A Date With My Daughter

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As a father of 2 blossoming children with busy schedules, a full time shift work job, home day care and multiple other commitments, it’s rare that I get to spend any quality alone time with either child.

Sure, I’ll take my son to the grocery store or my daughter to a doctor’s appointment but I’m talking about “Quality” alone time. You know, the kind that you build long lasting bonds with.

You can only imagine my excitement this week when my wife mentioned that her and her mother would be taking my son out for some Back To School shopping, and that I would be in charge of my 2 year old daughter for an entire afternoon!

I’m pretty sure the adrenaline from the excitement kicked in right away and I got busy planning out our special Daddy/Daughter Date Night! Unfortunately, there were so many thoughts running through my mind that I needed to have a nap, but after that, I got back to planning!

Once the big day arrived, I sailed through my work day, only staring at the clock 7 or 8 or 100 times! We said our goodbye’s and off we went on our date. I should probably take a minute to explain a few things at this point.

1. My daughter has recently given up her afternoon nap, which means that around 4pm she gets very tired and will literally fall asleep anywhere.

2. She has no idea how much this alone time means to her Daddy. To her, at least from my point of view, it’s just another trip in the car.

Back to the date. I had a big night planned and our first stop was to the local Claire’s jewelry store. My little girl is really into jewelry and accessories right now (what little girl isn’t!), so I thought I would take her to pick out some new fashions! We had a blast, both trying on bracelets, rings and hair accesories, until she had found all the items she wanted.

It should be noted that Daddy did not purchase anything for himself, even though I did have my eye on some wonderful Hello Kitty sunglasses!

We then headed off to our dinner reservation at my daughter’s favourite fine dining establishment, Pizza Hut… Seriously, she loves pizza! This is where the story gets inexplicably emotional for me.

My daughter is a Momma’s girl through and through. For the number of times I’ve heard her scream “No, Mommy Do It!!” while trying to help her, my heart should be broken; but it’s not. While laughing and colouring at the table with my daughter, I received a text message from my wife that read “Stop making her laugh!”. At that moment I realized that my wife and I had chosen the exact same restaurant for our dates. I won’t even begin to try and explain what the odds of this were.

We went over to say hi and they asked us if we wanted to join them, to which I answered “No Thanks, we’re on a date!”. This is the part where I get all sappy Dad on you.

My daughter came back over to our table with me and didn’t mention Mommy, Nana or her brother for the rest of the time there. She just laughed, ate and enjoyed Daddy’s company for the entire dinner.

It was one of those moments for me, where time stood still and we genuinely enjoyed each other’s company. I hope someday my daughter will read this and understand how much this gesture meant to me because I’m not sure I can accurately put it down in words.

Cheers!

Apparently, My Helicopter Blades Are Still Attached

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I like to think of myself as a pretty laid back parent. Not in an “I don’t care what my kids do” kind of way, but I’m definitely willing to let them explore the world and learn on their own.

I have to admit, I’ve even chuckled to myself at times while watching parents’ who follow their kids around the playground, petrified at every turn! That was until this weekend, when a neighbour mentioned something that shook me to my core!

Our kids were playing on a backyard seesaw, while I inconspicuously watched from the street…At one point, I noticed my son wandering dangerously close to the “see” portion of the seesaw and couldn’t help but yell out, “Hey, stay away from the ends while people are on that thing!” I didn’t even notice I had said it. I also didn’t notice that I had now crept across the lawn and found myself standing a foot away from the backyard gate.

After a few more nervous sighs, my neighbour exclaimed, “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine”, and I stopped dead in my tracks! It was official, in that moment; I had become the very thing I was laughing at in the playground! I laughed it off with her but in my head I had a totally different reaction.

“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!”

You see, it was easy to keep an eye on them at the park. A lot of times I would even join them on the structures, not to hold their hands, but because I really like playing at the park and it makes me feel young. My son is now at an age where he is going over to other kids’ houses to play, without me, and that has started to conjure up some of the old anxieties that I thought I had rid myself of.

As it turns out, I am no different than any other parent out there. As I watched my son’s butt go flying a foot off the seesaw’s metal seat, I had a feeling of unease in knowing that the only thing I could do to save him from imminent disaster, was to tell him to get off of that deathtrap! I didn’t do that but it was definitely a struggle I had within the confines of my gigantic brain.

