I love the Earth but I Don't Love Earth Day

This originally ran on In the Powder Room in 2013. I'm re-running it here because two years later and I'm still in favor of more tree-hugging, less green-washing.

While the origins of Earth Day are admirable and pure – a day dedicated to environmental awareness and education  – Earth Day in 2015 is no longer really about those founding values. I suggest we all do Mother Nature a favor and not celebrate Earth Day.

While hippies and wannabe hippies everywhere have been busy adjusting their solar panels and building rain barrels in an ongoing pursuit of an eco-fabulous lifestyle, it seems just about every big company has re-branded Earth Day as its own totally amazing marketing opportunity.

There are tons of Earth Day-themed children’s shows, because if encouraging kids to sit on the couch and waste electricity watching TV doesn’t honor the earth, I don’t know what does. Disney gives us a new episode of Handy Manny, The Earth Day Challenge, and PBS and Scholastic present the video WordGirl: Earth Day Girl ($14.99). Yay for sedentary indoor lifestyles! Totes eco-friendly!

Scholastic further earns my ire by having its Earth Day school unit sponsored by Keep America Beautiful, an organization that can appear as eco-friendly on the outside as it wants, but can’t change the fact that it’s funded largely by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle Waters. Oh, and by Altria – which despite the benign sounding name owns Philip Morris, and even the most skilled advertiser can't convince me cigarettes keep America even a little bit beautiful. These corporations are Mother Nature’s frenemies at best, and yet somehow they’re the ones throwing her party.

My earth-loving heart also holds a special place of scorn for Oriental Trading Company. While I do not begrudge their right to sell mass-produced items of questionable quality that have a pretty straight trajectory from birthday party goodie bag to landfill, I do condemn them for selling that same crap in the name of Earth Day.

A few items from Oriental Trading’s Earth Day offerings include “I love the earth” stickers ($2.50 per 100 sticker roll) and latex balloons ($4.50 per dozen), which are described as “a fun way to start your Earth Day activities.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually start save-the-earth activities by destroying the planet. But maybe that’s just me.  

Corporations aren’t the only ones dissing Mama Earth on her big day. Government agencies are getting in on the Earth Day “celebrating” too. In fact, the State of Utah’s Oil, Gas & Mining Agency is hosting an Earth Day poster contest that asks kids to answer this environmental conundrum: “Where would WE be without oil, gas & mining?” That’s right, an ode to the destruction of the planet was created not just for any holiday, but specifically in honor of EarthDay.

This year, let's celebrate Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22, the way the original Earth Day organizers intended -- by encouraging conservation through awareness and education, not consumption. Let’s tell the companies we’re literally not buying any of their Earth Day crap.

You won't find me in line at the Disney store’s Earth Day celebration waiting for a cast member to give me my 327th “eco-friendly” tote bag, but I will take a hike with my kids. And while we’re in the woods, we just might hug a tree and whisper, “Happy Earth Day.”

This July 4th I'm Discussing Responsible Drinking with My Kids

My kids are four, eight and ten years old, and it seems like the day I'll need to talk to them about responsible drinking is still years away, but of course, it's not. My oldest starts middle school this fall, and I can only guess that means high school is going to come around the bend sooner than I can imagine.

In fact, my kids not only aren't too young to have a talk about responsible drinking, according to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR), they're actually the perfect ages to have these kinds of discussions because the most “preventative years” for children are between the ages of six and ten. This is the perfect time for us to discuss, and for them to learn, healthy, balanced behaviors around drinking.

July 4th weekend is a favorite holiday for our extended family. We all get together at the beach: aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. We have a huge feast, featuring our favorite summer food, Maryland hard shell crabs smothered in Old Bay.

And what goes best with crabs? Beer. Lots and lots of beer.

While my husband and I could be at most described as casual drinkers, it doesn't mean that we don't pass on a lot of thoughts about drinking to our kids. They hear us discussing what we'll be eating and drinking over the long holiday weekend, and how much we're looking forward to it. They hear the discussions of how much beer we think we'll need for a party of twenty adults, and what other drinks we should serve as well.

And conversations about alcohol don't happen over just July 4th weekend. Our kids hear us agree when friends say they "need a drink" after a long day, and they hear us laugh when someone makes a joke about drinking too much, although the truth is we don't think jokes like that are necessarily a laughing matter. Even if I don't drink much in front of my kids, these other passive messages about alcohol definitely get passed on to them.

