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  • Running in Circles

    With everything going on in the world right now, it’s pretty difficult to keep kids happy. In my case, both kids are home full-time until at least September. This is immensely draining for everyone, but remaining active is very important.

    I’m in a unique situation, as I’m also in the process of recovering from leg surgery. As a result, I’ve been ramping up the activity as lockdown continues. Although we had a bit of a cold snap for a few weeks, playing outside in the snow is one of the best things for kids.

    Yes, it’s cold and bundling up the kids takes entirely too much time. But the fresh air and exercise for are great ways to tire the kids out.

    As I’m also working on my own rehab, I love loading up the kids on the sled and dragging them around. 20 minutes clockwise, 20 minutes counterclockwise, and run them around. With the kids now over 70 lbs combined, it’s a heck of a workout.

    Beyond running circles, kids love going down a snow hill, so we’ve been piling our snow from the driveway into a single hill. Due to COVID-19, our siding hills in the area are all closed, so this is a good way to give the little ones a taste of that experience.

    It isn’t perfect, but the crisp, fresh air and exercise really help tire the kids out enough that they aren’t tearing up the house.

  • COVID Christmas: Nurturing Holiday Spirit

    This year is definitely a tough one. With COVID in the middle of its second wave, trying to find a way to feel cheerful for the kids as Christmas approaches is sure to be a challenge for many people. This is doubly the case with income trimmed in advance ofthe holidays.

    Five Ways to Build Spirit

    • Decorate early & involve the kids. Although this is often a tiring chore for many people, and although it will take at least twice as long, getting the kids involved in decorating will not only keep them occupied, it will help build their excitement for the season and your own.
    • Create a smart home “Christmas Mode.” When I say the right words, not only do my main lights go green & red, but christmas music starts playing at a higher than usual volume.
    • Crafts. Every few days, put together another craft for the kids. Whether it’s a felt christmas tree, a paper snowflake, or decorating some bells, always have something handy for the little ones. Have them pick a friend or family member and create a card or decoraton just for them.
    • Learn the songs & teach them to the little ones. You may want to pull your ears out, but once they get the tune, popping a santa hat on the little ones and having a good sing-along is a great way to nurture some seasonal spirit.
    • Holiday movies & shows. There’s a lot of these out there, and if you have any streaming service, there’s plenty to choose from. Pop one on during or after supper, and watch the excitement grow.

    Closing

    These were just five ways to build the holiday spirit for your family during this COVID Christmas. There’s certainly a lot more that can be done and we’d love to hear what you’re doing to make things cheerful.

  • You Need a Budget

    Since my position was terminated due to COVID-19, my family’s income has felt the pinch. Thanks to the government, I was able to qualify for CERBs for a while, but it couldn’t last forever. During these uncertain times, having a budget is extremely important, especially if you have a family.

    My wife makes decent money, and so did I before the pandemic. Sadly, we haven’t always made good money. For most of our time together, only one of us would have a job (either her or I). There was one point where I had 8 jobs (at or near minimum wage), and still couldn’t piece together enough hours from them all to make a single full-time position. Add in moving across the country, twice, plus relocating to a new apartment every 1-2 years within province, and the expenses add up. That’s not even talking about student loans or the mortgage on our, extremely modest, house.

    Step 1: Tracking

    The first thing you really need to do, is track your expenses for a couple of months. Clip your receipts, get copies of your bank statements, whatever you need to do. I can pull up a couple years worth of transactions from my bank, but it doesn’t necessarily say what I bought. As a result, you may not be able to work backward too far.

    I’d suggest a basic spreadsheet to get you started. Something very simple. Include Date, Vendor, Category, Amount. Once you’ve input a month or two of transactions, you can figure out how much you spent per category, and it’ll give you an idea of your (current) expenses.

    Many people stop at this step, and call it a “budget.” But it’s really just tracking. In order to budget, you need to be able to predict your expenses & income in advance, and allocate money toward it.

    Step 2: Budget “Real” Expenses

    So you’ve tracked your spending for a month or two. That’s great. But it doesn’t really cover all of your expenses. You have Christmas Presents & the big meal that’ll pop up next month. There’s your Amazon Prime & Netflix Renewals. Maybe a Costco Membership? A professional license? A quarterly haircut?

    These are things you don’t necessarily spend money on every month, but they come around every year anyways. You’ll need to add those to your categories.

