April 30: Team Umizoomi and Vanana Yogurt

Fridays my son stays home with me. Lately, it's been a real challenge as work has picked up and I have to balance a full workload while trying to ensure I don't exile my son to the other room where I'm not sure what he's doing at anytime. But, the last few weeks, we seem to have nailed down a decent routine - I work a little while he watches a show, then I take a break and we hang out for a while. Then, I return to working and he maybe does a workbook or colors or something. A little later, I take another break and we hang out. You see the pattern. We try to limit the TV time, as I really don't want him growing up to become another Martin Tupper. But, today, while we ate our Trader Joe Chicken Nuggets and some carrot sticks, he asked if we could watch Team Umizoomi. Maybe some of you know this show. I did not. But, it was Nick Jr., and most of the shows on that channel in the early afternoon are acceptable for a child in my son's age range. It's actually kind of a cool show. From what I can grasp, there are 3 characters - Geo, Milli and Bot (who happens to be a robot). I guess each show they encounter challenges for which they have to rely on their math skills to resolve. Today's episode involved an elephant sprinkler at the local community park that was clogged; the result of some child's rubber duckie that got caught in the draining system. The team saves the day by using their mathematical talents to reach the plugged pipe and re-establish a sufficient flow to the elephant's trunk so that all of the kids can cool off under the sprinkler. You can watch it here if you like. And, as a side note, while watching this my son and I sampled the Trader Joe's Vanana yogurt we picked up last weekend; a creamy blend of vanilla and banana. Can you say banana pudding? It tastes exactly like it!

April 29: Sunbutter Crunch Snack Bars

My wife picked up a box of these snack bars at Whole Foods Market during our last shopping trip. I'm always willing to give this "natural" food stuff a try; mostly because I make a point not to pay too much attention to the ingredients. It's just easier if I go by taste alone as opposed to thinking about what the food is actually made from. I jest, to some degree, but the thought of a snack bar not loaded with sugar and preservatives doesn't really tempt my appetite all that much. Or, didn't used to I should say. Anyway, these Sunbutter Crunch bars, made by Enjoy Life Foods, were quite good; even though the primary ingredients are sunflower seed butter and rice crisp. Mmm, yummy! Much like its product description, the bars do have a definite "nutty" flavor - they actually tasted a lot like peanut butter. And, they have 3 other flavors to choose from. So, if you're in the mood to replace your current Quaker or Nature Valley varieties with a more natural alternative, I recommend the Enjoy Life Foods snack bars as a starting place.

April 28: White slip

As a parent, my kids' experiences are my experiences. Meaning that what they do has a direct impact on me, whether it's happiness, sadness, frustration or any other range of emotion. It's just the nature of being a parent, I guess. Today was definitely a new experience, as my daughter came home from school with her first white slip ever. For those of you unfamiliar with the infamous "white slip", it's handed out for violation of a school rule or, in this case, for violating the school rubric. Not the sort of thing a parent goes around bragging about, nor the type of thing a parent should be sharing in a blog (shame on me!). But, I'm sharing this story because, if it's possible, I was both proud and disappointed in my daughter. Let me explain. The first thing you should know is that my daughter has NEVER gotten in trouble in school for treating another student with disrespect. So, this was kind of a surprise. But, from my understanding, at lunch, when the kids go outside after eating, a boy in my daughter's class had grabbed the hood on one of her friend's jacket and was pulling it. In my opinion, that in itself is white slip worthy, but none of the lunch Moms witnessed this situation. So, my daughter, in defense of her friend, kicked the boy in the bottom to get him to stop. Again, none of the lunch Mom's saw the kick, which makes me wonder what exactly the lunch Moms are watching during this outside time. Anyway, the boy told my daughter's teacher and she was sent down to the Asst. Principal's office. I found out later, this part of the experience scared her pretty good. They talked about the situation, and, basically, my daughter got the white slip as a result of taking physical action rather than using her words or reporting the incident. The next day, my daughter had to sit out outside recess as a "punishment". So, while disappointed at her because of her choice of actions to protect a friend, the fact remains that she stood up for a friend who was being mistreated by another student, and she also took ownership for her actions and accepted her punishment without complaint. And, that alone makes me a very proud Father.

April 27: The Fantastic Mr. Fox...and his family

In the 5+ years at our residence, we've had the thrill of seeing deer, raccoons, a woodchuck (which I just discovered is not the Beaver I thought it was), bunnies, and a pack of dark creatures that we've yet to be able to identify chillaxin in the field behind our house. And, today, I add a family of foxes to that list. Red foxes, in fact. Those cute little critters with long bushy tails, not the former comedian. Still, animals you would expect to find on a forest trail as opposed to a residential neighborhood. Except this crew doesn't look so little; well, at least the Ma and Pa foxes. From what we can tell, via binoculars and a keen eye, there's a male, female and two youngsters. We're guessing they have a den of some sorts in the heavy brush that cuts across the middle of the field. This evening, they were out there playing, prancing, then laying around as if nothing else was going on around them. The most ironic part of this is that they've selected a home directly next door to a penned area inhabited by a couple of horses, some sheep, chickens and a rooster. I guess location is, in fact, everything...even for foxes. I'm hoping, eventually, the male finds the nerve to venture closer to the fence that separates our yard from the field. I just want an opportunity to ask him if he has the time. Oh, that was bad.