So this July 4th when our family gets together, I'll be sure to talk to my kids about the role of responsible drinking at holiday get-togethers, and on "regular" days, too. I'll take this opportunity to remind them that even at events where alcohol is part of the celebration it's always a good idea to drink responsibly and to do what they think is right, whether that means not having another drink, or even just not laughing when someone makes a joke that's really not that funny about drinking too much.

Thank you to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility for encouraging me to have this important conversation with my kids.

The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility created this video to help parents begin a lifetime of conversations with their kids about alcohol responsibility. Talking with your kids about alcohol early and often is the best way to keep them safe and the Foundation has tools and resources to help. Visit www.responsibility.org, follow @goFAAR on Twitter and "like" their Facebook page at fb.com/gofaar and begin the conversation today.

This post is written in conjunction with the sponsorship by the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR) for The Blog University (BlogU) conference held this spring at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore. All opinions expressed here are my own.

For Mother’s Day: #BringBackOurGirls

I like the commercialism of Mother’s Day about as much as I like seeing July 4th items on sale at my local Target last week. For me, the idea of buying some cheap token for Mother’s Day celebrates everything superficial about the holiday and very little about the real substance of the day, which to me, is taking a moment to think about mothers everywhere.

So against the sea of ads for jewelry and perfumes and, I wish this wasn’t true, weight-loss solutions, that are coming through my Facebook feed in “honor” of Mother’s Day, all I can think is how very little this matters to me, or I would guess any mom, when over 200 girls are missing in Nigeria.

More than two weeks ago, militants stormed a residential school in Nigeria and abducted school girls, still missing, and most recently, the leader of the group that kidnapped them at gunpoint are threatening to sell these girls. I cannot even contemplate the horror, and I am completely removed from this situation. And while I know I cannot even fathom how these families are feeling right now, at least as part of the global community, we can give our voices to the demand to #BringBackOurGirls.

This recent attack on the Nigerian school is not the first by militant organization Boko Haram (the name translates to “Western education is a sin”), which has targeted schools in the past, leaving 22 students dead in June in 2012, and 59 dead in an attack this past February. It’s beyond comprehension that these attacks continue, but they do.

This Mother’s Day lets forget the contrived brunches and do something that really matters and #bringbackourgirls.

Here’s how to help:

Sign a Petition
Petition Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria via Change.org (235,000+ signatures)
Bring Our Daughters Home via MoveOn.org (140+ signatures)
Petition President Barack Obama via We the People and WhiteHouse.gov (12,000+ signatures)
Get Involved with Social Media Campaigns

Change your Facebook or Twitter Icon to this image from Girls Rising.

Like Bring Back Our Girls on Facebook to keep up with information, including protests being held around the world.

Girls Rising and Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls held a Google Hangout at Noon on Tuesday, May 6, to share a conversation with prominent journalists and leaders in girls’ education. Those participating found out direct and factual information about the situation in Nigeria and what they can do to help, including an “action pack” of tools to make a difference.

Tweet with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

Share this post or a similar one on Facebook and, if you have one, your blog.

Read other blogs, like this one from former Montclair resident Nicole Blades at Ms. Mary Mack.

The information age we live in is amazing because it means we can make a difference no matter whoever, and wherever, we are. And social media makes it possible that even small voices can put pressure on world leaders and make a difference when joined with others. Let’s make sure they are and #bringbackourgirls.

Thank you to Barista Kids, This Unique* Weblog, Ms. Mary Mack and Other than Lovie for posting as well. If you wrote a post, please add your link in the comments below so we can add it to the list of voices demanding to #BringBackOurGirls.

The Worst Halloween Costumes for Kids

As we all know, Halloween costumes for kids have really deteriorated - in every sense of the word - in recent years.

Just look at what my Native American girl costume of the 1970s has morphed into over the past thirty years:

I've complained about the sexualizing of costumes for girls ever since I bought my then 3-year-old a scarecrow outfit in a bag from Wal-Mart only to get it home and find out it was pageant-worthy (and I don't mean that in the good way).

Not to be outdone by the inappropriateness of the scarecrow choice, her older sister chose to be a Blood Ninja that year.



My 2009 blog rant about girls costumes got me an email from a reporter at The New York Post when Halloween came around the next year. She interviewed me and used my quotes in her article  Would you let your child trick or treat in this? In addition to getting the chance to share my thoughts on the inappropriate scarecrow costume it was also the welcome first evidence that anyone ever read my blog.

