Halloween

How's that for an exciting title? Really sucks you in, doesn't it!


Just a couple quick thoughts for the spookiest day of the year...


Hallo-tween slut costumes have been in the news a lot over the past couple weeks. I think even the venerable CNN.com featured an article on the disturbing trend of sluttier and sluttier Halloween outfits for our young ladies. My hometown rag, the Philly Inquirer ran a front page (of the aptly named 'Image' section) discussing how quite a good number of Moms and Dads are bucking this hooker-ish trend. I am pleased to report that neither the Bear or the Mouse if going as a streetwalker this year. Yeah, we are accepting Parent of the Year nominations...


For her 4th October 31st, the Bear is dressing as a Ballerina Bear. Basically, a bear costume with a tutu (from last year's plain ballerina costume). It is a "real" version of a game she plays...that there are 10 (or 13 depending on the day) tiny little bears that live on our bed - in between the two over sized decorative sham pillows. The bears come out doing jetes and other ballet moves from time to time. It is pretty funny to watch her pretend. So, she is being one of those bears.


The Mouse, on her very 1st Halloween, in turn, is also being a little teddy bear.


The originally idea was for The Mrs. and I to be dressed in PJs and the kids would then act as our Teddy Bears. Pretty multi-layered costume arrangements, no? Not sure if I will be sporting the pajamas though, as I normally work the tee-shirt and underwear look for bedtime and I am guessing my neighbors will not be chomping at the bit to experience that first hand.

A Wonder(ful) Autumn Night

The Mrs. and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary in style on Saturday evening. The events of the night With Out The Kids were a mystery to her. That was true at least until my dad slipped, joking that we should take the kids to Atlantic City - 'cause they never have been. Then, the Mrs. saw a billboard advertising the 2nd night of Stevie Wonder's two night stay at The Borgata right before we headed over the Walt Whitman bridge...I was a bit aggrevated that I did not see it first and divert her eyes and also because she NEVER pays attention when we drive - which is why she NEVER knows how to get anywhere. The billboard confused her. She couldn't believe Wonder, an all-time favorite of hers, was finally touring again (after a 12 year hiatus) and he was in town the night AFTER our anniversary evening. Haha. The look on her face!

We continued driving sans music, just talking, until we were about a 1/2 hour away from A.C. when she noted that we had no tunes playing. I said I was tired of the options in the car, but that I had packed some new discs in my bag. She reached back to grab them and discovered just three Stevie records (it is tradition to listen to the music of the act we are on the way to see live.) The Mrs. was totally confused. She said something like "but the ad said the show is tomorrow" to which I excitedly replied "that is because tonight it sold out!" She flipped - exactly the reaction I was going for.

A few hours later, we sat 11 rows from a musical legend. Wonder played for 2 1/2 hours straight - no break, no encore. It was a Wonder-ful evening with my lovely wife. It was also the first of six shows we will see over the next two weeks: Two Decemberists shows on back-to-back nights in NYC, Josh Ritter in Philly, Dr. Dog (pending kid-coverage) in Philly and then Bright Eyes in Delaware. Whew!

Knuffle Bunny - Unbelievable Cuteness now on DVD

If Ralph S. Mouse felt more like a foul ball than a home run, you will find that with Knuffle Bunny...and More Great Childhood Adventure Stories, Scholastic have nailed one straight out of the park. They've given us Mo Willems' Caldecott Honor tale Knuffle Bunny on the newest release in their Storybook Treasures Collection. Willems' super simple, yet impossibly adorable tale involves a city dwellin' dad and Trixie, his sweet lil' toddler and their trip to and fro the neighborhood laundromat. The dialogue is sharp and honest, the way most dad's probably talk in casual conversation with their little pre-talkers. The illustration here in video format matches the book, with black and white photographs of cityscapes as backdrops for Dr. Katz-style animations (sans the shaking).

The other five childhood adventure stories presented here are also outstanding. While not very topical in my neck of the woods right now, "Planting a Rainbow" is a sweet story of a mom and daughter sowing seeds for a special flower and veggie garden. Seems a bit out of place on an Autumn release though. I would have enjoyed seeing this as a new release teeing up the Spring planting season, but you will surely find the story endearing and cute year round especially if you enjoy sharing the love of nature and gardening with your tiny tots, just as we do. The final chapter of this DVD is another nice little short that would have been better placed just before the school year began. "Will I Have a Friend" tackles a common conundrum for kids - being the new boy or girl in school. The quiet story takes place over one school day as Jim, our pint-sized hero, wonders who will be his friend during rest time, snack and free play. It should be reassuring to our children to see Paul befriend Jim, showing that a new school or class need not be TOO intimidating. The Mrs. and I could definitely have used this one in early June and then again in early September as the Bear was adjusting to new a daytime environment.

