While Baby Sleeps...

Alex and I have officially started the learning process of how to handle Nick at night (sounds like the good ol' times, right-- haha-- WRONG!)

Nick loves "Jerry" the Giraffe. Jerry helps us put Nick to sleep. We love Jerry! Haha.

Nick is our first born, so perhaps Alex and I fall into the category with other first time parents when it comes to really babying our child? Allie is a pro with her fourth. Of course, she loves her boys dearly, but that girl can tell the difference between a "real" cry and a "fake" one. I am still a student here.

Recently, I read an article about Channing Tatum's wife, Jenna, and their baby girl, Everly (love this name!) Jenna was quoted, "When I'm rocking Everly to sleep, I do lunges across the nursery, squats, or calf raises," Dewan-Tatum, 33, told the magazine. "Suddenly 45 minutes have gone by, she's asleep, and I got a little workout!"

This got me thinking and lunging...and squating...and burpeeing (I really do love these, while strongly disliking squats. I can hear my husband correcting my squat form now!) Anyway, ...I do it all! While holding Nick, I'll think about how I can use his body as weights and complete a few nontraditional workouts.

Back to these awful crying sessions. I keep repeating "I love you, Nick...I'm here" and give him a few love pats while doing my own exercise repetitions along the way. Jenna is right that the minutes can really fly by, even if the screams and moans are heartbreaking throughout. Some days are harder than others, that's for sure!

When Nick isn't sleeping, these are a few things we do:

Killer ab workout!

Do any of you do exercises with your baby(ies)? If so, please share. I'd love to learn about how you stay hot and fit moms. Maybe you can even share advice on Ferberizing? 

Next month, Alex and I are taking on getting rid of the "soothie" (pacifier). Please wish us luck!

Icy Fudge Bites

I am a chocolate freak. I love me some chocolate. Want to know what I did at 11pm last night? I was on Amazon ordering a pack n play for Sam because he keeps rolling sideways in his bassinet and it's scaring me that he will suffocate, hence another pack n play needed for our room. He's just not ready for the big boy crib yet....aka mommy doesn't want to walk across the hall at night for feedings. 

Sleep is precious my friends.

 ANYWAY. 

I started craving chocolate when I was checking out on Amazon and knew that with prime shipping chocolate can easily arrive at my doorstep in 2 days. You gotta get creative when you have 4 kids on how to get chocolate into the house. Anyways I have been craving these hazlenut cream candy bars we had when we were in England 2 years ago, they were so good. I bought like 20 to bring home. Why the US doesn't sell these in a mystery to me. Hershey's would be out of business if the Bueno Bars came to town.

To my surpirse Amazon had them!! 

I almost went for the 30 pack of them but settled on the 6 pack for now!! 

They are so good, the cream inside is like HEAVEN. Hazlenut HEAVEN.

That pic is a peek into our road trip snack while we traveled throughout England....the essentials, chocolate, salami and nuts. I swear we lived on complete junk that week, it was PURE heaven!! 

Anyways that gives you a tiny look of how much chocolate is on my mind and thoughts daily.

I refuse to give it up and no offense, I shouldn't have to!

Without chocolate the world for Allie would be a sad sad place.

I have though, been searching for ways to add some different options for my fix.

I stumbled upon these a few weeks back and had to try them

You will need:

1 1/2 cups almond butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup coconut oil - melted 

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

Blend all together in food processor. 

 Pour into a greased pan and freeze for a few hours. 

 Once frozen take out and slice into bite sized pieces! 

They are chocolaty so make sure they are small

 (nom nom nom)

 Put them in baggies or containers and toss them back into the freezer.

Snack on them throughout the day whenever you get the urge for chocolate!

Enjoy my chocolate friends!!!

xoxo

Thanks Columbus Crew!

Thank you, Columbus Crew, for the Real Healthwives shout-out at last Saturday's game! Our son, Nick, won "Instagram of the Match"! The Real Healthwives Instagram was acknowledged on the jumbrotron in front of all the Crew fans! "Allie and Jamie" were splattered all over big screen (much to my husband's appreciation!) Haha.

Anyway, during the "halftime show", Nick's picture was put on the tron. Like most fathers, Alex turned in each direction with Nick proudly over his head. It was a sight to see and fun for us as first time parents to enjoy.

Before the game, I asked Alex to take some snaps of Nick and I in hopes to win the Instagram of the Match! (I wasn't sure if Nick would be willing to take pictures during the game, so I needed a back-up!) Again, as most fathers do, *snap* *snap* *snap*-- "There has to be one in there that you'll like."

Winning photo!

Nick can be seen to the far right. This is when we found out we had won! The solo display of Nick was shown at halftime. Uncle David and I were recording the event with video.

Nick won an autographed soccer ball by the entire Columbus Crew team!

Thanks again, Columbus Crew!

Other special thanks to: 

1. Uncle David for sharing this moment with his Twitter world and recording the scene for us (your recording is much better than mine).

2. Alex for being a hysterically proud father during the "Instagram of the Match" presentation.

3. Allie for helping make "The Real Housewives" be what it is today.

Binge Magazine

We were featured on Monday on Binge Magazine for their #mommonday

We are so excited and LOVE the article. We will be doing things with Binge in the coming months as well!! Stop over and 'like' Binge Magazine on Facebook!! 

Check out the article here. Thanks Jess from Binge!!! 

