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. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, for 7 years as of 8/17/14. Sorry ladies... :) Fitness and nutrition is of the upmost 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, Photo Journal

A Rocking Bear, Comfy Chair, and Squatty Potty for Christmas

12/27/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Are you getting out in after Christmas madness mess this weekend? If so, best of luck to you, I’m planting myself at home and that’s that!

Going Mom took off for the week and we’ve been enjoying time together with our beautiful daughter who is walking all over the place now!

So, how was your Christmas if you celebrated? If you don’t celebrate, how was your other holiday or day/week in general? Anything noteworthy you’d like to share? I’m always up for a good story if you care to comment! 🙂

Our Christmas was great and one of the best we’ve had in a while! With Avery so active, it was fun getting her involved in unwrapping the gifts and letting her experience the wonders of the day. Of course, that also means she experienced how long and tiring it can be too!

We woke up early at our house to spend Christmas morning with my mom (G-Ma) and little brother (Uncle Preston) who spent the night. My mom shared the bed with Kelley, and I stayed on the couch and fell asleep watching Die Hard 2 with my brother. Love that movie, and hey, it’s Christmas-y!

I didn’t sleep well and woke up before everyone else so I went for a cold 3 mile walk and listened to a recent podcast from The Shawn Stevenson Model Health Show. Anyone into health and fitness would love the show and I highly recommend a listen. That and the Ben Greenfield Fitness podcast are my favorite.

After the walk, I made cinnamon rolls from the Immaculate Baking company for my wife, mom, and brother, but I didn’t care to have them. They sure looked and smelled delicious though!

The icing comes in a bag that you can put on yourself, but the rolls are sweet enough as is, you hardly need it. Instead of rolls, I opted for copious amounts of black French Press coffee which suited me just fine.

Upon finishing our morning fuel (I continued the coffee drinking), we woke Avery to begin Christmas. Time to unwrap presents!!

Our big gift to her was a personalized mini armchair that she has been enjoying since she first sat in it.

I never use real wrapping paper for my gifts, and it’s always easy to spot the ones from me. Old plastic bags, packaging tape, and random placement of used bows are my go-to wrapping essentials.

Yep, that's a gift to my wife. — Yep, that’s a gift to my wife.

I received some great gifts this year, and it might sound weird, but one of my favorite gifts is the Squatty Potty my wife got for me. Holy crap (pun intended), that thing is awesome.

I feel so much better after each trip to the bathroom and can “eliminate” even better than I thought I already could! Seriously, it’s such a simple thing but makes a world of difference!

Boba, the baby wrap and carrier maker, kindly sent me one of their high quality carriers to give to my wife for Christmas.

I have several carriers that I use, but not specifically for her, so now she has her own. Be on the lookout for a future post with a review from both Kelley and myself on the Boba. I can’t wait to give Going Mom’s carrier and try with Avery and to see how she likes her new gift!

After Christmas at our house, it was time to leave to go to Nana and Papa’s, Kelley’s parent’s, house for round 2 of our exciting day. G-Ma and Uncle Preston had to say goodbye first, and Avery is still not sure what to think of her uncle….

The big gift to Avery at Nana and Papa’s was a very soft and fluffy rocking…..polar bear, not horse, and it is awesome!

Avery helped Going Mom unwrap her gifts too. Guess it didn’t take long for her to catch on to how Christmas works!

It was great seeing all of Kelley’s close relatives since it had been awhile, and Avery got to hang out with her cousin Taylor and aunt Stef most of the time. They love playing with her and Going Mom and I love a nice break!

As expected, with any change in the daily routine, sleep is scarce, and Avery hardly napped with so much going on. She did, however, have a quick power nap with Nana that seemed to recharge her for the day.

It was almost dark by the time we arrived back home and Avery was letting us know she hardly had a nap. But, regardless, we still went for a family walk in the gusty wind and even attempted a family Christmas photo in front of our fireplace. Kelley messed with the camera settings and I stood to help as a focal point.

Oops, too close, but check out that totally bodacious Ninja Turtle shirt my mom got me for Christmas! Even cooler is that my mom/G-Ma got me one too, so now I’m set to show my TMNT fan status even more than I already do. Back to the picture, Avery was losing patience as I included her in the focal point testing.

Kelley finally settled on a good setting, but Avery didn’t feel like smiling, so these are the best two photos we captured…

Despite the grumpiness, we’re positive Avery had a great, albeit long and tiresome, day, and we look forward to next Christmas being even better!

Oh, before I go, Avery is starting to understand how to wave and say “hi”, even while riding her new rocking bear!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and stay safe if you are out there returning gifts or shopping for more!

Have you ever seen other rocking animals besides a horse?

Ever hear of or use the Squatty Potty?

Life, Parenting

Why Christmas is Just a Bunch of BS

12/25/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Yeah, you know, Big Smiles, “BS”. What did you think I meant?

Obviously Christmas, or whatever you celebrate, usually means spending time with loved ones, enjoying good food, and giving and receiving gifts.