April 26: A Plea to McDonalds

It is true. Parents will do practically anything to see a smile on their children's faces. And those damn retailers and restaurants out there know this better than anyone...and take advantage of it, better than anyone. Take McDonald's for example, how many of you parents out there have ever done the location tour and treated the kids multiple times a week across a 2-week span in an effort to get that one Happy Meal toy your child wanted so badly? Just recently, we went through this process with their "How to Train Your Dragon" toys. Sure, it's starts out innocent; a surprise visit through the drive-thru on the way home from school and, "whoa, hey, you got a Terrible Terror!" And, the kids love it...for now. Soon, you feel the urge to stop by the local McDonald's again...just a few days later. But this time, you try the one North of your neighborhood instead of West, just in case they're handing out a different dragon....say, a Monstrous Nightmare. Only now, the kids are calling for a Night Fury or a Gronckle. But, you can't find a Night Fury or Gronckle, and soon the promotion is over and your kids frown at the mention of McDonald's knowing they'll get some leftover toy from a promotion 6-months ago until the new promotion begins. Whew, I feel better getting that off my chest. Well, like I said, we just went through this, and to return that smile to my children's faces, I went so far as to email McDonald's to ask if they had any surplus Night Fury or Gronckle toys hangin' around that they might send our way. Can't say I've ever gone to such lengths to locate a Happy Meal toy, but this one was a bit different because even Walmart, who somehow secured exclusive rights to the movie's toy line, is short on stock. I figured McDonald's would be the easiest, most affordable route to dragon nirvana. Unfortunately, I was wrong. They told me that their locations only get a certain number of toys, and, while empathetic to my quest, they couldn't help me. What a McBummer, huh?

April 25: Muffins from Astoria

Let's keep this one short and sweet, literally. I tried my first muffin this morning from the ovens of Astoria Bakery, located downtown just a block or so from Fishbone's. We picked them up last night after celebrating my Father-In-Law's birthday, and in the process of securing his traditional birthday torte. My wife selected a delicious apple/cinnamon, blueberry and chocolate for us to enjoy with a hot cup of java. They were short, sweet and delicious. I highly recommend any of the three varieties the next time you're downtown.

April 24: A Lesson in Crawfish

I've been noticing more and more lately how much my daughter and I are alike in so many ways. Certain behavioral characteristics, the way we approach things, and, most recently, our taste in food. Tonight, we celebrated my Father-In-Law's 69th birthday. And, as part of this annual celebration, it's tradition for us to dine at Fishbone's. Now, it's a known fact amongst family and friends that I am a crawfish connoisseur. I love those little red buggers! True, there's not much to them, what with a little niblet of meat in the tail and nothing more. But, man, there's just something about them that I love! Up until now, aside from my Father-In-Law, I don't know too many other crawfish fans. But, tonight that changed when both kids showed some curiosity in sampling the Crawfish Boil that was ordered as an appetizer. So, I shelled out some tail meat to share with both. My son found it too spicy, which is exactly what I thought his reaction would be. My daughter on the other hand, one who goes ga-ga over spicy foods, thoroughly enjoyed her first taste of crawfish. So much, that she immediately asked for more. And, of course, being the independent young lady she is, she wanted to break the shell and get the tail meat herself. So, I had the privilege of teaching my daughter how to get the meat out of a crawfish! We took it slowly, step-by-step - first twist the tail off the body, next twist the tail itself to separate it, third pull the meat from the shell, and, finally, enjoy! I guess this is pretty low on the list of things a Father should teach his daughter, but a proud moment for me nonetheless.

April 23: Max, Erma and Some Other New Things

The family likes to eat out at least once a week. Nothing extravagant, just a chance to get out of the house, share some quality family time, and not cook! Always a good night out when you don't have to cook. Tonight's reservation: Max and Erma's. Not only was this the first time the family dined at this particular restaurant establishment, it was also our first opportunity to test drive the Gather 'Round Restaurant Game my daughter received for her birthday from her Aunt, Uncle and Cousins. Needless to say, it was a big hit! We spent a good deal of time, before and after ordering, engaged in questions about food, what was on our table and the restaurant decor. We even got our waiter involved when one of the questions asked us to guess his favorite color - both kids guessed green, my wife blue, and myself, the winner, with red. The new experiences continued with the arrival of our meals as I engulfed my first ever Max and Erma's Garbage Burger - a delicious balance of hickory-smoked bacon, cheddar, Swiss, American, mozzarella, grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms, guacamole & marinara. Awesome!

