Active Lifestyle? Easy Smartphone Protection With VOLO

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #activeprotection #CollectiveBias

I lead a very active lifestyle. Thankfully, I live in Miami where the weather is amazing year-round. I have choices when it comes to being active: I can be indoors at a gym, workout outside, swim/paddleboard at the beach or even running around the park chasing my kids. The options are endless. While working out, my only required item, other than a water bottle, is my phone. I use it to tell time, as a stopwatch and to listen to music. I use my phone alot and it needs amazing protection from the elements. I found this protection with a protective case from VOLO! 

My phone is always dirty and has been through a couple shattered screens. I know I am not the only one with these issues and so does VOLO. They have these really cool, manly cases, for iPhone and Samsung Galaxy. The cases have a Sanitized® feature which hinders the groth of microbes for maximum protection. This is fantastic for a gym rat like me. My sweaty, dirty, chalk-filled hands will no longer be spreading germs on my phone!

VOLO cases are easy to order. You go online to www.VOLOcases.com, choose your phone type and then choose your color. My favorites for my Galaxy were the orange, grey and black. I like having a couple colors on hand to choose from.

I'm ready to go with protection on my smartphone. I'm ready for more early morning walks to the car adjusting my playlist for the gut-wrenching workouts awaiting me at the gym!!

Another thing: look how slim the cases are. The super slim design fits in pockets, purses and backpacks with ease. Reinforced corners provide added protection from drops and easy access to ports make these cases a perfect choice for protection!

Tell me: How do you keep your smartphone protected? 

5 Tips To Build Muscle

Diclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PowerinProtein #CollectiveBias

I've always been tall and skinny. It's been a struggle to gain weight, much less build muscle. I started working out in college and realized that working out and proper nutrition were the only ways for me to gain weight and muscle. Gaining weight for some is as difficult as losing weight is for others. Muscle weighs more than fat so the more muscle I can build, the more I will weigh. After many years of working out and successfully building muscle, I've learned that there are 5 basic tips to success.

1. Lift heavy weight with less reps. When I work my upper body (chests, arms, back) I lift heavy weight at low reps. I choose weights that I can only lift between 1-3 times. If I were to lift light weight with lots of reps, I would also gain muscle but I would tone. I want to bulk.

2. Sleep is important. Muscles need to rest, especially if you are shredding them with heavy weight. When I am working out to bulk (three months out of the year, the rest is training for competitions) I make sure to rest a full 24 hours between workouts and I sleep a minimum of 8 hours a night. 

3. Change your routine often. I change up my workouts various times a year. Sometimes, I take a couple weeks off the gym and just do simple at-home workouts. I don't let my muscles get used to one specific workout because then I would hit a wall and not see any gains. 

4. Eat! Eat! Eat! If you are skinny and want to bulk, you need to eat. I eat 4-5 full meals throughout the day. I burn alot of calories during my workouts and throughout the day so I eat about 4000 calories daily. I know it seems like alot of calories, but I went to see a nutritionist and we set up a bulking plan. It has worked and I am getting close to my goal weight of 195 lbs.

5. Have carbs after a workout. After a workout, your body needs to refuel quickly. I take a shake after my workouts. Shakes are the easiest way to get the carbs and protein your body needs quickly. I like the EAS Myoplex ready-to-drink shakes in Chocolate Fudge. These shakes are so convenient since they come ready-to-drink, just remove the top and refuel!

EAS Myoplex products:

-are a great source of protein

-deliver the protein and nutrients to help your body rebuild

-can help anyone looking to build muscle or maintain existing muscle tone

-is good, complete nutrition

-contain good for you nutrients 

-can help reach and maintain muscle building goals when combined with an active lifestyle

EAS Myoplex RTD's are available in the Sports Nutrition aisle at your local Walmart. They come in delicious flavors: Chocolate Fudge, French Vanilla, Strawberry Cream, Rich Dark Chocolate, Cookies & Cream.