In the end, it was absolutely an eye opening and humbling experience and one that I won’t soon forget. In my battle for fatherly world dominance, I was knocked down a few pegs this day and have succumbed to the realization that while I want my kids to pave their own way in this world, it doesn’t mean I’m going to turn a blind eye to the path they choose.

Chopper on, folks! Chopper on!

Cheers!

My Son Schooled Me At Mario Kart And All I Got Was A Lousy T-Shirt

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Yeah, I said it! In fact, I didn’t even get a T-Shirt because my son took it right off my back! Never have I been as humiliated as I was this past weekend when my 4 year old son asked if I would play Mario Kart on the Wii with him, and then he proceeded to teach me just how old I am getting.

Oddly enough, my first thought when he asked me to play was if he was old enough for me to not let him win. After all, I am very serious about my gaming, just look at the photo above. It had never occurred to me that he could possibly be in a totally different league than I was. A much, much higher league, in fact.

I should have known things weren’t going to go as planned when I couldn’t get the Wii to recognize the 2nd remote, prompting my ever so funny wife to quip, “Haha, you’re like the old guy who can’t figure out the electronics”. Very funny, dear. Now go ahead and sleep and don’t worry about why I have a bucket of warm water next to the bed…

After getting the controller issue sorted out, which was totally a Nintendo Wii issue and NOT an old man issue, I set out to let my son take an early lead in the race before I would pounce on the final lap and take him down. After all, kids need to learn about winning and losing at an early age to help them deal with it later on in life, right?

Here’s the problem with my game plan, not only did he take an early lead, but I felt like my driver was stuck in quick sand the entire race! I couldn’t make a move without hitting a banana or driving off a cliff and finished in last place in 3 of our 4 races. I am mortified to even be admitting to this, but at one point I even glanced over at my son’s remote to see what he was doing differently that I was. It was hopeless and it certainly didn’t help to hear the continuous chuckles from the peanut gallery! Ahem, Wifey!

The tipping point came when I calmly stated to my driver, Luigi, that maybe he should have spent more time training like his brother, Mario, and less time goofing around. My son then answered, “Its okay Daddy, just do the best you can”, which gave me pause and perspective on what was going on here.

I realized two things in that moment. First, that I was actually getting frustrated at a video game, which means I’m not as old as I thought I was. The second thing is that my son is actually learning from the lessons we teach him, such as “Always try your best” and “Practice makes perfect”.

It was an eye opening experience for me and a very cool moment of clarity to see your parenting lessons come full circle.

There is one more thing I’d like to point out. Just because I lost to my son, badly, on this day, it doesn’t mean that I’ve given up on the game altogether. I’ll pull all nighters if I have to but I’ll get back to the Mario Kart dominance of my early 20’s and that’s a guarantee! The next time he meets me on the battlefield basement couch, he will see a whole new attitude and a very different looking Luigi!

Watch out, son of mine, Daddy’s coming for that trophy!!!

Cheers!

The Most Awesome Snow White I’ve Ever Met

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If I learned anything from Scott Stratten’s presentation in Ottawa the other day, it was that awesome customer service can make you forget about anything bad that has previously happened and puts your focus solely on the awesomeness at hand.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to have been a participant in something awesome and it would be a crime for me not to share it with you all. We took our family to a local fair that we visit each year. The day actually started off on a less than stellar note as we spent way too much money on ride tickets, and then I found myself faced with a frustration that I tweeted about in a fit of monetary anger.

It was probably not one of my finer moments, but being asked to pay an extra $4 so my 2 year old daughter can ride on Dumbo for 45 seconds didn’t sit right with me. I’ve been to a lot of fairs and hadn’t had this problem before. It is what it is, I paid the fees and we had a great time on the rides despite the hit to the wallet. In what can only be described as perfect timing, right after I sent that tweet we ran into one of my daughter’s favourite Disney characters in Snow White.

Now, you may remember that I once posted about how my son was afraid of people dressed in costumes. My daughter is no different and just this July we had an incident with a princess at a carnival in our hometown, where my daughter got spooked while we went in for a photo op.

For some miraculous reason, this particular Snow White character had no negative effects on my little girl and as we approached her, I could feel my daughter shaking with excitement. We stood and talked with her for a minute as she asked my little girl’s name and gave her a high five. My daughter then surprised all of us by asking to have a picture with her, as you will see above.

That could have been then end of the experience and I would have been a happy Dad with just the fact that the interaction went surprisingly well. As it turns out however, Snow White wasn’t finished just yet. We moved on and went to the petting zoo and saw a magic act before making the trek back to the lunch area about 45 minutes later.

