A Dancer's Trick to Perfect Balance in Life

The studio I work for (Dance La Vie' Academy in Provo) just started our fall season, and seeing all our dancers come back from summer has got me thinking again of the amazing lessons dance can teach you.

(also just look at how cute my dancers are...I mean really)

In particular though, I watch these girls and boys work hard to perfect technique and I see how they push themselves in the areas they struggle with, and it makes me think about the parts that were hard for me. 

A lot of times in dance, you get asked if you are a leaper, a turner, or a leg person.

Ideally, of course, every dancer strives to be good at all aspects of dance, but it's easy to fall into a place where you label yourself as "just not good at" one aspect or another. For me, that was turns.

via GIPHY

Turns are hard because there are so many things you have to think about at once. You could argue the same is true for any dance move, but for me, the elements for turns were harder to get in place.
As this video touches on, fouette turns are especially viewed as difficult - and with reason.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the top 3 things you need to think about when turning are also the top 3 things you need to think about in life.

1) Opposition

Balance when dancing always comes to opposition. If you have the weight of your leg behind you, you shift the weight of your body forward. If you're trying to turn, you have to push down hard into the floor with your supporting leg while lifting out of the top of your head.

Life works the same way - nothing successful can happen without opposition.

You can't truly know joy until you've known sorrow, and you cannot get stronger without an opposing force to push against. That is how we grow, and that is how we expand our capacity for understanding, love, and power.

2) Focus

The real secret to doing multiple pirouettes? Ask any dancer or dance teacher, and they will probably say the same thing: spotting. 

A dancer strives to keep looking at the same spot as she turns, whipping her head around quickly back to that spot with each rotation. This helps the dancer not get dizzy, but it also provides enough momentum for a dancer to complete three or more turns without any other force other than the original push off.

In life, you also need to stay focused on your goals, and keep coming back to them again and again to help you maintain the momentum you need to keep going.

Don't get distracted by the lights and flashes and crowds around you.

You know where you're headed, so keep your eye on the prize.

3) Strong Core

If you don't keep your core engaged, your turn is failed from before you begin. There is no way to stay balanced if you're not engaging those muscles, and without that basic balance, no amount of lift or spotting is going to help you.



In life, you also need a strong core.
Without a firm foundation, it doesn't matter what grades you get, whether you got that promotion, or whether your Instagram looks picture perfect.

You will fall and crumble if you do not stay centered on what matters most.

So what does matter most?

To quote President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,

"What Matters Most is What Lasts the Longest."

That is, families - in particular, families centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So take a step back and see if you're engaging your core and staying centered, or whether you're careening to one side or the other.

Life can feel like a whirlwind, spinning out of control, but you are now a master of turns.

Just trust in opposition, stay focused, and stay centered.

You'll be just fine.

Stay Beautiful
xoxo, Madi


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New Body, Who Dis?

Pregnancy is beautiful and wonderful.
But the phrase people use where they say that a woman "gives up her body" for her child is much more literal than I realized. I sort of imagined it as like a little apartment the baby lives in. Some furniture is rearranged and maybe even some bigger renovations are made, but then she moves out and, yeah, it might take some time for the apartment to get back to how it was before, but it's still the same basic apartment.

No.

Your body changes SO. MUCH. during pregnancy.

You literally have a different body. I'm not exaggerating.
And some of the changes are somewhat permanent.

I made this as a basic visual of the many changes I've experienced during this pregnancy so far. It does not cover everything, but it is a pretty good summary.

I love being pregnant, and I am so excited to meet my little girl.

But I've got to admit. It's been hard to accept this new body as mine. It's hard to not be able to do the things I used to do when I needed a boost or to feel extra cute. Heels? Yeah, no. Feet won't fit and that's a recipe for disaster. Wear an outfit that emphasizes my waist? What waist? That favorite top or cute pair of jeans that used to put a spring in my step? Packed up in a box for however long it takes before I can wear it again.

There are some parts of my body that I've started to realize will never be the same. That's kind of hard to wrap my head around - the body I've spent so much time and effort working to learn to love and accept is, in part, gone. I have a new body now, and some of that hard work needs to be done all over again.

Sometimes I think about how lucky I am to be pregnant. I know firsthand what it's like to want that more than anything and have it taken away. So sometimes I feel like I don't have a right to complain or find anything about my pregnancy hard or negative, because I should just be grateful that I have a healthy little girl growing inside of me.

