do something good

this post is sponsored by the fabulous people at smartypants gummy vitamins. all the thoughts and opinions are my own.

the last couple of weeks have been a struggle for me. there are big issues...big legislations...big problems...big things happening in the united states. my facebook feed is full of people sharing their opinions on everything from state rights to gun control, from gay rights to racism. articles i have read are full of comments with people spending hours and hours fighting with one another, trying to change each other's minds. people are hurtful. offensive things are said.  people are so focused on their rights, their feelings, their ideas that, to read the vast majority of what is written, there seems to be a general lack of concern for others, especially if others think differently than we might. 

i find it all very discouraging. i keep looking for people who are kind and loving. every once in a while i'll find a post by someone who is sharing their thoughts in a loving and respectful way and it honestly brings tears to my eyes in its compassion, in its love, in its kindness. i know our nation's issues are important. i know that people feel passionately. i know that there are problems that need to be fixed. i know all of it. i, however, see a tremendous amount of energy being poured into fighting over issues behind the mask of our computer screens and i see little good coming of it. i'm not advocating silencing your voice. we are a privileged people because we have the right to share our thoughts and viewpoints. i am saying, however, that we may be able to take a piece of our passion and our energy and redirect it into something tangible for someone else. 

my husband and i lived in south amercia for six years. while there, we were surrounded by people who were desperately poor. every day we were encountered by those who were hungry, people who were living in shacks, children who were malnourished. 

cartagena, colombia is full of 1/2 million displaced people who live in shabby, dirt-floored houses without running water, without food, without basic life necessities. we watched people everyday fight for survival and it was heartbreaking. 

the truth is, there are people everywhere in need. there are hungry people in our own backyard. there are people fighting for survival here and across the globe. there is so much need and so many who need us. imagine the good we could do if we redirected a piece of our passion, an ounce of our energy from our fights over issues to answering a need in someone else in a tangible, real-life way. 

there are so many easy ways you can help others. we at thethirdboob are huge fans of vitamin angels. this non-profit organization gets vitamins to children in need around the world. they just announced this month that they have reached their 1,000,000 child with vitamins donated by smartypants gummy vitamins. having seen malnourished kids in south america, kids whose hair is falling out because of vitamin deficiencies, with skin diseases from unsanitary living conditions, half the size they should be because of lack of nutrition, i am extremely passionate about children getting the nutrients they need to not just survive but to thrive. through corporate donations as well as individual gifts, vitamin angels is reaching those kids and giving them a better chance at life. it truly is an amazing company. 

there are some easy ways you can get involved in their program. the easiest way to be a part of this solution is to purchase smartypants gummy vitamins here in the united states. for each bottle of smartypants vitamins you purchase, the company donates another bottle to vitamin angels to distribute to needy children around the world. imagine if we all did something as small as purchase a bottle of vitamins. the impact we could make globally is staggering to envision. 

you can also give directly to vitamin angels through online giving. take a moment and also follow vitamin angels and smartypants vitamins on facebook  twitter and instagram. every time i see pictures of the children these organization are helping, my perspective is changed. i am more grateful. i'm more passionate about helping others. i'm so happy to be involved. 

vitamin angels is not, however, the only way you can get involved with those in need. there is so much need in our own backyard and around the world. beyond the hungry, there are countless hurting people you meet everyday. find someone to love. find something to give. find something of your own you don't need and donate it to bless someone else. bring someone a meal. volunteer at a food pantry. do something tangible. 

in spite of our disagreements, in spite of our differences and no matter what our stances are on issues, we truly are so blessed in so many thousands of ways. those blessings come with an accountability to look beyond ourselves and to do something for others. be passionate about what you believe in. be a voice for your cause, but do it with kindness. we do not have to agree on one single thing for us to be kind to one another. let's do that. let's show kindness. let's care for those in need. we will all be much better for it. 

follow vitamin angels on: 

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vitaminangels?fref=ts
instagram: https://instagram.com/vitaminangels
twitter: https://twitter.com/vitaminangels

follow smartypants vitamins on:

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmartyPants.Vitamins?fref=ts
instagram: https://instagram.com/smartyhealth
twitter: https://twitter.com/SmartyHealth

dear heather and genelle: part 2

from time to time over the past four years, we get emails or facebook messages with questions about us....who we are....what makes us tick.....and the most popular...."why are you called the third boob?!?" 

