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Bonnie and Blithe

Fitness & Nutrition

  • THE Best Fitness Tool for Moms

    THE Best Fitness Tool for Moms

  • 5 Ways to Find Time to Exercise (When You Are NOT a Morning Person)

    5 Ways to Find Time to Exercise (When You Are NOT a Morning Person)

  • Lose Weight While Nursing

    Lose Weight While Nursing

  • Post Partum Shape-Up - Month 7

    Post Partum Shape-Up - Month 7

  • When It's Time to Stop Losing Weight

    When It's Time to Stop Losing Weight

  • Post Partum Shape Up - Month 2

    Post Partum Shape Up - Month 2

  • Moving and Shaking

    Moving and Shaking

  • Post Partum Shape Up: Month 1

    Post Partum Shape Up: Month 1

  • Postpartum Shape Up - Before

    Postpartum Shape Up - Before

  • Healthy Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

    Healthy Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

  • Healthy Kid-Friendly Kitchen Swaps

    Healthy Kid-Friendly Kitchen Swaps

  • 5 Minute Shower Workout

    5 Minute Shower Workout

  • A Child in Pain

    A Child in Pain

  • Week 12...and GIVEAWAY!

    Week 12...and GIVEAWAY!

  • Week 11: Sit Down to Eat

    Week 11: Sit Down to Eat

  • Week 10: Eat Regularly

    Week 10: Eat Regularly

  • Week 9: Cut Out Dairy

    Week 9: Cut Out Dairy

  • Week 8: Do Something Different

    Week 8: Do Something Different

  • Week 7: Eat more Vegetables

    Week 7: Eat more Vegetables

  • Week 6: Exercise Early!

    Week 6: Exercise Early!

  • Week 5: Keep a Food Journal

    Week 5: Keep a Food Journal

  • Week 4: Drink Water

    Week 4: Drink Water

  • Week 3: Sleep 7-8 Hours

    Week 3: Sleep 7-8 Hours

  • Week 2: High Intensity

    Week 2: High Intensity

  • Week 1: Cut out sugar!

    Week 1: Cut out sugar!

  • 12 Week Tone Up: Introduction

    12 Week Tone Up: Introduction

  • Tri, tri again

    Tri, tri again

Welcome to Bonnie and Blithe

A blog to help you find more BEAUTY & JOY in your life as a stay-at-home mom. Click to read more

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I’m no book expert but I do LOVE to read; it’s I’m no book expert but I do LOVE to read; it’s one of the purely selfish things I’ve made a point to do more of as a mom!

I just published a list on my blog of the 12 books I loved the most from last year. There are a couple self-help books, some mystery, romance and lots of hilarity throughout. 
Hopefully it inspires you to plop your cute buns on a comfy couch somewhere and dive into a great story!
How often do you consider yourself a “positive” mom? Do you default to feeling frustrated or content more often? Do you have a pretty good handle on your emotions or do you lose control with your children more often than you’d like?

I just wrote a blog post with 6 tricks for focusing on the positive as a mom! Whether you want to laugh more, ignore the messes, or better appreciate your kids’ quirks, each of these tips will help you stay happier, longer.

See my stories (also saved to my coaching highlight) for more insights on self-improvement without guilt or discouragement!
We’ve been spending oodles of time outside this We’ve been spending oodles of time outside this week, because January in Phoenix is basically heaven! Did you guys see my stories about my kids sleeping outside in their cardboard shanties?? 😂

Amidst all the goal-making, resolution-setting and closet clean-outs of the new year, don’t forget to be gentle with yourself, mamas. Raising little humans is a big job and sometimes it’s all we can do to just keep everyone alive. 
Day to day survival is a perfectly acceptable priority. Go slow, be kind to yourself and remember that the day for accomplishing all the things will come soon enough. ❤️
New Year, new goals/excitement/rejuvenation and fr New Year, new goals/excitement/rejuvenation and fresh start!

I LOVE changes and I love making plans for the future, especially when it comes to self-improvement. It’s easy to get 
overwhelmed and think that a million new goals will solve all our problems, but “by small and simple things, are great things brought to pass!” 

In reality, I’ll be happy to just have a baby this year but I did make a handful of resolutions to keep me motivated in 2021.

I’m planning to share them and the reason why I picked them in a video this week but I’d love to know if you’ve got something you want to work on this year! I love hearing about other people’s goals!
How was everyone’s Christmas? Ours was full of d How was everyone’s Christmas? Ours was full of delighted children {swipe to see the best reaction face!}, too much sugar and lots of fun family time. 

But how about you, mama? Were you delighted this week? Or did you spend half the night wrapping presents and end up with extra work dealing with cranky, sugar-loaded kids? 

Sometimes during the holidays we moms have a hard time taking time for ourselves because we’re “supposed” to be with our families all the time and enjoy all the togetherness. 

A few days before Christmas we took my mom and grandma (she’s 91!) out to tea at @phoenicianscottsdale and it was a wonderful adult-only outing. We sampled every one of their herbal teas, ate every cute little sandwich they offered and generally just enjoyed some time off during a busy season. 

What are you doing for your own sanity this week?
I still remember the first time this concept sunk I still remember the first time this concept sunk into my overwhelmed mom brain. I was simultaneously relieved and terrified at the thought that I couldn’t/shouldn’t try to fix everything for my children.

Their boredom is not my responsibility.
Their sadness is not something I need to sweep away.
Their hurt feelings are not something I need to go to bat for. 

I simply need to BE THERE with unconditional love and the empathy that I know they need.

Admittedly, this has never been easy for me. I’m a fixer. I can’t stand by while people complain or vent or cry without offering a solution. But this year I’ve learned a very important lesson. “Fixing” the struggles that my loved ones are enduring often has more to do with saving ME from my own negative emotions, than from actually solving their problem.  Ouch. 

Sitting with someone in their pain is hard and it sucks. It’s doubly awful when it’s the pain of a little person who you would do almost anything to protect. 

But there’s an upside too. You get to stop worrying about all the things you should be doing to make life more pleasant/fun/happy/enjoyable for your kids. We just get to be there when life knocks them down, ready to offer love, empathy and a big giant hug (and maybe a batch of cookies).
Don’t you just love the lead-up time to Christma Don’t you just love the lead-up time to Christmas? We’ve been spending our days decorating cookies, eating junk, skipping school, watching holiday movies and spending lots of time in our pajamas.

As much as I love being productive and having a home that’s humming in chores and learning time, the lazy days really help me enjoy my kids and go with the ebb and flow of the season. 

On this note, go check out my latest blog post about being at peace with a messy house. ‘Tis the season to let the less important stuff go so I hope it helps you relax even when your living room is strewn with toys and boxes on Friday! 😘
It’s that time again! When it’s finally cold e It’s that time again! When it’s finally cold enough to wear my #nikkodress from a couple years ago (swipe for yet another flashback 🤣). 

I feel lots of guilt anytime I want to complain about being pregnant because so many women have a much harder time than I do getting or staying pregnant. It really is a crazy, stinking miracle, isn’t it?? When this phase is all over, I don’t know that I’ll ever yearn for the days of feeling huge and awkward but I know I’ll miss these little baby kicks and flutters.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it should be to celebrate the highlights of life, even amidst the train wrecks around us 😉
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