Running Essentials

At the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine, I was doing some at home workouts that I hoped to share some of my essentials, but for the past 2 weeks, the weather has been perfect for running and that is on my mind. Running is one of the most convenient exercising routines during a time where no gyms can be frequented because you don’t need much. These three items help me to become motivated and make my runs more frequent and enjoyable.

Running Tracker – Strava App or Apple Watch

For All Levels: Tracking my runs is one of the most motivating practices for me. I actually use both the Strava App and my Apple Fitness Tracker. I actually track on my Apple Watch because of the easy viewing during my run and then upload my workout on Strava. Strava is a new app for me that a few friends use as more of a social media platform for working out; it’s also motivating to see other’s workouts and notifications of when they workout. It is a good tracker on its own if you can’t afford an Apple watch or have an Apple device, but it more focused on running and biking than other workouts like aerobics, sports, dancing, barre, and others like the Apple fitness app. I am working on encouraging my husband to use the Strava app to track his runs, so he feels more accomplishment when he returns from his solo runs since he always wants to check out my stats after we run together.

Spotify App

For All Levels: Running with music is a must for me! I have used different music apps and felt they were limiting on content (Amazon Music) and control of songs (Pandora), so I was looking for a service where I could create playlists for different workouts and times during my day. I listen sometimes to pre-made playlists and have built my personal playlist based on these. The shuffle feature allows for a different order of songs, so I don’t get complacent on one list for one certain run. On longer runs when my list is complete, it automatically picks songs similar to the ones on the list. The 3 month free trial proved to me that this is a necessary monthly subscription I will utilize.

BOB Running Stroller

For Moms: Kids can limit the access to workouts, and I had to find a way that I could workout with my kids in tow (3 1/2 and 18 months). For the past few years, we have used our BOB double and single stroller to make the price well worth it, but I truly have never done a ton of running with my double stroller until the last month. I felt intimidated pushing such a large stroller, and at first I felt defeated that I couldn’t run as far or fast with it, but now as I have improved my distance and pace, I feel even more powerful as I run. These strollers (especially the double) are not for indoor use, but are perfect for smooth walks and runs out side. Although they are pricey, they have been worth the $1300 we have invested in both.

Podcast Preferences

This post was originally going to cover kids ski essentials, but I felt it was irrelevant and frivolous (regardless of my love for skiing) at this time considering almost every ski resort is closed for the season based on the uncertainty of the what is going on. So instead, I have decided to highlight my three favorite podcasts! It was DEFINITELY hard to narrow it down!

Young House Love Has A Podcast

For DIY-ers or House Project Enthusiasts: This is the first podcast that I ever listened too and am still a loyal follower! Sherry and John have been my blog crush for many years, and I followed them before they went on their blog hiatus and was ecstatic to see they started a podcast that could showcase their spunky personalities. Although they are not just DIY-ers, they are now home renovators and remodelers who are always throwing new curve balls as they cover the nitty gritty details of renovating each of their homes and vacation homes. I can’t wait to find out about their new move and life change coming up. Fun fact: This Thursday Three section was inspired by their “What we are digging” section of this podcast! Sometimes if I don’t have time for the whole episode, I just skip forward to that section!

Dirty John

For Crime Lovers: This is the podcast that made me fall in love with podcasts! I had no idea what to expect but had heard a random recommendation and needed a time filler for a drive to Colorado. This story about deceit and manipulation had me riveted from episode one. Although the story twisted love story about a man with a false identity whose significant other sees all the warning signs but is swept away regardless, it can resonate with women’s ability to be blind-sighted by love.

Thought Sauce Podcast

For the Working Woman: This is the most recent podcast I have been listening too, and I love that Brea is a Kansas City local influencer who has teamed up with her college bestie in Washington DC to create this podcast. Although Brea is a successful working mom, this podcast highlights the lives of very interesting people across the country. Each one of their guests has had a notable takeaway for me that is somehow inspiring. Not only motivational and educational about different lifestyles and careers, it is entertaining to hear each authentic conversation.