    As an example, here’s my list:

    • Disney+
    • OneSoccer
    • Netflix
    • Haircuts
    • Auto Maintenance
    • Home Maintenance
    • Vision
    • Dental
    • Medical & Pharmaceutical
    • Internet Hosting & Domain Renewals
    • Amazon Prime
    • Costco
    • Museum & Science Centre Memberships
    • Professional Memberships
    • Halloween Decor
    • Christmas Savings
    • Chinese New Year Savings
    • Veterinary Care
    You Need a Budget logo
    I use YNAB to track my expenses & budget for the future. Click & use my referral link to subscribe & we both get 1-month free.

    Once you’ve added your categories, you take the total amount that you would pay in a year for that category, and divide it by 12. Boom, you have your monthly cost for say, Christmas ($35/month = $420).

    By budgeting a little at a time for these things, it won’t suddenly destroy your pocketbook. It also keeps Christmas in your mind throughout the year, allowing you to pick up presents, using cash, when they come on sale.

    Step 3: Set Goals

    If you’re aiming to kill debt, that’s one thing. But if you know you’re going to need to renovate your bathroom in 3 years, that’s a whole different sport, and you’re going to need to start putting money aside sooner rather than later. Trust me, you do not want a big renovation to ride on a credit card.

    Let’s put that bathroom reno at $10k, and schedule it for 3-years (36 months). In order to be able to pay for it all in cash, you’re going to need to budget $278/month. Much like my annual expenses, I actually throw this money into a savings account. It’s great to see it build up, and there’s a little bit of interest that helps it grow while I’m saving.

    Step 4: Be Accountable to your Budget

    It’s important to keep budgeting forward, and to keep on top of tracking your expenses. When your category reads $0 left for the month, either move money from another category, or put whatever you’re looking to pick up back on the shelf.

    This can be pretty tricky for a lot of people. Although the spreadsheet I provided earlier was a good start, it can get pretty painful to manually enter your transactions. Once you actually start budgeting, I actually recommend using a great app that I’ve been using for years: You Need a Budget (YNAB).

    I first started using YNAB with version 3, and used YNAB 4 for a long time. These were not apps, but actual programs that you used on a computer. The current version of YNAB, is accessible both on a website, and on your phone (iOS or Android). You can link it directly to your bank and credit cards, which allows you to import & reconcile transactions. Additionally, it allows you to create the categories, set the budget, and have goals right in the program.

    Both the web & mobile apps have reports to help you see how you’re doing and where your money is going. Additionally, there are add-ons for the web app that can give you even more reports to further break down your performance. These are handy, and I’m sure I’ll get into the further another time.

    YNAB: The 4 Rules

    1. Give every dollar a job.
    2. Embrace your true expenses.
    3. Roll with the punches.
    4. Age your money.

    Essentially, it’s a lot of what I wrote about above. The key thing is to age your money, such that the money you spend today has been in your account for 3+ months. This may mean “overbudgeting” or “underspending” some of your expenses at the start, and watching a buffer form (my technique), or relying on whatever you budget for “savings” to grow the age of your money.

    I could talk a lot more about this program, and what my family has been able to accomplish with it, but I think I’ll leave that for future articles.

    Conclusion

    Beginning the begetting process is hard. You need to track your expenses, look at your true expenses, and create goals for the future. Even more importantly, you need to hold yourself accountable. All of this is tricky for anyone, with a couple of kids and only 1 real income, it’s vital.

    I’ll be doing a whole series on finance & budgeting. So be sure to come back often for useful tips, pointers, and ways to trim your expenses.

  • Pumpkin Carving With Kids

    Halloween is only a day away, and whether you’re ignoring COVID or having a small event just for your household, there’s still plenty to do. In addition to the brief list I released a couple days ago, there’s one major thing with which everyone can get involved: pumpkin carving!

    This is easy with older kids, you give them their own pumpkin and let’m at it. However, with small kids, like my 4 year old and U2, pumpkin carving is more challenging. Young kids shouldn’t be using carving tools, and they definitely shouldn’t be handling knives. So what can they do, and how do you prepare?

    Dad Tip: Don’t carve your pumpkins more than a day or two before Halloween, unless you want them to look all rotten & droopy…

    Preparation

    Start by decking out the kids in short sleeved shirts and painting or art smocks. Although this won’t keep them clean, it will minimize the mess, and potentially save their shirts/pants from getting ridiculously full of pumpkin guts.