April 22: Streaming the Draft

Tonight is Round 1 of the 2010 NFL Draft. I'm spending the opening picks at the dance studio while my daughter attends her Thursday evening class. Fortunately, today's technology can bridge the gap of miles between two locations across different states. What I mean is, thanks to a laptop, wireless Internet and NFL.com, I can watch the draft live while my daughter dances away down the hall. I've never watched a professional sports draft from a computer before (although I have participated in several fantasy sports drafts via computer). Heck, I don't even usually watch the NFL draft, but I'm kind of inspired this year by the Lions' new regime and some of the bold moves they've made thus far via free agency. Besides, how often can you watch your hometown team draft a guy with the first name Ndamukong?

April 21: Recycling

No, today was not the first time I ever recycled. We used to do weekly at our old house in Warren. For some reason, we haven't been doing it in our current home...not since we moved in. Ask my wife and she'll tell you it's because I refuse to muster up the energy to gather the newspapers, and take the labels off the glass and aluminum cans. Maybe she's right. But, not because of the energy thing. I just think the recycle bin in the garage is doing a much better job of holding our empty returnables than it would with me dragging it out to the curb every Wednesday. I jest. Anyway, today was the first time I made a significant effort to actually take something to be recycled. It was all a demonstration of love for my daughter. Her school was having a recycling contest this week using magazines and catalogs; with each class having a goal of 24-feet in stacked goods. If the class achieved that milestone, all of the students receive a Jeans Day! Better yet, the class in the entire school with the most magazines/catalogs wins a pizza party! You better believe Mom and Dad were all in on this one. So, this morning, I dropped off 5 brown bags filled to the hilt with old cooking magazines, and a few other selections, that we had been keeping around thinking "one day, we'll dig through all of these and pull out some good recipes". Not! Hopefully, these 5 bags will help put my daughter's class on top. If not, well, I think I've still been inspired to maybe start recycling again. I think the Earth is worth a little extra labor every Wednesday, don't you?

April 20: Hot Mess

So, a few weeks back my wife was telling me about this new term being used around her place of employment; mostly by a younger generation. I can only believe it is some form of slang and not a new business term, as this saying is "hot mess". Not exactly up there with "out of the box", "quick win" or "reach out". Here, for more clarity, let me use this new term in a sentence for you: "This project is a hot mess." I'm guessing the term refers to something being a complete disaster, though it doesn't necessarily conjure up that image when you hear it. Which I did, today on a phone call. One of our Credit Instructors used "it's a hot mess" in reference to something being out of control or disorganized. Thus, apparently the term has multiple definitions, which is good to know. If you're really curious, you can find a comprehensive list of definitions here.

April 19: Smencils

My daughter's school is always having these fundraisers. Seems like every week it's something new and different. Of course, my daughter always wants to participate via donation, so as supportive parents we always seem to oblige. This week, the Student Council is selling Smencils - scented pencils made from 100% recycled newspapers. I never even knew such a product existed. And, I won't lie. The whole concept was intriguing to me. Besides, what better way to kick off the week in which Earth Day falls than by supporting something green...and at only $1 a piece! So, my daughter came home with 2 Smencils - one for her, one for her brother. She also purchased a third that she gave to one of her classmates in a sweet gesture of friendship. From what was I told by my daughter, the scent selection was quite limited, with only grape, orange, bubble gum and tropical fruit from which to choose. My daughter picked grape for herself, and orange for both her brother (his favorite color) and her classmate. The Smencils were a hit! So much so, that, before bed, my daughter decided she wanted to buy 4 more the following day for her cousins. No arguments here...I think they will get a kick out of them, and all Smencil proceeds earned by the school go to the Humane Society. Now that's what I call a charitable investment all the way around.

April 18: Lunch at Camp Ticonderoga

A big part of my childhood was our family getting together on a regular basis with close relatives. On my Mom's side, it was my Uncle Hank, Aunt Sib and my cousins; on my Dad's side it was my Aunt Bobbie, Uncle Jim and my cousins. As I grew up and began living on my own, those types of gatherings became less frequent. Even more so since my Mom and Dad's passing in 2008. But, today, we had lunch with my Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Jim; the first time my family, kids and all, had lunch out with my Aunt and Uncle. We selected Camp Ticonderoga in Troy as a good central location at which to meet. This was also my kids' first visit to Ticonderoga. My wife and I occasionally ate lunch there during our tenure as employees in Troy. It was nice to visit with my Aunt and Uncle over lunch; to be able to catch up on current life, but also reminisce about the past. The food is still very good at Ticonderoga and the kids absolutely loved the decor; what with all the animals "hanging around" (literally). My daughter even commented that she wanted to go back there for lunch sometime. Of course we'll have to, especially since they now have their own "Dog Wall of Fame" in which we can add a picture of our own playful pup, for a $2 fee, of course! Who knows, maybe she'll win "Mutt of the Month" and walk away with her own doggie bag of goodies. Regardless, all money collected from the fees are donated to the Leader Dogs for the Blind.

