(Leggings, shoes, long-sleeve, headband)

Day five of Skye’s RSV was a bit better (she ate some food wahooo) than the first four days.   Thank you for the comments yesterday, I read them to her!

At about 9 a.m. when she was taking a nap, I headed out for a much-needed run after not leaving the house for a few days in a row.

Stress lowered √

Adventuring needs met √

Fresh air requirements √

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Let’s talk about some highlights since we last caught up….

*Welcome to our Peloton’s new home… Our garage got too cold to keep it in there, so it will be in our laundry room now until March.  Although I love that I can Peloton while watching the kids play in front of me, this may be a permanent move.

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(Tank, shorts, bra)

Oh, and before you think my laundry room normally looks clean, the above picture was taken minutes after we finally put away six loads of laundry.  But maybe riding the Peloton in the laundry room will inspire us to put away laundry more often.

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*The big kids were in heaven Christmas morning.

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*All Beck needed for Christmas were the boxes and one of these pop-it toys.  He found great entertainment in this little thing.

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*Oh, and he was pretty excited about some new cars.

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*Andrew was thrilled to receive this combo of his idea of heaven from the kids.

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*My brother was very excited about his Christmas present this year.

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*Our traditional cinnamon rolls happened…

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I’ll use this recipe forever.

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*I think this might be a new tradition for us on Christmas.  Thai food at home!

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*Brooke got a sewing machine for Christmas and made a pillow within 30 minutes of opening the box.  She has wanted a sewing machine for so long, and it is so fun to see her enjoying it.

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*Skye has been a champ getting through this, and things like this make me so incredibly grateful for the healthy days.

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Put holiday decorations away fast or wait a bit of time?

-Right away for us… and then our house always feels so empty afterward.

Do you sew?

-I can do basic things with the sewing machine, so in a few months, I’m guessing I will need to get Brooke into sewing lessons with a teacher that knows a lot more than I do!

What recipe have you used more than any other recipe in your life?

If you have workout equipment at home, where do you keep it?

-Most of the time in our garage, but for a few months, it’s just too chilly in there.

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29 comments

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I hope Skye continues to feel better! I also have not left the house for a few days as my partner has Covid so we have just been isolating! (I am negative but I am being cautious and staying away from others) Today is the day I can finally get out for a run though! (I’m still not feeling it 100% but your post has helped to motivate me!) Christmas decorations usually come down on New Years Day, however as we have not celebrated Christmas yet, they may come down a bit later. Hoping we can do our own little Christmas day this weekend if he is feeling better.

https://therecipecritic.com/slow-cooker-honey-teriyaki-chicken/ – this recipe is the most made recipe if this house, so easy and so tasty
Also the hummingbird bakery brownie recipe is my go to for easy treats but I may have to give that cinnamon roll recipe a go, that looks so good!

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I will now be making that recipe in our home, easy and delicious is just what we need! I’m so so sorry your partner has covid… that is so so hard. I hope your run was amazing and felt so freeing after being inside for so long. I hope your Christmas together is perfect. Thanks Sarah!

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1. We wait awhile. Usually after the 1st of the year.
2. I can sew but my sewing machine is very hard to thread correctly so it frustrates me before I even start. Maybe that should be my January goal – getting it out and figuring out what the problem is. My mom quilts and she has taught my girls to sew on her machine and they are pretty good.
3. We are strange and cook different things all of the time but one of our go-to recipes is Pinch of Yum’s 5-ingredient curry.
4. We love cars. So our garage is full of cars. We have a bonus room above our garage with our treadmill, exercise bike, and TV. And I will be very glad I have a treadmill today because the wind is blowing at about 25 mph and it is sleeting. Go Iowa.

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Jackie! So Brooke’s new machine basically threads itself ha… I keep telling her she is so lucky compared to what I always used. That is so awesome about your girls learning from your mom. I think that is awesome you guys cook so many different things and I need that curry in my life. I want to come see your garage, I love cars too! I hope your treadmill run this morning was a great one. That weather sounds miserable!!!

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I’m glad day 5 was better for Skye. Hopefully today will be even better.
We don’t own a ton of exercise equipment, but my husband has a bike trainer that he puts his bike on in the garage. We also have a weight bench and weights in the garage too, but I keep a set of weights in our family room that I use several times a week. If we owned a treadmill, it most likely would be in the garage. But we don’t have to worry about freezing temps here… Ha
Looks like you had a good Christmas, despite Skye not being well.
I’m taking down our Christmas stuff today. I always love to have the house clean and fresh before New Years. It helps me feel like a fresh start, uncluttered.
So glad you were able to get out for a run! Have a good day Janae ?

