2011 is all about the tweak. I am tweaking my workouts to increase muscle tone and I am tweaking the family diet to increase our general well-being. Overall, we eat quite healthy but there is some fine tuning that needs to be done. First up, the chicken nugget. I cannot exactly say why I started my kids on veggie chicken nuggets except for the fact the packaging looks great and it just felt like a healthier choice. Unfortunately, it was not. I have recently made the switch from Morning Star Farms Veggie Chicken Nuggets to Applegate Organic Chicken Strips. My end goal is to get away from the nugget all together but right now that is not realistic. Read the ingredients in each of the products and you will understand why I am satisfied with my product swap.

General nutrition rule: If you can’t pronounce it – don’t eat it!

By comparison, these ingredients make me feel like I am at a Farmer’s Market:

Organic Chicken, Water, Organic Rice Starch, Sea Salt, Natural Flavor, Breading: Organic Wheat Flour, Organic Evaporated Cane Syrup, Sea Salt, Torula Yeast, Organic Soybean Oil, Organic Paprika, Batter: Water, Organic Wheat Flour, Sea Salt, Organic Garlic, Organic White Pepper, Organic Flavorings (Organic Rosemary Organic Sage And Organic Marjoram), Organic Cayenne Pepper, Breading Set In Organic Expeller Pressed Vegetatble Oil, Contains Wheat And Soybean Oil.

Written by Lea Barlow • 2 Comments

Name: Cavan Guenther

Kids: Brady 3 1/2 and Stella 10 months

Occupation: Middle School Science teacher by training, currently a stay at home mom involved in the Junior League of Ft. Myers

Hometown: Ft.Myers, Florida

Full Interview with Cavan:

1.  What are the top 3 items in your grocery cart?

Bananas, water and vanilla yogurt

2.  What are you reading (honestly)?

Magazines (when I have time)

3.  What is your guilty pleasure when you get a break from the kids?

Pedicure

4.  What would we be surprised to find in your purse?

An AMEX gift card that hasn’t been spent yet!

5.  What is your favorite reality TV show?

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

6.  What is your cocktail of choice?

Martini (fruity or chocolate…YUM!)

7.  What is the funniest thing your kids have said or done lately?

Brady said to me “someday when you are a little kid like me you can do this too”

8.  What is your favorite quotation?

“Life is like an hourglass glued to the table” not sure who said it but it definitely resonates with me.

9.  What are you currently working out to on your iPod?

Anything from Zac Brown Band to Neil Diamond

10. Who is your favorite celebrity mom and why?

Kyle Hilton from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills because she seems to feel the same about her kids as I do, they are her priority and her heart.

11. What is something most people don’t know about you?

I hold a CDL license so I can actually drive a big rig…haha I had to acquire this when I worked as a school social worker just in case I needed to drive a bus load of pre-k kids to the dentist!

12. What is your secret to staying Hot & Healthy?

Well, I have always enjoyed distance running, weight training and eating well. My husband is also a big motivator, we usually work out together, runnning or doing P90X.

Written by Lea Barlow • 4 Comments

‘Boot Camp’ doesn’t have to equate to pure torture. I had a rather bad experience with a boot camp I tried last January. Here’s how that went down- out the door by 5:30, shivering in the cold by 6 only to be relentlessly screamed at for the next 45 minutes. There are only 2 people in this world I allow to scream at me and I am pretty sure you can guess who they are. To make matters worse, I was in so much pain after my boot camp experience that I couldn’t workout for a week. I went back one last time and then called it quits. I do not believe exercise has to be miserable to be effective. Yes, you have to push yourself hard for results but it should be tolerable and dare I say fun?

This year I am participating in the Mother Love Fitness Challenge being offered through my local Baby Boot Camp. Much more my style. For one thing, classes are offered Monday-Saturday at 9:15. Completely doable and realistic. Secondly, I have the option of bringing the monsters. If I will do this or not is still up in the air. I would like to see how the other kids behave before introducing my offspring. They don’t stroller well. But the thing I am looking forward to the most is the camaraderie with the other moms. My last boot camp was made up of a motley crew of characters who I had zero in common with. I am excited to make new friends and get my butt bikini ready. The 3-month challenge kicks off January 31st. I will be updating you on my progress so stay tuned!

Sound like something you would like to try? Click here to find your local Baby Boot Camp.

Written by Lea Barlow • 1 Comment

The hubs and I decided to start Grayson in ballet this month. For any of you that may be surprised at why we are doing this, let me explain:

Scott’s reasoning:

1. Football scholarship. Ballet builds coordination, increases flexibility, improves balance and sharpens reflexes. All necessary components of a superior athlete.

My reasoning:

1. 45 minutes of peace. He is 2 1/2 and anyone with a kid under 3 knows that the only activities available are of the  ’mommy & me’ variety. I get plenty of ‘mommy’ time and by putting him in class with his sister I now get a little ‘me’ time.

2. Grace. You ever hear the phrase ‘a bull in a china shop’? Well, that’s my husband. Grayson is built just like him so I want to instill a fluidity to his movements at a young age to avoid future destruction of my house.

3. Julianne & Derek Hough. Yes, I secretly want my children to be the next brother and sister champion ballroom dancing duo. We’ll see if Scott will let me take it that far.

Before class yesterday we practiced in our makeshift studio – the kitchen.

Gray’s version of a plie.

He does make one handsome ballerina.

An attempt at some demi-pointe work perhaps?

Brother and sister barre stretching. Dancing with the Stars is definitely in their future.

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment