I Want Mommy!!!

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I work hard at trying to give my kids the same kind of upbringing that I had and that includes my being a very hands on type of father. So you can imagine my surprise recently, when both my children decided that they didn’t want daddy reading their bedtime stories anymore… “I Want Mommy!” they both cried, on consecutive nights.

Let me tell you something about the type of story teller they have for a father. I have worked countless hours practicing my Mater and Dr. Doofenshmirtz impressions, so that come game time, I am ready to go. I don’t just read Pinkalicious, I AM Pinkalicious. Don’t even get me started on how many times I have watched Tinkerbell’s, Pixie Hollow Games, in order to get all the character’s names and voices juuuuust right! And, do they not remember the tears from my dramatic reading of when Barbie became class president and then got a chance to meet the first woman president of the United States?!

Well, just when I thought things couldn’t get any lower for this loving father, my son had one more surprise for me. While the two children fought over who got to have their precious mommy for story time, my son got up and left the room. I assumed he had accepted defeat at the hands of his younger sister, until he returned a minute later with a shiny object in his hand and a proposal for his lil’ sis.

“If you let daddy read your story, I’ll give you this money from my piggy bank”, he bribed as he slyly flashed the shiny nickel before her eyes.

“I WANT DADDY TO READ MY STORY!!” she proclaimed wildly as she snatched up the coin that Canada will probably do away with next.

And there you have it, folks. The pleasure of my company reduced to the cost of a big foot gummy candy. On the bright side, I have a persuasive son, a daughter who wants to make the big bucks and a wife who happily sits upon her throne, for now! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go check the couches for more nickels.

Three Year Old Pride

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In case you have never met me or followed me on any social media channel, I attended a conference last weekend called, Blissdom Canada. At this conference, I was given the opportunity to do my very first presentation, with slide show and everything. Yeah, I know, bad ass! It was an amazing and exhilarating experience and one that I won’t soon forget.

After the presentation, I received so many supportive and encouraging tweets, messages and face to face compliments, that I was on cloud nine until…well, I’m still kind of there but that’s not the point. Something else happened that trumped all of that, which probably sounds hard to believe.

I was lucky enough to have my amazing wife there, who spent the whole weekend making sure our kids were having a great time on their mini vacation. They told me all about their swimming pool adventures and it was great to see how excited they were to have met the “Real” Chuck E. Cheese! I was sad to miss out on all the fun but realized that without the conference we wouldn’t have been there anyway. Plus, they got a chance to come down and watch my first ever presentation, which was really special for me.

I caught them on their way back from dinner on the last night and as I was talking to them, my three year old daughter started playing with my conference badge, which hung from a lanyard around my neck.

“What’s this, Daddy?” she asked
“That’s my ticket for Daddy’s conference, honey” I replied, figuring I could have said anything and she wouldn’t have really understood.

Then she hit me with the bomb…

“Did you get that for being so good on the stage today?”

She stared, very matter of factly, into my eyes as she said it and I couldn’t help thinking that she knew exactly what she was doing and how much it meant to me. I was thankful for all the nice words from everyone throughout the day, but for your three year old to express pride in something you did is beyond words. I mean, having your children be proud of you is part of the goal, right?

I hugged her so quickly and tightly that I’m hoping she didn’t get a chance to see the tears. Not because I felt the need to hide them, but they would have been hard to explain at that point. This was just one of the memories at made at Blissdom Canada but it’s one of the ones that will stay with me forever.

Phineas & Ferb: Mission Marvel DVD ~ Review

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Just when I thought Phineas and Ferb couldn’t get any cooler, they go and team up with the Marvel super heroes and hit it out of the park! I have to admit that there has been more than one occasion where I catch myself watching Phineas and Ferb without any kids around and this DVD will be no exception to that rule. Plus, Super Heroes!

Here’s a quick synopsis of the film:

After Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s latest “-inator” scheme accidentally removes the powers of some very well-known Marvel Super Heroes (Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk), the heroes enter the world of Danville and team up with Phineas and Ferb to relocate their powers, defeat the Marvel Super Villains (Red Skull, MODOK, Whiplash and Venom) – who have also shown up to steal Doofenshmirtz’s power-draining technology – and save Danville from ultimate destruction!