Translation: being forced to see the in-laws (but not me, love you, Steve and Kathy!), not always having an ideal choice of food (yes, I’m very particular), and the gifts are something we’ve all stressed over for who knows how long leading up to the one day.

But nonetheless, it really is a wonderful time, and no matter the stress or less-than-ideal situation you may be in, Big Smiles are typically found in most homes on this holiday. I hope to see all of my friends and family exchanging BS all day, and I know I’ll give my fair share of BS as well.

We can all find at least one good reason to show off our dimples, so make sure to do it today, and do it well! I have many reasons to smile big today, and our lovely little family is at the top of the list. Last year on Christmas, we had a squishy little baby..

….and this Christmas she’s far from squishy!

Okay, so that’s not exactly a Christmas pic, but it was taken this month. But I think I made my point; our little Avery is growing!

And now it’s time for presents at our house with G-Ma and Uncle Preston, and then we’re heading to the in-laws (which I enjoy wholeheartedly!) for 2nd Christmas. I get to bring roasted Brussels and can’t wait to fill my plate with those tiny cabbages!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a lot of BS!

What are your big reasons for showing a lot of BS today?

Avery Talk

How to “Walk the Walk” As A Baby

12/23/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Hmmm, daddy’s shoe is pretty cool, I wonder if I want to take it….

Oh, hello there, baby peers. Have you started walking yet?

That’s cool if you haven’t, but you’re really missing out. I just started and I’m already working on my dance moves.

Remember when I talked about surviving the first 5 months of your life? Or when I shared my thoughts as a crawling baby? Well, that was cool and all, but I’m obviously past all of that “child’s play”.

And it’s freakin’ awesome…..Haaayyyyyy!

Okay, just had to get that out of the way. I’m done.

Just kidding, one more time!! Heeyyy…..Oooohhhh!!

Seriously, I’m done now.

Now that we’ve established I can walk *cough* and dance *cough*, I’ve noticed an increase in my ability to get what I want and figured I share a few of them with you other, less advanced, babies. I’ve even been taking notes in my cool book to remember all of my new findings.

First off, as a walker, you can reach things you never could when you were floor-bound. Speaking of, I’m a little hungry, let me just grab something from the fridge. Oooo, I see a nice jar of NuttZo calling my name!

It’s okay, daddy bought it, but it’s mine because I said so. I even had him make me some tasty Pumpkin NuttZo Oatmeal Bread like this.

Since I’m high-maintenance, I care for sugar laden food in my diet, so I make sure he only sweetens with high quality stevia like Pyure Sweet. Another tasty dish daddy made is this chocolate black bean puree with NuttZo and Pyure Sweet mixed in.

Before I eat, I need to take my shirt off so I don’t get it messed up.

It’s my choice, I swear, I like to keep my clothes clean! C’mon, dad, I’m trying to give advice here, hurry with food!

Ahhh, seriously?! Can’t you just get one good spoonful in my mouth? This is annoying and embarrassing when I’m trying to talk here! We’re done, put it up, dad, I’m leaving.

See, when you’re walking, you can be more upfront and demanding. Plus, if you don’t like how something is being done, now you have more options in expressing your disdain. For example, since daddy sucked at getting the food in my mouth, I’m going to move this stool in front of the fridge.

Yep, that’ll show him. And I still have my shirt off even though I’m a girl. Like I said, whatever I want, I do! Grrrrr!

I am also learning to take matters into my own hands. If I am trying to play and find that something around me stinks, I make a point to find the source.

Obviously, if you’re smart like me, you go to the trash first.

But nope, can’t find anything there. Maybe under the rug?

Negative. I hate to admit it, but I’m a little stumped.

This is a good time to bring up another pointer; when you begin to question whether you have what it takes to rule the house, go find something and pick it up.

The bigger the better, and try walking it with it if you can.

If you’re as good at ruling as I am, go for a one-hander and make sure mommy and daddy sees you in all of your glory!

Uhhh, crap, I think that just helped me find the source of the stench from earlier. It’s in my diaper. Which bring me to another thing I’ve picked up on………I can take my diaper off whenever I want!

If I’m in the kitchen and feel like pulling it off, well, I’m gonna do just that! Mommy and daddy reallllly don’t like this, so I do it more. For some reason, when my diaper is smelly and I take it off, that means I have to take a bath. I don’t understand exactly, but I like baths anyway.

Even if I’m enjoying the bath, I keep my parents in check by showing them what happens if they make me mad.

What? You think I’m kidding?

I NEVER kid!

One time, daddy was being annoying with the camera….

I told him to stop or I’d eat the turtle’s (his favorite animal) head.

When I heard the camera shutter after I warned him, I showed him I was serious!

Then I slowly started walking (because I can do that now) closer to him to show the now headless turtle. But….

Surprise, I never bit the head off!

You might think I chickened out, but in reality, my reasoning is two-fold. Smiling and pretending to be cute makes your parents forget all bad that you have done, and I enjoy the tasty food they hand me.