Challenge, Giveaway, Going Green, Going Healthy

Neighborhood Clean Up with Onya Baby and a Father’s Day Giveaway

06/08/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Hey there! How’s your weekend going?

Pretty fan-freakin-tastic here; it helps that it’s my 30th birthday and I’m celebrating with the ones I love so much! Yeah, no more life in the twenties, but I can’t fight it so I might as well embrace it; right? I think those are lyrics to a song….

Luckily, I was able to make use of the last days in my twenties by running a 10k and placing first in my (then) age group, and second overall! I might be a little boastful, but why not, I’m proud!

And then, just yesterday, I ran a 5k with Avery; our first race together and my last race before turning another decade! We came in first overall, but I’ll post more on that later. Today, I want to share an exciting giveaway for a new Onya Baby Outback baby carrier and a set of Chewies!

As a dad, I felt like I had some catching up to do when it came to bonding with my daughter, Avery, when she was born. From the start, Going Mom had a generous head start; around 9 months to be exact! Avery and I had our very important skin to skin time at the hospital and soon after we brought her home, I started wearing her.

I didn’t have an Onya Baby carrier at first, but thankfully I connected with Diana who graciously agreed to send their Outback carrier for review. I haven’t looked back since; Onya Baby is my top choice and fits perfectly into my active lifestyle. Avery seems to enjoy it as well!

There's a smile hidden in there; promise! — There’s a smile hidden in there; promise!

Almost every day, I will go for a walk with Avery around our neighborhood, and when she’s not napping, I’ll describe the things we’re passing. These are mostly ducks or geese from the neighborhood lake, a donkey from a connecting ranch, or just some of our neighbors out and about.

But, since we live in a developing neighborhood, there is a lot of construction going on around us. And with construction, comes trash from building materials and from the workers themselves. Oh, and the port-a-potties don’t help either. Here’s one with a pleasant message; that’s our yard to the right.

I try to find the humor in things and just laugh, but it doesn’t always work. But that’s not the issue, it’s the trash that gets blown down the street and in people’s yards that gets under my skin. Each day I go for a walk or run, I see bits and pieces spread around our otherwise beautiful neighborhood.

Maybe it doesn’t look like much in one spot, but collectively….

….it can add up quickly and….

….turn a peaceful walk into one of disgust.

Most of our neighbors, myself included, take pride in where we live and hate to see so much litter spread across our community, so I want to take action and clean it up!

For the rest of this month, I will be posting photos of the piles of trash I collect while walking, and if it can be recycled, I’ll recycle it. This will be a great activity to do with Avery to show her how to take pride in where you live and how cleaning up even just a little each day can make a huge impact. I know our wildlife friends will appreciate it too!

When I mentioned to Diana at Onya Baby about my latest endeavor, she thought it would be perfect to incorporate into Onya Baby’s Father’s Day giveaway. So I’m thrilled to announce that I have partnered with Onya Baby to offer my readers (that’s you if you’re reading this) a chance to win an Onya Baby Outback and a set of Chewies. If your kid is like Avery, they will love to have these to chew while being carried, and they help soothe teething gums!

How do you take part in this incredible chance to win your own Onya carrier? Simply follow this link and enter their RaffleCopter giveaway.

Complete the action steps as listed to earn entries and you’re all set at having your own Onya Outback to wear your baby in style and comfort!

I’d love for you to also take action and clean up your neighborhood or community with your kids and post a photo (with your Onya carrier if you have one) of the piles you collected. Share these photos on Twitter and tag @OnyaBaby and @Going_Dad with the hashtags #onyalove and #goanywhere. You can also share on my Facebook page or Onya’s page.

If you aren’t sure of just how awesome Onya baby carriers are, Paul from The Outdoor Adventure has an awesome video of it in use during his many….err, outdoor adventures!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKlqbXpFe8U&w=560&h=315]

Make sure to check out Paul’s blog and Amelia from Tales of a Mountain Mama, to see what they are doing with Onya Baby for the Father’s Day giveaway.

I’m looking forward to seeing how much you are able to clean up around where you live and hopefully your kids will see the good you’re doing and even help if they are old enough.

Being one who loves activity, this is a great way to get some extra exercise and bonding time with your children. Have fun setting a good example with your kids and good luck on the giveaway!

How do you feel about the cleanliness in your community? Could it use some cleaning?

Do you have an tips/advice on how to best approach the clean up?

Have you ever worn your child in an Onya Baby carrier?

Life, Parenting

By the Time You Read This, We’ll Be Finished

06/07/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

It’s the night before my first race with Avery and I should probably be sleeping. But instead, I’m sitting down in my running shorts while eating and writing this post.