we started a monthly q & a series answering all of your questions. the first post of the series is here, in case you missed it. keep the questions coming! (email us, tweet, facebook message, leave a comment at the end of a post or send smoke signals. we will get to your question; we pinkie swear). 

xoxo-

heather and genelle

if you could live anywhere, where would it be?

genelle: i've lived in quite a few places. i grew up in northern california, spent my college years and early adulthood in san diego county areas, moved to south america and lived in both colombia and venezuela and now have settled in the south. i don't know. if it was only myself to consider, i would love to live in a foreign country again. five kids complicates that answer. i'm pretty content to stay put for a while and let my kids grow up here in the south.

heather: i would probably never leave san diego, but there is part of me that always wanted to live in a tiny small town someplace quaint and simple......and another, braver part of me that secretly wishes i had been brave enough to live abroad.


what would you change about yourself if you could?

genelle: i would have more patience. i feel like with kids of any age you need more patience than is realistic. with four boys and a girl, i feel like i am short all of the time.

heather: i would really, really love to just not care at all what people think. at least for a little while. overall, I do okay with this, but I'm a recovering people pleasing butt kisser. ;-) 

what really makes you angry?

genelle: stereotypes

heather: prejudice and bigotry. 

what was the last movie you went to? 

genelle: i went to see "far from the madding crowd" with my mom and sister. we are all suckers for british literature and this story doesn't disappoint. i will eventually own it.

heather: I seriously can't remember the last time I went to see a movie. It's been a while since I've seen a grown-up movie and the last kids movie we saw in the theaters was home. time to get back to the theater. going to the movies is really one of my favorite things ever. 

if you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?

genelle: right now it is summer vacation from all my kids. i love them. truly. but right now, all i want to do is spend a day completely by myself. i want to sit on a beach somewhere or in a lounge chair, read books, take a nap, eat great food and for one day only think of myself. it sounds selfish but it is definitely the truth today.

heather: lay on a beach in a plush lounge chair sipping fruity umbrella drinks and feeling the warm sun on my skin and the tropical breeze in my hair. ahhhhh.....can't you just picture it? dreamy. 

which would you rather do: wash dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house?

genelle: ummm...do i have to pick one? isn't that why i have so many kids...so they can do some of those things? if i had to choose one, it would be the dishes. i love anything that involves water...even washing dishes.

heather: agh! they all stink! i would say vacuum is the best choice in that bunch. i have two boys, so never *ever* the bathroom. 

who is your favorite author?

genelle: i'm a classic literature fan and especially a sucker for british lit. i'd have to say that jane austen is my all time favorite.

heather: i can always read anything jodi picoult. love her books so much. easy to read and she is a magical storyteller. 

summer camp checklists

this is a sponsored post for cvs minute clinic. the thoughts and opinions are all my own.

summer is in full swing. i'm juggling the summer activities of my five little troopers and we are enjoying a change of pace and some quality time together. there is a limit, however, to how much togetherness we can tolerate before the fighting begins. that's just life and our own little bit of normalcy. there are seven of us in one house for the summer and it makes things pretty chaotic. having a schedule and some planned activities for different kiddos helps tremendously to keep everyone moving and to make together time a bit less intense. i don't know about you, but i have scheduled camps, vacation bible schools and other activities to keep everyone occupied as the weeks move on.

this year my two oldest did two different sports camps. while they weren't sleep away camps (wouldn't that be amazing?), they were still camps that required some preparation and some planning. if you are sending your kiddos to camps this year, here are some tips to make the process run a little bit more smoothly.

1) plan ahead. 

many camps require camp physicals. even if they don't, summer physicals are a great way to make sure your camper is ready for all the demands summer camps have to offer. make sure your kiddos are up to date on immunizations and get the camp physicals done as quickly as possible. we love heading over to the cvs minute clinic to get all our quick medical trips in. the nurse practitioners review immunization records, do a thorough check-up, and will complete any necessary paperwork. we don't need an appointment and we can get everything handled in one day...physicals included. my insurance pays for the visit and i'm good to go. i'll take anything quick and painless when i'm carting five kids around!