Last year I was happy to see others also sharing my disdain for the costume options for us ladies. The Bloggess shared some seriously scary stuff for grown-ups at Skanky-Ween. and Scary Mommy got right to the point with Dress Your Daughter Like a Whore Day!

I would like to add the following costumes to ever growing list of The Worst Halloween Costumes for Kids:

The entire Monster High collection, shown below with the also hideously wrong Gothic "Cheerless" Cheerleader and the Zombie Cheerleader:

A big no also to this witch:

And this cowgirl, look at her! Is nothing sacred, Sears?

And boys? Ick and double-ick to so many of their choices, too. And why do so many options emphasize the "bloody skull?" Or, pictured here, the bleeding ghost:

The thought of my son wearing these costumes sends the same chills down my spine as does the thought of my daughter choosing from one of the crappy options for girls.

So tell me if these are the worst ideas for kids Halloween costumes, what are some of the best ideas?

This is the fourth post in my Week of Halloween, for all the posts click here.

School fundraisers: what do they really teach our children?

I've been thinking a lot lately about "wants" vs. "needs" and what we really teach our children when we have school fundraisers.

Last year, my kids' public school was raising funds for iPads for the classrooms. And while I'm sure there are benefits to having iPads at school, did the kids really need them? Like really, really, need them?

Would it not be an okay lesson for the kids to learn that while having iPads would be a great (amazing!)educational resource that they were also an expensive educational resource, and their school just didn't have the funds to purchase them?

Are we not supporting our consumer culture and further solidifying the entitlement of the next generation by giving kids the message that even when you can't afford something, you still try to find a way to purchase it? That you just "have to have it."

And while I might begin by pondering the somewhat small question of if my kids "need" iPads at school, I end by asking what I think is the bigger question: should I really be contributing to this fundraising initiative at my kids school, when I know that the school just one town over doesn't even have basic supplies - y'know like books. Should we not teach our kids that we help all the kids get books, before we start raising money for some kids to have extras like iPads?

I don't know the answers, but I do know this year I am going to think more about what it all means before just sending in my check. And who knows, maybe this approach will even teach my kids more then they'll learn from having an iPad in their classroom.

Instructions for my Husband: We're Still Not Buying Sketchy Skechers

Remember how back in 2011 I told you we were not buying their shoes because of sketchy Skechers ridiculous, insulting, hideous campaign to get pre-teen girls to wear shape-up sneakers, to look good for the boys in class?

Well, we still aren't buying Skechers. Sure, the shape-ups are off the market (not because Skechers saw the error of their ways) because the FTC made them stop selling them for false claims that could not be substantiated.

And yet, while you might think this is the year you could make your daughters' dreams of owning twinkle toes shoes be realized: it is not.

Because now Skechers has managed to find something arguably even more offensive than fucking shape-up sneakers for first-graders.

It's a line of shoes for teen and pre-teen girls called... DADDY'S MONEY.

Wait, sorry, that's not quite right it's DADDY'$ MONEY. Apparently Skechers is too cla$$y for a regular ol' S when they can plop a $ in there instead and make it like they're all cool to the kid$.

Ironically, after the shape-up bullshit these new shoes have a "hidden 2-inch wedge." Because you can't start too early teaching girls their body isn't thin enough, tall enough or good enough.

I don't even know where to start to explain the outrage and revulsion I feel that from all of the clever names they could have picked, Skechers chose Daddy'$ Money. Apparently this was the best they could come up with after deciding Shoes for Your Whore Daughters was just going too far.

Also, I'm going to guess Mommy's Money didn't have the same ring, nor did Shoes I Bought with Own Damn Money.

I want to think that it doesn't matter. Who cares if some stupid over-priced garish shoes are called Daddy'$ Money or any other dumb name. But I think it really does matter. These aren't shoes being marketed in a kitschy way to grown-ups. These are shoes - with a hidden heel! - being marketed to teens and tweens, specifically teen and tween girls - there are (surprisingly!) no shoes for boys in the Daddy'$ Money line.

 

And that's why it matters. We don't want our daughters, and girls everywhere to think that Daddy's Money is the answer, literally or figuratively to get shoes, or anything else in life. And it's never too early to teach girls that they matter, their choices matter, and that when companies make bad choices we need to show them that that matters, too.... by not buying their crap.

 

 

So when this family spends Daddy's money - and Mommy's money - it's going to be on shoes with names like Free Run and Jazz, and the shoes we buy won't have any hidden heels, or hidden messages.

