I also took Cooper for a 20 minute walk. I thought it might be challenging in my sling, but it wasn’t. He stayed by my side the whole time. Well until he saw a giant snow pile that he wanted to jump on! It’s fun to see how much he likes the snow.  I’m sure he will be excited for the 4-8inches we are supposed to get this Thursday!

Last night we headed to Villa Italia in Stamford, CT for dinner! Again, we were guests at a private opening. It was delicious. I didn’t take any pictures because when my food arrived I dove right in, oops! I had Basa Marachiera which was a white fish in a tomato sauce with basil and tomatoes. It was good!

Ava was such a good girl at dinner and slept almost the whole time!

I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned yet that my calves are still sore. The 48-hour muscle soreness got me. I mean it definitely feels good to be sore but I feel it with almost every step I take so that constant reminder is torture!

Tonight I will be teaching my boot camp class, so I’m just about to sit down and make a new workout & hopefully a new workout playlist! If you have any good song suggestions, please send them my way!

We even snuck in a walk at Bruce Park

and Cooper had a doggie play-date

I enjoyed a lot of play time with Ava this weekend. She has been all smiles and laughs which is so much fun. She really loves looking at her stuffed animal toys and playing on her play mats!

With the Superbowl yesterday, we did a fair amount of cooking! We made BBQ chicken sliders, baked wings, stuffed mushrooms, guacamole, dip, etc. My favorite appetizer was the Spinach and artichoke dip. I am always a huge fan of this dip, and I like it even more because it is loaded with veggies! The secret ingredient is GREEK YOGURT which helps reduce some of the fat content. I enjoyed this dip with some whole grain crackers, YUM!

HEALTHY SPINACH & ARTICHOKE DIP

Ingredients:

1 can of artichoke hearts

1 10oz package of frozen spinach (thawed and drained)

¼ red onion (diced)

4 0z of plain Greek yogurt (it’s about 1/2 cup)

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

4oz of shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup of light mayonnaise

1/8 tsp garlic powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop artichokes, spinach and onion. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine well. Spray a baking dish and pour ingredients into dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy with baked chips/crackers or as a side dish!

Mine was very relaxing and family filled. On Saturday Marc’s parents came for a visit to see Ava and spend some time with us.We enjoyed some take-out Thai food for lunch. I got the Chicken Brown which comes with lots of veggies and brown rice. It was quite tasty.

I have been slightly obsessed with the show Scandal, have you seen it? We have Netflix so it’s super easy to watch a few episodes in a row! We are nearing the end of the second season, and I don’t know what I am going to do when we are all caught up!! Any suggestions on a new show to get hooked on?

Saturday night we watched the PATRIOTS win and move on to face the Broncos in the AFC Championship next Sunday. WOOHOO.

Sunday morning I woke up at 530am with Miss Ava. I was wide awake and well rested because she had slept for 6 straight hours. I’m loving that she’s getting in bigger stretches.

Once she was back to sleep I started watching my Group Power video and taking notes on the new workout. When I finished that I put together a new workout for my seniors which I think they are going to love. Fun homework!

After I finished some work… I made a quick trip to the mall to grab a few gifts for birthday parties I have next weekend and also to do some returns. I love the mall on a Sunday morning, it’s empty! When I got home Marc and I decided to go on a family walk with Ava & Cooper.

We bundled Ava up, and off we went! It was so nice to get some fresh air, and I am pretty sure Ava loves the stroller. She slept through all the bumps and turns!

DINNER was Turkey Burgers (with red peppers and mushrooms in the mix), Baked french fries, and spinach & chickpea casserole! Delicious.

RECIPES to come. This is a super easy and healthy dinner with lots of good flavor!

Now it’s time to do some more homework I will be making workouts for my clients this morning since I have less then 2 weeks before I am back at the YMCA.

Have a good day!

My morning started out great, I fed Ava ate some breakfast and we got out of the house early to run some errands. With a newborn I haven’t had much time to do my Christmas shopping so I was able to get a lot done in a short period of time! When we got home we kept Ava in her car seat and snapped her into the stroller to take her and Cooper for a walk. We had to take advantage of this beautiful weather and I was anxious to try out my new stroller!!

This was our first family walk and man was it nice to be outside!! I am still not allowed to exercise but walking is allowed. It feels great to move and get some energy out.

After our walk Marc and I ordered something healthy wraps. We both got grilled chicken and grilled veggies in a whole wheat wrap! Deliciouss…

This weekend has been filled with a lot of relaxation and hanging with little Miss Ava. She’s wonderful.

Cooper loves her too.. it’s really amazing to see how different he is around the baby. He is gentle and wants to lick her little hands and feet. I am very proud of him for being so calm around her.

We have a lot of Christmas gifts to wrap this weekend, and I am looking forward to wrapping them while listening to some Christmas tunes!

Happy Saturday

I ordered the Parmesan crusted sole that came with sauteed spinach in a lemon thyme sauce, delish. Marc ordered the duck breast with a 5-spice ginger sauce and sauteed Kale. (marc’s picture was a little blurry the lighting was very bad on his side!) We also got a side of brussel sprouts.

My meal was so yummy, I wanted to eat every bite, but ended up packing 1/2 of my meal to go. My stomach is not able to fit a lot of food these days and I find myself eating frequent small meals.

This morning we got up and had a Dunkin pumpkin spice coffee (a saturday ritual the past few weeks) ate some breakfast and then took Cooper to the park for a walk. It was gorgeous out and perfect weather for a morning walk.

Now we are heading out to run some errands before a party tonight for Marc’s softball team. Should be a great Saturday!