Fit n' Firm Friday: A Good Night's Rest

Ironically, I am typing this post at 11:30 at night.  This post is about giving your body the rest it needs. Not just resting your body in between good, tiresome workouts, but also getting adequate sleep. Sleep is SUCH an important part of health. Physical, mental, and spiritual health for sure!  Resting the body is essential to do in order to reach or maintain wellness. When we sleep is when our bodies recover and rejuvinate. If we don't allow it that chance to do so, we are holding ourselves back in more ways than one.

For the last month and a half, I have not been sleeping very well. I have such vivid and exhausting dreams that when I wake up. I feel like I had just gone to a different world for the night and didn't sleep at all. I was dragging and I was lethargic all day long. I didn't like it. You better believe it made working out that much harder.

I don't know too much about yoga, but the little I do know, I do believe it is a wonderful thing to include in your personal journey to fitness and wellness. While on my quest to find out why my nights were not restful, I found an 9 minute bedtime yoga routine on pinterest. I have since done it a few times before bed, and I swear, it is the bomb! Those nights I actually follow through and do it, I sleep like a baby. Well, a solid-eating, binky-loving, good-sleeping baby. It is wonderful!

source

Click here to get the full bedtime yoga "workout."

In short, the workout is:
Minutes 0-2: Upside down relaxation
Minute 2-3: Winding down twist
Minutes 3-5: Nighttime Goddess stretch
Minutes 5-7: Child's pose
Minute 7-9: Rock a bye roll

Good night and sleep tight!!! Let that body of yours prepare itself to get it's workout on tomorrow!!! Let me know what you plan on doing for your saturday workout! : )

My talking babies

some WONDERFUL and memorable things my little munchkins have said within the last several months.


Mackenzie (almost 16 months)- Mom, Momma, Dad, Dadda, Thank you (tane tu), turkey (turtey), hi, hey, tuh-ter (tucker), uh-oh, she growls a lot.

 tucker looking out the van window- "mom, i know that there is another world out there"
me thinking he is going to say something deep and profound- "why?"
tucker-" because of the sky over there" (pointing to a clearing in the cloudy sky)
me-"what do you mean?"
tucker-" because i know that that is where the carebears live."


tucker-"mom, i have two shirts on. one shirt and another shirt. then nipples. then armpits."

me disciplining cole-"cole, you better be good because santa is watching you."
cole- "no, santa is not watching, jesus is."



cole calls oatmeal  "open-meal"

cole was crying in his room where he and mackenzie were playing, i say, "what's wrong cole?" he says, "matenzie is getting me with her weapon!!!" *she was holding a plastic toy bowling pin : )

tucker calls spaghetti, "bahsketti"


mackenzie was teething and so she had her four fingers in her mouth in the car. she was whining while she was "chewing" on her fingers. cole noticed and said, "mom, mackenzie wants her fingers off." i looked back and saw her fingers in her mouth : )


As a motorcyle passed us on the road:
Tucker-"Mom, why does that motorcycle sound like it's farting?"
Me-(busting up laughing)
Tucker-"Seriously! It sounds like 'plllllllllllllllll!'" ( pl = farting noise tucker is making with his mouth)


t-mom, sometimes i call people weiner dogs.
me-tucker, don't call people that.
t-but mom, weiner dogs are real. they are real things.
me-ya i know.
t-they are dogs that are funny and have huge weiners.
me-NOOOOO THEY ARE NOT. THEY ARE DOGS THAT LOOK LIKE HOT DOGS!
t-yum!


mackenzie crying, me "cole why is mackenzie crying?"
cole, "it wasn't me, it was the spider that kicked her down."

cole rolling around on the rug on the floor, "ow, ow, ow."
me, "what is wrong cole?"
cole,"there is a boob under here" pointing to under his back on his blanket.
me just going along with his strange accusation, "a boob? well flip over on your tummy."
cole, "ow, ow, ow,...(lifts up his blanket) oh... just kidding, it was just my apple!" (pulls out his half-eaten apple left over from lunch)


as i was loading the groceries into the van, tucker sweetly asks as he looks out the back of the van...."mom, why do all moms have butts that wiggle?" i about peed my pants. as i laughed i asked him, "are you talking about me?" he said, "yes, but another lady i saw." i am still hoping it was the other lady that inspired that question.


cole and tucker, "mom! we have boobs!" (pointing to their shirtless backs/ their shoulder blades)

driving in the van listening to christmas music, cole recognizes a song from church when they talk about the baby jesus. he says, "i want to see the Jesus baby." me, "aww, well he is already grown up." cole, "awww, i wanted to see him. (long pause) can Jesus fly??"


