Fathers Day Weekend!

I hope everyone had a funfilled Fathers Day weekend! This was definitely one for the books for our family. Let me fill you guys on the past couple days!

Saturday:

We started our day at around 5:30 a.m. Oh boy! What was even weirder about waking up this early is that I woke up to my alarm on my phone and not a baby! That hasn’t happened…since they were born. For once I was waking Oliver and Olivia up because today was family race day! Steamboat is a race that I have been running in every year since I was 8 years old with my family and friends. When Matthew and I started dating at Bradley this was the first race we ever ran together. There are is so much history and sentiment associated with this race. Last year, at about 29 weeks pregnant, I watched from the sidelines as Matthew ran and vowed that for next year I would run the 4-mile race with Oliver and Olivia. This was a goal I made a year ago and we made it happen today which was an absolute blast!

Ollie and Liv did surprisingly well during the actual race section. They typically would have been napping if it was our regular walk/run but they chose to people watch instead. I don’t blame them! There was so much to see! We expected that at some point we would have to stop and give them their bottles during the four miles but they babbled back in the forth the entire race and seemed very content in their stroller. Matthew and I took turns pushing the BOB which made it nice to get breaks here and there- talk about a solid arm workout!

Now, I get asked this a lot because I am so immersed in the health and fitness world (my interests, my job, etc), will my babies be the same way? They are their own little humans and honestly, I just want them happy, healthy, and to know how much their dad and I love them. Past that, I don’t want to control their interests. They might hate running, soccer, or whatever I happen to enjoy and that is okay! Heck, they might hate sports & exercise in general! That is fine. My goal, as their mom, is to expose them so they know what is out there but I don’t expect them to fall in love with everything thing I happened to. However, I will say it was really special and meant a lot to share a little piece of the fitness world, that has been a part of my life for years, with them. Will they remember it? No, but I will!

 

We finished the race sweaty, to the point where it was dripping into our eyeballs and burning! Ooph.But we did it! This was the most I have run without stopping once since I got pregnant! I had an adrenaline rush the entire time and mannn oh man is that runners high amazing.

After posting a photo with my family (post-race) on Instagram, I received an assortment of questions! I figured I would answer them on here instead of waiting for Things You Ask Thursday. Here we go!

1.) How long did you train with the babies in the stroller so they would get used to it?

I started going on walks with them when they were brand spanking new. My Pediatrician told me walks were fine but I could not jog with them until they were six months or when they were able to hold their own head up. I didn’t really start jogging with them until they were about 7 months when the weather got nicer! Typically I walk for a few minutes and then jog for a few. I haven’t been doing miles straight since I started taking Stella on our morning walk/runs because I do not want her to overheat! Saturday, running four miles straight, was challenging to say the least but felt amazing!

2.) What do you do if they freak out on a run? That is what is holding me back from trying to go on runs and workout. I’m scared of tantrums!

I always have toys on hand to distract them as well as bottles! Very rarely have they had meltdowns in the stroller and I’m not sure if it’s because I got lucky or they just got used to it very early on. We started going on walks every day super early and I do believe they think the walks are soothing & relaxing. But please do not think we haven’t had our moments. Sometimes they are just in a mood and want the heck out! I’ve stopped at park benches before when one babe wants out and I get them out! Sometimes they just want a breather and to wiggle. I’ve noticed they tend to stay a lot calmer when I’m running versus walking…which motivates me to keep running so hey that’s a positive! My way of looking at it is to just keep my humor and not go into any walk/run with super high expectations. Either it will be a great workout or maybe it doesn’t turn out exactly how I imagined but I remind myself that there is always tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day…to try again!

3.) Do you use their nap times for running/walk time?

Yes and no! When they were just a few months old I would go on walks solely so they would sleep! There were times where I was very desperate for them to nap (and at the same time) so walks were my saving grace. It was good for them to catch up on z’s and good for me to get some walking in. It’s a complete win-win! Currently, our run/walks are more for their entertainment. They like to look around, “ohh” and “ahh” and people watch. I have found changing the scenery keeps them happy and content versus just being stuck in our living room all day. A little fresh air is good for us all!

Back to the rest of our Saturday! My cousin’s twins turned two so we made our way to their birthday party after the babies long nap! Thank goodness she had two little baby floaties. I have been putting off buying these because I wasn’t sure if they would like them. They LOVED them. Oh my goodness if you have a little babe and thinking of investing in these, I highly recommend it! It makes it more fun for your babe and for you!

After a few hours of pool fun, it was time to head home, get these babies to bed, and prepare for Fathers day!

Sunday:

I get so emotional thinking that it is Matthews first Father’s Day. Where did the time go? In the past 9 months its kind of crazy how much he has grown as a dad. He is so dang good with our babies. It’s funny because people always ask me if we want more kids or if we are done because we had twins. There is no doubt in my mind that I want to continue to grow our family but a large part of that is due to the fact that I have such a great teammate, my husband. Alright, I’ll stop with my mushy gooshy rambling!

We woke up, eased into the day and devoured some Peanut butter Kodiak Cakes. If you haven’t tried the peanut butter flavor, HIGHLY recommend my friends! I had a few small gifts for Matthew, unfortunately, I forgot to wrap the picture frame with the babies photos so I used a baby bag that was from my baby shower. I think I had him worried there for a second! hahaha

I saw this Fathers day gift idea on Pinterest and thought it was just the cutest idea. I have to say it looks easier said than done with twins! The first day I attempted to take the photo’s Oliver was in the mood for it but Olivia was not at all. So I took Ollies! The second day, I took Olivia’s, and the third day I took photos of them both. This was the hardest one to get a good shot of because right now they are obsessed with each other and our dog, Stella. I found myself constantly saying, “Olivia, please stop biting Oliver’s shoulder (thank God she only has two teeth), “Oliver, stop crawling after Stella!”. I found myself laughing because if there was a bystander watching this scene take place, I promise you they would just be laughing their face off!

We then got the babies loaded in the car and made our way to morning mass. Afterward, we had some downtime before Ollie and Liv had their long nap. I planned on heading to my moms while they were napping to start prepping for a Fathers day dinner we were having later. She was in charge of the meat and I was in charge of the veggies! I kept it simple, per usual!

Veggie Packets anyone? This is a side dish we’ve made a lot at my in-law’s – easy, healthy, delicious- nom! It’s pretty simple really and you can choose whatever vegetables you want!

I decided on these:

• Red potatoes
• Asparagus
• Carrots
• Onion
• Red and yellow bell pepper

First, I cut all the veggies into bite-sized chunks, then put them into a giant bowl. In the bowl, I coated the veggies in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then I wrapped the vegetables securely into small foil packets and placed them in the fridge to grill later! When it came time to cook, I let them sit on the grill for 30 mins at 400 (flip once after 15 minutes). Simple as that! This is a great side dish for dinner and pairs perfectly with turkey burgers, steak, chicken…ya know all that good protein! We ended dinner with some key lime pie – so so good! My grandparents stopped by and Olivia is very intrigued by my grandpa. Like mother like daughter?! She hogged him the whole dinner! Hey, I can’t blame the gal. He is the cutest Lebanese man! Oh my lively grandpa, how I love you.

Hours past and the babies bedtime snuck up on us! We scooped our babies up to get them home for their beauty sleep!

Here I am talking to all of you (: I hope everyone had a safe, fun-filled weekend! Anyone do anything fun for Father day weekend? What did you get your husband’s for their special day? I love seeing cute creative ideas, or just gift ideas in general! I feel like I never know what to get people so that’s why I’m always creeping on Pinterest for inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today & stay lively! Don’t forget to visit here for Thursdays post! Bye guys!