Friday Favourites: Workouts, Baby/Gear, Philosophy, House Update + More
Hey guys!
Been a bit of a silent week or so on the blog but now I’m back, and I’ve got some updates and fun Friday favorites to share, including some sunscreen, tank tops and baby/baby-stuff philosophies, and a recent visit from my dad…Read on for more!
Sitting in the sun!
Although we’ve had our share of short storms in June, we’ve also had some hot days, and I LOVE sitting in a little pocket of sun outside the gym in between clients or coming home for lunch and munching away outside under le soleil. This California girl can’t get enough of it…Which leads me to the next Friday fave!
Alumier MD Sunscreen:
I was recently sent a sample box of mineral-based, cosmetically elegant sunscreens that are chemical free and Canadian! It was perfect timing as after moving I had purged our half bottles of sunscreen and some we’ve had for ages, and after learning that pregnant woman are more sensitive to the sun, I had been going through our stash to try to find the best option. We only have sports sunscreens and nothing that really works for daily life, so when I received these samples, I was super excited to try them out for daily use.
So far, I’m loving it! My dad and I used the clear shield (pictured on the left in the larger bottle) on our shoulders and arms while we sat in the sun, and I’ve been using the little ones as they have different tins to them as a base after I wash my face in the mornings. Alumier MD actually has 34 different products (!)
I’ve tried all of them so far, and I like the versatile tint option (the last small tube pictured above) and amber moisture matte products the best! They give a bit of color to my skin, don’t feel heavy or greasy, and protect me from the sun. I’m surprised they are 40 SPF considering that’s not something I would typically put on my face – I’d usually opt for a lesser amount on my face – but I feel protected without feeling any heaviness on my skin.
After looking through their website, there are many other Alumier MD products I’d love to try like their HydraDew Moisturizer and brightening serum (you can see all their products listed here). I’d really encourage my Canadian readers (although you can order them via the UK or England, too!) to check this company out; I’ll definitely be using their products and then checking them out to order myself throughout the summer. You do have to purchase through a skin care professional, which is clear on their website, but I’m not exactly sure what that looks like. All that being said, I’m grateful for the samples and, as always, am sharing my honest review in exchange for the products!
Strong As a Mother tank:
I love, love LOVE my Strong as a Mother tank that came in the mail last week – I’ve been wearing it ever since. I found this Canadian company via my online friend Sally, a Wholistic Health Psychologist and Dietician, and immediately loved their message, but held off ordering because I kind of still wasn’t sure my pregnancy was truly real… I mean, my body was changing and things were progressing, but after our 19 week ultrasound I got to finally SEE that baby and couldn’t believe it! I think this will be the tank of the summer – and of my training and life – during the rest of my pregnancy and post-partum. This is not sponsored, but I’m just sharing about a rad company and learning to embrace the fact that I already am a mom!
BirthFit:
After following their informative podcast for a long time and inspiring Instagram account (even before I got pregnant), I decided to buy myself a gift for my birthday earlier this week, and purchased the BirthFit pre- and post-natal workout program. I’m only two days in, but I’m loving it so far! I’ll keep you updated as to the workouts and concepts behind them (focusing on breathing, on tough workouts that are slow and steady that are geared to help prepare your mind and body for labor), and I’m glad to have a program for after the baby is here, too. You can check out my first workout via videos on my Facebook page here!
As an aside, if anyone is interested in my view on baby showers, gifts and what we’re stocking up on for our baby, I wanted to share episode 63 with Dr. Lindsay Mumma (you can listen to the episode here) because how she frames BABY STUFF and is exactly what my gut was telling me. Although it’s a very individual thing to have different types of baby gear and you have to make those choices for yourself (no judgement!), I’m happy to be listening to my own intuition with how we want to help shape our baby’s life right from the beginning. In short, we don’t want a lot of stuff; our house is small and while we appreciate gifts and don’t want to lessen anyone’s joy in giving, I’m really excited to embrace what these ladies talk about in the beginning of this episode of the podcast (start 7:30 minutes in to skip adds and pre-interview chatter):
“The more convenient something is for a parent, the less ideal it is for your kid” (or for their development).
