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!

Avery Talk

The Love-Hate Relationship: A Toddler’s View

11/11/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Hi there! It’s me, Avery, I’m taking over Daddy’s blog for a quick explanation about love-hate relationships. Don’t worry, he won’t mind, I practically have him wrapped around my finger…..or at least on my shirt. See?

I’ve had a certain stuffed bear around me my entire life, and no matter how many times we fight, we always seem to make up. Well, now there’s a new animal in the house, Lamby, and he’s become my new favorite stuffed buddy. Even though Bear can make me feel like dancing at times…..

…..he usually just bums me out.

Finally, I decided I must tell him about Lamby and how he is no longer my best stuffed bud. I kept pushing it off, but finally, during breakfast, there was an awkward silence.

I looked over to initiate the conversation with my old plush pal.

He seemed to sense my uneasiness and simply refused to respond or even look at me. Eeek, that awkward feeling got even awkward….er?

Knowing that I must get closure, I was the ~~bigger~~ only person and walked over to him so we could talk, pretty blue eye-to-beady glass black eye.

Then, all of the fights we had, the times he kept getting in my way when sleeping, and how Mommy and Daddy obviously didn’t like him since they just tossed him at me built up inside. I couldn’t help what happened next, my toddler rage took over and wrung his neck!

Just leave me alone, Lamby and I are happy without you!!

I didn’t know I had so much anger inside of me, but I immediately felt bad. I think I even heard poor Bear sniffle a little. Or maybe he has a hidden squeaker…oooo, that would be cool. No, getting sidetracked here, I simply felt the guilt sink in and only grow stronger. We both needed a big bear hug!

I’m so sorry, Bear, I promise, we can still be friends.

And now it’s right back where we started. I still love Lamby more, but Bear thinks we’re all good again. This love-hate relationship stuff is hard, and is truly exhausting….ugh.

Well, whatever the case, I don’t like these confusing relationships one bit. I know I love Mommy and I love Daddy, and apparently I love to hate Bear. For now he can stick around, but if ever goes near Lamby, well, here’s how I feel about that, and no, I’m not pointing at the red “R”.

Going Reviews, Promo

Tranquility Labs – Natural Mood Support Supplements

11/10/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Are you someone who gets anxiety thinking about something in the future or spending too much time in the past? Maybe you just have trouble enjoying and living in the moment. Well, you’re not alone, and Tranquility Labs has safe, all natural supplements to help you just like they’re helping me.

That’s right, yours truly easily find himself worrying about petty things like what to make for dinner or how to fit in my next workout, and even whether I should use a fork or spoon! Yeah, it’s ridiculous. I always use a spork for that reason, by the way.

Since I’m not a fan of most OTC drugs out there, I was excited when Tranquility Labs agreed to send me their Tranquilene Total Calm, Sleep Fast Nighttime Spray, Focusene, and CogniDHA Omega-3 Fish Oil supplements to review.

My “worst offender” areas are not sleeping enough and being irritable from stressing over little things. No matter how many times I tell myself those things are not that big of a deal, stress seems to creep its way back into my mind. I’ve even shared my stress issues in past posts including how it hindered our attempts at getting pregnant.

Tranquilene Total Calm

It’s been about 3 weeks since I started taking Tranquilene, and from the first day I noticed a marked difference in my mood. Nothing super powerful, but I felt it, a slight easing of the tension I normally feel. I found I was able to calm my mind and not worry so much shortly (around 30 minutes) after taking two capsules in the afternoon, when my stress/anxiety is at its peak.

The blend all natural ingredients that have shown to battle anxiety in men and women are designed to work synergistically over time. Having taken Tranquilene consistently every day for a weeks now, I notice that my overall levels of stress have decreased a good amount and I am even able to stop and just enjoy the moment more often.

This is extremely important as someone who stays at home with his precious daughter all day and needs to be there for her with a big smile on my face. Same for my hardworking, beautiful, and deserving wife, she needs a husband who is supportive and not a drag to be around. Tranquilene has helped in both areas.

Of course, I still have stress, and Going Mom will attest to my irritability still popping up every now and then, but this is a supplement, not a panacea, and for that, I love it. For the decreased feeling of stress and anxiety, I feel Tranquilene is well worth it and plan on continuing my daily use. Knowing that the ingredients safe and non-addictive is more than perfect for the health-minded person such as myself, just one less thing to stress over!

Sleep Fast Melatonin Spray

Sleep Fast Melatonin Spray with B6, Valerian Root, Chamomile, Lemon Balm and 5-HTP is the natural answer to my insomniac ways . Some days are worse than others, so I love the fact that I can control the dose with each spray.

I always avoided flavored liquids because that meant sugar or artificial sweeteners were added, but this is free from any nasty stuff and full of good, all natural and proven herbs that help calm and relax a racing mind. As I already revealed, I’m known to be a worrier about what’s to come, which always affects my sleep. Now, with 6 – 10 sprays of Sleep Fast 30 minutes before bed, I’m better able to relax and fall into a good night’s sleep.