    Next, you’ll want to cover your table. If you still get paper flyers or newspaper, that works well. Alternatively, you can use a plastic tablecloth or art paper. We use art paper in our house, and it works great. There’s an added bonus of letting the kids colour all over it first, before pumpkin carving. This allows you to save a bit of time, and occupy the kids with two separate activities.

    Dad Tip: Cut & remove the pumpkin top before you sit at the table. That way, the kids can dig in right away and you don’t need to have anything sharp dangerously within reach.

    Pumpkin Carving

    With little kids, you have to keep anything sharp away. That means they won’t actually be pumpkin carving. There are plenty of other things they can help with as part of the process.

    Ways to Help

    • Pull the guts – Let’s face it, there’s a lot to pull out. If they’re big enough, they can even use an ice cream scoop to clean the insides.
    • Separate the Seeds – Be sure to have a separate bowl, as these are a great snack once roasted up.
    • Pick a Stencil – Plenty of stencils are available both online & with carving kits. Be sure to remove any that are beyond your ability in advance, or you could get stuck with something tricky!
    • Draw the face – Give them a washable marker and let them draw the face on the pumpkin. You could even let them draw out a few test faces in advance to teach them about “prototyping.”

    Alternatives to Carving

    • Foam Stickies – Cheaply available at your nearest craft or bargain store.
    • Pumpkin Push Ins – It’s like Mr. Potato Head, but for pumpkins!

    Dad Tip: Be sure to have 1 pumpkin per child, so they can play with them at the same time.

    Once the face is drawn or the stencil is chosen, it’s easy for your kids to get bored. This is when I had them taking turns separating the seeds for roasting, but it’s also a great time to play a Halloween movie or short. Introducing your kids to The Great Pumpkin or Nightmare Before Christmas works really well (my kids both love the later).

    After Pumpkin Carving

    Once the carving is all finished, let the little ones turn on the lights and pop them in. Then turn off the lights in the house so they can see the full effect. My little ones loved it, and they both tried to give impressions of the two we carved this year.

  • Halloween 2020 – COVID or Treat?

    My wife and I love Halloween. It is, by far, our favourite day of the year. Tombstones in the yard, spiderwebs across the windows, jack-o-lanterns glowing, horror movies running non-stop, and kids in costumes coming to the door… We love it all. Sadly, our eldest is terrified of anything even mildly spooky, but he’s getting better with Halloween Decorations. This year would have been the 1st year our youngest would have comprehended what was happening.

    I say would have because this year is going to be very different. Many parts of the province have cancelled trick or treating this year. Although we could go out this year, we won’t be. Additionally, although we could give out candy this year, we’ll be giving that a pass as well.

    What changed?

    The same thing that killed my position and helped convince me to become Dad at Home: COVID-19. With the virus strongly hitting its second wave just as Halloween beckons on the horizon, we just can’t rationalize the extra danger away this year.

    My wife is a Medical Laboratory Technologist. She’s one of the people that runs & interpret the tests on pretty much everything that comes out of or off of your body and lets the doctors know what’s wrong with a person. This is not to be confused with medical laboratory technicians: the people that load the machines and are not allowed to interpret anything.

    If my eldest were to catch COVID-19 due to trick or treating, my youngest, my wife, and I would all be at risk. If, following the chain, my wife were to contract it from my son, who contracted it from trick or treating, her whole lab would be at risk. A positive result would shut down Northeastern Ontario’s lab. There are couriers at her work, which come into contact with the Technologists, Technicians, Phlebotomists, and front-end people on a daily basis. If one of those couriers (most of which are elderly) contracted the virus, they could spread it to hospital & lab staff all across the province.

    With the testing backlog now stretching into 10+ days in some areas, I can only imagine how horrible it would be if every lab across the province were forced to shut down for 14+ days due to a COVID-19 case transmitting thanks to trick or treating. We won’t be the cause of that (and hopefully other people in labs across the province have the same courtesy).

    Raising Halloween from the Dead

    Despite the filming of the new Resident Evil movie on the corner, by looking at our block, you would think Halloween was dead. There are no decorations visible from the road. No signs of people stocking up on candy. And not a single sign advertising the usual Halloween parties at bars and coffee shops.

    However, if you know where to look, you can see that people are spirit haunting. Looking at side windows, those in driveways or between houses, and you can see the trappings of Halloween inside. People are decorating their livingrooms and kitchens, hallways and bedrooms, and I’m sure even their bathrooms are getting into the spirit.

    This year will be all about Halloween parties. Whether it’s a small family horrorfest, or a handful of close friends that are in the same bubble, there’s still plenty of fun to be had.

