April 24th, 2013. World Meningitis Awareness Day. Parents, do you know the symptoms?

Today is World Meningitis Day.  I had the pleasure of attending a webinar on Meningococcal Disease and the Burden of Meningitis B in Canada.  I learned a lot of new information about this disease but the most important thing I took away  that I did not know and I also learned as parents, we need to make sure we understand the symptoms or at least know where to go quickly to get the information we need to save lives and prevent permanent damage.

What Canadian Parents Need to Know:

Meningococcal disease is a sudden, aggressive, rapidly progressing and life-threatening illness that manifests as bacterial meningitis – an infection of the membrane around the brain and spine – and sepsis – a bloodstream infection that can lead to death within 24-48 hours of the first symptom.  Survivors may suffer permanent brain damage, learning disabilities, hearing loss, and limb loss.

Meningococcal disease is dynamic and unpredictable as the bacteria causing the illness can mutate and shift over time and vary by country and region.

Bacterial meningitis is one of the most common forms of meningococcal disease and needs to be treated immediately at the onset of symptoms which include fever, nausea, headache, feeling of unwellness, neck pain and vomiting.

The majority of meningitis cases occur in otherwise healthy people particularly infants and adolescents, who are at the greatest risk and also represent the greatest unmet need for protection.

Adolescents, who often socialize in groups, can harbour and transmit the bacteria that cause meningitis to each other, their family members, and their communities, often times while sharing lipstick, cigarettes or drinks.  A dormant case in one person could be a live case in someone else.

Meningitis B is responsible for 80% of meningococcal cases in infants under one year of age in Canada, and 62% of the cases in adolescents.

Meningococcal disease caused by meningitis B remains an important public health challenge, since there is currently no effective vaccine available, however Health Canada is currently reviewing for approval and use for Canadians, the first meningitis B vaccine. This vaccine would be the final piece of the meningococcal meningitis vaccination puzzle.

Up to one in five survivors suffers from devastating, life-long disabilities such as brain damage, hearing loss, or limb loss.

We cannot emphasize enough the truly devastating impact this disease can have on families and the facts are, when it comes to meningitis – KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

Please watch this great World Meningitis Day video

For more information on meningitis please visit http://www.menifo.ca.  Or http://www.meningitis.ca for information on meningitis research.

Meningitis Disease – Myths and Facts

1. There is only one type of meningitis.

MYTH – Meningitis can be caused by different germs including viral, bacterial and fungal.  A viral infection is less severe and can typically be treated at home. Bacterial meningitis occurs when bacteria enters the blood and migrates to the spinal area.  Given the rapid progression and severity of meningitis, medical attention should be sought immediately if someone suspects meningitis.

2. Meningitis has flu-like symptoms.

FACT – Early symptoms of meningitis are similar to flu symptoms, including fever, headache, stiff neck and vomiting. Other symptoms can include confusion, light sensitivity and no interest in eating or drinking.  If you notice these symptoms, seek medical attention.

3. Meningitis is easy to diagnose.

MYTH – Because early symptoms are very similar to symptoms of other illnesses especially the flu, cases of meningitis can be overlooked and misdiagnosed initially. It’s important at the onset of symptoms to seek immediate treatment.

4. Meningitis will go away on its own.

MYTH – Bacterial meningitis requires quick and aggressive treatment and can result in devastating consequences including varying degrees of blindness, deafness, paralysis and intellectual disabilities or death.

5. Canadian children and young adults are most susceptible to meningitis.

FACT – Children under one year of age and adolescents (15-19 years old) are among the age groups with the highest incidence of meningitis.  College and university students are also susceptible to contracting meningitis because of their increased likelihood of sharing items such as drinks, utensils and cigarettes.

6. Meningitis can be contracted by casual contact.

MYTH – Meningitis is spread through direct contact with an infected person through the droplet route by means of respiratory secretions when air or liquid secretions are shared.

Take the Survey!

I encourage parents to take the Meningitis Awareness Survey, which will be live until April 29^th. This survey will provide insight into Canadians’ current perceptions and awareness of meningitis (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5BJRTDY).

Where was this when I was changing diapers: Dove Men + Care Ultimate Changetable

Parents, as we grow older, we see products and services for our children and wonder how cool it would have been to have had that when we were kids.  I’m not the only one who does this, right?  Massive bouncy castles, iPads, gas-controlled mini-cars, and SO much more.

So yesterday, when I saw a clever twist on an established product, I was blown away.  I saw a change table which not just contained all that a father would need to change a diaper – diapers, wipes, etc., but also with a TV.  Sweet.

I can remember having to change diapers in stores, or malls, or restaurants only to find out that the change table was in the woman’s bathroom.  Then came the change table in the family / handicapped bathrooms, and finally change tables in men’s bathrooms.  We do change diapers too!!!

But a change table at a sporting events with a TV.  Brilliant!  As Dads, we have to make sure our children are clean and we gladly miss several minutes of live action to make sure we look after our kids, but not having to miss any of the action is a luxury and a gift to father’s everywhere.

I saw the Dove Men + Care Ultimate Gameday Change Table – billed as a “souped-up baby change table” at the Toronto Raptors / Miami Heat basketball game at the Air Canada Centre.

The official press release: 

Toronto, ON (March 18, 2012)  – Dove Men+Care unveiled an interactive change table to Toronto sports-fan dads at the Air Canada Centre, yesterday. The table was designed to be a light-hearted way to call attention to the brand’s campaign to support real men and their changing role in today’s society.