Knuffle Bunny...and More Great Childhood Adventure Stories is not out till Tuesday the 30th, but you can preorder it now for pretty darn cheap.

Pick up the DVD from Amazon.com and/or watch a sample video of Knuffle Bunny.

The Best Little Dancer in America Contest - Stride Rite & Baby Loves Disco

The official language of the contest follows, but the basic idea is - go check out awesome clips at the Baby Loves Disco's site and vote for the Best Little Dancer in America.

Proceeds of the contest benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand.

The Official Press Release

Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2007 -This month, the Baby Loves Disco craze reaches new levels as the nationally connected mom and pop organization discovers the “Best Little Dancer in America” (BLD USA), a national dance contest for kids co-sponsored with stride rite. Videos of the contest finalists are posted now at http://www.babylovesdisco.com/bldusa/winners.html, and online voting for the national winner continues until November 15^th.

Featured at 12 Baby Loves Disco events across the country in September, the Best Little Dancer in America contests were judged by local celebrity parents. Anyone anywhere may now jump in and vote for the national champion. Everyone’s a winner at BLD USA, as a portion of all proceeds will benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand (www.alexslemonadestand.org).

Stride rite, premium footwear for babies through big kids and a favorite among moms, is the presenting sponsor for the Best Little Dancer in America contest in support of Baby Month. stride rite stores are also participating with a dance theme in store, BLD sticker and CD giveaways in the the 12 dance contest cities (Boston, New York, Minneapolis, Orlando, Boulder, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Houston, San Francisco, East Bay and Atlanta), including a family four pack of Baby Loves Disco tickets which were given away in each city.

“We are so excited to be apart of the Baby Loves Disco event and even more excited to be the presenting sponsor of the dance contest. At stride rite, it is our mission to support active kids in all that they do with proper fitting footwear. We know that good health starts early and with our collaboration with BLD we are giving parents the tools to help their kids be active and get up and get moving as a family,” says marketing manager of stride rite, Rachel Panetta.

A portion of all proceeds from these events will go to BLD’s charity of choice - Alex’s Lemonade Stand (http://www.alexslemonade.org/), a unique foundation which evolved from a 4 year old cancer patient's front yard lemonade stand to a nationwide fundraising movement to find a cure for childhood cancer.

The Best Little Dancer in America site www.babylovesdisco.com/bldusa.serves as the “newsroom” for the competition. Each regional contest was filmed and edited into 5 minute clips. The clips

feature footage of the local city, the venue, the contest itself, the announcement of the winner and isolated clips of the two winning dancers in each age category (0 to 3 and 4 to 7) doing his/her 30 second dance of fame. Other video add-ons include online dance lessons; videos about Alex’s Lemonade Stand, and sponsor components. Every participant is a winner, and the spirit of cooperation and sportsmanship is celebrated.

Mellow Yellow - Gustafer Yellowgold "Have You Never Been Yellow?"

The new Gustafer Yellowgold DVD/CD set was unleashed on to the world last week. Morgan Taylor and his talented Lower East Side cohorts deliver another stellar set of mellow pop goodness on "Have You Never Been Yellow?" - the follow up the the wildly popular "Wide Wild World". The new offering consists of nine beautiful short animated tales/songs that are all at once funny, sweet and charming. There is not as much of a story arc on "Have Your Never Been Yellow" (as there was on the first DVD) but the songs still flow nicely together. What these new tunes do very well is show us Gustafer's love for nature and the creatures that surround him on Earth.

The DVD includes an artist commentary feature that may very well be a first for a kid's flick. While you will probably not huddle up on a weekly basis to listen to this, it is an enjoyable listen. It is rather interesting, and often humorous, to hear Morgan talk about his approach to drawing the scenes for these new songs. Taylor's artistry is as brilliant as ever on these ten shorts. There are so many small details in the scenes that are quite interesting in their nuance. Morgan reveals that he was able to take more time with the illustrations and drew the scenes with the knowledge that they will be animated - something that was not the case the first time around. The attention to detail pays off as the imagery all over "Have You Never Been Mellow?" is stunning, but "The Bluebird Tree" is absolutely gorgeous.



"Pinecone Lovely", the disc's opener, is a near-perfect tune and features an appearance of Crunch-O-Pine (a Gusty web favorite). I cannot say enough about how good this cut is. The bass-only breakdown after the first verse is quite rad. While "Pinecone Lovely" is the finest song here, the other eight are not too far off. Kids will go crazy for "Punching Cheese" the epic follow up to "I Jump On Cake" - extolling Gusty's other favorite food destruction pastime. "Aye, Aphid" was a slow grower for me, but is now seemingly forever stuck in my head - the simple melody is unnervingly contagious. The disc ends with an ode to the earth and the environment and with Gustafer asking us to dream in green with him, with a sing-along worthy crescendo.