    Five ideas for Halloween 2020

    1. Virus-themed Horror Movies/Shows (or virus-avoiding)

    With COVID-19 still running rampant, virus-themed horror movies are a perfect fit. Because of the virus currently on the loose, anxiety over virus-horror is ramped right up. This makes the movies even more poignant, and adds to the thrill. Not appropriate for little ones, but a lot of fun for everyone else. Maybe keep this for after they’ve turned in.

    Alternatively, some people are very sick of hearing about the virus and want anything else. You’ve a lot to choose from, and there are plenty of kid-friendly horror movies that can make the cut. Avoid zombie & werewolf movies, as they tend attribute them to a virus of some sort (ie 28 Days Later). Ghost, vampire (surprisingly rarely attributed to a virus), and mummy movies work very well.

    My kids are really getting into a lot of the classic Donald Duck & Mickey Mouse horror shows right now, but pretty much every kids show has a Halloween episode that works well.

    2. Indoor Scavenger Hunt

    Depending on the age, you create lists of 5-30 pieces of horror decor around the house. List them & give each child a sheet with the list. Have a “big prize” for the 1st to find them all, and everyone gets their own bag’o’candy to enjoy once it’s all done.

    3. Piñata!

    Who doesn’t love a Piñata? There’s a tonne of great Halloween Piñata available to be stuffed, and with Amazon you can get it all delivered with lots of time to stuff it before the big day. You can even get a COVID-19 Piñata, if that’s something you’re interested in.

    Ghosts, mummies, vampires, zombies, skeletons, bats, spiders, haunted houses… It’s all available. You just need to narrow down your search and you can find what you need. Best of all, if your little ones aren’t as good with the creepy stuff, you can fluff it up with unicorns and the like.

    4. Catch the Ghost.

    This requires a bit more work.

    What you’ll need:

    • Paper, tissue, or Styrofoam ghosts (the kids can even help you decorate them)
    • An indoor fan, preferably a big round one, but a cylinder fans works too
    • Butterfly nets

    If you haven’t guessed yet, you point the fan toward the ceiling, throw the ghosts on, and watch them fly. The kids use the net to catch them. It’s a simple game, but a tonne of fun. Again, you can have bonus prizes for catching the King Ghost (or whatever).

    5. Scary Stories.

    Exactly as it sounds. With the light out, setup a pumpkin-fire in the middle of your livingroom and swap stories meant to frighten and unnerve with your flashlight illuminating your (hopefully very animated) face. Depending on how old your kids are, they may even get into making up stories too.

    This is the point where you get to have some real fun. Crack out the peeled grapes and cold spaghetti. Have someone listening in from the basement or attic add some tapping sounds and ghoulish noises. Rig up something to drip on their faces. Have someone jump out from behind the couch in the middle of it.

    Depending on how far you go, the kids will get terrified. So be sure to keep in check and adjust the extras to match your kid’s sensibilities.

    Conclusion

    Just because COVID is running wild in our communities, doesn’t mean Halloween is ready to be buried and forgotten. There’s a lot you can do to keep the fun & spirit of the holiday alive in your home. We’ll definitely be having a lot of fun here, and I would love to hear what you’ll be doing this year.

  • Laundry: The Never Ending Pile

    For the childless, laundry is weekly (or even bi-weekly) nuisance. You lug a basket or two to your washer & dryer (or laundromat), and in two or three hours, you’re done and everything is either put away, or ready to be put away.

    Those of us with small children experience a completely different beast. It’s like singing the Song that Never Ends or being stuck in the Never Ending Story. Laundry quickly becomes a daily, or even twice-daily occurrence. And even worse, the pile never really seems to get dented.

    Time-of-Use Restrictions

    I weep for those poor souls with kids that use the laundromat. Restrictive opening hours, and a reliance on coin use can cause havoc with a schedule. Add one or two kids running around, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

    For those of us with laundry in our homes, we have other restrictions. Primarily, this comes down to electricity rates.

    For those unaware, electricity is charged at a different amount based upon the time of day. This is called “Time-of-Use Billing.” During heavy usage times (typically work hours), the cost per kWH is almost double the evening (after 7:00pm) & weekend rate. There’s a “medium” usage period (roughly 7:00am – 10:00am & 4:00pm – 7:00pm), where the rate is roughly halfway between the two.

