First Impression Of My Windows 8 Phone From @MicrosoftCanada {#HolidaySwap}

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I’m excited to have been invited to take part in a new program being put on by Microsoft Canada, called Holiday Swap. The idea behind it is that all the participants would agree to swap their current mobile phones, for the month of December, with a new Windows 8 Phone.

Obviously, as a blogger and more specifically as someone who is rarely without my iPhone, this was not something I agreed to right away. The thought of having to learn something completely new was frightening to say the least. In the end, I had heard really good things about the Windows phone camera, so I decided to give it a shot.

Being a father of young children, it’s very important to me to be able to capture high quality photos and video anytime the mood strikes me. Seeing as how I can’t carry my camera around with me all the time, I rely on my phone to capture those moments for me. Unfortunately, my current model hasn’t been getting it done and after only 4 days with the Nokia Lumia 920, I am in love!

One of my biggest complaints with my current phone is the inability to take photos in darker settings. The Nokia Windows Phone I am playing with, makes night time seem like mid-morning and the quality is amazing. Check out these two photos I took of my son at 6pm (which is very dark here), with flash and without flash.

 

 

 

 

 

There are also some great editing features and lots of apps you can download to play around with the great pictures this phone takes. The only downside for me so far, is that the Windows Phone does not support Instagram yet and I’m hoping that’s something that will come down the pipeline soon.

The video feature is great as well, especially the sound quality. I find with my iPhone, that the sound is always faint whenever I am trying to get shots of my kids. It’s especially frustrating when I am filming them singing a song or catching them playing nicely together.

Excitedly enough, the day after I received the Nokia Lumia 920, I caught my children playing nicely on the stairs and took the opportunity to push the video and sound features a bit. Here is the result of that experiment. I’d say it was a resounding success.

Melted my heart and I’m so glad I had my phone on me. The only downside I have found with the Windows Phone video feature is that there is no way to directly upload your videos to YouTube yet. I have been sending them to my dedicated YouTube email address, which isn’t that big of a pain. Still, it would be nice to be able to direct upload with HD quality to YouTube.

My first impression of the Nokia version of the Microsoft Windows phone is a good one, especially the camera/video functionality. There are some things missing, such as Instagram and YouTube direct upload, but these are things that I am willing to live without in order to get the quality that this phone offers.

Keep checking in with me throughout the month as I will be documenting my journey with the Windows Phone. Next time I’ll talk about some of my favourite apps and how I feel the social media apps measure up between the iPhone and the Windows Phone. I’ll leave you with my favourite shot from my Windows phone so far. I played with some of the editing tools and love the end result.

Cheers!

Disclosure: The Nokia Lumia Windows phone was provided to me by Microsoft Canada in order to facilitate this review as part of the #HolidaySwap challenge. I will also be receiving compensation in exchange for my posts related to the review of this phone, however all opinions on this blog are my own.

Who’s The Best? The Company That Made These Coffee Lids, That’s Who!

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I got to spend some Daddy time with the kids this week and we decided to go to our favourite local coffee shop, the Sippy Cup Cafe, to hang out. This particular shop is cool because one half is a fancier coffee shop and the other is a children’s play area. The kids love it and the staff and owner are great, so it’s a win-win for us.

This week, there was something different about the coffee cup lids. The employees had handwritten different positive messages on every single coffee lid and while it took me a few minutes to fully appreciate it, I really liked the small touch and good vibe it added to my day. As you can see above, my cup was obviously a “meant to be” situation.

It’s tough for small shops like this to differentiate themselves, but these guys impressed me on this day by offering something that the others don’t; a personal touch. It just goes to show that you don’t always have to break the bank to impress people. Sometimes, just adding a laugh to someone’s day is enough.

Keep Up The Great Work, Sippy Cup Cafe!

Cheers!

Dads Sing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas”

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I was recently asked by Tom Riles, who runs the Life of Dad website, if I wanted to be a part of their latest “Dads Sing“ video. I was more than happy to take part and then immediately got nervous when I he told me that we’d be tackling the very challenging, Mariah Carey version of, “All I Want For Christmas”.

As it turns out, it didn’t matter, because the kids and I had a lot of fun with it! And here’s the finished product. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! PS – The outtakes from my family’s shoot may or may not end up on here at some point as well…

Cheers!

Forget Dad Fail; Here Is Some Dad Awesomeness! #AwesomeDads

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I got slightly annoyed this week, after seeing two separate posts featuring photo slideshows with the tagline of DadFail. I won’t link to them but I assure you, they are out there and the pictures were a complete misrepresentation of what I’m guessing in 98% of the Dad population.

I thought it would be a fun idea to counter that post with some pictures of the Dads I associate with, doing the things that real Dads do with their children. I’m sure it won’t get even 1% of the hits those other posts got but it’s a start. We’re certainly not perfect but we are definitely not failures. I put a call out for photos and received so many that this could become a weekly feature.

