Canadian Dad

Long Time, No See

Chris Read — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 22:08:02 +0000

Soooo, it’s been awhile… Almost 4 years, to be exact. I don’t want to blame the pizza scissors from my last post but it was definitely a “jump the shark” moment for me and I decided I needed a break. Did I expect it to take 4 years to dust this thing off? No, but as it turns out, life gets even busier as your kids get older. Who knew??

I’m not even sure where to begin as far as life updates go. When I stopped writing 4 years ago, I had a young gymnast with Olympic dreams, an innocent young boy who was getting ready to take on high school, a medium sized dad bod and no dog… Now? These days I have a former gymnast, turned diver, who is fielding calls from NCAA schools; a much taller boy who has a job, drives a car, and has submitted University applications for next year; Oh, and yes, after years of saying no, I finally caved. His name is Archie and he drives my crazy.

I think I’ll leave it there for now. I mean, how can I top a picture of a puppy? And yes, I realize I didn’t elaborate on the medium sized dad bod. Let’s just say, it’s a work in progress and that all good things take time… I’m hoping to be adding a lot more posts on this page in the weeks to come, and I hope you’ll stop by from time to time!

Getting Reacquainted With The Kitchen

Chris Read — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 21:28:04 +0000

Let’s start with this. Covid kicked my ass. You may have noticed that the page has gone a little quiet over the last few months and it is directly related to the mental drag that the pandemic brought with it. We’ve spent so much time as parents trying to keep our kids from suffering that I’m guessing I’m not the only one who had to fight through the fog.

Not all was bad, though. After the first few months of having takeout on a daily basis, I decided to use my newfound home time to learn how to make actual meals for my family. It was also necessary to help battle the…roundness I was developing. That said, I still enjoy the occasional slice of bacon every now and then…

After posting a few of my culinary attempts on social media, I received an email from the amazing folks at Cuisipro, asking if I needed some new cookware to help with my adventures in the kitchen. Now, I don’t want to lead you to thinking that I’m now a Gordon Ramsey close because that’s far from the case.

What I’m talking about is upgrading from grilled cheese to fajitas with fresh chicken and all the colours of the rainbow. Even that felt like a gauntlet I wasn’t prior to the lockdowns and now it’s a regular staple of our weekly diet. Having the dual Cuisipro frying pans setup has definitely helped make things a lot easier when putting together meals with multiple components.

When we’re not getting our healthy on, we still like to engage in a little pizza night action here and there. I haven’t had a chance to try the Cuisipro pizza cutter yet because the kids keep stealing it from me before I get a chance to play with it but I’ll find my opportunity soon! Maybe a personal pizza party while they are at school!!

All in all I am loving the new recipes I’m learning and now that I have the proper cookware I am planning on expanding my cooking horizons, whether the kids want to eat it or not hahaha.

Just to reiterate, I am the opposite of someone who ever thought I could make a good family meal and while I’m far from a professional chef, I am proud of the things I’ve learned to do. If you’re thinking of getting started in the kitchen but are scared, I highly encourage you to start small and work your way up to more ambitious things. It’s okay if it doesn’t turn out perfect the first time. You just have to keep tweaking things until you get it right! Happy cooking!!!

*This post was sponsored by Cuisipro and I received some of the items pictured within it. That said, I am getting so much better at cooking and it’s totally worth the effort!*

My Pandemic Playlist – Television Edition

Chris Read — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 08:00:00 +0000

If this pandemic has been good for anything, it has allowed me to explore what has been going on in the world of television. With all the running around between work and the sports my kids take part in, there hasn’t been much time to just sit and space out with a good show. As it turns out, I was further behind than I thought and have been slowly catching up ever since.

I partnered with Hisense Canada, and using their 4K Android TV I have created a list of the Top 5 shows I have been watching while we were stuck in lockdown. In fact, Hisense Canada are so cool that after finding out that I was enjoying the 4K Android TV that I purchased, they donated one to our youth baseball team to raffle off in our fundraiser!

