Taryn and Tavia

Urgent Care and Baby Smiles

March 19, 2015March 19, 2015 Taryn and TaviaLeave a comment

We had our first traumatizing baby experience this weekend. Our baby proofing efforts proved not good enough for our little crawling monster. Max decided it was a good idea to pull a speaker off a shelf.

^ I don’t know why we didn’t think to move that little bugger. It now has a tentative new home on top of the cabinet.

Enough about the speaker….you all probably want to know what happened to his poor little finger. He got it wedged underneath the speaker when it fell. His fingernail will not be hanging on much longer. He also had a pretty decent sized cut, I couldn’t get it to stop bleeding so we decided to head to the kids urgent care. He cried the whole way there and almost the whole time we were there. There is nothing worse than hearing your baby cry in pain like that, I felt so bad! The doctors and nurses were so great to us and baby Max. They had him all wrapped up in no time and sent us on our way. When Max was back to his flirty, smiley-self, I knew he would be just fine! Me on the other hand….still somewhat traumatized. Being from a family of four…with two crazy, fearless, sometimes stupid (no offense guys) brothers, I know this will not be our last visit to the urgent care. So until next time (hopefully a few years from now)! Ha!

Stay tuned for a super exciting post about some new exciting things we have going on around here! I. Can’t. Wait. To. Share.

Happy Thursday Y’all!

The Nap Time Hustle

March 10, 2015March 10, 2015 Taryn and TaviaLeave a comment

I’m sure all you moms out there know what I’m talking about. The baby is finally down, I have loads of laundry, a house that looks like a tornado just blew through, and a desperate need to workout. This is what we call the nap time hustle, approximately an hour and a half (if I’m lucky) to complete all of these tasks. First up….the work out. If I don’t do that first, it won’t get done and my booty will be so sad about it later!

^^I mean, how does one kid make such a mess??

Here is my quick little butt kicking workout!

^That’s how excited I get about working out by myself! Ha!

Legs, and a little cardio:

Round 1:

2 minutes on the treadmill (incline 6, speed 6)

20 stationary body weight lunges on each leg

15 squats on the smith machine

Repeat 3x through

Round 2:

15 Glute kick-backs on each leg with the Smith Machine

20 sumo squats

15 jump squats

Repeat 3x through

Round 3:

15 stiff legged deadlifts

1 minute wall sit (these bring me back to my middle school days! ha!)

5 minutes walking lunges on the treadmill

Cool Down and STRETCH!

Y’all DO this workout..I promise your legs and butts will be screaming and you will love every second!! Feel free to comment if you don’t know what something is!

The workout took 40 minutes, toy picking up took 5 (maybe I exaggerated the mess), and the laundry took 30…..and baby Max is still asleep! Now….to eat in peace!!

Happy Tuesday y’all!!

A Texas Snow Day

March 5, 2015 Taryn and TaviaLeave a comment

This is one of those obnoxious mom posts. Max had his first Texas snow experience and I just can’t get enough of his cuteness! I hope y’all agree!

Stay tuned for our healthy snow day “comfort food” recipes!

Weekly Meal Plan

February 24, 2015February 24, 2015 Taryn and Tavia1 Comment

I hope all of you had a great weekend! We sure did. Max and I attended the wrong baby shower…yes the wrong one. I checked the address, the time, and forgot to double check the date. We actually made it on time (or so we thought)…saw balloons outside the house that was on the invitation and walked right in! It only took a water bottle, a couple snacks, and thirty minutes to realize that I didn’t know the lady who the shower was being thrown for. Whoops! We introduced ourselves as the party crashers, grabbed our gift, and high tailed it out of there. 🙂 After that, the weekend was much more relaxing. We are currently experiencing our first ice storm of the season, so that means no work for daddy (well at the office at least), baby snuggles, and movie watching. We will probably get a workout in…it’s not very often that the hubby and I get to workout together!

^^Max is a big fan of Daddy being home all day.

Here are our meals for the week:

Monday: White Chicken Chili (recipe to follow)

Tuesday: Mexican meatloaf with mixed veggies

Wednesday: Chicken burritos with a big green salad

Thursday: Lemon baked chicken with spaghetti squash and mixed veggies

Friday: Vacation time! These Montanas are headed to Montana for another ski trip! The last one for us this season.

Here is our chicken chili recipe!

White Chicken Chili:

What you need:

4 chicken breasts

2 cans white beans

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 medium onion diced

2 4oz cans of green chilis

1 tbs olive oil

3 tbs flour

1 tbs chili powder

What you do:

Boil and shred your chicken breasts

Heat 1 tbs of oil over medium heat in saucepan. Add onion and green chilis until translucent. Add the 3 tbs of flour.

Place the onion and green chili mixture on the bottom of a crockpot. Add the chicken breasts, chicken broth, beans, and chili powder. Stir.

