A note about twins....

It will be 3 years ago in May that we found out we were expecting twins.  I went through surprise, fear, nervousness, terror, elation, stress, pride and just about every other emotion during the early months with the girls.  But these days I pretty much forget that I have twins and that they are anything extra special, to me they are just my daughters. But as I was leaving the gym today a lady stopped me as I was herding the chickadees out the door to comment on how lucky I was to have twins and such beautiful children.  She's right and it I'm ashamed that I've taken it for granted.  Twins, actually any child, is truly a gift and a miracle.

Product Review : EnergyBits

Let me first start this review by telling everyone how AWESOME the folks are at Energy Bits.  Their customer service is top notch and their hearts are HUGE.  If you make a purchase now through their website and use the code BOSTONSTRONG at checkout you'll get a 10% discount AND $26.20 goes to the One Fund campaign to support the victims of the tragedy in Boston.

Okay onto the review:  EnergyBits are these tiny little tablets of concentrated protein that have only 30 calories per serving.  They are made of spirulina algae and if you've ever read "Eat and Run" by Scott Jurek then I know you are already familiar with spirulina.  For those of you who don't know about this weird sounding food that's understandable too.  It is a nutrient dense food that has one of the highest concentrations of protein, chlorophyll, beta carotene, antioxidants and vitamins.  It's a naturally grown, organic food unlike many other lab created supplements. It is also used worldwide and is a staple for many serious athletes.  So if this super food is so great why aren't we all eating it by the buckets?  

To be honest I don't know.  It does have some very earthy qualities about it (namely the taste and smell).  It also has a limited shelf life and before being introduced to EnergyBits I was only familiar with it as a powder to be used as an additive.  This is where EnergyBits has really changed the availability of spirulina.

The "Bits" are shaped like tablets and a serving size is 30 bits/tablets.  They still should be kept in the fridge once you've opened the pack but they are stable and totable in their travel tin for 3-4 days which means you can easily throw them in your gym bag or lunch box and use them when you're ready.  This is MUCH easier to me than whipping up a shake or meal with the powdered stuff since my day is rarely close to a kitchen or a blender!  

Okay so now that I've raved on about the nutritional awesomeness of these little guys let me share my actual experience: 

I was anticipating some cute little crunchy sweet bits when my package arrived and was very surprised when I opened my travel tin to reveal a bunch of dark green tablets.  Not to mention the very earthy smell that wafted up at me when I opened the tin!  The instructions state to swallow (or chew) 30 tablets 15-30 minutes before a workout.  I was very intimidated by the idea of taking 30 of these little guys especially by swallowing them.  Since the instructions say that it's ok to chew them I thought I'd try 1 this way and with any luck I'd be able 

to pop the additional 29  in my mouth and chew them up like candy!  WRONG!!!  Follow the instructions girls and boys, swallow these little buggers.  DO NOT CHEW THEM!  They taste awful.  I generally have a high tolerance for "earthy" foods and figured this would be fine for me.  Nope.  Not only did they taste bad while chewing them the taste lingered and I was stuck with this dark green/brown sludge in my teeth.  I finally grabbed a piece of gum to get the taste and ick out of my mouth.  So at this point I was a little discouraged.  I decided that 29 more bits were going to be too many for me and I went ahead and swallowed 9 more.  Then I ran.  I put in a good 7 miles and had a great time doing so.  I didn't think much of it at the time but when I got back to the car I realized that I felt strong and alert and just maybe the algae had something to do with it.  Fast-forward a few more days and I decided to give the Bits a legit try.  I swallowed 30 tablets in 3 gulps about 20 minutes before a 90 minute cardio/run session.  Again, after the workout I felt energized and healthy.  So my final test for the Bits was a 5k race.  I took 30 tablets about 20 minutes before race time and although the day was humid and sticky and gross I still took 1st place for my age group and snagged a 23.45 race time which ranks right up there as one of my fastest.  I have to say that I think the EnergyBits just might have helped power me through.

Wonder if Bits of Health has any race gear that says "Powered by Algae" because I'd sure rock it and love the attention!

                         

Go grab your bag of EnergyBits today at www.energybits.com and be sure to use the code BOSTON STRONG to score the 10% discount. Your body will thank you for this purchase.

All thoughts and statements in this review are my own and of my own personal opinion.  Bits of Health supplied me with a sample of their EnergyBits product for this review.

Leander Lions 5k Recap

Well I did what I wanted to do.  I ran my first race post surgery and am happy with my time.  I finished 1st for my age group with a 23.39  (7.38mm pace).  The race was humid and sweaty but quick and a good time. I volunteered to help with pre-race packet pickups which meant I was at the stadium bright and early. I really want to start volunteering at more races just because I know how much work it takes to put a race  on.  In the end I think they would've been fine without my help but it still felt good to be involved.  I hope to help out with  couple more races this year.

I can't believe I don't have any pictures, well I can believe it.  My camera stopped working last week and I am a part of the 30% of Americans who DO NOT HAVE A SMART PHONE so I couldn't even get a picture that way!  Technically my granny phone has a camera on it but it is no good for any pictures at a distance.
Anyone have any recommendations for a good quick camera or is it possible to live off the pictures on an iPhone (I've been really debating about taking the plunge so maybe this is time),

Yoga Monday: Boat Pose for Kids

Boat Pose:

I thought we'd show some great poses for our youngest yogi's!
This one is great for strengthening the core, something even kiddos need to work on.

To help your little one get into this pose have them start sitting on the floor with their knees bent.  Have them raise their arms out and then slowly have them lean backwards as they lift up their feet and straighten their legs while maintaining balance.  Try singing "row, row, row, your boat" while holding the pose.  FUN!

http://www.thekidsyogaresource.com/2009/08/boat-pose.html

Friday Favorites : Clothes from NoVae & Tea Collection

Like most women and mothers of young girls, I LIKE CLOTHES!  My wardrobe has gone through several overhauls through the years and these days I'm trying to add a few nicer casual pieces to add to my fairly relaxed wardrobe of t-shirts, shorts and jeans!  I feel like it's time to get out of the frumpy mommy phase. My kids are now old enough to allow me a regular nights sleep, they are no longer nursing or throwing baby slop in my direction and I can now count on a daily shower!  This means I am no longer allowed to wear stained, stretched, stinky, crumpled, ill-fitting clothes....at least in my opinion.  I'm certainly not running around in Jimmy Choos and Chanel but I'd like to at least want to look at myself in the mirror rather than run fast every time I see one! 

With that, I'd like to share some of my new favorite shopping hangouts (ok, I'm still a full time Mom with 3 very young daughters that I don't dare take clothes shopping which means my shopping hangouts are online!)

NoVae Clothing-Abosultely charming and modern clothing at very reasonable prices and designed to look good on lots of shapes and sizes.

Tea  - Gorgeous, soft and pretty clothes for Mom and children.  I love the entire collection and am saving all my pennies for a few good pieces.  If you use this link now you can get $25 off your next order of $150 or more PLUS free shipping!

Lets go shopping and get some new duds for the summer.  Don't you have a date night coming up soon that you need something fun for?  I thought so!

These thoughts are of my own opinion and I did not receive any compensation for this post or from these companies.  I am an an affiliate of NoVae clothing and Tea Collection.