Although our kids are still quite young, my wife and I feel it is important they are involved with cooking and mealtime at some level. It promotes a healthy sense of responsibility, safety in the kitchen, offers some special bonding time between you and the kids and lots of opportunities to learn different concepts along the way. Think about it; there’s lots of potential for basic math and science lessons (ex. why do they call it a teaspoon? why does yeast make dough rise? how many quarts in a gallon?) when whipping something up in the kitchen.

Generally, there is one or two times a week where I grab the cutting board and prepare dinner. Whenever possible, I try and engage my toddler in the kitchen and have him be Daddy’s helper. He absolutely loves it. He’s very receptive and very serious in the kitchen (it’s very cute, he’s four and a half). We usually make pizza together.

If you are not comfortable in the kitchen, don’t fret. Choose one thing, make it simple and master it. Here’s a basic recipe for pizza dough that I tend to use. It’s very basic.

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar or teaspoon of honey
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch of oregano flakes

Put warm water in a cup; sprinkle yeast over water and stir in sugar. Let yeast stand for about 10 minutes, or until it begins to bubble. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl; pour in yeast mixture and oregano – then beat until a stiff dough is formed. This is where we cheat a little (save some time) and use a electric mixer with the dough paddle attachment at a low speed. When it’s well mixed we turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Add extra flour as necessary to keep from sticking to hands and board.

Place in a large bowl greased with shortening; turn dough over to coat the other side with shortening. Cover with towel; let rise in a warm place, away from drafts, for about 30 minutes. This is the hardest part because 30 minutes is a long long time, so I try and use this time as an excuse to take the dog for a walk or play ball in the backyard.

By the time we come back the dough will be double in bulk. Punch dough down and divide in half. Grease two 14-inch pizza pans and grease hands lightly. Place half the dough in each pan and stretch to fit bottom and up sides of pan. Let the dough relax (it will start rising again, which is good) while you shred the cheese and prep the toppings. Keep dough slightly thick around the edges. Find yourself a good pizza sauce recipe, there’s a million of them. Don’t use spaghetti sauce, it’s too wet. It makes a soggy pizza.

Fill with favorite fillings and toppings and bake about 15 to 20 minutes at 425°. While it’s in the oven we clean up (very important habit to teach the kids, right) and give the mixer a good wiping down before Daddy puts it away.

For my son I think the whole process is like playing with Play-Doh. The only thing cuter is how he gives every slice he eats the “Brooklyn Fold” like his old man (folding it onto itself the long way, like a pizza sandwich).

Sited & Related Articles:
Wikipedia | teaspoon
Wiki-Answers | How many quarts in a gallon?
WiseGeek | Why does yeast make dough rise?
Google | Pizza Sauce Recipes

Family Fun | Kids Recipes
Kids Cooking Club
That’s my Home | Kids Recipes
Amazon | Cook Books for Kids

Most adults are likely to have a common cold two to four times a year. Children, especially preschoolers, may have a common cold as many as six to 10 times annually.” ~ Common Cold, Mayo Clinic

We all know the symptoms, it plays out like a NyQuil commercial; runny or stuffy nose, itchy or sore throat, cough, congestion, slight body aches or a mild headache, sneezing, watery eyes, low-grade fever (up to 102 F, or 39 C) and mild fatigue. In lieu of the recent trend by pediatricians and toxicologists to put pressure on the F.D.A. to clear over the counter cough & cold medicines from the shelves, what are we left to do when un-medicated kids have symptoms that linger for days and sometimes weeks?

