Matt Damon's Diaper Bag Up for Auction

In case you haven't heard, the Johnson & Johnson's Celebrity Hand-Me-Down auction is going on. They're selling "used" baby items from celebrities, all to raise money for charity. There are eight items in the auction, all from celebrity moms except Matt Damon, who is offering a diaper bag.

Here's where the "Celebrity Auction" starts to piss me off.

Apparently it's not good enough that Matt Damon is a dad. Unlike the celebrity moms, someone decided they needed to include his wife Lucy's name in the auction too. I'm sure she's a lovely woman, but she's not the celebrity. Where's Julianne Moore's husband, or Poppy Montgomery's? Hell, Elisabeth Hasselbeck's NFL quarterback husband is a minor celebrity in his own right. But I guess it's not OK to associate men with baby stuff.

I'm probably overreacting, but it's the subtle things like this that wear me down after a while.

Check out the Johnson's Celebrity Hand-Me-Down Auction at eBay.

Jennifer Lopez's Nursery and Other Recent Posts On Babble

Casablanca Cribs in Jennifer Lopez's Nursery
Jennifer Lopez has a (typically) ostentatious nursery and published pictures of them in People Magazine. But the crib is actually quite nice if that kind of decor is up your alley.

Audible Launches New Kids Site
Download audio books for your kids and stop putting Spongebob on their iPods.

7 Days of BPA-Free Plastics: CamelBak Water Bottles
Something to check out when you reach post-sippy cup nirvana.

Jessica Alba Gives Tastybaby
Jessica Alba gives baby food as a party favor for her shower. Seriously.

Mariah Carey Has a Hello Kitty Boo-Boo on American Idol
Mariah Carey is obsessed with Helo Kitty apparently. And she wears the same Band-Aids on American Idol that my kids wear.

Big Deal: FLOR Carpet Tiles for Kids On Sale
FLOR has a couple of child themed carpets on sale now.

Sesame Street Monster Gallery. Dad research I never thought I'd have to do.

So we're in Borders this past weekend, my 20 month old was acting up, and in a moment of desperation prudence, we bought her this simple Elmo board book called "Monster Faces." The whole book is just faces of different Sesame Street monsters making faces. You get the idea - hungry face, sad face, angry face, silly face, happy face etc.

It worked and calmed her down, except for the rest of the day (at least while she was with us in the stroller shopping) she wanted to know the names of the monsters. Every single one. Over and over.

And to be honest, after Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover, Oscar the Grouch and Zoe I was kind of at a loss.

So later that night, I spent a little time looking on the magical internets, and I stumbled on the Muppet Wiki, specifically the Sesame Street Monster Gallery. If you've ever wondered what Elmo's dad's name is (Louie) or what the name of that baby monster is (Baby Natasha), it's definitely worth checking out.

Check out the Sesame Street Monster Gallery, and if you're shopping for a baby check out the super cute Monster Faces board book.

Melinda Beck brings good design back to children's television. GPD08.

When I read yesterday about Gary Vaynerchuck's idea for "Good People Day 2008", I decided to get over my typically cynical self and contribute to the internet shout-outs. And from my at-home dad's perspective, one person who deserves some much needed credit is illustrator and graphic artist Melinda Beck.

The great thing about children's television network Noggin is they don't air commercials in-between the shows. Instead, they have other kid's related short programming, the most of which centers around the designs and illustrations of Melinda Beck. Melinda drew Noggin's "mascot" Moose A. Moose and his silent avian pal Zee, as well as most all of the other bumpers, network IDs and other interstitial pieces. The designs are playful, colorful and most importantly incredibly imaginative. After having your mind numbed to the design aesthetic of most kid's television, it's refreshing to see something that stands out from the rest.

So thanks Melinda Beck. I can't think of anyone better to give a shout-out to on Good People Day.

Check out Melinda Beck's work at her web site (including her work for Noggin here), or check out the Noggin web site, which is also full of her work.

(And, thanks to Greg from Daddytypes for originally explaining who Melinda was).

Jennifer Lopez must love PBS Kids Television.

So I bought a copy of the People Magazine with the Jennifer Lopez twins in it this week (purely for research for my blogging job, I swear) and while my wife was looking it over, she noticed something. J-Lo named her kids Max and Emme, which also happen to be the names of the boy and girl on PBS' kids' show Dragon Tales.

