The single most expensive purchase when preparing for a baby is a stroller. Back when I was a baby, my mom said you only had one option, a basic umbrella stroller.

Times have definitely changed since my days as a baby because strollers now come in all shapes, sizes, weights and more. The options seem to get more elaborate as time passes.

While having many options are great, it can also be quite overwhelming.

From all those options, if you’ve been eyeing a jogging stroller, otherwise known as a jogger, you need to get your hands on a Summit X3. All I have to say is that this is the grandaddy of all of them.

Here are some reasons that make this jogger extraordinary (information taken directly from manufacturer website):

Read my entire post at PTPA Media Blog. Here’s to another great stroller!

1. Organize: Be sure to provide your child’s school with enough notice of an address change for any final documents they may need to send. Also, once you’re in the new house, you may need to access important documents like your child’ school records for new enrollment. Be sure to keep those documents set aside for quick access and maybe make some copies in case you forget which box you packed them in.

2. Take Stock: You can finally clean out that playroom or your teenagers musty bedroom! This is your opportunity to really “clean house” (pun intended) and decide what you “pack”, “recycle” or “give to friend.” You could also consider having a garage sale and adding the money to your moving fund or donating what profits you make to a local charity.

3. Pack your life up: Everyone’s favorite part – the actual packing. If you were able to get rid of a good amount of items through your cleaning efforts, this part might not be too bad. For little ones, you can have them get involved and pack their toys, stuffed animals, all their “non-breakables” in a designated box. This will keep them preoccupied and they can feel a part of the move. Also, if you are moving long distance, remember travel arrangements for your pets. There are pet-exclusive airlines available such as Pet Airways, and regular airlines have travel options for pets as well.

4. Make arrangements: If you have little ones, you might want to arrange child care for the actual moving day so you are 100% focused on the move and little ones are safe away from all the activity. Also, you can do a final cleaning of your house/apt for the new tenants or arrange for a cleaning service.

5. It’s Moving Day!: Unpack one room at a time, starting with the bedrooms. The whole family will be tired from the commotion of moving, so making sure each family member has their bedrooms setup so when it comes to bedtime, everyone can just crash and recover from the day.

For more tips, click on this link to Realtor.com.

I just purchased a home and I would definitely pay more to buy an eco-friendly one. Unfortunately in expensive Southern California, if you want to buy an eco-friendly home you pay a premium price tag, like $3 million plus.

While I would pay more to buy an eco-friendly home I can’t afford to buy a home that’s in the millions. So instead of going that route, my husband and I decided to buy our new home and make small eco-friendly choices as we lived there. Our first eco-friendly change is adding solar panels by the end of this summer.

For those that are in the market to buy an eco-friendly home, I’ve got 5 homes across the nation that may catch your attention: 

285 Nevada San Francisco, CA 94110

1. San Francisco – A beautiful city with the Golden Gate Bridge and if you were old enough to watch, the backdrop of the TV show “Full House”. This eco-friendly home is made of organic and green materials. Some of it’s eco-friendly features are radiant heat, solar panels and rain water collection systems.

Price: $2,100,000

1160 Mcclellan Drive, Los Angeles CA 90049

2. Los Angeles – The City of Angels. A town filled with celebrities, business people and probably some of the richest people in the world. With many aspiring to live a healthy lifestyle, eco-friendly living is high on the list. This home has solar and many eco-friendly elements. Located in exclusive Brentwood.

Price: $5,498,000

1747 West Granville Avenue, Chicago IL 60660

3. Chicago – The Windy City and my home town. This home actually had me close to convincing my husband to move back. It’s a steal to buy a home that’s eco-friendly for under $400,000. It features eco-friendly passive solar panels. Located in Edgewater, it’s definitely a great investment in a growing neighborhood.

Price: $395,000

261 West 121st Street New York, NY 10027

4.  New York City – When I think of the elite social scene, NYC immediately comes to mind. A city that represents America’s melting pot, I believe New Yorkers will always be a New Yorker at heart. This home features radiant floor heating and solar panels. I love how this has the authentic townhouse charm with an eco-friendly twist.