Do you struggle with building muscle? What are some tips you have picked up along the way?

Help Build A Classroom Library and Make Breakfast a Breeze with Kellogg's #Back2SchoolReady

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #Back2SchoolReady #CollectiveBias

Summer break is drawing to a close and pretty soon (2 weeks to be exact) my children will be back in school. Our lives get crazy once school starts so I try to help out with the kids as much as possible which has crowned me "the breakfast man!" I make breakfast for my family every morning and am always looking for easy breakfast choices for my family. We love the basics like cereal, eggs and waffles so I always stock up on these breakfast essentials when shopping!

In our home, breakfast needs to be easy, quick and delicious so we turn to Kellogg's products to stock our pantry. Not only do Kellogg's products come in value sizes but they now offer a free Scholastic book for you to keep for your personal library or donate to your local school on specially marked packages. There are 80 titles of books available for beginning readers to teens. 

Each specially marked package includes a code. With this code, you can redeem your choice of hard copy books or e-books (e-books cannot be donated). 

Redeeming is easy. You go to www.freebookoffer.com, create a Kellogg's Family Rewards account, enter your code and choose a book. I asked each kid to pick a book for their new classrooms and then I picked one. We requested for all the books to be donated to my kids' school. Reading is so important and I believe that as long as classrooms have lots of books, kids will read them!

One box of Kellogg's products = 1 book codes are available on many Kellogg's products like cereals, Eggo® Waffles 24 ct, 16 ct Pop-Tarts®, Special K® Protein shakes and bars, Nutri-Grain® bars, Rice Krispies Treats® 16 ct and many more!

Each person can redeem up to 30 books. Codes for free Scholastic books need to be redeemed within 14 days of purchase. The official timeline for books to arrive is 6-8 weeks (even though most come much sooner). 

Specially marked packages of Kellogg's products are available at Walmart. Make sure to hit up all the breakfast aisles so you can be ready for busy mornings!

This upcoming school year is going to rock. 4th, 3rd and 2nd grade, I hope you are ready for my kids!! 

Be sure to check out all the books available via this Kellogg's offer at http://cbi.as/gfgc. Which books would your kids donate to their classrooms?  #Back2SchoolReady

Road Trip Games For Kids

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #Tips4Trips #CollectiveBias

As a dad, I have certain things I am in charge of such as all our tech (tablets, cell phones, video games), any science or art project and keeping the kids entertained in the car. These duties were pushed upon me and honestly, I don't really mind. Recently, we took a family road trip and with four kids in the car for hours, I knew I had to be prepared with fun road trip games to keep them entertained. I spent hours researching games, testing them out with the kids and these were our 5 favorite road trip games!

When we go on a road trip or any kind of travel, the kids know that they need to pack a bag. They are responsible for that bag during the whole trip. In this bag, they can pack whatever they feel they need to keep them entertained. Usually they will pack their tablets (and chargers), a book, stuffed animals and some toys. Even with tablets and toys, they still get bored and will begin arguing and whining, that's where road trip games come in!

5 Road Trip Games for Kids

1. "I Spy" I'm starting with a classic. I think we have all played "I Spy" at one point or another in our lives and kids love it. I started it off by spotting an item and reciting the line "I spy with my little eye something ______" and the first kid that figured out what it was would be next to spy!

2. "Go Fish" This is my kids' favorite card game. We play with Jumbo playing cards. Seven cards are dealt to each player. The remaining cards are put in  a pile known as the "ocean" that is shared between the players. Each player removes all pairs from their deck and then take turns asking each other for cards such as "Adrian, do you have any three's?" If Adrian had a 3 he gives it to the player that asked, if not he says "go fish" and the player that asked him has to pick up a card from the ocean. The point of the game is get rid of all your cards in pairs!

