My Favorite Yoga Routine for Pregnancy

 As Grayson's arrival draws near, I am getting my body, mind, and soul ready for his birth and this new chapter. I feel so good about our preparations and am really looking forward to the birthing process.

I wanted to share with you my current favorite yoga routine for this last trimester. If  I would have come across it  sooner, It would most likely be a favorite all the way through pregnancy. This routine is good for every trimester of pregnancy, and would even be great for after birth when exercise is safe. 

 It's simple, relaxing, and really nourishes spirit, well-being, and connection to your body and baby. The instructor reminds me of a warm hug. Her accent makes it that much better. She really reminds me of the midwife you would want for pregnancy and birth.

There are three parts, and it's a great length for daily practice. I hope I can get time every day to do it morning and night.

*****

Part 1- Warm Up

Part 2- Main Routine

Part 3- Relaxation

I hope you enjoy these if you try them! 

Nameste, friends.

Are You Going To Eat That?

Sorry about this video being a little off. I was totally stressed out when I made this so my mind was not as focused as preferred haha

Did you consume your placenta? How did you do it? Did you find it helped you?

Vitamins and Supplements: What we take and how we approach them

 I get asked often if we take any vitamins or supplements. What I take, who takes what in our house, and what am I taking while I'm pregnant. Now that i have a bit of time, I wanted to answer these!

 I'm sorry if you can't watch videos, or if they aren't your cup of tea, but I really like them because they are easier for me. You can expect posts like these to have both video and written parts to them. I'll keep them simple and to the point though.

So to start, yes we do take vitamins in our house. A lot of thought and research goes into our health decisions, and we are always learning new things, so sometimes new items get added or taken away. I'm going to explain more in the video below of what I take/took at different stages of the year and situations for our whole family and why, but here, I will give you a brief list of what we are all currently taking.

For Myself: I take a prenatal vitamin called baby and me herb free by mega food. It's completely natural, gluten free, vegetarian,testing free,soy free, dairy free, farm fresh, and GMO free. I also take vitamin D3,  a 7 billion c.f.u probiotic and a natural vitamin C vitamin.

For Mackynzie: She takes an organic children's multi vitamin called yummy bears organics. They are gluten, dairy, gelatin, and GMO free. (She gets one per day unless fighting a cold or something.). She also takes a childrens natural vitamin D3, and a children's 3 million c.f.u probiotic.

For Cody: He takes the same vitamin C supplement as me, and sometimes a natural multi vitamin, but not often.

For maintaining overall health though, we all make sure to incorporate certain foods daily though, so I would consider it just as important and in the same category as vitamins and supplements. We fully believe you should try your very best to get all your nutrients and vitamins from real food sources (I'll explain why we choose to take vitamins on top of it, in the video below.). We incorporate the following into our diet daily (and we do our best to keep it up as a daily routine!) :

1) dark leafy greens, almost always lightly cooked and paired with a healthy fat (why do we do this?). We consume these in smoothie form- or sometimes. I pre cook leafy greens and blend them all in a huge batch with a healthy fat such as coconut oil or ghee, then place them in ice cube trays. Once frozen I place the cubes in a baggy. We pop 2-3 cubes in either a smoothie or a natural juice like mango or orange for quick greens. (turns into green orange juice, taste is not altered.) Some vegetable heavy days we may skip the green cubes, but most of the time we are busy and need them. Remember how important it is to rotate your greens and not eat too much of the same for a period of time.

2) Home made bone broth. Packed full of nutrients and is just such a super food in itself. We try to consume every day. Either hot with salt and pepper like tea, or incorporated into cooking.

3) healthy fats like coconut oil or avocados. both simple to add and super important for me while I'm pregnant. (I will even mix a spoon full of coconut oil into my hot tea or hot cocoa treat. I'll either snack on an avocado half or add half to my green juice.)

4) *personal preference* We like to have plain Greek yogurt daily for calcium, probiotics and protein. I mix our probiotic into our yogurt.

