Dear Present Day Self, It’s Me, Past Self
This is a complicated blog post as I attempt to write to my past self without a time machine or app to make it easy. If you get lost in…
A Dad’s Life: Moving With Kids
This post was first published on Urban Parent.
Who likes to move? Anyone?
Moving is certainly not an ideal way to spend a weekend. We have all roped our friends into it at some point with the promise of pizza and beer. It is a lot of work and something I have accepted as something you pay others to do if possible.
But there is more to moving than the boxes. There is the mental side of it that I have never really thought about until now.
That’s because we are moving for the first time with kids.
Yes, we are packing up the place, grabbing our two boys and hitting the road for Ontario. Toronto in fact.
But how do you break it to your kids that you are picking up the only life they have ever known and taking it elsewhere?
Well for our 20-month old, he really has no opinion. As long as we bring him, he is happy.
Our soon to be 5-year old however, that is a whole different psychological experiment.
A Dad’s Life: Life Father Like Son
Originally posted on Urban Parent
Who is your favorite sports team? Do you have several?
Everyone seems to have at least one on some level.
The one team that gets our attention and brings us great join and even greater pain.
But how did you pick it? Was it recent or have you been a fan since your childhood?
For me, my dad was pretty new to Canada, so he did not have an allegiance yet. He loved English soccer for sure, but there was no connection with North American sport past knowing who the teams were.
So, for me as a boy, the world was wide open to pick the team I was going to love.
Growing up in SW Ontario, you would think I would have sided with a team from Toronto or Detroit. Nope, I was different.
My longest running bond with a pro sports team is with the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. I have been a fan of them since I was 10.
Second longest would be my love of Michigan basketball, which started around the same time and makes more geographical sense.
It got me hooked on hoops to the point of playing it for the next several years.
That same University of Michigan team is where I am now seeing the next line of sports fans grow. My boys.
Recounting A #Snowday In #Halifax With Photos
Well I did it. I made it through a snow day with the boys. While my wife is away (flight cancelled), I had a fun day at home, hunkered down in the house for what was a pretty big storm. It is actually still going but luckily, the boys are not.
The house is now quiet, but because I know the day would speed by and I would forget a lot of the highlights, I had a camera with me all day and did my best to tell a story.
You will notice the many shots of the outside world to give you an idea of the snow we got.
This will also make it easier to describe our snow day once my wife does get home.
So enjoy this post as I recount a snow day in Halifax with photos.
We Survived Blizzard 2014
Well the computer did not need to get dug out, but it feels like it has been awhile since I had time to sit and write. Probably due to the huge storm we had in Halifax on Friday. I was still cleaning off the driveway today.
On Friday we had a full-blown blizzard. 40 cm of snow, white out conditions and really, really cold temperatures for Halifax (-20 C).
It all made for a snow day with the kids. Friday we stayed inside. Saturday we went out briefly to shovel and get supplies and today, well today was nice. Warm air, melting snow and a chance for the kids to actually play.
HRM Parent – A Dad’s Life: Christmas Lights
My latest post for HRM Parent was all about how this year my Christmas decorating duties are pretty much all outside. Katie is taking on the indoor decorating and I felt like I needed to give myself some therapy by writing about it.
I wanted to add that since the post was written, the inside of the house has been getting more Christmas like by the day and the outside of the house now has lights.
So please go and read this month’s installment of A Dad’s Life.
Just Checking In From Parent Land
Cold morning. Frosty windows. I can see my breath. Halloween is near. Hope you are all well. Here is a quick photo of my two sons. Wait, my one son…
Day 128: Batteries Everywhere Were Running Low
Well, it has been a week since I last checked in from the PL. Time is flying and as my time on parental leave runs out, I have been blogging less and really trying to soak up all the moments and experiences.
Today was one that I will try to avoid soaking up. More like ring it out and hope it never happens again.
Day 117: The Crying Game
Today was the second day for Charlie at daycare. The difference for today’s visit was that it was two hours long and I would not be there for the second hour.
Well, that was rough on Charlie. Even moving a few feet away from him would upset the little guy. Now, based on his personality, this may not have anything to do with me. He tends to be an environment guy. If it is a place he does not want to be, it does not matter who he is with.
A daycare full of kids and babies is not quiet. It is chaos times a million and when you are used to a quiet and structured home life, well that can get to anyone. Especially a baby like Charlie.
Mmm Ribs – 2nd Inaugural Fall River BBQ Competition
Photo from the official Fall River BBQ Facebook page. Looks damn good eh?
Sure BBQ season is over for the backyard griller, but that does not stop the experts.
If you read this blog, you know we love to smoke, grill, bbq and bake on our Big Green Egg. That is also how I found out about this event. A Twitter fan messaged me and tried to get me to enter. Now I don’t plan on wheeling the Egg anywhere, but I do like the idea of trying some BBQ food and watching how the BBQ masters of Nova Scotia do their ribs.