The Pez Potty Training Method

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No. I didn’t start a job with Pez. I can’t imagine a world where I would be lucky enough to work in a Pez Factory.

My daughter has recently begun Potty Training and as most parents will attest, the best way to keep them interested in this monumental event, is with incentives.

My son, who was brilliant beyond his years, held out for Diecast Cars from the Cars the Movie. That meant we were paying a whopping $5.99 per poop! If this were possible in the real world, we would all be billionaires!

Eventually, the balance of power shifted back to us, after we convinced him that stickers were just as cool as cars….

Now it’s my daughter’s turn to lower our diaper bills and we made sure to be prepared this time! We knew she loved two things, stickers and candy. After all, what little kid doesn’t love those things?

The stickers were first and failed miserably. They’d fall in the potty, end up on my socks & we never seemed to have the one sticker she really wanted!

That’s when we introduced her to her first Pez dispenser. It was Belle from Beauty & the Beast, a character she was very familiar with, even as a 2 year old. Little Girls and princesses, you know!

In a move much like her brother had pulled, she quickly conned us into giving her waaaaaay more candy than a 2 year princess should ever eat! We had been giving her a candy every time she said she had to go to the potty. You can probably guess what happened next…..

Every 30 minutes she would scream “Pee Pee Potty!!!”, “Pee Pee Potty!!!” and we’d trip over each other like the ice cream man was outside, to get her on the potty! Only to find out that she was using us for the candy. At one point, she even stopped taking the candy out of the dispenser herself, instead opting for the “Daddy Do It!” approach, which I totally fell for.

We eventually caught on to her little game and adjusted the rules for dispensing candy. She would receive 1 candy for what we deemed to be “legitimate” attempts and she would get 1 more candy upon completion of the transaction.

We are proud to report that it has now been 2 full weeks with only one or two accidents and we couldn’t be prouder of our little monkey! We have saved a ton in diapers and wipes, with our only major expenses being Pull Ups and Pez Refills!!

Way to go Girlie!! We’re so proud of you!

And Thank You Pez!

Did you use incentives to help your kids Potty Train? I’d love to hear what worked/didn’t work for you!

Cheers!

The Never Ending Knock Knock Joke

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You’ve heard it a million times before, “Knock, Knock!” “Who’s There?” and so on and so forth.

Rarely, if ever, are they funny enough to warrant even a phony giggle. Even the dirty adult ones aren’t overly funny.

That all changes when the joke comes out of the mouth of a small child, doesn’t it? We roar with laughter as the punchline rolls out, as if it’s the funniest thing we’ve ever heard in our lives.

The funny thing about it, for me at least, is that the laughter is completely genuine. Something about the fact that your child understands the humour in it, is comforting and hilarious at the same time.

Almost as if you have done your job as a parent by teaching your kid the lighter side of life and that being funny is okay.

That brings me to today’s post. My son, at age 4, has learned his very first Knock, Knock joke. In true child form, he immediately forgot it, which brought on this video of him reciting what may be the longest Knock, Knock joke of all time.

Enjoy!

PS – He was trying to do the one that ends with “Orange you glad I didn’t say Banana”. I tell you this because there is no way you would have guessed it from this….

Way to go buddy! Better than Daddy could do!

Cheers!

5 iPhone Apps My Kids Can’t Live Without

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Yeah I know, over dramatic post title, right? Well, you try writing a blog and figuring out how to get people to read it, OKAY!

I’m sorry, it’s 1 o’clock in the morning and I have put this one off all day due to being lazy at work.

Still friends? Good!

Back to the point of the story, my kids are ages 2 and 4. I occasionally let them play on my iPhone, as does my wife, and I thought I’d share with other parents out there, the games that keep the kids occupied, while also stimulating their minds…..sometimes.

I get it. Letting the kids watch TV and play video games is lazy parenting. Well, I have some news for you: I’m Not Perfect!

Every now and then, while waiting for our food at a restaurant or after a really tough day at the office, I’m cool with passing the iPhone to one of the kids for a couple hours minutes. It keeps them occupied and in some cases, can even help out in an educational way.

So without further ado, I let you in on the iPhone Apps my kids love to play!

#5 – Talking Bacteria John by Out Fit 7 Ltd. – This is probably the most ridiculous App I’ve ever seen but the kids laugh harder at this one than any they’ve played so it makes the list. It provides no educational or emotional value, unless you count laughing as a value. It’s basically a bunch of blue blobs floating around that repeat everything you say and you can feed them donuts. They also have an infectious and irritating laugh that keeps you coming back for more!

#4 – Sesame Street: The Fix-It Shop by Sesame Workshop Apps – It’s got some cool features like stories and recording and blah, blah, blah. My kids love the coloring book feature on this app. My daughter will play this until I yank it out of her screaming hands! The only issue with this one is that she doesn’t know how to change colors, so she asks every 30 seconds…

#3 – Shape-O by Bellamon – Now we’re getting to the good stuff! This puzzle game is really incredible and I’m so glad my son loves it! There are tons of puzzles, where you not only place the pieces but also have to match the letters in the word before you can move to the next puzzle. This is a great one and I highly recommend it!

#2 – Garage Band by Apple Canada Inc. – The funny thing about this one is that it was MY app for my band. We are able to share new sounds and vocals through this app and it’s very useful for our music. And then my kids heard me playing on it and stole it from me. Now my son and daughter fight tooth and nail to see who is going to get to pay drums and keyboard and guitar! I secretly love that they love the music because that’s something I can share with them. It came out of nowhere but this one is great for kids to make and record music.

#1 – Angry Birds by Rovio Mobile – Was there any doubt about this one? It’s the classic time wasting game and the kids love it! I don’t even know what to say about this game that you don’t already know. Addictive is the word I would use to describe it. Like I always say, “When in doubt, Kill some green pigs!”

 

That’s it for my list. I wasn’t paid by any of these companies, nor do I ever plan to be, lol. My kids just love these games and I thought other lazy parents could benefit from the recommendations.

Honorable mentions to Flick Home Run, Cars 2 & Talking Tom & Ben News. All great in their own way but just not quite loved enough to make the Top 5!

I hope you enjoyed the list and please feel free to share your favorite apps in the comments section!

Cheers!

A Simple Reason Why Being a Parent Is So Incredible

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Laughter. Plain and Simple.

The ability to laugh and be goofy with my kids, for me, is by far the best thing about being a parent.

That’s about all I have to say about that. Shocking, I know! I’ll let my son say the rest.

Hope you have a great week!

Cheers!

I Can’t Wait For @Disneyland To Open #CarsLand This June!

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I want to start by saying a couple things here. First, I have no affiliation with Disney, Disneyland, Pixar, Mickey Mouse, Owen Wilson, Lightning McQueen or any other Disney entity. I’m just really excited about this new park they are opening. Cars is my favorite Disney movie so this one looks like a dream I once had, where I was in the movie!

The Second thing is that I will most likely never be able to afford to take my family to this theme park. That doesn’t mean I can’t still be excited about it and live vicariously through those who are actually going to experience it!

I first heard of Cars Land around Christmas of last year and thought it was a joke at the time. That was until I started Google searching it and found hundreds of images of blueprints. I was amazed at how much it looked just like the real Radiator Springs.

As more and more clips come out, my excitement level rises higher and higher! I have failed so far in my attempts to convince my wife that we NEED to go here. Understandably, once we are able to afford it, our family will most likely travel to Disney World instead, which will be fun as well. I guess. It’s definitely cheaper than a family trip to California, so I get it.

Seriously though, look at the photos and videos! They’re all there! Flo’s V8 Cafe, The Cozy Cone Motel, Mater, McQueen, Fillmore, Sarge!! It’s an overload of awesomeness and I can’t stop torturing myself with the videos and images that are out there! The best tour I’ve found so far is the one provided by my buddy Mater on the actual Cars Land website.

Out of respect and fairness to my wife, I have not showed my son any of the pictures and videos that I have been watching. That would be like using WMD’s in my fight to get my family to Cars Land and I’m not going to do it! I’ll just keep picking away until it simply becomes the thing we HAVE to do! In the meantime, I will watch my videos and read the blogs of the lucky families who get to roam the streets of Radiator Springs!

I think I’ll leave you with a couple of my favorite Cars Land videos to date. The first one is great because it explains some of the amazing features the new park is going to have. The second one is for me, lol! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have and maybe I’ll see you there someday!

KACHOW!

Today I Thought Twice About Killing A Bug

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I’d never really thought twice about bringing down the Hulk Smash (Yes, I just saw the Avengers and now you get to deal with that) on an unsuspecting bug that had gotten too close to my inner space. In fact, in the world of bugs, I might even be know as a bully!

