Author: TechyDad

Bunk Beds, Angry Birds and Traditional Christmas Chinese Food Dinner

Holidays, JSL, Life, NHL, Painting

This weekend was quite busy.  We started out shopping for bunk beds.  You see, JSL is still in his toddler bed.  However, despite our insisting, he’s growing up.  He’s going to need a regular bed.  Unfortunately, the boys’ room is too small for two twin-sized beds.  So we’re going to have to go vertical.

We think we’ve made our decision, so now we just need to purchase it.  Then, the fun part will be preparing the boys’ room for the bunk bed arrival and setup.  I’ll need to dismantle NHL’s current bed, JSL’s current bed, move a ton of stuffed animals, move toys out of the way, remove some Cars wall clings (that the bunk will likely just cover up), etc.  Of course, I can’t do all this too early or the boys will have nowhere to sleep.

In addition, to looking at bunk beds, we needed to pick up NHL’s painted Angry Bird.  I knew that the colors would be more vibrant once it was finished, but I was still quite impressed.

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The boys begged to do some more projects right then and there, but the store was closing in a few hours and we had to get home (refrigerator/freezer groceries in the trunk).

The next day, however, was a lazy day in.  It was Christmas Day and, while we don’t celebrate, we decided to make it a family day.  Ok, the fact that most stores are closed might have factored into it.  Plus, the laziness thing.  Having a lazy day in every once in a while is good.

We mainly spent the day playing computer games and watching TV, including the Disney Parks Christmas Parade.  The boys love parades, though they repeatedly expressed frustration over this one.  Too much singing and not enough characters.  Oh, and when NHL saw Justin Bieber, he let out a loud "Yuck!"  I was so proud. *wipes away a tear*

We ended Christmas Day with our traditional Jewish Christmas Day Dinner: Chinese food.  I lobbied to go out to eat.  Either to a nice, sit-down restaurant or to a buffet.  I even tried inviting B’s parents to come with us, figuring that would help push us to get ready.  Still, though the boys were dressed, B and I were still in our PJs.  (Like I said: Lazy day!)  So we ordered takeout.  I tossed on some clothes and picked it up.

Pretty soon, JSL was munching on rice with sweet and sour chicken sans sauce. (We call it "Chinese Chicken Nuggets" to get JSL to eat it.)  NHL had the sweet and sour chicken and some chicken and broccoli.  B and I shared some steamed vegetable dumplings, vegetable egg rolls, and General Tso’s Bean Curd.  (Bean curd is tofu and tastes better than it sounds!)  Behold, my Christmas Dinner:

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Yes, I know what you’re thinking.  Jews eating Chinese food for Christmas dinner.  How stereotypical!  Well, it’s our tradition and I’m a sucker for tradition (and Chinese food).

Hope your Christmas weekend was wonderful no matter how you celebrated it!

Aloha Friday: Shows From Years Past

Netflix, Roku, Television

Not too long ago, I was given the opportunity to review Transformers Prime: Darkness Rising for Kailani over at An Island Life.  (There’s a giveaway for that too, so head on over and enter.)  My boys loved it as did I.  For me, it brought back a lot of memories of shows I loved growing up.  I was a huge Transformers fan and always would beg my parents for a new Transformer to add to my collection.  The only rival to Transformers was He-Man.  I still have some of my old Transformers packed away somewhere.

Besides Transformers, the boys have been re-discovering some gems from the past.  They’ve watched Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends on Roku via Netflix.  They don’t seem to get how cheesy it is and instead simply enjoy the superhero stories.  They’ve also watched Batman: The Animated Series and The Super Mario Bros Super Show.

It seems that some shows (or show concepts in the case of Transformers) don’t really age all that badly and kids don’t always need a flashy new show to be entertained.  Sometimes, an older show will entertain them just as much.

My Aloha Friday question for today is: Do you have a show that you grew up with that your kids enjoy watching?

P.S. If you haven’t already, go visit FollowerHQ and let me know what you think of my Twitter application.

P.P.S. For a bit of fun, try my other Twitter Application, Rout. It’s a +F in Fun!

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 linky there if you are participating.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

Aloha #118

Cooking with TechyDad: Spaghetti Squash Sauté

Cooking, Food, Photos, Recipe

I love cooking squash.  It’s pretty easy to make and goes in a variety of dishes.  Spaghetti squash has a bonus, though.  It looks like pasta after it is cooked!  This means you can make pasta-like dishes with it.