Price: $2,200,000 

665 S Corona St, Denver, CO 80209

5.  Denver – A beautiful city surrounded by mountains. When I think of nature, I think about this city. The home is beautifully remodeled and features solar panels. If you want a move-in ready eco-friendly home, this is the one for you. Update: Not sure if it sold because the pictures no longer appear.

Price: $593,000

If you’ve contemplated purchasing an eco-friendly home, take a moment to look at this infographic from Realtor.com (Click on the image to enlarge it).  There are some interesting data presented that may help with your final decision. Go Green!

Recently Lululemon came under fire when they recalled their sheer yoga pants and now their product chief is stepping down. Really? Okay, I get that your stocks went down and you even asked customers to demonstrate the sheerness of your yoga pants (they released a statement that you do not have to do a downward dog to get your money back), but now, the chief is stepping down.

Maybe this is why I’m not in the retail business, although I’ve fantasized it many times. Lululemon clothes are like the Chanel of the workout apparel industry. They are expensive and often times you will see them selling for close to retail price on Ebay. And what’s even more interesting is that Lululemon apparel holds value. After you’ve used them and no longer find a liking to them, you can sell it off to places that will buy your Lululemons because their is a high demand for used ones as well.

All I can say is that many moms and single gals have started exercising because of this brand. The clothing makes you look and feel good and therefore you buy into the healthy lifestyle. I still have yet to get my hands on a Lululemon because it’s so expensive but when I do, I hope it’s not sheer, I hope there isn’t some major drama among the ranks and I hope the prices go down!

NOTE: I would have bought those sheer pants if they were 75% off. I might have to ask them if I could get first dibs on the recalled ones and start a new fashion revolution. I don’t mind wearing some cute boyshort undies underneath.

If your listening Lululemon, keep doing what you do. Make cute yoga apparel and subtract the drama! Moms and women across the country love that you make them feel sexy when they exercise, grocery shop and just go about their normal daily activities.

Does your body feel low on energy? Do you have digestion issues? Is your skin looking a little drab these days? Do you get sick often? If you’ve yes answered to any one of these, I definitely feel you and want to let you know that you don’t have to feel that way!

Last year, after reading Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Diet, I invested in a Hurom juicer and was on a mission to treat my body like a temple of healthy goodness. Not only that, I had many neighbors who themselves were battling breast cancer at the time and were all on a strict alkaline diet. After hearing that, I wanted to take measures to prevent any illness from coming forth in my own body and treat my body like a sanctuary.

Being a mom, I always worry about missing out on certain events or important milestones because of sickness or illness. I want to witness it all.  To do that, it’s all about treating my body the way it should be treated, by nourishing it with good solid healthy ingredients.

During this year’s Expo West which is one of the largest natural foods trade show, I discovered Suja Juice. Suja means long, beautiful life in Hindu.

When I look at health food products, the first place where I look for answers isn’t brochures, press kits or raving reviews from celebrities. I look at the founders, the people who started it from ground zero. When I met Eric and Annie, instantly I knew their product was great. They were glowing, in tip top shape, plus it also helped that their products actually tasted really good. They say you are your product and they sure were.

I started their 3 day cleanse a week after attending Expo West and at the time, I was coming down with a cold. The first day my sniffles went down and by day 2, no cold was present. Yay! The benefits of juicing or even cleansing is that you give your body/digestive system resting time.

Just like we need our 8 hours of sleep each night, giving our system time to rest, recharges them to work more efficiently in the future. Starting the cleanse allowed my body’s immune system to do its job rather spending the energy to digest all my solid food intake. Hence, I didn’t prolong my cold and got better instantly.

I know a lot of moms that want to juice, but don’t juice because they don’t have the time or the patience to chop fresh produce and do the juicing themselves. While I love juicing on my own, I also like the option of having something on hand for when I’m sick or about to get sick because truth be told, I don’t want to lift a finger when I’m not feeling good. So moms, you now have the option of Suja Juice, available at a Whole Foods store near you.  You can also order online directly, but shipping is probably going to be a deal breaker for you (it’s expensive).

It is priced at $8.99 but that’s the price you pay for convenience, but I can tell you it’s not much more than you would pay for doing it on your own. For my own juice: I usually use 2 organic apples for $2, 1 bunch of organic kale for $2.49 a bunch, 1 organic lemon for $0.99 and 1 organic cucumber for $1.49. It comes out to be $6.97. I know some of their juices have twice as many ingredients, so depending on what juice you get, either you are paying a little bit more or even the same, for them to do the work for you.