As we were just about to reach “Food Alley”, as I like to call it, we heard someone say, “Hi Julia”, and then I noticed my little girl stop and smile. I looked over to see Snow White waving to her and calling her name. Do you have any idea how many people she talked to that day? I’m guessing a lot, so to remember my daughter’s name and then to go out of her way to say hi to her amidst the sea of people at the fair was truly Awesome!

It really changed my whole view of the fair that day and ensured that it will remain a yearly tradition for our family. From now on, when I see the signs for this particular fair, all I will think about is that one interaction with the coolest Snow White I’ve ever met. I hope the people from the Carp Fair Board and the company that employs this Snow White, Official Princess Parties, will read this and share with their staff because this is the exact way that you create repeat business. When you impress people with Awesome, especially parents, you will be rewarded in the long run.

I realize that the people involved here will probably never see this but in case they do, I want to say a very big Thank You to our mystery Snow White! Not only did you give my daughter a memory to last a lifetime but you have also showed her that she doesn’t need to be afraid of people dressed in costumes anymore, which believe it or not, is a pretty big deal to a family who is afraid to plan a Disney trip.

It may seem like a small thing to some of you but that one small interaction has helped me understand the importance of each and every detail that goes into a job or project. Can you imagine not being able to plan a family trip for fear of your children’s anxiety? Then, in just a split second moment having those fears lifted and instilling some hope for a young family.

Totally Awesome!

Cheers!

Tonight I Mailed In “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”

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{Mailing It In – Slang for doing the least amount of work possible or slacking off.}

We’re all parents, right? Let’s not sugar coat this then. I get tired by the time the kid’s bedtime rolls around some nights. Truthfully, I’m tired pretty much every night as the kids get ready for bed but tonight was a little different.

I didn’t have a good sleep last night because my daughter woke up at 11pm with nightmares and spent the night in bed with Mommy and Daddy. I know some of you don’t agree with letting your kids sleep with you but I’m not overly concerned with that.

Tonight, my wife went out to an ECE class and I was in charge of bedtime. This is not an unusual occurrence and I am more than capable of handling my children on my own. It was just one of those nights where I had absolutely nothing to give to anyone.

We played a rousing game of “Jump on Daddy while he lies on the floor”, then we played “Let’s see who notices we’re watching Doc McStuffins reruns”. We closed out the night with story time, which is usually immediately followed by a Canadian Idol style rendition of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”.

The only problem with that was that story time took up the little bit of energy I had left. Between that and the countless times I had to ask my son to get back into bed, I was completely drained. I’m not proud of what happened next but I’m only human and I know it’s happened to the best of us.

We got to the Twinkle, Twinkle portion of the evening and instead of the usual Michael Buble-esque performance they are used to, the kids got something that best resembled a performance by Oscar the Grouch, if he had tape over his mouth, and had forgotten the words, and yawned 30 times in the middle….Yeah, just bad.

Funny thing about my mailing in of our nightly tradition though, the kids didn’t seem to notice. If they did they certainly weren’t about to throw tomatoes or eggs at their Dad. This helped prove two things for me:

1. I AM in fact a rock star because I can turn the crappiest mood into solid gold!

2. Your kids will love you even if you aren’t 100% all the time. Plus, they know Daddy will knock it out of the park tomorrow to make up for it!

Cheers!

NBC’s Guys With Kids: Swing And A Miss

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I tried to like it, I really did. I stayed up late. I made my wife miss our nightly Young & The Restless tradition. I even taped it so I could watch it again just in case the kids woke up in between.

Unfortunately for me, NBC’s new show, “Guys With Kids”, was completely and utterly disappointing. I have to admit that I had a preconceived notion about what this show was going to be. My worry was that the Dads in show were going to continue the tradition of portraying fathers as bumbling doofuses who can’t do anything right.

THE ASSESSMENT

As it turns out, I was only half accurate in my premature assessment. I really wanted to laugh at this show and had even convinced myself that I could overlook a little bit of the “dumb dad” stigma in exchange for the serious amount of funny I figured Executive Producer Jimmy Fallon was going to bring to the table.

The only problem with that: It wasn’t funny! Not even a little bit.

I waited and waited for the big time jokes but all I got were recycled clichés and mediocre moments of funny, which were immediately ruined by the over the top laugh track. Seriously, I don’t like laugh tracks in general but this one was completely ridiculous, chiming in at awkward moments with uproarious laughter.

