tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-326860502024-03-07T15:33:38.927-06:00Baby ToolkitGeek parents' tips, tactics, & gear reviews.adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.comBlogger385125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-12716168414896281002018-12-21T17:10:00.000-06:002018-12-21T17:10:12.607-06:00The Darkness Around Us Is Deep: Solstice and Game NightOn this longest night of the year, I'm packing up games and working on a strategic grocery store run for community game night.<br />
<br />
As twilight falls in early afternoon, my mind swims through <a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/1076244527718060032" target="_blank">events from earlier this year</a> (originally written on Twitter). <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Let me tell you a love story from last night:<br />
<br />
We were running a large board game event raising money for <a href="https://twitter.com/RileyChildrens?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RileyChildrens</a>. The lights blinked on and off- and some of them failed when a LIVE power line near us went down.
We had just started a massive team Wits and Wagers trivia game when the hall plunged into darkness.<br />
<br />
A cell phone flashlight flipped on. And then a few more. They swiveled like footlights toward the game boards.
As we
kept playing, a congregant who had just provided us all dinner filled
trays with voitives and stick candles. And soon people were distributing
these tiny lights to all the tables. People made jokes about romance.<br />
<br />
We kept playing.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jcWdxV5bmf5wX5cp8P2ry7aB_G3uxnt_7pWT0xaQV0QNUgJT-TkQjpWe1jvxYFebv8VUeXWbTy_xYp1LwMTQGKyb2H_GEd2pB321VaZGuWeXL2vMYiTDGSC5U8cyjUEiFJqn/s1600/Blackout+at+Extra+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jcWdxV5bmf5wX5cp8P2ry7aB_G3uxnt_7pWT0xaQV0QNUgJT-TkQjpWe1jvxYFebv8VUeXWbTy_xYp1LwMTQGKyb2H_GEd2pB321VaZGuWeXL2vMYiTDGSC5U8cyjUEiFJqn/s640/Blackout+at+Extra+Life.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks <a class="PrettyLink profile customisable h-card" data-mentioned-user-id="2736158941" data-scribe="element:mention" data-url-ref-attrs-injected="true" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/OgeeEverett?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Emoment&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%23"><span class="PrettyLink-prefix">@</span><span class="PrettyLink-value">OgeeEverett</span></a>, for sharing the picture: https://t.co/25bbqZcwQh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After a long while, the power resumed. I was really relieved that the
hall hadn't just emptied out. Everyone was still there buying stuff and
donating to <a class="PrettyLink profile customisable h-card" data-mentioned-user-id="25343230" data-scribe="element:mention" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/RileyKids"><span class="PrettyLink-prefix">@</span><span class="PrettyLink-value">RileyKids</span></a>. Helping- bringing small lights, sharing illumination.<br /><br />It was a lot like...</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
when our daughter was having serious health issues. I felt pretty lost
in the dark then. And someone else gave a little light to show the way.
Then a few. Then many- each person bringing what they had to contribute
or...</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
amplifying the light of others even when they couldn't produce any themselves.
I never had to find a light myself, but could focus on the tasks at hand and continuing life already in progress.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It took me back to the gratitude and community support that is <a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhyIExtraLife?src=hash"><s>#</s><b>WhyIExtraLife</b></a>, <a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhyWeExtraLife?src=hash">#<b>WhyWeExtraLife</b></a>.
In the dark and candlelight, I fell in love with my community all over again.
Thanks, friends for being the light and sharing the light of others.</blockquote>
On this long night of winter solstice it is very fitting to be back in the warm illumination of friends and community.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Thank you</u> for being a light in the darkness.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Take a moment on this long, dark night and think of those who bring light into this world.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thank them if you can.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Love to you all.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L0oGmFMZDjs/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L0oGmFMZDjs?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">***Baby Toolkit is the slapdash writing of a midwestern literature geek who was making a William Stafford reference in the title. Read the whole wonderful poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58264/a-ritual-to-read-to-each-other. I'm an Amazon affiliate- so I profit from purchases made through Amazon links. Yes, this does make me uneasy. This writing is mine (c)babytoolkit.com 2018. Thanks for reading the fine print.</span></i></div>
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adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-10042008508151596902018-12-05T08:38:00.000-06:002018-12-05T08:43:30.459-06:00Take up space<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Even today, I am
disappointed that I never grew to be six feet taller or taller. In
my generation, I've always been taller than average. Yet, much of my
life I felt small, insufficient. I guess I wanted to be too tall to
overlook.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As a child and
youth, adults frequently described me as shy and quiet-- which
frustrated me as I have equally often been told to quiet down and
<b>"Please, just stop talking."</b> In retrospect, I'm pretty sure I was
ascribed reticence by people who just didn't want to get to know me.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmR10FaK9W-3s6hwKkv5kom0tO_1_3NCsbcVO1SLW5jAzBBWwnhPirhh6AfpZeZYE6gngKcULSK3E1r_F-ny31riCfhRR-KAl6rF1ndQhIgLy5VMbJF71iBMCeDv5mXhw046fS/s1600/hubble_friday_362015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="716" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmR10FaK9W-3s6hwKkv5kom0tO_1_3NCsbcVO1SLW5jAzBBWwnhPirhh6AfpZeZYE6gngKcULSK3E1r_F-ny31riCfhRR-KAl6rF1ndQhIgLy5VMbJF71iBMCeDv5mXhw046fS/s320/hubble_friday_362015.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-sees-a-young-star-take-center-stage" target="_blank">Hubble telescope image</a>: "Hubble Sees a Young Star Takes Center Stage"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Yet the stuff in my
head has always been so vivid and loud. And I've never been shy
about talking. One of my oldest and dearest friends once called me
her “favorite monologist” (in love, mind you, in love).</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's not that it
takes a while for me to warm up to people either. At a
bustling writers' convention's keynote dinner, Jim and I landed a
huge and empty table because it was awkwardly located in the hall.
As the hall filled, people who had been buffeted from other tables
with “Sorry, those seats are saved,” found their way to our
table.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
stragglers who ended up at our table were strangers before salad.</span>
Yet, by the time the rolls were out of the basket (not a euphemism), the conversation was rolling.
Jokes were made and called back throughout the night. People were
self-deprecating and insightful and candid. The conversation kicked
into high gear with people eager to throw in ideas and land the next
joke or tell the next story.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I should add
that none of us were attending as writers, some were fans, others volunteers.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As our table really
hit its stride and we were gasping to recover from a particularly
hilarious incident, a best-selling author sitting among other
luminaries of popular fiction at the adjacent head table said “I really wish I'd sat
at that table.” And we, at the table of misfit toys, burst into
another wave of laughter.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>When my kids were
very small and just learning how to navigate in crowds, I spent a lot
of time trying to keep them from being trampled.</b> I wanted them to
gain physical awareness of other people, crowds, and traffic
patterns.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One day when Scout
was a preschooler and Rogue was a baby, I suddenly recognized that I
was asking them not just to make way, but to recede. To become
smaller. To take less room. As it sometimes happens in parenting, I
had that laser-focused moment of recognition about *my own* issue- my sense of
space. I've spent a lifetime apologizing for how much space I
inhabit. It was a reflex. Immediately, I scaled down what I was teaching my kids.
Yes, get out of the way, but remember you too are entitled to space.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I want my kids,
particularly my daughters, to know that they deserve a place in the
world. If it's crowded, that place can be smaller for everyone; if
it's open, that space can be larger. But they deserve a person's
worth of space in the world-- though not preferably not on the stairs
or in front of me when I'm carrying something heavy. Awareness and
accommodation of others is still important, but it doesn't mandate
sacrifice and apology in every instance.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I spent almost forty
years of my life giving up every shared armrest on a plane, or in a
theatre. I've sat through productions with shoulders pulled in so
the stranger next next to me can sit comfortably using the space in
seat. I felt sorry for taking up space- even the minimum space I was
allotted.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So, I gave
myself permission to exist in the physical world.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>And I guess I'm
writing this now to make space for myself in the digital world again.</b>
When I started blogging about baby gear back in 2006, no one I knew
read my writing beyond Jim. Though I was thrilled to have readers
and moved away from blogging only about gear, I didn't really expect
it. I made the blog because I was tired of writing out a whole
bunch stuff for strangers who asked me about stuff I was using with
my kids. The blog meant I could just refer them to the web site for
more information.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When there were a
few readers, I got a chance to make jokes that my infant child
couldn't appreciate. There was shop talk about the day to day of
parenting. It was pretty joyful.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then people I knew
subscribed. And it was weird, but not a big deal. Suddenly though,
I had to think through my writing differently. People might take
something for what it wasn't. There were new stacks of emotional
baggage lying around just waiting to be toppled.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When life turned
upside down for us with medical stuff, I throttled my posts even
more. Some days I wanted to pour out my heart and hear the insight
my online community had to offer, but I knew the discussion would
cause problems in my daily life.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That put a chill on
things.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>With great
admiration, I've watched <a href="http://annenahm.com/" target="_blank">Anne Nahm</a> write candidly about hard real
life experiences.</b> I think about the stuff she writes on families and
life ALL THE TIME. It's honest and explores, like the
parent-blogging community of yore, what is really happening in our
lives- the kind of stuff you discuss with a friend over a meal about
your parents aging and dealing with siblings. But Anne took the risk
of knocking over those heaps of emotional baggage and told her sister
about the blog. I so deeply admire that <a href="https://annenahm.com/?p=5122" target="_blank">she's been able to cross the streams (a la Ghostbusters)</a> and keep writing about those deeply
important conversations we rarely manage to have but all so
desperately need.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I want to write like
that. I want to talk about things that are important and happening
in daily life, and to hear what others are thinking about similar
experiences in our lives. It meant so much as a young parent to have
an idea lab for those really hard things about being a parent. I
miss that.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I've gotten
completely tangled up in “no one wants to read this,” “is this
worth writing?,” and “how will people in my real life interpret
this?” to the point that I pared down to almost no writing at all
despite the fact I loved the experience.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>It feels like I'm
now asking if my ideas are good enough to take up space. </b>On the
internet. For free. And I've seen what's on the internet. I guess
I'm asking the universe for permission to take up space again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Permission
granted.</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'm here to take up space. Come join me. <b>Let's take up some space together.</b></span></div>
adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-27620027484912075542018-11-26T16:00:00.002-06:002018-11-26T16:00:36.380-06:00I Can See Clearly Now: Defogging Your Windshield<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVn9dNKYoaxWhX7eXlQ0ROTGjmhj_pZmMWOnoUKjxsPzx5bbLkfeQGyo2o3F8BGX0T-NpwjKtOdFpFXknqzfTxr7rOIFAjUVQ42X5zV1_v5P-491lfDMshrJMA_GH41mLRhsf/s1600/Foggy_car_window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVn9dNKYoaxWhX7eXlQ0ROTGjmhj_pZmMWOnoUKjxsPzx5bbLkfeQGyo2o3F8BGX0T-NpwjKtOdFpFXknqzfTxr7rOIFAjUVQ42X5zV1_v5P-491lfDMshrJMA_GH41mLRhsf/s640/Foggy_car_window.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Foggy Windshield, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:AhmadElq" title="User:AhmadElq">AhmadElq</a> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foggy_car_window.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foggy_car_window.jpg</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="background: transparent;">With
the Northern Hemisphere heading into winter, we’re all soon be
plagued by the interior fogging of car windows.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">Decades
ago, I heard Tom and Ray Magliozzi divulge the secret on <a href="http://cartalk.com/" target="_blank">Car Talk</a>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">It’s
unbelievably easy.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><ol>
<li>
<div style="background: transparent; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;"><b>Turn
on</b> air conditioning. (Yes, even in the winter.)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="background: transparent;"><b>Set blower to windshield</b>.</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Set air intake to </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="background: transparent;"><b>fresh air</b> input instead of recirculating.</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="background: transparent;"><b>Set temperature between cold and hot</b> (neutral? tepid?).</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">Your
foggy windshield will begin clearing up immediately if the settings
are right. Once it clears, you can set your car’s temperature and
blowers however you like.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">If
it resumes fogging up, you still have too much humidity in your car.
Return it to the settings above as needed. Sometimes things like a
hot box of pizza or a lot of people in the car can generate bonus fog.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">Your
kids will be sure to tell you that you’re doing it all wrong when
you reach for the AC. Take the teachable moment and save your future
self some time driver’s education time. Plus, knowing will make them
safer even if they're not the driver.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">Stay safe! Don't forget to return your ice scraper and other winter gear to your car.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is a compendium of randomness broadcasts from a chaotic suburban home located somewhere between the Bible belt and the Rust Belt in the great Fly-over. We are Amazon affiliates, so a small portion of purchases made through our <a href="https://amzn.to/2BxVDGt" target="_blank">Amazon links</a> contribute to our general upkeep. Thanks for reading even the small print!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-57944991078237951072018-11-25T19:59:00.001-06:002018-11-25T20:28:15.615-06:00Hello World 2.0<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When I read <a href="http://parenthacks.com/2018/10/blogs-rebuild-america.html" target="_blank">Asha’s call for a return to commonplace blogging</a>, it was like the voice in
my head had found an external locus. The desire for that written
conversation among friends never really left me.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When Google Reader
shuttered in 2013, I cast about for a replacement. Most of my friends
turned to Facebook as a feed aggregator and blog substitute, but that
wasn’t for me. I’d purposefully left FB in 2010 after recognizing
that it was a platform that just was not healthy for me.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span>
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<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJtccrkytnayBgZkXdUZ4jzhg8fecaRG6YKo2Cj8CKe0FoEtqj-UvpgCKNxpFW2p1nafG9SCRSyLm7EkUXFudN5_J8I9B937_dG6JZfBj208UBTIXYFXds04aVv4qiFTGg9Lh/s1600/hello+world+apple+ii+c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJtccrkytnayBgZkXdUZ4jzhg8fecaRG6YKo2Cj8CKe0FoEtqj-UvpgCKNxpFW2p1nafG9SCRSyLm7EkUXFudN5_J8I9B937_dG6JZfBj208UBTIXYFXds04aVv4qiFTGg9Lh/s400/hello+world+apple+ii+c.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Apple II c monitor showing Hello World program in BASIC.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Image by Bill Bradford (mrbill), Creative Commons, (c) 2006</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> some rights reserved. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrbill/234433731">https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrbill/234433731</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back in 2013, Rogue
was a toddler with extra medical stuff going on. I was generally
overwhelmed just keeping up with household stuff, so writing became a
few letters to friends and snark on Twitter. Writing on paper was a
welcome relief because I could write without self-editing as much
knowing the single reader for whom it was intended. And I could
discuss things that would never have made it to the blog.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So it’s 2018, and
I’m digging out of a long funk. My iron levels have been declining
for years, and motivation was hard to find. Even assembling words to
express myself had become difficult.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This August, I had a
endometrial ablation (Minerva) because I could no longer fight the
everyday exhaustion and meet life commitments. Things seem to be back on course as my skin tone regains its color and I no
longer wake every day cursing the morning and the day’s demands.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
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<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am still working
up the courage (and the hemoglobin) to resume blood donation. This
will be the real moment where I know if the procedure helped. If I go
in too soon, and get turned away yet again for low iron, I may need
someone to drive me home because I’m sure I will break down.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I still don’t have
a good feed aggregator, but I’m sure there has to be something
wonderful that’s popped up in the past five years, right? Google
Plus, you say? No, seriously, help a girl out with some
recommendations.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
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<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My wonderful friend
(and mentor) Ray Otus recently did a <a href="https://anchor.fm/plundergrounds/episodes/017-Creative-Crises-e2k6qk/a-a6jqug" target="_blank">Plundergrounds podcast episode on Imposter Syndrome and how it can derail creative pursuits</a>. Listening to the
episode motivated me to commit more to the creative inquiries that
feed my life. (Plundergrounds is mostly a Role Playing Game podcast and
zine, but this episode is for everyone.)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
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<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, hello world.
