Category Archives: Life

What Toddler Yoga Really Looks Like

11/06/2015 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Perform a Google search for Toddler Yoga and along with the glut of mommy & baby/toddler yoga info sites, you’ll find images of cooperative toddlers in yoga poses with their mom.

I’m not sure I could even get into that pose, much less hold it for more than half a second, but here this kid is doing it with apparent ease. They even have classes at yoga studios specifically for babies/toddlers and parents. I’ve seen it around before, but still hard to imagine things actually going as well as they portray on their site.

Look up the definition of yoga and, well, never mind, I’ll do it for you…

After observing my wife attempt to have a yoga session at home with Avery joining in, Toddler Yoga brings to mind another word.

Come to think of it, cooperative toddler fits into this definition too. Not always, but c’mon, you know it’s true.

With the end of my squat every day routine, I mentioned that I’ll be bringing some of my workouts inside. With the help of fitness DVDs, I will be able to workout while simultaneously keeping Avery entertained and maybe even joining in.

She still tends to walk in front of me or try to climb my back during certain exercises that could result in injury (for the both of us), but when it’s just us two, she’s usually pretty good. Maybe because she’s around me all day, but Avery is always more clingy to her Mommy, which makes it very hard for my wife to do the same workout videos.

The other day, feeling the need to relax and calm down, Kelley chose to do the yoga video we have. Great choice when relaxing is the goal according to the definition, but what about that extra variable….our toddler.

Yep, there she is, sitting on Mommy in the Corpse Pose. Probably not a pic you’ll see on any yoga studio’s website trying to promote their Toddler Yoga class. Avery did get off to strike her own pose like Mommy for a bit.

Using Kelley’s sweatshirt as her personal yoga mat, I’d say she was doing pretty good. At least they both look relaxed. But then…..

….. as evidenced by the mischievous smirk on her face, her cling-o-meter was reading low and something had to be done fast!

How’s this, Mom, is this in your way? Not that it mattered, under Mommy was NOT clingy enough.

There we go, back to the Corpse Pose; perfect opportunity to sit on Mommy again. Hi!!

I was beginning to wonder if Kelley was still in the Corpse Pose, or actually suffering from lack of oxygen. Obviously, I was extremely concerned since I still took pictures. No worries, I had Avery check her breath for me.

Phew, she was still breathing!

Yep, she's good, Dad. — Yep, she’s good, Dad.

I missed several shots of Avery doing the Downward Dog Pose, but I’m sure I’ll get the chance again. She actually did that one pretty well, so I’ll be sure to share once we capture it on camera.

Have you ever tried doing something relaxing with your little tot(s)? Success or failure?

Food, Life, Parenting, WIAW

Our Toddler’s Daily Blue Plate Special + WIAW

11/04/2015 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Our toddler is getting a little more sophisticated around here. Before, we could just use her high chair tray as a “plate” for her to eat off of, but now she insists on using a plate. And not just any plate, and blue plate!

Actually, as long as the plate is next to her, she will still accept eating from the tray, but her plate must be blue. Pink or purple is a surefire way to set her off like Katie Ka-Boom from the Animaniacs (please, someone tell me they know the reference), so she gets her blue plate every day for at least dinner. Then wash, rinse, repeat (literally).

It doesn’t stop with just her plate either, she insists on sitting in her blue chair, drinking green smoothies from her blue bottle, wearing a blue shirt, and favors her blue cloth diaper over the other colors. And I lost count of how many times we are told the sky is blue and she has blue eyes. I know she’s too young to call it official, but for the time being, blue is definitely her favorite color.

Back to the blue plate. I’ve enjoyed sharing our toddler’s eats for past What I Ate Wednesday’s, so I figured I’d share her blue plate fare (rhyming rocks!) for this week’s edition.

Breakfast – Banana, homemade chocolate protein pancake, homemade NuttZo Banana Bread, and sprouted raw pumpkin seeds.

I’m always a bit worried about the pumpkin seeds since we’ve had several tipped plate experiences already, but lately, she’s been much better at putting her pincer grasp to use.

Snack – Tiny But Mighty Heirloom Popcorn with more NuttZo Banana Bread.