**Look out for the hilarious photo bomber. Seriously This guy constantly makes me laugh! **


 So that's the basic run down of what we do with vitamins and supplements. Hope it was informative !

My 20 minute go-to Yoga practice sped to view in a minute.

     

   It's been requested several time that I share more yoga stuff. With being pregnant, my practice has become quite modified, so I didn't really know what or how to share, but I decided on a whim to film my quick practice last night. I apologize in advance because my head is cut off, and then Cody adjusted it and it cut off my feet. I'll have to get better at the shooting angle.

 This is my quick 20 minute routine that has been modified to suit my pregnant body. It's sped up so that the entire routine is in 1 minute, just to give an idea of what I do. I took what I liked about of a lot of yoga I do and made my own sort of muscle memory routine. Basically you're seeing 3 modified sun salutes, warrior poses with movement that is paired with the breath, side triangle, balance poses, straight legged stretching, a stretch routine on the floor ( pigeon pose, toe touches etc.), cobblers pose, some side twists, and a short meditation/breathing.

I'll get better with the videos and share more soon.

Friday

 I liked last Friday's post, so I'm going to do another one. maybe I'll make it a thing.

Here are some things I enjoyed this week: 

* This equinox video of acro yoga is incredibly stunning. You may recognize Briohny Smyth from her first equinox video.You can watch that here. It's just as amazing. 

* While we are watching videos, episode two of convos with my two year old is out. It's equally hilarious with a  healthy dose of awkward. (You can see episode one here.)

* This article from prevention.com on how to loose weight like a guy. If you know me, you know i'm not really a fan of 'loose weight like this!' types of things, but this is actually really true and really good. Sometimes us ladies get too caught up in all the information flying at us and forget that simple often works best!

* These evil eye bracelets from ReemandI. She makes child and parent bracelets that are super cute! Evil eye bracelets are worn for protection and to ward off negative energy. I love things that match with the parents. I think I might get one for each of us.

I hope you all have a great weekend everyone! 

Bits + Pieces Mash Up

What`s playing as I write

 I have been keeping pretty busy, and now we are calming down with nothing more than a couple play dates for the rest of the week. I have bought quite the pile of crafts and projects for both Mackynzie and myself, so I`m excited to have time to dive into those now.

 I`m tired, but it`s that good tired, you know? The kind that comes from having a lot of really great days with great friends, and lots of quality family time. I feel the love in my bones and there is so much more to soak up as we go. I'm trying to rise and rest with the sun, so that I can get the most out of each day. Moving back that last hour is proving a little difficult though (Maybe if I got myself to bed when I keep saying I will!).

I have been a little random with this space, but maybe in time I will get more of a flow again. For lack of my 'bits + pieces' posts i'm going to plop a bunch on this one of what we have been up to lately (that is, what I've captured.)

 We have been biking tons, playing with friends, taking zoo trips, spending days in the city, playing at parks and tons more. So much fun. I have also been keeping up with my yoga every day, but if you follow me on instagram you probably have noticed- between the food pics of course ;).

Starting a Day with Beauty and Happiness

Good morning to a beautiful day!

  I am really enjoying my yoga practice. I can't even tell you all the benefits it has given me. If I go a day or period without yoga it is a night and day difference. It really makes you appreciate the beauty that is always right in front of you. 

 I am by far an amazing bendy yoga lady, but i'm working on it. Slowly. I am learning how to work with and trust my body. Right now I'm working on getting up on my hands and head. Good thing it's called a practice.

 Starting each day with my practice and with focus is the difference between a 'meh' day and a great day. Whether you practice yoga or not, start your day with invigorating exercise! Go for a run, hang out with your favorite fitness dvd, go for a brisk walk. You will thank yourself. Especially later that night as your sitting on your couch thinking 'ha! I already worked out today! BAM.'.

I hope you all have an incredible day, no matter what you're doing. Each day brings us the opportunity to be the best day. We just need to make the choice of whether or not to see it that way.

Fill up your cups my friends.