The other problem I had is that my earlier worry about the Dad’s being portrayed as imbeciles turned out to be completely true. The show opens with the three Dads hanging out in a bar with their babies strapped to the chests…This is not what Dads do and in fact, I’d be surprised if this has ever happened outside of the taping of this show.

    THE CHARACTERS

Chris (Jesse Bradford) – Chris is the divorced Dad, who seems normal enough until you find out that he is completely whipped by his ex-wife and mother of their child. He states that he loses every argument about the child to his ex because she ends them all with the line, “He Grew Inside Me”, as she rubs her belly. Not only is this unfunny and clichés but it once again paints the Dad in a weak light.

Gary (Anthony Anderson) – I thought for sure the Stay at Home Dad offered the show a chance at some great Dad moments, but they were lost in the fact that all he does is complain about how awful and time consuming it is to have 4 boys. To be fair in this assessment, his wife, played by Tempestt Bledsoe, seems to have the same attitude towards the children.

Nick (Zach Cregger) – I really have no idea what this character is all about and that is part of the problem. All I could gather is that he’s kind of dumb and will most likely be the “crazy do whatever you want with no regard for wives or kids” guy. Third Strike in the “Guys” Department.

The Kids – Almost non-existent. That’s how I would describe the role of the children in this show. This show could have simply been called, Guys, and it would have been able to keep the same premise. If the show continues, I hope there is a little more interaction between the fathers and the children.

The Wives – As mentioned earlier, Tempestt Bledsoe (Vanessa Huxtable) plays a mother of 4 kids and has some funny moments. Jamie-Lynn Sigler plays Nick’s wife and didn’t really play a major factor in the episode but there is room for funny between her and clueless Nick. Finally we have Erinn Hayes, who plays Chris’ ex-wife. I don’t know if it’s the writing, the acting or the fact that she is humiliating Bradford’s character the whole episode, but she is my least favourite character by far.

Finally, I will second the motion put forward by one of my Dad Blogging buddies in The Rock Father, when he described the random appearance of NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, saying “his appearance would’ve been far more relevant if it was 1980 and AIRPLANE! had just come out”. I agree sir, and I’ll add that having him fake “Dunking The Baby” was equally as tired.

CLOSING ARGUMENTS

I just read this whole thing back before signing off and while it may seem unreasonably harsh, I really did have high hopes for Guys With Kids and was left completely baffled and disappointed with how unsatisfying it was. I also understand the people who say, “Calm down Dad and learn how to take a joke”, I really do, but that would imply the jokes actually making me laugh, which they did not. When you add that to the fact that the Dads are also portrayed in the same bumbling way we always are, it raises my Dad-O-Meter to a high level of alert.

I really like Jimmy Fallon and think he is a comedic genius, which is the main reason why I was so upset with the finished product. It just missed the mark on too many levels for me, so I think it’s time to go back to the drawing board with this one. On second thought, let’s just sweep it under the mat instead and pretend it never happened… Sorry Jimmy, still friends?

Cheers!

**Photo is from Blogo Wogo**

In The Presence of a Man

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I lost my little boy today…

Last thing I remember was singing him to sleep and holding him tightly, promising to never let him go. This morning however, he crossed through the gates to the other side and never looked back.

I don’t even feel like I got to say a proper goodbye. One minute he was there and the next, gone. I just stood there in stunned disbelief, remembering all the good times and thinking about all the things I still hadn’t taught him.

I definitely wasn’t ready for this moment, that much I know for sure. He certainly can’t be ready for the next stage of his life. What if he gets hurt? Who’s going to be there to make it better? What if he can’t get his lunch bag opened? He’ll starve to death! As I went through all the terrible scenarios in my head, all I kept repeating was “This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening!”

The reality is, it WAS happening and there was nothing I could do about it but stare in awe of the fine young man my wife and I had created and raised. My little boy had crossed the gates into manhood and I’ve never EVER been so proud in all my life!

Our walk to the school this morning was a long one for sure. My son had no idea the emotions that were swirling around the minds of my wife and I, but hopefully someday he will. That pit in your stomach as you feel like you are walking the longest plank, to imminent doom.

I hope that someday he will get to experience this moment with his own children. Maybe then he will understand that all the crying and stress from his parents wasn’t about sadness or anger, but a totally different emotion that overpowers all others.