 

 

This is another Canadian Dad blogger, James from EduDad and also from the Dads Round Table. You can catch him on Twitter at @SaskaDad. He’s a good dude and a great Dad!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Trent Hamilton, who blogs over at Green Eggs & Hamiltons and also at Life of Dad. Don’t be afraid to hit him up on twitter at @mrThamilton. He is a perfect example of the changing face of fatherhood today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Spencer Warren and his daughter at last year’s Ottawa Children’s Gala, which he also organizes. It’s an excellent event, for kids too, which raises money for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s ‘Plan It Safe’ Program. He is a really good person and has committed a lot of his time to helping kids in my community. You can follow him at @CharityForCHEO on Twitter.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Daddy Nickell from the website Daddy Scrubs. It’s actually a very cool website and I encourage you to check it out. You can also catch up with him on the Daddy Scrubs Facebook page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about a Dad who doesn’t blog? They are the majority after all! Here is a cool shot of Darryl hanging with his kids out in the wilderness. I’m willing to excuse the Penguins hat here because of the amazing setting and the giant smiles!

 

 

 

 

 

Last but certainly not least, we have Mark Buell from my hometown of Ottawa. Hard to believe we are back to tobogganing season already! You can find Mark writing things at, A Semitone Higher and on Twitter @MeBuell.

 

 

That’s all for this week’s Untitled Dad Awesomeness Feature! I hope enjoyed it as much as I did putting it all together. I’m hoping to keep it going but I’ll need your help. You can do so by sending me your cool, Dad pictures, of you and your kids spending quality time together. You can send them to me on Twitter at @CanadianDadBlog, via my Facebook Page, or email them to me at [email protected]. Have a great week!

Cheers!

Our Elf On The Shelf Is Back! Say Hello To Zerby

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We started our family’s Elf on the Shelf tradition last year and the kids really got into it, so we’re welcoming the Elf back to our shelves again this Christmas season! I’d like to introduce you to, Zerby!

Sure, he sounds like something out of a 1970’s science fiction movie, but I can assure you that he is the coolest Elf you will ever meet. Plus, Zerby is easy to remember and is way better than having to repeat Princess Fluffy Muffins or Pinky Sparkles McStrawberry the Third!

Zerb’s and I spent most of last night catching up with each other after a long 11 month break and he had me in stitches all night long. Of course, that could also have been the Rye… Either way, it was good to have him back and I know the kids will be excited to see him in the house.

We started with just the Elf last year and although the kids enjoyed having him change places every night, it didn’t really hit full stride until we saw the Elf on the Shelf movie on TV. Since that day, there has been even more excitement over his arrival, as it gives him a back story that the kids can draw from.

In the interest of getting the full effect of the Elf’s presence, I suggest that you go out and get the DVD. It has been so much fun watching the kids’ excitement over it. For those of you in Ottawa, I picked mine up for $10 at Tag Along Toys in Kanata, or you could try to catch it when it airs on TV, but I find it’s always nicer to have the hard copy.

Well, that’s it for me and Zerby! I hope you’ll keep checking in on our crazy Dad and Elf adventures this year, as we have a lot in store for you!

Cheers!

On Setting And Achieving Goals {#Movember}

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When I started recruiting teammates for this year’s Movember campaign, I had preset a lofty goal of $2,000. Little did I realize that my teammates had different plans for our fundraising efforts, this November.

I had taken part in Movember before. Last year, before I had discovered blogging, I failed to gather any troops and provided $125 for the cause, with $50 of that being out of my own pocket. This year, however, I had a new audience, new friends and a passion to succeed. I also had a new found respect for the powers of influence and reach.

It was great to be able to surround myself with so many like-minded people, who were as committed to the Movember cause as I was. There is a bit of a stigma surrounding Movember, as some say it is just an excuse for guys to grow a mustache and then complain about how much they are suffering with it, without actually raising funds or awareness for the campaign.

While that may be true for some, I can assure the naysayers that our group of Mo Bro’s and Mo Sista’s not only did a great job of raising awareness, but late last night, we reached the $10,000 raised mark! I have never been a part of such a dedicated group of people and I’m incredibly proud of every single member of our team. We had members who sold MoTies, told very personal stories, gave away prizes out of their own pockets and even one member who offered to write personalized Christmas stories to all who donated to his page. It was incredible to watch everyone come together like that.

We also had an amazing turnout from the corporate community and I would like to personally thank all of the businesses who have contributed to our team, whether it be with donations or prizes. They are, PlaSmart, Logs End Inc, Burnbrae Farms, Tag Along Toys, Elm Hill Kids, Play It Again Sports, Cloak and Curio, Fathead, Adult Essentials & Sarah J’s Cupcakes. Your support has helped us achieve a goal that would have seemed unreachable at the start of all of this and I can’t say thank you enough!

