The Sing-Off

Did anyone else watch The Sing-Off last night? Too bad if you missed it because you were tuned into Skating With the Stars instead. I'm not usually into reality TV, but this one wowed, especially the rendition of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" performed by a group of 15 college guys. Not the best vocal performance of the night, but by far the best choreography, which trumps in my book. Sorry you have to put up with an ad to get to the video, but I promise, it's worth it.

P.S. As far as the judges go, Andy and I decided we are Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman fans, but Nicole Pussy Cat Doll, not so much. We want the funny, thoughtful, witty, and technical critiques, not the warm fuzzy, say nothing fluff.

Which group was your favorite? Will you be watching or does a capella not tickle your fancy?

Shameless Plug

One of my best girlfriends just published an e-book that is my new parenting bible. I can vouch for it since I got to read the whole thing as one of her editors. It's aimed at smart, thoughtful parents who want to help instill character and discipline in their young child(ren) in a positive way. The book is chock full of ideas grounded not only in research and theory, but practical experience. I particularly love the plentiful examples of how to handle a variety of parenting situations, as well as tools to reduce frustration (both yours and your kid's). Mandy is a bona fide child development expert, as well as a seasoned teacher who also trains educators on classroom management and best practices.

Go to her website to find out more about the book, read reviews, and get a sneak peek of the first few pages. For the next five days you can enter the coupon code NotJustCute to get your copy at a discounted price. Hurry and start reading and then let me know when you've finished. Hooray for practical, common sense parenting advice!

Gotta Love Craigslist

I love Craigslist for a variety of reasons, the main one being that you can find killer deals on random items. We got our leather couches, Pottery Barn TV hutch, and one of our cars off Craigslist. When we lived in Dayton for a summer, I furnished our house courtesy of Goodwill and Wal-Mart, then sold it all (for a profit) on Craigslist at the end of the summer. Lately, I've been on the selling end again and today I had a funny experience. I'm now on my third round trying to give away a brand new pack of adult Depends. We got them last Thanksgiving when Andy's family thought it might be a good way to keep Ben dry during the night, but alas, it didn't work. Too big and unwieldy. Anyways, my thrifty self can't just throw away a pack of perfectly good Depends, so I've listed them for free two other times. Each time I get multiple responses within hours and arrange for them to be picked up, but no one has ever come. Everyone always says they're for their aging grandparent, uncle, aunt, etc. but maybe they think I'll assume they're really going to use them. I really don't care at this point - I just want them gone! Right now they're taking up valuable real estate in my coat closet. I'm contemplating hosting a white elephant gift exchange just because they'd be the perfect gag gift.

Anyway, I got five responses today, one of which killed me. Apologies for those who are squeamish, but a summary wouldn't do it justice. And I quote: "I would like to have these, as they are great for my period at night and do WAAY better than sanitary napkins! Please let me know so I can pick them up Wednesday." Wow. Serious oversharing. I know Craigslist creates its own cozy little community, but this isn't Facebook, people.

I responded that she could pick them up at her leisure tomorrow, I'd leave them in a bag on our doorstep. Totally incognito. She then followed up with an email asking if I could meet her at a Wendy's in town tomorrow because she catches the bus there. On one hand if she really needs them that bad, I should be a Good Samaritan, but on the other hand, is this a trip into crazytown? What to do?

Have you had any memorable Craigslist experiences?

My Feelings Would Best be Expressed...

By a guest post in the form of my sister Bekka. Little did she know that her post summed up our lives at this moment. Just insert my face into her picture and substitue an Arizona State sweatshirt for the Dartmouth one. You locals know it, you've seen it a million times. She dubbed the ensemble, "we got no jobs, we got no food, our pets' heads are falling off..." I was about to cry this morning for a myriad of reasons but ended up laughing out loud. Thanks, Bex.

