Day 46: Never Run With A Sucker In Your Mouth

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Another beauty of a day in Halifax today. Glad it worked out because we had the car and it was adventure Wednesday. The plan was to go to a new park and possibly a new playground. Well the first worked out. I took the boys to Shubie Park in Dartmouth. Now, we have been there before (at least with Harrison), but that was a long time ago. The weather was ideal. We took lots of photos, sat on a lot of benches and saw a lot of ducks. We even saw a giant dog swimming after ducks and a mom taking pictures of her nude toddler wading in the water (in a non swimming area of the park). Hey, if that is what they do in Dartmouth, more power to them.

Of course and outing like that tired out both boys making it an easy afternoon for naps. I was able to get some writing done and catch up on other blog duties, mainly for Cuzoogle. Those hosting companies, they like to get paid.

Enough about boring blog stories, let’s move on to the rest of Day 46 on the PL.

Day 45: Starting To Get The PL Blues

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Don’t worry, that title may be a bit dramatic. I am still loving parental leave and every day there is something new. But, the weeks are starting to melt together with all the routine stuff just being well, routine.

I know soon enough Charlie will be doing a lot of new things and most likely I will be there to see it first.

The PL blues could also just be the weather as today was kind of overcast and blah until late in the afternoon.

Whatever it is, I am sure it will pass as summer is about to start. At the same time, I need to get back to thinking of new things to do and to stop settling for the same old, same old. Routines are great for the little ones, but they could also use an injection of new.

Tomorrow we have the car and Harry has asked to go on an adventure, so maybe that is the best way to kick of the new.

I was thinking to myself today, I have not been in an office for over two months. That is a hard thing to imagine since many of us spend most of their weeks at the office. I do hear stories from work and read about new projects on social media, but it is not the same as being there.

Anyways, back to Day 45.

Worst And Best Countries For Paid Maternity Leave

As a dad on parental leave who happens to be very much connected to an online group of dad bloggers, I was asking about other’s experiences.

The more and more I hear from other dads, the more I realize I have it pretty good living in Canada. We have a much longer period of time where we are granted paid leave to take care of a child.

My wife and I were discussing this and she said it would be a good blog post topic to see what the rest of the world offers in paid maternity/parental leave.

So, I did. It is always a good idea to listen to your wife.

When it comes to the world’s maternity leaves report card, not all countries are passing with flying colours.

In a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2012, the majority of the United States (excluding two states) received a failing grade in providing women and new mothers support entering motherhood. Based on what I hear from friends who live there, this did not surprise me at all. It is hard to believe they get so little time.

I have friends living in the US who are from Canada and this really bummed them out. Knowing they would not get the time to spend with their baby that they would have back home.

In at least 178 countries around the world, paid leave is guaranteed for working moms, while more than 50 countries provide wage benefits for fathers, according to the ILO. The United States, along with Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, Liberia and Lesotho are some of the only countries in the world that provide no type of financial support for mothers, according to a study done by McGill University’s Institute for Health and Social Policy.

The group looked at the top developed countries that are succeeding in maternity leave benefits, and which ones continue to fall far, far behind.

The country with the longest paid leave topped out at 420 days, while the length of time for countries with the lowest paid and unpaid leaves was around 12 weeks. Any guesses before reading on?

Here are the maternity leave benefits for 43 developed countries from shortest to longest periods of time based on data collected in 2011.

A link to all countries can be found at the bottom.

After going through this list, I have to say I am pretty happy to be living in Canada. Granted only having half of your pay is hard, but at least I get six months of it.

Day 44: We Got Thunderstruck

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Monday, Monday. Always a tiring start to the week after a full weekend with the family. However, all that sun and fun on the weekend must have hit the boys hard. They both slept in past 7 am today. Awesome sauce for dad. It was great to sleep in a little with the cool breeze blowing in. In fact it was a cold breeze and a fog that made it feel like we were on the bluffs of Scotland. Today, for all intensive purposes was a cake walk. Easy all around. But it was tiring for some reason. Maybe it was the bland weather, or maybe I was still gassed from the weekend? Or maybe I am a light weight and I was still feeling the aftermath of two Harp tall boys for dinner. Whatever the reason, the day was all about being lazy and cleaning up the house. I took last week off from cleaning pretty much and well, as we looked around, it was showing.

On to Day 44.

8 Months Already?

Well, today Charlie boy turns 8-months old. Wow. It only seems like yesterday he was a tiny 8-pound baby boy still wondering where the hell he was.

It has been a wild ride so far and I have been lucky enough to be glued at the hip to this guy for the last two months.

Happy 8 months Charlie boy.

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Day 42: The Boys Of Summer

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Oh wow, the end of yesterday was amazing and a great tease of what is to come in the upcoming weeks. I am talking about the weather. It was one of those perfect Halifax evenings. Just enough heat and the right amount of breeze. Plus it was light out well past 8 pm. It makes the day feel longer and gives you much more time to play with the kids, or as I am going to call them, the boys of summer.

Yesterday was a quiet and lazy day for Charlie and I. We went for a walk, did a little gardening and lazed around for the afternoon. Then when we picked up Harrison at school, that is when summer started to show. It was muggy in the house, the windows were letting in fresh smelling air and of course, I had the grill fired up.

Playing with my kids, having a lazy afternoon and grilling for dinner. What a perfect day it was on the PL. Here is a little more for your appetite.

Day 41: If I Am Betty Draper, I Need To Drink More

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Well that title got your attention right? The reason I referenced Betty Draper was the quick conversation my wife and I had as she was heading out the door. Today, she left for work before 7 am, came home at 5:15pm, ate dinner and left again to meet a friend for a drink.

As she was leaving I called her Don. Today I felt like the house wife left all alone with the kids while my working in the city husband lived it up and then headed back to have fun with the boys.

Now, it is not like that at all with us, but it is fun to joke that if I am going to be the Betty Draper in this scenario, I need to drink more during the day. Then Katie pointed out I would need to be crazier as well.

Yep, today was a long day and it started with the cat waking us all about before 6am. Awesome.

Two boys, little sleep and no car. The good news, it was a sunny, sunny day. For me that made things instantly better. I made it. They are both asleep and “Don” is out on the town. Time to pour myself a vodka and light up a smoke. Betty for the win.

Here is the rest of the who, where, why, what for Day 41 on the PL.

Day 40: Thinking About The Cottage Life

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Well that was a beautiful day of weather in Halifax. The rain and dreary skies left and it was nothing but sun today. That made for a great day for being outside, going for walks and getting some more gardening in. I only had Charlie today, so it was pretty much do whatever I wanted time.

We just had delicious burgers from the Big Green Egg and there is nothing better than the smell of burgers on the grill on days like this.

So, the kids are in bed, my hands are clean after changing a very loaded diaper and now it is time to reflect on Day 40. Wow Day 40?

Where did the time go?