I’ve missed you. Let’s see where this goes.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/">Baby
Toolkit</a> is the ongoing pursuit of a Midwestern geek exploring the
universe one quagmire at a time. I'm an Amazon affiliate, so if you
click on an <a href="https://amzn.to/2BxVDGt">Amazon link</a> chances
are high that I'm getting a tiny percentage of any resulting sales.
Thanks for reading, friends!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-15227789620032579272018-06-29T08:50:00.004-05:002018-06-29T08:53:58.619-05:00Audiobooks: I implore you<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<br /></div>
<br />
Audiobooks with my kids have gotten me into trouble.<br />
<br />
We were three books into an adventure series so gripping that my kids BEGGED for the next car ride.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, with my preschooler, first grader, and fourth grader listening, the book took a very dark turn. The warrior rats who had always disliked the mice herded them into volcanic chambers to die of poisonous gases. Mouse families with babies and grandparents suffocated and died as the heroes looked on, powerless.<br />
<br />
That moment hangs in my mind. A frozen pause. Wondering why I had so recklessly chosen a series without reading reviews of all the sequels. Wondering what this would do to my youngest listener- a person still struggling to write her own name.<br />
<br />
It felt like a massive screw-up- and one that was wholly my own. All of us were shocked. The kids dove into the second stage of grief- denial. Maybe what the heroes saw wasn't real. Maybe they will be able to save them through some story mechanic. Maybe they only look dead.<br />
<br />
If you had been listening with us, you too would have known the story had no surprise resurrection- no time travel, no magic potion, no red herring, no nightmare to be shaken from. I shut off the book, established the deaths as final, listened to the kids, and answered their questions.<br />
<br />
We were sad together. I was sorry to have accidentally peeled back a view into the ugliness of hatred and violence we usually shield children from. It felt pretty crappy.<br />
<a href="https://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9780307207319" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for the underland chronicles" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="200" src="https://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9780307207319" style="margin-top: 26px;" width="174" /></a><br />
Then they asked me to turn the book back on. And, to my own surprise, I did. We finished the five book series together.<br />
<br />
Years later, whenever they want to try reading or watching something scary, they always say, "But Mom, you already let us listen to <a href="https://amzn.to/2KuMX5P" target="_blank"><i>Gregor the Overlander</i></a>."<br />
<br />
Suzanne Collins' <a href="https://amzn.to/2KuXj5u" target="_blank"><i>The Underland Chronicles</i></a> remains one of their favorite series of all time... OUR favorite series.<br />
<br />
So why should every parent listen to audiobooks with their kids?<br />
<br />
Because you have opportunities to talk about the book together. Stories are like laboratories to explore actions, consequences, values, and ethics from the safe perspective of observers- but observers who care about the characters. Reading literary fiction (books with emotional complexity) <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/novel-finding-reading-literary-fiction-improves-empathy/" target="_blank">has been shown to improve empathy in adults</a> and <a href="https://readingpartners.org/blog/reading-improves-kids-emotional-intelligence-increases-empathy/" target="_blank">increases emotional intelligence in children.</a><br />
<br />
Listening to stories together gives us an increased common language and experiences. My kids will sometimes describe a person by referencing a trait from a character we all know. They also ask about unfamiliar words, concepts, and ideas we encounter.<br />
<br />
Audiobooks are a great venue for storytelling because the pace of delivery is slower than a film or show and easier to momentarily interrupt and clarify. Audiobook readers are usually skilled actors or the authors, so their recordings have a quality and foresight into the material that is hard to muster when reading a book for the first time while you try to share it with others. I do believe in reading aloud to my kids, even from new books, but it's a bit more like feeling my way in the dark when choosing the emphasis for sentence I've never seen before.<br />
<br />
Here are some titles that should appeal to both adults and kids to get you started<i> </i><br />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2tC8D9I" target="_blank">The Hoboken Chicken Emergency</a> </i>by Daniel Pinkwater</b></span></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqnhuJOAODuwgP_FLbo8S6wY1Is97opM97r_ILToRZ3RXKgfGmdvDqd_NEdKQoPwoV39Sxe0eZIfVChRSyLzwcinpqVVQLgOcto3ukac02VQmulST4C5WSOCOcCkwRDRFjPhO/s1600/hoboken+chicken+emergency.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="185" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqnhuJOAODuwgP_FLbo8S6wY1Is97opM97r_ILToRZ3RXKgfGmdvDqd_NEdKQoPwoV39Sxe0eZIfVChRSyLzwcinpqVVQLgOcto3ukac02VQmulST4C5WSOCOcCkwRDRFjPhO/s200/hoboken+chicken+emergency.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Just another New Jersey boy meets giant chicken story. Nothing to see here. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I LOVE this book, and it's a good start for new audiophiles. It's not very long. The sequel, <a href="https://amzn.to/2tFZGLI" target="_blank"><i>Looking for Bobowicz</i></a>, is even better. Sadly, the third book in the series can only be found in print. <a href="http://pinkwater.com/">Daniel Pinkwater</a> is an extremely generous author who puts out a <a href="http://www.pinkwater.com/podcast/audioarchive.php">free podcast of his written works</a>. Check it out.<a href="https://amzn.to/2KvVipI" target="_blank"><i></i></a></blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2KvVipI" target="_blank"><i>Secrets At Sea</i></a> by Richard Peck</span></b></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLeP9QH1GDsjRa7d8kkTYpOJ97-aiFh9jbd_jF5OT6xOv7ODZoVP_OJAjn8Lwpx0tj5S7JR-4rF9XmmAZNZNOOPkaea470YyFwf_GRab5RVUXiP6Yd42Tb_y1HkyfCwVBAOqE4/s1600/secrets+at+sea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLeP9QH1GDsjRa7d8kkTYpOJ97-aiFh9jbd_jF5OT6xOv7ODZoVP_OJAjn8Lwpx0tj5S7JR-4rF9XmmAZNZNOOPkaea470YyFwf_GRab5RVUXiP6Yd42Tb_y1HkyfCwVBAOqE4/s200/secrets+at+sea.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
Great for younger listeners. An Edwardian mouse family tries to help their somewhat hapless humans as they cruise to England to improve their social status. First of <a href="https://amzn.to/2MxkBZk">two books</a>.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2tIG6ys" target="_blank"><i>Missing on Superstition Mountain</i></a> by Elise Broach </b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8LKKuWK5R0aUJ5LujI8D_4ePy8VzXp63QunUPRuxVAFxC5sJBb5IITbEyRi2bCrhsSzFuAk8cjXBUaDq1tOHDlihDAGXBilroMxbBBqXWUQDSF3wRT9H44iH0-_5U1HXXbDIT/s1600/missing+on+superstition+mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="185" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8LKKuWK5R0aUJ5LujI8D_4ePy8VzXp63QunUPRuxVAFxC5sJBb5IITbEyRi2bCrhsSzFuAk8cjXBUaDq1tOHDlihDAGXBilroMxbBBqXWUQDSF3wRT9H44iH0-_5U1HXXbDIT/s200/missing+on+superstition+mountain.jpg" width="136" /></a></b></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A Western story about kids grappling with strange happenings in their weird new hometown and searching for lost treasure. This series has my 2nd grader, 4th grader, and 7th grader begging for each next installment in this <a href="https://amzn.to/2yQMg5p">trilogy</a>.<a href="https://amzn.to/2KtRZPW"><i></i></a></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2KtRZPW"><i>Fake Mustache</i></a> by Tom Angelberger</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaQ53ES3sEGerdUgcdrl94zyb7DWugSOymaPAOInuPS98Chi9mSiPsIqja7F9WSSh0u8UphIXk87qF6OOuUSF8CmRWGrWeWz2mqKGm-PlOk1w0_iU7wPfJkktf0phEcCvW4Qi/s1600/fake+moustache.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaQ53ES3sEGerdUgcdrl94zyb7DWugSOymaPAOInuPS98Chi9mSiPsIqja7F9WSSh0u8UphIXk87qF6OOuUSF8CmRWGrWeWz2mqKGm-PlOk1w0_iU7wPfJkktf0phEcCvW4Qi/s200/fake+moustache.jpg" width="133" /></a></b></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A
sketchy fake mustache that grants charisma turns a kid into an evil
mastermind bent on becoming president. Can his best friend and a former
yodeling television cowgirl stop his march to power?<a href="https://amzn.to/2N6cDHG" target="_blank"><i></i></a></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2N6cDHG" target="_blank"><i>Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library</i></a> by Ghris Grabenstein</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0i9BkujkB8kYvGuCKWCzMenanaiA3vs2Kej7J_Byrd4uAOc72cSckSo2_u2_313UWH6KpxcP1vfegNTNkLFdzhoX5uTTuTcL4g-rZYP0FiQkVRu7F3sa-auxc0etpqHE1307/s1600/escape+from+mr+lemoncello%2527s+library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="339" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0i9BkujkB8kYvGuCKWCzMenanaiA3vs2Kej7J_Byrd4uAOc72cSckSo2_u2_313UWH6KpxcP1vfegNTNkLFdzhoX5uTTuTcL4g-rZYP0FiQkVRu7F3sa-auxc0etpqHE1307/s200/escape+from+mr+lemoncello%2527s+library.jpg" width="135" /></a></b></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Willy Wonka of videogames designs a cutting-edge library for his hometown. Before the library opens to the public, a group of essay contest winning kids compete to escape this new library by solving a series of puzzles. Includes great references to history and books. <a href="https://amzn.to/2MtdvFe">Series.</a><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2tCAfeR"></a></i></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2tCAfeR">Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity</a></i> by Mac Barnett</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwdHrEHD4jqqzV9FzISYsg1Ee2iJTKRG_H0OEsrX3Cc4TLI8TmU1SCIJqYhwRmHk8ndVZhiV8-yGlEXeWHjudi4h4H5jUSxvrGiXVpUNyHyx5cKHUWV8_lf8rwSkaBssymTgh/s1600/the+case+of+the+case+of+mistaken+identity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwdHrEHD4jqqzV9FzISYsg1Ee2iJTKRG_H0OEsrX3Cc4TLI8TmU1SCIJqYhwRmHk8ndVZhiV8-yGlEXeWHjudi4h4H5jUSxvrGiXVpUNyHyx5cKHUWV8_lf8rwSkaBssymTgh/s1600/the+case+of+the+case+of+mistaken+identity.jpg" /></a></b></div>
</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Brixton brothers redeem cereal box tops to get a detective license and stumble through investigations in this <a href="https://amzn.to/2KurzxB">series</a>.<a href="https://amzn.to/2Mv8uvK"><i></i></a></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2Mv8uvK"><i>Leaving the Bellweathers</i></a> by Kristin Clark Venuti</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSDAyKvVpz3bK8hFlRso18hMTlNjsbsa18v1nFySrvrR2bscbDNHbHwwlFFyifKpy1STwiCGAeP7xcoG0iB0FY7zn6JWpBa_UrRLMNenL2TSFRbn-qdc45h3FVTryM-TmV52W/s1600/leavng+the+bellweathers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSDAyKvVpz3bK8hFlRso18hMTlNjsbsa18v1nFySrvrR2bscbDNHbHwwlFFyifKpy1STwiCGAeP7xcoG0iB0FY7zn6JWpBa_UrRLMNenL2TSFRbn-qdc45h3FVTryM-TmV52W/s1600/leavng+the+bellweathers.jpg" /></a></b></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The butler for any eccentric family seeks his own replacement when he tires of their shenanigans. First of <a href="https://amzn.to/2yT9WWU">two</a>.<a href="https://amzn.to/2tzPPYq"><i></i></a></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2tzPPYq"><i>Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat</i></a> by Lynne Jonell</b> </blockquote>
</div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbU6X3hLyxnM7LmGhkhZ5iIZJy7mCeCz0bD6p344SfoohH0EQ0PfqGE6pDpDmy66gZe7yuqgJP5RE0nHeesDPNWg33V-5RwO99967J4-oXCLJ4s-f79e6gBXGuqDAUTUrpL_I/s1600/emmy+and+the+incredible+shrinking+rat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbU6X3hLyxnM7LmGhkhZ5iIZJy7mCeCz0bD6p344SfoohH0EQ0PfqGE6pDpDmy66gZe7yuqgJP5RE0nHeesDPNWg33V-5RwO99967J4-oXCLJ4s-f79e6gBXGuqDAUTUrpL_I/s200/emmy+and+the+incredible+shrinking+rat.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
After a large inheritance from a newly discovered relative, a young girl finds her parents transformed, her governess a witch, and her only friend a talking mouse. Nail-biting scenes and great humor. This full cast recording offers a great experience. <a href="https://amzn.to/2Kd6zz8">Series</a>.<a href="https://amzn.to/2tLjAFe"><i></i></a></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2tLjAFe"><i>The Wolves of Willoughby Chase</i></a> by Joan Aiken</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLV3plZ-ZKutX8jt7Iaa-w929vsI1T2B8nJ4pJ6Rkxjbbb73FwEykLu6T8huCMwDySNbrVAqWRz2TdN7zG_R9Cfd_W7-B25SbNfDEt-WcuIlF94cT3g7oMqLwFlzOeqGrARVR/s1600/wolves+willoughy+chase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="185" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLV3plZ-ZKutX8jt7Iaa-w929vsI1T2B8nJ4pJ6Rkxjbbb73FwEykLu6T8huCMwDySNbrVAqWRz2TdN7zG_R9Cfd_W7-B25SbNfDEt-WcuIlF94cT3g7oMqLwFlzOeqGrARVR/s200/wolves+willoughy+chase.jpg" width="135" /></a></b></div>
</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Written after WWII by a British widow with young children, this book explores changes of fortune in a world where packs of prowling wolves threaten Victorian-esque citizens in a world of great inequality. Gripping. <a href="https://amzn.to/2KsvF9c">Series</a>.<a href="https://amzn.to/2KvyqXx"><i></i></a></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2KvyqXx"><i>Mr. Chickee's Funny Money</i></a> by Christopher Paul Curtis</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNL5-cabH75d6GwDIGyJejoDPuDWA-MzHH01xJF_jDWX3L61WreeziU3ukwNSVug8UamA5PUOCoafsKU5DAXt0ct2wANEpv8HZsQArop-tHFWizJDy4wpDb57Za6zoblHH-8c/s1600/mr+chickee%2527s+funny+money.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="340" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNL5-cabH75d6GwDIGyJejoDPuDWA-MzHH01xJF_jDWX3L61WreeziU3ukwNSVug8UamA5PUOCoafsKU5DAXt0ct2wANEpv8HZsQArop-tHFWizJDy4wpDb57Za6zoblHH-8c/s200/mr+chickee%2527s+funny+money.jpg" width="136" /></a></b></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
After helping a neighbor, a boy find himself in possession of a remarkable piece of currency. But there are others who want this treasure. Can he figure out its mysteries before they find him? Lots of puns and word play. First <a href="https://amzn.to/2tLczEb">of two</a>.<a href="https://amzn.to/2KjhgjC"></a></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2KjhgjC">Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World</a></i> by Vicki Myron</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRgUZ0DQnypeAosXMpAvvjZ4mUuIm4kvGnnKaGLmD74Z31phVrPaK9zRdr-SX1ys75rk860x0FOITFsBS93Ewm_tJVp1kqCHblGr5Fa6B30vmsC6UklErgvdig5EHdbBSdJYS/s1600/dewey+small+town+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRgUZ0DQnypeAosXMpAvvjZ4mUuIm4kvGnnKaGLmD74Z31phVrPaK9zRdr-SX1ys75rk860x0FOITFsBS93Ewm_tJVp1kqCHblGr5Fa6B30vmsC6UklErgvdig5EHdbBSdJYS/s200/dewey+small+town+cat.jpg" width="200" /></a></b></div>
</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A great true story for any kid who loves animals and frequents libraries. I will warn you that the cat dies during the story, but I still think it's worth reading.<a href="https://amzn.to/2IAgid4"><i></i></a></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2IAgid4"><i>Joshua Dread</i></a> by Lee Bacon</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwcHOwm8Psf5TiXmGBOBDaamZEmOlX8K-bTvd06fPp3P9P1r8Pqvun8WqKo6tjQRPYxAd5nS9J28Vt16XNC7DMqcO2rPkl9UJYI1LZzYnnCfKhM1IhRznnNA6grIqO_lKG-nI/s1600/joshua+dread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="185" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwcHOwm8Psf5TiXmGBOBDaamZEmOlX8K-bTvd06fPp3P9P1r8Pqvun8WqKo6tjQRPYxAd5nS9J28Vt16XNC7DMqcO2rPkl9UJYI1LZzYnnCfKhM1IhRznnNA6grIqO_lKG-nI/s200/joshua+dread.jpg" width="136" /></a></b></div>
</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
What if your parents were supervillains- and the most popular superhero in the country moved into your neighborhood? What if his daughter was in your homeroom? <a href="https://amzn.to/2KwJx2B">Series</a>.<a href="https://amzn.to/2KeCqPX"><i></i></a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2KiGGy3"><i>The Magic Half</i></a> by Annie Barrows</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO09t_vtwErnAsYdKTqFoTA0gc4-zltqr7GQyIlJee32eLi3BnXq6QF7zws_sQq1CpRGidxNEA8aOqZcaDXXJmTG6RJ-aiCXWn-me3WVrpFOkDBSxGEn6Jtr2SXBUuoTFatHnY/s1600/the+magic+half.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="328" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO09t_vtwErnAsYdKTqFoTA0gc4-zltqr7GQyIlJee32eLi3BnXq6QF7zws_sQq1CpRGidxNEA8aOqZcaDXXJmTG6RJ-aiCXWn-me3WVrpFOkDBSxGEn6Jtr2SXBUuoTFatHnY/s200/the+magic+half.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A singleton with older twin brothers and younger twin sisters moves into a new town. After a few inexplicable incidents, she finds the house has at least one other resident and a doorway between times. First of a <a href="https://amzn.to/2tNlftE">series</a>.<a href="https://amzn.to/2yTgTHu"><i></i></a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2yTgTHu"><i>Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle</i></a> by George Hagan</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2UJ1pSbTvuidzjGnAyKm-GqL0CLrDI6NIUiGQBMKZz2fEUH2U1HbfoJKFbwPGlUcwnFtd_n735WBb4tR_MLBW8i3IdCchs-xSaAuBe2v6hYRsh1MrKHT-EDm1poAKvP0Av5p/s1600/gabriel+finley+and+the+raven%2527s+riddle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2UJ1pSbTvuidzjGnAyKm-GqL0CLrDI6NIUiGQBMKZz2fEUH2U1HbfoJKFbwPGlUcwnFtd_n735WBb4tR_MLBW8i3IdCchs-xSaAuBe2v6hYRsh1MrKHT-EDm1poAKvP0Av5p/s1600/gabriel+finley+and+the+raven%2527s+riddle.jpg" /></a></div>