To some extent, that's true.

But pregnancy is hard.

God knew what He was doing when he gave mothers that instant and overwhelming love for their babies. If it wasn't for that, literally no one would willingly go through pregnancy again.

So if you're pregnant and feel like you're being weak or ungrateful when your back hurts so bad you want to cry, or when you feel like a blimp with bad skin,

It's okay.

This is hard, and it's okay to have days where your new body is hard to accept and love.

But your body is still so beautiful and amazing.

Look at what it can do!!!
It can literally grow a living human being.
It can participate in the God-like act of creation.

And if you're not pregnant and have struggled with miscarriage or infertility,
your body is still a perfect creation of God.

You are not flawed or broken.

You have been given a very difficult trial for this life, but that is only because God knows you are strong enough to bear it.
Your body can still do so many beautiful amazing things.
You can hold hands with a friend who is going through a hard time.
You can smile at a stranger or bring a meal to a mourner.
You can walk into the house of the Lord or kneel by your bedside in prayer.
You can work and play and move and love and worship, and you are perfect as is.

Learning to accept your body is hard.
It's a continual process, one that is complicated when something like pregnancy or weight gain/loss or  health issues or skin problems or anything else changes that body.

It can be hard to believe it, and it's okay to struggle to believe it, but I promise you:
Your body is beautiful and perfect and a wondrous creation of God.


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How to Get TONS of Baby Stuff for FREE!!!

Listen up mommas-to-be: I'm about to change your life.

This is your guide to TONS of FREE or CHEAP or DISCOUNTED baby stuff.

Get excited y'all.

Target Welcome Kit

Ease: Almost Effortless  Gains: Super High!

Step 1) Start a Baby Registry with Target

Create One Here!

Step 2) Go to the Customer Service counter at Target and let them know

That's it!!

Here's what I got in my Welcome Kit:

1 Dr. Brown's bottle

1 Advent bottle

1 NUK Orthodontic Pacifier

1 sample of Dove Baby Head to Toe Wash
1 sample Aquaphor Advanced Therapy Healing Ointment

1 sample of Aveeno Baby Lotion

1 sample Palmer's Stretch Marks Cocoa Butter lotion
1 sample Babyganics moisturizing daily lotion

2 Honest Company Size 1 diapers

2 Up & Up Size 1 diapers

1 Pampers newborn-sized diaper

1 small pack of Pampers Sensitive wipes

1 cute Pampers wipes case

1 sample of dreft newborn baby laundry detergent

2 Lasinoh breastmilk storage bags

2 Lasinoh nursing pads

1 booklet of Target coupons (both baby and non-baby items)

1 booklet of Pampers coupon

Seventh Generation diapers/wipes coupons

and it all came in a cute reusable bag!

Amazon Welcome Box

Ease: Moderately Easy   Gains: Super High!

Step 1) Start a Baby Registry with Amazon

Step 2) Complete their checklist

(hint: you can manually check off categories if you have those items already or are registered for them elsewhere or don't want them)

Step 3) Get Amazon Prime if you don't already have it - even just a free trial!

 (or have your hubby who has it be added as a co-author for the registry and have him request the welcome box)

Step 4) Have $10 worth of items purchased from your registry, by yourself or someone else 

(hint: you'd be surprised what qualifies! If you're getting something from Amazon, add it to your registry before you buy it just in case!)

Step 5) Request your welcome box

A bit of effort is required, but it pays off!!

Here's what I got in my Welcome Box:

1 Advent bottle

1 Pampers newborn-sized diaper

1 small pack of Pampers Sensitive wipes

1 cute Pampers wipes case

1 full pack of Huggies wipes

2 NUK Orthodontic pacifiers

1 container Lysol daily cleansing wipes

1 sample Aquaphor Baby Advanced Therapy Healing Ointment

1 sample Burt's Bees Baby Shampoo

1 15% off coupon to Burt's Bees Baby

1 newborn-sized onesie from Moon and Back

1 muslin swaddling blanket from Amazing Baby

1 Pampers coupon book
Samples of Dreft baby laundry detergent

Similac Strong Moms
Ease: Really Easy  Gains: Pretty High

Similac has a great rewards system that is super easy to sign up for (just click HERE). I'm planning on nursing, but I know that all kinds of things could happen that could make formula a necessity or convenience, plus that stuff is expensive. So, this is one of the formula companies that will send you coupons and even free samples (look at everything I got in that one box in the mail!!) to really cut down on those costs.