Which in as of itself is only mildly strange, except now my three year old knows J-Lo's kids' names.

"That's Max and Emme," she tells me whenever she sees the magazine. In fact, she just did it as I was writing this post.

Why am I not entirely comfortable with this?

"Cute."

It's official. My little girl is becoming, well, a girl.

My eldest will be four years old in a few months, and she's brought home from pre-school her very first cool-kid's word. You know, the word or phrase that all the kids say at school to describe almost anything. Usually the word will last a few months to a year, and then eventually there will be something else cool to say.

Well, apparently in room seven, everything is "cute."

"Oh, that little doggy is cute."
"That's so cute."
"Mom! Look at what she's doing! Cute!"

Or sometimes it won't make any sense at all.

"That grilled cheese is cute."
"We're going to the mall? Cute!"

It's not like she says it all the time, but all of a sudden she started saying "cute" way more than she normally would. And when you think about it, there is a host of other words (even words she's allowed to say) that would be way worse, so I have to be happy about that at least.

And when I stop and think about it I realize this is just the tip of the iceberg, and I've got years of cool-kid words ahead of me. And ultimately I know someday I'll look back on this and think of it as, for lack of a better word...

cute.

The voice of Dora.

I don't know why this only occurred to me now and not two years ago, but what does Dora the Explorer really look like? That is to say, what does the person who does the voice of Dora look like?

Once again, hooray for YouTube.

CES 2008. The big yawn.

So this was my fifth year going to the Consumer Electronics Showcase here in Las Vegas, and after two days of walking the miles and miles of convention space, I have to say I'm pretty underwhelmed. In years past it seemed there were new and exciting things announced - or at least a few things that were so cool and forward-thinking you felt lucky to have seen it at CES. But this year there was nothing new and exciting, nothing really groundbreaking, nothing that really made you want to run home and blog about it.

There were some cool products for children and parents. I'll be blogging about most of them over at Babble.com (check out my posts here). And there was a "life size" statue of a Transformer from the Transformers movie that was pretty cool (pictured above). But other than that it was all kind of typical.

Maybe next year I should go to Mac World.

Check out my posts about CES at Droolicious over at Babble.com.

Merry Christmas 2007 from the Fords

Well, hello and happy holidays from the Fords. This is the first time we've ever written a holiday letter, and for some reason it seems like this year is the right time to do it. And since you've bothered to read our card, bring it to a computer and type the URL into a web browser, you must want to find out what's going on with us as well. So now that I know you're motivated, here it goes...

First, you might be wondering what this web site is. It's the blog that I've had ever since Sara was a few months old, and the place where I write about things related to children, parenting and fatherhood. Through it I've had a few quotes in newspapers and magazines, connected with fellow stay-at-home dads, and I've even gotten a new job. This month I've started writing for an online parenting magazine called Babble.com, blogging about products for children and parents. With Jane at home with me all day I'm not writing as much as I'd like to, but I'm getting paid to write, which is pretty cool.

Besides writing, I've also been busy with another of my passions - drinking. In my ongoing quest for the world's most diverse resume, I spent the 2006-2007 school year studying with the International Sommelier Guild. And after months of reading, tasting, and service practice I'm happy to report I passed my exams and graduated this fall. Now that I've got the sommelier pin on my lapel I'm not sure I'm going to actually work in a restaurant, but seeing as we live in the booze capital of the world, a degree in wine can't hurt.

Oh. And as you can see I also grew a beard. I think it's awesome, but Judy is convinced it's a sign that I've finally cracked.

While I was off drinking studying, Judy has quietly been supporting a family of four and spending as much time with our girls as she possibly can. Her medical practice is doing well and lately she has been busier than ever. It's OK to be busy though, because we still live less than three miles from her office so she's home fairly early every night. And let me tell you, Judy coming home is an event around here. Nothing gets our girls more excited than Mommy coming home. In our family Judy is the rock star. When she walks through the door at night it's like she's Bruce Springsteen and little Janie is Courtney Cox getting pulled up on stage (except Jane has better hair and can dance way better).

And speaking of drinking (was I speaking of drinking?) Judy is also very excited about this holiday season in particular, because it's the first one since 2002 that she hasn't been pregnant or nursing. Bottoms up!