So it wasn’t a plate, but a blue lid seemed to pass her stringent color standards of….um…blue.

Lunch – Lots of slow-cooker veggies with black beans and a 50/50 mash of cauliflower and potatoes mixed with nutritional yeast, goat cheese, and several spices.

Please note the blue fork. I found it on Amazon and had to buy it for the name alone; Air Fork One. She loves it too!

Big Girl Snack – hard boiled egg, diced apple, slow-cooker butternut squash, steamed veggies, and cut cherry tomatoes.

I swear, she eats more than most adults! She’ll finish off a plate like this and simply look at us and say “more”.

Dinner – chicken thighs from a local farmer, baked apple, and more slow-cooker veggies.

Dinner time is when she tends to get a little ornery, so we keep more food to the side or feed her from our own plate/bowl. This time, however, she was all about the chicken and the veg and used her Air Fork One very well.

Picking up the cargo..

…dropping it off…

…and then back out for another load. Or she’s threatening us, not sure.

Who knows how long the blue plate phase will last, but I guess it could be something much, much worse, so as long as she keeps eating so well, blue plate it is!

Hope you have a great day, we’re getting over the hump now!

Does your kid have a particular item they must have at all times?

Ever see the Air Fork One or something like it?

Goals, Going Strong, Life

Squat Every Day is Done + What’s Next

11/03/2015 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Back in Mid-September, I wrote how I had started Cory Gregory’s Squat Every Day Program. As you might gather based off the name, it’s where you squat….every day.

We’re not talking body-weight squats either, it was all about heavy barbell work where you hit a max single for most days. Of course, there were some days I strayed from the routine like when I was in Raleigh, NC at the National At-Home Dads Convention where I used the heaviest dumbbells in the hotel gym for split squats, goblet squats and sumo squats. I also performed several sets of heavy triples, used the common 5×5 approach, or even bottom position squats on saw horses some days.

Deviations aside, I still got under the barbell (besides the 3 days of dumbbells) to do heavy squats for 50 consecutive days. I planned to stop at 30 days, but then kept on finding myself starting each workout by doing squats. I’d say this is the last day, but then do the same thing again the following day. Finally, I hit 50 days and the physical and mental aspects simply caught up with me; I was done.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I have increased my front squat by 25 pounds and back squat by 15 pounds. For someone who has been lifting for several years, that’s pretty good gains, especially since I still suck at increasing my food intake to make even better gains.

Sunday, November 1st marked my 50th and last consecutive day of squatting, and out of all of the many variations I performed, the squats with a 10 second (yes, 10 full seconds in the bottom part of a heavy squat!) was by far the most difficult both physically and mentally. Doing front-to-back squats (perform a front squat, rack the weight, and then go right into a back squat which makes one rep) is a close second.

No, I don’t expect anyone else to really care about how many days I’ve squatted, but I’m proud of myself for sticking to it and have a new place for squats in my heart. It feels weird to not go right to the squat rack in my garage, but I won’t lie, it’s a little nice too. Actually, I’m taking it somewhat easy this week, but think I’ll commit to a video-based program utilizing dumbbells.

I’ve done it before, and plan on incorporating barbell work in the program because, well, I just love the barbell. I mentioned my injured shoulder about a month and a half ago, and I finally went to a chiropractor who confirmed it’s a strained rotator cuff. He said I can still lift, just focus on light weights and high reps. This is one reason I’m choosing the workout video that use dumbbells to lift in the 8 – 12 rep range.

At least I can still do heavy squats! Hopefully I’m as disciplined about going easy on my shoulder as I am about always exercising (too much if you ask most people) and I’ll make a full recovery.

Sorry for absence of cute toddler pics and blabbing on about my current squatting achievement and new routine. Speaking of our cute little girl, she’s the other reason I’m leaning more towards a workout routine to do inside. Now that it’ll be getting colder and she’s a ~~little~~ lot more vocal about what she likes and dislikes, I expect being inside and not in a cold garage would suit her preferences.

So that’s where I stand in the exercise world for the most part. Still on that quest to gain strength, just taking a new, hopefully smarter, approach.

Have you ever followed a workout video program?

Did you like or despise it?

Care to share details? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on different programs.