All Dads & Grads Need A JumPack When On The Road

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cobra for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have a confession to make. I am not a car guy. I have never been that interested in cars other than driving them from point A to point B. There I said it.

I have never changed a tire or tricked out my ride in any way. When something breaks, I call someone to fix it. I did change a few light bulbs before, but that’s it.

That is why when I am driving, or my wife is out with the car, I always have a the tiniest worry of something going wrong and being stuck somewhere.

Stuck without a phone, without power or without the tools needed to get the car going again. I am the guy who chooses not to have jumper cables in the car because then one day it would be proven I don’t know to use them.

But in the age of modern technology it seems silly to have such worry.

Top 10 Foods To Grill On Big Green Egg

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If you follow me on Instagram, you know I love to post photos of my latest Big Green Egg dish. You will also know that 90% of the photos are of meat. I love meat. Smoked or grilled, it doesn’t matter. It all tastes delish thanks to my giant green friend.

I have owned a Big Green Egg for four years and I have pretty much tried everything I want to try to date. The only recipe I want to still test is smoking a full turkey. There has been beef, chicken, pork, eggs, pizza and several veggie dishes to date. There have been some misses, but generally everything I cook on the Egg is a hit. Even our picky kids eat the food.

So without spending much more time getting your mouths watering, here is a little list that chronicles my experiences and my favourite meals to grill on the Big Green Egg.

A Fractured Relationship Finally Ends

cracked mug

My second longest relationship is over.

The feelings are still raw as I write this but deep down I know I will be okay.

This morning after pouring hot water into my favourite blue mug, I walked away to let the brewing magic happen. When I returned, there was a large puddle on the counter and even dripping onto the floor? WTF? Did I miss the cup on my pour?

I lifted up the mug to investigate and there it was. A thin fracture throughout the entire mug. The cause of a slow leak. The end of a beautiful and lasting relationship.

Brother vs. Brother: Dawn Of Justice

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Not Fair!

I never got one.

Why did he get one and I didn’t?

Hey I never got to go first yet?

Your breakfast smells.

That’s’ my book.

Do these phrases sound familiar parents?

In our house these and more are yelled out daily and in varying degrees of anger, sadness and bitterness.

It’s just part of the war of words in the great battle of siblings and in our case, brothers.

House Of Pokemon Cards

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Pokemon cards. Uh. Where do I begin. If you have little kids (boys in particular), I bet you find pokemon cards in your house like you find Christmas tree needles in July. They are everywhere and I swear they spawn. It is no wonder we can’t catch them all, we can’t even keep the cards in one single place.

Just like a house of cards, when dealing with pokemon cards, they can make other parts of your daily lives come crashing down in not careful.

Those little cards will brainwash and distract your kids from doing the simplest of things. They also will take their powers of annoyance outside of your house and infiltrate school, after school, friends houses and anywhere they sneak them in like contraband.

Can Our Kids Learn Anything From Netflix?

Raising one kid is challenging. Raising two, well it doubles the fun. We have two boys who are six and three. But the three years between them can be much closer or much further depending on the situation. Sometimes our youngest acts older to move towards his brother, sometimes our oldest reverts because he sees what can be gotten acting more toddler like. It’s a giant learning experience for us all.

So how does a very present aspect of our household (TV/Netflix) actually become a learning tool for the boys when they are at two very different ages? What conversations are sparked? Can they enjoy different shows as well as find common ground?

That was the question put forth for the #streamteam crew this month.

Some Months Really Kick You In The Parental Ass

spagetti

Hey April, happy to not see you again for another 51 weeks. You were a challenge to say the least. Let me enjoy your good friend May instead.

The month of April this year was a tiring one for me. So many ups and downs. So many things draining my energy mentally and physically. It has taken the first week of May to digest it all and actually write about it.

Yes it was only 30 days, but a lot was packed into the 720 hours available.

Before I go into each, here is just a taste of what happened.

  • Wife was away for 12 days. Lot’s of solo parenting.
  • Bank account was hacked.
  • Oldest kept hurting himself at school – ie. calls home.
  • Youngest had to go to doctor to be allowed back in daycare.
  • Had to take care of a really silly parking ticket.
  • Had to deal with an overdue bill from previous home owner.
  • My dad had a stroke, had to go home to Sarnia for five days.
  • Youngest wiped poop all over bathroom.
  • Had to find two different babysitters.
  • Snow. Yes, what the hell.
  • Sick kids crawling into your bed.
  • Holding in the desire to sell the boys when they pushed me to my limits.
  • All the usual things – school drop off/pick up, homework, dinners, cleaning etc. etc.
  • Screwing up Kraft Dinner.

I am sure I am even forgetting things because I blacked out now and then.

Making a list of it all does not really seem all that bad. But each took a lot of time, a lot of brain power and a lot of dad patience.