Last Weekend Before Christmas

It's the last few days before Christmas...woohoo!!  I'm not gonna lie, it's still sometimes hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it's in the 80s outside.  Most days of the year, I'd take sunscreen over snowpants, but there's something about being cold at Christmas that makes it a little bit better.  At least next year we'll get a cold Christmas in Indiana.  This year, I'll just count my blessings and catch some rays.  We took advantage of the gorgeous weather on Friday and hit the pavement for a run to our drumming party with Miss Rabe...

Don't miss next week's class!

In case you're interested in her other offerings, here's her schedule for the winter session...

Rabe Cogsil Cogsil@aol.com 772-349-1799SCHEDULE for Jan 2014------5 weeks=$50 Start week of Jan.7 End week of Feb.5 Tuesdays---------9:00-10:00 toddlers-emphasis on sign Language within activitiesTuesdays--------10:30-11:30 33 months plus Tuesdays---*12:45-2:00--4 month olds to reserved beginner walkers (safe environment for all)Wednesdays------9:00-10:00 toddlers and siblings Wednesdays----10:45-11:45 (time can be arranged around participants)
*= class starts for each family when they arrive- user friendly start and stop class format
5 weeks -$75 VPK Students or EAGER 3 YEAR OLDS
12:45-1:45 (DAY tba) Each class has 3-6 students and studies TONE BELLS No instrument is needed*= class starts for each family when they arrive- user friendly start and stop class format5 weeks -$75 VPK Students or EAGER 3 YEAR OLDS 12:45-1:45 (DAY tba) Each class has 3-6 students and studies TONE BELLS No instrument is needed*= class starts for each family when they arrive- user friendly start and stop class format5 weeks -$75 VPK Students or EAGER 3 YEAR OLDS 12:45-1:45 (DAY tba) Each class has 3-6 students and studies TONE BELLS No instrument is needed

We headed to the park after music class for some more outdoor fun...

It was a fun morning and we all returned home sunkissed and happy.  Unfortunately, things started to go downhill after naps when the Mason woke up with a fever.  The darn bug that's going around finally got its hold on us...bummer!  

We spent most of the rest of the day snuggled up...

Sambucol and Motrin to the rescue...

...if you haven't tried this stuff for colds, I highly recommend it.  I'm a believer!

I was able to squeeze in a bit of fun with some girlfriends at a cookie exchange that night.  It was nice to enjoy a glass of wine and catch up with the girls.  

Our original plan was to go to SeaWorld on Saturday to check out the special Christmas shows but we ended up staying close to home, with our major outing of the day being a trip to Publix.  It's almost as exciting as SeaWorld, right??

We did venture around the block on the bikes for some fresh air but that's about as much excitement the boys got.  They were just too beat to do much else.

I got a little stir crazy come nap time and decided to tackle my long run that afternoon in hopes of being able to sleep in on Sunday morning...

MapMyRun told me I did a good job...I agree!  It's definitely not my fastest but it's done and I'm ready for the half marathon.  Bring on taper time!!  And things went according to plan...I got to sleep in til 7 this morning.  Woohoo!!

This morning, the boys woke up fever-free but still congested so we hit up the beach to breathe the salty air and get some vitamin D...

...it was GORGEOUS out there today.  My secret plan is to see the beach every day in the next two weeks while Mickey is home.  Wish me luck!

While we were over there, we checked out the new playground too...

...even Mickey had fun, haha...

I think it's better suited for my littler love bugs, don't you???...

We rounded out our morning with a couple of errands before calling it good and heading back home for some R and R...for the guys at least.  I did squeeze in a quick, fantastic, upper body workout that looked like this...

I have a feeling I'll be squeezing in this quick, intense workout again over the holidays...short and effective!

I tackled a few other chores and now it's time for some R and R for me.  I see a family bike ride in our future now that Mickey fixed his bike.  Gotta take advantage of the sunshine :-)  

Last Training Day

We've been squeezing in a LOT of fun the last couple of days.  I love that Abigail's visit coordinated with a taper week so I haven't had to worry too much about my training while she's here.  Tomorrow's the big race and I'm hoping the weather cooperates.  It was pretty windy out there this morning for my last training run.

I'm as ready as I'll ever be for tomorrow's halloween half marathon.

Here's some of the fun things we found to do the last couple of days, despite the rainy weather...

The play area at the mall is surprisingly fun.  Everything is nice and padded, a definite plus in my book.

The Ghoula last night was fun too.  My sister and I went as identical twins...not the most creative costume there, but it worked and we had a great time.

Today's Hobgoblin parade in Downtown Stuart was super cute.  I loved seeing all the kiddos outfits and we got to use our new handy dandy wagon.   We love it!

The boys loved seeing their friends at the parade.  I love our little town!

I'm sticking to my tried and true pre-long-run pizza.  We've got a homemade pie in the oven topped with fire-roasted tomato sauce, sauteed kale and mushrooms, and chicken sausage smothered in mozzarella...definitely not vegan but DELICIOUS and hopefully just the thing to power me through my half marathon tomorrow.

Stay tuned for the half-marathon recap in the near future.  Wish me luck!

