Playing Pretend: Our Boys’ Favorite Imagination Games
Today’s blog post features a round up of some of our boys’ favorite imagination scenarios that they come back to time and time again whenever they play pretend. They love incorporating costumes and various toys into their games, especially The Little Tikes® Activity Garden™ which you may read about more below. Thank you to Little Tikes for sponsoring this post! With colder days on the horizon and more indoor activities on our radar, I have a feeling our boys’ already active imaginations are about to go into overdrive. Whenever we’re at home and the boys are left to their own devices to play and entertain themselves and each other, imagination games come out in full-force. As a mom, I get the biggest kick out of watching their imaginations run wild and listening to the scenarios and characters they create brings me a lot of joy. Chase and Ryder’s imagination-related play is often based on stories we’ve read, things we’ve talked about or seen in our day-to-day lives and, of course, anything animal-related. And you better believe Rhett is already trying his very best to insert himself in the middle of all the imagination fun! For today’s blog post, I thought I’d round up a few of the boys’ favorite imagination games and scenarios in one place for any of you out there with kiddos on your hands who might be looking for some imagination game ideas to share with your children. I’d also love to hear from any of you out there whose kids love playing imagination games so I can share some of your ideas with our boys, too! Playing Pretend: Our Boys’ Favorite Imagination Scenarios
This is a game our boys play on repeat. They love to pretend to be animal rescuers and often look to me to tell them about a scenario involving an animal that needs help. They’ve “saved” sea turtles hit by boats, squirrels that fell out of trees, dolphins with injured fins… the list goes on and on! They often incorporate their stuffed animals into the game or will take turns being the animal in need of help and the rescuer.
I’m pretty sure our whole family considers the delivery people who bring packages to our house friends at this point. The boys love sprinting to the door to bring packages inside and shouting “thank you” down the driveway so any imagination game involving mail and packages is right up their alley. I love this particular game because it tends to last a while since it can incorporate so many different things — writing letters, coloring, decorating old boxes, placing the packages on a cargo plane, delivering the packages to various rooms in the house, etc. Our younger boys especially love playing post office with The Little Tikes® Activity Garden™ because it has a purple mailbox incorporated into the design that allows them to drop colorful shape “packages” through the corresponding shape holes. It’s such a fun multi-functional play center and easily converts from a closed play center to an open, two-sided play center so our boys can play at the same time. I don’t think Rhett quiiite understands the imagination games his older brothers are playing around him, but he loves this play center and is obsessed with dropping balls down the ball chute and banging on the colorful piano chimes. He crawls his way into it multiple times every day because there are so many different ways for him to play inside the play center and he can’t get enough of the play panel. It’s such an awesome feature because the play panel is actually removable so you can take it with you for on-the-go fun and it features a bead tumbler, mirror, spinning gears and music. Rhett is a big-time fan!
One of our boys’ favorite activities is fishing at the local marina but they also love pretend fishing! They’ll fish off their beds, down our driveway, in the bathtub… you name it! The best part of pretend fishing is that they aren’t limited to catching only sunnies or catfish like they are when we fish in the lake. They’ve nabbed pretend groupers, sailfish and even a great white shark! Lately they’ve been using extra-long string that they’ll throw off their bed as “fishing line” and then Ryan or I will tie random household items or toys to the end of their strings. They get the biggest kick out of trying to guess what random items they’re “reeling” in!
Playing restaurant is a classic and one of the first imagination games our boys began playing. They love making us pretend smoothies, sandwiches, pizza, ice cream sundaes and more! (Sometimes they even make real things with our help in the kitchen!) The boys always seem to get a big kick out of “ordering” food from each other with strange or disgusting ingredients. This is another imagination game where The Little Tikes® Activity Garden™ comes in handy! The boys will flip the telescope upside down and use it as a pretend blender and open and shut the window shutters as their faux-drive through window!
Who knew the doctor’s kit Ryder “gave” to Chase when he was a newborn would get so much use?! We’ve had no shortage of checkups and visits to the imaginary doctor in our house. These days Rhett is often the patient but he’s becoming a little less cooperative for Drs. Chase and Ryder every day.
