Tag Archives: spring

Fun Run in the Sun and a Pun

Yesterday, Tuesday, we hit 70 degrees and the sun finally poked through after its brief hiatus. Texas hardly had it bad when compared to places like Boston this winter, but it’s been crappy enough to warrant a deep desire for Spring’s arrival.

Truthfully, I was ready for spring and summer back in November, I just prefer sweating over shivering any day! With the better weather, I wanted to get Avery outside to run around a little, but first we had to make a trip to two stores. Luckily, she didn’t mind since it means getting to ride in her new Britax Boulevard ClickTight car seat.

Britax, car seat, safety

Seriously love this seat and it was a breeze to install. We’re keeping her rear facing as long as possible since it’s the safest way, and the Britax seat allows us to continue doing so up to 40 pounds! Plus, Avery’s not complaining one bit.

After making it back from the stores, Avery was hungry and needed to eat before anything else happened. Going Mom and I taught her a few sign language essentials with one of them being “more”. Now the girl ALWAYS wants more!

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Yep, that’s her sign. I’m trying to allow her more freedom in feeding herself if it’s finger foods, so I gave her a few pieces of NuttZo Banana Bread to keep her happy. So much for that, she just stuffed her face with all of the pieces while simultaneously signing for “more”.

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Crazy kid. It took her five minutes just finish chewing everything! Needless to say, I think she spent some time reflecting on her actions….

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After eating, I put Avery in our B.O.B. jogging stroller to go for a quick run to a nearby playground. The kind folks, I mean elves, at Soft Star Shoes just sent me a pair of their Moc3 barefoot running shoes to review, so I figured it would be a great time to give them a test run. <—Would you call that a pun or not? I can’t tell.

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Yes, I wore socks, and no, you really don’t have to. I just prefer to use socks until I am sure I really like things enough to go sans sock. Running in these shoes is so liberating with their zero drop Vibram soles and the fact that they weigh less than 5oz. I actually have been spending all day in the shoes and am only getting more attached to them each day.

Check back later for a full review, and then even later for another review of their kids’ shoes for Avery. I can’t wait to get some on our little girl to keep her feet safe while still “grounding” with the earth. Until then, her Bootzies work fine, they just run the risk of getting holes when worn too much outdoors.

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Yep, like at a playground with mulch and concrete. Probably not the best for cotton, but she didn’t seem too concerned. She was, however, intrigued by the wood pieces scattered everywhere and made sure to inspect them thoroughly.

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Yep, this one’s wood too.

 

Somehow I managed to climb the small play-structure with Avery to take her down a few times. The rest of time I just followed her around as she explored…..and randomly clapped.

Enjoying the #Texas sun with my daughter! #Spring is coming! #Parenting #DaddysGirl #playing

A video posted by RC Liley (@going_dad) on

Outside playtime was over when Avery ran back to her stroller, basically letting me know it was over. Fair enough.

I made another fun run round with Avery in the stroller to soak up the warm weather and get a little extra “go” time in the minimal Soft Star Shoes for the last time of the day. Verdict? Still love’em. I could never find a shoe I was comfortable in wearing around the house that I could also make a mad dash outside at any given moment, but these are it! If you haven’t tried them before, give them a go if you get the chance, and make sure to pick some up for your little one too.

Once back home, I turned on Pandora so Avery and I could dance around the house. And by dance, I mean she brings all of her toys from her playroom into the kitchen as I prepare dinner and make a green smoothie for Kelley and I.

This has been a long, hard week for my wife, actually the past several weeks have been trying, and she was stuck at work again last night. In hopes that it would help a little, I made one of her favorite breakfasts ahead of time to be ready in the morning.

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Peanut butter oatmeal with chia seeds, cinnamon, and a big spoonful of NuttZo. I added a lot of blueberries too, but didn’t take a picture. Trust me, the blueberries are not to be taken lightly around here, and Going Mom has a specific measurement I keep messing up. The measurement? A lot!

She’s probably enjoying (I hope) this right now just as this is live. I’ll let you know if I added enough blueberries. Or maybe she will…….

And before I go, I had a pun to share. It’s nothing spectacular, but as a proclaimed lover of puns, I want to start sharing at least one with each post I write. Today, in anticipation of spring coming up, I have a seasonal pun.

