Tag Archives: thoughts

That Time I Realized She’s Growing Up…..Fast!

When did you first realize your kid was growing up? As first time parents, Going Mom and I never knew what to expect when the realization that our little girl was truly growing up hit us. But now, as she approaches her third year of life, it’s hitting us like Joe Frazier’s left hook to Muhammad Ali in “The Fight of the Century”.

She went from a needy blob of cuteness, to fully functional tot in what seems like the blink of an eye. It felt like forever back then, but now here we are, trying to keep up with her full sentences (including plenty of back talk), constant questioning, and inability to sit still for even a second. No kidding, watching her eat at the dinner table has us stressed out and she falls off her chair several times each night.

This sudden “left hook” has made me rethink what I do each day. I always enjoyed blogging, but it was much easier when our little human couldn’t talk or move that much. Now she’s more mobile than most adults and full of requests to play with her.

Always choose play!
Always choose play!

Before, blogging time was easy to find, but now, between cooking every day, cleaning, working out, and playing with her, there’s not a lot of time left to blog.

When I do find time, I notice that I have lost much of the passion I used to have. I feel guilty knowing I could be doing something else for/with the family or simply reading a book. I miss reading books. Our daughter growing up has helped me to come to a simple conclusion, something’s gotta give. Another stay-at-home dad who blogs as the Sunshine Dad speaks a lot on the same thing in his post, I Was Wrong. Five Kids Is Tough. While I would like to correct “Is” to “Are”, sorry Mike :), and I only have one kid, I share his feelings.

Social media has always interested me, and I plan on sharing plenty of our life experiences on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but full on blog posts will be drastically reduced. I’m always up for sharing a healthy recipe or reviewing healthy food/products, but will not seek them out as much as before. Again, look for all of my favorites on my other social media pages.

Yes, I too feel as if I have some growing up to do, and this precious time with my beautiful wife and daughter means way more to me than blogging. I know I’ve spent too long trying to think of that next good topic to write about or how to spin a story, but for what? Nothing is as important as spending time with loved ones, so that’s what I’m doing.

#mysundayphoto, sunday, parenting, toddlers, cute, kids, dad, family

 

 

You might wonder why, then, I took the time to write this post to the few followers I have. Blogging has always helped me express my feelings, and letting it out there helps tremendously. I feel better after just writing the words above and will leave it at that. This is not the end, just a notice that I’m redirecting my focus on other things/people. Any posts will be short and geared more towards sharing things I’ve ready in the health and fitness world or just a funny pun.

As a side note, I’d like to spend more time designing fun shirts with puns and pictures in my store on Skreened; appropriately named Going Dad. And I’ll leave you with a picture of my little girl and her Daddy (that’s me) rocking my first creation I spent a while designing. If you like it, please feel free to order one for yourself and little ones too!

avery-and-daddy-with-see-you-later-excavator-shirts

Baby’s Firsts are Fun, But What About Their Lasts?

You have approximately 940 weeks from when your baby is born to when they (usually) head off to college. It’s true, Google’s calculator says so…

940 Weeks Until Baby Goes to College

940 might seem like a lot, but how many have you already used with your kid or kids? And as they grow older, they will be spending less time with you and more time at school and with friends. Before you know it, the weeks will become a blur and you’ll have less than 100 left to cherish. Then, you’re helping them pack to leave and saying your goodbyes.

I know this isn’t the case for every family, but for many, it is. Avery is only 9.5 months, and I get emotional just thinking of that day she leaves Going Mom and me. Although we’ve been parents for less than a year, time truly is flying by, and the little squirmy baby that easily fit in our hands, is now a bigger squirmy baby we need to firmly hold with both arms!

Skin to skin with dad!
Skin to skin with dad!

Lately, as I’m sitting with Avery in her dark nursery and feeding her a bottle for nap time, I have been thinking more and more of how little time we really have. Getting her to actually fall asleep while holding her has become a rare event, and I usually resort to just laying her in her crib to where she’ll move all over the place until finally giving in to sleep.

But, it doesn’t seem that long ago when she’d fall asleep on the bottle, and I could hold her on my chest and just rock with her before laying her in her crib….still sleeping. Now my wife and I both look back on those days and tell each other if we are ever so lucky to have that chance again. Kelley is able to experience this more because of that damn comforting boob, but it’s still a rare occurrence.