My First Howler

Today I opened our mailbox to find a hand-addressed envelope to Mr. and Mrs. Haws from Ben's school. He's now into his fourth month of kindergarten and part of me hoped that the letter was to inform us that (as we suspected) he's uncommonly brilliant and they want our permission to enroll him in the gifted program. Deep down I knew that it was more likely about a much less pleasant topic. I gingerly opened the letter, half expecting it to start smoking and a voice to chide me loudly about Ben being late to school. The majority of the time he rides the bus (with which I have a love/hate relationship), and I didn't realize tardiness was a problem until we got a little note in his backpack kindly reminding us about when the tardy bell rings each day. This one was a little more direct, yet still using sugary sweet teacher voice to emphasize my shoddy parenting which will undoubtedly lead to Ben's failure in academia/quick descent into juvenile delinquency and thereby guilt me into reform.

"You know that at Alton Darby we feel that good attendance and arrival at school on time is very important. It is so important that I take the time to review absence and tardy reports to see if any student has high incidents in either category. We know that a student' success is related to their attendance at school. It is difficult to keep up when a child is not present for instruction. I notice that Ben has been tardy 5 times since the start of school. If there is anything we can do to assist you in getting your child to school on time, please let me know. Punctuality is important in gettng prepared for the school day but is also an important life skill in the workplace. Thank you for your help in this important matter." (Signed by the principal herself. Yikes!)

Perhaps the next step is public shaming where Ben will have to wear a scarlet "T" and I will have to spend an afternoon in the stocks on the front lawn of the school where all "good" parents (read: The ones who drive their kids the .5 miles from home and sit in the carpool lane wasting gas for 30 minutes) can point their fingers or shake their heads at me for contributing to the decay of society.

Confession: One of the five times I consciously chose for him be late because I was having a meaningful conversation with a friend. I am all about school and I hope that what I am about to say doesn't shock and offend all you friends and relatives in the education business. Call me callous, but it's just kindergarten, for heaven's sake! Truth be told, I've actually felt like it's been a bit of a letdown compared to his stellar experience at the school district's preschool last year. I feel like there they did lots of hands-on creative activities and in kindergarten he comes home with reams of worksheets where he practices letters.

Recently I had an interesting conversation with a friend who is a former teacher and she informed me that there are two types of parents: Those who care alot about seeing proof of work being done at school (worksheets, coloring pages, etc.) and those who don't. Apparently I'm in the latter category. I trust that Ben's teachers are using the time wisely and would actually like to pretend that they're doing something more fun and thought-provoking than copying letters. Lest I sound ungrateful, I am very glad to have a public school system and am happy to outsource much of my child's education to the professionals since it's not my competitive advantage.

What I'm taking much too long to say is that I will get my act together and have him at school on time. But I am also sad that schools are now so tied to standards testing that kindergarten is the new first grade and that we're forgoing more age-appropriate activities involving experiences and exploration in lieu of redundant activities and rote memorization.

A good friend who is also a child development expert wrote about this topic recently and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have you noticed a difference between preschool and kindergarten curriculums? What are your thoughts on your child's educational experience thus far?

Quit Calling - I Voted Already!!

With the U.S. a veritable patchwork of Congressional and gubernatorial seats up for grabs, our mailbox and answering machine have been filled with pleas for us to vote this election season. Ohio is a hotbed of political fervor and since we still have Massachusetts cell phone numbers I even get a MA campaign call or two. Our phone number is on the Do Not Call registry, so political calls must be exempt, sadly. I love the democratic process and all, but will be very glad when it's all over tomorrow. Thank goodness for absentee ballots so you can avoid actually having to stand in line at the voting booth.

Anyone else following your state's elections? Are there any exciting races you're following? Have you voted or do you plan to vote? Is there a particula issue that's getting you to the polls?

P.S. Here's an interesting article in The New Yorker on the high-profile Nevada senate race pitting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vs. Republican/Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle.

Haunted Reads

Because the day after the holiday is over is always the best time to post about it. Better late than never, right? Here are some of our favorite Halloween reads of 2010:
A cute, simple rhyming book about a kid who accidentally hops on the wrong school bus.

Love the illustrations and orange/black color palette throughout, as well as the creative story with a clever herione. Andy's mom sent this book to cure Ben's fear of ghosts that he acquired while hearing spooky stories at her house this summer. I think it did the trick.

This story that uses the alphabet to showcase truly awful kid behaviors in a humorous way.

Do you have any favorite holiday reads, Halloween or otherwise?