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!

Cold Water Swimming and A Psychedelic Moose

After taking our obligatory bluebonnet pictures of Avery in a stranger’s front yard, our small family made it to our destination; Nana and Papa’s. We hadn’t seen Kelley’s parents in a while, and they had plenty of hugs and kisses and gifts for Avery.

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Steve and Kathy, my wonderful and loving in-laws, had us over for a delicious, healthy lunch of grilled chicken, spaghetti squash, and spring mix salad. Per our request, Kathy left ours unseasoned/marinated and let us add herbs, spices, and other flavorings as we saw fit. Everything was great, and I could’ve had 3 more helpings!

But right before sitting down to lunch, I had to do some form of quick workout for my mental well-being. Crazy, I know, but it’s me. At first I thought I’d do a quick session of hill sprints since Kelley’s parents have several awesome hills in their neighborhood, but wanted something different since I can do that at home too. Then I got the perfect idea; a cold water swim in their pool!

It’s not quite ideal swim weather in Texas yet, but that was part of the allure. I’ve heard a lot about cold thermogenesis lately, and wanted to give it a shot. I’ve already taken cold showers which suck at first, but you feel ah-mazing afterward. So I borrowed some of Steve’s shorts (thank you, Steve!), and went outside for a quick swim before lunch. I just had to psych myself into jumping first…..

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After contemplating, I took the plunge and felt an instant stream of goosebumps flow across my entire body.

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Brrrrr! But I acclimated rather quickly and went about doing around 11 back and forth sprints. Not by preference, I had a trio of the family dogs there to cheer me on bark at me, and one of them, Harry, decided to photo “bomb” the picture Kelley took of me during a rest break.

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See the bomber there in the background? Yeah, you’re welcome, I enjoy sharing everything with you guys. 🙂

Meanwhile, Avery getting lots of love with gifts from Nana and Papa and tickles from Aunt Steph and Cousin Taylor.

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Avery immediately started reading one of the books many books by Sandra Boynton after taking it out of the giant gift bag from her Nana and Papa. Doesn’t she look like she’s really getting into the plot?

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But reading material wasn’t the only thing Avery received, she got a few clothing items from boutique shops in Colorado, where Nana and Papa live most of the time now, and even the most psychedelic (Going Mom and I both used this word at different times) stuffed animal moose ever!

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It’s hard to see in the pic, but Avery’s face shows just how psychedelic the moose is. With peace signs and flowers all over, I was half-way expecting a guitar and a joint to go along with it, but they never did. Probably for the best! After opening her gifts, it was playtime with her Aunt Stephanie and Cousin Taylor.

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Avery took interest in a toy car (yes!!!) and proceeded to venture on her own a little.

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She even used the remotes to somehow turn the TV directly on to The Walking Dead. Guess she’s hooked just like Mommy and Daddy!

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The weather was cooler than it has been, and clouds kept the sun from harshly beaming down on us, so we took things outside for a while. Taylor worked with Avery on her soccer skills, but Avery made sure to hold on to that toy car.

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Before we took off back home, Stephanie snuck in more cuddle time with the car-holding Avery as she adored her cute hat.

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The hat didn’t last long, but they had a nice hand-holding walk around the yard with car still in hand.

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It was a busy, fun-filled day at Nana and Papa’s, beginning with the bluebonnet photo session. On the way home, Avery took a short nap and then we did a few chores as she ran around like a wild child/any toddler before going to bed.

We had to leave the car with Nana and Papa, but Avery seems to have forgotten the vehicle and is now giving rowing lessons to her psychedelic moose.

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I don’t think hippies and rowing mix well, but guess Avery will do her best; she’s a determined kid, that’s for sure!

Have you ever tried subjecting yourself to cold water or air? Ever hear of cold thermogenesis?

Do you have any Sandra Boynton books? We had “The Going to Bed Book” and enjoy reading it every night, so we’re glad to have more in our book arsenal!

 

Sunshine Dad

The Obligatory Texas Kid in Bluebonnet Pictures

It happens every year. Texas families drag their little ones all over to take bluebonnet pictures in patch close by. We see several families stopped on the side of the highway, rain or shine, in hopes of taking a brilliant photo of their kids in our state flower.