Namaste!

Food and Health and My Take

 I don't know what it is about blogging about food that I don't particularly like... I think maybe it's because it's time consuming. I do love to share certain recipes etc, but I don't know that I could commit to talking about food daily. (but who knows, right?)

 Throughout this journey to a healthy life, food is always such a heavy weight. There are a million questions, opinions and answers. It can feel incredibly overwhelming, and leave you guiltily reaching for less than ideal foods. Then there are those cravings. Those horrid cravings that make you feel like a beast. The good news though? It really doesn't need to be like anything mentioned above. At all. In fact, if you let it, food can be a wonderful experience and make you feel like a new person at the same time.

  I have done a lot of trial and error when it comes to food. I have eaten a diet that would be considered healthy based on the standard western diet.I have eaten a very unhealthy diet. I have been Paleo. I have been vegan. Vegan and gluten free. Now, I am moving (and almost there full throttle again.) back to a Paleo diet.

 I have poured so much worry and stress over what I put into our bodies. I have cried and had moments of 'does it really matter anyway? Can't I just close my eyes and do what's easy?'. The bottom Line I have come to is this:  Food matters. It is crucial that we care what we put into our bodies. Food is not made the same as it was years ago, and just because it looks or says its healthy, doesn't mean it is. The work we put into our food pays off-big time, and it really doesn't need to feel like work. It can be easy. Anyone can eat healthy, and everyone can reap the benefits.

 After being sick and tired of  stressing and wondering about food, I sat down with a pen and a notebook and wrote. I asked myself questions like: What do I want from the food I eat? What is important to me when it comes to food? What do I want to accomplish with the food I eat?

My answer to those questions was this: I want to eat for my body. I want to listen to what it tells me. I want to eat good food when I am hungry and stop when I am full. I want to eat in a way that keeps me fit and strong (Physically, mentally and immune wise.). I also want to indulge now and then, but not make a habit of it (and not want to either.). I want to eat food that nourishes me, fills me up, makes me feel good, maintains a healthy body shape, satisfies me and tastes good, and be simple and relatively care-free. I want to eat food that is very healthy, while still being practical to my lifestyle (aka easy.). I want to eat minimal grains and minimal dairy. And finally, that I eat to sustain MY metabolism and body needs.

 That's quite a list, isn't it? When you really look at it though, it's very simple. Best of all, its very easy to accomplish.

The most important thing to focus on is what works for you. Not what you feel like doing- don't use 'what works for you' as an excuse to hide under. My body's needs are my own. They are not the same as my husband's, or my daughter's, or of that gorgeous woman with the six pack abs. I may need a little more of this, and a little less of that. And if you listen to your body (Your taste buds and cravings tell you a lot!) you can figure it out with no problem.  Just to throw out an example, I need to have a higher calorie intake because I am nursing (same goes for if you were thinking about/trying to conceive or already preg.). I also need to eat for the work outs and exercises that I do ( Also the body type I have/am aiming for.)

For my personal needs (and through all the research I have done) the paleo diet is the best choice for me. These are my personal beliefs on food that I wrote down with my list:
   Food is to nourish and fill you. It's not for fun, and it's not something to do (but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy what you do eat, or cooking it.). Eat plenty/as many as you want  of vegetables and fruits (with the veggies outweighing.). My body needs a high protein diet, but I dont care for red meats and want/choose to eat them sparingly. If I want to eat grains- do it- but choose sprouted/soaked 'healthy' grains and do it sparingly. My body needs carbohydrates (complex mostly.) so I need to do my best to get them from sources of foods that are grain free. I need to use my knowledge about food as a guideline, not a rule or source of fear. Stressing about food will get me nowhere that I want to be.

 My biggest advice? Educate yourself about what you are eating. Do what's right for your body (not your BFF's). For the love of god, don't calorie count. And forget about the scale. If you want to keep track of progress, use measurements and before/after photos. It will get you much farther and keep you on your course for the long haul. Move your body. Find something(s) you love and do them. A lot. Be active and learn to love the sweat and burn (I practically get a lady boner just thinking about it.). You choose what you will look and feel like. No one else, so be good to yourself and choose well. (And just because people look buff doing/eating certain things, doesn't mean you will or need to.)

