Marin Daddy Blog

At age three, my daughter Lexie is a cute, sweet little kid. At least that's what people think. While she really can be sweet and cute and all that, there's a mischievous side that comes out when you least expect it. Right now we're dealing with the "creative insults" phase. At least that's what I'm calling it, as my son never went through that. Lexie, on the other hand, has a colorful, if unconventional vocabulary. Right now, her insult du jour is "You big buffalo", whereas previously it was "garbage can" or "kook".

A few weeks ago she came into work with me and I introduced her around. Of course the common reaction was "Ooooh, look at you—you're so cute!" Maybe she had a case of "the shys" or something, but when asked her name she just sat there silently and tried to hide behind me. After a second or two she grinned and said "Nobody!"

Everyone laughed and said "How cute!" And I smiled and thought "At least you don't have to leave with it every day…" She did this at least twice, with two separate groups of my colleagues.

Happy Mothers Day to all you hard working moms out there! And if you're not hard at work, I assume you've been that way to get to this point, so happy Mothers Day to you, too! And dads, I hope you're doing something today for the mother of your children to make her feel special. One of the great side benefits of having kids is that you don't have to run out to the card store at times like this. Give them some crayons, stickers, maybe some glitter, too, add some nice heavy paper, and you have a veritable greeting card sweatshop right in your own home. Moms, grandparents, and just about everyone loves to get a unique home-grown card decorated by a genuine preschooler. This comes in especially handy if you've forgotten to go to the card store, and don't have time to run out and grab something—anything—from the picked-over card selection left at this point in the game (of course you'll be in the company of many other anxious dads in the same boat as you, so don't feel too bad).

Last year I reported on the sad demise of Oakland's venerable Mother's Cookies, and specifically lamented the fact that my children would be unable to experience the childhood wonder that are the Mother's Circus Animal Cookies. Well, mourn no longer, because Mom is back in the game!

Well, actually, Kellogg's is. You see, they apparently bought the intellectual property rights and cookie recipes from the now-defunct Mother's, and just this week have reintroduced the brand to California's store shelves. Cookie lovers rejoice! We, and our children can once more enjoy the shocking pink and white amorphous animal cookies (is it a chimp or a buffalo? No, wait, it's a kangaroo…) covered with candy sprinkles. Apparently other Mother's cookie types are making it back into grocery stores, too. But really—who cares? It's the Circus Animals that really matter.

Apparently it's also the 95th anniversary of Mother's cookies, too. And it's Mother's Day this Sunday. So why not celebrate with Circus Animal cookies?

[Photo by Jef Poskanzer via Flickr.]

One day my son came home from Kindergarten all excited, because one of his classmates brought in his t-ball trophy for show-and-tell. The presence of that trophy sealed it—he simply had to play t-ball this season. This was fine, since we were looking for a sports activity for him to do in the spring.

In case you're not familiar with the concept, t-ball (or Tee-Ball) is a game for little kids derived from baseball. The primary difference, to the casual observer, is the lack of a pitcher. Instead, the children take whacks at a ball mounted on a tee. It's a gentler version of baseball intended primarily to build skills in a fun, non-competitive way.

Actually, in hindsight, I have to change my mind and state that the primary difference is this non-competitive aspect. There are no losers, and no winners. Or, perhaps, everyone's a winner. Either way, it can be a little confusing for parents new to the game, especially when trying to figure out when an inning's over or puzzling over the fact that a kid who was clearly "out" is still running on to third base. Everybody gets a turn at bat. There are no strikes, no outs, and no score. It's for fun.

Last weekend we went through the garage and sifted through at least a dozen boxes and bins full of old children's clothes and toys to find fodder for the annual Novato Mother's Club Rummage Sale. Last year we netted a cool $350 by simply getting rid of stuff we no longer used or wanted. Who would have suspected? My favorite rummage sale tactic, which we repeated last year, was to fill up one-gallen ziploc bags with miscellaneous el-cheapo toys acquired over the past year, mostly from McDonalds (the drive-thru toy store). We charged a buck apiece for them and consequently emptied at least two storage cubes from the kids' room. Cool!

Since my son's going on six, I figured it was high time to introduce him to one of my childhood favorites: The Adventures of Tintin. For those of you unfamiliar with the subject, The Adventures of Tintin is a series of 20 or so comic books written by Belgian author Hergé (the pen name of Georges Remi). The books, produced from the late 1920s (the satirical Tintin in the Land of the Soviets) through the 1970s (Tintin and the Picaros), follow the adventures of the eponymous Tintin, a youthful reporter, and his faithful dog Snowy (Milou in the original French). In fact Tintin will soon be the subject of a motion-capture animated movie created under the auspices of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. (Don't screw it up guys, OK?)