MUST HAVE TOY?

Toys. Is there really a reason to ever buy real ones? I mean... from the Raaawrr (like a bear) game, to the "I Can't Find Jonah... Here I am Mommy!" game (aka. I-haven't-quite-grasped-the-hide-and-go-seek-concept yet-game), to the Wrap-him-up-like-a-burrito-and-pretend-I-ordered-a-quesadilla-instead game, sometimes I wonder if buying a child an elaborate toy is even necessary....

I mean, when a 3 year old has as much fun cramming as many stuffed animals into his pajamas as he can, for the mere opportunity to see himself with a lumpy tush, is investing in the hottest, and probably toxic toy, worth it?

Well, fortunately for YOU, you can have the best of both worlds and not spend a dime.... Parents Ask is giving away $150 to Toys"R"Us PLUS an awesome Melissa & Doug Wooden work bench (that is most certainly NOT toxic). Simply leave a comment on the link and you will be entered to win. Good luck!

JENNIFER BRANDT'S "LIVING"

In addition to the "Minty Mallows" that sucked me in at Trader Joes, when I saw a Gingerbread Man kit for $3.99, I couldn't resist. I instantly had visions of Jonah and I sitting together, decorating this darling cookie while drinking hot cocoa in our winter PJs... establishing a holiday tradition which one day would include me even baking a gingerbread house (mansion really) and inviting all the children to come and decorate it using "snow caps" that I had hand crafted... in my craft studio... next to the cozy fire place.... and our heavenly smelling Christmas tree.

Sure we're Jewish and I stopped getting Martha Stewart magazines years ago... But a girl can dream...

Anyway, tonight I decided we'd give the GB dude a whirl.

We decided this guy needed a lot of buttons. And apparently, gladiator sandals (they were supposed to be Uggs).

Of course, once GB guy (who Jonah decided we should call Judy) was dressed, it was time for the creativity to really begin. Hello, green water. Goodbye green sprinkles (that I had every intention of using on sugar cookies... last year).

All in all, it was actually quite fun and should time ever permit and creativity reign, I could very well see myself making this an actual tradition, using more impressive decorative goods than the low-budge kit from TJ's. But, I'd be shocked if Martha could come up with a better idea for dealing with a mess than trash bags on the floor...

PERFECTLY TRENDY...

I don't often check my stats to see what kind of traffic I get. Even though I've been blogging since 2007, I generally assume that no one except my mom and maybe a teenager lost on the Internet in Uruguay reads my blog. Okay, fine, that may sound a little pathetic, but in all honesty, the dial is very seldom pushed by a new referring URL or traffic source.

However, the other day I noticed a spike--- from two places... one took research. One did not. The one that took research eventually led me to a lovely little forum where everyone's avatar/ photo is of Joe Flannigan. (You remember him from that interview I did on the set of "Change of Plans?"). Right. Anyway, these people like a show that JF was on called "Stargate." A lot. And that's what/all they talk about. Well, apparently, my interview with him was the subject of a lot of "Joe is a hot dad" fodder. Listen, I don't disagree... he is cute.... which is probably why many of the comments in the forum said that it "it seemed like the interviewee was rather taken with Joe..." (Oh, people of Stargate-land. I am a PROfessional.... He's hot. Ahem. He's hot).

But back to my traffic....

So the other place I noticed my traffic was coming from was ELLE... as in ELLE! Well, okay... Technically, it was ElleGirl.Elle.com... They're "junior" site. But still! I thought- Lists, like the one we're doing on Momversation are surfacing all over the web of top blog round ups, has ElleGirl done one of their own? What list would they do?? Top Blogs that Will Make You Rethink Motherhood? OR Blogs that will make your Liz Lemon-like mom laugh?

But, no... It was not a Blog of the Year list. Rather, it was an article on emerging fall trends... and "Perfectly Disheveled" was linked to (on purpose...?) and used as a a term used to describe the combination of winter fabrics and summer styles...

The article goes on to talk about how to pair contrasting fabrics and styles and how you can update your wardrobe to look this chic too....

Well, Elle Girls coming to my site in hopes of some darling "oxymoronic" wardrobe ensembles, allow me to leave you with this: Let this picture be your guide of the fashion in YOUR forward...

Oh, yes, my pretties... Someday... You'll see...

GOD KNOWS...

I can remember being about 8 years-old and carefully coloring in between the lines on a plastic sheet... minutes later I would place this delicately crafted piece of plastic on a baking sheet, shove it in the oven and wonder: How, oh, how will this plastic Barbie shrink to the size of Tom Thumb???

SHRINKY DINKS.

Do you remember them?

They were incredible. Magical. And frighteningly unsafe and probably, TOXIC.

They HAD to be toxic.

Right???

With a 3 year old, I definitely try to do my best to provide foods (minus the occasional "Old" McDonald meal we indulge on every blue moon) that aren't blatantly out to destroy organs. But to be honest, I can't say I'm as strict with toys. In fact, just this weekend, we were playing with a toy (that Jonah got to pick out after sleeping in his big boy bed for the first night) that reminded me of the (WTF-god-only-knows-what-goes-into-this-toy-to-make-it-do-this) wonderment I remember as an 8 year old playing with shrinky dinks.

Basically, he would take this yellow car, squeeze it with COLD water (has to be COLD water!) and then send it through the car wash....

The car goes down the slide, as most cars do at fancy car washes (right?), and voila, The car is now (in HOT water) and RED.

Magic and not a drop of ink or paint or lead visible on my son's chubby little fingers.

Sid the Science Kid would have a friggin' field day trying to figure this sucker out.

Do YOU monitor what kinds of chemicals go in to your children's toys?

MY "PRINCE" WILLIAM

I may have created a monster, and his name is William....

I don't quite remember how it happened, but it was something like this.... One day, Jonah was having your average meltdown about something - an I need another string cheese, higher bubbles in the bath NOW, I want my own car (as in- his own Nissan Motor car) moments... Completely exasperated, the only way I could talk him down off the hysteria ledge was quickly distracting him with a story about a little boy named William who also didn't get the piece of string cheese, higher bubbles in the bath, etc etc....

Weeks later, he is now begging me for William stories. Always.

Typically, William is doing something wrong, and his mommy (who is very calm and super fun- and might I add- Skinny) is usually correcting William's behavior, with the story ending how William has learned a "good lesson" and declaring what "a good decision he'll make next time," (ie, not throwing the vase in the potty, not drawing on the comforter, not biting his friend. OH yes, William misbehaves.)

I've definitely tried to work some "soft William" type stories in... Like the time William saw two rainbows, or ate the biggest cupcake in the whole wide world, or had a Zebra over for breakfast. But for whatever reason, these don't really cut it for him. In fact, before I can even finish the sentence-- "let me tell you about the time William went to the chocolate fact---" he's already saying, "Noooo. Not that story. Tell me about the time William BROKE. HIS. MOMMY'S. PHONE. Tell me that story." What can I say he has an active imagination...

Anyway, here's a little branded video I did for Cheerios on Momversation with some fantastic ladies (Daphne Brogdon, Heather Spohr, and Catherine McCord). Cheers for cheerios!