This quickly fading part of our parenthood makes me think how excited we get about every “first” we experience with Avery, but we don’t always consider there will be a last. Even as she’s sitting on the floor crying for no reason, there will be a last time we come over to pick her up and hold her.

Soon, crawling will be a thing of the past and we won’t have to stoop so low to pick her up. And then *gasp* she’ll grow up to where picking her up and holding her is simply unacceptable!

It’s sad to think, but there will be a last time you pick up your baby.

As this thought entered my mind, many more “lasts” soon followed. I remember my delight when I fed Avery her first bottle, but now I’m thinking of how one day, I’ll be feeding her the bottle one last time. It’s bittersweet, really, because obviously that means she’s moving on to bigger and better things with food and I can’t wait to show her the wonderful assortment of fresh produce to enjoy, but still sad to think about.

Even things like diaper changes; there will a last change of diapers before she wears big girl undies. Using a swaddle for the first and last time has already happened, and I can barely remember those days. As a new parent who still has a lot of firsts to enjoy, I know there will be many lasts to endure as well.

Eventually, I will have to stop wearing her in our baby carrier which is a huge part of our lives. Every day, I make it a point to wear her and go for a walk. Luckily, the Onya can support up to 75 pounds, but I imagine I won’t be wearing her at that point! And blowing raspberries? Sadly, this is already fading fast.

Raspberries for dinner.
Raspberries for dinner.

At least not every first will mean there’s a daunting last in the future. When she walk for the first time, I expect she’ll be walking for her entire life. When she gives the first real hug, I can only hope she’ll give us hugs for eternity. But there are also many firsts we have yet to encounter that will be accompanied by lasts.

One day, after we are through with bottles, we’ll give her a sippy cup for the first time, but then, we’ll get rid of it as she upgrades to bigger and better drink ware. Same for plates and bowls; the colorful cartoon-decorated items will eventually be used for the last time when she is ready for bigger things.

She will develop a deep love for that special toy and we’ll get used to seeing her bring it with her everywhere (update: that toy is Lamby as of January 2016), but there will be a last day she wants to carry it with her and it will be put up and forgotten.

toy, toddler, kids
Huggy Lamby

This is not because I have negative view about everything, rather, it allows (or at least helps) me to enjoy every day for what it is and to not take it for granted. Because once today is over, it becomes a thing of the past and will only live as a memory. Would you prefer worrying over petty things every day and letting them disturb your thoughts, or does enjoying the life around you and shrugging off the small stuff sound better?

I choose the latter, and need to remind myself of this every day as I am what some call a “worry wart”. As I spend my time with Avery, watching her learn and grow, I want to make sure to enjoy her now, just how she is in the present. Because, while she has many firsts yet to come, she also has many lasts.

Do you have grown children that have already had many “lasts”?

Any thoughts or stories to share of your own?

21 Steps to Improve Your Diet + 11 Foods to Quit Eating

I just read the book Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food by Dr. Cate Shanahan and, wow, even as a very healthy person, I’ve found areas to improve for our food choices.

This is not a long review of the book, though I suggest you read it, but rather an extremely helpful list she included at the back of the book.

I can’t even begin to explain how important nutrition is for our bodies, and it’s vital for our kids. What we feed them now is what their bodies use as building blocks for create new tissue in order to grow. Would you rather them build a body from non-nutritive fast food composed of highly processed fats, sugars, and unnatural chemicals, or from wholesome food, minimally processed and full of everything the body needs to grow strong?

So that would be a loaded question, yes, but seriously, nutrition is something I don’t take lightly, and will never be able to just laugh it off when someone says “I shouldn’t be eating this, but….”. Yeah, just don’t eat it then!

I’m sure this will generate many mixed responses, but please, consider how maybe giving yourself and your kids better food will help your entire family live a happier, more healthful life.

And now on to the list. I credit one of my favorite authors, athlete, and podcaster, Ben Greenfield, for the list he has in his excellent post on Dr. Cate’s book, Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food.

21 Steps for a Better Diet

1. Drink more milk.

Best choice: raw, organic, whole.

Next best: whole, organic.

