Cause I eats me spinach

In an effort to increase my kiddos' iron intake, I am exploring all sorts of natural options. While, I could very easily drop a vitamin supplement into their drinks everyday, iron is found in many of the foods that we already eat (and some that we don't); its just about recognizing these foods and offering them more regularly (or tricking my kids into eating them).

Reading a lot about iron intake, I've learned that meats offer the highest heme-iron value, as the body digests this type of iron naturally... opposed to the nonheme iron foods such as whole grains, lentils, and leafy greens. These foods need to be consumed with vitamin C to aid in the absorption of iron. If I was looking for a strictly iron diet, I could feed my kids steaks, meatballs, and cheeseburgers everyday, but I am looking for more balance in their bodies so I prefer to prepare these in a moderate amount - 1-2 times per week max. Since I've been researching, I've found that there are so many other forms of nonheme iron and I can very easily expand our menu... without my kids even realizing it.

Spinach is one of the more iron-heavy vegetables out there but is also contains many other nutrients such as beta carotene and fiber... and the mild taste allows you to sneak it into a variety of kid-friendly meals - such as smoothies, pasta sauce, yogurt pops, pizza, etc.

Today I successfully, albeit cautiously, concocted a nutritious berry & spinach smoothie. As I mentioned, iron and calcium from leafy green vegetables are not absorbed well by the body without the assistance of vitamin C from foods such as citrus fruits, tomatoes, or berries. So pairing the spinach with our already approved smoothie fruits (berries!) is effective, colorful, and delicious !


Recipe
Mix in blender:

• 1 cup frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc)
• ½ cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
• ½ cup 100% cranberry juice
• 1 cup fresh spinach 
• 1 banana
• (I added 2 teaspoons fresh ground flax seed for my own consumption)

Survey says...
I've had spinach in a smoothie before and recalled that the taste was almost unnoticeable... very mild. So while I was confident that Henry would not know the difference, I prayed that my very observant 2 year old would not notice the huge bag of leafy greens near the blender nor realize the coloring was slightly different than her traditional smoothie (above recipe MINUS the spinach) nor taste the hint of earth as she drank... 

The smoothie was a HUGE hit for both of my very critical Popeye babies. Not only did they drink it, they LOVED it and wanted more. Henry was flailing about... sucking it down with a big boy straw and all. And Lilly delightfully drank an entire 8 ounce serving. SUCCESS to the mother loving FUL. 

I am hopeful that we can make these 3-4 times per week. I may even get crazy and throw a beet in there next round but that may be pressing my luck. In any case, I am sold... smoothies are an easy and tasty way to sneak some extra nutrition into your little one's diet.

Tooth Monster

Before kids lose their baby teeth to the generous* and phantasmal tooth fairy, they have to grow their baby teeth... and while no one has ever publicly identified the folklore figure who first brings children their teeth... clearly anything that causes this much pain to little kids (with very little gratification) has got to be a monster!

The... Big... Bad... Tooth Monster... Claus
moooohaahaaaaaaaa.

No seriously. What in the devil is with this stage? Couldn't God or Mother Nature have been a little more forgiving here? I mean, they designed us from the ground up? Did they just get lazy in the mouth area? Perhaps a consideration for human 2.0? Until then, these poor little tiny human 1.0s have NO idea what the hell is going on and they have NO idea how to find relief and OHMYGOD I hate teething!

... why is Henry gnawing on that stuffed toy... ohmygod Henry let go of the poor little monkey, he's done nothing but love you and you are apparently trying to tear it to shreds with your soon-to-be razor sharp but not yet here little dagger teeth.... and my poor speechless little boy with his big brown eyes is saying Mom I am in PAIN, for real, the realest PAIN, let me do what I need to do and go away... no come back... pick me up, no put me down... now... no wait and I'm running towards him, away from him, clamoring, snuggling, calming, hair-tearing... Henry baby what can I do, do you want a cupcake, or how about a brownie, or how about some Grey Goose? 

Kidding, of course... he much prefers Jack Daniels.**

Teething is vicious I tell you. VICIOUS. I can't make dinner with a kid hanging on my hip writhing around in pain, nor can I make dinner with a whimpering boy tugging at my leg or army crawling his way through my house looking for relief, temporarily distracted by a big red ball or a PBS Sprout Favorite (God bless those Wiggles!)... then back to his scavenger mission to find someone or something ANYTHING that is going to make this punched in the mouth pain go away. Not wanting to be put down not wanting to be held not wanting anything on earth other than to whine in my ear because ohmygod will these teeth please have mercy and hurry up and CUT?



My life revolves around mitigating teething crises I swear. If it's not Henry, it's Lilly and the godforsaken 2 (or 3?) year old molars. I don't even know... all I know is that she won't eat anything but overdoses of sugar and treats and I let her because myword the kid needs CALORIES, and her mouth is throbbing... and let's cut these kids a freaking break, how about it!? And poor Lilly - I'm at my edgy limit having dealt with the little one and his teething business for all but 3 months of his 12 months of beautiful existence. So poor big sister needs a little Mama consoling when her big teeth start to sprout and I'm at my toot's end!

I hate the helpless feeling... motrin for one and treats for the other only get me so far.  I am sure there will come a time when I'll miss something about this stage, right? Right? So... for now, I say Go away you big tooth monster, and don't come back... till I ... well... first give my kids teeth... but just have mercy on them. PLEASE!

* What's the tooth fairy loot up to these days? $1, $5? 
**Its pathetic but I feel the need to clarify that we do not really give our kids booze. Only for pretend to get those adorable cliche baby holding a beer bottle pictures. By the way when googling 'baby beer bottle' I totally did not expect to see this but Hah!