I would love to experience some more dramatic tempo changes in future Gustafer tracks, as sometime I feel that the set could use a bit of a kick in the butt - ya know? That being said, top to bottom, Gustafer Yellowgold's "Have You Never Been Yellow?" is still a strong, albeit short (clocking in at just over 30 minutes long), collection of tunes that will have your entire gang singing together locked into a cool, mellow groove.

Buy it now, straight from the source!

The Sweetest Thing

During our annual pumpkin picking trip this past Sunday, the Bear picked up a jack-be-little pumpkin for Kitty. It has been tradition for us to purchase a pumpkin for each member of the family, a sort of round, orange and seasonal version of ourselves to be on display in the family room. Upon returning home, the Bear positioned Kitty's little pumpkin smack-dab in her spot, on the back of the loveseat. You can still see Kitt's indentation on the top cushion, just to the right of the pumpkin. It was the sweetest thing ever, and it killed my wife and I. Tears flooded down our faces from the instant the jack-be-little hit the fabric.
I think the Bear is getting it. She is, in her own way, showing us that she misses her cat and understands on some basic level that she will never be on the back of the couch again.

In addition to the loss of our family pet, I have been terribly ill since Sunday evening. I have been remise then, during this rough week, to tell you all how very good the new Gustafer Yellowgold DVD is, how interesting the new Buck Howdy disc is, and that a new compilation of "For Our Children" songs was released and features Bob Dylan doing "This Old Man" and a surprising good Bette Midler tune "Blueberry Pie" (there is a sentence I never thought I would write).

Hopefully I get back on schedule soon and can give these releases the attention they deserve.

Until then..be very well.

Saying Goodbye

I am not really sure if I am ready to write this post. I have started and stopped several times over the past 48 hours. The OWTK house feels a little emptier this weekend. At around 3:30 pm on Friday, we lost Kitt - our beautiful brown tabby cat. An ultrasound showed that she had cancer all over her body and there was nothing that could be done to save her. The Mrs. and I had to give the green light to end her life, to put her out of her discomfort and pain. The bear was with us and she was nonplussed - is that the right word?

To say I'm distraught would be a bit of an understatement. Everything I see reminds me of her: the sun shining through the dining room window caressing the half-wall that separates the kitchen. This was her "sun cat" spot, where she would lay for hours soaking up the rays in fall and winter. Yesterday would have been the perfect day for her to be there, a chilly autumn day with brilliant sunlight. Then there are the kitty toys, little soft balls, that are scattered all over the house - we will be finding them behind sofas and under beds for months.

The bear has begun playing with her wooden dog house and Max, the soft stuffed doggie that came with this nice toy from Magic Cabin that she received as a Christmas gift last year. She is taking care of him, hugging and snuggling all day long with this friend that has largely been ignored up until this point. I have to think that, for her, he is Kitt's replacement - a way to show affection in the face of a gaping hole in her domestic life.

If she understands that Kitt is gone, she is not letting on, making a couple "when Kitt gets home" remarks. I think that deep down, she knows this is never going to happen but she is not able to express it.

I'll miss you Kitty. I love you.

Urinary Tract Infection for the Bear and why won't the cat eat? *10/11 UPDATE*

So all this fever business got us worried enough to pay a visit to the good Dr. yesterday. They took a urine sample and with a phone call at 6:45am today, we learned that it came back positive (which is a negative thing - weird.) She has a urinary tract infection which needs meds and a return visit in 48hrs for a new culture sample and, possibly, an ultrasound to check out her kidney and bladder. Scary sounding stuff.

*UPDATE*

Septra - the prescribed med worked to remove the fever within 48hrs. Later today the bear will once again pee into a cup for a new test. She has been complaining of pains in her thighs and abdomen. Still pretty nervous.

At the same time, I noticed our brown tabby cat acting more lazily than usual. And it looks as if she barely touched her food over the last week or so. I started to panic about the potential problems. I Googled "cats stop eating" and that search did nothing to calm my worst fears. I will be spending some time with her at the Vet today.

*UPDATE *
Awaiting blood test results today. She still won't eat. We have been feeding her liquid food with a syringe. Not fun. Very nervous.

Shaping up to be a pretty poor week in the OWTK household.

Hope all is better in your neck of the woods.

My Toddler is a Drug Addict

The bear came down with a fever last night. I had to make a run to the market for Children's Tylenol after discovering the meltaways and the liquid had expired in April and August respectively. I went with the bubblegum flavor meltaway and Strawberry liquid (a girl has to have choices, right?)

