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Polo Sport by Ralph Lauren: My Top 5 Fitness Apparel Picks

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This post is sponsored by Vocalpoint and Dick’s Sporting Goods. All opinions are my own.

When it comes to shopping for all things sports and fitness related, it’s a good idea to choose a sporting goods store that is truly passionate about what they sell. At DICK’s Sporting Goods®, you’ll find just that, along with excellent service and great prices on name brand equipment, apparel, and accessories. From gym-sized exercise equipment to fishing lures, DICK’s has the quality products you need and want. So, it should come as no surprise that they now carry Polo Sport® by Ralph Lauren, a new collection of men’s activewear.

Found in select DICK’s Sporting Goods locations, I ventured to the nearby DICK’s at The Parks in Arlington, TX to treat myself to a few of the new Polo Sport items. I thought it might be hard to navigate my way to find where Polo Sport was located within the large sporting goods retailer, but it was hard to miss the bold sign proclaiming its presence.

Ralph Lauren Polo Sport

I’m just glad I didn’t have to stop and ask this guy. I think he was in the middle of auditioning for Iron Mannequin.

Ralph Lauren Polo Sport, fitness

Hey, I claim to love puns, but never said I’m good at them!

Ralph Lauren Polo Sport_In Store Photo 4

The layout was filled with activewear designed for top notch looks and performance in the cold or heat. The cold weather gear was tempting, but I find myself indoors or in a heated garage since Avery is usually with me when working out, so I gravitated towards the shorts and short sleeved shirts.

I found plenty of items I wanted to take home, but lets face it, spending a lot on myself right before Christmas would just be wrong. Obviously, I can wait to return that scratchy wool sweater from Aunt Sally and then go back to buy more! 😉

With the approaching holiday in mind, I narrowed my selection to 5 favorite fitness apparel items to bring home and start “playing” with right away. Having had the chance to wear and workout in my chosen items, I figured I’d share my top 5 with you.

Polo-Sport-Ralph-Lauren-Performance-T-Shirt, fitness

  1. Polo Sport Men’s Performance Jersey T-Shirt – This is my new favorite shirt. I love the deep blue color and the comfortable fit allows me to move as it keeps me cool for the indoor workouts I’ve been doing lately. Not covering our floors in sweat is vital to stay in good standing with the wife too!
  2. Polo Sport Men’s Performance Jersey Long Sleeve Shirt – Same as the T-Shirt but with long sleeves, I like having this for when I venture outside and it’s actually cold here in North Texas. Right now it’s been in the 70’s so I still wear my T-Shirt when going out for a run/walk/playground time.
  3. Polo Sport Men’s Tech Fleece Hoodie – Even as a lover of heat, there’s just something I enjoy about a good hoodie, and Polo Sport got it right with this one. When I can wear winter clothes that won’t interfere with my chosen workout for the day, well, that’s just awesome. Somehow, this comfy hoodie manages to keep me feeling warm and doesn’t get in the way of doing back squats and kettlebell swings in a cold garage when the heater stops working.Polo-Sport-Ralph-Lauren-Hat-Close-Up
  4. Polo Sport Men’s Stretch-Fit Performance Cap – My big noggin usually will not accommodate anything but the hair growing out of it, but after trying on this hat, I’m willing to reconsider. It’s designed for ultimate performance during intense workouts, but I like just having a hat I actually enjoy wearing. Polo-Sport-Ralph-Lauren-Hat-2Yes, so much so that I even take smiling selfies of myself with it on. Ralph Lauren Polo Sport, activewear, fitness
  5. Polo Sport Men’s Jersey Active 10” Shorts – Helllloooo, comfort! I’m extremely peculiar about having good shorts, and when I find a pair I like, I’ll wash them every day just so I can keep wearing them. Just a pull of the drawstring gives me a custom fit and their moisture-wicking fabric keeps me dry and stench free. Not to mention the 10″ inseam protects from any “exposure issues” when working out. All good things for something who likes to use the rower.

Polo-Sport-Ralph-Lauren-Rowing

Bonus points for being able to right to playtime after an intense workout and not smelling or dripping sweat like a wet dog. Avery appreciates it.

