It’s Time to Vote in the Starbucks Canada “Name Your Blend” Contest

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Starbucks Finalists

You may remember back in January, I had asked you to submit your entries in Starbucks Canada’s “Name Your Blend” contest. Well, the entries have been tabulated and the 3 finalists (shown in above photo) are waiting to find out if they will be crowned the winner!

That’s where YOU come in! Starbucks Canada needs your help in selecting the winner. That person will have their winning name featured on the packaging and will also receive a trip for two anywhere in Canada that has a Starbucks location. You can VOTE HERE until February 27th!

Don’t forget to stop in to say hi to Starbucks Canada on Twitter and Facebook as well! Have a great day!!!

Starbucks Blonde Roast

Potty Training Success with the Pull-Ups Big Kid App!

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Pull Ups Big Kid App

I was surprised to get a call from the folks at Huggies the other day, asking if I wanted to work on their newest promotion with them. There has been a little bit of friction between Huggies and Dads over the last year, so it was nice to have a chat with them and to hear that they are committed to showing Dads as the caring parents that most of us are.

Their newest product, called The Pull-Ups Big Kid App, has come along at the perfect time in our house. My daughter is in her Pull-Up years right now and is slowly making her way towards potty independence! Something else she has taken a liking to are princesses. When I say, “taken a liking to”, I am being extremely generous as she loves all things princess related.

That’s why the new app is such a huge hit in our house. Once I told my daughter that Rapunzel would be visiting upon her next successful trip to the potty, she lit up with excitement and couldn’t wait to tell us that she had to go. I thought the Pez method worked well but the Pull-Ups Big Kid app has made potty training fun and exciting for all of us. I would love to explain exactly how everything works but this Pull-Ups video does a way better job than I could do!

About the Pull-Ups Big Kid App

* The Pull-Ups Big Kid App (available for Android and iOS devices) is the perfect tool for today’s highly mobile life – offering a wealth of content to enhance the potty training experience.

* Special identifying markers inside packages of Pull-Ups Training Pants can be scanned with the Pull-Ups Big Kid App to activate the interactive Pull-Ups Big Kid 3D Celebration, where Disney characters including Rapunzel and Mickey come to life.

* Fun games featuring Disney characters that are unlocked through stars collected as the child makes potty training progress.

* Calls from kids’ favourite Disney characters help surprise and motivate toddlers to use the potty and keep trying.

* Customizable potty timer to help parents remind their child when it’s time to go take a potty breaks.

The Pull-Ups Big Kid App is available as a free download via the Apple iTunes App store and Google Play for Android. To learn more, visit pull-ups.com.

Today Is Mental Health Awareness Day; And So Is Tomorrow; And The Next Day

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Baby Hands

I decided to take part in Bell Canada’s Let’s Talk day, yesterday. As part of my contribution, I shared something about myself that not very many people know about and had a very hard time hitting the “Publish” button. The response to that post has been overwhelming to say the least and I appreciated all the kind messages I received, both publicly and privately.

I went into the day not knowing how I felt about the corporate tag being attached to the concept of speaking out about mental health and I wasn’t alone. I saw a lot of discussion surrounding the issue, some reasonable and some just bashing for the sake of bashing, but I wanted to add my thoughts to the discussion. The reason I decided to share my story on this particular day was because I knew that I would be able to generate more discussion than if I posted it on any other day. It wasn’t about the page views; it was about starting a dialogue. And it worked.

For me, the day changed from a corporate marketing event to the real deal when I received this comment from a complete stranger, “After reading your story I now feel that there may be light at the end of this and it’s as easy as talking to your family doctor. Thank you again”. It may not be as easy as going to a family doctor but it’s a better start than doing nothing. Either way, the thought of someone reacting to something I had written in that way, was eye opening.

That comment made me realize that there are so many people suffering in silence and that inspired me to reach out even further. So, I put out an offer for people to email me if they needed to talk, not thinking anyone would actually do it, and to my surprise I received two emails during the day. I read the emails, without judgment, and welcomed them to write me anytime they wanted. I don’t know if it helped them to send me their story but it certainly couldn’t have hurt. I also made sure to point out that I am not even close to “professional” help.

