Lifestyle – MayciJBlogs

Baby Girl Nursery Tour

maycijones — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:03:28 +0000

I am so excited to finally share my nursery with you all! This nursery definitely took time and hard work haha, but I LOVE how everything turned out. I went for a butterfly-themed nursery which I haven't seen too many people do, so it was definitely a little challenging to find certain items that matched my theme! We also went with a blush, gold, and ivory color scheme. Feel free to DM me on Instagram if you have any questions @maycineeley. Additionally, I will be linking everything for your convenience below!

What’s In My Hospital Bag?

maycijones — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 03:10:06 +0000

This is everything I am packing in my hospital bag for delivery! Additionally, you can see everything I packed on my Instagram Highlight here. Feel free to shop the post below!

For Mama

+ Pajama dress (magnetic buttons)
+ Comfy Pjs
+ Zella maternity leggings
+ Aerie comfy pullover
+ 2 nursing bras
+ Comfy robe
+ No-slip fuzzy socks
+ Adidas for on the way to the hospital & home
+ Slippers for the hospital stay
+ Sandals/flipflops for the shower
+ Toiletry bag & shower essentials

[show_shopthepost_widget id="4368041"]

For Baby

+ 2 white onesies
+ 2 swaddles
+ 1 receiving blanket
+ 2 cotton newborn hats
+ 3 bows

[show_shopthepost_widget id="4368046"]

Miscellaneous Must-Haves

+ Laneige lip sleeping mask (my all-time fav!)
+ Long charging cord or extension cord + Polaroid Camera
+ Makeup remover wipes
+ SD card for the camera
+ Laptop & charger
+ Mints, gum & snacks

[show_shopthepost_widget id="4368076"]

Boho Chic Baby Shower

maycijones — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 19:56:03 +0000

I am so excited to finally share my baby shower with you guys! Since there is a literal world-wide pandemic going on, we decided to do a small shower with family and a few close friends. My mom and sisters threw my baby shower and we did a cute little boho-chic-themed luncheon and I love how everything turned out!

When deciding on the theme for the shower I told my mom I wanted everything super neutral. Blush pink, light beige, and I wanted a lot of pampas grass! Of course, my mom took that idea and went above and beyond with everything at my shower (per-usual). My mom LOVES to plan a good party and she totally nailed my shower!

We first started off with appetizers and snacks and then moved into the dining room for lunch. One of my favorite parts was having all of the mamas go around the table telling their birth stories. I love to hear other people's birth stories while I am pregnant, I seriously can't get enough haha.

After lunch, we played a couple of games. For one of them, we had about 10 different chocolates smushed up in different diapers and everyone had to guess what chocolate was in each diaper. Definitely very entertaining and a lot of fun! We also did a baby food smell test. Everyone passed around different baby foods (we took the labels off of all of them) and they had to guess which baby food it was. I honestly forgot how bad some baby food smells! The winner of each game also got a great prize!

Then after the games, we had some dessert and opened presents. We had sugar cookies, cupcakes, and a gorgeous cake for dessert. My favorite part was the little butterfly decals on the cake, cupcakes, and cookies. I special ordered the butterflies off Etsy and they were 100% edible!

I will be linking everything at the bottom of this blog post, so be sure to check it all out!

20 Week Pregnancy Update!

maycijones — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 18:27:07 +0000

Ok, how is it even possible that I am a little more than halfway done with my pregnancy? So far, my pregnancy has gone by so fast and I can hardly keep track of each day. I think working full time while trying to manage a videography/photography and social media business has to account for the time just flying by!

As well, this pregnancy is very different for me. My first pregnancy was so full of sadness and despair that it seemed to go by at snail speed. This pregnancy so far has been pretty happy for the most part! Granted, working as much as I do definitely puts a toll on my overall mood and happiness at times. But for the most part, things are just great!

20 Week Ultrasound

Last month I had my 20-week ultrasound, which is an exciting yet scary ultrasound because it is an anatomy scan. During this ultrasound, they look at everything in the baby’s body. They look at the chambers of the heart, brain, umbilical cord and they even count all of their precious fingers and toes. It goes a lot more in-depth than that but basically, the ultrasound technician can see if anything is wrong with your baby from this ultrasound.

Our ultrasound took about an hour, which surprised me because I thought it would only be 30 minutes. Sadly, we weren’t able to take any video because apparently, it is against HIPAA guidelines or something. After our ultrasound, we met with our doctor who gave us our results. He told us that everything they checked looked great! So we are super grateful that baby Neeley is 100% healthy!