 Create good habits, drink water, get 6-8 hours of sleep, and enjoy the ride. Feel it and love it. You really do only live once, so make it what you want it (it all starts with your health baby!). Be confident and work (and play) hard. It is SO incredibly worth it. And since I've already said it anyway...

YOLO!

There are so many sub topics and what-not about this sort of thing. This is just a basic cover of it. I hope this helps someone find a bit of clarity, relief and/or motivation.



Xxxx

If This is something that is super interesting, I don't mind sharing more at all. Just let me know and I can answer questions etc. I know I have gotten lots of questions about this in the past, so now that I'm on top of answering things, feel free!

Eggs on toast

Meal: Breakfast/Lunch

Break down: 1 piece sprouted toast with coconut oil, 2 eggs (S&P), snap peas.

Info: Usually, I add chia seeds to just about everything but I forgot. Don't know what chia seeds are? They are little super food amazing tasteless things. Go buy them and put them on everything. Also, this is not paleo because there is bread, but since we are transitioning back to paleo, I figured ill post our transitional meals as well.

Sweet Buster

Meal: Snack

Break down: Organic dried coconut chunks, dried apricot

In My Fridge.

                         

                             

 I forgot the side of my fridge, but all that's in there (aside from pickles, ketchup and bbq sauce.) is chia seeds, nutritional yeast, ground flax and seaweed.

I also filmed the wrong way. oops!

Enjoy my awkwardness :)

Legs: Easy Peasy Toning

 Good Morning!

I decided I want to start out my health posts by sharing what's easily one of my favorite leg workouts. SEE WORKOUT HERE. It's easy, it's fast, you don;t need anything besides yourself and something to hold on to, and best of all, it gets you great results quickly! It's a dancers workout and works all the places that you want, with minimal movement. Fantastic!

 This is one of the workouts I do on my less active 'off' days, since I usually do high intensity, then one or two lower intensity, then high etc. I always take Sunday to rest, since it's very important to give your body a rest day. Sunday just happens to be a good day to be lazy for me haha. This one takes a whopping ten minutes, so give it a try! Who doesn't have ten minutes? do it while watching t.v. or something mundane. If you try it out, let me know how you liked it!

As for me, I am feeling the results of one Jillian Michaels butt-kicking.

 I wasn't too excited to do it (can you tell? haha), but i am glad I did! Now I have to make sure I do something light that still works my muscles (like yoga) or i'm going to be stuck with this discomfort for a few days!

Have a great day everyone!

Food Friday: Very Easy Split Pea Soup

 It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday...

I now apologize for making you think of that terrible song. I will now make it up to you with an awesome recipe!

Split Pea Soup:

This recipe is so incredibly easy, quick and tasty! Mackynzie will eat an entire bowl of this, so that speaks for itself!

• 8 cups water
• 2 bullion cubes (we use veggie)
• 1 cup dried split peas
• salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. once boiling, turn down and simmer for approximately 45 mins. Blend with emulsifier, top with Parmesan or cheddar cheese, fresh chopped cilantro, or nothing at all and serve. That's seriously how easy it is!

OPTIONAL additional ingredients:

• 1 tbsp curry
• 1 tbsp turmeric 
• 3-5 medium sized carrots (chopped in large chunks)
• spinach added in last 10 mins or so

Happy tummies!

Getting our 'Spook' on

 I had planned to do another catch up post this morning, but I need to grab some of Cody's photos first and I forgot to! That just means I will post two of them tomorrow!