Although I couldn’t get my kids to give an official statement on the DVD, other than that is was good, the glazed stares on two kids who can barely sit through dinner was a ringing endorsement for this one. Plus, any parent who is into super heroes will love it too! Besides, this is MY review, not theirs!

The Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel DVD is on store shelves now and also comes with an In-Packed Collectible Comic Book & exclusive Marvel poster (each DVD will be packaged at random with one of three distinct Marvel posters). I mean, come on, do you really need for me to tell you that this movie is awesome? It’s Phineans & Ferb & Perry & Doofenshmirtz & Super Heroes!!! Do the math and get the DVD!

Mission Marvel Poster 1

Dad Blogs Exposed! ~ The Daddy Complex

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This week, I’m excited to welcome the creator of the mega viral “Calm The F*ck Down” parenting method, The Daddy Complex master and very funny, Mr. David Vienna! I had the chance to meet David in Houston last January for the Dad 2.0 Summit and he is exactly as he is on his site, which is a great thing. I had the chance to ask him a few questions about his blog and fatherhood and hope you enjoy what he had to say.

CD: Why did you start blogging?

David: To maintain my sanity. I was a work-at-home dad and had what psychologists would probably classify as a nervous breakdown about twice a week. Both my dad and my wife suggested I start the blog. I was so frazzled, they could’ve told me to start building a rocket ship and I’d have done it.

CD: How would you describe your blogging style?

David: Like scat. Both the jazz singing style and the poo style.

CD: What has been your biggest challenge as a father?

David: Convincing my kids they need to find jobs. I tried explaining the value of a hard day’s work, but they just want to play with Legos, the freeloaders.

CD: What one piece of advice would you give to a new Dad?

David: Designate a place in your home to be your “Weeping Area.” Closets work well, as does the cupboard under the kitchen sink.

CD: Your post about the “CTFD” parenting method went mega viral. Can you talk a little about what that was like and what, if anything, came from that exposure?

David: It was cray-cray, man. So many people have — and still do — find use for it. There’s even a clinic in Michigan that offers classes in how to implement the CTFD Method. I like that it’s become a sort of battle cry for parents. And the exposure/success of the post opened a bunch of doors. I got a book deal, appeared on the Today show (not to talk about CTFD, but that’s how I ended up on their radar) and my name keeps getting mentioned alongside Amy Chua. I guess I’m like the anti-Tiger Mother.

CD: What is your social media weapon of choice and why?

David: Tumblr. Because my site is a Tumblr blog and the built-in community there helped me hone my blogging voice and achieve a shit-load of goals. There’s a huge parenting contingent there and we all support each other. Plus, we have cat gifs.

CD: How has blogging affected your life?

David: It gave me the audience and interaction I previously tried to achieve with my epic monkey vs. robot rock opera.

Thanks a million to David for taking the time to answer my questions! You can check him out on twitter @TheDaddyComplex or at The Daddy Complex blog.

A Gift From David at Dad 2.0 Summit. Chewbacca vs. Iron Man

A Gift From David at Dad 2.0 Summit. Chewbacca vs. Iron Man

The Power Hour That Changed My Life ~ #BlissDomCA

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When I woke up this morning, I stumbled out of bed, packed my lunch and mindlessly drove to my place of business. As I sat at my desk, staring at my screen the way I usually do on Monday morning, I was hit with the harsh realization that the moments I had been accustomed to experiencing throughout the weekend were now quickly fading into memories. There were no bright eyed coffee enthusiasts shouting “Good Morning”, ready to be inspired, all on only three hours sleep; nor was breakfast set up, waiting to be picked apart and then refilled as many times as was needed.

It was my second trip to Blissdom Canada but things feel monumentally different this time around. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to go through the roller coaster of emotions that I felt throughout my time in Mississauga and I still feel like it is going to take some time to realize the full impact this conference will have on my life.