    As a Dad At Home, this means I can’t just throw the laundry on in the middle of the day. At least, not unless I really love a skyrocketing electric bill. Also, leveraging evening is one of my top-5 ways to better manage time.

    COVID-19 has resulted in a new “tiered billing”, which charges roughly the “medium” usage rate mentioned above for the first 1,000 kWH in a month. Every kWH above 1,000 is charged at the “high” usage rate. Although this would seem appealing, once you realize exactly how much laundry you need to do, this comes up quite a bit more expensive.

    Typical Laundry Week

    Your mileage may vary, but with 2 kids we get a lot of laundry in the house. One of our kids is starting to potty train overnight, and the other uses cloth diapers. I’ll do a cloth vs disposable comparison in a future article (as we’ve used both). Needless to say, with cloth diapers, there is substantially more laundry, and you’ll want to do them separate of the rest of your clothes.

    Number of Loads

    • Cloth Diapers – 1 load every 2 days (takes extra-long, see below)
    • Kids Clothes – 2-3/week
    • Adult Darks – 1 per week
    • Adult Colours – 1 per week
    • Medical Scrubs – 1 per week
    • Kids sheets – 1 per week (rotating), with typically 2-3 as needed due to training accidents
    • Adult sheets – 1 every 2 weeks
    • Adult whites – 1 every 2 weeks

    If you count that up, you’re looking at a minimum of 10 loads of laundry per week.

    The Schedule

    MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
    7:00 pm
    Scrubs    		7:00 pm
    Kids’ Clothes (1)    		7:00 pm
    Adult Darks    		7:00 pm
    Adult Colours    		7:00 pm
    Kids’ Clothes (2)    		6:00 am
    Adult Whites
    OR
    Adult Sheets    		6:00 am
    Kids’ Sheets

    11:00 am Kids’ Clothes (3)
    Cloth Diapers Every 2 days, typically at 8:00 pm

    Keeping Laundry Organized

    Laundry Baskets on Shelf - Keeps it tidy & organized
    Keeping organized is key to staying on top of the never ending laundry.

    Laundry finishes after 9:00pm (or midnight on diaper nights). As a result, you can’t fold the same day it’s washed. My spouse and I team up and typically fold laundry when we’re unwinding & watching television in the evening. As this is normally the next day, keeping clean laundry organized is vital.

    Thankfully, we only have a few items that need to be hung up immediately. So they’re taken care of the moment we pull them from the washer or dryer. Everything else we pull into baskets and set up on a shelf. Once folded, if we aren’t able to put it away immediately, the folded basket(s) are also put on the shelf. This makes it easy to see what’s good to go up in the morning, and what still needs to handled.

    Towels, sheets & blankets don’t typically need to be folded immediately. Save these for weekends.

    Important Dad Tip

    Cloth Diapers

    These are a special monster. Not only do you need to do a basic scrub right away, they take a lot of extra time & materials to wash out. Use vinegar in addition to the laundry detergent, as it kills bacteria. These diapers are going right next to your baby/toddler’s skin, so it’s important they’re sanitized in addition to washed out.

    I set the washer to a medium-load with “extra heavy” soil. I also set 2-hour soak in the vinegar/detergent mix, and an extra rinse & spin-out. It took a few weeks to come up with the right cycles to properly get the smell out, but this did the trick.

    I leave them in the dryer overnight and pull it out first thing in the morning. You don’t need to worry about wrinkles or folding.

    • 3 hours total in Washer
    • 1 hour in Dryer
    • 0 minutes Folding Time

    Conclusion

    There’s a lot of laundry, and there’s no way around it. But it isn’t (and shouldn’t) tackled all at once. Nor should the task fall solely on a Dad (or Mom) At Home. Do one or two loads a day, and share the work with your spouse. Many hands make light(er) work, and this is extremely important when it comes to the never ending pile of laundry.

  • Pumpkin Pie (Lactose-Free)

    Pumpkin Pie is definitely a fall favourite, especially around my house. However, it can be extremely sweet, extremely fattening, and with so much cream, it tends to not agree with a surprisingly large portion of the population (59% in Canada).

    I did a lot of the legwork, and really bit the bullet by cooking & eating a lot of pumpkin pie (such torture!). But, as a result, I’ve put together a low-sugar and lactose-free pumpkin pie recipe that tastes great.

    Skip to Recipe

    Get Your Kids Involved

    My eldest helped me mix the ingredients for Thanksgiving this year.

