Jumping Monkeys Episode 17: Ask Moxie

Today you can hear our interview with Internet advice blogger, Moxie.

Moxie's advice blog

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Tell a friend about Jumping Monkeys

SPEND: Small Collectors -- How does a $5000 art allowance sound to you?

SAVE: Shoebuy - iWon deal -- No need to sign up for iWon to get this deal. I haven't received spam from them.

GIVE: Terry Fox Run

AUDIBLE PICK:

The Magic Tree House Series

YOU TUBE VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

Jumping Monkeys gets a shout out in the Official Gmail Blog by Jen "digital mom" Grant.

Do you like the show? If you have a moment, please leave a review on iTunes. The more positive reviews we get, the better placement we get in the iTunes store. And if you know someone who you think would be interested in listening to Jumping Monkeys, please use this link to easily tell them about it.

LISTENER FEEDBACK: Scott recommends Giggles.net. Others recommend Alpha Baby, BabySplat, and I Can Press Keys.

More Thomas Trains Recalled

You might have heard that more Thomas trains and accessories have been recalled. This is such a bummer. We have two of the accessories and I have no idea where they are. My goal for the evening is to dig through all the baskets of toy parts until I find them. I've been cursing that smarmy Sir Topham Hatt all day.

We received Fergus as a replacement train, but I'm also told that one of the trains that is now being recalled (Toad) was actually sent as a replacement train to many other customers.

Moments I Want to Remember: September

It is evening. The sun is setting earlier these days. All five of us are laying on our bed listening to Marco read The Lorax. The boys are cuddled up on either side of me. I refuse to believe that one day they will be taller than I am. Life on other planets is possible. But not that. I think I am enjoying the moment, but I may be too busy trying to figure out a way to bottle this feeling so I can uncork it a dozen years from now when all of my children are teenagers.

Later that night, an hour after we've tucked the kids into their beds I listen at the boy's door. They are murmuring to each other in soft voices, quoting from the book. "A shell of a great, great, great, great, grandfather snail," says Milo. "Do you have a super ax hacker?" asks Huck.

*

Milo is climbing on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. "Do you know why I'm climbing up here?" he asks.

"No. Why?"

"To drive you crazy," he says.

*

My grandfather is mostly deaf and hates to use the telephone. It takes adjusting for our family who communicates our every move via cell phone. "I'm just calling to let you know I'm on my way." "I'm just calling to let you know I'm halfway there." "I'm just calling to let you know I'm in the driveway."

Grandpa used to stop by our house at least once a week. He'd show up unannounced, sit down in the same chair, drink a glass of water, play with the kids and talk to us. After about 15 minutes he would always say, "Well, I've taken enough of your time." Then he'd leave. It was a special treat for the kids. Absolutely no one gives better undivided attention than Great Grandpa. And even though all three kids can talk now, so much of their communication is made up of movement, so he can often understand the kids better than he can understand anyone else.

A few weeks ago Grandpa sold his car. We're not quite sure why, especially since on our last visit to his apartment the first thing he said when we came in was, "I miss my car." I wish I could convince him that we're sorry that he can't stop by whenever he wants anymore, but that we like coming to visit him, that it's not a chore. But even if I could find the words to explain how important he is to us, he probably wouldn't be able to hear me.

When we arrive tonight Grandpa is sitting in his chair watching football and drinking a highball. His bottom teeth are on the side table next to him. The kids play for a while and then Huck walks over and picks up the teeth.

"What are these?" he asks.

Without missing a beat, Grandpa takes them from Huck's hand and puts them back in his mouth and smiles. "They're called false teeth," he says. Marco and I watch as all three kids stare at him in complete disbelief. He just laughs and laughs. And then they laugh.

Review: Ryka Running Shoes

Am I the only one who finds it difficult to say "no" to free things? No? Good.

So, when the Parent Bloggers Network offered me a free pair of Ryka MC2 running shoes, you can imagine my answer. But I haven't forgotten about you, my friends. You can sign up at Ryka to win your own pair of sneakers. From now until October 25th Ryka is giving away 50 pairs of shoes and 50 performance tees every day.

Jumping Monkeys Episode 16: Dad Labs

This week we interviewed Clay Nichols and Brad Powell of the hilarious video podcast network, Dad Labs.

Get the episode at TWiT.tv

Subscribe at iTunes

SPEND: Perpetual Kid

SAVE: Giddio Adventures for Kids (Free Download)

GIVE: Freecycle

AUDIBLE BOOK PICK

Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Children's Song (Some Strong Language)

OUR FAVORITE SONG THIS WEEK

Stuffed Animal Boy by The Hipwaders off of Educated Kid

• Listen to Tracks or Buy "Educated Kid" at CDBaby
• Buy "Educated Kid" at Amazon
• Request to hear The Hipwaders on XM Radio

LISTENER FEEDBACK:

Material Mama has a podcast for people who sew and their children.

Watch Jeff's screencast about Starfall.com

It's Probably Somewhere In Between

We are at Parent's Night at Annabella's preschool. The director of the school is talking about hitting, so my ears perk up for obvious reasons.

"We don't do time outs here," she says. "So if a child hits we usually redirect them to another activity. If they hit again we say, 'Maybe your body isn't ready to play with the other kids right now. Maybe you should sit on the bench for a while until your body is ready to play with the other kids.' That usually solves things."

The next day Huck hits Annabella and I say, "Huck, do you want to go to Annabella's school in January like we talked about?"

"Yes, I do" he says.

"Well, you can't hit in preschool. Annabella, what happens at your school when somebody hits?"

Annabella looks at me and says, "They get spanked on the bottom."