At the very top of my list was having the opportunity to achieve a personal triumph when I took to the stage for the Power Hour. If we’re being completely honest, I only applied for it because I assumed that with all the talented writers and speakers out there, I would never get picked. I was trying to cheat fear by being able to say that I at least put myself out there and it backfired beautifully. As the big day crept closer and the anxiety grew, I started playing mind games with myself. You know that Sesame Street skit, “One of these things just doesn’t belong here”? I glared at the names on the Power Hour board, Sharon DeVellis, Elan Morgan, Joe Boughner, Shannon Fisher and Erica Ehm, all established in their own way, and I began to fabricate all the excuses I could give to get out of it, when something funny happened. First, Elan told me everything would be alright, then Joe sent me a very kind letter of encouragement, which was followed by Erica being very kind and warm upon seeing me, closed out by amazing conversations with Shannon and Sharon. The next thing I knew I was up there, in front of everybody, sharing a story so personal that I was afraid I wouldn’t even get through it. And, nobody booed. I somehow managed to harness that fear and instead let my passion shine through, and it felt damn good.

In the hours that followed, I received so many encouraging tweets, messages and congratulations that, for a while, I lost complete control of my own emotions. It was surreal and overwhelming to hear a few people say that my presentation had actually made a difference in their lives. That short, seven minute presentation and the series of events that followed, have completely changed me, for the better, of course. I walked on to that stage, unconfident, unsure of my place in the group and scared as I’ve ever been; and I walked off feeling as though I truly deserved to be there.

So, as I sit here at my desk, still staring blankly at the screen, I’m hit with the harsh realization that the moments I had been accustomed to experiencing throughout the weekend were now quickly fading into memories. But, they are memories of the time I pushed through the fear and accomplished something that will inspire me to keep reaching as high I want to climb, for the rest of my life.

BlissDom Power Hour

The Curious Case of Missing Buttons

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All in all, I probably own about five pairs of pants that I actually wear. Six, if you count pajamas. Yeah, I know, bearing my soul today and opening the doors of my closet for all to see. A “man behind the man” glimpse, if you will. Anyhow, back to my pant collection; I know five pairs doesn’t sound like a lot but it gives me a solid five day outfit rotation for my day job, so I’m happy.

The reason we are taking about my pants today is that there has been a strange occurrence happening lately and I need your help in getting to the bottom of it. Out of my five pairs of pants, only two of them still have a button on them, which leads me to the question, “Where are all my buttons going?!”

I’ve created a list of possible scenarios and would love to hear your thoughts on the matter as well. Here’s what I think could have happened:

1. The Button Elves – Though I’ve never actually seen one of these guys, the legend says that they creep into your bedroom at night and steal your buttons. Traditionally known as shirt button thieves, you can’t discount the allure of a larger, more solid button.

2. Frosty the Snowman – Unfazed after being questioned by police about a stolen shipment of corn cob pipes, Frosty is now said to be stocking up on noses for the winter.

3. The Dryer – The “Dryer Stole My Button” is the new “Dog Ate My Homework” and I’m not really buying it. If only one button had gone missing this would be a more plausible answer, but three buttons? No way.

4. My Wife – That’s right, I said it! My wife runs a daycare, where buttons are like currency to a house filled with crafting kids and they never seem to run out of them. I’ve been playing it cool so far but I’m on to her!

That’s all I’ve got for leads so far and I’m hoping you all can help me figure out where all my pant buttons have gone. In other news, I have lost 8 pounds in two weeks and am now below 200lbs for the first time in over a year! With my pants fitting better, it sure would be nice to know why my buttons have all been disappearing…

Fitbit Flex Review & Giveaway {Canada Only}

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I recently took part in the #RFitChallenge from Rogers and it required me to try out the Fitbit Flex for a period of a couple weeks to see if it would help with my new found love for not being overweight and tired.

Right off the bat I liked the design of the Fitbit Flex because it was a small black wristband that, after wearing it for a couple hours, you forgot you even had on. My goal was to make it to 10,000 steps a day and because the tracker syncs automatically with my smartphone and computer, I would get updates through the day that helped motivate to get moving a little bit more. I especially liked the badges for attaining certain goals because I am a big fan of shiny things and awards.

My favourite feature about the Fitbit Flex was definitely the sleep tracker. With just a couple taps on the tracker, you set the Flex into sleep mode and it tracks how restless you are in your sleep. In my case, I found that I was only having a good sleep about 1 every 5 nights, which obviously isn’t good. I have since been taking steps to try to create a more peaceful bed time by cutting out TV and snacks right before bed. It even has a silent alarm to help wake you up.