    Give almost any kid a whisk, and they’re good to go. In my son’s case, he also loves to dump the measured ingredients into the bowl. My oldest is only 4, so I handled the wet ingredients, but he’s happy to measure and pour in the dry ingredients.

    This particular recipe doesn’t really require a lot of solids, so it’s a good one to let kids measure out.

    Pumpkin Pie - DadAtHome.ca

    What Kind of Pumpkin?

    When making Pumpkin Pie, you do have several options for what kind of pumpkin you can use.

    Most people will aim for a small “pie pumpkin” or “cooking pumpkin.” These are ideal if you only want to make 1 batch. You won’t have much (if any) pumpkin left over, and may even be a little short of the 2 cups you need for this recipe.

    I much prefer a full-size pumpkin, much like the ones you would carve for a jack-o-lantern. These pumpkins aren’t as sweet as the small pie pumpkins, but you will pay substantially less and get a lot more puree once cooked.

    Canned pumpkin is an option if you can’t get anything. Just make sure it’s unsalted, or the whole recipe will be off.

    Cook & Puree

    PrepCookCool & PureeTotal
    20 minutes30-45 minutes20 minutes70-85 minutes

    There are a few ways this can be done.

    First, preheat your oven to 375 F (190 C).

    Some people will cut a pumpkin into chunks and cook it. Others will cook it whole and clean up the mess afterward.

    Personally, I prefer to cut my pumpkin in half and scoop out the guts (careful to keep the seeds, check back for a recipe later). Line a large, rimmed baking pan with aluminum foil. Pour 1-2 cups of water in the pan. Place the pumpkin halves open-end down on the foil.

    Pop the pumpkin in the oven on a lower rack for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of your pumpkin).

    Carefully remove and allow to cool 10 minutes or until you can safely hold the pumpkin.

    Scoop cooked pumpkin off of skin and into a blender. Puree once full. Measure 2 cups for pies.

    Consider measuring additional 2-cup portions and freezing for future use (see our article on storing leftovers).

    Ingredients

    • 2 eggs
    • 2 cups pumpkin puree
    • 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp packed SPLENDA brown sugar blend
    • 3 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp ginger
    • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp allspice
    • 1 1/3 cup lactose-free 10% cream (may be labelled)
    • 2 pie crusts
    Pumpkin Pie - Unmixed Ingredients
    After beating the eggs, you can mix all the ingredients at once. It’s very easy!
    PrepCookTotal
    10 minutes60 minutes70 minutes
    Does not include Pumpkin Cooking & Puree Time (above)
    Recipe makes two pies. Enjoy!

    Step-by-Step

    1. Preheat oven to 450 F (233 C).
    2. Beat eggs.
    3. Add all other ingredients & whisk.
    4. Ladle the filling into pie crusts.
    5. Place in oven on centre-rack 15 minutes.
    6. Reduce temperature to 350 F (177 C) and bake 45 minutes.
    7. Let cool & serve with Lactose-Free Whipped Cream.

    Want to see more photos? Check out the gallery on Instagram!

  • Leftovers & How to Store Them

    Here in Canada, Thanksgiving occurred this past Monday. It’s a day of preparing for feasting, feasting, and then studiously avoiding the cleanup from feasting. If your family is anything like mine, we prepare more food than we can safely consume in one evening. There’s never any fear of their being leftover deviled eggs, stuffing, or pumpkin pie. However, there’s always leftovers like potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey, cranberries, dinner rolls, salad, and whatever else may have entered the mix.

    Before determining the type of container, there are a few questions that you need to ask:

    • Will we eat this tomorrow?
    • Will this go into school/work lunches this week?
    • Can this freeze for later?
    Amazon.ca Widgets

    Leftovers for Dinner Tomorrow

    The food you’re going to eat tomorrow, whether its in a hot turkey sandwich, turkey omelettes, turkey wraps, or turkey poutine, you have a lot of flexibility in how you’re going to store it. Since the fridge was just emptied to make Thanksgiving dinner, there’s a lot of room to pop it back in.

    For this sort of leftover, a larger snap-tight glass containers works well. You’ll likely want cranberries, turkey, and possibly even mashed potatoes (they’re good if you fry them up). Larger containers because you’re not really going to pre-sort your food. You’ll have turkey in one, potatoes in a second, etc.

    School & Work Lunches

    For school/work lunches, you’ll want to get this sorted as quickly as you can. If you leave it in a larger container, like the snap-tight one mentioned above, it will either disappear or go bad before it ever makes it into a lunch. I recommend using partitioned plastic containers. If your kids are anything like my son, they only want to open 1 container for their lunch.

