Outdoor kindergarten

I just saw this little piece about outdoor kindergarden at Daddytypes. I know a certain nature boy that would truly dig going to school outside!

Salteens, Mark Mothersbaugh and a theremin on Yo Gabba Gabba

C6 has TOTALLY warmed up to Yo Gabba Gabba. (His very first time acknowledging it in a positive way mentioned here.) Well, we can't get past one particular episode that we DVRd (because he wants to watch it over and over...his modus operandi). In it, the Salteens perform an extraordinary song that WILL make you happy. It'll chase the grumpies away! I can pretty much guarantee it.


Hey! Did you know that Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer do some of the animations on Yo Gabba Gabba? Pissa!

We both really enjoy watching the Draw-with-Mark-Mothersbaugh part of the show. Of course you remember Mark from Devo! ("Real Devo" as C6 calls them, vs. "Kid Devo", which is Devo 2.0) Mark is so much fun - C6 loves his glasses!

In the Salteens episode, a guy named SoCo (on the rocks?) demonstrates a theremin. C6 LOVES this part, too. I love theremins! Some of you that were at my birthday party at the Kirkland many, many moons ago (the one where I smashed a pinata with my bass!) may remember that I guest-played the theremin with friends Curious Ritual. I hardly even used my hands!!!! HAhrhHArh!!! (use your imagination.)

When I played in Orbit, guitarist Fred played a theremin on the song "I Wanna Make You" It was always a real crowd pleaser! Here's the video for "I wanna Make You" (the video is pre-Fred and Linda.)

Scurvyann, over-n-out!

PS: Girls's Gone Child has a nice little somethin' bout Yo Gabba Gabba tunes right here.

Blue Man Preschool!!!

<--- Photo by Ken Howard © BMP

Here's a quick link from Daddytypes -
did you know that the founders of Blue Man Group recently opened a preschool? Read on!

Hmmm. Interessssting!


A few years ago, my pal Robin and I attended a Blue Man show. Robin was plucked from the Blue Man Group audience to be the lovely lady who feasted on Twinkies with the Blue Men. I found the scene on YouTube, (but that's not Robin). It was really hilarious - the audience LOVED Robin and the Blue Men were pretty sweet on her too! Who wouldn't be?

link to The Blue School website
link to The Blue Man Group website

Strange, Straaaange Potty Training Video

Um...umm....errrr....look for yourself. What's with the beret-wearin', flute-playin' dude hangin' out in the bathroom? And - sorry, but mixing clowns and potty training sounds like A Bad Idea to me.
(link from Marquis Déjà Dû)

Band On The Diaper Run

Over at Babble.com there's great tour journal from the band Mates of State. They're a duo who have been playing out on the road, traveling with their toddler daughter. The tour has come to an end, but you can read all the previous entries - the journal's called Band On The Diaper Run. HAHRHH!!! Written by Kori Gardner, who is mom to little Magnolia and husband to Jason Hammel, it covers everything from potty training on the road, pacifier issues, airplane situations - so much! It is a beautifully written glimpse into life on the road with a kiddo. Does it make me want to go on tour and bring C6 anytime soon? Hmmmm, I'll get back to you on that...

Punk Rock Dad

Jim Lindberg from Pennywise has written a book about being a punk rock dad. It is called Punk Rock Dad. HAhrH!!
Epitaph's news - Punk Rock Dad.
Punk Rock Dad Myspace page.

Elmo's Potty Time

Now that the weather is warmer, we're heading into full-on potty training. We got the DVD Elmo's Potty Time last autumn when C6 seemed interested in the magical, mystical world of the potty. C6 loves it, and there are parts of it that I really like too. For example, y'know how on Sesame Street, each episode is sponsored by a letter and a number? ("This episode of Sesame Street was brought to you by the letter B and the number 3.") Well, Elmo's Potty Time is brought to you by the letter P and the number 2!!!! HAHRHARH!!! There is a part where someone asks Baby Bear a question and, answering in the affirmative, he says, "Does a bear go potty in the woods?" Heh!!!

