Morning
I had an early morning wake-up buddy yesterday. Oh hiii, Ryder!
I can usually count on Ryder to sleep in until 6:30 a.m. or so but that wasn’t the case yesterday so he joined me for muffins, coffee and my morning devotional. I made another batch of the zucchini muffins I mentioned in Friday’s post over the weekend and we both ate one for round one of our breakfast. Round two occurred once Chase was up for the day! I got everyone dressed, fed the boys some yogurt, bananas and berries and then we all headed off to the gym.
The workout of the day at Burn Boot Camp was a cardio stack workout which, if I’m being honest, is usually my least favorite day at BBC. I hate stack workouts since they can be redundant and always prefer strength to cardio but thankfully this one wasn’t too bad! We went through five stations of the following exercises and completed two rounds of everything with a timer set for 75 seconds for the first round and 90 seconds for the second round:
- Sprint forward 5 seconds, jog backwards to start
- Bear crawls
- Jump rope
- Cross body punches on punching bag
- 4 mountain climbers + 4 medicine ball slams
In between each station, we completed 45 seconds of half-burpees (no pushup) and the whole workout was a sweat fest!
ISR
Once I was done with my workout, I picked the boys up from childcare and we headed home. I made myself a quick smoothie and then got everyone ready for day two of Infant Swimming Resource’s Self-Rescue Program.
I’ve been dying to get the boys in ISR lessons for a long time but they’re not all that popular in our area. They’re ALL over the place in Florida and I actually did ISR as a baby! I have a wonderful relationship with the water (I was a lifeguard and also a diver and water polo player in high school) and I firmly believe in ISR and the important skills it teaches babies and children.
ISR is different than traditional swim lessons in that the emphasis is on survival skills. The program aims to equip children ages 6 months to 6 years old with the skills they need to float on their backs until help arrives (for the children under one) or teaches them a sequence of swimming until they need air, rotating onto their back to float and then rolling back over to continue swimming for children over the age of one. Older children are taught to repeat this swim-float-swim sequence until they reach the safety of the steps, side of the pool or shoreline.
I wasn’t sure how the lessons would go but I could not have been more impressed with our instructor, Faith, and the way her calm personality meshed with both Chase and Ryder. The first two days of lessons seemed to focus more on water acclimation, building trust with Faith and building confidence and comfort in the water. Ryder is our little fish and was absolutely loving life!
We wanted the boys in ISR lessons for two different reasons: Ryder is a little fish and does not know fear around the water. He lunges for it, cries if he hears the bath running and he’s not in it and wants nothing more than to be in the pool or lake when we’re on the boat. Chase, on the other hand, is much more timid around the water. (We’ve had Chase in traditional swim lessons off and on for a while and they seem to emphasis comfort in the water versus tangible skills and survival.) He loves swimming but is very dependent on his puddle jumper. I shudder to think about what would happen if somehow he fell into the pool without a puddle jumper on and want him to have skills he needs to get to the side of the pool or float. I’ll absolutely report back as lessons progress and let you guys know how they’re going since I’ve already received a bunch of DMs via Instagram when I shared a picture of Ryder in his ISR lesson yesterday.
Since I wasn’t sure how intense ISR lessons would be, Chase and I spent some time making a special chart for him on Monday before the lessons began so he gets a sticker after every ISR lesson. Then, at the end of every week, he gets to pick out a small prize. This week he said he wants a candy cane so if you guys know where on earth I can find candy canes in August, please let me know. Ha!
Afternoon + Evening
ISR lessons are a commitment — we go every weekday for 4-6 weeks — and since our ISR time slot is 10:30 a.m., by the time we’re done, our morning is basically shot. We had just enough time to quickly pop into the grocery store to grab food for dinner before heading home for lunch and nap time for the boys.
The boys played for a bit while I assembled their lunches and marinated salmon for dinner.
I loosely followed this recipe from Skinnytaste for the marinade and it’s a go-to salmon recipe in our house lately.
While the boys took their naps (Ryder slept, Chase had “quiet time” with books and toys), I took a shower and did a quick load of laundry because of course Ryder pooped in his reusable swim diaper. I also managed to get some work done on the computer which felt great since I missed my morning work time thanks to an early-to-rise baby! I reheated some of the vegetarian chickpea curry I made for dinner for our family on Monday night, topped it with fresh cilantro and dug in as I worked away.
Once the boys were awake, we played at home for a bit before I remembered we had some library books that were due! We piled into my car and spent some time returning our books and selecting some new ones to bring home.
I swear the book return never gets old for these two!
Ryan arrived home just minutes before we pulled into the garage and then I threw dinner together while everyone played.
Dinner came together quickly thanks to the marinade I prepped earlier in the day and the sweet potatoes I roasted on Sunday. I just had to whip up a batch of my favorite sesame ginger broccolini to round out the meal and then we dug in.
The rest of the night was filled with the usual bedtime, bathtime and story time shenanigans before we called it a night.
As for the day ahead, we have ISR again this morning and then a friend coming over for a play date later today. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
Aww the book return is so cute! Our library is automated now so you just place the book on the belt and it auto scans… not as exciting and listening for it to drop from the drop box!
I love the idea of ISR… I don’t think we have it where I live. My daughter has been in regular swim classes. I do envy that you have time during the day to do these activities. I was looking up fall recreational classes for my daughter and everything that sounds interesting is during the day! Not a great fit when both of us work full time.