    These plastic containers are perfect for keeping food from getting all mixed up, allowing you to add your cranberries to the turkey at lunch, instead of having soggy turkey that’s been soaking in them all day. It’s also great for putting dip in one section, and something healthy (like carrots sticks) in another.

    Freeze Leftovers For Future Meals

    Finally, when it comes to freezing food, there’s a number of issues with storage. A glass or plastic container, unless you push parchment right up against the food, tends to fall victim to freezer burn. Disposable plastic freezer bags, well, they’re pretty bad for the environment and tend to tear if you neglect to sort out a bone from the turkey.

    Thankfully, there is another option: reusable silicone bags. We use these a lot in our household, and they work fantastic. Push the excess air out before you seal the bags. The food freezes pretty good, and it’s easy to pull it out without worrying about it making a mess.

    To Sum Up

    With big meals like Thanksgiving, there’s bound to be leftovers. Glass containers are good for a big meal of leftovers the next day. Plastic containers with compartments are preferred for school & work lunches. And silicone bags are my recommendation for storing it in the freezer. Where possible, you’re going to want to keep any leftovers out of your compost bin. This is good food, and with kids (especially boys), there’s no point throwing it away.

  • Temperature – A Day Out in the Fall

    If you haven’t already felt a chill in the air, you will soon. As we approach Thanksgiving here in Canada, temperatures begin to drop below freezing for much of the country. We’ve already seen a couple of nights below zero here, with the temperature generally ranging from 1° – 2° Celsius to 14° Celsius over the course of the day.

    With such a range of temperatures, there are some unique challenges. I’m going to focus on clothing & how to tote it all around. This was a particular challenge for me, so I’m sure it’s something that’s come up for others as well.

    The Right Kid’s Clothing for the Temperature

    There’s going to be a lot of clothing. You’ll need to crack out long sleeved shirts and pants for the kids. And if that weren’t enough, you’ll need sweaters, jackets (wind & waterproof recommended), toques, and mittens or gloves. A regular hat for when the temperature peaks will be important, as it typically grows too hot for a toque.

    Where I am, it’s a wet Fall, with almost as much rain as we typically see during the Spring. As a result, rubber boots are a necessity, but they do nothing to keep kids feet warm. This makes it especially important to double-up the socks at the start of the day. Remove the extra set by midday. Although you’ll likely want to swap out both pairs, as they’re likely soaked from jumping in muddy puddles.

    Clothing Checklist

    • Long-sleeved shirt (2 – worn & packed)
    • Pants (2 – worn & packed)
    • Sweater (1)
    • Fall Jacket (1)
    • Toque (2 – they’ll likely lose 1 or get it very wet & dirty)
    • Hat (1 – to be put on as it gets to warm for a toque)
    • Mittens/Gloves (2 pairs – and they’ll likely lose 1 hand of each pair, hopefully not the same hand)
    • Rubber Boots (1 pair)
    • Socks (4 pairs – double up at the start of the day, swap out over the course of the day)
    • Sunglasses (optional, but recommended)

    This list is really just the bare minimum. It doesn’t take into account anything special, like if they’ll be playing soccer or football, which come with another set of clothes, including shoes. If the temperature ranges warmer, you may wish to consider a pair of shorts and short-sleeved shirt. This isn’t typically an issue this late in the fall, but stranger things have happened.

    How do you carry it all?

    Even if you were able to find a baby-bag that wasn’t overly feminine, chances are your kids have long outgrown it. When my wife is takes the kids out, she upgrades from a “phone-wallet” to a “kitchen-sink” purse. Unfortunately, that really isn’t an option for most men. Some might be able to get away with it, in some cities, but things trend a little more conservative here.

    There are three options that really stand out: duffel bag, backpack, or a messenger bag.

    Duffel Bag

    A duffel bag is certainly big enough for everything you’re going to carry. In addition to the long list of temperature-appropriate clothing, you’ll need all the regular stuff (including the spare lovey). With a pocket at either end, and usually a smallish one on the side, there is some ability to organize, but not much.

    You’ll want drinks & snacks at one end. Quick toys, spare lovey, and other “occupiers” at the other. Tickets, passes, wallet, and phone will likely go in the side pocket. Don’t keep these in your pants. It becomes very awkward when you’re holding one kid’s hand and trying to balance a swinging duffel while you reach for your (inevitably) cross-body pocket. Trust me, this is not considered a good yoga posture.

