Choosing The Perfect Halloween Costume With The Help Of Cartoons

netflix-halloween

Halloween. A time to be anyone or anything you want. A time to dress up, be different and to have fun. One of my memories of Halloween was how hard it was to decide what to be. We stuck to the classics because we did not have that many inspirations via the TV. Scooby Doo, GI Joe and Transformers were popular and of course Star Wars. Those are all still popular (classics) but thanks to the Internet and having on demand access to thousands of cartoons on Netflix, kids can really expand their characters.

Even last year when I took our boys out, the array of costumes was great. There were still a few ghosts and goblins, but there was A lot of Lego guys, Avengers and Frozen people. Ah yes, the marketing people understand Halloween don’t they.

Our oldest kept it simple. He was a black cat. Not a cat from a TV show or movie. Just a black cat. Cartoons have not taken over his mind yet I guess.

I figured this year as the Netflix viewing has expanded to a lot of new shows, that would jog his costume choices. Well I can report it did not. Although you could say there is a connection to his choice and a cartoon he watches.

Kumon, Kumon. It’s Time To Accelerate Your Kid’s Education

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Do you remember when you started to read? Or when you started to do basic math? I don’t. But as our family enters the wonderful world of public school, we are quickly learning, you are never too young to start learning about reading, writing and math. As soon as they hit JK, they are doing letters and numbers. I think it’s great.

Our oldest, Harry is in Grade 1 and he is so eager to be able to read, he gets angry that it can’t happen faster. What a great problem to have. That’s better than no interest at all.

We have been reading to him since day 1 and I am sure that is a big part of why he loves books. Even when he was in daycare, the staff always would comment at how he just loved books and would sit and look at them every chance he got.

That being said, once this guy knows how to read, look out. I look forward to his story telling, his imagination and his overall interest in the world, just exploding. As I remember, I was not that into reading until much later in life. I could never separate reading for school because you had to and reading for pleasure because you wanted to. Now, I love to read when I have time and I love to write and be creative if you could not tell.

So as parents, can we help speed up this process of Harry learning to read? Or do we just leave it to the schools and wait for it to happen?

Fortunately, in 2015, there are so many options at our disposal to supercharge our child’s learning. There is the standard home tutoring, there are computer courses and web apps and there of course is parental help.

How I Got My Baseball Groove Back

Baseball. It has been my best friend, my worst enemy, and everything in between. I used to love it. I used to hate it. But thanks to being a dad and those dang Toronto Blue Jays, as Jay Z would say, I think I got my swagger back.

Baseball has once again become a big part of my life. I even have my first glove since I was a teen.

For those who knew me as a kid, you would remember my sticker collections, building mini stadiums in my room, and of course knowing every single
baseball stat there was (BEFORE THE INTERNET).

I grew up as a Detroit Tigers fan and that meant despising the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes, I f’in hated George Bell, Dave Stieb, and every dude associated with them.

I never played organized baseball, but I played and played often with neighbourhood buddies. I saw myself as the Canadian Mark McGwire before there was a Mark McGwire.

I dug the long ball before I even knew about the chicks.

Just sitting here now, if I really try hard, my first memory of watching MLB was the World Series when the Cardinals and Brewers squared off in 1982. I remember Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, and just have friggen fast those Cardinals were.

Have I proved to you how much I loved baseball yet?

Thanksgiving On The Grill

Thanksgiving grilling

Minimize activity in your kitchen by cooking your turkey dinner outdoors

BARRIE, Ont. — There are few dinners on the Canadian calendar as iconic as the Thanksgiving dinner, with a golden turkey at the centre of the table with all of the bounty of the fall harvest for fixings.

A lot of effort goes into getting the dinner prepared, and with a house full of family and friends it can create a chaotic scene in your kitchen. But by taking your cooking to your backyard grill, you can ease the activity in your kitchen and leave the house for socializing and enjoying your company.

“Your backyard grill is, essentially, an outdoor oven with a versatility you simply can’t replicate in your kitchen,” says Stephen Schroeter, Senior Vice President of Napoleon. “You can add new flavours and bring a whole new experience to your traditional Thanksgiving dinner by cooking the entire meal on your barbecue.”

Stephen offers these pointers for cooking your Thanksgiving dinner on your grill.

All Aboard The Big Boy Bed Train

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On rainy days, it is always a struggle to think of ways to entertain the boys and most importantly, keep our sanity. I know there are probably a million and one things to do in Toronto indoors, but Sunday morning is not the time to count on the brain for a home run.

So, we did what we normally do, shop. We headed to Dufferin Mall and when I was saying we could go to Toys R Us, Katie said something about there also being Babies R Us if we needed anything there. Then she stopped herself and said, I guess we don’t need that stuff anymore.

It’s true, our house is slowing looking less and less baby-like. The sippy cups are losing their lids, diapers are going the way of the dinosaur and we even leave the house sometimes without the diaper bag.

Hopping On The Magic School Bus With My Kids

Earlier this month I wrote about all the cartoons I want to share with my kids one day. They included a lot of classics like Transformers, He-Man and Scooby Doo. Those cartoons were listed in a Netflix survey of dads around the world.

Another Netflix reboot I have already shared with my kids is one I remember as a kid. The Magic School Bus. It was one of the first cartoons I remember as being “schooly” or educational. It was like the movie Innerspace. The kids shrink and go on a Magic School bus to solve a scientific mystery. They travel into the digestive system and back in time to see the Dinosaurs.