We arrived back at Epcot after our day at Epcot and the Magic Kingdom and made our way to the Disney Social Media Moms dinner. Eventually, we came upon one of the entrances to the gated off area. Of course, we were early and couldn’t enter right away.

I was getting nervous, because we could feel the temperature dropping and the dinner was scheduled to be outside. I was both relieved and troubled when I saw a tweet come through that someone got a seat by a heat lamp. Relieved because Disney had obviously taken steps to protect us from the cold. Troubled because the tweet implied that others were being let in while we were still being kept out. Finally, we were allowed in and we made our way to a table right next to a heat lamp. Score!

The tables all had cool Disney Volunteer themes to them complete with “nutritional labels.”

After a short wait, it was time to eat. There was a lot of food and plenty for a non-meat eater such as myself. You’ll forgive me if I’ve forgotten some of the dish names in the ensuing months, but rest assured that it all tasted great. In our haste to sample all the wonderful food, we neglected to take photos of much of it. Here are some photos that we did take.

After the meal came dessert, of course, and Disney didn’t disappoint. It all was so good, especially the warm brownie tort! Sorry, B

After we were done with dessert, Robert Irvine came out to talk about the Dinner Impossible challenge he had just completed and the Disney volunteers (who the dinner was really about). I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed when, months later upon watching the Dinner Impossible episode, I learned that our food wasn’t really from Robert. Still, given what he made, I think I preferred what Disney offered more.

All during dinner and dessert, we had some lovely converation. Besides sitting with Christina (from CutestKidEver), her husband Tom and TJ, we also got to meet Katie from Katie’s Nesting Spot.

After Robert made his exit, we were treated to a mini-concert by Joe Jonas & Demi Lovato.

It was late at this point, though, and both boys were exhausted so we headed back to our hotel room. Of course, this is when we ran into DaddyDigest only to have JSL hurt his arm by sticking it into some metal poles. Luckily, this injury wasn’t bad and we were able to go right to our hotel for some much-needed sleep.

As I stated last week, I’m trying to make at least one dish with each of Peanut Butter & Co‘s peanut butters. Last week was Bee’s Knees and this week it’s The Heat Is On.

Now, I like spicy food, but this peanut butter just seemed too spicy for my taste. Straight up, that is. When mixed into a dish, it gives just the right level of spiciness and PB-flavor. What makes it spicy, you ask? Well, look at the ingredients (from the Peanut Butter & Co website):

Yes, that combination of ingredients will certainly light a fire on your tastebuds… a delicious fire!

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Can we fix it? Yes, we can!

These boys love each other.

It’s a beef lollipop, right?

We weren’t sure what was floating in this olive oil.

Look at all the yummy food.

Everyone dance in a circle.

One beautiful lady!

JSL busts a move.

I’d like to preface this blog post with a warning. There will be links to some sites that might not be considered safe for work. They aren’t porn or anything, but they do point to a shop that sells toys of a kind often used in the privacy of one’s bedroom. Just a warning to save those link clicks for when you get home. Now on to the review.

I’ve got to admit, I love giving B massages. However, sometimes it can be tough to massage for long. Dry flesh (hands) plus dry flesh (back) equals friction. We’ve considered massage lotions in the past, but B’s skin is highly sensitive. We buy everything we can fragrance free, especially if it will be touching her skin (like laundry detergent). So rubbing a scented massage oil on her skin never seemed like a very good idea. Read more of this article »

Over the weekend, we went to a family wedding. First of all, my kids do not have good track records with weddings. The last one we were at, B’s brother’s wedding, saw NHL scream out “I GOTTA GO POTTY” twice. Not because he had to go, mind you, but because he was bored and wanted out of the room. I wasn’t too shocked when, as the wedding party entered to ceremonial music, JSL started getting fussy and announced loudly “ME HUNGRY!!!” We had already gotten him some food (thanks to the catering staff), but he wasn’t satisfied and got more and more vocal.

I picked him up and carried him outside as quickly as I could, but he got even more vocal as we left. I was able to calm him down outside and entertain him with watching some ants and rocking in some rocking chairs. Eventually, I heard different music that indicated to me that the ceremony had ended and soon afterwards, B came out to see how we were doing.

