Never Underestimate The Power of the Force in a 2 year Old!

As I mentioned in my interview on Jumping Monkeys Episode 46 "The Weekend Starts Here.
I've been having some fun trying to figure out a new nap schedule for the Demolition Twins. This morning around 11am, I scooped them up and attempted to lay them down for naps. As much as I detest them, I bought those cruel Safety First Door handle covers so that once they were able to climb out of their cribs they could not open the door and wander the house. Marley was the first to demonstrate this and Lauren followed soon after. Today started out normal, I gave them half a bottle, laid them down and gave them the speech. "Don't get out of your bed...Stay in your bed please, It's nap time, lay down and go to sleep...etc..." Today, after about an hour of silence, Marley came down stairs proudly holding this in two pieces in her hand. It seems she is on to our tricks and won't be fooled again. Oi.

When Mornings Attack

This morning was a little nuts. Carolann was working early this morning which meant I was in charge of the morning wake-up call. Since I'm not always 100% intelligent before my first pot of coffee, Things can get interesting when I wake up and attempt to ready the troops.

I got my wake-up call from Mabel-Kate who came in to our room frantically stating that she was going to be late. This is always my worst nightmare, since we're down to only one vehicle until our van gets fixed, this would mean she would be here for the day unless Carolann came home early from work. Neither would be perfect solutions. I leapt out of bed, checked my blackberry for time and immediately flipped out the toaster, popped in some bread and started making her lunch. Carolann had already packed snacks and drink in her lunch bag so I was more than halfway there. I got toast buttered and on a plate and she was happily eating. I checked the clock again, it was only 5 minutes from the last time I looked so I was doing well. Taking a look at MK I noticed that she had a pretty funky hair situation....This was not going to be fun. Do you think I could find a hairbrush? Where did they go? Who doesn't have hairbrushes when they need them? Don't they just give them out at the hospital when you have a baby girl along with the pink hat and mittens? There was no finding a hairbrush and I was surely running out of time, I grabbed a number 4 comb from my hair trimmers (very loose comb) and started combing out her hair. This, did not go well for MK. She recoiled in horror at the sight of the comb and began a fit of rage that would make a spoiled celebrity jealous. It was becoming clear that her hair was not going to cooperate. Dreading that we were going to miss her bus, I checked the clock again and did a doubletake. It was only 7:00am. We had gotten up at 6:30. When exactly.....the time on our kitchen iPod dock, stove clock, microwave and blackberry all started to display different times I can't be sure, but it sure made for an interesting morning.

Well, she was not going to school with tangled hair. I grabbed a towel, shampoo and held an emergency hair wash. She wasn't crazy about this idea either, she laid down on the kitchen counter and I held her head while she alternated between howling and giggling for the next 10 minutes. Finally we got the soap out and towel dried her hair and then went through the equally tramautizing hair drying routine which normally consists of me blow drying her hair with one hand and flipping her hair through my fingers while I pull her hands away and tell her that its almost over. Once it was over, she looked cute and despite our hour of free time, I just got her out to the bus stop stop before the scheduled pick up time.

The Weekend Starts Here on Jumping Monkeys With Leo Laporte & Megan Morrone

Just thought I'd post a note and let everyone know that the latest episode of Jumping Monkeys is online and available through itunes and I'm in it!

I got the amazing privilege of talking to Leo Laporte from Tech TV (the Screen Savers, Call for Help and now the TWIT podcast network) and Megan Morrone (Tech TV/TWIT) on Jumping Monkeys! We talk about kids, parenting, twins, ADD and technology. So check it out! Full show notes are available at Megan's blog www.jumpingmonkeys.com.



Download the MP3 Here

Canadian Olympic Clothing Revealed....Gangsta

Ever since Roots, Canada's pride and joy clothier lost the Canadian contract to clothe the Atlhletes, I think the style factor has gone a little downhill. Roots' "Poor Boy" hat from Nagano attracted huge attention to the company and led to the Canadians becoming the style Belles of the ball. I mean, at least...if we can't score medals we can look good while we're losing right?

