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!

Life, Parenting

A Coffee, Toilet Paper, and Fun Family Weekend

06/16/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Do you get caught up with the gazillion things on your to-do list and forget to just kick back and relax every now and then? We do, and it ends up consuming our weekend to where it’s Monday and the past two days are just a blur. This happens all too often, but this past weekend actually turned out to be a fun family weekend.

Every Friday, we kick off the weekend with a chocolate green smoothie. It used to be just for Kelley and I, but now Avery demands a daily green smoothie to be like Mommy and Daddy. How can I refuse when she’s begging for a drink that is full of healthy, whole foods?

I never follow a recipe, but the ingredients I have on hand are mixed berries, green banana, citrus, kale and other mixed greens, peanut flour, hemp protein, hemp seeds, plant protein powder, Great Lakes gelatin, raw cocoa powder, coconut, carrots, beets, spirulina, NuttZo, sea salt, stevia, homemade kefir, unsweetened coconut or almond milk, and a husband/father’s love.

Phew, now I’m out of breath. Maybe I shouldn’t talk out loud when typing…..

Anyway, not all of those go in at once, that’s just the typical list of things we keep around and I will use. Back to Friday and chocolate smoothies; Avery quickly and happily downed hers as a pre-dinner drink and then went to bug Going Mom as she wash her face and got comfortable before dinner.

While she was ~~behaving~~ being a toddler in the bathroom, Avery got into the cabinets where we keep the toilet paper and proceeded to take all of the rolls out. This is nothing new, and that’s all we keep in the cabinet just to give her something to keep “occupied”. But, afterward, when Kelley was picking up the rolls, she spotted something…..

Green smoothie bite marks. I guess the smoothie didn’t have enough fiber for her, so she found a way to supplement. At least she didn’t unravel the whole thing all over the house. Silver lining?

I made the usual grocery store trips to Costco and Sprouts on Saturday while Kelley and Avery stayed home. While out, I had a couple free birthday coffee offers to use, so I got a black iced coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts (the only time I’d ever go there) and a Trenta iced Americano with 8 shots of espresso at Starbucks.

I’m just now finishing the Americano, and even what’s left is hitting me with a good buzz. I couldn’t imagine if I drank it all in one day!

Later in the day, we took Avery to the neighborhood pool and had a blast playing with her. We started with her in the floating canopy she has, but eventually took her out to hold her.

Yeah, I'm ready for you to take me out now. — Yeah, I’m ready for you to take me out now.

We threw her in the air a few times, but she keeps a tight grip on our thumbs so it makes it very difficult to get her airborne. Then she found a new activity, kicking her feet and making big splashes.

No pictures or videos of her in action, but Going Mom and I took turns holding her in front of us with her legs out and kicking as fast as they could go. I’m pretty sure her goal was to splash water into her mouth since she kept it open the entire time. Whatever the case, Kelley and I both had the same thing in mind…..naptime success!!

And she slept pretty well as we ~~figured~~ hoped. Which led us to the obvious choice of doing the same thing on Sunday.

We started Sunday with coffee, as usual, but it was with a new French Press we ordered since the other one broke. Love the new press and know it was a great investment in our morning happiness!

Kelley spent most of the morning reading and playing with Avery as I prepped a few meals for the week ahead and our dinner that night; taco chili!! She spent a good amount of time with Avery on her training potty while reading almost every book we own until she pooped or peed. Finally, she peed, and we praised her for the tinkle. This is where the experience of owning a pet before kids pays off!

We eventually made it down to the pool for another kicking and splashing session, but Avery didn’t get into as much as the day before. She still kicked and splashed around, just not with as much vigor. Either because it was no longer new, or she was just tired from all of that potty training, but it was another fun family time at the pool regardless.

The rest of Sunday was spent flipping Avery on the pillow and blanket pallet I made in the living room along with doing a few household chores. Avery relaxed next to the pallet with a book and leftover green smoothie as we finished up.

This past weekend ended up being an awesome time spent as a family and I look forward to many more as Avery gets older. Not that I’d ever rush her growing up, she’s done enough of that already!