</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
After his father disappears, Gabriel Finley discovers his father's childhood journal and an outlandish family history that is for the birds. With a touch of Norse legends, abundant riddles, loyal friends, birds, birdbrains, and sketchy companions, can Gabriel find his father? First <a href="https://amzn.to/2KiDtyo">of two</a>.</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/">Baby Toolkit</a> is an ongoing conversation of at least one Midwestern geek parent with the rest of the world. Jim and I also discuss board game communities at <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">greatbigtable.com</a>. We are <a href="https://amzn.to/2IDYTQP">Amazon </a>affiliates, so should you purchase anything using our links, we earn a very small portion of those puchases. We promise to use it for good, not evil. Thanks for reading. It means a lot to us.</span></div>
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</ul>
adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-74748602756510182502016-05-25T11:02:00.001-05:002016-05-25T11:02:12.115-05:00The Horrible Beauty: Get In Trouble today<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDUO90YRJa071hOxoc61S3vaB6kWQd-9-fuT5xSJGR3jVXhbEFLFwqiDJfQHVODCIFczyl0XhsjTyXYzpKEEbeidp2cFu_m5LtnMxrRq80HOTQVExP336iuVF9CKJSMxD1-t9/s1600/DSC05653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDUO90YRJa071hOxoc61S3vaB6kWQd-9-fuT5xSJGR3jVXhbEFLFwqiDJfQHVODCIFczyl0XhsjTyXYzpKEEbeidp2cFu_m5LtnMxrRq80HOTQVExP336iuVF9CKJSMxD1-t9/s320/DSC05653.JPG" width="230" /></a>There's nothing like an election season to turn my thoughts to horror. Instinctively, I load up on horror movies and fiction to dull the truly ugly realities of the American political system.*<br />
<br />
So, as the elections rage on, I've watched everything from <a href="http://amzn.to/1szUYwB">Z-Nation</a> (zombies killed with giant wheel of cheese) to the quietly paced, theologically-delving, Colonial American <a href="http://amzn.to/1XwVM10">The Witch</a> to the contemporary Irish new-to-a-weird-rural-village, <a href="http://amzn.to/1UdvttU">The Hallow</a>. I've been reading lots of extremely short stories to find addictive little bits to use in my fall classes, so I was quite intrigued when someone referenced Kelly Link's short story collection <a href="http://amzn.to/20BCOWh"><i>Get In Trouble</i></a>.<br />
<br />
I read the entire collection in less than 24 hours- which, with three young kids, means giving up my steady nighttime commitment of Netflix and shirking even more household duties than normal.<br />
<br />
As a horror story reader, I love experiencing the story unfolding unspoiled before me-- so I will stick to generalities.<br />
<br />
I loved Link's old-school perspective which expertly wields the unseen, the looming, and the quite-possibly-only-imagined. Kelly Link reminds me of the mid-century British writer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyndham">John Wyndham</a>- who wrote the books behind <a href="http://amzn.to/1szUvdz"><i>Village of the Damned</i></a> (<a href="http://amzn.to/1szUI0n"><i>The Midwich Cuckoos</i></a>) and <a href="http://amzn.to/1RqzMxw"><i>28 Days Later</i></a> (<a href="http://amzn.to/1szUy9h"><i>Day of the Triffids</i></a>)-- among others.<br />
<br />
Kelly Link is a skilled world-builder. Her stories bear no consistent locale, time period, or reality. This collection includes an on-location ghost-hunting reality show in Florida swampland, contemporary Appalachia, a future where bored children of the uber-wealthy commission full-scale pyramid tombs, a colonizing mission to Mars, and two of the world's most logical horror settings-- high school and hometown reunions. With a beautiful playfulness, Link sometimes allows the details of one fantastic place to appear in another, slightly-related story. Like the breaking of the fourth wall in film, these details play with the form and the medium.<br />
<br />
Link's fiction gets in your head and under your skin without resorting to the merely sensational and repulsive. It lurks and insinuates making shadows shift in even the brightest landscapes.<br />
<br />
Link's detail is measured- not overreaching, but fully drawn- and exacting- leaving jeweled details that rewards the observant reader. <br />
<br />
The opening story, "The Summer People," immediately sent up red flags with me. Its Appalachian setting with poor characters and vernacular speech took the story toward a place where most writers should never go. I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end of the first story-- much less the second story, but Link didn't allow her story to be consumed by stereotypes. All my trepidation dissipated when the too-familiar elements reassembled into a new nightmare carefully wrought from ancient lore.<br />
<br />
All but one of Link's stories clearly center around young female characters, but they're not lambs waiting for the slaughter (or salvation). These wily women carve their own destinies. It's refreshing- even though the charater's outcomes vary wildly.<br />
<br />
For a tiny taste of the stories: "I Can See Right Through You" involves a ghost hunting reality show at the site of the mysterious 1974 disappearance of twenty-two nudists. "Secret Identity" reveals side-by-side hotel conventions of superheroes and dentists, a 15-year-old girl who finds her own yearning and authenticity in a MMORPG, and figuring out who you are when you just don't fit anywhere.<br />
<br />
"The Valley of the Girls" takes readers to a world where the profoundly wealthy in a neo-Egyptian trend build competing pyramids for their teenage children."Origin Story" makes sly references to superhero tropes introduced in "Secret Identity," but is a stand-alone tale with entirely different motives. "Two Houses" involves campfire storytelling aboard a exploratory spaceship headed to the nearest Goldilocks planet.<br />
<br />
The book has nine stories in all, and I loved each one. If you like horror and seeing new stories borne from old ones, this book is for you.<br />
<span id="goog_660061787"></span><span id="goog_660061788"></span><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
To which fantastic worlds are you escaping?</h3>
<br />
If you want to see what I'm reading, friend me on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/babytoolkit">Goodreads</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Please note: I'm discouraged, but <u>not</u> politically disengaged. To the contrary, I'm politically active year-round- so much that my state house representative has blocked me on Twitter. I'm just so disappointed to see my fellow citizens with convictions not vote or others voting without a thought for the long-term implications. I love public education and public libraries. We all need to vote to protect these things-- they are increasingly endangered by for-profit interests.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/">Baby Toolkit</a> is an almost decade-long conversation between some geeky Midwestern parents and other netizens. We love and talk games and gaming communities at our <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">Great Big Table</a> podcast. We're so unaffiliated with the publishers of <i>Get in Trouble</i> that the copy we read came from our AWESOME local library, but we are Amazon affiliates-- so if you buy anything through our Amazon links, a small portion of the sale comes back to us where it might be spent on domain names, an increasingly feeble DSL connection, or world domination. Thanks for reading. We love you.</span>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-26679618414364261502016-04-21T15:57:00.000-05:002016-04-21T16:26:33.746-05:00Droopy Drawers No More: A No-Sew Solution for Too-Big Pants On Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://amzn.to/1SyFTqP" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
Recently saw this on super board game reviewer's <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwirxY7-z6DMAhViyYMKHaiOB20QFggcMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fuser%2FTheOneTAR&usg=AFQjCNHWZmHQhliNAwAQfHoHU6Ey3Ew22g&sig2=cbUnsfrxnfKOIdE1s31fGw">TheOneTAR</a>'s <a href="https://twitter.com/babytoolkit" target="_blank">Twitter</a>* feed:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Going through my harddrive I have SO MANY reviews shot and never edited. My goal is to get one up a week again!</div>
— Tiffany Caires (@TheOneTAR) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheOneTAR/status/722139104679370754">April 18, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
I totally relate. We've been using this hack for almost a decade, and I took these pictures a year ago.<br />
<br />
In honor of the awesome <a href="http://babytoolkit.blogspot.com/2016/04/10-years-in-trenches-parent-hacks-book.html" target="_blank">new Parent Hacks book</a>, let me show you how to<br />
<h2>
<a href="http://amzn.to/1SyFTqP" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://amzn.to/1SyFTqP" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2hZU9AFYBRh711iNXZaFcTtnOo_IwfUWT2PcR-Phcqh01uwTCpxglZ3eODSj9K69pnCDARbgKa-UOtYNqGucRxnRQ1snTzUG7Uiag0Io7bo2H1jH6kLhMmjzW-I_M1Q_HF_V/s200/41lCjycM0mL.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Tighten Loose Pants with a Mitten Clip</b></h2>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">as referenced in hack #62- Tighten Pants with Elastic.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">If you happen to have skinny kids, this might just change you life a little.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAXs2gaL4MFxxI84ob5xBZbalcq59ic80CMSDeY8IYoKMAXfHdeWj6V48dpvLclBPyRw34XBuo44-7CWpndV9Cbf3I03GSKSLHYI022OP-k1-AgmRTXh66FOSA3xLocFlEv9y/s1600/417uG2CVhyL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-weight: normal;">Use one <a href="http://amzn.to/1NmRruN" target="_blank">mitten clip</a> (Midwesterners- I found a bunch of these at Meijer on winter clearance). <b>Shorter elastics work better than long ones- so go for kids' size</b>. While mitten clips <a href="http://amzn.to/1SUB2Kp" target="_blank">come in a million designs and colors</a>, I have a few solid basics <i>because they were on clearance</i>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCczx5brpKuYigrRe64dlTgS_je1Gi3fPAn2m8OC4x4QTzMDvYr61rkzJk89Zq9XOPuWyyESEkonPr9fuyvfQFyUT1wWkWgJrO0I76RdjKhdUoxkulgJ_ukVZX2apSrX9IPzG/s1600/DSC01361-003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCczx5brpKuYigrRe64dlTgS_je1Gi3fPAn2m8OC4x4QTzMDvYr61rkzJk89Zq9XOPuWyyESEkonPr9fuyvfQFyUT1wWkWgJrO0I76RdjKhdUoxkulgJ_ukVZX2apSrX9IPzG/s640/DSC01361-003.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Starting at the side seam on the waistband, place clip around one third of the way between the side and the back seam. Clip the other end on the pants symmetrically on the other side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Voila. Pants that stay up! Even on skinny kids!</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Remember to remove clip before laundering. The one in the picture went through the wash (see the stretching on the left side?).</span><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">What have you hacked lately?</span></h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Be my Twitter friend? <a href="https://twitter.com/babytoolkit" target="_blank">@babytoolkit</a> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is the brain dump of some Midwestern parents trying to keep everyone's pants up and shoes tied on life's grand journey. While our babies grew into various sizes of kids, we're still talking about parenting and families. We also podcast about board games and communities at <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">GreatBigTable.com</a><a href="http://greatbigtable.com/" target="_blank"></a>. We're Amazon affiliates, so if you buy anything through our links, a small percentage of you purchase goes to our future adventures! Many thanks for reading- and a big 5 five for reading the fine print, you're our kind of people!</span></span></div>
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adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-32681506400303285442016-04-18T08:08:00.000-05:002016-04-21T10:06:22.581-05:0010 Years in the Trenches: Parent Hacks, the book<b>10 YEARS.</b><br />
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Ranger turned 10 last year. And this blog will turn 10 in August. But it took the publication of <a href="http://amzn.to/22Hw9dg" target="_blank">a book</a> to make me realize I've been a parent to young children for 10 years.<br />
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Though I helped <a href="http://www.parenthacks.com/about-asha-dornfest" target="_blank">Asha</a> winnow down the hacks to include in the book, it wasn't until I held the final book in my hands that the story of my family using many of those hacks played out in my head.<br />
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<a href="http://amzn.to/22Hw9dg" target="_blank"><img alt="http://amzn.to/22Hw9dg" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDUlrw-cwEKM1BE0c_tcVgKXpDFEqh5Wt_thchMAJ9Em-JLgFp4NklVSyw8yXPX6jaLsqZu5_zVeEvBALPduOqcdeRwNhyEK1gXKGh5YyNOV6l9SwxNsismVQt9mOJ-lx1Pfy/s320/Parent-Hacks_high-res.png" width="268" /></a></div>
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I'm not usually sentimental. When my kids started morning out programs, preschool, and Kindergarten, I usually celebrated their new beginnings when others might mourn the closing of a chapter. Maybe that's the gift of having more kids than hands, with each stage's ending I'm often quite thankful we all survived it.<br />
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But when I flipped through this concise, lovely highlight of the ParentHacks.com blog, I felt the past-- struggles and successes-- as I remembered. With different hacks, I found myself remembering <a href="http://www.parenthacks.com/2016/03/wall-of-fame.html" target="_blank">their contributors</a>-- people like <a href="http://zrecs.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jeremiah & Jenni from Z Recommends</a>, <a href="https://ohmahdeehness.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Homa</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjPu8H1nZjMAhUlkYMKHfvsCu0QFggdMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thingamababy.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNFFz_gs5Ztw5UYBsN1WanyRUtLVOg&sig2=0IwL_XT1ttfshzAJPO9yMg" target="_blank">AJ from Thingamababy</a>, <a href="http://annenahm.com/" target="_blank">Anne Nahm</a>, and <a href="https://adjunctmom.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Adjunct Mom</a>.<br />
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And Asha-- ringmaster, wizard of kindness-- was always there to encourage. I remember so keenly how she said that her second baby was easier than the first. These were my colleagues, inspirations, and co-conspirators who reminded me I wasn't alone-- even if was 3:30 in the morning unable to sleep after some middle of the night chaos.<br />
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The memories- the shared revelations- the friendships. Suddenly, I saw clearly a community that encouraged and inspired.<br />
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One of the earliest hacks I remember using was Sharpie-ing my phone number on toddler Ranger's belly for an expedition to the enormous Georgia Aquarium while I was whale-like pregnant with Scout. It sounds silly now, but I don't know that I would have had the courage to go alone without that hack. And when he scampered through a crawling under-aquarium viewing tunnel swept up in a mass of preschool kids, I panicked less- because we had a safety net. We had so much fun that day, and I don't know that I've ever told anyone this- I later realized that I'd written my HOME phone number for an empty house in Indiana on his belly.<b> But we survived without incident- and maybe that was the greatest lesson of the day.</b><br />
