Wordless Wednesday: Ironman

This is my son.

He's four.

He's also, more often than not, Ironman.

The other day he wore the outfit pictured above to our local library and the librarian very kindly said to him, "You must be very strong!"

To which my son, Ironman, responded, "Yes. But that's nothing. I'm also very smart!"

To which I had no choice but to add, "And clearly also very modest."

Wordless Wednesday: How to eat a piece of cake, by Ziggy, age 2

How to eat a piece of cake:

Step 1: Insert fork into cake.

Step 2: Eat cake.

Now tell the truth, don't you kinda wish you could eat cake that way too. Or is that just me?

Linking-up to Finding the Funny with My Life and Kids and Kelley's Breakroom, lots of fun (and funny) every Wednesday.

Wordless Wednesday: Some Bunnies Ready for Easter!

My kids' collection of stuffed animal bunny rabbits. Who actually, now that I think about it, are more likely getting ready for Passover.

Whatever you celebrate, Happy Spring!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for an Awesome Prize Pack of Duck Tape! Low Entries!

Blue Blankie

For anyone who ever had a blankie, or a child with a blankie, could there be any sight sadder than this one?

Thankfully, we found lost-but-not-forgotten Blue Blankie right before nap time.

Also, is it just me or is this the first thing you thought of when you saw the blankie-in-the-snow photo?

Halloween 2011 {Wordless Wednesday}

I didn't manage to get any photos of my kids - they were a vampire, a zombie and a black cat - but I have these photos of their stuffed animals dressed-up for Halloween.

With schools closed where we lived, we had some extra time on our hands that day, and as it turned out, the next day, too.

Pretty Kitty

Brooklyn Hipster

Leather Bear and his Hag

Thank you to Mommy Shorts for the Halloween costume inspiration.


I'm linking-up with:

Fall Feet {Wordless Wednesday}

Footwear choices in Picture 1: Native water shoes (inspired by mutterschwester), Michael Kors boots, Mommy's Tretorn galoshes and pink Uggs.

Footwear choices in Picture 2: Puma sneakers, Diesel galoshes, Trumpette rain boots (borrowed from his big sister) and Nikes.

{Wordless Wednesday} First Day of First Grade (and Third Grade, too)

Today my kids started school. Here's Kay all first-graded out.

And here they are together, the first-grader and the already jaded third-grader:



It seems like just yesterday I was sending Mapgie off to first grade, and Kay to pre-k.

Tomorrow the little guy starts Nursery School. And I guess in four years, I'll add his first grade photo here, too.

For now, I'm working on explaining to him the baffling concept that an ice cream cone and a shoe cone are not the same thing.

Happy Back to School! How did everyone's first day of school go?

{Wordless Wednesday} After the Storm

While most in New York City were spared the worst from Hurricane Irene, our New Jersey town was not as lucky. We're without power or water, and while our kids were happy at the prospect of "indoor camping" for the week, my husband and I were less enthusiastic, so we got outta this:


Photo from CNN.com

 And drove down to this:


Ocean may look calm, but there are still very rough waves post-Irene.



Finding crabs on the beach.

And more crabs.

Heading back home.

As the skies darken.



To the boardwalk. When Ziggy saw these cars, I thought he would never leave.

My thoughts are with everyone affected by Hurricane Irene, and hoping all are able to rebuild and recover from the terrible storm.

If your kids were upset by the storm, here are five hurricane-themed children's books that might be of help.

Wordless Wednesday: In Mommy's Shoes

Last weekend, my husband and I went to a dear friend's wedding. In Chicago. Without our kids. It was fantastic.

Before we left, I let my kid take a trip down the hallway in mommy's fancy shoes.

He was delighted.

________________________________________________

Coming next week, the Polly Pocket retrospective I thought I'd have done already. It's taking longer than I thought it would. That girl has got a lot of shoes. And purses.

Barbies. And more Barbies. And even more Barbies.

For all of you who visited the Polly Pocket retrospective last week, thank you for coming by and for your comments and commiseration.

This week, I thought I'd go ahead and share my Barbie collection woes as well.

I have two daughters. They're ages five and seven. In these years they have managed to amass a boggling amount of Barbies. (And Polly Pockets, but you've already heard about that.)

Yesterday, in an effort to put our home in some sort of order before yet another school year is upon us, I had the girls clean their rooms. And then for fun, I took a photo of all those Barbies. Ten Barbies, plus a Flairy and two mini Kelly-sister-of-Barbie dolls.

Of course, then I realized there were tons more Barbies lurking in drawers and secret hiding places. Are you ready for this? 21 Barbies, 1 Boy Doll (I think from High School Musical), 1 Flairy, and 2 mini dolls.* 

I'll be honest, it didn't really seem so bad.  Then we went downstairs. Where there were more, oh so many more. Final Barbie over-consumption tally? 27 Barbies, 1 Boy Doll, 2 Flairies, and 3 mini dolls.

It's actually sorta funny that my daughters have so many Barbies, as I am not really a fan myself (for all the usual feminist reasons) and Barbies were not a part of my childhood (again, because my mom had the same feminist reasoning).

Magpie and Kay - I can't wait to see what you think of this collection when you're adults, and perhaps, feminists too.