Does anyone else out there have kids who are obsessed with luggage? Our boys get the biggest kick out of going into our closet and pulling out our suitcases and filling them up with their “travel essentials” — ya know, things like stuffed animals, flashlights, blankets, puzzles and games. They love playing vacation and cart their bags and suitcases all over the house on various trips and adventures. The Little Tikes® Activity Garden™ often becomes their mini airport with the little window shutters serving as the ticket booth and the slide serving as the luggage check-in conveyer belt! Ryder and Chase also like to use the telescope to spot incoming planes so they know when the airport runway is clear for takeoff!
My mom got the boys a handful of costumes for Christmas last year and playing dress up is something that happens on an almost daily basis in our house. Their big basket of costumes gets a lot of use and the various costumes are the catalyst for so many different imagination games. We’ve also added all of their old Halloween costumes into the basket so they have a blast pretending to be everything from police officers and firemen to race car drivers, Paw Patrol characters, dragons and more. The boys definitely don’t shy away from blending costumes and we’ve seen more than our fair share of police officer dragons and race car driving puppies. Question of the DayWhat are some of your children’s favorite imagination games or pretend scenarios to act out around your house? The post Playing Pretend: Our Boys’ Favorite Imagination Games appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers. Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/playing-pretend-our-boys-favorite.html October 28, 2021 at 11:10PM
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2021 Ultimate Holiday Gift-Giving Guide for the Whole Family (Natural + Eco-Friendly)
I don’t know about you, but this year I’m thinking about the holidays a little earlier than usual — in part for something nice to look forward to, and on a practical level just to make sure everything gets here on time! Many companies are offering holiday deals earlier than ever to allow for extended … Continue reading 2021 Ultimate Holiday Gift-Giving Guide for the Whole Family (Natural + Eco-Friendly)... Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/2021-ultimate-holiday-gift-giving-guide.html October 28, 2021 at 01:10AM
Chicken Taco Soup (Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Options)
There’s nothing I love more than soup on a chilly night! This chicken taco soup is the perfect way to mix things up when you need a break from the Tuesday Taco Night routine, and bonus — most of it can come from your pantry and freezer for a quick emergency meal, but still be … Continue reading Chicken Taco Soup (Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Options)... Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/chicken-taco-soup-slow-cooker-and.html October 27, 2021 at 01:10AM
Ryan’s First Half Ironman
What a weekend! Our family drove to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina for the weekend with one main purpose in mind: To cheer for Ryan as he set out to complete his first Half Ironman! (Huge thank you to blog reader Caroline for snapping some pictures of Ryan at the finish! So thoughtful!) For those unfamiliar with a Half Ironman it’s a triathlon and participants complete a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. Ryan has been training for the race for several months and the boys and I wanted to be there to cheer for him and support him as he tackled such a big goal. Today’s blog post is a recap of the race from my perspective, but a few people expressed interest in a Q&A-style post from Ryan about the race, so if that is of interest, please let me know and leave any questions you might have for him in the comments section. The Ironman VillageWe attended the Ironman Village expo with Ryan the day before the race and that was very helpful for all of us from a logistical standpoint. Ryan picked up everything he needed for the race and I was able to connect with other spectators. I spoke with a handful of people about their game plan going into the race and took the tips I received to heart. One of the most consistent tips I heard from supporters of previous races was to not try to see your athlete on the bike. Apparently it’s very challenging to spot your athlete when they’re riding so fast and they may not even see you for the very same reason. That helped me eliminate the desire to see Ryan on his bike ride and focus on getting our crew to spots where we could see him and he could see us and we could hopefully boost his morale. For our family, this looked like the transitions and the finish. We saw Ryan at the end of every section and were able to cheer for him as he wrapped up the swim, began the bike, finished the bike, started the run and finished the race. I worried that the transitions would be packed and we’d miss him but since the race is so long and athletes finish hours apart, it never felt too congested. The finish line was definitely the