Foodmomiac

Gummy Bears were Served at My New Book Club

On Sunday afternoon, Dylan and I went to my friend Amy's house for the first-ever meeting of our mother/daughter book club. It was a total blast.

Amy got the idea from a mom at her school, and we were lucky enough to be part of the group that she pulled together. Four of the girls (including Dylie) went to preschool together, which is super cute. Seeing these girls discussing a novel was rather amazing, considering they all met when they were four.

The book was The Tale of Despereaux, and showing that she follows in the procrastinating footsteps of her mother, Dylan finished it about three minutes before we left the house. Because it's tough to get first graders to spout literary theories, Amy did some research ahead of time, and was smart enough to fill a little bowl with pieces of paper that contained the names of characters and some key themes in the book.

We passed the bowl around the room and the girls took turns chatting about their chosen topic. Dylan decided to go rogue and go off-topic (my footsteps again?). Instead of talking about one of the words in the bowl, she and I talked about the theme of betrayal that ran through the book.

So... obvious questions. Amy served a gorgeous platter of cheese, accompanied by quince paste, fig cakes and crackers. There were also some really great olives, marcona almonds, and a treat that was new to me; pickled raisins. I am typically a raisin-hater, but these were AWESOME (and spicy!). (And hey! They are available at my beloved Zingerman's!)

The kids were welcome to eat any of the above, and Dylan definitely partook of the olives, but the kid-specific spread featured chocolate-covered Oreos, gummy bears and twizzlers.

There was definitely more playing than discussing (among the kids - the moms were chatty the whole time), but I think that's par for the course with that age group. Next up is Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

You Might Not Want to Know This Much About Me

So... I have a secret. Want to know more?

Ganz Webkinz - How do I love thee?

You are looking at the latest obsession in our household: Webkinz. Dylan and I are having an absolute blast on this site lately.

I first heard about Webkinz from my dad, and I was totally cynical. I've been on lots of kids' gaming sites, and must of them suck, quite frankly. But, my dad and step mom gave Dylan a Webkinz over the weekend, and I was blown away. This site is AWESOME, and it's also brilliant marketing, which I can certainly appreciate.

Here's how it works: You buy a Webkinz stuffed animal for about 10 bucks. It comes with a special code that you enter into the Webkinz site. This gives you access to the world of Webkinz. Your kid will be able to take care of the animal online, keeping it healthy, well-fed and happy, and buying it stuff. Dylan loves keeping track of those little meters on the lower left. When her animals (she has two) are hungry, she buys them food at the W Shop. She bought them a tub to give them baths, and she bought them a trampoline so that they could get exercise. In order to earn money, she plays games, does odd jobs (like virtual fence painting) and answers questions in categories such as social studies, health, math and science. One of the cutest things about this site is the fact that kids can create a list of friends. Dylan's cousin Jillie is on her friends list and they have been competing with each other in online tournaments every morning (while in NY, they actually competed side by side, but now they play virtually). You can chat and send notes to the friends on your list, but because this is targeted to small children, the messages can NOT be created from scratch. The kids pick a message topic (friendship) and then choose a pre-written message (You are my best friend in the whole world!). There's no opportunity for creepiness or adult pervert lurkers.

Oh! One more thing - this is great for girls AND boys. Room decor is available in themes that range from princess to candy to sports, and your kid will be able to choose the gender of the animal. Dylan's dog is a girl, and her monkey is a boy.

I know I sound like a paid spokeperson, but I have absolutely no affiliation with this company. I just love the site! If your kids are already on Webkinz, or if you get them an animal and an account, please feel free to invite us to be part of your friends' list. Dylan's username on the site is foodmomiac.

Why four year olds shouldn't watch reality TV

Because it's summertime, we've been letting Dylan stay up pretty late every night. And, because my house is about 400 degrees, she's been sleeping with us. This means a lot of Tom & Jerry for us, and a lot of reality TV for her. Her favorite show,by far, is So You Think You Can Dance. And, her favorite dancer on that show is Natalie. Yes, the Natalie that was sent home last night, causing my child to cry HYSTERICALLY with REAL TEARS for about 20 minutes. She fell asleep crying.

Bad mother = me.

Why I Love High School Musical

Dylan is officially obsessed with High School Musical. Yes, this show is way over her head, but she LOVES it. She loves the music, she loves the dancing, and God help me, I think she loves Troy, the cute lead guy in it.

We have listened to the soundtrack about a gazillion times, and she watches the movie every chance she gets. Tonight, I was watching it with her before she went to bed, and she was asking me a ton of questions.

"Why does he like her?" "Why is Sharpay mean to Gabriella?" "Who is getting the part in the play?" "Why does he have hair in his armpit?"

Why Why Why

I was about to lose my mind.

And then the following question popped out of Dylie's mouth: "What is 16 over Pi?" *

I love High School Musical!

* For those not in the know, Gabriella, the main girl in the movie is a contestant in a scholastic decathalon. I guess the above equation is one of the things that they discuss while practicing for the main event. Try explaining what Pi means to a four-year-old. Good times.

Technorati Tags: High School Musical

The Mozart Magic Cube

Max is completely and utterly obsessed with this toy. It was a baby gift for Dylan, so it is now over four years old, but it still works perfectly. It is also wonderful at promoting interaction between the two kids. Dylan loves entertaining Max by pushing the various buttons and talking to him about the music.

How I Survived The Wiggles

Given the recent effusive coverage in the NY Times, there has been a lot of talk lately about The Wiggles. Greg at DaddyTypes is a fan (I think). Melissa from Blogging Baby and Suburban Bliss is not.

We are currently in between Wiggledom. Dylan has outgrown them, and Max is too young to care. But, when Dylan loved them, our house (and car - we had a built-in DVD then) was overtaken by Wigglemania. We even saw them live, and I happened to be the most hungover I had EVER been at that show, so I think that deserves bonus Wiggle points. But, anyway...

When you have to watch the same show over and over and over again, it helps to have a coping mechanism. And so, I decided to have a crush on Greg. I haven't revisited this crush in a year or two, but it was all brought rushing back to me when I saw the picture posted on DaddyTypes. I LOVE that they aren't wearing their silly Wiggle gear!

XM Kids or Acid Trip?

We are an XM family. My vehicle has XM radio, so, unless I whip out the iPod, it is all XM, all the time. The only time I listen to local radio is Sunday at 12 noon, when Splendid Table is on NPR, and if there is a Tornado watch, and I'm listening for news of impending doom.

In the morning, when I'm carpooling, we always have XM Kids playing. This might sound like it would suck, but honestly, it's pretty good. The morning dj, Kenny, is funny and not at all cloying, and his cast of characters (including our favorite, Dirk, the fourth and forgotten chipmunk) are very entertaining. One of the coolest things about this show is that it is basically requests-only. Little kids (mostly 5-7) call in and request their favorites. A few have their parents send in an email, which I've done myself a time or two.

The requests are generally predictable, with lots of Star Wars songs, a ton of Crazy Frog, and TV music such as Kim Possible, Teen Titans and lately High School Musical. So, I was very unprepared for this morning's strange music sequence:

- Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul and Mary
- Candy Man by Sammy Davis Jr.

Freaky, freaky, freaky.

A side note: Dylan and I love coming up with music mixes comprised of songs we hear on XM Kids. For some more fun talk of music and kids, check out Asha's latest project over at Parent Hacks.