Got a Question for Moxie?

Many of you are already familiar with the super-fantastic parenting advice blog, Ask Moxie.

Moxie answers questions about pregnancy, sleep, bizarre adult behavior, and much more. She's a self-proclaimed non-expert, just a mom with a great sense of empathy matched only by her sense of humor.

In a few weeks we'll be interviewing Moxie on the Jumping Monkeys podcast and she has graciously offered to answer a few of your questions on the show.

So e-mail me at Megan@Twit.tv with your questions. Or post them in the comments section below. If you don't want your question to be associated with your e-mail address, feel free to put a fake one in there.

Public Service Announcement: Wet Technology

You are running out the door to the gym with your daughter. At the last minute you realize that you've forgotten your iPod, so you rush back into the house to grab it and stuff it in your gym bag. You are walking to the gym and about halfway there your daughter decides that she doesn't want to carry her water bottle anymore.

"Here, Mommy."

Either you trust your four year old to screw the cap of the water bottle on all the way or you are just plain stupid. Either way, you toss the water bottle into the same pocket of your gym bag that you just tossed your iPod.

You drop your daughter off at the kid's area of the gym and head over to start your workout. That's when you open up your bag and notice that your iPod is FLOATING IN A POOL OF WATER. That's right. Your gym bag is made of some space age waterproof material so the water that spilled out of your daughter's water bottle doesn't soak through, but pools there in the pocket.

You pull out your iPod. Your beautiful red iPod.

Up until this point you could have done all of these things and there's a good chance that your iPod would have still been OK after you let it dry for 48 hours. It would have made an amusing story, but not a story that left you with no iPod or left you stealing your husband's iPod because he only uses his two or three days a week when you use yours two or three times a day. You could have done all of those things, just as I did, and your iPod might have been fine.

Here's where the Public Service Announcement comes in.

If your iPod or any other computerized gadget should be submerged in water, do not turn it on. Let me repeat myself. DO NOT TURN IT ON. Let it dry in a warm place for 48 hours or perhaps dry it with a hairdryer.

If you let it dry completely, there's still a chance that it will work perfectly. But if you try to turn it on when it is still filled with water, you will see the screen turn all wacky. That's its way of telling you that you've just fried its brain. I know this because I did this.

The worst part of this story is that I lost my Mac Powerbook a few years ago in the exact same way. Annabella wasn't even two yet and handed me a glass of water. At least that's what she was trying to do when she tossed the entire glass on the keyboard of my laptop. If I'd let the computer dry before I turned on, it might have been OK. It wasn't and neither is my iPod.

Can someone please tell me that they've done this too, so I don't feel so horrible about myself?

She's in her Pirate Phase

Annabella and I are reading Peter Pan when through the window we hear our neighbor arguing with one of his adolescent daughters.

Yesterday the same neighbor came over to deliver a bag full of pears from his tree when I was having a particularly low-patience day with my kids. I was also feeling really bad about myself because I get help with them every weekday while I work. I feel like this means I shouldn't get frustrated with them on the weekends.

"Does it get easier?" I asked my neighbor, referring to my children who were tearing up and down the driveway, nearly running over each other (and us) with their big wheels.

"No," he said honestly. I didn't believe him until right now.

"You cannot talk to me like that!" He yells. His daughter says something I can't hear. "That's strike one!" he yells. She says something else I can't hear and then gets two more strikes and then gets grounded.

"You're... not... listening... to... me!" She screams back and then starts to cry.

Annabella says, "I don't think they're having a party." She's referring to the decidedly happier sounds we often hear wafting up from their yard.

"No," I say. "I think they're having a fight."

Annabella looks up at me and says, "I hope they don't have swords."

Jumping Monkeys Episode 12: Mike Adamick

On this episode we interview writer and stay-at-home dad Mike Adamick.

Listen on TWiT

Download the episode from iTunes

Read more Mike:

• Cry It Out
• Stroller Derby
• The San Francisco Chronicle

SPEND: My Little Learner DVD Flashcards

SAVE: Ikea Hacker for Children

GIVE: The Power of ONEsie

BOOK PICK: True Notebooks

OTHER LINKS:

• Homeowners Associations Calling To Buy Children
• Entertain your kids with the cars navigation system
• Make Your Own Jackson Pollack

THE INTERVIEW: Mike Adamick

See pictures of Emme's finished skull and crossbones skirt.