Review: On Borrowed Wings

One of the things I like about being part of MotherTalk is that I'm asked to read books that I might never have discovered otherwise. On Borrowed Wings, by Chandra Prasad, is one of these books.

On Borrowed Wings is the fictional story of Adele Pietra, a girl from the granite quarries of Stony Creek, "a granite town at a time when granite was going out of fashion." Adele attends Yale University in the 1930's, before the school admitted women. She goes disguised as her brother with her hair cut short and her breasts bound.

This book is far more than a Just One of the Guys period piece. Prasad tackles issues of family loyalty, race, and class, as well as gender. The fact that Adele is passing as a boy is hardly the point. If you left home for college and went to a school where you don't know anyone, you probably had similar experiences. We try on a lot of disguises in those years in an attempt to figure out who we really are.

The book made me think about how I took my own college education for granted. I wasn't surprised when I learned that the college I went to didn't admit women until 1969. When I was there in the early nineties, there were still more men than women by a large margin, even when the opposite was true at most American universities. Because it was a school that specialized in math and science, the culture was not particularly friendly to women undergraduates. I didn't mind this and I think it went a long way in preparing me to work in the field of technology, which is also still dominated by men.

Still, a male-dominated culture is far different than a male-only culture. I have always appreciated that my parents were able to pay for me to go to college and I try never to miss an opportunity to thank them for it (Thanks, Mom & Dad!). But I haven't spent much time thanking the people who made it possible for me, as a woman, to attend the university at all.

I'm really glad that I had a chance to read this book. Not least of all because it's refreshing to read something that has nothing to do with parenting young children or technology. It's a simple story, but very well-researched and literary. There are a few moments in the book that require a suspension of disbelief. For example, why would a racist eugenics professor trust a student with an Italian last name?  But mostly I was along for the ride and enjoyed most every page.  

Interview on Tech Talk for Families

I wanted to thank Dale and Teresa for interviewing me a few weeks ago on their excellent podcast, Tech Talk for Families. Tech Talk for Families is a great round-up of tech news for parents, especially parents of kids who play video games.

If you're interested in hearing me go on a little more about mommy blogging, give it a listen.

Jumping Monkeys Episode 15: Bill Childs from Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child

Today we sit down with Bill Childs from my favorite music podcast, Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child. We talk about recent changes in the kids music scene and the radio show Bill does with his daughter, Ella.

Bill also gives us lots of recommendations of kids music. See below for links to those musicians, plus links to the other stuff we talked about on the show.

Listen at TWiT

Subscribe at iTunes

SPEND: Saving For College

SAVE: Google Voice Local Search - 1-800-GOOG-411

GIVE: Eco-friendly Birth Announcements

BOOK PICK:

Evening by Susan Minot Leo also recommends Monkeys by Susan Minot

VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite. Really

OTHER LINKS

• Nissan Showcases car with anti-drunk driving sensors
• Kid Nation

LINKS TO THE MUSICIANS BILL TALKED ABOUT

Deedle Deedle Dees
Asylum Street Spankers
Renee & Jeremy
Hipwaders
They Might Be Giants
Lunch Money
Justin Roberts
Dan Zanes
ScribbleMonster
CandyBand
Ralph's World
Ellen and Matt
Elizabeth Mitchell
Josephine Cameron
Frances England

LISTENER MAIL

Rich found discovered the site for Mike Wood's cardboard cut outs that we talked about last month.

Ian from Atlanta sings the praises of Tumblr. Here's Ian's Tumblog at Top of the Desk.

Jim Jones wanted to pass on his favorite parenting sites, Apartment Therapy: The Nursery and Dad Labs. Funny you should mention Dad Labs, Jim. They'll be on the show next week.

Finally, Brandon Phillips wrote in to tell us about his homegrown video podcast called Kidcast.tv.

GOT COMMENTS?

If you have a question about this show, please post below. If you like the show, please take a moment to post a comment on iTunes so we can spread the word.

Review: Girlology

Have you noticed that the 80's are back in fashion? There's something disconcerting about seeing pre-teen girls wearing the exact same style of clothing that I wore when I was their age in the mid-eighties.

After reading the latest book on my Parent Bloggers review shelf, I realized that I shouldn't be surprised. Fashions never change and neither do all those questions that every teenage girl is afraid to ask. The only thing that's different now is that it's a lot easier to get answers. The right answers? That's a whole different story.

Girlology: Hang-Ups, Hook-Ups, and Holding Out is a book of questions and answers for teen girls, written by Melisa Holmes (an ob-gyn) and Trish Hutchison (a pediatrician.) The topics cover the adolescent angst spectrum from acne to alcohol, ADD to STDs, hormones to hymens. The answers are quick and easy, and best of all honest.

Each chapter also begins with a short story called "She Did What?" The author's say that the names in the stories have been changed, but the stories themselves are real. These sections have that signature after-school special feel to them. And just like the after-school specials of my youth, they're not necessarily artfully written, but I secretly enjoyed them anyway.

I was surprised at how interested I was in reading Girlology. I'm about 20 years too late for it to be helpful to me and about 20 years too early for it to be helpful to me in talking to Annabella. And yet, I was still fascinated by the topics and still surprised at how much I still didn't know about the opposite sex.

Is this book for you?

If you're a teenage girl? Yes. If you're the mother, father, friend, teacher, or confidant of a teenage girl? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

These days the questions that my kids ask me are fascinating and fun to answer. The most complicated Annabella has gotten lately was "Why do girls get to wear leotards to gymnastics and boys just wear regular clothes?" I realize that with the diapers, baby gates, and temper tantrums, so go these easy questions. I'm not saying that Girlology will offer all the answers, but I do hope that when the time comes it will give Annabella and I a place to start the conversation.