ADORABLE Gift idea for kids

If this isn't just about the cutest thing I have seen...

I saw these on a local stationery store's blog and I wondered where to get these.  They remind me of the kind of toy you may find in a gift shop at a children's museum and I love the way they were used in this office as a decoration.  My favorite one is the "Paris in a Bag" version.  They are available for purchase here.  You'd probably pay more for shipping than the gift itself!

Overdue...

Here are some belated requisite Christmas pictures. We had a low key Christmas this year where the only person in the family who got presents was the Kid. It made for a very stress-free holiday, and probably one of my favorites in recent history. I highly recommend it. This is the last year where the Kid won't really get all the hubbub, so we got her the things that she had been eyeing every time we made a Costco run in the past 2 months - a play kitchen and dolls. It is very 1950's of me, I know. I am all about the gender stereotyping...

"That is sooooo not my kid..."

It's like she's feeding a gerbil or something.


"What!? Is my refrigerator running? Whaddya mean, you want to speak to Amanda Huginkiss?""Who is this? Stop with the prank calls, already! I am trying to cook here!"

BTW, this play kitchen was seriously packaged by some OCD elves in the factory. In all my years of assembling DIY IKEA furniture and whatnot, I have never seen assembly instructions that were so perfectly labeled in all my life. Impressive.

The Kid and and UNC the Blue Bear

So the Kid LOST IT the other night when the bear that a friend from UNC Chapel Hill (nicknamed "Unc" by Michelle and Hank) gave her got left behind at daycare. She wouldn't sleep and was only consolable by rocking and carrying her for a long while. She slept fitfully that night. Her new boyfriend has tried to make it into the bathtub, which is where MamaDrama and PapaDrama draw the line. Now I never had a lovey that I can remember, but she is awfully attached to this blue ball of fuzz. Methinks we need to go to the Tarheels Bookstore website and order a few more copies, just in case.

Barbie vs. the Kid, Round 1

So in my attempt to foist unrealistic images of feminine beauty on the unsuspecting fruit of my loins (now that's a pretty picture) I decided yesterday that the Kid needs a doll. Unfortunately, the only doll we had in our house was a Barbie doll that someone gave me for my daughter several months ago, despite the fact that those teeny Barbie shoes are SUCH a choking hazard. My evil curiosity got the better of me and I broke it out of its packaging and presented it to the Kid. Before I give you the lowdown on the Rumble in the Jungle, part deux, I have a few observations of the Barbie doll.

I did try to offer some diversity by offering her first doll as an African-American Barbie. I don't think those even existed when I used to play with (ahem, cut the hair off of) my Barbies back in the 80's. When she gets older, though I will have to explain some things to her.

-First, no black girl has hair that looks like that naturally without a weave, extensions or an unholy alliance between her hairdresser and the devil. Unless you are Beyonce, of course (rolling my eyes).

-Ballerina Barbie was wearing a thong. I mean, I know it is supposed to be a leotard, but we are not on the beaches of Brazil where cellulite doesn't exist. She should cover it up a little, Mattel.

So on to the main event. In this corner (gesturing to stage left), we have the Kid, weighing in at 22 lbs. She is known for chewing paper and destroying sensitive documents. In this corner (gesturing to stage right), we have Ballerina Barbie, weighing in at 8 oz and she appears to be freakishly tall for her weight. She is known for her ability to pirouette while being scantily clad! (bell rings). The Kid stares her down for about 15 seconds. The silence in the arena is deafening. Then with a quick left hook...

Ballerina Barbie is down for the count! The crowd goes wild!

And the winner is...the Kid!!!

Elmo: Friend or Foe? The Psychology of Sesame Street

EHHHHHMOOOOOOOOO! No, this is not the cry of a BBC announcer indicating that Arsenal Football Club just scored a GOOOOAAAAAAAAAL! Nor is it the sound that mating cows use to call each other when the mood strikes. It is something even louder and perhaps more dangerous: It is the sound that a toddler makes when certain furry puppet appears at the end of Sesame Street.

Elmo: The Red Headed Stepchild of Sesame Street

Now, I consider myself to be a bit of a Sesame Street purist. I grew up in a household where we weren't allowed to watch much TV at all, so SS was my escapist TV before reality TV came into existence. I remember a time before Maria and Luis got together, before Mr. Hooper died and before anyone besides Big Bird knew that Snuffy really existed. So I was one of those kids (who had probably outgrown SS by this point) that was a little annoyed when this little furry red giggly character came onto the scene 20 years ago (boy am I old).

It is a formulaic rescue device used by TV writers since the beginning of time. Introduce a cute little kid to inject life into a series. They did it on Family Ties, The Cosby Show and Growing Pains. Heck, they even tried pulling the cute new baby thing on Friends when Rachel had her baby. It usually signals the decline of the show and that things will soon come to a screeching halt. But in this case, the Muppet initially called "Baby Monster" soon became the breakout star of SS. He has his own dolls, his own segment on SS called "Elmo's World" and is the go-to Muppet for guest spots. He has approached Beatles status amongst those under 4 years of age and you see babies stop in their tracks when the theme song for "Elmo's World"comes on the TV. See what happens next time you are around a toddler watching Elmo and tell me if it doesn't look like the crazy guy from the Hale Bopp comet video.

Is it his high pitched voice? Is it his tendency to break into song? Is it his annoying predilection for referring to himself in 3rd person? Maybe it is the bright color and those great big googly eyes. I talked to one of friends from college with a degree in child development about it and she said that it is most likely the fact that he is a friendly looking version of some of the scarier looking creatures on SS and the fact that he talks like a 3 year old hopped up on caffeine and sugar. Babies and toddlers love order and routine. It is reassuring to them and makes them feel secure.

Elmo, for all his craziness, is predictable. He represents the high-energy, almost manic shift that has happened to the classic show I used to love. The Red Menace (as some call him) will carry on. I will end this post with a quote from film critic Joel Stein from the LA Times: "I know that children love Elmo. But children are idiots." Except mine who, of course, is a genius.

WHICH SESAME STREET CHARACTER ARE YOU???