And in case you're wondering if it's just me, it's not. I'm not the only one that thinks these shoes suck. So do a lot of other people, you can read why they're outraged here.

So to sum up: Do not come home with Skechers for the girls no matter how much they want them. They'll thank you later, I'm sure.

This is my thirty-third instruction in my ongoing series Instructions for my Husband.

Follow along on Facebook on the Instructions to my Husband page where there's always something funny (or frustrating) going on.

My daughter already knows everything she needs to know about real beauty

I've been following the Dove "real beauty" discussions over whether the latest Dove campaign is groundbreaking, or just another take on idealizing one form of "beauty" as better than another.

I'm in the latter camp - I'm not so impressed with the Dove campaign. Business Insider has a good article on Why People Hate Dove's 'Real Beauty' Sketches, and there's plenty of other commentary as well. (If you wrote a post about this, please leave a link in the comments, I'd love to read it whatever your take.)

I'm more interested in campaigns that focus on something besides beauty, just like I'm not particularly interested in the seemingly daily headlines proclaiming "Can you believe [insert celebrity name] had three kids?" What's not to believe? Does being a mom automatically mean you can't look good? Sigh.

But I digress. All I'm really trying to say is these beauty values evolve over time, and I was reminded of this when I looked at my daughter's illustration of Halle Berry. It's not exactly flattering, but that's because she is just drawing what she sees, without all the Hollywood expectations and suggestions.

Also, in case you can't tell what's on Halle's right, it's an Oscar. Because although she's only seven, my daughter likes to celebrate what people achieve, not how they appear. Even if Halle Berry is pretty amazing looking, and can you believe it, also a mom?

What do you think? Love, hate or dont' really care about Dove's latest advertising campaign? And will it make you buy more Dove (which is Unilever) products?

...love to Boston

I lived in Boston for six years, and while I hated the winters I loved the town. And like everyone else, I really loved Marathon Monday which represented, to me, everything good. There was so much to love about the day from the race itself to the fact that it was a spring day off from work. For me, I had the added joy of living right on the race route which meant I was truly a part of it all, even if I personally didn't exactly muster 26.2 miles.

The images of the triumphant finishers in their silver race jackets is one that I will always remember, though now that image will forevermore be overlaid with the images from the terrible tragedy that visited the running this year, and of couse this is tragically all the more true for so many others.

I'm no longer a Bostonian, now making my home in the suburbs of New York City. I'm heartened by the love my current city shows to my former one.

I couldn't stop looking over and over again at these images of rivals come together as they came across my feeds today:

 

 

If only all rivalries could come to such a quick and peaceful resolution.

 

My heart may be in Boston, but HONY is actually there. If you don't already follow Humans of New York, I think you'll want to. He's in Boston all week.

 

 

Other stuff I wrote last week... and I'm (finally) on Instagram!

Last week I wrote a little of this and a little of that, most of it Jersey-centric.

For those of you in scenic New Jersey, I've got a review on Barista Kids of a new bakery in Maplewood, Gigi's Cupcakes. If you're at all in the area, it's definitely worth a visit.

On New Jersey Family I've got a huge list of indoor water parks and pools, most within an hour's drive of New York City.

I also covered the One Million Moms for Gun Control's rally in Jersey City. If you are interested in learning more about joining the New Jersey chapter of the One Million Moms for Gun Control, visit their Facebook page. They are doing incredible things to make sure legislators enact responsible gun control legislation, and every voice added to the cause helps.

And if you're looking for Valentine's Day ideas, I've found lots of fun stuff to do with and for the kids at Six Ways to Share the Love with Your Family on Valentine's Day.

I have also become a late adapter of Instagram, and I can't believe it's taken so long to discover what it sure to be both the best and worst thing to happen to me in terms of using my time wisely in 2013. Would love to connect there - you can find me at RandomHandprints.

As for the week ahead? I'm getting ready for Toy Fair on Sunday, one of my favorite events I get to attend under the dubious title "member of the press."

Have a great week everyone! And who are must-follows on Instagram?

What do babyGap, Peter Rabbit, Books and Me Have in Common?

Just a few days ago babyGap announced it's new Peter Rabbit collection, which was created in partnership with Beatrix Potter, featuring "our favorite mischievous rabbit re-imagined for the next generation."

