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Hockey Kid

It’s Not About Me. It’s Not About Me. It’s Not…

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Letting go of things is hard for me, but with the help of my kids I’m learning. My son is a fairly athletic kid. He actually reminds me a lot of myself at his age. Good at everything but not quite a superstar at anything, yet. It’s a good spot to be in.

He plays house league hockey and has been having a lot of fun, which is the point, right? I used to sign him up for extra skating sessions and camps but this season he told me he doesn’t want to do any of the extra stuff because he doesn’t enjoy it. He said he still loves hockey, just not the extra things.

Although I fought him on it a little bit, I ultimately respected his wishes and stopped booking extra stuff. I guess I just see that he has so much potential and want him to be able to unleash it as he grows. The thing is, he’s happier without it, and it took me until this season to realize that that’s enough. In fact, that’s everything.

MVP Hockey

All smiles with his MVP award!

I didn’t get picked as a coach this year, so I get to watch from the stands. I find myself holding my breath with anticipation of my son’s next turn on the ice. He works so hard out there and makes me proud every single shift. I’m serious, between his work on the ice and his sister’s in the gym, I’m ashamed of the amount of time I waste in my daily life.

The point here being, we all want our kids to be the best at the things they choose to love, but it needs to be on their terms. We stopped doing the extra ice times and yet he is still excelling because he loves the sport and works his tail off. Sure, it took me a while to figure it all out but I’ve arrived at the point of acceptance and it has been a fun ride watching him smile out there!

I’m never more proud than when other parents come up to me after a game to let me know that they think my son played great. If only he was this enthusiastic about his homework…

Lily and Snowman

Cineplex Wants You To ‘See The Big Picture’

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Cineplex Entertainment today announced the launch of a new integrated brand platform that asks Canadians to ‘See The Big Picture’ and rediscover the importance of entertainment in their lives. Much more than a new slogan, the strategy was crafted around the insight that Canadians wear their busy schedules like badges of honour and that the need for entertainment and enjoyment is important now more than ever before.

To help launch the new strategy, Cineplex released a new animated short film entitled Lily and the Snowman, which gave me goosebumps not only as a father but also as a son and husband. The story follows Lily and her animated snowman through childhood but also shows what happens as we get older and life tends to get in the way of fun. This is the first of many short films Cineplex is planning on launching but if Lily and the Snowman is any indication, I can’t wait to see what’s next! I’ll let you be the judge of Lily and the Snowman but I will warn you that you may want to get a tissue handy…

Lily & the Snowman

Lily & the Snowman features Genesis’ “Follow You Follow Me” performed by Canadian singer Adaline. Watch the Making Of video: http://cinplx.co/1YaC39H Every winter, a magical snowman puts on a show for a little girl. But over time, life pulls them apart. Will she remember to take the time for what she loved?

I told you it was powerful so don’t blame me because you didn’t get tissues! Recognize that song? It was a new take on Genesis’ ‘Follow you’, which will be available for purchase in January 2016. Lily and the Snowman will be promoted across Cineplex’s social channels as well as shown to guests as part of the December and January Pre-Shows featured at 162 theatres across Canada.

Canadians are encouraged to engage and share over social media using the hashtag #SeeTheBigPicture, as well on Cineplex’s Facebook, Twitter @CineplexMovies or Instagram @CineplexMovies channels.

Mother's Day Brookstreet

A Night Away For Mommy

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Last weekend was Mother’s Day and instead of our usual routine, I decided to send my wife to the Brookstreet Hotel here in Ottawa. The goal was to get her a good night’s sleep and a day full of pampering without having to worry about doing anything parenting related. Now, my kids think hotels are hilarious, so we decided to have a pizza dinner in her hotel room on the first night, but quickly left mommy to her relaxing.

My wife’s stay included lots of sleep, breakfast in bed and a spa treatment at the Brookstreet’s Au Naturel Spa, before we would return in to pick her up, refreshed and ready for Mother’s Day dinner. I was surprised at how much there was for the kids to do at the Brookstreet because I had always assumed that there wouldn’t be a ton of kiddie stuff for some reason. They had a whole array of children’s activities and as you can see from the video below, my kids spent quite a bit of extra time out front of the hotel after we dropped mommy off, entertaining the guests as they walked by.

My wife said she loved her stay and even though we didn’t actually stay in the hotel, my kids and I had a blast taking in everything there was for them to do at the hotel. With Father’s Day just around the corner, I know what I will be suggesting…

Disclosure: My wife was provided one night accommodation by the Brookstreet Hotel and I was not required to write this post. The spa treatment was paid for by us.

Disney’s Frozen Activity Sheets!

