Teeny Manolo

Stolen from CityRag. Which is less tolerable? The baby’s crying or the dog’s?

Ah, the holiday season. First it was Halloween. Well, first it was Thanksgiving, but I understand that not everyone lives in Canuckistan like me, and some isolated places have theirs later, for some reason. So, first it was Halloween.

Or Beltane, if you’re of a wiccan persuasion.

So for some rare few, next comes Thanksgiving. But after that, nothing but shopping till December 25th?

I. Don’t. Think. So.

Into the celebratory void have stepped (silently, stealthily) the Ninjas. Ladies, Gentlemen, and the Great Undecided, December 5th is International Day of the Ninja.

Is your family prepared?

Here are some handy resources that you can implement immediately, should you wish to either ninjafy or attempt to ninja-proof (ha! good luck) your household.

For those anti-ninja fighters, we wish them good luck and provide the Ninja Defense Poster:

But for those of you who are pro-ninja, we equal-opportunity bloggers at TeenyManolo are happy to provide instructions to turn yourself or your children into ninjas using nothing more than an ordinary cotton (please, no poly-cotton blends; play safe, boys and girls) t-shirt. Click to enlarge.

Please note careful, ninja-like attention to detail: they have a Christmas tree in the background to tip you off that it is in DECEMBER, not any other month of the year. If you find yourself inspired, you can always make paper throwing star Christmas ornaments out of extra wrapping paper.

And here’s something for all the Jewish ninjas out there: Jewish origami throwing stars!

May we suggest, for your Ninja mask, an appropriate choice of shirt:

In my Monday Teeny Poll, I included Victoria Beckham as one of the selections for a parental “Needs Improvement” award. Apparently, gentle reader Cristina took issue:

Why is Posh even on the list with open drug-users? Because she wears heels? I mean, come on! It sounds like the second you pop out a baby you have to become a frump… Why not be fabulous? I say down with the fricken sneakers and sweats already, they’re ugly and they’re making us ugly and it’s depressing. Better to be Posh and decked out in green feathers - at least it looks like you tried.

Well, so much for trying to be funny. It seems that the Cult of Posh takes offense quite easily.

Upon further reflection, I have to say that maybe I do have a personal problem with Posh, and that is why I gave her a place on the list.

Every time I see the woman, she is wearing towering heels. Whether it be on the soccer field, at a baseball game, or at the airport, her shoes are a minimum of three inches high. And really, I actually do admire her ability to seemingly walk almost anywhere in shoes like that. If ever Posh’s husband gets fired from his job, she could easily make up the lost revenue by holding classes and sharing her knowledge of how to navigate Disneyland in stilettos. I might even sign up for one myself, because I really want to know.

But when I see her lofty heel choices, I ask myself, when she is out in public, how does she have any spontaneous fun with her boys? Because my son wants to run and play tag with me, not listen to me explain why mommy can’t because her shoes will sink into the grass. I look at the picture above and wonder what would happen if one of her sons asked her to kick around that soccer ball with him.

It seems to me that she places fashion and her image above opportunities to have some fun with her kids. Because kids can find the fun anywhere, anytime. However, the minute my fashion choice means that I can’t climb up the slide with my son because I am afraid I am going to break an ankle, then my priorities are a bit misplaced.

And who said that moms have to be frumpy? I don’t remember saying that, and I don’t believe it either. But I do think that when a mom has had a sleepless night taking care of a baby or sick child, she shouldn’t be judged for choosing the yoga pants over the Versace. And it is certainly possible to look polished and cute while being comfortable and wearing, gasp, flats! There is a time and place for high fashion, no doubt. But balance, my friends, it’s all about the balance. To say that it is couture or nothing at the park playdate certainly smacks of an alternate reality to me.

Although perhaps if my husband was pulling in the millions while never helping his team win any games, I too would be able to have a nanny watch my son for hours while I made sure I looked perfect and every hair was in place whenever I walked out the door.

And as soon as that happens, I promise you, I will be all over the green feather display when I drop my son off at preschool.

It looks like the freaky babydolls really bring out the Dorothy Parker in you. Yes, it’s time to announce our winner of last week’s Friday Caption Contest:

Spring Says:
November 16th, 2007 at 5:02 pm e

The Bride of Chuckie demanded a Wiccan wedding.