we watched the church's "Joy to the World" dvd for a family night. The boys couldn't really keep their attention on the movie, but every once in a while cole would look up. they were periodically showing clips of the Christus statue and cole asked, "mom, why is Jesus turned to ice?"

when mackenzie was sick she woke up with snot ALL over her face. cole didn't even notice and was snuggling with her. when he looked up and saw it he pulled his head back and away from her and said, "oh. my. dosh. oh my dosh. you have booders... ALL over your face."


cole was laying on the floor by the christmas tree looking at "his" birds flying outside. "mom, what da heck? da birds are playing now. dat was weird. what da heck, one just put his tail in the wind! dat was weird! dat's da tricky way. dat's weird. what da heck. a bird was flying backwards! uh ohhhh, i see a fat belly! i see dat bird's fat belly!!!"


cole looking down at his winter jacket, "i'm FAT!"

Spinach Lasagna

I think I originally got this recipe out of Parent's magazine a year ago. It was out of a section for freezer meals/prepping for a new baby. And it was around the time I had Mackenzie, so I was all about the freezer meals. It says it is adapted from Don't Panic-Dinner's in the Freezer, by Martinez, Howell, and Garcia. I have made it before, following it EXACTLY, and it was amazing. This past weekend, however, I did not have a few of the things and therefore improvised. And it was STILL amazing! So, give it a try! I will give you the version I clipped out of the magazine, and then I will *note my changes. I wanted to have a picture of it to share, but, we had already devoured half of the pan when I remembered. And we hacked into it at both ends because the kids did not want a piece with tomato slices. It was not a pretty sight by the end of dinner. But it sure was a beauty to my belly. : )

SPINACH (VEGGIE) LASAGNA

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced  **I replaced this with about 3/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1 (28oz) can whole tomatoes, with liquid  **I replaced this with a 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes, with liquid

1 (6oz) can tomato paste

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 cup chicken stock or water  **I used chicken broth

1 egg

1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, moisture squeezed out **I used a little more than 10 oz. because I had a little more than 10 oz. left in the bag : )

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 lb. lasagna noodles, cooked al dente, drained

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated  **I didn't have mozzarella, but I did use 1/2 lb. of pepperjack cheese instead.

**I also added thin slices of tomatoes on the top half of the pan.

THESE ARE THE DIRECTIONS TO MAKE THE LASAGNA FREEZER READY. Omit the foil if you just want to immediately bake the lasagna.

Heat half of the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, and saute the onion and garlic until they begin to soften. Add the mushrooms (or red bell pepper) and continue to saute gently for about 5 minutes more. Stir in the tomato sauce, canned tomatoes and liquid, tomatoe paste, salt, oregano, basil, and stock, breaking the tomatoes into smaller pieces as the mixture cooks. Simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the egg and combine with the spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, and remaining oil.

Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with heavy-duty foil, with enough hanging over each edge to cover the top. To assemble, pour a third of the tomato sauce into the bottom of the dish. Lay down a single layer of the noodles. Spread half the spinach mixture over the noodles, then sprinkle with half the mozzarella (or pepperjack). Continue layering until you've used all the ingredients, saving the rest of the mozzarella (or pepperjack) for the top. Wrap foil around the top of the lasagna.

TO BAKE IMMEDIATELY: Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

TO FREEZE: Cool in the refrigerator, then freeze overnight. Remove the foil-encased lasagna from the serving dish and cover with a layer of plastic wrap.

TO REHEAT: Thaw slightly in the refrigerator, then remove all plastic wrap and foil, placing the lasagna in the original dish. Thaw completely and then bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Did I mention, these make the BEST left-overs?? : )

Irina workout 2

WARM UP: Jog (in place works too) for 5 minutes
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STRETCH
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CARDIO (rest 15 sec after each exercise)

1 minute-jumping jacks
1 minute-mountain climbers
1 minute- high knees
1 minute-side jumps
1 minute-butt kicks
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STRENGTH (rest 10-15 sec after each exercise)

10 x bicep curls
10 x burpees with jump at top
15 x man push ups
20 x calf raises
20 x plank with opposite knee to opposite elbow
25 x plank jacks
30 x squats
30 sec side plank (both sides)
35 crunches
40 sec plank
40 sec reverse plank

Perform one round of cardio followed by one round of strength. Rest for 1-2 minutes. Repeat 2-3 times.
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STRETCH