The Processional
 

Jeez! Combine that with the degree in SCIENCE, and I'll have to start acting suitably impressed.

S_A_M

The Processional
 

Hank Chinaski
'89 Law '92, 94, 98

Thank goodness
 

little league season is over.

Thank goodness
 

Kid didn't make the all-star team?

:D

Thank goodness
 

All-star wasn't a goal. Native Son is pretty good defensively (pitcher, catcher, 1B, awesome arm in CF) but can't hit (although he was 5-for-5 laying down the bunt).

Just tired of the schlepping and practices and games and league/team politics. Kids sports are like child-birth, you look forward to it, major pain during and you vow to never do it again, and then memory fades by the time it comes around again.

Next year I'm going to coach too - aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh, kill me now.

Thank goodness
 

I hope all the articles I've been reading about little league et al. are depictions of the outliers. When I played, we showed up, practiced once a week and played twice a week. A few parents were there, but not too many, and it was all pretty low key. Orange slices for between innings, or maybe that was halftime for soccer only.

Now, you have parents swinging bats at umpires/refs, arguments over who gets playing time, travelling team issues. It's disgusting. Is it that way everywhere?

Thank goodness
 

From what I've read on the baseball boards, yes, it is that way everywhere.

Our league tries to keep parental/fan bad acts to a minimum with a strict code of behavior. In 5 yrs I've seen only a few verbally abusive parents or coaches. They were dealt with by either other parents telling them to stop or asking the coach to tell them to stop (obnoxious parents in the stands) or reporting to the league commissioner (verbally abusive coach).

Fortunately I've never witnessed or heard of physical violence in our league.

OTOH, I have seen way too much emphasis on turning little kids into MLB wannabees even in the recreation leagues (i.e. no try outs, everyone gets to play). My son changed teams this year because coach of the first team was one of those 'win or else' coaches. He would have a huddle after the game where, the parents thought he was congratulating the kids who made good plays, but after 4 games my son finally told me that what he did was yell at the kids who didn't play to his standard. Mind you, we're talking 10 year olds here and he yelled at them for failing to turn a double play. He yelled at them for "making him look like a bad coach".

This jerk would sign for the kids to steal when they were ahead 18-0. He'd even have them steal home on a wild pitch.

He'd make the kids take a lap around the field AFTER the game (after he finished yelling at them in the huddle).

See what ya'll have to look forward to.

First Time Home Buyer
 

I figure some of you `rents are homeowners and I'm about to become one (oh the machinations I've gone through in this seller's market). The place is small, and could use some work, as well as decorating and I'm very very bad with these types of things having been a renter all my years. Example: the back yard (not too large) has some nice grass on the right but because of a HUGE tree on the left, the whole left side of the yard can't grow grass (it's in shade) and also has a lot of tree roots here and there so it's not like I can plant flowers. I have no idea what to put there. Dad say "throw some wood chips there". Huh? Just randomly? Or in some sort of "wood chip" garden. Oh I'm hopeless.

Considering the place is a very very modest cape code style home, would it be silly to hire an interior designer on a small scale just to give me some ideas? I would like to reupholster (sp.?) some armchairs which I'm sure she/he could help with. And help pick colors to paint the rooms. But would this be costly and how do I find an inexpensive interior designer? And would they be able to give ideas on larger renovations like making it so the dishwasher is not on the other side of the room than the sink, facing a wall (don't ask).

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Viet_Homegirl

First Time Home Buyer
 

Congratulations!!! First home is a big step -- exciting and very stressful.

Re: back yard - wood chips are a big no-no with small children about. Think slivers, tough on bare feet, knees, and hands and Vietbabe could eat her weight in chips. You may be able to find a grass seed specifically for shade, but then you can't mow around those tree roots. You could try shade tolerant plants like hostas by planting between the major tree roots. Or you could thin the tree (judiciously, please don't give it the poodle cut) to let more light reach the ground. If you want more specific suggestions please PM me -- I come from a long line of gardeners and my yard is the one on the block that people stop to comment on. When I moved in 6 yrs ago there were 2 trees and all grass. I'm sure I could come up with something relatively easy, inexpensive, and child-friendly.

Re: interior designer - check for a local interior design program at a junior college, university, or design/arts school. Often the senior students have to do a project to graduate and will work cheap. Alternately, the school's version of career services or administration may have contact info for a recent grad who will work cheap to build their clientele/portfolio. I did something like this about 20 yrs ago on my first house with a landscape designer. He came up with a design and drew up the blue-prints for a fixed fee. We purchased and installed the plants and hardscape as we could afford it. It worked great.

First Time Home Buyer
 

What kind of trees?

Some trees have root systems and canopies that will virtually preclude much at all being planted there, in which case my suggestion is a good old-fashioned tire swing (make sure you don't just throw the rope over the tree, but put something like a chunk of an old tire between the two to keep the rope from cutting in to the branch) with a nearby bench for Viet Mom over a mulched area with some nice shade plants on the side, in raised beds or boxes if you must. If you get good mulch the mulch will mostly avoid the slivers wood chips bring, and, if they get a few little ones, hey, that's child-hood. It is often also possible to grow moss in such locations, which can be pretty funky.