I want to stop here for a minute because as I write this, I can’t help but feel like this is sounding a lot like a “Look at me!” post, and I want to assure you that it is not. A lot of things have changed about me since I have been blogging and the biggest one is the realization that this voice I have created is useless if it is not used to do some good. It also means that if there needs to be a corporate tag attached to an event to get people talking, then so be it. If we’re being completely honest, fear of failure and crickets is why I wouldn’t have started a movement like this by myself, so I’m glad a corporation took the initiative. Maybe I’ll get there someday.

All that said; my offer still stands. If you are having a rough go and need to just share your story with anybody, please feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will gladly lend an ear. I am no counselor, so I can’t offer anything but an ear but maybe it’s a start. You don’t have to suffer alone, please remember that.

I guess the main thing I learned by participating yesterday is that we need to be supportive of each other. Everybody has a story to tell and it’s not always easy for them to share it. Yesterday was a great start. I saw so many posts on blogs, Facebook and Twitter, of people sharing their struggles with anxiety and depression, and I hope we can keep the conversation going outside of just that one day. It’s an important discussion and one that deserves a high amount of attention.

Until we meet again, thanks for listening!

A Great Giveaway from Sports Posters Warehouse {CAN/US}

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Sports Poster Warehouse

Let’s get something straight. Just because I lost my man cave to a daycare, that doesn’t mean I can’t have nice things. To me, nice things, is code for sports memorabilia. For as long as I can remember, I have been a collector of things. Not just sporty items either. I’ve collected bottle caps, stamps, match packets, coasters, shot glasses and even rocks at one point, although the rock phase only lasted until I stepped on one for the first time.

That’s why I was excited to get an email from Sports Poster Warehouse about some promotions they were running. I dove right into their site and immediately got a rush of excitement thinking about how all of those posters would look in my basement. I mean, what sports nut wouldn’t want these lining their walls?

Canadiens CupNotre Dame Irish

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the cool things about Sports Poster Warehouse is that it’s not just about sports. They have everything from Motivational posters to very cool Disney stuff for the kids. Funny, now that I’m a parent, I find myself gravitating to anything that has a picture of a cartoon on it. Maybe that’s just me though… Check out some of these cool non-sports posters:

Disney AlphabetBeatles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is so much more to pick from that I couldn’t possibly list every type of poster and pennant they carry. You’ll have to go check it out for yourself to find out what I’m talking about. And that brings me to my next point. The fine people at Sports Poster Warehouse have agreed to let me give away one of their amazing posters (up to $40 value) to you guys.

All you have to do to enter is visit their website, Right Here, and then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know which poster you would like to win. Pretty easy, right? Contest is open to residents of Canada and the US (excluding Quebec) and will close on Sunday, February 24th at midnight.

You can also find Sports Poster Warehouse on Twitter, @SportsPosters, and also on Facebook at Sports Poster Warehouse. And if you aren’t the winner, you can still order from Sports Poster Warehouse and get 10% off with this discount code: DAD-10 (expires 2/28).

Good Luck!!

Just a quick update that the winner is entry #2 – Amy. Congrats!!

The Day the Darkness Crept In

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Edited May 15th: The Dad blogging community recently learned that one of our compatriots, Marc Block from Divided Dad, had succumbed to depression and taken his own life. Now, a number of Dad bloggers have decided to work together to share our stories and hopefully raise awareness about the effects of mental illness and to let others know that it’s okay to ask for help. My story is below and I have linked the other bloggers stories at the end. Thanks.

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It’s hard to pinpoint the exact day it began. The trigger was easy to decipher. It wasn’t long after my father had passed away that I started experiencing the symptoms. Nagging pains, fatigue and a lot of tears quickly became a part of my daily regimen. I was excellent at hiding it, rarely breaking down in front of even my wife, if at all.

