All posts by R.C. Liley

I'm an ex-mutual fund accountant who left the cubicle world to be a stay-at-home dad to my beautiful little girl, Avery, who entered our life on 11/15/13. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, for 7 years as of 8/17/14. Sorry ladies... :) Fitness and nutrition is of the upmost importance in our family and we strive to reflect this in our daily life. I always prepare our meals at home and only go out if it's a special occasion, and even then I tend to not get much. Food should be fun and a joy to eat, not something quickly consumed from a fast food chain or scarf down before the next meeting. I have come from strictly logging high miles to train for the next marathon to keeping exercise varied and focusing more on strength. I still enjoy going for a run when I can, but nothing crazy, and I prefer hill sprints while pushing my daughter, Avery in the stroller. She loves it and I get a great workout! I want to show the world how to appreciate their body and feed it real, wholesome food while moving more throughout the day. In doing so, everyone would be healthier, happier, and we'd all live in a better place as a result. I blog mainly about my life as a stay-at-home dad and frequently include reviews, participate in campaigns, and share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition. If you ever have any questions or thoughts to share, please reach out as I'm always open to listening or helping others however possible. That is, when I have free time since Avery is and my wife are the number one priorities!

Parenting

Hanging With My Daughter in the Dad Cave

03/11/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

For a Monday, Avery and I had a pretty good day. She wasn’t perfect (show me a baby that is!), but her afternoon fussiness was nothing new. I expect Mondays to be difficult for all of us because Going Mom has to go back to work and misses her after spending 2 days at home. It’s never a fun transition. Plus, Avery and I miss Going Mom and I know Avery doesn’t like going back to taking the bottle after 2 days of boob!

But, alas, we forge through it and look forward to the weekend ahead. Avery graced us with another long night in her crib and easily fell back asleep in our bed after feeding. I always fear she’ll just be restless and I’ll have to go to the recliner. And by fear, I mean kinda enjoy it since I know I can’t always hold her like that. Bittersweet.

Another positive for Monday was the improved weather! Sun shining, light wind, and warmth equals a great day to get out and move! So, after her lengthy morning nap, we took off for a stroller run around the neighborhood with Abby (our Golden) in tow.

I’m not sure how so many new parents gain weight when a sleeping baby is so cherished. Just take your baby out for a walk in a baby carrier like the Onya or Ergo or in a jogging stroller and start moving. If they fall asleep, you won’t want to stop for fear of them waking. It’s good for you (moving = exercise and being healthy), and good for them (more sleep = less fuss)!

Although babies are young and may not understand everything, it’s never too early to lead by example and show your child how to live a healthy, active life. I WILL NOT be a dad that just sits in front of the T.V. chewing on his shirt and waiting for someone to fix him a meal. Not that I know anyone like that…..

On the run, Avery never made a peep until around 6 miles, and phew, I was happy to call it quits at that point! Abby was exhausted and ready for water too! She just turned 7 and still acts like a tiny, energetic puppy. Good for her health, tiring for us!

Run is done and we're happy. — Run is done and we’re happy.

After the run, Avery was in a good mood so I decided we’d hang out in my Dad Cave (i.e. the garage) to enjoy the nice weather. Most people think media rooms and sound systems when a Dad/Man Cave is mentioned,but I prefer being active, so none of that for me.

I use my power rack for strength training while Avery is taking her morning nap and enjoy the challenge of lifting heavy. I’ve had pictures of a Ferrari and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles framed just sitting in the garage, so with the nice weather, Avery hung out with me while I hung them both.

Like most guys, I have my fancy exotic car obsession, and Ferrari is my top choice, but I’ll always be devoted to Subaru. Plus, the STi isn’t too shabby. I had one years ago, was stupid, and now I don’t….*sigh*

Anyway, I’m more excited about the Ninja Turtle picture. Can’t you tell?

Since Avery was still happy and wanted to “hang” out some more, we did just that. Yep, I made a corny use of words and I’m not ashamed. Just wait, one day I’ll share some good puns with you, they’re great!

After messing around long enough, Avery grew tired, hungry, fussy, and annoyed with me hanging on pull up bars. So, we headed inside for a food and nap time.

Going Mom made it home right as Avery woke up and was excited to see her little girl well rested and happy. It makes me happy when I can get Avery to be rested like this so she’s ready for Kelley and not worked up from being too tired.

We enjoyed the rest of our night and Avery went to sleep easily. Another Monday survived!

Dads out there, do you have a Man/Dad Cave?

Moms, do you have something for yourselves?

Going Healthy

Going Healthy: Navitas Naturals Easy Banana Chia Pudding

03/10/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Self control and dessert are typically words you don’t see used together. Unless, “no” is in front of self control, then maybe. I am able to resist the tastiest looking treats since I know most of them are loaded with sugar, fat, and most likely numerous chemicals to get the best “taste.” Simply put, I like knowing exactly what’s in my food and do best when I make it myself.

Navitas Naturals kindly agreed to send me their Chia Seeds and Cacao Goji Superfood Power Snacks to review, and I’m enjoying them both! I’ll be posting a review along with a giveaway the nice people at Navitas Naturals agreed to, so please be on the lookout for my review!

As a new dad and stay-at-home parent, I don’t always have time to cook something when Avery is demanding my attention. I’m not one to settle for convenience food, so most of the time, I resort to the microwave to steam veggies and cook egg whites. Add some cayenne, black pepper, and mustard, and this is my meal most days. Luckily, I tend to enjoy all vegetables in their plain state, but it would be nice to have something packed with flavor too.

Thankfully, I was able to come up with a quick and healthy chia treat that’s perfectly fine to have “no” self control!