If, however, you have a tree that lets some light through and doesn't completely choke the plants, there are a lot of possibilities. Beyond hostas, think brunnera (beautiful little blue flowers in a cloud), bleeding hearts, ferns, violets, and a whole variety of different kinds of ground covers.

First Time Home Buyer
 

An easy alternative to hiring a designer or decorator is to go through some magzazines, looking at ads and photo layouts (buy some design mags), tearing out the pictures you like. That will give you ideas. Bring them with you when you go shopping.

VM,

I know most designers work off a percentage of what you spend, but some will do an houly fee consult instead. You might want to look into that.

I would also look into having the tree professionally trimmed - it can make a world of difference.

Shade plants
 

Ditto on hostas--I just bought a couple more for my yard, which has extensive shady portions. Impatiens do really well in the shade, but they're an annual and I'm not much into that kind of thing (I also don't like the colors they come in much).

One thing I bought this year to go in my shady corner is Evergreen Huckleberry. Besides the berries (I'm big on edible gardening), it has lovely foliage (new foliage in the spring is red), and tiny pink-tinged white blossoms. In the shade, it can grow to 6-8 feet.

That same shady corner of my yard also has a lot of lady's mantle, which is beautiful (frothy chartreuse flowers) but self-seeds like the dickens. If you don't mind this, or are vigilant about pulling up all the little starts, it's really nice, seems to thrive in shade, and works REALLY, REALLY WELL in flower arrangements--like baby's breath or something, only chartreuse.

Also thriving in my shady yard are various ferns. Bracken ferns also work well to fill in flower arrangements (last week's had orange roses, lady's mantle and a few sprigs of bracken fern), but also can spread. Sword ferns spread less, and can get really really big (I have a few on the shady side of my house that are nearly six feet across).

I'll second the suggestion about having the tree professionally trimmed. I bit the bullet and did that this year on my very large (read: 30-40 feet) flowering plum, and it's made a world of difference.

tm

Shade plants
 

I'll third it, and for another reason as well: to clear that deadwood that might fall on a young child. It also might fall on an adult, but it's less likely to be substantially injurious. Most big trees lose small branches regularly, and bigger ones sometimes, especially if the tree is not healthy. You really don't want that coming down on you or your child.

Also, depending on how much sun, azaleas can work as well.

First Time Home Buyer
 

Ask around for a designer. Tell everyone you know that you're looking and you'll get a lot of suggestions. I could probably find you a dozen that aren't too expensive within thirty minutes of making phone calls if you were in my area. A good designer will work with your budget, and you can easily dictate what you're willing to spend. Tell them that you're only paying for their time and advice, not for procuring something, though sometimes they can get great deals that you wouldn't ordinarily be able to get.

re: tree trimming -- note the "professionally." get an arborist. don't get lawn guys. they might go overboard. I've seen people have bad experiences.

Avoid "lawn guys" at all costs unless they are just doing your lawn. Don't let them near a flower garden unless they are capable of identifying every plant in your garden and describing its appropriate care.

Those "lawn guys"
 

Even if you have a "lawn guy" mow, don't let them spray. For some reason they seem to all have been indoctrinated into the world of 'spray it if it moves'. There's a reason pesticides and herbicides are called "economic poisons" -- because they kill things including higher life forms that you may not want killed or injured (lady bugs which eat aphids, birds, pets, and children).

Those "lawn guys"
 

And don't let them touch a crape myrtle. For some reason, every "lawn guy" in the state is under the impression that crepe myrtles need to be pruned to the trunk every winter. The hard core gardeners in my family call it "crepe murder."

Soapy water is a very good, harmless pesticide.

Those "lawn guys"
 

In my case, the numerous victims of lawn guys include Roses (doesn't anyone know how to prune Roses anymore - it's not that tough!), Rhodies, Lilacs (why have blooms next year when we can cut them off this year?), Phlox, Oenethera (if it grows low to the ground it must be a weed, right?), and, saddest of all, Japanese peonies (they, too, bloom best on old wood).

And why do people call themselves "landscapers" just because they can use a shovel and a lawn mower?

Those "lawn guys"
 

Someone ruin your yard?

How hard can it be to hose down a trailer pad?

Those "lawn guys"
 

Agree. An arborist can tell you if the tree is healthy and worth saving and prune correctly.
If, however, you decide to take it down, hire an (insured) lumberjack. Cutting a tree into pieces and bringing them down safely doesn't take an advanced degree; no sense paying premium.

e.g., I had a 60 foot douglas fir that had to come down (in the way of new construction) -- the arborist bid $1,400; the lumber jack bid $600.

Those "lawn guys"
 

It's not just any trailer pad.

You've clearly not seen what people can do with the little plot around the trailer.

(Truth is, is this suburb, the lots really aren't big enough for more than a trailer, though no one's told the McMansion builders yet).

