Things are starting to get kinda official around here…

I spent this evening “optimizing” the blog.   We now have a fancy RSS subscription clicky icon official ParentingGeekly email!  You can now email yours truly at: [email protected]

KlawBerry: Good Girl. Bad World.We’re also now part of the Amazon Associates program, a change that I hope will not be overtly noticeable. It just means that when we decide to reccomend a product (like when we told you all about KlawBerry: Good Girl. Bad World. earlier this week), we can provide a link that will take you directly to that product’s page on Amazon.  If you buy it we make a wee pittance which will hopefully allow me to keep this site running without forking over too much more of my kids’ lunch money.  We will continue to only recommend products we really like, so rest assured this doesn’t really change anything, I’m just all about full disclosure!

So please, email me, subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed, leave a comment and click the Amazon links!

Okay, enough of all that boring business talk!  To make it up to you tomorrow I am going to make a post about an ultra-cool science-y project that you can do with the kids and will be prefect for Easter…bath bombs!

April Fools’ Day Pranks

April Fools’ Day Pranks

April Fools’ Day is on Thursday and I figured I’d gather up some of the better easy prank ideas I’ve seen in order to give you time to prepare.   In my experience kids really, really love silly good-natured pranks and will spend all day trying to prank you back.

A super easy “prank” that seems to go over well with kids of all ages is tinting the milk.  Either discreetly put a few drops in with cereal or in a drinking glass. If your milk comes in a carton you can tint the whole container before you pour it. Blue and green are unexpected and the kids are less likely to expect a flavor to go along with those colors.  Last year I put red in Kitty’s milk which turned it pink and she cried when she realized the milk wasn’t strawberry flavored.

Some other super easy April Fool’s Day tricks you can play on the kids:

Take the ball out of a trackball mouse, or put a post-it note over the light on an optical mouse.

Freeze some water in a cereal bowl overnight leaving enough room on the top for a layer of cereal that will cover the ice. Immediately before serving  pour some cereal and a bit of milk over the ice and watch the kids try to dig in.  Might want to have a placemat on the table for this one!

If your child sets out his clothes for the next day before bed, replace his jeans with a pair that’s a size or two smaller.  In the same vein you can shove a wad of tissue or a balled up sock into the toes of his shoes. 

Sneak in during the night and safety pin all of your child’s underwear (or pants) together side by side.  When she goes to grab a pair in the morning a whole bunch will come out.

Make a meatloaf and press it into a pie plate,  Bake it in the pie plate and the top it with mashed potatoes you have tinted pink with red food coloring (or ketchup if you like that).  “Frost” the meat loaf with the pink potatoes and bring the whole “pie” over to the table!  “Dessert” for dinner!  Family Fun has a whole slide show of “faux-food” like this one!

Know of any other good pranks?  What was the best prank you’ve ever had played on you?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Meet KlawBerry!

Meet KlawBerry!

She’s Kitty’s new BFF!

At Emerald City ComiCon a few weeks ago, I spent some time booth jockeying at the Arcane Comics and More table. This year, the booth was situated across from Steam Crow Press, a Phoenix. AZ based outfit that makes cute, monstery things for kids and grown-ups alike.  It was the best view we’ve ever had, as Steam Crow’s booth was filled with a bunch of prints, books and pins that featured super-cute artwork that was put through the steampunk/goth filter.  I think almost everyone manning our booth picked up at least a little something from Steam Crow Press (including a print of this Miso Angry art that Arcane owner Scott bought.  They also have a Miso Hungry Print that I’m still regretting not budgeting better for!).

Which brings us to Klawberry…
I was walking by when I heard Dawna from Steam Crow telling someone that they had this children’s book about a “Good girl in a bad world”.  I looked over and saw the art work and knew immediately that Kitty would love it.  I’ve always said that my kids have a sort of creepy sensibility; neither Superdad nor I are especially “goth” so I’m not really sure where it comes from, but it’s there and it’s evidenced by Nate’s love of Invader Zim and sad music and Kitty’s penchant for toddler sized combat boots.  I knew she’d be fond of darkly cute Klawberry so I picked up the book.

About KlawBerry (From KlawBerry.com):
KlawBerry is a little monster girl, with little black claws, big horns, and a single green eye. She’s cute, and she’s also a spirit of goodness. “KlawBerry” is also the name of a modern folktale by me (Daniel M. Davis), in the form of a book.


About KlawBerryKlawBerry (the book) is a modern folktale. The story is inspired by all kinds of ancient mythology, Grimm Brothers fairytales, and folk stories from Africa, Europe, and India, all mashed together like a spicy red curry. It’s about a monster girl who finds strength and power in herself, as she makes a odd journey. Grrlpower, literally.

I think we read that book about fifteen times that night.  She cried when KlawBerry had her eye stolen, cheered when she decided to go find it, and cried again when KlawBerry made a sacrifice to make the world a better place.  It’s kind of heady stuff, and may be a little much for the average toddler, but Kitty loved it as I’m sure many older kids would as well.  I’ve delegated the nightly reading to Nate,and he seems to enjoy it quite a bit himself.

The next day it was the kids’ turn to head over to ComiCon.  The moment that Kitty spotted the Steam Crow booth, her little eyes immediately found the KlawBerry plushie, and we had to bring her home.  The doll istelf is adorable and comes with a pin/button eye and a “passport” from the monster world into our own.  It has earned a place of honor among all of Kit’s baby dolls, Disney Princesses and Barbies.  The picture above was taken when she had norovirus this week.  All she wanted was a bath and her KlawBerry.  I think that was the first time I had seen her smile in three days!

I encourage you to go check out the cool stuff they are doing over at Steam Crow Press, including their rad web comic Monster Commute and, of course, KlawBerry.

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