Last week I wanted to know if you read tabloid newspapers, and zero of you felt you were addicted.  However, not quite the same when applied to gossip news sites on the internets, where 40% of you often find yourself reading about the newest fight between Blake Lively and Leo DiCaprio.  23% of you only read the newspaper version at the checkout line, and 36% of you swear that you never do, even when the annoying lady in front of you is writing a check.

Today, I want your feedback on a post and picture that originally appeared on Consumerist.  It seems the father of the little boy posing with Chuck E. Cheese up there felt that Chuckie was giving his son the finger. He complained to the restaurant, where they insisted that wasn’t the case.  He then took it to Consumerist to “ …stir up some debate and maybe make some other parents more aware for when it comes time to take their kids’ photos with the big mouse.”

I present to you the utterly terrifying Harry Potter characters as reborn dolls.

I think it’s a tie between Voldemort and Dobby as to who will be the star of my nightmares tonight.

Herminone Granger

Ron Weasley

Dobby

Harry Potter

Severus Snape

Voldemort

via

Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I sure as hell would not be laughing at a lioness attempting to eat my offspring. She isn’t being “cute” or “funny,” she is literally trying to attack that baby. It doesn’t make me giggle, it makes me want to run far, far away from that enclosure.

So there is this little tumblr creatively entitled Walk.

The entire premise of the blog is to show “how funny big kids look in little strollers.” Or at least that is what the (childless, natch) authors claimed when called out on Jezebel for being ah, a bit judgemental about parents who choose to place “big” kids in strollers.

I’m calling foul on this for a couple of reasons.

1) Don’t care if you are childless and having fun, somewhere there is a commandment that says “Judge not, lest ye find yourselves walking miles at Disneyland in their Nikes.”  Or something like that.

2) Did we mention that many of these pictures were taken at Disneyland?  Dude, when it comes to kids and walking around ALL BETS ARE OFF AT ANY DISNEY PROPERTY.  Period.

3) There are kids who look a lot older than they are.  Take my friend’s five year old daughter.  She is almost as tall as my eight year old, and often has people expecting her to act a certain way based solely on her height.  There’s also a commandment relating to books and covers.

4) The authors claim that they carefully “screen” their victims candidates for disabilties, by you, know, looking at them. Because we all know how easy it is to recognize a disability just by looking at someone.

I think what saddens me the most is that they have over a thousand likes on Facebook. 

Hide behind the all in good fun excuse all you like, but I think this is just plain mean.

47% of you agreed that summer camps are a bit on the expensive side. 15% said that they weren’t sure, but the $800 a week robotics camp I mentioned sounded a bit pricey.  And then, a full 36% of you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and chastised me for expecting a robotics camp to be cheap.  Well, I hope all 36% of you are feeling better today.

Of all the official royal wedding pictures, the one making the most impact is the one where young flower girl Grace van Cutsem is doing a bit of a glower and covering her ears whilst the newlyweds kiss.   Young Grace has become the hottest internet meme (although with the news of the death of Bin Laden, she might be usurped by tomorrow) around.  But, is it appropriate in the first place?

You might have noticed a distinct lack of Teeny Poll last week, and that was because last Sunday night found me frantically trying to fight a virus that my dear husband allowed into our computer.   Thanks hon!  Three hours of my life I can never get back.

I went totally personal on the last poll, and most of you (44%) suggested semi-formal, no matching for our upcoming family photo.  I’m thinking you guys are right.  We will have to ponder exactly how we are going to carry it out, but hopefully it will turn out not looking too cluttered.

Today I want to talk about summer camps.  The Munchkin is into science, computers, and robotics and the like.  I found a great-looking robotics camp done through a local university.  I was really excited about it, until I clicked through to find the price tag.  For six hours a day, they wanted me to fork over $800!  I about fell off my chair.  That doesn’t even include lunch!  I’ve looked at quite a few others, and it seems that if you want to do something even semi-interesting, it is going to cost you big bucks. However, maybe I’m being unreasonable?

Dear Daughter,

I bought you an outfit that I thought would look cute.

It was a three piece Calvin Klein, with jeans, a shirt, and a soft, furry vest.

I squealed upon seeing the furry vest, as it seems I have a weakness for children wearing fuzzy things.  Your grandmother had bought you a different outfit with a similar vest, and people could not get enough of you in it.

So the other night when we went to the baseball game, I thought the weather was perfect for your CK ensemble, as you’d never worn it before.  It was the perfect combination of semi-warm but not too warm, and I lovingly tucked your jeans into your adorable furry little boots that matched your vest perfectly.

I thought nothing of your outfit until I saw you walking with your dad about twenty feet away from me.  That distance gave me an entirely new perspective.

Your jeans had detailing on the back pockets I hadn’t noticed before, which made me uncomfortable. And they definitely qualified as “skinny” jeans. The vest looked chic, but a little too grownup for an 18 month old.  And the worst was your boots, which looked more like Uggs than anything else.  Good lord, they weren’t supposed to look like Uggs! How did I not see the resemblance? 

And Calvin Klein? What the hell was I thinking?  They are the ones who famously stood between a teen Brooke Shields and er, nothing. 

I solemnly promise on my Complete Works of Shakespeare never to dress you like a college sorority girl again.

Until maybe you are one, but that’s at least a good eighteen years away.

Love,

Mom

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I am usually the first one to defend police, as I’ve got policemen in my immediate family.

Hi-ever.

I’m trying to think why they thought using pepper spray on an 8 year old boy was appropriate.

The only thing I can think of is that they didn’t want to try to physically restrain him due to potential lawsuits, so they went down the dubious pepper spray road.

I’m also wondering if this child has been tested for possible disabilities? Supposedly he is in therapy, so the answer should be yes. Right?

In the video, I first thought that the police spokesperson was the lawyer for the boy’s family, and I thought he was being sarcastic when he mentioned they were “in fear of this 8 year old boy” or whatever similar sentence he said that I’m too lazy to go back and double check.

I’m just feeling like it is alternate universe day, for some reason.