3. Tic Tac Toe All you need for tic tac toe is a paper and pencils/pens/markers. You draw the tic tac toe board (a pound sign or hashtag!) and one player plays as X and the other as O. The point of the game is to get three in a row or tic tac toe!

4. Would You Rather? I like games that get my kids thinking and Would You Rather is a great one! This one gets the whole family playing too. All you do is ask someone "Would you rather?" and then two choices they need to pick from. For example: "Gian, would you rather eat escargot or not play with your tablet for 2 days?" Once he answers, then he asks someone else in the car. This game gets lots of laughing, joking and lots of creativity from the kids!

5. Telephone One child whispers a story to someone else in the car. That person then whispers what they heard to another child in the car and so on until everyone hears the story. The last person to hear the story repeats it out loud so everyone can hear. Some of the story will get mixed up along the way and the resulting story will usually get alot of laughs from everyone!!

I had lots of games planned but these were the top 5. Some of the games on my list they didn't want to even try, so at one of the rest stops, I pulled out my trusty cell phone and searched for some more games which is where I got the idea for "Would You Rather?" Technology saves the day again!!

I'm so thrilled I am able to take my kids on vacations. Growing up, my family wasn't able to do so. I make sure to save my pennies all year long so we can take at least two vacations a year. One of the ways I save is by using Walmart Family Mobile with its unlimited talk, text and data service plans as my phone carrier. I have an Alcatel One Touch Pop Astro which is 4G LTE compatible, lightweight and very affordable. Walmart Family Mobile service is $29.88/month (for the first line) and the unlimited talk, text and data plan includes up to 1G of 4G LTE data!

I purchased my phone and starter kit at my local Walmart. The Walmart Family Mobile displays are in the entertainment sections of stores!

Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/frw8 or your local Walmart for current pricing!

I've shared our favorite road trip games and would love to have some more in reserve. What are your family's favorite road trip games?

A Day In The Life of a Dad

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PowerfulProtein #CollectiveBias  

Being a dad, especially a working dad of three, is no easy task. I need to be 100% at everything: work, the gym and with the kids, so I don't miss out on a thing. I like being busy but I also want to be present. A lot of people ask me "How do you do it?" My response: "I just do." Since I get asked this so often, I decided I would document a typical day in my life and share it with you.

My days start off early, at 5:15 a.m. I wake up, get dressed for the gym and have a prep meal (usually a rice cake with almond butter and honey since i wake up starving!) or a pre-workout shake and eat/drink on my way to the gym, arriving at the gym at 5:45 a.m. ready to workout! I do Crossfit, so everyday is a different WOD (workout of the day.)

Normally, I do the workout of the day, which is about 20 minutes and some strength-training, like clean and jerks or snatches, since I also compete in Crossfit competitions various times a year. By the end of my training, I bust out my signature move:

After I scrape myself up from the floor, I rush back home. I try to be back home by 7:40 a.m. the latest. Ida is great at getting the kids up, dressed and downstairs ready for breakfast by the time I get home. We are on summer break now from school but we still need to be up and early since Ida and I both work outside the home. We have breakfast and are out the door by 8:10 a.m.

I get to work by 8:30 a.m.  I am an architect and usually work from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., unless there is a major project deadline and I have to stay late.

Ida works until 4:30 p.m., so she will pick up the kids from summer day camp and them pick me up at work. From there we head home and get started on dinner. Thankfully, the kids are old enough to shower on their own so they will do that while we work on dinner. During the school year, it's a lot more hectic since there is homework to do and sports practices to be at but summer is a little more relaxed and we can spend more time together as a family. After dinner, I will usually play a board game or some video games with the kids. This is our bonding time. We will usually play until about 8 p.m. when I send them up to their room, they get in bed and read. 

Once the kids are in bed, I go out for a jog. I jog for conditioning training and to clear my head. I will jog for about 30 minutes, come back home, do some yoga to get in a good stretch and then of course, eat! I am once again starving but I do not dare ask Ida to make me more food. I only know how to make fried eggs and that can get a bit tiring after a while so I went to the store and stocked up on the new STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen meals. 

