Marc and I share a strong love for Cooper and treat him like one of the kids. Every day we make it a priority to get Cooper the exercise that he needs. Whether it’s long walks in the morning or evening, park trips to play with other dogs, doggie play-dates, or even swimming trips at the beach.

The days Cooper is stuck inside for too long, he starts bugging us by taking the kids toys to get our attention  So we know he needs to get energy out and do whatever we can do tire that pup out!

PuppySpot has this awesome graphic about fitness for dogs. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share with you guys, so check it out:

It’s so important for humans and animals to get the right amount of exercise. I try to live with the “no excuse” attitude for exercising myself and for exercising Cooper. Sometimes the weather can make it challenging to get outside, so we play fetch inside, do tricks, or suck it up and bundle up in rain gear to make sure he get’s his walks. I know he relies on me every day to give him the attention he needs and I’ll do whatever I can to keep him healthy!!!

I’m so excited it’s Monday. I know that’s weird but I get to teach Group Power today and I truly missed it these past 10 days. I’m definitely going to ease back in this week and it could be my last week teaching so I guess that’s why I’m pumped for it.

This weekend was perfect. I know that’s a bold statement but that’s exactly how I felt when I woke up Sunday morning. Everything was just going smoothly and I couldn’t have been happier.

Saturday morning we woke up around 630am and I decided to head out and get us Dunkin Donuts coffees and muffins. I haven’t had a decaf coffee in a while because my stomach hasn’t been up to it, but for some reason I wanted one.

I also felt like we ate super healthy this week so why not have a chocolate chip muffin???

Saturday was Cooper’s 4th Birthday so we spent the day treating him like the King that he is.

We made bacon with our breakfast and of course my little doggie got some.

We took him to the park to run around and watch him smile. That’s honestly one of my favorite things to do. We are very good about giving him 2 walks a day so he can get his exercise but there’s something about seeing him with other dogs that is so fun.

After the park we headed to Tod’s Point Beach to enjoy the PERFECT weather.

Marc said it was kinda cool out but this pregnant lady thought the breeze and cooler air was perfect. I didn’t sweat once and I could’ve spent the whole day there.

Ava enjoyed splashing around in the water

playing with her toys and just being a kid.

She’s a goofball too.

It’s amazing how kids can play with themselves at a certain age, and I love watching her!

We had an awesome lunch together with a pretty view before heading home. Ava fell asleep within 2 minutes of the car ride. Mission accomplished haha.

I then headed to the nail salon to treat myself to a manicure and pedicure which I actually had a gift card for. I got a spa pedicure which was amazing. It came with a foot reflexology massage and also a chair massage. Umm….  PERFECT again.

I left feeling the most relaxed I have felt in WEEKS. It was very much needed. The rest of the night we spent hyping up Ava’s new big girl bed that we set up. She said bye to her crib and absolutely loved having a big bed. I couldn’t have been happier that she was so excited and pumped about it.

She also slept like a CHAMP. I for sure thought that we were gonna have a rough night but when my girls asleep and comfy she’s passed out!!

Rather then ramble on about all the things we did Sunday I’ll keep it short and sweet.

I got a prenatal massage from my friend Michelle… I told you in the title of this post (pamper the pregnant lady) it was fabulous!

Marc’s parents spent the rest of the day with us and it was a great end to the weekend.

(This is an older picture of Ava with Marc’s parents, but she loves them and I felt like I should share it!)

Now that I’m super relaxed and got everything I wanted completed on my to-do list, my little baby boy can come wheneverrrrr he wants

Do you ever feel like you have had the perfect weekend?

Do you ever treat yourself to massages??

This weekend flew by as usual, it was productive and fun.

Saturday morning I had an in home client that I trained and then we made a quick trip to Kohl’s to do some shopping.

In case you don’t know me that well, I’m not a very good shopper. I love having new clothes but I hate picking them out. Maybe it’s because I’m not stylish and I don’t know what I look best in. (workout clothes??)

In the afternoon on Saturday we headed to my friend’s daughter Lilly’s 4th Birthday party.

It was a painting party and I’m pretty sure all the kids had a blast.

Ava was SUPER excited to paint her letter A and she kept saying “Ava’s painting, Ava’s coloring.” It was really cute.

I had a great time watching her smile and have fun playing with the other kids.

Sunday I taught an early morning Boot camp class. I loved the workout I had planned and I was super excited that both Ava and Marc came for a visit. I think everyone enjoyed their company and distraction.

