Wheels

Thanks to the park having this nice plastic trike hanging around the boy is FINALLY getting the hang of riding. Sadly the awesome cruiser tryke I got for his second birthday is all shiny metal & pretty wood & still too heavy for him to actually pedal around the playground. Next goal - get him on that darn Skoot.

Hello Banned Books Week

Well this always makes me want to start kissing librarians!!! In honour of the week - even though I am a jonny-come lately Ihave copied the list of the most-challenged books of the 1990s straight from the ALA website down below & I have highlighted the ones I've read. You can do this too if you want as sort of a banned books meme. AT THE TOP of the Current Lists are the JK Rowling - Harry Potter Books because of both their dangerous witchy content and also because of Dumbledores' unspoken gayness.

Also here is a LINK to the National Coalition on Censorships list of Banned books with queer content. This is a great place to start if you are looking for good kids books like:

And Tango Makes Three (By Justin Richardson and Henry Cole (Simon and Schuster) The LIST TOPPER for 3 years running because there is nothing so dangerous to american youth as a couple of GAY PENGUINS - especially since it is a TRUE STORY!!

And Tango Makes Three is based on the true story of two male penguins raising a chick in the Central Park Zoo. According the American Library Association it was the most challenged book of 2006, 2007 and 2008. One incident at a Loudoun County, Virginia elementary school involved the book’s removal from shelves in a decision by the local superintendent. There was an immediate backlash and many called for a reconsideration. Opponents of the book claimed that it promoted a ‘homosexual agenda.’ In another incident at a Southwick, Massachusetts elementary school, a librarian claimed she feared losing her job after introducing a class of second graders to the story. The librarian subsequently received a letter from her principal requesting that she ‘take [the] matter seriously and refrain from disseminating information that supports alternative styles of living,’ and that, ‘further infractions [could] result in discipline up to and including suspension and/or termination of employment.’ In a third incident, the book was ordered off bookshelves in one of North Carolina’s largest school districts in Charlotte in 2006.

most-challenged books of the 1990s

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

So go out this week and enjoy a dangerous book!!!!!!!!

Really -

Who dresses this kid?

Wishing You An Easy Fast

... and this kinda break fast....

Who dresses this kid?

Apple Picking & Touch A Truck

We headed out to Shelburne farms in Stow, MA. for apple picking this weekend. This photo is really decieving though becouse you don't see the CRAZY crowds -- really really crazy crowds - there was a line of cars to get into the place & park, a line to get into the orchards & pick & lines at the store, the donut stand, the games & bouncy house.... We ended up in a far corner where there was a somewhat abandoned sand box eating our picnic lunch & thinking we could've just gone to the park behind our house. But then we wouldn't have 124 apples to share - want some apples????

ALSO - we would have missed the FABULOUSNESS that is ACTON City's Touch A Truck day!!!!

Yes boys & girls - we have every type of truck a three year old could aks for AND MORE - there were diggers, cherry pickers, big Mac Trucks, Poice Cars, Motorcycles & even a Police Command Center. Fire Trucks, Ambulance - & you could go inside them & play.... even a school bus


And

A MOTORBOAT....

Monito really dug the motor boat - plus they had it set up so that you climbed up a balance beam to get in and came out down a slide --- WOW

and finally our lil firefighter chillin on a digger.

Adventure Day #2 Fall 09

The boy and I needed to keep up the momentum on having a special adventure Weds (it's the day between our T/TH preschool days & I need to keep him on an early to rise, early to bed routine) .... So this week we decided to soak up some BOSTON history - and let me tell you folks, Boston's got History up the wazzoo.





So we headed out on our Red-Line train to central Boston's Copley Square and adventured out to the Boston Public Library.





Nothing says Library like a couple of marble lions right????




Well the Boston Public Library is VERY old & also very gorgeous. Lots of marble, wonderfuly painted walls & ceilings and even a crazy courtyard garden with a pool and fountain. The boy thought the statue was mean Tai-Lan (Kung Fu Panda bad guy for those of you who don't know) & I pointed out that its actually a woman holding a baby. Hmm.








We enjoyed running around & playing in the kids room - which is about the same size as our entire neighborhood library & the boy even made a friend of sorts who we will have to keep our eyes open for on future trips.

There is a cafe & a restaurant that serves a full high tea, but there was no way that one of us was going to sit still for that so I think another visit may be in order - especially if I can drop the kid somewhere first.