Interactive Kid Recipe

With everyone’s world flipped upside down about a week ago with the COVID 19 pandemic, I have had to shift my planning for meals differently. I went out and planned as many nutritious meals as I could while also stocking my freezer with some go-tos like this easy mini pizza recipe. I actually use this one during my busiest times at work, and it is fun for the kids to help make too. This recipe is an easy one to finish off any meats, veggies, or other refrigerator items in a meal that is quick an my kids love it.

Ingredients:

• Mini Naan Bread (I use the brand from Costco – Stonefire)
• 1/2 cup mariana sauce
• 2 cups shredded cheese (we love lots of cheese on ours)
• Toppings (I use whatever we need to get rid of in the fridge)
  • Peperoni, salami, hamburger, shredded chicken, sausage, and other protein
  • Red peppers, spinach, black olives, broccoli, even green beans, and so many other fresh veggies
  • I find that if F helps me put the pizzas together, he will eat what ever veggies he puts on his (man does he load up!)

Easy Assembly Instructions:

First, I prepare a sheet pan with my Silpa mat (lifesaver for cleaning) and place Naan bread and set the oven to high broil. It depends on the mood of my 3 year old if I allow him to help me spread the sauce or if I do it before the decorating begins!

These pizzas are a bit weak on the toppings, but honestly F didn’t help because he needed to be outside while I cooked dinner. He usually adds way more than I ever do. When he owns it, I know he will eat it! At this point G will eat it one night and not the next, so I never prep meals for his tastes.

After I cover the the top with shredded cheese, I pop in the oven at a high broil. If you are not used to cooking on a broil, be sure kids are not around because you need to leave the oven cracked open. I just watch it until the cheese is browned on the top, which was about 10 minutes.

I hope you and your littles enjoy this dinner and process!

Amazon Subscription Picks

To add on to the Amazon Subscribe & Save Tricks, I have highlighted my favorite three Subscribe & Save items that our family benefits from.

Amazing Grass Green Super Food

For Me: I originally started buying this supplement at Costco but struggled to find and just finally went to Amazon Prime for convenience. I use one of these individual packets in my morning smoothie, which consists of: frozen black cherries, a banana, and almond milk. I have made one of these every morning in my Magic Bullet individual serving blender. Regardless of price, this energizes me for a busy day!

Dog Food

For the Dog: I can proudly say that I have never actually walked into a pet store and hauled out a huge bag of dog food! This is actually the 2nd food we have ordered for our 5 year old pup on Amazon Subscription. The first was a bit more affordable, but we were ecstatic to find the exact food our vet recommended for Summit when he heard a slight heart murmur was available too. We get about one bag a month. I can skip about every 6 months when we have extra in the basement. This was the reason I figured out what Amazon Subscription was all about.

Diapers & Wipes

For the Boys: This has been a life saver since having our first son 3 years ago and our second 18 months ago. I currently use Huggies for my youngest but couldn’t get the picture to show up to screen shot. It is $23.97 (or something comparable). The prices fluctuate frequently, but I do believe they are cheaper than Costco the majority of the time. We also use refillable wipes which are so much cheaper. I bought two containers for wipes at Walmart and have used them throughout both my boys years in diapers (F is still in diapers at night). Diapers and wipes are usually 20% no matter how many items you are buying!

After being an avid Amazon customer since they textbook days, in 2016 I was finally introduced to Amazon Subscribe and Save by my brother. I was confused and not sold at first, but once I figured it out, I know we are saving time and money on household products every month. First, I will explain what I was confused by and then I will explain how I use it still to this day.

Truth: If you buy 5 or more items every month, you will increase the percentage off that you get on each item.

Once you have subscribed to 5 items per month, the percentage off increases. See misconception below.

Misconception: All products will be 20% off if you subscribe to at least 5 products.

Although the percentage off increases once you have 5 items, some products stay the same no matter how many products you subscribe to a month. For example: our dog food is only 5% off no matter how many products we have on our list, BUT most baby products (diapers and wipes) are 20% off no matter how many products you subscribe to. I feel it evens out between our dog food and baby products especially months that we don’t order all 5 items. Those are generally the only ones we buy in a low budget month.

Truth: You DO NOT have to buy the same 5 products every month.

This was the most confusing part of the subscription process; I could not think of 5 items that we need to buy every month! Then I realized that it just has to be 5 items from the subscription list. See below how I keep all my items on my subscription list and then skip when I don’t need them. I still need to work on picking the frequency of delivery, so I don’t have to sift through so many items.