To celebrate the launch of the Peter Rabbit line, babyGap is partnering with Milk & Bookies, a non-profit whose sole purpose is to celebrate the love of reading and to help kids get books into the hands of other kids. There will be multiple events at babyGap locations where participants can donate books for local Boys & Girls Clubs.

So there you have the connection between BabyGap, Peter Rabbit and books.

Where do I come in? Here:

Yes, that's right on Saturday, January 26, at 11:00am there will be a fabulous and fun event at the Paramus babyGap (Garden State Plaza mall) where I'll be reading the instant classic The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson in my best Joisey British accent.

 

If you're here in scenic New Jersey, I'd love for you to join us in celebrating books, bunnies and baby clothes.



And if you're elsewhere, click here for the full list of events taking place nationwide.

I am not being compensated for this post or for my participation. I am receiving an advance copy of the book.

If It Were Up to Me

I first read the lyrics to this song when a friend posted it to Facebook.

Cheryl Wheeler, the artist who wrote it, kindly granted permission to reprint it here. You can learn more about the inspiration for the song, as well as about Cheryl, and her music, at CherylWheeler.com. She's also on Facebook and Twitter.

If It Were Up to Me

Words and Lyrics by: Cheryl Wheeler

Maybe it's the movies, maybe it's the books
Maybe it's the bullets, maybe it's the real crooks
Maybe it's the drugs, maybe it's the parents
Maybe it's the colors everybody's wearin
 

Maybe it's the President, maybe it's the last one
Maybe it's the one before that, what he done
Maybe it's the high schools, maybe it's the teachers
Maybe it's the tattooed children in the bleachers

Maybe it's the Bible, maybe it's the lack
Maybe it's the music, maybe it's the crack
Maybe it's the hairdos, maybe it's the TV
Maybe it's the cigarettes, maybe it's the family

Maybe it's the fast food, maybe it's the news
Maybe it's divorce, maybe it's abuse
Maybe it's the lawyers, maybe it's the prisons
Maybe it's the Senators, maybe it's the system

Maybe it's the fathers, maybe it's the sons
Maybe it's the sisters, maybe it's the moms
Maybe it's the radio, maybe it's road rage
Maybe El Nino, or UV rays

Maybe it's the army, maybe it's the liquor
Maybe it's the papers, maybe the militia
Maybe it's the athletes, maybe it's the ads
Maybe it's the sports fans, maybe it's a fad

Maybe it's the magazines, maybe it's the internet
Maybe it's the lottery, maybe it's the immigrants
Maybe it's taxes, big business
Maybe it's the KKK and the skinheads

Maybe it's the communists, maybe it's the Catholics
Maybe it's the hippies, maybe it's the addicts
Maybe it's the art, maybe it's the sex
Maybe it's the homeless, maybe it's the banks

Maybe it's the clearcut, maybe it's the ozone
Maybe it's the chemicals, maybe it's the car phones
Maybe it's the fertilizer, maybe it's the nose rings
Maybe it's the end, but I know one thing.

If it were up to me, I'd take away the guns.

 

Is there anything to say, to write, when faced with such unbearable tragedy?

I've been online too much today watching too closely the unfolding of the Newtown tragedy. The massacre is even worse than first imagined, with a death toll of close to thirty that includes twenty children.

Twenty children.

How can anyone, anywhere be OK with twenty children dying? And more honestly, not just twenty children dying, but twenty children murdered. Murdered by a lone gunman with horrifically powerful guns.

I've read (and then read some more) about the need for greater gun control, the need for better mental health services, and about how we can all try to identify the warning signs in potential perpetrators. I've read about how schools can lock doors, install metal detectors, and have no visitor policies. I've read about why issues of school safety are why some choose to home school.

But what are we really saying by offering all of these potential solutions? Nothing, really. Just hoping against hope that there is an answer that would mean something like this won't happen again.

And while there will always be tragedy and evil in the world - it's always been there, I do believe there could be less.

I do believe there is hope, and I do believe there are solutions.

But I also believe it won't be easy.

Maybe people will decide it's time to change the gun laws, even if that means the loss of their constitutional right to bear arms.

Maybe people will decide it's time to change how schools operate, even if that means kids lose their right to attend a school free of alarms and metal detectors.

And maybe, we will all agree that whatever we lose in this process of change is meaningless when we think about today's truly unfathomable losses.

My heart and thoughts with all who are suffering. May the memory of those lost today forever be a blessing.

Move Over Black Friday and Cyber Monday... Today is Giving Tuesday

I didn't go to the mall on Black Friday - I took my kids to the movies.

