Life According to Laura

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Mom and Baby Exercise Part 1

I love exercising! I love how I have a great gym close by that has a great day care to watch Allie while I do my spin classes or run on the treadmill.

This is all great but I also love finding time to exercise with Allie.

Mom and Baby exercise is a great bonding experience for both mom and baby!

Quick Fact: Exercise can help decrease symptoms of postpartum depression, help build those bones, muscles and joints and increase stamina.

Because we all know it helps to have a strong body and some stamina while raising a little one!

I will be blogging more exercises in the future but I wanted to start with one of my favorites!

Airplane Ride

While lying on your back (back pressed to the ground) with your knees to your chest, place baby on your shins! Talk/make faces at your baby as you move them up and down and side to side!

This exercise mostly targets the core and lower body.

This is also a great tummy time exercise for those babies that are not as comfortable with being on the floor during tummy time. (This game is kind of a distraction)

You can also add a leg lift to work on the quadriceps muscles.

Start with your legs at a 90 degree angle, lower legs moving your heels towards your glutes then back up again. I make sure to always keep my lower back pressed to the floor during the whole exercise.

Remember to always hold onto your baby!!

Till Next Time!

Laura

References:

Myers-Smith, C.(n.d.) Mom and Baby Exercise. Retireved June 14, 2011 from http://www.dswfitness.com/docs/Mom&BabyExercise.pdf

Polak, N. (n.d.) Get Moving! Retrieved June 14, 20011 from

http://www.babyzone.com/mom_dad/fitness_nutrition/article/mom-baby-exercise-pg4

Monday, June 13, 2011

Motorcycle Memories

The time finally came in deciding to sell our motorcycle. In combination with living in a city and having a baby, we just weren't using the bike like we used to while living in a more rural area and before having Allie.

So thanks to Cycle Trader, our bike found a new home.

I started thinking of all the great memories we had with that bike. Some of my favorite memories are:

Driving behind Jesse on the trip back from buying the bike in Stillwater, OK. We were about 15 miles from our house in Enid and he runs out of gas, ha!!

One of the first pics with his new bike

Getting my first motorcycle helmet and jacket

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Weekend day rides with friends in Kingsville, TX. We would stop and eat at Baffin Bay Cafe. I sure do miss their jalapeno poppers and after dinner mints!

Watching my little brother take his first ever motorcycle ride on the bike

I really also miss the excitement of being on the bike, lets just say I'm a tiny bit of an thrill seeker.

It was a great bike and we'll miss it but I'm sure we will buy a bigger, more powerful one in the future and share great new memories on that bike!

Till Next Time!

Laura

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Sunday Family Dinner: Summer Curry Salad

Keeping with my theme of our meals staying on the "lighter" side, this Sunday I decided to try the recipe from Women's Health magazine called Summer Curry Salad.

The recipe is full of healthy carbs and protein with the quinoa pasta, almonds and garbanzo beans and about 431 calories per serving (4 servings total).
I also love Indian flavors so the curry with the lime flavors was a great pairing.

Finally a meal where adding chicken is not necessary.

Till Next Time!

Laura

Fun in the Sun

This weekend Allie got to experience her very first boating trip and another trip to the beach.

She did extremely well on her first boating trip. She didn't exactly enjoy her life jacket, crying every time I tried to put in on her. She definitely cheered up when we got out of the no wake zone and were able pick up some speed. It was hilarious watching her blink as the wind or drops of water hit her face. She wasn't quite sure what to think! She also loved watching her mom and dad water ski and wake board.

Did you know that you can burn about 100-300 calories in 30 minutes of water skiing or wake boarding? (This all varies depending upon your weight and skill level)

Plus the additional calories it takes to put your skis back on after you face plant into the water. I don't know about you but that part is exhausting!

For me because I cant quite do all the tricks yet, this sport is more anaerobic than aerobic but it sure is a blast. It's a great workout for your forearms, shoulders, back and triceps.

First time in a life jacket

Broad Bay, where we skied

Heading back

Passed OUT!!

The next day we spent a little time at the beach. We went to Target and got a new umbrella. Wahoo, so exiting! I was not about to lug her car seat out to our spot again. Ha! It worked out well and she got plenty of shade! Hopefully it will work when it's really windy.

Allie also put her feet in the waves for the first time! She just stared at the waves as they hit her feet after she got over the initial shock of the freezing temperature of the water.

I think we might have a water baby on our hands!

Our new umbrella!!

Chillaxin! We got her a SPF rash guard from Target.
They only had a blue one (in the boy section)
Ohh well, she looks good in blue!

Ok, this time she didn't like the water so much

Till Next Time!

Laura

Harvard University. (2004). Calories burned in 30 minutes of people of three different weights. Retrieved June 11, 2011 from http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities.htm

Friday, June 10, 2011

Friday Military Fill-In 6-10-11

I thought it would be fun to join in on the Friday Military Fill-In! So here are my answers :-)

1. When you vacation what type of vacation do you like to take (beach, historic, adventurous, food oriented, etc.)? submitted by Megan Dub-Yuh

I love both the beach and mountains but I would have to say my favorite vacations have been to the mountains. I absolutely loved my stay in the Alps in Switzerland.The views were spectacular. We got to experience so many new things like eating freshly made cheese, ice cream and milk and going for a boat ride on clear blue glacier water. We also had the perfect setting for tons of hiking and mountain biking. I loved the cows with their bells too.

2. What is your best memory associated with a song (you know we all have tons!)? submitted by Ramblings of a Marine Wife

There are so many to choose from but I would have to say Pachelbel's Canon in D, it's the song I walked down the aisle to for our wedding. I've always enjoyed this piece of music, its always been my go-to for a way to relax.

3. If you had six months with no obligations or financial constraints, what would you do with your time? submitted by Married to the Army

I would love to go back to Europe with my husband. There are SO many places there that I would like to see again and many new places I'd like to see and actually take my time while there. I think I would also like to experience Vegas with my husband or a girl's trip of course. I have driven through there so many times moving to the west coast and then back out east but I have never actually gotten the chance to stay there and see the shows or stay at the fancy hotels.

4. What is one thing about you that people do NOT typically notice at first that you wish they would? submitted by Our Motto is Patience
I guess I would have to say that I wish people would notice that I was actually an extrovert. I love being around people and doing new things but I have a tendency to be on the quieter side when I first meet people. I'm still fun don't get me wrong but I tend to take on a more listener role. It can take a little to become my more out-going self. This is something I guess I could work on and change, but you are who you are.

5. …. submitted by The Three Turners: It’s a summer of sequels, and if you had to live in one of each of the following “worlds” (there are three total) which would you choose and why?

–X-Men: Be a Mutant, what would your power be? I think it would be fun to fly. That would save a lot of money on plane tickets, ha!

–Harry Potter: Be a Witch or Muggle? Hmm, I haven't read these books for years, I guess it would be fun to have the powers!

–Twilight: Be a Vampire or Werewolf? I don't know, this is a hard one. A vampire lives a LONG time and that's a lot of hair to deal with if I was a werewolf. I guess I would be a vampire that hunted animals instead of humans, hehe.

Till Next Time!

Laura