All posts by R.C. Liley

I'm an ex-mutual fund accountant who left the cubicle world to be a stay-at-home dad to my beautiful little girl, Avery, who entered our life on 11/15/13 and handsome little boy, Wes, who joined our family on 11/19/17. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, as of 8/17/07. Sorry ladies... :) Fitness and nutrition is of the utmost importance in our family and we strive to reflect this in our daily life. I always prepare our meals at home and only go out if it's a special occasion, and even then I tend to not get much. Food should be fun and a joy to eat, not something quickly consumed from a fast food chain or scarf down before the next meeting. I have come from strictly logging high miles to train for the next marathon to keeping exercise varied and focusing more on strength. I still enjoy going for a run when I can, but nothing crazy, and I prefer hill sprints while pushing my daughter, Avery in the stroller. She loves it and I get a great workout! I want to show the world how to appreciate their body and feed it real, wholesome food while moving more throughout the day. In doing so, everyone would be healthier, happier, and we'd all live in a better place as a result. I blog mainly about my life as a stay-at-home dad and frequently include reviews, participate in campaigns, and share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition. If you ever have any questions or thoughts to share, please reach out as I'm always open to listening or helping others however possible. That is, when I have free time since Avery is and my wife are the number one priorities!

How to Catch Your Mommy

Hi-Ya! Avery here.

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Today I have a very important How to for my toddler compadres. It’s my secret on how to catch your mommy. It sounds easy on paper in text on the computer/tablet/phone screen, but those mommies can certainly be tricky to catch.

I’m sure you’re eager to learn the way of wise, me, so let’s get to it. First, and most importantly, you must lead them on as if they are going to catch you.

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Make sure you go slow for your mommy so you don’t pull too far ahead too fast. Even a little taunting turn will help to keep her thinking she has you.

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But then go back straight and pick it up a little.

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Find a dead end or barrier that requires you to stop, making your mom think it’s over for sure and she’ll have you in her grasp soon.

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Right as she’s going in to sweep you off your feet, make a battle cry as you turn around to chase them down. They’ll quickly turn the other way in fear.

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Chances are, your scary battle cry will pump the adrenaline pretty high, giving your mommy super speed. Don’t let that derail you, she’ll slow down fast. Remember, you are faster!

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Soon, you’ll have your prey within reach and will have mommy contained in seconds. Just act quickly to grab and…oh, wait, this isn’t right.

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Okay, just go limp if they grab you instead. Trust me, I’ve done this bef…..noooo, how did she do that?!

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Everything is upside down, I have no control!

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It’s okay, just remain calm and wait for your moment to turn things around on mommy and hold her upside down.

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Crap, still waiting for the right time. Not finding it.

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Ummmm, soooooo, maybe this should be How Not to Catch Your Mommy. Maybe it’s the blood rushing to my head, but I’m feeling hopeless.

Well, my apprentice peer, let’s just forget this How to tutorial ever happened. We can revisit at a later date, when I’ve had time to think and recover my dignity. If you are successful in catching your mommy, please send me a text, I could use the pointers….obviously.

Dear Frog, I’m Sorry For Killing You

We’ve had a frog friend around our home for almost a year and always enjoyed searching for him when we went outside each day. Avery was a tad bit reluctant to get close to the frog at first, and I’m sure I didn’t help matters much.


As a reptile/amphibian lover, I couldn’t accept her not liking our new froggy friend, so I would gently hold him up to her hoping she’d find the courage to pet the little guy.

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I was just happy when she didn’t run the other way when I held him up to her. At a safe distance, of course.

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Yes, Dad, I see it. That’s far enough!

Over the months, she found enjoyment searching for Mr. Frog burrowed in one of his several spots in our backyard. For a while, her and Going Mom would find him in a hole at the base of one of our trees. They’d peek down inside and tell him “hi”……he never responded.

Eventually, the frog made use of our rain barrel by seeking shelter underneath the raised water capture device while enjoying the perfect amount of shade and moisture. Every time I mowed our lawn, Avery would follow and find him venturing out from his hiding spot. Maybe to say hello, but I’m thinking the mower had something to do with it.

Sometimes he’d be burrowed in a muddy spot right in front of us and we would never see him until he finally spooked and jumped away to the safety of the rain barrel cover. Then we’d just get on our hands and knees, to stare at him as most likely hoped we just left him alone. Normally, we stopped trying to pester our amphibious friend, unless he reemerged from under the barrel.

A video posted by RC Liley (@going_dad) on


I’m just happy she’s into the cold-blooded insect eater now. Every dad’s dream, right?

