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!

There Is No Greater Love Than The Love Of A Sibling

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I’m not sure if it’s a normal thing among siblings at a young age, but the love my children show for each other can be emotionally overwhelming for me, at times. In thinking back to my childhood with my brother, there weren’t too many moments I can remember that didn’t involve something sharp and dangerous being hurled at one of us, while the other ran for their life.

With my children being only 2 & 4 years old respectively, I can’t possibly expect them to fully understand the value of loving and respecting others. Especially given the fact that they live in a house that doubles as a home daycare and have to watch all their worldly possessions get played with by other children, 5 days out of each week.

Yet, they have transitioned seamlessly and I dare say that this is one of the main reasons they have grown so close in such a short time span. My son, the older of the two, is constantly checking in on his little sister to make sure her needs are being met. When she cries, he almost always runs over to rub her back and ask if she’s okay, which usually causes me to pause in amazement at his brotherly awareness.

Sure, they have some battles too but the majority of their interactions are positive ones. To watch my daughter come down stairs in the morning and immediately head to the couch my son is sitting on, so they can cuddle, absolutely melts this Dad’s heart. I see it in a lot of their daily interactions and I smile each and every time something happens.

I don’t know the exact science behind it and I am absolutely not complaining. My wife, who is with them almost 24 hours a day, is clearly doing an excellent job of teaching them the importance of loving and treating each other with respect. I am eternally grateful for her decision to quit her job in order to stay home and raise our children. I don’t know if you have ever worked in a daycare setting, but it is not for everybody (me) and might be one of the toughest jobs out there.

This probably comes off as a sappy Dad post and may even seem like I am bragging about it. I can assure you that it is simply done out of pride. Maybe this is just how all young siblings behave and I am in for a very rude awakening, very soon. Even if they forget it somewhere down the line, I will always have these memories to look back on and to share with them. In the meantime, I will continue beaming with pride every time they find their way into each other’s arms.

Cheers!

Don’t Eat My Snack, Okay?

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One of the joys of having a daycare running out of my house, is that I get to learn about how truly different kids can be. What is funny to one, could be horrifying to the next. Never has this been more evident than when I attempted to play a little gag on the group at a recent snack time.

We’ve all seen the game played before; “Hey, look over there!”, as I reach over and pretend to eat one of the kid’s snacks. Everyone erupts with laughter and encourages me to do it again to a different child. In my mind, the kids know I have no intention on actually eating their snack. In their minds, however, I am a snack eating monster who will stop at nothing to get my hands on those sweet, sweet apple slices.

That day, the game ended innocently enough. We had all had a good laugh and the kids finished their unstolen snacks with smiles, knowing that they had defeated the angry snack monster. At least, that’s what I thought had happened that day; until snack time came around the next day, that is. I had completely forgotten the game and was catching up on the day’s news, when I heard a voice from across the room say,

“Chris, don’t eat my snack, okay?!“

Oh yeah, the snack game! Thinking this plea was an invitation to steal some yogurt, I made my way over to the table and treated the children to my deepest “Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum” giant voice. The only problem was that upon arrival at my destination, I could see in this child’s face that his statement was no joke. The poor little guy was petrified at the thought of me coming over to steal his hard earned yogurty reward and I felt terrible.

This was just one of the many, many lessons I am learning about the different personalities of children. Just as my son won’t watch Tangled because of Rapunzel’s scary mother, this little boy did not like the thought of a snack monster coming to trick him out of his loot. They all have their quirks and that’s what makes them all so unique and amazing. Needless to say, it’s been a month since the incident and the snack monster hasn’t made any more appearances. Still, every snack time since the incident, I am reminded of the joke gone wrong as I hear,

“Chris, don’t eat my snack, okay?“

Don’t worry buddy, the snack monster has retired.

Cheers!

A Dance With My Daughter

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I wonder if she understands how much it means to me? Does she know that agreeing to dance with me at that birthday party, sent me into a state of bliss that is almost impossible to match?

The smile on her face says that she was equally as excited to be dancing with her Daddy, but would she have been just as excited to have just grabbed anyone at that point? I mean, it was the incredible catchy “Dora The Explorer” theme song.

I like to think that she felt the same way about the 45 second blip in our day, as we stomped our feet and twirled around, our cheeks sore from the growing smiles. I might sound like an overly sappy Dad here, but these are the little moments that make you forget all your troubles and remind you of how great life can be.

Maybe someday, she’ll read this and know how special that brief moment was for her Dad. I hope she does. I hope she reads this and understands that she made a memory for me that day. One that she may not remember, but that I will take with me forever.

It was only 45 seconds, but the memory remains for a lifetime.

Cheers!

I Want To Say Hi To Frankenstein!

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It’s funny how my kids went from being petrified of people in costumes, to being overly excited at every character they see… Let’s blame it on good parenting, haha!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The First Cut Is The Deepest

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It happened already and I have no idea how I’m supposed to react to it.

My son came home from his 12th day of Junior Kindergarten with a huge scar above his eye. When I asked him what happened, he got oddly shy and replied, “I don’t know”. This response isn’t uncommon from kids but in this case, it was a frustrating experience.