 Halloween is a mere 14 days away and I am not going to lie, I am having a hard time costuming everyone. We already had two costumes on hand for Mackynzie; one from last year and one that will fit this year/next year. you can see photos from last Halloween here. She took one look at last years costume and declared she wanted to be a chicken (I doubt she has much memory of last year.). We tried it on and what do you know? It still fits! Hooray! Her other costume is a fairy, but she has absolutely no interest in it. Who wouldn't want to be a big fuzzy chick? I think I am going to try and at least make us all animals (because pretty soon costume coordinating with mom and dad is going to be lame.), so I'm pretty sure I am going to be a cat. super simple. Now we just need to figure out something equally as easy for Cody.

 We are still deciding exactly how our Halloween is going to look, since being sugar/gluten/dairy free can be a bit challenging on a day full of candy. (If anyone would like to know how we plan to stay on track with our eating, and or more about our diet, let me know and maybe I will share some food stuff.)

In the meantime, we need to get some decorations up around the house! Looks like we will be in for a fun week of crafting!

Anyone else dressing up with their kids? Or have a super cute costume for your little ones?

Morning Bits and Pieces

 I love mornings. So still and peaceful. Everyone wakes up fresh and new and everything about the morning is beautiful.

It's a simple, routine morning for me; Woke up early,showered, and nursed my sweet girl back to sleep-

Did a good 30 minute yoga session with nature music and Clair de lune clearing the sleep fuzzies out of my head. And now I am sitting and relaxing with a big glass of lemon water, my computer,

And this really weird frozen cookie thing, that I made a batch of the other night because i had a sweet tooth. Turns out they are really healthy and (besides the bit of confectioners sugar I had to add due to running out of honey and maple syrup) great for breakfast! Love when that happens.

 Happy morning to you! Or evening or night or mid day or whatever time it may be where you are!

Chocolate Almond Freezer Bites

 This is one of Mackynzie and I's favorite treats. The bonus is that they are loaded with healthy fats and take almost no time to make. They are creamy, delicious, and you could replace the chocolate almond with anything, really. This is especially good for you pregnant mamas out there! 

Put almonds  in an ice cube tray.

Melt about 2 tablespoons (actual spoon) of coconut oil on the stove. (just until its melted!) and use spoon to pour oil over almonds. about half way up the almond.

Throw in freezer and they are ready in as little as 40 minutes.

Pop out of ice cube mold and put into bag or jar and put back into freezer.

 Snack on a couple a day and be prepared to always have these in your freezer.

Healthy Soft Serve

When it's hot and my sweet tooth goes nuts, this is one of my favorite quick things to make. Mackynzie goes bananas over it. It takes two seconds and is only 3 ingredients; frozen banana(s), cocoa powder, and a tiny bit of canned coconut milk (I added a little bit of vanilla). 

Om nom...

A couple thoughts on food

 Food used to be so easy. You put it in your mouth, chew it, swallow it, done. Now, food can be a chore at times! In our culture, it's processed, quick, easy, and packed full of sugar, bad fats, and bad carbs. We really try to be conscious of what we put into our bodies. We have tried a few lifestyle diets, and drastically changed our way of eating. This summer, we just so happened to be in a 'processing, discussing, and thinking' phase of what we eat. In other words, everything was off the table (within reason for us.) and we have been eating very poorly for what we are used to.

 We were paleo for very close to a year, and Mackynzie and I were (i guess you could say) vegan for a few months. All the information got a bit overwhelming, so we just stepped away for the summer (mostly.). After everything though, I think I have a very good knowledge and judgment of my body, and our diet after being on both ends of the food line. paleo is the caveman diet. absolutely no grains, sugars etc, where vegan is no animal products. Polar opposites. I have learned so much. I think we are just about ready to get into a lifestyle diet based on the things we have learned, and what our bodies have told us.  We still have a little bit of trial and error with Mackynzie (and possibly myself) to rule out a few of the causes of our discomforts. So I think we are going to ease into things and see where we end up. That's my favorite part. Letting go of 'the plan' and seeing where we end up.

Happy world Breastfeeding Week!

