Dinner With Daddy

Tonight at dinner we had a great example of some of the craziness that takes place around our table.   A simple thing like knocking over a glass of milk can turn into a psychologist’s dream session. My youngest, Sticky Buns, knocked over his glass spilling a few drops of milk onto the table.   For some reason when any of our children knock over a glass or spill anything, you would think that they had just caused a nuclear spill to rival Chernobyl, based on their reaction.   It has always been that way, ever since those little Buns came out of the oven(so to speak). So, as Sticky Buns is wiping up the few droplets that had hit the table, I made the comment, “Don’t cry over spilt milk.”   Mini Buns, my 10 year old, followed that immediately with, “But if it’s wine, you should whine.   That’s what Oma says.”   “Oma says the Campbell ghost spills your wine.” Brȍtchen, my Mother-in-law, often regales us with stories of her family ghost, The Campbell ghost,...

    One night, before Christmas, the family was gathered at the dinner table enjoying the usual crazieness we call dinnertime. In the background Christmas music sang out from the stereo in the living room. The song that was playing was Celine Dions' "The Magic Of Christmas Day", and at the time I wasn't able to remember her name. Mini Buns, my 10 year old, who is a music buff inasmuch as he can't help but sing…umm…. always, was sitting next to me. Trying to remember the name of the singer, I turned to Mini Buns and asked, "Hey, Buddy, who sang the Titanic?" He looked at me with a rather puzzled look and responded, "Um Dad, it was an ICEBERG!" Laughing at the realization of what just took place, I said "Not who SANK the Titanic, who SANG the Titanic!" Without hesitation he responded, "I know Dad, that's what I said; Ann Iceberg. "

        If you were to ask anyone what vegetable they were most likely not to eat, my guess is that the Brussels Sprout would be at the top, if not number one. As a matter of fact MensFitness.com has it listed as the #1 most hated food. My Beautiful Wife and I were among the plethora of people that listed the Brussels Sprout as an inedible little cabbage head. Did you catch that? I said were. The kids are still out on this one but I think if we give them time at least a few of them will come around. The mere thought of eating Brussels sprouts for most, is the most difficult obstacle to overcome, but if you can get past the psychological aspect and give this recipe a try I think you may be surprised. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

    There are a lot of traditions at the HB household. One of those time honored traditions is the Christmas Eve movie outing with Daddy and the kids. Every Christmas Eve I take my four wonderful and innocent young children to the movies allowing my Beautiful wife time to "reflect" on the Spirit of Christmas, and perhaps catch up on some last minute Christmas details.     Before I get deeper into this story I would like to state that my wife and I are firm believers in the MPAA rating system. Although mostly skewed and lacking basis for their rating decision, it is a good reference point when looking for a movie for your children. You can rest assured, however, that if the movie got a PG-13 instead of a PG, someone at the MPAA was going down kicking and screaming. It only stands to reason that if you lower the rating, you are making the movie available to that many more people.     Another, and in my opinion bet...

    This year My Beautiful wife and I took the kiddies to Nanny and Grandma's house for Thanksgiving. Nanny and Grandma have a beautiful, new, extra large kitchen that we all (including the children) cooked Thanksgiving dinner in. We ate, were merry, and on Black Friday we drove home. The visit could not have been nicer, the food could not have been better. The only problem was, when you eat Thanksgiving dinner at someone else's house, there are no leftovers. My Beautiful wife loves Thanksgiving leftovers so I decided that when we got home I would make a smaller version of Thanksgiving dinner so we could have leftovers. On the following Sunday I went to the local warehouse club, the grocery stores, everywhere I could think of to find a turkey to make for Leftover dinner. Lo and behold, there was not a turkey to be found. It was like they all flew the coop. I mean for crying out loud if I want a pumpkin after Halloween, I'll find one somewhere. If I wan...

Any Disney fan foodies out there? I'm one. This year my family and I attended the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT in Orlando, Florida. The Festival this year ran from September 30 – November 13. If you have not heard of this event, and are truly a foodie, you really should try to get there. The 2012 International Food And Wine Festival will be held for the 17 th time from September 28 – November 11. The Food and Wine Festival is a celebration of food from around the world. You can sample dishes from different countries, attend wine tastings and book signings, and if you're lucky you could run into a few of the dozens of celebrity chefs that attend. In the evening there was an "Eat To The Beat" event featuring well known musical guests that perform live, which is included in your park pass. The day we went Billy Ocean was performing. There are quite a few other events you can sign up for like culinary demonstrations, wine pairings, ...

While speaking with my Beautiful wife the other day she happened to mention to me that Monday, September 26 th , was Family Day. Having never heard of it I asked her what it was, and she gave me a brief rundown as she knew it. Basically, it is a call to families to sit at the dinner table and share a meal together. I'm actually being blasé blah about what it really is, partly because we do this every day, and partly because I think it's sad that families have to be reminded to spend time together. The fact of the matter is the CASA Family Day is about so much more than the simple explanation I gave, and I applaud them for it. Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children TM is an initiative that was started 10 years ago informing parents that something as simple as eating dinner with your kids can help keep them drug and alcohol free. CASA, or The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, maintains a website that is loaded with ...