2) pack by outfit. 

this is my go-to packing plan for all our trips and especially for anything where the kids sleep away. i help the kids pack their bags by outfit per day. this helps us not to overpack and it helps the kids to be organized as they travel. with my kids away on overnight trips, i also put each day's outfit in a ziplock bag. i do this for multiple reasons. first, there is nothing worse than the smell of dirty camp clothes. if the kids take the clean clothes out of a ziplock bag and put the dirty cloths back in the ziplock bag, the smell is contained. no one wants to put on clean clothes that smell like end-of-the-day camp wear. ziplock bags solve this completely. this also helps kids to remember to actually change their clothes and their underwear each day. i can't tell you how many friends i have who tell me they sent a bunch of clothes with their kids only to have them return home in the same outfit they left in...socks and underwear included. just...gross. one ziplock for one day's clothing works wonders. it's worth the extra effort.

3) send something familiar. 

pack the favorite blanket or stuffed animal. pack the special things the kids love to sleep with or the items they go to for comfort when they are upset. camp can be hard for kiddos so having loved items in hand can make the experience that much easier on them.

4) send more snacks than you think necessary. 

my daughter went to gymnastics camp this year. she did hard core, exhausting physical exercise and conditioning for six hours a day. imaging going to a boot camp or cross fit for six solid hours several days in a row. she was exhausted and absolutely starving. i packed her with tons of snacks to help her get through the day. if you are at the cvs minute clinic, stop in by their snack foods. we found a ton of great options for her and my son to keep them going through the day.

5) stay in touch. 

find a way for the kiddos to stay in touch with you during camp. if the camp has the capabilities, make sure your kids know how to email you when away from home. if there are phones, make sure your kids know how to reach you if they need an "i love you" for the day. if those aren't possibilities, send some self addressed, stamped envelopes with the kids and stationary for them to write you the old fashioned way. they will also love getting cards in the mail from you at camp. send a photo and a little memento from home to help ward of homesickness. a photo and a little note from home can be just what is needed when the kids are away and missing home.

6) remember first aid. 

don't forget all the other camp essentials. send plenty of sunscreen, uv protectant lip balm, uv protectant sunglasses, bug repellant, calamine lotion or benedryl spray, and bandages. i love these sports bandages for my kiddos that i found at cvs because they are sweat resistant for my little athletes. whatever you might prefer, sending a little first aid kit helps kids feel secure knowing they are prepared for anything that might come their way.

7) have them chronicle their trip. 

send a notebook or a disposable camera. ask your kids to write down what they did each day so they can share it with you when they return home. encourage them to remember details in writing so they can relive their experience in the future. they'll look back on those memories happily in years to come.

8) have a plan if things go wrong. 

let's just say your kids didn't remember "leaves of three, let them be" or they didn't put on sunscreen as well as they imagined. let's say they got stung by some insect and the wound looks less than wonderful. when summer mishaps happen, it's great to know there is a place you can go for quick treatment of minor injuries and problems. we head to minute clinic when these unfortunate occurrences happen as well. the nurse practitioners can treat poison oak and poison ivy, they can treat bug bites when needed and can even help relieve painful sunburns. i love the ease and of these appointments. you will love them too.

9) have fun! 

enjoy the moments when your kids are off enjoying time away. take a deep breath and know that, in the midst of all the running around and the chaos, you and your kids are building memories that will last a lifetime. summer is magical for kids. it can be magical for us parents too...especially when the kids are off at camp.

our favorite posts of all time

it's hard to believe that it's been four years since we started this blog. what began as a place for our close friends to share recipes or see what to register for when having a baby has grown into a thriving community of people worldwide that we consider an extension of our own families.

the past four years in each of our lives have brought about many stories.....some make us laugh and others have made us cry....but all have made us grow and learn.

here are our favorite posts of all time. thank you for coming along on this journey with us. we are thankful for each of you and look forward to sharing many more stories to come. 

xoxo-
heather and genelle


genelle's favorites:

the third boob: the story that started it all
all great things in life have to start somewhere. our list wouldn't be complete without this post. it gave us our name and has been the story we re-tell over and over again everywhere we go. why "the third boob?" this is why.

never-had-a-baby-body
this was our first post to be featured on "scary mommy" and it stirred up a ton of conversation and controversy. we hand never been called "fat slobs who sit on the couch eating french fries all day" before this post was published. you've gotta love a good discussion starter!