most popular spot, but everyone was respectful of each other and if you told someone your athlete was about to finish, people had no problem letting you get a prime spot. I very heavily relied on the Ironman tracker app which was fantastic and let me know when we could expect to see Ryan at each transition. Ryan’s First Half IronmanOn the day of the race, Ryan was up at 4 a.m. to eat and stretch and I joined him around 5:30 a.m. Ryan booked our family a beach rental a little less than a mile from the start of the race which was extremely helpful because it allowed him to walk to the race start without the need for us to wake the boys and get everyone rockin’ super early before a busy day. SwimSoon after Ryan left, I got dressed and apparently Chase and Ryder sensed the race day energy because they were up a little before 6:30 a.m. and full of excitement. As they got dressed, I loaded up our double stroller with snacks, race signs and water bottles and then got Rhett up for the day. We left our beach townhouse at 7 a.m. and walked to the swim transition which was about a mile away. It was so, so helpful to be able to walk to this location and not worry at all about parking, especially since a lot of roads were blocked off for the race. It was a gorgeous morning and as we talked about the swimmers beginning the race in the ocean, Chase said, “Sharks really like to feed early in the morning.” We all agreed that so many people swimming at one time would make a lot of noise that wouldn’t interest any sharks. About halfway into our walk, I got a notification on my phone that said Ryan began his race! I was so impressed with the tracker app because it showed his exact location in the water and sent me another notification when he got out of the water so we knew when to look for him running toward the transition area. Something about watching an Ironman is very emotional and I surprised myself by crying when I saw the first woman come through the first transition. She was beaming and I am truly in awe of the dedication, motivation and determination of the Ironman athletes. As I tracked Ryan’s swim, I kept double checking his time because he seemed to be really flying! Ryan spent a lot of time training for the swim early morning in the lake near our house because, at the beginning of his training, he said the swim made him the most nervous. (By the end of his training his nervousness switched to the bike mostly because most of his bike training took place on a stationary bike in our garage until he found a bike to borrow from a friend.) Seeing him rock such a competitive swim time was incredible! BikeThe boys and I were stationed right around a curve and it was so fun to see Ryan break out into a big smile when he saw us. We stayed in our same spot so we could see him take off on his bike and then headed back to the townhouse for some food and playtime. We spent two hours at our home base and the boys played outside while I constantly checked in with Ryan’s pace on the bike. By 10 a.m., it was time to head back out so we could catch Ryan at his bike transition. We parked in a parking garage near the transition area which worked well and didn’t feel too chaotic. We easily claimed a spot at the transition entrance and an unexpected bonus of lugging the double BOB stroller around all day is that it doubled as a stool of sorts for the big kids so they could stand on the end and see Ryan over the corral fencing. We were there for about 10 minutes before Ryan came through and I was so relieved to see him looking strong with a smile on his face as he high-fived the boys. Throughout Ryan’s training he always said, “If I can just make it to the run, I’ll be okay,” so it was nice to know he was about to enter the area of the race that felt the most comfortable to him. Once we chatted after the race, Ryan said the bike was absolutely the area that was the most challenging for him, which he largely attributes to not spending enough time on a road bike in his training. RunAfter we cheered like crazy for Ryan as he entered the transition, the boys and I sprinted to the transition exit so we could catch him coming out of it as he began his run. His stride looked strong and his pace looked fluid which I took as a good sign because, pending no injuries, I knew he’d finish the race. His first Half Ironman — 70.3 miles — was within reach! Since the run was an out-and-back course, it wasn’t the easiest for me to find a way to see Ryan and then have enough time to high-tail it back to the finish with all the boys in tow. (I think this would have been manageable if I was spectating alone and didn’t have three kids to corral everywhere with me.) Since I knew we likely had less than two hours to kill, we made our way to the finish and played in the lawn nearby. All things considered, the boys did really well during the race but the most challenging part of the day with the boys occurred at the finish line. Rhett just wanted to wander all over the place whereas Chase and Ryder were really into cheering for the athletes. Keeping little ones who don’t want to be in the same place