26 Week Update

Today I am 26 weeks which is insane to me because next week I will be in the third trimester! I am feeling baby girl kick a lot more now and her kicks are getting stronger every day. We are currently in the process of getting the nursery ready and so far we have painted, got the crib, bedding, and a cute little mirror. The next things on my list to get are curtains, a light fixture, a rug, and a dresser!

Throughout my pregnancy, I have felt pretty good! Life, in general, is crazy right now with COVID and the election so I try not to let it play too much on my emotions because it does make life a little more stressful. But overall life is great and we couldn’t be more excited to meet baby girl in 3.5 months!

Our Natural and Kid Approved Oral Care Routine With 123Grin! Kids Oral Care Pack

maycijones — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 17:43:15 +0000

I don’t know about you guys, but I never made oral care an important part of my routine when I was little. My parents always told me to brush my teeth, but never stressed the importance of it. So most of the time, I ended up doing a 10-second brush and calling it a night (haha yikes).

So, because of my lack of oral care, I got my first cavity when I was 5-years-old! The cavity was so deep that I almost had to get a root canal! I learned from my mistakes and now I want to make sure I prevent this from ever happening to Hud.

Nighttime Routine with Grin

Getting Hud to brush his teeth used to be a nightmare. Seriously, we used to have to pin him down to brush his teeth! He also hated every toothpaste we ever got him because it was either too spicy or would feel “too slimy” on his teeth. Recently, we started using Grin’s oral care products and it has made such a difference in our overall nighttime routine! We have specifically been using the 123 Grin Kids Oral Care Pack! The 123 Grin Pack comes with flossers, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and then a cute little chart with stickers to track your little one’s progress.

Since using the 123 Grin Kids Oral Care Pack, I haven’t had to fight Hud on brushing his teeth. He actually wants to do it now and I am so happy about this! He loves using the little flossers because he thinks it is so fun to get all of the “yucky stuff” out of his teeth. He also loves the strawberry toothpaste, which is so fortunate since he hates every other toothpaste.

It’s also nice because the Grin toothpaste Hud uses is fluoride-free and safe if swallowed, so I never have to worry about him swallowing harmful ingredients! Overall, Hud’s favorite part about the 123 Grin Pack is the chart with stickers, it is so fun for him. He loves to be able to put a sticker on the chart every time he brushes his teeth, it keeps him so motivated! We told him that once he gets to the end of the chart, he can get a little surprise.

Grin Benefits – Natural Oral Care

Jacob and I are also big fans of Grins oral care products. What I didn’t mention previously is that Grin’s products are very different than other oral care companies. I love them because they are natural! Their toothpaste has no sodium lauryl sulfate, no added sugar, no preservatives, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no fragrance, and no harsh abrasives.

Other than having natural ingredients in their products, they are also better for our environment. Their toothbrushes and flossers are biodegradable. I have slowly been making changes over the last couple of years to use better and more natural products with less chemicals. I started two years ago with my skincare and for the last year I have been trying to be better with natural foods and now I am switching up my oral care habits.

Why I Choose Grin

Since I am pregnant, using natural products is super important to me and I have always tried to use the most natural and pure products with Hudson. So changing to a more natural toothpaste and biodegradable products is super high on my list of priorities.

After using these products consistently I have nothing but great things to say. Knowing that I am putting natural ingredients in my body really gives me a peace of mind! So, it is time to trade out your chemical-filled oral care products and switch to Grin for a more natural and biodegradable oral care routine! For more information on Grin and their products visit their website here, and you can use my code MAYCI10 for 10% off your purchase!

Much Love,

Mayci J

We are Pregnant!

maycijones — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 18:02:15 +0000

First of all SURPRISE! We are pregnant! I also want to say sorry. Sorry for lying over the last few months, but this was just one thing I wanted to keep between family for a little while. We are over the moon excited and Hudson seriously cannot wait to be a big brother!

So where do I start? Let’s go back to April. I was in California when I got the call from my fertility center that we could re-start the preparation process for an embryo transfer. So in mid-April, I started on birth control. I had to be on birth control for about two weeks. Once I stopped birth control I got started on oral hormones called Estradiol.

I was set to transfer our embryo on May 29th. I had about 4 appointments at my fertility clinic prior to my transfer date to do ultrasounds. Basically to make sure my uterine lining and everything looked ok to transfer the embryo. All of my ultrasounds looked good so the date of May 29th was confirmed!

