After 3 years of resisting periodic friendly nudges from friends and family (primarily because I couldn't bear the idea of tracking yet another username and password), I finally joined Facebook. If you’re already part of the (addictive) FB craze, please consider visiting the Boston Mamas page and becoming a fan. The page imports this blog’s content so you can get your friend and fan fixes all in one place.

It's after the July 4th holiday.

It's bright and sunny outside.

BlogHer is but ten days away.

My sailboat is now rigged.

I don't have time to do anything fun during the work week.

I'm having a bit of trouble with focus.

Last night at dinner I was antsy and irritable, thinking about race relations in the United States and the layer of slime that insists on living on my kitchen floor no matter how many times we clean it and the long summer of presidential mud-slinging that's sure to come and this incredibly mind-boggling task I'm doing at work that totally blows and any matter of other things that make me antsy and irritable. 

Me: "I'm grumpy."

Beloved:  "Why?"

Me:  "I don't know why.  I just am.  Wah."

Little Angel: "Mommy, you're whining.  You know we don't whine."

Damn.  She's right.  Let me just reach down and pull that burr out of my ass.

These days, one of Laurel’s favorite playground games is "T-Rex" (as in, stomping, growling, and prowling like a T-Rex), so clearly we need to check out the acclaimed Walking With Dinosaurs extravaganza that hits Boston's TD Banknorth Garden July 16 – 20. Fabulous for the whole family, the production features life-size, surprisingly nimble dinosaurs that will give new meaning to your kid’s favorite dinosaur books, puzzles, and toys.

Want to win a 4-pack of tickets to Boston's Walking With Dinosaurs show? Here’s how:

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THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winner Jennifer Y.!
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Visit the Walking With Dinosaurs site, then email contests@bostonmamas.com (with ‘Dinosaurs’ in the subject), and name another upcoming city on the tour.

One entry permitted per person; local entrants welcome to enter.

Entry period closes at midnight EST, Friday, July 11, 2008.

**And if you’re looking to buy tickets now, use promo code insightgroups here to receive $5 off your ticket price. For more Walking With Dinosaurs footage, check out their You Tube page.

There’s no denying the abundance that is summer’s fresh fruit, but if you’re looking to tote a healthy, drip-free fruit snack, FruitaBü is a fine option for kids and grownups alike. Today, FruitaBü contributes to our online birthday party with a Sploooshers & Twirls Gift Pack, including 3 boxes each of their organic unwrap and unroll Fruit Twirls and their squeeze tube Sploooshers. Simply check out the rules after the jump and leave a comment on this product to enter to win.

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THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winner Suanne G.!
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Rules:

Include your name and email in the appropriate fields so we can contact you if you win (your name but NOT your email will be published with your comment. Including just first name or first name + last initial is OK.)

One comment permitted per person; US entrants welcome.

Anonymous or SPAM-like comments will be discarded.

Entry period closes tonight at midnight EST, Tuesday, July 8, 2008.

*The winner will receive one box of each of the three flavors of Sploooshers and one box of each of the three flavors of Twirls for a total of 6 boxes (value: $24).

Today is Average Jane's birthday (if my Outlook calculations are correct).  Average Jane and I met 10 years ago, when we both worked for a now-defunct Internet start-up.  She's a rock band frontwoman and a hell of a good cook.  When I see her, I'm never quite sure what color her hair will be.  And she's one of the most authentic people I know.

All hail Average Jane!  Head on over there and tell her happy birthday!

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Posting on the tornado-related Boy Scout deaths today at BlogHer.

Few things calm a baby like being worn, and if you’d like to babywear in chic, eco-conscious style, check out Belle Baby Carriers. Today, Belle contributes to our online birthday party with their organic moss carrier. Easy to use, ergonomically designed, and environmentally friendly, baby can enjoy snoozing, cruising, and nursing in this sweet ride. Simply check out the rules after the jump and leave a comment on this cool carrier to enter to win.

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THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winner Sandra R.!
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Rules:

Include your name and email in the appropriate fields so we can contact you if you win (your name but NOT your email will be published with your comment. Including just first name or first name + last initial is OK.)

One comment permitted per person; US entrants welcome.

Anonymous or SPAM-like comments will be discarded.

Entry period closes tonight at midnight EST, Monday, July 7, 2008.

When the parks get too crowded or steamy during the summer, local museums and indoor play spaces are true lifesavers. And this Thursday (July 10), the Children’s Museum in Easton kicks off their Summer Drop-In Days with Ruff Ruffman from PBS’s FETCH! Drop by between 10:30 am - 3 pm to meet Ruff and enjoy activities and cake in the museum’s new outdoor learning center, The Wild Place.

