Life Archives - sprinting spoon

Postpartum Ab Exercises: 5 Things My Doctor Didn’t Tell Me

July 3, 2020 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Health, Life Leave a Comment

If you’ve just had a baby, or even if it’s been many years, you may notice that things in your core/pelvic floor aren’t quite what they used to be. You may look to postpartum ab exercises to “fix” things. However, here are 5 things my doctor didn’t tell me about “getting my abs back” that I wish I had known.

I’ve shared a bit in the past about the births of both of my kids—born at home with midwives. I’d say my birth experiences have been empowering, confidence building, intimate, and life-changing without fear, stress, or anxiety. I’m so thankful for that.

However, life with a new baby is such a curve ball. There’s so much to figure out all at once–breastfeeding, sleep schedules, etc. Who has time to figure out what the heck is going on in their own body?

I think there is a really big gap between the information out there for postpartum moms and their bodies and moms actually getting ahold of that information and knowing what to do/how to help themselves. The OB gives you a good check over at 6 weeks, declares you “all clear,” and you’re good to go, right? Wrong. Your body went through quite a bit of changes over the last nine months. It doesn’t all go away the second the baby is born. Kind of crazy, seeing as we’ve only been having babies since the beginning of time! Why does no one seem to know how to get everything back to normal?

Here’s what I wish more mamas knew to get back to feeling like themselves again. [Read more…]

Recipe Roundup: 10 Easy Weeknight Meals for Summer

June 15, 2020 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Health, Life Leave a Comment

Need some easy weeknight meals for summer? Here are ten recipes, for a two-week, real food meal plan that will keep you out of the kitchen and enjoying all the things summer has to love!

You guys!! It is finally summer! Since spring was, um, weird this year with all the stay-at-home stuff, I think maybe it feels like summer took even longer to get here than usual. I wait eagerly for the leaves on the trees, spring flowers, and just green-ness in general. And, of course, the delightful day when I can send the kids out to play in bare feet. That is the best day.

So, as we start spending more and more time outside, who wants to be slaving away in the kitchen? I still want real food dinners, but I want lots of salads and cold foods or just something that I can make on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot to keep from heating up the kitchen.

Here are 10 real food dinners you can make in a flash that will do just that. Some of the recipes are mine, and some I’ve found around the web. Pick your favorite five or make all ten for two weeks’ worth of easy weeknight meals. [Read more…]

7 Essential Self-Care Practices for a Shelter in Place Order

April 10, 2020 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Health, Life Leave a Comment

Need some self-care practices to adopt during your shelter in place? Looking for a few healthy habits you adopted during this time that you want to continue for normal life? Grab this quick list of my top recommendations for mentally, physically, emotionally, and socially healthy lives at home.

Also, can I just quickly mention that I do not really like the term “self-care?” [Read more…]

Stuff I Like: Spring ’20

March 10, 2020 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Life Leave a Comment

Is it Spring yet where you live? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think we’ve had a few glimpses! I’m afraid to say this out loud, for fear that the sun and warmer temps will hear me and run and hide for a few more months. BUT, it was 60 degrees this past Sunday, and today I saw some buds on a tree! Maybe our bleak midwinter is coming to a close?

March and April are my least favorite months, generally. Spring is all not quite here but feels like it should be. Anyway, I’m finding some ways to stay cozy and embrace where I’m at! Here’s what I’m up to lately–cozy edition. [Read more…]

2020 Reading List

January 23, 2020 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Life 2 Comments

It’s a new year! In case you missed it, I’m the planner type, so it just makes sense that at the beginning of the year I would make a list of books that I’d like to read–fiction and non-fiction; audiobooks, kindle books, and good ol’ fashioned paperbacks; books on health and wellness, books on parenting, a classic novel here and there, a few buzzy books that everybody else is apparently reading, just a little bit of everything.

Last year I had a goal of 24 books and ended up reading 25 books. I’m pleased with that goal and would like to keep it the same for this year. I also don’t like to plan out every.single.book that I’ll read this year. I like to leave a little bit of room for whatever comes up or gets recommended to me that just sounds too good to wait.

So, without further ado, here’s what I plan to read in 2020. [Read more…]

2019 Recap & Best Books

January 15, 2020 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Life 4 Comments

It’s a new year AND a new decade! How on earth did this happen? Ten years ago at this time I was single and working at a bank, and now I am married, have two kids, work in my field, and have lived in three different states! Sheesh. That’s a lot of life! I figured out a lot about myself, my personality, what I love and need to thrive in work and my personal life, picked up a few hobbies, picked up an autoimmune disease…all sorts of stuff!