Polo-Sport-Ralph-Lauren-Playtime

Any or all of these would make a great gift someone you know or for yourself. Hey, only you really know what you want, right? With color options ranging from light colors like Andover Heather or Pure White, dark colors like Pacific Blue (my favorite!), and vibrant colors like Shocking Orange, there’s plenty of options to suit any taste.

Polo-Sport-Ralph-Lauren-Shirt-and-Shorts, fitness

Looking to buy some nice activewear for the man in your life? Polo Sport has what you need to keep him looking good and maybe even motivated to stay in shape. Win-win!

Motivation comes in many forms, and what you wear definitely plays a big role in your desire to get up and MOVE! Polo Sport has just what any fitness-minded guy would love, so head over to DICK’s Sporting Goods or visit online by clicking here.

Life, Monthly List, Parenting

23 Memories From My 23rd Month Since Going Dad

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This is the second to last monthly memories post I’ll write before our little girl turns two. Then I’ll have to think of a new way to celebrate each month. And no, it won’t be 25 memories!

Not that I don’t think Avery will give us plenty of memories each month, but writing them out is starting to get a little too time consuming. Nap time is when I’m usually able to make the list, but as I write this, I’m watching our toddler pace back and forth in her crib and do butt busters. In other words, not napping! With that, I have my first memory to start things off.

  1. Hey, Avery, you’re crazy dear! You will sit calmly while having lunch, but after we read and sing and I kiss you before putting you in your crib, you go into berserker mode! As I just mentioned, I’m watching you walk around your small rectangular space and even doing what seems like modified headstands. But the internet says you still need your naps, and we all know everything on the internet is real and true.

  2. Last month, I mentioned we officially entered the back-talking stage with your use of the word “No.”, and it has only increased in severity since. You’ll tell us “no” even when you don’t really mean it. This is especially true during dinner when Mommy asks if you want an awesome bite of goat cheese with cinnamon sweet potato and you say “no” as you open your mouth for her to feed it to you.
  3. No worries though, you still use “yes” too, especially when we ask if you want to go outside. Which has led to us spending more time together as a family in our backyard as a result.
  4. During one of our family outside adventures, you crawled on my back all by yourself (before, you needed assistance), and Mommy even got a cute pic of us that I find myself looking at every day.On Dad's Back_1
  5. We’ve always just put food on the tray of your high chair, but this month, we stepped it up in the domesticated world and gave you your own plate. We had to constantly ask that you leave it on your tray, but you do enjoy the added color from The Lion King  or Barney and Friends character-themed plates.
  6. Testing the boundaries a little more, I started giving you one of your favorite breakfast items, banana, on a plate for you to feed yourself. I tried giving you NuttZo once, but only watched in horror as it fell to the floor. It has since been replaced with sprouted raw pumpkin seeds which I figured would be much cleaner. You proved otherwise….DSC_0561
  7. Then, finally, you had your first successful dinner eating from your own plate full of food and nothing ending up on the floor! And you left your plate right-side-up!
  8. Mommy pushed the boundaries that same night and gave you a fork to use too. I was doubtful after several banana and NuttZo fork fails, but you proved me wrong and used the pronged utensil better than ever. We did, however, have to take it away once you started using it as an instrument.
  9. I remember wearing you in our Onya baby carrier every day for a walk in the morning and afternoon, but those days have passed. You do still seem to enjoy a little daddy-daughter bonding though, and I carried you a few times this month. One even being as I mowed the lawn.

  10. Mommy created a nice backyard garden area for us this month using my digging and dirt moving skills. You enjoyed running back and forth picking up dirt clumps and “helping” us out every chance you got. It was the first somewhat big project we all had a hand in, and thank to Mommy’s great work, we’ll be able to enjoy it for years to come.

  11. The frog population has been very active this month, and you’ve taken great interest in the amphibians hanging around our house. This makes me happy since I’m an amphibian and reptile lover over any other type of animal, so it’s great to share the interest. Maybe I need to take it slower though….

  12. I left you and Mommy for the weekend to go to my first At-Home Dad Convention. Before I left, I explained that I would be gone, but your reaction wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. I’m putting this in the No means Yes category.

