Dad Eliminated from Home Top Chef

Yes, it's no secret, I enjoy cooking.  That's why when my lovely wife took a new job, I was happy to help out in the kitchen preparing food for the family.  I am your typical hack of a home chef, which, when combined with watching 5 seasons of Top Chef, fills my head with delusions of grandeur.  Those delusions were brought swiftly to reality, when, in my own home, I was asked to pack my knives and go home.

Chef Dad is woefully eliminated from the competition

So, let's cut to the chase.  As you may remember, Chef Dad was thrilled to teach the children the joy of eating Tilapia.  So Chef D makes that number again tonight, with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  Well, the time change had us a little behind (the oven lied and said it was still 5:30, instead of 6:30), so I was rushing to get the chow to the table.

I have been using the flaking method to see when fish is done cooking, but I had a fatal flaw... I was only checking at the edge of the fish, so as to not break the filets right in the middle.  So, mom's piece of fish, was, let's say, "seared."

Not only was mom's fish underdone, but she also found a few pinbones... and let's just leave it at this: she out-did the moment where Padma spat out a contestant's food in Season 5.

Maybe I can learn from this mistake and return as a wildcard later in the season.

Tired: Shout; Wired: Zout!

Ok Folks, let's be clear.  This post will only make sense to Mr. Moms, Soccer Moms, or those who obsess about spots on clothing that need to come out.

So, laundry is my preferred chore in our family, and it's one that I'm less likely to screw up.  It's pretty simple: wash, dry, fold, put away.  Well, that is, unless your child has spewed chocolate milk on a white shirt, or tagged their clothing with a not-so-washable marker.  Also, Mr. Dad has a tendency to get coffee splatters as he's stumbling, bumbling and fumbling towards that first cup in the morning.

For as long as I can remember, Shout has been what I've known to use to get stains out.  However, the method I learned required that: a) you instantly strip out of the piece of stained clothing, b) you get it wet, and c) spray shout on it, and hope for the best.  Then, after you dried the clothing, you either had success or failure, having baked in any uncleaned portion of the stain.

Enter my awesome OCD coworker who saw me splatter myself with coffee, and kindly offered up his Tide Stick.  Then, he proceeded to tell me about an illicit, dangerous substance, gauranteed to remove even the most vicious stains, even after drying....... ZOUT.

The stuff is sweet.  I chose some of the most destroyed and beloved white garments of my childrens', most of which contained copies amounts of marker and chocolate milk stains.  I followed the directions (spray, rub in, wait 5 minutes, then wash / dry), and was pretty pleased with the results.... no more stains!

Yes, I may be a loser for writing about this, but I'm one loser that's pretty pleased with himself.

Germ Theory

It's been a rough couple of weeks for the family, as we've passed around step and flu. The silver lining? At least the kiddos are learning about good ol' classic germ theory, and about basic ways to stop spreading germs.

Slow Saturday

Yes, it's a slow morning here so far, but son is eager to build with the marble set.

Flu Day Two

So, it's day two of being home with nasty flu stuff.  Last night, me and the daughter quarantined ourselves in her room, so that a) we can hopefully not spread the love to mom and son, and b) daughter was waking up frequently with cough, water needs, etc.

I was very proud that daughter was very capable of understanding the nebulizer and self-administering what is normally a very scary treatment for kiddos.  The noise was what bothered her most, but throwing in some mind-numbing TV as a mitigating measure sure helped!

Indian Wedding Bliss

We were very happy to see our friends wed in Dallas last weekend.  Here is one of my favorite pictures.... DINNER!  This was an awesome spread, and I think I ate for 2 hours straight.

Playing Hookey is no Fun When You're Sick

Well, we had great fun attending a friend's wedding last weekend... but when we all got back to the Austin area, it was clear that Natalie was not doing well.  On Monday she was diagnosed with Flu and that evening I wasn't feeling that hot either.  So it looks like the two of us are sick buddies for the next day or two.  So far she's been a trooper, and has been in a decent mood.  She was a little picky with her food today, and was certainly not happy about a shower, but she's fast asleep now, and we're hoping that Dad and daughter feel better tomorrow, and that magically, no one else will get it.... here's for hoping!