    The top benefit of a duffel bag is its storage capacity. A fair-sized duffel beats out most backpacks and all messenger bags. Making the duffel bag ideal if you’re taking the kids to soccer, or if you need to lug extra supplies.

    The Downside of the Duffel Bag

    Sadly, the duffel bag’s large, main storage area is also its biggest weakness, as it typically offers no sorting capability. It’s literally one big section. This means everything gets mixed up and bounced around, no matter how well you try to keep things organized. If you only have clothing for one kid, it’s not a big deal, as you’ll have a plastic bag for anything soiled. But you’re in real trouble if there’s more than one kid. Trouble can also arise from sports gear, diapers, wipes, picnic goods, etc. Additionally, if the temperature stays cool, your fingers will get frosty before you can sort through everything. So keep that in mind.

    An additional drawback with a duffel bag: shopping. Far too many stores require people to check/leave their bags and backpacks at the front before they enter the store. Although this never seems to apply to a purse or a baby bag, it always applies to a Duffel Bag or Backpack.

    Backpack

    One of the premium offerings, the backpack has numerous different pockets making it easy to sort everything for quicker retrieval. Most backpacks have 2 or 3 large pockets (one of which is typically padded to protect a laptop or tablet). Add 2 or 3 smaller pockets on top of those. If you’re lucky, there’s a small pouch dangling inside of of the larger pockets. Sometimes there are places to put pens, a small notepad, and a few other small items at the very front.

    Additionally, most backpacks have a bottle pouch on either side. There may even be another pouch, typically big enough for small battery charger or mp3 player (if you still have one of those). If you’re really lucky, there’s a flat pouch that rests directly against your back. This is ideal for important documents, tickets, etc. Some backpacks also have laces, clips, or velcro straps, which you can to attach a plastic bag or shoes.

    If we’re talking about convenience, this is definitely a great option. There’s plenty of space for everything you need for a typical day. There’s also plenty of options for how you want to have it sorted to be suit your family’s needs. If all the straps are adjusted correctly (including a chest strap), the backpack is one of the most comfortable bags you can wear over a long period (especially if you’re hiking).

    The Downside of the Backpack

    As mentioned when discussing Duffel Bags, you may be forced to abandon your supplies. If there’s a “No Bags” policy, they’re very militant on taking away your backpack. If you have multiple kids, and one of them is very small, you will not be able to wear them. You could wear the backpack on your front. From my experience however, this is more awkward and difficult than it’s worth.

    Messenger Bag

    Of these three options, the Messenger Bag has the least amount of storage space. If you aren’t great at packing things, the messenger bag is not for you.

    Typically, a messenger bag has two larger pockets, plus a handful of pockets of various sizes, safely beneath the flap. Sometimes there’s pocket in the flap, and another large one on the back of the messenger bag. Additionally, there may be 1 or 2 bottle holders and small pockets on either end.

    Although typically not as comfortable as backpack, Messenger Bags have 1 huge advantage: quick access. When worn right, you can slide the bag from your back to your front without ever taking it off.

    If that sounds somewhat like a baby bag, there’s a reason for that. Many baby bags are (typically smaller) messenger bags. To make a messenger bag actually work well though, there’s a few things you’re going to want to do.

    Messenger Bag tips
    1. Don’t fold your kid’s clothing, roll it. You can actually compress it a lot smaller this way. Plus, by storing it “end up” you’ll have an easier time retrieving it from the bag when you need it. Given the range in temperature, this is going to be vital.
    2. Tighten the strap. A messenger bag should not hang next to your body (like a duffel bag or purse). It should be tight across your back. Leave it loose enough that you can pull the bag from your back to your front without pulling it over your head. If this description leaves you scratching your head, I highly recommend this article on messengerbags.com. Their article has has a few great pictures to demonstrate.
    3. In an easy-to-see colour, write “kid’s bag” in big letters on a visible part of the strap. Shockingly, by looking similar to a baby bag and that label, most stores let you ignore the “no bags” policy. This is especially handy when you’re in aisle 5 and your toddler starts screaming for goldfish…

    Wrap-up

    Of the three, messenger bags are my preferred option for toting around the kids stuff on a day out in the fall. With such a range of temperature, you’re need to put away or swap out that long list of clothing quickly. Quite often, there just won’t be anywhere to put your bag while you do it. This makes the messenger bag essential for fall outings.

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