(Disclosure: I received the 3 day cleanse with a promotional card I received at Expo West, but this does not affect my views or opinion of the product. This post is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)

Do you find yourself stressed out, low on energy, at your wits end (possibly with a headache), do you feel anxious because you’ve got 20 things on your plate at one given time? Welcome to the world of parenthood. We probably have the toughest job in the world!

After hours of listening to whining, chasing my oldest daughter around the house to do her homework, finishing my own work while cooking dinner and then receiving multiple phone calls in between, by night, I’m ready to call it a night and my kids call it mommy’s Spoonk time.

Spoonk let’s me rest peacefully at night and in the morning, it gives me energy to tackle on all the day’s tasks. But you ask, what is it? It’s an acupressure mat that’s relieves tension and does much more than that. It’s been seen everywhere and more specifically featured on the Dr. Oz show.

I bought this for my mom because she deals with a lot of pain related issues and she loves it. My husband used it after his sinus disease surgery and it helped with circulation. And of course, I use it every day!

For people who’ve never experienced acupressure or acupuncture, you may feel a slight discomfort, but the more you do it, you get comfortable doing it.

If you were to get acupressure or acupuncture done on a daily basis, you would be charged a hefty fee, mine charged me $65. A Spoonk mat costs $59.99 for the regular sized mat, but I got lucky as they often do a Groupon offer for 50% off and I scored an amazing deal. Not only do I save a ton of money, I have it on hand for whatever whenever and no appointments are needed! Is it time to Spoonkify your life?

I am such a health nut and one of my favorite events to cover every year is Expo West. Why? I love meeting like-minded people who celebrate healthy living. This year, I discovered some really great products and companies that I would like to share with you:

1. Glob – I am crazy when it comes to finding natural products for my kids to play with or use.  Glob has botanically crafted paints made from fruit, vegetables, flower and herbs.
2. Suja – I juice  every morning but I usually have the same concoction: kale, cucumber and apple. It tastes marvelous but I still like to find companies out there that makes juicing easier for the busy folks like myself. I came across this company at an event thrown by Whole Foods Market. Their juices are cold-press and each juice is made from 2 lbs of certified organic fruits and vegetables. That’s what I’m talking about!
3. Spoonk – I have been an owner of  a Spoonk mat even before I went to Expo West. I have gifted them to loved ones and it’s an amazing mat that promotes health in many ways. Fifteen minutes on the mat gives me clarity and energy. My husband had sinus disease and after his surgery, I made him go on the mat. Not only did it give him energy, it allowed circulation in his body especially since he was bed-ridden.
4. Eco Towel – This is an eco-friendly option to your store bought paper towels. Made of bamboos, I saw it with my own eyes how well they absorb water and oil. They are machine washable and can be use over and over again.
5. Ladibugs Lice Treatment – They are the first chemical-free head lice product. My daughter’s school recently had a lice outbreak. I was freaking out because of all the chemical products out there. Luckily, my daughter didn’t get lice but I will be using the Ladibugs prevention sprays on her.
6. Earth Balance – Their new line of snack products are so amazing that I squealed at the first bite. The Vegan Aged White Chedder Flavor Popcorn is any Dairy Allergic or Vegan’s new best friend. Yum, yum, yum!
7. purO3 – The products are made from Ozonated oil. Before coming across this item, I wasn’t too familiar with the whole process but it’s basically changing O2 (pure oxygen) to O3 (pure ozone). The product itself rolls on smooth and smells amazing!
8. Ruby’s Rockets – Frozen fruit and vegetable pops that contain probiotics. My kids love popsicles but sometimes they might not be in the mood to eat vegetables and their probiotics. This is a great way to get probiotics into your kids’ diet.
9. ChildLife Essentials Toothpaste Tablets – Do you have issues with getting your kids to brush their teeth? These tablets are essentially a tablet form of your traditional toothpaste. They chew, brush and rinse.
10. Woats – Snacking taken to the next level. They are made of whole grain oats and combined with some of our childhood favorites including the one I tasted Cookies ‘n’ Dreams. It was yummy and healthy! Who said snacking couldn’t be healthier?