The Dove Men+Care Ultimate Gameday Change Table’s was given a ‘field-test’ during one of the hottest ticket basketball games of the season. The souped-up change table provides all the tools necessary to keep dads and their babies happy during unplanned intermissions, including:

• A built-in television so dad didn’t miss any game action
• An emergency Lullaby button that played soothing music
• An interactive timer and scoreboard to determine the best diaper-changer in the game

According to a recent study, men have tripled their involvement in childcare over the last four decades. That’s why Dove Men+Care has taken steps to change societal norms by tailoring a public change table temporarily to suit the needs of men and make it more enjoyable too. The Ultimate Gameday Change Table is designed to help men maintain at least one aspect of their daily life so they can maintain everything else and never miss a moment.

About Dove® and Dove Men+Care

Thanks to Dove Men+Care all men can literally be comfortable in their own skin. Built on Unilever’s success in the men’s deodorant, personal wash and hair categories, and the Dove brand’s heritage in outstanding skincare, Dove Men+Care products are specifically designed to provide men with both the results and the care they need. The Dove product lineup, manufactured by Unilever, includes beauty bars, body washes, face care, anti-perspirant/deodorants, body mists, hair care and styling aids. Dove is available nationwide in food, drug and mass outlet stores.

I actually began using Dove Men + Care products recently when my current deodorant / anti-perspirant started giving me a rash.  It’s safe on sensitive skin, smells great and the scent is not overpowering at all.  It also helps that their products are available everywhere.

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[i] Bianchi, S.M. (2011). “Family Change and Time Allocation in American Families”. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 638:21-44. The author analyzes how recent changes have altered American family life and have produced new challenges for working caregivers. Unpaid and paid work hours are averaged over all couples with children under age 18 and over the 2003–2008 American Time Use Survey data collections.

You can and should follow Dove on Twitter @madeformen.

Here are some pictures of the table.  The music note is so you can add a lullaby if your baby is cranky.  There is a pile of diapers already stocked in the table (on the right).  The TV screen you can see is in the middle and the hand on the top right let’s you compete with other Dads to see who can complete the diaper change the quickest.  The ranking is on the left of the TV screen.

It’s smart, it’s cool, and it’s fun!

Sweetpea Baby Food and Organic Snacks. Have you tried their cookies?

When was the last time you ripped open a bag of Sweetpea Organic Cookies, served them for family, friends or guests, and had any leftover to be eaten later?  Probably not very often.   These cookies, if you have not tried them before, are addictive.  They are great for what they have as much as for what they do not have.  If you have not tried them before, you might want to have a quick read below, to see what makes these cookies so unique, which will probably lead you to run out and pick up a bag of any (or all) of the 3 flavours of these cookies;

Sweetpea Baby Food Organic Cookies

1) They are for ages 1-101.  Really they are.  The cookies are flavourful, but certainly not overpowering.  If you freeze them, young kids can teethe on them, and if you put them out on a plate, the pretty flower pattern makes them look appealing.

2) The cookies are organic.

3) They are made from 100% whole grain organic ingredients.

4) They are dairy-free.

5) They were made without salt.

6) They do not contain eggs, preservatives or additives.

7) They are certified Kosher.

8) They are made in a peanut-free facility.

9) They come in resealable bags – so you might not want to “rip” open the bag unless you know there are not going to be any cookies left over.

Whew.

And the three flavours they currently come in are; Banana Pear, Pumpkin Spice and Sweet Apple.

As a parent, you can be comfortable having your nanny leave out cookies for your children and for their playdates because they do not have much of what children are allergic to – nuts, eggs, dairy and they also cover off dietary restrictions by being certified Kosher.  The fact they taste great is secondary to their appeal across the masses, but is also what keeps people from buying them over and over again.

Did I mention that the packaging rocks!

Have a look;

What parent wouldn’t want these in their house?

If all the information I provided above has not convinced you to try these cookies, I dropped by the Sweetpea website, and pulled off some nutritional information which you certainly will find interesting as it relates to the flavours and ingredients chosen to go into the cookies.

Sweet Apple:

• When added to food, cinnamon inhibits bacterial growth and food spoilage.
• Whole grain spelt flour has a higher protein content than normal wheat grown under similar conditions
• Eating organic snacks ensures your child’s diet is free from harmful herbicides, pesticides and fungicides.

Banana Pear:

• Bananas are rich in vitamin B6 and are a good source of fiber, vitamin C and magnesium
• Pears are an excellent source of water-soluble fiber
• Canada’s new Food Guide recommends that at least half of your grain consumption daily is whole grains – which contain phytonutrients (plant chemicals that fight disease).

Pumpkin Spice:

• Pumpkins are a rich source of potassium
• Spelt is a nutritious source of B2, manganese, niacin, thiamin and copper.

You can follow Sweetpea Baby Food and Organic Snacks on Facebook here.

I’m ready for some cookies right about now, but cannot choose between the flavours, so I think I’m going to have to open a bag of each flavour, mix them all together and just enjoy what comes next, one cookie at a time.

Hey! Could I get a little bit of help, please! The 2013 Bloggies are about to close!

logotype of The Weblog Awards (Bloggies) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m not exactly sure how this happened, or how I missed this but a couple of weeks ago I noticed a massive spike in readership here at The Urban Daddy and after a very quick check of my statistics I came to realize that I had a whole bunch of new readers coming to see me from The 2013 Weblog Awards aka The Bloggies.