Here's Elmo's Dad and Baby Elmo in a flashback to Elmo's potty beginnings:


C6 and I really like this part, where kids say some (but, thankfully, not all) of the words for pee and poo. We especially llike the kid near the end who screams, "DOOOOODEEEEEEE!!!!"

Well that's it for now, gotta go. I REALLY NEED TO URINATE!!! HaaHRHHARHaaAHRH!!!

Born Learning PSAs

Have you seen any of the commercials for Born Learning? They're quite good. Here's my favorite:

This is the way I shopped even BEFORE C6 came along. HAhrHRH!!!

Like Mummio, like son...

Here's a little bit of C6 singing a mashup. He starts out with "Trot Trot to Boston" then quickly morphs to "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and then does a little freestylin' - a little bit about One Little Guy On The Vitamin Box. Then he just wings it with some doo doos and dee dees. And he winds it down nicely. This is exactly how I operate when it comes to remembering the words to songs. Which is why I mostly play bass and shut me piehole.


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ADDENDUM:
It dawned on me that "Trot, Trot to Boston" is kind of a regional nursery rhyme and you might not know what the heck I'm talking about. As I learned it, you put the kiddo on your lap and chant as you bounce the kid in a gallop:

"Trot, Trot to Boston. Trot trot to Lynn. Careful when you get there - you might fall iiiiin!" and on the word "IN" you open yer knees and hold the kid down as if he were falling in. But he doesn't actually fall, cuz you are holding ON to him, y'see.

It seems there are a few versions of the words to this - I just found:
"Trot trot to Boston, Trot trot to Lynn. Trot trot to Salem. Home again." which doesn't seem as fun - I mean, does the kid get to fall iiiiiiin?

Then: "Trot, trot to Boston. Trot, trot to Lynn. Trot, trot over the water, We all fall in." That works fine!

And: "Trot trot to Boston. Trot, trot to Lynn. Watch out (kiddo's name), Or you'll fall in." Splendid.

The key part is falling IIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!!!! Try it at home!

Sippy Cups and Neal Pollack on Nightline

Last week on Nightline, there was a piece on "Hipster Parenting" featuring pissacool kindierockband The Sippy Cups and author Neal Pollack (Alternadad, previously mentioned here!
Have a look-see:

Tigger and Pooh...and Kay, too.

C6 and I don't watch much on the Disney channel with the exception of DVR-ing The Wiggles. One day, just before the Wiggles episode began, I heard a familiar voice -lo and behold, it was Kay Hanley traipsing through the woodland with a merry band of children! Singing about Tigger and Pooh. HAHrh! I wish I could be more excited about the new show called "The New Adventures of Tigger and Pooh" - but it looks, um...um...painful. Give us the old Pooh THANKYOUVERYMUCH. But Kay sounds and looks great, doesn't she? Look:

Parenty Stuff

Just wanted to share a couple of Parenty-type sites I visit. Some for tips and ideas, some I visit to read about other parents' experiences in the trenches!

ParentHacks is one of my daily reads. There is so much useful info on this site! "Parent Hacks is a collaborative weblog that collects parents’ tips, recommendations, workarounds, and bits of wisdom – their hacks – in a single pot so we can all partake. Here’s the stuff that would have been left out of the instruction manual...if there were one."

Offsprung is brand new, and already I'm hooked. "Offsprung is a humor magazine! And community! About parenting! On the Internet! Offsprung is all these things, and so many more. Welcome to the perfect online antidote to a parenting culture gone barking mad."

Thingamababy has LOTS of great ideas and product reviews, tested by this dad and his toddler daughter. A whole lot of good. "A Dad's eye view of baby and toddler stuff."

Baby Toolkit is a very useful site indeed. Love it! "Geek parents write about baby gear." It is not just about gear though - lots of "how to's", etc.

Boston Mamas has lots of stuff, some specific to the Boston area, but not all. Great finds in kids clothes, food ideas, tips - the whole lot! "Boston Mamas is a one-stop source for cool ideas and resources for families in Boston and beyond".