Mustache Fun

Yesterday we had some fun with these goofy stick-on mustaches.  Thanks Target Dollar Spot!  You made our day.

As if mustaches weren't enough, we also got a surprise package from my sister Miriam, which included mummy and skeleton straws, stickers, AMAZING pumpkin spice puppy chow and light-up bouncy balls.  Needless to say, the boys had a very  exciting day yesterday with all their new goodies.  THANKS Aunt Miriam!

It was a gloomy kind of day so we also indulged in some spicy hot cocoa thanks to my adaptation of this recipe.  It was YUMMY!  Cayenne, cinnamon and chocolate.  What's not to love?  I actually made ours with stevia instead of the brown sugar and unsweetened almond milk instead of regular milk.  

I also finished making this bracelet.  I'm excited to play around with different colors to create different looks.  It was fun to do something hands-on.  We stocked up on more materials to help entertain us during today's wash-out from hurricane Sandy.  

It was produce day too so I got to pass out all this organic deliciousness.  I love Thursdays...so yummy!  I'm really excited to try out my dandelion greens.  I've never had them before but I do love my greens.

My two-mile run ended up having to be on the treadmill yesterday because of this crazy tropical weather.  I forgot how much I hate treadmills but I did discover a new love for the bosu ball as I completed the strength training portion of my workout.  Today's boot camp workout from Best Body Fitness called for squats into overhead presses while standing on an upside-down bosu ball.  It was a nice new challenge to attempt my workouts on a wobbly surface.  We also did our push-ups on it upside down.  It was fun and challenging to mix things up.

While all of that excitement was going on, we were also making homemade dulce de leche in the crock pot using this recipe.  It was SOOOOO good on apples.  Success!  I recommend dipping apples into it at 10 pm after splitting a bottle of wine with a great friend and your sister.  It made for a very relaxing night for me.

The plans for this rainy day are very low-key.  Perfect for a rainy rest day two days before my half-marathon.  Bring on the carb-loading and hydration!  

Stay dry and safe.

A Windy Day at The Beach and Some Fitness Updates

Whenever I have company in town, I jump at the chance to go to the beach with an extra set of eyes to watch the boys.  I'm pretty sure my company doesn't mind getting taken to the beach.  Yesterday was especially fun for the boys with all the wind from Hurricane Sandy.  There was hardly anyone there and we enjoyed the wide-open sand.  

Gotta love living in Florida!  Even a windy day at the beach is still a good one, in my opinion.  I try to never forget how wonderful it is to live in the sunshine state.

source

This week has been VERY easy in terms of exercise, since the half marathon is just 3 days away now.  I am getting anxious and excited for it.  My mileage has been very low this week as I taper until Sunday morning.

Tuesday's run was just 4 miles...

Yesterday the plan called for 30 minutes of easy running.  It would have been easier without the wind blowing the stroller all around but I'll be stroller-free on race day.  

Today's plan is to complete 2 miles and also do a little strength training in order to not completely neglect the best body bootcamp training plan which kicked of on Monday.

Tomorrow is a rest day and then I just run for 20 minutes on Saturday.  Easy peasy!  I'm in the home stretch.

It's produce day so I'm off to prep for that.  I'm getting a pumpkin today and planning to make a pumpkin and honeycrisp apple soup with it.  YUM!

3 miles, an Upper Body Workout and a Silly Spider

It was so great to get out last night for book club, thanks in big part to our fantastic babysitters who took care of my kiddos.  I enjoy some wine and a delicious salmon salad at The Gafford, a new restaurant downtown.  It's a cozy little place!  We had fun catching up and discussing The Happiness Project.  Our next pick is from a COMPLETELY different genre but I'm equally excited to read something somewhat mindless and entertaining.  We chose LA Fadeaway by Jordan Okun.

Feel free to join me on my reading adventure and let me know what you think.

I slept like a baby once I crawled into bed and awoke ready to hit the road for my little 3 mile run with the boys this morning.

I'm loving the cooler weather and so are the boys.  We made some special deliveries along our route to keep the neighborhood booing alive...

Since my mileage was low today, I still had some energy for an upper body workout so I tackled the following routine...

I love me some supersets.  This was a good one, if I may say so myself.  It actually didn't make me any sweatier than usual, but I was super sweaty from my run when I completed it, hence the name.  Hope you can work up a sweat doing it if you give it a try.

We've spent the rest of our morning goofing around and especially enjoying this giant spider, compliments of our babysitters last night.

It's pretty funny to see them petting and playing with it along with their bats and snakes.  100% boys! They love it!

Time to sort the produce...It's Annie's Organic Buying Club day!!!!

Savings Galore

After a VERY hectic day yesterday, I was quite happy to be able to make it to an evening spin class.  I hadn't taken a class in over a year and it was great to be back in the saddle, literally, again.  My ankle was feeling better this morning so I decided to give my 45 minute tempo run that was scheduled for yesterday a shot this morning.  Success!  