Enfamil Family Beginnings
Ease: Really Easy  Gains: Medium

This is another great formula rewards program that sends you free samples and coupons! It's very similar to Similac - I haven't received free samples yet, but I have gotten lots of coupons!
Sign up HERE.

Everyday Family

Ease: Really Easy  Gains: Pretty High

This is a website that allows you to sign up for multiple sites' rewards programs/samples at once (including Similac and Enfamil, listed above!). 

You'll get discount codes to TONS of  places sent to your e-mail. Here are the ones I've used so far:

Discount to Little Wanderers - $60 value

I got these two ADORABLE pairs of shoes (ask my husband how much I have obsessed over them) for FREE - I just paid $14.99 shipping - so only $7.50 per pair!

Until you get your own discount codes, use code 4CE0A455E for free shipping at Little Wanderers!

Discount to Baby Leggings - $50 value

I got these 4 pairs of adorable baby legwarmers and a bandana bib for FREE - I only paid $14.99 shipping - so about $3 per item!

Family/Friends

Ease: Moderately Easy  Gains: Varies, but can be really high!

Step 1) Ask friends and family who have previously had babies if they have anything they'd be willing to let you borrow/have

Or, alternatively,

Step 1) Announce that your pregnant. Friends and family approach YOU with free baby stuff without you even having to ask.

Some baby stuff, you'll want to get new. For an evaluation of what is safest to buy new and what you can borrow/get from a friend, check out this link. Some of the things I list as getting secondhand are listed as recommended to get new, but there are also guidelines to make sure the used things you are getting are safe.

This is what I've gotten from family and friends for FREE:

Maternity clothes from my aunt

Tops from my mom

Car seat and car seat base from my aunt (only a couple of years old, no stains!!)

Crib with attached changing station from my sister-in-law (don't worry, it's not a drop-side, which have been declared unsafe)

Several blankets from my sister-in-law (seen stacked on the changing station)

Some newborn diapers and wipes from my cousin

Deseret Industries/Goodwill

Again, some baby things you'll want to get new, and honestly, I feel like you'll get so many baby clothes from people (because those are the most fun to buy), that you won't really need to buy a lot yourselves. But, DI is a great place to go to save some $$ on maternity clothes!

I got one pair of pants that I cut into shorts, a maxi skirt, and lots of tops for like $35. I will say that the maternity tops section was a) really limited and b) SUPER ugly. BUT I got lots of easy comfy shirts that are just bigger than my normal size and/or cut in a way that better accommodates a belly.

Your Doctor/Insurance

Did you know that many insurance companies allow you to get a FREE breast pump??
I'm working through Aeroflow Breast Pumps to get mine, and it's literally ZERO cost to me!

My doctor gave me a goody bag for my first appointment full of prenatal vitamin samples and a free book similar to What to Expect When You're Expecting.
Also, ask your doc if he or she has any free formula samples or other baby goodies!


Happy bargain hunting!


Advertising Disclosure: I may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website.

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Survival Guide: Pregnant at Disneyland

I recently went on a trip to Disneyland/California Adventure with my family, and I had a blast! We enjoyed Pixar Fest, where Kyle and I shared an alien dessert and I got to eat ratatouille, which has looked insanely appealing ever since I first watched that movie.

I enjoyed the beautiful views of the castle and Pixar Pier and even was cheesy and got a First Visit badge for my belly.

But it was definitely different going to Disneyland with a baby bump than it is going solo, so I decided to make this blog post.

First off, please note that this post is titled “Survival Guide,” not “Super Fun Happy Time Guide.” Sure, Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth, and I absolutely love it. But I can pretty much guarantee that, if you’re pregnant, it’s going to be a lot less magical and a lot more of waiting around. You can still have fun though! Here are my top tips for enjoying a trip to Disneyland/California Adventure while pregnant:

1) Don’t Go While Pregnant

If you’re thinking of starting a family, and you’re thinking of taking a trip to Disneyland with your sweetheart, do the latter first. Or wait until you have kids. If you are going to go while pregnant, make sure it’s not your first time or a once in a lifetime thing where you have to see and do everything. If you’re in your first trimester, beware of all the smells that could trigger some puking (even good ones) and the extreme fatigue that will have you wanting a nap every hour. If you’re in your third trimester, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DON’T GO WHAT ARE YOU THINKING??? Possible exception: if you’re planning on being in a wheelchair or scooter the whole time. Second trimester is definitely doable, and I definitely still LOVED being at Disneyland, but if you can pick between going while pregnant and going while not pregnant...it's no contest.