April 17: The Swingset

About 5 years ago, my Dad and I assembled my kids' first backyard play set that we purchased from Toys R Us. Nothing fancy, just your basic starter set - a slide, a few swings, some monkey bars and a very small playhouse on top. Simple and compact. Today, 5 years later, I tore it down. It was no longer in any shape for the kids to play on - the wood was cracking or rotting, the screws and bolts were rusted, and the set was just too small anymore for the kids. There was no saving it either, as even a good sanding and a coat of finish wouldn't have helped. In fact, when the kids used the swings, you could actually see the support beams flexing. A little scary for on-watching parents. Funny, when my Dad and I originally put it together it took us two straight weekends to do the entire thing. It took me two hours to pull it apart. And, I even undid the bolts and screws rather than simply taking a hammer to the wood. Not too shabby, huh? The whole time I could have sworn I heard my Dad's laughter at the irony of the time difference in building it and taking it down. He would have gotten a kick out of this whole experience.

April 16: Meeting Mommy

As I look back over the years since my kids were born, I recall several occasions in which I met my wife and kids at a restaurant for dinner. The most memorable of these is when I met them in Rochester one Friday evening at the Rochester Mills Beer Co.; this is when I still worked out of an office in Troy. As fate would have it, that same evening the brewery was kicking off their Oktoberfest event in the lot behind the main building. What an awesome night that was! The kids danced around to all the music, they got to do some of the activities, and they even rode a pony. Still, all of my memories like this have me meeting my wife and kids. That is until this evening when the roles reversed, and on the her way home from work my wife arranged to meet me and the kids over at Cheeseburger in Paradise. The kids were both tired from a week of school, yet also wound up as they just finished running around the backyard. So, I figured this was going to be more of a challenging adventure as opposed to your laid back, relaxing type. But, I figured wrong. Actually, we never got that far into the adventure to determine which way it would have gone, as the minute we exited the car and headed for the door of the restaurant, my wife had pulled into the parking lot and met us inside within minutes. Someone once said "behind every great man is a great woman", and I for one have no arguments against that. Especially on this night!

April 15: Coffee a la agave

In previous posts, I think I might have mentioned my wife's admiration for agave - a sweet but natural sugar substitute made from the nectar of the agave plant. I've tried the stuff a few times, and I find it pleasant enough. And, the kids have grown very fond of it with plain yogurt. But, I'm a sugar guy at heart. I like the taste of sugar and I like those products in which sugar is a primary ingredient. You can't just change a sugar guy overnight. For a while now, my wife has been suggesting I try the agave in my coffee instead of the two heaping spoonfuls of sugar I use with each cup. I mean you can't expect me to drink coffee without something sweet. Have you ever tasted that stuff black? So, this morning, I gave it a whirl using the agave as my natural sweetener. While it wasn't awful, it just didn't have the same flavor as the sugar-induced coffee I look forward to each morning. But, I tried it. And, isn't that the point of my 2010...trying new things?

April 14: Streaming Through the Wii

I'm torn on the topic of technology. Whew, that's a lot of "T"s in one sentence. As, Aaron Altman, would say, Albert Brooks' character in Broadcast News, "that's a lot of alliteration from anxious anchors...". But, seriously, today's technology is advancing so quickly that it's kind of scary. I mean, we're getting close to the day when our computer's will be programmed to babysit the kids! And that's going a little too far in my book. However, today I experienced some new technology that has me leaning back towards the "keep on creating" side...for the time being. About 2 days ago, I got an email from Netflix promoting new functionality to stream movies through our Wii system. Naturally, I was curious. So, I requested the free disc the email indicated would be necessary to utilize this technology. The disc came today. After sliding it into the Wii, I was given a code that I had to enter into our Netflix online account, and voila...it really works! The disc has to remain in the Wii in order to watch movies, but you can pick and choose from various film categories; even from your own self-created queue in your online account. And, there's no additional fee - just the standard rate of your monthly program. Netflix only offers a limited number of movies to watch via this format; unfortunately, the latest releases to hit the video store shelves are not included. Nonetheless, this is a very cool piece of technology. I highly recommend getting the disc if your a Netflix customer who owns a Wii!

