When throwing a successful party for teenaged boys, it’s important to be able to answer this question with, “As many as you want.” That’s tip one. Imagine what you’d need to feed grownups, double it.

G walked away carrying a mountain of cheeseburger, smiling.

It was a small party, only six of us in attendance — me, my teen boy, and four of his best buds. The honoree was one of his closest friends, Z, who had announced he would not be returning to their school in the fall. He was off to boarding school in the northeast to pursue his passion. Hockey.

The boys were bummed to be losing Z, but recognized that there are limited opportunities for ice-based sports here in Central Texas.

What better way to saw farewell than with an NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs watch party?

We covered food, right? Basically, lots. The only thing left at the end were the hotdogs that were a bit “well done” — my personal preference. (What’s wrong with kids these day that they don’t like a grilled dog with a little crispiness to it?)

Drinks are also key — I iced down Izzle sodas, which they really seem to love. I think of them as being somehow better than more mainstream sodas, maybe because they are sold in Starbucks. I also like the smaller sized Gatorades of the “lower calorie” variety. I hate finding half-finished drinks after a party, so I go with small sizes. (Hint 2.)

With teenaged boys, when selecting a sports even, make sure that there are an even number of fans on both sides of the contest (Hint 3) — this makes for maximum ruckus. In our case, the New York Rangers v. Boston Bruins served nicely. Each goal drew equal cheers and boos.

Also important, a good sound system to drown out the nonsense that teenage boys say. It’s silly. Please notice the Coby Sound Bar. It rocks.

As we were wrapping the party, we were able to present some special gifts to Z, including a $100 gift certificate to the official NHL store thanks to Enterprise Rent-a-Car. He was pumped, and hopefully, he’ll think of Texas when he rocks his new gear up there in chilly New England.

If you’ve got hockey fans in your bunch, there are a couple ways you can hook them up with some hockey loot. First, Enterprise and the NHL have teamed up on the Hat Trick Challenge online game on NHL.com – your can play daily to try to predict what happens on the ice or create private leagues and compete against friends.

Additionally, you can leave a comment on this post or on our Facebook page to be registered to win the prize pack that made my party such a hit: $100 NHL Gift Card, Brookstone Prime Barbeque Kit, Coleman 16 qt. Wheeled Cooler, Mixed nuts to snack on, Coby Slim Wall Mountable Sound Bar with Bluetooth Technology, and some fun Enterprise swag including stress relievers if the game gets tough and reusable stadium cups for drinks at the party. Amazing stuff!

Disclosure:  Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the NHL provided me with a gift package to host my watch party as a thank you for writing this post. However, the views and opinions expressed here are purely my own.

Circus Clowns Visit Sick Boy (circa 1934).
Totally the stuff of later nightmares.

Yesterday on the way to lacrosse practice my 13yo son G- ran out of steam. We were driving towards the practice field and I could just see him collapse, and when he tilted the car seat back and put his arm across his eyes and complained about fuzzy vision, I called it and turned around. Heading home, I texted my older girl (16) that we’d changed plans and were en route back, to which she responded “uh oh, I’m feeling mediocre and K- is looking pretty pale too.”

Arriving home I didn’t find either girl in a particularly bad state but my boy? It was like he’d hit a brick wall without an airbag. He was completely wiped out and promptly went upstairs and collapsed in a dark room, only to resurface for about 30min the entire night. This morning, after 12hrs of him sleeping almost the entire time, he’s still looking pretty wan, though at least he’s moving around and not crying about his stomach and headache.

To add to the fun, however, A-, my 16yo, has gotten the same bug and is also home from school this morning — and just a few days left before summer break! — complaining about her stomach and general lethargy. Fortunately, the little one woke up peppy and ready for school, and she, at least, is enjoying one of her very last days of third grade. Yup, they’re all poised to bump up a level in school, and this autumn I’ll have an 11th grader, an 8th grader and a 4th grader. Yegads.