All in all - it was another pretty good outing for the two of us. Now I just need a plan for next week....
hmmmm...

Nanuet New Year

Yep its that time of year again. Time to pile into the car with a sleepy post call mommy, a bag full of snacks and a dvd player set to save my life pleeze, and head down to NY. I have discovered that every drive no matter how short or long is just about one half hour too long - and the drive to Nanuet is no exception - its just as you get to that Tappenzee bridge that I hit the GET ME OUT OF THIS CAR NOW - feeling & that's usually about where the boy gets it too.

This year we got pretty lucky - I drove the whole way and we only had a couple spots of traffic - none in CT where we expected it and none on the bridge really -- but then right after the bridge BOOM full stop, sit & wait traffic. But it was well worth it to get to Grandpa & Grandma's house of wonders (& wonderful peeps)!!!!!

Just a photo

Getting ready for talk like a pirate day...

Still digging the new Cambridge Common playground

Happy Birthday Dashiell

& thank your mom for the lovely pizza party & the great Carrot Cake.

Look at me Ben Affleck, Look at me

Today when I went to pick the kid up from his preschool this is the scene that confronted me infront of my Peets coffee location. Well you can't really tell but its a film crew set-up working on Ben Affleck's new movie that's set in Cambridge. This is probably going to be a 3 second shot of someone walking out of Upstairs on the Sq. or Grendels Den & into the little square here - to get it they were shooting for a day or two. After picking up the munchkin we came back to look at the costumes, and mixing boards and big cameras.

He didn't really get it - he kept asking where the TV was - assuming that a movie had to be on TV & not getting that they were all "making" a movie & not "watching" a movie. I also think he was a little disgruntled that his favorite rock staircase was behind the caution tape & he couldn't run around on it.




I did have hopes that J. Garner would show up with their 3 year old (it was just post pre-school pickup time) and the kids could run around together & we could become best friends & then they would take us on some great mid-winter vacation with them... ahhhh -- but no - no sign of the star family of Cambridge.... There was howver the fancy sign above at Cardullo's Deli-Grocery (or whatever it is) that says Welcome to the Cast & Crew of "The Town"

--- our little bit of hollywood

Adventure Day - Children's Museum

Today we had to keep to our NEW pre-school schedule, so I needed a tiring type morning activity for me & the boy... Boston Children's Museum - fit the bill. We packed ourselves up & set out on the "T" on a momma boy adventure day - which we haven't done in awhile & headed into South Station for a short walk (past a construction sight - yeah) to the museum.

We started in the art area on the 3rd floor, then wound our way into the lil' kids area and then before you could say boo... we were down on the 1st floor at the climbing wall.





He was something of a little speed demon working his way through this circuit until I finally bribed him with promises of chocolate milk to move on. After a stop in the attached cafe we headed back through South Station for a look at the trains & then hopped on the red-line home


with a special treat from Rosie's Bakery!!!

First Day of School

First "first day of school"

Today Pre-School started.

Here is the boy walking toward the new school with Mommy

You can tell that its pretty early in the am for him by the half-closed eyes. He actually did really good getting up early, watching a little telly, having his breakfast, getting clothes on & getting into the car. At this point though he is telling us that he doesn't like his school & doesn't want to go there. You can tell from the smile that he's got Em convinced.

Here he is in the classroom - not so bad

there are blocks, there are trucks, there is a marble run... This was before he started crying & asking us to not go.
That was hard but the teachers called to let me know he was ok & playing & having a good time an hour or so after drop off.



No paparazzi at my breakfast please!!! - note 2 kinds of cereal (both wrong by the way)
and scrambled eggs, water and fuzzy milk.

The picture I didn't get was him at the pick up - marching into the cubby room holding his little snack-purse and
his lunch bag -OMG so Friggin Cute. & he had a BIG smile even with the crazy-ness of 17 kids running to their
respective moms & dads & nannnies.


And the real picture from the first day of school is where he is now....
asleep on the couch -
he didn't even make it into the bedroom to lay down for a nap.
Playing can be SUCH hard work!!!!

Building a Foundation - Labor Day

This is the fruits of the boys labor over the labor day weekend.
He spent much of his time up in the woods & trees with Grandpa & used his trucks to dig out a "foundation"



He says: "... thats my skyscraper at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
There's woodchips in there and some sticks and we have to put tape in there.
There's big rocks. The rocks are the edge...."




It was a pretty impressive project