She wanted the bubblegum meltaway and wanted three of them. We explained, as we always do, that although these things taste like candy they are not and what is designed to make you feel better can and will make you sick if taken in the wrong dosage. We gave her two.

Anyway, it was the night my mom watches the bear, so the Mrs. drove the 45 minutes to make the drop-off while I went to sleep (along with the mouse who had already retired for the evening) after a long, hot and frustrating Phillies game - and the glorious post-game traffic.

Flash-forward to this morning...my mom calls to inform us that at 6am the bear awoke, carried the bathroom stepstool into her bedroom and reached up to grab the Tylenol meltaway bottle (which should have been put away in the medicine cabinet). Somehow she opened it and took two more (after having her 2nd dose of two at 3am when she woke up very warm), with one still in her hand as she ran behind the rocking chair when my mom walked into her room to see what she was up to. Fortunately, she is on the cusp of the next dosage, which is 3 tablets, due to her age and weight...but still, this is pretty scary. Grandmom said she is not warm now - no kidding!

It is not like she watches me drink a whole bottle of adult liquid Tylenol when I am sick (I can't swallow pills). Unlike that kid in the 80's PSA, she can't say "You alright, I learned it by watching you!"

I am sure her desire to have more bubblegum candy meltaways was innocent enough, but an intervention is being schedule for this weekend anyway. ha!

Homework for Parents

Kids do school work in class, parents leave remarks online. I love this idea.

In response to parents bitching about extra work in their lives - Yeah, we're all busy. Get over yourself and get involved in your child's education/life. They deserve it and who knows, you may learn something about them and the subject matter.

New Gustafer!

Yay! A new Gustafer Yellowgold DVD is only two weeks away. Preorder "Have You Never Been Yellow?" now!

OWTK cannot wait to see Morgan, Rachel & Gusty again, at World Cafe Life on 12/15...although those two gigs in Montclair, NJ (for free!) at the end of this month look very tempting...

Okkervil River at Johnny Brenda's

I am still, at age 31, a sucker for a good sweaty rock show and Okkervil River delivered just that on Saturday night in North Philly. Johnny Brenda's might just be the best rock venue in Philly, even though it sits on a corner in the mostly residential Fishtown neighborhood. It plays host to many of the best, and most relevant, "mid-level" bands touring these days. The Okkervil River show was our 2nd trip to JB's last week alone - we took in the excellent Bishop Allen show there on Monday night. Yeah, we're pretty rock-n-roll. Ha!

Jonathan of OR played a surprise solo set to open the show. He, along with his bandmates, typically goes by the name Shearwater - the once side project of he and Will Sheff of Okkervil River. Decent set, but his vocal style is better suited with Shearwater's beautiful music behind it - not just on it's own.

Seattle's own moody-folk guitar player and singer Damien Jurado was the scheduled opener on this tour and he delivered his patented sad, introspective storytelling tunes in fine form. He played numerous cuts from the near-decade old "Rehearsals for Departure" - the only Jurado disc we own - which was pretty darn cool as the lyrics came back to us in spite of the fact that we have not listened to that record in at least five years.

Okkervil River were terrific, as usual, and are poised for something great. Their latest effort "The Stage Names" is a near perfect collection of treatises on fame, fandom and the rock and roll life. It is a great follow up to the classic "Black Sheep Boy" and a record which keeps fans on their toes while not trying to go back to the BSB well, which any true music fan should appreciate.

OR played a good mix of tunes, touching each of their 4 full lengths and even a couple cuts from the BSB appendix. We arrived back at my parent's house, where the bear and mouse were sleeping, a touch passed 2 am. Wake-y time was a way too early 7am. We needed to get ready for The 2007 Buddy Walk and had a bit of a drive to Villanova for the event. More on that later...

Not Ready for the Cloth

No, I am not considering the Priesthood (but I'm not ready for that either).

I am just itching to use our cloth diapers. We have dozens of them from the bear-baby-era, just waiting to spring into pee-absorbin'/poopy-catchin' action. Problem is, the mouse is leaner than the bear at this age and the size medium Fuzzi Bunz still are too big for her. I loath buying disposable diapers, even 7th Generation brand, and look forward to the day when I am doing twice as much laundry and NOT dropping $10+ on a pack of 48 size two diaps.

Never considered cloth diapers? Read what I think about Fuzzi Bunz. They are not your grandmother's cloth, not even close. Instead they are a snazzy, easy to snap (no safety pins people), easy to clean and - best of all - money saving over time (assuming your child is not a skinny-legged lass like the Mouse) alternative to disposables.