Five days before the transfer I had to start PIO injections which are the worst shots of them all. These needles are super long and thick! I was honestly scared out of my mind. The shot is an oil base so it is a super thick liquid that needs to be heated before it is injected. My first shot was rough. The actual injection hurt, but the aftermath was almost worse. The bruising, swelling and aching was crazy.

Transfer Day

Then May 29th came and I was so nervous. Thankfully Jacob was able to come into the transfer with me despite COVID. I was so nervous but they give you a valium 30 minutes prior to the transfer to relax your uterus. So once the procedure started I felt more relaxed. The actual procedure took like 5 minutes or so. Then I had to lay there for another 10-15 minutes or so after the transfer. Then the next 3 days or so I was on bed rest. No lifting, exercise, or anything active. Just rest.

My next appointment was set for June 8, to get my blood drawn to see if I was pregnant. June 8th is also our wedding anniversary, so it was either going to be a great day or a bad day. However, I was not able to wait! I tested earlier because I just had to know if I was pregnant or not. Technically you’re not supposed to do this because you could get a negative test and actually be pregnant. So it can be discouraging, but I really could not wait any longer.

I am Pregnant!

I took one test which was just an HCG strip. I took it but I didn’t follow the instructions properly and I thought the test was broken. I left it on my bathroom counter and started putting some makeup on. As I was doing that, I looked over about 10 minutes later and saw two lines. I couldn’t believe it. So I took out my Clear Blue pregnancy test (the digital one) and tried it. A few minutes later the word “pregnant” showed up.

Honestly, I couldn’t even believe it. So I called Jacob upstairs to show him. I was crying because after all the shots, blood, and tears it was happening! Keep in mind I had to stay on oral hormones, vaginal hormones, and continue my PIO injections for 10 weeks.

The crazy thing is when my doctor transferred the embryo I instantly became 2 weeks and 5 days pregnant. IVF basically skips the first little bit of the baby-making process. Even though I knew I was pregnant, I was still nervous about my pregnancy blood test. Sometimes you can get a positive test but your HCG blood test numbers can be low indicating that it could be a chemical pregnancy.

Luckily, I got the call on June 8 that my numbers were high and I was for sure pregnant! That night was an amazing night. It was Jacob and my anniversary, so we got ready and headed to dinner and a place called Tuscany in Salt Lake. Right before we walked into dinner we decided to call our families to tell them the news. As you can imagine, everyone was so happy for us!

Miscarriage Scare

So it wasn’t all butterflies and rainbows. On June 22, we had a miscarriage scare. I actually felt completely ok the whole day and towards the evening I started feeling sick. I was working the late shift, but luckily I was on work from home. During my shift my husband made dinner and when I was eating, I started getting sharp cramps in my stomach. They were sharp to the point where I started feeling nauseous. I turned the air on and sat on our air vent.

After dinner, I laid on the couch and kept working since I wasn’t feeling well. Jacob decided to take Hudson to the park for a little while it was still light outside. I only had 20 minutes left in my shift when I had to go pee. I went pee and then went back to lay on the couch when I felt something. I went back to the bathroom and blood started coming out. I instantly started panicking.

My first thought was to call Jacob. Jacob rushed home from the park and then I called my mom. I was crying on the phone and I was pretty sure that I was miscarrying. I ended up calling my 24-hour nurse line and they said that it could be a number of things but I should not panic. They said that I could either wait it out until the next day or go to the ER. After talking to my mom I decided the ER was the best option. If I was miscarrying, I didn’t want to risk having complications or bleeding out.

We got to the ER and they started blood tests on me. I already felt sick, and the guy who took my blood was super aggressive haha. So it was not a great experience, I was SO nauseous and my arm was completely bruised.

We were overjoyed! The baby looked completely fine and I was discharged from the hospital not long after. A couple of days later, I had to go into my fertility clinic for another appointment to get my blood drawn to make sure my HCG numbers were still going up. Thankfully, my numbers went up and everything was fine!

Pregnancy

Pregnancy so far has been pretty good. I haven’t been sick thankfully, but I have been getting nauseous from time to time. My cravings are kind of non-existent, the only thing I crave is a salad with vinegar which is kind of random. I mostly have food aversions and get grossed out by everything.