The specific reason for the increased traffic was because many folks were dropping by to learn more about this blog which was nominated, and made it to the finals of the 2013 Weblog Awards in the following two categories.

Best Parenting or Family Weblog
Best Canadian Weblog

I’ve always been a big fan of the Bloggies because of their global coverage and I looked through many of the other blogs who made the finals in their respective categories and there are some pretty awesome blogs out there being written by some pretty amazing writers. Being nominated is really great, as I’ve said before after being nominated for the Canadian Weblog Awards, it’s great just to be nominated.  That someone other than myself has taken the time to put forward my URL is quite humbling. (thanks Mom!).

But now I need your help, and I need it quickly! I don’t normally beg or ask for favours but I’m going to do both today. I need your vote! Please.

Voting for the 2013 Bloggies closes on March 17th, and all you need to do in order to vote for me (or someone else if you like them better) is follow the link to their website, here, then vote for at least 3 blogs, enter the security code and your email and you are almost done. You will receive an email from The Bloggies to ensure you are legitimate, and once you confirm that, your vote goes through. Nice and easy!

But remember to only vote once, please. If you vote more than once, the awards use your most recent vote.  We don’t want to waste your time now, do we?

Then, after that has been completed, you can sit back until the 24th of March, at which time you can Watch the Ceremony from 8:00-10:30 PM EST (UTC-5) on the Bloggies’ Twitter feed and Facebook page. One winner will be announced approximately every five minutes, culminating with the Weblog of the Year at 10:30, at which point the winners will be posted to the site. Follow the feed to keep up to date on the Bloggies!

If you are able to take the time to vote, I appreciate it. Heck, I’m happy that you even come by, subscribe and “like” my blog.

Related articles

• Bloggie, Bloggie, Blogger (marriageconfessions.com)
• The 13th Annual Weblog Awards (youlookfab.com)
• The Post Where I Beg for Your Votes (pocketfulofjoules.com)

Happy 42nd Birthday to Me. 42 Facts about The Urban Daddy.

Happy Birthday! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, February 21st, is my birthday. It’s actually been my birthday since 1971, and I’m not posting this to solicit birthday greetings so please do not feel obligated to do so, but I realized this morning during my drive into the office that in the 8-years that I have been blogging, and the over 1100 blog posts between The Urban Daddy, Intaxicating, and Daddy Knows Sports (which I’m not using anymore) that I have shared very little about myself. So today, in honour of my birthday I have decided to open up my kimono and reveal 42 facts about myself to shed some light into who exactly has been writing these (long) posts for so many years.

So please sit back, enjoy, there is no need to take notes, and for those of you who actually know me, there are some things here that you will not have known and for total strangers who come by frequently, I hope you will still come back. LOL.

42 things about The Urban Daddy.

42. I am not in any way affiliated with UrbanDaddy.com, although many people “like” me on Facebook for this reason, then realize I’m a Canadian Daddy blogger, and they run the other way. That site, for the record, is not a “Daddy” and while it is “Urban”, it is not an “Urban Daddy”. I am.

41. I have a full-time job outside of being a parent, husband, etc. I have been working for 18-years in the taxation industry here in Toronto. I worked at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)for almost 11 years, then I joined the private sector and have moved from a Manager, to an AVP, and now the Managing Director at Tax Solutions Canada, where this great organization of professionals help people who have tax problems work with the CRA.

40. I am a level-3 CGA, but stopped taking courses when my father, who was a CA, gave me some advice.  He said, “Son.  Why are you doing this to yourself?  You’re terrible at this.  Pick a different course of study… Please.”  So I enrolled into graduate school 3 days after our first child Linus was born, and completed my MBA 3-years later.

39.  I was a typical 80′s kid, growing up.  Overweight, bad skin, big plastic-framed glasses and a mullet.  Thankfully I grew out of it.

38.  In middle school I carried my baseball glove everywhere and was too busy with sports to do my school-work.  I told my mother I was going to quit school to be come a professional soccer player – yet I was never good at soccer.  I was also the kid who showed leadership in everything I did yet struggled in school.  When I applied myself I excelled.  I earned 50′s through grade 8, 70′s in high-school, 75 (B+) through University and 85-90′s (A/A+) in Grad school.

37.  I was bullied as a child in public school.  In middle school I was picked on for being Jewish.  In Hebrew school, I was bullied for being over-weight.

36.  After high-school, I lost 50lbs and found my voice.

35.  After our second child, Stewie was born – he was such a difficult child for the first 10-months of his life that I herniated a disc in my back carrying him all the time.  I asked my physiotherapist to please allow me to tie my shoes on my own.  She got me into shape and one year later I ran a 5k race in 33-minutes (without stopping).

34.  I tend to be a little right-wing in my political views, but fiscally conservative, not right-wing extreme in any way.  I’m pro-choice – A woman should decide what she wants to do with her body.  I believe marriage is for anyone and everyone, if they want to, and I don’t care who you marry, or sleep with.  I believe no one deserves to carry guns unless they are protecting people and you have the right to free speech and practice whatever religion you want, until you either insult someone else, or try to convert them to your beliefs.  Like my mother used to say, “Look at your own plate.”  Don’t look at what I’m eating or how I’m eating it.  Mind your own peas.

33.  I’m left-handed and actually started a left-handed club while at University to help get left-handed desks in some of the lecture halls where they were all the way on the left-side of the room.  Personally, I needed to sit front-middle, so I could see.

32.  I have never tried drugs.  Ever.  Not a puff of anything.  That being said, I do think that certain drugs should be legal and taxed.  Take the criminal element away and increase revenues.