When my father passed suddenly after an ATV accident, I felt like my entire world had been stripped from me. Instead of dealing with the grief and pain in the way I imagine most people do, I decided to take on the role of super strong male provider guy, so I wouldn’t have time to stop and think about what had happened. The strategy worked for a while, and then things started to go horribly wrong.

I remember the first trip to the emergency room like it was yesterday. I had shot out of bed with a pain in my chest and shortness of breath and decided not to take any chances. You can imagine my surprise when the doctor’s said everything was fine. The events that followed this visit are something that I will never forget. I must have visited the emergency room about 12 more times that year, along with 10 more trips to my family doctor, 4 specialists and 3 CT scans. Every trip was more discouraging than the next as I was getting no answers and was quickly becoming the poster child for hypochondria.

My lowest point was while we were living at my in-law’s house, with our new baby, while waiting for our new house to be built. I can distinctly remember the feeling of emptiness that was sweeping its way throughout my body. I would try to put on a face for everyone but there came a point where I just didn’t care anymore. There were many sleepless nights, hours wasted just lying on the couch and more trips to the emergency room. I wasn’t exactly an absentee father but I definitely left my wife high and dry, and I certainly wasn’t feeling whatever it was I was supposed to be feeling about fatherhood. I’ve never felt so emasculated and useless in my entire life. These were the hardest days and the ones I regret most when looking back on my son’s first year.

My last trip to the emergency room provided the awakening I had been searching for. I had been thinking a lot about how much better off my family would be without me and my problems in the picture. That’s not to say I ever thought about harming myself, because I didn’t. I just knew how hard I was making things for my family and wondered if things would be better without me, if that makes any sense. The doctor in the ER was sympathetic and asked what I thought was wrong with me. This week, for no valid reason, I believed I had Multiple Sclerosis. He ran some tests and quickly dismissed my fear; and then he saved my life.

He asked if I’d ever been to a psychiatrist, to which I responded, “No way”. You see, I wasn’t crazy and only crazy people needed to see a psychiatrist; or at least that’s what I thought. The doctor insisted by explaining that he thought I had an anxiety disorder and that it could help. To my surprise, it only took a couple visits for me to start understanding why I experiencing all of these symptoms. By the time four months had gone by, I felt like a new man and was well on my way to recovery.

My last session with the psychiatrist was about 3 years ago and I have been almost symptom free ever since. Sure, there are times when I feel the anxiety building, but I am now equipped with the tools to deal with those instances. My point in sharing this story is to let you know that suffering in silence does nothing but make things worse for you and everyone around you. Reaching out for help doesn’t make you less of a person and in fact can only make you stronger, in my opinion. Don’t let the darkness take over, ask for help, you’ll be glad you did.

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Krazy Dad Memoir – Do Not Go Into That Good Night

Dad of Divas – The Time Is Now To Ask For Help

Clark Kent’s Lunchbox- Dump Truck Full of Dead Babies

Dads Who Change Diapers – When the World Goes Numb

Dad’s a Lawyer – Words From the Wife

The Daddy Files – Come Back to Me

Dads Round Table – Strategies to Fight Depression

Be a Little Weird – Recognizing Depression in Men for What It Really Is

Canadian Spotlight – My Favourite Commercial of All-Time

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Canadian Tire

I realize it’s a couple years old but this Canadian Tire commercial absolutely wrecks me every single time. I wish more brands would consider portraying fatherhood in this way because these guys have earned my business based solely on how powerful this commercial is.

Do you know why it’s so powerful? Because it’s real!! And real isn’t boring! I think of this commercial every time I take my kid to the outdoor rink. I think of my Dad, who spent many winters building a rink in our backyard so that we could have fun anytime we wanted. That is what real fathers do. We don’t play with our kids because they bribe us with chips (looking at you, Doritos). We do it because we love them and want them to be happy.

I want to say thank you to Canadian Tire for getting it right and I hope we will see more of this in the future. It’s easy to go for the cheap laugh but it’s far more beneficial to tell it like it is. I hope you like this one as much as I did.

Coming Home

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Family Photo

It didn’t take long to miss the little things after leaving on my recent journey to the land known as America. There was no hug goodbye, no “we’ll miss you Daddy”, really, there was nothing but silence as I slipped out the door at 5am on a cold Thursday morning.