April 13: Two Little Chefs

Today is my 8th anniversary. My wife's too, in fact. Strange how that works, huh? Anyway, we usually don't do anything major for our anniversary, and we had no plans to change that this year. But the kids had high intentions of making dinner for us in honor of our 8 years together as husband and wife. They even had the menu planned out: BLTs and Green Beans. And, that's really crazy because if my wife and I had dined out, I would have ordered the same exact thing. The irony is almost creepy, you know? As much as my wife and I did want the whole family to eat out, the kids would have no part of it. They wanted to make dinner this evening! And, since they've never presented such an offer to us before, we let them...to some degree. We got things started with with my son washing the tomatoes while my daughter carefully placed the bacon strips on the broiler pan for their inevitable journey into the heart of the stove. Next, my son moved on to the lettuce while my daughter began slicing the tomatoes (with assistance). Finally, my son got out the toaster, then the green beans while my daughter set the table. Then, as the bacon sizzled inside the oven and the bread browned inside the toaster, they both disappeared! Yep, just left the kitchen and went on to bigger, better things...like playing. So, even though their hearts were in the right place, their patience and interest level were dragging a bit behind. We still gave them both full credit for dinner, explaining that the reason any meal tastes delicious is always due to preparation!

April 12: Hooky

My daughter returned to school today after a week's vacation, courtesy of Spring Break. Needless to say, she was less than pleased to have to return to her classroom; even started with the "my stomach hurts" shortly after awakening from her slumber. It was a tough call for me, as her allergies really started acting up the day prior and the sniffling, sneezing and mild swelling around her eyes convinced me there might be a good chance she really wasn't felling all that great. But, her stomach? I guess I have to teach her that when you're laying it on thick, you need to make sure all parts of your story line up. So, off to school she went. No sooner had I sat in on a few meetings for work do I get a call from the school. I pick up and it's my daughter. She proceeds to tell me that her stomach still hurts and her allergies are bothering her. Well, I knew one out of the two was true. So, I suggested that perhaps I come pick her up and bring her home. Of course, she wholeheartedly agreed. I decided to first talk to the office lady to get her take on my daughter's condition. She confirmed the allergy part, saying her eyes were slightly puffy and her cheeks quite red. So, I went to get her. When I arrived, she did look a little uncomfortable due to her allergies, but no sooner did we pass through the school doors to the outside when I noticed a little more pep in her step and an increased energy level. She was all smiles too. From there, the conversation sounded a little something like this...

"honey, do you really not feel good?"
(happily)"Yes, Daddy."
"Really? You seem like you feel okay?"
"Well, my stomach just hurts a little, not a lot."
"Hmmm. So, could you have stayed in school?"
(long pause)
"You can tell me the truth, honey. I'm not going to get mad."
"Yes. I could have stayed in school."

So, basically, I just got played by a child. Funny thing is, I wasn't mad. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't ecstatic about her intentionally skipping out of school for a half-day, so let's not go calling the Truancy Officer quite yet. It's just that in a way I could understand. As a kid, I always dreaded returning to school following a long break. It would keep me up the night before, just worrying about the next day. Don't know why, but I suppose my daughter has inherited that same behavior from me. And, I don't recall my folks ever giving me a hard time about it, so I certainly wasn't going to be harsh with her. We simply talked about it, why it was wrong and she promised me she would never do it again. Well, we all know that's a promise she's not likely to keep in the long-term, but for now I think she'll stick with that promise...primarily because there's only a few more months left of school.

April 11: The Beaver

Let me just start by saying, this has absolutely nothing to do with Jerry Mathers. This is about the creature that we recently learned is inhabiting the field behind our house. And, tonight, for the first time, we actually saw the little fella. Now, I know nothing about beavers, other than they build dams...I think. So, since we were going to be neighbors, I took the liberty of learning a little more about these critters.

- Beavers are, in fact, keep themselves quite busy as the idiom might suggest

- They have strong teeth and powerful jaws they use to gnaw forests and brush into parts to build their homes

- Beavers are among the largest of rodents

- They are herbivores who prefer a steady diet of twigs, bark, roots and leaves

- Beavers can swim at speeds of up to 5 miles an hour

- They can remain underwater for periods of 15 minutes without coming up for air

- A beaver's fur is naturally waterproof

- They have a set of transparent eyelids that function like goggles underwater

Finally, I just want to clarify that my recent interest in learning about the animal kingdom does not mean that I'm slowly transforming into Marlin Perkins, but rather just a rash of coincidental experiences that have lead me to pursue that knowledge. I promise, I'll try to stay clear of wildlife as the focus of my blog entries in the near future...but, I can't make any guarantees.