If lactose intolerant, choose yoghurt. Do not buy low-fat or fat-free dairy.

2. Buy sugar-free peanut and nut butters, the kind with the oil on top (all that oil is typically absorbed by sugar molecules in brand-name peanut butters).

Avoid those that use palm oil, they tend not to taste very good.

3. Buy sprouted grain bread instead of whole wheat or white.

Popular brands are Ezekiel and Alvarado Street Bakery. These are usually sold in the refrigerated or freezer section because they are preservative-free and need to be refrigerated. Many are wheat-free as well.

4. Instead of boxed cereals or instant oatmeal, eat toast with butter, sugar- free peanut butter, or poached eggs for breakfast instead.

5. Use fresh, seasonal vegetables instead of frozen whenever possible.

Season with salt and add generous amounts of butter and your kids will love them. Steam vegetables (like broccoli, asparagus, carrots, and cauli- flower) instead of boiling, which leaches vitamins and minerals.

6. Buy Bubbies or other brand lacto-fermented pickles and sauerkraut and use as condiments/side dishes instead of chips or cookies at lunch.

Save the juice when the jar is empty for salad dressing and to use as a starter for making your own sauerkraut.

7. Never use margarine or low-fat, low-cholesterol “spreads.”

Buy organic butter from pastured animals. Popular brands are Organic Valley and Horizon.

8. Choose healthy oils (see table listing of Good Fats and Bad on page 173 of Deep Nutrition).

9. Make your own salad dressing.

Even easier, pour olive oil then balsamic vinegar over your salad (pouring the oil before the vinegar helps it stick
better). Use a ratio of approximately 2:1 oil to vinegar. For extra flavor fast, add 1 Tbsp of the juice in the Bubbies pickle or sauerkraut jars.

10. Boil a dozen eggs to keep on hand for a quick lunch.

11. Eat large salads three to five times a week.

Don’t bother with iceberg lettuce. For variety, experiment with other greens, including radish leaves, arugula, beet greens, or whatever looks particularly fresh. Add celery, carrots, sprouts, capers, pine nuts, sunflower seeds.

12. Use fresh herbs often.

Add basil to salads with tomatoes; add parsley to hamburger; add garlic to butter for vegetables; rosemary to chicken; mint to beef stews or fatty roasts; ginger to stir-fries.

13. Instead of canned tuna, buy salmon or mackerel with bones in.

Mix with olive-oil based mayonnaise or small amounts of regular mayo and mus- tard to use for lunch as a replacement for nitrate-laden sandwich meats.

14. Eat liver once a week.

15. Eat soups made with bone stock once or twice a week.

16. Use bone stock rather than water as the base for making rice, mashed potatoes, noodle dishes, etc.

17. For variety, substitute beets or turnips for baked potatoes.

18. For light desserts that give a sweet finish to your meal, drink Kombucha or wine.

19. Use bone-in chicken, turkey, and red meats whenever possible.

20. When eating boneless cuts of beef, like fillet, serve with bone-stock gravy (also known as demi-glace).

21. Buy fatty cuts of meat, like New York strip, and sear the fat on the grill before cooking to enhance flavor.

—————————————-

11 Foods to Stop Eating

1. Vegetable oil

2. Added sugar and honey (to tea, coffee, etc.)

3. Soda

4. Juice, except fresh squeezed. (Why not just eat the fruit? It’s got more fiber and more antioxidants!)

5. Energy bars and “health” bars

6. Boxed cereals

7. Fried fast foods

8. Powdered “proteins,” and powdered milk (note from Ben: I only support organic, cold-processed protein powders. Most protein powder out there is complete crap, so this rules applies about 99% of the time).

9. Salad dressings made with any kind of vegetable oil, including canola

10. Low-fat products, including milk, cheese, salad dressings, cookies, and other baked goods

11. Snacks and desserts – especially if you want to lose weight

Want to know the reasoning behind these recommendations? Check out her book and let me know what you think.

I understand this is a touchy subject, but as some know, I am “deeply” passionate about the food that I put in my body and my family’s. I’ve felt the difference when I changed, and I hope you will do the same. If not for yourself, for your growing kids. I know this girl, as well as all children, deserve it.

DSC_2273 (2)