failing as a mother
there are certain posts that are so vulnerable that it is like getting a snap shot of our lives at a given moment. this was one of those posts for us. it was extremely hard to write, painful still to read and it touches moms everywhere who are walking through this journey of parenthood.

the day my boobs betrayed me
there are some #reallife moments that are just hysterical. they are too good not to share. this was one of those moments. it still makes me laugh every time i read it.

my days are numbered
even with all the funny stories and very difficult moments, there are days when it hits you. time moves way too quickly. when one of our 20 something guy readers said this post made him cry, we know we had something that resounded with many.



heather's favorites:

my sparkling truth: confessions, a single mama and the road trip
if we decide to do a sponsored post, we do so only if we love the product already and if it fits within a story we want to tell. this product fit both and was the first time heather wrote about the changes that were taking place in her family. it was scary, and the support you all showed her will never be forgotten.

why i killed my ex-husband
you can't get more raw or honest then this. it's still hard for us to read but in truth there is beauty and a future. 

heather's 40 things i've learned in 40 years
genelle's 40 things i've learned in 40 years

we both turned 40 this past december and wrote these posts. we have been friends for 20 years and although we are so alike in so many ways we are also so different. if you want to get to know us, we think these posts give a great insight to who we are and how we think. 

grief, loss, acceptance and love

sadly, at this stage of life, we don't think we even know one person whose life hasn't been touched by cancer. this is one story of how it changed heather's life. 

my 20th high school reunion: to go or not to go....that was the question

did you go to your high school reunion? heather had the hardest time deciding if she should go or not. find out what she decided and how it turned out. 

diy-- photo canvas alarm panel cover

we can't think of a post that makes us laugh more. no, diy projects are not funny. what is hilarious is that heather had put zero thought into this post. she snapped a couple photos of something she had done in her house and put it up on this place called pinterest.....and it exploded. to date, this is the single most read post on our blog of all time and gets hits daily even now. it's the gift that just keep giving? apparently, if you want a post to go viral you put in zero though and slap it up onto pinterest. hilarious, but we love the love and appreciate it so much. 

campaign for #reallife

i am officially tired. i am tired of beautiful instagram posts. i'm tired of the super cheerful tweets. i'm tired of hashtags like "blessed" and "choosejoy". i'm campaigning for #reallife.

let's face it. we are bombarded everyday with the best "instagram" versions of everyone we see on social media. we see beautifully filtered photos, we see the children getting awards, we see the sports accomplishments. we get posts of green drinks for breakfast, screenshots of how far people ran today. we even get pictures of tennis shoes as people head to a workout. let's be real people. we know you are only taking a picture of your shoes because you aren't wearing makeup and your hair is pulled back in a pre-workout style. how about a picture of your face after a workout with the hashtag #imtoosexy? where is that picture? where are the posts that say, "my son's team never won one game. #worstrecord and #lifelesson? where are the pictures of giant piles of laundry and dirty dishes? where are the posts that admit we have some pretty horrible moments? don't get me wrong, i work everyday to #choosejoy and i love my crazy life and my kids but i don't need to include something perfect in everything i write. i need to be real. i need to show some #reallife.

don't get me wrong. i love to see the accomplishments of other people's kids. i love to see everyone doing well. however, when that is all people post, i have to wonder what it is they are hiding. what are we so afraid of? clearly, none of us are as perfect as the instagram versions of our families we portray. we have issues. all of us. we all have good days and bad days. sometimes we have amazing moments where we are #winning at parenting. other days we feel like we are barely getting by. is it really so frightening to share a balance of both?

the truth is, i need to see it. i need to know there are other people who struggle like i do. i need to see people wading through the good and the bad. i need to feel connected with other parents out there. it's exhausting to compare ourselves to other family's facebook versions of themselves. we will never measure up. ever.... unless we all start to get real with one another.

so here it goes. just in case you felt alone in your struggles today:

• my daughter had a fever yesterday and i sent her to camp today. i am officially "that" mom. i spent way too much money on the camp she was missing to have her miss any more days. #keepingitreal

• my middle son was pulled aside at a sports camp today for having a bad attitude. this is a normal occurrence with him. #awesome

• this is the fit my youngest threw...because i put his chips on a plate instead of in his hand. #seriously

• this is my youngest yesterday. he isn't wearing his pants. he had an accident a few hours before and i didn't have the energy to climb up the stairs to get him a new pair of pants. he answered the door to a solicitor like this. 

