all green everything!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

...Yes, I realize it was over a week ago, but this Mama has been super busy! the automatic scheduled post thing punked me. Nine days late, but none less lucky.(; 

The top 'o the mornin' for us started with a festive breakfast, naturally...

A fruitful rainbow, oatmeal as fluffy as clouds, and a pot-o-golden applesauce. 

Once full from our nutritious and colorful meal we played for hours on end, but with a bit of prejudice; as we only played with her green and rainbow toys. Just to be in the spirit of all things green on green on green. 

To refuel after play time, we shared some leprechaun lemonade. Don't worry, it wasn't a cocktail. It was homemade fresh juice made with spinach, kale, cucumber  lemon, pineapple, celery, and mint. The Secret ingredient: four leaf clovers... but you didn't hear that from me.(;

Then we went to the Texas Legends basketball game, where we cheered extra loud and wore our matchy matchy outfits for good luck!

Then Brooklynn and her wee little lad Hudson played like itty bitty leprechauns. 

And of course, the image that proves that I'm the luckiest mama in the world...

We had a day filled with happiness, love, and joy... and of course, the luck o the Irish!(;

What mermaids eat for lunch...

If you're reading this, that means my title was successfully intriguing. Yay! So what the heck am I talking about? Mermaid lunch? I'll tell you...

With bikini season upon us, a lot more people though you should be eating clean all year round! are looking for healthier meal ideas, with the hopes of feeling slim this spring and summer. Well, I asked the mermaids their secrets for a hot beach body recipe in the real spirit of all things beachy, I present you with the "Tuna Clam Shell"...

I promise that a diet of lean proteins, complex carbs, nutrient rich veggies, and yes, even healthy fats will help you achieve that dream beach bod. Keep it up and you'll be sure to shine like a pearl amongst a sea of junk food whales. Sorry, I can't help myself with the puns!(:

Tuna Clam Shell aka Mermaid Lunch:

Ingredients:

•1 can of tuna

•1/2 cup cooked quinoa

•1 tbsp hummus

•1 4in. stem celery 

•1/10 onion 

•1/2 jalepeño (can omit if you're a spice wuss)

•1 leaf of red cabbage 

•A couple Country Ranch Peas from Nature Box

•Cracked Pepper to taste 

Directions:

-Cook (any amount; you can store extra for later meals) of quinoa according to directions box/bag. Let cool. You can expedite this by putting it in the fridge after cooking. 

-Pour can of tuna in bowl and season with cracked pepper (NO salt, it doesn't need it and we're avoiding bloat, remember?)

-Dice up jalepeño, onion, and celery and toss in tuna. 

-Dollop 1Tbs hummus in tuna. I used their Roasted Red Pepper flavor, but imagine most any of them would be delicious; I can't wait to get my hands on their Spicy Jalepeño! The creaminess of the hummus healthily replaces nasty awful mayo.)

-Once cooled add quinoa to tuna and stir all ingredients together until evenly mixed. 

-Scoop mixture into cabbage leaf or 'clam shell', if you're digging my beach theme which you totally should be.

-Top with a couple of Country Ranch Peas aka 'pearls', because you totally ordered them after reading my Nature Box post here right?! 

-Pair with this amazing %100 Pure Mango Juice from Philippine Brand

-Enjoy this totally healthy and delicious meal, knowing you're satisfying your tummy in both hunger and appearance. Bonus points for eating this at the beach or desired body of water, rocking your clamshell bra I can't be the only person who owns one!? and obviously super hot bikini body.(;

*I was not endorsed to name/link the brand of products I use (though I'd happily do so if any companies are interested, wink wink!), I just like to be as specific as possible and tell you exactly what we use in our home. 

Fourteen Months!

Age:

Fourteen months, holy smokes Batman, slooow down!

Stats:

With the way she's been stuffing her face, I'd say she's probably up to 20lbs now and getting the cutest little tummy. I also think she's grown an inch or so because pants are shorter. Her ninth tooth; her first molar on the left side is poking through now too. As for clothing, she wears 18 months in some brands, yet I was able to fit her perfectly in an outfit she's had that's 3-6 months. Sizing is all over the place. Still in size 3 diapers.