Yep, my nightly big salad with a mix of kale, Brussels sprouts, salmon, broccoli, jicama, pumpkin seeds, and mustard and salsa for dressing. The perfect pre 5k meal! Hey, it worked for my 10k the other week.

So, ummm, yeah, like the title says, this will have posted 30 minutes after the start of the race and I’m fairly confident I will be done well before 30 minutes. Hopefully Avery is good and enjoys the ride!

Today is the eve of my 30th birthday, and my mom (G-ma) and her boyfriend, Paul, are meeting us at the race for a fun day together. We are going to a new restaurant called Brewed that serves local fare and then heading to a local brewery, Martin House Brewery.

Seems weird, huh? A guy who despises eating out and normally just shares a beer with his wife is doing this for his birthday? Well, it helps that Brewed serves local food and fair trade coffee and I’m still a fan of craft beer and will happily have a few of for a special occasion! I’ll probably skip on the food and just enjoy some good coffee; then head to the brewery for beer.

Hmmm, coffee then beer; I’m sure I won’t be going pee a lot….NOT! Oh well, despite my aversion to restaurants, it’ll be in good company and I’m sure we’ll all have a great time. Of course, Avery will have the final say on that!

Who me? I'm always good.... — Who me? I’m always good….

I don’t ever get to a “buzzed” feeling often since I hardly have much alcohol when I drink because I can’t justify it’s non-nutritive contribution to my body. Yep, I’m serious. But for my 30th, since Kelley is offering to hold off and drive home, maybe I’ll have *gasp* 2 or 3 beers! Hey, that’s a lot for this lightweight!

I don’t want to be an alcoholic dad, and I’m perfectly fine with just sipping some good stuff every now and then. Enough with the drink talk though, I’m just thinking in the future at this point, so I’ll fill you in early next week.

For now, I should probably get some rest before our “big” race tomorrow. I’ll leave with one of my favorite pictures of Avery this week; her smile makes me grin every time and flushes away any stress I may have.

There were about 10 carrots around here just a minute before this picture. She didn’t eat them, but strategically hid them in various places….the floor, her lap, her diaper (seriously), and behind her.

Any special plans for the weekend?

Do you ever go places you usually don’t enjoy but when you’re with your loved ones it’s okay?

Parenting, Pinterest Picks

Going Dad’s Top Ten Pinterest Picks (7): Food Matters!

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

Do you know exactly what went into the last meal you ate? If it wasn’t you making the meal, chances are, you may not.

This way of thinking has had me making my own meals for several years now. There are times when I go out to eat, not by my choice, and I have to pick apart the menu and annoy the crap out of our wait staff. But, I have no shame when it comes to wanting to know exactly what I’m being served and how it was prepared.

I wasn’t always like this, I used to go out all the time and the words macronutrients, calories, trans-fat, high-fructose corn syrup, MSG, etc. were never a consideration. If it looked and sounded good, I ate it. Back then, I was being “healthy” when I requested no cheese on my double-meat hamburger from McD’s.

Yeah, things have changed and now I’m a health food advocate who questions any and all ingredients. If it’s packaged, I have to scrutinize the label several times and maybe even perform a Google search. For the several years I’ve been like this, I get extremely irritated at how food companies advertise their “healthy” products and at the ignorance of the average consumer.

And now, as a parent, I’m disgusted at what some parents feed their children. I might get a lot of negative responses here, but I see no reason any kid should have to eat fast food. There is a wealth of information out there on what is healthy vs. unhealthy and enough buzz on the topic to claim you “didn’t know.”

I know Going Mom and I will instill our healthy values in Avery, but I fear how powerful the influence of her peers will be. I remember what it’s like being in grade school, and how no one wants to be the odd one of the group! All I can do is hope Avery values health and knows what is good and what is not when she’s faced with choices on her own.

Hopefully, these ten food related Pinterest Pins help open your eyes and inform you in a way to be able to make changes for the better. I know right after I changed my eating habits, I felt, looked, performed, and recovered better than ever before. I could easily go way beyond ten, but for these are a great to start with to make changes today!

3. 10 reasons not to eat at most restaurants.

4. Convenience, not price, limits veggie consumption.

5. A 20-ounce soda contains 65 grams of sugar, that is approximately 22 packets of sugar in just one bottle.

10.

Hopefully you found some or all of these thought-provoking and useful to help you start making changes for yourself and loved ones. Or maybe you’re already in the know and these are nothing new to you.

If you already are a health living advocate and you have older children, how have you worked to keep your little ones from eating fast food or other processed junk when at school or a friend’s house?

I would love to hear anyone’s tips/advice as I feel like we are a minority when it comes to caring about what we eat.