Misconception: Products will ship in the standard Amazon 2 day time frame.

This is the more difficult part if you are not a planner. We have our subscription deadline on the 20th of the month, and we will not receive it until the 29th. It takes some getting used to not having the instant gratification of Amazon buying, but I find I am much more thoughtful about my purchases and plan for the month.

How It Works For Me:

If you are not familiar with the Amazon website or any of the Prime benefits, this is the best drop down menu to find to explore these options as well as find the Subscribe & Save Item menu.

Since I am a Subscribe & Save active user, my page looks slightly different but it is a smaller link once you have started (pictured below). It will always suggest, which is helpful in making choices.

To add a new item, you have the option of how frequently you would like to order the item. It is typically correct on its recommendation, but definitely takes a few months to figure it out. I buy seasonal items like sunscreen and boogey wipes, so I often times stock up preseason for these particular items.

Below is my monthly subscriptions that pop up when I open my Subscribe & Save.

I have close to 50 subscriptions that I keep active and can easily skip (see below) to narrow down to 5-10. I go through them a few days before my deadline. Thankfully, they do send a reminder email, and I have our subscription coming out on my payday, so I never forget that day as the day I need to narrow down my choices.

Here are my narrowed down options for my March 20th deadline. I am starting to stock up on sunscreen for the spring and summer, so we are surprisingly stocked on diapers and wipes (maybe we are FINALLY effectively potty training F). The only item at this point that is monthly is my Collagen Protein Powder and most of the time dog food. We just switched dog foods, so still working on the amount needed every month.

I hope this helps navigate what I find as a lifesaver now, but was very confused by at first.

All Green Goals

In honor of the quickly approaching St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, I will share how my family will add some green into our lives next week. We are going to be in Colorado with another couple and their two boys, so I am all about matching and obnoxious!

Monogrammed Tee’s

For the Boys: I have been pretty excited about my boys wearing matching shirts, and I am even more excited to have 2 more to match with over St. Patrick’s Day!

Headbands

For Everyone: Here’s the obnoxious fun! Who knows if they will fit everyone, but I will know once they arrive! I thought about finding something cute and trendy for me to wear on St. Pats Day but realized there was no fun in that. I am more excited to make E wear one of these than I am the boys!

Green Beer

For the Adults: What is St. Patrick’s Day without some green beer? Even if our 4 toddlers keep us at the condo all day, we will still get to have our green beer! Maybe some green eggs for breakfast? Or maybe we can even use it to make a tasty treat for when the dads arrive home from skiing. I think I’ll just make sure the green beer happens this year!

FLASHBACK: Summit turned 5 today! For the first time since his 1st birthday, we celebrated with some of his closest dog friends. Frank and I made a cake, and it felt good to spoil the boy in our family who is forgotten first. I want to rewind and share his 1st birthday PAWTY because I will never top that one.

A True Dog Cake

We splurged on this cake from Three Dog Bakery in Leawood, KS for about $30. It looked way better than the one Frank and I through together this weekend (it wasn’t as fun for me thought because I just sent E out to pick it up before the party). It surely made better pictures, but I can’t say that the dogs enjoyed this cake over the homemade one.

PAWty Themed Food

I derived this theme from a co-worker who happened to be throwing a Paw Patrol birthday party for her son around the same time. Back then I had no idea how much more I would know about Paw Patrols just a few years down the road; I was only pregnant with F at this time.

Here’s the spread:

• PAWsta Salad
• PAWtato Chips
• PAWtato Salad
• hot DOGS
• PUPcorn
• There was a spinach artichoke dip that I can’t figure out the dog pun here 4 years later

PAWty Favors

I had some extra time on my hands this year and was able to make and embroider all the guests matching I had to play around with the pattern and size, but it was one of the first times I whipped out the embroidery machine for E to see. I wish we could have taken a photo of all the guests together, but that was nearly impossible.

Finale – One Tired Birthday Boy

Although I do not have the time to through such an elaborate PAWty for Summit again, I am so happy I have this memory of spoiling such an amazing dog!