However, despite all the life that happened between 2010-2020, I prefer just looking back over the last one year as I move into the next. Honestly, I don’t anticipate quite as much change in the next ten years as I experienced in the last ten. (But who knows?!) I just want to keep moving forward with life as I know it. So, here’s a little highlight reel from 2019. [Read more…]

Stuff I Like: Fall ’19

November 21, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Life Leave a Comment

As I’m writing this, we have about 3 inches of snow on the ground. THREE INCHES. We are only halfway through November. I am not ready. I daresay I was not even appropriately warned. It is in the 20’s, and we have not celebrated Thanksgiving. So…I’m going to just pretend none of this has happened, and it is still Fall, and we’re all just busting out our favorite soup recipes and chunky sweaters and candles and pumpkins.

So, can you just let me live in my dream world for a minute? It’s a new season, so it’s time for a Stuff I Like post. Here’s what I’m into this FALL! [Read more…]

Stuff I Like: Late Summer 2019

September 3, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Life 2 Comments

I am just gonna go ahead and ignore all those adorable kids and their back-to-school pictures taking over my newsfeed. It is still technically summer! Summer is such a long time coming here in Michigan, that I’m not going to let it go just yet. Sure, Fall is fun, but summer is soooo sweet.

There were lots of things to love this season: like catching tadpoles with my favorite four year old on my birthday, and weeknights meeting up with the Hubs at the gym with the kids for a picnic dinner and an evening of swimming til bedtime, and runs to our favorite ice cream place, and, heck, just walking outside without coats and shoes! Plus, I work exactly one day per week in the summer, and even convenient things like Aldi grocery runs via Instacart meant we just had so much more time to play at the park and the pool! We loved the slower pace!

So, before we go full-on Fall around here, I’m taking a minute to recap summer and what I’m loving lately! Here’s what I’ve been into this summer… [Read more…]

A Baby Registry for Minimalists

July 20, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Life 2 Comments

I am willing to admit that I am not a “baby person.” The older they get, the more fun they are to me. Sure, they are sweet when they are just born (and let’s not underestimate that new baby smell!), but I am rejoicing when they turn 1 because older kids are better.

That being said, I don’t want a lot of baby “stuff” in my house. I figure, kids are sleeping in cardboard boxes or dresser drawers in other parts of the world, and they are just fine. When we had our son, I didn’t want it to look like a bomb of baby colors had gone off in our house. I still wanted it to look like my house. (We like neutrals; it is HARD to find baby stuff in neutrals!)

So, I am often asked what my top baby registry items would be if you just want the essentials and not all the extra stuff. Here’s what makes my Top 10 List! [Read more…]

7 Reasons to Work Out (That Have Nothing to do with Your Swimsuit)

May 27, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Fitness, Health, Life 2 Comments

It is almost that time of year again…my hands down absolutely favorite time of year–SUMMER!! I have always loved summer the best (although, Fall, you are pretty awesome, too). There are so many things to love, like fresh fruits and vegetables (BERRIES!!!), ice cream, really long days (yes, I love when it’s light out before 6 a.m.), no school, my birthday, bare feet, the pool, the beach. You name it as it pertains to summer, I am all in!

Now, this time of year, there is one thing that I really hate. Something that comes up a lot in my industry of health and fitness. And that is the dreaded swimsuit shame. Everyone telling you to try this or that workout or diet to get ready for swimsuit season. As if you there was one and only one reason to work out and that was to look a certain way. As if you can’t possibly be seen at the pool if you’re not a certain size. As if, the best way to motivate someone is by making her feel like she is inadequate. (Remember mini habits? Building good habits is ENTIRELY more successful by using minuscule amounts of will power rather than ever-changing motivations. So, not only is this motivation method just not nice, it doesn’t even work long term.)

Now, I would be lying if I said I did not care how I looked in my swimsuit. (It is okay to care. It is not okay to obsess and become self-absorbed.) I do choose to live a lifestyle that lends itself well to being lean, and I do want that perk. But that’s where it ends. It is a perk. It is not the chief end of health and fitness. It does not get me out of bed to do a workout while the rest of my family sleeps.

I truly believe that health starts on the inside. Take care of the inside, and the outside will take care of itself in time.

Side note: because somebody’s gotta be thinking “Didn’t you just say to build a workout habit with will power? So why are you giving us motivations?” Because motivations do still exist. And yes, sometimes they feel stronger than other times. If you’re building a workout habit, yes, absolutely build it with teeny tiny bits of will power. However, there are still underlying reasons why you chose to build a mini habit regarding fitness in the first place. Think of these more as your “why” rather than your “motivation.”

I consistently workout five to six days each week. It is a habit that I’ve had for 20+ years, so it’s just normal to do at this point. Here are my seven reasons WHY I consistently choose to make workouts a priority. [Read more…]

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