Pride. Because that’s all I feel for him on this day as he embarks on his new journey.

I’m proud of him for having the courage to take that next step. I’m proud of him for making sure to hug his sister before he left us today. I’m proud of how he coloured in the lines at the teacher interview yesterday and how he counted to 30 and sang the alphabet song as if he’d been doing it his whole life. I’m proud of every accomplishment he has ever achieved and everything he still has left to do in his life.

Everyone told me I would love being a father, but no one warned me about the pride. Seriously, why did no one tell about this part? How am I supposed to be “Big, Tough Daddy” when I start to well up when my son beams about passing his first swimming class? If that’s the kind of thing that sets me off, what’s going to happen when he scores his first goal in hockey? (Okay, we haven’t discussed sports yet but c’mon, we are Canadian!)

The important lesson I learned today is that while my kids still have a lot of learning and growing to do, so do their Mommy and Daddy! I have to learn how to deal with all these emotions while continuing to maintain control of myself. All I wanted to do after we dropped him off today was to curl up in bed until it was time to go get him. I didn’t do that, but it was definitely on my mind.

As it turns out, he did just fine at his first day of school. As he says “I didn’t even cry, not once!” and “I even opened my snack box and now there’s nothing left in it!” with that big ol’ grin of his. My son is more than ready for school and I couldn’t be more proud of him for it.

I lost my little boy today…but I gained a wonderful young man!

 

My First #WordlessWednesday Post! Daddy/Daughter Date

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I’m finally joining the Wordless Wednesday craze this week!

Here are a few shots from my special date night with my Daughter! I’ve definitely learned to make room for more one on one time with my kids. It was a blast!

Cheers!

A Commercial Dads Can Be Proud Of

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Please note: I am NOT recommending you go out and buy a Google Nexus 7 here. In fact, I’m not even really sure what that is and most likely will never be able to afford one.

My reason for writing today is because of this great commercial I just watched for the Nexus 7. Ever since I have joined the wonderful world of Dad Blogging, I have had the opportunity to voice my opinion on certain subjects that I would normally have kept to myself. Or bored my wife with.

One of those topics is the poor representation of fatherhood by media, hollywood and corporations. Brands like Huggies and Oscar Mayer know what I’m talking about and they have also heard the backlash from the rising Dad Blogging community.

That’s why I found it refreshing to see an ad featuring a father and son doing something that father’s and son’s do. It didn’t have any gimmicks or crazy “Dumb Dad” moments. It was simply an excellent display of a parent enjoying time with his child and having a camp out in their backyard. Have a look for yourself:

Seriously amazing. I understand that it’s not an exact portrayal of everyone’s experience with their father but it was a mirror of my upbringing and also of the way that I am trying to raise my kids. On top of all that, it has given me a great new activity to try out with my son. We’ve been waiting for my daughter to get a little older before attempting the camping thing but this looks great in the meantime.

That’s really all I wanted to share with you today. I hope other brands will start to take notice and see what at least some of us consider to be powerful and effective marketing to Fathers and Parents alike.

For the record, I’m not crazy “boycott all non-dad friendly ads” guy, I just really detest the brands that make us Dads look like imbeciles to try and sell their product. I love Moms. I have one and there’s another one raising my children. They deserve everything they get and more. It’s just nice to see a company portray Dads in a positive parenting light for a change.

I also want to say Thanks to Bryan and Zach from 8 Bit Dad for bringing this one to my attention. I like to talk Dad here but these guys are “The modern parent’s source for fatherly opinion”! (You guys can pay me via PayPal (US Funds))!

I hope you all have a great day and thank you for your continued support!!

Cheers!

Not Your Ordinary, Everyday Bunnies

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Just a short post today as I get myself back into the swing of things after a long and very enjoyable vacation! My daughter has recently discovered the joys of music and dancing but there is one song in particular that she can’t stop listening to.

Seriously, she literally will not stop listening to it and if I turn it off, we get an epic meltdown every time!

That song is called Sleeping Bunnies by The Derry Hares and my little one can’t get enough of it. It’s so amazing to watch her dance and sing to the song that it almost makes you forget that you have listened to the song 31 times in a row!

I decided to take a video of her so you can all see just how much she loves it and got an added bonus when my son noticed the camera and decided to join in. He is a spotlight hog just like his Dad!

So without further blogging, here are my kids doing their interpretive dance version of Sleeping Bunnies.

Cheers!