Tag Archives: dad bloggers

Getting “Down With the Sickness”, Literally

02/13/2015 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Something doesn't feel right..... — Something doesn’t feel right…..

You know that crappy feeling when you get sick? Yeah, I wrote about my experience here. And then the awesome feeling once you recover? Of course I wrote about that, and you can read it here. Well, that crappy feeling is back, but not because I am “Down With the Sickness” (old song by Disturbed), it’s because now my family is.

Probably no thanks to me. Before I turned ill, all was honky dory in the house, and then Blam-o (or some other weird word for a noise), my body hurt and I was decommissioned. Several days and excellent spousal support later, I was feeling better and ready for a pint night date night with Kelley.

Not so fast, the sick bug or whatever it is/was must’ve grown tired of my old carcass and wanted to move on to something better. Like, for instance, my wife and Avery. Damn you, bug/virus/whatever you are!!!

After returning home from our date night, we had just enough time to read a book to Avery before she went to sleep. A few hours later, in the early morning, we woke to the sound of our daughter crying. Nothing new there, but it was worse and lasted longer than normal.

Kelley and I were both in her room and it was confirmed; poop. She had just let a hefty poo out for G-Ma while we were out, so we figured we’d be safe for the night. Ha ha, rookie parents, you’re never safe from poo!

This has happened before, so we cleaned her and Kelley nursed her to sleep. Done, problem solved. Ooooorrrr, problem just starting, rather.

Not long after getting her back in her crib, no baby monitor was needed to hear a hacking cat sound throughout the house. At first I thought is was our cat, hacking, but instead is was Avery, throwing up. Oh yeah, another first! She’s spit up plenty of times, but this was a first for real food to appear.

Poor girl, it was all over her sheet, blanket, and pajamas. Off with everything dirty, and replaced with clean items, Going Mom, looking a little weary (besides the fact is was 2am), nursed Avery to sleep yet again. Or so we hoped. Instead, she had round two, all over her new pajamas and Mommy.

More cleaning ensued while Avery seemed unusually happy as she flashed us smiles while we scurried around in clean-up mode. Kelley needed to take a shower and was only looking worse, so after we finished cleaning, I took a shot at just holding and rocking Avery to sleep. Milk seemed to not be what was needed anyway.

Upon finishing her shower, Kelley needed to get some sleep and went to bed after checking on Avery and me. Luckily, after tossing and spinning around my lap, Avery found a suitable position to fall asleep and we stayed like that for around 3 hours. I was in and out of sleep, and after G-Ma (she stayed the night since we’re close to her work) got ready and left, I laid Avery in her crib and made it back to our own bed.

Our freakin’ nursery chair doesn’t recline, so laying in our bed was like having giant pillow hands gently lifting me off my feet and soothing me into a nice sleep. I woke up to find Kelley still in bed and found out she turned even worse and was staying home for the day. Time for me to pay her back for helping me so much!

I cooked pumpkin teff for her and Avery in hopes they would keep it down, which they did, and tried to help them relax. Avery had several “runny” messes through the day on Thursday, but seemed to get over her symptoms by night came around. Kelley was weak all day and not up to much, but thankfully she’s kept everything down, unlike yours truly.

At the time I’m writing this, both of my lovely girls seem to be on the mend. Mommy has an extended weekend with us, so I gave her strict orders to get better so we don’t have another weekend of sickness!

How do you feel after giving your illness to others in the house?

What can we do differently to limit this happening, or is it just something that must “run its course”?

Life, NuttZo, Parenting

An Unexpected Benefit From My Sickness

02/11/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

If you missed the lengthy post about my amazing wife and why I missed a day of coffee yesterday, let me sum it up. I got really sick and lost all appetite, even for coffee, and Going Mom kept everything together and cared for my ailed body. I’m still not completely recovered, but an unexpected benefit from my sickness has emerged.

Something my wife has wanted for a long time, and I have finally made it happen. No, not like that, get your mind out of the gutter; it’s having dinner with her and Avery!

super bowl, baby, toddler, kids, parenting, touchdown, score — Daddy’s eating with us!!!

I haven’t been absent at dinner, I just would have my meal in front of me and maybe snack on a few pieces of broccoli as Kelley and Avery ate. Then, after Avery was in her crib, I’d shower and have my dinner. I don’t have a good reason for why other than it was just routine for me and to break it seemed sacrilegious.

