Tamara, Author at The Workout Mama

Purple Pull-Ups

December 10, 2020 by Tamara Leave a Comment

Josh recently went to Costco for our monthly shopping trip. When he returned home we began to put away our huge haul. And when I say huge it was huge. This was the trip where he bought toilet paper, kleenex, paper towels, and pull-ups on top of all the food items. When he started to unpack the pull-ups for our son he was shocked to discover he had mistakingly bought the purple princess girl pull-ups. In his rush to get out of Costco quickly he didn’t read the label correctly.

Not wanting to brave the Costco parking lot and return line we decided to keep the pull-ups. We figured we could avoid drawing attention to the purple pull-ups on our son if we vowed to put in him in pants or shorts if these pull-ups were being used. I am not sure what we were thinking. Since March our kids have hardly worn pants.

Once everything was put away, we ate a quick lunch and it was nap time. Josh put a purple pull-up on our son and got him in some comfy pants. We laid the littlest of our kids down and they were soon asleep.

After nap I went to wake up our littlest guy and found him on the floor, pants removed, sleeping. Purple pull-up shining visible in all it’s glory.

Our oldest shortly came in before I could get the pants back on.

“AHHHHHHH, he has on girl pull-ups”

“Shhhhhh” I said, “Daddy accidentally bought the wrong ones and we are trying not to make a big deal out it”.

Still trying to get the pants on, another child walks in.

“Ohhhhh, I love you purple diaper” said our daughter. Who genuinely was being sweet and not trying to tease because she loves purple.

“Shhhhhhhhhh” I said again. Still trying to get his pants on before he fully wakes up and realizes what we have done to him.

I think I am finally making progress on the pants when our 4 year old walks in.

“Why does he have on girl pull-up? You have on a purple pull up. HAHAHAHAHAHA, he has on princesses.”

At this moment, I give up trying to hide the purple pull-up. It is out in the open and there is nothing I can do to get the pants on at this point. We put a quick snack in our kids stomach and sent them outside in the backyard to play. The purple pull-up glows in the sunshine as our child bounces happily on the trampoline and later plays in the sandbox.

The pull-ups are now packed up in Josh’s car waiting to be returned to Costco. Our best intentions lasted only for an afternoon and clearly we underestimated our children’s desire to remain pant free.

Also upon me taking the picture of the pull-up box I realize we need to get Josh scheduled for an eye exam because clearly this is a purple box with a little girl on the package.

Filed Under: Personal

Why I Am Loving My Personalized VitaminPacks From Persona

December 7, 2020 by Tamara Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this product for free from Moms Meet to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

I didn’t even know personalized vitamin packs were a thing until this year. I saw an ad early in March and thought it was a really cool idea but didn’t think much about it after that. To be honest I wasn’t ready to spend a ton of money on vitamins. One of the amazing things about having a blog is getting the opportunity to review products and programs. In October, I jumped at the chance when approached with an opportunity to review Persona VitaminPacks.

Persona is a personalized, high-quality supplement subscription service that delivers your packs to your doorstep every 28 days. To start using this service I was asked to take a 5 minute assessment on Persona and based on my answers my personalized VitaminPacks were created. You are asked to select three areas that you want to focus on in your overall health. I picked fitness, sleep, and immunity.

I was also able to have a video chat with, Gabby, a Persona nutritionist. I love how this is part of the service you can take advantage of when ordering Persona VitaminPacks. She was fantastic and answered all the questions I had about the vitamins and made me feel really comfortable with the safety of the supplements. I always want to make sure my supplements have been third party tested so I was glad to hear that Persona takes this very seriously. Persona’s supplements are all produced in FDA certified facilities and the ingredients are verified.

When talking with Gabby we also discussed how Persona is very concerned about potential drug interactions and how this can impact the supplements you take. I think it is so awesome that they have a drug-nutrient interaction database that allows you to check for interactions with Persona vitamins or supplements and any medications you are taking. And if you still aren’t sure you able to call, chat, or email their team for further clarification.

Sleep this year has been rough. I was so worried for Josh, especially early on in the pandemic, when he would go to work that it was hard for me to fall asleep especially on nights that he was at the fire station. And then that became my new sleep pattern for months. I was sleeping but once I woke up to pee or for anything else it was super hard for me to get back to sleep. I knew that sleep would be a great way to gauge how well the supplements were working for me.

My vitamins arrived on my doorstep within days of ordering and came in a super cute box. They even included face masks. I totally thought that was a sweet gesture and we appreciated the extra masks in our house. Along with the vitamins came a supplement fact sheet and a personalized list of what exactly I would be taking each morning and night.

So now to discuss if these vitamins made any difference in my overall health and life and the answer is a BIG YES. Also, not sure if this is just me, but does anyone else get super excited and giddy when you see your name printed on items?