Have you ever had an “eating toilet paper” experience?

Do your kids love or hate the pool?

Life, Monthly List, Parenting, Photo Journal

19 Memories From My 19th Month Since Going Dad

06/15/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Ugh, it’s this time again already? Stop growing, Avery, not all of us want to get older! Plenty of memories being made daily in our home, and we’re loving every second of it!

Who am I kidding? That’s a quasi-lie, and I bet any parent knows what I mean. That poop in the morning that filled the entire diaper to where no white cloth was exposed? Yeah, we didn’t love that. Crying about something and we have no idea what for….nope, could do without that too.

Such is toddler-hood I suppose, so we’re making the most of it. I’ll cut right to the chase and get started with my list of memories this month, number 19….ay de mi! <—-Thank you, Spanish teacher in high school, for saying this 100 times/day.

1. Mommy and I have been waiting for you to actually get into books and sit all the way through as we read to you. Now, you’ll sit for not just one, but you’ll go and get another after we are done….and then another, and another, and well, we read to you a lot.

2. Your infatuation with lights has been around for a while, and now you’re a pro at turning them off and on too. Of course, the touch light in your room is the coolest because it requires no switches and you can reach it yourself.

3. Also, as seen in your video above, you no longer need us to read to you as you obviously know how to get into a good book by yourself.

4. At our neighbor’s, you decided to sit and play right in the water run-off where you had your first experience with a water gun. You weren’t sure what exactly to do with it, but really hated having to leave it there when we left. Don’t worry, we’ll be getting our own soon enough. 🙂

5. I think you dancing has come up in my previous memories posts, but you continue to amuse us with your expanding skills. Pecking like a chicken and spinning are some of your new moves. Must be from your mom. 😉

6. At another neighbor’s house, we stopped while walking one day and you kinda played catch with your peer, Tanner. His Daddy is a huge baseball fan and I expect you guys will play catch a lot more as you get older. You got a few good throws in too!

7. Since I have 19 of these things, I’m bringing up your dance moves again. While your motor skills have increased, your coordination still has some catching up to do. No worry, you take it all in “stride” quite well.

8. You have grown fond of having a spoon during meal times, but rarely ever use it to eat. Instead, Mommy and me still mostly feed you with our utensils, or you grab food right off of them. And of course, goat cheese is pretty much a daily thing we know you’ll eat.

9. We went to Nana and Papa’s house for a fun little cookout where you kept your cousins Taylor and Ashlee busy playing. You also brought back your demon face in full force which made it difficult to get a good pic with you and Nana.

10. While there, you got to see your aunt Lindsay and even put away the demon for a real smile. I think she appreciated your kindness.

11. This past month, we finally took down the ~~baby prison~~ play area in the living room which gave all of us more freedom and less obstacles to step over. It’s amazing how much bigger our home feels when not filled with gates.

12. With our new space, I thought it would be worth trying to make a couch fort just like I used to do as a kid. Turns out, I need to work on my fort building skills and she might need to be just a little bit older. Or destruction is just her way of saying “Your fort sucks, Dad!”.

13. As I said before, you love sitting down with us to read a book, and you walking backwards to sit down in my lap has become one of my favorite times. Instant stress relief!

14. Before the Texas heat hit us, I took advantage of the cooler weather for a few babywearing walks with you. It had been awhile since I last walked with you in our Onya, but to see you running up to me with a smile when I get it out is priceless. I will never forget these times, sweetie.

15. Now that the heat is here, so are the flies…inside our house. They have me swatting at the air constantly, and you’ve caught on. Now you will point at bug flying and say “fly” and then clap your hands just like I do when trying to kill the pests. You do this at dinner in your high chair and anywhere in or out of the house. It’s cute and hopefully you’ll be a great little helper soon.

16. Swimming has quickly turned into a fun activity for you and we’ve already gone more than last year alone. That’s not saying much, but I know we’ll be there a lot this summer, just throwing you in the air (maybe too high) and kicking your legs to make big splashes.