I didn't shop on Saturday or Sunday either.

And Cyber Monday? Yep, no shopping then either. (Well, maybe a tiny little bit, but Hanukkah is early this year!)

So today, the first Giving Tuesday, I'm going to spend all the money I didn't spend the last four days.

And I can't wait.

Giving Tuesday is all about giving to others, which for me is much closer to the holiday spirit than buying more stuff for my overly materialistic children. I'd much rather buy a doll for a child who doesn't even have one then buy another one for my daughter who has plenty (and by plenty I mean way too many).

Here are a few organizations I'm supporting this year:

• Kiva. My amazing cousin Mary first told me about this organization last year - they provide life-changing micro loans to people in developing countries who use these funds to build their own businesses and do other incredible things. During the holiday season, you can give Kiva Cards for $25 (or more) to friends and family, who can then choose what projects they would like to support.

• It Takes A Family. This organization has a single goal: to bring families effected by Hurricane Sandy together with families who want to help them. You can Sign-up here to be matched with a family. You can also contact me if you would like to contribute to help the family Sandler & Wald has already been paired with through the program.

• Book Pantry of Orange. Run single-handedly by Carol Lukoff, The Book Pantry of Orange provides books to kids who otherwise wouldn't have any. I can't even imagine. Year-round the book pantry primarily gives out gently used books to the kids who visit, but for the holidays wouldn't it be great if all the kids could have the thrill of unwrapping a brand-new book? BaristaKids.com is holding a Holiday Book Drive, you can find out how to contribute here.

What organizations are you supporting on Giving Tuesday? Please share in the comments below!

31 Days of Halloween - Day 23: The Worst Children's Book for Halloween - Or Any Time

On Day 8 of 31 Days of Halloween, I was so happy to share one of my favorite children's books for Halloween - or any time - The Very Brave Witch.

Today, I share possibility the worst book ever for Halloween - or any time. It's called My Working Mom, and it depicts a working mom as a witch - and not in a good way. I wouldn't even link to the Amazon page, but the comments there are pretty great. This trashy piece of crap is referenced in Tina Fey's opposite-of-a-trashy-piece-of-crap Bossypants, so there are a lot of comments from people who came to see if the book really did indeed exist.

Sadly, it does. Behold:

The writer -  Peter Glassman - is the owner of Books of Wonder, a bookstore in NYC that is beloved by many and is currently raising funds through Indigogo for a "revitalization."

I sincerely hope none of the $25,000 raised so far (his goal is $100,000) came from one of those witchy working moms.

You can see the book in much more detail on this post on Mommin' It Up: Mommy Wars: Storytime Edition, which was also the inspiration for this post.

And there's more at The Mommy Paradox: The Mommy Wars: Now in Children's book form!

Both posts are well-researched, well-reasoned and well-written which, well, Mr. Glassman's book is not.

Giving the People What They Want: Suffrage

Now that I don't spend my Fridays looking at old photos, I'm devoting that time to wandering around my Google Analytics - which is totally fun stuff.

I got an email this week from someone looking for an image to go with a post she was writing in honor of tomorrow, August 18, being the day the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women in the United States the right to vote was ratified by congress.

Which made me wonder, do I get a lot of suffrage-related searches (and by a lot I mean any searches at all)?

I looked and saw that there are quite a bunch of suffrage-related searches (meaning about 10), and those people seem to be sticky. And that makes me super-happy, because I like to think there is someone besides me utterly fascinated by my suffrage postcard collection.

I was also happy to see searches for anti-suffrage - because I have a swell collection of anti-suffrage postcards, too.

And let this be a reminder all of us to vote this election season! Especially me!

Bake Sale Mania Makes Me A Maniac

Bake sale in NYC. Not happy about that one either.

The Bake Sale mania at my kids' public school has made me a maniac. There is just no other word for it. Maniac.

Cue '80s Flashdance flashback, but with mom jeans, rage and cupcakes.

My kids' public school has had three bake sales in May. All right out side the front door of the school so there's no way for a bake sale Grinch like myself to avoid it.

The first bake sale was at the beginning of May. At the time I thought of it as the only bake so I not only let my kids buy something, but I baked something for it, too.

I haven't baked something for a bake sale in years, ever since I became thoroughly convinced bake sales are not the fundraising answer in the age of childhood obesity.

But I wanted my kids to feel part of the group, I wanted to give-up my bake sale Grinch ways. I tried not to be complain-y about the baked goods in lieu of healthier - and yet, still festive! - options.