together was challenging at times but overall our day went surprisingly well and wasn’t too stressful. As I mentioned above, Chase and Ryder had a blast cheering for the men and women completing the race and we ended up spending most of the time Ryan was out running cheering for the athletes as they finished. We even got to see the first man and woman finish which prompted Ryder to ask, “Why was that not Dad?” A conversation followed about how amazing it is to try our best and accomplish challenging goals we set for ourselves, regardless of whether or not we technically win. My tears came out again when a man yelled out and clenched his fists above his head as he crossed the finish. Witnessing the emotion on the faces of the finishers who were clearly overcome by what they just accomplished was so inspiring and incredibly moving. Chase got really into my tracker app by the end of the race and I told him it was his job to let us know when Ryan reached his final mile so we could start cheering as loud as we could. I spotted Ryan as he came over the hill and it was so, so amazing to see him running toward the finish line of such a huge race. He high-fived the boys while I cheered and did my best to video his finish — 5 hours, 21 minutes and 30 seconds later. He did it!!! I don’t know how to capture the experience of Ryan’s first Half Ironman because it was his race but from the outside looking in, it was unbelievable. The whole experience was wonderful, in large part, because of the community surrounding the race and the camaraderie between the athletes. Everyone was so helpful to me and the boys as spectators and the fellow athletes were always more than happy to answer Ryan’s questions and offer words of encouragement before his first 70.3. Ryan was clearly exhausted after the race but still somehow had enough energy to join us on the beach and walk to dinner later that evening. I couldn’t get enough of hearing about his experience on the race course and was so glad he seemed to get morale boost from seeing us cheer for him throughout the race. Being a part of something so special for Ryan felt incredibly special for our whole family. Also, thank you so much to the blog readers out there who saw Ryan on the course and cheered for him! He said he heard from a few of you who called out to him and said you were PBF readers. Fist-bumping you guys definitely helped encourage him! Ryan’s first Half Ironman was such a memorable experience for our whole family and we’re all so incredibly proud of our favorite guy! The post Ryan’s First Half Ironman appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers. Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/ryans-first-half-ironman_26.html October 26, 2021 at 09:10PM
Ryan’s First Half Ironman
What a weekend! Our family drove to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina for the weekend with one main purpose in mind: To cheer for Ryan as he set out to complete his first Half Ironman! (Huge thank you to blog reader Caroline for snapping some pictures of Ryan at the finish! So thoughtful!) For those unfamiliar with a Half Ironman it’s a triathlon and participants complete a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. Ryan has been training for the race for several months and the boys and I wanted to be there to cheer for him and support him as he tackled such a big goal. Today’s blog post is a recap of the race from my perspective, but a few people expressed interest in a Q&A-style post from Ryan about the race, so if that is of interest, please let me know and leave any questions you might have for him in the comments section. The Ironman VillageWe attended the Ironman Village expo with Ryan the day before the race and that was very helpful for all of us from a logistical standpoint. Ryan picked up everything he needed for the race and I was able to connect with other spectators. I spoke with a handful of people about their game plan going into the race and took the tips I received to heart. One of the most consistent tips I heard from supporters of previous races was to not try to see your athlete on the bike. Apparently it’s very challenging to spot your athlete when they’re riding so fast and they may not even see you for the very same reason. That helped me eliminate the desire to see Ryan on his bike ride and focus on getting our crew to spots where we could see him and he could see us and we could hopefully boost his morale. For our family, this looked like the transitions and the finish. We saw Ryan at the end of every section and were able to cheer for him as he wrapped up the swim, began the bike, finished the bike, started the run and finished the race. I worried that the transitions would be packed and we’d miss him but since the race is so long and athletes finish hours apart, it never felt too congested. The finish line was definitely the most popular spot, but everyone was respectful of each other and if you told someone your athlete was about to finish, people had no problem letting you get a prime spot. I very heavily relied on the Ironman tracker app which was fantastic and