There'll be much more soon - and these links and many more will be added in a "daily read" section on this buhhhhlohg. Yay!

Right On!

• Now I've done it. I stumbled into a bunch of Electric Company stuff on You Tube. I can't believe how the tunes of so many of these songs have stayed with me. Like this one:



• Right on!

• In other news...The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players are on Jack's Big Music Show! HAHHrhAHrhH!!!! Love that!

• Me likey: Local author Steve Almond writes a blog about being a dad. I loved his book "Candyfreak".

• Lastly, I don't like the word "Mommy". Unless a little kid is saying it I suppose. But even then. I'm "mama" or "mum" or "mummy" or eventually maybe "mumsy" (that's what I call my mum). Like, when people refer to moms as mommies that's just blearghhhhhhh-y.

• I survived my bignewyorkrocknrollweekendnight...but just barely! WHEW!

Alternadad

I forgot to mention that I TORE through "Alternadad" by Neal Pollack. A lot of it was eerily familiar. Eeeeeeerily. Lots of it struck home with me and I couldn't put it down - I read late, late, late into the night! Highly recommended for anyone, not just parent-types. So read it! Neal Pollack, you rockkkkkkkkkk.

momming

I have to admit, these past couple of years have been interesting in terms of how I think of myself. Because, for the most part, I haven't really thought of *myself* all that much during this time. It's been all about the boy. A good thing, for sure. But I've been able to start balancing out my "mom life" with my previous life, and it is working out great! It is nice to feel like my old self again, but new-n-improved, "Same Great Linda, now with more C6!" I'm really excited to be playing bass again - I've a show at TTs next week, and in NYC the following week (both w/Ad Frank & The Fast Easy Women). Glorioski!

Have you heard of Neal Pollack? He's hilarious! He's a dad who writes about being a dad, while maintaining his pre-dadhood life. So you can see why I enjoy his writing, right? I just ordered his book "Alternadad" and can't wait til it arrives in my mailbox. I am happy to see that he is getting good press for the book. I was sorry that I had to miss his appearance at Great Scott last night though. I would've loved to see him - but it was time to rehearse for ze upcoming showzen. [EDIT: his appearance is actually this coming Wednesday...but I'll still have to miss it for rehearsal. DAAAAAAAAAAAANG!]

Yesterday, C6 and I took a trip into Inman Square, Somerville and visited StellaBella Toys. I love that place! There's a little play area in the back of the store with a seesaw, little toy pony, and one of those things filled up with lotsa BALLS that you just sort of swim around in. What are those things called, anyway? There were a few young chaps in the play area and C6 made friends. I'm happy that he has a pretty good track record of being polite ("Oh! Hi! Hello!") but not too in-your-face. I hope this lasts. We hit the 1369 coffeehouse afterward for a yummy brownie to go. I really like that neck of the woods.

Last weekend, the Calvins and I went to the playground/park right outside of Harvard Square. I don't know what the name of the park is. It's a really nice playground, and everytime we go, the parents we cross paths with are always chatty and nice. We met a big dog named Jackson (good dog name). It was early on Sunday morning, so not much was open, but we did manage to find an m&m cookie (one of c6's faves). We are all about the baked goods, us.

...Is this what it has come to???? Nooooo!!!!!

hello.

just a random musing...i was conversing with jeff yesterday - he's got a baby boy too - and conversation veered into baby poop territory. ahhhh! is this what our lives have come to???!!! hHAHHR. i gotta get out more!

it has been a long winter and though i have been having tons of fun with C6, i really need to get out and do a few non-baby things. well, i *did* get out to the abbey for the dents record release and that was lots of fun. i had been to the abbey a couple weeks prior to that, not to see a show, just for a beer or 2 with buddies, testing the waters, as it were.

i can't wait for the snow to melt. i mean, i do like winter. just not this much of it, already!

c6 and i are going to the northshore mall today - hooray for the baby pram brigade!

off to scrape the dried baby food off my cheek...

luv,
scurvyann
xo