New Playground taking shape on Salem Common

They say it will be open for business by next weekend. The new flooring has to set. It looks like it's going to be worth the wait!

New Playground taking shape on Salem Common

Cool Backyard Flora & Fauna ID Resources

Fauna

Birds

Birdwatcher's Digest: They offer a list sectioned by type. As you mouseover the different birds, a thumbnail image of that bird shows up to the left.

Whatbird.com: This page has an extensive list of birds commonly found in MA with an image of the bird as well. This was how I found this bird.

Critters

AA Animal Control.com: Wow, unless I'm off in my selection of keywords (wild animal guide massachusetts), there's nothing on backyard critters that is as fun to use as the bird guides listed above. This is packed with useful information though.


Flora

There are some good iPhone apps, such as Landscaper for identifying plants by site.

I found this Flickr Group that has a tagging method to search their image database.

This blog also has a good list of book resources too.

Cool Backyard Flora & Fauna ID Resources

If you come....we will build it! The new playground on Salem Common

Volunteers needed for the new playground build on Salem Common!

When: May 21, 22 & 23 That's Fri/Sat/Sun 7 am to Sunset

Where: Salem Common

What: Community Build


Why: The time has come! The new playground is almost here but we need all hands on deck to help build it. The more help we get –
the faster the build! The Salem Common Playground has long been in dire need of a serious upgrade. Thanks to the tireless (and I do mean tireless) efforts of Sarah Wheeler-Gaddipatti and all the Parents at Parents United of Salem, this plan is finally coming to fruition! Kids of all ages will finally have a playground that is accessible and safe for all!

Who: Volunteers needed for 3 hour shifts

To Volunteer: Please email with your available days/times: melzwilson@hotmail.com

If you come....we will build it! The new playground on Salem Common

Ultimate Holiday Cookie Guide!

Found this amazing collection of cookie recipes on the NYT website. Merry Christmas/Winter Soltice/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah! If anyone needs me, I'll be in the kitchen whipping up rugelach & shortbread

Ultimate Holiday Cookie Guide!

Why Big Box Stores Suck

Sears Saleslady (ringing up kids stuff from clearance racks): "Do you have a Sears Rewards card to save 10% off on purchases today?"
Me (trying to corral rampant 3YO): "No"
SS: "Would you care to sign up for one today in order to save the 10%?"
Me (glancing back at long line): "Uh-no"
SS: "That will be $14.99"
Me (taking out debit card): "OK"
SS: "Are you paying with your Sears Master Card today?"
Me: Um, no I've got this debit-"
SS: "Would you like to take 10 minutes to open a charge card with Sears today?"
Me (starting to sweat with effort of holding onto 3YO's hood and wallet): "No Thanks"
SS: "Are you paying with any Sears Gift Cards?"
Me (swiping DC through): "No"
SS: "Would you like to purchase one and receive $10 back on your purchase today?"
Me (thinking OH MY GOD, IT'S EASIER TO GET THROUGH CUSTOMS IN A COMMUNIST COUNTRY!!!! SWEET JESUS, JUST LET ME BUY MY KID HALF-PRICED "BRAND-NAME" MIX 'N MATCH SEPARATES WILL YOU????) "No. Thank you, not today."
(NOT EVER! UNLESS THERE IS SOMEONE THAT I DESPERATELY NEED TO GET REVENGE ON!)

Why Big Box Stores Suck

Favorite Thing of the Week

Leave the kids with a trusted relative/friend/spouse in the Activity Room on the first floor and go check out the Iris Apfel show at the PEM before it disappears! Or, go in the morning before all the "art snobs" start mucking up the place and let the kids play with the addictive online paperdoll display while you marvel at the idea of making your own jewelry out of the barbie accessories currently living underneath your couch.

Favorite Thing of the Week

Second Life:Mesh Hamper

Giftwrap, ribbons, tissue paper, bows, gift bags, what I collectively refer to as "giftcrap" felt like a huge space-hog in our new place, which mysteriously lacked closets and a hanger-rod. In the process of whittling down items and containers in order to make everything fit, I started putting all the giftcrap into one pile on the floor and then it hit me-

Could it all fit into one container?

Turns out, it can!



Tips:

Sort the giftbags however you like, but save a few you're not going to use for gifts to store small stuff like ribbons and tools.

Honestly ask yourself, how many baby showers/bat mitzvahs/quinceaneras do I really go to a year? Then save the appropriate ratio of themed gift bag. Try it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Second Life:Mesh Hamper

WE'RE MOVING!!!

-Just up the road to Marblehead...

So-I'll still be around Salem a lot since, in my opinion, it's got it going on in a way that Marblehead doesn't. We found a great place for a fairly decent price and I'm going to have my own office instead of a 2X3 foot space in a corner of the living room/den/playroom now! Part of the reason I've been so lax about keeping this blog up-to-date has been the fact that: A)The Chloe has discovered online games and it's hard to say no when I see how quickly she's learning to use the computer from them, and B) by the time she's safely out of the house, I've got so much work piled up that I can't justify the time it takes to crank out these finely handcrafted bon mots :^|

Anyway, here's some moving tips tailored for moving with a toddler:

1) Make Moving Day sound like a really awesome adventure.

Maybe tell them it's like going camping in the new house and pack their sleeping bag and a canteen and flashlight for the first night. Maybe tell them they are going to "discover and explore" a brand new neighborhood in their "explorer ship" (aka moving truck)

2) Get all their friends' contact info for future playdates.

