was a perfect little lake that was very well stocked with fish, so you could catch them very easily. It was a great place to take an eager child who wanted the thrill of catching them over & over again :)

I was very thankful for my Husband....he is so good with the hooks, worms, and getting the poor little fish back into the water safely. Yeah, I am one of those people that feels bad for the little fishies :)






She did great, she even reeled them in all by herself! I was very impressed! It was a beautiful day, and we can't wait to go again!

Pregnancy Update!

First I want to thank everyone that left helpful and supportive comments on my morning sickness post. I appreciated each and every one of them!

I decided to start taking the Unisom with the advice of my Midwife. The first couple of days were SO much better for me. I found myself actually being nervous that the feeling would return, but for awhile it stayed away.

Just for a little while.

It's back.

I am hoping, praying, that the pills are not working as well right now because I am still in my 1st Trimester and the symptoms are very strong right now. As I mentioned before, my last pregnancy I took them when I was already in my 2nd Trimester, and they worked perfectly. I am hoping that I can hold out until then, and that my some miracle I'll start to feel better after that 12 week mark.

Wishful thinking? Maybe. But right now I am clinging to that as my lifeline. A way to stay sane and get through these difficult weeks. Because it is hard.

The pills do give me a little relief here and there. I am throwing up still, but at least it's 1-3 times a day instead of 6-7. I am able to keep more food down, although most days I am too nauseous to even find something that appeals to me. So I don't eat, and then that makes the feeling so much worse. It's a vicious cycle, being sick.

So I am basically in survival mode at this point. I do the only the chores that must be done, like dishes and laundry. My looks have seriously gone down hill...early pregnancy does NOT agree with me. Especially because the last thing I want to do is worry about is washing my hair or you know, getting dressed :)

Things will get back to normal, eventually. Until then, I will just be doing the best I can. That's all I can do!

Oh, and just to share - I am just over 9 weeks pregnant right now. I don't have my first appt until mid June - and I'll be 11 weeks by then! They sure do just let you do it on your own at first, don't they? I am so ready to have my first appt and to hear the heartbeat. I know that having that positive experience will give me the lift I need to get through these rough days.

Aquafina FlavorSplash - Grape Review - With a Giveaway!

The last few weeks I have really been enjoying my samples of Aquafina FlavorSplash water! We have had some VERY warm days, and a cold bottle of flavored water was the perfect thing to cool me off and keep me hydrated. Whenever I leave the house for an outing or an all-day errand run, I bring a bottle with me. I will admit that I am a soda fan, but having this water with me prevents me from stopping at the store or a fast food place to pick up some pop. It's much healthier for me, and very convenient!

This week I was sent some Grape Aquafina FlavorSplash Water to try out. Like the other flavors I have tried, this also tasted great! I love that the flavor is not too sweet or sugary. It's just a light flavor and that makes it easy to enjoy everyday.




Grapes are one of my favorite fruits to eat, they are something I will buy all year long. At the start of the new year when I decided to get healthy and lose some weight, I started putting together a bowl of grapes to snack on as an alternative to cookies or chips. To mix it up I will use a great fruit dip or even a non-fat whipped cream as a topping.....delicious! Grapes are also the perfect addition to a fruit salad or fruit kabobs which makes them great for summer Barbecue & picnic entertaining!



Remember you can download a coupon for $1 Off an Aquafina FlavorSplash 6 Pack





3 Winners will each receive Coupons for a FREE 6 pack of Aquafina FlavorSplash Water and the new Aquafina FlavorSplash Lip Balm!



Please leave a comment telling me what your favorite fruit is to enjoy on a summer day

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“I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for Aquafina FlavorSplash and have received various FlavorSplash samples to facilitate my participation. Mom Central will send me a gift card at the end of the program.”