I prodded him a few more times to try to get any bit of information I could get. Eventually he said that one of the other boys in the playground pushed him down and he landed on his face. How am I supposed to react here? My first thought was obviously anger. I don’t know who I was angry at though. The other boy for pushing my little guy, the school for not noticing or even my son for not saying anything after it happened.

My next revelation was that boys are usually pretty rough with each other on the playground. I mean, I used to be one and I know exactly the types of games that get played there. In fact, I’ve even stayed around after dropping him off and witnessed firsthand, the high speed games of tag and “got your hat” that they play with each other. They all seem to be smiling and happy, even as they get thrown to the ground; but you can’t help but cringe and wonder if some outside intervention is necessary.

That’s where the hard part begins. I am new at the whole “kid going to school” thing and have no idea what the proper etiquette is in these situations. Has this been going on for years and I’m the guy overreacting on the inside? Should I ask the teachers to keep a closer eye on the playground activities and stop violent games before they start? Or would that be overstepping my boundaries in the parent- teacher relationship?

My son is hardly innocent in all of this by the way. I see him running around and grabbing at kids sweaters and hats as well but once you drop them inside that gate, you are on the outside looking in. As it turns out, he was even less innocent when he later admitted that instead of being pushed, he actually ran into the other boy while they were all running and both kids went down. After confirming this story with the other child’s parents, what I am supposed to do as his father?

I had a talk with him, being careful to explain why it’s important that he not lie about things like this. As any parent of a 4 year old knows, it’s hard to judge how they are processing the information, because they are constantly looking for any place to be but immersed in a discussion about rules with their parents. I just have to hope he understands and then make sure I stay on top of it.

In the end, I most likely overreacted to the situation but that is MY little boy coming home with scars on his face. The thought of him getting hurt and for the first time and not having Mom or Dad there to make it better, leaves a little sting in my heart. With bullying being the hot topic issue it is these days, it’s hard not to jump to that conclusion immediately.

I want to know what you do when your kids come home from school with unexplained injuries. Do you have a “boys will be boys” attitude? Do you rationally attempt to get to the bottom of it; Or do you straight up freak out and call the cops?!

Cheers!

**This post originally appeared on the CHEO Moms&Dads Blog on October 24th**

I Saw A Million Faces; Well, You Know The Rest! #BlissDomCA

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Where do you even start in formulating a proper recap of the weekend that was Blissdom Canada? I could write about all the great people I met, but listing only a few would be unfair and listing them all would be way too much! I want to write about the experience but speaking about the experience would pay it far more justice. That way, you could see my smile and my arms flailing wildly as I describe each session, interaction and excursion.

That still brings me back to my original question, “How do I accurately describe my time at Blissdom Canada?”

I guess I’ll start from the top. Being of the male persuasion, the thought of heading to a 500 person conference, where the ratio of women to men is 490:10, was a little overwhelming. Nightmarish thoughts of walking into the room and everyone glaring at me with disapproving eyes, filled my head in the days leading up to the event.

Once I arrived on site, it took about 30 seconds for those fears to disappear. That’s because 30 seconds is all it took for me to get my first warm welcome. The next one came at 45 seconds; and then at 60 seconds, it happened again. In fact, every single interaction I had the entire weekend was positive and welcoming.

Not one time did I feel out of place, as a blogger or as a man. I got nervous; and anxious; and overwhelmed at times, but that wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. It’s a lot easier to say you’re going to go up to someone you idolize, than it is to actually do it. I was lucky to have some people watching out for me and making sure that I felt included in the fun and for that I am eternally grateful.

I went to Blissdom Canada to learn how to become a better blogger but I left with so much more than that. I left with a sense of belonging. I left with great connections. I left with a new found confidence in my abilities as a writer. Most importantly, I left with new friends. Not “friends” in the Facebook sense either, but real friends who are willing to help you when you have questions and who genuinely want to see you do well, as I do for them.

I could write a book about how fulfilling this conference was. I won’t, but I could! I sang, I learned, I laughed, I cried (Let’s not get into that, I am a man after all and I was watching a family video), I gangnam styled, I interpretive danced (see above), I connected, At Blissdom Canada, I saw a million faces…

And I rocked them all!

Thank you so much to the organizers, community leaders, sponsors and attendees. You made this experience one I will never forget and I am going to make it my goal to let the other male bloggers know that this is a conference that will accept them for who they are and not judge them based on their gender.

I’d also like to say a special Thank You to my wife, who was nothing but supportive of my time away and never made me feel like I was doing something wrong by being there. She is a great woman and my family is incredibly lucky to have her!

Cheers!

Oh yeah, I also got to spend an afternoon with Canadian Family Magazine’s Editor-In-Chief, Jennifer Reynolds. It was incredibly rewarding!