Illness can occur throughout the year, but tends to cluster in the winter due to flu season. These illnesses can seem to spread like wild fire affecting other students, teachers, and family members. Families and schools need to balance the child’s school attendance with the risk of spreading the illness to others in the school. Sometimes even minor illnesses require the child to stay home just to prevent the further spread of a contagious disease.” ~ Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe, MD, FAAP, Pediatrics Now | When to keep kids home

So what symptoms are worthy of missing a day of school? Here’s an at-a-glance list of the deal-breakers:

• Fever: indicative an infection elsewhere in their body. A child with a fever greater than 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit needs to stay home from school until the fever is gone for at least 24 hours. If the fever does not resolve in 2 to 3 days, or if your child appears sick with any fever, call your doctor.
• Rash: many rashes will resolve spontaneously and are not reason alone to keep a child home from school. Any rash associated with symptoms such as trouble breathing or swallowing, fever, or ill appearance, should be evaluated by your physician. Rashes that are itchy or scaly may be contagious and should be evaluated before sending a child back to school.
• Cough alone may not be a deal breaker, unless it is deemed contagious or is interfering with sleep or is frequent enough to interfere with their day. If the cough is productive and has phlegm or is associated with fever or trouble breathing, keep your child home from school and call their pediatrician for an appointment.
• Diarrhea: where the stool frequency is often many times an hour. Diarrhea that is bloody or associated with fever, abdominal pain, or vomiting should be evaluated by your doctor.
• Vomiting: with or without diarrhea, needs to stay home from school. Your child can return to school when the symptoms have stopped and the child has eased back to their regular diet.
• Sore Throat: children can attend school with mild sore throats if no other symptoms are occurring. Any child with a sore throat associated with fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, or difficulty swallowing should be evaluated by a doctor before returning to school. Call your child’s school to see if strep throat is going through the school population; if so, they should be evaluated by their doctor. A child with a diagnosis of strep throat needs to stay out of school until on antibiotics for 24 hours.
• Lethargy: if your child appears really sick, keep your child home and arrange an evaluation by your doctor that day. If you can’t get through to your doctor and you are really concerned, either call 911 or bring your child to the nearest emergency room for evaluation.

And of all the popular opinions I found they all mention enthusiastically the best deterrent of spreading germs and disease is to consistently and routinely wash your hands and practice go hygiene.

Sited & Related Links:
Mayo Clinic | Common Cold Symptoms
NY Times Health | The Cough-and-sniffle Question; When to Keep a Child Home
Pediatrics Now | When to Keep Kids Home

meta-DAD | Wash your hands
meta-DAD | How cough and cold medicine can adversely affect your child
meta-DAD | Use with caution – cough and cold medicine not for the young ones

For those fortunate enough not to be privy to advancements in the food stamps program, the paper coupons were replaced with plastic EBT shopping cards in 2004. They look like bank cards and can be used on the same swippers at the checkout.

My wife called them to ask them whether they accepted EBT (food stamp) cards and the Customer Service Rep explained to her that the company was not in the position to re-program all the machines to accept the (EBT) cards. I realize we are living in tough times and companies need to watch their bottom dollar and some could argue that your food stamp dollars could go much further at other stores, but there is no logical reason for a major Grocer not to accept food stamps. It is not only compassionate, but it’s good for their bottom line.

Previous reports show that Eric N. Gioia, a city councilman from Queens has given Costco a run for their money back in November with a full-on campaign to push the Fortune-500 company to accept food stamps. In a recent report out of Pittsburgh, co-founder Jim Sinegal stated they generally don’t have customers with food stamps. With more and more upper and middle class families finding themselves cutting back or out-of-work, it is a question of time before that theory is debunked and their membership starts waning.

In February of this year, Sam’s Club changed its policy and started accepting EBT cards. The question remains, whether this company that touts a socially aware reputation will bend its own rules and help out their members before they loose them.

Regardless of whether you are an individual or an entire family in need, you need to find out the facts, the facts about what resources and services are available to you. If an individual or family is currently earning less than 130% of the Federal poverty level [FPL] and their current household assets are below $2,000 you may be eligible for California Food Stamps Benefits and possibly additional benefits under the CALworks program.