I was craving “not cooking” lunch after that workout and didn’t want any part of the kitchen so I ran to Citarella to grab a hot lunch from he hot foods bar. I chose Chicken Francese and Steamed broccoli with garlic and olive oil. It was SUPER tasty and satisfying.

I’m not sure if this picture does the food any justice, it was delicious and even better that I didn’t need to prepare it.

In the afternoon I got a haircut, went to trader Joe’s and then took Cooper to the dog park.

I don’t know who had more fun, him or Ava? It was a tie.

I hope you all had a great weekend.

Do you have any fun stuff to share from your weekend?

Do you ever have those days when you DON’T want to cook?

Every Christmas I would ask for a puppy anyways, and as much as I knew it wasn’t possible I still asked for the pure hope that one day it just might happen.

I always wanted a golden retriever but of course they shed too much. I started researching dogs on the internet one day and I stumbled upon a partially hypoallergenic dog called a comfort retriever. It’s a mix between a golden and a poodle. When I started looking at the pictures of the puppies I was sold. I may have done a little dance because these dogs were perfect!

I sent the breeder’s link to Marc, and I’m pretty sure he knew he couldn’t say no to me. We talked to the breeder and in just a few short months Cooper was born.

I counted down the days until we would get him. The wait seemed like forever.

We were so lucky to have the breeder’s friend bring Cooper to our house, when they arrived I ran outside to find the tiniest little fluff ball waiting in his crate. I asked if I could hold him, and she said “he’s yours!” I had the biggest grin on my face and I will forever remember our first encounter.

I brought Cooper inside and of course he peed right away. Poor guy had a long car ride!

He ran around and explored the house, man this little guy had more spunk then I knew what to do with. He was so playful, curious, and of course too cute.

I waited my whole life for a dog and I couldn’t be luckier to have such a fun loving and playful puppy to spend all my days with.

He takes me on new adventures every day and makes me enjoy the rain when all I really want to be doing is snuggling on the couch or of course on the floor.

Cooper keeps me on my toes, he knows how to push my buttons by stealing toys, but most importantly he knows how to make me smile and cheer me up with kisses and his cute puppy dog face!

There’s only one other girl besides Ava and of course myself that Cooper gets super excited for, his girlfriend Barley! When they have playdates he can’t hold back his smile and excitement!

I love my little doggie and I know he’s made a new best friend with Ava because he makes her just as happy as he makes me & Marc.

Happy Birthday Mr. Cooper!

If you have a pet, do you celebrate their birthday? I think Cooper will definitely have a few licks of ice cream tonight

Did you have a pet growing up?

Here is a quick weekend PICTURE RECAP:

Friday night Marc and I went to dinner at Blackstone Steakhouse in Greenwich.

We enjoyed our alone time and a glass of wine!

We split a tomato, green bean & mozzarella salad.

My meal was ridiculously good… I had the Herb Crusted Chilean Sea Bass and we shared a large side of Bacon Brussel Sprouts

 Marc had Beef Medalions!

Saturday morning I taught boot camp to a lovely class. It felt great to get my sweat in early.

Marc’s parents came over shortly after to spend time with us. We were entertained by Ava running around like a mad woman and playing with her toys. She seriously has a crazy amount of energy.

They left in the afternoon and I made a trip over to see my parents and drop off an Orchid for my mom and some chocolate covered strawberries for them to enjoy!

Marc made me dinner… we weren’t that hungry because we ate a big lunch but we had some Dijon Chicken with salad and a sweet potato.

Ava enjoyed dinner with us!

Clearly I secretly saved room for dessert. LAVA CAKES!

The first one we tested out FAILED…. it was an epic fail.

I was a little nervous for the rest of the mini lava cakes so we popped the rest back into the oven for a little longer.

Talk about ooey gooey chocolatey goodness. We had a little vanilla ice cream on top and my chocolate craving was satisfied I might have even done a little dance it was that good.

My sweet husband Marc got me a massage gift certificate. Guys I have never had a full massage before. I am super ticklish and kind of nervous about it, but between past hip and shoulder injuries I could sure use it. It was a very thoughtful gift.

I can go on and on about the weekend and how special it was… but today is DAY 1 of our 5-day Clean Eating Challenge and I couldn’t be more pumped to work with this group of people. Their energy excites me. My big tip to all the challengers is to take this “ONE DAY AT A TIME!”  Stay focused and you will all cruise through the week!

What did you and your loved ones do this weekend?

Are you ready to eat clean this week?

I watched the Grey’s anatomy episode from Thursday that I missed, and man I do love that show! It never gets old.