5. Cobra Kai

I was very skeptical that this could work. There have been so many remakes and re-releases of old shows that have been truly terrible that the odds were not great for Cobra Kai. Well, the reason there are odds is that sometimes they get broken and I have to say that all 3 seasons of Cobra Kai have been outstanding and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

4. WandaVision

I have to admit, after watching Avengers: Endgame I was a little worried about suffering from Marvel fatigue. After getting through a slow first episode of WandaVision I was pleasantly surprised with how amazing this show became. They really made it feel like you were watching mini movies and I know I’m not the only one who got upset every time the end credits began to roll. Honourable mention to both Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier which were also incredible!

3. New Girl

I only found out about this show because of the endless memes of it that are posted on TikTok. Not only is this my favourite of all the new shows I’ve started watching but it has creeped into my top 10 all-time list and is slowly creeping into my top 5. I still have 4 seasons to watch so anything can happen but I’m both happy and upset that I hadn’t heard anything about this show sooner.

2. The Office

This is without a doubt my favourite show of all-time. I watch a minimum of 1 episode per day and I’m not even ashamed of the amount of time I waste on it because it’s that good. There isn’t a single episode that I don’t like and if Dwight, Jim or Pam ever come to a local Comicon I will be first in line. Probably still with a mask on…

1. Ted Lasso

What can I say about Ted Lasso that hasn’t already been said? This show is the breath of fresh air that I’ve been looking for throughout the pandemic, and beyond. I laugh, I cry and I wait impatiently for the new episode each and every Ted Lasso Friday. I love the balance they’ve struck between funny and serious as they tackle our everyday issues in a subtle but very real way. It is now officially my number 2 favourite show behind The Office but I can see it making the leap if it stays this good!

Honourable mention goes out to every sport on TV, as I have also been enjoying quite a bit of live sports from the comfort of my couch. Honestly, the Hisense 4K Android TV screen is so clear that I forget about lockdowns because it feels like I’m at the event! Since it looks like we’ll be travelling a bit less for a while longer, please feel free to drop a comment with some of your favourite shows or some shows/movies you discovered while stuck inside. Thanks for reading!!!

Thoughts From The Mind Of A 12 Year Old

Chris Read — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Have you ever asked a 12 year old a question about anything? It generally goes a little something like this.

“How was school today?”

“Good”

“What did you do at recess?”

“Played”

“Do you have homework?”

“No”

“Do you want anything specific for dinner?”

“Pizza”

There are hundreds of other amazing one word conversations just like this one and they are all equally as exhilarating! Unfortunately, when Endy asked me to get thoughts on his first 100 days with his new Endy mattress, the conversation went exactly as expected.

“I need to write about how you like your new mattress. How are you enjoying it so far?”

“Good”

“Well, is it comfortable?

“Yes”

“Anything else in particular you want to add to that glowing review?”

“Can I go to the park with my friends???”

Right. Well, I could tell you that he is sleeping better and longer now than he ever has before. I could also tell you that when my wife goes in to say goodnight, she stays in there 10 times longer than she used to, but that doesn’t seem like enough to sway you. Ultimately, I decided to take one for the team, traded places with the boy and spent a couple nights in the bed myself.

Now, I’d be lying if I said that this began completely as my idea as it may have come about after a particularly long night of social distancing outside in my neighbour’s backyard… That said, the 3 times I have slept on his Endy since then, I have had some of the best sleeps of my life. My favourite part is that it seems to form to the contour of your body without staying like that after you get up. Bonus: It’s Canadian-made and that’s always a win!

Furthermore, I may or may not have stolen one of his two Endy pillows and have been sleeping on a cloud ever since. Relax, no one sleeps on two pillows, so he’ll survive. In closing, according to my son, the Endy mattress being “good” and “comfortable” is quite literally the best review a company can ask for. The only regret I have now is getting the bed for him as opposed to keeping it for myself….