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When I got to page 210-- Uses for a Vinyl Tablecloth, I started to cry because<a href="http://www.parenthacks.com/2016/03/parent-hacks-illustrator.html" target="_blank"> illustrator Craighton Berman</a> coincidentally drew my car in the hack. I don't know that <a href="http://babytoolkit.blogspot.com/2007/01/big-muddy-keeping-stroller-gunk-out-of.html" target="_blank">the 2007 post</a> showed enough of my car to reveal its overall shape, but to see the illustration show <i>our car that carried my two oldest throughout their baby years</i> just made me lose it. So mysteriously, incidentally, and curiously personal-- so much like my feelings for ParentsHacks overall.<br />
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<b>This new Parent Hacks book is a shining beacon of 10 years of parenting creativity, compassion, discovery, and inspiration. It's like a master's class in surviving the chaos and challenges with a sense of humor, adventure, and fellowship</b>. I am so thrilled that all the goodness is out there in a format that invites new people into the conversation. I'm also thrilled to see the conversation continue on the web site and throughout social media with the #parenthacks.<br />
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Someday, I hope to sit down for tea with Asha and find the words to thank her for the warm, friendly space she created for all of us in the trenches.<br />
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May you also find new joy, courage, and inspiration (and/or old memories) in this marvelous book.<br />
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<strike><i>If you want to join the conversation NOW, Asha has two virtual book tour stops on the Internet today and tomorrow:</i></strike><br />
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<a href="http://www.parenthacks.com/2016/04/breaking-virtual-online.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.parenthacks.com/2016/04/breaking-virtual-online.html" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi631-woZqUXc-tueX8bDqBslU_eMrh-J2HBd6-CrfonNFBBF4Y1R7WmIyiryMZFlQG5SulNStkdpsIKBqxgAjMW_RXbEM_zAtUo0aIvZs9dN6hrUmgNyHk69D3KI__Qa57Tf5W/s320/Parent-Hacks-Live-Gretchen-2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.parenthacks.com/2016/04/breaking-virtual-online.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.parenthacks.com/2016/04/breaking-virtual-online.html" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVzDWFiIU0C0eR577YyXoMK68S16_KVXBQwU4snYHcycsgBq2iX-3tYDNa9R3i9BVG21kUqSs_E48QU2KRSFWOzKPIT6ifGcIJsaxaEzoQclcgsibLV2492gUnvIECjTpDm8j/s320/Parent-Hacks-Live-4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is the ongoing chronicle of a Hoosier family with the good luck of great communities of friends and mentors. Adrienne did help with a very early editing of the Parent Hacks' book, but my opinions here are unprompted and uncompensated. We are Amazon affiliates, so a portion of purchases there after using are links goes to fund present and future Jones endeavors.</span>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-80581991661631368832015-08-28T20:31:00.000-05:002015-08-28T20:31:28.219-05:00Unmasking the truth: revealing invisible print on appliance buttonsTired of invisible print on buttons? <a href="http://amzn.to/1WYbgKQ">Silver Sharpie</a> to the rescue!<br />
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As you all know, Sharpies kind of rock our world. We've <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC8QFjADahUKEwje-qnTkc3HAhWBjz4KHT2JBjQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbabytoolkit.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F06%2Fkeeping-on-track-log-medicine-doses-on.html&ei=fwrhVZ6_CIGf-gG9kpqgAw&usg=AFQjCNGAU8v0FUnDrXH43sV8QKyf1924Kg&sig2=udIkfCX_0OyAiALWUHD3jg" target="_blank">used them on medicine bottles</a> and <a href="http://www.parenthacks.com/2006/08/sharpie_your_ce.html" target="_blank">our kids</a>. I fixed scratches on our coffee table with them. We've even handed them out as business cards at conventions. <br />
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I'm back to teaching after over a decade away, so there's not much time to spare. Scout and I were halfway through this hack before I thought to grab a camera.<br />
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As I'm sure I'll soon be telling my students, <b>better late than never</b>.<br />
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This hack video represents Scout's first blog appearance as a camerawoman. Not bad for a 6-year-old.<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jkuFyWy-swU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jkuFyWy-swU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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We hope everyone's back to school is going well!<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">***Baby Toolkit is a production of the geeky, over-committed Jones family in the middle Midwest. We're Amazon affiliates, so if you buy through our Amazon links, we'll get a small percentage that we'll promptly squander on board games or domain name fees or Sharpies or paperclips. We are in no way affiliated with Sharpie or their makers, though we would have a long history of Sharpie love. We also podcast about board game groups and board games at <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">GreatBigTable.com</a>. Thanks for reading the small print. This commendable behavior would surely get you bonus points in my class; how about <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oxeNeSWE35sDrq7OHbobZh9V1fa2sV8sj3V-SAu2WDHEtnXTM76mK4idmpcSHj2lgNkOQfqQ6Z2Ijy6m-lzUcv_0Gm3SOAoUSxonBwBs6Y_uCZHHTT28l0yRKuXuvV7SXhFl/s1600/Great+Job+gold+star.png" target="_blank">a gold star</a>?</span>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-10245526251777865112015-06-11T18:50:00.002-05:002015-06-11T18:51:02.332-05:00The Case of the Tired Novel: On revisiting favorite childhood books<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When we first had kids, I imagined our family enjoying together many of the books from my childhood.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgb4ag_2mB50TQiIHmaBIsSECKcuV0lawB9P-oomJT7INKyOxbIf-i0NlhXEPvrXwgynr0qErQTQJAds5X5a5R35xZm0rCHkn8Xwhn3qX0498PGe5lxLXNfY4aLOB0S-IXeuE/s1600/nancy+drew+green+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgb4ag_2mB50TQiIHmaBIsSECKcuV0lawB9P-oomJT7INKyOxbIf-i0NlhXEPvrXwgynr0qErQTQJAds5X5a5R35xZm0rCHkn8Xwhn3qX0498PGe5lxLXNfY4aLOB0S-IXeuE/s1600/nancy+drew+green+cover.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In my grandma's basement, green-covered Nancy Drews shared a shelf with the Hardy Boys. Time-crisp dust jackets broke at the creases as if they could no longer contain the adventures of 1950s and '60s kids' pulp. The Bobbsey Twins cheerfully solved crimes while hero dogs saved hapless humans time and time again. I don't think there was any book considered a classic on those shelves. My brother and I read them at every opportunity. They may not have been Choose-Your-Own-Adventures, but I marveled at sixteen-year-old Nancy's blue roadster, keen eye and seemingly limitless freedom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">At my small country grade school, the classics stood shoulder-to-shoulder waiting to fill any unoccupied student minute. Twain and Dickens were some of my favorites. These school's books also came from the years preceding mass market paperbacks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Books seemed ageless. Of course I felt the distance of the years when reading, but the stories still breathed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Even after weeding out the obvious twaddle, many books I loved did not stand up to the years when I tried to read them with our kids. And a few that they do like, I now actively dislike.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">At present, the kids are obsessed with Encyclopedia Brown audiobooks. We listen to them in the car, the kids rapt in the riddles while Jim and I quietly snark about Idaville being the worst town in America. Despite a high case closure rate, crime is unusually high in Idaville. A known public menace is allowed to keep creating problems with no real consequences. Gambling and theft are high. People hide out from thugs. And worst of all, the police chief relies on his child to solve the crimes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Often the cases are solved by details that are circumstantial at best. When Encyclopedia "proves" Bugs Meany is cheating a younger boy, Encyclopedia declares a letter and check forgeries because they are dated July 31st. While this may have been grand detective work in my childhood perception, an erroneously dated check now seems less like a smoking gun and more like a common paperwork error.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">While social changes may make these old books seem outmoded, I'm becoming convinced that the literature of my childhood was inferior. It may have been the literary equivalent of the buddy parent: pandering and lacking complexity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When I listen to Encyclopedia Brown with my kids, the books operate on a surface level. The heroes don't fear anything, and there's no moral complexity. Encyclopedia pronounces a verdict that everyone accepts no matter how thin the premise. The stories have all the depth and emotional authenticity of a Scooby-Doo episode.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">That approach may have been enough when I was a kid, but there are so many better offerings today. I am convinced that children's literature has improved. It respects the young reader with complexity and depth in the stories and their emotions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As a parent, I really appreciate this shift. I remember reading stories to try and understand the world around me- particularly the parts that adults didn't discuss. When the stories were preachy, prescriptive cautionary tales, they become predictable, relatively worthless and most offensively, not fun.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1qRWuy6vlugImvz859wvtTvD_Wfzwmb0tFkATg-JLQ0Yu_E_8D5cFDwGTEfmjmtbGMjYzPleD4fqlKxAss3BJUWTpjjMydu2b8e51ber6annU8pg3SqTHQ1jzcMO5Hfo54n8/s1600/lemoncello-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1qRWuy6vlugImvz859wvtTvD_Wfzwmb0tFkATg-JLQ0Yu_E_8D5cFDwGTEfmjmtbGMjYzPleD4fqlKxAss3BJUWTpjjMydu2b8e51ber6annU8pg3SqTHQ1jzcMO5Hfo54n8/s320/lemoncello-small.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Accepting the limitations of my childhood favorites allows us to discover together the rich, new world of children's stories. Every parent who once loved Encyclopedia Brown should take the opportunity to <a href="http://amzn.to/1Fc7tNk"><i>Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library</i></a> alongside their kids.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This BAD summer, we'll discuss some of our other new and old family favorites.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Have you revisited your favorites?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>How have your favorite books aged?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0K5VEcVDr6KoYhK0v-cnBYKKYqWAQJSAlNE0ObKvJVfn6hokIHxaClMrzrm2rcRZsjpI9EqRFSVnGRepZC7Jy_jlSUVd6kEqk_UnbSWwRRz5kE2x-JVt6HBZ_NvuOYG6AW49/s1600/nancy+drew+green+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/">Baby Toolkit</a> is a tale told by a Midwestern gaming family, full of books and adventures, signifying something. We just don't know what. We are Amazon affiliates, so a small portion of purchases made through our links goes to pay for our domain name and general upkeep. Be sure to check out our gaming podcast at <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">GreatBigTable.com</a>.</span></span></div>
adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-7339457532303107592015-06-01T11:39:00.002-05:002015-06-01T11:39:43.672-05:00Our BAD summer begins!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/133.html"><img alt="https://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/133.html" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQC9KzkgC7klapQDQlsEYhtUdAhUq6a_gJBfx2c9dHFTjlNIXsjBglAu_8pc9sckQeDcPPDesMlRaLOtQcjhmFGVPbfgNpW4igUBvy6yc17jLV_taHUOXhhmNCOhUsY5e6wrn/s640/Wild+%2526+Precious+Life-+Mary+Oliver.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This rainy leftover-cake-for-breakfast morning* is the dawn of the kids' and I's summer together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Our chaos-strewn house already looks like it was invaded by warring troops of toy and paper hoarding monkeys. We have a lot of work to make it a mere shambles again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I couldn't be more excited. This summer holds so much potential, so much opportunity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The kids and I decided to go for a <u>BAD</u> summer this year: book a day. We're going to try to read at least one book together every day. Rogue is four and Scout is a new reader, so we're setting our goal of one a day in the field of picture books. We're also planning on reading longer books aloud together throughout the week. Ranger and I will each be reading books at least 15 minutes a day every day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jim and I started reading chapter books aloud with the kids some evenings at dinner. There is magic in sharing the experience of books like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312608705/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0312608705&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=CLBO2I4YIFTHBHG2">Elise Broach's great beetle adventure <i>Masterpiece</i></a> and <a href="http://amzn.to/1JjVCCW">Doreen Cronin's retired rescue dog J.J. Tully mysteries <i>The Trouble With Chickens</i></a>, <a href="http://amzn.to/1GgzABT"><i>The Legend of Diamond Lil</i></a>, and <a href="http://amzn.to/1Jem42r"><i>The Chicken Squad</i></a>. As I looked up these titles, I found that both Broach and Cronin have extended these wonderful series with new titles. The kids ran into to look and we called Jim at work to tell him. The books are <b>that good</b>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIira3RI9uo0NWnDoZJ08GYN1R22w4MdzVzLYk1wsukVwN6GEaKyy6FsXzMEVb_66kiVueEPTpv7uCv7CUrhwXovMcNE6CLabQLnGH46Di0vu-1mXOc6LKW9Qfa7jcxK529uT/s1600/Broach%252C+Elise-+Masterpiece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIira3RI9uo0NWnDoZJ08GYN1R22w4MdzVzLYk1wsukVwN6GEaKyy6FsXzMEVb_66kiVueEPTpv7uCv7CUrhwXovMcNE6CLabQLnGH46Di0vu-1mXOc6LKW9Qfa7jcxK529uT/s200/Broach%252C+Elise-+Masterpiece.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This summer we plan to cook, play, game, be creative, visit friends, make our home welcoming for visitors, laugh, dance, game, dream, listen to music, crack jokes,explore, learn, blow bubbles, share, help where we can, be part of our neighborhood and community, picnic, and recharge our souls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ranger and I will both be writing about the BAD books we find notable. I'm so excited that he's about to start writing here.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXfp8t90HSOAdddbq26Glxth2pr2T4b_NYtQfuwG9j1vnN_4XUDOz9If1WpuQL-uyVUaFlz2qwZNqaeSzaUeH40oI9To8j8b4cZY69KhhblMm7bWVU98Glfb7QTR8a6ofyTgJ/s1600/1-DSC03738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXfp8t90HSOAdddbq26Glxth2pr2T4b_NYtQfuwG9j1vnN_4XUDOz9If1WpuQL-uyVUaFlz2qwZNqaeSzaUeH40oI9To8j8b4cZY69KhhblMm7bWVU98Glfb7QTR8a6ofyTgJ/s320/1-DSC03738.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>What should we be reading and doing?<br />What things are you planning?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">May your summer be a wonderful adventure, friends!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Even with leftover lemon cake available, the girls chose Cheerios. Ranger on the other hand, stumbled out of his room asking about the cake.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">**<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/">Baby Toolkit</a> is the ongoing story of a Midwestern family on the adventure that is life. We are astronauts on spaceship Earth taking in the vast wonder of the universe. We are also Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase after clicking through our links, a tiny bit of the proceeds become resources for future Jones endeavors. Check out our board game podcast at <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">GreatBigTable.com</a>.</span></span>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-56811932424417458202015-01-23T11:05:00.002-06:002015-01-23T11:11:26.392-06:00Looking for a Great Midwestern Family Vacation? Gen Con Registration Opens Today!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecuA-_3Qx87oCMzALK3ECqlL7IeH0wsUPMFOTT5P5rhMXmmw_pT7MDoDwOeULUsBo-U4Z0VpTg7IiEA1gsIXp6Zbtc3CR-rfM4CBDOWIrQ3-MjRDiHWDd39rujteyuI8X0_6D/s1600/DSC02433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecuA-_3Qx87oCMzALK3ECqlL7IeH0wsUPMFOTT5P5rhMXmmw_pT7MDoDwOeULUsBo-U4Z0VpTg7IiEA1gsIXp6Zbtc3CR-rfM4CBDOWIrQ3-MjRDiHWDd39rujteyuI8X0_6D/s1600/DSC02433.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun is in the eye of the beholder.</td></tr>
