Everyone has an opinion

Everyone has an opinion and everyone wants to give you advice when you have a child. Some people’s advice can be helpful and others can be confusing and strange. I personally try not to listen too much when people give me their unsolicited advice. I don’t do it because I’m trying to be rude, it’s just that I’m someone who would rather find their own way. I like to figure things out on my own. I learn better that way.

Not everything that works for one child will work the same for all. Every child is different. When I first had Ryder I took a few peoples advice and tried what they recommended. It didn’t workout well. It either upset him more or just did let have a affect. That’s when I made my decision to just ignore the advice of others and find my own way as I went. There were a few people I listened to, like my doctor and my mother, but I tried to filter out all the other random advice.

I still laugh when I remember being at an event and someone asked me if Ryder was crawling yet. I told them that he skipped crawling and went right from army crawling to cruising. She got a look or horror on her face and said “oh my gosh he’s going to be behind developmentally. You need to get him to crawl.” I have no idea what look was on my face when she said that. But I replied by telling her my doctor said crawling is no longer considered a milestone because so many kids skip over it. Her reply was “I guess times have changed.” Lord! Imagine if my doctor hadn’t told me that. I might have panicked and thought something was wrong with my child! This is exactly why you need to take peoples comments and advice with a grain of salt.

When someone gives you advice or makes a comment about what your child should be doing at a certain stage, take it as you want (unless it’s your doctor). Use it or just forget about it. It’s your child and you are free to raise them as you please. You’re their momma (or daddy) and your instincts will tell you what you should do. Go with what YOU think is best. It’s all a learning process and no one is perfect!

Shoulder Workout

(If viewing on FB, click the link to view video)

Shoulder workout time! Ryder is getting bigger by the day so I have to keep my upper body strong! That boy loves to be cuddled and held. 😉

These are a few exercises I’ve worked into my shoulder workouts for the next 6 weeks.

🔹Single arm cable pulldown

🔹Shoulder press

🔹Front press

🔹Lateral raise

None of these are too terribly difficult but they do require gym equipment.

Happy lifting!

At home arm workout

(Click the link to see video examples if viewing on FB)

My favorite upper body workout! These are a few things I do at home or in the gym! They require little to no gym equipment.

🔹Lateral Plank Walk

🔹Plank Rows

🔹Modified Pushups

🔹Plank Taps

These hot only workout your arms but your core as well. 💪🏻

Bosu Exercises

I love to use the bosu ball during workouts. It’s so versatile and it’s an inexpensive piece of workout equipment you can get for home!

These are two exercises I added into my workout routine for the next 6 weeks.

✴️ Pushups

✴️ Hop-outs

These are great for core or upper body workout days!

Leg day ideas

Leg day! My favorite day! I’ve changed up my leg workouts again. I’ve said it before, I always change my workouts every 6 weeks. This keeps my body from getting “used” to a workout and it keeps me from feeling like I’m on repeat. These exercises aren’t too difficult and you can do them at home or in the gym. The first two actually workout your upper body and lower body together!

✴️ Side squats with medicine ball

✴️ Sumo squats with kettle bell raise

✴️ Squat turns

I try to do each one 10-12 times. Depending on the medicine ball I use for side squats, sometimes I can only manage 8-10 with the extra weight.

Happy squatting! 💪🏻

Walking for exercise

I’ve heard people complain about never having time for the gym. Or they don’t have the funds for a gym membership. I completely understand! I have been in the same position!

Transitioning from marketing to teaching I quit my job to take classes full time to get my teaching license. I canceled my gym membership to save money till I started working again. But I’m not one to sit around and not workout. I needed to do something. Every day I would take my dog out for a long walk. I hate running but walking I can do! My pup and I would walk for an hour a day. Some people laugh and say walking does nothing for you. But that’s actually incorrect.

In addition to a healthy diet, walking can do so much for you. Here are a few benefits:

✴️ Improves your mood

✴️ Improves circulation

✴️ Helps with weight loss (burns calories)

✴️ Can reduce arthritis pain

✴️ Manages high blood pressure

✴️ Improves balance and coordination

✴️ Reduces stress

✴️ Boosts your immune system

In addition to these, walking gives you time to think! If you’re someone who likes time to themselves every so often, walking is a great break away.

Have a young child? Put them in the stroller. Have older kids? Make them walk down to the park with you. Have them kick a ball or play a game while you walk around the park!

Even just 30 minutes a day can do you more good than nothing at all. Get your body moving! 🏃‍♀️

Double pulley workout

I love a double pulley machine! They are so versatile for so many workouts! Today I did a quick upper body workout. These are two exercises from my workout.

✴️ Alternating close grip pull down

✴️ Wide grip pull down

Both are great for arm, shoulder and back days!

Must haves for a baby no one told me about

Recently I’ve had a few new Mom friends ask me what items I put on my baby registry I couldn’t do without. Honestly everything! 😂 However there are a few items no one told me about that I recommend to people. Here are my must haves for a baby no one told me about:

1. Electric nail trimmer: It’s literally an electric nail file. SO much easier and less stressful than trying to use clippers.