  13. Which reminds me, your extensive use of No is mainly part of what we deemed toddler regression. You were sleeping, eating, and acting so well for a while, and then WHAM, we ap-parently forgot how to parent. Or so it felt that way.
  14. The most popular new thing you picked up on this month was “jet” or “airplane”. We never noticed how many planes flew over our house until you let us know about each and every one passing by. Turns out, there’s a lot!#mysundayphoto, toddler, kids, parenting, growing up, love
  15. You must of been bit by a happy-to-help bug after doing so much with Mommy in the backyard because now you’re “helping” with laundry, starting the dishwasher, and even putting up our big orders from Thrive Market and Amazon. Maybe soon I’ll be able to remove the quotations from help…..

    What should I help with next, Dad?
    Sorry, Dad, I don’t know where everything went.
  16. There’s hardly a dull, or at least quiet, moment in the house as your vocabulary continues to increase. Mommy and I have noticed that you’re speaking a little more clearly and combining words to make small sentences. You still have your babble time, but even that sounds more like words than before.
  17. When you’re not pacing around looking for what to get into next, you have started running up to me and initiating a foot attack. I’ll be in the kitchen just washing dishes, and out of no where you’ll come and stomp on my feet as you let out a battle cry. All I can do is retaliate and we’ll go back and forth for a good minute. I love seeing the smile on your face and how playful you are becoming.
  18. Mommy’s not safe from your playful attacks either. Just the other day you did your best to jump on her back without warning. Of course she helped you up a little, and of course I took a picture.Avery on Mommy's Back
  19. It’s apparent you’re becoming more independent and *gasp* actually aware of things around and on you! This means you now get very upset if we choose the wrong color shirt for you. The majority of the time, you request a blue shirt, but if there’s not a clean one around, green will do, and occasionally pink or purple. But right now, your favorite shirt is the one Mommy brought back from her week-long work trip to the Northeast.DSC_0531
  20. Your new-found fashion sense doesn’t stop at shirts either, you are even more demanding of what color diaper you wear. If we don’t have a blue or green one that’s clean, that could spell disaster! Luckily, the multi-colored ones suffice as blue to you.

  21. I brought you to the tiny playground in our neighborhood thinking you’d be all up for going down (ha, that sounds kinda funny), but I guess your fear of heights is still present. I thought for sure that your Soft Star Shoes would give you the courage, but I ended up getting to go down the slide with you. It was fun, but I did bang my shin up from my clumsy climb.

  22. We added a new kid’s table and chairs to the kitchen for you to sit at climb all over and push across the floor. You actually enjoy using it, and the plan is to get coloring books and crayons to keep yourself busy once you know not to color everything but the books made for coloring. Until then, the chairs house your favorite bear and the table makes for a great place to eat breakfast all by yourself.DSC_0549
  23. Just last weekend, we spent the night at G-Ma’s house and it ended up being better than most of our past experiences. Yeah, the last time was back in July for Independence Day, and the combination of lack of sleep and stimulating fireworks made for a rough night. This time, Mommy laid down with you in a real bed where you both slept through the night. I stayed away and slept on the recliner. Major kudos to my wife for keeping you safe from falling off the bed at the expense of a good night’s sleep for herself.

There are plenty more memories Avery gave us just in this month, but I just wrote as they  came to mind. As you can tell, Instagram and past posts serve as an excellent memory refresher.

Kelley and I are leaving Avery at home to go camping together while my Mom / G-Ma stays at our house to watch her. The camping trip is for Kelley’s birthday, but I know I’ll love the time away too! Win-win! I’m sure the happenings this weekend with Avery and G-Ma and us camping will make for plenty of memories in my last edition of this post next month.

Until then, have a great weekend, I’ll be back to posting next week, unless the campsite has bears….hungry bears…..Oooooo

Life, Parenting

3 Signs of Toddler Regression

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Going from baby to toddler is big step for our kids. They start talking, eating, and sleeping (usually) better. For us, things were going good and Avery was doing better with the big three, but then, something happened, she began to regress!

