Connect the Dots Ginger | Becky Allen

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Tips & Tricks: Healthy Halloween


7 TIPS AND TRICKS TO A HEALTHIER HALLOWEEN: 
1) Talk to your kids first and foremost about how much candy is enough. Kids like the idea of candy but do they really need all that candy? Talk to them first and say, we are only going to this one neighborhood this year. Also tell them that they can not empty their bag and start over. It is one bag only and explain how much they will get.

2) Find a smaller neighborhood and just go there. Or just go trick or treating at a local church. When you get home have them help pass out some candy or only go and see their friends house in the neighborhood.
~2013~



3) Line their trick or treating bag with batting or decorations. (Trick I do with our pass out candy!) (Pictured at top)

4) Fill the bottom of their bag with fruit, or make arrangements with a neighbor to give them fruit (you provide the fruit) Make that your first stop so that their bag is weighted down and so the fruit (apples and oranges) take up more room.

5) Make a "fill to this line only" line on their bag or bucket. Once the candy reaches that line, they are done.

6) Buy a smaller trick or treating bag. Invest in a customized one that just doesn't hold as much candy as the buckets do.
~Masson's Personalized Creations bag. Only about as big as his head!~

7) Talk about what you are going to do with all the candy. Make a pre-planned schedule as to when they will get their candy. Reward for doing chores? Or a sticker system?

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! Don't forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving


Did you know that the average american gains 7-12 pounds during the holidays? I don't want to be like that this year. Do you? I still want to enjoy what I eat but be healthy about it.

Join me for just 21 days BEFORE Thanksgiving to help you lose weight and get on the right track before Turkey Day! Sign up below and I will add you to the PRIVATE Facebook group and we can work together!



5 Month Old Collin


Collin, Collin, my sweet baby boy Collin is growing up WAY too quickly! I miss the tiny little baby and how small he was. But I do love how much personality he has. He loves to watch his big brother run around the room pushing his big trucks around. He loves to watch Archer trot around him, and if Collin spits up, Archer is right there in his face making sure Collin is ok and to sniff out the mess he made.
~Hey there, good looking!~


Collin is moving. We put him one place on the floor and in a few minutes he is in a whole new place. He just moves backwards, and and he can turn himself from one direction to another. He can also flip from tummy to back, not always on purpose but can't do the opposite.
~Perfect flat back!!!~
~Superbaby!~

This past month he moved from our room to his new bed in the nursery and seems to be doing well. He did spend some nights back in our room in his bassinet and in our bed. Thanks so some sickness he got. Sadly he is no longer sleeping through the entire night like he was. He is now waking up 2-3 times a night. 1 for comfort and 2 for feeding. He is pretty consistent. Goes to bed around 7:30-8 wakes up around 11 for comfort more than anything. Then 2am for food and 5am for food. Then back to sleep till 8am. Thankfully he doesn't do super long feeding like Mason did. Collin is done in 20-25 min tops. But the lack of sleep is really getting to me. I have not been able to keep up with my chores around my house, like cleaning, laundry or making homemade bread. (doing laundry is BAD for me right now. I just hate doing it!) Dinners have been hit or miss too. I often don't get a nap during the day and thankfully Shakeology helps out in the "giving me energy" bit but I am just worn out. So glad that Matt is around too, to help clean and pick up my slack.


This past month has been full of such beautiful sounds of laughter and cooing. He loves to giggle at us, or when I tickle him. He is super ticklish on his sides, back and upper legs. And he loves to coo at Matt. He just tells Matt all about his day. He does not do that to me! AT ALL! Matt misses a lot during the day and Collin likes to give him a play by play. It is really cute.
~I had to "reset" him back in the middle of the quilt. But here is where he ended up at the end of the pictures!~

Collin lights up and kicks and squirms when Matt or I enter a room. He just goes bonkers and gives us a super happy grin. Often at night he doesn't want to cuddle he just wants to go straight into his bed but before we close the door he props himself up and gives us a toothless grin to say goodnight and he is out! He is such an impressive little dude!


Monday, October 27, 2014

October Week 4 Recap

Going into the last week of my fav month! But that just means, lots of family time coming up  soon which I am so excited about!