 Yes, sometimes the first time is the best time. Congratulations, kudos, and glow in the dark pixie dust to Spring, our winner for this week!

Prizes! Fame! Glory! Stuff!

Don’t you love contests that have all of the above? Well, we’ve got one for you! Copy and paste, forward and gossip with abandon!

The newest members of Manolo the Shoeblogger’s vast internet empire, we launched TeenyManolo in late September, and wouldn’t you know, we are only now getting around to introducing ourselves. Ah, they grow so fast, don’t they? Where does the time go?

As the proud parents, we naturally think that TeenyManolo rocks the Parentblogosphere, and we’re certainly not above offering some good old-fashioned bribery a superfantastic contest to get the word out! We are thrilled to announce the TeenyManolo Sweepstakes, an international contest for Amazon Gift Certificates, two for $50US and one grand prize of $150US to three lucky readers. The contest begins on November 23 and ends at 12AM Pacific Time on December 7, 2007. Entering is simple and free! There are two steps:

1. Link to TeenyManolo in a blog post, whether or not it’s one about the contest.
2. Just come and leave a comment that you’ve linked to us.

And that’s it! A bargain, we think. And really, we are all about the bargains around here.

In related news, we’re also building our blogroll. As dedicated Manolites, we will blogroll you if you blogroll us, because we think that mutual admiration is a lovely thing. Just email theglinda AT gmail DOT com or raincoaster AT gmail DOT com and let us know!

Another day where others have said it so much better than I…

and because the last time we did this, the sole thank-you we got was from a male of the species, this link roundup goes out to (and comes from) the guys.

Let’s see what the Daddysphere has to say for itself lately:

• This is what dads are faux (Charlie’sHouse)
• Barney’s back, biotches! (Dadsmacker)
• Out of the mouths of smoothly lying babes (LADaddy)
• Extreeeeeeeeeeem parenting (TheBlogfathers)
• Ew. Just ew. (TrueDadConfessions)
• No words (ToddDeutsch)
• Personal Questions (ArchieArchive)
• Where in the world is The Crochet Dude (TheCrochetDude)
• Hot buns from a hot mom (ParentsProgress)
• Does the Internet make me a better parent? (GNMParents)
• Tips for dealing with the guy who’s dating your teenage daughter (DadCanDo)
• Why fathers pray for their daughters (Sigmund, Carl and Alfred)

Captions in the comments, as per usual. If a picture is worth a thousand words, we humbly request you keep it to less than 300 in this particular case. The kid already has more ink than the bloody library, from the looks of things.

This is Shaylee, from the mightily demented KryptKiddies doll company. Right handy in case Marilyn Manson needs to pick up a christening present, but what are the odds, eh?

Alas, I have been neglecting the boys. I apologize!

The problem, it seems, with boy’s footwear is that there is not a lot of choice out there. Why is it they can find a million ways to do a Mary Jane but only five for an Oxford?

But since the holidays are coming, I decided to try and find some nice boy’s dress shoes at a decent price. That is much harder than it sounds.

I tend to favor the traditional over the trendy when it comes to boys dress shoes. The shoes below are beautifully constructed, I wanted very much to love them. But dang if that buckle is just a tad too big and shiny for an eight year old boy. They look very similar to something one of those guys who trumpets the arrival of the royalty to the castle would wear. Couldn’t you just see these co-existing just a bit too comfortably with some tights, balloon pants, and puffy sleeves?

Ah, but here, we have found the magic buckle color, which is more subdued and does not trumpet shout it’s presence.

I also think these loafers by Sperry are a good (and cheaper) alternative, shoes that can go with a suit or just a nice pair of pants and a sweater.

You may have noticed, gentle reader, that we have a category for “BabyHaters” in the sidebar. We’ve just arbitrarily decided to extend it to include people who hate kids older than babies, particularly their own.

Like this guy.

Ah, parents. What won’t they do for their children? Now, you take Huang Li, a 10-year-old girl who went for a three-hour river swim with her limbs bound, hoping eventually to make it into the record books.

She covered nearly two miles, and when she got out, her father said - now pay attention, because this is probably the quote of the month, “Next time, she will swim further and I’ll follow her in a boat to ensure safety.”

Maaaan, he probably thinks she should walk home after swimming, too. Faint hope he gave her bus fare, eh?