And the girls? They're great. Jane is the sweetest redhead Las Vegas has ever seen, having obviously gotten her happy disposition from her mother (which is lucky for me). She charms the pants off of everyone she meets, which is useful because it seems like everywhere I take her at least one person stops me. I swear, a few months ago this exact exchange happened to me at the grocery store:

"Look at the baby! She's so beautiful! Hi precious! What gorgeous red hair. Can you wait right here? I have to show my friend."

"Um, well actually I was headed over to the..."

"Martha! Come here! Look at this baby! Isn't she the prettiest baby you've ever seen?"

I never realized what a fuss people make over redheads. Or maybe (as the older brother of a sister with red hair) I just blocked it out. Anyway, Jane loves to dance and make animal noises (the "moo" of the cow is our particular favorite), and she loves everything to do with her big sister Sara.

Sara is also a very sweet girl who has become a really great big sister. She's patient, gentle (most of the time) and kind with her; and right now they're starting to play together which is really fun for Judy and I to watch. Sara is also thriving in pre-school (The Merryhill School) and amazes us every day with something new that she knows or says. The other night when we were eating dinner we started to "cheers." (As an aside,  "cheers" is a big thing at our table, and one of Jane's favorite things to initiate. She'll grab her sippy cup, stick it out and exclaim "Jeee!" to which we all clink cups and say cheers.) Anyway, a few months ago we were clinking cups when Sara raised her cup and said (very solemnly), "To Merryhill."

God, country, and Merryhill.

Sara is also very much a little girl who loves girly things. Maybe it's the influence of the Disney Princesses, or maybe it's being around her Dad so much that has turned her into the complete opposite of me (which, again, is lucky for me). Her favorite colors are (of course) pink and white; she always wants to wear dresses; she holds her hem up when she walks down stairs; and I swear tonight she didn't ask Judy for help washing her hands after dinner, she told her, "I need assistance." I'm not sure if Cinderella says that to her Fairy Godmother, but she might.

So 2007 has been a good year for us, and we hope that this "letter" finds you and your family healthy and happy too. If you're interested, there are some ways during the year that you can keep track of what we're up to.

• You can check out our family photos at Flickr.com
• You can read this blog Modern Day Dad, or my posts on Babble.com
• If you are into the social networking on the internet these days (all the cool kids are you know) you can follow me on Twitter or "friend" me on Facebook.

And also, if you get a chance, leave a comment below and let us know how you've been doing, or what you thought of my first crack at a family Christmas letter (which I think at one point in my life I swore I'd never do). Or you can leave a comment simply because hey, you made it through this enormous letter and you might as well is brag about it.

Chris
December 6, 2007

Blogging for the Babble.

Well, I've officially sold out. I have recently accepted a position as a blogger at Babble.com. I'll be writing for their Droolicious blog, mostly about products for children and parents. Actually, it will be some of the same sort of stuff that I do here, except now I'll have a much bigger audience.

I'll still be writing here at MDD about all sorts of things (personal or otherwise), I'll just be saving the product ideas for Droolicous.

So if you get a chance, check out my posts over at Droolicious.

Happy Thanksgiving. Now get ready to shop.

Happy Thanksgiving. If you're surfing dad blogs now and not watching football or getting dinner ready, then I'm guessing you either don't like football, or you're like me and at the house of someone who's one television is in their bedroom.

In that case, you might as well get a jump start on your holiday shopping. Before you go out into the wild tomorrow, check out what all the sweet sales will be today on a web site I found - Black Friday Ads.net. If you're going to brave the crowds, you might as well be prepared.

Black Friday Ads.net  [via the CAG]

Ikea Hacker

So I was looking at the Twitter Public Timeline today and I saw a post that caught my eye - Ikea Hacker. Maybe I'm late to the party, but this is a pretty sweet idea for a blog. Anyway, the top post was about how to hack together a pretty cool girl's bed (pictured).

I've always loved how Ikea keeps good design affordable, but you kind of have to use it in small doses. Making adjustments so things will fit your life is just smart. And if you screw it up don't worry, it probably didn't cost you much in the first place.

Kid's Bed With A Little Cupola [Ikea Hacker]

Also, check out all the posts tagged with "children" on Ikea Hacker.

"Disney" wrist bands with "USB Flash Memoring."