As I hit the road that morning, I had a nervous excitement about where I was headed and the experiences I would have. Still, there were constant reminders of what I was leaving behind. A miniature hockey bag on the floor made me think about how great my son’s first year of skating was going and of how proud I was of him. He wasn’t floating on air like Gretzky but maybe Wayne himself got off to a slow start.

There were warning signs to turn around as well. The first was the eerie squeal of the tires as they tore across the metal of the International Bridge. This was followed by 65 mile per hour winds that did everything but knock me right off the road. The two blizzards that followed served as a reminder of the fact that I was not in charge. No, SHE was in charge and it wouldn’t be the last time on this trip that I would be reminded of this.

I was not even three hours in and I was already wondering if my family missed me as much as I missed them. As I sat in the terminal, staring at the giant hunk of aluminum that would soon propel me 38,000 feet above land, I thought only of them. Airplanes. My arch nemesis. My kryptonite.

The flights were surprisingly easy; aside from the constant thoughts of us colliding with another aircraft, that is. I quietly read about Neil Young’s life story and his inspiration was enough to keep my nervous twitch subdued just long enough for the wheels to hit the tarmac. I love Neil. He has helped me through many tough times even though we have never met, and most likely never will.

Airports, Hotel, Conference, Karaoke, Cabbies with Guns; All of it wonderful and exciting and new in its own way, but something was still missing. I got a preview of that something at the midway point of my adventure courtesy of my wife. Here it is:

Yeah… I don’t think I need to explain what happened next, do I? By the end of the video, my room resembled the falls in Niagara as I instinctively clicked play, again, and again, and again. Each time noticing something familiar and wishing I was back there, in that moment, with my family. I knew I couldn’t leave just yet. I came here with a purpose, after all, and wouldn’t leave until I had proved to myself that I could face my fear and conquer it, which I am proud to say I did.

The long trip home was filled with road blocks. Airport confusion, flight delays, freezing rain, darkness, sleet, snow, aliens, gremlins, Super Bowl black outs & even the Stay Puff marshmallow man! You name it, I saw it, but nothing was going to stop me from getting home to those three smiling faces from the video. The kids were dreaming of princesses and Skylanders by the time I got home but I enjoyed the quiet catch up with my wife, whom I missed dearly.

Then, as if she could read my mind, my daughter popped her head around the stairwell and smiled. It was one of those smiles that make you realize how important someone is in your life. It was love. And I was wearing the exact same smile.

On Comfort Zones, Inspiration and Being Vulnerable {#Dad2Summit}

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Floating on Air

It’s a constant struggle for me to turn my thoughts and my passions into typed words. Case and point, I am trying to do justice to the experience that was the Dad 2.0 Summit in Houston, Texas, yet I know that the finished product of this summation will be nowhere close to what I actually want to say.

Much like my trip to Blissdom Canada last October, I came into this conference with a fear wrenched stomach. The difference this time around was that these were my direct peers in that we are all occupying the space in the fatherhood advocacy industry. We write about fatherhood with the knowledge that there is still a limited market for what we do, which means that in order to get your message viewed you have to stand out from the crowd; or write like Black Hockey Jesus…

The Dad 2.0 conference, for me, was about stepping out of my comfort zone and doing the exact opposite of what my brain was telling me to do. It was forgetting about idolizing people and realizing that we’re all just people. It was tackling my fear of flying. It was about not holding back the personality I tend to subdue and letting people see the real me. And yes, that crazy dancing, high fiving and ear to ear smiling maniac that a few of you saw at back to back karaoke nights was very much the real me. Special shout out to Amy Spreitzer Windsor of the Bitchin’ Wives Club for organizing those nights out. You can check out her amazing Karaoke montage right here!

I took so much out of this conference that I’m still processing and remembering things days after they happened. I had real conversations with people and I’m not talking about the average “being a Dad is kind of neat talks” either. I had meaningful conversations about people’s passions, kids, cancer, death, writing and relationships. Every single person’s story was unique and amazing and interesting. There were no ego’s, no competing and people were more than willing to engage in conversation, regardless of how many followers they had on their websites and social media accounts. It was awesome.