31.  I see people as human-beings on one giant planet.  I don’t see race, or colour and I was really embarrassed when working at the CRA where I delivered a lot of training and we had a new employee from West Africa with a VERY heavy accent and I could not for the life of me understand him.  I was devastated.  He kept asking questions and I couldn’t understand him.  That was over 10-years ago, but it stays with me.

30.  I’m a terrible friend.  I never learned what it means to be a good friend and I don’t have any friends from when I was young.  Certainly makes it challenging as an adult, however, we’re meeting lots of great parents through school events.

29.  My voice is a little on the higher-pitched side and I used to mumble sometimes when I spoke very quickly, but I am also just under 6 feet tall and 225lbs, so no slouch at all.  I used to deepen my voice when I answered my phone at the government so people wouldn’t call me Mrs.  I even had a guy tell me he was coming to see me at the Tax Office so he could “kick the shit out of me” because I sounded like a “weak, little man”.  He came.  I greeted him in the meeting room, and he was about 6ft2, 350lbs, but when he saw me he apologized for his actions and within 5 minutes being in the meeting room, he was bawling his eyes out talking about his tax problem.  It’s unfortunate that people feel violence is the best solution.

28.  I have no tattoos, but I have my ear pierced.  I wanted to pierce it so badly when I was 14 but my mother said no, and it wasn’t until my wife convinced me to do it at age 30 when I finally did it.  Now, at my age, I’m not so sure I want or need it…

27.  I’m a great defensive driver.  I let cars out, I wave thank you, I don’t cut cars off and I do the speed limit.  But if you piss me off, Karma will box you in and I’ll be on one side laughing to myself while you stew.

26.  I say “bless you” when someone sneezes.  Anyone.  Anywhere.

25.  I love Canadian music.

24.  My musical influences were Queen and the Police when I was young.  Then Def Leppard, Platinum Blonde, Bon Jovi, STP, Soundgarden, Green Day all the way through Rob Zombie, Saliva, etc.  I like my music loud, hard, with a great beat and no screaming.  I’m also awesome on SongPop.  All genres, any year.  Challenge me!  I dare you.

23.  I support the Canadian Armed Forces – I prefer if there were no wars – but there are bad dudes everywhere and we need our troops to keep us safe.

22.  I’m in awe of my wife for so many reasons including the way she runs our household and has led the raising of our children.  She’s been supportive of all of us and sadly I have not taken her out enough.  She needs so time away from the house, the kids and the responsibilities.  She certainly earned it.

21.  I’m in awe of my children.  They fascinate me.  They’re smart, good-looking, friendly and they laugh a lot.  I find myself looking at them, staring at them amazed at how they are developing and hoping they can stay that happy forever.  They have no idea how nasty the world can be and unless we can create a nasty laser to zap away all the scumbags, they’re going to need to be watched over to make sure they stay safe while they find their way in the world.  Oh, and at 8, 6 and 3, I have a little time.

20.  I am externally motivated so I seek confirmation that I’m doing a good job / staying on track often.  I’ve learned to read the signs so I don’t annoy.  If you want to help me you can “like” The Urban Daddy on Facebook or follow this blog (or follow The Urban Daddy on Twitter).

19.  The glass is half-full.  Always.

18.  My favourite number and the number of my ball-hockey jersey.  I’ve played ball-hockey in a league (not floor hockey in a gym, but ball hockey in an arena – no ice and running) for 23 years and I’m getting better and better each year.  I’m shocked at the improvement, but loving it.

17.  I hate to lose more than I like to win.  In everything I do.  My ball-hockey team was 0-62 before we won a game and it felt okay to win, but when we lose I’m pissed.  That goes to everything I do.  Success and winning is great, but the other side really gets me going.

16.  I used to have no sense of direction whatsoever until my wife taught me how to navigate my way out of a wet paper bag.  Once, in France for our honeymoon, it was getting dark and we were in the countryside driving on a dirt road surrounded by lavender and sunflowers.  I was beginning to worried that we would need to sleep in the car but my wife made me stop, she got out of the car and pointed off to her right, and within 10 minutes we were at the B&B we had booked.  I have no idea how she knew to go that way, but she gets it and I’ve been learning from the pro.

15.  Nice guys do finish last, and after being sick of being passed over and left behind, I’ve brought in a little bad ass / I don’t give a f*ck attitude and it’s helped me tremendously with my confidence and getting things done.  I no longer take sh*t, but I’m still really polite and kind to service people no matter the place or the service.  They’re people too, and deserve to be treated with respect.  But when I have a task to get done for myself, my family or a client, look out.  I play to win.

14.  I’ve realized you cannot pick your neighbours, your family or your nose.  You get what you get and you don’t be upset.  Plus, I’m big into forgive and forget.  I’m just hoping others are too.

13.  I am passionate about things and sometimes that passion can get confused with a lack of patience.  If I know I am right, I will do whatever I have to do to get others on my side and go that way.  I had a keychain as a kid that read; “Diplomacy.  The ability to tell someone to go to hell and make sure they will enjoy the trip.”

12.  I don’t like clutter and sometimes in my odd way to keep my personal space in order, I line up things, like shoes, to keep them neat.  I might be a little OCD on that side.

11.  My father passed away 10 years ago, and my grandfather 8 years ago, right after we went on a vacation to Poland to visit his birth place.  I actually have someone right now who is not speaking to me because “[I] don’t know what it’s like to lose a father.”  I’m not upset.  I feel for them because they said something in a time of grieving which was factually incorrect and one day they’ll realize it and I’ll forgive and forget.  Life’s too short.