That was until today.

While playing outside with my kids, I noticed an ant moving dangerously close to my Diet Coke. Just as I was about to bring down the Hammer of Thor (Yep, another one), I noticed that my daughter was infatuated with this tiny little creature.

She screamed with joy, literally, and followed it around everywhere it went. And then she dropped the hammer on me. She looked up at me with her cutie pie eyes and said “Buggy looking for Mommy & Daddy!”

If I wasn’t convinced about letting it live yet, that pretty much sealed the deal. Could you say no to that smile? I certainly can’t.

How could I raise my kids to be kind and love all things, if bugs isn’t included on that list? In this Disney world that my kids live in, that ant is most likely going back fun fairy land village like Pixie Hollow, where Tinkerbell and the Bee Movie guy frolic through fields of Strawberries and stay away from the dreaded humans!

I don’t want to be a dreaded human! And I certainly don’t want my kids to be dreaded humans!! It seems we have no other option than to be friends of the bugs and allow them to roam free on our yard, with no fear of being picked off by one of my shoes, which I throw with the accuracy of one of HawkEye’s arrows!! (Reaching, I know)

Point is, my kids love bugs and they really don’t do any kind of harm to us, other than being gross and creepy and disgusting….well, you get it, right? I guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to just observe the bugs while they’re around and then let them move on to their fantasy land, where they can see their Mommies and Daddies.

Who knows, maybe they do go back to Mommies and Daddies. Truth is, I couldn’t care less to look it up, lol. I’ll just pretend they do and let them live from now on!

In closing, Bugs of the World, you have safe passage through my yard for the time being. I can’t promise that you won’t get accidentally squashed by a runaway PlasmaCar or a size 2 rain boot but I will not purposefully crush you if you don’t get in my face!

Oh yeah, There’s one more thing. This entire post does not apply to one particular species of bug and you know who you are. Even if my kids fall madly in love with you, I will hunt you while you sleep. I believe Liam Neeson described it best:

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”

I’ve got my eye on you wasp. And it’s as sharp as Fury’s one good eye (Yes!) Don’t push me!

Cheers!

PS – Ironman, Captain America, Black Widow! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, that’s better!!!

What Do Dads Really Want For Father’s Day?

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So in a complete brain fart move, I forgot to mention that I was asked to become a part of the Parent Tested, Parent Approved (PTPA) Blogaholics team. An invitation which I proudly accepted. You can find my musings here!

The PTPA is gearing up for Father’s Day and as a father myself, they’ve enlisted me to poll other Dads in order to let them know what we think.

I’m not asking you to do a lot of work, I know how busy you all are with your blogging and kids and golf! All I need is for you to answer these two questions.

1 – What do you really want to receive for Father’s Day?

2 – How do you want to spend the day?

That’s it! Two simple questions and you’re done. Leave a comment, send me an email, FB, Twitter, you know the drill!

In the meantime, I’ll give my answers in hopes of sparking some further dialogue.

What I really want for Father’s Day is a MacBook. What? It’s what I really want! Okay, okay, what I really want is something cool from my kids. My wife comes up with the best crafty ideas for the kids to make for me and I honestly love it. Cheap but extremely effective! From paintings to photo coffee mugs, they are all incredible!

As for what I want to do that day, we have a great event happening in Ottawa, called the Alterna Ultimate Run for Men’s Cancers. It is a cancer fundraiser but also has a great kids zone with a lot of fun family things to do. I am not a runner but I’d love to spend the day there having fun with my family, while also supporting a great cause.

See, that was easy and painless. Just leave me a note in the comments section and tell me what you really want. Your wife thinks she knows….but she doesn’t know. Help her out man!

Cheers!!

Lucas Sings Episode 2: “Don’t Let Me Down, Helicopter”

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Every week, I will be posting a video of my son singing an original song. Please note that I am not forcing him to sing for his meals, like the parents on Toddlers & Tiaras. He begs for me to shoot videos of him singing his new original material Watch out Ellen, I have your new singing superstar right here!

In the second installment of Lucas Sings, my son takes us through the emotional journey of a Helicopter whos seems to have lost its way. It’s a moving piece with many ups and downs that will have you laughing, crying and wanting more.

And he accomplishes all this in only 16 seconds. Amazing!

Enjoy his newest masterpiece, which I’ve entitled “Don’t Let Me Down, Helicopter”

Cheers!

