Thursday Tunes #08 / "Swing Sets & Neighborhoods" by Moses Campbell

Swing Sets and Neighborhoods  "Swing Sets & Neighborhoods" by Moses Campbell

 So haven't done Thursday Tunes in a long time but trying to get back into it because I love sharing music with you guys! So the other day I was listening to one of my favorite radio stations, WHRB, and they played this band "Moses Campbell" who sounds so good I jumped up and "Shazammed" it but it didn't work luckily they post their playlist online. This song - along with the whole album - is great! I highly suggest picking it up here.


Think: Tilly and the Wall meets The Decemberists meets The Front Bottoms meets The Unicorns.


* p.s. sorry the play button launches MySpace and then you have to hit play again - its the only place I could find it and their embedding features suck.

My child is a cookieholic.

Let me set the scene for you. We're all sleeping in the same bed (yes just like a butcher knife) and Sierra begins to cry, aka be an alarm clock, at around 7AM. I rub my eyes and look at her and she says, in a whimper, "I need a cookie...". This is the very first thing she said to me that morning. Just like an alcoholic who wakes up and the first thing they think of is "I need a drink...".

How did this happen?! How did I let my child become a cookieholic! She's vegan, she eats and loves veggies and sees blueberries, strawberries and frozen bananas as dessert treats. Somehow, somewhere she had her first cookie (cough Grammas house cough) and that was it - she was hooked. I have no scientific evidence to back it up but i swear theres something in toddler DNA that says: "You must love cookies, jelly beans and anything else that may give you a cavity just by smelling it". Is anyone else's kid a cookieholic? Perhaps we can start a support group?

Disclaimer: My kid is actually extremely healthy, especially for her age. Cookies, candy, etc are all very limited and are treats not daily parts of her diet. The post was more of a joke than anything else don't want all you internet peeps thinking my kid is a walking cookie dumpster. Although the part about "i need a cookie..." being her first words one morning is 100% true.

Father Who Killed Daughter's Alleged Molester Won't Face Charges In Lavaca County, Texas

Did you guys hear about this news story? So apparently this family owns a farm in Texas and hires a man, Flores, to help watch some of the horses from time to time. Well one day someone, the witness, see's this Flores forcibly carrying the farm owners daughter to a secluded area and runs and gets the girls Father who hears the daughter crying and runs toward her crys. When he finds Flores, he has his pants and underwear down around his ankles and is molesting the FOUR YEAR OLD GIRL. The Father rips the "man" off of his daughter and "inflicted several blows to the man's head and neck area". So Flores is hurt very badly and the Father calls 911 and is telling them what happened and saying "Come on! This guy is going to die on me! I don't know what to do!" -- So the police come, Flores is dead and the girl is examined and evidence shows that what the witness and Father said happened is true. 


Now although the death is being investigated as a homicide the father is not and will not be charged or arrested because he used (what Texas considers) appropriate force to protect his daughter. Now normally I am a someone who says no one needs to die, he could have restrained instead of killed but in this case... GOOD FOR THE DAD! Not only did he not mean to kill the guy, I assume considering he called 911 and tried to get someone there to save him instead of just letting him die but his daughter was unable to protect herself so he did. Could he have possibly knocked the guy out, held him down, tied him up til' police arrived? Perhaps. But can your emotions or actions be controlled when some guy is raping your daughter? HELL NO. I think the Dad did the what every Dad in the entire world, including myself, would have done; protect your child by any and all means necessary. I feel awful that the father has to live with the fact he killed a man and more importantly that his daughter was hurt in this way but I hope he knows myself, and I'm sure just about everyone else in the world, knows he did the right thing. -Craig






Read the full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/19/father-kills-molester-texas-no-charges_n_1610465.html?1340144123&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3&pLid=171344

THIS IS AMAZING... Sierra is obsessed and so am I!

INTERVIEW with Honest Toddler (@HonestToddler)

So unless you live under a rock you've probably heard of "Honest Toddler" by now. If not Honest Toddler is a twitter account that is apparently run by a child with a big attitude and comedic wit to match. His profile reads "Not potty trained. Not trying." which is what my own kid's twitter account would read if she had one.

With just under 400 tweets since May this toddler has already gained a following of 13,000+ and was nice enough to answer some questions for us over the weekend. So enjoy the interview and if you don't already follow him to do here. Also follow his blog here.

THD: So when did you start Honest Toddler and was there any specific catalyst for doing so? 

HT: On May 1stish. My catalyst was not having an outlet to express myself. Mommy & me art classes are apparently too much to ask.  

THD: You now have over 13,000+ followers! Did you expect it to get so popular so quickly?

HT: No I didn't. But most everything I do is met with thunderous applause from my parents so I'm not surprised. 

THD: With so many followers I assume you get a lot of feedback. Have you ever received anything that was especially rememberable, good or bad? (hate mail, fan mail, etc.)

HT: Someone asked my mom to stop drinking. She laughed and took another (big) sip. 

THD: So I have to ask... Who are you when you aren't portraying the sassiest / funniest toddler on the Internet?

HT: Running, fighting invisible ninjas, unwrapping sanitary napkins, not eating, relieving myself, sleeping-ish, crying, laughing uncontrollably, and hurting myself. 

THD: Tell us a bit about your family.

HT: I have two parents, their ages are unknown. Most people don't know that I actually do have a sibling who I prefer not to talk about. This child is older and quite rude/selfish. 

THD: Honest Toddler's tweets are told from the perspective of a toddler w/ a Stay at Home Mom – is this from experience? 

HT: I don't understand the question so I'm going to say yes. 

THD: What does Honest Toddler want to be when he grows up?

HT: Trucks. 

THD: What are Honest Toddler's top 3 favorite childrens books?

HT: Bluberries for Sal (with no pages skipped), anything Eric Carle, and Strega Nona (that witch is crazy!)

Do you make up all of the tweets or do your followers sometimes email you ideas?

HT: I make them up. 

THD: I noticed you started blogging in addition to the tweets over at http://honesttoddler.wordpress.com which is awesome. Do you have any other plans for the project in the future?

HT: This afternoon I plan to open the fridge 7 or 8 times. 

What are your top 3 favorite twitter accounts (or blogs) to follow?

Weird Horse, Bad Luck Brian, Condescending Wonka :) 

The Toddler Tip of the Day : "Never Tell Toddlers Plans in Advance"

Sierra is napping right now and when she wakes up we are meeting up with Michael, Adriana and Hendrix for a day at the Zoo... and she has no idea. This is a strategic move from Team Parents because although she is insanely smart she can not comprehend a change of plans. For example, if Michael & Adriana's car breaks down, a freak snow storm in June or if the Zoo has to close on account of all of the animals have escaped. If plans change we are in MELTDOWN mode for the rest of the afternoon and I try to avoid those type of afternoons at all costs. I have learned this the hard way so heed my warning friends. I don't tell her plans unless I am 1000% sure they are happening, meaning I will tell her when we are on the way there and I am certain the animals have not escaped.

Call it silly but this has saved us from many of toddler tantrums because friends suddenly had to head back home or something was closed unexpectedly. So thats my toddler tip of the day. Trust me on this one! If you have any toddler tips let me know! -Craig