As you may recall, the home clean-up continued with Polly Pocket: A Photo Essay in 867 small pieces. Next up, I tackle my son's enormous car and train collection.

* One of the mini dolls is not photographed here because Kay had to play with her even if it totally messed-up Mommy's blog photo, not to mention the accompanying copy on her blog post.

Let this be proof I didn't let my blog interfere with your playing.

I'm linking-up to Finding the Funny. 'Cause I like funny. And Kelley and Anna who run this hilarious weekly party. Follow along on Twitter with #FindingtheFunny

Oh, and I like you. And your hair. Did you do something new?

Wordless Wednesday: What a Difference a (School) Year Makes

This is my daughter Kay on the first day of Pre-K...



... and on the last day.




A note to my daughter Magpie: you didn't go to Pre-K, but here you (and Kay) are on the last day of Pre-Nursery when you were four:





And here's a video of you and your friends singing "So good-bye, to Pre-Nursery, we know that it is time for us to fly..." (I didn't edit it, so those of you who aren't Magpie or her relatives may want to skip it)



Wordless Wednesday: Flat Stanley Visits the One and Only New York City!

My kid got one of those Flat Stanley assignments. (For those asking "What is Flat Stanley?" it is a class project when kids are given a "Flat Stanley" to mail to a friend or family member in another city so Stanley can experience life there and report back on his time visiting a far-away land. It is based on the 1964 children's book called (you guessed it!) Flat Stanley.) 

Our Flat Stanley traveled from the suburban countryside of New Jersey to the urban fairytale that is the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Flat Stanley returned with a trove of photos of everywhere from Arthur Avenue in the Bronx to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village.

I share with you now my favorite photo of Stanley on the town:

Thank you so much to Stanley's hosts for showing him such a good time, New York City style.

Have you ever participated in a Flat Stanley project? Where did your Stanley visit?

Glad I Saw It: The Gold Foil Angel and the Purple Wire Skeleton {Wordless Wednesday}

Another Only in New York sighting.

And yes, I'm glad I saw it.

For more only in New York photos and general good times, "like" Random Handprints on Facebook.

More Kindy Photos and a Lesson in Spontaneous Generation {Not So Wordless Wednesday}

Yesterday I posted a photo my daughter Magpie took last year at our town's Memorial Day parade. 

Shortly after the parade, my phone went missing. A new phone was purchased, which coincidentally was recently stolen by my son Ziggy and his kindy photos were last week's Wordless Wednesday. The photos and the old phone were forgotten about as we moved on with our busy lives.

In phone miracles, last week the old phone re-appeared from beneath the seats of the car which we had already searched 1,000 times. Clearly, I now have no choice but to believe in spontaneous generation because any other option is impossible - I am a really good stuff-finder now that I'm a mom.

Regardless of how it got here, the old phone has some great photos taken by my six-year-old that we had thought were gone forever. I'm glad they reappeared.

And now kids, you've had your fun. It's time to leave mommy's phone alone.

PS: Smart people - is spontaneous generation the correct word to use to describe my phone's reappearance? I'm thinking not, but couldn't figure out the right term. Transformation didn't seem quite right either. Help?

Glad I Saw It: The World Through My Son's Eyes {Worldess Wednesday}

My toddler son stole my phone. And took a bunch of photos. I love seeing his world.

Note: Although I love seeing my son's world's-eye-view, I also would like to see the rest of the photos I have taken in the last month or so. But those are now deleted. Thanks a lot, kid.

Mutterschwester is the originator of Glad I Saw It. And her recent post Glad We Met: My Grocery Store Buddy is a can't miss read.

(Almost) Worldess Wednesday: Ziggy the Puddle Jumper

My son Ziggy, like many (most?) toddlers is puddle obsessed. Lucky for him we have a perma-puddle in our back yard where there is a nice little mud pit despite my arduous efforts to eradicate it with grass.

When Ziggy sees the giant puddle at his sisters' school he goes completely and utterly bonkers.

At least someone is enjoying all this rain.

And for once, I decided to be a good sport, and jumped on it along with him.

I have no idea what the other moms thought about this, but my kid found it hilarious and I guess that's all that matters anyway.

And you? Do you puddle jump or puddle avoid?

Wordless Wednesday - Kay and Kluckers

My daughter's school awards Kluckers the Chicken to a different kid each week. Kay was delighted when it was her turn to take Kluckers home, and even gave Kluckers his own little pillow so she could sleep tight.

Sweet Dreams to you, Kluckers. And to you too, Kay.

Wordless Wednesday - Rainy NYC Day

This photo is from my brother- and sister-in-law's wedding day. Tribeca, June 2008.

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday - Two Ways of Looking at a Snow Storm

When we get a big winter snow (or even worse, the dreaded wintry mix) this is what I see:

Our car needing to be dug out.

Our roof, with snow that needs to be removed from it.

Our gutters, which may (or may not) be suffering from ice damming.

And my daughter, Kay, this is what she sees:

Tunnels that need to be dug.

Hair that needs to be styled in snow-locks.

 Angels that need to be made.

What about you? Does winter weather bring out your inner-kid or your inner-grouch?