 2) GOOD SHOES 

I don’t mean cute - I mean SUPPORTIVE. Your back will be KILLING YOU if you do not wear supportive shoes. Following some tips I’d read on other blogs, I wore these sandals (which I’ve already raved about here) and brought flip flops for later in the evening when my feet had swollen to the point of overflowing off/out of my shoes. 

Day 1: Half day, wore sandals all day, feet were red puffy painful water balloons by the end of the day, but my back felt just fine! Which is amazing because, even before I was pregnant, theme park days of walking around made my back HURT. 

Day 2: Full day, wore sandals until dinner, then switched into flip flops and felt instant relief. By the end of the night, my back hurt SO BAD. Not worth it for the freedom it gave my feet. 

Day 3: Very full day, wore sandals all day, wanted to chop off my feet at the end of the day and back also hurt (but not as bad as the day before). Ultimately, I think 3 days is just a lot for a pregnant body to handle, and it is so much better to have supportive shoes and swollen feet than flat open shoes and back pain.

3) Find those secret spots

It may seem like there aren't many places in Disneyland you can go that aren't hot and crowded, but they exist - I promise! Here are two in California Adventure that saved me:

Benches/bathrooms/drinking fountains across from Cozy Cone in Cars Land
TONS of sitting space and shade, food, bathrooms, and water all right there, you can see some Cars characters drive by or park by the Cozy Cone - it's a great place for pregnant ladies!! And those cute cones have some yummy food, lemme tell ya. The Pickle Popcorn and Chile Lime Corn in a cup were two of my favorites!! They also have what is essentially a spicy meatball sub in a cone made of bread, different colored churros, ice cream treats, and nachos.

Hidden seating at Flo's V8 Cafe in Car's Land

Car's Land is where it's at for pregnant ladies! If you walk pretty much all the way around the restaurant, there's TONS of seating in the shade that lots of people don't know about! Also, hint hint: you can order food from a lot of places on your phone through the Disneyland App and just go pick it up when it's done! No waiting in lines = more time to elevate those feet.

Disneyland Park isn't as awesome as California Adventure in terms of secret shady seating, but there are some tables in Tomorrowland kind of off to the side that have umbrellas - a good spot to wait while people go on Matterhorn or Space Mountain - though there are also benches and bathrooms by Space Mountain that are nice and cool too!

4) Take care of yourself

These aren't suggestions.
I'm telling you you have to do these things if you're going to Disneyland while pregnant:
- Bring lots of healthy snacks and lots of water
Saves you money, keeps your nausea/blah bloating under control, and makes sure you stay hydrated (SOOO important!!) - there are tons of drinking fountains around the parks to refill too!
- Bring a fan - preferably one that mists
I got this cheap one from Walmart and OH MY GOSH was it a savior when I was waiting in line. You can get overheated so easily when pregnant, and this helps SOOO much! I still use it all the time at home - see more in an upcoming survival guide about being preggo in the summer!
- Apply sunscreen, wear a hat, and reapply
You burn easier when you're pregnant, and in general I'm here to tell you that no cute hairdo is worth a sunburned scalp. Don't forget to put lots of sunscreen on your feet too!!

5) Go with good people

Being together is what makes vacations fun. You sitting by yourself for most of the day while everyone else only goes on the big rides is not fun. So I would a) make sure you're going with a group that has at least a few people who won't want to go on all of the big coasters (shout out to my little bros and sissy here), and b) make sure you spend time with them while you're there! If your feet can take it, wait in line with them and then just bow out when they get on. Sitting alone on your phone or wandering stores by yourself is not a good way to have fun at Disneyland. Good people? Now that's a way to guarantee you have a good time.

I hope this helps your trip to the Happiest Place on Earth be a little happier and more magical!

Advertising Disclosure: I may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website.