LISTENER MAIL:

Cindy (Mom to 2 Banging Boys) asked about a program we talked about that would let your kids bang on the keyboard and not change anything.This is called BabySplat.

Overheard at a party

Dad #1: I saw your kids downtown the other day with a blonde girl.

Dad #2: Yup, they were probably with the nanny.

Dad #1: Yeah, that's what I thought. (He pauses to take a sip of his beer.) You know you're old when you see a hot girl and the first thing you think is, "I wonder if she babysits?"

Last Tuesday at the Park

She is standing by the swings minding her own business. The sun reflects off her head of dirty blonde hair. Sometimes I recognize kids on the playground, sometimes I don't. I recognize her because of her spectacular smile and because she has Down Syndrome.

I've seen her with her mother at at the library, and once I saw her playing with her father near the fountain downtown. I remember exchanging a few words with her father, like people do who have kids the same age.  I've never spoken to her mother.

I watch my two year old son approach her. I'm wary of his recent behavior at the playground, but I hope for the best. He hits her on the arm, quickly. Both of my boys hit everyone lately. I know it's their way to get attention. They're saying, "Hey, I'd like to play with you." Unfortunately, no other kids speak that language.

"No hitting," I say, gently. I am not a stern person, even when the situation calls for it. I wish I could be sterner. He hits her again, so I grab him and pick him up and hold him. "That's not OK," I say. I look around for the girl's mother. I am the biggest playground tattle tale there is. Even when the mothers don't see what happened, I always tell them, "My son hit your child. I'm sorry."

Their response is nearly always some variation on, "He's two. He'll grow out of it." I then force my son to say he's sorry and when he does some moms even compliment him on his manners. They've read the same books I have: reinforce good behavior.

But this time I don't get a chance to apologize. When the girl's mother approaches I try to make eye contact with her. Is it my imagination that she avoids me on purpose?

Before I can say anything she picks up her daughter and looks at my son and says sharply, "You hit her. That's wrong. You hit her even after your mom told you to stop. You need to say you're sorry right now."

She is standing a foot away from me and I can feel her anger and so can her daughter.

"I'm sorry," the little girl says.

"You didn't do anything," the mom says to her daughter. "He needs to say he's sorry."

I'm not trying to make eye contact with this mother anymore. I look down. My son doesn't say anything.

We all stand there in silence. How does this woman even know that my two year old son is capable of saying he's sorry?

"I'm sorry," he finally says.

And they walk away. I'm still looking down, but my face is burning. I put my son down and he runs off to play. He's forgotten everything, but I haven't. I reach into my bag for my sunglasses. Only when I have them on do I start to cry.

Jumping Monkeys Episode 11: Karen Walrond

Episode 11 has arrived! In this episode we were lucky enough to interview Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks. She chats about blogging, photoblogging, adoption, and more.

Listen to episode 10 at TWiT.tv

Download episode 10 at iTunes

The INTERVIEW: Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks

GIVE: GreenDimes

SPEND: Wallies

SAVE: Zwaggle

AUDIBLE BOOK PICK: Green Eggs and Ham and Other Servings of Dr. Suess

LINKS:

National School Board recommends use of social networks in school

via Denise Howell

Teach your kid to program (from Wired's How-To Wiki)

Thanks for the links, Jamie!

Coming up on Jumping Monkeys

Thanks for listening to Jumping Monkeys, our TWiT podcast about parenting in the digital age. If you haven't subscribed at iTunes, you can do so by clicking on this link. Then click the button that says "Subscribe." When iTunes asks you if you're sure, click the "Yes" button.

If you want to see links from past shows, go to our archives.

It's free, people. And you don't need an iPod. Already subscribed? Tell your friends. Tell your relatives. Sneak it on your spouse's computer. We're currently #2 in the Kids & Family podcast section on iTunes. We can do better than that.

If you need more convincing, here are some of the mom and dad movers and shakers we have in store for upcoming episodes:

Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks

Joan Blades of Moms Rising and MoveOn.org

Mike Adamick of The San Francisco Chronicle and Cry it Out

Denise Howell (back by popular demand) of Bag and Baggage

Bill Childs of Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child

Moxie of Ask Moxie

Karen Landwehr of PickPackGo

Molly Wood of CNET's Buzz Out Loud

Misti Ushio from Harris & Harris

Asha Dornfest of Parent Hacks

The Dads from DadLabs

Got suggestions for other guests? Or topics for a panel of guests? Post them here or e-mail me at Megan@TWiT.tv. Interested in advertising on the podcast? E-mail me at Megan@TWiT.tv and I'll put you in touch with the right people.