Persona VitaminPacks are just so convenient. In the morning I drink a large glass of room temperature water, eat my breakfast, and take my morning vitamins. I love that I am not having to sort and organize multiple bottles of supplements and everything is already packaged together. This has allowed me to be more consistent with my supplement routine.

I could cry tears of happiness because these vitamins have restored my sleep. My first night I took them I slept so well. And have slept so much better this entire month. I wake up to pee and I am able to fall right back asleep, some nights I don’t even wake up to pee until close to morning.

I have always been a super light sleeper so I am typically the one who goes to check on the kids when they wake up sporadically in the middle of the night. My first week on my vitamins I remember waking up because Josh was coming back into bed because our youngest couldn’t find his star lights. Josh is a deep sleeper and I was shocked I didn’t wake up. Thank you Persona vitamins! I have gotten many 8 hour nights of sleep in the last few weeks and feel like a new person.

Another bonus that I noticed while taking these is that my period was not as heavy. My best guess would be due to Vitamin K and A but I am not 100% sure so don’t hold me to that.

I am planning to continue with these vitamins and can’t wait to see the results of how my sleep continues to improve. The sound sleep program is a three phase program that starts with 3mg of Melatonin and Persona’s Herbal Rest blend and then the Melatonin is reduced to 300 mcg. The goal at the end of the program is to be able to enjoy a restful night sleep but your body will be making Melatonin on it’s own. You can read more details below if you are interested.

I am so pleased with my experience and truly believe these are worth the money and investment into your own health. I highly recommend Persona VitaminPacks and would love for you to try them too! Thank you to Persona for offering my readers a #PersonaPack discount to receive 30% off for 2 months.

I will keep you posted on my continued efforts to improve my sleep and how my #PersonaPack is helping.

Filed Under: Health, Sponsored Post Tagged With: #PersonaPack, Persona

Chicken Pot Pie

December 4, 2020 by Tamara Leave a Comment

I am not sure how it is already December. This year has been a blur and also seemingly the longest year of my life. Oh 2020. We have been trucking along with homeschool and next week will have us finishing up our Saxon Math lessons for this semester.

Lately I have found myself craving simple comfort food. And this Chicken Pot Pie recipe from my friend Kindal has been a weekly staple for the past two months. It is super easy to make, the ingredients are usually items I have on hand, and it just tastes so good every single time I make it. This has also become a go to meal for my daughter.

There are several highlights that have really made my 2020 better and brighter and one of them is Fit Women’s Weekly Live. Kindal and her husband Dan have been a huge part of my year with their live streaming home workouts. I am in better shape and it has been a huge stress reducer for me.

These last 8 weeks I have been taking part in a nutrition challenge called Plan Smart Eat Real with Fit Women’s Weekly. Kindal has been sending out meal plans each week and they have been so helpful. We haven’t eaten out as a family since March and I was constantly making the same meals over and over again. It has been so nice to have new recipes each week to try.

I never ate Chicken Pot Pie growing up so this was entirely new to me but I absolutely love it. If you are looking for a warm meal this winter be sure to give this recipe a try. It also reheats really well for leftovers.

For crust:

3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt
1/4 Cup Cream Cheese
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt

Pie Filling:

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Chicken Breasts Shredded
4 Cups of veggies, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, Chopped
1/2 Onion Chopped
1/2 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1/4 Cup Hummus
1 Tbsp Flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Create the crust by first stirring everything together. Then lightly flour your hands (to keep from sticking) and knead the dough for 10-15 times into a ball. Split in half and roll into 2 balls. Use a rolling pin to roll out to around .5cm thickness and for it to fit your pie pan. Place one into the pie pan, use a fork to make holes and bake for 5-8 minutes. Until lightly golden.
In a skillet, heat oil. Add garlic and onions and sauté until fragrant and translucent. Add all the veggies, broth, and hummus into the pot and stir. Allow to cook until vegetables are heated through. Add chicken, stir together and allow the mix to heat up and evaporate some of the liquid. Around 5 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and mix well. Allow the mix to simmer and thicken for around 3-5 minutes.
Pour filling into the pie dish and place the other crust on top. Use a knife to make a few slits and slide into the oven. Cook 15-20 minutes or until pie is lightly browned.

I know this year has been tough for everyone for many reasons. If you are needing a group of supportive ladies to connect with while you get stronger and healthier I highly recommend Fit Women’s Weekly Live.

Starting in January there is a new fitness/nutrition challenge that includes an 8 week meal plan. If you sign up now you will get the rest of this month FREE so you can check out the group and start exercising before January. Or you can sign up for the monthly membership without participating in the challenge.

We decorated gingerbread houses this week and the kids have a pretend bake shop set up in the little boys bedroom. They have been selling gingerbread cookies all week and having the best time. This weekend we don’t have any plans, much like every weekend this entire year, but I am sure we will watch a Christmas movie or two and possibly take a drive to look at lights.

Happy December everyone! Thanks for stopping by the blog today :).

Filed Under: Recipes