This past week was more of the same with Collin and Mason. Collin is still planking like crazy, but he can get up onto his knees a lot easier. He is also trying to step with one foot while in hands and knees so he will be crawling by Thanksgiving. I am pretty sure about that. He slept really well the other night in his crib. Only squawking a couple of times then back to bed. He did wake up at 2am for a feeding, which I am fine about. Sadly the same night that Collin slept really well Mason did not. He got scared of something during the night and he ended up joining us in bed. Then when we finally got Mason back in bed, Archer threw up on the carpet. If it wasn't one thing it was another. Saturday night/Sunday morning was CRAZY!

I started training with the 10 miler training group. I am in group 1. Wah-Wah! I only did .75 miles. Yes I can do more, but since I haven't been running regularly I am in the beginning. Nov 3 I will be back at the gym and will be able to definitely get my runs in during the week on the treadmill. I am still planning on doing strength training and yoga to help me out too. Coming up with my plan now but I have my running schedule though. I am hoping to move up in groups fairly soon though. I just need to push past my mental barrier to not stop and walk! If any one has any advice on that please let me know!

In the workout front you will notice that I um... fell off the wagon. I am going to talk about what is going on later this week. It isn't an injury or anything, but I think I have a slight bit of postpartum depression. I am having a hard time nursing right now, since Collin is waking up hungry and fussing more I am thinking my milk isn't going well. But more on that later. I have just been in survival mode this past week. Everything is suffering, not just my workouts.

Workout:
Sunday: Yoga
Monday: rest
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: .75 miles 30 sec walk/run intervals 1/4 mil cool down.

Total Mileage:
1 mile - 20 weeks postpartum

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Reality Weight Loss

I often think about why it is so easy for "famous" people to lose weight. Especially right after they have a baby. Here I am 5 months after Collin and I still am at my weight I was after I had him. Haven't dropped below, I still have a belly and a big butt and I just can't seem to find that workout groove.

"Famous" people, it is their job to be a certain look. Often we criticize these people for getting stick thin after having a baby, or I am even proud of them for not losing all the weight immediately and show what a woman actually looks like after having a baby. But the truth of the matter is, this is their job that is on the line to look a certain way by a certain time.

I was watching a while back the reality show about Tia and Tamera Mowry. It was the time when Tamera was just about to have her baby and I watched up till after she had him. She was on hiatus from her show before she had the baby and had to come back looking like she never had a baby. It was part of her job and a big part that she had to look the same size as she did prior to the show going on hiatus while she was pregnant. Yes she hired a personal trainer to come to her house and train her. And she had a babysitter at her house while with said trainer, and yes she even had someone cook for her. But it was her job to lose the baby weight again. And she did! Through diet and exercise.


So here comes Missy Elliot who just by doing diet and intense exercise lost 30 lbs and LOOKS AMAZING! She did 2 different Beachbody products, T25 and Insanity. That's all it takes. Diet and exercise. No magic pill. No surgery just hard work and dedication!

Do you think that if you were getting paid to lose weight that you would stick with your weight loss regime better? There are apps or pools you can enter to actually get paid for every pound you lose or how much exercise you do a day. There is an app called Pact that you get paid when you meet your goals and you owe if you don't. It costs money, so know what you are getting into first before you participate.

Dietbetter.com is another place to win money when you reach a certain percentage lost in a month or however long the game is going for. Diary of a fit mommy will often host these events. It costs money though, so know what you are getting into first before you participate!

If you need support to get you through your workouts or just need a workout buddy we can work together! You are more prone to lose weight if you have someone else doing it with your or supporting you the way you need to be supported! Just fill out the form below and I will contact you! Help you. We can do this together!

QOTD: If losing weight was part of your job would that make a difference in how you approach trying to lose weight?

(disclaimer: These opinions reflected above are my opinions alone and weight loss apps and games are by suggestion only. I am not responsible for positive or negative affect of the reader participating in these types of activity.)

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

October Week 3 Recap

It's almost Halloween time! YEA! I really do love this time of year. Trader Joe's is going pumpkin everything wild, the apples are fresh and crisp and the AC is turned off saving us major bucks on the electric bill! YEA!