How to Involve God in Your Marriage

Marriage is one of the greatest adventures you can embark on, and God LOVES for you to find an eternal companion who can be a helpmeet to you. But marriage can be hard. Especially because Satan knows how holy it is, and he wants to do everything he can to mess it up. Don't let him! Here are 5 simple ways you can keep God involved in your marriage:

1) Trust in the Lord's plan for you - including the timing of when you get married

I get it - it's hard to see all of your friends and roommates get married one by one, to add bridesmaid dress after bridesmaid dress to your closet, to see relationship after relationship go down the toilet, and feel a bit upset at God, wondering why this whole eternal companion thing is taking so long.

Have faith.

Definitely easier said than done, but don't you know who it is that you're talking to? He is your Heavenly Father who has INFINITE love for you and is OMNISCIENT in what you need, who you are, how you can best grow, and what trials and blessings will best help you become who He needs you to be.

Whether you get married at 17, 25, 38, 65, or in the next life, God knows what He is doing and He has the best plan possible for you. 

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we know that family is the most important thing. Sometimes, though, I think that gets a bit misconstrued in our culture, and we begin to think that marriage is the most important thing. It's not! Developing a relationship with your Heavenly Father and forming good familial relationships is what you should be focused on. Those relationships may include a husband, but there are tons of other relationships you can nurture and help make godly ones. Strive to develop charity for your sibling. Call your mom more often. Help your roommates draw nearer to God by making your apartment a place where the Spirit of the Lord can be felt.

Do your best to love others around you, and trust in God's timing.

2) Do sweat the small stuff

I'm not saying you should fight over how to load the dishwasher. I'm talking about those small day to day things that can bring you closer to God and keep the Spirit close. Don't let them fall into your bin of "things you do when you have time." MAKE time to: 1) Pray together every day and 2) Read the scriptures together every day.

Find a time that works for you (Kyle and I find that right before bed tends to work best - even if we're super tired or it's late, we can read a verse or two and say a prayer together) and STICK TO IT. There is a reason that "Say your prayers" and "Read your scriptures" comes up in Sunday School all the time: it is the EASIEST way to keep God in your life and keep the Spirit on hand.

If there is one piece of marriage advice you take in your whole life, let it be this: pray together and read your scriptures together.

3) Serve your spouse

It can be (and most likely will have to be) the small stuff: rub out your husband's neck after a long day, offer to make dinner during a week that has been crazy, just stop in your busy life for a moment to ask them how they're doing and if there is anything you can do for them.

Service is the best way to develop Christlike love for someone, and the person you MOST need to develop that love for is your spouse. They are your eternal family, and it is only together that you will be able to be as close to God as you can be. Lift one another up, and you'll be amazed at how close heaven can feel, even in a shabby newlywed apartment.

4) Have fun and be dorks

I LOVE this quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley!! It goes right along with 2 Nephi 2:25: "Men are that they might have joy."

If you aren't laughing at least once a day with your spouse, take some time to reevaluate your life. There is always time for tickles, for water gun fights, for burying each other in a mountain of pillows and cushions. There is always time to talk in silly accents and laugh at videos of people crashing into things and blow raspberries on each other's arms. Find the joy in life! Don't focus so hard on trying to do the serious adult stuff that you forget to just be dumb and have fun together.

5) Make love

The leaders of the church have said this better than I can, so I'm going to let them help you understand how godlike and faith-building the beautiful act of love is between a husband and wife:

"Through the righteous exercise of this power, we may come close to our Father in Heaven and experience a fulness of joy, even godhood. The power of procreation is not an incidental part of the plan; it is the plan of happiness; it is the key to happiness."

 - President Boyd K. Packer
(in my favorite talk of all time - mentioned in this earlier post)

“It is the destiny of men and women to join together to make eternal family units. In the context of lawful marriage, the intimacy of sexual relations is right and divinely approved. There is nothing unholy or degrading about sexuality in itself, for by that means men and women join in a process of creation and in an expression of love."

 - President Spencer W. Kimball
(source)

"Again I want to tell you young people that this power within you is good. It is a gift from God our Father. In the righteous exercise of it as in nothing else, we may come close to him."

-President Boyd K. Packer
(source)

Keep God involved in your marriage!
He wants to be involved, and your life and relationship with your spouse will be infinitely better because of it!

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