Those "lawn guys"
 

This is waaaaay off topic and probably should go over to home improvement/DIY, but speaking of trailers, I'm lusting after http://www.weehouses.com/projects/weehouse.htm for my backyard as a studio/rental income/media haven. The new modern prefab stuff coming out over the last three or four years is remarkable.

Those "lawn guys"
 

I'm lusting after that spread they stuck the trailer on.

(Should we tell the folks on the FB that we're all talking lust on the Mommy/Daddy board?)

Those "lawn guys"
 

Man, you guys have some tough ladybugs up there in the northwest.

Those "lawn guys"
 

Let's just say that punctuation (and spelling) were never my strong points. :-)

Of course, if this were the FB, I'd just call you a Timmy and be done with it.

Switching Topics...,
 

Probably late to the party, but India is a fabulous name. Old-fashioned, but unusual too.

The Processional
 

What's an SJD?


[Pass me the Vaseline? HA! Good one.]

Switching Topics...,
 

One billion Indians can't be wrong!

Shade plants
 

Whoah! I had no idea about the level of yard knowledge on here. Thanks so much to everyone for their responses. I have pictures of the new home and yard so if anyone feels like seeing and commenting on the tree, I can email it if I have your email. I think it's a big maple. Although the tree shades almost all of the back yard it is only the section of the yard with the roots (a big section) that is grass-less. Oh well. But after seeing the house again for the home inspection (the poor Inspector - single woman AND city dweller) I realize now the tree is not my problem. It will instead be ripping up the poop-colored carpet and then learning how to apply baseboard molding to cover the resulting gap between the hardwood floors and wall. Coincidentally an ex called the other day to say Hi (after 8 years!!!) and he's a carpenter. Shwing!

PS - Bilmore: so what the heck is going on with the baby loons? Is your son breast feeding them now?

Viet Mom

Shade plants
 

If it's a silver maple, you should have it taken out. They're cruddy trees and will start to die after about 40 years. In the meantime, they'll drop branches on you. If it's a sugar maple, though, do what you can to save it.

Another reason to wait to potty-train
 

Baby's Diaper Absorbs Snake Venom
Jun 25, 7:29 am ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A diaper proved to be a life-saver when a venomous snake bit an Israeli infant, a doctor said Friday.
The 12-month-old baby, who had been playing in the backyard, was rushed to a hospital only after his parents noticed fang marks on the diaper and swelling on his bottom while giving him a bath in the evening.

"He had been bitten by a venomous snake," Dr Kobi Assaf of Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital told Israel Radio. "Luckily, the snake injected its venom into the diaper on coming into contact with it and most of the poison did not penetrate the skin."

Doctors said there was no need to administer an antidote but the baby would remain in the hospital for observation.


LINK

reading aloud
 

I'm curious when people started reading books without (many) pictures to their kids, and what books they started with. Not sure L'il Ty would go for this yet, but maybe it's worth a try.

reading aloud
 

I think 4 or 5, but try. If he's not ready then no big deal, put the book on a shelf for a year.

fwiw, One great early book is "Boy" Raoul Dahl's autobio of his school years. funny for you and little Ty.

reading aloud
 

I started reading the Harry Potter books to my son when he was about four and a half.

He was able to pay attention to "chapter books" (for example the "Magic Treehouse" series -- at least I think that's what it's called) before he was four. It had to be a subject that he was interested in, however. (For him, it was dinosaurs -- which reminds me, every time I'm logged into lawtalkers from home and he sees your avatar, he asks me to go back so he can look at it some more.) He was interested in dinosaur books ("scientific" ones -- you know, with bones and scientific names and things) long before he turned four, but he wouldn't have been able to sit through Harry Potter.

He also liked the "Junie B. Jones" series when he was about four (and still likes it). Some parents don't like JBJ, because Junie uses a lot of incorrect grammar -- but I think the books are funny and really speak to kids his age. Besides, my son points out her grammatical errors (he is, after all, his mother's son!), so I'm not worried that he'll pick up bad habits from that.

I think the first "real" book he sat through in its entirety was Charlotte's Web, and that was two summers ago, which means he was almost four. That was followed by James and the Giant Peach -- another big hit with him.

reading aloud
 

I started reading to both the Wonk Princess and the Wonk Monster when they were newborns. The first book I read to them was "I'll Love You Forever." After that, I moved on to other simple books like "Hello Moon." I found that even though they couldn't follow the story, the cadence of my voice as I read and the pictures both soothed them and helped them get to sleep.

I think that starting at a very early age made them curious about books and I attribute the fact that they were both early readers to that fact.

reading aloud
 

Ty obviously likes to read, but he has very poor reading comprehension skills.

reading aloud
 

The Velveteen Rabbit. Winnie the pooh - the original books and poetry from When We Were Six. The Littles series (tiny people with tails). Ty, I will ask my mom this afternoon - she teaches Pre-K.

reading aloud
 

I started about 2mos old with the Lexling. He adores books - he flaps his fat little arms when he sees them and makes monkey noises. It's a riot.