Want an Endy mattress of your own? Visit their website here and check out the amazing deals!

Disclosure: I received an Endy Mattress in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Time To Put Your Lawn To Bed

Chris Read — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 15:42:48 +0000

I know it sounds strange to talk about putting your lawn to bed as if it were a child, but that’s exactly what it’s like if you really think about it. Spring and Summer are very busy times of year for both my kids and my lawn. They both need food and water to survive, they both need endless care and support, plus, oftentimes neither one of them does what I want them to do. See, they are exactly the same…

That said, it is incredibly important to prepare your lawn for the cooler weather by following just a few simple steps. While I’m not an expert yet, my year long lesson in lawn maintenance definitely has me feeling more confident as we head into winter. Now, technically you should be doing two lawn feedings in the Fall, one around Labour Day and another in mid-October, but if you missed one that’s ok. Just make sure to follow the 4Rs of Nutrient Stewardship – It’s never too late to start!

For my Fall feedings I used Scott’s Turf Builder Fall Lawn Food and followed these simple steps from their website. I cut the lawn short, raked up the excess grass, filled my spreader and, starting around the perimeter of the lawn, covered it from head to toe. Fertilizing Tip: It’s important to check the bag to make sure you put the proper setting on the spreader.

Once you are finished with your feeding, there are a few smaller steps that can get lost in the excitement of using the spreader. First, you should pour any excess fertilizer back into the bag and I highly recommend you do it somewhere on the lawn in case you miss the bag. I also like to sweep the bits of fertilizer that inevitably end up on the driveway back onto the lawn. Finally, make sure you seal the fertilizer bag well and store it somewhere safe for future use.

This all seemed completely overwhelming to me just 8 months ago and although I am still learning as I go, I feel far more confident after seeing the results from Spring to Fall. All that to say you don’t have to be an expert to get started with reviving your lawn. Go out and grab some Fall food, follow the simple steps listed above and spend the winter reading up on how to get started next Spring! I have found the Fertilizer Canada website to be an excellent resource, as well as the tutorials on the Scotts page.

Oh, and today just so happens to be Global Fertilizer Day, so there’s no better time to go out and get started on your lawn project! You can follow the #FertilizerDay hashtag on social media to really kickstart your education on the benefits of fertilizing!

*This post was sponsored by Fertilizer Canada. They have been so helpful in my journey to a greener and thicker lawn!*

From Novice Green Thumb To Slightly Less Novice

Chris Read — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 17:52:00 +0000

In a summer of many ups and downs, I managed to find quite a bit of joy in working on my very neglected yard. In partnership with Fertilizer Canada, I was able to do a lot of research into what makes a lawn healthy and I have seen some amazing results in a short time. I mean, there was really nowhere to go but up, right?? Here are some Before and After photos.

While the improvements have been amazing, it hasn’t come without a few challenges. I seem to have replaced the dandelions with a different type of weed that has been making itself at home on most lawns in my neighbourhood. That said, it’s my first year doing this and I didn’t expect perfection right away. If these weeds think I’m going to leave them alone, they are sorely mistaken!

The next steps for me are going to be Fall aeration and a final feeding in the first or second week of October so the weeds have something to think about over the winter! Fun fact, I would have guessed that feeding your lawn in the Fall would be a bad idea but as it turns out, Fall can be one of the most important times to fertilize. This is because while the Summer heat can often beat down a lawn, the Fall’s cooler temperatures and morning dew offers amazing moisture to help absorb the fertilizer.

I definitely underestimated the effects that a healthy lawn and garden would have on my mental state. What used to be an embarrassing eyesore now became a source of personal pride and I’d find myself sitting out front more, enjoying the sunshine and of course obsessing over the areas I could improve on the lawn. The lawn and garden started looking so nice that it looks like a chipmunk decided to leave us the gift of a sunflower seed that blossomed into an amazing addition to the garden!