April 10: Macomb Township Recreation Center

About 3 years ago, the family went up North for a long weekend and stayed in Boyne Mountain with my in-laws. While there, we took the kids to the Avalanche Bay waterpark. Of course, they both had a great time! One of the attractions I found to be exceptional for them at such a young age was their Kitz Pool, which was about 1.5-feet deep and the perfect size for the kids. I'd never seen anything like that before. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised when my son and I visited the Recreation Center in Macomb Township for one of his buddy's birthday celebration. To be honest, I didn't even know the place existed before this birthday situation. But, once there, I found this particular rec center to be AWESOME! It has all the same perks as a health club but at a much more reduced rate...for Macomb residents at least. The party opened with pizza and cake in a private room, but the best part was the swimming that followed; mainly because the rec center has a kiddy pool exactly like the one in Boyne. The water was about a foot and a half deep, and it even had a slide, a tunnel and some other features fit for small children. Though I still kept a watchful eye on my son as he splashed around with his buddies, he had the opportunity to experience a little freedom and feel like a big shot "swimming" on his own. It was pretty cool to see that smile on his face the entire time.

April 9: The "Embarrasment" Threat

I'll make this one quick and simple. In an effort to coax my kids into an acceptable level of behavior while picking up a pizza this evening in the local Pizza Hut, I had to resort to one of the lowest, but more effective, methods of reprimand with my daughter...yes, I threatened to embarrass her if she didn't stop egging on her brother and getting him even more wired than he already was. Though I'd never attempted this method before, I seemed to have executed it perfectly because she immediately quit the shenanigans and started behaving appropriately. Good thing she didn't call me out on the threat, though, as I really had no idea what my next move would have been.

April 8: Porcupine

Not sure what's going on with my frame of mind lately. Case in point, yesterday I watched an episode of "Little Bear" with my kids in which Little Bear and Duck encounter a porcupine who is friendly, of course, but who doesn't understand why her new friends don't want to get too close to her while playing (you can find out how it ends here). Anyway, it got me thinking...is a porcupine's fur really that sharp? Where do porcupine's live? What do porcupine's eat? Along with a bunch of other porcupine questions that, for some reason, to which I felt the need to find answers. So, this evening, after the family turned in for the night, I did a little porcupine research. So, here we go...

- A Porcupine's hair is actually soft, however, it's mixed with sharp quills on their back, sides and tail. Some species have quills up to a foot long! The quills are usually tame unless aggravated by a threat. And, no, porcupines cannot shoot their quills. That myth is reserved only for cartoons and YouTube videos.
- Its latin name translates to "quill pig"
- Porcupines live in forests, deserts, rocky outcrops, hillsides and grasslands across North and South America, as well as some parts of Asia, Europe and Africa.
- They are the 3rd largest rodent, behind only the Beaver and Capybara.
- Porcupines feed on roots, tubers, bark and fallen fruit, but also have a fondness, for cultivated root crops such as cassava, potatoes and carrots. Some have been known to prefer a diet of wood, such as tree bark. Still other species have a taste for natural salt in salt-rich plants, fresh animal bones, and, again, tree bark.

These are just a few common Porcupine facts I picked up via the Internet. If you want to learn more about these unique creatures, try this site. Seems to have a lot of good information.

April 7: Mommy's Yogurt

Yogurt is a strange food. One that people are just as strange about eating. Think about it. Some folks enjoy basic yogurt with pieces of fruit blended in. Others prefer a little thicker yogurt of the whipped variety. And, of course there are those who like the fruit-on-the-bottom kind. Then there is my wife who eats only plain old yogurt - no fruit, no sugar added. She does, however, dress it up a little with some agave nectar and cinnamon. So popular has this dish become in our household with the kids, that they now ask for it as part of breakfast. Not every day, but frequently enough that I knew the request was bound to come one day this week while they are off for Spring Break. And, today was that day. It wasn't so much a request, but rather both kids were being difficult about what they wanted for breakfast so my wife suggested the very yogurt recipe she made famous ("Mommy's Yogurt") as an alternative to more bagels or scrambled eggs. Problem is, I wasn't sure how to assemble this concoction, as my wife uses a very distinct blend of ingredients, nor how much of each component to use. Relying on my keen memory for recalling the past glimpses I've had of my wife in her yogurt creation mode, I was able to replicate the wonder of all yogurt right here in my own kitchen! Well, I like to think I was able to since the kids ate all of it without one complaint or "eww, this is gross" comment. It's amazing what one can accomplish when his back's against the wall and the odds are stacked against him, isn't it? Well, in this case....ummm, not really.