Also, your past few posts have made me want to visit North Carolina! We’re all about kid friendly activities and great eats and you guys seem to have it all 🙂
Come visit!!! We love it here and it’s a great place for kids for sure! <3 Where do you live? We're also always on the lookout for kid-friendly vacation spots!
Super smart to do ISR for the boys! As far as Candy Canes go – i would try Cracker Barrel or a Mast General Type store. They usually have all type of fun “Candy Cane” type candy sticks. Might not be a traditional Christmas one but Chase might enjoy the different flavors. Good Luck!!
Ohhh!! I didn’t even think of Cracker Barrel! Thanks for the idea!
Would Chase go for soft peppermints?
Cracker Barrel sells soft peppermint sticks.
My seven month old started ISR on Monday too! We live in Florida and are around the water a lot and I was so excited for her to get started. Great program!
I wish we had isr where I live!! I’ve seen videos and it’s so awesome! I haven’t checked but I’m willing to bet that amazon has candy canes lol
Amazon has everythingggg! I checked and they do have them but only very larrrrge quantities. That may be the route I end up going though since I don’t think those things ever go bad… Ha!
That is great that your kids are doing ISR. We did it last year when my son was 18 months with my nephew who is the same age and are actually in the middle of a 2 week refresher at the moment. It was one of the best decisions I made as a mom and I wish everyone had the ability to do them. The lessons (especially the first few weeks) are intense. The first day of our lessons the neighbor called the police since he thought children were being tortured with all of the continuous crying. My son used to get anxious when I would bring out his swim diaper. I hope when you give the recaps you give an honest experience so others do not go in thinking its all roses and sunshine. You have such a public profile bringing awareness to this is great for people who are on the fence or have never heard of it.
Absolutely! So far our boys haven’t cried at all but I’m sure that’s coming. Right now Ryder is just pumped to get in the pool and she’s still building trust with Chase but they haven’t progressed too much yet to the more difficult/independent skills.
Not sure if you’ve mentioned it on the blog before and I didn’t see, but how do you like the Thrive plant based protein? I feel like I have tried so many, and there’s always some component that makes me not want to repeat a purchase! I was also debating their grass fed collagen since the price per serving is great!
I like it!! I actually got a single packet free sample in a prior delivery and liked it enough to order the whole bag! I still almost always prefer whey protein for the taste but it’s a good plant-based option.
How do you like the Thrive market plant protein? I’ve tried so many and haven’t found one I love yet.
Hi Elise! I just replied to Raimie’s question above about the protein as well and didn’t want you to miss it!
Hobby Lobby might have candy canes…I’ve heard Christmas stuff is already out ?
You should be able to find candy canes on Amazon! I’ve had to purchase off-season and I was able to get them there!
Julie, I have a whole stash of candy canes in my pantry (a go to treat year round for me!). Would happily drop a few in the mail!
Also, our cardio stack this week was completely different from yours. I am new to BBC, and find it fascinating how we do such different things across sites. Still, cardio stack is the worst!
you’re so sweet to offer this! thank you! planning to check cracker barrel & hobby lobby and my hopes are high!
and yes, isn’t it crazy how different they can be? our workouts are even different depending on the trainer/time of day as well!
We did ISR with our 2 boys as soon as we built our pool. I loved it! My boys are great swimmers now (ages 12 and 9) and I credit ISR with teaching them that safety is first and giving them confidence. Have fun!
your dinners look so delicious and so adult. LOL, our kiddos (chase) and my daughter are just weeks apart, and im always curious if you feed them the dinners you make on the blog or something more kid friendly?
Ryder usually eats some form of our dinner but feeding Chase has always been a lot more challenging. I try to give him deconstructed versions of our meals but will also often make him his own little plate with food I know he likes and will eat. He’s always been small so skipping meals/giving “tough love” regarding food just isn’t an option over here and I LOVE this post from Lindsey (she’s an RD) about feeding kids different things from what we eat: https://www.theleangreenbean.com/tips-for-feeding-toddlers/
This 100%!!! Mom to a toddler hovering in the 2nd percentile for weight, and as much as I would love to be able to send him to bed hungry when he refuses what I cook he needs all the calories we can get into him, so we just continue to offer and offer until he eats something.
Cracker Barrel has the stick candies like candy canes in their store!
thank you!!
I love your blog … BUT
The cilantro has got to go! YUCK. I don’t even know how you eat that much! I will literally pick out diced cilantro from any dish! I think you either love it or you hate it. No in between!
Haha! It’s definitely polarizing! I looove it!
I’m so interested in ISR. Is yours only 10 mins a day for the 4-6 weeks? Being a working mom, I just don’t know how I can commit to completing it. No one has classes after working hours.
It is! I am not sure where you live or how prevalent ISR is in your area but my mom worked full time when I was little & found ISR classes in the early evening… but that was also in Florida where they are a lot more prevalent. One of my best friends also has her 10 month old in them in FL right now in the evening and she works full time. Also, I am not sure what your childcare situation looks like but there are a number of nannies bringing kids to the daytime classes our boys are taking at the moment. I know it’s so so complicated to figure out scheduling with work and little ones and the big time commitment required for ISR. I hope something will work for you!
I looked into ISR for my kids, but for 5 weeks for 3 kids it would cost us $3,000! Holy moly.
Wow! That’s really expensive. Ours is not cheap by any means but it’s $400 for each kid for 4 weeks plus a $100 registration. I didn’t know the price could vary that much and don’t know how they handle pricing but that does seem very high to me.
Oh right, I forgot the $105 ISR registration per child. So now we are up to $3,315 for 5 weeks LOL. It’s $200/week/child for the only ISR instructor near us ??