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What more do I need to say? Just remember to thank me when your kids flip out!!!

Download Frozen Activities

A Vacation In Our Own Backyard

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Parliament Hill

Something people may not know about me is that before I became a blogger, I went through a pretty hard core phase as a contester. I’m not talking about entering a couple contests here and there either. I mean full blown, spreadsheet creating, madness! I have probably entered about five contests in my first year as a blogger and this past weekend I was lucky enough to win a weekend stay at a hotel right in my own town, the Ottawa Marriott.

After breaking the good news to my wife, we decided to spend one night in the hotel with the kids and one night with just the two of us. A huge thanks to my Mom for watching the kids on the second night to allow us to have our first night away in almost two years! We got there and immediately headed down to the kids play room. I had heard about this from a few friends and couldn’t wait to check it out for myself. As expected, the kids had a blast and negotiated their way to an extra 15 minutes of play time. They probably could have scored an extra 30 minutes, but don’t tell them that.

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The kids love staying in hotels and we decided to get a king sized bed so we could all sleep together. I knew that meant we would get a little less sleep and I even took a few shots to the face from the boy, but it was totally worth it to see their smiling faces. And just in case anyone from the Marriott reads this, I promised that the kids would jump on the bed and I always keep my promises. I even threw in a little extra…

Daddy jumps on beds too!

Daddy jumps on beds too!

Jumping Kids
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As much fun as night one had been, I was definitely looking forward to some husband and wife time. It had been so long since we could just go out to enjoy a dinner without worrying about how late it was. We enjoyed a nice dinner at the Hard Rock and headed back to the hotel to watch a movie. Unfortunately the movie channel was broken, so we were left without many options on TV on a Saturday night.

Fortunately, if I taught my wife anything about social media, it is that excellent brands always come through in the clutch! She had just started to discover the world of twitter and expressed her disappointment over not being able to watch a movie together. Two minutes later, the phone rang and it was the manager of the hotel, who mentioned they saw her tweet and wanted to make it right. They offered to bring up a DVD player and some movies for us, which I appreciated but declined. That would have been enough for me but they decided to go the extra mile and offered us breakfast in bed for two the next morning. JOY!

Sunset ViewBreakfast Bed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took so much away from this weekend and have felt extremely energized ever since. It’s so important to take the time to unwind, both as a family and as a couple. To be able to do it right in our own backyard was icing on the cake. This is not a sponsored post in any way but I want to say a huge thank you to the Ottawa Marriott for your hospitality and amazing service. Also, thank you for having a Starbucks in the lobby!

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What Do I Stand For?

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Holding Hands

While discussing my new obsession with the band, “Fun” the other night, Candace Alper from Name Your Tune CD’s asked the following: “Can you answer the question, ‘What do I stand for?’” This was in reference to Fun’s song, Some Nights, where they continually ask this question. We both agreed that while we didn’t have an answer to the question, that it was definitely worth investigating.

So, here I am, still struggling to answer the question but willing to at least start the thought process here with you. I have decided to make a list of the things I stand for and will hopefully be adding future editions to the collection.

What Do I Stand For?

• I believe in being a gentleman. This includes but is not limited to, holding doors for people, being courteous, giving up my seat for women and elderly, treating others with respect.

• I try to make a difference in my community and beyond by giving back to those who are not as fortunate as I am. I have my problems too, we all do, but it’s not hard to set aside some time to help others and this is something I hope my children will carry with them.

• Kindness always trumps hate.

• My family is my life. Everything else is secondary.

• I don’t have time for drama, nor will I participate in it.

• Pizza.

• Being a good father is more important to me than writing about being a good father. That being said, this blog has helped me become not only a better father, but a better human being as well.

• Smiling breeds happiness; Negativity breeds negativity. You choose.

• Failing at something doesn’t make you a failure. It just gives you the knowledge to get it right the next time.

• I make no apologies for who I am.

• I’ve made mistakes. Lots of them, actually, and while I have learned a lot from making these mistakes, they certainly do not define me.

• The word ‘retard‘ is not in my vocabulary. It was at one time but it is no longer.

• I do not tolerate bullying in any way, shape or form.

• I believe, perhaps gullibly, that I can make a difference in the world.

That’s all I wanted to share with you for now. It was a difficult exercise to not only think of these things but to also question whether they are things that I actively practice. The great part about making this list is that I am far more conscious of not only what I stand for, but also what steps I need to take in order to further back up the above statements. I highly recommend this exercise for all of you out there as well, whether you are a blogger or not, as it was very eye opening.

I leave you with the song that started the conversation and also with the question, “What do you stand for?”