A short while later, my boys were happily eating – crackers and cheese. The appetizers were being served and they were loving it. At one point, NHL informed me that he was almost completely full but had just enough room for cake. I told him that the main course still had to be served and he gave me a “You’re kidding right” look. Of course, they both almost completely shunned the main course. Not because the food was bad, mind you. It was quite good. They shunned it because it was “adult food” and not chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese or pizza. *sigh* I really need to work on that.

After the cake was sliced, the music started blaring and people starting dancing. Here is where my boys really enjoyed the wedding. NHL and JSL proved that they were both dancing fools, even if video was being taken of them. Please excuse some of the dark videos, the lighting wasn’t the greatest. The room was darkened so rotating colored lights could be seen. If anyone knows of any free or low cost video editing tools to lighten dark videos, I’d love to hear of it.

Do The Twist

Dance Around (very dark, you can see JSL running in circles but can’t see NHL attempting to break dance)

Music (And Trying To Snap Fingers) Trumps Cake… Who Knew?

Shout!

By the end of the night, both kids were exhausted and passed out quite easily. We’re going to have to have dance-offs for them more often!

As I posted about in Dear Kid Saturday: Selective Vegetarianism, NHL recently tried to get out of eating a hamburger by claiming that he doesn’t eat animals that he likes. Apparently, he is a big fan of cows because they give us milk. Chickens, on the other hand, have fallen out of favor with NHL and onto his plate.

My Aloha Question for the day is: What culinary excuses have your kids employed to get out of eating their breakfast, lunch or dinner?

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #42

I was recently alerted to an article that Momlogic had posted titled “10 Reasons Why Father Doesn’t Know Best.” Going in, I knew it was going to contain stereotypes that paint all men as ignorant slobs who don’t do any real parenting. I was quite surprised at the list, though, especially because it was posted to coincide with Father’s Day last year. I felt the need to make a rebuttal. Not a point-by-point, mind you as some don’t apply to me (don’t have a daughter) but more to the general point of the article that dads are idiots who probably shouldn’t be allowed within 5 miles of any kid.

Dresses the kids in flip-flops and shorts on a 45-degree day. (When the thermometer hits 100, he sends them out in fleece.)

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a fashion expert. I’ve been known to wear (or let my kids wear) clothing that clashes horribly. There’s a reason my dress clothes are divided into “Matches with Black” and “Matches with Brown.” Still, I understand basic temperature issues. I wouldn’t knowingly send my kids out in clothing inappropriate for the outside temperatures. That said, B dresses the kids most days because I know my limits. I stink at matching clothes so she dresses them. Of course, I pick up the slack elsewhere (as you’ll see later on). Parenting is about being a team. Each person on the team will have strengths and weaknesses and you need to cover each other on the weaknesses so the team stays strong.

Thinks “quality time” with his kid means watching “Jackass: The Movie” with his six-year-old son.

I’ll admit that I love spending quality time with my sons watching TV. I’ve gotten NHL hooked on Ben 10 and he loves when the DVDs arrive from Netflix because it means that we’ll sit on the couch together and see more of Ben’s adventures. I do other things with him (like making a board game, more on that in another post), but this is something I can do with him during the often hectic workdays when I only get free time long after he’s in bed. Of course, I know the limits of watching TV with my boys. Most times, it’s a kids show and I love watching that. When they venture into my shows, I’d make sure it’s a good show and I try to work in morals. For example, if we’re watching Batman, I point out how Batman is trying to solve problems with his brains and not just with his fists. I definitely wouldn’t let them watch something like “Jackass: The Movie.” (Putting aside, for now, the fact that I’d never watch “Jackass: The Movie” even if the little ones weren’t there.)

When left alone with the kids to make dinner, serves cinnamon rolls on paper towels as the main course.

Dinner at my house is nearly always prepared by me. This isn’t to say that B can’t cook, but I actually enjoy it. Remember that whole strengths and weaknesses thing before? Well, cooking’s my strength so that is one area where I pick up slack from my weaknesses areas. The only way I’d be serving cinnamon rolls on paper towels would be if I just cooked them myself and even then not for dinner. (Dessert, maybe.) You can look through some of my Cooking With TechyDad posts to see some of the dinners I’ve made. Yes, MomLogic, some dads cook!