What exactly the crucial decision making team of hotshots were thinking when they decided that ZELLERS was a worthy successor to design the Canadian's hallowed threads is far beyond me. To be fair, HBC Holdings owns the Bay, Zellers and Home Outfitters. But, let's be honest...none of those companies really embody the height of fashion....do they? This year, however...The collective Canadian Clothing gods have lost their collective minds. Because this year, while the US has upped their game and graduated from Roots to Ralph Lauren (a logical progression), Canada has opted for a fashion that can only be described as......

Well, if the Canadian flag and the fifty dollar bill puked on a gang of thugs from Queen and
Jarvis, you might get a sense for what our glorious athletic peeps will be sportin' while rolling through Beijing's olympic village....Ice Ice Baby.
Is this for real? Are we really going to make our athletes who are representing our country at the World's biggest sporting event go out like this? I mean, check out the white Home Hardware painter's cap that Girl-left is wearing. It comes complete with a dollar-store amber plastic peak! Now that's sexy! And what's up with the Zoolander guy second to the left? The model on the far left in this picture is looking like "Dude, I'm getting paid to be in these clothes for 5 minutes, but you guys aren't getting paid squat and you have to wear them for 2 weeks?! Sorry."

While the US is sporting white Ralph Lauren V-neck sweaters and a more dignified Country Club look and France's athletes will look like they went through wardrobe and makeup, our athletes are going to be the pinnacle of style with the Beijing bloods and crips! Anyone have anything to say about this?

Do You Own A Blackberry?

There's nice perks to being a blackberry owner! If you go over to www.blackberry.com, signup and click on the owner's lounge, you can get a free 5.00 giftcard from Starbucks! I've been registered at the site for a year now, so the offer is open to new and existing members!

Enjoy!

Make Your Own Poptarts!

I saw this over at Planet Green. Check it out and make your own poptarts!

Coffee & Technology....What else is there?

Getting ready for my interview with Leo and Megan Morrone's show Jumping Monkeys on the TWIT network. I don't use Skype regularly, but am pretty familiar with it, so I am just spending the next half hour to hour tweaking and making sure everything is running quickly and without any audio hiccups. I'll provide a link to the show once it's edited and released. Looking forward to talking about blended families and the fun of raising kids with ADD.

I am considering starting to work with Guru.com and possibly Elance. I am a little skeptical about the amount of projects I can take on as I have no idea how competitive things are on either site, but I am willing to take a chance and open a paid account.

I've also started work on developing the next Baby Chill Cd.

OROS(R) Methylphenidate in Adults with ADHD: New Insights

OROS(R) Methylphenidate in Adults with ADHD: New Insights
New information about the longterm effects of ritalin in adults.

The Baby Chill CD is Here!

The Baby Chill CD is very simply, a proven tool for relaxing upset or colichy babies! Comprised of white and pink noise, this CD may not make sense at first, but if you are a new parent or expecting, there is no better time than now to grab on to one of these CDs for the car or nursery.

How does it work? It's pretty easy! During pregnancy your baby hears a mish-mash of sounds in the womb. White noise reminds your baby of the noise that comforted and lulled it to sleep. Just like a relaxation CD with ocean waves or sounds of the rainforest, the baby chill CD is a comforting sound that almost instantly stops crying and restlessness.

For maximum effectiveness, we recommend getting one of these before your baby is born or as soon after as possible. The earlier you begin to use the Baby Chill CD with your baby, the more effective it will be. We have found that babies who have not been exposed to white noise until 4-6 months after birth are not as receptive to white noise.

We are not scientists, doctors or child development experts, but as parents of 7 children we have found a surefire way to soothe an upset baby. If you would like your own copy of the Baby Chill CD, click on the album image to purchase one in our online store.