It’s crazy hard to have sick children when they’re too young to manage their own ailment and I have vivid memories of caring for babies and toddlers with various ailments, memories strong enough to make me exhausted just thinking about them. But we’re parents, we persevere and hope that tomorrow will be easier and more restful than today, right?

At these ages, however, the good news is that they can manage the yechy stuff and it’s been a really long time since I’ve had to deal with any gross cleanups that parents don’t tell other adults about lest the human race come to an abrupt, screeching halt. Indeed, we have a secret phrase now “can someone get the bowl for me, please?”

Yeah, that’s how parenting works. ‘nuf said on that topic.

What’s really changed is that as they’ve gotten older, the experience of nursing them has changed from a sort of high-intensity energy black hole to something far more manageable. As a 2yo, I’d have had to hold and cuddle them non-stop. No break, not even when they were dozing. Now, however, they’re more self-contained, more able to come up with things to break the boredom. Much nicer. Now it’s “here’s a new book and some soup, sorry you’re feeling poorly.”

Every time any of my children are sick I am also reminded how blessed we are with generally good health and I am grateful that 90% of the time — or more — the worst we deal with is an evening that’s a bit short on sleep or someone who forgot to eat lunch and is a bit grumpy.

Now if they can all just get better, we’ve got a big weekend planned…

People say all the time “You stay at home? Was that by choice?” While I realize that sometimes the economy being so bad has forced some men to stay at home (those lucky dogs) let me share my story. My wife and I always planned on me staying at home. I am the one with an abundance of patience. I am the one that loved kids enough that I wanted to become a teacher and be around them all the time.

Before I became dadncharge I was working at a high school, I was tenured and I had seven years of service in a high school district with ten total years of teaching. I coached freshman girls basketball and loved every minute of it. I got to teach my passion in life, drawing and photography and things couldn’t have been better. We lived in a suburb of Chicago in a brand new home that we customized to our liking. It was our first house together. We were living the dream.

My wife is a career woman and someone who was convinced that she would never have kids. I changed all that. She was/is a rising star in the corporate world and I knew I would do whatever it took to help her make that happen. We had our first child, a son and the first grandson in our family, Adam, in 2005. My wife and I continued to work and on the weekends we would say to our awesome day care provider “We’ll try to stick to the schedule and not screw it up too much”

Soon my wife had the baby bug again and in 2007 we had our beautiful daughter, Sarah Jane. My wife and I continued to work and we would witness something we had seen for the first time with our kids only to be told on Monday by the day care person “Oh, she’s been doing that for awhile now”. After that we asked her to just pretend she wasn’t doing anything special or out of the ordinary so we could witness it for the “first time”. Each time we picked the kids up at the end of the day and asked how they were doing our day care provider would say “Oh, they did good.”

In June of 2008, my wife accepted a new job in her hometown, close to her parents, and we decided it would be best for me to stay at home with the two kids. My wife is awesome. She is the best organizer and the perfect project manager but, she also has her particular way of doing things as I also have my way of doing things. Knowing this I asked her “If I stay at home who is going to be in charge?” She said “You are. You will be the Dad in Charge.” “So you are saying I am a D.I.C ?” I said. “Yes, you will be a D.I.C.” I started writing things down that the kids said or did that was funny. Soon, I discovered this blogging thing quite by accident. My wife bought me the vanity plate and in NY State they gave just enough letters to fully express what my new job was. This is how DadNCharge came to be.

In December of 2010, we had our final child, Heidi. We have been blessed with great kids. One of the perks of being at home is being able to see the kids grow and watch their personalities emerge. Now I also don’t have to worry about missing anything because I am right there day in and day out raising the kids. So I tell the people that ask if it was by choice “Yes, and it was the greatest decision I have ever made about a career.” Our kids aren’t going to be little forever. I am just glad that I have this chance to be with them while they are.

The Weekly Half Good News. The Boy Scouts of America decided to allow gay kids into their ranks. Unfortunately the same standard doesn’t apply to gay adults. Two steps forward…

The Weekly Entirely Good News. No surgery for Beth. Just another month in the boot.

