The Mommy Pod Welcomes Colleen!

Hi my name is Colleen. I have been married to Ted for 11 years and we have 3 beautiful children who I am able to home school. We have lived in Charlotte since we’ve been married. I recently started my Pampered Chef business and really enjoy teaching busy moms, like myself, how to cook a meal for their family cheaper, faster, and healthier than a fast food restaurant!

News from The Pod~

The Mommy Pod will be hosting a show with three gift choices in March to get us kicked off for a wonderful year in the kitchen!

Colleen has also been generous enough to donate a basket for the ACS Silent Auction we will kick off next week! Thanks Colleen~

The Mommy Pod Welcomes Michelle from Angel Eye Portraits

My name is Michelle Cherikos. I have been married to my wonderful husband Alex for 7 years and I have a stepdaughter, 10, and two boys, 3 and 4. I worked in television for 7 years and last November I was blessed to be able to stay home with my children. As a mom of three, I quickly came to realize how important it is to capture every moment, to take an instant of time to hold onto forever. My goal as a photographer is to bring out the true essence of the people I photograph. I strive for the personalities to shine through, to bring out the real you. Pictures are an important part of who we are. They are important to us now and even more to future generations. If you have any questions, please contact me at angeleyeportraits.com. I would love to get to know you and your family.

Please visit www.themommypod.com and support us by signing up for our newsletter~

The Mommy Pod Welcomes Ellen ~ Meal Planner

Isn’t it always great to start a New Year off on the right foot? I know, at this time of year, I get excited and driven to become healthier. What we put into our body directly affects our overall well being. Therefore, I am taking a closer look at what I eat to see how I can make sure I am fueling my body with what it needs to help me stay as active and fit as I like (and need) to be! Keeping up with three kids is no joke! I have been keeping track of my own personal diet, and have been surprised at how I was missing some pretty important “super foods”. Overall, I feel my diet is very healthy. Yet, you do not realize until you track your daily intake, that you may be low in a particular food group. Or, on the other end, may be filling up with too many unnecessary additives.

My goal is to eat around 2,000 calories a day based on height, weight and activity level. But, I choose to focus on filling the food groups rather than this number. Some days I eat more and some days I eat less, but I never eat less than 1,600 calories in a day and likely never more than 2,400 (my son’s birthday might have to be an exception). My goal is to eat a balanced amount of grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, meat & beans and oils in order to meet these calorie needs. I doubt I am ever perfect and I don't expect you to be either - I really believe that it will all even out in the end if you know your needs and strive to meet them the majority of the time, which I am here to help you do! I never fill up on junk or empty calories so if one day I am heavy on whole grains or nuts - the next day I probably back down and eat more fruit and veggies. My daily activity level is high - I do not sit down much. I often feel like I am in constant motion, so I may be able to afford more calories then some other women. However, I choose not to use this wiggle room for junk - I strive to keep what goes in my mouth as healthy as possible as often as possible.

Let’s do this together… I am here to be your guide and answer as many questions that I can in order to help keep you on track. I am always collecting great tips from wonderful resources to inspire you and hopefully keep you from getting into that rut. I am looking forward to a healthy and fit 2010!

The Mommy Pod Welcomes Imogene!

My name is Imogene and I a mom of two boys. I started focusing on sewing home decor items after I decided to stay at home with my first son, James. Throughout the past two years it has blossomed into a business that allows me to do what I love for all my friends and family. I also enjoy my church and all my friends that the Lord has blessed me with through different activities for the kids and a wonderful Bible Study for myself.
The Mommy Pod has been wonderful for me over the past couple of months. After having my second son I decided that I wanted to stay in shape and try to get these extra baby pounds off and keep them off. Ellen helped me with the Mommy Meal Planner and has allowed me to eat healthier than I ever have before. I have been working out regularly at my local gym and doing some of Stephanie's exercises when I can not make it to the gym because of other mommy duties. All of this allowed me to finish my first half marathon! The Mommy Pod website has a free online menu planner, personal exercise log, and much more. So please visit our site and sign up for the newsletter and qualify for some fun giveaways as well. I look forward to working with The Mommy Pod and using my ten years of sales and marketing experience to make it a success~

*photo by Angel Eye Portraits

The Mommy Pod Welcomes Aundrea!!!!

I am a wife to one, and a mother to two boys. I arise early (sometimes), do the laundry (not every week), pay the bills (with my husbands income), clean the house (just when I can’t stand it any longer), run a business (if you want to call it that), feed my family (on somewhat of a budget), transport my children (as much as any other mother), and love on my husband in his love language (not as much as I should). In my spare time I enjoy the little things like, drinking coffee, exercising (I completed my first sprint triathlon in 2008), and showering without someone knocking on the door. I am far from perfect, but by the grace of God, I can surely laugh at the days to come.

I will be running The Pod Shop and trunk shows for The Mommy Pod. Both of these venues will focus on providing opportunities to purchase local or mommy made merchandise, and informing guests about healthy eating and exercise. I also own Zerbert Baby, a baby gear company. If you are interested in hosting a trunk show, please contact me at: Aundrea@themommypod.com. A portion of all The Pod Shop and trunk show sales will be reinvested in The Mommy Pod.

In honor of The Mommy Pod grand opening, I am offering 30% your entire order at www.zerbertbaby.com for the month of January. Make sure to mention ‘The Mommy Pod’ in an email to receive the discount: Aundrea@zerbertbaby.com.


Looking forward to a great 2010!

Aundrea

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