2. Bandana bibs: I knew babies drooled but I didn’t realize how much! Ryder would go through 3-5 bibs a day some days. After doing some Amazon searching I found some really cute bandana bibs for him! I swear boys get jipped in the clothing department. There’s way more cute clothing options for girls than boys. But these definitely made his outfits a little cuter!

3. More than 1 diaper bag: Sounds crazy I know! But I swear it’ll save you. I have my nice one that I take to dinner, shopping, etc. Then I have a small inexpensive backpack diaper bag for daycare at the gym. The gym daycare has small cubby’s for bags so my regular diaper bag wouldn’t fit in them. Plus, I don’t need everything I put in my regular diaper bag. He’s only there two hours max so diapers, a sippy cup and a changer of clothes are all he needs. My third diaper bag is an inexpensive larger backpack. I use it for days we go to swim class. Often the floors are wet at swim class and I don’t want to set my nice diaper bag in a puddle of water. Not to mention I have to carry wet swimsuits after. So the backpack is perfect because I’m not worried about it getting ruined there. You don’t have to spend tons of money on extra bags. I used ones I got as gifts from judging cheer competitions. They’re sparkly but blue so I figure it works for now! There was one time that my husband and I were handing off Ryder so I could go somewhere and I forgot to take the diaper bag out of the car. I remembered the child! Just not the bag. 🤦🏼‍♀️ This is where a backup bag came in handy!

These might seem like simple little items but they’re all incredibly helpful, even now that Ryder is one year old! The nail trimmer saved us on so many occasions. He’s a wiggler so nail clippers just scared me to death. The bibs saved so many outfit changes. And the extra diaper bags were fitting to our busy lifestyle!

Obviously, get what you think you need for your registry. But in all honesty these are 3 things, looking back, I now know I can’t live without!

That scary word…..”Fat”

I’m sure people are going to think I’m ridiculous for saying this, but I wish we could rename fats, from food, something else. Yeah yeah I know it sounds stupid. But a good majority of the general public sees that word and freaks out. I think it’s due to the word association with the word body fat. We define fat (from the body) as connective tissue that stores cellular fat. Or….the yellow blob stuff that we see in pictures in ads and learned about in heath class.

Body fat is not the same as food fat. Will fats from food make you fat? Yes and no. It’s all about portioning and eating the correct fats. If you eat a proper amount of fats, you can make it work to your advantage. With that being said, I’m referring to fats from avocado, olive oil, eggs, etc. NOT fats from things like Doritos, pastries, sugary drinks, etc. Should you completely avoid the “bad fats” all together? Some would argue yes. I say no. That’s what cheat meals are for! I don’t recommend consuming them every day but on occasion is fine! If you can completely avoid them all together, more power to you! I however want a greasy burger and pizza every so often. 😉

Fats are a good thing! Let’s stop being so scared of them! Use them as fuel for your body and don’t feel bad about consuming them, when they’re the good kind. Eat your avocados every day, and eat those eggs! They are fantastic for your body. Just make sure to portion things out properly! Figure out how much fat is recommended for your body per day. Once you understand the fat amounts in each food, you can portion things visually and it becomes really easy! Let’s get back to enjoying foods (especially ones with FAT) and not being scared of them! 🍴💪🏻

Defining your value by your size

“A clothing size should never define your worth or value.”

I remember when I went from a size 0 to a 2. I FREAKED out. Literally didn’t leave the house for a week because I was ashamed of myself. Again, another moment where I wish I could slap my former self. Why did I think it was so bad being a size 2? Or 4? Or 6? Or….so on. It’s all about how you FEEL. Clearly I wasn’t happy with myself but when you’re constantly negative and tearing yourself down, you’ll never really be happy with yourself. When you learn to accept your body and be appreciative of your body, that’s when you start to forget about the numbers.

A lot of my “size fears” had to do with who I was hanging out with. The girls I had become “friends” with at the time were very size focused. The tinier the better. Somehow I let their negative body image thinking clog my brain. It took me taking a big step back and reassessing the friends in my life to make me realize, this isn’t healthy, normal or fun. Not to mention I remember asking myself, if I really needed these girls in an important moment in my life, would they really be there for me? The answer was no. So instead of a body detox, I did a friend detox.

When I stopped focusing on the size of my clothes and started looking at what I was comfortable in and what made me look good, everything changed. When you look good, you feel good. Attempting to squeeze into size 0 jeans when I was a size 2 did NOT make me look good. It made me look ridiculous and in denial. You know when you see someone in too tight of clothes and wonder if they bought their clothes purposely too small or outgrew them? Yup I was one of those people you saw and questioned. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Finding clothes that are flattering to my body is key. If a size 6 dress fits me, who cares! As long as it makes me look fantastic! I don’t care what the number says anymore, as long as I’m comfortable and I feel good in it!

I’ve said it before, you’re only given one body in this life. Love it and be appreciative of it. It’s the only one you get!