Bachelor Night Self-Care with Crest 3D Whitestrips

maycijones — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 12:00:48 +0000

Some of my favorite essentials I get at Walgreens are:

Crest Whitestrips
Vitamin Water
Lots of Candy
Charcoal Face Mask

Bachelor Self-Care Routine

Comr Bachelor Monday, I invite a couple of girlfriends over. It’s essentially our drama and spa night and we LOVE it. We always start by putting our Crest Whitestrips on and then we will typically do a facemask or something else that relaxes us. Then it’s showtime!

I love using Crest 3D Whitestrips as part of my self-care routine because they are SO easy to use and convenient. Also, for all my ladies out there drinking wine while watching Bachelor, Crest 3D Whitestrips removes 14 years of stains! So you can drink all the red wine you want and then just whiten after!

When my girlfriends came over to watch, they asked me if the Crest Whitestrips actually work… and 100% they do. If you saw my previous blog post about Crest 3D Whitestrips, you would know that this has been my only method for whitening my teeth. I have never done or used anything else besides Crest 3D Whitestrips because they are amazing! Use them for only 30 min a day and you will see results after only three days!

Bachelor Predictions

Speaking of rose worthy smiles, I need to rant about Pilot Pete’s journey for a minute. It has come down to the end of the show but for real this season has been a little weird. By that, I mean that I feel like none of the relationships have been that great. To me, it seems like all the girls this season have been a little crazy haha.

The girls are always crying and talking crap on each other and then they get around Peter and they act like a different person. Madison definitely seems the most genuine, but even then she was caught commenting on her own Instagram profile with what she thought was a fan account. So it makes me think, is she on the Bachelor for the followers or fame? I don’t know, but I honestly think that’s why all of those girls go on nowadays.

As far as Peter goes, he constantly enables the girls. He seems like a pushover and he also lets Victoria manipulate him like crazy, their relationship is honestly so toxic. They can’t get through a date without her getting mad at him and then playing the victim.

The next Bachelorette was announced today which was kind of a shock to a lot of people, including myself. Clare Crawley is the next leading lady for the show! She was previously on Juan Pablo’s season in 2014. I think she is honestly a super strange choice for The Bachelorette, but I think she was chosen because she’s 38 years old and I think Bachelor Nation is leaning towards an older demographic.

Crest 3D Whitestrips

As we know, many of the relationships from this season did not last, but Crest 3D Whitestrips are actually here for the right reasons and they will leave you with results that will LAST! So go to Walgreens, get your Bachelor essentials and don’t forget to get Crest 3D Whitestrips for a rose worthy smile!

How I Overcame My Anxiety

maycijones — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 18:54:02 +0000

First, let me just say that this is going to be real, like REALLY REAL. It is going to be crossing so many boundaries and it is going to be really TMI SO DON’T JUDGE OK? Ok cool, let’s begin.

Let’s start off with a definition of anxiety, because you have probably heard of it before, but unless you have had it, you probably do not know exactly what it is or what it does.

Anxiety: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

Symptoms:

nervousness, restlessness, or being tense.
feelings of danger, panic, or dread.
rapid heart rate.
rapid breathing, or hyperventilation.
increased or heavy sweating.
trembling or muscle twitching.
weakness and lethargy.

So let’s tackle a little beast I like to call anxiety. Here is the difference between depression and anxiety for me: Anxiety- I feel like I am dying. Depression- I feel like I want to die. Extreme examples, but when you have bad anxiety or depression that is what it can feel like.

As you probably already know, I had depression in the past due to the loss of my son’s biological father and being single and pregnant… but during that time, I never experienced any kind of anxiety. I had always heard the word anxiety used pretty loosely but I had never actually experienced it before. But let me just preface, everyone experiences anxiety in some form whether it’s the butterflies before the big speech they have to give or the rapid heartbeat you might get before going on a first date. However, the anxiety I am talking about today is much more than those nervous jitters.

The Start of My Anxiety

My battle with anxiety started in May of 2019. I had just started a new birth control called NuvaRing because I was sick of taking the pill every day. Things started out really good with it and I did not notice any sort of bad side effects like I had in the past with other forms of birth control. Life, in general, was really good, and I was really looking forward to August because my family and I were all headed to Europe!

Around June I started having some stomach issues (this is where everything is going to get really TMI lol). Basically I would almost sh*t my pants on the daily (fun, yay!). Some days I was completely fine and felt great and others not so much. I also started to get nauseous randomly all the time as well.