Although I know this will mean more work (and therefore more inconvenience!) for us as parents and am not naive about how some days we’re going to want that help, this approach to parenting and helping a child grow resonates with me so strongly that I can’t help but follow this lead and try it! Dr. Mumma also said (via her husband, actually) that babies need a safe place to change their diaper, a safe place to sleep, and a safe place to move around, and those are the main things we want to provide without any extras – like extra stimulation – getting in the way! Please know that this is my opinion, and I really mean no judgement to those who have gear that we might not choose to get – I’m just exploring other options besides what people say are the “must haves” and digging a little deeper.
Here’s a good example of the above statement: The sippy cup. Is there anything wrong with it? Not really, no. And everyone has one! From what I’ve heard, it was made by an engineer to help kids keep from spilling their drinks, but it doesn’t help oral facial function – a developmental milestone that kids need to develop (and do so on their own!) (as I learned from the podcast). She also says that you don’t need physical props for your baby – they can learn at their own rate how to use their body and develop on their own, and I love this idea! We’ve decided to say “no thanks” to strollers and instead practice baby-wearing, at least initially. Instead of a car seat that you also carry around and take outside the car (which is nice for when the kid is sleeping and you don’t want to wake them up and take them into the house or grocery store – aka more convenient for the parents!), I want to wear the baby and walk with them to help take them out of that C-shape position for their spine. Plus, those car seats are HEAVY, and I know I can’t always properly engage my core to practice a true farmer’s carry with that heavy load (although I still practice this in the gym – and you should too!).
(great tutorial of the carry put into practice with a babe via Stacey Schaedler!)
These are my thoughts, and I want others to know I’m not judging anyone’s gear or what they do with their kids; we all had less than ideal aspects of our lives and turned out FINE (aka eating junk food or watching TV etc – and we’re okay!). This is new for us but I am convinced moving in this direction, if not to this extreme, is right for Mikey and I, and we’re exciting to learn with some trial and error and go from there!
Moving on…another favorite is:
Our freshly painted house!
It was a great week hanging out with my dad as he came up to paint our house… Check out the before and after:
We’ve some great rain storms and also some good weather and I’m loving our little home and garden that we inherited (score!).
We finally christened the fireplace too, and enjoyed some BBQ and drinks when the painting job was finally done!
My dad did an incredible job and I can’t believe how much work it was – a tough kind of stucco to paint and we are so, so grateful for his work.
My dad’s visit:
Different from just the house work, it was so great to have my dad here. I can’t believe he stayed for a little over a week, and although it was mainly a trip for him to work, we tried to have some fun along the way too. Some highlights included seeing Wonder Woman in the theatre with reclining seats (you’ve GOT to see this movie, and if you can find some recliners to watch it in, even better!), going to the Bachelor Auction in support of Survive & Thrive (thank you, Amber! We raised over $10,000 all to help put people on trips and goes towards participants this summer and next!), and enjoying some good rainstorms – my dad loves these as California doesn’t have huge storms like this.
(What a great night at the Roosevelt! It was an awesome event and so fun to see my dad looking so handsome and right there in the mix with all the people – aka women bidding on the men for a good cause and fun date! )
We also took Sunday off and enjoyed a really great sermon at First Alliance Church by a guest speaker and I had fun introducing my dad to a lot of people I love there. Then we took some sandwiches to go and hit the road for Banff on a beautiful day. We went up the gondola and enjoyed some coffees on top of Sulpher Mountain and hiked around, enjoyed the interactive display/museum up there and then went out to dinner in downtown Banff on a rooftop patio to celebrate Father’s Day, my birthday, and Mikey being done with all his papers (and almost classes) for the year.
This picture cracks me up!
And there you have it – a list of Friday favorites from sunscreen, tank tops, early parenthood and baby day thoughts, workout programs and my DAD! He’s definitely a favorite. Do you have any favorites to share? Leave a link below, and thanks for reading – I love dialogue and want this to be a supportive, encouraging place to chat and explore ideas. On that note, live well & be well friends!
Bonnie