The Weekly App for Kids. BrainPop

The Weekly App for Adults. Dots

The Weekly Read. This week I tackled Tall Weeds after hearing an ad for it on my favorite podcast (The Mike O’Meara Show). It was $2 on Amazon so why not. It’s the somewhat twisted tale of Yugoslavia in the 90s and a treasure hunt left over from the earlier Nazi invasion. It sounds outlandish and it kind of is but it’s great escapist fiction and worth a couple of bucks.

The Weekly Question. What are your plans for the long Memorial Day weekend?

Never miss her birthday. In ten years she won’t remember the present you gave her. She will remember if you weren’t there.

For the past week, I have been at Netflix headquarters and got to hear lots of insider information that Netflix doesn’t want me talking about I will reveal to you very soon. It’s pretty exciting stuff.

In those meetings, I had the chance to speak with several executives there including the company’s CEO, Reed Hastings. As soon as he left, I got to the bottom of all the rumors surrounding Netflix and their upcoming announcements.

1. Flix for Fones™

Are you still using a pager, fax machine or rotary phone? Then, it’s a safe bet someone is reading this to you because you don’t have the Internet and have an irrational fear of technology. Well, not to be outdone, Netflix has decided to branch into the flip phone market. Sure, that old Razr phone is pink and barely works, but it has almost 50 lines of resolution. That’s all anyone needs to watch movie or televsion show, right? And those fresh ringtones!

2. Arrested Development Cast Party Easter Egg

The first hundred households to watch all 13 episodes of the new season of Arrested Development on Netflix will unlock a special holographic presentation of the entire cast beamed from your viewing device for a special cast party in your home.*
* hardware updates may be necessary, may not be available in some prisons

We knew you might have a hard time believing us, so here is some video proof of the legitimacy of our claims…

Did I mention they come wearing special t-shirts with special dance moves?

3. Nutritionflix Feature

Parents already enjoy the convenience of Netflix for the eduinfoentertainrichment that they want to provide their kids. But a possibly reliable-ish source has leaked that they’re going a step further in helping parents by providing prompts at the home screen. Reward systems for eating well (or at all) will revolutionize the intake of quality sustenance for kids. A version 2.0 is already in the works for homework completion and using the word “please” in a sentence. My son barely eats Ketchup, so I would like this service.

4. Artificially Intelligent Customization

Everyone knows Netflix uses a proprietary algorithm to help make selections for you and give their customers the best recommendations possible. It supposedly seems they’ve made a breakthrough in either the prediction of the future or mind reading. Both are good enough for me.

I’m always intrigued by the variety of the programming they have that instantly streams, but this takes it to a whole nuther level!

5. Netflix Anti-Bathroom Adult Pull-ups

Available by discrete mail-order subscription, these adult diapers free you from the inconvenience of bodily functions. The product allegedly comes in a simple envelope much like those used for the DVDs. No longer tethered to using the bathroom, the user can become the PRO-LEVEL addict they’ve always wanted to be. It’s almost too easy to burn through three seasons of a TV show you couldn’t WATCH BECAUSE LIFE WAS SO DIFFICULT THAT YOU COULDN’T EVER FIND THE TIME. But I digress.

Now you can “stream” on your couch while you’re streaming!

-

So, there you have it. A complete list of absolutely true-ish, not at all false and utterly important rumors about Netflix’s new features. I can tell you’re super excited so sign up to confirm or deny these rumors for yourself:

–

Follow us on Facebook. There is a big rumor that Facebook is not a book of faces.

Disclosure: Netflix sponsored this post but has neither confirmed nor denied these rumors. In fact, bringing us on at all, after they read this post, may become the stuff of legend. I mean, we put a logo on a pair of adult diapers. Come on. They paid for my travel, accommodations and for this post. Not for our utter insanity. You get that for free of charge!

For the past week, I have been at Netflix headquarters and got to hear lots of insider information that Netflix doesn’t want me talking about I will reveal to you very soon. It’s pretty exciting stuff.