let me know when we could expect to see Ryan at each transition. Ryan’s First Half IronmanOn the day of the race, Ryan was up at 4 a.m. to eat and stretch and I joined him around 5:30 a.m. Ryan booked our family a beach rental a little less than a mile from the start of the race which was extremely helpful because it allowed him to walk to the race start without the need for us to wake the boys and get everyone rockin’ super early before a busy day. SwimSoon after Ryan left, I got dressed and apparently Chase and Ryder sensed the race day energy because they were up a little before 6:30 a.m. and full of excitement. As they got dressed, I loaded up our double stroller with snacks, race signs and water bottles and then got Rhett up for the day. We left our beach townhouse at 7 a.m. and walked to the swim transition which was about a mile away. It was so, so helpful to be able to walk to this location and not worry at all about parking, especially since a lot of roads were blocked off for the race. It was a gorgeous morning and as we talked about the swimmers beginning the race in the ocean, Chase said, “Sharks really like to feed early in the morning.” We all agreed that so many people swimming at one time would make a lot of noise that wouldn’t interest any sharks. About halfway into our walk, I got a notification on my phone that said Ryan began his race! I was so impressed with the tracker app because it showed his exact location in the water and sent me another notification when he got out of the water so we knew when to look for him running toward the transition area. Something about watching an Ironman is very emotional and I surprised myself by crying when I saw the first woman come through the first transition. She was beaming and I am truly in awe of the dedication, motivation and determination of the Ironman athletes. As I tracked Ryan’s swim, I kept double checking his time because he seemed to be really flying! Ryan spent a lot of time training for the swim early morning in the lake near our house because, at the beginning of his training, he said the swim made him the most nervous. (By the end of his training his nervousness switched to the bike mostly because most of his bike training took place on a stationary bike in our garage until he found a bike to borrow from a friend.) Seeing him rock such a competitive swim time was incredible! BikeThe boys and I were stationed right around a curve and it was so fun to see Ryan break out into a big smile when he saw us. We stayed in our same spot so we could see him take off on his bike and then headed back to the townhouse for some food and playtime. We spent two hours at our home base and the boys played outside while I constantly checked in with Ryan’s pace on the bike. By 10 a.m., it was time to head back out so we could catch Ryan at his bike transition. We parked in a parking garage near the transition area which worked well and didn’t feel too chaotic. We easily claimed a spot at the transition entrance and an unexpected bonus of lugging the double BOB stroller around all day is that it doubled as a stool of sorts for the big kids so they could stand on the end and see Ryan over the corral fencing. We were there for about 10 minutes before Ryan came through and I was so relieved to see him looking strong with a smile on his face as he high-fived the boys. Throughout Ryan’s training he always said, “If I can just make it to the run, I’ll be okay,” so it was nice to know he was about to enter the area of the race that felt the most comfortable to him. Once we chatted after the race, Ryan said the bike was absolutely the area that was the most challenging for him, which he largely attributes to not spending enough time on a road bike in his training. RunAfter we cheered like crazy for Ryan as he entered the transition, the boys and I sprinted to the transition exit so we could catch him coming out of it as he began his run. His stride looked strong and his pace looked fluid which I took as a good sign because, pending no injuries, I knew he’d finish the race. His first Half Ironman — 70.3 miles — was within reach! Since the run was an out-and-back course, it wasn’t the easiest for me to find a way to see Ryan and then have enough time to high-tail it back to the finish with all the boys in tow. (I think this would have been manageable if I was spectating alone and didn’t have three kids to corral everywhere with me.) Since I knew we likely had less than two hours to kill, we made our way to the finish and played in the lawn nearby. All things considered, the boys did really well during the race but the most challenging part of the day with the boys occurred at the finish line. Rhett just wanted to wander all over the place whereas Chase and Ryder were really into cheering for the athletes. Keeping little ones who don’t want to be in the same place together was challenging at times but overall our day went surprisingly well and wasn’t too stressful. As I mentioned above, Chase and Ryder had a blast cheering for the men and women completing the race and we ended up spending most of the time Ryan