Favorite foods:

You're still our super eater, and continue to love everything we've previously written about here and here. In the last month we've also added Brookie's Cookies (recipe here), roasted peppers, straight from the wheel Parmigiano-Reggiano, quinoa pasta, shrimp, sausage and bacon (only the tiniest nibbles to try, not a reoccurring thing.), Greek yogurt (she's tried it before, but we now allow it often) eggs (over medium or scrambled), sunflower seeds and pepitas (they were soft and crushed up; no choking hazards.), and lobster to the list. We've also come to the conclusion that she's culinarily spoiled by her chef of a Daddy. I mean many fourteen month olds do you know that eat filet mignon, lobster, and truffle? Throw in a bottle of Dom why don't you? Kidding on the latter half of that. We are still so proud of what an awesome and vast appetite you have for such nutritious and wonderful foods. You drink water some now too, you will drink it from your own cup, but prefer to jack share my Baylor cup that I use daily (that I still have from the hospital when she was born.), but any bottle or cup will do when thirsty. You do well with it, but still do let a decent amount of it drench you from time to time. Oh oh oh, and I'm super excited to say that you've got the spicy tooth of mama, I've been cooking our food with a lot of cayenne, red pepper, jalepeños, and Serrano peppers and you happily eat it all up! Atta girl.(:

Least favorite foods:

You didn't really care for black olives, I don't blame you. I don't know if this counts as "least", because she ldoesn't have it, but we still avoid sugar, white wheat flour, processed junk, and most dairy.

Look who's talking:

In the last month, you started saying...

1. "Mama" again; she had stopped for a while which totally bummed me out, but she's saying it again now, so all is well in the world.(: 2. "Buhhhln" (balloon) and she says it repeatedly really fast like "buhhlnnbuhhlnbuhhln", while pointing at whatever balloons or blimps she sees. 3. "Taa-uu" (thank you), she's said it like that after I said to her when giving her food. She generally just makes a two syllable mmhm type sound and nods her head yes with a smile when I say thank you. 4. "Tree", our little nature lover said it while pointing at a tree, I encouraged it every walk we've been on. 5. "Ca", I wasn't around for this one, but Daddy said he pointed at a car and asked her what it was and she said "ca" and no, we're not from the North East. 6. "Babuhbaa" (basketball), this one melted her Daddy's heart almost as much as hearing dada for the first time. Her entire world is surrounded by basketball due to her Daddy's career, so she was bound to say it soon. "Bah" for ball happened within the same couple days too. 7. "Bwowoahwoah" (woah), she says it when she falls down (relax, I mean like just plopping on her bottom) or when she feels wobbly on something. The first time she said it was on the swings at the park.

Favorite things:

She still loves all of the things mentioned in Thirteen Month Faves, with the addition of her new Flinstone-esque baby car. She's also much more into her stuffed animals and babies; she cuddles them, boops their nose, and kisses them. She likes to carry her toys with her when she crawls around now too and definitely loves to play the pass it back and forth sharing game. Balls are still one of the biggest hits, and she's gotten really darn good at rolling it to us. She also really enjoyed the Disney movie "Tangled", she happily sat through a good majority of it. As for books, we read like five a day and she loves them all. I'll have to do a separate post on her library soon. 

Favorite activities:

Being an adventurer; she is constantly crawling, cruising, and climbing around at the speed of light. Opening all cupboards and drawers (latches and locks are where they need to be.), and pulling everything out of them. She follows us from room to room, and gets a big kick out of it when "she finds Mama or Daddy!" She still loves just going to town with her toys, both with us and by herself. Story time is definitely still a favorite too, again in our laps or reading to herself. Bath time is still a big hit too and she's learning to brush her teeth with us. Of course, going to basketball games is one of the best things ever. As you may have seen in our post here, she absolutely loved the swings! Most of all, she loves to spend time with us, she's definitely a love bug that would take being in our arms over anything, and we wouldn't have it any other way.(:

Least favorite activities:

Still NOT a fan of diaper changes, having her hands and face wiped clean, or getting in her carseat. We've also hit the toddler stage I think, because she doesn't like being told "no" or "not for baby", she tries to test the waters and when we tell her not to, at first she lets out a half-wimper-half-smile thing, which is so cute you want to let 
her get away with it that she's trying to see if you'll laugh or stay stern. Once she hears no again, she usually starts to cry and it's so sad, but does fortunately stop whatever it was she was doing. You also don't like to sleep much, and pretty much only fall asleep in my arms or sometimes a long car ride, that's okay though, because I love your snuggles and I can catch up zzz's in later years. 