I also appreciated that the Flex was water resistant, so I could wear it in the shower. It sounds trivial but if I had to take that thing off every morning, I guarantee I would leave it on the counter half the time. I also loved all of the options on my personal Fitbit web page. From food intake to weight and heart rate monitoring, they have thought of almost everything here. Combined with my weight watchers program, I am going to be unstoppable!

There were a couple things that could use some work with the Flex. I found the clasp tough to latch on and the battery died a little quicker than I would have liked (every 3-4 days). I also noticed that while on the elliptical machine, it was having a hard time tracking steps but overall I loved the Fitbit Flex and definitely recommend it for beginner and advanced fitness buffs.

FITBIT FLEX GIVEAWAY!

What? You want one of these? Okay, you got it! To enter to win a Fitbit Flex of your very own, all you have to do is leave a comment here telling me one thing you would like to change about yourself in order to live a healthier lifestyle.

Contest is open to residents of Canada, excluding Quebec, and will close at noon on October 13th. Good Luck!

Congratulations to the winner of the Fitbit Flex, Andrea B!

Disclosure: I received the Fitbit Flex from Rogers to facilitate this review. I wouldn’t be giving one away to you guys if I thought it was no good, so it has my official stamp of approval!

Win a Dora The Explorer Prize Pack!

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In honour of the Dora Live show coming to Ottawa’s Centrepointe Theater this November, I am giving away a fun Dora the Explorer prize pack that includes a Dora doll and activity book, both pictures below. Before we get to that, here is some information about the show:

Dora is embarking on her most important mission yet in Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer Live! Search for the City of Lost Toys. Dora has lost her teddy bear, and the search is on to find him. With help from the audience, Boots, Map, Backpack, Diego and more, Dora uses her directional, counting, musical and language skills to successfully pass through the Number Pyramid and the Mixed-up Jungle to reach the City of Lost Toys. But watch out! You never know what that sneaky fox Swiper might be up to along the way! Visit, www.DoraLiveCanada.com for more information.

How To Enter:

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, telling me who is your favourite Dora the Explorer character.

This contest is open to residents of Canada, excluding Quebec and closes at noon on October 9th. Winner has 48 Hrs to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Dora Prize Pack

Dad Blogs Exposed! ~ Out With The Kids

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This week on Dad Blogs Exposed, I am talking to Jeff Bogle from the blog, Out With The Kids. I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff this past January in Houston for Dad Summit and immediately appreciated him for his sense of kindness. I have also been finding inspiration in his journey to live a healthier lifestyle and have even started my own regimen because of it. He is a great dude and I hope you enjoy his answers and his website!

CD: Why did you start blogging?

Jeff: I began blogging in the late 18th century, to document the early stage development of our fair nation to your south, but didn’t backup anything (Carbonite wouldn’t be invented for centuries, unfortunately) so there’s no record of any of those dazzling quill-typed blog entries. My modern day blog, Out With The Kids, was launched in May of 2006, when my oldest was still a toddler, to document the early-stage development of her and also myself as a first time parent. The idea was to document the ways in which my wife and I were parenting on the edge of the mainstream. I wasn’t going for pompous, but fear I achieved it often. I didn’t know what I was doing, didn’t have a content strategy or SEO keyword plan to attract readers – still don’t, really. I simply felt and continue to feel a need to put things down, to record them without having to ever read back my gnarly handwriting.

CD: What can people expect from your blog? Do you have a specific goal or do you write whatever you feel?

Jeff: Readers can expect to discover a number of new media goodies — music, books, apps and more — that will hopefully assist them in elongating and enhancing childhood for their kids, and parenting/life reflections that are a mixed bag of wistful, funny, and heartbreaking. In any given week, a reader might cry, laugh, find their kid’s new favorite song and discover a killer new recipe for tomorrow night’s dinner.

CD: What has been your biggest challenge as a father?

Jeff: Managing my perfectionist tendencies and expectations. I struggle, less now than before, but still, with remembering that my children are just that, and that despite being bright, thoughtful, and cultured, they are young kids…young kids who I’m not in a rush to have grow up. Because they, and I, only get one shot to enjoy their childhood.

CD: What one piece of advice can you give to a new Dad?

