Ms Fit Kiddos Invade Davio’s Restaurant

If anything makes kids happy it’s sticking candy onto giant cookies with even more candy and even more sugar. If anything makes parents happy is finding that perfect activity on a Sunday afternoon that keeps the kids out of trouble, even if that means while on a sugar rush. This past Sunday, we hosted the first annual Gingerbread House Workshop with one of our favorite restaurants in town, Davio’s in Chestnut Hill.

The Ms Fits and our kiddos

Being silly before decorating

Pastry Chef Michelle Boland rolling out the gingerbread houses

After being served a delicious Davio’s lunch, the super talented Pastry Chef, Michelle Boland created the most holiday-perfect assembly line of architecturally exquisite gingerbread houses, a king’s ransom of candy and enough sticky frosting to insulate an actual house. The dads kept one eye on the Sunday football game and the other on their little creative geniuses. The moms made sure the sugar intake was kept to a minimum while proudly announcing, “wow! good job honey!” while the kiddos, so excited about the fact that they were actually encouraged to play with their food, couldn’t possibly appreciate the special time they were spending with their little friends and their families creating their one of a kind masterpieces.

We can’t thank Davio’s enough for gathering all of these fun kiddos for such a special holiday treat while also donating some amazing gifts to the Toys for Tots! This year’s event was a hit, selling out before we knew it, with a wait list to boot. We cannot wait for next year’s workshop and we know you can’t either! And in the meantime, maybe you’ll catch us with our kiddos enjoying some delicious culinary creations at Davio’s.

Collecting candy

Cute little hands in the candy bowl

Let the fun begin!

Jessica with her daughter, Chloe

Creative concentration

Wow! Good job honey!

The Ms Fits’ finished masterpiece… jk, this is Davio’s work 🙂

 

Happy Holidays!

xoA&J

 

Check us out in the Boston Globe here…

Alisa’s Edit – Kid’s Edition – H&M

So what did you ladies think of my TOP 20 picks from H&M?

Since I was doing the “research” anyway, I figured I’d help all of our Ms Fit Mamas out there too. A request I’ve been getting more and more is, “can you help me pick out clothes for my kids?” As a mom of two myself, I know there is nothing that we wouldn’t do for our kids, and there is definitely nothing we wouldn’t do to save ourselves some precious time. I’ve gone shopping for a few of my mini-fashionistas (FFF’s as I call them)  and the smiles I get from both kids and moms are bigger than I could have ever imagined. The mini divas who “hate everything you pick out” have an inexplicable liking to the pieces only “my stylist picked out,” making dressing an achievement worthy of a gold medal. And for the moms, I become their Knight in sequined armor galloping around town, doing all the leg-work and saving them from the tragedy that can be shopping with kids.

Maybe these 20 picks will make it onto your shopping list…

FOR THE LADIES….

Pattern-knit Dress

Faux Fur Vest

Knit Hat

Hairband with Flowers

Slim-fit Pants

Chelsea-style Boots

Jacquard-knit Skirt Set

Floral Lined Boots

Textured Hooded Jacket

Tulle Dress

 

FOR THE GENTS~

Jeans

Suit Vest

Navy Blue Suit Jacket

Fine-Knit Sweater

Canvas Pants with Suspenders

Denim High Tops

Chambray Shirt

Velour Snuggle Suit

Brogues

Star Patterned Hat

Happy shopping MsFits! Would love to see pics of your little ones in any of these pieces… don’t forget to hashtag #msfitforsociety!

It Is Officially Holiday Party Season! Get Ready For It With the “Party Girl Dip”

 

The Party Girl Dip

 

The Party Girl Dip, illustration by Victor Hernandez

 

 

Happy December!!!! A sure way to feel party ready this holiday season is to get those arms ready for any sleeve style, even a fitted long sleeve looks better with shapely triceps.  The “tricep-dip” or “reverse push-up” is easy to do at home and requires no equipment. This is a foundation exercise in Barre and can be really effective if done consistently and with the correct form.

To set up:

Take a seated position on the floor. Bend your knees and keep feet flat on the floor. Bring your arms right below shoulders. Your fingertips will be facing your toes. Make sure to keep your wrists turned forwards toward your feet and slightly outwards. Do not let your fingers face behind you. If your wrists are backwards, you’re going to be putting too much pressure on the wrist joints and will not be able to control the movement in your arms. To get into the proper alignment, you need to make sure that your shoulders are directly above your wrists.  If you allow your shoulders to come forward of the wrists, you will loose the work in the back of the arm.

Once your arms and wrists are in the right alignment. Lift your hips off the floor. Pull your abs in, and the lift your hips a bit higher. Then shift your weight back. Imagine you are trying to get your ribs in between your forearms. The more you can shift your weight towards your fingers, the more challenging and effective this will be.

Now you are ready to start to move! Start to bend your elbows directly behind you. Really important, do not let your elbows rotate out to the side… at all. Make sure your elbows are bending directly behind you. Do not move your hips. Your hips stay still. You want all the work happening in the back of the arms. Start to bend and stretch behind the elbows. Start with 15 repetitions.  Bend and stretch. Try not to fully extend behind the elbows. You don’t want to hyper-extend the arms.

Be mindful to not let your hips drop towards the floor or travel away from your fingertips.  Stay in your challenge zone. Hips stay high and ribs stay as close to your forearms as you can.

Once you have completed your 15 reps, bend your elbows deeply. And start to pulse. 10-15 pulses, staying deep in that muscle (do not straighten those arms). You can repeat this sequence 2-3 more times. If you want even more challenge. Try lifting one leg straight into the air. Bend your right knee, draw it in towards your chest, and then straighten it. Try to get the ankle directly above the hip. Continue your arm repetitions and then switch to your left leg half-way through.

 

 Stretch 

Lengthen the muscles you just strengthened. Sit cross legged on the floor. Sit tall, long neck and a long spine. Lift your right arm up and behind you until your right palm is touching your right shoulder blade. To deepen the stretch, with your left hand gently guide your elbow in towards your self and back. Then switch sides.

Party arms ready to shine this holiday season!

If you have any questions about this exercise or any others, please feel free to send me a note!

~Jess