Food stamp households, except those containing an aged or disabled member or where all members receive cash assistance, are subject to gross and net income determination tests. Gross Income – all non-excludable income from any source including all earned income and all unearned income. The maximum gross allowed is 130% of the Federal poverty level (FPL) or 165% of the FPL if the household has an elderly or disabled person who qualifies to be a separate household. If the household passes the gross income test, then the net income test is computed. Net income is computed by deducting the following, if applicable, from gross income. The resultant amount cannot exceed 100% of the FPL.” ~ California Department of Social Services, Eligibility and Issuance for Food Stamp Benefits

I don’t care what your place is in society, many people eligible for benefits may not step forward, whether it be embarrassment, pride, fear, whatever. Remember, this is a service sponsored by our government with taxpayer money, your money. It is there to help people when they need it.

For those of us with little or no resources currently, it is essential to know your options. If your wife, friend or loved one is pregnant or has just given birth, or has a child under the age of 5 in the State of California, they and their children are eligible for WIC Program [Women, Infants & Children] benefits. In California, the WIC Program supplies predetermined vouchers monthly for each eligible member of the family. Vouchers provide healthy supplemental foods from WIC-authorized vendors, nutrition education, and help finding health care and other community services.

Additionally, there is a WIC Farmers Market Nutritional Program that offers vouchers for fresh fruits and vegetables from participating vendors at local Farmers markets. My understanding is this portion of the WIC program is supplemental and available on a first come, first serve basis.

Sited & Related Links:
California State Department of Social Services | Food Stamps Program
CALworks Program
California Women, Children & Infants [WIC] Program
WIC Farmers Market Nutrition,al Program
meta-DAD | WIC Benefits for unemployed families

Flying a kite with the kids is yet another golden activity that holds great potential for learning, bonding and just having a little fun. Ever wonder exactly why and how a kite flies? Chances are at some point your kids may ask you, right? With a little digging around I have found some great sites for explaining why and how kites fly, believe it or not NASA’s Glenn Research Center has a fantastic (and thorough) explanation of exactly how and why a kite flies.

While the forces on all kites are the same, each kite flies a little differently. Some kites are highly maneuverable and some kites are very stable. There are kites with multiple control lines that can perform stunts, while other kites can be flown to high altitudes. We can use math techniques that you learn in school to determine the altitude of a kite graphically. With a little more knowledge of mathematics, you can actually calculate the altitude at which the kite is flying” ~ Kite Flight, NASA’s Glenn Research Center

I got my kids into kites last spring with a simple $5 classic delta design and 200′ of line. I think it was a Diego design, surprise-surprise. They were thrilled at the action we got from the nearby ocean breeze. But kids being kids, they already have their eye set on getting one of those cool dragon designs where the long tail twists and whips about. They’ll just have to put it on the top of their “list” and wait for their birthday.

Regardless, it is yet another cheap and easy activity for dads to do with their kids. Remember, these are the kind of activities that hold the potential to build great memories, opportunities to connect with the little ones, be silly and show them you know how to have fun, too.

If you want to take it to the next level, you can experiment with building your own kite! There are some wonderful kits out there (check the links below) for DIY Dads and Moms for making a full array of kites, spinners, flyers and fighters – from traditional Delta Wings, Babu Khan Fighter kites, Kono Box kite or even a Bell Tetra kite kit. Evidently, March 28th to May 3rd is National Kite Month, I guess they can not fit all the festivities into the calendar month so they have to let the celebration slip over, a bit.

Sited & Related Articles:
NASA | Kite Flying
National Kite Month | Resources
Into the Wind | Wide Kite Selection and Kite Accessories
Kites, Wind Spinners & Kite Accessories @ Amazon
Banana Junction | Airplane Kite Kits
Drachen Foundation Store | DIY Kite Kits

This plan is designed to help people who are current on their mortgage but are in danger of defaulting on their loan in the near future due to a high combined mortgage debt compared to income or who is “underwater” (with a combined mortgage balance higher than the current market value of his house), in other words, they owe more than the current value of their house. By government analysis, as many as 6 million families are expected to face foreclosure in the next several years, with millions more struggling to stay current on their payments.