I will say that it was nice to see the kids playing on actual grass again. Well, when I was yelling at them to “get off my lawn!”… I already can’t wait for next spring to see how things look after a year’s worth of work. For more info on the benefits of raising a healthy lawn and garden, you can visit the Fertilizer Canada website as it is an amazing resource! Have a great winter!!!

*This campaign is sponsored by Fertilizer Canada*

Which Type of School Picture Parent Are You?

Chris Read — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 18:18:10 +0000

It seems hard to believe but 6 months after schools abruptly closed, it is almost time to get the kids back into the classroom. With that, comes one of the underrated joys of school for parents; the school picture! That’s right, picture day at school is one of the few memories from those early days that lasts forever.

I love going through my old school photos whenever I visit my parents’ house. It also serves as a helpful reminder to my kids that the style choices they make as preteens and teenagers can either bring them great amounts of pride, or in my case, hilarious shame as they get older. I mean, nothing says style and grace like uncombed hair, parted in the middle, with a Mr. Happy t-shirt, am I right?!

I will say that despite the 4-5 years of hilariously awkward school photos, I am glad that I still have them all these years later to look at. I do wish we had had a system like Edge Imaging, however, for not only when I was young, but also for my own kids’ first years. Edge Imaging is Canada’s largest and most secure school photography provider and they securely archive student photos on their Canadian servers so it’s never too late for parents to order. This eliminates the rush to get the order in and allows parents to revisit their selections at a later date.

As for my personal preference (although my wife would likely vehemently disagree), I like the photos that don’t necessarily turn out looking as pristine as everyone else’s. It makes for a great conversation topic later in life and perfect fodder for any father’s wedding speech down the line! We haven’t been blessed with one of these types of photos yet but with the middle school years fast approaching, it’s only a matter of time!!

In any case, when your school is looking for options this year, make sure to mention Edge Imaging’s amazing secure online archive so you can revisit your photos from wherever you are!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Edge Imaging. My opinions on loving hilarious photos, however, are completely my own.

Operation Bring Lawn Back To Life: Update!

Chris Read — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 21:19:29 +0000

I have lived in my current house for 10 years and haven’t really put a solid effort into my lawn, well, ever… You can only imagine my excitement as I have watched my lawn go from a mix of dirt and very dead grass to an almost entirely green and thick patch! Yes, we are still working at it and isn’t perfect but it is still green and growing!

Because of our late winter this year, and, you know, the virus, my 2nd of 3 fertilizer treatments didn’t go on until late June but that gave me plenty of time to dig out my neighbour’s weeds and to get our garden in order. Even though these are the first 2 feedings our lawn has had in years, the results after a diligent watering schedule have been amazing, even with the crazy amount of heat we’ve had so far.

Although we do have a small space compared to the gigantic single homes in our neighbourhood, there are many environmental benefits to keeping your lawn thick and green. Soil absorbs carbon from the air, which helps reduce carbon emissions and helps in tackling climate change. A healthy lawn also has incredible cooling powers, meaning on those really hot days, the kids can still get outside and have some fun without completely overheating.

You can see the difference in the pictures between this and my last blog entry after our first fertilizer application. We will be doing one more application in the Fall and taking direction from Fertilizer Canada on how to make sure that by next summer we have an even healthier looking space.

We have big plans for next year as we are thinking about incorporating a small vegetable garden in the backyard. It seemed a bit too ambitious with so much to learn this summer but as our confidence grows, so do our ambitions! Stay tuned for more updates on Operation: Bring Lawn Back To Life, and as always, please feel free to share your lawn tips and tricks with me either here or on any of my social media platforms!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Fertilizer Canada.