Honeymoon Fairy

Since Kevin and I have been married, we've been setting milestones for our marriage. And by milestones I mean dates in which we will take elaborate vacations to exotic destinations to toast to our life's journey together. And by toast, I mean drink (and eat) heavily, and sleep, and see cultural things, and tend to no one but ourselves because ohmygod I could so use a break rightaboutnow!

On a regular vacay basis, we tend to opt for low key, budget friendly get aways; trips to my folks' house in Florida, weekend jaunts in New England, etc. Our traveling is limited by budget... like most of the population. But... we keep talking about our impending anniversaries* 10 year, 15 year, 20 year and casually name the destination we'd like to visit. Hawaii, Italy, Ireland, etc. The thing is... we never really talk about the money part of it, nor have we started a plan for that. And the vacations we're talking about are surely going to cost a small fortune...

Ya see... I have in my mind that when** we make it to the 10 year, 15 year, 20 year mark... some sort of anniversary fairy will appear and magically dump a pile of money in our laps (or leave it under our pillows, either way that's cool)... simply because we are so deserving of an amazing journey to celebrate our amazing journey. OBVIOUSLY, I have a serious sense of entitlement and I need a serious reality check... or we're never going further than Orlando, Florida... and I'll be damned if Epcot is as worldly as it gets for me. (Though who doesn't love drinking around the world at Epcot!?)

* For our 5 year anniversary last year, we intended to go back to Vegas to relive our super fun wedding experience, but I was busy tending to my 2 month old breast friend. Vegas and infants... that is so acceptable, right? ("You have a baby... in a bar..." What movie???) We're going this year instead! Again... no idea where we're coming up with this money. Haha! (But its really not funny, is it?!)!

** There will be no IF, of course.

At My Core

[I really would like this to be as hip as one of those pinterest workout posters, but I've got a job, 2 children, a husband, and sh*t to do... so here it is: bulleted blog post style (I am so last decade).]

For a long time (6 months) after having kids, I didn't pay any attention to strength training or core exercises. It was enough of an accomplishment for me to get the cardio done, that I didn't have the energy or time to tackle anything else. I found complete satisfaction in maintaining a strictly cardio regime... and actually, I was able to improve my aerobic performance significantly. All the while, I had it in the back of my mind that I really needed to integrate strengthening and calisthenics back into my life. I know the benefits to a runner, and vainly... I really want to be tone.

Once I hurt my ankle, I knew it was time. I was forced to abandon cardio activities almost entirely (though crutching around was exasperating) and I was so afraid that I would lose my fitness if I didn't substitute the cardio with something. So, I dusted off the fitness routines from 4 years ago that amplified my half marathon training plan.

As part of my mission to become a faster and stronger runner, I know it is essential for me to boost my core. Fortunately, of all the strengthening exercises, I actually really enjoy those focused on the core (arms are my least favorite... and weakest, coincidentally!). So, in the last 6 weeks, I've fine tuned my core workout - weeding out what I've found to be much less effective and honing in on a set of 11 targeted exercises, repeated twice. This workout takes about 20 minutes with minimal rest in between exercises.

• Elbow/Toe Planks - 60 seconds 

• Left Side Plank - 20 seconds / 10 dips / 10 seconds

 

• Right Side Plank - 20 seconds / 10 dips / 10 seconds  (See above.)

• Stability the ball crunches - 30 

 

• Medicine ball twists - 40

 

• Stability ball crunches - legs on top of ball - 25

• Stability ball crunches - straddle ball - 25

 
 

• Leg draggy things (aka hamstring curls)- 20

 

• Right Side Crunches - 20 
• Left Side Crunches - 20

• Wall Ball Squats - 20

 

I then repeat the above routine working my way back up through it... completing a total a 2 reps of each exercise.

I am really encouraged by the results, thus far... proof that working Moms can do it. I am so far from where I want to be and I have a lot more work to do, but the fact is, my routine IS working. And that is so inspiring! I know I am never going to be a fatless fitness nazi (b*tches!)... but with a little focus and determination just a few days a week, I can still achieve something!

Disclaimer - while this post includes highly technical physio medicinallical fitness terms, I am not a professional, nor do I guarantee any of this will work for anyone else. But it is working for me... and hell, I linked to some people that know what they're talking about. :)

Happy Birthday Henry!

One year ago today we welcomed our son into the world. This weekend we celebrated him and the amazing year we've had with an all-American baseball party.

We love you Hankster!

On the verge of extinction...

I am convinced that Kevin and I might be some of the last people on earth to not have an iPhone (or smartphone). We have completely dumb phones. And we're feeling an insane amount of pressure to upgrade. We're both due for new phones... and unfortunately, the options for basic phones are SO very lackluster... and when you've seen and played with the iPhone, it makes it difficult to choose a stupid basic phone... especially when you have to lock into a contract for 2 years with it. Its quite a commitment.

You know you're outdated when your parents are surpassing your tech adoption. Even my mother in-law caved, as did my Dad many months ago. Kevin and having been holding on strong to our seriously yesteryear phones, amidst ridicule from random passersby and serious peer pressure.

At this very moment, my Verizon Wireless shopping cart contains 2x brand new iPhones, data plans, and insurance coverage to bring us into this decade. But I can't pull the trigger. The data plans are simply unjustified. Its going to cost $60 per month for us to surf, email, Facebook, pin... etc. We already pay Verizon for this ability through our home service plan... now we have to pay an extra $720 per year to do it remotely? Its astronomical. But, nearly everyone we know does it, though there are still some other people holding the line.

I am thisclose to clicking checkout...