As we know the exact guidelines are going to be rolled out in the coming days. Since there is plenty incentive for both the mortgage provider ($1000 per loan modification/restructure and an additional $1000 per year up to three years, assuming the borrower stays current on payments) and the at-risk homeowners there is a lot of curiosity as to who exactly is eligible. A few things are clear;

In general, you may qualify for a mortgage modification if (a) you occupy your house as your primary residence; (b) your monthly mortgage payment is greater than 31% of your monthly gross income; and (c) your loan is not large enough to exceed current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits. Final eligibility will be determined by your mortgage lender based on your financial situation and detailed guidelines that will be available on March 4, 2009.” ~ U.S. Department of Treasury, HASP | Consumer Q & A

The property must be your primary residence (duplexes are applicable), mortgage delinquency is not a requirement (you may be current on your mortgage and still be at-risk by the general guidelines), your loans amount must conform with Fannie/Freddie conforming limits (between $417k and $625,500, depending on area), a high mortgage debt ratio [mortgage payment over 31% of monthly income],  or a high overall debt ratio [monthly debt load over 55% of monthly income].

Exactly what kind of incentive is there for Homeowners? By design this plan provides incentive payments as a borrower makes timely payments on the modified loan. The incentive will accrue on a monthly basis and will be applied directly to reduce your mortgage debt. Borrowers who pay on time for five years can have up to $5,000 applied to reduce their debt by the end of that period.

Even though the details and guidelines of the plan are going to be revealed in a few days, you may not need to do a thing. The mortgage companies and loan providers may contact you. They have been given plenty of financial incentive. Some consumers may be aware of this since some loan providers have declared a temporary moratorium on foreclosure proceedings.

Why have they stopped on foreclosure proceedings, you ask? Servicers will receive an up-front fee of $1,000 for each eligible modification meeting guidelines established under this initiative. Servicers will also receive “pay for success” fees – awarded monthly as long as the borrower stays current on the loan – of up to $1,000 each year for three years.

Because loan modifications are more likely to succeed if they are made before a borrower misses a payment, the plan will include an incentive payment of $1,500 to mortgage holders and $500 for servicers for modifications made while a borrower at risk of imminent default is still current.” ~ U.S. Department of Treasury, HASP | Fact Sheet

So if you happen to get a call or a notice in the mail saying that you may be eligible for a loan modification or a mortgage reduction and the notice is coming from your loan provider you should do three things, a.) understand that this may be the real deal and save that notice until you have a quiet moment to read all the fine print and see what they’re really offering, b.) educate yourself; get a copy of the HASP guidelines and read all the fine print and empower yourself with the “facts” and c.) be prepared to supply the following information;

• information about the monthly gross income of your household including recent pay stubs if you receive them or documentation of income you receive from other sources
• your most recent income tax return
• information about any second mortgage on the house
• payments on each of your credit cards if you are carrying balances from month to month, and
• payments on other loans such as student loans and car loans.

Sited Links;
U.S. Government | Financial Stability
U.S. Department of Treasury Housing Affordability Stability Plan, Fact Sheet [*PDF]
U.S. Department of Treasury | Emergency Economic Stabilization Act [*PDF]
U.S. Department of Treasury | Homeowner Affordability Plan, Consumer Q & A [*PDF]
Tampa Bay Business Journal | Bank of America extends foreclosure moratorium

When will the state income tax refunds be mailed out? Who will benefit and who will be laid off? And of course, how will the school systems fair in all of this? So many questions. How will the national Stimulus Plan offset some of these state cuts? I hope to share with you as these details come online.