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Thank you Wendy! Hoping we are on the upswing. You have always inspired me with getting in strength and pilates and I love following in your footsteps now:). Enjoy the fresh and clean house today (after all of the work)! Thanks Wendy, you too!

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I am glad that Skye is continuing to be on the mend.

Up until last year I always would make sure everything was away by NYE so I could wake up to a fresh start on Jan 1. When the kids were young enough to be in daycare I’d take December 30th off and put everything away and change out all their toys to make room for new. Last year I wanted the lights up on NYE so this year I decided to keep up our 4 trees (2 fake, 2 real) and our Christmas Village until 1/1, but everything else came down yesterday.

I wish I could sew better. I think my undiagnosed ADHD (ie I don’t have the patience!) has prevented me from sewing better/more. I took a quilting class back in my 20s so I have a few small projects I completed, including what is currently our tree skirt. Right now I have 1 machines, including my mom’s from when she downsized. I used that one to make some masks. but it’s definitely on my to-do list. When my daughter was little I bought all these patterns for cute dresses, but they ended up being way above my ability level. So long story short, it’s on my perpetual To Do list to do more sewing.

Tollhouse cookies I can make in my sleep. My mom grew up always sifting the flour in all recipes, which results in a thinner, crispier cookie. I brought a bunch when (tried to) climb Mt Rainier. It was wonderful to eat them over 13,000′ even though I didn’t make it all the way to the top.

We finished our basement a few years ago so we do have a dedicated workout space which is wonderful. And just earlier this year we extended the rubber tiles into the TV area as our equipment area doesn’t have extra room but with the 180 degree screen on the Peloton it is perfect (also in the TV area in addition to the TV (which isn’t a SmartTV), we have a TV sized screen on our computer so I can play workout videos on that as well.

Before the basement was finished we just had the treadmill and some weights in the unfinished basement – so cold and depressing, but I would hang up motivational posters as something to look at.

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Hey Jesseybell! Four trees… how fun! I bet your house has been stunning with the trees and village! That is so awesome that you sewed masks! Let’s put sewing on our 2022 goals list! I think that is me and Andrew’s plan eventually… refinish our basement and have an awesome workout room. You are inspiring me! Sounds like a great space. Hope your day is a beautiful one and now you are making me want some Tollhouse cookies!

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I hate it when Christmas is over, so I definitely wait a bit to take it all down- definitely till after New Year’s. I have a friend who leaves her tree up almost until the end of January- she says it’s such a big job to put it up that she wants to enjoy it as long as possible. Even for me, that’s too long!

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That is a long time to have a tree up but good for her to soak in all of the enjoyment of it! It is such a weird time of year right after Christmas! I hope your day is a great one though. Thanks Jenny!

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So happy that Skye is feeling a bit better.

My treadmill is in the laundry room. My Echelon bike is in the back part of our living room. We also have a power cage and dumbbell rack in our basement. My mom HATES it. Every time she comes to visit and she tells us “your house looks like a gym.”

My mom (or I) used to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies every week when I was growing up and always used the same recipe. To this day, I can not eat/make those cookies, haha.

We still have our tree up, but everything else is down.

Enjoy your Tuesday, Janae!

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Laundry room workout buddies unite! Oh this makes me happy and I love the setup in your home! Hahaha I will not post any pictures of chocolate chip cookies bc it sounds like you may have overdone them growing up! Have the best day, Becky!

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Hi Janae! I’m so glad Skye is feeling better! Sounds like she’s got lots of love which definitely helps!
We have our exercise stuff in the garage. Though there have definitely been times we brought a space heater into the garage to workout haha.
I’m super impressed you ran yesterday it was so windy and cold!
Have a great day!

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I just love that you are here! If my kids weren’t so sick I would make you tell me where you are staying so I could join you for a run! Good call on the space heater! Hope you are having a beautiful day!

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I’m so happy that Skye is feeling better! Holiday cuddles definitely a bonus medicine! We don’t take Christmas decorations down until the Epiphany – January 6th. I always love the light in the winter darkness, so it feels a little empty when all the lights go out.

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I think next year we are going to try that…. our house feels so empty now! Enjoy the lights for another weekish! Have a happy Tuesday, Amy!

