On an early Saturday morning this past August I found myself at the Brampton Farmer’s Market watching a bicycle being put together.
My kids have always had bikes and cycling is something we enjoy doing together as a family. We are extremely lucky because my father-in-law is a handy man. He visits garage sales, buys old bikes, fixes them up, and gives them to my boys.
When my kids come to me and tell me they’re bored, my response is nothing. Like, literally. I just stare at them. Usually with one eyebrow raised to convey my disbelief.
I used to try to come up with ideas.
“Make a fort. Go for a bike ride. Go to the park!” shouted out with unbridled enthusiasm.
My suggestions were inevitably met with, “Meh. Don’t really feel like it. Nyah.”
Followed again by...”Mom, I’m so bored. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO.”
There are some pretty kick-ass people in my boot camp, and I always partner up with them even though I know it’s going to hurt like hell and I might not be able to keep up. Why? Because surrounding yourself with people who are above your skill level makes you push yourself harder. You may not be able to achieve what they do, but it will make you better. And who knows? You may even surprise yourself in the process.
Winters are busy for me. My hockey-playing son is at the arena twice a week while my speed-skating guy is on the ice three days a week. If you include my own speed skating and on-ice coaching, I spent approximately 12 hours a week at an arena this past winter not including driving to and from the arena, and the amount of time I spend in the changerooms helping my kids get in and out of equipment.
Then the end of March arrives and *record needle across an album* SCREECH… everything comes to a complete halt.
A few days ago my husband took my son to the skateboard park. When they got home, my youngest said to me, “When dad and I were coming back from the skate park some guy was texting and driving and almost ran into us.”
My son got more homework in grade one than he did in grade seven.
He, in fact, got so much homework in grade one that it made him hate school. For seven months we would sit together and do math, spelling, writing, and whatever else was sent home. Sometimes those "ten minutes" of assigned homework translated into sitting at the kitchen table for HOURS. Oftentimes there were tears—mostly mine. It's all a bit of a blur as I took a liking to absinthe that year.
People are always writing letters to their 60-year-old self, or things they would tell their 16-year-old self. But you know what? 60-year-old me would be very pissed off that she had to wait 16 years for information she could utilize in her life right now. 60-year-old me doesn’t need that many regrets, 46-year-old me already knows about regret and it involves a bottle of wine, a forehead pimple, scissors, and a new set of bangs. And quite frankly, 16-year-old me is never coming back, nor is her purple eyeliner.
Now that my kids are older, I have the ability to look back and realize there are a few things I completely stressed out about when they were younger that, in retrospect, I probably shouldn't have. These are the things that pretty much every new parent stresses about. Things that you may be stressing about right this very second.
Once you make the leap from regular to competitive sports there is a greater obligation for both you and your child.
Your child could go from one or two practices a week to three or four. There are more games/competitions, more travel is involved, and overall there is a greater commitment to the team and/or club. The pressure on your child to do well may also be greater but ultimately your goal is to help your child have fun and continue to love what he or she started.
Make sure you yell at your kids to play/work harder. Like, really loud. Also, be sure to yell at them when they make a bad play or aren’t doing something properly. They probably don’t realize they’ve made a mistake, so it’s up to you to point it out. Loudly.
Note: Sometimes your kids are working so hard they can’t hear you, so it’s important you yell louder.
Do you think about raking when someone mentions The Maple Leafs?
I’m the first to admit that I barely know anything about hockey even though my youngest son plays in both winter and summer and my husband has played forever. I’m the person at every hockey game asking:
What’s offside? What’s icing? Why did that kid get a penalty? What’s offside again?
My thighs are too big. I wish I had better skin. I’d look good if it wasn’t for this muffin top. I don’t want to go out tonight, I feel fat. Ugh, these bags under my eyes make me look 70.
Are you guilty of saying something like this to yourself?
This is an easy experiment to show how a flower draws water up its stem and into the petals.
Materials Needed:
Flowers (preferably white) Food colouring Drinking glasses Water
What To Do:
1) Fill a glass with water.
2) Place eight to ten drops of food colouring in the water. (In our experiment we used red.) The more food colouring you use, the brighter the end result.
That last set of exercises you barely got through? You’re going to do them all one more time.
You can do anything for 20 seconds!
Normally said while on a third set of burpees. Also, ummmm…..no. Sometimes you can’t.
Yes, there’s a finisher today.
This means that even though you’ve already done a kajillion burpees, overhead presses, and the special hell known as band jacks, you’re going to be subjected to five more minutes of intense exercise.
If you have an adventure-loving, thrill-chasing, competition-hungry kid, you’re going to want to save the date for this!
Starting on Saturday June 14th, in North Bay, ON, and ending August 16th, in Regina, SK, DisneyXD is casting for the second season of the Grizzly Cup.
The show features three teams of two battling it out in exciting outdoor challenges to win the Grizzly Cup. It’s a great chance for your thrill-seeking kids to step out of their comfort zone and take part in an adventure they will never forget.
I’m a huge advocate of kids being active. It scares me when I read how obesity rates are rising and this generation of children may be outlived by their parents. Here are ten simple ways to disconnect with the electronics and reconnect with your family while having fun.
I can be quite quiet in large crowds. Being around a lot of people overwhelms me, so I tend to sit back and mostly listen. This inevitably means at some point someone will say, "You're so quiet."
What the hell do you even say to that?
Up until now I've never had a response, let alone a good one. But thanks to Ask Reddit, I've got my answers in the bag.
Since I started training for and taking part in triathlons, it’s made me realize how important food is, not only while training, but in day-to-day life.
