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Home workout and PE ideas

home PE ideas

Outfit details from left: blue tee / black sweatpants / running shoes / boys green jersey / boys black shorts / red long sleeve tee / black and gold sweatpants / white sneakers /

Can you believe schools have been closed for a month already? Time flies! With three kids at home, I have to get creative in order to ensure they are doing their required P.E. time everyday for school.

My kids are required to combine strength, stretching, and cardio, into a thirty-minute workout, five days per week. They have to keep a log of what they do for exercise, and then turn it in to their P.E. teachers every Friday. If they aren’t logging their exercise daily, they will lose precious points on their grade!

In order to ensure they are keeping their P.E. grades up, and to also stay fit, we have devised a weekly at-home P.E. plan! This has turned into a great workout for myself, and my husband too! After all, we are all sheltering-in-place at home right now, so of course the gyms are closed. This makes working out at home even more important. We have no other place to go!

There are three important concepts my kids are required to incorporate into their daily P.E. routine. They need to incorporate stretching, strength, and cardio. We always start our workouts out with strength, then we incorporate cardio, and finish with stretching.

Here is a sample workout of what we do each day for P.E. This is a great workout for adults too! It has turned into my home workout routine.

This can be done in the backyard, or on the floor inside a home or apartment.

  • 10 jumping jacks
  • Basic stretch routine: stretch legs, back, and arms.
  • 25 squats with feet positioned directly below shoulders, toes pointing straight ahead.
  • 25 squats with feet wide, and toes pointed 45 degrees outward.
  • Walking lunges: you can go around your yard, back and forth inside a room, or save these for an outside walk.
  • 10 push-ups
  • Plank: on elbows or raised on hands for 30 seconds.
  • 10 traditional sit-ups
  • 20 crunches
  • 60 seconds of ab work, your choice.
  • Gently stretch legs, core, and arms.
  • Go out your front door for a thirty minute walk. You can incorporate walking lunges! To mix things up, we run in a circle around any cul-de-sac we see. If you are in an urban setting without cul-de-sacs, try doing a sprint down the block after ten minutes of walking. Then repeat after twenty minutes of walking.
  • You can also substitute jogging, bike riding, riding a scooter, or roller skating for walking. It’s good to alternate your cardio each day.
  • When you return home, do a ten minute stretch routine starting with your legs, followed by arms, and ending with your core.

That’s it! This workout never seems to get boring since we do it as a family, and we mix up the cardio segment of the routine. I’m so thankful we have our fabulous adidas gear for these workouts. They look and feel amazing, so we can continue working out everyday with ease! Love that!

What have you been doing for your home fitness routines during this time? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

*thank you to addias for sponsoring this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own.


Staying cozy at home

cozy bathrobe

pictured: personalized bathrobe c/o SOMA Intimates (avl without embroidery online) / striped PJ’s (similar here) / slippers / holiday nail polish / coffee mug /

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Whichever holiday you are celebrating, I hope you are enjoying a relaxing and special time with your family, friends, or any way you wish to celebrate!

I am home, enjoying this ultra soft bathrobe given to me by SOMA Intimates. I cannot even describe how soft and cozy it is! I wish you could touch it through your screen! If you live near a SOMA Boutique, please check it out, it’s fabulous. If it came in more colors, I would buy them all! Did you notice SOMA Intimates embroidered my Instagram handle on it? I’m in love! You can personalize one too if you would like! It would look so cute with a name, or initials, on the front; or the back too!

This is such a special time of year. My kids are on vacation from school, my husband is on vacation from work, and my cousins are home for Christmas. I love seeing everyone, all at once on Christmas. I hope you are enjoying this time of year too!

Shop my cozy at-home look:

Enjoy the holidays and stay tuned for my winter coverage to start in the coming week!

XOXO

Cathy

soma bathrobe


Homemade chicken soup recipe


Looking for leftover chicken recipe ideas which are family friendly? Then you found one idea! This is a homemade chicken soup recipe I made up myself one day while brainstorming what to make for dinner with leftover chicken.

When I cook, I always have to make sure it is something both my husband, and my kids, will enjoy. My husband likes spicy food; and my kids? Well, not so much. So I designed this soup to have a little bit of kick to it, without turning off my kids. It worked!

The prep time for my homemade chicken soup recipe takes about half an hour. This includes chopping up chicken, and carrots; which is what takes the most time. If you are running short on time, you can always chop the chicken and carrots ahead of time. This way, all you have to do it toss everything in the pot and cook.

Homemade Chicken Soup recipe with macaroni: (Makes about 12 bowls)

  • 1 lb. dry macaroni (my favorite is Barilla Elbows)
  • 12 cups of chicken broth. (if using cans, this is about 6 cans)
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
  • 1 teaspoon paprika (this can get spicy fast-season to taste, you may only need a half teaspoon)
  • 1 garlic glove minced
  • 1/4 cup sliced onions
  • Dollop of olive oil
  • 1 full pre-cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast. Cubed (I always use leftovers)
  • 1/2 package of frozen peas or 1 1/2 cup fresh peas
  • 3 chopped carrots
  • Grated Parmesan cheese

Cook everything together in a large pot except for the Parmesan; which should be placed on the table for everyone to serve themselves. It may take about 20 minutes for the pasta to soften; but start checking at ten minutes. Stove-top heat varies. Once the pasta is soft, the soup is ready to serve since the chicken is pre-cooked.

After putting the soup into bowls and serving your family, top with grated Parmesan cheese. Yummy!!!

I use two teaspoons of Parmesan, my husband uses one, and my daughters use three. My son eats the soup without the cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese to your liking.

There you have it! My homemade chicken soup recipe made with leftover chicken. I hope you enjoy it. The weather is so cold right now, this is a great meal, or starter, for a cold day.

Still  building your kitchen tool collection? Here are a few kitchen essentials you may need for this recipe; and these tools will come in handy multiple times per week while cooking!