Let this space be a reminder of how much I Hate Love You.

For anyone who has a kid unhealthily addicted to Minecraft. There is hope…

EDIT: Any abusive, misogynist, offensive comments will NOT be approved – which is basically all of them right now. None of you are representing the positive side of the Minecraft community.

Before you trolls comment – or click through to the original blogger and abuse her – read this post to see how nice you can be to strangers online.

Then take a look at this. It’s about you…

 

Teriyaki Udon Noodles with Chilli and Egg Recipe

This is a quick, easy, and tasty brekkie or lunch.

If you want to give your child an early taste of chilli and some basic Asian flavours, this is always popular with our child.

No matter how chilli hot I make it, she still loves it. I last tried it with a whole Scotch Bonnet (ultra hot chilli), and her reaction was “more”.

It was hotter than I would’ve eaten even a decade ago, let alone when I was a toddler.

Kids today eh?

Serves 1 adult

INGREDIENTS:

  • Udon noodles (or similar), cooked.
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 10ml soy sauce
  • 10ml sake
  • 10ml mirin
  • Ground ginger
  • 1tsp sugar
  • 1 hot chilli
  • 1 egg
  • Vegetable oil

METHOD:

  1. In pan on medium heat with a little oil, fry garlic, chilli, and ginger for a couple of minutes.
  1. Add Soy, Sake, and Mirin. Let it bubble for a minute then add sugar. Cook for another couple of minutes.
  1. Add the cooked noodles, preferably ones you made earlier or the straight to wok type would be ok. Cook another couple of minutes. You’ll probably need to add a little water as sauce will harden as sugar caramelises.
  1. Turn up the heat. When really sizzling, crack the egg in the middle. Let it cook for a few moments, then rapidly stir through. Sauce will thicken with some solid bits of egg. Serve immediately.

What’s the opposite of a Troll? I reckon it’s an Emily…

IMG_0568 The ways in which strangers comment and connect online usually gets a bad rap. Perhaps because it’s so easy to take on another identity – or remain anonymous – in order to be vile to another person.

A ‘troll’ used to be a goat eating creature that lived under a bridge in the minds of children. Sadly that monster has been usurped by an all too human counterpart. But what of the wonderful instances of selfless acts of generosity and human kindness that also occur online? Well, here’s one for you.

blogged about the Disney Store’s lack of Princess Leia products, and their absence of interest making any. As the dad of a Star Wars loving daughter, I hoped for some meaningful response from Disney, and there was a muted assurance that they will produce Leia merchandise in the future.

But the post also elicited this response from a lady called Emily:

“I don’t know if it would interest you, but I have a Leia doll and several of the Episode 1 Amidala dolls (all still in boxes because that’s how I was). It’s not the iconic Leia w/ buns, but they’re just sitting in storage and I’d be happy to dust them off and send them to you to share with your daughter. I may have some action figures but I think I gave those away already.”

Well yes, of course I was interested, so I followed up with Emily via email. The back and forth conversation basically went like this.

Me: I’m certainly interested, but how much do you want for them? Emily:   Oh I don’t need anything in return. I know how it was growing up a girl in a Star Wars world, so I’ll gladly share what I have

Wow, that’s really generous. But hang on, there’s a problem – it’s not like I can just pop round and pick them up. We don’t live very near each other. In fact, we’re very far from each other. Emily lives in the US and we live in the UK. She replied:

Emily: I have no problem sending them across the ocean – they’re just collecting dust in storage right now and I’m happy to send them off to a better home.

Once again, wow.

Special international delivery

swtoysTrue to her word, some days later, we had a large package arrive in the post from America, which contained three boxed 12″ Queen Amidala dolls, a boxed 12″ Princess Leia doll, and a bonus item of a large Queen Amidala towel. It also came with the following handwritten note from Emily:

Simon, I hope your daughter enjoys these dolls. I’m happy to share my love of Star Wars with your daughter and your family. Hopefully these will help fill the gap until some new official merchandise surfaces. I only have one Leia doll, but Amidala/Padmé was marketed a fair bit, with her many dresses and hairstyles. Like many overzealous fans, I snapped up what I could, but already being in high school, I never played with them – just had them on a shelf in my Star Wars covered room until another interest came along and they got put into storage for 10 or so years. Now they can leave their boxes for some proper playtime. Enjoy! And may the force be with you, always! Sincerely, Emily

Emily then signed off with these delightful Princess Leia illustrations. Emily's Leia doodles So it was with great relish – and Emily’s permission – that my daughter and I finally liberated these toys from the packaging they had been in for the best part of the past 15 years. It would be a sight to horrify many a Star Wars collector, but delight anyone who gains any happiness from the pure joy of a child. My daugher loves these dolls. She is already swapping shoes and outfits between them. Ceremonial Leia looks pretty good wearing Padme’s large brown boots. ‘Royal Elegance Queen Amidala’s red shoes are a popular interchangeable item as well. There’s also some toddler hairstyling and tea parties happening.