Signature moves and skills:

Well your quickness in crawling, cruising, and climbing has definitely escalated. You're also standing without holding anything for about a minute at a time before plopping down. You walk really well with the assistance of our hands or holding onto a toy as we pull it. You continue to wave, high five, blow kisses, dance, clap, point, and have added affirmatively nodding yes. You point at EVERYTHING and say "dat!" wanting us to tell you what it is or let you see/touch/have it. You love love love to laugh, and it's truly the cutest sound ever! You get so so so excited; squealing and speed-crawling or leaping into my arms to take you to the door when you hear Daddy coming home, it seriously melts my heart! You're still Mama's girl for the majority, but definitely starting to build your Daddy's girl behavior, and are opening up a lot more with others; letting them hold you and play with you in and out of our presence. Thankfully; as much as we love your love, we want you to be social too! You even had her first babysit (outside of a few times with family) with our good friend who's two year old Hudson is your first boyfriend. I die over the smitten puppy love they have, and their flirting is seriously the cutest thing ever! Her Daddy said she couldn't date until she was forty, but even he can't stop the adorableness that is these two.

Mom's proudest moment:

I was holding her and my iced tea with a straw at the same time, well the little sneak started sipping some while I was mid-conversation and didn't notice. I mean, it could have been worse, as far as beverages go. I hold my coffee with much more security.(; 

Dad's proudest moment:

Daddy really hasn't had any goof ups that I can remember as of late. Gold star for him. haha. 

Our little Curious George! You are always so fascinated by the world around you and your curiosity leads you on great adventures. You go go go non stop, just like your Daddy, you two are energizer bunnies. Your intelligence and what you take in is astounding, you're truly brilliant kiddo. You make us laugh all day long with your quirks and cute behaviors. You're so full of love, and bring sunshine to us always. Your smile and laugh make our hearts burst, and your cuddles and kisses melt our heart. You grow so much every day and we can't wait to see what's next. We love you with all of our heart baby girl!<333

Nature Box

So I recently won a six month subscription to Nature Box, thanks to the lovely blogger The Wiegands.

I was super excited, because winning is always fun, but more so for the opportunity to try this awesome company out. Nature Box is kind of like a fruit-of-the-month concept, but way cooler! They send you a monthly box filled with five (or more) different packaged snacks. You can choose what goes into the box each month or for those who like to live life on the edge, you can have them surprise you. Awesome right? But wait, it gets better! The snacks are wholesome and real, and a whole lot of really delicious too!

They come in perfect size packages to throw in the diaper bag for this on-the-go mama who's always often hungry. They're also great for my hubby to keep at his desk, since he's literally always going a hundred miles an hour, he can pop into his drawer and grab a hand full of sustenance. 

So enough of me talking, I know what you're waiting for... The mouthwatering pictures.(; 

Dark Chocolate Berry Trail Mix:

This is amazing by the handful, but even better topped with almond butter on oatmeal in the morning or mixed in some Greek yogurt.(: mmm. We're also able to share seeds and nuts (mashed up safely, of course) with Brooklynn. 

Sour Cream & Onion Almonds:

This was a pick for my hubby, as he LOVES Sour Cream & Onion chips, I thought I'd throw in this much healthier alternative for him. They are a hit! 

Country Ranch Peas:

I left a spot open for a surprise in our box and this was it. Ranch fans, you're in luck, it tastes just like it and the crunch of the peas definitely satiates those chip type cravings. 

Chili Lime Pistachios:

I love sour. I love spicy. I love pistachios. This was a no-brainer. They are so darn tasty, definitely going to consistently keep this as a pick in our boxes to come. 

Dark Cocoa Almonds:

Because who doesn't love dark chocolate covered almonds? I don't think we can be friends if you disagree. These bad boys are the bomb. I always say everything in moderation, but it was impossible rather difficult to accept the "four servings in a bag", when I could've eaten its entirety at once. Perfect to grab a few to satisfy my often late night chocolate craving. 

We are very pleased with the quality of these products and are narrowing down our goodies for this month's box to come.

I'm so glad we discovered Nature Box, and you will be too! Go get yourself signed up and excited for the heavenly box to arrive on your doorstep.(:

www.naturebox.com

fit fitness in.

So I always hear people say "I don't have time to work out." Well, I've given my rant on that before, so instead I'll provide some helpful tips to fit fitness into your regularly scheduled day...