All you need to make this easy dessert that could double as a healthy, energy-packed breakfast is a ripe banana, milk of choice, Navitas Naturals Chia Seeds, vanilla protein powder, and vanilla extract.

Protein Banana Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas (I like them very spotty!)
½ cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use a stevia sweetened whey protein)
2 tablespoons Navitas Naturals Chia Seeds
Splash of pure vanilla extract (You can use vanilla vodka if you don’t have extract….or just like alcohol)
Optional: preferred sweetener like honey or agave to taste

Directions:

Using a food processor or blender (I used my Vitamix), add all ingredients except the chia seeds and blend until smooth. Add your optional sweetener too if desired.
Toss in the chia seeds and pulse just enough to thoroughly mix them in.
Pour into an airtight container and let chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

If you must, go ahead a take an early sample, I did, and it was great. Just know that the chia seeds need time to gel, so they will still be crunchy. This is a fun recipe to make with kids to amaze them at how the tiny chia seeds make liquid turn into gel.

When it’s warmer, make a quick, refreshing drink by adding a spoonful of chia to water with a splash of apple or orange juice and wait 5 to 10 minutes to have a fun, gooey drink! Hey, and it’s packed with omega-3’s, fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and so much more!

I told Avery about all of the benefits and she even wanted to try some for herself.

Sadly, I had to tell her she must wait a little longer. Poor baby.

Have you ever used chia seeds?

If so, what’s your favorite way to use them?

Parenting, Uncategorized

Our Baby is a Puppy Smuggler

03/09/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

Saturday was off to a great start with Avery letting us sleep in and waking up happy as can be. We can’t get enough of her smiles, I mean just look at her…..

After laying in bed trying to get Avery to flash us as many smiles as possible, we migrated to the kitchen for breakfast. I normally make some form of protein pancakes on Saturday and this day was no different. In the batch was unflavored protein powder, coconut flour, cooked teff, peanut flour, stevia, and egg whites. I’ll be happy to share a recipe just as soon as I actually measure ingredients!

Avery played in her jumper and flashed us more smiles for a while, but then she started to get fussy. So, Kelley took her to the nursery to feed and get her to take a nap while I finished making the pancakes.

With Avery down, Kelley and I took to doing things around the house. 10 times out of 10, this means Kelley pulls weeds (weather permitting) or cleans something while I pretty much find something to do in the kitchen. I seriously could keep myself busy in this part of the house all day!

3 hours later with Avery up and done eating, we got in the car to go to the bank and then Costco. Oh, and Starbucks just happened to be on the way……twice. Free refills with a member card MUST be taken advantage of!

At Costco with Avery in the Baby Bjorn (seriously can’t wait for the Onya!) and my jacket zipped over her, she took deep interest in the crowds of people walking by. Then, against our approval, some old and wrinkly lady with 7 layers of makeup approached and poked at Avery with her evil witch smile. Avery just stared and thankfully the lady went on her way; probably back to Oz.

We checked out the Nutri Bullet since I was looking for something to make baby food, but after comparing prices against the Magic Bullet, we decided we don’t need one. We do have a food processor and Vita-mix after all, so that would just be a waste of money and take up more space. Now I need to look for some good baby food recipes for the Vita-mix. Know of any?

Back home, we praised Avery for being such a great baby the whole day and hardly fussing while out. Since the weather decided to suck again (cold and windy = suck) Kelley and I agreed to skip our daily walk and do a workout video instead. We have a dvd collection of a cheaper version of P90X called Supreme 90 Day that uses weights and I think is better anyway. We did the Cardio Challenge video which is 30 minutes of 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off of different exercises. Good stuff.

Avery sat in her swing and watched us or the TV as we worked through the video. She would fuss, but I would substitute burpees for several of the exercises and that kept her quiet….for 30 seconds. That and I would just swing her around during the 30 seconds rest. Either way, it was fun and I’m glad Kelley and I got through it with Avery!

Right after, Kelley jumped in the shower while I held Avery and cooked dinner. We pretty much followed the nightly routine from there and Avery was asleep in her crib like normal. She hardly even cried after the bath; it felt too good to be true.

While she slept, we watched two episodes of Breaking Bad since the last of the series became available on Netflix. Only 6 more episodes until we’re done! It’s always bittersweet when you finish a good series.

Then, midnight struck and we heard crying. We sat staring at our baby on the monitor just squirming and kicking while letting out short bursts of squeaks and cries. Once we decided she wasn’t going to just go back to sleep, Kelley went in to try and nurse her back to sleep while I just laid on the nursery floor to keep company.

She fell back asleep pretty fast and was back in her crib minutes later. That was something new, but the problem was quickly solved. Time for us to go to bed now……wrong! Not 5 minutes later and squirmy puppy dog noises were emitting from the monitor again.

Staring at the monitor once more, Avery would have periods of silence and we thought she was out again, but nope, she’d start back up. We agreed it would be best to let her try falling asleep on her own unless the cries turned into loud screams, so we went to bed.

Listening to the puppy dog noises, we obviously couldn’t sleep, so we sat up talking about puppies for Avery when she gets older and other random things. I mentioned how she sounded like a puppy, and Kelley said she’s probably smuggling them under her crib. With both of us laughing, I said she’s probably only making those cries to cover up the puppy’s noises.

It sure is fun to make something up while trying to make it through your poor baby crying. And, finally, Avery went to sleep and so did we.

I don’t know what brought on this change in Avery since she’s been sleeping through the night for that past few days, but we blame Daylight Savings Time. Probably Avery being a typical baby is more accurate, but I like placing blame on other things. Plus, losing an hour makes me a grouch too!

Do you make your own baby food? Any recipes or links you can share….please?

Have you struggled to let your baby to fall asleep on their own? Ever pretend they are doing something as ridiculous as puppy smuggling?