10.  I love coffee.  Flavoured coffee, actually, and have been compiling a list of the best coffee in Toronto for 3 years.  My last ranking reached McDonald’s Canada, Tim Horton’s, Country Style and Starbucks Canada.  These brands have amazing marketing and social media practices.

9.  I had bells palsy as a child, which resulted in paralysis of half of my face for almost a year.  I was lucky I recovered 98% of my functioning and only have the slightest sign of the virus when I’m tired.  The left part of my lip is ever so slightly higher than the right side.

8.  I have always had body-issues from being a solid shaped child and for the longest time I refused to take off my shirt to swim even though I love swimming and even though when I was running and going to the gym at lunchtime.  I have been in pretty good shape since the end of high-school.  I will never ever be that 150lb skinny guy.  As it is, my shoulders and back are so big that I need a larger shirt / jacket to fit my shape.  When I was 13-years-old, I fit into a size 56 jacket.  I was in a 42 pant (maybe more – as high as a 48, I’ve blocked this from my memory), but now I’m a size 36 pant and a 46 tall jacket.

7.  I was asked to contribute my thoughts to the OHIP4IVF awareness campaign and realized that I have found a cause that I strongly believe in.  Now I just need to help convince the government the same thing…

6.  I once asked then Toronto Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Riccardi for a tryout with the Jays, at a breakfast with the Blue Jays function.  He must have thought I was nuts, but he asked me this; “Do you have any experience?  Have you ever played ball?”  I replied, “No. But I’m left-handed, I’ve been clocked as fast as 88mph and I’m deadly accurate with a baseball.”  He then thought about it and said to me, “The day I sign a 38-year-old pitcher is the day I need to start looking for a new job.”  Sure enough 3 weeks later he signed a left-handed 38-year-old pitcher from Japan with a career 5.38 era.  Not long after he was looking for a new job.

5.  I did some fundraising for Karen Stintz when she was just getting elected, and we raised a ton of cash to help her out.  She was very appreciative and good to the community.  I hope she can find her way again and help lead the right-wing on Toronto City Council move some stuff through.

4.  After sponsoring 4 nannies over 8-years through the Canadian Live-In Caregiver program - and helping them settle in Canada once they fulfilled the terms and conditions of the program, I dubbed myself an expert on the CLICP.  I regularly post about it and get contributing articles from others in the industry.  As a matter of fact, readers from the Philippines are the 3rd most popular readers to visit here daily – after Canada and the US.

3.  I used to be horrible with money until my wife (probably fiancée back then) taught me a great lesson about impulse purchases.  She froze my credit card and debit card in a block of ice so when I needed it to make an impulse purchase, she said I could do that but I would need the ice to melt on it’s own first.  And by the time the ice melted I didn’t want or need that purchase.  The cards actually stayed in the freezer for almost 7 months while I got my spending under control.  Now… I’m very good with it.

2.  I, um, err, Ahhh, I… Fine.  I like wrestling.  It’s like a male soap opera with strong guys and girls in it.  I like the music, it makes me laugh and and I’m impressed with their athleticism.  Plus, my kids love it.  My daughter wants to be Kane when she grows up.

1.  I made it through the entire day without telling anyone – not one person – that today was my birthday, except the 2500 people who follow this blog, mind you.  This was a first for me, who usually tells anyone and everyone.  Now I feel better.

Honourable mention:  I love escargots, but hate bamboo shoots and water chestnuts…

Active for Life: Great Resource AND Cool Steve Nash Contest. Details Inside

Steve Nash(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I recently came across a cool contest run by an organization called Active For Life.  Active for Life happens to be a leading promoter of children’s physical literacy to help parents raise active and healthy kids and they are kick-starting their new year to get families thinking about getting active with an exciting contest for a chance to win a Luyou shoe autographed by Steve Nash, himself a Dad and an advocate for physical literacy, and $200 SportChek gift certificate.

This contest is currently running and it’s worth heading over to the site to see some great current articles such as;

Tips to manage your kids handheld media time, which can be found here;

or “Soccer Skills, not Trophies, leads to success” which can be found here.

As a Dad blogger, I hadn’t really heard of physical literacy before seeing this, but I’ve learned an incredible amount over the last few months and this site is great for offering suggestions to keep children active and healthy.

Active for Life is the place where parents go to learn about how to make a difference in the health and happiness of their children. Research shows there’s a right way and a right time to develop the fundamental movement and sport skills that benefit kids for their entire lives. Learning these basic movement and sports skills is known as becoming physical literate.

Being physically literate is the foundation for being successful in sport and in life. Physical literacy gives active kids the best chance at becoming top-level athletes who may someday compete in high-performance sport. It also results in them leading an active life. And as the word “literacy” implies, just like reading, writing and arithmetic, movement skills need to be taught.

The website offers expert advice, inspirational tips and activity ideas which can help us, as parents, make sure our children get their recommended daily amount of physical activity and we all know that active kids become active adults.

Physical literacy, is about giving our kids the physical foundational skills to enable them to stay active for life – able to participate in a range of physical activities.  What I like about this in particular is the down-to-earth information and articles that provide practical direction in how to incorporate physical literacy into family life and some of the do’s and don’ts around it to help us get it right.  Their website is a magazine format that provides a ton of information and a very cool skills-builder tool which helps when we want to look at what skills to work on with kids at a given age.

You can find out more and enter the contest here.