With 2 days left and our Movember Party tonight, the sky is still the limit. While we won’t be setting any new goals, there are still nice, round numbers floating around in my head. I just want to say thank you to everybody who had a hand in contributing to our team’s success. We flew through goals of $2,000, $5,000 and $7,500, and it was all because of your generosity and commitment to making a better world for men who are suffering with cancer and mental illness.

I hope you all have a great day and thanks again for everything!

Cheers!

There Were Two In The Bed And The Little One Said, Roll Over!

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Alright, I’m not sure I can keep this bottled up anymore. I am a human being and I need sleep. Not a couple hours here or there, but a whole night’s sleep!

Since my first child was born, four and a half years ago, I think I have had about 20 good sleeps. I’m sure you can do the math on that one. I’m talking about going to bed and not waking up until my alarm says it’s time to wake up, sleeps. Although I know it isn’t true, it feels as though my children have set out to take turns waking up from one night to the next.

There’s really no rhyme or reason to it either. My son would wake with night terrors, even though we are very strict about what the kids watch on TV. My daughter seems to just wake up screaming for no reason, and then falls right back to sleep. As you parents know, even the act of waking up from your sleep for 3 seconds can severely hamper your mood the next day.

We’ve tried what feels like a thousand different ways to help them sleep and so far we haven’t had much luck. My son seems to sleep through the night more and more as he gets older but my daughter has started coming into our room at least once a week, wanting to sleep with Mommy and Daddy.

I’m not someone who can turn down a sad child, so we allow it but it means almost zero sleep for Mommy and Daddy; which also means more friction between Mommy, Daddy and the kids. My wife and I have discussed me going into my daughter’s room to sleep but that solution seems unfair to me, considering my wife runs a daycare, which I consider to be one of the toughest jobs in the world.

As you can imagine, four and a half years is a long time to go with minimal sleep and I can start to feel it catching up to me. I tend to be irritated a lot more than I used to be. I snap at the kids at times, without putting much thought into why. By the time 6 o’clock rolls around, I am basically ready to check out for the day and it’s a terrible feeling to know that I am letting my family down.

So I turn to you, my good readers, to ask if you have any sleep tips to pass along. My daughter is 2 and a half, won’t nap anymore and is generally a disaster by the time supper is done. With a daycare running out of the house, forcing her to try a nap isn’t an option as she’d keep all the other kids up.

Thoughts??

Cheers!

Stanley’s Christmas Village in Ottawa

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There’s a new Christmas attraction in Ottawa this year and my family were lucky enough to be invited to the inaugural run. It’s called the Stanley’s Christmas Village and is held at Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm.

The Stanley Family has decided to open up a Christmas Village this year, in hopes of bringing a little more Christmas Joy to families across the city. There’s a twist to this village that makes it different from a few of the others out there. Owner, Earl Stanley, told me that it was his vision to focus more on the behind the scenes work of the Elves.

That’s why Stanley’s Christmas Village takes you, by magical horse drawn ride through the forest to an enchanted Elf Outpost. The whole tour is run by Elves, who sang songs, played games & were happy to pose for pictures with the kids (and the grown ups too)!

The night was very fun for our kids, as the Elf Village was decked out with Christmas lights and Elf Houses. They had The Wrapping Warehouse, Herme’s Dental Office, Candy Cane Daycare, The Reindeer Stables, Curby the Post Truck and my kids’ favourite, The C.E.O Station, which is in charge of gathering all of the local mail for Santa and transporting it, using the latest RIM (Reindeer In Motion) Technology to the North Pole Head Office.

Our family had a great time and the kids especially had fun. The best part is that the Stanley’s are collecting used toys to donate to the Salvation Army, so when you stop by, be sure to bring some along. It’s the first year for the Christmas Village, so there are some kinks to be expected, but overall I would recommend taking the trip out to Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm so your kids can enjoy the Elf Outpost.

Visits are by reservation only, so be sure to Visit The Stanley’s Website to book your time! Just watch out for that pesky Grinch!

Cheers!

Holiday Gifts For Dad

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There are so many lists out there about, “What to get Dad for Christmas”, that were not written by Dad’s, that I thought it would be fun to put together my own list. I polled all the Dad’s I knew and added my own input, to come up with a can’t miss list of things that Dads are looking for this Christmas!

Instead of posting the list here, where it would be seen by a mix of Moms and Dads, I was asked by Candace over at Life In Pleasantville if I would share the list with her readers, and I couldn’t have been more excited to!

Without further ado, here is my list of the Top Ten Christmas Gifts for Dad, this holiday season! And yes, Call of Duty made the list, haha!

Cheers!

Take A Smile And Have A Happy Day!

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A friend of mine, who does our communities mail route, posted this picture yesterday. She said it was taped to the community mailbox and I thought it was all kinds of awesome. I only wish I had gotten there before all the smiles had been taken!

This is just proof that not every act of kindness has to cost you money.

Happy Wednesday!