But, I’m happy to report I have broke free from routine and started having a full meal with everyone, like a real family! I started because this sickness that still hasn’t fully left my body has left me with less of an appetite and little desire to eat much. Before, when I abstained from dinnertime eating, my meal was a gigantic salad with fermented and steamed veggies, some sort of lean protein, and avocado with vinegar. It was good and I loved it, but after many years of this, it seems I have broke free.

The real test is when I’m fully recovered, but so far, I enjoy eating as a family and then just having some healthy snacks like NuttZo and cottage cheese later on if I want. Speaking of NuttZo, I used it in the dinner I made last night and it was delicious!

Black bean, chicken, and sweet potato stew with NuttZo mixed in to give it a healthy boost of protein, fat, and wonderful nutty flavor. I was happy with the outcome, and Kelley and Avery had no problem eating it either. #Winning <—– Thank you, Charlie Sheen

There are some foods, like the fermented goodies and mushrooms that only I enjoy in our house, so I know not every meal will be identical, but eating together will become the new norm in our home, and we’ll be an even happier family as a result. Unless I make something that none of us like!

Do you have unusual eating schedules with your family or do you always eat together?

Anything happen to make you change your ways for the better? Worse?

Avery Talk, Going Strong, NuttZo

Kettlebell Training for Toddlers

02/06/2015 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Hey there, fellow Toddler cohorts! Walking yet?

No worries if you’re not there yet, it took me longer than expected too. At least Mommy and Daddy seem to think so. Whatevs. Remember how I revealed my resolution for 2015 was to master the kettlebell? I’ve been practicing and even have my very own now.

I like it much better than Daddy’s since I can actually lift this one, plus it’s more colorful with a pretty blue handle and red base. See?

Now that I have my own, I figured I’d share a couple quick kettlebell moves you can use to start exercising with your Mommy and Daddy. Or, maybe you can help them kick any bad habits and teach them a thing or two about training. Like drinking, have them knock it out or threaten to do it for them. Like this….

There, problem solved. Let them know they can buy a new kettlebell with the money they save from not drinking, or at least skipping the next purchase. Toddler Tip: Parents seem to really like their drinks, so only use this approach as a last resort. Back to the training; use the grooves on the handle to align your fingers for a good, firm grip like so.

Then stand up making sure you keep good form throughout.

Now, from a standing posit…..ahhh, blasted teething, must chew something quick! Hummmmmm, nom, nom….

Holy diaper rash, the pain just comes out of nowhere! Anyway, holding your kettlebell by the handle, begin a swinging motion by……Gahhhh, not again!! Lets take a quick break.

Okay, had to leave the gym/our garage and go inside to let the pain subside. The benefit to kettlebell training is that you can do it inside or out, making it perfect when the weather is like my morning diaper….crappy. C’mon, you other tots know what I’m talking about. Eh?

Picking up where we left off, hold your kettlebell and ahh, aaHHHH….seriously?! How many teeth are in there? This is worse than…..well, I don’t have much to compare to yet, but it hurts! For those of you going through the same thing, forget swinging, just do this with your kettlebell.

No hands! Yeah, I’ve been practicing for a while now, so don’t feel bad if you aren’t advanced enough for the kettlebell mouth swing. Well, my training is not going as planned today, so just try closing your eyes, grabbing your kettlebell, and running/swinging blindly.

Hey, it gets the heart going and just feels good sometimes.

*Next Day*

Hi again……it was a long night full of what Mommy and Daddy call ducking teething. I have no clue what ducking has to do with it, but my mouth sure does hurt.

Before “it” happens again, let me just show you the basic kettlebell swing. Yesterday, after my ducking teething, Daddy showed me how to do it right.

I took plenty of notes, and can give you the key things to remember for a proper swing. Standing with you feet at least shoulder-width apart, hold your kettlebell with both hands and swing it between your legs back up to eye level. That’s one rep/swing.

Some versions have you bringing it over your head, that’s the American style, but we tend to do the Russian swing in our house. That might change after I just knocked that vodka bottle over though! Oops.

One last thing, when you’re training at high intensities with the kettlebell, you’re going to have an increased appetite. Make sure you feed your body quality nutrients to help it grow strong and fuel your workouts to allow you to perform. Along with plenty of fresh veggies, Daddy always has a delicous NuttZo creation to feed me and I can already tell I’m ready for a heavier kettlebell!

Oh, and one more last thing, for real this time; you can save 15% off your total NuttZo order by using code liley15 at checkout on their website. Since us toddlers don’t have a credit card, make sure to put on your best cheese-face and get your parents to order now!