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Today at noon (EST), badge registration opens for Gen Con Indy, the largest tabletop gaming convention in the United States! <br />
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We've been taking kids with us to this incredible event since Ranger was two, and this year he's old enough (9) to need his own badge.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_f11q3PladmVQCC5VCU9tBWCG0Ls1nVdmZuU-uXlG2n1vgUZs5EBlSi07mlGoHgDTVIpA2GsMcDtj4d6oUQmnhvI0mo-cHbY8U-hMaSIUghQNaZTvzYU-AzE5-N43YpNpm8t/s1600/Mario+Luigi+and+Link+john+stanifer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_f11q3PladmVQCC5VCU9tBWCG0Ls1nVdmZuU-uXlG2n1vgUZs5EBlSi07mlGoHgDTVIpA2GsMcDtj4d6oUQmnhvI0mo-cHbY8U-hMaSIUghQNaZTvzYU-AzE5-N43YpNpm8t/s1600/Mario+Luigi+and+Link+john+stanifer.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>The spectacle of cosplayers, giant games, and innovative interactive displays bewitch even toddlers. All our kids were agog at pirate musicians, belly dancers, superheros and supervillains. The kids have amassed photos with characters like the Mad Hatter, friendly dragons, the World's Tallest Leprechaun (a very talented stilt-walker), Storm Troopers, Waldo and other characters from our collective imagination.<br />
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After our first day with two-year-old Ranger at his first Gen Con, he wanted to wear a costume. Year One he kept wearing generic superhero shirt with a removable silver <span class="st">lamé cape. After that, he was a pint-sized Mario who kept growing. His little sister Scout soon joined in as a wee Luigi. A few years later, she became Lola, from the British children's books, and Ranger was even Lola's older brother Charlie for a day. More recently she and sister Rogue have hit the con as princesses. This year we're hoping to engineer some great game-themed costumed, but I'll save those for a later post.</span><br />
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The seemingly infinite opportunity for hands-on play in venues like the games library, demos in the main hall, Rio Grande room, open gaming, and Indie Games on Demand offer families opportunity to play lots of games together and with new people.<br />
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Ranger has been enjoying Paizo's Pathfinder Kids offerings. He especially loves how Scotty's Brewhouse offers a Pathfinder Tavern menu and decor. One of their Pathfinder posters was given to him by a kind manager and remains the pride of his room years later.<br />
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Gen Con has always had a great family gaming presence. Publishers like R & R Games, Out of the Box, Calliope, and Blue Orange games have long been dedicated to producing games compelling enough for adult hobbyists, but accessible enough for kids and teens. We were very excited to welcome kids' publisher HABA games in 2014.<br />
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As hobby gaming grows in popularity, game publishers like Asmodee, Paizo, Rio Grande, Fireside and Stronghold Games are offering more family offerings. Venerable franchises like Catan and Carcassonne are creating kids' editions. With these changes, Gen Con's main hall and events have more to offer families and parents who are bringing up kids in the hobby.<br />
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All these publishers producing family games means more great gaming opportunities in the main hall. We love playing giant games (like Out of the Box's <i>Word on the Street</i> and Calliope's <i>Tsuro) </i>and regular sized games in the Family Fun Pavilion of the exhibit hall.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YwEI7umjEHtA5vNG4p9nZKegiYTwwTHSIFGoBnZU-_OFvMzL-Ds_Ir-wJFU2SOfoVu1GnuMXVJA1N4s11GzYXmcpDgl0diqHaDyx7FycrseSzbeFDfGdUeZE2sYCd0n-rPMb/s1600/1-DSC03773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YwEI7umjEHtA5vNG4p9nZKegiYTwwTHSIFGoBnZU-_OFvMzL-Ds_Ir-wJFU2SOfoVu1GnuMXVJA1N4s11GzYXmcpDgl0diqHaDyx7FycrseSzbeFDfGdUeZE2sYCd0n-rPMb/s1600/1-DSC03773.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A great game of Wassalpoag's protoype <i>Echidna Traffic Jam</i></td></tr>
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If you want a gaming getaway with the kids, Gen Con is hard to beat. Its Indianapolis location makes transportation and lodging more affordable.<br />
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Jim and I will highlight some of our favorite Gen Con offerings for families in upcoming weeks, and we'll post updates on our Gaming for Good presence at Gen Con.<br />
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But now, I need to go buy Ranger's first Gen Con badge. See you there?adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-33743484025472852022014-10-17T13:20:00.000-05:002014-10-17T14:41:29.440-05:00Fighting Monsters: Extra Life 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJg6ZAeSH16dHYIm4PwCraDSUye9y7J35xCi9YtRIMl9GHFZC8hCmO-CGzcrBz_php3-QyQkaVwzxX1agOY4Sq-te2lxMJqDd3B_EODAnARDgNIIpK6yJGLpxlyq26ACIsDcAK/s1600/Extra+Life+Logo_Blue.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJg6ZAeSH16dHYIm4PwCraDSUye9y7J35xCi9YtRIMl9GHFZC8hCmO-CGzcrBz_php3-QyQkaVwzxX1agOY4Sq-te2lxMJqDd3B_EODAnARDgNIIpK6yJGLpxlyq26ACIsDcAK/s1600/Extra+Life+Logo_Blue.png" height="131" width="320" /></a></div>
Next weekend, <a href="http://www.extra-life.org/participant/jimjones" target="_blank">Jim</a>, <a href="http://www.extra-life.org/participant/rangerjones" target="_blank">Ranger</a> and <a href="http://www.extra-life.org/participant/babytoolkit" target="_blank">I</a> will fight some real-world monsters in our <a href="http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.team&teamID=14752" target="_blank">third annual Extra-Life board game marathon</a> for <a href="http://www.rileykids.org/" target="_blank">Riley Hospital for Childen</a> who gave our Rogue a life-saving cranial surgery in 2012.<br />
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Rogue is doing great these days, and we want to help other families who are going through heavy medical concerns like injuries, illnesses and developmental needs.<br />
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Riley is a special hospital where kids and their parents are cared for together. My eyes tear up when I remember the parent cart that circulates the hospital dispensing toiletries and other small items for caregivers staying with a patient. The smallest things are monumental when you don't want to leave an infant's bedside even for a moment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKfhpiD7O9z73d1jSOTafpAh6wWr3n0wtPX2pAjrvZXQe7zmupq2cbZLr6LdrV7Ba4uVvfTlvDVFrZBEHmozG5Jj8ZV6fk_5c8ZWhZHRz4FfaUWQE3SibaQQLuBRwSxoMHji4/s1600/Mazes+&+Monsters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKfhpiD7O9z73d1jSOTafpAh6wWr3n0wtPX2pAjrvZXQe7zmupq2cbZLr6LdrV7Ba4uVvfTlvDVFrZBEHmozG5Jj8ZV6fk_5c8ZWhZHRz4FfaUWQE3SibaQQLuBRwSxoMHji4/s1600/Mazes+&+Monsters.jpg" height="320" width="203" /></a>If you want to change a life with your donation, Riley Hospital for Children is a great choice. Not only are they healing kids from Indiana and the rest of the world, they also contribute important research to the global medical community.<br />
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Please consider <a href="http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=98276" target="_blank">donating to Riley Hospital </a>during Extra Life. Even spare change, added to other's spare change, will change lives for the better.<br />
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<b>As an added incentive, if <a href="http://www.extra-life.org/participant/babytoolkit" target="_blank">my fundraising goal</a> is met by Sunday, October 25th at 6PM, Jim and I will live-tweet the 1982 made-for-TV movie <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032U97TA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0032U97TA&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=DWIHB4GVZIAXJANM" target="_blank">Mazes and Monsters</a> over Halloween weekend.</b><b> </b><br />
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<b>One randomly drawn</b> donor with a Mazes and Monsters note attached to their donation will win our second-hand copy of the movie! I will mail the DVD to the winner or the winner's designee (offer limited to the United States; substitution of Amazon Instant Watch Credit may also be available).<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Please <a href="http://www.extra-life.org/participant/babytoolkit">help me reach my goal</a> for Riley kids and their families.</span><br />
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<i>How bad is Mazes and Monsters?</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpCcpQLzbGvMq-YLdOvI-9r2jaEJPYC5gP_YXTgW3L4LfDpHGmx1Ka0JTqCIM4hoOJNPDjVaT7gVy6YA-VhrXDjnoqmDFQYXwvvs6u6jHZyAQITKwCEGpiGzYho22sNyfe_wW/s1600/The+Scream+TH+MaM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpCcpQLzbGvMq-YLdOvI-9r2jaEJPYC5gP_YXTgW3L4LfDpHGmx1Ka0JTqCIM4hoOJNPDjVaT7gVy6YA-VhrXDjnoqmDFQYXwvvs6u6jHZyAQITKwCEGpiGzYho22sNyfe_wW/s1600/The+Scream+TH+MaM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
That bad. And yes, that's Tom Hanks. We may own the only copy of the movie he hasn't personally purchased and destroyed.<br />
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<i>Why is he screaming?</i><br />
Well, not to spoil anything, I suspect it may be the hats...<br />
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Or scenes about painting miniatures...<br />
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Share some serious joy- <a href="http://www.extra-life.org/participant/babytoolkit" target="_blank">donate to Riley</a> today! <i>Don't forget to note Mazes and Monsters if you want at a chance at the DVD!</i></div>
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<b>Together we can slay real monsters!</b><i> </i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is the epistolary adventures of some geek parents and their family. We're Amazon associates, so if you click on any Amazon links, a small portion of their profits comes to us. We use those funds to keep the digital homefires burning. We have no relationship with whoever produced or distributed this laughably bad film. You can also find us using our big people voices at GreatBigTable.com, a podcast about board games and the communities they inspire. Thanks for reading the fine print. </span></i></div>
adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-89256801260666010392014-09-25T11:45:00.000-05:002014-09-25T11:45:36.693-05:00Hold the Bacon: Preventing Fridge DisastersBefore we had kids, Jim and I rarely prepared meat at home. I'm slightly squeamish about it and we both benefit from a meatless diet.<br />
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Now that we have kids, I cook with meat more often. That means packages stored in our fridge. Sometimes those packages would leak and send me into a HAZMAT response.<br />
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Who has time for that?<br />
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One dedicated <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004SZ7N/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00004SZ7N&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=CT7LTS77T4DFTFFF" target="_blank">Pyrex dish</a> later, if something drips or dribbles, I can just toss the meat dish in the VERY HOT dishwasher and move on with my day. The corner of my eye twitches a little less these days.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is the quotidian revelations of a couple geek parents somewhere in the cornbelt. We are Amazon affiliates, so if you buy stuff through our links, you're supporting our online endeavors. Thanks for reading. My apologies to any vegetarian readers. Hear our voices at <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">GreatBigTable.com</a>.</span>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-74439779433740630922014-09-20T22:48:00.002-05:002014-09-20T22:48:59.568-05:00Hairband Carabiner 2.0: A Hack and a HitchI've been a <a href="http://www.parenthacks.com/" target="_blank">Parent Hacks</a> fan since early days. Way back in 2009, when Asha posted about <a href="http://www.parenthacks.com/2009/03/store-hairbands-on-a-carabiner.html" target="_blank">storing hairbands on a carabiner</a>, my only daughter was mostly bald, but already a rabid anti-hair accessory activist. The only efficient place for our hairbands was in the donate box.<br />
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A few years and a second girl later, I'm now corralling two sizes of ponytail holders.<br />
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A local friend reminded me of this hack. Apparently her daughter <i>had hair</i> in 2009. The hack worked well in holding the bands, but not in sorting them.<br />
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Without really long hair, my kids need two bands each for ponytails. Though I have unintentionally left the house wearing one neon green sneaker and one white one, my daughters are a bit more particular about things matching.<br />
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I didn't like wrestling the bands around on a scavenger hunt for identical pairs.<br />
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So, some of the bands got hitched.<br />
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Please excuse the photo quality. These are the fastest pictures I could get, not the best.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5QcWszJZP4aS7RVm6YD-NKPpS0OD1jYetZbSk7XswcMxICdZp6O4gx7apugIR_3zN-2aZGKG_E9R-bh93nHQtZ_9_9IZ1aclfZlt0E84wztXSiSLOurH0MD5vXej5uFfc3XD/s1600/1-01-+Meeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5QcWszJZP4aS7RVm6YD-NKPpS0OD1jYetZbSk7XswcMxICdZp6O4gx7apugIR_3zN-2aZGKG_E9R-bh93nHQtZ_9_9IZ1aclfZlt0E84wztXSiSLOurH0MD5vXej5uFfc3XD/s1600/1-01-+Meeting.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. Do I know you? You look so familiar.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt_EdCCrIiqrDJXU04Ftmd_vW0zflZdIO4F2iBhz7aogfaVuiB1CvbqB_9CJrJR-ls0-uY4LRXMcH6Z88F6hUHdoHPuraMLQhHQ57KqMi922aX502Vzc8AyQKTNu__8a2QZDx/s1600/1-02-+Pairing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt_EdCCrIiqrDJXU04Ftmd_vW0zflZdIO4F2iBhz7aogfaVuiB1CvbqB_9CJrJR-ls0-uY4LRXMcH6Z88F6hUHdoHPuraMLQhHQ57KqMi922aX502Vzc8AyQKTNu__8a2QZDx/s1600/1-02-+Pairing.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2. Hanging Out Together.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BFhssu8JCE1E98fwFq3g0VAWAtx-a2LIM0iFrYt6cThjAroKtVdr3FMqyVoOHAHqwjxMIKexas_AY6ke_ezDau-QXXRU8-yKLiGsAMcRJoVNyiadA9aI65dH8iq6B8PU219L/s1600/1-03-+Coupling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BFhssu8JCE1E98fwFq3g0VAWAtx-a2LIM0iFrYt6cThjAroKtVdr3FMqyVoOHAHqwjxMIKexas_AY6ke_ezDau-QXXRU8-yKLiGsAMcRJoVNyiadA9aI65dH8iq6B8PU219L/s1600/1-03-+Coupling.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3. Twister?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCBjhLNaKS3i9uQ3XbIOYIS9gbDqJKmybDCOEKTA2x2c7uAuruKLxbpYjGQtSDU3DAY3LDsZ6o1DNKD6i0WSZYRbzqOd5Lre_gvspyY4J5j62bR8jQUzZEYFwnpGVI13d7EM1/s1600/1-04-+Unity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCBjhLNaKS3i9uQ3XbIOYIS9gbDqJKmybDCOEKTA2x2c7uAuruKLxbpYjGQtSDU3DAY3LDsZ6o1DNKD6i0WSZYRbzqOd5Lre_gvspyY4J5j62bR8jQUzZEYFwnpGVI13d7EM1/s1600/1-04-+Unity.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4. What a cute couple!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qkpXYsdaO1M6SpXzfbXgBp3eTAqArd4NheONd2w-cLqLbQAiVHxiq8Qd0CYKStYEAgLpT3BVxaktwm5G2HLulbNR4gsA4xA5wh93UAUEBFofFvgL1zpI2Rm4LYssts_yHFTJ/s1600/1-05-+Community.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qkpXYsdaO1M6SpXzfbXgBp3eTAqArd4NheONd2w-cLqLbQAiVHxiq8Qd0CYKStYEAgLpT3BVxaktwm5G2HLulbNR4gsA4xA5wh93UAUEBFofFvgL1zpI2Rm4LYssts_yHFTJ/s1600/1-05-+Community.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5. Finding community.</td></tr>
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For simplicity's sake, I keep the two sizes on separate carabiners. One ring for each kid makes morning prep simpler at home and traveling.</div>
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A second ponytail holder can be hooked into a singleton already on the ring. It's pretty easy to reunite recently rediscovered bands.</div>
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Happy hacking, friends!</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://www.babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is the product of a geek marriage in the middle Midwest. We have also produced three children who cannot under any circumstances agree upon the same meal. We have a periodic podcast about board games and the groups they inspire at <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">GreatBigTable.com</a>. Our opinions are our own, are organically grown if you don't count the radiation from space, and are harvested irregularly at odd intervals. We are Amazon affiliates, but aren't sure about the future of that relationship. If you buy stuff through those links, we make a small percentage that we'll squander on domain names or internet connectivity. Thanks!</span></div>
adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-70542913740599447132014-08-02T18:40:00.000-05:002014-08-04T12:31:40.113-05:00Little Packs of Fun: Pack O Game's GEM<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XuhDAAIJRe4/U91qyqxJ1HI/AAAAAAAAAG4/dkegCyxbnrU/s1600/GEMbox.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XuhDAAIJRe4/U91qyqxJ1HI/AAAAAAAAAG4/dkegCyxbnrU/s1600/GEMbox.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost actual size. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Any trip out to a restaurant with the Joneses quickly becomes an exploration of what we've just happened to bring along for entertainment. As a family, we often engage with each other as much over games as we do anything else. We like to play together and Adrienne is usually the master of ceremonies or, more appropriately, the game master of these excursions. She</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> has a knack for finding simple portable games that can keep our kids, ourselves, and our friends entertained even through a particularly long wait at a restaurant table or at a side table in any waiting room. Over the years, she's put together a collection of everything from kids' games with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=haba%20mini%20game&linkCode=ur2&rh=n%3A165793011%2Ck%3Ahaba%20mini%20game&tag=babytoolkit-20&url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&linkId=JIJL5LRKRO3XRUEG" target="_blank">handy travel games from HABA</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=babytoolkit-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> to portable push-your-luck dice games like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000SGXDK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0000SGXDK&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=2K4YM7E2MA4LZPRA" target="_blank">Cinq-o</a> to card games like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046QBKOY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0046QBKOY&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=QIIUALSRAX24JPWZ" target="_blank">Cabo</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">For these games, portability often outranks playability. After all, it is hard to pack a lot of fun or depth into games that don’t have much use or space for elaborate components. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Witness the explosion of “micro games” in recent years and the meteoric rise of the simple game <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AGJ4HC2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AGJ4HC2&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=E5U4GK34E56BD4SM" target="_blank">Love Letter </a>, a game of sixteen cards about passing a love letter to a princess. Clever design and well thought out game mechanics can make even the most humble of game components sing in the hands of a gifted designer. Chris Handy is one such gifted designer and his soon to be released <a href="http://packogame.com/" target="_blank">Pack O Game</a> line of gum package sized mini-games are further evidence that clever design and thoughtful game mechanisms can carry a game beyond its modest packaging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I first came across a Chris Handy design, when our community game night received a donation of his game, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C8086TC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00C8086TC&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=FJQOWALKD2V4D3OE" target="_blank">Cinque Terre</a>, for our game library. Cinque Terre is a delightful game of delivering sets of fruits and vegetables from inland farms to the five coastal cities of the Italian Riveria. The game had a very simple and approachable theme that matched the actions players could choose during each of their turns. All this simplicity and loveliness masked a much deeper game that became readily apparent about halfway through our first play session. Not only was the game pleasing to look at and easy to pick up, it was fun… and challenging. Chris is also known for his horse racing game, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GJ9P8Q/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002GJ9P8Q&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=S5VBDIJTKIES66BI" target="_blank">Longshot</a>. While I have not played it, by all accounts it combines these same elements; simple and pleasing design matched with remarkable depth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">When Chris put out a preview offer on Twitter to try his one of his new</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> ultra-portable</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> games before their Kickstarter, I jumped at the chance. The Pack O Game lines of games is marked by the design constraint of each game having to fit into a package about the size of a pack of gum (Pack O Game… pack of gum). He had a number of demonstration copies to choose from ranging in complexity from one, Casual difficulty, to three, Challenging difficulty (I know what you are thinking, “a challengingly difficult game in the package the size of a pack of gum? Yeah, right?” Just bear with me). I chose to try out a copy of GEM.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">GEM is a simple auction game for two to four players that is played across six rounds and lasts about twenty minutes. Each player is a jewel collector trying to corner the market gaining lucrative sets of gems through properly leveraging their assets. The game consists of thirty cards with each having the dimensions of a very flat piece of gum. Twelve of those cards are Coin Cards, while the other eighteen make up the Gem Cards that the players will attempt to acquire during play. Each card has a green marking at one end with a number inside representing its Invested value (how much it is worth when you spend it in the game) and a red marking on the opposite end that represents its Leveraged value (how much money it takes to recover its value and rotate it to its Invested side).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Each player starts with three coins, worth one, two, and three “money” respectively, face up in front of them with the Invested sides up showing that all three cards can be used to bid on and buy gems during each auction phase. The gem cards are spread, face down, in six random piles in the center of the table. During each round a pile of Levereaged gems is revealed. Then each player bids from their non-leveraged assets, at first coins and later any gems they’ve previously taken, for the right to make a selection from the revealed gems. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Subsequent players can increase the bid (as long as they can pay for it) or pass. After a couple of passes, the highest bidder takes the gem card that they were eying and places it face up displaying the Leveraged side (red) at the top in front of them. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The tricky thing is that the bidder doesn’t have to say which card they want. They can choose any one that is left in the pile. </span>Then they rotate the amount of Invested assets in front of them equal to or greater than their bid (you don’t get change) to those card's Leveraged side to show that the player has spent those assets. After all the gems have been acquired in that round, players can spend any left over Invested assets to turn Leveraged gems to their Invested sides. Coins automatically reset each round, but Leveraged gems do not. At the end of the last round, players earn points for every gem on a card that have its Investment side up. They earn two points if they share the majority of any gem type with at least one other player. Finally, they earn three points if they have the sole majority of any type of gem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I really have enjoyed my time with GEM. We have a demo copy of the game, which doesn’t usually fully reflect on the final production quality of most games. However, even the demo copy is of incredible quality. It is obvious that Chris has put a lot of time and attention into both the design of these games, but also into its promotion and early marketing. He’s paying attention to the small details that make for great Kickstarter campaigns. When I told him that I was impressed with our copy of GEM’s flexible plastic coated cards as we would likely be playing it at restaurants, food courts, and coffee shops, he assured me that the final production copies would be even better. That’s impressive for a game of this size and it helps with the “table appeal” of the game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I am a huge proponent of “table appeal.” As many long time readers, and our Great Big Table podcaster listeners know, Adrienne and I put a bunch of effort into evangelizing the board game hobby. To that end, we write about gaming with our children and in our community both here and on Great Big Table. We co-host a monthly community board game night to try to encourage members of our community to play games with each other and with their families. I also run a weekly game group that plays in public places where I work and I have been known to set up games in food courts with signs to invite people to come and play those games with me. “Table appeal” is the quality of a game that gets a non-gamer to take a second look and ask “hey, what is that?” And that’s the question that starts a conversation about board gaming that can potentially introduce a newcomer into our hobby. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">There are a number of aspects of GEM, and the other Pack O Game titles that lend to that table appeal. First is the size. Generally larger board games or games with a gimmick, like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E3S8M28?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00E3S8M28&linkCode=xm2&tag=babytoolkit-20" target="_blank">Rampage</a> for instance, pique the general public’s curiosity. They just have to know what it is that they are witnessing. In some cases, like that of toy furniture or functional miniatures, being small can also get us to take notice. Such is the case with these games, People want to know what those little cards on the table are all about. It helps that the cards are beautiful in GEM. The brightly colored gems on a dark background speak to the “ooo... shiny” magpie nature that lives within many of us. HUE, another game from the line, looks like a proper painting from Mondrian when the game comes to an end. Finally it is the motion of play combined with the groans and celebrations of the players that are the linchpins of, at least, GEM’s table appeal. Few people have seen a game where you slide cards around the table and rotate them to confer some action of the players. From a distance, it is intriguing and if one starts to pay attention they will notice people enjoying themselves centered around that very activity. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">GEM is a great game. From its portability to its production values to its table appeal to its devilishly clever and challenging game play, it is a great value in a small package. Chris is launching a Kickstarter to fund the production of a commercial version of the Pack O Game line of games. There are a number of backer levels that can get you anywhere from one game for a $6 pledge to all four Pack O Game titles (plus any stretch goal games that get unlocked) for $24. There is also a 48 hour early bird special that will allow you to get these already affordable games for an even better price. You get even more from there, but I will let you explore those options on your own. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Just head over to <a href="http://packogame.com/">PackOGame.com</a> to be directed to the Pack O Game Kickstarter. I believe the Kickstarter will launch on Monday, 8/4/2014, and will run for twenty nine days. You can also sign up for Chris’ email list to be kept up to date about news and information related to the Kickstarter over at <a href="http://www.perplext.com/">www.perplext.com</a>. There’s also a video on the Kickstarter page (which I’ll embed here once it the campaign goes live), where Chris makes his pitch. It’s worth watching.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Let us know in the comments if you pick up GEM (just a $6 pledge) or any of the other Pack O Game titles. We’re always looking for new games to add to our portable game library. Let us know what games you keep in your car or backpack or pocket that you bring out to entertain yourselves, your kids, and your friends when you are out in public.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is an assortment of words compiled by two geek parents between the requests, interruptions, and digressions that arise in a family of five. Broadcast from the Midwest, our incremental plan for world domination starts here and includes affiliate links to Amazon.com. A small potion of purchases made through those links goes to blog upkeep. We also podcast about board games at <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">GreatBigTable.com</a>. While we received a free copy of GEM (and all the paper jewels therein), we have no financial interest in or agreements with Pack O Games, Perplext, or Chris Handy. Gold star for reading the tiny print! Should I make it even smaller next time<span style="font-size: small;">?</span> </span></i></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-17089274537048027622014-07-08T12:34:00.002-05:002014-07-08T12:34:30.967-05:00Recommended Reading: Thinking about community with Dean Koontz's The City<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHxJu6CnUcbe2CnAcQ__afOg-awLwx8Z6pxUApzy_kwLNzKhCR9e-mq33CIdLo72ZaVte8SW85dxFFTqsrwSBY2AZmmZOUmlsXKIdA0kNftMxcrEfJEdSz3FMHoxc4QPWXLbA/s1600/2014-0708+The_Servants_of_Twilight+original+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHxJu6CnUcbe2CnAcQ__afOg-awLwx8Z6pxUApzy_kwLNzKhCR9e-mq33CIdLo72ZaVte8SW85dxFFTqsrwSBY2AZmmZOUmlsXKIdA0kNftMxcrEfJEdSz3FMHoxc4QPWXLbA/s1600/2014-0708+The_Servants_of_Twilight+original+cover.jpg" height="200" width="125" /></a>During the early '90s, in a Blockbuster Video, I first met Dean Koontz's storytelling. Jim and I rented a videocassette of <i>The Servants of Twilight</i>. The movie was a 1991 adaption of Dean Koontz's novel <i>Twilight</i> originally published under his pseudonym Leigh Nichols (I know, a bestselling book named <i>Twilight</i> published in 1984?).<br />
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The movie was superb, but it didn't launch me into Koontz readership. Honestly, I have yet to read that specific title.<br />
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Decades later, faced with an anxiety-filled drive to a children's hospital with my infant (our first trip), I stood in the library audiobook stacks on the phone with my brother.<br />
<br />
"So what will keep me transfixed and awake?' I asked.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6quIfS60pzFnwO90vXIKfqhapAZbhgJTShrqFS8G7WvPqYUV0d1TUWUUZ-zFlvizqjf9rzcBIXEO_GkTFKs8ZKOrVzaILlI5ykq5gl6MD-bRQvVpWCXUyddUaJdd46NO0t4yn/s1600/2014-0708+OddThomas+audio+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6quIfS60pzFnwO90vXIKfqhapAZbhgJTShrqFS8G7WvPqYUV0d1TUWUUZ-zFlvizqjf9rzcBIXEO_GkTFKs8ZKOrVzaILlI5ykq5gl6MD-bRQvVpWCXUyddUaJdd46NO0t4yn/s1600/2014-0708+OddThomas+audio+cover.jpg" /></a></div>
And my brother introduced me to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345533429/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0345533429&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=EVCS3YWI7QAIUJIL" target="_blank">Odd Thomas</a>, a golden-hearted, philosopher fry cook with the strange burden of seeing the deceased. While the "seeing the dead" part seemed a little <i>Sixth Sense</i>, my brother assured me the books were top notch.<br />
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They were so good that I listened to the remaining discs on my laptop because I didn't want to wait for the ride home. Odd's social commentary is incisive and hilarious. That first book was good company during the long hours of baby holding and bedside nights.<br />
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My brother and I shared Odd Thomas news (new book! movie! movie not available in the US! new book! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HHYF570/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00HHYF570&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20&linkId=RSE4VEXJYCUPJQIR" target="_blank">movie finally released here</a>!) and interviews with Koontz as we found them.<br />
