Oh good ol’ nap time. It’s one of the best parts of the day. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mom, and being able to stay home with little Max is such a blessing, but he is non-stop. When he is awake, there is no such thing as a little me time. Sometimes I just want to go to the bathroom without a little person trying to climb on my lap or eat the toilet paper. Ya feel me? The question during every nap time is, what should I do? Laundry? Clean? Complete orders? Sometimes just thinking of these tasks make me want to take a nap too, so instead, I try to do something active right when he goes down. Whether it’s something small, like a few 1 minute plank holds, or lunging around the house, I know that getting my blood pumping will give me just the amount of energy I need to get my daily tasks completed!
Here’s a quick heart pumping workout:
25 squats
15 push-ups
1 minute plank
1 minute bicycle crunches
50 jumping jacks
Repeat 2x!
You’ll be feeling energized, excited, and ready to tackle those nap time chores!
Holidays are so much fun with little babes around. Halloween is on of my favorites! Our neighborhood hosts a “Monster Mile” every year. It is a mile long walk with popular characters dressed up to say hi to the littles. All of the kiddos dress up in their costumes (a perk for us parents because it makes us feel a little less guilty about spending money on a one time outfit).
We were joined by great friends and enjoyed the Monster Mile with an overload of baby cuteness.
Every once in a while Max gets this grand idea that taking a nap would ruin his day. So selfish of him, right? When he does this, it puts a major damper on my workout plans. I decided that just because Max doesn’t take a nap, it does not mean I will skimp on my workout. I just have to get creative. I took my butt to the backyard and got my workout on. Everything I did can be modified! Remember to listen to your body!
Warm Up: 25 jumping jacks for three sets.
Set 1: 1 minute plank (if this is too much, go for thirty seconds!) I did this with my feet up on Max’s swing. This adds an extra core challenge. If this is too challenging or you don’t have a swing, just keep your feet on the ground. Remember to stay up on your toes. Don’t fall into your heel!
Repeat 3x through. I try to move through everything pretty quickly. Only rest for about 20 seconds between sets. This adds an extra challenge, and will also help get through the workout fast, so you can avoid too many messes that your littles may make while you are getting your sweat on.
Set 2: Mountain Climbers. 1 minute. You can modify by going for 30 seconds. It’s important to listen to your body. Remember to move quickly and stay light in your toes! Repeat 3x through.
Set 3: Alternating side plank. Hold a side plank for 30 seconds – 1 minute on each side. Think about keeping your belly button drawn to your spine. Don’t forget to breathe.
^^ but seriously, don’t forget to have your coffee first. 😉
Set 4: Modified Pull-Ups. I used the side of our swing set. Get as many reps as you can with good form, rest for 20 seconds and do it again! 6 sets of these babies!
Last but not least, don’t forget your calves! Find any ledge (stairs work great for these!) and knock out 30 reps of calf raises on each leg. Repeat 4x through.
Done! You should feel so good! Remember that even a quick, small workout will make you feel better than nothing at all. It is so important to be active everyday. Every little thing counts!
The weekend is here, finally!! Although that no longer means sleeping in late (babies don’t understand that), it does mean we get to work out as a family! It’s a little difficult to take Max into the gym with us. He doesn’t just sit happily in his stroller like he used to. We’re getting creative and hitting the pavement!
Here’s What We did:
Warm up: We walked about 1/2 a mile to our community nature trail. There are park benches along the trail that are perfect for different exercises!
Push-ups off the bench: Get as low as you can and get as many reps as you can for 4 sets.
Step-ups: These are my favorite. Get anywhere between 12-25 reps per leg for 3-4 sets. Burn baby burn!
Squat Jumps: These are a doozy. Make sure you are squatting low, keeping your weight back in your heels and fire up from your booty. Try to land as softly as you can on top of the bench. To modify: Don’t jump onto the bench. Squat down and jump as high as you can! Get 12-15 reps for 3 sets.
Finish, by jogging 3 minutes, walking 3 minutes. Until you are back home or it has been 30 minutes!
I don’t think I am alone on this one (or at least I tell myself I’m not), my toddler pretty much hates anything I cook unless its pizza or mac and cheese. I can only sneak in so many vegetables on his pizza and trying to stuff chicken into his shells and cheese is getting old. Although this recipe might not be loaded with vegetables, it’s loaded with protein..and Max scarfed it right up. There may or may not have been happy tears shed.
We’re calling it Mexican Chicken Pot Pie.
Here’s what you’ll need.
3 Chicken Breasts
1 can cream of chicken (I use the organic kind)
1 can black beans
1 can corn or 1 bag frozen corn
1 jar salsa
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
2 pie crusts
What to do:
Preheat oven to 375.
Boil (or bake) your chicken breasts until cooked thoroughly. Shred. I shred my chicken in my kitchen aid mixer on setting 4 for about 40 seconds.
Combine chicken, black beans, corn, cream of chicken, salsa, and cheese into bowl.
Mix Thoroughly.
Pour mixture into casserole dish. Mine is 13×9.
Roll out pie crusts and place on top of mixture. Puncture with fork. I might have gotten carried away with the poking.
Bake for 35 minutes (or until pie crust is a golden brown).
Waa lah! You have yourself a super simple, delicious, family approved meal! I served mine with a side salad.
You know those days where the thought of working out just makes you want to eat some ice cream and take a nap? Don’t lie.. I know it happens to all of us. I can’t be the only one. I had one of those days today. It took some major inner battles (and a couple cups of coffee) to get my butt moving. I tell you what, once I got in the groove, I was in it. My Pandora station was killing it and my body followed. Here’s what went down.