Toaster is Toast

Our family has had the same crummy toaster for 7 years. It has always sucked. Why did we never spend a few bucks to get a toaster that worked properly?  I dunno.  So now that I have been officially making the Odom family breakfasts every morning, I'm fed up with this sorry excuse for a bread-browning box.  Now, we finally got a decent toaster, and I let the kids punish the old toaster, in Office Space (link NSFW - language) fashion. Take that, sucky toaster.

Young Artist's Reflection on Lt. Dan

This is Logan's illustration of Tio Dan sleeping.

I will not tell a lie.

Yes, it has begun.  Lawdy help us all.

Bring Your Daughter to Work Day?

So, the plan was to bring Nana in for a half day and then take her out for some fun and shopping. Instead, some meetings stacked up, and she got to come with me to NINE meetings starting at 8am through 4pm. She was well behaved and some cool ppl at work helped make her day more fun. Here she is, less than 5 minutes from the office, konked out.

Logan at the DR's this AM

Bouncy Boy

The kiddos really enjoyed the inflatable jumpy thing that MeeMee and Don got them.

As you can see, it is also doubling as the coolest bed ever!

Vacation Tricksters

While the cat was away, the mice did play. Here is what my team did to my cube whilst I was out:



-Ben
(Sent from my mobile device)

Smell you later, Florida!

Well, we've boarded the plane, got decent seats, and we're off!

Last Call at WDW

This was our last ride of a very fun trip to WDW!

Day 4 Recap: Hollywood Studios Redux + Mickey's Christmas Party

Ok Gang,

This is the last post from Florida. The gang is cleaning up and packing up for the return trip to Austin, where we hear that it snowed???? Wow. It was near 80 F here yesterday.

Here is the recap from Day 4, which consisted of:

* - Morning action at Hollywood Studios
* - A break and a long nap at the hotel
* - and a night of partying at Magic Kingdom, from 7p - 12a.

In the morning, we:

* - went to Playhouse Disney Live
* - Saw Muppets 3D (Logan is still not happy about 3D shows)
* - Saw a very awesome car stunt show
* - The Mommas rode the Aerosmith roller coaster, while the daddies sat with some sleepy children and enjoyed two (expensive) cold ones

Then we crashed from 3-6pm at the hotel. We ate dinner at the hotel, and then went back to Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Christmas Party.

We:

* - rode the monorail into the park
* - watched the Christmas parade (the kiddos loved this)
* - watched the fireworks over Cinderella's castle, which was one of the best fireworks shows I've seen in my life.
* - watched a Christmas show in front of Cinderella's castle, eating gingerbread men and drinking hot chocolate

Then our kids went nuts, on a cookie and chocolate - fueled high, and did the following:

* - Rode Alladin's magic carpet ride
* - said Hi to Jasmine, Alladin, Genie, and Apu.
* - Rode "It's a Small World" ride (no wait!)
* - Rode Peter Pan's Flight ride
* - Rode Dumbo
* - Rode Cinderella's Carousel

And then.... it was midnight!!!! The kiddos instantly were tired again, and we all high-tailed it out of the park on the ferry.. and then back to the hotel... and it was 1:30 before we got to bed.

And now, it's time to say goodbye to Florida and Disney World... it was a great trip. This is the first real vacation we have done as a family. We'll post more pictures from a real camera when we get the chance, thanks for reading!

Day 3 Recap: Animal Kingdom

So, here is the deal: when Mom left for Austin for her job interview, it became nearly impossible to continue the live blogging, it's become somewhat time-delayed. :-)

Here is the recap of Day 3:

* - Went to Disney's animal kingdom
* - scared the children to death with the "It's Tough to Be a Bug" 4D show
* - Saw the Finding Nemo Musical (the kids really liked this one)

* - Did the Pangani Exploration Trail (the kiddos liked this, and we got to see Gorillas up close)
* - Went on one of the Safari tours (gave the kiddos instant cameras, so they could take their own pictures)
* - Went to Bongos restaurant, which was very good. Then we spent the rest of the evening at Downtown Disney.
* - Found out that Mom got the job! Go momma, we are very proud of you!
* - The kiddos slept over with their Tios and cousins, while Dad went to pick up Mom at the airport.

Karyna's Idol

Day 4: playhouse disney live