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While it probably should not be a surprise that a horror writer might have mystical and supernatural beliefs, I found Koontz's social perspective <a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Books/2008/10/Dean-Koontz-interview.aspx" target="_blank">(informed by his religious beliefs and experiences</a>) to be refreshingly generous and positive. In his <i>Odd Thomas</i> series, the hero is nothing without the support and friendship of communities and good citizens.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XTjeqHHuyXoDzhjxUu_d8BqsoS4tcPIdJqiNxstvCiZa6s7yRjZGUGckSd0cnxvBN5qSu-hKeuOCp59upHQtYs6aMtVAAFzGwCjiNK1UJg_LppzSVJ7BvbGl635qCGkwtABw/s1600/2014-0708+Dean+Koontz+the+city+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XTjeqHHuyXoDzhjxUu_d8BqsoS4tcPIdJqiNxstvCiZa6s7yRjZGUGckSd0cnxvBN5qSu-hKeuOCp59upHQtYs6aMtVAAFzGwCjiNK1UJg_LppzSVJ7BvbGl635qCGkwtABw/s1600/2014-0708+Dean+Koontz+the+city+cover.png" height="400" width="262" /></a>Koontz's newest release, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=dean%20koontz%20the%20city&linkCode=ur2&sprefix=dean%20koontz%20the%20%2Caps&tag=babytoolkit-20&url=search-alias%3Daps&linkId=T6EUWYLBC6A5ACG6" target="_blank"><i>The City: A Novel</i></a> strikes me more as suspenseful literary fiction than his typical genres of horror and suspense. A young boy, a third-generation musician with prodigious talent, works to understand and survive a childhood in dangerous urban social upheaval of the 1970s.<br />
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As his parents' marriage dissolves, his father's aggression and anger toward his mother make Jonah a highly sought after pawn in his father's schemes to hurt his mother.<br />
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As in other Koontz stories, acquaintances and strangers rise to become friends and allies in the struggle against a truly malicious minority. Koontz's characters engage the reader immediately and deeply. At one point while I was reading the book on my tablet, Jim asked me "What's happening? Are you upset?" because I looked stricken (and he thought I was reading something in my email that was deeply bad news).<br />
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As young Jonah Kirk comes to age and understanding, he hears, as we do in real life, some incredible observations from mentors and friends on how the world works and how each person can improve things. As in the classics, some of these passages offer such clarity that they are easily adopted into a reader's understanding of the world.<br />
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If you're looking for a great summer read that makes the days look a little brighter, check out Dean Koontz's <i>The City.</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What fiction brightens your summer?</b><i> </i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is the commonplace commentary of some geek parents navigating Zeitgeist (though only one of us has read this book). We received a free advance reader ebook on loan from Bantam, but nothing more. I only review a fraction of the advance copies I read, so you can trust that I strongly reacted to a book if I took the time to write about it). We are Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase through our Amazon links, we'll get a small percentage of purchases made that we put back into the blog or our board game podcast (<a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">greatbigtable.com</a>). Most recently we replaced a six year-old desktop computer with a new tower when the motherboard failed. Thanks!</span></i>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-64156850577879584402014-06-12T15:33:00.001-05:002014-06-12T15:44:59.398-05:00Halcyon Nights: W. C. Handy Blues Festival<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAchpnxHvFzvXMKXlLxEYNXxXic9sqoeJU7_tX-59BMg1FjoZ8PTTjrRAn7OGTCx2O7Jzcb56V1DqoUnl38BimsH629pSqHp4Ma906KoXuDO-xEefJ0MQSDG28naann7hP0w3/s1600/2014-0611+Handy+Blues+Davina+&+the+vagabonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAchpnxHvFzvXMKXlLxEYNXxXic9sqoeJU7_tX-59BMg1FjoZ8PTTjrRAn7OGTCx2O7Jzcb56V1DqoUnl38BimsH629pSqHp4Ma906KoXuDO-xEefJ0MQSDG28naann7hP0w3/s1600/2014-0611+Handy+Blues+Davina+&+the+vagabonds.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Davina and the Vagabonds bringing down the house. photo credit, WC Handy Blues Festival <a href="https://twitter.com/HandyBluesCrew" target="_blank">@HandyBluesCrew</a></td></tr>
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Yesterday evening, when Jim and Ranger got home, I woke up our napping girls and pushed everyone out the door.<br />
<br />
The rainy, cloudy day was clearing, turning into a perfect night for sitting in a park on a blanket watching the sun set and the moon rise.<br />
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After a short drive to Henderson, Kentucky, we arrived at the <a href="http://www.handyblues.org/" target="_blank">W. C. Handy Blues & Barbecue</a> Festival at the city's waterfront Audubon Mill Park.<br />
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Even in the parking lot, my reluctant crew started dancing to the irresistible magic of <a href="http://davinaandthevagabonds.com/" target="_blank">Davina and The Vagabonds</a>. The potent energy of live (wailing) music and early summer evenings caught us all immediately and held us long past normal bedtimes.<br />
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I'm not able to write anything about Davina and the Vagabonds that successfully captures the energy and brilliance of their performance and music. Please listen to her newest album, especially <a href="http://davinaandthevagabonds.bandcamp.com/track/flow" target="_blank">Flow</a>, which I hope my kids will love as much as I do.<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1346148902/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=1774659035/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://davinaandthevagabonds.bandcamp.com/album/sunshine">Sunshine by Davina and The Vagabonds</a></iframe>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKuhbreTVAUDqIsvHFp5qs0DVHERcui3xpbrnM3tzlt1Y2nYRABDOgD7jzuSl-ijayyBBy6MVS4C7Gm1_E0-Q35IOMOgM9WbxeLNJfx3URRcm-TFgM0uRhd2xN9fJcVwgkGkp/s1600/2014-0611+Handy+Blues+John+Nemeth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKuhbreTVAUDqIsvHFp5qs0DVHERcui3xpbrnM3tzlt1Y2nYRABDOgD7jzuSl-ijayyBBy6MVS4C7Gm1_E0-Q35IOMOgM9WbxeLNJfx3URRcm-TFgM0uRhd2xN9fJcVwgkGkp/s1600/2014-0611+Handy+Blues+John+Nemeth.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Nemeth & the Bo-Keys, photo: W.C. Handy Blues Festival</td></tr>
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We're really lucky to live near one of the best blues gatherings in the nation. The only thing more astounding than the line-up and the gorgeous setting is the festival's deep community commitment. The Handy festival is totally free and open to all.<br />
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Davina and the Vagabonds yielded the stage to <a href="http://johnnemeth.com/" target="_blank">John Nemeth and the Bo-Keys with Percy Wiggins</a> who carried the evening's allure into enchantment with new roots music like <a href="http://youtu.be/Jj04-v0GuPU" target="_blank">"If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It."</a><br />
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Barges on the river slowed their pace to listen longer and periodically raised their horns to greet the crowds. Fireflies and children danced as sunset turned to twilight to moon glow.<br />
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Cool breezes from the river carried the music to the splash park fountains.<br />
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It was a gorgeous night. A night to remember, and a night to repeat.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What opportunities will you seize this summer?</b><br />
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<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Jj04-v0GuPU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<b> </b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*** <a href="http://www.babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> the sporadic story of a couple geeky Midwesterners and their kids. Though we benefit every year from the miracle that is the WC Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival, </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">we have no fiscal relationship with them that they don't offer freely to everyone else.</span><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">We're Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase through our Amazon links, a small portion goes to us and pays our domain fees every year (thanks!).</span></div>
</div>
adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-6258954365037234692014-05-30T14:01:00.001-05:002014-05-30T14:10:35.211-05:00Life-saver: Liquid Benadryl, stock it for emergencies<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTTRNWk3HpBgI31xkB3xgNnIM5xaZkFqD2ZuzimhEsn4DSWfIVswZPwIUuJsJMvw9r26acIAdfzc4CzSeohJrd-pZXmyEeUaPMj2Sp1YncR-NbEaN8hmbjBZdiq1QOvxd-bfs/s1600/1-2014-0530+allergic+reaction+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTTRNWk3HpBgI31xkB3xgNnIM5xaZkFqD2ZuzimhEsn4DSWfIVswZPwIUuJsJMvw9r26acIAdfzc4CzSeohJrd-pZXmyEeUaPMj2Sp1YncR-NbEaN8hmbjBZdiq1QOvxd-bfs/s1600/1-2014-0530+allergic+reaction+face.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eyes & lips as swelling reduced. 30 min. after dose.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's the first week of summer vacation here, so no one expects anything very exciting to happen. We're all reveling in the lovely slowness of life without deadlines.<br />
<br />
The placid nature of post-school living made it even more surprising when my friend's son came to her this morning complaining that his eye hurt. Minutes later, his lips, tongue, eyes, and hands were swelling beyond easy recognition.<br />
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Somehow, between his bed and a breakfast of the same cereal he regularly eats, this kid with no known allergies was exposed to something that triggered a huge immune response.<br />
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His mom, a medical professional, grabbed their liquid Benadryl and "practically poured" the recommended dose down the back of his throat. Almost immediately the swelling stopped increasing, so she didn't have to call 911 and he didn't end up with an emergency tracheotomy or worse.<br />
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Later in the morning and after consulting with his pediatrician, as the swelling reduced, she took these pictures (which she is allowing me to share here). Her son is a handsome, slim 8 year-old.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRNkxNH0JhNLwOE9-BWUP6474qR6WrebTJKtOLYWSiSozcnD4_IDV5UVGe1S8oJcwuYG2leNCPXft6HrM3WQh56KSjQD90huQTmfcMtzmrahB0jo1mjCTA9zAM9raVGJlmo59/s1600/1-2014-0530+allergic+reaction+hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRNkxNH0JhNLwOE9-BWUP6474qR6WrebTJKtOLYWSiSozcnD4_IDV5UVGe1S8oJcwuYG2leNCPXft6HrM3WQh56KSjQD90huQTmfcMtzmrahB0jo1mjCTA9zAM9raVGJlmo59/s1600/1-2014-0530+allergic+reaction+hands.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lips, fingertips swollen 30 min. AFTER Benadryl.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then my friend started calling other parents reminding us to keep liquid Benadryl on hand to abate an allergy emergency. [For those with known allergies, this may not be enough. Please consult medical professionals, which I am not, for advice.]<br />
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I don't have any on hand at the moment, but will have some in stock by this evening.<br />
<br />
For years, I have carried aspirin in my bag because it can help reduce the damage of a heart attack or stroke (chew it in case of an emergency). Liquid Benadryl may not make my bag (though I plan to talk to my pediatrician about other forms), but I will be sure to have some on the ready at home.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What are your emergency medical supplies?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">***Baby Toolkit is the chronicles of some geek parents, their kids, and their communities. We ARE NOT medical professionals, so please consult some real ones. We have no fiscal relationship with Benadryl or its makers. We just want everyone to be healthy and happy. We are Amazon affiliates, though there are no links on this page, so we do make a little bit of profit should someone order through our links (thanks!). Be well and do good.</span><b> </b></div>
adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-60569856862504817282014-05-27T14:23:00.002-05:002014-05-27T14:23:29.176-05:00Gen Con meets Indy: No Time Machine Necessary at Conner Prairie<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikP5nOYbZLRqS1CPUgORXjlpDXRQIeC87IPZyxWp7fFQUluD61w6y8s9Aoe3BMAho3Xxd9-Fj_hDaN6Gfvc_rsh3e3bYYAVi1Fe4txgZZ7Fo86I2WJ1Ch05MyEexV4cJbWDRn0/s1600/Conner+Prairie+Balloon+Voyage.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo: Conner Prairie, all rights reserved</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Every <a href="http://www.gencon.com/" target="_blank">Gen Con</a>, Jim and I work on a mental list of Indianapolis opportunities we wish more Gen Con attendees were aware of. Now, we're not so naive to assume that anyone wants to take a gaming break during Gen Con, but if you're coming in early, or staying late, you might want to take a few side trips before you leave the Circle City and the Hoosier State.<br />
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It's a mystery to me why no game company (especially Mayfair) has ever capitalized on nearby interactive history park <a href="http://www.connerprairie.org/" target="_blank">Conner Prairie</a>. I don't know why steampunks aren't booking every Gen Con weekend flight of the 1859 Hot-Air Balloon Voyage for the photo opportunities alone.<br />
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Unlike the musty assemblages of ramshackle relics with "a butter churn for the kids," Conner Prairie is a through-the-looking-glass historical experience.<br />
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This sprawling park works to reincarnate periods of Indiana history from a Lenape Indian Camp to an <a href="http://www.connerprairie.org/Plan-Your-Visit/1836-Prairietown.aspx" target="_blank">1836 Prairietown</a> to the 1823 Conner homestead to<a href="http://www.connerprairie.org/Plan-Your-Visit/1863-Civil-War-Journey.aspx" target="_blank">1863 Civil War journey</a>. Despite a wealth of great buildings and interactive exercises, Conner Prairie's biggest selling point is, hands-down, the commitment of the interpreters. Unlike most historical site guides, these hard-core reenactors are immersed in the period they are portraying. They deny any reality beyond their character's "present day."<br />
an <br />
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One of my friend's fathers, a history buff, spends his entire visit trying to get the interpreters to discuss things outside of their period. He asks about presidents yet to be elected, inventions not yet popularized, and politics not yet transpired. To his conjoined delight and frustration, it is like getting a Buckingham Palace guard to smile, not impossible, but remarkably difficult.<br />
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This commitment to the period's atmosphere breathes life and magic into the expedition.<br />
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Conner Prairie is also, like actual history, a dangerous place. The candle maker works, in part, over an open fire, as do the visitors who assist. At the trading post, there is a hatchet throwing competition open to visitors. Safe practices are mandated by staff, but the elements and approaches are refreshingly real.<br />
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Conner Prairie shares the story of westward expansion and nation-building. Some of the interpreters (like the blacksmith and the soldiers) are quite conversant in arms-making and munitions. The attention to historical accuracy in costuming will also impress. For the Catan crowd, Conner Prairie includes sheep, wood, wheat (grain), brick, and ore.<br />
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Conner Prairie abounds with photo opportunities for cosplay, but the true gem is<a href="http://www.connerprairie.org/Plan-Your-Visit/1859-Balloon-Voyage.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> the 1859 Balloon Voyage</a>. This replica airship offers tethered trips into the skies of the Circle City (reservations required). I cannot imagine a better steampunk portrait location.<br />