Thin Thigh Tuesday (Is that a thing?):
Warm up: 5 minutes on the elliptical. My warm ups are crucial to my workouts nowadays. It gives me a chance to find the right Pandora station and get ready to rock.
Set 1:
Curtsy Lunges: 1 warm up set of 20 reps per leg. Add dumbbells and get 15 reps per leg.
Stiff Legged Dead Lift: 15 reps with weight. I used the 25lb dumbbells. Listen to your body. Make sure you are isolating your hamstrings and glutes with every rep! If you are feeling it only in your back, your weight is too heavy!
1 minute plank.
Repeat 3x through.
Set 2:
Sumo squats: 25 reps with a weight you are comfortable with. Remember to keep your toes pointed towards the corners of the room, your hips tucked, weight in your heels, and your booty tight! 😉
Seated Hamstring Curls: 25 rep with a weight that is hard to move after 12 reps. Burn,baby, burn.
Push Ups: As many as you can on your toes, and then drop to your knees and get 10 reps.
Repeat 3x through
Set 3:
Stationary lunges: 20 per leg
1 minute on the stair climber at a level where you have to jog a little. It hurts so bad good.
V-ups: 20 reps
Repeat 3x through
Workout DONE! Remember to modify where you have to. Don’t use weights if it is too much, and cut your reps down if you are feeling light headed!
Let me know what y’all think!! If you have any questions about what something is, leave a comment or send me an email!
It’s OU/texas weekend y’all!! We have been rocking our crimson and cream all week!! One of the things I love the most about having gone to OU is the school pride. I don’t think it is going to matter how old I get, I will always get butterflies when I hear our fight song. The OU/Texas rivalry is something every Sooner and Longhorn fan looks forward to each year. It doesn’t matter the team ranks, each team shows up for this game (well, you hope they do). We had a little watch party to cheer on our Sooners while they did some work losing.
On the menu:
White chicken chili: I follow this recipe, White Chicken Chili , and make a couple changes. Actually, just one. I use all organic ingredients, so I don’t use the Bush beans. Ha.
Dutch Oven Beef Chili: I used this recipe, Dutch Oven Chili. I altered the recipe by using just 1lb beef. The hubs, wasn’t so happy about that. He’s right. There really isn’t anything better than chili leftovers. We cooked this chili in our Dutch Oven on our Big Green Egg (best investment ever).
The Sides: Shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, and Fritos.
Chili seems to be my go to menu item when having a group of people over. It’s healthy, fairly easy to throw together, pretty hard to mess up, and easy to make sure you have enough food!
The party was a success…even if the game was not. We lost. Bad. But, that’s what keeps this rivalry fun. You never know whats going to happen. We still love our Sooners and we’re mourning with them today. 😉
^^ Best. Photo. Moment. Ever.
^^ Long gone are the days that it was easy to make him perform for pictures.
Just in case y’all haven’t seen enough pumpkin patch posts floating around.. 😉 Baby Max absolutely loves anything that is shaped like a ball. Go figure. So of course, all the pumpkins at the pumpkin patch earned me some MAJOR points on the best mom ever scale. It was like an orange ball heaven. Another bonus…he had one of his besties with him.
It’s Monday. Again. The weekends go by too fast! I have made a conscious effort to change my relationship with Mondays. We used to be enemies because they mean that the hubby is back at the office, laundry is piled up to my eyeballs, the house is a disaster, and the pantry is empty. I have decided we are not going to enemies anymore, we are going to be friends. So, I am grateful for this Monday because it means I have time to do laundry, I get to clean the house, meal plan, and hit up the grocery store! I mean, who doesn’t love to go to the grocery store with a toddler?!
Any who! The purpose of this post was to show y’all how I meal plan every week. I am a HUGE believer in the saying “failing to plan is planning to fail”. In order for my family and me to eat consistent healthy meals, I try to sit down at the beginning of every week and write down what each dinner is going to be. This also keeps me from buying out the whole grocery store. Here is this weeks meals:
Monday: Home made chicken fried rice
Tuesday: Chicken & broccoli casserole (the sneakiest way to get your toddler to scarf down some veggies)
Wednesday: Crockpot teriyaki chicken served over rice
Thursdays: Leftovers (aka the least amount of cleaning the kitchen day)
Friday: Big Green Egg Pizza
I base my grocery lists every week off of the recipes I need to make each meal. I use the leftovers for our lunches throughout the week. We try to avoid eating out. It is so much healthier and cheaper to eat in as much as possible! I probably sound like a broken record. Or my mother.
I will leave y’all with the homemade chicken fried rice recipe that was the bomb.com. Zack and Max gobbled this down. Getting Max to eat anything other than mac and cheese and pizza is a huge feat, so I am patting myself on the back right now. 😉
What you need:
4 Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey
2 cloves garlic
1 medium white onion
1 cup green peas and carrots
2 eggs
2 cups white rice
What to do:
Cut up chicken breasts into 1 inch squares and sauté on a skillet with a smudge of butter (yes, a smidge….that means less than half a tbs) until cooked all the way through. Set Aside.
Cook rice according to package
Saute green peas, carrots, chopped onion, and garlic until soft. Add two eggs and scramble.
Combine rice, chicken, and green pea, carrot, onion and garlic mixture. Pour soy sauce and honey over top and mix together!
WAA LAH! Easy peasy, and delicious!! Let me know what y’all think!
I couldn’t leave this out of today’s post….while cooking dinner my hubby was home (which saved my house from a mini tornado, aka Max). The two of them experienced some quality bonding while sanding down our patio chairs. My heart just might explode.
These Crazy Montanas 