Chloe is old enough to verbalize her fears fairly well and knowing that she will be able to stay in touch with her old buddies makes it easier for her and her friends to deal with separation anxiety.

3) Let them get involved with packing and purging.

Giving a kid a damp rag and letting them clean unbreakable stuff before it goes in the box makes them feel more in control about what's happening. Giving them a box to pack favorite toys in helps too.

4) Take everyone up on those offers to "help get them out of your hair".

Because there's times when you just need to focus on what you're doing and constant pleas to play "train" with 20 cardboard boxes is a bit too much at the moment.

5) Big liquor stores are the best source for grabbing carloads of free packing boxes.

6) Got old clothes, towels, bed linens? Use them for packing padding before you recycle them! Bubblewrap and peanuts don't bio-degrade too well. Also, before you toss some old stuff, think about making something else with it, like a stuffed animal, pillow case, or quilt.

7) (Local tip) Savers, in the Danvers Market Basket plaza, is the easiest way to get rid of kid's stuff. They take toys, books, games and clothes.

8) (Set Dresser's tip) Blue painters' tape is great for labelling everything since it stands out against boxes and bags really well and won't damage wooden surfaces. Make a "packing kit" by using a box or tub and keep your markers, blue tape and packing tape in there so you can easily go from room to room.

WE'RE MOVING!!!

Awesome Gift Idea!

Courtesy of Boing Boing.net, a mother created a stuffed toy out of her child's drawing and the result is achingly adorable. Now I am definitely going to go for that kids-quilt-from-old-baby-onesies idea I've been putting off for the past 5 months!

Awesome Gift Idea!

Getting Down at the Wenham Museum

Took Chloe to the Baby Boogie Oogie at the Wenham Museum yesterday. Of course, like any rational human being, she was terrified at the site of 18 month old's and their birkenstocked parents shuffling around to the strains of "Burn Baby Burn", so we ended up spending most of the time looking at the new Soul of the Shoe exhibit which is pretty amazing. We learned that Chinese foot-binding practices created a market for cruelly exquisite silk slippers the size of hummingbirds, the 1960's was the Golden Age of stiletto design, and former President Bill Clinton had some mighty big feet. Also, the fact that mothers in the last century needed to button about 10 buttons on each toddler's shoe completely explains the popularity of all those soothing syrups.

Getting Down at the Wenham Museum

Should lollipops, m&m's and mini-cupcakes fail...

You could always try the potty-caddy.

I coulda been a contender. While still pregnant, I saw an article in People about mothers who trained their kids in infancy and avoided the whole diaper scene altogether. I was all fired up to try it out with my still-theoretical spawn until I got the book out of the library that showed happy earth mommies holding their infants over porch railings and park benches, beatifically letting nature take its course. I just didn't think that would go over too well at a neighborhood barbecue or on the playground. I don't have a dog, on principle, and I grudgingly change the cat litter, so I didn't want to find myself following my own kid around with a plastic bag.

And of course, it's come to get me in the end. After a great start with the potty chart/sticker technique, I could have sworn Chloe would be trained by Thanksgiving. Then, it became Christmas, and now it's before she goes off to college, hopefully.

Of course, friends all have similar war stories about stonewalling and regression battles. And of course both nanas have started their greek chorus of "Well my kids were all trained by 2 and a half." I'll just keep up the bribery. She's bound to crack soon.

Should lollipops, m&m's and mini-cupcakes fail...

My New Form: 5 Mantis Pickup

1. Child pulls out the legos (butterfly horse stance)
2. Mom helps build a castle (kneeling horse stance)
3. Mom lunges to grab cell phone (side to side with mantis hook)
4. Mom cleans up the toys (duck walk back and forth 3 times)
5. Mom sweeps the floor (deep lady horse stance across the floor)

My New Form: 5 Mantis Pickup

Second Life: Kids' Clay

An old bag of modeling clay resurfaced this morning and when I was picking up the remnants I realized that it makes a great stress-ball. Then, when I was trying to get a half-decent photo, some more clay did the trick! (right side blob)

Ok, I'm walking away from the computer right now...

Second Life: Kids' Clay

Second Life: Old file crates

As any parent will tell you, having kids + a bathtub = A plethora of little cute plastic bath toys. After searching high and low for a good way to store everything, I had an epiphany when I was cleaning out some old files. I grabbed a terrycloth bathmat, folded it so it fit in the bottom of the crate-



Yay! Instant tub-toy caddy!


The reason I was so picky is that so many of the "official" types of tub-toy caddies rely on suction cups, which any half-way intrepid toddler is just going to pull off, and/or contained little nooks and crannies which are a haven for mold.

Second Life: Old file crates

In With The New, Recycle the Old: Part 1

Life Hacker published an article about melting down crayon bits and pieces to make new ones with a double boiler fashioned from an old tin can and silicon triangular ice trays. Not a bad idea. When everyone in my family asked what to get my daughter for Christmas, I said "art stuff" thinking that it's the type of thing that's broad enough for her to get a good variety of stuff and doesn't sound greedy. So now we have about 6 sets of various types of "washable" markers and "mess-free" poster paints scattered around the house, but at least everything's a pretty color.

Also, if you have a girl and she received any sort of doll, chances are high it came cocooned in a few dozen industrial sized twist-ties. Don't throw them away! They make great A) Computer cable/AV cable-tamers B) Closures for bags of beans/sugar/pasta and C) Climbing plant tethers

In With The New, Recycle the Old: Part 1