Anyway, you can image my surprise when a mere 10 days later there was another bake sale. In front of the kids' school. And from which I felt compelled to let my kids buy something.

I was unhappy. But not a bake sale maniac.

And then came yesterday. A note came home announcing there would be a bake sale at school today.

Yes, that's right -  the third bake sale this month!

And who was holding it? Not even the school. The bake sale was to benefit the local Girl Scout Troop.

And I lost it.

That bake sale is the one that made me a maniac.

Is it not enough those cookie-pushers had already shown-up at my front door when my kids were home - and worse, my softie of a husband - resulting in us purchasing FIVE boxes of Girl Scout cookies?

I'm sorry, but if you need to have a bake sale in addition to your cookie conglomerate... it's time to find another fundraising answer.

I'm writing this on my blog because I promised my kids if they didn't bug me for anything at the bake sale today that I wouldn't write a letter complaining about the bake sale mania to their principal. I hope this counts as keeping my word. And kids, you made a wise choice today. That would've been some letter.

Mother Earth to Oriental Trading: Don't Try to Friend Me On Facebook



Image from EarthDay.org

Once again, Oriental Trading is making me crazy with their offerings for Earth Day.

On behalf of Mother Earth, let me be the one to tell you, Oriental Trading, that she is totally not happy that you are selling item after item of disposable plastic and paper junk in honor of... EARTH DAY.

Most of us celebrate Earth Day by doing something to help the planet. But then again, most of us aren't trying to make a buck off of "saving" the planet.

All of which is to say, I wish you wouldn't sell crap and claim it's good for the planet, when you know perfectly well that it isn't.

And Mother Earth? She is totally pissed off about it.

Among the worst Earth Day offerings from Oriental "Not Facebook Friends with Mother Earth" Trading:

• Our Earth Punch Balls, 'cause you don't need to be a junior ecologist to know these are totally not awesome for the environment:

Recycle Rubber Duckies, which I'm guessing can't be recycled:

Earth Day Photo Frames - because why craft a unique frame out of recycled materials, when you could buy all new mass-produced stuff to make frames that are basically all the same?

And then there are these Jumbo Earth Sticker Sheets, because having a giant sticker saying "Save our Planet" is practically the same thing as actually like doing something to um, y'know... save our planet.

And last, but not least, the vinyl, won't-last-five-minutes, Earth Kick Balls, because nothing says "I love the earth" like a toy that gets barely used before ending up in the trash where it will live on indefinitely.

This post is recycled from Earth Day 2010 and Earth Day 2011 and has been updated to include the latest Earth Day product line extensions from OTC.

No trees were harmed in the writing of this blog post.

And there are plenty of companies doing good for Earth Day, here are a few of my favorites.
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I'm linking this post up to Finding the Funny (with My Life and Kids and Kelley's Break Room), because even though it is ultimately not at all funny, it is still sorta funny that they are selling this stuff.

What Would the Lorax Do?

I love the Dr. Seuss book The Lorax. In fact, I love the story of The Lorax so much that I decided to be happy it had been made into a movie, even if I couldn't quite figure out how a big-bash Universal Pictures film was embodying the spirit of the original Lorax even a little bit.

With the movie coming out on March 2 (Dr. Seuss's birthday), I am feeling less and less enthusiastic about it, because The Lorax is being used to promote so many products of dubious worth that they make a Thneed seem like the most useful item in history.

And I think it kinda sucks corporate America can't leave even an icon of environmentalism alone.

So I was happy to see, as always, that the good people at the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood were on it - in part because the marketing of The Lorax has reached far into the classroom, most egregiously with I'm the Lorax, I Speak for the ... Mazda?

I urge you to take a moment to head over to Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and Take Action to Save the Lorax.

Add your name to the petition supporting the following:

I will not support or purchase any of The Lorax’s commercial tie-ins.

It is both cynical and hypocritical to use a beloved children’s story with a prescient environmental message to sell kids on everything from SUVs to pancakes. The Lorax in Dr. Seuss’s classic children’s book has more integrity than his current incarnation as the animated darling of Madison Avenue. If the original, notoriously reclusive Lorax ever agreed to appear in a film, he would say a resounding “NO” to any commercial tie-ins.

He would help children curb their consumption instead of promoting a slew of “greener” products. He would tell corporations to stop bombarding kids with materialistic messages. He would never immerse children in the false corporate narrative that we can consume our way to everything, from happiness to sustainability.

My family will celebrate the Lorax’s timeless message by enjoying the classic story – and shunning all Lorax-themed merchandise and promotions.

Will I be taking my kids to see The Lorax movie? Probably.

Will I be buying any Lorax schlock? No, because well... I care a whole awful lot.

Before we all get too pro JC Penney....

How quickly we forget...

Remember these tee shirts? And the controversy?

In case you don't remember, JC Penney was selling tees that said "I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me." After a big online uproar and threats of boycotts, Penney's pulled the tees.

So when I was reading today everyone's pleas to please shop at Penney's this weekend, I decided to see if that was something I really would like to do.

Uh, no.

And this is why:

And the boys don't get much better treatment:

I know everyone draws the line at what is objectionable and objectifying to put on a child's tee shirt, so I understand not all of you reading this will think these phrases and slogans are all so terrible.

And while I wouldn't boycott Penney's over these shirts, I certainly wouldn't rush out to shop there this weekend, either.

An Election Day Story and a Blog-In Call to Action

So as of today, I am officially an apathetic American.

I admit it.

I did not vote today.

Making this story even more pathetic is this exchange I had with my husband last night:

Husband: Are you going to vote tomorrow?

Me: No, and you're not going to either.

Husband: I know, I never vote. But I thought you usually did?

Me: I do, but I can't vote tomorrow because we didn't register when we moved.

Husband: Do you want me to drive you to Westchester so you can vote?

Me: We didn't register there either.

Husband: That's great, so you can vote in the City! That's closer!

That's right, I didn't register to vote when we moved from New York City to Westchester two years ago, or when we moved again to the great state of New Jersey. To be honest, I didn't even really think about the elections happening today at all.

Actually, that's not completely true. For a few minutes this morning I was very worried I was missing an important meeting at my kids' school. I kept thinking to myself, "Wow, a lot of people are going into the school today. The mom and the dad."

Then I realized why there were so many adults, and that all of them seemed able to find the time to both register and to actually vote.

And yes, I felt even worse then I did when I realized I wouldn't be voting today.

This post was written on election day last year. Sadly, one year later, I am still not a registered voter in New Jersey. Next year, for sure.

*******
Today, bloggers have organized the first ever "Blog-In" to send a message to politicians that we-the-people are hopeful that candidates in the upcoming election season will focus on the most important issues Americans are facing today - from being without jobs to being without health-care to being without well-funded public schools.

You can join the Blog-In, read the full letter, or learn more at the Blog-In Roll Call.

Below is an excerpt from the Blog-In letter:

Dear 2012 Presidential Candidates,

We are your future constituents and we are parents.

We are American mothers and fathers and grandparents and guardians. Our families might be the most diverse in the world. Blended and combined in endless permutations, we represent every major religion, political ideology and ethnic culture that exists.

Our very modern families embody the freedom that defines America. We embody America. We are rich in diversity, but we are united in our family values. We come together today, with one voice, to express our grave disappointment in the national political discourse.

We are living in a time where 15.1% of Americans now live in poverty, the unemployment rate stands at 16%, and we are spending close to $170 billion annually between the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan*.

Given the current state of affairs we would expect every candidate to focus on the issues that truly matter: job creation, debt-relief, taxes, education, poverty, and ending the war(s). Instead, it is already clear to us that the conversation has been hijacked, with the goal of further polarizing our nation into a politically motivated and falsely created class-war.

We will not stand for another campaign year in which politicians presume to know what our family values are as they relate to the nation.

To be clear, here are our family values:
Affordable health care, including family planning, for all Americans.

Access to education, and the ability to actually use it.

A reinstatement of regulations for banks issuing mortgages and full prosecution for those who engaged in fraudulent lending practices.

A return of strict environmental regulations protecting water, air, food, and land that were removed in the last two decades.

Family planning, healthcare, education, economic solvency and environmental safety: these are our national family values.

Candidates who demonstrate the ability to understand the gravity of these issues, and their impact on our families, and who can provide actual, viable solutions to these problems will garner our support and our votes.

We believe in this democratic system of ours, and we will continue to use our voices and our votes to see that it reaches its fullest potential.

Sincerely,
Your future constituents,
The mothers & fathers of America

* Sources for stats:
http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/13/news/economy/poverty_rate_income/index.htm
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.4452bed82adf3124e5884678e236d7fb.361
http://costofwar.com/en/

What do you think are the biggest issues in the upcoming elections?