It’s a great cause, and a very cool contest.  Active for Life can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

First Movember, Now Manuary: Taking Men’s Health Seriously!

Hey men!  You have heard of, and possibly participated in Movember, but how about Manuary?

For those who cannot grow one…

Manuary is a chance to raise awareness about, and money for, Head and Neck Cancer research which is the 6th most common cancer worldwide!  Participants grow a beard for the month of January, aka “Manuary” and get sponsored to do so.  Can you think of a better excuse to grow a beard?  I know some dudes who have a full beard by noon, and some, like myself, who cannot grow a beard to save my life.

At the end of the month of “Manuary”, a “Facial Hair Face-off” awards the crown of Manuary to the person (male or female) with the most creative facial hair.

For those unable to grow their own facial hair (ahem), no problem.  They do not discriminate and all you have to do is email a photo of yourself to manuary.canada@gmail.com and they will beard your photo with some creative (and humorous) photo editing for posting to their Facebook page; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manuarycanada.  Head over there, “like” it and get ready to grow!

Alternatively, there are lots of beards out there for purchase!

So why Head and Neck Cancer?

Head and Neck cancer is a devastating disease as it affects some of the most personal aspects of life, including facial appearance and the ability to speak and eat. While affecting both sexes, men are 4-times as likely to be affected. In particular, this disease is rapidly becoming more common in younger patients due to newly discovered associations with human papillomavirus (HPV).

Head and neck cancer is a type of cancer that is very well treated early in the course of the disease.  Unfortunately, the majority of cases present at an advanced stage – something that could be prevented with increased awareness.

Participants can sign up by clicking on the links below, or can contact them at manuary.canada@gmail.com and how cool is this!  Any participant who raises more than $400 will receive a beardhead hat from beardhead.com.

Do you need a better excuse to grow a beard in January!?!?!

Now, Manuary is being run in London, Ontario and Edmonton, Alberta and you can sign up through the links below if you are in or near those areas, but you can also donate at any time by following the links below.

London Participants

Click here to sign up today!

Edmonton Participants

Click here to sign up today!

DONATE NOW

LONDON DONATIONS

CLICK HERE!

 

EDMONTON DONATIONS
CLICK HERE!

 

Please also follow Manuary on Twitter @ManuaryCa

 

The Urban Daddy Halloween Recap: Tips for Parents Included.

Pie Pumpkins make GREAT cookies!!!

Under the category of better late than never, here is the 2012 Urban Daddy Halloween re-cap.

For those of you who are frequent readers of this blog, you might recall that I hate Halloween. 

I always have.

Not because it’s a Pagen holiday or anything deep like that, but more because I don’t like dressing up in costumes, nor does the whole concept of Halloween appeal to me – as a child or as a parent.  There are some things that as parents, you try to enlighten your children about in order to allow them to make the right decisions as they grow older.  God knows there are enough stupid people in this world, and as parents our goal is to make sure we don’t add to that total.  So wearing a disguise and begging for food at the doors of strangers is right up there among things that as a kid I didn’t like doing, and as a parent I really don’t think my kids should be doing.

I trust my kids, don’t get me wrong… It’s the stupid people out there I don’t, you know, the ones who put razor blades in food, or who drive through the streets weaving in and out of children.

But will all that being said, it’s my issue only, so in order to enjoy the occasion, we decorated the house two-weeks in advance, this year.  The decorations survived the Frankenstorm and all the water that came our way during that stormy week.  Then it started getting darker earlier and that prompted Stewie to wonder why we even have decorations up since it will be dark by trick or treat time and no one will see them.  He was ready to take them down.  LOL.

We were fortunate enough to be able to add 10 pumpkins to our front stairs in time for Halloween night, after purchasing them for my son’s Cub troop.  On October 30th the Cubs had a meeting and my responsibility for that meeting was to come up with a Halloween-themed game and I created pumpkin bowling.  The game consisted of 3 small roundish pie pumpkins (I cut off the stems) and a hula hoop.  Each team had to roll their pumpkins into the hoop and to win, each team needed the 3 pumpkins in the hoop at the same time.  Needless to say, the game was a hoot and the kids loved it.  Score one for this urban daddy!

By the time Halloween night rolled around we still had the 16 pumpkins on our stairs, however, of the 5 gourds we started with, only 3 remained.  They were squirrel fodder.  On the Saturday before Halloween we came home from the boys morning swimming lessons just in time to catch a squirrel climbing the tree beside our house with a gourd in its mouth. 

We laughed.

Linus yelled to the squirrel; “Hey stupid squirrel, put down our mini-pumpkin” which scared the squirrel and it dropped the gourd right into a giant bush on our neighbours side.

We looked at the squirrel.

The squirrel looked at us, and then we heard a loud noise coming from across the street which sounded like a squirrel fight and it wasn’t until we turned around that we saw what looked like the partner of that gourd-thief, flipping out at it for dropping the gourd.  He He He.  Stewie wanted me to check the security camera on the front of the house to confirm it was the squirrel…  I thought maybe he wanted to press charges?!?  Odd little boy. 

On Halloween night, now three weeks into that worst flu that I had ever had, we decided that my wife was going to take the three kids and 2 of their friends our trick or treating while  I stayed outside and gave out candy.  We keep two bowls of treats, one regular and one nut-free.

In addition to the pretty nifty decorations, I grabbed my laptop and showed a scary Halloween themed video from YouTube to add to the insanity – while I hacked and coughed all over everyone.

