My New Love for Hot Yoga!!!!

I bought a Groupon for 10 yoga classes a couple months ago for like $20. I was a little nervous to try out these classes for a few reasons. I was nervous how hot the rooms would actually get, could I do all the moves and would I pass out from the heat. Now I find these worries funny. 

The teachers are very good with providing different levels of the movements. I love how all the teachers talk about how each person practice is individual. No one is expected to do the same as the next. They have all been very encouraging. 

I am going to talk about the 3 class types I have tried. 

Power Hot Yoga

Power yoga is an amazing workout! It takes a lot of body strength to do the moves. I took a class on a Saturday with about 20 other people. The room was cool when it started out. As the class went on the room got warmer and warmer. I was a sweaty mess by the time it was over. I didn't feel like the heat was overwhelming at all. It gradually heated up. I didn't feel like I was a super sweaty during class. At one point I touched my shoulder and was like wow I am really sweaty.  I came in with dry clothes and my shirt was drenched when I left. It really felt amazing. 

VinyaRestore Hot Yoga

I loved this class! We did a lot of sun salutation poses in honor of National Yoga Day. The day I took this class I had really tight hips from working out. My right hip was super tight and sore. All the tightness and soreness was completely gone by the time the class was over. This class had people of all ages. There was a lady probably in her late 60's that was soooo flexible. Her form was amazing. If I ever questioned what we should be doing I would look at her because she knew all the poses. 

At one point of this class the heat got to me. We had been having some really hot weather, so I think it was just too much heat for too long for me. I didn't have to leave the class. I just had to breath through some of the poses, so I didn't let the heat overcome me. I really liked this teacher. She talked about making the practice your own. She was very encouraging. The class was packed! I plan to take another one of her classes. 

Yin Hot Yoga

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Yin!!!! My first class I tried was Yin. I was nervous to try this class mostly because I had no idea what to expect. I remember going into that class dealing with a lot of anxiety in my life at the time. I walked out so incredibly relaxed. Three weeks after I had been going to the Yin classes I realized I hadn't dealt with any anxiety since I started. It not only helped me relax in the class, but in my every day life. It is the one hour in a day where I can let go of all the craziness in my life and relax. Often times I go into class feeling tense, but by the time it is over my mind and body are so relaxed. I don't do yoga moves at home or practice any type of breathing at home. These classes once a week have just tremendously helped me. Art has even noticed a change in me. 

There is a lot of stretching, relaxing, breathing, and holding poses in this class. The room is hot, but the temperature has never bothered me at all.  There have been times my body has been tight before class and I leave so relaxed. A day or two later my muscles are a little sore from the moves. I love the teacher of this class! If she offered more classes I would take everyone one of hers. She is so calming, helps you if you are struggling to find a comfortable position and has the most encouraging classes. One week she talked about family. She would read quotes on family. She did the same for fathers day. 

Friday nights are my Yin Yoga nights! I am able to sleep great after a class. I asked G the other night where did mommy go? He said you go to yo yo. lol So funny! I am not sure if he thinks I am going to eat yogurt for awhile or where he thinks I am going. I did show him some yoga moves. He really liked to do down dog and lift his legs. He would watch me do a move then he would get under me and do the same pose. Such a funny kid!

Have you tried hot yoga? I highly recommend finding a studio to try out a few classes! 

Costco Shopping

I snapped this picture of half the items I bought at Costco recently. I seem to purchase most of the same things each week. Please note the twinkies are NOT mine. lol There was a divider right behind those. I love that Costco sells the big bottles of Suja juice. They had it on sale for $6.99. That is the cost of like 2 little ones. I try to drink some each day. It is a great way to get in extra greens. It is also much easier to buy Suja juice instead of juicing your own veggies. G also loves the green juice. I water is down for him otherwise I think it is too strong for him. 

This is a pretty typical shopping trip for me. Mostly fruits and veggies. I get almond milk, eggs and rotisserie chickens too. Those were in the cart. Spinach, cherry tomatoes, kale salad, bananas are staples. I will let G pick some fruits he would like. Lately he has been on a cutie phase, so we buy a big bag of those. G loves to eat cherry tomatoes too. I will cut them in half for him. He just pops them in his mouth like candy. I can't wait for our cherry tomatoes in our garden to be ready to eat. He is going to love those!

Do you have staples you buy each week? 

Marvel Universe Live Coming Near You!!!!!

G is REALLY into super heroes lately! My cousin bought him an Iron Man and Captain America last year. He plays with those men all the time. He always says Captain America is daddy. One day Art came home from work and he told him to change his clothes. He picked out Art's Captain America tshirt. He wanted them to wear matching Captain America shirts. Soooo cute!

I was so excited to learn Marvel Universe Live Age of Heroes by Feld Entertainment is coming to Oakland and San Jose in the month of August! G is going to be ecstatic to see his favorite super heroes live! 

Check to see if your kids favorite super heroes are coming near you here!!! 
You can get a 25% discount on tickets by using the discount code MOM. You can purchase tickets here. 

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday Adriana!

Happy Birthday to my friend who should be celebrating her 30th birthday today! She had so many birthday plans that she wanted to do to celebrate her big 30th!

This picture is from her 29th birthday!

In honor of her birthday I have teamed up with Together We Rise to give 30 birthday boxes to foster children. I would love it if you could help me meet this goal! Adriana would have loved this! 

Donate Here!!!!