Sometimes when your chocolate gets in my peanut butter, it doesn't really make a better product. According to this post at the Inventor Spot, kids love to wear wristbands, and kids love computers, so a wrist band / USB thumb drive must be a home run. I realize my oldest is only in pre-school, but do kids need a USB thumb drive so often that they need to wear one on their wrist? Do kids even use USB thumb drives?

But even more bizarre than the product itself, is the "Disney" characters they use to decorate them. Is this really a product approved by the Walt Disney Corporation? Am I supposed to believe they approved the use of their trademarks on a box that says "USB Flash Memoring"? Or maybe the company that made them figured as long as they put "Disney©" in small letters on them it would cover it.

Disney© USB Wristbands Mix Fashion with Function [InventorSpot.com]

Nintendo's Wii - probably the best video game system for families.

It's no secret I'm a big fan of the XBOX 360, but after playing with my new Nintendo Wii for a week or so, I have to say that it is much better suited for families. Although it's missing some features in my opinion, it's got the other systems beat in a few key areas.

First is the price. If you can find one in the stores, it's only going to cost you $250, which is $100 cheaper than the standard XBOX 360 and $250 cheaper than the standard Playstation 3. Sure it's not going to play BlueRay DVDs (or even regular DVDs) but for a next generation video game system (that plays great games) it's a bargain.

Next is the interface or "usability" of the system itself. Everything is based around using a remote control (or "Wiimote") and everyone that's tried to use it in my house - from my 3 year old daughter to my parents - understand how to use it immediately. Not only does the game know you're pointing it at the television, it also knows if you're rotating, tilting or moving it around anywhere. Personally I think it's easier to use than an XBOX 360 controller and way more approachable to kids and novice video game players.

And let's be honest, the biggest reason it's probably best for families is - it's Nintendo. Nintendo did something smart and didn't try to create a system that would be all things to all people. Instead they created a great little console that plays games (that are challenging but easy to play) with some of the most classic names in video game history like Mario, Zelda, Metroid and all the rest. One of my personal favorite things is that you can download via an internet connection old-school Nintendo games like Temco Bowl, Super Mario Brothers, Punch Out, and Wave Race 64 right to your Wii.

There are a few things I wish were different. You can view pictures on your Wii, but unfortunately you can't connect it to another computer in your house to view photos or listen to music like you can with an XBOX 360. I was able to download a web browser and view pictures on my flickr page, so it's kind of possible, but not as simple. The web browser (which the 360 doesn't have) is pretty useful - my aunt uses the web browser to listen to her Sirius Satellite Radio online through her home stereo, which works out well.

So if you're starting to think about a video game system for the family for Christmas this year, I'd definitely give the Wii some serious consideration. If you can find one.

Shop for Nintendo Wii stuff on Amazon.com.

Tip the magician.

So the other night I'm out with my ladies eating dinner, and a table-side magician approached us. Before I had children I would have tried to avoid it if I could, and if I couldn't I would just tell him that I wasn't interested. But now I've got a three year old who, although her experience with magic is very limited, her experience with balloon animals is not.

So after it was all over, it occurred to me that I should give the guy a tip for the floating card trick and the pink dog on a white balloon leash. So I handed him $4, to which he thanked me and went onto the next table. But it occurred to me, how much are you supposed to tip the magician?

As it turns out, I happen to know a guy through a friend of mine who is a magician and who has some experience working table-side, so I emailed him (quite out of the blue from his persepective) to find out what was appropriate. As a magician with an MBA, he gave me a rough frequency estimate of what people tend to tip:

$2 (20%); $5 (60%); $10 (15%); $20 (5%)

He said the high-end would be for tables of many adults where he "freaks them out" for 7-10 minutes, and small families like mine with a few tricks and some balloon animals would be $2 - $5. He also said many restaurant magicians are paid by the restaurant and shouldn't accept tips (I've never seen one), and those that work solely for tips usually work it into their act somehow ("A person wanted to leave me a tip once, but all he had was this poker chip...").

So I guess $4 is a decent tip for the situation I was in. And if you've finished this lengthy post about tipping magicians, chances are you have way too much time on your hands.

(A person was looking to figure out how much to tip the magician, but all they had was this random blog entry...)

[Big thanks to Frank from ConnectWithMagic.com - the best slight of hand guy I've ever seen close up.]

Halo 3. My most recent obsession.