17. This month we celebrated getting rid of your baby bottles! You weren’t too keen about it the first day, but quickly caught on to the “big kid” leak-proof sippy cups. You made sure to savor every last sip of your last time to use the bottle though.

18. With the introduction of your new cups, I now have another person to make a daily green smoothie for. I wasn’t sure how you’d take to them when I gave a few sips, but you quickly signed for more and I knew it was time. Now you down one with Mommy at night and I save extra for you to have in the morning. I’m not sure, but I think they make you a little happy.

19. And finally, to end this month’s list of memories, it’s apparent you are a growing girl. No longer is anything safe on our kitchen counter as you can reach up to the edges quite well. We have to be careful it’s nothing dangerous on the end, but it is sometimes nice when you can get your own drink. Not so much when you try to put it back and it spills though.

If it wasn’t for Instagram, I may not be able to remember these memories, hence why I have so many pictures from my account. I’ll have to keep the Insta-pics going for next month’s 20 or my old 31 year old brain will have trouble thinking on its own.

After 24 months, I will have to find a new way to capture my monthly memories, maybe with a top 3, but until then, I’ll be back next month on the 15th to share my top 20.

What memories do you have of your kids from the past month?

Life, Parenting

Swimming With The Cutest Little Fly Catcher

06/13/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

I don’t know about where you live, but the heat wasted no time making its way to Texas. Good thing Avery loves swimming, as I have a feeling we’ll be making use of the pool in our neighborhood quite often. Notice the pics of her in the pool, and then the one back in the stroller.

Where does she look the most comfortable? Hint: NOT the stroller!

We’ve already made several trips to the pool and summer hasn’t even officially started yet. I have a feeling we’re in for a long, hot summer. Oh wait, that’s how it is every year. Meh, I complain too much about the cold, so bring on the heat! But, please, not too much because A/C = $$$$$$$$$$$ if you know what I mean.

Trying to get a good picture of Avery in the pool is like, well, trying to get a good picture of her anywhere; she hardly looks at the camera! But, Going Mom and I made sure to flash our squinty smiles for a family selfie in the pool the other day.

Avery was apparently lost in deep thought. Probably trying to figure out why the other kids weren’t in a cool inflatable thing with a canopy.

This is how she looks about 80% of the time while we’re at the pool. We tell her she can get out once she learns to swim. I have, actually, taken her out and started getting her to kick her legs as I skim her across the water. She doesn’t kick long until I’m just dragging her around and doing all of the work, but hopefully she’ll get a grip and swim like a pro in no time.

Speaking of “grip”, she definitely keeps a firm hold on my hands when I try to throw her in the air. Really makes it difficult to get a good launch, so I tried giving more force in the pool and, viola!, she let go and flew a little higher than expected.

Oops. Didn’t seem to bother her though.

What has been bothering all of us are flies in the house! Between letting the dog in and out and constantly opening the door to get something while working out in the garage, we have quite the collection of flies. Seeing as to how I stay home most of the day, the little pests are driving me mad and have me swatting like a cat throughout the day. At least Avery gets a kick out of watching her dad swat the air like a lunatic, and she’s even caught on to helping me out.

Don’t worry, that really was just fuzz she handed me, but we got a real live…errrr, now dead, fly right after.

It looks like she’s saying I’m her hero, right? Hey, let me pretend!

She’s been helping me spot flies at the dinner table too, and I’m keeping her new skills sharp even at the pool.

Yeah, Instagram video overload, I know. But it’s hard to resist this cute little fly catcher. She has yet to “catch” her very own fly, but the day is fast approaching, I’m sure of it. I’m also sure there will be more family pool time this weekend, so look out for Instagram overflow! Ha, get it? Pool….overflow….water….eh?

Quick update before I’m out. My staph checkup was moved from last Tuesday to this upcoming Tuesday, so I still haven’t heard the word from my butt doc yet. All I know is I’m feeling almost 100% and hopefully I can put it all behind me. I’m leaving on that note, have a wonderful weekend!

One last thing, please, if you can, help needy families by donating to the #MilkDrive campaign I’m a part of. It would mean so much to families missing out on important nutrients that they usually depend on for their kids while in school.