Then came the anxiety, and it hit me like a train out of nowhere. I remember being at work and all of a sudden I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I would start taking bigger breaths and felt like the air was not coming through. My heart would then start racing and I would get extremely hot and panicked.

Since I have never experienced real anxiety in my life, I had no idea what was wrong with me… I legit thought I was dying. Little did I know, I was experiencing mini panic attacks.

As my stomach issues continued, so did my anxiety. Every time I ate, I got a stomach ache right afterward and because of this, I didn’t want to go out anymore. I felt like I was trapped in my own body, or in a new body that wasn’t mine.

I started experimenting and realized that any time I ate anything remotely spicy, it would instantly go right through me. When I say go right through me, I mean that I had a matter of seconds once the stomach ache hit that I would need to find a restroom or else it would be bad news.

Anxiety in Europe

Europe was coming up and I wasn’t even excited anymore. My anxiety went from being anxious about pooping myself to anxious about every single little thing. When we left to Europe I could hardly even keep it together. I had so much anxiety about leaving Hudson. I was so worried that something bad was going to happen to him when I was gone that I got to the point where I just wanted to cry and stay home.

The day came to leave and my anxiety was through the roof, saying goodbye to Hud was so painful and scary. When we got to the airport, I had a new feeling of anxiety, which was now the fear of flying.

When I was little I had a big fear of flying because I had experienced some really bad turbulence on some flights and it scarred me. When I got a little older that fear went away, and because I traveled so much for tennis (like every other weekend) I lost the fear of flying completely. But now that fear was back and worse than ever because of my anxiety.

I legit sat straight up and pretty much looked out the window for the entire 11-hour flight to Amsterdam, sounds exciting right? Anytime the plane got even remotely bumpy, I death gripped the armrests and prayed to God not to let us crash. The entire flight my stomach was in complete knots and I could not eat a thing.

My entire Europe trip was pretty much like this on and off. I was constantly stressed about potentially having to use the bathroom and not having access to a toilet because it’s Europe and toilets are not easy to find (or free). Any time we went on a long train ride I felt panic because I worried about having to go to the bathroom, which sounds silly but I legit could not control the anxiety I had about this.

Not having a restroom nearby gave me mad anxiety, which made me feel physically sick. I would feel weak in the knees like I was about to pass out. On my trip, I started using meditation to help me with this and it honestly made a big difference. I would put my earphones on and listen to a meditation podcast and it would significantly calm my nerves.

Despite my anxiety, Europe was still so so much fun and I truly had a blast with my family. The flight home was another rough one for me. Like before, I did not eat or do anything besides reading and looking out the window for 11 hours. When I got home to Hud a wave of relief hit me. My anxiety for his safety was instantly gone which was nice.

Anxiety Continues in Utah

Once we got back to Utah I still experienced anxiety and the same stomach issues. I honestly do not know why I kept ignoring them, thinking that they would go away on their own. The anxiety kept getting worse and I started experiencing chest pains which gave me even more anxiety because now in my head I thought I was either having a stroke or a heart attack.

I finally drew the last straw after a date night I had with Jacob and Hud. We went to one of our favorite pizza and wing places and I decided that I would try eating spicy food again. Big mistake! As soon as we left the restaurant my stomach started gurgling. Within seconds of my stomach gurgling, I knew I had to find a restroom ASAP. SO TMI but I legit had goosebumps on my arms and felt like my face was on fire because I was seconds away from pooping my pants (lol).

Jacob started making jokes to Hudson saying, “Huddy, mommy is going to poop her pants haha.” I snapped at Jacob and told him to shut up because this, “wasn’t an effing joke.” It’s funny now but I was so mad at him because this was a big trigger for my anxiety. Luckily I made it to the bathroom Woop Woop, but this was the turning point for me… I knew I needed to see a doctor ASAP.

The Diagnosis

Scared and anxious I finally went to the doctor to see what was up. I did a full blood test panel for my stomach which was another traumatic thing for me because I HATE blood and needles. The results came in after a week and my doctor told me that there was a reason I was almost pooping my pants every day and it was called H. Pylori.

Pylori is a stomach bacteria that you get from contaminated food or water. You test positive for H. Pylori if your blood count is at a 9 and my count for H. Pylori was at a 20. So my doctor said I had it pretty bad, which is probably why I had such horrible symptoms. I have no idea how I got it, but my guess is maybe from our honeymoon in Mexico the year prior. The bacteria is super resistant to antibiotics so I had to take 2 different antibiotics for two weeks. Basically, my doctor had me taking 7 pills a day for two weeks… it was intense.