Saturday morning I taught a kick A$$ boot camp class with some awesome people. We were dripping sweat and working hard. Marc was able to come to class because my dad offered to hang out with Ava. We both had sore inner thighs today and as painful as that can be it’s always nice to have tight thighs

The rest of the day I ran some silly errands like CVS & the grocery store. My friend Lauren stopped by with her fiancé, which was a nice surprise!!

Shortly after we got Thai Basil takeout for dinner.

If you haven’t had Thai food before you probably should try it. I’m obsessed. I would eat this every day this week if I could. The flavor was on point and I didn’t have to cook. Two Thumbs up over here.

Lets back up a bit… somehow I forgot to mention that we only got 4 hours of sleep Friday night. Little miss Ava decided to wake up from 1:45-4:5am. I don’t know how I forgot to say that. I think her teeth were bothering her. I am assuming it’s the molars because she literally can’t shove her little fingers any further in her mouth. I felt so bad for her and that she was uncomfortable but all I kept thinking about was when I would get to go back to sleep!!! Luckily I mustered up energy and made it through the day. Bed time definitely came a little early.

Now lets talk SUPER BOWL SUNDAYYYYYY.

I woke up early, grabbed some DUNKIN coffee (because I wanted a treat) and then did some laundry at the laundry mat. I needed my comforter washed and I can’t fit that thing in mine at home so I had no choice! I also went to Kohl’s to buy some workout gear. Seriously that store is so cheap, I love it!

Marc did some food prep for the big game while I was gone. (I can’t believe I pulled off not prepping food yesterday!!!) Seriously all I made was my Creamy Pulled Buffalo Chicken and Marc and my dad cooked the rest. It was so nice!

We took Cooper to the dog park to tire him out.. and he had so much fun. There must’ve been 10-12 other dogs and he ran around like a mad man!

Ava enjoyed watching him from the sidelines.

We headed home and started getting ready for the game. Look how cute Ava’s jersey is!! Her’s is even authentic.

My family came over around 4pm to start the party. We literally had enough food for 20 people.

Look at that spread!!

My dad told me he is trying to eat healthier so he GRILLED BUFFALO WINGS before putting them in the Crockpot!! This helped to get rid of some of the “unhealthy fats.”

Guys there were delicious but so spicy my mouth was on fire. It made me so happy to hear that he is really trying to focus on eating better. Even though he is fit, he doesn’t always make the healthiest food choices so it was nice to see him put a healthier spin on fried wings!!

We all had fun entertaining Ava and watching her play.

She even played us some music on her activity center. (Future DJ?)

Can we talk about a nail biter game?? We were on the edge of our seats the entire second half. With some terrible plays by the Patriots, Marc started getting a little negative about the outcome of the game. I reassured him the Pats would come back and win. They are always better under pressure.

Sure enough they did!!! We were ecstatic and so pumped at the end of the game I am surprised we didn’t wake Ava up

Wouldn’t this have been cute after they game if Ava said Cooper WAKE UP, THE PATRIOTS WON!!!!!

I’m sure just like most of you, our evening was spent sitting around in front of the big screen and EATING all the food. I didn’t over do it, but I did eat a lot!! Now I am back to clean eating this week, who’s going to join me??

Did you enjoy the Super Bowl? What was your favorite part?

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Lets back up a bit before I talk more about shoveling. Last night I was pumped from all the hype of JUNO that Marc and I decided to do takeout even though I had already made a big pot of chili. Oops!

I ordered some Chicken Marsala

with Veggies & Potatoes. 

After dinner we pretty much lounged around the house watching the news and trying to figure out when we would get hit with all the snow.

Ava enjoyed relaxing with Cooper before she headed to bed.

 When Marc and I headed to bed a few hours after Ava was asleep, the snow still had not arrived. It was quite sad because I was looking forward to watching the snow come down.

Anyways… we woke up this morning to about 8-10 inches of snow. Some areas had more then others due to the wind. After breakfast I couldn’t wait to get outside, so I bundled up and headed out.

Now back to the “SHOVELING WORKOUT.” Just like any workout it is so important to warm up so you don’t pull a muscle or get injured. Before going out to shovel this morning I did a little warm up inside. Yeah it felt a little silly but seriously I didn’t want to hurt my back or legs from just grabbing a shovel and lifting heavy snow. My body wasn’t exactly awake

I don’t have a legit shovel workout to share with you besides warm up inside for 5 minutes. I did some jogging in place and some jumping jacks. Jumping jacks in a a few layers is quite tough and looks pretty funny. I’m pretty sure Marc called me crazy and both Ava & Cooper were looking at me confused.

I headed out once my body felt warm.

