See You In Hell Diapers

This week was a turning point in our parenting lives. We changed our last diaper. Okay, let me rephrase that. We probably changed our last diaper. There is still always a chance as they say.

But let’s focus on the present. We finally pulled the plug on Charlie’s night-time pull ups. Why? Because we had a hunch he was being a bit lazy when it came to doing a number 2. For months now, Charlie has practically been potty trained. I don’t remember the last time we sent diapers to daycare. But….

He never did number 2 at daycare. He would save it up for that glorious time when a pull up was put on. Every night after about 10 minutes in bed, he would do his business. It was frustrating on so many levels. It meant two diapers per night. It meant Harry had to walk into a stinky room to sleep. It meant messy hands for mom and dad. It was not fun. Heck, some nights Charlie would even smirk at us like it was a big game.

Boobies, Night Poopies and The Beginning of Advent

During the course of a week, so many things happen that I want to share. I really should write them down. Anyways, here are some of the highlights happening in our house these days.

The Discovery of Boobies

No, not the actual boobies. But the word. Harry learned the word from, get this, an older girl at school. He can’t say it without giggling. It’s really hard as a parent not to laugh as well. It’s part of childhood. Learning those funny words that make grown ups cringe. The really funny thing is, even when he is 16, he will still be saying it and giggling just the same.

Time To Do Your Homework

Who remembers liking homework? Just the thought of it gives me the shakes. I remember the day when I finished school. Of all the things it meant in my life, the biggest was no more homework. I was never great at homework either. Spoiler alert, I did not do much and always scrambled at the last-minute to make it look like I did something. I never enjoyed studying or doing assignments at home. I was much more into sports and doing my own thing. I think I also watched a lot of TV. Anyways, homework has reentered my life.

harry doing homework

Our oldest son now has homework. He is in Grade One. It started off slowly with the occasional task that needed catching up on. But now, we have full monthly homework packages to be worked on 100% at home. It’s all detailed and spelled out on a calendar and there is the freedom to do it when you want. But it has to get done for Harry to keep up.

One of my biggest fears as a parent is the day I am not smart enough to help with homework. Good news, I looked over the 31 tasks for December and I feel confident I can still be relevant.

Harry loves homework. Maybe it’s because he has no idea what it will be like in 10 years. Maybe he will love it forever and be an academic wonder? Who knows. But at this point, it’s great to see his excitement. It makes it so much easier to do with him when we have the time.

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

kumon

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?