I know, it’s still the middle of winter, much of the country is covered in a blanket of snow, and it’s 50 below in Minneapolis, but I can’t help it, I’ve been thinking about springtime rain boots for kids. In a month or two, the weather will warm up, the snow will be gone, and there will be more puddles than you can shake a soggy stick at. So, you’ll need rain boots, right? And since everything is done online, shopping for children’s clothes is no longer a chore.

In fact, a quick trip to Macy’s kid shoes department website shows that I’m behind the times. Simple rainboots have been replaced by thematic rain ensembles, which to my mind, means more fun in the outdoors.

For example, I especially love this Fairy Collection set, with rain boots, umbrella, and slicker from Kidorable . In green, it is too cute for words, and is exactly the sort of thing that most little girls will love to death. Look at it! Even the clothes hanger is super cute!

For the boys, also from Kidorable, here’s everything needed for a dragon-slaying knight, rain boots, rain coat, backpack/shield and umbrella (check out the handle on that
brolly!)

And if that doesn’t do the trick, there’s also a fireman, and a butterfly, and a ballerina. Puddle jumping just got a whole lot more fun.

I knew that the Munchkin needed some new board shorts.   It just so happened that a fairly well-known surf brand was having a sale, so I did a little reconnaissance.

Sure enough, they had a bunch of styles, all at a pretty good price.

I was by myself, and I was tempted to get him the style that I normally buy for him, which tends to be colorful and include some sort of Hawaiian-related floral element. Children Fashion

Because, duh, I’m a girl.

But then I thought to myself that perhaps a nine year old boy would not appreciate flowers on his shorts, and tried to remember that he is definitely at the age where his clothing is being judged, especially by his peers.  Not that there is anything wrong with flowers on board shorts, in my opinion, but they just aren’t really in style in my area of the country right now.

I wound up choosing instead a green-gray  plaid, which also had a very subtle camo element going through the fabric. Normally I despise camo on “civilian” clothing, but ever since my husband took him here, my son has been very pro-military. Which, fine, I’m technically pro-military myself.

He loved them.

He then told me that he was very relieved that I didn’t get him any with flowers, as one of his older friends had been making fun of his other board shorts.  You know, the ones with flowers on them.  And while I am very aware that it was just teasing, and truly kids will tease other kids about pretty much anything, I was glad that for that one moment, I wasn’t THAT MOM.

You know, the one who buys their nine year old boy shorts with flowers on them.

Ah, Teeny Manolo.

My first blog here at the Manolosphere, and the one dearest to my heart.  How could it not be, as I would gripe and grumble and brag about my children?  And how could it not be as I have bonded, commiserated, and laughed with all of you over all of our unique and wonderful kiddos.

But unfortunately, I must say goodbye to all of  you.

You have all been so kind, so understanding, so funny, and so full of sage and wonderful advice.

I shall miss you so.

I hope that at some point, I was able to brighten your day a bit.

I have enjoyed all of my time working for the ever-gracious Manolo, and I thank him for employing me, and giving me the opportunity to meet all of you.  I’ve been writing on teh internets since 2005, and this was by far the best place to be. And I thank you, dearest readers, for actually coming to read what this lowly mommyblogger had to say.

It was an honor.

If you ever feel like adding yet another blog to your reading list, I blog as my (real!) self over here.

Of course, everybody knows the Dust Bowl happened.  And you know, the whole Steinbeck thing.

But if someone had asked me if I knew all of the states in the Dust Bowl and exactly why the Dust Bowl happened and how they got the conditions to change, then  I wouldn’t have been able to give a very good answer.  Oh, something vague and in the ballpark, but not very close.

Then I watched this.

I am a huge fan of Ken Burns, and this documentary utterly fascinated me.  But what can I say, I’m somewhat of a history geek.

This is definitely not the feel-good documentary of the year, and some of the tales of loss will crush your heart.  Even my husband, big tough guy that he is, found himself in tears at some points.  However, there was one survivor who had such perfect timing, and who gave us an enormous laugh where we never expected it.

But the fact is, I had no idea that the scale of the disaster was so huge, so all-encompassing, and I feel like I made up a very large gap in my American History.  I also learned something I found extremely shocking regarding The Grapes of Wrath and the genesis of the novel.

This is definitely appropriate to watch with teens, your MMV.

For 2012′s worst “Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children.”

Wow.

Destructive is such a strong word, as is oppressive.

What are some of these dastardly things?

Hmmm, you’ll find a Lego Friends product, as well as a Fisher Price toy, and even a ball.

Personally, I kind of hate all of the “smart” Fisher Price toys.  They creep me out.

Voting ends December 5, so hurry!

To do another CDF 2.0 post.  I have no idea why, but I have a severe mental blockage when it comes to CDF lately, and it just doesn’t feel right anymore.  I may feel better about it after the New Year, but I don’t think I can stomach doing one until then.

Sigh.

Which is a real bummer, because they were fairly easy to do in one sense.

How’s about some cute famous Dad and offspring photos for the time being?

If you look closely at the kids, that last picture is to die for.

Then don’t come to any parties at my house.

Seriously.

I saw the title of an article that said, “How to Have a Healthier Dinner Party” which of course I didn’t even glance at.

Because to me, a party is all about eating something different than you normally would. Something special, maybe a little decadent.

Of course if there is some sort of dietary restriction going on, then accomodations are immediately made and taken into account in the meal planning.

I have a former friend (our sons no longer go to school together, and so all have drifted apart) who was so into healthy eating that for her son’s 8th birthday party, she had unbuttered popcorn, and grapes as appetizers.  I think she did have a cake, but I was surprised that she couldn’t let go just a little bit for her son’s friends, not all of whom eat like triathletes in training.

Will I have some healthy options? Of course.  Not everything will be drenched in butter or filled to the brim with fat calories.

But will the whole meal be about being perfectly healthy and fat free?

Nope.

I’ll save that for every other day.

I’ve never left a party gushing about how amazingly healthy all the dishes were.  Maybe I’m weird.

Hmpfh, no wonder she and I are no longer friends!

But now that you are reading this, it is too late.

If you don’t have a tween/teen/young adult around the house, you are probably living your life in utter bliss, knowing nothing about a mythical figure called Herobrine, or things called creepers, or the vast network of people who are utterly obsessed with this video game.

Like my son.

I like to think of it as Lego on steroids.  The main principle of the game, as far as I can tell, is for you to survive and build your own world that can encompass pretty much anything that can be represented by blocks.  There are attacks on your personal kingdom by things called creepers and other things called zombies that you are probably more familiar with.   And uh, I think that is pretty much it in a nutshell.  Survive, build, defend, and build some more.

And did you know there are homemade videos on YouTube that represent hundreds and hundreds of hours of work on the part of the people who created the custom worlds for each one?  And that many of them have millions and millions of views, some of them even more than Jennifer Lopez?

Here are a couple of the better ones…

It is somewhat jarring for me to admit that all of these are actually quite enjoyable to watch.