Cook on medium heat for 2 hours.

Easy peasy and so delicious!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

A New Type of Valentine’s Day

February 17, 2015 Taryn and TaviaLeave a comment

This last Valentine’s Day marked the 12th year that my hubby has been my Valentine. He has always been my only one, until now. This year I had two special Valentines and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We spent the day walking (it was 80 degrees here), making some amazing Big Green Egg chicken tacos (scroll for recipe), hanging by Mimi and Papa’s pool, and an early bedtime….for the little guy. The day couldn’t have been any more perfect.

^^Max only wanted to ~~eat~~ feed Bailey his puffs.

Recipe: Big Green Egg Tacos

What You’ll Need:

4 Chicken Breasts

2 tbs lime juice

1 container Sky Valley taco sauce

1 package organic yellow crunchy taco shells

1/2 cup monterrey jack cheese

2 yellow onions (diced for topping)

What You’ll Do:

If you have a Big Green Egg, pre heat it to 350 degrees. If you do not have a Big Green Egg, pre-heat your oven to 350.

Marinate the chicken breasts in tbs lime juice and 1 cup Sky Valley taco sauce for 1 hour (or more if you can).

Grill the chicken breasts for 8-10 minutes per side or until meat thermometer reaches 170-180 degrees. Or bake chicken breasts for 35 minutes (or until internal temp reaches 170-180) in your oven.

Shred chicken breasts. I used our Kitchen Aide mixer with the paddle attachment at setting 4 to do this.

Fill taco shells with desired amount of shredded chicken. Top with your cheese and green onions. Place back in the oven or the Big Green Egg for 8-10 minutes (or until cheese is melted).

Let me know what you guys think! This is for sure one of our new favorite recipes!

What’s On Our Menu

February 3, 2015 Taryn and TaviaLeave a comment

Mondays do not have the greatest reputation, they mean getting up earlier, actually being productive, and in our case, getting organized for the week ahead! Today was filled with laundry, cleaning, meal planning, and grocery shopping. We usually try to get our grocery shopping done on Sundays, but that wasn’t happening during the Super Bowl! So here we are, on a Monday, trying to get our week ahead organized. Here is what we have planned for our dinners (which turn into lunches the next day) so far:

Monday: Chicken pot pie, the healthy version! I will post the recipe for all you pot pie lovers later.

Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday: Spaghetti and meatballs

Thursday: Leftovers (I know..so boring)

Friday: Baked Tacos

Saturday and Sunday are always random so I don’t plan meals for the weekend.

Grocery List: (I already have some ingredients for the meals I am making so my grocery list is not too crazy)

Almond milk, cheese, Kerrygold butter (the hubby is obsessed with his bulletproof coffee..we’ll talk more about that later) bananas, blueberries, mixed green salad, salsa, tortillas, green bell pepper, onion, avocado (for Max), baby food, marinara sauce

Please let me know which meal you guys would like the recipe for! All of the meals I do throughout the week are super easy and healthy. The best kind of meals, right?!

Have a great week everyone!

Workin’ Out with the Babies

January 28, 2015January 28, 2015 Taryn and TaviaLeave a comment

Today is an exciting day! I had two good friends that came over (one has a baby) and we got our lift on in my garage! Who knew that events like these would be the highlight of my ~~week~~ day?! We put the babies in their jumpers and turned our beast mode on.

Here is what we did:

Round 1:

Lat pulldowns: 1st set 8 reps heavy

2nd set 12 reps one plate lighter

3rd set 20 reps one plate lighter than the second set

Round 2:

Bent over cable rows: 15 reps (a weight that is challenging but one that you can keep good form)

Dumbbell rows: 15 reps

Repeat 4x

Round 3:

Deadlifts (you heard, the real kind): 15 reps

Hyperextensions (back extensions) 20-25 reps

Round 4:

Or not…Max had enough and was ready to take a nap! Ha! He did have a great time watching all the ladies get their lift on…and it was a major bonus that he got to hang out with his little buddy!

^^Our new garage gym! Lots of my workouts will be happening here!

^^My friends are good motivators. That back is amazeballs.

Do any of you guys have to workout with your babes? How do you keep them entertained?

Happy hump day y’all!

Family Workout

January 26, 2015January 26, 2015 Taryn and TaviaLeave a comment

Sunday was another beautiful day in Texas. The hubby and I decided to load baby Max into the stroller and walk to our community gym to get a “pump” in. Working out together used to be part of our everyday routine back in the college days, but now it is such a rare occurrence we try to make the very best of every minute! Max, of course, doesn’t object to a good stroller ride and some entertaining workout moves from his mommy and daddy. Here is what we did.

