These two bowled for the first time today and it was the cutest thing to watch. Thennn ice-cream!! My boys watch me work out every morning and sometimes they join in too! We eat healthy balanced meals around the table together and they know that my “treat” is normally my chocolate shakeology. It’s become so important to me to set a good example to them when it comes to being active and making healthy choices but I also want them to know that it’s totally ok to enjoy a treat once and a while. It just means you work extra hard and eat extra clean the rest of the weekend. I’m all about balance and making special memories because come on guys, you only live ONCE! 
Healthy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
It’s FRIDAY and that calls for some tasty chocolate chip cookies! This recipe is from one of our favourite snack cookbooks Super Healthy Snacks and Treats and I actually LOVE how they turned out!!
Here’s what’s in em:
1/2 cup of almond milk
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
2 cup spelt flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of granulated sweetener of your choice
1 cup of dark/bitersweet chocolate chips
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix wet ingredients (almond milk, sunflower oil, vanilla extract) and flax seed in one bowl and set aside to thicken.
Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Combine everything together and roll dough into golf ball size balls. Flatten them to about 1 cm thick and arrange on greased cookie sheet.
Bake the cookies for around 7 min and gently transfer onto a cooling rack.
Happy cookie baking!!
How we Survived an 11 hour Car Ride with 2 Toddlers
I blogged our trip to Boston/Cape Cod last week over here! In order to get there though, we had to drive 11 hours. Yes. 11 hours in an SUV with 2 toddlers yikes! I was so nervous about the trip as the twins are normally melting down after a 2 hour trip to visit my grandparents. It was so much less expensive for us to drive than fly though, so we were determined to make it work. 3 nights before the trip, I spent a good few hours on pinterest and other blogs looking for tips and tricks for keeping toddlers entertained during travel. I made myself a good little list and the next day, off to the dollar store I went!
I bought a package of small brown paper bags and bought them each little zippered bag! I told them about their special bags the night before the trip so this got them excited about the “long” car ride and all the fun “surprises” I had planned for them!
I basically planned out the whole trip with a different activity to introduce each hour, planning a park break/picnic at lunch hour and knowing they would nap for 2-3 hours in the afternoon. I kept their bags in the front with me and passed things back to them but with older children, they could probably be more in control.
Here’s the activities I packed:
- Melissa and Doug Water Wow – my friend Noelle lent these to us and I was so thankful because the twins LOVED them and thought they were actually “painting”. It’s basically a pen you fill with water and it has a brush on the end. The books can be used over and over again so by the time they finished the last page, they could go back to the start and do it again.
- Travel Scavenger Hunt – In this pack, was a travel scavenger hunt I found on pinterest (there are so many you can print off!) and I bought them fun spider man stickers from the dollar store to stick on each thing they found. They got it for the most part but there did end up being stickers in A LOT more places than just the boxes. haha.
- Treats – in a few bags, I packed a healthy snacks like fruit to go and yogurt raisins and a few of them had some actually candy like a lollipop or gummy bears (balance!!) Saved these bags for when they were starting to get bored and wrestless as a yummy treat would change their attitude around immediately!
- Finger puppets. I grabbed these from the dollar store as well and LOVED them. We told them to make up a story about our holiday and it was a riot.
- Good old Crayons and coloring book. We got them each new coloring books so they were excited about that!
- Movie and Popcorn – we borrowed a portable dvd player and this was a LIFE SAVER. After our picnic in the park around noon, we got back in the car for popcorn and a movie. It was a great wind-down activity and they thought this was SO cool to be able to do in the car. They both fell asleep shortly after and napped for a good couple hours.
- Tablets – we have an I-pad and another small tablet and we loaded them with new games before we left. I saved this for a last resort and when they woke up from their nap it was a great way to keep them entertained for the last stretch before we stopped for supper!
- Melissa and Doug Lace Toys (not pictured) – these are great for fine motor skills and the twins loved them!
- Small toys/books – we packed a couple bins to keep between their seats for easy access! Worked great.
Overall, the twins did INCREDIBLE!!! It totally payed off to plan ahead and be prepared. Before we left for the trip back, we stopped at Target to stock up on some more treats/new activities. They were a little more restless/grumpy on the way back but aren’t we all?! We just made a few more stops and park breaks.
Hope all you travelling families might find this post helpful for any long car trips you might have make this summer! And most of these activities totally work for a train or plane trip too! Happy travelling!!
