Canada Moms Blog

Let's talk about sex, Mom

When I was in grade four, the brother of a girl in my class brought a condom to school. The news spread like wildfire – by recess, a large group of kids had surrounded his locker, hoping for a glimpse. Having no idea what a condom was, let alone what one looked like, my curiosity had been sufficiently piqued. When I got home from school that afternoon, I broached the subject with my mother.

After her coughing fit had subsided, she fished a piece of paper from a pile on the dining room table and drew her best dome. I’d learned in sex-ed class (led by my hairy-chested and very oversexed Phys-Ed teacher) that a condom was used during sexual intercourse – I just didn’t know why, or what one looked like. Thanks to my mother’s illustration, I thought for years that condoms were made of hard plastic, with finely pointed tips.

That drawing, those sex-ed classes and what was scrawled in the stalls of my school’s second-floor bathroom sums up the extent of my sexual education as a child. I entered my teen years armed with more knowledge about the dangers of sex than its pleasures; when it came to the act of lovemaking itself, I was fairly clueless. It’s not the experience I want for my own children, and when it comes to The Talk, I have no qualms about having an open, honest discussion with them, when the time is right.

And when that time comes along I’m pretty sure that this half of the parental unit will be leading the conversation, as my husband still blushes when I use anatomically correct terms with our kids and shuts down altogether at the thought of them becoming sexually active.

“You can take care of that stuff,” he once told me, which, according to this article, is a popular consensus among fathers. It seems that, along with making meals, scheduling appointments, cutting crusts off of sandwiches and, well, everything else, initiating The Talk winds up on many mothers’ To Do lists as well.

According to the article, a third of kids in the U.S. aged 15-17 have had sex. Among teens aged 15-19, 13 per cent of females and 15 per cent of males had sex before they’d turned 15. A Toronto-based survey revealed that among teens aged 13 to 18, one-third were sexually active. It’s not surprising, really – sex is everywhere these days, and kids aren’t stupid.

Life is short. Have an affair

Life is short. Have an affair.

That's the motto of an on-line dating site, Ashley Madison, which facilitates cheating. Like a typical on-line dating site, it's purpose is to help those looking for a partner to find one easily: the difference? These people are married and looking for someone willing to have an extramarital affair. Cheat.

Ashley Madison is so confident they can find you the right person to contribute to your infidelity that they have a 100% guarantee.

Join AshleyMadison.com for FREE
and Have An Affair...Guaranteed!

This site isn't new. It's been featured on Ellen, The View, Dr. Phil, Good Morning America and Larry King. They've been providing an easy gateway for those looking to cheat on their spouse since 2001.

Until recently, I really had no idea a vehicle of this nature even existed. That was until the Toronto media went nuts with news of a potential ad for Ashley Madison which was to be displayed by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). TTC had allegedly accepted a deal to provide one street car to be wrapped head-to-toe with a purple ad stating - "LIFE IS SHORT. HAVE AN AFFAIR." - which would sprawl across the ENTIRE length of the train.

Princesses Can Be Awesome, If You Strap Blades To Their Feet

I'm pretty ambivalent about princesses: I don't hate them, but I definitely don't love them, and really, end of the day, if they were to all disappear from the culture I wouldn't exactly miss them. Happily, my daughter feels more or less the same way. Unless those princesses are on ice. Then they're awesome. Then they're REALLY awesome.

She's never actually seen any princesses on ice - which is to say, skating princesses - but we did watch the Nutcracker the other night and she remarked that it'd better if there were hockey players involved, which, you have to admit, is pretty solid logic, not to mention conclusive evidence that she's Canadian. She meant, basically, that it'd be better if the characters were skating. "Especially the princess," she said, referring to the Sugarplum Fairy, who really would be a lot more hardcore if she played goal.

OSPCA vs. THS

There is a long standing feud between the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) and the Toronto Humane Society (THS). This feud came to ahead when the THS were allegedly caught off guard and five members of their staff were arrested when the OSPCA and the Toronto police raided their River St. location yesterday.

Charges have been laid against the society's president, Tim Trow, and four other members of their staff. The charges allegedly include conspiracy to commit an indictable offense, cruelty to animals as well as obstruction of a peace officer.