was out running cheering for the athletes as they finished. We even got to see the first man and woman finish which prompted Ryder to ask, “Why was that not Dad?” A conversation followed about how amazing it is to try our best and accomplish challenging goals we set for ourselves, regardless of whether or not we technically win. My tears came out again when a man yelled out and clenched his fists above his head as he crossed the finish. Witnessing the emotion on the faces of the finishers who were clearly overcome by what they just accomplished was so inspiring and incredibly moving. Chase got really into my tracker app by the end of the race and I told him it was his job to let us know when Ryan reached his final mile so we could start cheering as loud as we could. I spotted Ryan as he came over the hill and it was so, so amazing to see him running toward the finish line of such a huge race. He high-fived the boys while I cheered and did my best to video his finish — 5 hours, 21 minutes and 30 seconds later. He did it!!! I don’t know how to capture the experience of Ryan’s first Half Ironman because it was his race but from the outside looking in, it was unbelievable. The whole experience was wonderful, in large part, because of the community surrounding the race and the camaraderie between the athletes. Everyone was so helpful to me and the boys as spectators and the fellow athletes were always more than happy to answer Ryan’s questions and offer words of encouragement before his first 70.3. Ryan was clearly exhausted after the race but still somehow had enough energy to join us on the beach and walk to dinner later that evening. I couldn’t get enough of hearing about his experience on the race course and was so glad he seemed to get morale boost from seeing us cheer for him throughout the race. Being a part of something so special for Ryan felt incredibly special for our whole family. Also, thank you so much to the blog readers out there who saw Ryan on the course and cheered for him! He said he heard from a few of you who called out to him and said you were PBF readers. Fist-bumping you guys definitely helped encourage him! Ryan’s first Half Ironman was such a memorable experience for our whole family and we’re all so incredibly proud of our favorite guy! The post Ryan’s First Half Ironman appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers. Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/ryans-first-half-ironman.html October 26, 2021 at 07:10PM
490: Paul Jaminet on the Perfect Health Diet, Carbs, and Cancer Research
Today I’m here with Paul Jaminet, who had a very strong early influence on me with his “Perfect Health Diet.” As a key leader in the health and wellness world, he also influenced people like Chris Kresser and Mark Sisson. If you aren’t familiar with Paul, he’s MIT-educated in both physics and philosophy and has a … Continue reading 490: Paul Jaminet on the Perfect Health Diet, Carbs, and Cancer Research... Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/490-paul-jaminet-on-perfect-health-diet.html October 26, 2021 at 04:10AM
Is White Rice Healthy?
White rice. It is a controversial food in nutrition circles. On the one hand, some nutritionists warn us away from rice and grains as a nutritionally empty source of calories, phytates, and even toxins like arsenic. Others consider it a safe starch and say it is ok in moderation. Then, of course, there is the … Continue reading Is White Rice Healthy?... Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/is-white-rice-healthy.html October 23, 2021 at 04:10AM
Create a Place for Everything That Matters
By Leo BabautaIt can often feel like our lives are messy, cluttered, overwhelming, scattered. Like a house filled with clutter, our lives can feel like a huge mess. Today I’d like to share an idea for getting things in order: just as I recommend for decluttering your house, create a place for everything that matters to you. In our physical houses, things can get messy when we just put things in random places. So when we declutter, it’s not just about getting rid of things we don’t want — it’s also about finding a home for everything we do want. A place for everything. Once we have a home for each item, it’s a matter of training ourselves to put them back where they belong. And once this is in place, things can feel much more sane. It’s not about keeping to a perfect system, it’s about knowing where things go, and then allowing ourselves to relax into that structure. What if we could apply the same idea to everything else in our lives? If something is worth being in our lives, doesn’t it deserve to have a place? For example:
These are a few ideas, but you might find other places where you life feels messy, and then find a place or a structure to keep that messiness organized. A home for everything. In the examples above (which you are not limited to), the main places to keep things might be:
If we had regular times in the day and the week to do these things, our lives would feel much more in order. The post Create a Place for Everything That Matters appeared first on zen habits. Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/create-place-for-everything-that-matters.html October 22, 2021 at 11:10PM