Boston/Cape Cod
This was our first time travelling outside of Canada with the twins. We knew we wanted to hit up a beach in the U.S. but right up until 2 weeks before our trip we weren’t sure where and had nothing booked! Finally one night, we just went for it and used Air B&B to book a quaint little cottage in Cape Cod, MA for four nights. Since we had the full week for holidays, we decided to be adventurous and just grab a hotel in whatever city we ended up in for a night on the way there and a night on the way back. It worked out great! The first day, we drove for 9 hours with a couple stops along the way for food and play. I planned a full days worth of car activities for the twins and will be sharing that in another post this week! We stayed an hour outside of Boston that night. I was so thankful the hotel had an amazing gym and sauna after being crammed in a car for so long! The next morning, the twins were up bright and early and after grabbing breakfast at the hotel, we headed into Boston to explore the city for the day! After grabbing lattes at Cafe Paradiso in Little Italy, we had maybe been walking around for half hour when I decided I was IN LOVE with this city. Just a great feel. The people were friendly and the streets and buildings had so much character. The Boston Market was amazing and the harbour front was just stunning.
We grabbed lunch at Legal Seafoods near the harbour. It was recommended to us by numerous friends that had been to Boston so we knew we had to try it and gosh it did NOT disappoint! We split a seafood sampler ( I know SO much food!) and a risotto roll. It was to die for. Every time we look at this photo, we can taste the meal again. If you go to Boston, eat at Legal Seafoods!
We headed to the cottage we were renting later that afternoon and after a quick grocery shop and checking out the private beach, we called it an early night. Most of the rest of the week was spent at the beach and touring the quaint town of Brewster. There was so many cute boutiques, antique shops and the sweetest little old-fashioned general store. The boys got a kick out of all the penny candy to look at there!
One day we drove into Province Town for the afternoon which is the furthest part of the cape. It was beautiful, so colorful and very happening! The main street, parallel to the ocean, went on FOREVER! There were so many shops and restaurants to choose from. We had heard that the lobster rolls at Canteen were amazing so we opted to eat there and again we were thrilled with our choice! The rolls were delicious and we shared a fish taco too!
Ok we totally splurged and bought a piece of fudge to split from this award winning fudge shop on the strip.
The twins LOVED the ocean. We weren’t sure how they would do with the beach as last year they were still a little unsure of the waves and such but we put life jackets on them and they wanted to swim and kick on their bellies. The high tide and low tide of the ocean was so cool because in the mornings, we could walk out on the beach for forever and the twins would just splash in the small streams and puddles while collecting sea shells, rocks and building sand towers. In the evenings, the water was 4 feet deep right at the start so we would all go in and swim together.
Other then my husband dropping our cottage keys down a storm sewer on the first day we arrived, and a couple normal toddler meltdowns, I’d say the trip was a pretty big success! It gave us the confidence to travel MORE with the kids, something we both love to do.
The Comparison Trap
I posted a quote on my facebook like page yesterday that went something like this: “The number one reason people quit is because they look at how far they have to go instead of how far they’ve come.” I shared this to inspire but mostly because it inspired me. I read it somewhere else earlier that day at just the right time.
See until yesterday morning, I was feeling pretty darn good about myself. I am back down to my wedding weight, I’m feeling strong and confident again, I bought my first pair of shorts in 4 years (yes I lived in jeans and sun dresses for a bunch of summers).
But then I took the twins to the park for play group yesterday morning and when I wasn’t chasing the boys around or chatting with a friend, I found myself doing something horrible. Yes, horrible. I was constantly comparing my body to every other mom in the park… “Ugh how does she not have a SINGLE ounce of cellulite on her legs?!” “I thought I was looking good but NOT compared to that girl!.” “I workout every single day and I overheard her say that she doesn’t at all and look at her!.” and it went on and on. So bad right? But I’m just being real with you guys. I know that for a lot of us girls, this body comparison thing is an ongoing battle but for me, it seems to have gotten kind of worse as I have been focusing on getting healthy and fit. Kind of ironic I know. But now that I’m actually working at toning and strengthening and clean eating on a daily basis, I am proud of the progress I have made and the changes that have occurred. BUT, I have to be SO careful not to become overly critical of myself as I continue on this journey. It’s so easy to get sucked in by the comparison trap and get down on myself because I’m not as “slim” or “fit” as someone else. But yesterday afternoon, while I was having a giant pity party for myself and contemplating a big bowl of ice cream to make it all better, I caught myself. I read that quote and realized that the only person I should be comparing myself to is myself. I need to keep my focus on my own progress, not anyone else’s. I need to remember that the next mom’s journey has NOTHING to do with my own. Different story, different genes, different body type, NOT me.
So wherever you’re at, I’m encouraging you to just take it one day at a time. Love yourself and keep pushing forward towards YOUR goals. Accept your flaws, (even the cellulite covered legs that aren’t going anywhere anytime soon) and recognize and be PROUD of all you’re doing! If you’re committed to getting healthy, that’s all that matters. I needed that reminder yesterday and I’m choosing to share it because maybe someone else needs it too?
Thanks so much for reading! xo