April 6: Pancakes and Dragons

Kids' birthdays in our household are always a special day. Mom and Dad usually try to take the day off, and we give the birthday boy/girl the liberty to set the day's agenda, activities and meals included. Today is my daughter's birthday, and, she had a full agenda for us! We led off the day with breakfast at a new place down the road called The Pancake Factory - our first visit! It's a cozy little place with a huge selection of...yep, you guessed it...pancakes. While the girls opted for eggs and a BLT, my son had his traditional blueberry pancakes and I went for the Old Fashioned Apple Pancakes - an oven baked delicacy with fresh apples and cinnamon glaze. Good, but a little too sweet for my taste buds. Next, we had two options on the table -the Cranbrook Science Center and the new movie "How to Train Your Dragon". I was pulling for the science center, but my daughter settled on the movies. It turned out to be a really entertaining film! After leaving the theater, we stopped for ice cream at the Marble Slab Creamery, where both kids indulged in a chocolate ice cream cone. At this point, my daughter decided it was in our best interest to return home so she and her brother could play for a while. We went outside and ran around the yard for an hour or so before dinner time arrived upon us. Finally, to wrap up the evening, my daughter wanted McDonald's for her birthday meal. Not the choice my wife and I would have made, but then again it wasn't either of our birthdays. So, I made the short journey to the local Golden Arches and grabbed a couple of Happy Meals and a 10-pc. Chicken McNugget. The kids ate it all...with a little help from the dog, of course. Right before turning in for the evening, my daughter ensured us that she did everything she wanted for her birthday. Thus, it was a wonderful day!

April 5: Shopping Day

Last year, we started a birthday tradition with the kids. Well, with my daughter first. A few days before her brother's birthday I took her up to the store and gave her full ownership for selecting the gift that she wanted to give him. First time worked like a charm, however this year, one year older and wiser, she made a point to select things for which the price tag was a little (sometimes a lot) beyond what my wife and I were willing to cover for her; despite her pleas that he would "love this"! This year marked the first time that I would treat my son to that shopping experience so that he could have a hand in the birthday gift he would give to his sister. Last year, we felt he was still a little young to maintain any kind of interest in shopping for his big sis. Given my daughter's attraction to the finer toys in life, I was expecting a similar challenge with my son. However, I found quite the opposite. He wasn't necessarily drawn to expensive gifts, but rather everything in the store for which he thought there was even a remote chance his sister might want. Luckily, we went in with some suggestions from his sis - Zhu Zhu Pets and Barbie dolls. Unfortunately, my son didn't seem interested in getting her either; which I was sort of relieved about as I just don't get Zhu Zhu Pets and my daughter already has a ton of Barbies. Finally, we stumbled upon an iCarly acoustic guitar for kids. I should note that recently my daughter has acquired an increasing fondness for iCarly, although we're still not convinced it's appropriate for her to watch (so we allow it on special occasions). I should also note that she has acquired the same level of interest in music; thus, the guitar seemed not only fitting, but much more educational than another Barbie. We'll see if she agrees come tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed!

April 4: Something New at the Zoo

Raise your hand if you think the zoo is a fascinating place. Mine is definitely up there. At the end of every visit, I always leave there feeling like I've found or learned something new. So, when my wife suggested we take the kids on this glorious Easter Sunday, I was on-board immediately! And, once again, the zoo managed to deliver another new experience into my life. A few new experiences, actually. First, there was the butterfly exhibit. This wasn't the first time I'd been in the exhibit; however, during our last visit, when the kids and I came shortly after Christmas, we neglected to visit the butterflies. So it had been a while. Now, I'm no expert on butterflies. And, I can't really tell you much about them. But, today I learned that butterflies have an appendage called a Proboscis on their head which they use to suck the nectar from plants on order to feed. I also got to see the Proboscis on one of the butterflies who had landed on the brick edging on either side of the exhibit walk way. This particular butterfly was rolling it in and out in sort of a Gene Simmons fashion. Kind of weird, but very cool. Further into the day, the family opted to participate in the Zoo's Wild Adventure 3-D/4-D Experience, which is currently showing "Wild World Africa", and the Wilderness Adventure simulated ride for the first time ever. Well, almost the entire family. My son got a little uneasy about the Wilderness Adventure right before we were supposed to board, and my wife ended up sitting this one out with him. Poor little guy. My daughter and I continued on and really enjoyed the simulation. All-in-all, the zoo was a wonderful, relaxing way to share the holiday with my family. Happy Easter everyone!

April 3: Spring Cleaning

Ah, yes. The weather is warm, the sun shining, the grass getting its green shade, and the flowers and plants starting to bloom. It must be June here in Michigan, right? Surprisingly, no. It is in fact the beginning of April. This seems like the first time in a long time that April has delivered such nice weather so early to the state. Seems like about now we're typically looking at 40 degrees and snow still on the ground or in the forecast. Thus, my wife and I usually don't get out and about around the yard until mid-May or later. But, seeing that Mother Nature was being so generous on the thermometer, we decided to take full advantage to start prepping the yard for the summer ahead! Thus, we spent our day in the flowerbeds, both front and back, trimming back plants, clearing leaves that had settled in over the Winter, and giving the new growth already coming up some breathing room. We were only out a few hours, but it was nice. First because the weather was beautiful - a lot of sunshine, but not overly warm for such activity. Secondly, because the kids are old enough now to be out in the yard without us directly on top of them carefully watching their every move. So, they played, we gardened, and then we all met up for dinner, baths and a viewing of our "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" rental. Summer's going to be different this year, I can feel it...!