The financial package includes tax hikes, spending cuts and borrowing billions of dollars more. How will the tax increases affect the average Californian family? Here is the at-a-glance breakdown;

• The are four types of tax increases in the current package; personal income tax, vehicle license fee increase, dependent tax credit and a sales tax increase. Recent legislative analysis of these four tax increases, an average family of four with an annual income of $75,000 would pay $963 more a year in taxes. That’s quite a punch in the gut, to say the least.
• May 19th, 2009 is an important date, mark your calendars. There will be a vote to move $226 million from mental health programs and $608 million from programs aimed at children younger than 5 years old.
• The state ultimately will resume paying all its bills, including tax refunds. But doing so could take weeks, so the exact date when California income tax refunds will start being mailed has not been announced. Mr. Chiang (State Controller), we are waiting with baited breath for your word.

Sited & Related Links:
Los Angeles Times | California Budget Plan; Key Elements
Los Angeles Times | The California Budget: A timeline for the events to come
meta-DAD | California state delays income tax refunds

Perhaps it’s a rainy day or a snowy one, or maybe the kids have finished all their homework and they’ve built every puzzle in the house or they’re just driving you a little crazy and the usual tricks aren’t working. Enter Kongregate, a website with over eleven thousand free games to play.

I understand there’s a time and place for mindless drivel and let it be said, I am a huge proponent of limited screen time for kids and parents alike, be it television, game console or computer screen time. Whenever I try to talk about the redeeming qualities of video games and the likes of, it’s as if I am trying to argue the nutritional value of Twinkies.

Depending on the genre and the game, there is some value in some of them. Personally, I am drawn to builders, multi-players, strategy games and puzzle solvers. One could argue that these have a fair number of redeeming values assuming they are well designed and executed, sure some may think I am stretching here but I concur, it beats watching re-runs.

Many feel like “sketches” of games with placeholder art, stick figures and all, while others have a very impressive professional ‘gloss to them. But when you get down to game play many of them are quite fun, dare I say (a tad) addictive. With titles like Shopping Cart Hero, Fantastic Contraption, and Monsters’ Den there is plenty to explore. Set the egg timer (otherwise, you’ll lose track of time) and have a blast.

Last year, I got my wife a engraved pendant necklace (*above center) that is a simple chain with small handcrafted gold bars inscribed with each of our sons’ names and on the other side of each is a word like “cherish” or “adore.” She treasures it.

I ordered the necklace from the San Fransisco based boutique, Penelope Poet. They carry a beautiful array personal pieces handcrafted by indie jewelrymakers and artisans throughout the country. Pictured above [left lto right] is the classic 14k Gold Love Knot Earrings, the Nashelle Cherished Engraved Bars Necklace and the Amour Circle Filigree Necklace. Pieces from Penelope Poet have been featured in Oprah magazine, Life & Style Weekly and others.

What better way to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, than by supporting moms and wives who craft beautiful handcrafted pieces.

It is anticipated that as soon as the cash and budget problems are solved, the refund delay will be lifted. It is clear that part of this stalemate in Sacramento is linked to the Senate approving the current Stimulus Plan. They are linked because recent estimates say the massive stimulus plan will pump $4.5B in projects and tax incentives into California alone. Obviously this will infuse the state with much needed cash and help Sacramento close the gap on the budget.

Meanwhile, my wife and I wait for this financial log jam to clear. To be clear on the implications of this income tax delay that State Controller, John Chiang has employed, this includes any type of return regardless of the year of the return or issue. This is a complete freeze of funds, full stop.

What is looming over our head is that if the 30 days pass without the budget being approved the state has threatened to issue I.O.U.’s. They have only done this twice in the the state’s history; 1992 and the Great Depression.

And if you are wondering if they will issue your refund with interest, yes but only interest accrued after June 1st, 2009 (45 days after April, 15th, 2009). My wife and I have joked that if we have trouble paying the upcoming property taxes in April we should issue the county a I.O.U., it’s only fair, right?

Sited & Related Links:
State of California Franchise Tax Board | State Controller announces delay for tax refunds
Mercury News | Still no deal in California’s budget stalemate
China View | Obama pushes stimulus plan forth as Senate debate continues
The Sacramento Bee | Stimulus plan would give California $4.5 billion for infrastructure

02.20.09 UPDATE: meta-DAD | How does the new California budget affect families