Tag: Calgary
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Things To Do With Your Kids: Mountain Top Christmas and Nightrise at Banff Gondola
The holiday season is upon us and if you live in Alberta then, in my opinion, heading to the mountains is one of the best things you can do with the family. Last week, we were lucky enough to be asked to visit the Banff Gondola to experience its newest attraction Nightrise as well as…
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Creating True Holiday Spirit At Southcentre Mall
*This is a paid collaboration post with Southcentre Mall* Having grown up in Lake Bonavista, Southcentre Mall has been my favourite mall since we moved to Calgary in 199…..on second thought you don’t need to know how long ago that was (I’m not old, right? RIGHT???). In my humble opinion, Christmas isn’t Christmas without a…
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Here’s to 2020, the year of possibilities
As we head into the 20’s, I can unequivocally say I am happier now than I was then and what’s perhaps more indicative of my growth as a person, I’m envisioning and planning for a future more than I ever had before.
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Things To Do With Your Kids Over The Holidays
Things to do with your kids in Calgary over the holiday season
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Things To Do With Your Kids For Halloween In Calgary
Although we’ve been inundated with more snow this fall, I’m optimistic that weather is going to improve for Halloween. Halloween is a fun time of year with kids. You get to dress them up in adorable costumes that potentially have to somehow fit over a snowsuit and you get to watch them devour candy at…
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Can Kids Ride Lime and Bird Scooters?
Calgary now has scooters from Lime and Bird, but can your kids ride these scooters? I went straight to the source to see if your kids can ride e-scooters …
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Things to do with your kids: Hiking Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area
There are lots of great hikes for kids in Calgary and this one is perfect for all levels of ability. If you’re looking for a great way to get outside with your kids just beyond the city limits then I definitely recommend checking out Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area. Location: At HWY 22X and…
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Heritage Park and The S.S. Moyie
We spend a great deal of time at Heritage Park. It’s truly my favourite place to be in the summer and we have every intention of spending a great deal of time there this summer. This year is even more exciting because the S.S. Moyie is back! Enter to win a free annual pass!
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Best Parenting Apps
Parenting is hard, but one of the advantages of raising children in today’s day and age is that we have access to resources like never before. In this post I wanted to put together a list of Dashing Dad’s Best Parenting Apps.
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How to Fly With a Toddler
If you’ve ever flown with a toddler then you know how anxiety inducing it can be. I wanted to share all of the tips and tricks we used to make flying with a toddler run as smooth as it could.
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Why Grandparents are the best
Grandparents are just awesome. As a kid growing up, your grandparents are often the ones you get to stay with for fun weekends where they spoil you and perhaps look past some of your minor mistakes. They always make your favourite food, and will often pay you absurd amounts for helping out with the simplest…
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The Best Swimming Lessons in Calgary that EVERY child needs
I previously wrote about why I thought we didn’t need toddler swimming lessons. The crux of my argument was that the toddler swimming lesson experience mostly revolves around getting them familiar with the water. They blow bubbles, maybe go down a slide, and you as the parent hold them while you go around in a…
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Get Valentines Day ready with ManDay Grooming
Every guy wants to look good, but as a stay-at-home Dad my effort to make myself look presentable could best be described as lacking. I was introduced to ManDay Grooming over a year ago when my wife bought me some of their Beard Sauce to help combat the dry weather we’re cursed with in Calgary.…
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Mental Health and Children
Welcome to part three in my three part series on mental health for Bell Let’s Talk Day. To read part one about my own mental health click here . To read part two featuring Matt Boudreau and men’s mental health click here. Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day. Bell has done a great job over the last 8 years to end the stigma surrounding…
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Men’s Mental Health
Welcome to part two in my three part series on mental health as we lead up to Bell Let’s Talk Day. To read part one click here. I recently had the chance to interview Matt Boudreau about Man Enough YYC and the changing conversation surrounding men’s mental health. Matt is a Calgary Dad who is…
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Strengthening Our Mental Health
January is known as a blue month. The excitement and pandemonium of Christmas is over, everyone is back to work and school. The weather is usually cold (although this January has been awesome in Calgary) and spring seems a very long ways away. It’s easy to see how our mental health could take a hit…
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Like father, Like son
The phrase, Like father, Like son can have many different meanings to many different people. I have it tattooed on my shoulder to remind me that I am like my father. How we are raised influences us in so many different ways and as you become a parent you can’t help but look back on…
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Should you get a nanny? My interview with The Good Nanny
The cost of daycare and dayhomes can be excruciatingly expensive. Should your family get a nanny? When Dashing Mom and I started dating she used two sneaky tactics to get me to fall madly in love with her. First, she showcased an interest in music. The very first time I met Dashing Mom, we immediately…
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Awesome Family Day Trips Around Calgary
