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I LOVE movies, especially sci-fi from the 50’s and 60’s. One of my faves “Them!” was on the other day so I Tivo’d that baby. James Arness, James Whitmore, Fess Parker and a quick shot of Patty Duke’s dad William Schallert (uncredited) from The Patty Duke Show as the ambulance attendant. It seems that ants grow very large after being exposed to nuke experiments in New Mexico, like yikes Scoob.

So, I figured what a great idea it would be to watch this “classic” with my girls. We already notched “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” and no issues with that. (Bela Lugosi as the monster? . . . now there’s a nightmare, but I digress) We popped popcorn and snuggled in. First question from the girls, “Are the big ants gonna be cheesy in this movie?’. “Yes” sez I, “They’re not scary in any way.” Wifey chimes in from the other room, “Any nightmare havers see Daddy tonight, not Mommy”. Huh, I scoffed, this isn’t scary, no problem. We made it through about half the movie before it was bedtime. Have to watch the rest another day.  Read more »

I’ve already given the Pen talk, the Scissors talk, the Tape talk and now the Pencil talk. Being that I’m a graphic designer I always have some writing instrument around. Add to that my intense love of Sudoku and crossword puzzles and I need my pencils, pens, markers, etc.

“Who took my pencil?” Crickets.“Has anyone seen the pencil I laid down by the Sudoku puzzle?” Crickets. “You know, the one with the little yellow eraser thingy I put on the end of the pencils that you all wear down to nubs, that pencil.” “Haven’t seen it.” says they.

Pencils are scarce as hen’s teeth in my house (the day after I buy a pack of new ones) When I am lucky enough to find one, the eraser is gone, worn to nothing, every single time. That’s why I buy those eraser add on things, love those.

So last night I picked up my permanent marker (finding that is another story) and drew a big black line all around my pencil. Then I gather my pencil pilfers around me.“See this pencil? See the thick black line I just drew around this? This is MY pencil, this is not to be touched by anyone in this house but me. Is that clear, do not touch this pencil . . . I don’t care if it’s the last one in the house, do not touch it.” Heads shaking yes, total understanding achieved.

Sometime between that elegant speech and this morning I lost the pencil. “See this pen? . . .”

After we hit the mall in DC we invariably stop at Matchbox for some outstanding food. We always try to get there a little after the normal rush times of lunch and dinner. Even so, expect some wait time. We LOVE the 3-6-9 mini burgers . . . brioche buns, angus beef and unreal onion strings, whoa. (3-6-9 is how they come, you can get any multiple of 3) The girls love the mini’s. Pizza is superb, we “create our own” with zesty tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. Don’t miss the apple/pear salad, it’s fresh and delicious every time. Read more »

On Saturday the entire DadReport.com crew headed to one of our favorite destinations, the Museum of Natural History. In particular the new Sant Ocean Hall, the Insect Zoo and the new Butterfly Pavilion.

The Sant Ocean Hall is very cool, a big whale dangling from the ceiling in mid-swim, a 30ft squid and smaller exhibits just skim the surface of what’s there to see. This is a good link to see the layout of the gallery and to help plan a visit. Remember out of towners, this is a FREE museum, one of many here in DC.

The Insect Zoo which was closed for many months was oddly untouched when it re-opened. Smaller kids will love it, lot’s of bugs to see and room to roam plus one place to crawl through. Austen held a giant tomato caterpillar (felt like a human finger) and a Madagascan hissing cockroach (didn’t touch it) . . . he/she was a big one.

The Butterfly Pavilion was a disappointment. We’re spoiled from our many trips to Wings of Fancy butterfly show at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Md. The BP is really small, plus it does have a cost of $6 bills for the big peeps and $5 for the little ones. We’re members of the Smithsonian so we saved a couple of bucks. My advice, if you live nearby go to Brookside, if you’re in town for a visit . . . eh, skip it.  Read more »