*Gasp*
*Gasp*

After looking into it a bit (i.e. Googling), it’s apparent that toddler regression is a thing. As a matter of fact, our little crazy clones go through many regressions from birth to, well, uh….we have some years…..

Seeing as to how we are just under 2 years into the parenting game, I’m sure there are plenty more signs we have yet to experience, but until then, here’s the 3 we have dealt/are dealing with.

  1. Sleep

Sleep was the first thing that started to wane for Avery. We had a good thing going. She’d move around and talk to herself when we put her down for the daily nap and nighttime, but never really make a big fuss. But now, starting a couple weeks ago, she gets upset and will scream and cry for what seems like forever before entering a slumber state.

No Sleep on Monitor 3

When she’s not crying, she’ll give her chill-inducing demon stare directly into the monitor camera.

Sometimes I think the crying is better…

The Baby Sleep Site describes sleep regression as:

… a baby or toddler, who’s been sleeping well, suddenly (often without any warning) begins waking frequently at night and/or refusing to nap during the day. These regressions usually last for a period of time (anywhere from 2 – 6 weeks); then, your baby or toddler’s sleep should return to its normal patterns.

I’d put major emphasis on the “should” part of this explanation! Here’s a list of symptoms/reasons our kids regress around the 2 year mark:

  • Growing sense of independence (18 month olds are learning to exert their own wills, and are likely to resist doing something they don’t want to do — like going to bed)

  • Awake time is getting longer (this explains why your 2 year old’s sleep schedule may suddenly start falling apart)

  • Separation anxiety may resurface (separation anxiety tends to improve after 18 months, but it may suddenly re-appear when your toddler is about 2)

  • Naps may suddenly stop (we usually advise parents to treat their 2 year old’s naptime resistance as a phase, and to avoid eliminating naps altogether)

  • Big transitions may be happening at home (many 2 year olds are facing transitions like moving to a big kid bed, awaiting the birth of a new sibling, or potty training — and all of these transitions disrupt sleep)

  • Nighttime fears appear at this age (your imaginative 2 year old may suddenly feel afraid of the dark, or of monsters in the closet, and that can affect naps and bedtime)

For us, I’m thinking the nighttime fears from a growing mind and separation anxiety are high on Avery’s list. We need to keep that naptime just as much as Avery, so hope that doesn’t go quite yet!

2. Eating

Next to go was our accepting eater. We would give her a book to read and most days she’d accept whatever we had for dinner that night. And *gasp* Going Mom and I could even hold a real conversation some of the time!

But that’s gone now. We have to change our eating game plan several times for each meal, even bite, since she simply refuses the same food she used to happily consume. Avery is even back to throwing food on the ground, which hadn’t happened in a while.

Much along the same lines for sleeping, I blame that darn sense of growing independence as the major culprit for her acting out when eating.

I'm eating this now because I WANT to!
I’m eating this now because I WANT to!

Yeah, I didn’t ask her to eat the apple, she wanted it right then and there. But if were were at the dinner table and that same apple was on her high chair tray, it’d be on the ground. #firstworldproblems

3. Back talk

When they know “no”, it feels as if everything falls apart, true? Kelley and I paused and grew silent the first time we hear that small, but oh so powerful word escape our sweet girl’s mouth. We tried so hard to avoid using the word, but somehow, some way, it must’ve slipped….a lot.

Damn….I mean shi…I mean crap! Yeah, probably happened similar to that.

We tried to simply ignore it at first, but her use of “no” only grows more frequently each day. Just like that damn independence! I tell ya, it’s a troublemaker! It’s so bad now, that even her animal sounds all come out as “no”.

 

So yeah, I think it’s safe to say we have a toddler regression on our hands. I guess, according to my Google searches, there will be more to come, so just like parenting as a whole, we’ll take it all in stride.

We’re not there yet, but I hear potty training regression is common too. Since we have yet to experience potty training, besides that one day, I kept it off the list. If you’re dealing with potty training regression, feel free to add a 4th sign to the list and do some reading!

Are you currently or do you remember going through toddler regression with your kid(s)?

If so, do you have any tips to share or did you just let it pass?