After a rough winter, the trees will be relieved when spring comes.

I know, not the best tree pun, but I went out on a limb here. Maybe I’ll branch out for the next one. 🙂

What’s the weather like where you are now?

Do you like puns or despise them?

Going Healthy: Homemade Peanut Butter Dippin’ Dots

peanut butter dippin' dots, healthy, recipe, ice cream

Going to the mall as a kid is a lot more exciting than it is as an adult. At least for me it is. As a kid, you are overwhelmed with fun toys being demonstrated right in the middle of everything, and the food stands have such interesting food to lure offer you.

Poor parents, most are doomed the moment you step foot into a mall with your child unless they have horse blinders on or are really good at saying no. Sorry, mom..

One treat I remember begging to get every time we’d go to the mall were Dippin’ Dots. Those little pellets of frozen, tasty ice cream would melt in your mouth to a creamy consistency worlds beyond regular ice cream. And the flavors, oh man the flavors, how could you choose just one? But the price for these little gems was ridiculous, and therefore, I was only able to choose one……okay, two. Thanks, mom!!

As a child into my young adult years, I was a pretty hefty boy, and things like Dippin’ Dots didn’t help. Now that I’m such a food snob and scrutinize every product with an ingredient label, I’d never touch these things again. Sorry, Avery, no fun mall treats like these, if anything. If you care, here’s the nutritional information and ingredient list for Dippin’ Dots.

https://secure.dippindots.com/extranet/downloads/Nutritional_Info_Gatefold_Brochure.pdf

Despite the cold weather we’ve been having, I have been thinking of these lately and really started to crave some. If you don’t mind the dots being larger, give this simple recipe a try. You’ll appreciate the short ingredient list and guilt-free pleasure to enjoy a large portion.

The peanut flour I use in this recipe is Anthony’s Organic Peanut Flour that you can buy on Amazon. It’s a great price and can be used in so many recipes or just mixed in water for a low fat peanut butter treat.

This would be a fun, safe, and delicious recipe to make with your little ones, and I can’t wait to get Avery in the kitchen to help daddy make these delicious and healthy dots! I only have, ohhhhh, a few more years….*sigh* Oh well, until then I’ll make sure she watches as much as possible.

Peanut Butter Dippin’ Dots

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup Greek or regular plain, non-fat yogurt (or 2 6oz containers)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup peanut flour or 2 tablespoons natural, creamy PB (I use NuttZo); just briefly heat to make it easy to stir

Directions

In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, vanilla, and peanut flour or peanut butter until well combined. I actually had a large 32oz yogurt container with the right amount left, so I used this to mix everything.
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Put the yogurt into a plastic sealable bag, and zip shut.
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Cut a small corner off the bag and use it like a piping bag to squeeze out small dots over a cookie sheet. I used a silicone baking mat for ease of transfer once frozen.

peanut butter dippin' dots, healthy, recipe, ice cream
Place in your freezer for a couple hours and wait, impatiently, if you’re like me.
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Fold the mat to create a “V” shape and dump (if you didn’t use a mat, use a non-metallic spatula to scrape) into a container with a lid to freeze until ready to eat. Or just eat them right away! Warning: these melt somewhat quickly, so freezing your storage device before hand will help the dots keep their shape.
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If you aren’t fond of peanut butter (you’re crazy), some other ingredients you could use are:
  • Honey or Agave to taste; start with about 2 tablespoons
  • Liquid or powder stevia; I love using Sweet Leaf’s Liquid Vanilla Stevia for this
  • Chocolate or Vanilla (or another favorite flavor) protein powder; measure the same as the peanut flour and you’ll have a very high protein treat
  • If you have a blender, try pureeing fruit to mix in; I’m thinking banana pureed and mixed into the  peanut butter recipe would be happiness in dot form!
  • Pumpkin puree with pumpkin spices; yum!

The Texas weather may not make it seem like it, but Spring is coming up fast and this will be a perfect treat to start making and enjoying soon. Too bad Avery is stuck with milk for now. I guess I’ll have to make this for Kelley in hopes to pass it through to Avery in milk form.  Who knows, it must do something!

I hope you are able to enjoy this easy to make, but hard to wait for recipe. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!

Do you have any favorite recipes to make with kids? Please share if you do, I want to start thinking of things now for when the time does come!