How does he do it?: Jeffery Dalhouse

On parenting

What is your parenting philosophy?
Provide a unified front. And if we disagree, we try to do it away from the kids.

What’s the most unexpected thing you  learned after you became a parent?
The effects of sleep deprivation ­– you feel like you’re underwater and a few steps behind everyone all day.

What’s bedtime like with your family?
Salem prevents us from sleeping through the night and Asher keeps us from napping during the day.

What’s your favourite thing to do as a family?
Travelling – going for car rides and plane rides. We travelled to Nova Scotia last fall to meet my parents at a cottage outside of Halifax, which was a wonderful change of scenery for us, replacing flat prairies with coastal fishing villages.

On relationships

What’s your secret to a happy marriage?
Laughter, planned date nights and taking time for ourselves, either to get more sleep or to exercise.

On career

What do you do for child care?
Lise flies Tuesdays and arrives back Friday evenings, so Asher is in daycare Wednesday and Thursday. I try to work around Lise’s schedule, but we have a nanny for when both of us are working. When Lise arrives, the boys are hers on Friday and Saturday. We always have Sunday together and enjoy going out for a bite to eat – someone else can clean up for a change!

On food

How would you describe a typical meal in your home?
A lesson in manners. It’s 6 p.m. and you haven’t even thought about dinner. What do you do? European lunch: crackers and cheese, cold cuts, cut veggies and dip, grapes and apples.

On downtime

What’s your preferred way to exercise?
Yoga, walking, cycling in summer, skating in winter. Plus toddler arm curls and power-sweeping the floor.

What are the three most important items you carry with you at all times?
A book, a coffee and my weekly action planner. If it’s not in my calendar, it won’t get done.

When was the last time you looked around and thought: “This is a good moment?” Driving home after having a big family dinner over the holidays. We were full from all the good food, Lise and I were singing along with the radio and the kids were sound asleep in their car seats, knackered after playing with their cousins.