I had the special opportunity to stand before my peers and read to them something so personal to me, that I wasn’t sure I would be able to get all the way through it. Well, I got up there and I got through it; and then I went immediately to my room and I cried for what felt like hours, even though it was only a minute or two. I wasn’t ready to be completely vulnerable in front of everybody. I think I am now.

I think I accomplished almost everything I set out to do by attending this conference. The only regret that I can think of is that I didn’t take more time to sit down with Jim Higley, who I didn’t know much about going into the conference. I’ve come to realize that he is one of those rare people who inspires us to be better people to each other. He further exemplified this by telling that group that his $3,000 1st place prize from the Ready, Set, Eat competition, would be going to help a young boy with testicular cancer. I didn’t get a chance to tell him that he inspired me in person, so I’ll do it here.

I have a million Thank You’s to hand out but I’ll save a lot of them for emails because I’m sure you’ve either stopped reading this already or are getting close to it. That said, there are a couple people I would like to mention.

* To my roommate, Andy Herald of How To Be A Dad. If I bothered you with my incessant questions, messy side of the room or general hovering, you didn’t show it even one time. Thank you for being open with your thoughts and ideas. I got a lot out of our conversations and appreciate you taking that time with me.

* To my Blogger Spotlight co-readers: Whit Honea, Carter Gaddis, Jon Hockey Jesus & Kevin McKeever. It was an honour to share the stage with you and listen to your stories. Through this exercise I learned that I don’t have to write like other people in order to be successful. Just because someone’s writing is great, doesn’t mean that mine can’t also be great in its own way.

* To the brand sponsors, who are proving that they believe in the voice we are developing as fathers and as men. And to title sponsor, Dove Men+ Care for everything they provided to make this conference the huge success it was. Thank you for everything!

* A very big Thank You to Sharon, Zeev and the rest of the staff at Parent Tested, Parent Approved for sponsoring me on this amazing journey. Without your help, I would have never had the chance to experience it and I am eternally grateful for it. I’m excited to see what the future holds for us as partners and hope I did your brand proud.

* Last but not least, to Doug French, John Pacini and every other person that put their sweat and tears into this project, Thank You. I had the time of my life and that is not just lip service.

I got on the plane to come home and as I started writing this, I began to cry and had to stop. Every time I started trying to write again, I started to cry again. I don’t know why that is. Maybe I’m just tired. It certainly can’t be that I got emotionally charged and inspired by a bunch of dudes, right? I really miss my family and the only thing I want at this very moment is to be home with them. PS – After typing that last line, I put the computer away so my seat mates didn’t think I was unstable.

In the end, I laughed, cried, sang, spoke and even danced on a pole (for the first time, I swear). I left everything on the table, had few regrets, made many new friends and leave as a different man, who is more energized and inspired than ever. Thank you to everyone who took the time to get to know me and who made this the incredible event it was. I hope I represented myself and my country in a positive light and I’m already planning to do it all over again next year!

I’ll leave you with my interview with Brad from DadLabs, which was a lot of fun to do. Cheers!.


Video streaming by Ustream

Texas Here I Come! #Dad2Summit

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You may notice the blog is going to be a little quiet over the next few days. That’s because I am leaving this cold, snowy home I call Canada, for the warm, sunny land known as Houston, Texas! I’m headed to Houston to attend the Dad 2.0 Summit, which is an annual conference where marketers, social media leaders, and blogging parents connect to discuss the changing voice and perception of modern fatherhood.

I thought I had shaken off the conference jitters when I attended Blissdom Canada last year but I am finding that I am way more nervous this time around. The funny thing is that the nerves have nothing to do with meeting the other Dads. It has to do with the fact that I don’t travel. Like, ever. The thought of having to figure out checking in at an airport and transferring planes makes me sick to my stomach. Then there’s the actual flying part of the trip… I am not the cling to the seat kind of flyer but that’s how I’ll feel inside for the entire trip.