Nearly gets in a head-on collision with another shopping cart when playing “race car with your toddler in the driver’s seat.”

I’ve been known to get carried away while playing with my kids. Sue me for enjoying playing with them. Of course, I know the limits and wouldn’t put them in dangerous situations, but still she seems to be decrying all dads for what was likely a momentary lapse in judgement. (I guess perfect moms like MomLogic never have lapses in judgement while all us dads are idiots.)

Insists on wearing his “World’s Best Dad” T-shirt, even when it’s filthy.

Was the “World’s Best Dad” shirt given to him by his kids? Perhaps there’s a sentimental reason behind his desire to wear it that is overriding the dirty nature of the shirt. Yes, dads have emotions beyond “want to watch sports”, “want more beer” and “want sex.”

Instead of giving the kids a bath, he hoses them down in the backyard.

As with cooking, giving baths is “my job.” They behave for me during their tubs. Yes, MomLogic, I use the tub. I also use soap, shampoo and washclothes. I get behind the ears and dry them when they’re done. The only time I’d consider a hose down in the backyard would be if they were somehow so filthy that they would track too much dirt in the house. Even then, the backyard-hose-down would be a temporary measure. Its sole purpose would be to get the kids clean enough to enter the house where they would proceed directly to the tub. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

Actually believes “father knows best.”

I don’t believe that “father knows best” all the time but neither do I believe that mother knows best always. More like mothers and fathers are a team and should work together to raise the kids. If you are actively undermining the father (or vice versa – if a father actively undermines the mother), then there’s something seriously wrong. First of all, it puts more strain on mom. Mom won’t trust dad to do anything and will try to do everything herself. She’ll constantly see the relationship as her and her kids plus that useless guy who just gets in her way. That’s not a recipe for a successful partnership.

It’s going to filter down to the kids as well. Kids pick up on these kinds of things and they’ll start wondering why they should listen to dad when he says not to do something. After all, he’s just an idiot, right? Mom says so all the time. So why listen to him at all.

In the end, if MomLogic’s husband epitomizes her top 10 list, perhaps he’s an idiot. There are idiot men and idiot women. They’re idiots because they’re idiots, not because of a certain chromosome. By all means, rail against him. I’ll back her up and tell him to man up and be a real partner in their team. But to condemn all dads as idiots who don’t know the first thing about parenting is to condemn 50% of the parents out there based on one guy’s actions.

I urge MomLogic to rethink her article. Imagine the hoopla that would ensue if I penned a similar post titled “10 Reasons Why Mother Doesn’t Know Best” which painted all mothers as idiots who don’t know how to be parents. I’d (rightfully) be strung up over it. Why is it acceptable because it’s about dads and not moms?

UPDATE: Thanks to Rob for pointing out that they’ve reposted this again. This isn’t just something they did last year. Apparently, they thought it was so hilarious, they would share it again. Here’s this year’s version (same as last year’s but with a brand, spankin’ new URL).

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Peanut Butter & Co. They wanted me to try some of their peanut butter flavors. When the box arrived at the door, I was amazed to see these inside.

That’s eight different types of peanut butter! Now, I’m already familiar with Peanut Butter & Co. I’ve had a few of their peanut butters and love them. I own their cookbook. And while I’ve never been to their store in New York City, I hope to go during BlogHer. (Anyone up for a PB-lunch break/meetup during BlogHer?) I decided that I was going to use each of their peanut butters in its own dish and write a Cooking With TechyDad segment on my creations.

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I reviewed an infrared laser BBQ thermometer a few days ago. While testing it out, my geeky gene activated (as it should when one plays with a laser with a digital display) and I was reminded of a mask. Why a mask? Well…..

Yes, that’s me…. wearing a shark mask… with a laser "attached" to my head. And yes, I know I’m a geek!

I had planned on a blog post today showcasing a sandwich I made called The Veggie Elvis. It would have been the first in a Cooking With TechyDad series featuring peanut butter (specifically Peanut Butter & Company peanut butter) as the featured ingredient. Unfortunately, I was a little distracted with a burst pipe leaking water all over my basement. I’m not going to recount the whole story, B did that quite nicely, but I will add bits and pieces to it.

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