Warm Up: Half mile walk to the gym 🙂

Round 1:

Shoulder side laterals: 20 reps

Seated shoulder press: 10 reps (heavy)

Reverse flyes: 20 reps

Repeat 4x through. Remember to increase your weight if you are flying through your reps!

Round 2:

Barbell upright row: 20 reps

Front raise with a plate (I used the 25lb plate): 12 reps

Push-ups: 15

Repeat 3x through

Round 3:

Seated machine shoulder press: 20 reps (last set is a drop set, get as many reps as you can, drop the weight, and repeat until you can’t do anymore!)

Squat press with Max as the weight: 20 reps (he was getting antsy at this point, he loves squat press! 🙂 )

Repeat 4x through

This concluded our fast and furious shoulder workout! Our workouts together have changed a little since baby Max was born. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I hope y’all enjoyed your weekend as much as we did over here!

A “Walk Work-Out”

January 20, 2015 Taryn and Tavia3 Comments

One of the reasons we love living in Texas so much is the weather! Last week it was in the 30’s…and today it is 60 degrees and sunny! Baby Max, Bailey and I can’t wait to get our stroller out of hiding and go on a “walk workout”. Some of you may already know that I am not a runner…I mean I am the poster child for those t-shirts that say “If you see me running, you better run too because something is chasing me”. But I love being outside, so baby Max and I do things differently, we walk (at a fast pace) and mix in plyometrics to get my heart rate up and keep him entertained!

Here is what we did today!

Brisk walk for one block

20 jump squats

Brisk walk for one block

30 jump lunges

Brisk walk for one block

15 push-ups

Try it! Let me know what you think! My workout partners had a great time! 🙂

Traveling With Baby

January 12, 2015January 12, 2015 Taryn and TaviaLeave a comment

Over the holiday Baby Max and I hit a major milestone. We traveled by airplane! I had heard so many horror stories about how this could all go down. I was so nervous. I made lists (an embarrassing number of lists actually) beforehand in hopes of being prepared for whatever could be thrown our way! Fortunately, we were prepared for everything that we encountered! Here are my tips for traveling by plane with an infant!

1. Wear the baby. I cannot tell you how amazing it was to have my Ergo on our trip. I strapped him on the second we got out of our car and wore him through everything! It gave me both of my hands for lugging the diaper bag and Max’s bag that was going to be checked.

2. Bring chew toys. Max is teething which means I have to be prepared for him to have something to chew on at all times. We absolutely love our Chompy Chic Chewlery. We have a piece that straps onto our Ergo and I have a necklace that I wear when little Maxer is not in the Ergo. These pieces are fun to chew on and fun to play with!

3. Wear clothes that are easy to travel with. If you are nursing make sure you wear clothes you are comfortable nursing in. I wore a nursing tank, long sleeve shirt, vest, and scarf. Max refuses to be covered while he nurses so I have to layer up to keep everything contained! We were not going to have any escaping boobies on this trip. Ha! Make sure you wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off, this makes the security line so much easier.

4. Bring at least 2 extra outfits for the baby and an extra shirt for yourself. There is nothing worse than an explosion when you don’t have any back-up outfits. Enough said.

5. Pack as many diapers that you can possibly fit in your diaper bag. I have a fear of running out of diapers when there are no back-ups! I also brought disposable changing pads to help keep germs off the babe during our airport bathroom changing sessions.

6. Schedule flights around naps. Traveling will mess with your baby’s sleep schedule no matter what, but trying to keep a little bit of normalcy through the chaos of traveling is easier on everyone.

7. Check car-seats and strollers at the gate. You always have the option of checking your car-seats and strollers with your bags at the ticket counter, but checking them at the gate eliminates the chance that they get lost!

8.Bring your paci. Or two. Or Ten. We don’t leave our house without our monkey Wubba-Nub and all of his friends. If your baby does not take a pacifier, bring whatever makes them comfortable!

9. Nurse during take-off and landing. I worried so much about little Max’s ears during take-off and landing. We nursed during both to (hopefully) eliminate any pain! It seemed to work because he did not make a peep!

10. Bring a blanket. Airplanes can be uncomfortable, brink a blanket or anything that will help comfort your baby while hanging in the plane! We used our muslin swaddles to keep us warm and comfortable so that he could nap! It worked!

Here is a picture of exactly what I had in my diaper bag.

1. Extra Outfit

2. Disposable changing pads

3. Anti-bacterial wipes

4.Honest diapers (as many as you can fit!)

5. Honest soothing bottom wash (for those nasty poopy diapers)

6. Burp clothes.

7. Muslin Swaddle

8. Bourdeauxs butt paste just incase we have a diaper rash situation.

9. The infamous Wubba-Nubs

10. Changing pad (that is included in the diaper bag)

11. A bib! Bibs save so many of our outfits with all of our drool going on!

If you have any tips that have worked for you and your little one please leave them in the comments!

Happy traveling!!