A Doggie’s Dream

In honor of our sweet Summit’s 5th birthday, I want to highlight my favorite dog products we have used. Summit was my very first dog and my first baby. He stole my heart at just 5 weeks old and still amazes me everyday with his patience with 2 toddlers running around tormenting (and feeding him) every day. He truly only deserves the best!

Bark Box

For the Pup: I am a guilty dog mom. I will admit, though, that before I sell this product that we no longer subscribe. Summit was spoiled with these treats and toys for two years, but he could not keep up with the chewing and eating. Once we run out of toys (he still cherishes all of them and has never chewed up any of them), I will order this subscription box because of the quality and fun of this for the family and him. I haven’t bought treats or toys in years!

Gentle Leader

For the Pup: This product was a life saver for us! We knew Summit would be a strong dog, and we hoped we could walk him, not have him walk us. After some research on different products, we started this early with him; I now can walk him with the double stroller with no worries of him pulling fiercely. Our overly protective pup is under much more control with this product than with a harness or choke collar. Some people think it’s a muzzle, but I just giggle because Summit is a golden retriever with a protective but naturally sweet demeanor.

Amazon Dog Food Delivery

For the Pup: We definitely splurge on food for this guy! This food is $75 (30 pound bag – 1 month supply) and with our Amazon subscription we save $10 a month. Not only do we save this money, we also have it delivered to our door step! Who actually likes going to the pet store to carry out a bag of food, let alone with TODDLERS! This is a lifesaver! Look for a post about how to optimize your Amazon subscription to save you the most money and time.

These easy sweet potatoes are the perfect side to any meal and can also be an add in to any salad. My kids love them too!

Ingredients:

1. 2-3 large sweet potatoes
2. 1/4 cup olive oil
3. Salt and pepper to season

Preheat oven to 400 F

Use a carrot peeler to take the skin off the potatoes and then rinse. This is usually the part that seems like more work than I want to exert after a long day of work but ends up being somewhat methodical.

Cut into inch thick circular pieces and then into fourths. Based on the thickness of the potato and what part of the potato you are cutting, I sometimes cut into sixths.

Toss sweet potatoes in a thin covering of olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. My kids do not love spices, so I tend to season much lighter.

Layout potatoes on a pre-greased pan or use my favorite Silpat baking mat. Spread evenly across the pan in a single layer.

Cook for 30-35 minutes. Check to make sure they are cook through with a fork. I find every sweet potato cooks differently and always check mine with a fork.

Let cool and enjoy!

The Ski Scoop

This past weekend, my husband and I took a ski trip sans kids with two other couples. Not only was it refreshing to have a break from kids, we really had amazing conditions and got in a few more turns (as my husband calls it). I have skied 13 days so far this year and feel like these three things enhance my time on the slopes.

Slopes App

For Me: I have used this app the past 4 ski seasons and love tracking my vertical, runs, and ski resorts. The first photo shows my season, and the other shows me how my day went. I often check it and am motivated to ski a few more runs even if my feet and legs are telling me otherwise. I have connected it to my Apple watch, but it actually recorded twice and I prefer to just record on my phone.

Trader Joes Trail Mix

For Us: This season, E and I have been focused on getting the most turns in as we can. Especially because it means someone else is watching our kids, and our time is valuable on the slopes. I have been packing trail mix for our pockets instead of packing our lunch, which my husband hates wearing the backpack all day. This is a hearty snack that fills us up after a large breakfast and happy hour snacks immediately when we return home. Trader Joes has of course won my heart and this is my favorite mix of many that they offer. Who knew that Amazon sold Trader Joes products!?

Yakima Sky Box Cargo Box

For Us: This product is not a cheap one but was a worthy investment for our skiing habits. It took us about a year to decide exactly which box was the best for our family. We have a Honda CRV, two kids, and a golden retriever we haul to Colorado (10 hours away) at least five times a year. We had to have something to give us more space, but on our most recent trip sans kids, we still took the box solely for the easy access to our skis at each resort. It leaves the inside of our car dryer, and we were able to carpool with our friends to the ski resort with all of our gear. I have horrific memories of my dad stressing about our “car top carrier” as a kid so I was hesitant to get one, but actually travel cross country with the boys by myself and was able to pack and unpack easily. It’s a worthy investment but make sure you figure out your needs in a box.