Once Halloween was over, in order to fulfil our promise to the Cub troop who let us keep the pumpkins, Linus and I cut up a bunch of those pie pumpkins, took out and roasted the seeds, and we made some treats for the nanny / baby Halloween party at our house, and for the Cub meeting the next week.

I peeled and cubed the pumpkins, then boiled until soft.  I let it cool then strained and tossed into a blender.  I used 16oz of fresh pumpkin to add to the cake mix I had, the brownie mix I had and to make these incredible cookies;  http://family.go.com/food/recipe-an-793753-pumpkin-butterscotch-cookies-t/. 

The cookies went over so well, that we baked 4 dozen more for the Cub meeting the following week.

We collected all the kids candy upon completion of their neighbourhood tour, sorted it, and took the really awful stuff (that we wont eat) and tossed it into the bowl to give away for the late trick or treaters.  We let the kids pick a number of candies equal to their age, then they traded us the rest of their candy – the good stuff – for a toy that they selected.  That way we all win!  They get a few candies to eat over a couple of weeks and they get a toy they really want.  We get rid of the candy we won’t eat and we gobble down the good stuff.

To be honest, they must have forgotten about the candies because the bowl way up in the top of the cupboard is still quite full. 

By 3 days after, all the decorations were packed away for next year.

How do you deal with candy for children who are allergic to nuts?  Do you buy nut-free or let their parents sort it out?  How about the candy after the trick or treating?

My Oldest Son Doesn’t Like His Name!

Linus awaits the Great Pumpkin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hmmmm.  I seemed to have had quite the dilemma here in the urban daddy household last month when my oldest child, 7-year-old “Linus”, told me he doesn’t like his blog name.

He said it’s “yucky”.

“Do you know why I call you Linus on my blog?” I asked him… “Do you even know who Linus is?” I continued.

“Nope”.  He replied.

So I went scrolling back through my older posts and I showed him this post from February 20th, 2008;

http://urbandaddy.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/re-introducing-the-urbandaddy-family/

In that post I explain to my readership that I will be referring to my oldest son as “Linus” instead of the “Happy Boy”.  Not because he’s not happy anymore, but because the similarities between him and the character Linus are striking.

Let’s take note:
Though young, Linus is unusually smart.
Everyone likes to think their child is smart, but we have had Linus tested and we know that he is unusually smart especially in mathematics and music.  He does have very strong language skills (often using words like actually, & similar at the age of 2-years-old.  He makes interesting connections, and has a fabulous memory.  He hasn’t quoted philosophers or found the Great Pumpkin yet, but at the time of this comparison, he was just 3!  Now that he’s 7, he’s doing just that (without the Great Pumpkin).

 

In addition, Linus is almost never without his blue blanket(s), which in our case, is striped.  And we don’t let it out of the house, although, if we did, believe me, it would be with him everywhere.  And like Linus’ blanket, Blankie has magical powers.  If Linus falls and hurts himself, blankie makes the pain feel better.  If he’s scared, Blankie makes him feel less so.

 

I let him read that post and he thought it was pretty cool, but he was not convinced.  He also asked about “Stewie”.

 

So here is what I told him about his “little” brother, our second child, the one we used to call the weed because he was exceptionally long when he was born and continues to grow tall and long.  We started calling him ”Stewie”.  Yes, him.  While Stewie is one inch shorter than Linus right now, and wearing the same size clothing for a boy 22 months younger that Linus, we felt Stewie better fit his character.

Our Stewie is a character and a half.  He’s stubborn, he’s tough and I swear he’s trying to kill us.  He’s very on the ball, he’s very bright and has been known to mutter obscenities in a British accent.  No.  That last bit I made up.  Our Stewie is always thinking..  Always plotting and like the character on the show, Family Guy, has a fondness for chatting to animals. 

I mentioned numerous times in the past that I felt Stewie was trying to kill me – he was the cause of my herniated disk in my back and he arrives at my bed at night and just stands there… Staring at me.  It’s kind of creepy, to be honest, but he’s determined to get what he wants even if he has to stand by my bed when I fall back to sleep after I’ve told him to go back to his room.  

Stewie Griffin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As for our youngest and only daughter, we called her “Berry” from birth, for reasons I think only family and friends understand, but changed her name to “Boo” after she was featured in the show at Disney this past summer. 

The post about that change is right here; http://urbandaddy.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/a-change-at-the-urban-daddy-blog-bye-bye-berry-welcome-boo/ 

So after all the explaining all this to him, I took to YouTube and showed Linus video about the Linus character on Peanuts and I watched as his serious face turned to a smile when he realized the similarities. 

He turned to me and said; “When I start my own blog, I’m going to refer to myself as Linus too.”

Whew.

Dodged a bullet.

Have any of you had issues with your kids and the names you chose for them on your blog or have you decided to use their real names?

US Presidential Election: What you need to before you vote, Canadian style.

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama

As a follower of Canadian politics it’s easy to look at what is going on south of the border and be amazed at the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the election of the US President. 

To be honest, it never seems to stop.  Once the election is over there is intense review and scrutiny of the new president and the former challenger and that occurs daily, right through milestones like “First 100 Days in Office”  to “First year as President” and continues through the halfway term as President and then it all starts all over again as the leaders gear up for a 2-year run to see who is going to run the country for another 4 years.

During this time you will see and hear opinions and endorsements from news stations, other politicians, celebrities and talk show hots, to name a few.  If you’re a democrat, you detest republicans and if you’re a republican, you loathe democrats.  It’s so clear, and so in your face that it’s almost like a scripted affair. 