 I just wanted to stop by and say happy world breastfeeding week to all you nursing mommies! That also means those of you who have nursed (no matter how long. ). Happy, happy nursing to all of you who know those milky grins, sleeping latches, big full tummies, chunky rolls, and conversations purely through the eyes of you and your sweet little one. And for those of you who read this and nursing didn't work out for you, happy world breastfeeding week to you too. You tried, and you did your best. Every drop of milk is a blessing. I am extremely grateful that I am able to still be nursing my sweet girl at very close to 22 months. I have a lot of people to be thankful of (many of whom I have never met in person!) and can't express in words the amazing rock of support my husband has been and is. If you are a nursing mama and know me, then I am most likely thanking you now. For support, for friendship, and for helping ground me in my instincts to nurse my baby (now toddler!). Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope you all have a beautiful end to your week.

Sunscreen: Finding safe options and maybe a little something you didn't know

 Since the 'official' start of summer is just around the corner, I figured now would be a good time to talk about sun screen.

 We put sun screen on our children and on ourselves because too much sun can cause cancers and sun burns. Any will do, the higher the SPF the better. Slap it on, rub it in, and reapply every two hours or after becoming wet (although they have new 'one application' sun screens now.). That's what people know to be true, right? That's what we are told, that's what everyone does.

  Studies and new scientific findings, however are starting to make parents question their sun protection methods. For example, check out the EWG's article on 'the nine surprising truths of sun screen'. Companies are also changing their labels to 'broad spectrum protection' rather than spf ___, due to skin needing protection from both UVA and UVB rays. When I first started hearing about all this, I was really confused. What the heck would I use if the majority of brands on the shelves contained chemicals that could potentially give me and my baby an increased risk of skin cancer? Why would they sell something with dangerous ingredients that leach into your skin! I was left feeling a lot of mixed emotions on the subject. I talked with friends and family and soon discovered that hardly anyone even knew the dangers of sunscreen. With no one to give advice, I spent the winter reading, thinking, and devising a plan for when the snow melted and the sprinklers came on. I want to share with you the gist of some of the things I learned and what we have decided to use.

I should note that this is still a bit of a work in progress for me, but I am about to share a list with you that I assume will fix my dilemma. Also, if it isn't obvious, I am not a doctor or skin care professional. If you have concerns, you should speak with a dermatologist or trusted health care professional.

 If you haven't read the link posted above yet, I highly suggest you do. Its short, easy to read and to the point, but it can give you a better idea of what I mean by the chemicals. The first thing on my list for protecting our family was natural, simple ways for safe sun exposure. We all need short periods (approx 15 mins) of unprotected sun exposure several times per week, to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D. For times when we will be out for longer periods however, we wear hats, play in the shade when we can, and wear loose/light clothing such as cotton, linen, and hemp (there are many more options) that cover exposed skin.

 When it comes to sunscreen, there are still many options for safe sun protection. Organic brands tend to run fairly pricey for small amounts, which can be a problem for many families (like us!) who have a budget to stick to. The following is a great list that I trust enough to pass on to you. It has been composed by Job description mommy  using the EWG's skin deep cosmetics database.  please visit her web site for more information and details. 

8 safe sunscreens for children and mamas! that you can actually find in the store:

1. Episencial Broad Spectrum Sunscreen, SPF 35, Rated a 2
2. Badger Baby Sunscreen, Chamomile and Calendula, SPF 30+, Rated a 1
3. California Baby No Fragrance Sunscreen Stick, Rated a 1
4. Coppertone Water Babies Pure and Simple Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50, Rated a 2
5. Burt's Bees Baby Bee Sunscreen Stick, SPF 30, Rated a 2
6. Aveeno Baby Natural Protection MineralBlock Face Stick SPF 50+, rated a 2
7. Earth's Best Chemical Free Organic Sunblock, SPF 30+, Rated a 2
8. Alba Botanica Very Emollient, Kids Mineral Protection SPF 30, Rated a 2

Hopefully this makes someone's sun protection search a little bit easier than mine was! 

 Now let's all go soak up some sun!