Tag Archives: g-ma

Are You a Paranoid Parent?

03/06/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

I am, at least when Avery is sleeping. Not super paranoid where I’m putting a foil hat on Avery to block the microwaves beaming down from space, but just mildly paranoid where I still won’t flush when she’s sleeping.

Just yesterday, while I was walking in the neighborhood with Avery sleeping in the carrier, our neighbor asked how I was doing and I didn’t provide a response. I felt bad and tried to make a sleeping signal with my hand to my face, but not sure if I did it right. If you’re reading this, sorry, Charlie!

Asleep in carrier and scared to make noise. But I'll take a selfie! — Asleep in carrier and scared to make noise. But I’ll take a selfie!

I mentioned how I take extra caution when Avery is sleeping to make as little noise as possible in a past post. Although, after that post, my mom told me she flushed the toilet anyway and Avery never woke up. Then Kelley told me she flushes too, so basically I’m the only one not flushing!

Have I since changed my ways? Nope! I still refuse to flush, but I’m a little less uptight about it. My mom (G-ma) spent the night last night since our home is closer to her work and because it’s always great to see her. When she asked if she could take a shower at 5am when getting ready, I was hesitant at first, but finally agreed. But, I said, “No flushing!!”

In my defense, her guest bathroom is right against Avery’s nursery wall and it seems like soundproofing is simply nonexistent. Or maybe that’s my paranoia….hmmmm.

Avery usually ends up in our room in the middle of the night to feed anyway, so I didn’t expect the shower to be a problem. Well, Avery slept all through the freakin’ night in her crib! G-ma took her shower and Avery slept right through the whole thing. Geez, maybe I am really paranoid!

So, sorry, mom, for restricting you from using our facilities, I will allow full use from now on. As for me, I think I’ll still be paranoid for a while. Once Avery is eating solid foods, my paranoia will increase substantially! Any time she goes somewhere else where food will be offered, I will try my best to not let the wrong things get in her mouth. To give you an idea of my retentiveness on food, I avoid eating out as much as possible because I can’t stand anyone else preparing my food. So I make all of my own meals when I can.

You said I can't eat what?! — You said I can’t eat what?!

Now, excuse me while I pee on the white next to the water so as to not make a loud splashy noise.

Are you a paranoid parent? If so, what is it that you are paranoid about?

Parenting

Ninja Turtle Puzzles at G-ma’s

03/02/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

If weather here could talk, it would’ve said “Screw you, suckers!” this weekend. Saturday’s high was in the low 80’s and beautiful for our drive down to G-ma’s. Then, the very next day and we’re in the single digits! Thank you, Texas weather, for teasing us with 2 wonderful days of gorgeous weather and then WHAM!, we’re slipping on ice as we step outside.

Weather aside, we had a pretty good visit at G-ma’s. Avery wasn’t quite the outstanding baby I asked for in our conversation the day before, but she did flash us some smiles and let G-ma hold and feed her.

The only time Avery visited G-ma’s house was at 5 weeks old. Now that she’s 15 weeks old and aware of her surroundings, we think she was a little overwhelmed and got upset as night came around. One minute Avery was enjoying her time with Kelley and my mom (G-ma), and the next minute she bursts into crying.

Avery showing her Liley lip curl with G-ma

Of course, we never really know what makes a baby burst into the cutest yet nerve racking ball of tears, but we do our best to act like we do. We’ll say “Oh, it’s just colic.”, or “She probably has a dirty diaper.” Or maybe it’s because we missed a spot while dusting the mantle! Hell, babies just cry sometimes because that’s what they do. Yes, it sucks, and yes, I also try and make my own diagnosis for screaming baby syndrome.

Kelley and Avery chillin at G-ma's — Kelley and Avery chillin at G-ma’s

Although, Avery’s outburst was something abnormal for her at that time, so it just seems fitting to say it was from being a different environment. She carried on for a good hour as we passed her around like a hot potato trying different “techniques” (i.e. the same damn thing we all do with a crying baby, make weird sounds in her face and offer a boob or bottle while sniffing her diaper), until Kelley was finally able to soothe her to sleep. Oh yes, miracle boob strikes again!

