I’m going to be honest, I love candy especially chocolate, it’s just so delicious! Unfortunately it does me no good other than brings me pure joy, but who needs that when you are trying to stay fit?   I particularly like the snack sized candy because in my mind I feel better only eating a small piece of candy rather than a regular sized candy bar but when you are eating 10 snack sized candy bars at a time, that mentality is just plain ridiculous.

Am I the only one that thinks this way?

Halloween in my house is a pretty big deal with 5 little ones.  We love dressing up, carving and painting pumpkins, and the best part, trick-or-treating.  So as expected we make out like bandits with the goodies having 5 kids hitting up the neighbors for treats, all sounds good right?  NO, because then mommy is left with 5 buckets of candy all day while the kids are at school and I’m supposed to ignore it… it just doesn’t happen!  Ugh, where is my self-control?   Not only am I indulging in copious amounts of sugar (yes I’m that mommy that steals their kids Halloween candy, sue me) but my kids want their hard-earned candy and ask for it multiple times a day.  My kids are a handful on a good day, give them candy and it’s like adding fuel to the fire. Quickly I become the “meanest mom in the world” for not giving them their own candy but for eating it myself…WOW mom of the year right here!

So I decided to fix the problem and get rid of the culprit that ruins my good mommy status and my waistline. Even this mean mom thinks its pretty extreme to just throw all the candy away (which I would love to do).  I guess the kids did walk through several neighborhoods to collect the candy and it would be such a waste to throw it away.   I found another solution…the Switch Witch!!

Have you heard of her?

Last year was our first year she visited and it was such a hit with the kids; they are excited to have her come again.  The night of Halloween, when the kids have come down from their sugar high and are finally asleep you take their candy (maybe leaving 4 or 5 of their favorite pieces for an occasional special treat ) or if you are brave enough and you think your kids are willing, you can to talk them into leaving their candy on the doorstep for the Switch Witch to come and take.  Leave the Switch Witch letter and a small little toy, book, or puzzle, it doesn’t need to be an expensive toy…lets be honest, it’s cheaper than the dreaded dental bill.   When the kids wake up in the morning they find their new toy and the candy is gone.

You would think taking the candy away would cause some devastation but they really are happy to see a new toy and quickly forger about the loss of their candy.

You can find Halloween candy buy back or exchange programs where you can send the candy to troops, such as Operation Gratitude at operationgratitude.com or you can find local dentists who will buy the candy by the pound.

I have made a printout of the Switch Witch poem by clicking on the Switch Witch link        –> switch witch  You can also search for the Switch Witch online, there are many sites to get the poem and even a book and a doll (reminds me of the elf on the shelf) if you want to get super fancy with it.

Happy Halloween and I hope your children enjoy having the Switch Witch visit as much as we do!!

Happy Monday!!  I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter!  My family had a great weekend full of egg hunts, Church, outdoor activities and lots and lots of candy!  I know that I definitely over indulged in all the sweets but sometimes you need those kinds of days (or weekends) to keep you grounded and give you some balance instead of completely depriving yourself and then completely falling off the wagon. With that said, now that the holiday weekend is over I’m ready to get back to eating clean and training hard!

The workout for today is one that I used to do but I haven’t done it for probably 3 years, I actually forgot about it, how dumb because it’s really fun.  You need a standard deck of cards and a pair of dumbbells.  Flip a card, each suit represents a different exercise (see below) and the card value equals the amount of reps.  Easy as that, shuffle the deck and get going!

I have to be honest, I have not done this workout yet but when I was writing this workout down it sounded like a great idea…ha!  Now that I’m looking at it again, it might have not been the best idea I’ve ever had!  I have no idea how long it’s going to take but I do know I will be tired and sweaty when I’m done and that’s all that counts, right?  For this 1000 rep workout you will need dumbbells, a kettle bell, and a step or box for box jumps.  Don’t forget to warm-up for 5-10 minutes, now get to it!

1000 Rep Workout

10 rounds
10 Burpees
10 Squat jumps
10 Hammer curls
10 Sit-ups
10 Push-ups
10 Box Jumps
10 Dumbbell Press
10 Switch jump lunges
10 Kettlebell swings
10 Sumo Squat

Love these circuit workouts; they are fast paced and get the job done in 20 minutes.

Workout
1 minute per movement

3 Rounds
Box Jumps
Hand release Push-ups
Jump lunges
Burpees
Air Squats
Plank Hold
1 minute rest

I’m in the process of writing about my Spartan experience in Temecula, CA this past weekend…so stay tuned 🙂