Major news about Collin. I love this, every week there is something new! Well. This kid wants to get moving. We are not teaching him how to do anything he is figuring it out on his own, and frankly, I am not ready for him to be crawling or walking. This week he has mastered the art of planking. And now he is getting up on his knees and doing the wiggle. Which means, crawling is just a matter of days or weeks ahead. He just turned 5 months so this is a SHOCK to me as Mason was 8 months before he even started to crawl. But Collin loves to watch his brother run around him and he wants to get up and go see him and play with his cool toys too!
Sneak peak at Collin's 5 month pictures. He likes to do Supermans too! 
Mason is still no fully potty trained. We are working on it but he hates to wear underwear, even boxer/briefs and will continue to pee in them and refuses to go #2. So maybe we just aren't ready yet for this. Who knows, but it is a work in progress. Hoping he is potty trained by Thanksgiving so that we don't have to buy diapers on our trip. He is speaking super well. He is fully communicating with us on what he wants, or is doing or just to tell us something. He isn't very clear on his enunciation yet but he is getting there. It is cute the way he says words, and we work with him on how to pronounce them better and more clearly. He also started Piano lessons with me. I have a pre-reading piano series book that I pulled out and we are slowly going through that about every other day. He has learned how to play short sounds, long sounds, soft and loud sounds. Mainly it is following directions.

I finished my third piano composition last week. I started this particular piece in 2011 and I finally got some inspiration and was able to fill 2 holes in it and it is done. Now it is time to put it on my computer as real music. So I still have some work to do but it is done. I will say that the last 2 weeks have been really rough on me mentally. I have just been out of it. Having a hard time keeping up with the house and the chores I set myself to do. Laundry has  piled up like nothing else, and I haven't been making homemade bread. I just haven't wanted to. I started taking my extra placenta pills to help balance out my hormones a little bit but I am definitely in a funk! Doing workouts has been like pulling teeth for me. Some days I am gung-ho ready to go and other days, nope! Plus this past weekend it was a military weekend so it was just me and the boys and the dog. 24/7. No break, not rest, cause Collin didn't want to sleep and Mason wanted to be up super early. Anyhew. I have had a really hard time getting that workout bug going this past week. I am excited for November. I am going to start going back to the gym so that will be good. Send the kids to daycare for 2.5 hours and me go get my workout done, alone. Running. I really have the need for running. I just wish it wasn't so darn hard to do! Anyhew. We all go through these slumps of  I don't wanna! I just need to get out of it!

Workout: 
Sunday: Yoga
Monday: Total Body fix
Tuesday: Upper Body fix
Wednesday: Lower body fix
Thursday: 45 min walk, pushing Mace in stroller and baby wearing Collin/ Pilates Fix
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 30 min walk, pushing Mace and wearing Collin

Total mileage: unknown exact but I estimate about 3.5 miles.

I will say that doing the walk and pilates totally killed my legs and after doing leg day! So I will probably do Pilates earlier in the day before I do running in the future. With all the hills plus the weight I was carrying and pushing just KILLED ME!

Goals for this week: Continue to workout! Need to get it every day. I missed yesterday but will do today and so forth.
~Continue to go on at least 2 walks a week until I go back to the gym. This Saturday I will be at the 10 miler training program.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

I'm A MOMBIE!

This is totally me right now! LOVE THIS. I'm potty training by day and nursing by night! Who else is a Mombie right now???


Friday, October 17, 2014

Post Run Yoga

Now that you are starting to run, here are the best post run yoga exercises to help you stretch back out and keep you from getting too sore and tight! Run on! 

Be sure to follow me on FACEBOOK for more tips and tons of motivation during the day! See you over there! 

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Beginners Running Plan

Here is a great beginner's running plan to check out! Anyone can learn to run, you just have to take that first step! 

Don't forget to follow me on FACEBOOK too! More helpful information and tons of motivation messages every single day! See you over there! 

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

It's An All New Season!


I love fall. The cooler temps, the darker mornings and the chance to start wearing pants and sweaters. But the other thing that I love is the new TV schedule that comes out. New shows, Old shows with new plot lines. LOVE IT!

We don't have cable TV so I do my TV watching on my own time, which is great. Middle of the night feedings can get pretty boring and falling asleep while nursing sitting up is no fun! Thanks so much to Hulu that keeps me up to date on all my fav shows. And if they don't have it I find it somewhere on the internet.

Here is my weekly schedule that I watch.

Sunday: Once Upon A Time- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS SHOW!

Monday: Sleepy Hallow, Originals

Tuesday: Agents of Shield

Wednesday: Nashville, The 100

Thursday: Bones, Parenthood, Reign, Vampire Diaries,

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