Just prior to taking this photo, someone may have attempted a triple back flip off of the diving board....

I’m all about dads playing hard with the kiddos, but around here I’ve noticed that “playing with” the kids has a tendency to transform into “showing off” for the kids. Unfortunately, when the showing off starts, the risk of Daddy-o injuries increases. That famous quote from Top Gun often comes to mind: “Your ego is writing cheques your body can’t cash”. I must admit that when such adult injuries happen, I’m not exactly sympathetic.

One particular incident occurred a few years ago. Daddy-o had the kids outside to demonstrate some bike tricks. Before long, he entered the house, bracing his arm and saying I had better drive him down to the hospital. I quickly determined that the arm injury was the result of falling off his bike – the bike that he was standing on… while riding down a hill. I suggested that rather than have me pack up all six children for some quality time in the ER, he use his good arm to get himself to the hospital. My compassionate nature does not always shine when our family experiences a showing-off induced injury.

I know other families have suffered such mishaps as well. I recently ran into an old high school friend shopping with his family. When we were kids in the same neighbourhood, this guy lived on his skateboard – riding it everywhere and doing impressive tricks with all his boarding buddies. As we stood chatting in the shop, I noticed his arm was in a brace. When asked about his injury, he told a tale involving breaks in several locations, hospitals, surgeries, pins and rehabilitation. Curious, I asked about the cause of the injury. His wife sighed and rolled her eyes. Yep, you guessed it – he’d dusted off the skateboard to show the kids a few of his old tricks.

Other injuries we’ve encountered have come from lifting heavy items, and an unforgettable one involved wood chopping and an axe. How about you? Has the show-off injury phenomenon made its way into your home? Who do you take to the ER more often – your kids or your spouse?

Cocktail Deeva Shakin' it up at Mabel Bliss '10

BlissDom Canada is a 2 day, 3 evening conference that brings together the best in blogging, social media and public relations. It’s the 2nd year that the conference has taken place and Mabel will once again be joining all the fun. We’ll be kicking off the evening festivities on Friday with the Mabel Bliss power hour right after the last session of the day.

Last year the Mabel Bliss event was a hit with 5 minute make-over’s, profile picture photo shoots, yummy nibbles & more. This year it will be just as fabulous if not more and we can’t wait to watch the #MabelBliss hash tag light up. Cocktail Deeva will once again be shakin’ up Mabel’ Tini’s at this years good old fashioned glam event that is Mabel Bliss!

Where else will you find Mabel at BlissDom Canada?

Co-Founder Julie Cole will be moderating a panel about “What’s in a Brand? The Art of Defining Yourself and Your Creative World” with Cocktail Deeva – Dee Brun, Finance expert – Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Design Editor for Chatelaine –  Kimberley Seldon and CBC personality – Patty Sullivan. Co-Founder Tricia Mumby will also be play the role of Entrepreneur Tribe Leader over the course of the conference and act as a mentor for attendees on any and all entrepreneurial questions they have. I’ll be mixing and mingling throughout the conference & if you spot Julie, Tricia or myself be sure to stop us and say hi. We love getting to know our Mabel friends in real life!

Photo by CL Buchanan Photography

I was recently given an amazing opportunity from my friends at Disney Canada to attend the Disney Social Media Moms conference in Orlando. I jumped at the chance – by March, who doesn’t need to get a hit of that happy drug the Big Mouse deals out?

The added bonus was that this conference is a family getaway….well, for a family of four, anyway. Once I got a friend to agree to come along as babysitter, I was left with two kid spots.

You understand my dilemma. How does a mama of six pick her two “favourites” to bring along? One friend suggested making them audition via domestic challenges; another friend said not to bring any of them.

The thought of leaving everyone at home to be “fair” was not considered. I want my kids to understand that sometimes they get opportunities and sometimes they don’t. Often, neighbours and friends feel obligated to invite several of my kids to their child’s birthday party because they don’t want anyone to feel left out. I assure them that the uninvited kids will be just fine – they know that their turn will come. I think disappointment is not such a terrible feeling for a kid to have to deal with now and again.

Choosing which children to bring was not actually hard. I’m pretty practical when it comes to the kiddos and bringing the two biggies, ages 10 and 11, made sense for a few reasons: they would be easy for my friend to take care of, they are tall enough for every ride and, most importantly, they have the stamina to survive amusement park hours and activity without getting crabby.

Having said that, I wanted to communicate the travel plans to the other children with as little drama as possible, so this is what I told the unchosen:
“I have to go to a work conference in Florida. I am allowed to bring two children with me but they have to be 10 years of age and older. There is a chance that they may go to Disney for a day or so while we are there.”

I explained all of the fun activities I had lined up for them in my absence. The two biggies then did an exceptional job of keeping quiet about any trip plans that were in the works.

All went well until we arrived at Disney and had dinner with all of the other conference attendees and their families. My kids observed and noted that there were many children there under the age of 10 years old.

How did I explain that to them? I told them that while it is always important to be as truthful as possible, sometimes lying is appropriate. I explained that “white lies” sometimes help to cushion the truth and this was one of those situations. I trusted that they had the maturity to understand that and, indeed, they completely got it, which confirmed why they were the chosen ones. So on top of having a fabulous time on Space Mountain, at Epcot Centre and the Magic Kingdom, they learned a few life lessons.

No question, teaching kids when to lie is a tricky topic – have you had to deal with it? What has been your experience with “white lies” and your kiddos?

People say that I’m brave for having six kids. My take is that it’s nothing compared to those crazy mamas whose kids are out of the baby stage when they go and immerse themselves right back into it. Imagine ditching diaper bags, sleepless nights and poopy bottoms only to return to them several years later. At least in my situation, I have not had a chance to come up for air and experience what it feels like to be out of that phase. Once I have a taste of the sweet life, I’m thinking there is no going back.

A couple of years ago, Daddy-o turned 40 and my sister and BIL hosted a party. We arrived with a bucketful of newborn baby. My BIL had a big chuckle and noted that at his 40th a few years down the road, he would be on easy street – his kids would be teenagers. There were many laughs as we predicted that Daddy-o would never be in a position to retire seeing that he’d likely have kids still in university when he was in his sixties. Funny thing is, that bucketful of baby was only #5 – baby #6 came a couple of years later. Yes, no retirement plans for Daddy-o.

So you can imagine the fun we have had welcoming my sister and BIL’s new baby into the world last week. You can also envision their shock and horror upon discovering baby #3 was on the way, just as they were plotting their “Freedom 40” plan. And you can definitely picture how much fun Daddy-o had reminding BIL that he will now have a toddler at his 40th birthday party.

The shock and horror I refer to lasted for only about a minute before they were absolutely thrilled. OK, the shock hung around for a while. You see, they actually always wanted three kids but had a rough baby-making history and in the end it seemed they were extremely lucky to get the two they got. So, this little “baby-that-could’ is pretty darn special in our books.

During my sister’s surprise baby adventure, I’ve spoken to a lot of mamas who have had a similar experience. They all reported that, while the news initially took some digesting, in the end it was the best thing that ever happened to them and their families.

That may be true. Still, don’t expect to hear about any surprises from me.

Big thanks to Photog friends for these awesome images. Nicola popped around to see baby Isla at home and took this beautiful baby shot. Julie saw Isla and her big sibs at her studio and worked her usual magic!

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