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September 2007

Hannah Montana

Submitted by andy on Sat, 09/29/2007 - 11:41pm
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I’m not sure how much you know about her, but ask your average 4-14 year old and they will talk your ear off for an hour. I wouldn’t dare go up against any kid (or Andy) in a Hannah Montana trivia game. She is huge! So huge that advance tickets to a Hannah Montana concert were being sold for $1200 in the DC area! The DJ’s on the radio show that announced this thought it was insane, and so do I. She’s just a 14 year old girl with a blonde wig and a microphone, right? I have to admit that I do like her songs.

sometimes you get tired of going to barnes and noble

Submitted by andy on Fri, 09/28/2007 - 4:39pm
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need a new place to buy a book?

try your local museums.

it’s a great outting.

they usually have a cafe.

and they have some fun kids books, too.

artdog2.gif

i just read Art Dog by Thatcher Hurd.

available at the National Gallery of Art.

Best,

Nikki

Baby Names

Submitted by andy on Fri, 09/28/2007 - 2:04pm
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On my VERY loooong drive home in traffic the other day, I got to thinking about names.

I know my parents just named me Nikki because they liked the name. That simple.

My sister Katie (Katherine) was named so because of my mom’s love of Katherine Hepburn films.

I had a 9 year old at a spa party last weekend say to me that she didn’t like her name, Audrey. I did my very best to explain to her that she had a fantastic name of a very beautiful movie star from her parents era.

D.I.Y. Costume Idea-Think Outside the Box!

Submitted by andy on Fri, 09/28/2007 - 1:17pm
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Some of the coolest D.I.Y. costumes can be made out of a regular cardboard box. Your child could be a TV or even a tic-tac-toe board! The possibilities are endless!

One of my favorite box costumes is the washing machine:

washing-machine-costume.jpg

Items you will need:

Nikki’s D.I.Y. Costume

Submitted by andy on Fri, 09/28/2007 - 12:53pm
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For Mom/Dad & Baby

Spider and Web

spiderbaby2.jpg

Web (mom/dad)

DIY costumes - masquerade as your favorite farm friend!

Submitted by paula on Thu, 09/27/2007 - 12:27am
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As promised in the Great Kids newsletter, we are posting some DIY ideas for halloween costumes.  As we pointed out in the newsletter article, it really can be fun for you and your child to make a costume together!!  All it takes is a little creativity (and some old clothes or household items or craft scraps)!! 

Here’s my contribution to the DIY costume collection…..enjoy!!  And please let us know if you used any of these ideas - or send a picture!!

Maybe I should just keep my fingers crossed…

Submitted by andy on Wed, 09/26/2007 - 11:30am
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My wife is a walking contradiction - I never know the rules until I’ve broken them. One rule I learned (the hard way), is that it’s ok to tell the world that we’re starting to try for our second baby, but unfortunately I cannot tell you when she becomes pregnant. For some reason, it can be public record if I can’t get the job done, but people need to assume that is the case until 3-4 months into pregnancy. Strangely, my wife and all of her friends are talking about “trying” at their playgroups, so the pressure is on…

Little Kids and Funerals…

Submitted by andy on Sun, 09/23/2007 - 12:50am
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My grandmother died this week. She was a great lady and it was terrible to see her get sick over the past few years. I hope she’s in a better place now.

Who is teaching your little one???

Submitted by andy on Sat, 09/15/2007 - 12:37am
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This blog is not intended to be negative, but something has been bothering me this year as we battle childcare for our 18 month old. How high should my expectations be of those who I hire to help raise my little girl?

k.i.t. (keep in touch)

Submitted by andy on Fri, 09/14/2007 - 3:44pm
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i think we can all agree… family is important.

so what does that mean to us?

for me it is keeping in touch with my family.

my family (including 3 younger sisters) live on the west coast. i miss them tons but talk to them often.. i get to hear all about the soccer games, swim meets, school dances, boy troubles ….from afar.

it makes me think a lot on how i would handle that once i start my own family.

how would my kids get to know their aunts and grandparents from the other side of the country?