Black Bean Brownies

This may not sound appetizing, but I promise that most of you will not be disappointed! Black Bean Brownies are the bomb!! Whenever I need a brownie, black beans are one of the first ingredients I grab. Don't we all just love our GUILT-FREE pleasures!?

BodyRock is one of the main fitness websites that I use for recipes besides the beloved Pinterest. I found this particular recipe on BodyRock, but I am confident you can find similar recipes on Pinterest, as well.

Black Bean Brownie Recipe 

(for specific link- click here)

Ingredients

• 1 (15oz.)  can of black beans (rinsed & drained)
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
• ½ cup raw honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 pinch salt

Directions

1. I puree a can of organic black beans using our food processor.
2. Toss together the eggs, coconut oil, ,cocoa, honey, vanilla, salt (sea salt, if you wish)
3. Lather up a 8×8 pan -- bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.
4. Check up on your brownies by using the toothpick dip trick into the pan of yumminess. Clean toothpick = done!

Zucchini Chips and Fries

This is a huge hit around our house. The boys devour these within minutes of them hitting the table.

You will need:

2-3 zucchini

Coconut oil or olive oil

Spices (your choice)

Pizza Sauce (if you like)

Slice your zucchini into chips or fry shapes.

 I coat mine with coconut oil and then sprinkle on random spices. 

 You can use any kind of spice or even just salt and pepper, whatever you fancy! 

 Cook in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes of until they are golden brown. 

 I serve mine with pizza sauce, the boys find that extra fun!

My favorite kind is Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce, it has some sweetness to it! 

Enjoy! 

PS over the weekend my oldest turned the big FIVE....I am still a little in shock!! I no longer had 4 under 4, whew, now people might not look at me like I am crazy when I say the boys ages!! If only ;)

Yes, he is my twin! 

Fitness and Breastfeeding

I recently read this article on BodyRock because Allie and I were getting questions about breastfeeding and exercise. Everything was going smoothly in this mommy category for Allie and I, and I wanted to learn more to keep it that way.

Allie introduced me to Fenugreek. I love this stuff, and it works well thus far. I also drink "Mother's Milk" tea. Perhaps the two combined with breastfeeding every 3 hours for the first three months of Nick's life have allowed me to pump at least 10 ounces in 15 minutes when I need to?

In addition, I have stopped taking Fenugreek and drinking Mother's Milk tea this past week. My milk supply is still around 10oz each time I pump. Perhaps Fenugreek and Mother's Milk really have helped train my body to create this amount?

To break down the article for you and those of you who just want me to summarize it instead of reading it yourself...there are ten myths that this author debunks (keep in mind that this is written in her opinion/lacking medical support.. ) The myths that I found the most interesting are:

1. Moms who workout actually hurt their milk supply. From my experience, exercising does not hurt your breastfeeding as long as you keep up your calorie and water intake.

2. You can eat whatever you want while breastfeeding and lose weight. Maybe for some, but not for all! You shouldn't "diet" while breastfeeding; just keep eating those nutrient dense foods (lean protein, fruits, veggies, complex carbs).

3. You won't have enough time to breastfeed and exercise. Well, I sort of back this up, but also know that you CAN make time. Those initial weeks and months for a breastfeeding mom can be pretty draining. Like many of you, was exhausted the first 6 weeks. Once the doctor gave me the go-ahead to workout, I was too excited to wait. Finally, some ME time that made me feel and look better. :)

We hope this helps. Just remember to do what is right for you and your baby. :)

Allie chiming in here. I did fenugreek for awhile around month 2 and ever since I started working out I have not done Fenugreek or the teas. My milk supply is actually up!! I found it so interesting because every other post partum time I had never worked out in concern and here I am with an abundance of milk from just being healthier and working out!! I do drink Shakeology which a lot of moms say has upped their milk supply while working out but all I know is that I have NO problems and Sam is a CHUNKER!

I also did a Shakeology cleanse while breastfeeding and no issues!! I think fitness, eating healthy and breastfeeding go hand in hand!! Don't be nervous to try it! Your body will always let you know it's limits

Breastfeed on my friends! xoxo

BeachBody Focus T25: Day 1

Let the FOCUS begin! It's on, T25!!

Allie will be experimenting with T25's Alpha and Beta rounds, while I am looking forward to kicking butt with Shaun T's Gamma routines!!

Be sure to follow your selected calendars, and let us know how you're doing throughout the next five weeks!

Remember: We are a TEAM! No judgement and negativity allowed. Let's rock this and enjoy being fit and hot wives, mommas, and women!!

Below are our "before" photos (keeping in mind we completed BodyRock's 30 Day Real Time Challenge):

Allie 

(Alpha/Beta)

Alpha/Beta

Goals: To look like one hot babe this summer, while hanging with my group of good-looking men that always seem to be around me! ;)

**Doesn't Allie look amazing after just over a month!! This girl is really killing it in the fitness/mom categories. Love her!

Jamie 

(Gamma)

Goals: Tone up with lean muscle and pump up my backside!
Weight: 115.8lbs

As you may have read about me before, I do not trust the scale whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, the scale serves its purpose...to weigh things accurately, but I prefer looking at photos of myself to compare over time. 

**I need to work on my posture-- that side profile...sheesh! After looking at these photos, I believe I have gained some muscle from the 30 Day Challenge.

Thanks for everyone who has chosen to participate with us! Allie and I are thrilled to get to know all of you and be able to support one another. Share as you wish, ask questions, get discussions going. We will do our best to cheer you on and pump you up!! Good luck!

May the *focus* be with you!

For those of you starting with us today, how did you first day go??