All I can do to not think about the traveling is to think about what it’s going to be like when I get there. I have a seemingly cool roommate in Andy Herald from How To Be A Dad. Of course, he’s traveling with Honda on a 31 hour road trip, so he may not be the best smelling roommate upon arrival but I’m sure we’ll work it out. I’ve also heard that there may be some karaoke at some point and anyone who knows me, knows that I may have a slight case of weekend rockstar!

The other cool thing about this conference is that it will be my first opportunity to be featured as a speaker. No, seriously, it’s true. I’ve been asked to take part in the Dad 2.0 Blogger Spotlight feature, along with Whit Honea, Kevin McKeever, Black Hockey Jesus & Carter Gaddis. I know it sounds cliche but I am truly honoured to be included in a group with these guys and just to be speaking in general.

I also want to say a big Thank You to my friends at Parent Tested, Parent Approved for helping to sponsor my way to this conference. I wouldn’t have been able to go without their help and I will be forever grateful. This isn’t the last you’ll hear of them on this blog and I look forward to whatever the future has in store for us.

I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m anxious to meet the great people I interact with every day. I can’t wait to get there and I know it’s going to be a blast! So, although I may be quiet for the next few days, I am hoping to bring home a wealth of knowledge and connections that will keep me going for years to come! Here’s a cool Dad 2.0 video that was put together by Clay Nichols from the site, Dad Labs. If you are interested in following along on Twitter, I will be tweeting with the hashtag #Dad2Summit throughout the weekend. Cheers!

Introducing Starbucks Canada’s “Name Your Blend” Contest

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Starbucks Blonde Roast

I have kids = I love coffee.

I write a blog = I love coffee.

I am a shift worker = I love coffee.

If you were to do the math on those equations, which I won’t bore you with, you would realize that I am a big fan of drinking coffee. Admittedly, I am not a fancy coffee kind of guy. I like my large Medium Roast with 2 milk and 1 sugar (you know, in case you’re in the neighbourhood) and I don’t sway too far from that formula. My wife on the other hand, she likes the fancy stuff!

That brings us to the reason for this post. My friends at Starbucks Canada have asked me to let you know about a new contest they have going on. For the first time ever, Starbucks Canada is asking You to “Name Your Blend“ of their popular Blonde Roast coffee. One lucky entrant is going to win a trip anywhere in Canada to meet a friend for coffee AND have their winning blend displayed on every pack of Canada’s favourite Blonde Roast. You can Enter Here!

About Starbucks® Blonde Roast

Starbucks® Blonde Roast is a lighter roast option. From their research, Starbucks found that 60 per cent of Canadian coffee drinkers prefer a lighter roast coffee (light/medium). They also know that a significant majority of Canadian brewed coffee drinkers add milk and/or sugar to their coffee. Starbucks® Blonde Roast is an easy drinking coffee with a subtle, mellow flavour that is perfectly suited to the Canadian palate, and specially crafted to compliment milk, sugar and flavours.

The “Name Your Blend” Contest

From Monday, January 28th at 12:00:00 a.m. EST to February 10 at 11:59:59 p.m., Canadians are invited to visit www.starbucks.ca/Blonde to participate in the Starbucks Name Your Blend Contest to help re-name Verdana Blend™. Contest participants are required to submit their name suggestion along with an essay, between 25 and 1,000 characters, describing why they chose the name and how it relates to the Starbucks image/brand. From February 11 – 17, the judging panel, made up of a council of Starbucks partners, will narrow down the entries to three finalists. On Monday, February 18 at 12:00:00 a.m. EST, the top three finalists will be revealed and Canadians will have the opportunity to vote on their favourite name. Voting closes on Monday, February 25 at 11:59:59 a.m. EST. All contest entries including name suggestions and essays must be submitted in English.

Well, what are you waiting for? Head on over to Starbucks, grab your blonde roast for inspiration and get your entry in today! Also, I know a lot of you will probably want to choose me as the friend you would like to meet for coffee and I’d just like to say that I am totally okay with that!

Cheers!