Lets just say I am thankful that we didn’t get the 2 feet of snow that was expected. Luckily the weathermen were off with their predictions for our area and we just missed the BIG snowfall. 10 inches is still a lot but it’s definitely nothing we haven’t seen before.

I shoveled for about 25 minutes and decided to come in because my fingers were ice cold.  I didn’t have warm enough gloves on because I could unfortunately only find 1 of my heavy duty gloves. It did feel pretty good to shovel though and I had a nice little sweat going.

Now it’s Marc’s turn to finish up the rest of the shoveling.

I hope all of you who were hit with Juno are safe and staying warm!! I am enjoying my day off at home with my family and I am sure there will be plenty of trips outside to play in the snow with Cooper!

Do you ever think to warm up before shoveling snow? 

Were you effected my storm Juno?

Here is a Photo Recap of the weekend:

Friday we got several inches of snow and both Cooper & Ava had some fun outside in the afternoon.

I made a super delicious & healthy breakfast Saturday with Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes (recipe to come this week)

Who doesn’t love bacon???

I did a workout at home Saturday. I had no desire to head to the gym, sometimes I like working out at home by myself with no one around!!

 I did the Insanity Asylum Day 1 body weight workout. It is super challenging and only 25 minutes. After I finished I had a burst of energy so I tackled some more pull ups. I complete 5 sets.. this time the repetitions were a bit different. Set #1: 2 reps Set #2: 7 reps Set #3: 5 reps Set #4: 4 reps Set #5: 3 Reps

My arms were very tired and my shoulders were so tight so I decided to treat myself to a 10 minute chair massage at a local salon. I highly recommend it. I walked out feeling like a million bucks and I didn’t have to spend a lot!

In the afternoon my family came over to watch the Patriots game with us. We made a big chili and had some delicious food.

Ava wore a Patriots dress for the game and I wore my jersey. This was the first time we wore matching outfits.

The Patriots won.. so we will be sure to dress up again next weekend

Sunday morning I attended my co-worker Michelle’s Group Power class. We are launching the new workout this week and she was the first to teach it!

Now it’s my turn to teach the new Group Power workout this morning. I don’t know why I’m nervous but I guess it is good nervous feeling!! I’m sure I will be wiped after this class, there are a lot of pushups and my arms are slightly sore going into it.

What is something fun you did this weekend? 

Do you watch playoff football?? If so who are you rooting for?

We didn’t have a wild & crazy New Year’s Eve.. it was very low key which is what we wanted after a short but busy work week.

Don’t I look sleepy??

I can’t believe I got this New Year’s eve kiss picture with Cooper. I honestly don’t think I have a picture with me kissing Cooper and he’s 2 and 1/2 yrs old. If I do have one, this is way better. He actually cooperated for the picture.

I was pretty excited about this.

SO….I’m sure like everyone else you are thinking about making BIG changes this month or maybe this year.

It is only natural to think that way. I have decided to take it day by day. I am going to focus on eating healthy and being happy.

I will leave you with this picture.

 This was too funny not to share with you!!

Happy New Years!

What did you do for New Year’s Eve?

Any good resolutions?

This was hands down my favorite Christmas ever. We had some quality time with family in Rhode Island on Christmas Eve and then with my family in Connecticut on Christmas Day.

Tuesday night we headed to Rhode island to begin our holiday festivities.

Here is a quick recap of the 2 BIG days.

Marc and I managed to get a picture in before all the craziness began.

Who wore the Santa Hat better?

Ava loved all her snuggles from her Grandma.

One of Ava’s favorite gifts on Christmas Eve was her stroller. She puts her baby in it and pushes it around…. it was very cute to watch!!

One of the best parts about the day was seeing Ava’s curiosity while unwrapping gifts. We had to start unwrapping her gifts for her and then she would finish it. I think by the end of the day she got the hang of it.

Well actually by the end of Christmas eve day this girl looked like a ZOMBIE!!!  (hahah, no joke)  She still enjoyed her snuggle time with Cousin Natalie.

Ava truly made Christmas more magical for me and has brought so much more excitement for my family too!

They definitely made my day easier by playing with her and her new toys!

I can’t forget about my other child…..

Cooper was quite a character and loved playing with all the toys that Ava would leave behind.

We managed to get another picture together. (no I am not pregnant, Marc just placed his hand in an awkward spot)

OKAY.. to wrap up this long post.. here is a video of Ava with one of her Favorite presents.

Ava impressed us all with her Basketball moves. She is a quick learner and really listens to everything you say.

Clearly she takes direction well. She can already slam dunk a basketball!!

Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?

Will you be doing anything fun for New Years Eve??