Want to win one of two 4-packs of CME tickets to enjoy the FETCH! event*? Here’s how:

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THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winners Anne-Marie C. & Jessica C.!
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Visit the CME Summer Drop-In Schedule, then email contests@bostonmamas.com (with ‘CME’ in the subject), and name another fun upcoming drop-in event.

One entry permitted per person; local entrants welcome to enter.

Entry period closes at midnight EST, Tuesday, July 8, 2008.

*Two winners each will receive a 4-pack of admission passes to the Children’s Museum in Easton, which allows for access to the FETCH! event.

After procuring the lines for Puffer, Beloved and I had to figure out how to rig a 34-year-old boat from scratch.  We didn't even know how to properly tie ANY sailing knots.  Thank God for Basic Keelboat and The Handbook of Sailing, from which we somehow learned how to tie a figure eight and a bowline knot and how to rig a 12-foot sailboat when all the lines were lying on the ground in loose circles.

It only took three hours.

Despite the fact I was wearing 50 sunscreen, I managed to earn myself a painful sunburn.  And a bunch of bug bites.

But the result...

I have not felt a greater sense of victory in a long time.

My friend Nooshi is amazing at identifying a cool party theme then really running with it. A couple of weekends ago she threw a marvelous Messy Party for her son’s third birthday and the party was unbelievably fun and beautifully creative. Here’s a run down of how she made it all happen:
Inspiration

Nooshi credits features from Martha Stewart Kids and Cookie Magazine as providing initial points of inspiration. (Although in my opinion, if you check out those features then read below, Nooshi took the idea to a whole new level!)

Invitations

The party invitations were comprised of finger painted flat cards by Nooshi’s son, covered with vellum with the printed party information over the top. The two layers can be attached using glue dots, ribbon, or metal fasteners.

Setting

Obviously, messy parties are best suited for warm weather birthdays. This party was held at one of the pavilions at Filipello Park in Watertown. A permit from the Town of Watertown Recreation Department is required to reserve the tables & grills (Nooshi suggests reserving well in advance). The site was terrific in that the pavilion we were at was right next to a tot lot (not part of the reservation), and also a short walk from the spray pool and restrooms.

Nooshi rented outdoor speakers that plugged right into an iPod; she reports that this was well worth the cost.

Activities

Painting I: Large sheets were set up on the grass and kids were provided 16 x 20 inch canvas panels, cups of paints, and various bristle and roller brushes. A clothesline was strung to hang paintings to dry, although there was plenty of space to simply put the paintings to the side after the kids were done. Likely due to the freedom of the space, Laurel painted in a way I had never seen before, in Jackson Pollock spatter style. The result was totally cool and we’re going to frame it. One kid painted his canvas then decided to paint himself (pictured).

Painting II: This part was impressively adventurous and some kids really got into it. There was a long, wide roll of paper and big trays full of paint, and kids were encouraged to paint with their feet. [Nooshi notes that Oriental Trading has phenomenal prices on art supplies but you need to order paint well in advance as it cannot be air shipped.]

Sidewalk chalk offered a nice alternative for younger kids or the less adventurous.

A bubble blowing machine was running, which the little ones went berserk over.

A fleet of inexpensive spray water bottles (procured from Target) provided a fun way for the kids to cool off, and also offered another good activity for little ones.

Cornstarch: The kids went bananas with a dozen boxes of cornstarch: throwing it, dumping it, making footprints through it. I couldn't even tell the kids apart by the end of it.

Messy Food

For snacks, there were cute little paper baggies of Pirate Booty and cheese puffs (think dusty and messy snacks).

Dinner included (messy) spaghetti with sauce, grilled chicken, and piles of strawberries and blueberries.

For dessert, Nooshi baked angel food cupcakes (from a box mix – just add water!). They heated hot fudge sauce in a pan of water on the grill and topped the cupcakes with hot fudge and whipped cream, creating the desired effect of chocolate & whipped cream covered faces.

Additional Notes

Super cute touch: Nooshi’s son wore a “Mr. Messy” t-shirt to the party.

The biggest challenge of this party was getting everything transported to the site.

Following inspiration from Danny Seo (via his Epicurious article on green entertaining, plus meeting him at my Method party), Nooshi planned the event so that all the craft material was earth friendly and water-soluble (this ruled out silly string, another messy activity option). They opted for paper cups and plates over plastic so that any stray items would eventually decompose.

Despite how messy the kids got, once the paint dried and the cornstarch was largely brushed off, transport wasn’t really an issue. But we found that the bath towel favor served perfectly to partially cover Laurel’s car seat in case we missed any messiness. I had to laugh though; when I was chatting with another girlfriend about how she was going to get her four (extremely messy) kids home, one of them piped up, “We’re all going to drive home naked!”