There’s lots to do in Calgary in the winter, but sometimes you just have to get out of town. Here are some awesome day trips with the kids around Calgary …
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Dashing Dad’s Holiday Gift Guide
I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas. I recently wrote about long days, short years and man it just keeps blowing my mind. None-the-less, Christmas is almost here and I’ve been working hard this past month to put together the first Dashing Dad Holiday Gift Guide! I’ve teamed up with some awesome local retailers to showcase…
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What I’ve Learned In My First Year As A Stay-At-Home Dad
Today marks the one-year anniversary of me officially becoming a stay-at-home Dad (SAHD). Since starting this blog I’ve written about why I love being a SAHD, shared the thoughts of other SAHD’s on what it’s REALLY like and over the course of this first year I have definitely learned a thing or two. So as I…
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Things To Do With Your Kids: Fish Creek Park Ice Cave
Directions and information on the Fish Creek Park Ice Caves and Ice Falls
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Raising a Child With a Peanut Allergy
“Unfortunately, it looks like Clara is allergic to peanuts.” At these words, my heart sunk. Since we first found out Dashing Mom was pregnant I had been worried about Clara being Diabetic, but being allergic to a food had never even crossed my mind. And I had no idea what to do. Raising a child…
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Things To Do With Your Kids: Tumble Time – Lake Bonavista
Most kids love running around and being active and Clara is no different. Recently she gave us a heart attack by doing her first ever somersault… off the couch on to the floor. By sheer luck she landed on a pillow and giggled and laughed at discovering a new way to move her body, while…
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How To Teach Toddler Safe Knife Skills
I’m lucky to be married to a woman that thoroughly enjoys cooking, and loves getting our daughter involved. In this post Dashing Mom will show you How To Teach Toddler Safe Knife Skills, enjoy! –Dashing Dad I’ve mentioned before that I love to get Clara to help me in the kitchen! One of the things…
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The Meaning Of Being A Dad
I never grew up with a strong conviction that I was going to be anything when I got older. When I was eight, I was sure I was going to be a baseball player. I was a pitcher and I had a mean slider that no batter my age could touch. I couldn’t hit to…
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Things To Do With Your Kids: Hiking – Brown-Lowery Provincial Park
Location: The trailhead is located off of Plummers Road, just south of Priddis. Make sure to bring a map as cell service is spotty and there are no road signs along the way. Elevation Change: 143 m Duration: 4.8 km (took us 2 hours roundtrip with a stop at the top for a picnic) As…
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Tips and Tricks For Driving With A Toddler
This is Part Two in a series of How To Take A Road Trip With A Toddler, Part one is here. When I wrote How To Take a Road Trip With a Toddler I was unprepared for the nerve it would strike with people. Apparently road trip struggles are real for EVERYONE, and the response I got…
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What the $*%$& Is An Applesauce Sky?
If you have a toddler and you have a Netflix subscription than it is very likely you have watched Word Party at some point. If you’re not familiar, Word Party focuses on four baby animals – Kip, Bailey, Lulu and Franny – who are learning words. Each time they need help learning a word they…
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9 Stay-At-Home Dads Tell Us What It’s REALLY Like
You know those times where you’re at work and everything is going wrong so you turn to your co-worker to vent about how you hate everything. They listen, offer up some advice, or offer to buy you a beer after work. You don’t get that as a stay-at-home parent. Finding a sense of community as…
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How To Take A Road Trip With A Toddler
This year, for Stampede season, we decided to get the heck out of town and headed to beautiful Christina Lake, British Columbia. My cousin and his wife own a cabin there and are gracious enough to let us use it. The only downside to the whole experience is you need to take a 7 hour…
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Music Monday: Twenty One Pilots – Jumpsuit
Stampede is over for another year and Calgarians start the process of getting back to real life and enjoying the summer. We got out of town for Stampede and just got back from a road trip out to our families cabin. I’m working on a post about our experience road tripping with a toddler and…
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16 Things To Do For Free With Your Kids In Calgary
Summer is here which means the days are longer and there is more time to pack things into the day. While Clara and I love doing things like going to Heritage Park , if your budget is a little tight heading there for the day can be a bit pricey. With the help of some of…
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Things To Do With Your Kids: Heritage Park
I have always loved Heritage Park and now that I have a kid of my own, Heritage Park is one of the best things to do in Calgary. For as long as I can remember there’s something about the old timeyness of it that really speaks to me. Don’t believe me? When Dashing Wife and…
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Things To Do With Your Kids: The Calgary Tower
I recently wrote an article for Calgary Tourism titled 10 Reasons To Love The Calgary Tower, as 2018 marks its 50th anniversary. Built to celebrate Canada’s 100th birthday in 1967, construction wrapped up in 1968. Now, 50 years later, it stands as an iconic and recognizable symbol of the city’s past and present. A key landmark…
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9 Things You Can Get Dad for Father’s Day
In case you have forgotten, Father’s Day is Sunday, June 17, which means it is nearly upon us. I think I’m the easiest person ever to shop for, however, my wife seems to often disagree. So, for struggling wive’s and children alike, I’ve put together a list of 9 things you can get Dad for…
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Why You Should Let Your Kids Swear (And Win A French Chateau!)