Review: Flirting in Cars

I know, I know, don't judge a book by it's cover, right? But when you see a headless women wearing pedal pushers and high-heeled shoes on the cover of a novel, you can pretty much guess what it's going to be like inside. This was the case with the latest MotherTalk book tour selection, Flirting in Cars, by Alisa Kwitney.

First, I must come clean and admit that I don't read chick lit or mommy lit. I totally understand escapism, but mine usually takes the form of Gilmore Girls re-runs or mommy blogs. But, when the latest list of MotherTalk books came up for review, I decided to expand my horizons. Most of the books I've read lately have been chosen by my book club. We have a strange way of voting on books and for some reason our selections have been pretty depressing. We've read novels about prisoners of war, leprosy, down syndrome, the apocalypse, and female circumcision. Sometimes it's not so much that we're a book club, but a self-flagellation circle, with wine.

To take a break from such dark and serious fare I chose to read Flirting in Cars. It's the story of a Zoe, a forty-one year old journalist and mother who moves from Manhattan to the country so her daughter can go to a school that will do a better job of catering to her learning disability. The book is told in the alternating points of view of Zoe and Mack, a thirty-something army vet who was born and raised in the small town where Zoe moves. Zoe can't drive. Mack is a driving instructor. You get the picture.

There are lots of obstacles in their relationship -- Zoe's love of organic goat cheese versus Mack's love of pepperoni pizza, the fact that Zoe's daughter Maya still sleeps in her bed, their different religions, and a ten year age difference. What makes this more than just a simple "opposites attract" story is the way Kwitney writes about the interesting conflict that comes from the fact that Mack works for Zoe and when they start a relationship he starts to feel like a kept man.

The characters and scenery of the town where Zoe moves are colorful and quirky and in their best moments they remind me of one of my favorite novels, Empire Falls by Richard Russo. Throughout the book, Kwitney also creates some really interesting scenes with funny dialog. The story gets going right away with a pretty hilarious interaction between Zoe and a pushy, young Manhattan mom who's interested in buying Zoe's apartment. However, despite the author's attempt at endearing Zoe to readers by comparing her to a far worse version of the self-absorbed metropolitan mommy, I still found Zoe sort of elitist and annoying. I appreciate that she's independent and that living in a small town makes her change, but I never connected to her in a way that I think I need to to enjoy the novel, escapist or not. I found Mack slightly more interesting, but I really never connected to him either and often wondered why he put up with Zoe.

I'd like to say that Flirting in Cars made me appreciate chick lit and want to read more, but it didn't. Right now my book club is reading Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami. And despite the fact that I've read and re-read the first three chapters and still have very little idea of what's going on, I feel like I'm getting something more out of it than I would from lighter lit.

Review: Word World

It was with trepidation that I agreed to do a Parent Bloggers Network review of World World, the new PBS show for kids that premieres on September 3, 2007. My kids don't watch that much TV and not necessarily by my choice.

But I know I can't keep my kids away from television forever, so they may as well be watching something educational. And Word World comes with a pedigree -- it was developed by leading literacy experts and partly funded by the Department of Education.

In the interest of full disclosure, PBS sent me a free DVD of two 11 minute episodes of Word World. We brought it with us to Chicago and Annabella (age 4) was hooked. She watched each episode several times on the plane. In Chicago our friend Caleb (age 2) also enjoyed the show, although he lost interest after about five minutes.

Word World stars "The Word Friends," cartoon animals that are made of letters. For example, the dog is made of the letters D-O-G. In fact, many of the objects in World World are made of the letters that make up the word the object is. If I'm not making any sense, check the Word World Web site to see for yourself.

Did Word World teach Annabella to read or help her become more "reading ready?" I have no idea. My totally personal, unprofessional opinion is that if we'd spent the time actually reading or just interacting instead of watching the DVD, that probably would have done more good. Most experts recommend that you watch these kinds of shows with your kids, but if you're anything like me then you watch these shows while you can take a break to do something else.

Word World is aimed at 3-5 year olds, which I respect since I'm definitely against all the TV that's shown to babies these days, especially considering that recent study that says that infants might be better off watching American Idol.