April 2: Fakin' and Eggs

True, April Fool's Day was yesterday. But, my wife and I missed the opportunity to trick the kids, so we decided that hours later wouldn't make much of a difference. We pranked them this morning! Before I get to the details of our prank, let me give you a little history first. We started the April Fool's jokes with the kids last year when we replaced the cheese-curl snacks in a couple of snack-pack sized Cheetos bags with carrot slices. We re-sealed the tops of the bags for authenticity and the kids never saw it coming until they reached in for the first bite. As a result of our little spoof, the kids were more on-guard this year. All day yesterday they kept bringing up last year's trickery and suggesting that we were once again plotting against them this year. Unfortunately, my wife and I were a little late in devising our 2010 plan, so we had to improvise. Thank goodness for Family Fun magazine! Their April edition offered up several mischievous recipes, and we agreed upon their Fakin' and Eggs - bite-sized eggs made of white chocolate with a yellow M&M yolk and a side of caramel and Tootsie Roll pressed together and stretched into strips. Of course, any successful April Fool's prank has to be set up appropriately. So, before serving "breakfast", we made sure to preach about the need to start the day with a good meal and how both kids needed to eat healthy this morning. Once again, we blindsided them! At first, neither of them knew how to react. They were certain it wasn't real eggs and bacon, but they weren't quite sure what exactly it was. After 30 seconds or so, we had to come clean and explain the ingredients so they would at least try it. My son said he thought it was Play-Doh. Anyway, my wife and I might as well enjoy this while the kids are young. As we know that one of these days, when the kids are a little bit older, it's all going to come back and bite us on the butt!

April 1: Dodgeball/Kickball

Remember gym class in grade school and on into Junior High? That's when we were able to play all of the coolest games. My favorites were dodgeball and kickball (and, of course, floor hockey). Dodgeball because there's nothing like a game where the sole goal is to chuck a ball as hard as you can at another person in the hopes it will hit them rather than them catching it. As an adult, it's lost some of its appeal, but as a kid it was the best! Kickball was a little different. To me it was always like baseball minus the bat and glove. With a much larger ball, as well. I remember having a kickball league of some sorts after school in the gym at Anderson Middle School. I think it might have been by classroom or something like that. I'm not sure if today's elementary and middle schoolers still play these same games. It wouldn't surprise me if dodgeball has been banned due to it's semi-violent nature. But, I want my kids to know the joy of playing these games that I grew up with; within reason, of course. So, this afternoon, during a short break from phone conferences, I introduced both games to my kids. We started with dodgeball. At first, the kids were missing the concept of the game. Sure, they loved throwing the ball at me, but they were a little slow on the fact that when I have the ball they need to run. Still, it was a ton of fun and some great exercise. As for kickball, both kids seemed to catch on to this one much quicker. Although, my son's timing to kick the ball after I rolled it to him was slightly off and he kept missing the kick, bringing his foot down on top of the ball and falling to the ground as a result. He seemed to get a chuckle out of it, so I let him go with it. We must have spent a half an hour switching from one game to the next until it seemed as though we had created a new game of our own called Dodgekickball (pronounced daj-kick-ball). Hmm, almost sounds Polish. There's nothing like passing down the things you learned as a kid to your own kids. In this case, they discovered two new games and we all shared a bunch of laughs.

March 31: Nothin'

With each passing day into 2010, the task of finding, identifying or blatantly trying something new is becoming increasingly challenging. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but, I'm discovering a little more each day that people like routine. We're comfortable with what we know, what we do, what we eat, what we buy (either that or I'm just extremely boring). As a result, we fail to recognize the little things we do every day; new experiences that, believe it or not, help us continue learning, growing and evolving. Instead, we choose to focus on the big goals that will allow us to become who we want to be instead of who we are, where we want to be instead of our current place in life, and what we want instead of all the things we already have. And while I could claim this "discovery" as my new experience for March 31, I'm not. That realization hasn't occurred on any single day, but rather it's been building since I wrote my first entry on January 1. But, today was different from any other day this year. Today was the first day, since I began this blog journey, that I could not think of one thing I tried, did differently or came across that was a new experience for me. Not one. Was I disappointed? No. A few years ago I would have been. I would have equated the lack of a new experience with failure to achieve my goal. Fortunately, these 3 months have taught me to see things a little bit differently. In my own humble opinion, coming up snake eyes on a new experience today is in itself a new experience. An experience from which I'll take away the lesson that sometimes "status quo" is impossible to avoid, no matter how hard you try. Sure, some of you are going to balk at this, say I'm reaching or perhaps even cheating this "goal" that I've established. Others might see it as my "get out of jail free" card or Lifeline if you will. And still others won't care much one way or another. But, the fact is, right or wrong, I honestly did nothing out of the ordinary today...and, believe me I was paying very close attention. Let's just hope tomorrow's a little more interesting, you know?