Dinner With Daddy

As I’ve aged, I have come to view the holiday’s in a different light from when I was a child.   As a child, I can remember the wonder of Christmas.   Decorating the tree, putting on my special Christmas pajamas, the snow covered ground(there was always snow at Christmas), and I swear to this day I actually heard Santa’s sleigh bells one year. Now, as a parent, I see Christmas as crowded shopping malls, traffic preventing me from getting to work, decorating, though the feelings about decorating have changed from my childhood days, and the snow on the ground is not a reason to celebrate.   I’m not, by any means, a bah humbug kind of guy.   I just have a more grown up outlook on the holiday season. That is why, especially during the holidays, I am happy to be a parent.   Children remind you about the things Christmas were when you were a child.   They remind you that decorating can be fun, and tell you how good it looks when it’s done.   They re...

Last night the dinner conversation turned to the dynamics of the staggered bedtimes that we have adapted at the HB household.  The older the child, the later the bed time.  That seems simple enough to me. My 11 year old gets a bed time that is a half hour later than his 9 year old brother. It seems they have differing opinions as to how that should work out. My 9 year old speaking to my 11 year old: "My bed time is the same as your bedtime except you get to spend YOUR half hour of reading time upstairs doing something other than reading." Hmmm, then when does HIS reading time start?  And what is the literal meaning of bed time? I actually thought they were going to sleep when they went to bed.  Huh, who knew?  

Fashion is not my forté.   I am a t-shirt and shorts kind of guy that focuses on comfort rather than fashion.   Recently I was contacted by the fine folks at fodada , introducing their “ colors for cause ” line.   Fodada’s CFC line is the same as the basic line with, you guessed it, more color. The fodada clothing line was developed with Dad’s comfort in mind.   The idea was to have clothes that Dad can wear while playing with the little ones and still be comfortable.   And comfortable they are.   I have the Dada hoodie and I would go out on a limb and say it is probably the most comfortable sweatshirt I’ve ever worn.   It isn’t a heavy sweatshirt though. The fabric is light with a snug fit and made to just take the chill off. Fodada has partnered with two great organizations that care for kids.     Giving Children Hope is a faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to alleviating poverty (domestically and abroad) through disaste...

Zucchini used to be one of those veggies that I just had no desire to eat.   It was nothing more to me than that annoying mushy green half moon thingy in my “seasonal vegetables” at the restaurant.   Recently, I have developed an appetite for zucchini and I’ve been trying all sorts of ways to cook it. The other day a friend of mine told me about zucchini “boats”.   He told me that it was originally a Weight Watchers recipe, though he had prepared a different variation.   So, that very night I googled “zucchini boats”, and made my own version of a Zucchini Boat .     The great thing about the Zucchini Boat is you can use whatever you want for a filler.  While I chose to use veggies, my friend stuffed his with ground chicken and cheese.  The possibilities are endless, from super healthy to super decadent.    I have prepared zucchini in other ways as well: I've brushed sliced zucchini with olive oil and grilled it,  I've ...

Have you ever heard the expression “If a tree falls and no one is around, does it make a sound?”? I’m guessing you have. Well this has nothing to do with that per se, but I did discover that the happenings at the HB dinner table continue even if Daddy’s not around. A good example of that fact is this take on My Beautiful Wife’s description of the dinner conversation from the other night while I was at work. I only hope I can do it justice. My children started school this week, as I’m sure many of yours did. Cheddar Buns, who is starting seventh grade, and is required to study a foreign language, chose Spanish. She said that one of the kids in her class was Spanish and had Spanish speaking parents, yet he couldn’t speak the language himself. She asked My Beautiful Wife how this was possible. She explained, “Well sometimes people move to the US from other countries and they either bring their small children, or perhaps have children in the US and ...

A few nights ago at dinner the family conversation turned to the upcoming school year.  Sour Dough, being the high school teen that he is, refuses to eat breakfast.  His reasons vary from "I have to get up too early", to "I'm not hungry in the morning", to "There's nothing to eat." My Beautiful Wife and I were explaining the importance of a good breakfast. We told him how his body needs nourishment and his brain needs fuel and all of the other reasons we all know as to why we have to eat breakfast.  Sour Dough knows this already because he is actually a very intelligent young man.  Oh yea, and because he's a teenager and they know everything. As the conversation progressed the old, "There isn't anything to eat for breakfast.", excuse reared it's ugly head.  My Beautiful Wife said "What about a banana and a Boost?" referring to the nutrition shakes that we always have on hand.  "I can't eat a banana and d...

Last Sunday, like every Sunday, the family and I attended church services. As a parent you hope that the children are paying attention and getting the message being delivered by the Clergy.   Apparently, on this particular Sunday, at least one message made it through loud and clear. We happen to be of the Catholic Faith, and for those of you not familiar with Catholic Mass proceedings, there is a time during the Mass when you offer those around you the sign of peace. I would never have guessed that this is the part of the Mass that would make it home. That night I had no specific plan for dinner, so, as dangerous as this could be, I asked the children what they would like for dinner. It's dangerous because I usually get four different answers from four different kids and none are remotely compatible with the others. Nevertheless I asked and was pleasantly surprised when two of them asked for Pork tenderloin with rice. My wife had picked up some baby Lima beans the day before an...