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toddler hiking in the woods
April 3, 2020 (Updated May 16, 2023)

Up and Down Week

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

23 comments
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Hi guys – how is everyone holding up? I hope my at home activities for toddlers post was helpful for those of you also currently entertaining little ones at home all day long… 🙂 

My week has been pretty up and down. A few days I felt positive and upbeat about our new reality – so much extra time with Riese! this great weather! more sleep since I’m not doing 6 a.m. workout classes in person! nowhere to rush off to! – and then other days I felt pretty down in the dumps, really grieving our normal social lives/routines and feeling so much empathy and sadness for everyone that is struggling right now, be it physically, financially, or mentally.

It sounds like this up and down emotion is pretty universal right now… I’m doing my best to focus on the positives when possible and to cultivate gratitude for how fortunate our situation is in the grand scheme of things. One of those super grateful moments? Yesterday, which is normally one of my two workdays when we’d have a sitter come, it was gorgeous outside and Riese and I discovered a cool new trail that’s walking distance from our house. It was the best morning, and I was so glad to be out there with her. 

toddler hiking in the woods

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Something else that really helped my morale this week was to have a couple fun fitness dates with Matt! Matt’s younger brother Drew and his wife Morgana work in the fitness industry in NYC and have worked hard to quickly pivot and launch live virtual fitness classes as a way to still make money while the gyms where they normally teach are closed.

Matt and I took two of Drew’s morning classes this week and it was so much fun to actually work out together because normally Matt and I don’t do that these days, and the endorphins helped me big time for the rest of the day, too.

toddler exercising with dad

Riese actually joined us for about the first 10 minutes and was so cute following everything Drew was doing on the screen! 

toddler exercising with dad

This is my new favorite photo (my sister-in-law grabbed it when she saw Riese was in on the action). 

toddler exercising with parents

After about 10 minutes Riese was over it and we set her up in front of Daniel Tiger and everyone was happy. 🙂

If you want to join for one of Drew or Morgana’s future virtual classes, just let me know – all are welcome! The classes are 45 minutes long, led via Zoom, and $10 per person.

I also did another virtual run date this week – this morning my friend Kathleen and I talked on the phone while we both ran. It was super nice to have “company”… not only because it made the run feel much more fun and easy, but also because it made me actually get out there/make it happen. Accountability!

virtual running date

running watch picture 4 miles

It has felt good to follow more of a consistent morning workout routine again this week – definitely planning to do so moving forward as well since I’ve noticed it makes a big difference in my mood! 

And now, let’s talk food from the week! 

First up: taco night! Matt and I have decided we need to do taco night every week because it’s so awesome. Also: this fork idea to hold up tacos was his idea and it’s genius. These tacos had ground beef and pinto beans cooked in Mexican seasoning, plus cheese, wilted baby spinach (chopped and then stirred into the beef/bean mixture at the end of cooking), and green peppers. So good. Don’t forget to toast your taco shells (before filling them) in the oven or toaster oven – it makes them so much more delicious.

homemade tacos held up by forks

Another yummy dinner from the week was a Sun Basket (<- affiliate link for $40 off if you want to try it) pappardelle with pan seared chicken, ricotta, spinach, and peas. It was good – really creamy and rich!

Pappardelle with wilted spinach, sweet peas, and fresh ricotta and chicken

Another Sun Basket dinner: seared garlic shrimp with Spanish rice. 

Mediterranean garlic shrimp with Spanish rice

The shrimp was really good – love garlicky shrimp! The sauce was minced garlic, a splash of sherry vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil, and some chopped parsley. 

shrimp with parsley and garlic

And the rice was cooked with some pre-sauteed onion and red pepper in the mix. It was supposed to be simmered in water, but I used bone broth instead because it’s always more delicious!

onion and red pepper simmering in pan

Last night’s dinner was Mexican take out from our fave spot in Del Ray – yum. Love their lime marinated beef fajitas… and their guac and chips!

mexican take out del ray alexandria

As for breakfasts this week, we did a lot of toast with nut butter, avocado toast, and high protein oatmeal. I also enjoyed our leftover roasted potatoes from the weekend with a fried egg and blueberries one day. 

fried egg with leftover roasted potatoes and blueberries

Lunches were mostly dinner leftovers or random leftovers from the freezer, but we also ordered Sweetgreen salads one day and another day picked up Italian subs from the deli down the street. 

Italian deli sandwich with veggies

I will leave you guys with this picture of the sweet castle situation that Matt and I built with kinetic sand. Riese was only moderately impressed. 😉 

fun with kinetic sand

Thank you for those of you who have taken the time to pop into the comments and let me know that my lifestyle food/fitness recaps have lifted your spirits and provided a sense of normalcy – it means a lot to me to help, even in a very small way. I hope you have a nice weekend and I will see you back here on Monday with a recap of what we get into!

