Chopped chicken salad with basil lemon vinaigrette
It was the perfect weather yesterday afternoon for a little patio picnic.
(Liv chose the face we made haha)
Liv, P and I made a little Tiki Port stop and enjoyed it outside before heading on the daily scooter walk.
Acai bowl for the little lady, peanut butter supreme smoothie + berries for me
(with almond milk, chia, peanut butter, banana, cinnamon and honey)
I’ve been trying to ask Liv what she wants for Christmas, and she rarely asks for toys, so it’s been interesting to figure out what she might like. (I’m a big fan of the “something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read” mentality for Xmas.)
“Hey Liv, is there anything you’d like for Christmas?”
“An ornament.”
This is after her Rapunzel ornament was broken.
“Livi have you thought about what you’d like Santa to bring?”
“Hmmm. This book.”
This book = the one that she’s holding in her hands, that she already owns.
I know I should just appreciate the fact that she isn’t asking for a thousand things like my brothers and I used to do. I was thinking about a bike since she loves her scooter so much, but I think she may be too old for a balance bike? Do I go to a regular one with training wheels? Halp me. It’s going to be here before I know it, and despite the fact that I’ve been curating gift guides on the blog, I’ve been a fail with our personal shopping this year. I really just want to spend the holidays with family, so if we can go home for Christmas, it will be the best gift all around. Even if we end up staying here, it will be another new tradition and I’m sure it will be wonderful. If that’s the case, I need to actually plan and ship things so there ya go.
What we’ve been up to lately:
-Watching copious amounts of The Voice (I hope Jordan wins!!!) and Shark Tank re-runs
-Daily walks and light stretching for the soul. Stoked to follow Post Baby Bod starting next week!
-The Pilot and I have been working together to swoop in where we’re needed. Having two kids is definitely orchestrated chaos, and since we’re on man defense, one of us always has a kiddo. That is, unless we’re doing a chore, and then we collapse at the end of the night. I’m thankful that we make a good dinner prep/cook team: this week, we’ve had baked salmon and veggies, chicken and sweet potatoes with salad, and headed out to True Food last night.
Here’s a quick and delicious lunch salad from yesterday:
Chopped cucumber
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Romaine
Chicken
Walnuts
Basil lemon vinaigrette: juice of 1/2 lemon, drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons chopped basil, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon and a drizzle of honey
It was such a simple combo, and totally delicious with a sweet potato on the side. The best part: everything was already chopped from the other night, so I just assembled, made the dressing, and boom.
Hope you have a great morning and I’ll see you later.
xoxo
Gina
Penelope’s 1-month update is on the Family page <3
Something to do:
Holiday HIIT workout! It’s 5 minutes. That’s right, 5 MINUTES. No excuses 😉 Let me know if you give it a whirl!
51 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I certainly feel like Christmas has snuck up on me. I don’t have anything wrapped and the tree isn’t even up. Can we all just agree that Christmas needs to be two months not one?
yes please
Liv sounds like such a little sweetheart!
We are, unfortunately, having the exact opposite problem with Christmas lists over here. Every (and I mean EVERY) toy, art supply, etc that comes on the TV, my 4 year old yells out “YOU HAVE TO GET THAT!”
haha that’s how my brothers and i were. liv asked for “a ball” last night.
this salad sounds incredible!! wowowow! Christmas is definitely going to be here before we know it. I’m thinking LOTS of online shopping is going to be happening this weekend!
i’ll be right there with you!
With as challenging as our first has been, it is hard to imagine how we’ll handle two in the very distant future. Haha. Way to go!
I love your philosophy about gifts. I’ve often wondered how I’ll handle Christmas gifts when the little one gets big enough to understand what’s going on. Do your parents go overboard? I’ve often wondered how I’ll handle that pickle.
Hurray for post baby bod!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I canNOt wait!
Until then, I will give the 5 minute HIIT a try today.
I’m so excited for your post baby workouts – I’m due in March with #2! I’m still continuing with your HIIT workouts and just repeated an oldie but goodie winter shape-up. Did you continue with these types of workouts during your pregnancy at all?
Also we follow the same gift philosophy in our house 🙂
You follow such sensible eating guidelines day to day that it must be hard to be limiting dairy (as you mentioned in the family post on P). Have you checked out Whole30 for ideas? The Whole30 plan is generally more animal-protein focused than I think you tend toward, however it is customizeable depending on your preferences. And the Whole30 cookbook has lots of great ideas for dairy-free, legume-free, grain-free food that is still simple and delicious. I had great success using that program to reset my own eating habits (for weight loss), but they have lots of participants who do the program because of specific dietary circumstances (like reflux).
Hope that helps! I really enjoy your blog and hope your adorable little one is feeling better soon!
My daughter is the same age as Liv and we’re having a similar problem. She says she wants a unicorn and that’s it. So we got her a little stuffed unicorn and a bike w/ training wheels. And now we’re pointing out all the big kids on bikes and how cool they are…hoping to steer her towards wanting a bike before Christmas comes 🙂
haha that’s a good idea. i’ll start pointing them out 😉
last night i asked her again and she said “a ball”
Love your basketball reference. “Man Defense” 😉
That salad looks AWESOME!