During the course of taking these antibiotics, I did not feel any better. I actually felt worse, because the antibiotics were making me super nauseous. Since I didn’t feel well, I kept feeling the anxiety. The chest pains also continued which made me think something else was not right.

Then I thought of it, my birth control. My anxiety started not long after I started NuvaRing. I went to the ob-gyn and got some more blood work done and since I was having such extreme symptoms, my ob-gyn wanted me to get an EKG done. My ob-gyn also wanted to take me off birth control completely.

How to Manage Anxiety

Within weeks of being off birth control, my anxiety got significantly better. Now it has been almost four months off birth control and my anxiety is day and night. I still have it every once in awhile, but it is much more manageable and nowhere near like it was before.

So to all of you ladies with anxiety out there, check your hormones! It could be a hormone imbalance or sometimes even a lack of Vitamin D. Like I said above, my anxiety is so much better now that it’s hardly there… but I still get it from time to time and I am going to share with you what helps me get through it.

1.Music

I was experiencing anxiety the other day at work, completely out of nowhere and it wasn’t over anything. I just felt it for no reason. So I turned on my happy song! Summer by Calvin Harris always makes me feel so happy. I turned it on, tapped my foot to the beat and lipped the lyrics while I worked. When the song was over, I continued to listen to songs that were also upbeat. Within 5-10 minutes I seriously felt so much better.

2.Meditation

Meditation works well when you are extremely anxious. This helped me a lot when I panicked! I use the app Calm and Headspace for this but you can also find guided meditations on Spotify.

3. Affirmations

This helps so much! Whenever I experience anxiety I first have to recognize it. I tell myself that I am experiencing anxiety and that everything is ok. Then depending on the situation, I will tell myself, “ I am strong, I am calm, and I am safe.” I will say it over and over until I start believing it and it really helps.

4. Exercise

Exercise is beneficial for your overall health but it’s also super great for clearing your mind! I don’t always find the time to do this, but if I can, I feel so much better!

5. Social interaction

Sometimes when you have anxiety you want to curl up in a ball and not talk to anyone. I know because I did it for months! Sadly, I never even told my husband I was having anxiety and I tried to battle it all alone. Once I finally told him and started opening up, it helped a lot. Also telling a close friend who experiences it too made me feel understood. Surrounding myself with friends or even just talking with co-workers at work helps me reduce my anxiety significantly!

Overall, anxiety can be a big battlefield. Find what works for you and stick to it! If you’re really struggling I would look into your health, because like me, your anxiety could be caused by some internal health issues.

Thanks for reading and learning all about my pooping and mental health problems lol, and if you are struggling and need someone to talk to please do not be shy to reach out! I always respond to my DM’s so please don’t be afraid to message me. Love you guys!

Much Love,

Mayci J

@maycineeley

Crest 3D Whitestrips: A Holiday Must Have!

maycijones — Sun, 24 Nov 2019 19:00:05 +0000

This blog post is sponsored by Crest Whitestrips, but all opinions are my own.

The first thing you notice when you meet someone is their smile. Whenever I meet someone new, I instantly look at their teeth by habit. Since I am so aware of other people's teeth, I am always making sure mine look good as well.

The first time I ever whitened my teeth was after I got my braces off in 2010 and it was a horrible experience. I used some generic whitening tray system that you can buy at any store. The little tray had the whitening gel in it already and I put the tray in my mouth. I was supposed to wait 30 minutes before I took them out, but after only 5 minutes I was in so much pain.

I have never had teeth sensitivity, but instantly it felt like I had freezing cold tinfoil on my teeth. I only lasted 10 minutes and I took the tray off. My gums had completely been bleached white and when I brushed my teeth, my gums started bleeding. I was in so much pain and I honestly never wanted to whiten my teeth again.

Once my gums and teeth healed, I decided to try Crest 3D Whitestrips. Honestly, such a night and day difference! They stuck right to my teeth and I had zero sensitivity! Legit after three days I could tell my teeth were whiter. Since using Crest 3D Whitestrips, I have never gone back!

Self-Care with Crest Whitestrips

Just in time for the holidays, I am getting my teeth ready by using Crest 3D Whitestrips Professional Effects. After a couple of years of drinking way too much soda, I need to get my teeth white and sparkling again! Crest 3D Whitestrips remove 14 years of stains and your results last from 12 months and beyond.

Crest 3D Whitestrips are also SO convenient. As a busy working mom, I need time for self-care but at the same time, I need to be able to multitask while doing so. That is why I love using Crest 3D Whitestrips because they are so convenient and easy to use while doing other things!

The Champion Mindset

maycijones — Sun, 20 Oct 2019 12:00:10 +0000

The other day Hudson took a pretty nasty fall and banged his head pretty hard. Between the cries, he muffles “I got back up, that means I am a champion.” I didn’t hear him quite clearly and I honestly didn’t expect something of that stature to come out of his little mouth. He said again, in a happier, more excited tone… “I got back up mom, that means I am a champion!” I literally almost cried. My four-year-old son taught me a greater lesson that day then I could ever teach myself.

Typically, I am someone who is pretty self-critical. Lately, my mindset has been this crappy spiral of negativity, stress, and hopelessness. I have tons of confidence in myself, but I tend to think of myself as lazy. I don’t do enough, I don’t accomplish enough, I don’t make enough money, therefore I am not successful. But when I heard Hudson mutter that he was a champion just for getting back up, it made me emotional.

Champion Mindset

I thought back to the time when I was pregnant, severely depressed, recovering from an abusive relationship and the death of my son’s biological father. Just like Hudson, I was down. I felt like I was kicked to the floor and I wasn’t ever going to get up, but I did.

I didn’t realize it then, but I just recently realized it once Hudson taught me, that I am a champion! I got back up, I went back to school, earned my #1 position back on my tennis team. Although, times did get tough again. A year later I tore my ACL and once again I felt like I was kicked to the floor. I could either redshirt and go back for another season after 12 months of extensive and painful rehab, or I could stop now and save myself a lot of time as well as physical and mental pain.

There were teammates of mine who asked me if I wanted to go back because if it were up to them, they would just be done now. Here’s the thing, that is just not me. I don’t quit. You know why? Because there have been many times in my life where I have had to deal with a lot harder things, and quitting now would be a complete disservice to myself. Getting through depression, loss of a loved one, abuse, and pregnancy taught me that I am capable of getting through anything.

So, ten months later I was back on the tennis court playing #1 again. In my mind, not only was I going to come back from tearing my ACL, but I was going to EARN my #1 spot back. I rehabbed six days a week for 2.5 hours at a time. I challenged myself. When I was finally cleared by my doctor to start running, I would push myself to the point where I was practically falling off the treadmill. Sweat would be falling off my face so fast that I could hardly see out of my eyes because they were stinging so bad.

When I was finally able to get back on the tennis court, I practiced the full three hours with my team, but I would also ask my coach if I could do an extra hour before practice because I was determined to be my best. In our team workouts, I always wanted to be the first to finish a sprint or squat the most weight despite the limitations with my knee. I didn’t do it for the need of self-gratification, I did it to show myself what I was capable of. That despite my bad knee and time off the sport, that I was just as able as anyone else.

My senior season ended up being pretty good, I set high expectations for myself even though I had basically taken a year off of tennis. Setting low expectations would have set me up for failure because I would be ok with average results. When I lost, I was very hard on myself and when I won, I didn’t celebrate because I expected myself to win every time I stepped on the court.

When my tennis season finished, I never felt proud of myself for accomplishing everything I did despite my setbacks. Now that I am looking back, I am completely proud of myself. Every singles match I ever played at BYU was at the #1 singles position, which is very difficult. I beat many ranked players and made it to the final rounds of most of the pre-season tournaments I competed in. The majority of the doubles matches I played in were at the #1 position as well, and I ended up being ranked #38 in the nation my final year. I am not telling you all of this stuff to toot my own horn, instead, I am telling you this because I know that if I can do it, then you can do it too!

Many times in life we fall down, we get banged up, broken and hurt. We can choose to stay down, feel sorry for ourselves and cry… or we can get back up. We tend to be very hard on ourselves and overly critical. Even when we do get back up we don’t even see that getting up in itself is an accomplishment of its own. Start being proud of yourself for the little things like getting back up, and you will start to see that you have a lot more love for yourself than you originally thought you did.

I fell down, I got back up, so I am a champion… and you are too.

Resources:

Here are some books that have helped me gain a positive/ champion mindset:

Girl Wash Your Face

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

You Are a Badass

Much Love,

Mayci J

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