• my living room looks like this. every. single. day.

• i do laundry every day. still, at the end of the week, this is what i look forward to each monday.

so, what can you share about your #reallife? i can't be the only one with stories like these. go ahead. let the world know. we are all in the same boat together. we might as well be honest with one another. i'm betting #reallife will mean #freedom for parents everywhere. 

heather: june monthly must-haves

monthly must-haves are one of my favorite posts to write. i am a total product junkie, so it's my time to shot it from the rooftops, eer...internet...the best of the bests. so, here you have it....just like julie andrews in sound of music (minus the nun part, and most of the other parts) "here are a few of my favorite things":

hagerty silver foam silver cleaner
my sister and i both have a collection of beautiful wallace silver bells for our christmas trees. we have been getting one a year for most of our lives and so now we both have enough for a whole tree full. they are stunning, but only when polished. we looked into taking them to a jeweler to get polished and the prices were insane. we tried the polishing cloths and some of the tricks one finds on pinterest and nothing worked well. enter hagerty silver foam. it is crazy easy to use and i had a bell polished and shining in under a minute my first time out. it's truly a must have if you have silver that needs polishing in your home. 

large-format internet address & password logbook

if your parents forget their internet passwords as much as mine do, this is the perfect gift. it's even in large format and makes it easy to have all the passwords stored in one safe place. heck, i might even get one! 

further products

i love a family run business almost as much as i love a good story, and this brand has both. 

their products are derived from locally sourced depleted vegetable oil, refined into bio fuel and then beautifully converted into exceptional glycerin soap, glycerin lotion, and soy candles.

and their story is crazy amazing. they should for sure have a reality show. i would watch it. read more about them and their process here. their products are sustainable and all-around wonderful. and the smell?! we are talking fragrant oils of bergamot, olive and grasses are combined to create products that are at once fresh, sustainable, and pleasingly aromatic. i'm not sure how they turned the bio diesel byproduct into such an amazing product that smells great....but, i'm sure glad that they did. i'm personally in love with the hand lotion and soap, but you should also check out their entire line of products that also include a candles, dish soap and bar soap. you will be happy you did. pinkie promise. 

oral-b glide 3d white floss picks

i am one of those rare people that actually flosses daily. yep. you heard right. (don't judge). there is something about it that is calming for some reason. i love these floss sticks by glide. i have tiny, short teeth that are tight together. these little picks glide quickly between each tooth and i keep them in a little jar canister on the counter so i remember to daily. 

mr. coffee iced cafe iced coffee maker

i have never been much of a coffee fan, but i love ice in pretty much anything. with single parenthood now on the table and two ever-moving little boys this mama had to figure out a way to get some caffeine into her system STAT. enter the iced coffee maker by mr. coffee. i can have a pitcher ready to go in the fridge and i just add ice and milk and off i go. happy, caffeinated mama!

fairy tales repel conditioning spray

i don't know about you, but lice *freaks* me out!!! my littles have yet to have it (did i just say that out loud?! where is some wood to knock on?!) one of the reasons i think we have been so lucky isn't luck at all. fairy tales makes a whole line of lice repelling products from shampoo to gel and i am addicted to them all. my favorite product is the conditioning spray. i spritz the boys hair in the morning when i style it and they have a build-in, amazing smelling barrier all day long.

original organic lemonade

my kid love juice boxes, but i hate the added sugar. we love leaf & love organic lemonade because it has *zero sugar* but tastes as great as if it did. lemonade that has zero-sugar, is naturally-sweetened and is usda organic?! i am all about products that not only make moms happy but kiddos, too. 

mrs. meyer's scented soy candle basil

i am having a love affair with the smell of mrs. meyer's basil *anything*. their counter spray literally makes me want to clean and the scent comes in everything from laundry detergent to hand soap and even this amazing candle. no cleaning required for this delicious smell. heavenly. 

monopod extendable selfie stick with built-in bluetooth remote shutter with adjustable grip holder

a selfie stick may sound cheesy at first, but after having one for a girls weekend in vegas, i am here to say it is a must-have for any trip. we got some great group photos and let's face it, we all know we look better photographed from an above angle, right? selfie stick to the rescue! 


disclaimer: although we received some products for free, many are purchased on our own dime and *all* are products that we love and the opinions are all our own.