Well, this dad I know…aka me…..put an end to our froggy fun this past weekend. I was mowing in the back like normal, careful to check all around the area Mr. Frog hung around before passing over, but never saw his bumpy skinned self in sight. So I carried on with mowing expecting to see him later when all of the sudden I hear “thump-a-dee-thud-thud-errrrr” emit from the blades.

Sh*t

Out of the side discharge shot Mr. Frog, or what was left of him. Apparently, he found a new spot to burrow. Unfortunately, it was not as muddy there and he couldn’t burrow himself down enough to allow the mower to make a clean pass. That was the end of our backyard frog friend. At least we still have the burrow spot to keep him in our thoughts.

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Avery was there, but her attention was devoted to screaming “dandelion” at the top of her lungs as she just recently learned their name and loves picking them. Plus, she still doesn’t understand death, even after seeing the frog’s torn carcass.

So, frog, my friend (we’re still friends, right?), I just want to personally say Sorry. Had I known you were in a new spot in our yard, I totally would of avoided mowing there or tried to relocate you. Most likely holding and petting you first, but still, safe and still alive. Again, sorry, and I hope you’re in some sort of  special froggy land catching the juiciest of flies with that extra long and sticky tongue of yours..

The good news is that we still have a frog at the front of our house. We see him sitting on our front porch each night as we finish dinner, and Avery makes sure to say goodnight to him with Mommy before her bath. Hopefully he doesn’t find a new spot to hang out next time we mow!!

Have you ever killed a wild yard-dweller by accident?

What about on purpose?

Easy DIY Car Maintenance With Kids

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

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I’ve been against going to a shop for simple car services and all about performing easy DIY car maintenance for years. It saves time, money, and leaves you with a greater sense of satisfaction. Plus, it allows you to connect with your car. Yes, even if it’s a rusty ’88 Cutlass Supreme that rocks more than a boat in high winds, it’s yours, have some pride.

Before we had our daughter, diy car maintenance was easy. Just go buy everything I need, bring it back, and get to work on changing the oil and oil filter, replacing the air filter, checking tire pressure, replacing windshield wipers, etc. But now that she’s almost always by my side, it’s not as simple as just leaving to get what I need. Especially when there’s only so much time in the day to play! Now I know why places that offer simple car maintenance and inspections like the Sacramento smog inspection service are so popular. It’s literally a one-stop shop!

As someone who despises crowded stores and out-of-stock items, I’ve become an avid online shopper over the years and decided to search for my car maintenance necessities online. Knowing Walmart.com has a wide variety of items for all of our daily needs, I searched and quickly found everything needed for easy DIY car maintenance. Even better, they have many Pennzoil products on rollback for a limited time which had me quickly clicking “Add to Cart” to take advantage of the savings.

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I added a few more items need for my car and checked out. No lines, no time spent lugging my poor girl around a crowded store, and plenty of money saved. When ordering online, you have the option of products being shipped directly to your home, picking up in-store or curbside assistance. Naturally, I chose shipping right to our home.

A few days later, my order arrived securely packaged. But the secure packaging was no match for my crazy kid little helper.

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She tore right through that orange tape to see what could possibly be inside. To our daughter, anything and everything is hers or she repeatedly claims that she wants something without knowing what it is. This is one of those times.

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“Oohhhh, it’s…..”

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“……a long yellow…stick?”

She wasn’t sure what to make of the wiper blade, but I took the advantage of her interest in the new wiper blade to show her where it belonged on my car and explained its purpose.

The other box had more maintenance goodies including the other wiper blade,  oil filters, and of course the Pennzoil Full Synthetic Premium Motor Oil I order with rollback savings.

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With PurePlus™ Technology which converts natural gas into a 99.5% pure base oil, Pennzoil full synthetic premium motor oil offers the best cleanliness and protection in its line-up. If you made the mistake of using lower quality oils in the past, never fear, Pennzoil helps clean out any sludge they left behind. With all of these benefits, it’s no wonder Pennzoil provides better protection from friction than other motor oils.

With the time saved by ordering from Walmart.com, I was able to spend it in the garage performing the easy diy car maintenance tasks with my kid close by lending a helping hand.

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Together, we changed the oil and oil filter (be sure to use standard safety precautions and refer to the owner’s manual for your car before changing the oil), check the tire pressure, and replaced the wiper blades. She even helped by reading the instructions.

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Not that I really needed them, I knew what I was doing the whole time. 🙂

There are many other DIY car maintenance jobs that anyone can do, but I wanted to keep it short and sweet for our toddler’s introduction to car maintenance. She may not be a baby, but baby steps are still required. Actually, that holds true all the way into adulthood!

To learn more about Pennzoil, follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Afterward, head on over to Walmart.com for rollback savings on Pennzoil products along with a host of other items you need every day, shipped right to your door.