Dear Teachers, Thank You and I’m Sorry

Chris Read — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 22:56:01 +0000

We’re trying, I promise. We even created a fancy, colour coded schedule in the early weeks that we were definitely going to stick to, with no exceptions! At least 3 hours of that schedule was dedicated to making sure the kids focused on learning and it absolutely worked…for a while at least.

To your credit, you held up your end of the bargain. Zoom classes, website subscriptions and enough work to keep them busy but not so much that they were drowning in it. For that, we are grateful. The thing is, as we got deeper into this and the sun started shining brighter each day, the days started to get away from us.

Spending hours on my own trying to learn how to multiply fractions and decimals got tiring, and honestly, a little embarrassing. There’s also the learning curve of using Google Classroom. I’m sorry my son has attached his work in the wrong lesson (multiple times) and my daughter hasn’t figured out how to type in the document as opposed to printing it out and sending a photo. Just more reasons why we are thankful to have you in our kids’ lives when things aren’t so strange in the world.

Still, I think we have done alright. Sure, maybe we skip a Zoom or assignment here or there to go outside and enjoy the sunshine, and maybe our well-intentioned schedule now includes a little bit of Fortnite time, but we are still doing our best to get most of the work done. The rubber band paper airplane assignment was cool, and the cardboard box restaurant is coming along quite nicely.

Oh, and remember gymnastics? So that’s still happening at a pretty heavy clip, which I think we can agree will qualify for gym class. We have also apparently covered art class as the kids have not only started creating their own escape rooms but are also making slime all the time, which is great because I get to clean up glue and glitter from all over my house!

All this to say, thank you for sticking with the kids and not giving us a hard time about not having it all figured out. I’m not sure what is going to happen in the months to come but know that we appreciate your efforts even if we flake out at times. Now if you could just forward me the answer sheets to the next math assignment, that would be great…

Let It Grow! Let It Grow! (Tales From A Novice Green Thumb)

Chris Read — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 15:41:40 +0000

I think using the term “novice” to describe my knowledge of gardening/lawn maintenance may even be a slight over exaggeration. I have tried in the past and had some success, only to have life’s hectic schedule get in the way of continued growth throughout the year. Laziness may have played a very small part as well.

That said, Fertilizer Canada asked if I wanted to learn more about lawn/garden maintenance, which has always been something I’ve struggled with, so I gladly said yes! Since that time I think I have done more studying than I did at the end of my time in college…

I started in early-May with a weed application and a general yard clean up. My neighbour has a lot on his plate, so I asked him if I could help out with his side of the yard as well and he gave me carte blanche to do whatever I felt was best. He still had the builder “garden” in the middle of his lawn, which had become overgrown with weeds, so I dug that all out and we decided to try to grow grass in its place. On our side of the yard, we pretty much had to start our garden over and with a pandemic keeping us home, the kids were happy to have something to do!

The weeds had gotten out of control so I treated the heavy weed areas individually so as not to kill the grass we did have, and then a couple weeks later proceeded to apply the first fertilizer feeding. I had to disturb a few of the tougher areas of the lawns and added a bit of top soil as well.

I was told to think of fertilizer as food for plants. Just as we need food to survive, plants need a variety of nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which they take up from the soil. Every lawn/garden is different so it is important to get the right fertilizer for your needs. I love this video series from Fertilizer Canada as it explains all the basics to getting started with fertilizing your lawn.

A couple more quick tips before I go. Grab yourself a spreader while you’re buying your fertilizer because you’ll be hoping back in the car if you forget. Also, make sure to read the instructions on the bag very carefully to avoid over or under fertilizing. Finally, take care to clean up the stray fertilizer from your driveway and walkways so it doesn’t run off into the storm drains.

Throughout the rest of the year, I will be keeping you up to date on the changes in our lawn and garden, as well as following up with another feeding around Labour Day and one around Thanksgiving. I’m also happy to take any lawn/garden maintenance tips you may have as I try to revive a once vibrant front yard!

*This campaign is sponsored by Fertilizer Canada*