Happy Birthday my dear friend! I miss you every day!

Pizza Boy!

I told G after we eat dinner we are going to head to Costco. He said no eat, Costco peecee (pizza). He refused to eat dinner and wanted to wait for a slice of pizza from Costco. He hadn't ever had Costco pizza up until this point. Usually he wants a hot dog. When we go done with our shopping he told me peecee when we got to the register. 

I ordered him a slice of pepperoni pizza. I had to tear it into pieces, so he could eat it. He ate half the piece on our drive home. He then handed it to me and said ok momma hot dog. The kid wanted to eat a hot dog next. I just had to laugh at him. He didn't get a hot dog. 

Here are some pictures of him enjoying his peecee on the way home! 

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Pizza Boy appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant.

Monday Thrive

I have decided to put Monday Thrive on hold for July and August. I really want to focus on spending time with my family while I am visiting them. I have some blog posts scheduled for while I am gone. I just don't want to stress about making sure I get a blog post up. It's been more important to me to have descent content instead of slapping something together to post. 

I did want to remind everyone about the fundraiser I am currently doing. I am currently raising money to give 30 foster kids birthday boxes. I wrote a whole blog post about it HERE. My cousins became foster parents in June and Adriana talked about being a foster parent one day. Foster parents are truly amazing people! Not everyone can be a foster parent, but everyone can give to foster children. 

I would love it if you could help me reach my goal of giving 30 birthday boxes to children who deserve to celebrate their birthday! The majority of these kids have had rough lives and need to see there is good in this world! You can help me that good!

You can donate HERE. 

Please help me reach my goal! 

Toddler Meals & Foods

I am always looking for things to feed G. I like to see what other moms feed their kids on social media or I ask other moms what is on their kids menu. I am always concerned he is eating enough veggies. Up until he was about 2.5 he would eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! Whatever I put on his plate he would eat. Now....oh boy....he tells me things are yucky, spits them out, or just refuses to even try them. 

Dinner time I put on his plate what we are having. Even if I know he won't eat it I still put it on there. I am hoping one day he will try it. At least different things will become familiar to him.  He doesn't eat a lot for dinner these days. He will eat a little then he is all done. 

This boy wakes up hungry for breakfast. There are some days he wakes up and tells me momma breakfast! He usually likes eggs, pancakes, yogurt or some fruit. He eats very good at breakfast. It's rare that he won't eat. 

Lunch I have been bringing him food to school. When he gets out he is so hungry and tired. Usually he falls asleep on the way home. He had been asking for butter and jelly sandwiches almost every single day. All of a sudden he has decided he doesn't like the crust of the bread too. No idea where that came from or why. He eats all around the crust then hands me the leftovers. 

I have been trying to come up with some new ideas for lunch time. I don't just want him eating a sandwich every day. He needs some veggies in his meal too. I decided to make these little bento style boxes for his lunch. I have a sandwich container that rarely gets used. I put 4 cupcakes liners in the sandwich container. I put cashews, tomatoes, meatball and some mini Larabars. He loved this!!! 

These are the best pictures, but I was trying to snap some before the food was all gone. You can get the concept of what I did. It's a great way to give him a variety of foods. He LOVES nuts! He is only allergic to peanuts, so he can eat almonds and cashews. The nuts were the first thing that disappeared. He also loves cherry tomatoes. I slice them in halfs or thirds, so he doesn't choke on them. 

I bought some ground meat from Sprout's recently to make a bunch of meatballs. We need some quick things to grab that are healthy. I make up a pound of little meatballs that I keep in a Pyrex container in the fridge. I can pop them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and they are ready to eat. I actually made these really quickly while I was cooking dinner one evening. As my dinner was cooking I formed the meatballs and fried them in a pan. 

Kids are so crazy with their appetites and foods they decide they like. One day they will love bananas and the next day they hate them. I try to keep offering things to G that I feel are healthy. He won't eat spinach, but if I put it in a smoothie he drinks it right down. He also likes raw veggies with the Whole 30 Ranch Dressing I make. He likes to be able to dip things. 

I honestly don't make G a bunch of "toddler friendly foods". I make him what we eat. I was giving him the almond butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch because I eat the same thing almost every day for lunch. I have a kale and chicken salad. He will take a few bites of a salad. I will give him chicken, but he needs something else. I just don't feel a 2 year old is going to sit and eat a full salad right now. Maybe when he is a little bigger. I am a creature of habit and eat pretty much the same things for breakfast and lunch each day. 

What do you like to feed your kids? 

What are your easy to go to meals for kids? 

Weekly Menu July 2

One of my favorite things about holidays is the food! Summer time holiday's are all about bbq's! Grilled hamburgers, steak, potato salad, cold watermelon, chips! I am looking forward to bbq this week on the 4th of July! Almost every year we have the same tradition. We go to the inlaws to bbq and shoot off fireworks. Last year G was a little into the fireworks. I think he will be a lot more into it this year! I love sparklers! That is all I care about! Give me a box of sparklers and that is 4th of July to me!

Main Dishes:

Hamburgers
Sausages
Buffalo Chicken Casserole
Pizza
Fish
Steaks

I will make some roasted broccoli, BLT salad, honey garlic cauliflower, baked potatoes, raw veggies with paleo ranch, and coleslaw to go with our main dishes. Easier menu this week since there is a holiday in the middle of the week and G's last week of school! 

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Weekly Menu - Paleo appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant.