One of the cooler gifts James got for Christmas is this Optimus Prime mask.  It looks cool, but that's not what I love about this gift.  When you wear this thing, there's a voice synthesizer that makes you sound like Optimus Prime. I grew up watching Optimus Prime and when

We've owned a Nintendo Wii for about three weeks now, and we're still loving it.  Just about every day we play WiiSports or WiiPlay.  I'm a big fan of the training exercises, particularly the baseball drill where you face 30 pitches in a row and you see how many you

We've planned a birthday party for my son on Saturday.  He's turning six and he'll take a bunch of his friends to a movie to celebrate.  Normally, since it's his birthday, I'd let him see the G-rated film of his choice.  But this time, I vetoed his selection. James chose

Twelve years ago today, on a cold January afternoon in Toronto, I married Taryn.  It's funny what you remember a dozen years later.  I remember all the costs.  $53 for a marriage license at City Hall, $53 for the ceremony at Old City Hall and $165 for a couple of

We attended my Uncle Bruce's wake today.  This prompted many discussions with my five year old son and three year old daughter, before, during and after the visitation. My wife and I decided long ago to openly discuss such unfortunate parts of life with our kids so death wouldn't become

I'm still in shock.  At 10:39 am I received this instant message from my mom.  "Bruce is dead michael" followed immediately by "i feel sick". Bruce Gowan was married to my mother's only sister for over 35 years.  That made him a key part of my family from the

I borrowed every season of "Arrested Development" on DVD and I'm making my way from the pilot to the finale.  I've seen every episode at least once before but it's just as good the second, third or fourth time through.  The cast and writing is deliciously funny. One character on

Taryn caught this moment of nerd zen yesterday and snapped a picture. It's a nerd trifecta.

Ignorance might be bliss, but knowing is half the battle.  I just wrote about the agreement I struck with my wife yesterday and already we're coming to our senses.  We'll call this the morning after chill. The pros of having a third child: children are awesomeanother person to love and

We bought this gingerbread house kit at the grocery story that seemed easy enough.  It came with ready-made icing and all the pieces.  There was even instructions.  How could we fail? It was easy enough to put together, but decorating it was a challenge.  James wanted it to look like

Back in September I wrote about negotiations discussions I was having with my wife.  She wanted a third child and I was pretty sure I was done.  I've got the two best kids in the world and I'm not feeling an urge to do it all again. Today, with my

Michelle is three and a half years old and today she had her first haircut.  James was a little younger when he got his first cut and I'm not surprised Michelle lasted a few months longer.  Michelle was bald for the longest time. The barber gave me a lock of

Santa showed up at Michelle's nursery school Christmas party yesterday evening.  I was there because watching kids see Santa is pretty sweet.  They gaze at him as if he's larger than life, sort of like how I'd look if Eddie Vedder put me on his knee and asked me what

It's official, the Christmas season has begun.  This weekend, several key indicators took place.  It can no longer be denied. We put up and decorated our Christmas treeWe put up the lights outsideWe decorated the house with Christmas season artifactsWe put a wreath on the doorI added a wreath to

In the Albert Brooks comedy Mother, Brooks' character moves back home to sleep in his childhood room as he reexamines his life.  Lately, as my oldest child progresses through his own childhood, I've been finding myself in several Mother-like situations drenched in surreality.  Today was another example of such a

I've lived in Toronto all my life and I follow the Leafs closely, but I don't think I've been on ice skates in about fifteen years.  I realized this the other day when I signed up my son for a local "Learn to Play Hockey" program.  This particular class requires

With a five year old and three year old running a muck in the house, there are all sorts of bruises and bumps.  Ever since James was a baby, I've treated these injuries in a fashion taught to to me by Mr. Miyagi. Remember in The Karate Kid when Mr.

I just spent some one-on-one time with each of the kids.  I played the role of Santa and asked them, if they could only receive three gifts this Christmas, which three they'd want the most. Michelle was up first.  Here are her preferred gifts, in order. Baby AliveA Cinderella suitcaseA

While in Arizona, my wife bought our three year old daughter Michelle a new tube of Hello Kitty toothpaste.  It was sort of minty, and Michelle hated it.  When it comes to toothpaste, she prefers a bubblegum flavour. Here in Toronto, my wife bought her a new tube of Dora

The following exchange is real.  It took place between my wife and I about 90 minutes ago. Me: I'm still upset about that $1.99 milk. Me: I'm pretty sure that price is illegal.  Remember, I worked five years in the grocery business.  I know a thing or two about

Michelle was going to be a baby butterfly for Halloween.  That's what she decided weeks ago, and that's how she was dressed minutes before we left last night to go trick or treating.  Then, all of a sudden, she didn't want to be a baby butterfly anymore.  She wanted to

James wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween.  He's not alone.  I just dropped him off at a Halloween party for his Beavers lodge and I counted three Evil Sith Lords formerly known as Anakin. The dark side is making a comeback.

When it comes to my Flickr account, I'm very organized.  Every image I upload is tagged appropriately so it's very easy to quickly view all pictures of Michelle with a Jack O'Lantern.  I realized this afternoon that the annual pumpkin carving made for a great little benchmark to see how

About three years ago I wrote about Halloween being one of those things you're forced to care about when you have kids.  If I hadn't procreated, I wouldn't think twice about this silly holiday.  The kids, however, love everything Halloween, and the next thing you know you're hanging up little