Let's take a poll: How many of you watch tv? If there are some sort of saints reading this, that in fact, don't... Well more power to you, but this girl loves her shows. So now that we've all admitted we have our weekly or nightly (I'm not judging) addictions, let's answer question number two. How many hours worth of it do you watch? So you calculate Real Housewives is an hour and then you multiply by, let's see there's one-two-three-four-five-si... Six cities. So that equals... You get my point. Maybe the housewives franchise makes you vomit, and you're into more intellectual programs. Whatever; History Channel or Bravo, twenty minutes or eight hours; if you have time for tv, you have time for exercise. Before you throw your bonbons at me and declare you're not sacrificing your chill time; relax and get your priorities straight, I have a compromise. Work out WHILE you watch. Yeah, I know right? Crazy concept. I'd say do it during commercials, but I think a good majority of you probably reading this on a smart phone of sorts probably have the technology to fast forward them (no offense if not.) So here are some moves you can do in the comfort and ease of your living room while getting your Netflix fix.

With any of the following moves, I personally do 25 reps of each (since none of them are heavy weight, it's okay to do more reps) in a circuit and repeat the circuit as many times as I want watch. Make sure you focus on quality over quantity though, and stay engaged in what you're doing, if you're only doing things half cocked because you're not paying enough attention, it can be very ineffective, and more importantly you could injure yourself. So try to balance the focus of your workout and your watching. I'm listing several different exercises, which I pick and choose from to mix up the order and create circuits. You can totally customize your routine with any of these and many other moves. Here are some great examples...

Got a couch? Great. Start by aiming your face at the boob tube, then use your seat apparatus to do tricep dips off of.

Abs, abs, and more abs. So my first suggestion here is to throw away those previously mentioned Bonbons. After that, throw done a yoga mat, towel, or bareback the floor and get to abbin'. There are literally hundreds of ab exercise varieties, I'm sure you know a few. If not, I'll be creating something awesome for you soon. you can easily find some suggestions in a fitness/health magazine or YouTube some tutorials. Most can be easily done with zero equipment, confined space, and a view of your television. Bonus points if your tv is in the ceiling. 

 

Okay, so how many of you do laundry? Please leave my blog now if you answered no. Great, so assuming you use liquid detergent in a rather large container, you've got yourself some 'weights'. If you do actually own dumb bells or weights of sorts, by all means use them, but if you need to depend on Dawny to keep your clothes fresh and your arms toned, you do it. Obviously, the fuller the better. Grab yo suds by the handle and use for tricep kickbacks, bicep curls, kettle ball swings, overhead swings, etcetera.

Now take a seat, ah ah ah, not on your actual couch, but an imaginary one. It's time to squat. If you've got weights, use them. You can also incorporate your soap weight here, or any other creative household product. Buttt, see what I did there you can effectively do this without anything but your body weight and resistance. Try regular squats and add some pulsing reps, plié squats full and pulses, Hindu squats, split leg squats, side squats, lunges, and wall sits. Again, there's a large variety to mix it up with. 

Now throw in some good ole fashion push-ups and planks for good measure. 

As you can see, there are plenty (and I could've kept going), exercises you can easily do while watching tv. They require zero equipment or can easily be substituted with things you already have, they don't require too much space, and most importantly you can actually finish a Law & Order marathon without feeling guilty that you weren't running an actual marathon. 

And for extra credit...

"Raise your calves, if you are strong!"

I really hope you sang that to the tune of P!nk. When you're making a meal; whether it be prepping and cooking a full on feast, in which case you could fit a lot in, or even just zapping something in the microwave for a few moments; do calf raises. When you're brushing your teeth, taking a shower, styling your hair; do calf raises. I don't advise doing them while applying makeup, unless you're some sort of pro, I imagine that would end very messy. hah. When you're standing in line somewhere; do calf raises. Don't let anyone with less attractive calves give you odd looks either, you're making every moment count. Though I always encourage the stairs if they're an option, if you must take the elevator; do calf raises on your ride. So basically, you understand you can fit this simple, compact move into a lot of your daily habits. For extra nerdy points: count how many you do and you can make personal goals of how many you can fit in a day.

I, personally make time for workouts in the gym for strength training with weights, or I make time to get in cardio, but the above are things I add to that for the extra effort, and it DOES make a difference.

 

For the more committed ones of you who'd like to know, my workouts in the gym or cardio time are anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour, tops. So even if you're going full out at the gym, an hour is plenty of time to accomplish great things. That's sixty minutes people. You can make it work. Here's what I got done in twenty-two minutes...

That's 500 calories burned by sprints in 22 minutes.

So there you have it, my in depth examples of fitting fitness into your day. Your excuses are now invalid; get to sweating people.(:

ps. workout regimen coming soon!(;...