For this recipe, you’ll need a spaghetti squash, some sliced mushrooms, onions, garlic, jarred (or homemade) spaghetti sauce, chickpeas, and ricotta cheese.

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First, we’ll slice the squash in half and remove the seeds and "goo" (that’s a scientific cooking term) in the middle.  Don’t toss those seeds, though.  You can bake them later for a tasty snack.

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Place the squash halves face down on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 30 – 40 minutes (depending on how heavy your squash is).

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While the squash bakes, sauté some onions and garlic.  Then, add some mushrooms and cook them down.

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When the squash is done, use a fork to pull the flesh off of the shell.  The spaghetti squash will string out just like… well, spaghetti.  Put this in a big pan.

 

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Mix the squash with the mushrooms, chickpeas, sauce and ricotta cheese.

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Then, you simply serve and enjoy.

I’ve made this dish quite a few times.  It’s relatively quick, easy and very healthy.  It also makes quite a bit.  One spaghetti squash can last make enough to last us for two or three dinners.

A Chanukah Lesson In Standing Up To Bullies

Bullies, Internet

Everyone gather round.  It’s story time.  Today, we’re going to hear the story of the Maccabees.  You see, a long time ago, the Syrians ruled the land of Israel.  The Jews were allowed to go about their business until Antiochus Epiphany came to power.  Antiochus decided that the Jews should all worship the way *HE* told them to worship.  Or else.

Some of the Jews went along with the order.  They dropped their old religion and began worshiping Zeus because it was easier than standing up to the king (and his army).  The Maccabees, though, refused to change their beliefs simply because someone threatened them.  They believed that they had the right to worship as they saw fit and they were willing to fight for that right.

And fight they did.  The Maccabees gathered a group of Jews who believed similarly.  They were outnumbered and outgunned (in a manner of speaking – guns weren’t used back then), but they had the advantages of surprise and knowledge of the terrain.  They used these to drive the Syrian army away and reclaim their religious freedom.

This story is chock full of lessons.  Usually, people take the obvious moral of religious freedom from it.  The Syrian king was wrong to impose his religious beliefs on others. People should be able to worship whatever god they want (or no god at all) however they choose.  Recent events, though, have led me to take a slightly different lesson from the story: Don’t back down to bullies.

Antiochus was a bully, albeit one with an army at his disposal.  He wanted to set the rules for others to follow and, if they didn’t follow it, he demanded they be punished.  He couldn’t stand to see people doing things that he personally didn’t approve.

Many of the Jews, when faced with the bully, backed down.  They gave in and just did what the bully told them to do.  This is the quick and easy path.  (Sorry, the geek in me couldn’t help quoting Yoda.)  The Maccabees didn’t give in, though.  They stood up to the bully.  They refused to let the bully silence them or dictate the terms of their lives.

As a victim of bullying growing up, I promised myself that I would never let myself be silenced by bullies again.  Once I became a father, I knew that I wanted to teach my sons not to back down to bullies also.  This doesn’t need to mean physical violence, but it also doesn’t mean you should cower in fear.

Recently, I found myself sitting in silence.  A bully that had targeted me in the past had turned her attention to others and I didn’t want to speak up lest she turn her eye back to me.  I wasn’t cowering in fear, as this particular bully has no power over me.  Still, I just didn’t want to have to deal with her antics again .  Then it struck me: Would the Maccabees have done this?  More importantly, do I want to teach my sons to keep quiet when someone is bullying someone else?  The answer to both is a resounding NO!

Over the past 18 months (off and on), I’ve been the target of a bully.  I won’t go into her history too much.  You can read about that elsewhere.  Instead, I want to talk about her current activities.  She’s begun targeting bloggers, specifically review bloggers as well as blogger networks like MomCentral, MomSelect, Business2Blogger, and MyBlogSpark.  She’ll claim that they are fakes, will demand they take down their blogs, and will try reporting them to companies.  Amazingly, some companies are listening to her!

In this woman’s mind, all of these blogs and networks are run by a group of 4 or 5 people to steal products.  Her evidence?  She was told this by God.  Yes, she is a self-proclaimed prophet of God.

You can read more about her here:

http://blogs.babble.com/momcrunch/2011/12/19/bloggers-targeted-by-woman-claiming-gift-of-prophecy/

http://mombloghate.com/9/bully-profile-dawn-gordon/

As I said before, I’m through staying silent.  If you’ve been threatened, please speak up.  If you haven’t been threatened (yet), please send this information to every blogger you know.  Spread the word.  Let’s send the message that we bloggers don’t take kindly to bullies and will protect our fellow bloggers if threatened.

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