In those meetings, I had the chance to speak with several executives there including the company’s CEO, Reed Hastings. As soon as he left, I got to the bottom of all the rumors surrounding Netflix and their upcoming announcements.

1. Flix for Fones™

Are you still using a pager, fax machine or rotary phone? Then, it’s a safe bet someone is reading this to you because you don’t have the Internet and have an irrational fear of technology. Well, not to be outdone, Netflix has decided to branch into the flip phone market. Sure, that old Razr phone is pink and barely works, but it has almost 50 lines of resolution. That’s all anyone needs to watch movie or televsion show, right? And those fresh ringtones!

2. Arrested Development Cast Party Easter Egg

The first hundred households to watch all 13 episodes of the new season of Arrested Development on Netflix will unlock a special holographic presentation of the entire cast beamed from your viewing device for a special cast party in your home.*
* hardware updates may be necessary, may not be available in some prisons

We knew you might have a hard time believing us, so here is some video proof of the legitimacy of our claims…

Did I mention they come wearing special t-shirts with special dance moves?

3. Nutritionflix Feature

Parents already enjoy the convenience of Netflix for the eduinfoentertainrichment that they want to provide their kids. But a possibly reliable-ish source has leaked that they’re going a step further in helping parents by providing prompts at the home screen. Reward systems for eating well (or at all) will revolutionize the intake of quality sustenance for kids. A version 2.0 is already in the works for homework completion and using the word “please” in a sentence. My son barely eats Ketchup, so I would like this service.

4. Artificially Intelligent Customization

Everyone knows Netflix uses a proprietary algorithm to help make selections for you and give their customers the best recommendations possible. It supposedly seems they’ve made a breakthrough in either the prediction of the future or mind reading. Both are good enough for me.

I’m always intrigued by the variety of the programming they have that instantly streams, but this takes it to a whole nuther level!

5. Netflix Anti-Bathroom Adult Pull-ups

Available by discrete mail-order subscription, these adult diapers free you from the inconvenience of bodily functions. The product allegedly comes in a simple envelope much like those used for the DVDs. No longer tethered to using the bathroom, the user can become the PRO-LEVEL addict they’ve always wanted to be. It’s almost too easy to burn through three seasons of a TV show you couldn’t WATCH BECAUSE LIFE WAS SO DIFFICULT THAT YOU COULDN’T EVER FIND THE TIME. But I digress.

Now you can “stream” on your couch while you’re streaming!

-

So, there you have it. A complete list of absolutely true-ish, not at all false and utterly important rumors about Netflix’s new features. I can tell you’re super excited so sign up to confirm or deny these rumors for yourself:

–

Follow us on Facebook. There is a big rumor that Facebook is not a book of faces.

Disclosure: Netflix sponsored this post but has neither confirmed nor denied these rumors. In fact, bringing us on at all, after they read this post, may become the stuff of legend. I mean, we put a logo on a pair of adult diapers. Come on. They paid for my travel, accommodations and for this post. Not for our utter insanity. You get that for free of charge!

Tim Tebow, one of the most polarizing figures in sports, was recently rated the most influential athlete by Forbes.com.  While his reach is unmatched, Tebow has found himself in a tough situation to overcome with his recent release by the Jets.   Tony Dungy has some advice and words of encouragement for him.

Have you ever had an experience at work or home where it didn’t work out in your favor?  If so, how did you respond? And what got you through those tough times?  Just as Coach advised Tebow to be patient and ready to go, we must do the same when hard circumstances or disappointments come our way.  These are important values to begin instilling in your children from an early age.  While there must be a balance between pushing too hard and being patient, teaching your kids perseverance is important because it produces character.  Strong character is what remains during the fire of trials.   If your children are having issues overcoming difficulties, check out our 10 Ways to Teach Your Children to Overcome Obstacles.

Huddle up with your kids tonight and ask: “What is the biggest challenge you’ve ever had to face?”