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This is the first in a series of posts about Indianapolis sites relating to Gen Con.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is the opinionated discourse of some Midwestern geek, gamer parents. We have no fiscal relationship with Conner Prairie. We also podcast about board games at <a href="http://www.greatbigtable.com/" target="_blank">Great Big Table</a>.</span>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-57241572322695517042014-05-23T11:33:00.001-05:002014-05-23T11:41:50.247-05:00Gaming for Good at Gen Con 2014!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkei_EMxf0egT_g-EL_NEmKSIeND0OlwXltVT_k5WMFSFnDiIXw1JREh6Apx7loPqp_j8uwjUDnhfJnySmRGLof3d5u_TIC8D24U1ho_yzahL6XHlSoEFPKms7cNMHqyYBHok_/s1600/1-2014-08+GenCon+Rampage+Ranger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkei_EMxf0egT_g-EL_NEmKSIeND0OlwXltVT_k5WMFSFnDiIXw1JREh6Apx7loPqp_j8uwjUDnhfJnySmRGLof3d5u_TIC8D24U1ho_yzahL6XHlSoEFPKms7cNMHqyYBHok_/s1600/1-2014-08+GenCon+Rampage+Ranger.jpg" height="400" width="167" /></a>Jim and I are hosting a panel discussion at <a href="http://gencon.com/" target="_blank">Gen Con</a> Indy 2014 on Friday, August 15th!<br />
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With other charitable gamers, we'll discuss "<a href="https://gencon.com/events/59505" target="_blank">Gaming for Good: An Insider's Guide to Charity Gaming</a>."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Turn your gaming hobby into a force for good. Veteran charity gaming
event organizers share their secrets for joining, organizing, promoting
& hosting successful fundraisers. Panelists will include Dan Patriss, organizer of Gamers for Cures, and
Jamey Stegmaier, co-founder of Stonemaier Games, and Jim &
Adrienne Jones, organizers of an Extra Life weekend for Riley
Children's Hospital</blockquote>
There are only 9 tickets left (out of 50!), so be swift.<br />
<br />
If you're going to Gen Con and just want to meet up (let me recommend Sunday lunch at <a href="http://www.scottysbrewhouse.com/locations/indianapolis-downtown/" target="_blank">Scotty's Brewhouse</a> for wonderful family meal), send us an email.<br />
<br />
As you know, we love "The Best Four Days in Gaming" as <a href="http://babytoolkit.blogspot.com/2009/08/gencon-2009-family-edition.html" target="_blank">gamers and parents</a>. <a href="http://babytoolkit.blogspot.com/2010/09/gencon-2010-family-adventure.html" target="_blank">Our kids love Gen Con</a> too!<br />
<br />
Thank you for all of your support of our ongoing Extra Life efforts! We're busy planning our Extra Life 2014 weekend for October 24-26 in Evansville, Indiana (save the date and join our team?).<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit </a>is the collected ramblings of some Gen Xers about their lives as parents, midwesterners, gamers, and geeks. Our opinions are our own (who would want them?), and you can get even more Jones goodness at our board game podcast <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/" target="_blank">Great Big Table</a>.</span></i>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-10362272388101687202013-11-30T10:04:00.000-06:002013-11-30T10:05:18.578-06:00All In: Cribbage Club and Phone CallsAt a movie yesterday, my friend teased her high-school aged niece that "I will cut you" if she checked her phone throughout the movie.<br />
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My movie-buff friend is perpetually amazed that the next generation of her family cannot be separated from their phones for even the duration of a movie.<br />
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"But what if one of my friends dies?" her niece joked.<br />
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I thought of those calls that, with luck, don't come until much later in life. "Then you definitely want to turn off your phone, and just be here. Bad news travels fast enough."<br />
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When I got home from the movie, Ranger met me at the top of the stairs with the phone.<br />
<br />
"It's Aunt Gayle." His aunts are mostly family we have chosen. As Jim and I each have one brother, our family tree holds only one aunt for them.<br />
<br />
The aunt on the phone has been my friend for nearly 30 years. In her voice, I heard a careful control, and before she speaks I know something has happened.<br />
<br />
When I was pregnant with Ranger, Gayle's geography career found itself in a cul-de-sac. She returned to college. A Wednesday afternoon gap in her course schedule somehow transformed into Cribbage Club.<br />
<br />
Wednesday afternoons, Gayle's apartment filled with the alluring scents of home-cooking as we all gathered round the kitchen table for cards.<br />
<br />
Fred and Moe both learned cribbage in the military long before Gayle and I were born. Fred, a loud-talking former postmaster and Gayle's brother-in-law, learned to play in the Army. Gayle's Uncle Moe learned to play in the Air Force and sometimes brought his cribbage board made from part of a cockpit dome.<br />
<br />
I was equally thrilled to be able to play cribbage regularly. My dad and Jim's family all love the game, and I quickly fell under its spell. Locally, playing cards usually means Euchre (dubbed Indiana's game), Clabber (a regional 4-handed variation on an old German duo game), or even Bridge. Cribbage opportunities rarely come along.<br />
<br />
After lunch, working in noisy teams, we raced our pegs along the paths while telling stories and mercilessly teasing each other. When we took breaks, Moe and Fred would retire to the porch for cigars while Gayle and I served up ice cream in the kitchen.<br />
<br />
Moe and Gayle visited us in the hospital when Ranger was born even though they could only wave to him through the NICU window. Cribbage Club continued, baby Ranger would usually nap or sit on someone's lap while we played. Months and seasons passed until Ranger was big enough to start grabbing the cards from the table, Aunt Gayle reached the homestretch of her degree and started an internship that quickly became her next career. Summer had arrived, so the boys (men who retired around the time Gayle and I first graduated from college) were eager to return to their gardens and golf courses.<br />
<br />
We periodically played in the evenings or at Gayle's family gatherings. The cigars disappeared from the routine when Fred lost half a lung to cancer. He recovered well and was soon back on the golf course and working in the yard. We didn't see his heart attack coming, and it felled him instantly and completely.<br />
<br />
At Fred's funeral, I sat with Uncle Moe and we made jokes about how Fred had gotten both Gayle and I to wear skirts while the red rims of Moe's watery blue eyes hinted at the physical pain of grief. Maybe it was because he was the oldest of our group or maybe it was a reminder of his son lost in infancy, Moe's sadness seemed larger and stronger than the broad Ohio River he crossed every time we gathered together. Baby Rogue sat on his lap as we both wiped tears from our eyes and talked about the best times.<br />
<br />
Over the phone I heard Gayle say "Uncle Moe died at home yesterday." Thanksgiving Day. We went through the details, and I promised to call her back.<br />
<br />
Though we all had cell phones, I do not ever remember one on the table while we played. Any calls during Cribbage Club were ignored, slightly mocked, or actual emergencies. When we played, told stories, and joked around, for Cribbage Club we were, in the parlance of poker, "all in." And as a result, we all won.<br />
<br />
In honor of Uncle Moe this holiday season, please remember to ignore your phones and be wherever you are.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://www.babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> started as a baby gear blog in 2006. Despite a notable lack of babies and a directly correlative waning interest in baby gear, Jim and I keep writing about our lives as geeks, parents, and citizens of the world. For what it's worth, we're Amazon affiliates, though any Amazon links in this post remembering a dear friend would be crass and sort of bonkers. Yet upon writing this, I do think Uncle Moe would find it funny (so <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=uncle%20moe&linkCode=ur2&tag=babytoolkit-20&url=search-alias%3Daps" target="_blank">here's to you, Moe!</a>). Hold your dear ones close and your technology in cabinets.</span>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-1832874866947969262013-10-24T17:13:00.002-05:002013-10-24T17:13:58.462-05:00Ranger & Extra-Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFpJwt64rDalPIymtJDvZTqphdXf4_88VEUQjJ2QkWSIAshNdh3w1QVOB0jr1VYRTcMlttLsnNbOqCH6_rid9eTLQBx-tYBcFgfNvtiW2bFQBwy-rm2VbqogaAG78VEotHoKB/s1600/Extra-LifeByRanger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFpJwt64rDalPIymtJDvZTqphdXf4_88VEUQjJ2QkWSIAshNdh3w1QVOB0jr1VYRTcMlttLsnNbOqCH6_rid9eTLQBx-tYBcFgfNvtiW2bFQBwy-rm2VbqogaAG78VEotHoKB/s640/Extra-LifeByRanger.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I have been planning this post for weeks. I was going to ask you to donate for me to Extra-Life, a great annual event that raises money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.<br />
<br />
On Monday, we took toddler Rogue to Riley Hospital for Children for a check-up. As we left, Ranger, our oldest asked to be a registered player for Extra-Life.<br />
<br />
Last year, during our Extra-Life weekend event, Ranger played and taught games. This year he wants to "help sick kids" like our Children's Miracle Network Hospital helped his little sister.<br />
<br />
Please help him defeat some monsters this weekend. You'll be making one eight-year old very happy while healing other kids. Even $5 helps.<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="422" scrolling="no" src="http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=widgets.200x420thermo&participantID=63966" width="202"><a href="http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=63966">Make a Donation!</a></iframe><br />
<br />
Thanks,<br />
Adrienne<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://www.babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is a collection of periodic dispatches from some Midwestern geek parents. We believe that miracles happen every day at Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, but we don't work for them- and EVERY DOLLAR WE RAISE for EXTRA-LIFE goes directly to Riley Children's Hospital. We're Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase through any of our Amazon links on other pages, a portion of the sale goes toward our coffers. Thanks. We also podcast about board games at <a href="http://www.greatbigtable.com/">www.greatbigtable.com</a>.</span></i>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-51392479024614245342013-08-30T22:05:00.000-05:002013-08-30T22:14:31.957-05:00Not Paying For Popcorn: Elementary School Economics<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKpV_eZxWJQv_DTOWcHS5yNspHHsGBQFLtXguIt1m-N1wTgZ1R-iaLJGlG4xLmTQmy33jHfQ0aBnmJpD52Lx597t9dt_LcfXxK15G0C0NgcrQBJjJhvwOhQGd-D6A8jYjr8is/s1600/609px-2006_Quarter_Proof.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKpV_eZxWJQv_DTOWcHS5yNspHHsGBQFLtXguIt1m-N1wTgZ1R-iaLJGlG4xLmTQmy33jHfQ0aBnmJpD52Lx597t9dt_LcfXxK15G0C0NgcrQBJjJhvwOhQGd-D6A8jYjr8is/s1600/609px-2006_Quarter_Proof.png" height="315" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2006 Quarter Proof, public domain, <a href="http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=photo" target="_blank">United States Mint</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here in sweltering Hoosierland, we've already been back in school a few weeks.<br />
<br />
The parent-teacher group at Ranger's elementary school sells 25 cent treats every Wednesday. Last year, I would put quarters in his backpack once a month. Sometimes he ran out before I remembered to replenish them, and those days were disappointments.<br />
<br />
This year, the parent-teacher organization offered a new option. Prepay $7 to cover a year's treats and your student will be put on a prepaid list. Every week, your child can get in line and avoid the inconvenience of weekly payment. The only drawback is that no refunds are issued for missed days. At only a quarter an incident, that didn't seem unreasonable.<br />
<br />
It sounded easy. I started looking for my checkbook so I could send a check to his teacher who would add him to the list. He would hardly notice the process.<br />
<br />
That made me pause.<br />
<br />
Do I want the economics of his weekly treat to be invisible?<br />
<br />
So I gave Ranger some options.<br />
<br />
I could send a check. He would breeze through the prepaid line, and I would forfeit quarters should he miss or not want his weekly treat.<br />
<br />
-OR-<br />
<br />
I could give him 28 quarters immediately. They would be his for weekly treats. If they are lost, stolen or misappropriated, they will not be replaced. Should he miss a week or not want a treat, he can keep the quarter.<br />
<br />
His eyes lit up, and I didn't have to say any more (though I never let that stop me). He chose the quarters.<br />
<br />
We found a jar where he could keep 24 of the quarters at home, and he put 4 in his backpack, just like last year.<br />
<br />
"So you're going to remind me when a month's passed?" he asked.<br />
<br />
"No."<br />
<br />
We talked about methods of refilling the quarter pocket. He can put four in when the first ones were gone or he can top off to 4 each week. He can put in all seven dollars' worth and incur greater risk of loss. It is his choice.<br />
<br />
The prepaid form is now in our recycling bin. Our approach is more complicated than prepayment, but it gives him the opportunity to fail when the stakes are incredibly low. Lose four quarters and miss a month. Spend them on something else and miss school treat day.<br />
<br />
It also gives him the power to decide each week whether he prefers a quarter or a treat. Our kids do not get much money, so this will present a real decision. Being on the prepaid list costs him nothing and teaches him very little.<br />
<br />
I'm wishing him the best with this small responsibility.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is the 7 year-old blog of a geek mom, her Guy Friday, and their three young kids. We no longer have any babies, but we do have a board game podcast that keeps us up late some nights (<a href="http://greatbigtable.com/">GreatBigTable.com</a>). We're Amazon affiliates, so if you buy through our links, we might be able to cobble together the funds for a really nice dinner for two at mid-range, small town restaurant a couple times a year. More likely than not, we'll squander the money on board games and domain registration fees. We're glad you're here, and we're incredibly proud of you for reading all of the fine print. You deserve a gold star, but please accept instead a virtual high-five from two other members of the full citation club.</span></i>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32686050.post-57647844267956157662013-07-24T10:31:00.001-05:002013-07-24T10:31:49.291-05:00Not Hearing Voices? New Great Big Table Episode Available<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Avengers faced the Justice League, Cypress Hill did a song with Pearl Jam, and now we have crossed over with <a href="https://twitter.com/GreatBigTable">@GreatBigTable</a> .<br />
— The Party Gamecast (@partygamecast) <a href="https://twitter.com/partygamecast/statuses/359896214130536452">July 24, 2013</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWT4OzHlB_Q0oaE_KOU0BpE8f1xJqkAijn6pnbEYh1DU3obGtH_UDzD24QFFNdKeXDvp8oRxDB4n2zWI5L52LVIM38TmoeCuSSf8XmHNk_btlZ3VhSIXVQAAk677B0bQhKs3z/s1600/daniel+solis+my+favorite+game+console.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWT4OzHlB_Q0oaE_KOU0BpE8f1xJqkAijn6pnbEYh1DU3obGtH_UDzD24QFFNdKeXDvp8oRxDB4n2zWI5L52LVIM38TmoeCuSSf8XmHNk_btlZ3VhSIXVQAAk677B0bQhKs3z/s200/daniel+solis+my+favorite+game+console.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Jim and I just released a new <a href="http://www.greatbigtable.com/2013/07/great-big-table-podcast-episode-005_6329.html" target="_blank">Great Big Table episode</a> featuring The Party Game Cast (from the Party Gamecast) where we all discuss <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TK6Y5A/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001TK6Y5A&linkCode=as2&tag=babytoolkit-20" target="_blank">Therapy: The Game</a>.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">***<a href="http://babytoolkit.com/" target="_blank">Baby Toolkit</a> is the random squeakings of some barking mad Midwestern parents. Take it all with a shaker of salt. We have no financial interest in Therapy: The Game or its manufacturers, <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thepartygamecast.com%2F&ei=BPLvUfjUPMa0ygGdgIHwAw&usg=AFQjCNGSN5GyyRwYZIb3aBD_P_09YGmetA&sig2=mHvAJel_vcJXthFAutWyiQ&bvm=bv.49641647,d.aWc" target="_blank">The Party Gamecast</a> or any of the folks in the aforementioned tweet. We are Amazon affiliates, so any purchases made by clicking through our links fund our efforts at Baby Toolkit and <a href="http://greatbigtable.com/" target="_blank">Great Big Table</a>, thanks!. </span></i> <br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11068165000960928380noreply@blogger.com0