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 and handsome little boy, Wes, who joined our family on 11/19/17. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, as of 8/17/07. Sorry ladies... :)
Fitness and nutrition is of the utmost 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!
Crap. I am wearing Avery in the Baby Bjorn and just as I wrote this title, her eyes popped open.
No crying though…yet. Lots of squirming.
Anyway, while I have the time, I’d like to say “Yay!” for having a good morning and getting Avery to take a nap in her crib for over two hours. Enough time for dad to get full body weight lifting routine in.
I was bold enough to enter and take this!
Anyone ever do barbell hack squats? It’s like a dead lift, but the bar is behind you and pick it up and down. I hit my calves and butt almost every time, but can really feel it in the quads. Plus, I think it’s a version of the squat that I can do when wearing Avery if the need arises. It’s no back squat, but something is better than nothing.
Like this. Source: www.exrx.net
Oh, we just went for a nice walk in the 20mph wind and that was cool. And by cool, I mean not. Another cool thing is that I apparently didn’t shut the door good enough and it was wide open when we got back. So, that fat black cat, Lou, we had………not sure where he is. I’ll keep you posted, if Kelley doesn’t kill me. Oops…..
Maybe I can just make another breakfast like I did this morning and she’ll forgive me…..
Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Protein Teff Porridge
Edited Update: The cat never got out. He knows where the food is.
Time to tend to some house chores and deal with this wiggly daughter strapped to me. I don’t think she’s very happy, but still not crying.
Since yesterday was my last working day and Kelley took one last day before returning to work to be with Avery and me, we both earned nothing. Ironically, we decided to make our rounds for grocery shopping today. But first, we “had” to go to Starbucks. Priorities, right?
I proudly wore Avery in Central Market and Costco and she was pretty good for the most part. A little fussing, a little sleeping, and a lot of just wide-eyed staring at everything. Coupled with flailing arms and legs along with her constantly turning head. Yeah, those limbs and that head are going full throttle most of the day. I suppose that’s a good thing though!
Despite our new tight budget, we splurged on a nice bottle of Kirkland brand red wine (the really big bottle) to enjoy with some friends who are coming to visit. And, I’ve been thinking about the fresh Brussels sprouts Costco had on my last visit and made sure to grab two bags of those suckers this time. Next to mushrooms, steamed Brussels are my favorite produce.
Like popcorn, only green….
After the store trips and another stop for a refill at Starbucks (hey, it’s free with the card!), we hurried home to feed Avery and put her down for a well overdue nap. After she ate, she started getting pretty cranky and we knew a nap was imminent! I swaddled her and sang random made up songs in a deep voice until she fell asleep, then I sat in our recliner for a little while to make sure she was settled. Kelley put a heating pad and one of her milk-stained shirts in the crib and I attempted to lay her down.
We watch this monitor like it’s playing “Breaking Bad”
This is a huge thing for us as it seems the second she is put down, the eyes shoot open and pretty much have fire in her whites. Basically, we’ve been unsuccessful. But not this time; she slept 3 hours and we (yes, we) had to wake her up! Then it was feeding time and a cold walk after.
The day went by fast as usual, and tomorrow I’ll officially start my life as a stay-at-home dad. It will be weird with Kelley going to work and me staying home, but I know it will make a better quality of life for us all. I already started to miss her today, when she was still here! We make a great team together, and I never feel whole when she’s away, so I bet I’m as nervous as she is.
Hopefully I’ll have a great update on my first day “on the job” with Avery. I’m counting on a repeat nap in the crib to allow me to get a workout in and do things around the house.
Any other stay-at-home parents have tips for fitting it all in while answering their baby’s constant needs? Maybe I can just start doing lunges while wearing Avery, but I’m pretty sure pushups would be ill-advised…..
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