I used to laugh at these families, actually, I still do, but now that we have Avery, we too are seeking that perfect patch of bluebonnets to set Avery in. You see, stopping along side a busy highway simply doesn’t sound safe, mainly because it’s not. Plus, there are many fields of bluebonnets located safely away from any busy roads that are much better. Like , for instance, some random strangers’ front yard.

Yeah, so we’re not perfect, but we were in Nana and Papa’s (Going Mom’s parents) very nice and quaint neighborhood this weekend and decided to stop for pictures in one of their neighbors’ bluebonnet patches. We’ve never talked to or even seen these neighbors, and nothing bad happened in the process, so all is okay, right? Hey, still better than off the highway, or in the middle of a lightning storm like we’ve seen plenty of times in the past!

There’s actually a Facebook page dedicated to Texas Bluebonnet Sightings that has plenty of places for those eager to snap photos of their families smack dab in the middle of a patch of flowers.

We didn’t have the best setting on our DSLR for the lightning that day, but Avery makes any photo a trillion (because million is soooo 90’s) times better. But first I had to figure out the best placement of our child…

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After Kelley found a good spot, I set Avery down and let me wife go to town with the pictures. Meanwhile, Avery went to town on the bluebonnets. Psssst, Avery, that’s illegal to do to our state flower!

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Can’t say I didn’t try to tell her…..

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Kelley took as many pics as she could with our difficult (as usual) subject, but I’d say they’re still cute.

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I only had to set her down a handful of times and take one quick break to spin her around in hopes of a smile.

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After that, Kelley took a few more photos and we called it a wrap.

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We had a great time at Nana and Papa’s after the photoshoot, and Avery received a lot of new books by Sandra Boynton (we’ve come to enjoy this author), some cute clothes, and a psychedelic stuffed animal moose.

I’ll share more about our time at Nana and Papa’s soon, but right now I need to get some sleep. The Walking Dead is taking over our lives and keeping us up later than we need to be. But it’s just so good!!

Do you have an annual picture tradition like many Texans do with their bluebonnets?

Are you a fellow Texan who participates every April?

Teaching Daddy How To Use the EGO Power Plus Mower

Oh, hi there! I’m just enjoying the weather and prepping my, errr. I mean Daddy’s EGO Power Plus Lawn Mower to mow the lawn. As you can see, I’m properly dressed in non-matching yard work attire with my pink Ramblers from Soft Star Shoes. Thanks, dad……

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Mommy and Daddy have been really busy lately and haven’t made time to learn how to use this fine piece of battery powered machinery. I’m not sure why they’re so busy, but something about watching The Walking Dad. I don’t know what’s so great about that, I walk with Dad every day and it’s nothing spectacular.

Anyway, I’ve taken it upon myself to learn how to operate the EGO so I can explain it to Daddy. Turns out, this mower, while highly futuristic and cool looking, is quite simple to use. Not to mention just fun to look at it’s fine lines…..and buttons!

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Obviously, the coolest button of them all is for the LED headlights! How many other push mowers have those? Seriously, I don’t know, I’m asking.

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Daddy looked lost when I turned the lights on, so I had to show him a few times. First, they are off….

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….and then, viola, you push this button and they’re on!

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It doesn’t take a button scientist to figure that one out, geez, Dad!

Now that we have the lights figured out, all you need to do is simply push the 56-volt lithium ion battery, only the most powerful battery in the industry, into its compartment until it clicks securely in place.

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With the handles unfolded, you take the key to…..what?….yes, that one, Dad.

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Ahhh, just look at the provided instructions, Dad, they’re pictures so you should catch on rather quick.

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Got it? Good. Once it’s running, just start pushing!

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What? Seriously?! No, not over the pavement! Push it over to the grass, you know, the stuff lawn mowers cut.

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See that green stuff, Dad? That’s the grass. Do I need to do the first run through for you?

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Here, I’ll start since you look confused.

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Your turn now. There you go, Dad, good job!

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See, that only took 20 minutes for the front and back. Gotta love that 20 inch deck! Now, how about you push me on my tricycle with the extra time we have?

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Phew, teaching parents is hard work! I might be exhausted, but I’m still cute.

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Disclosure: The EGO team sent Daddy their powerful, battery powered, and 20% less noisy-than-gas mower to review free of charge. All thoughts and opinions express here are his (or my) own. I like the lights!