I’ve put together an article roundup of a number of things I’ve been reading lately to help get your Monday started right (or give you something to do while you’re pretending to work). There’s some interesting articles here including why you should teach your children to swear. The last one is the most exciting if…
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Raising A Child As A Parent With Type 1 Diabetes
Raising a child as a parent with Type 1 Diabetes has introduced some interesting challenges, but it has also made some things easier. This year we’re introducing Clara to volunteer work and fundraising by taking part in the Sun Life – Walk For The Cure. What is Type 1 Diabetes? Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is…
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Music Monday: Childish Gambino – This is America (Kid Friendly)
After hearing Childish Gambino – This is America for the first time I was hooked. Like most people, the beat, the lyrics and the video were all something I wanted more of. Obviously, given the graphic content, the video was not something I was able to watch while Clara was awake. We have however, played…
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I’m Not The Dad I Thought I Would Be
I’m not the Dad I thought I would be and that has left me not feeling like a Dad. It’s a weird feeling. In some ways I Dad more than a lot of the Dad’s that Dad out there. But having grown up with a stay-at-home-mom, and with the societal expectations of a family having…
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Things To Do With Your Kids This Long Weekend
Weekends are a great time to get away from the hassles of the week and spend time with the family. Long weekends are even better as they provide that little extra time to let you recharge your batteries. I’ve written about a number of things that are great to do all the time, like swimming,…
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Things to do with your kids: Fish Creek Park
Fish Creek Park is one of my favourite places to go with Clara anytime of the year. In the winter we bundle her up, use her sled and explore the various snowy pathways. In the spring, summer and fall we love to explore the trees, fields, ponds and rivers. Clara has a fascination with bridges…
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How To Make Cooking With Your Toddler Fun
Cooking with toddlers can be awesome, however, cooking is not one of my specialties. Try as I might I have not got better. Sadly I am full-grown adult still capable of burning water. Which is why I am so fortunate to be married to Dashing Mom. Not only does she work hard all week for…
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The Best Kids Books For Under $10
Like any young child Clara loves to do a lot of things. One of the things she has always loved to do is to have books read to her. She will often pick up a book and bring it over to us and it has always been a regular part of our bedtime routine. In…
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5 Things I Love About Being a Stay At Home Dad
I won’t lie to you, there are lots of reasons I love being a stay-at-home-dad and I think being a stay-at-home-dad is the greatest job in the world. There hasn’t been a day where I have thought to myself “Man I wish I was back at work,” or “boy I miss those long commutes in…
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Why I Thought We Didn’t Need Toddler Swimming Lessons
Looking for the best toddler swim lessons in Calgary? Check out my post here with my recommendation. If you’re looking for a review of the YMCA lessons as well as a list of available options around the city, see below! **Updated September 2018** When I first wrote this post, I didn’t know too much about…
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Giving yourself permission to stay home
The toughest days for being a stay-at-home-dad (or stay-at-home-mom) are the days where you’re just done. You’re tired, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, everything’s going wrong, or you just don’t think you have the energy to do it today. Unfortunately, your boss (or bosses) won’t give you the day off.…
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6 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do
As a parent we want our children to be safe. We install baby gates so they won’t fall down the stairs. Child safety locks are put on all the cupboards with dangerous chemicals. We put them in car seats and we keep them safe in cribs while they sleep. These are all no brainers. But…
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Dashing Family’s Birth Story
Maybe a more apt title would be AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Every birth story is unique, but I think for new parents the nervous, anxious, exciting feelings and straight out fear are common. I was certainly a ball of all of these things. Clara was due November 7, a day that came and passed with no sign that…
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Stay At Home Dad Projects: Lawn Care
The great, super, amazing thing about summer and parts of spring and fall in Calgary is you can be outside most days, all day. I love it. You don’t need to get all bundled up in snowsuits and brave the elements for as long as it takes until someone has to pee, or your limbs…