So if you find yourself today, the day of the election, still undecided then you should understand that it’s okay.  You clearly do not fit into the mold of being either a typical Republican or a Democrat and while it’s wonderful to be open-minded and see things from both sides, it really sucks that you need to make that choice on who to vote for.

Would it not have made your choice so much easier if a politician came out and said something like’ Don’t vote for this guy because his policies don’t make sense because of this (insert actual proof here) or, don’t vote for this guy because he hates kittens.  Right now, in Canada and in the US, the leaders are so polished and they say nothing.  As a result, especially in the US, news media have to track down and interview other party representatives and hope that they say something controversial, not along party lines, or how they actually see something, in order to have something substantial to report on.  The leaders of course, distance themselves from those who made the comments – usually asking them to resign – which starts in motion the typical and expected damage control where the other party concludes that the whole party feels that way and are hiding it, while the party in damage control explain away the comment as if it were uttered by a crazy person.  

We also used to vote based on the way the leaders acted – and looked – during debates.  We cannot do that nowadays because both parties play the debates so well, it’s become a wasted exercise.

So you’re undecided and have to vote.  Here is what you need to know;

President Obama is black.  Awesome.  But that was so 4-years ago.  He’s still black and last time I checked that had absolutely nothing to do with his ability to run a country.  He’s an educated human being, the first black president in the history of the United States and a Democrat.   He’s also been the president during a horrible global recession, so you cannot judge his record on the economy, because it’s not like here in Canada where after all the meltdowns, Canada was seen as the leading country heading out of the recession.  To many, what happened in Canada was expected given that the Prime Minister is a Conservative, and Conservative’s are better with money than Democrats are.  Sorry.  It’s true.

Now, I like Obama for what he did – getting elected, fighting racism, much like I like Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty who also seems like a really cool guy.  They’re both a little teflon in their own right.  When they talk, people listen.  They are kind, compassionate and appear understanding.  When you accuse them of something underhanded, while they explain, you feel sorry for them and it’s easy to look poorly at their opposition. 

In Ontario, that’s not hard considering Conservative leader Tim Hudak doesn’t exactly give you that warm fuzzy feeling when you look at or listen to him.  He’s not all that compassionate and he doesn’t strike you as a financial wizard.  He’s blah, but he may be an absolute genius and we just don’t know it yet.  Ontarians are waiting for the real Timmy Hudak to break out of his shell, otherwise, the Ontario PC’s are going to need a new figurehead to push their message, and fast.  NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has that charisma, but she’s playing for the wrong team, and while Quebeckers may have been fooled into voting for Jack Layton’s NDP, Ontarians will never fall into that same mistake of voting in a NDP government into this have-not province.  We have recent experiences to fall back on.  It’s not so clear in the US, however.

Back to the US.

The opposition for Obama comes in the form of a gentleman named, Mitt Romney who is a Republican.  Voting for him does not mean you hate black people, nor does it mean that you believe in Pro Life or no-taxes for the super-wealthy or any other tags that the left-wing media like to throw at those on the right.  What it means is that you are taking an open-minded look at a candidate who amassed considerable personal wealth while a citizen of the country you are voting in.  Romney is a businessman.  A very successful businessman who knows how to work with people, with suppliers, and more importantly, he knows how to spend money wisely and where he should and can cut costs.  That experience is invaluable when faced with near crippling debt, I would think.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is also a very successful businessman and having all that knowledge and ability in your back pocket helps, especially in times of recession, when you need to look at the country (or city) as a giant organization, which is what it is.  You cannot discount that experience and success.  Sure, Ford is quite rough around the edges, but common sense tells me, and told many voters in the last election, that when times are tough and there is less money floating in the economy that spending more of it just does not make sense.

American’s have lots of needs heading into the next four years and the next leader has to deliver.  They need jobs, they need infrastructure and they need to figure out if bankrupting their country to flex their international muscles is worth it right now.  Americans need to be better educated and Obama knows that.  He wants to hire more math teachers and bring up the collective math knowledge of Americans.  Awesome.  I also agree with a universal health care system – whatever form it takes on doesn’t matter – so long as finally those Americans who have been left behind, and those areas in the US which have been left behind are brought along with it. 

I also feel, however, that there are parts of the US which seem so far behind from the rest of the world, and that is either in their views on equality of all people or straight out accepted racism towards “minorities” and that has got to be eradicated in this President’s term, but doesn’t get enough press.  Geographically, areas, destroyed by the economy – and Detroit comes to mind – has to be propped up by the government so those citizens have a chance to succeed.  In Canada the government tends to prop up delicate economies or regions by placing government offices there and hiring locals to perform government jobs.  The US needs more of that.

All in all, it’s up to you and your political views.  If you believe government’s role is to help those who are unable to help themselves, then you are going to vote for the Democrats and Obama gets a second term. If, however, you feel the government is mismanaging your tax dollars and you want them to do a better job of that, then you are going to turn towards Romney and give him your vote.  But at the end of the day, it’s not the leader you are voting for, nor the colour of their skin, or who they are married to, or which state them come from. 

If, on the other hand, you are casting your vote based on colour, state, looks, or anything superficial – and that’s okay too - because you are getting out there and voting… It’s your democratic right.

If you don’t vote, you cannot bitch about the outcome.

Related articles

• Do Americans Actually Move to Canada After Elections? (mentalfloss.com)
• Poll finds most Canadians want some U.S.-style election practices (o.canada.com)