I've written here before about how much I love my XBOX 360, but recently I haven't been using it very much to listen to music or view photos on the TV. Halo 3 for the XBOX 360 launched a week and a half ago, and I have to admit all of my free time since then has been spent in front of my TV with a controller in my hand. Everything about it rules, but the multiplayer aspect is the best. I'm not sure exactly why other game companies don't just copy what Bungie Studios does with Halo, but it is hands down the best online multiplayer game on a console.

But from a dad's perspective beware, this isn't a game for kids. It's a violent shoot-em up that, while fun, probably isn't appropriate for small children. Also, if you've got a son (or daughter? but I doubt it) playing the game at home and online, know that the language among the players might not be what you would ideally want him to hear. But then again, if he's playing Halo 3 online, it probably isn't anything he hasn't heard before.

So if you're a dad and you've got an XBOX 360, it's a must-own game. In fact, it's probably worth buying an XBOX 360 for too.

Buy Halo 3 for $59.99 from Amazon.com.

And if you don't have an XBOX 360 yet, you can always pick up an XBOX 360 Elite system at Amazon.com.

My new favorite kitchen tool.

With a 3 year old and a a 14 month old in the house, it's the small discoveries that I tend to get the most excited about.

A lot of the food that I serve my girls for meal times first gets cut up into smaller pieces. Most often it's to make bite-sized pieces for my youngest, but sometimes it's simply for the unpredictable whim of a three year old. I used to use all kinds of methods - tearing it up, using a case knife or whatever I had handy. Then the other day while I was cutting up a piece of cheese pizza I had a moment of clarity. I can use the pizza cutter to cut up anything.

Grilled cheese? No problem. Don't want that crust on the sandwich? No problem. Cut the chicken nuggets in half so they'll cool quicker? It takes two swipes. And I'm betting you already have one sitting in your drawer somewhere. I know it's not going to change the world or anything, but like I said, it's the small discoveries that can make your day.

And if you don't have one (or can't find yours) you can get the one I have (pictured) here from Amazon.com.

Jack's Big Music Show DVD this month.

I must be slipping, because there's a DVD of Jack's Big Music show releasing in less than three weeks and I didn't even realize it. But thanks to MDD reader Andrea, now I'm fully caught up. Hopefully in my house Jack's Big Music Show: Let's Rock! will hopefully take the mantle of favorite DVD from Dora the Explorer: Super Babies (which, quite frankly, if I have to hear that "Super Babies" song one more time that DVD might have to disappear).

And for those of you also asking, I haven't heard any word on any other Jack's Big Music Show merchandise, but if I hear anything I'll pass it along.

In the meantime, you can pre-order the DVD (releasing October 23) from Amazon.com here.

Seven fewer Father's Days.

I thought I had read every lets-find-a-new-angle-on-Father's-Day-so-we-can-justify-another-news-blurb article there was on the internet, then I read this story on stuff.co.nz (which apparently has nothing to do with Stuff Magazine even the typeface is pretty similar). According to them, Dads in New Zealand will have seven fewer Father's Days than "Mums," mostly because Dads have kids older than women and don't live as long as women. It's kind of interesting, and I'd bet probably equally true here in the US.

And apparently in New Zealand Father's Day is this Sunday (September 2), so Happy Father's Day you Kiwi freaks.

Dads loose out on Father's Day [stuff.co.nz]

Breaking news on CBS: Dads change diapers.

I missed the segment about stay at home Dads on the CBS Early Show yesterday, but I was just able to watch it online here. I thought it was fairly straight forward and obvious. And considering some of the portrayals of involved dads in the media it wasn't bad, just slightly condescending (my favorite was the Hannah Storm comment at the end "Does it meant they're actually changing diapers?...I'm glad we're making progress!" Ugh.). Thankfully they got a hold of Gary from Freelancedad.com who represented us well I thought. Nice job Gary.

The thing that bothered me the most about it though was the fact that they used the same old, tired clips from the movie Mr. Mom. Goddamn that gets under my skin. Then I read Greg at Daddytypes' take on the Mr. Mom thing in the segment yesterday, including his tete-a-tete with an Early Show producer about it, which made me feel a lot better. Thanks Greg.

Liveblogging the CBS Early Show Segment On  'Hip Hands-On Dads' [daddytypes.com]

On TV: Diaper Bags for Modern Dads [CBS.com video link]

Also on MDD, my old post from 2004 (where was Hannah Storm then?) - Diaper bags for dads.