There were tons of companies and products that I came across that were inspiring and great, however these were the top ten standout products in my mind.

Do you watch Shark Tank every Friday? My oldest one who is only 6 calls Shark Tank her favorite show. Why? She’s an entrepreneur. Since I can remember, she’s been coming up with ideas and trying to make a profit off of it. If it’s cold, she’s out in our driveway selling hot chocolate and if it’s hot, she’s selling lemonade. I wouldn’t be surprised if she went on Shark Tank with a few of her own ideas in a couple of years.

Just this past Friday’s episode had some really great ideas that I would like to share with you:

Gotta Have S’more: The CEO came up with the concept because she loved s’mores but hated camping. She invented Smuffin, a S’more in a muffin. While a great idea that seems like it would taste amazing, Mr. Wonderful was right on this one. Shipping for almost $60 is ridiculous. I don’t care how rich you are.

How Do You Roll?: A combination of a fancy sit down sushi restaurant and the convenience of the grocery store. To me, the Chipotle of sushi. I actually had this idea a few years ago when my husband and I were throwing out business ideas, we just never did anything with it because of the magic word, “capital”. Mr. Wonderful gave them 1 million dollars in exchange of 20% stake in the company, plus some monthly money he would dip into from the royalty.

Pretty Padded Room: An online space where people can go to get therapy or counseling sessions. This steps outside of the traditional boundaries of receiving counseling. The idea is genius because it can tap into a huge market of private folks that don’t want to go to a therapy office afraid what others may think of them. This – they can do in the comfort of their own homes. Too bad the CEO did not know her numbers and she ended up getting eaten alive.

Smart Wheel: 5 kids ranging from 13-18 invented a wheel that would alert teens when they were exhibiting dangerous driving habits. This would include distraction from their friends, texting, eating, drinking and putting their makeup on. I don’t think this item should be limited to only teens as I’ve seen so many adults exhibit this same behavior. Robert and Mark gave them $100,000 for 30% stake in the company. This is a great deal and can’t wait to see the president’s daughters using them as well.

My daughter and I religiously watch this show and I am looking forward to seeing what sort of business my 6 year old will start. I am always inspired by all the entrepreneurs that come on the show. If you plan on applying, please know your numbers because there’s nothing more embarrassing than being eaten alive by the sharks.

It’s been 2 months since the Sandy Hook tragedy. As a parent, this tragedy was not something I watched over the television thinking it was another person’s issue, I took it personally and felt like it could have happened to any one of us in any part of this nation.

We can now send virtual Valentines as way of pledging our support. Virtual Valentines can shared from :http://1millionhearts.sandyhookpromise.org and via social media with the hashtag #1MillionHearts.

• Web: http://1MillionHearts.SandyHookPromise.org
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/sandyhookpromise
• Twitter: http://Twitter.com/SandyHook

This is one thing that we as a community can do to show our support. Peace.

I have been one busy girl!!!  Sorry I didn’t sign on sooner, but we just bought our very first home, moved within a couple days of closing, my husband had a major nose surgery which included nasal septum perforation, sinus disease, deviated septum and just a big mess overall, plus my 2 girls started new schools.  Can you just imagine the chaos that I lived the last couple weeks?

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!  Hope you have a very blessed year full of prosperity, luck, happiness, health and everything in between.

My year started in my new home and it couldn’t have gotten any better than that!  Being a new homeowner, I can guarantee that you can find me up and down the aisles of Home Depot on a regular basis (who would have thought that?).

Because I am a new homeowner, in a few months I will be bringing a very cool new site to you.  It’s my baby, it’s about home, lifestyle, food and more.  I guess you can say I am going to tackle on a more editorial style of site.  I hope you guys will love it as much I do.  If any of you enjoy guest blogging, you do a lot of DIY stuff, cook on a regular basis or love seeking a bargain of a furniture, please hit me up!

I know I have been off and on the last few years because a lot of changes going on in my life, but I will be bringing some really great posts in the upcoming weeks!

Happy New Year and I appreciate the continued love and support you give Mommas in the House!