Since Avery was sleeping in the room next to the living room, we kept the T.V. off for a while to make sure she was in a deep sleep.

Crap! What do we do with no T.V., you ask? What any normal group of adults would do….. We had drinks and put together 3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) puzzles, of course!

Drinking and cartoon puzzles is where it's at! — Drinking and cartoon puzzles is where it’s at!

Growing up, I was a huge TMNT fan like most boys around that time. I remember my mom bringing me to Toys R’ Us if I had a good report card to let me pick out a TMNT toy. Lately, since we had Avery, I’ve been turning back into a kid again and have been hoping my TMNT toys were stowed away somewhere at my mom’s. I was determined to find something from my past when we visited.

Not long after we arrived, I was on the hunt for my childhood toys. After rummaging through the house and attic, I only came up with 3 Ninja Turtle Puzzles covered in dust. It was apparent that the original owner (me) didn’t do a good job at putting the right pieces back in the box, so we made a night of putting the puzzles together.

As I’ve mentioned in a past post, puzzles mean a lot to Kelley and me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening with her and my mom as we worked on these together.

We eventually retired into the living room and Avery slept better than expected through most of the night. We woke up in a seemingly different state with freezing rain and blistering winds so coffee was a given before we were going to do anything else. After a cup of coffee (three for me), we visited a little longer while Avery had a Cliff’s Notes version of her usual morning nap, and then we trekked our way back home in the cold.

Overall, we had a pleasant visit with my mom and hopefully next time Avery will be familiar with her surroundings and not transform into a ~~wicked terror~~ cute little crying baby. But if she does, I’m sure it will just be because she’s colicky….. 🙂

Keeping cozy with G-ma before heading out into the cold

Has your baby ever cried out after bringing them to new surroundings?

Do you ever try and diagnose a crying baby when you really I have no clue? Almost every day here!

Going Healthy

Going Healthy: Whole Grain Protein Beer Bread

03/01/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Hey there!

Today we’re visiting G-ma and hopefully having a great time.

I am pushing to see a lot of these…

And very little to none of these….

Next time I won't pop the balloon! — Next time I won’t pop the balloon!

As well as plenty of this at night….

But, babies are, in fact, babies, so lets just hope for the best.

When we have wonderful weather like here in Texas lately, I like to enjoy a good beer. And, I like to eat good food, so why not make something with good beer?

Beer bread is a favorite of mine, but I despise the enriched flour and crappy ingredient store-bought mixes. You always pay a price when you settle for convenience like fast food and pre-mixed packages so it seems. But this recipe is pretty simple and one you’ll be making more than once!

Whole Grain Protein Beer Bread

Ingredients

1 cup whole grain spelt (or other whole grain) flour

1 cup whole grain corn flour

1 cup unflavored protein powder; I use whey protein powder

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree

1/2 cup plain, non-fat Greek yogurt

1 large egg and 4 large egg whites (I have used 12oz of pureed Mori-Nu Silken Tofu for a great vegetarian substitute)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 T baking powder

12-oz bottle of favorite beer at room temp

Optional #1: Add sweetener to taste (I used a packet of Stevia, but 2 tsp of brown sugar or honey would be good too)

Optional #2: Add herbs and spices like cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, rosemary, or dill to really make this bread stand out.

Directions

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan, square glass baking dish, 9-inch pie pan, or a 12 muffin baking pan with non-stick spray

-In a large bowl, beat eggs with a whisk, add all other wet ingredients and whisk to blend

-In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients stirring with a whisk.

-Add dry ingredients to the liquid mixture and mix just until combined.

-Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 55 minutes or when a toothpick comes out clean. Check for browning towards the end and cover with foil for the last 10 minutes if needed.