I’m trying a new, strategy of doing work at work (innovative, no?), so this is a covert post. (Cue Mission Impossible theme music)
The last 2 days I actually gave my husband a promise over a handshake that I would not go online even for a second at the office. And, because I never, ever break a promise, I really didn’t (no one more amazed than me). But, today he forgot to make me promise (SQUEEEE!!!), so here I am. The shame, the shame… (ba-wah-ha-ha)
In all seriousness, I’ll make this quick to retain the spirit of the effort. I just had to mention that Thing 1 asked me to play her favorite “Christmas song,” Chanukkah, O, Read the complete Post.
So, we did the Thanksgiving thing and it was great. The kids had a ball and I almost had the great pleasure of winning the family poker tournament (only to lose to my dastardly husband who used my 87 year old aunt as distraction). At least we’re keeping it in the family.
At any rate, I realized that this year blogging (well, reading blogs, which I like far more than posting) is very very high on my list of things for which I feel thankful, probably higher than it should be, but that’s another story that involves a dull tale of woe about Read the complete Post.
I like the ride-on radio flyer fire engine a lot.
I’m serious. It’s fantastic. The kids like it too. Thing 2 smiled when my MIL wheeled it in, festooned with a gorgeous heap of red and yellow curling ribbon. It has a rubber horn that honks easily and with a satisfying “ooo-ga ooo-ga.” She handed him a glossy red baby sized fire hat. My mother had also given him a red and gray striped outfit embroidered with the words “little hero” and a fire truck on the chest. Everyone said we should take a picture. We should. He’s too cute for words - beaming that uneven gap toothed grin, hat off-kilter. It was a nice day, a lovely little party.
For his first birthday my son got a total of nine vehicles. One toy airplane, two toy fire trucks, a toy globe with a train that goes around and around inside, a tractor, and a few other sundry transit items.
That’s what boys like.
Except he didn’t have a wish list. Nope — I didn’t take him, diaper and all, to do a registry Read the complete Post.
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is having their annual summit in Boston in April.
The topic is sexualization of children(read as BRATZ et al - that image above is of Bratz Babyz, btw - I know my dd always wore a LOT of liquid eyeliner when she was part of the under 1 set.) Read the complete Post.
Okay, so I need to get to work, but sometimes you have moments, you know?
I get Blender magazine. Not maybe what you’d expect, but people are funny. At any rate, this was the cover photo that I found on my doorstep today:
In case you do other things with your leisure time, that’s the former lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls (and also former member of “Eden’s Crush” — remember them?) who is now releasing her solo album. At any rate, I grabbed it just as Thing 1 said, what was on that “maz-a-geen”? I said - nothing - just a picture that was pretty inappropriate. “I saw it” she giggles. Most of the time the cover is fine, but I’m pissed at Blender, and at myself.
I distracted her with a different piece of mail – from her younger cousin — she opened it - it was a thank you card. This thank you card to be specific: Read the complete Post.
Today I took Thing 1 and Thing 2 to a women’s soccer game on campus, with friends (hi SA!) and it wasn’t exactly the perfect outing - it was extremely hot, there was no shade, we had a long walk each way, and because we had to get back for swimming, we were tight on time. Non-optimal. Significant whining ensued and we didn’t see very much of the game, but you know what, I’m still glad we went, because it reminded me about what an antidote women’s collegiate sports are for so many of the things that fry me. Read the complete Post.
I just watched the premiere of CBS’s much-maligned reality show Kid Nation (Where 40 kids are left for 40 days in a “ghost town” with minimal adult interference to organize their own society). For backstory on the hullabaloo, see yesterday’s Washington Post story or today’s brutal Baltimore Sun column. I turned it on, expecting to be outraged (awful conditions, unchecked anti-social behavior, exploitation Read the complete Post.
Well, I watched WordGirl with Thing 1, dh, and a good friend this morning. The 30-somethings in the room enjoyed the embedded adult humor (e.g., when resident bad guy, “the butcher” –who rather hilariously hurls meat products at victims– is debilitated in a vegetarian restaurant after being pelted with tofu.) Thing 1 laughed a lot and was excited for the screening. This is the only tv show she’s seen other than Sesame Street (well, Read the complete Post.
Hey, hey, hey. Tomorrow PBS is launching WordGirl, which is almost my dream come true.
WordGirl is a hip, clever cartoon about an alien (in human form) supergirl from the planet “Lexicon” who fights enemies with her vocabulary and monkey sidekick (targeted toward kids from 4-9, but some Read the complete Post.
Three months ago when dh mentioned for a second or third time that he thought we should enroll Thing 1 in gymnastics to help build her confidence (she’s the poster child for risk-aversion), I lost it. Read the complete Post.