I bet Liv would love a regular bike with training wheels! I also like your “something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read” – good philosophy! Thank goodness we still have a few more weeks before Christmas to shop, huh? I’ve started my shopping, but I have seven nieces and nephews to buy for so I still have plenty to go 🙂
Funny you mentioned Shark Tank right after the bike paragraph because I immediately thought of this bike for Livi, which I saw on Shark Tank-
http://www.kazambikes.com/
those look awesome! thank you for linking. i’m excited to pick one out for her!
I wonder if a Razor scooter would be better? Those teach balance, are fun and are pretty safe.
I think the bike with training wheels would be a great gift even though she’s pretty young for a “big” bike. You could get her one of the little ones even though she may grow out of it quickly because little sis can soon inherit it!!
A bike with training wheels would be the perfect santa gift!
Liv would love a regular bike with training wheels. We bought my now 7-year old one when she was 2.5 and it was a major, major hit. You’ll get years out of it since its so much easier to learn to ride a bike when its so close to the ground. I like these kinds of gifts – use it every day and move. My 7-yr old wants a motorized Razor scooter desperately. The motorized is the exact thing I hate. Haven’t decided what to do about it yet.
happy to hear you think it’s a good age for it!
i know what you mean. i see kids riding those around by the beach, and i think that even though it looks super cool, it takes away the purpose
xoxo
Is it bad that I don’t even think I’m going to get my son anything for Xmas? He is 1! He gets toys and books and clothes as needed. Every week is Christmas for him! I’ll probably cave at the last minute though.
that’s how i usually feel, which is why i keep it pretty small
That salad sounds sooo good! Definitely going to have to give that one a try sometime!
Bike idea — if you give her one where the seat can go low, then she can keep her feet on the ground without the pedals. Then when she shows balance you can put the seat up and the pedals on. This is an alternative way to learn to bike besides training wheels.
Yah for nice weather!
ohh, that’s an awesome idea!
I think the balance bike is totally worth it. My son started at age 2 and I don’t think we will ever use training wheels. It builds such great confidence. We got ours second hand which makes it way more affordable. Especially if you think Liv will outgrow it quickly, although P will be waiting in the wings. Good luck.
that’s very true! p will be able to use it soon 🙂
xoxo
okay, as a very family-centric bike shop employee i have to chime in: if her legs are long enough, the balance bike will not work–the kids rarely care at all, but it doesn’t teach them balance, it just teaches them to waddle the bike around. again, they’re happy as can be but not learning balance. we often suggest that parents find the perfect 16″-wheeled bike and have the shop take out the pedals and crankset (what the pedals are attached to) so that the kiddos can have a decently-sized balance bike! if she’s not too tall yet, strider balance bikes have a very good reputation! they come in all the colors, too 🙂 sorry if this is information overload.
amazing tips!! thank you so much! she’s probably too tall for a strider (42 inches) so i’ll check out a 16″ bike
A bike with training wheels! She is the perfect age for her first big girl bike! My girls love their bikes and scooters! My 11 year old still uses both (We’ve gotten her a bigger bike since). You can have family or Santa get her fun accessories like a bike bell, basket, etc.
so happy to hear! i think she’s a great age for it, too
A sleeper chair like this was the magic ticket for our son with reflux.
http://kids.woot.com/offers/camafina-cuddlebug-napper-1?ref=kd_cnt_wp_1_5
that looks amazing!
A bike with training wheels would work perfect. She is about the same age our son was when he got his first bike. She will catch on quick I’m sure!
awesome!
You r doing great Gina! Taking it step be step, day by day, taking care of you ,so u can take care of your girls. And extra blessing to have a hubby to help out like u do! This too shall pass(with Ps reflux) . Praying for your strength and for the Lord to give the doctors insight and wisdom into Ps situation.
thank you- i really appreciate it <3
That is so funny that Liv can’t think of anything to ask for for Christmas!! That’s a sign that she’s not obsessed with material things!!
she loves toys, books, art stuff, and legos when they’re in front of her, but she rarely asks for anything
i tried asking her again last night and she said “a ball”
Her requests are so funny!! That’s awesome!
Hey Gina, what’s post baby bod? Is it a diet/workout plan for new moms? Is this something you’ve created or someone else? I’m 11 weeks PP and looking for a structured fitness plan. I have 2 LO like you, and my toddler has declared himself “nap-free”. Lol
yes! i created it 🙂 i have a beta version if you want me to send it your way.
I would love that! Do I have my email? Btw, you really look great! Would never guess you have a month old baby!! Very inspiring
Meant to say do *you have my email?
thank you so much! is the the email address you used to comment?
Yes that email is correct.
I think a bike with training wheels would be a really nice gift! My son is 4 (five in a few months) and since we live in Chicago and can’t get out and really ride a bike since it’s cold, he enjoys riding his bike in our basement since it’s unfinished. He was late getting on the bike concept but he really loves it now. By the way you are so lucky Liv doesn’t ask for toys! She seems like such a smart and sweet little girl. You guys have done an amazing job raising her!
I just LOVE lemon and basil together, thanks for this awesome lil recipe! What a beautiful little girl you have, she’s so wise already!
My just turned 3 year old is riding all over the place on his bike with training wheels. I think she would get the hang of it quickly.
Hi Gina,
Will you still send me the post baby bod plan via email please? TIA
yes! send me an email to fitnessista at gmail dot com