- anne
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23 comments
  • Ana April 3, 2020 · 11:42AM:
    Riese is crushing that workout, haha! Love it! And that chicken papardelle looks soo good - actually all the food photos do! I am doing more home cooking now, like everyone else, so this all provides some inspiration - thank you!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 3, 2020 · 1:57PM:
      Haha she really was! And thanks!
      Reply
  • Melanie April 3, 2020 · 12:29PM:
    I appreciate the time you are taking to keep the blog going in these difficult times. I have been a reader for years and always pick up new ideas. I like the comfort of keeping my normal routine of reading your blog when all else seems so abnormal. Stay safe...
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 3, 2020 · 1:57PM:
      Thank you Melanie, I appreciate you reading!
      Reply
  • CAssie April 3, 2020 · 12:40PM:
    Truly love your updates! Loyal reader For years before all of this happened and look forward to your posts even more now. Thanks for providing this space of relief!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 3, 2020 · 1:58PM:
      Thank you, Cassie, I appreciate you being here so much!
      Reply
  • V April 3, 2020 · 1:00PM:
    Hi, I've been doing a lot of Zoom/FB Live workouts at home to maintain my fitness routine. I would be interested to learn more about your family's online workouts (like, what are they?) and may join in. So any info you can provide is great!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 3, 2020 · 1:59PM:
      Sure, I'll forward you the email from them with info about signing up and what the workouts are, but Drew's are HIIT boot camp type workouts, Morgana's are some HIIT and some barre.
      Reply
  • Mary April 3, 2020 · 1:25PM:
    I’ll add to the thank yous! I work full time and now care for an almost two year old full time at home. It’s absolute chaos and neither of them are getting the best of me. I appreciate reading these posts during lunch or nap time for Some normalcy. Good luck and stay healthy.
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 3, 2020 · 2:00PM:
      Thank you Mary - and hang in there, I know how tough that must be!
      Reply
  • The Many Thoughts of a Reader
    April 3, 2020 · 1:38PM:
    This week was better than last week. We've gotten in a nightly family walk every night. Tonight we are going on an adventure "oh my god!!!" and picking up our peach trees and getting take out pizza from a local place. I am so excited to go somewhere, even though it's just us riding in the car and having the trees put in our truck and then my husband getting out to grab pizza. Still, EXCITEMENT!!! ha.
    Reply
  • Slynn
    April 3, 2020 · 2:47PM:
    Love that workout photo! FYI - My taco shell package says not to use the toaster oven as the shells could "ignite" during toasting.
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 3, 2020 · 2:51PM:
      Yikes, that would be bad! We use a regular oven just on super low heat and haven't had any issues but I'll be sure to keep an extra close eye on them next time!
      Reply
  • Roadrunner April 3, 2020 · 3:01PM:
    Very good of you to share you thoughts and feelings openly, Anne. Thanks! And congrats on what appears to have been a great week of activities on the personal, family, and work front! You got a lot done in a single week, despite physical distancing, etc.. Well done!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 3, 2020 · 3:09PM:
      Thank you! Helps to stay busy and follow a loose routine while not forcing/rushing anything!
      Reply
  • Christina Carrigan April 4, 2020 · 7:35AM:
    I absolutely appreciate that you are posting right now! I started following you when I lived in Latvia and was planning my move back to DC (2016!) and now you live just down the street from me... I’m in Rosemont. I swear we are like ships passing in the night... but I will see you in the neighborhood one day. Be well, my friend. Your posts are a welcome break from my work at the medical clinic each day.
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 4, 2020 · 1:07PM:
      Aw, hi neighbor! Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you around - stay safe, and thank you for your work to keep everyone healthy!
      Reply
  • Lauren k April 4, 2020 · 11:18AM:
    Definitely the ups and downs here too! The new design of the blog looks so awesome!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 4, 2020 · 1:07PM:
      Thanks Lauren! Excited for our virtual run date tomorrow :)
      Reply
  • TrackBuddy April 4, 2020 · 11:40PM:
    Totally agree with big ups and downs - good to ride it out and be honest with how we're feeling. If you wouldn't mind sharing workout info I would appreciate it as well. AND I would love to get on your virtual run date calendar!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 5, 2020 · 1:16PM:
      Yay - I'll share your email with my sister-in-law so you get the info for next week's workouts! We've been doing Drew's Tues/Thurs 8a.m. and Saturday 10:30. :) And yes to virtual run date please!!
      Reply
  • Kris S April 6, 2020 · 9:43AM:
    So cute seeing Riese trying to copy what everyone was doing! Love it! Indoor fitness that isn't yoga has been a challenge for me during 'stay at home' since I live in an apartment building with neighbors (some more understanding than others), I can't really jump around inside, but I can either skip those moves or modify them. I'd love to get in on a zoom class with them! Please send me the info :) I'd be happy to get a good workout and support them during this difficult time!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 6, 2020 · 1:26PM:
      I'll forward you the info for this week! Would love if you joined :) There wasn't much jumping so would be easy to modify as needed!
      Reply
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about Anne

anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

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