Monday Mama Montage // 5 ways to Engage your Toddler Vol. 9

     My 14 month old is very active, as I am sure are most other 14 month olds. As a stay at home mom, I have found it challenging to keep my daughter preoccupied with exciting activities.  Since finding her new found talent of walking, she has been on the go and it has been quite challenging fulfilling her bottomless pit for adventure and stimulation.   I have found her activity level and overall demeanor to be much happier throughout the day with these five things:

1.  Books: "Moo like a cow"

                My daughter loves being read to.  She will go and pick out a book and come sit on my lap, and it is absolutely my favorite :)  I found that after the first few times reading her books she seemed to be completely bored of them and would close the book before we even finished.  I noticed the books with more stimulation, fewer words, and noises where her favorites- So thus was born the "Moo like a cow" philosophy.  I add in all sorts of noises, questions and comments to those books that may not have as much stimulation going on.  I think it is a great way to learn even more and heck-its fun really trying to Moo like a cow-a real cow. I find we can actually get through all of her books now since I add in different noises and comments to those books that may not have any.

                                                    2.  Park Play time (interacting with kids)

                 I am so thankful for parks.  Oh what would I do without you?  Riley loves them-the swings, the wood chips, the kids, the slides, the wood chips, the sidewalk, the wood chips.  Yes parks are the best, we are there a lot + a great way to meet other people. Win win

                                                 3.    Mom play groups (interacting with kids)

                 Meetup.com.  How I found this site I am not even sure, but it was divine indeed.  Riley was about 8 months old when I really started to get serious about finding Mom groups.  Within just a couple of days I found 2 groups in my town and signed up!  The two groups have since merged into one and we are going strong with 6 consistent member and 6 babes! I am so thankful for these ladies :)

                                                4.   Interactive Workout with music
             
             I will say with great honesty that this doesn't happen enough-but when it does I am always amazed at how entertained Riley is.  I have some TRX straps and some workout balls in Riley's play room so I have worked out while she was playing a few times- which turned into her just laughing at me as I jumped around.  This always turns into me running after her, and all sorts of other crazy things which result in an epic sweaty workout!

                         

               
                                                                5.    Sensory Boards
         
            This little gem I found on Pinterest and made my own!  Yay for actually doing something I pinned!  I made this for her first birthday and is has reaped some good wholesome benefits.  Sensory boards are great from 5 months to 4 years of age.  There are so many gadgets and gizmo's you can attach that will keep your child highly entertained for- well I was going to say hours; but lets be real here.  I would say about 20 minutes. :)


What ways do you engage your toddler? What kinds of activities will you do with future children?

Book Review: "Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety"

Hello ya'll, if you are new around here, no I am not from the south, but yes I sometimes say ya'll. 

Thank you for stopping by, my name is Ashley.

 If you have been looking for a great book to sink into that will totally capture your attention and make you a better person after reading it-this is your book.  I came across this gem while reading Jess Connolly's Blog where she greatly recommended this book.  I looked up the author: Elyse Fitzpatrick and immediately fell in love with many of her book titles.  I was just amazed at how real this lady appeared to be with the plethora of books she had written on real topics.  I was definitely drawn to the title of the book I am now reading-"Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety." Titles like this get me all excited because I really respect women or people who have the tenacity to really unpack deep humanity-filled issues.

The first few chapters have already been so meaty, and worthy of writing down somewhere to be reminded of the great truth that has been revealed.  The author begins with talking about a few women and how fear has affected them, and digging deeper into what fear is, and what we can do to gain tools to overcome.

Some quotes:

"...Fear is a felt reaction to a perceived danger."

"The power or ability to stand in the face of trouble and trials is part of God's gracious gift to His children"

"Undisciplined imaginations are the cause of discouragement and anxiety."

"As I grow in my comprehension of God's love, wisdom , and sovereign power, my trust in Him and ability to refute vain imaginations grow as well."

"Perhaps we think that God really isn't in charge or that He is too far away or too busy to get involved in our day to day lives."

The author goes in to a lot of detail regarding the need to be in control and how that affects our relationships with others as well as God.  She goes on to say that needing to be in control deep down is really a trust issue with God. She traces it back to the garden and the first fear experienced by Eve being that God was withholding something from her.  The fear that she was missing out on something and that her creator isn't giving her His best.

I'm telling you-deep stuff and super informative and encouraging.  I love being able to connect certain behaviors and thoughts to the deep dark stuff!  Woah-calm down Ash!  Ha!  Seriously though this book is incredible so far and I cannot wait to sink in a little deeper.

I am always up for hearing and learning of other books.  My next book interest was recommended by my dear cousin-currently reading "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ-Martin Lloyd-Jones.