Jeff: To share your passions with your children, without force feeding them, but not ever at the expense of their right to experience a pure, innocent and long childhood. Don’t rush them or yourself as a parent through it! So if you love Pulp Fiction, like hard core love it, maybe give it a few more years, or decades, before you sit down aside your boy to watch it together. That’s an extreme example, but the point remains: children deserve experiences and media that honor their viewpoint and has context that doesn’t force them to grow up faster than they want to.

CD: Do you have any long term goals for your site?

Jeff: On one hand, I’d like OWTK to become the Rolling Stone Magazine of kid culture, but that would involve covering media and characters that disgust me and seem to operate with a mission to soil childhood for both my kids and me, retroactively. My only real goal is to get better at storytelling, at finding a narrative thread in everything we see and do together as a family. And to get one of my children’s books published someday!

CD: What is your social media weapon of choice and why?

Jeff: I’ve grown to love Instagram the most mainly because it feels the most artistic or at least the platform with the most artistic possibilities, without being spammy (Twitter) or overtly sexual (Vine). I’ve got a bit of a filter fetish.

CD: How has blogging affected your life?

Jeff: Since starting the blog, I now process every occurrence through a narrative viewfinder. I see stories where before I saw only facts and dates and happenings. Oh, and I also got to race a Ferrari in Las Vegas thanks to this crazy profession. The saying ‘Only in America’ has seemingly been replaced with ‘Only on the Internet!’

Huge thanks to Jeff for taking the time out of his schedule to answer the questions! Please feel free to leave a comment for Jeff and ask him any other questions you think I missed. See you next week with a new Dad and a new Blog!

The ER Doctor That Saved My Family and My Life

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I don’t even remember his name, only the conversation we had in the white walled emergency room.

Dr: “You’ve been to the emerg a lot lately. What is it you think you have?”
Me: “I’ve been researching my latest symptoms and they closely resemble MS.”
Dr: “You don’t have MS. In fact, you don’t have anything that we can see and you’ve had almost every test we can give you.”
Me: “Well, something’s wrong with me!”
Dr: “Have you ever talked to a psychiatrist?”

This moment was my weakest point as a man. I sat in that emergency room, head in my hands, crying, reflecting on everything I had been through and the strain I had put on my family and every aspect of my life. The doctor was extremely respectful of my breakdown and referred me to the hospital’s psychiatry ward. This conversation and subsequent breakdown are the things that changed my life forever, in the best possible way.

I had been to the emergency room about 8 times that year and I had managed to keep the visits a secret from almost everyone. The routine was usually the same, I’d arrive at work, feel a small pain which I would turn into the absolute worst case scenario, panic my way to the emergency room, then wait 6 hours at the hospital only to be told I was fine and be home in time for dinner with nobody suspecting a thing. I kept it from everyone, including my wife, because I was embarrassed of how I was feeling and didn’t want to portray weakness in front of her or my newborn son.

I can only guess the strain I was putting on my wife during this time. I say ‘guess’ because when you are anxious and depressed, the only thing you think about is yourself and how lonely it is to be you. I barely got out of bed and was the opposite of a good father for most of the first year of my son’s life. The fact that my wife even stayed with me is a testament to her sense of love and forgiveness, and I’m grateful to have a second chance.

I had been to about 10 doctors in that year and while I received excellent treatment at every stop, none of them had suggested that it may be a mental issue until this one. As I sat in the waiting room for my first appointment with the psychiatrist, I remember telling myself over and over again, “You are not crazy, you are not crazy”, and as I looked around the room, I realized that the people there were just like me. I didn’t see any of the characters from “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” and neither were Annie Wilkes, Tyler Durden or Hannibal Lecter. Everyone there was living a regular, every day life just like I was and that instantly put me at ease.

Over the next few months, I happily attended all of my sessions and even started to make friends with my waiting room mates. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I had dreamt it out to be and getting the help I needed at that moment is exactly what I needed to get my life back on track. This is sort of the Coles Notes version of my battle with anxiety but I thought it was important to share, especially for those who are suffering and don’t think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I am just one story and I know there are cases far worse than mine, but I faced it head on and came out the other side a better person.

I will probably never see that doctor again but the conversation he initiated that day saved my family and quite possibly my life. If any of what I am writing sounds familiar, please feel free to message me to ask questions and I would be happy to be an ear for you.