It wasn't my fastest tempo run but it was a good one, nonetheless.  It even included a bridge, which is extra challenging with that heavy stroller.  Thank goodness for the cooler weather which made it a bit more enjoyable as well.  I'm really hoping all this hard work pays off with a PR next weekend.  Then, it's back to my relaxed, enjoyable runs again.  Can't wait!  I think I'll be finding time for more spin classes as well.

Once we got cleaned up and presentable for the day, it was time to head to MOPS.  I was especially interested in the topic for today, "Bringing Sexy Back After Baby."  She had some really great ideas and valid points to be made, such as "You're the sexiest woman in the room every time you're in the bedroom with your husband."  I liked her suggestion to make a list of 10 things you like having done for you that let you know you're loved and thought about, and then to your husband do the same.  Trade lists and make it a point to do at least 3 of the things on the list for your spouse each week.  They have to be easy, repeatable acts such as getting take-out so you don't have to cook, getting flowers, being treated to a pedicure, or having you coffee delivered to you in bed while your spouse gets the kids up.  She also reminded us to keep flirting with our spouses along with a million other valuable tips.  I'm so glad I went today!  If you're not a member of MOPS and would like to be, let me know and I'll bring you along with me.  You won't regret it!

After MOPS, it was time to hit the mall for Old Navy's Stuff N Save sale.  I am NOT a shopper but I do indulge in old navy's big 40% off sales when they roll around.  My plan was to stock up on shorts for the boys but since there were maybe 4 pairs on the racks and none of them were what I was looking for, we settled for dino shirts that the boys literally growled for...

...and fancy new shirts for Christmas...

They were regularly $20 but at 40% off and including a tie, I decided to splurge a bit for my little men.  They're going to look SO cute on Christmas.

I might have gotten some staples for myself as well...

...and I also got some gifts for my mom and sister whose birthdays are coming up.  I felt pretty good about my purchases when I saw this lovely number on my receipt...

...especially when everything I bought, except for the boys' fancy shirts was already on clearance.  Double savings are definitely my style.  I got 20 items for $76.  Less than $4 an item...holla!

Now it's time to finish up some chores around the house and spend some quality time with the boys before I get to go to Book Club tonight.  After last night's spaghetti clean-up, I think I'll be sticking with cleaner finger-foods tonight to avoid a repeat...

That spaghetti face sure is cute though, isn't it?  Thank goodness for bath tubs! 

Make it a great day...don't neglect your spouse! :-)  

source

Last Long Run, Some Outdoor Fun, and A Yummy Vegan Lunch

I didn't get to bed quite as early as I had hoped to last night but that didn't keep me from getting a good night's sleep and enough energy to power through the last long run of my half marathon training plan.  My 12 mile run is in the books and I feel like I can safely say I am ready for the race in 2 weeks.  This morning's conditions were all the encouragement I needed.  If I can run 12 miles pushing 100 pounds on a morning with a severe wind advisory , I feel confident I can run 13 miles stroller-free, whatever the conditions might be.  Bring it on!

This morning's run was slower than usual, thanks to the wind...

The boys were quite good for me in the stroller this morning.  I know 2 hours in a stroller could be trying for anyone but enjoy watching the trucks and dogs we see on our journey.  Some snacks help keep them entertained as well.  Today they tried out this new bread...

...along with some string cheese.  They're jumping on the pumpkin band wagon along with all of us.  They gave it two thumbs up.  I'm thinking about whipping up some french toast with it.  Wonder how I can make a vegan french toast..???

Today I've done quite well with my vegan efforts.  I tried out a sweet potato pancake recipe this morning after my long run.  It was inspired by this recipe but I tweaked it to make it vegan, substituting extra flax (2 tablespoons instead of 1/2) for the egg whites along with a splash of almond milk (maybe 1/8 cup?).  I also added some applesauce (probably a 1/4 cup) and a half scoop of brown rice protein powder.  They ended up tasting ALOT like pumpkin pie and were the perfect post-run meal.  I inhaled them!

Once breakfast was cleaned up, we headed outside to enjoy this fall-like weather we're having, fall-like for Florida at least.  I'm pretty sure it's still in the 80s today...

The boys had a blast and I had fun watching them.  They're really making progress on their jumping.

When it was time to refuel, we headed in for some pomegranate seeds and carrots with hummus.  YUM!  And all organic too.  Double yum!

They couldn't eat them fast enough.  So cute!

While they snacked, I threw together a yummy vegan lunch...

...I'll definitely be having another bowl of this today.  Thank goodness I made a big bowl of it.  Into the mix went:

• 1 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1 cup brown rice, cooked
• 1 can black beans, rinced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped and seeded
• 1 small avocado, diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic

I topped it all with a dressing made with:

• 1 T dijon
• juice from 1 lemon juice
• 1 T cumin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• splash of olive oil

I highly recommend you try it out!  It's incredibly satisfying and insanely delicous.  Let me know what you think if you try it out.

While the boys keep napping, I'm hoping to do some yoga to stretch out these tired legs and also hoping to get some reading done.  Here's to hoping the boys take a long nap.  

I'm hoping I can stay up late enough to watch this tonight too...

I'm in the mood to laugh.  Happy Saturday everyone!