I’ve had zero side effects besides waking up feeling refreshed and energetic. As a stay-at-home dad to a very active toddler, this is a MUST! The flavor is pleasing, it’s convenient for travel, and best of all, there’s no artificial ingredients to be concerned about like most OTC sleep aids. It also compliments Tranquilene extremely well.

We all need/deserve a good sleep, but shouldn’t become lab rats to get it. Try Sleep Fast and avoid all worries while getting to sleep….fast. See what I did there? 🙂

Focusene

I’d love to go back in time and give this to my younger self while in college. An awesome alternative to prescription drugs, sadly all too commonly used by college students, Focusene is safe, non-addictive, and packed with scientifically formulated, all natural ingredients designed to increase concentration, support mental performance, memory, and clarity.

This stuff is great! Some days I feel completely out of it with my mind in another world as I try to cook 4 different meals while keeping Avery entertained, but since taking Focusene, I find that I’m better able to maintain my sanity and get everything done. Even better, it’s helped me manage time during the day a little better so that I can still fit in a workout on really busy days.

Speaking of, I use Focusene as a good pre-workout supplement on heavy lifting days. You never want to lose focus when you have heavy weight over your head or on your back, and Focusene helps ensure that doesn’t happen. Even when Avery yells the color of each passing car out from behind me when I’m doing heavy squats, I somehow manage to keep my focus on the task at hand.

Again, is it the answer to all my issues? No, I still struggle on some days, but my mental clarity is much improved after having taken this for several weeks now. This is another supplement I feel offers enough noticeable benefits that will have me keeping it on hand.

CogniDHA Omega-3 Fish Oil

CogniDHA is now my go to fish oil both for what it has and does not have. Too many pills are filled with things that do zero good for the body, but not this one. No unnecessary fillers, the fact you don’t get fish breath (the pills are odorless), and how much better my brain and body feels since taking these has me giving two thumbs (and cerebral hemispheres) up!

I am taking one pill each morning and felt better after just a few days of taking them. If you don’t take a fish oil now, start with these, and if you do, replace them to see for yourself

Not that I think taking any supplement will solve everything, but after using the quality products from Tranquility Labs, I can confidently say they help. And well, whether we like to admit it or not, I know we could all use a little help, right?

Check out Tranquility Labs to see what they’re all about and learn more about their full line of all natural supplements. Which supplement do you think you would benefit from the most?

Tranquility Labs agreed to reimburse me for my honest review, i have not been compensated in any other way. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Life, Parenting

The Best Little Boo-Boo Kisser

11/09/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

It started about a month ago, Tuesday, October 13th, to be exact. The day I acquired my boo-boo while rescuing my daughter from the scariest of slides 50 stories high!

Just look at that thing, it’s treacherous! Poor girl could be scarred for life having to endure something so horrendous.

Okay, it’s just a small playground in our neighborhood with this slide that hardly lets you slide, more like slowly screech your way down the green plastic as it grasps on to your skin. But that wasn’t Avery’s issue, she just simply did not like being up there without Mommy or Daddy up there too. As referenced by the frowny face….

As I climbed up to join her so we could slide down together, my foot slipped on a step which resulted in a bloody right shin. I’ll spare you the pictures, but geez, that thing hurt for days! And what’s with shins taking so long to heal anyway?

Fast forward to this past week and weekend, and Avery has started to take a notice in all things boo-boo related, included the scab on my shin. I told her how it’s my boo-boo since she would watch me clean it every day, so, naturally, she picked up on saying it.

At almost two years old, she’s been picking up on a lot lately, and even forming sentences! Not only that, but she’s starting to understand things better. I explained the concept of kissing boo-boos which she didn’t exactly get at first, but now she’s really caught on.

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Seeing her sweet self want to help make my boo-boo better (whether she really gets it or not), simply warms my from the inside out. As gushy as it sounds, it’s the truth. Parents, you know what I’m talking about.

Avery as even enlisted Lamby, her current favorite stuffed animal to help kiss my boo-boo multiple times throughout the day and right after reading at night, before Going Mom sings to her. As an aside, Lamby just recently took the lead as a favorite, giving her good friend bear the shaft. I’m not so sure about this Lamby though, she seems a little rebellious and I fear she could cause trouble when Avery is trying to sleep.

But I must say, between Avery and Lamby, my scab is gone and the shin is almost fully recovered. The constant kissing of my boo-boo gets slightly awkward at times, but only when she leans in really slow and all I can do is stand there, as if I’m expecting of a kiss on my shin. I can’t turn her away though, she’s downright insistent on offering her healing powers.

This weekend, I counted over 10 boo-boo kisses as I went about getting dinner ready and on the table one night. How I managed not to step on her as she leaned her face into my leg each time, I’m clueless, but it was sweet and my wife and I both love how much fun she is giving us.

While going about prepping food for the day and weekend ahead on Sunday, I opted to skip my usual podcast listening to enjoy hearing Kelley and Avery spending time together in the other room. Just from the joy in both of their voices while playing and reading books, I couldn’t stop myself from grinning from ear to ear. Until I cut myself for not paying attention when chopping veggies. Good thing we have our own little boo-boo kisser and Lamby side-kick to make it all better!

Do you have your own little boo-boo kisser?

If so, do they have a stuffed side-kick to help out?