What book/s have impacted you?  Do you have a book that dug deep?

I would love to know!

Zany Zoo // Toddler Toy

My daughter will be 14 months in two days and it has been a challenge keeping her occupied, entertained, and playing with a toy for longer than a few minutes.  I realize this is normal for her age and for many of the days, we are at the park.  That is her favorite place to be by far. 

I did find a toy though that really really worked for her, kept her attention, and allowed her to discover.  She continues to play with this toy, even after receiving it 2 months ago.  This brand B. You is amazing and I am so glad we found this toy-thanks to a friend.  My Mom bought this toy for Riley for her birthday and she has loved playing with it.  

As you can see the edges and corners are shaved down so there are no harsh corners, it is very sturdy for those new walkers or those who are pulling themselves up to stand, and it is high entertainment

and learning!

This toy features so many things for your little ones to do:

• Friends to find
• illustrated A-Z animals
• Zigzag race paths
• Spinny Spinners

This toy won the Creative Child 2010 Toy of the Year

My 10K Training Schedule- 12 Weeks

It is happening.  January 25th I will be doing a 10K Run and am so excited about it!   I am getting back in to running after completing my first half marathon in April with my brother in law.  It was so much fun and a great feeling of accomplishment.  I had always had "Complete a 1/2 marathon on my to-do list and I checked it off!  Well unfortunately I injured myself during the last 4 miles of the run and did some damage to my knee.

All is not lost though. I took some time off, allowed my knee to heal and now I am feeling good!

 I ran 2 miles last week and felt great-no pain at all!  I am eager to share my training schedule with you all and challenge you to find that fitness challenge for yourself.  If you are a runner I encourage you all to look into THIS website for some great tips.

I am choosing to do a 10K because it is 6.1 miles and that just sounds about right.  I just want to take it easy, and really focus on my new and improved way on running.  Yes I said my new way of running.  Apparently there is a certain way to run.  When I trained for the 1/2 I kind of just went out on runs every now and then, had some decent shoes and then ran a half marathon.  I didn't realize that I was the cause of my own injury.  The cause being ignorance.  I had NO idea that I was running incorrectly.  I kind of just thought, 'hey, I am human, I can run!" I didn't realize that we can get into incorrect forms because of shoes, posture, or all around weakness in our own bodies.

SO.....

This time around I am actually running smarter not harder, and hopefully I will avoid injury. I put together my training schedule, improper/proper running techniques, and beneficial shoes.

Improper Running Techniques:

1. Heel Striking:
2. Over striding
3. Posture

Watch HERE to see the differences in Heel Striking, forefoot and mid foot
 and here for proper posture.

Proper Running Techniques:

1. Neutral Foot
2. Slight forward lean from ankles
3. Active push off

This video shows great posture and tips for proper form in running.  Another thing I did was to record myself running and play it in slow motion to analyze what I was doing wrong.  Being able to see what I was really doing was so helpful.  I also did this when picking out new running shoes.  There are so many stores all over that do this for their customers.  You actually run in the store and they record you, play it in slow motion and then pick a shoe that best fits your running form.

I went to A Snail's Pace and got great service and awesome choices of shoes that best fit my pronating foot.

Shoes are essential when training of any kind.  I do not recommend buying the on sale shoes from payless when it comes to the shoes that will be helping absorb so much impact on your body.  Your shoes should be working for you.

I personally love Asics GT-2000 because of their neutral form and the way they absorb the shock. They are amazing shoes and once you find something that works for you, its best to stick with them.

I hope that in whatever fitness venture you find yourself in, these tips will benefit you in some way.

Goals: *November* {New Series}

November Goals-Happy First of the Month!

I think it is super awesome to post goals online because I feel much more inclined to stick to them!  Knowing people have seen them and could potentially ask me if I completed them adds some pretty nice pressure.  I have been goal setting a lot more recently and really like it.  I recently did a post HERE that described how I was doing that.  I have been pretty good about my October goals, but I definitely want to share my November and really stick to them!  Here they are:

1. Do a giveaway on my blog
2. Purchase a yoga pass
3. Girls Night with my Mom Group
4. Be diligent pray and research adoption
5. Majority of Christmas presents purchased
6. Blog 2x/week--build up repertoire
7. Substitute teach twice
8. Get January and February goals made
9. Plan road trip to cousins
10. Increase ebay store sales
11. Complete 2 books (this one and and this one )
12. Sign up and start training for 10K
13. Serve at my church in some capacity
14. Button Swap/purchase ad space on favorite blogs
15. Start saving for Influence Conference
16. Be consistent with my women's bible study

How do you set goals?  What are some of your November goals? How do you stay motivated?