I Am Not Super Dad; Not Even Close

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While taking some good natured ribbing from my friends about my new found voice as, “Canadian Dad”, it occurred to me that the perception of what I’m doing might not match up with the goal of why I’m doing it. My goal is not to portray myself as some kind of Super Dad for spending time with my kids. In fact, I hadn’t even really thought about that side of it until recently.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends and take absolutely no offence to the, “Just tell them you are Canadian Dad” and “I blocked you so my wife won’t think I’m a terrible Dad” jokes. We have all been trash talking each other for years and it’s just the way we all interact together. Plus, there’s the fact that they don’t even read the blog anyway, so it’s hard to take any kind of literal offence.

I started this blog as a vessel to feed my addiction for writing, as well as a way to keep a form of living record of my journey through fatherhood. The fact that the domain CanadianDad.com was available is a major reason why I decided to stop procrastinating about it and actually start writing. Truthfully, the writing was the major reason for the blogging idea in the first place. I went through many different topic ideas before settling on the fatherhood niche.

This blog could easily have been, FantasyHockeyGuy.com or RealityTVJunkies.com, and I would have been happy at the time, just to be writing. I am, however, eternally grateful to have chosen to write about parenting because something funny happened along the way. The blogging has opened my eyes to a whole new world of fatherhood, where it’s okay to express your feelings and emotions about being a Dad. It doesn’t make me a better father than someone who doesn’t blog or share their inner most feelings on parenthood, it’s just a different avenue and one that I appreciate and can relate to.

There are a million great Dads out there who are better at it than I am, but I find that writing and sharing my experiences is helping me to become a more attentive father. I still spend way too much time on the computer, when I should be outside spending more time helping my son learn to ride his bike. I’m not always excited to go on a family trip that requires over 4 hours of driving, even though it is a “family” trip. One time, I even pretended to take a picture of the kids with my iPhone, even though I was actually checking my twitter feed…

The point is that I am not a perfect father and I am going to make mistakes, just like everyone else. I don’t write about my life as a Dad so you will think I am an amazing father. I do it so I can share my stories and learn from my mistakes, while also being a part of an amazing community of parents, who are always supportive and more than willing to share their suggestions and ideas.

The biggest benefit I have gained from this blog, is that I am much more self aware when it comes to my habitual lazy ways. I spend a lot more quality time with my kids these days, where I may have just popped on a movie in the past. Instead of dreading the thought of my wife leaving me with the kids for the day, I am actually excited when I get to plan some fun time with Daddy; And not because it’ll make for a great story either, but just because they are so much fun to be around.

Writing about fatherhood is helping me to become a better father for my children, and anything else that comes with it is only gravy (unless you hate gravy, then it could be ice cream or whatever). I know so many great fathers out there and I hope that if you take anything from this post, it will be that just because I share my stories of fatherhood, I am not Super Dad. I am just one of the many Dads out there, trying to provide the best possible care for my children. Sometimes I am successful and other times, not so much, but I’m learning more every day and I’m happy with my progress.

I am proud to be a father and I hope that comes through in my writings about my family. I only hope that you will realize that for all the compliments and accolades I have received since I started blogging, I am far from being a perfect parent. I am just a Dad like most other Dads, except that I have chosen to write about it.

I think a fun exercise would be to take a minute out of your day to let a parent know that you think they are doing a great job. Even though I say I am not a Super Dad, I still enjoy hearing the kind words and think other parents would appreciate it just as much. I don’t know, just thinking out loud again.

Cheers!

Join The Canadian Dad’s Movember Team To Support Men’s Health!

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November has quickly become one of my favourite months of the year! Not just because of my birthday *ahem, November 14th* but also because of a yearly tradition called, “Movember”. What began as a small fundraiser out of Australia, has quickly turned into a global phenomenon and I’m all in!

Movember is an initiative started to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and male mental health. Men around the world grow their moustaches while raising money for the cause. I’m not going to post my passport photo but let’s just say that it was taken during Movember and there was no way I was shaving that thing off before it’s time.

I don’t want to talk your ear off about it because there’s lots of time for that. What I want from you today is your upper lip. I’m looking to recruit as many MoBrotha’s and MoSista’s as I can, so we can put our faces and skills to work in raising money for this excellent initiative!

What I’m asking is that you visit our team page, Canadian Dad 2.012, and either signup as a MoBrotha or MoSista, or donate whatever you can to our team goal of $2000. Every little bit counts and on top of that, we get to have a lot of fun laughing at each other’s moustaches. And trust me, mine is ridiculous!

I always see so many teams of 3 or 4 guys, which is great, but I want to create a super team to rival all others! If we are going to put our faces on the line to be ridiculed in the name of raising money, we might as well be as big as possible and go for one of the many prizes up for grabs! C’mon, who’s with me!? We just signed Ottawa native, Mike Reynolds, who has a very cool MoTie shop on Etsy, that raises money for the cause. You can check it out at MoTies For Gals and Guys.

I just want to make it clear that our team is open to ladies as well, so please sign up and spread the good word of Movember! I am also planning a party here in Ottawa for later in November to celebrate our achievements and I can’t wait to see all the crazy Stache action!

Thank You for your time and I hope you’ll consider joining our team! Let’s have some fun with it as we help to raise awareness for men’s health! Please do not hesitate to ask any questions, I’m always here to help! Let’s Do It!

Cheers!