Category Archives: Life

Why June is “Going” to be Great for this Dad!

06/03/2014 R.C. Liley 3 Comments

Hey there, how’s it going?

Pretty good here, just having more problems than I expected with the new laptop I bought this past weekend. Really, why would anyone expect problems with something brand new? I messed around with the thing for most of Sunday and it put me in a bad mood. Luckily, my sweet wife was there to call me out and get me to focus on the important things; family!

I’m back at it today though, but only while Avery naps and Kelley is at work. I’ve got a lot to keep myself busy this week, and that’s in addition to raising our sweet daughter.

For one, I’m a proud ambassador for Oral-b and have joined forces with many other awesome dad bloggers to promote their new Oral B Black electric toothbrush and show what it means to have the #PowerofDad. This is going to be a great Father’s Day event!

Just looking at it makes my mouth clean!

There’s going to be a Twitter party today at 1pm EST with several prizes to give away. If you can, I’d love to see you join; just search for and use the #PowerofDad hashtag to join in on the excitement!

That’s not all, I’m also working with Onya Baby for another Father’s Day campaign on cleaning up your neighborhood. I walk around our neighborhood with Avery every day and despise seeing so much junk from new construction sites and careless people. I want to take pride and clean up the trash around my home and hope you will join me. There will be a brand new Onya Baby Carrier giveaway as well, so keep checking back for details!

Trying our new Onya Baby NexStep made from 100% recycled material.

On top of this, I’ll be celebrating my 30th birthday and first Father’s Day! And the day before my 30th, I will be running a 5k with Avery in the stroller; our first official race! I’ll share the details on the race soon, but just couldn’t hold it in any longer! Yep, we have a lot going on and I can’t wait to share all of the excitement with you!

What do you have on the agenda for June?

Life, Parenting

One Way James Bond Never Used a Laser

06/01/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Earlier this month, we were playing with Avery in the living room as it was nearing her bedtime, and, like most babies, she was getting fussy. But, instead of getting her ready for bed, we chose a different route….play time with a laser!

Don't move, you might scare it off! — Don’t move, you might scare it off!

Since that day, we have been able to buy ourselves a little extra time before Avery turns into a sleep deprived night demon with the special power of shrill screaming. As a bonus, our slightly overweight cat gets a nice workout chasing the blasted red dot across the floor. This, in turn, amuses Avery more than the laser alone and even makes her laugh the craziest and cutest sounding laugh we’ve heard yet.

Being the textbook first time parents we are, there’s always a video camera nearby, so we quickly captured Avery’s amusement as she watched Lou (our cat) chase the red dot. And of course I posted it on YouTube since to us, it’s worth showing the world!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO6hA4nhfB0&w=420&h=315]

I know using a laser pointer as cheap entertainment is far from a new trend, but imagine seeing something like this for the first time when you’re a baby. There’s already so many crazy things you’ve never seen, fat black cat included, that I’m convinced her high-pitched laugh is partly a result of not knowing what else to do.

Now that she’s seen it a few times, she doesn’t laugh as much as in the video, but it still keeps her engaged and most importantly, not crying. And that, my friends, is definitely one way James Bond has never used a laser!

Do you use laser pointers as entertainment for your kids? Pets?

Any other cheap entertainment tips/stories to share?

Life, Parenting

If My Baby Could Tweet and Use Hashtags

05/29/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

It’s the coolest thing lately, using hashtags for everything! Every show has its name in hashtag at the top of the screen and people even talk in hashtag; me included.

I used to make fun of hashtag use and seriously got annoyed because I’ve always know it as a pound sign. Mainly because, IT IS!

When you get an automated voice on the phone, it doesn’t say “Please enter your password followed by the hashtag”. Not yet at least.

But, I have succumbed to its use and do it daily. #igiveup

See?

So I started to wonder what my 6 month old daughter, Avery, would say in hashtag if she knew how. And thus, my post was born! Here’s my attempt to put hashtag words in Avery’s mouth for some of our recent pictures.

Enjoy!

Dad called the hashtag a pound sign! #WTF

#SomebodyPayAttentionToMe

#Damn

And picture number 1,033 for the day….#StopDad

I’m still here. #PhotoBomber

Go ahead, cat, make the first move. #KittyCompetition

I didn’t actually mean for you to make a move! #GiveMeTheRedDot

I have to feed myself with this?! #BringBackBoob

Just doin what I do. #RaspberrySelfie

It stinks. #WhoFarted

It was me. #BroccoliMadeMe

What, another picture session? #DontLookDontLookDontLook

Those stupid waving fingers always get me. #Crap

I think I just have to fart…..oops. #ChangeMyDiaper

Not all toys are fun. #IMissTheRedDot

Yeah mom, I love the bow. #Ppthhhppthhhppththpptthh

Go ahead, ask me another question you already know I can’t answer. #BabyProblems

Now that I use hashtags on a daily basis, I get how useful they are for social media and business, but there will always be a part of me that questions how and why the ever originated. But, like most things with technology, you just have to go with the flow.

What are your thoughts on using hashtags?

Any personal stories?

Don’t you call it the pound sign?