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Apologies if I double-post, my ipad freaked out when I was trying to submit my original comment. I’m so glad Skye is feeling better, hopefully she continues to get well! We always leave our Christmas stuff out until Jan. 6, since that’s Epiphany. I love having the lights on since it gets dark so early this time of year. My most used “recipe’ (really just a list of ingredients that you eyeball and tweak until it’s just right) is my mom’s chicken and sausage gumbo; it’s the ultimate comfort food! Do you have any running/fitness goals for the new year? I don’t make new year’s resolutions, but I like to have a few goals in mind to keep me motivated. I think my 2022 running goal will be to complete a half marathon through Vacation Races. Their Grand Tetons half marathon looks beautiful! Anyway, glad y’all had a Merry Christmas and wishing you a happy new year!

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Emily! I just see one post wahoo! Keep enjoying your tree and lights, I am going to copy you next year with that. Our house feels so empty right now. That gumbo sounds perfect… I was actually thinking about writing about that in my post tomorrow! Ummmm can I come meet you for the Grand Tetons half, that sounds incredible. Thanks Emily, happy new year to you!

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I don’t decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving so I leave everything up until New Years.

I’m like you, I can sew the basic stuff. My mom was an excellent seamstress, she could create anything from clothes to stuffed animals. I have her machine now, but it sits neglected in a closet most of the time.

I’m guessing I’ve made spaghetti sauce more than anything else. Although I don’t really use a recipe.

My yoga mat and resistance bands are in the house, but our bikes and trainers are in the garage.

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Hi Janae! So sorry to see Skye’s been sick – RSV sounds awful, so hope she’s back to her usual self soon.

* We celebrate all the way through 1/6 (12 days of Xmas) and then it takes me at least a week or so to pack everything away. One year I left it until almost Valentine’s day & that was waaay too long (had a newborn tho, so..)! Outside lights stay up until spring because we live in Minnesota.
* My mom is a pro at sewing; I can hand-sew buttons and that’s about it. I am impressed Brooke already made a pillow!
* A few of my go-to recipes: baked oatmeal, the popular cabbage-ramen salad, Betty Crocker applecrisp for when my apples get soft. This is my newer fave soup (I switch-up the types of beans) https://www.bluezones.com/recipe/sardinia-minestrone/
* We have an extra bedroom that will forever be the “workout room” unless I can convince my husband that 1/2 of our basement should be the workout room. Or maybe if we do a heated garage..?

I might have to snag your cinnamon rolls recipe as a New Year’s Eve/Day treat!

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Oh I have to keep decorations up for a bit. Fortunately some of the decorations are good for all winter so my house isn’t completely empty after Christmas. This year I’m leaving up one of my smaller Christmas trees all year and making it a holiday tree :)

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yeah, the only exercise equipment I have at home is my bike trainer….so it’s either Zwift, or watching youtube and trying to annoy the family while doing so…..I have tried doing weights or yoga at home, but well, it’s like foam rolling while my wife is trying to watch TV, never works out well….I’ve a significant other that thinks what we do is nuts…….anyway, it’s -400F here today, so spinning may be all I have, and may actually spend time working on my blog…I’m still taking baby steps. for some reason ads have started showing up on the site, not sure how or why….Hoka and Saucony ads are okay, not happy to see WalMart will have to spend the day figuring that part out

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I’m happy to read Skye is feeling better today. The christmas decorations will stay up at least untill the new year, maybe a bit longer. I think brownies are my most made recipe. I love to sew, and I love that Brooke got a sewing machine for christmas. Her pillow looks really nice! There must be books that teach children how to sew, and Youtube is full of sewing tutorials as well. I don’t know of anything specifically aimed for children. My mom tought me to sew, but I used her sewing books as well. (I like written instructions much better than video’s, but that might be a geneneration thing). I was about 14 when I was allowed to sew on the machine. I was knitting and hand sewing for my Barbie dolls long before that. I only have a foam roller and a yoga mat, and they are stored in a closet.
Have a good day!

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I hope Skye has turned a corner and just feels a bit better every day!! My little guy (5 months old) has RSV too right now and it’s been brutal. We’re on day 4 and the doctor said days 3-5 are the worst so I’m hoping after a few more hard days things get better! Thanks for posting about it and helping me feel like I’m not the only one with sick kids over Christmas. Also glad you got out for some fresh air and a run. Definitely need that to happen soon for me too!

I love getting Christmas put away quickly! But I also love leaving the lights up outside for a while when the days are still so dark :)

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Oh Kelsie! I hope your little boy is feeling better ASAP! My doctor said RSV here is worse than it has ever been (and affecting way more ages than normally)! Keep me updated and enjoy those lights!

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I hope Skye continues to feel better!

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Merry Christmas and happy new year! My daughter would love that sewing machine too. Do you think it is simple enough that even a non sewing mom like me could help her with it?

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I really hope Skye has turned a new leaf and is starting to feel better with each passing day!!

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