Pretty hefty allegations for a centre that insists they've done nothing wrong.

Kindergarten Blues

I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm an unbelievably indecisive person. (It really is unbelievable.) Well, now you get to witness it first hand. Last month I pleaded with the "Governmental Powers That Be" to "like, IMPLEMENT" full-day kindergarten. And now I've changed my mind.

WHICH really goes to show that it's true what they say: you really do need to let things sit for a while before you make decisions on them (like that chick-pea curry I made for my extended family the other night, which really was quite good once I let it sit for a bit, marinate...).

Now that I've let it sit for a bit, I realize that half-day Kindergarten is definitely best for my child. In fact, I'm now what they call a staunch supporter of the program because I understand a little more what kindergarten's about, and what's involved and what's at stake. It is not to be entered into casually, too soon or too fast. It is the freaking beginning of The Journey.

The summer of celebrity deaths

This summer’s been a bad one for celebrity deaths. It started off with acting legend David Carradine, who was found in a hotel room closet in Bangkok. Ed McMahon, another television great, was next, following a lengthy history of health problems. June 25^th saw Farrah Fawcett lose her long battle with cancer; later that afternoon Michael Jackson, arguably one of the most famous people on earth, died of what appears, at this point, to have been a sudden heart attack. Three days later, OxiClean pitchman Billy Mays died in his sleep from an apparent heart condition.

All of these deaths turned in to media events, Jackson’s especially. Web sites, blogs, tabloids and newspapers were brimming with stories, rumours, theories and scandalous details; clearly, death sells. In the midst of all the hoopla, however, just a few days after Canada Day, I learned of another incredible talent the world had lost. It was a death that hit me harder than any of the aforementioned ones did: Martin Streek, a radio celebrity in his own right, was found dead in his Toronto home on July 6, the result of an apparent suicide.

He was 45.

Hey, America! Hands off my Degrassi!

I grew up on television. Sesame Street, He-Man, The Smurfs and Inspector Gadget, I watched it all. I chose afternoon Kindergarten specifically so I could watch Scooby Doo in the morning and I wanted to be Jem when I grew up for a long, long time. It was the Canadian shows, however – The Littlest Hobo, The Polka Dot Door, Anne of Green Gables and Today’s Special, that still hold a special place in my heart.

But none of those shows compare to my absolute favourite Great White North original: Degrassi, from The Kids of Degrassi Street right up to The Next Generation.

Krista Stryland, "The Girl Who Died of Liposuction."

I took my kids to Shoppers Drug Mart yesterday. We needed diapers, wipes, a new eyelash curler, and celebrity gossip magazines (because I was craving a guilty pleasure that doesn't involve CALORIES) -- and dammit I should have bought those organic cough drops because *COUGH.*

Anyway, as I was pushing my terribly awkward double stroller (which sounds like a WAILING GOAT thanks to one rainy day -- M-A-A-A-H) by the newspaper stand, something caught my eye. A picture on the front page of The Toronto Star of an old friend of mine, Krista Stryland, holding her baby boy, and, next to it, another picture of a woman standing proudly, almost smugly. The title of the article read "Liposuction MD Loses Right to Treat Patients."

It's Our Anniversary?

At the beginning of the month, my husband and I celebrated our 7-year wedding anniversary.

It’s a funny thing, a wedding anniversary: on one hand, it is a source of pride, a reminder of our love and commitment, and a log of all the ups and downs we’ve been through together. On the other hand, it’s a fake number, negating the three years we had already spent together before getting hitched, as well as an undeniable measure of the fact that we are getting old.

It’s also something we forget. Every. Single. Year.

The Kids Love to Party

Last Saturday afternoon the Bunch Family hosted another fantastic dance party in honour of Mom and Canada Moms Blog was there to celebrate going live. Heck, we don't even need an excuse to celebrate, we just like to party.

My daughter Gigi had a blast and after inhaling her first ever cone of cotton candy floss she was seriously tripping hard. It's a good thing we had a dance floor to use (and trust me, we used it because the DJ and tunes were great.)