“You never forget kids like Emily”

In 1999, the year that The Phantom Menace was out and Emily purchased all these dolls, another eagerly anticipated movie was released. Eerily, it features a young lady called Emily who parted company with her childhood playthings. In Toy Story 2 we are introduced to Jessie, a once beloved doll who has been abandoned at a roadside when her ‘Emily’ outgrew her. In reality, perfectly normal behaviour, but in the story it was a source of great sadness and emotional trauma for Jessie, who mournfully states: “You never forget kids like Emily…but they forget you.” Well, this real life Emily didn’t forget about her toys. They may not have been played with, but they were bought out of love (of Star Wars), and passed on for the same reason. According to Buzz Lightyear “(a toy’s) life’s only worth living if you’re being loved by a kid”. Well thanks to their Emily these toys will be well loved by our kid. They are out of their boxes and never going back in! The Emilys of the real world should be celebrated. She reached out to a father and daughter she has never met, with whom she had only had the briefest of online interaction with, and made the great effort to not just simply give us these toys she purchased, but to ship them across the world to us at her expense.

It also reminded me of the end of Toy Story 3, when…***SPOILERS*** …Andy hands over his childhood toys to the little girl family friend.

IMG_1855That brought a tear to my eye, and I have to admit, this did too.

So thank you Emily. As well as giving us these awesome dolls, you have also given me renewed optimism about the world I am raising my daughter in. And Disney take note. There IS a girls market for Star Wars, and there always has been. (Oh, while I immensely appreciate Emily’s generosity in giving these dolls to my daughter, at my insistence we have reimbursed Emily for the shipping. She also has a big credit in the favour bank)

Is Father’s Day for all dads, or just the ones with jobs?

Our playgroups put on new kiddy crafts each week. When a specific celebration comes around, they will usually revolve around that. So this week it was making Father’s Day cards.

Unlike the mums who were helping/directing their children to create them, I just let my daughter do her thing – it seemed odd commissioning one from her.

father's day for stay at home dads
A ‘shirt & tie’ Father’s Day card is still a thing

What was also odd were the actual cards they were supposed to end up with. Two playgroups opted for the same concept – the front of the card had been cut and folded down to look like a shirt collar, and there was a cutout tie to glue into place. The inference was clear (despite the fact I have only ever worn a shirt & tie for weddings and funerals): A father’s role in the family revolves around having a job. This is also the role that retailers like to cast us in.

Gendered marketing to children is an issue I take great interest in, unhappy as I am about commercial interests defining, from even before birth, what they think a boy or girl should be. But what about gendered marketing to adults? How does that affect us?

Father’s day for stay at home dads

I adore my current role in life as one of the growing army of stay-at-home dads. It has come about mostly from my long-held desire to do this, with financial circumstances supporting that choice (ie. My wife earning more than me). Frankly, it’s been a blast.

Out & about doing baby & toddler things with my daughter, I’ve gotten to know some dads, but mostly mums – and the fact is that in terms of being a parent I have far more in common with the at-home mums I meet than most working dads.

The offering around Mother’s Day tends to be all about ‘giving mum a break’ – from cooking, cleaning, childcare, etc. Brunches and pampering packages abound. What about Father’s Day? Traditional gifts revolve around either ‘work’ related gifts like smart socks, shirts, and ties, or ‘play’, things that are thought to keep men sane during the 9 to 5 – booze, sports, and gadgets. But there’s no sense that fathers like me – stay-at-home dads – also need a break from their routine and responsibilities.

By packaging the days in this way, retailers are reinforcing the idea that being the homemaker is a mother’s role, while that of breadwinner is still the father’s. I think these marketing driven definitions contribute to the guilt that many mothers feel about wanting to return to work, and lessen the chances of men admitting they would dearly love to be stay-at-home dads. Society follows suit – while we have the term ‘working mother’, the male equivalent would be recognised as ‘father’.  I’m a ‘stay-at-home dad’, but for female counterparts ‘mum’ seems to suffice as a label.

I have generally felt ambivalent about Father’s Day since childhood, and I continue to do so as a father. Perhaps because my birthday is also only a few days away, and it seems greedy to have 2 ‘special’ days in one week. My cynical side also tends to judge Father’s Day as a way to package and sell more stuff, much like Halloween.

We have no out of the ordinary plans for the day – I will spend it with my wife and daughter, like most other ideal Sundays.

Then again, perhaps there is a purpose to ‘Father’s Day’? It has serendipitously coincided with the start of the Football World Cup. I could cynically take advantage of it to watch a couple of back-to-back games? Reverting to stereotype, I am a dad that likes watching football.

And having a break from my routine and responsibilities.

Father's Day, stay at home dads, stay home dad,
Another playgroup card. Clichéd perhaps, but…

RECIPE: Mushrooms on Toast

Mushrooms on Toast
Mushrooms on Toast

This quick and simple meal idea is deceptively delicious.

You can find this as a brunch item in most New Zealand cafes, and it was a favoured meal of mine when I lived there (as was the equally delicious Mince on toast). This ‘mushies on toast’ recipe is courtesy of Kiwi food blogger Delaney Mes.

Make sure you don’t over reduce this, as the bread mops up the moreish mushroom sauce a treat.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 500g Mushrooms of choice
  • Sprig of Thyme, chopped
  • Sprig of Rosemary, chopped
  • 1 tbsp cream
  • Splash of Balsamic Vineagar
  • Butter
  • Handful parsley, torn/chopped
  • 2-4 slices of Granary bread
  • Salt & pepper

Method

1. Melt some butter on a medium heat. Fry mushrooms with garlic, thyme, and rosemary.

2. Season with salt & pepper.

3. After a few minutes, add a tbsp cream, reduce a little, then a splash of balsamic.

4. When the sauce has thickened up, serve on slices of toasted & buttered granary bread, topped with chopped parsley.