Wanna Tell You About The Girl I Love – To My Wife On Mothers Day

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Yes I know, if you know the lyrics I’ve quoted in the title, they are not really about “True Love”. Let’s try and get past that because that specific lyric, on it’s own, happens to fit quite nicely.

I would also like to state for the record, that I love my Mother and wish her a very Happy Mothers’ Day! This post happens to be about someone else on this particular day though.

For as long as I’ve been a father, there’s been one constant that has kept me in my children’s good graces.

One thing that has kept me from imploding due to the sheer magnitude of being in charge of another life form.

Well I guess it’s not really a thing at all, is it? Here she is!

This is my rock! My Knight in Shining Armor! The Keeper of the Gates of my Childrens’ Love and Well Being!

Too far?? Not in my mind.

For all the great comments I get on my site about how great I am as a father, there is someone else who is even more deserving of that praise and who doesn’t get enough of it.

My wife gave up her career because she wanted to stay home to raise our kids, which was a huge sacrifice. Please don’t take this as me judging people that don’t because I understand and respect all people’s situations and decisions.

Point is, she decided to quit her comfortable job and enter the world of home child care. It’s probably one of the hardest jobs I could ever imagine doing. As a shift worker, I am home a lot with the daycare and trust me when I tell you that it is not all bonbons and circle time.

 

 

 

 

 

Lesson planning, meal plans, activities, outdoor time, walking some to school, picking them up, consoling upset children and trying to spend enough time with your own to make them feel special for having to share all their stuff. I’m sure I’m missing some things but you get the idea.

She is an amazing woman!

Remember this post about my son’s 4th Birthday Party? I looked great as the cool Dad dressed up like Super Mario, right? What you didn’t see in there was the planning, invites, decorating, loot bags & food that my wife took care of while I was in the bathroom rehearsing my Super Mario lines.

When the kids are ill, the world stops for her until they are feeling better. When my daughter can’t sleep, my wife will happily lie in bed with her and comfort her until she dozes off. And absolutely No holiday goes without decorations and a celebration!

My wife is the perfect portrait of someone who loves her family over and above everything else in her life. She would literally do anything for us and for that we are eternally grateful! She gives us the best of everything she’s got and asks for nothing in return.

Even when I told her that, for Mothers’ Day, we were sending her to a nice hotel to relax and get some much needed rest, she needed to be convinced that it was a good idea. I’m still not sure she agrees with it but I know she’ll love it!

I know there’s so much more I could say about her but she’s away relaxing and Daddy’s got kids to entertain, LOL!

Let me just close by saying to my wife, from myself and the kids, that we appreciate everything you do for us.

We hope that you don’t think we take you for granted, because we don’t.

Life would be a dark, lonely place without you in it and we want to say a great big, bear hug wrapped, chocolate covered Thank You for everything you bring to our family!

On a personal note, I am thankful to have found you. You make me want to be a better father every single day and you have no idea how you positively impact our lives.

We Love You!

Happy Mothers Day!!!

PS – Enjoy your time of rest and relaxation, the daycare opens back up at 7am sharp on Monday morning ;P

PPS – Where’s the Ketchup?

It’s A Bird. It’s A Plane. No It’s Super Mario Dad!

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My son recently turned 4 years old. Okay, give me a minute….. I can’t believe 4 years went by so fast!

Anyway, we asked him what kind of birthday party he wanted and got about 6 answers, ranging from MarioKart to Angry Birds to Wolverine??? After much deliberation and convincing, we landed on MarioKart.

What a fantastic decision it was too! There’s a growing love for all things Mario and we were able to find a ton of ideas for the party. The best part is that we were able to do a lot of it on a relatively low budget!

How about a laminated Drivers License as the guests arrived:

As for games, we had a rousing go of Pin The Mustache On The Mario:

My son had a blast!! We did have one more surprise for him though. A visit from Super Mario himself!! That’s right, I pimped out my blog for a free Super Mario costume so I could surprise him on his birthday!

I was extremely warm in the suit and the mustache kept falling off but we got through Mario Says, Mario Bingo and the aforementioned Pin The Mustache On The Mario without any problems!

Have a look at my grand entrance! I decided to go with an entrance theme as if I was a WWE wrestler. That’s just how I roll!

The joy on my son’s face says it all!

I want to leave you with a final shot from the end of the party of the two happiest parents on the earth!!

Happy Birthday Buddy!!!!

Cheers!!!