I need a meal with lots of protein and once I saw that these meals have at least 25 grams of protein each, I knew they would be perfect for me. I could just take one of the freezer, pop it in the microwave and in less than 10 minutes, I have a delicious flavorful protein packed meal!

My favorite is the Cilantro Lime Chicken. It's white meat chicken with black bean and corn mix, seasoned brown rice with a verde tomatillo sauce. 

I usually eat my STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen meals while chatting with Ida about our days. This is our together time. We are very busy during the day at work and with the kids so really this is the only time where it is just us. After I eat, I will take a shower, go to bed (around 10 p.m.) and am back up at 5:15 a.m. the next day to start all over again!

STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen meals are available in  the freezer section at your local Walmart. 

Be sure to check out STOUFFER'S® on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for more info!

I've shared a typical day in my life as a dad now tell me about your day! 

4th of July Blended Family Style

4th of July is a big holiday in our home. My honey loves it and loves spending it as a family. We have the same tradition every year of going to the beach for the day and then the Biltmore Hotel at night to watch the fireworks. It is an amazing fireworks show and I am glad we go. Her big hting about the 4th is we spend it all together as a family. With my custody schedule, we didn't have Amberly and Gian this weekend so we sad about her tradition being ruined. I knew how important this is for her (since Thanksgiving and Christmas are always crazy on a shared custody schedule) so I had to do something. I spoke with my ex and she agreed to bring the kids to the Biltmore to watch the show. Sometimes the universe is really amazing!

I wasn't born in this country but I did immigrate here when I was 8 years old so I was raised here and am a naturalized citizen. I love the United States and am very grateful for all the opportunities and freedom I have been provided in this amazing country. I'm glad my children were born here and are proud to be Americans!

Life With Three

Life with three kids is anything but easy. There isn't enough time in the day to do all the things they want to do. When it's just Adrian, it's easier. I have more time to play, time to listen, time to interact but when it's all three, it's very difficult to dedicate time to any child individually.

MEET MY KIDS:

Gian Carlo is 7. He likes to play Mario games on his Nintendo 3DS and Minecraft on his tablet. He is very curious and once he gets started telling you a story he goes on for what seems like hours. He was diagnosed with ADHD a couple years back and it's been hard for me to parent him. I expect him to act just like the other kids but he's not. He does things on his own time, in his own way and that has been hard for me as a father. Honestly, I do feel like I don't spend enough time with him. It's hard since he's the youngest of the three and the other two demand lots of attention. 

Amberly is 9. This little girl changed my life. I was young when she was born (19) and thanks to her, I am the man I am today. I made myself a promise when she was born, that I would be great for her, and I have kept and will continue to keep this promise. Amberly is my "hippie". She is an artist, has long wild-woman hair and loves wearing dresses. She wants to grow up and design buildings. Hmm...I wonder where she gets that from! She is moving closer and closer to her teens and it's starting to show. She isn't a baby anymore and it's taking some getting used to as her dad.

Adrian is 8. He is my step-son. We have been a part of each other's lives for the past three years. He is definitely the most difficult child to parent because he is a tough cookie. If he doesn't like something, he will tell you. If I do something he doesn't like, believe me, his mom will hear about it. He is fun though and up for anything. We argue constantly, usually about one sport or another. Adrian likes to play sports, especially basketball, as do I but we cannot play together. I love this boy as if he were my own. I am his "Papa"

As you can see, they are three very different children and the only thing we really do as a group is play Minecraft. We all connect to a world and build and create. I try to find different things we can do together and maybe it will get easier as they get older. The problem is I only see Amberly and Gian every other weekend. When we are together, we need to get so many things done that I do not have time to spend with one or the other individually. I need some tips from other dads out there. How do you do it? How do you handle life with three, four or more kids?