Things I’m Loving Friday #389
It’s a big weekend in the Fagan household! Well, it’s a big weekend for one of us at least. Ryan will be doing his first Half Ironman on Saturday! Our family left yesterday afternoon for Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina where we will be spending the next few days immersing ourselves in all things Ironman. The boys and I will be cheering for Ryan and doing our best to find him along the course (no small feat, I’m told) and also hope to explore the small beach town a bit, too! We only had about two hours to spend out and about before the boys’ bedtime last night but we made our way down to the beach and picked up pizza and frozen custard to bring back to our condo. The boys were all majorly amped up and there was a lot of talking and giggling before they settled down and finally fell asleep last night. I have such vivid memories of staying up late laughing and talking and being goofy with my sister when we were little and seeing our boys acting similarly together is one of those full circle moments that fills me with gratitude. I’m really looking forward to the next few days with our crew and hope to have a recap of our weekend away to share with you on Monday! Until then, let’s dive into this week’s roundup of weekly favorites, shall we? Things I’m Loving Friday
I swear I first saw this on some random Instagram Reels video a while back because there’s no way I would’ve thought to do this myself but since the internet is a black hole, I have no idea who was the original source. Anyway, I owe a big thank you to whoever created this combination because it did wonders to help my dry, chapped lips this week. For a week or so, my lips have been seriously dry and chapped and when I layered a ton of lip balm on my lips followed by a thick layer of Aquaphor before bed two nights in a row, I awoke to find them a million times better! I just wanted to share this here because we’re heading into the time of year when chapped lips seem more prevalent and this was such a simple solution. Oh and I used Ryan’s favorite Helen Knows Best extreme weather lip balm which is seriously legit. The key is making sure to apply the lip balm before the Aquaphor (I’m not crazy about petroleum but in this case it helps lock the lip balm on overnight) and then you’ll awake to baby-soft lips in the morning!
I’m not a huge fan of ranch dressing in general (unless I’m pregnant which I am not!) but THIS ranch is a different story. I bought it at Whole Foods for Chase because one of his favorite snacks is carrots dipped in ranch I was surprised when I ended up loving it myself! It’s thicker and I’d say it’s more of a dip than a salad dressing but I’ve been loving it on grilled chicken and salmon. I know sounds gross but trust me on this one! The ranch has a heavy dill flavor I adore and I’m already dreaming of more ways to use it.
The boys and I popped into the library after school on Wednesday to load up on some books to bring in the car during our travels and the I Spy books I loved when I was a kid ended up being a road trip slam dunk! Chase and Ryder loved searching for the various items on each page and since many of the items are challenging to spot, it kept Chase (6) entertained for quite a while. For anyone with little ones on their hands, the books were a little too hard for Ryder (3) but he still loved them. I just called out random items I saw on the pages for him to find instead!
I saw Janae recommend these pumpkin bars and immediately saved them to make for our family. The bars were easy to make and the buttery cream cheese frosting takes them to the next level. Definitely keep this recipe in mind if you’re looking for a festive treat to make this fall!
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken and Broccoli (A warm, comforting recipe perfect for chilly autumn nights! Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Overnight Oats (I made this for breakfast twice this week and need to make it part of my regular rotation again!) Question of the DayWhat is one thing you’re loving right now? The post Things I’m Loving Friday #389 appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers. Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/things-im-loving-friday-389.html October 22, 2021 at 08:11PM
489: Deanna Byck on Carbon Offsets, Climate Change and How Hemp Can Help Save Our Planet
Today’s episode is a little different than our usual health topics and I’m excited to explore the extremely versatile uses of hemp, the carbon equation and how that comes into play, and how hemp can truly help save our planet. I am here with the Deanna Byck who is the chief global engagement officer of … Continue reading 489: Deanna Byck on Carbon Offsets, Climate Change and How Hemp Can Help Save Our Planet... Via Health & Wellness http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://deboramaryhealth.blogspot.com/2021/10/489-deanna-byck-on-carbon-offsets.html October 22, 2021 at 12:10AM |