Back to School Shoes
 

Your daughter is on target (but I'm sure she'd love the circus). Mine just has teeny feet (and everything else -- the tag on her shorts say "18 months". Oh and she still rides her tricycle and, gulp, uses the binky.)

Thanks everyone for the links. No matter what, all the shoes for toddler girls (for school) are either pink or some variation of this from brookshoesforkids:

http://brooksshoesforkids.com/images...ABY%20MIMI.jpg

Stride Rite:
http://www.striderite.com/images/us/...l/104575_4.jpg

Dark, rounded toe, rubber sole with the obligatory velcro strap across it. Another words..."Baby Shoes". Darn. It would be so cute to see teeny little Italian leather penny loafers. Don't these shoe companies cater to tiny Asian children????? (PS - what do you think of these from Zappos (Michael Kors - only in black suede though):

http://www.zappos.com/images/727/727...4-319133-d.jpg

Back to School Shoes
 

I'm not much of a penny loafer person myself. I'd more likely go for the Vincent boots. (Hell, I've even found kid shoes I love at Target.) However, I Googled "child penny loafer," and did come up with quite a few hits (including these http://www.endless.com/dp/B000HHZIY4...0&linkCode=asn). I imagine that high end retailers (like the sort that sell infant Ralph Lauren) would provide nice quality leather shoes for little ones. Have you checked Nordstom, Neiman Marcus or Saks?

I think you may make up what you're saving on uniforms on the shoes to go with!:D

Back to School Shoes
 

My absolute favorite kid shoes are by Agatha Louis de la Prada but they are very hard to find in the States - I usually getthem in spain. but I also like Umi shoes. they too are a european brand but are much easier to find in the states. they have a nice wide foot bed and a flexible sole which is especially good for growing feet. DD has two pair of really pretty ones for school, a brown with flowers and a purple (she isn't in a uniform yet) - both mary janes

here are some pretty ones -

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/15385856/c/108182.html

My daughter has these and she loves them - and she is a mini picky fashionista

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/15385932/c/3091.html

these my be better for winter walking in NYC

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/15387089/c/46767.html

Back to School Shoes
 

Those loafers are ca-ute! I may get those for my daughter! I see what you mean about looking a little like baby shoes, but give pre-teens are walking around half naked, I'll let my daughter look like a little girl as long as I can...

Back to School Shoes
 

You missed these:

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/1863628...s/I_65536.html

and these:

http://www.piperlime.com/browse/prod...scid=441977022

Both are loafers, although neither look like you could slip a penny in them.

Back to School Shoes
 

I remember my first day of kindergarden, my mom put me in adorable saddle shoes. I loved them. I still would probably love them.

http://www.jumping-jacks.com/gallery...=8#spgmPicture I think you can get them at Nordstroms.

Back to School Shoes
 

I don't know if zappos carries the Sonnet brand (they're also sometimes referred to as Start-Rite, I think), but they have really adorable shoes. There are some shoes stores in NYC that carry them, but I'll bet you can get them on line. They have buckles (no velcro -- I couldn't tell if velcro was a plus or a minus for you) and come in small sizes.

ETA: Zappos does carry a few styles. The Delphine are really cute. As are the ones with the crepe soles, though I couldn't tell from the pictures whether this site carries them.

For the record
 

I blam you people and your links to Zappos for my internet shoe purchases today. No, they are not children's loafers.

Back to School Shoes
 

All cute, but a warning: my first-grader to be really, really likes my strappy sandals and the um, patent leather "dress up" shoes she found in my closet because "they look like Bratz shoes." And my little one is fond of my knee-high boots, which of course are thigh-high on her. Just saying. :-)

Shoes
 

Oh wow. Thank you SO MUCH for all the great shoe ideas. I did miss all those shoes! And I love the saddle shoes and DTB - those Delphine shoes are great. I wish they had them in something other than white leather. Not sure they would go with the uniform or green knee socks (!!). Will check out all those links. Thanks again!!!!!

Teenager
 

How much can I sell one for on ebay?

Teenager
 

Male oe female? When I looked into it, discovered there is a good market for both, but product positioning has to be carefully tailored.

first day of Kindergarten
 

Happiness is showing up at the local public school for the first day and then the teacher tells you that you kid isn't on her list, and she can't take him because it'll "mess up my numbers."

first day of Kindergarten
 

another year off won't hurt. Hell, he'll be a monster on the middle school sports teams with the age difference.

first day of Kindergarten
 

This has sapped all your strength so that you can't post about Gonzales?

first day of Kindergarten
 

My son's friend because of family issues was forced to move from our tony school district to a nearby crappy one between 5th & 6th grade.

Somewhere around the beginning of October we saw this kid after school. He confided in my son that he hadn't been to school yet because the new school district gave him a similar story -- not on the list.

So the mom, basically said "OK sit home."

Turns out my wife got the tony school principal on the phone who got the new district on board but how long would this kid have fallen through the cracks for?

first day of Kindergarten
 

Who?

first day of Kindergarten
 

How do the numbers look today? did she get a call for the school superintendant about educational obligations of the state?

first day of Kindergarten
 

I'm sorry little Ty ran into this issue. were you able to get it resolved?

first day of Kindergarten
 

Whoa..that sucks! The first day is a big thing! What happened - typical mix up or something else?

first day of Kindergarten
 

When we left the school the other morning, he didn't come with us. But there seems to be a persistent problem with calling him by his brother's name, which seems to have been the root cause of Monday's mix-up.

first day of Kindergarten
 

Every president is inevitably criticized for enrolling his children in a tony school like Sidwell Friends. I mean, the fucking President of the United States is gonna to put up with this bullshit? No, I want the President to spend $26,000 of his own money so he doesn't spend a single minute worrying about whether his child is getting an adequate education, so he can concentrate on more important things, like which intern he's going to bang or which countries have weapons of mass destruction.

Homeowner Stuff
 

While it will depend on state/munipality laws, I'd love general thoughts on the legals of tree removal. The houses behind my house (and all others on my street) sit way up higher and many have ridiculously tall/thick trees at the far end of their back yards (abutting our back yards). The trees are always infringing on our side and we cut them back as best we can. This month, a HUGE trunk from the tree on my back neighbor's house crashed down on my property, hitting my fence and some other structures. I'm not looking for $$ to fix anything but the neighbor won't even remove the portions of their tree lying on top of my stuff. I finally just went out and did it myself, borrowing a chain saw and then cutting it up into small pieces to haul away. Strangely, the neighbor saw all this and suggested I (and other lowland neighbors) should foot the cost of removing the highland neighbors's big trees since we lowlanders are the ones who are going to suffer when the big trees fall on us. That doesn't seem right to me. Anyhow, in this area, it would cost me over $1,000 to just remove one of the big trees on my back neighbor's property. Thoughts?

Homeowner Stuff
 

In most jurisdictions, his tree, his problem. I would consider (i)suing the fucker; (ii) suggesting to him that he remove/cut back the trees before they fall, and (iii) require him to ensure his trees don't encroach on your property line unless he is willing to buy an easement.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Homeowner Stuff
 

As you suspect, it's different in every state. In California, a tree is owned by the fee estate owner of the land on which the trunk sits. If the trunk straddles a property line, the tree is owned in joint tenancy by the two fee estate owners. The owner is liable for damages resulting from his or her negligence in relation to the tree. Note it is not strict liability; it's negligence. If you were to sue, you'd need to prove duty/breach/causation/damages -- it's not just "your tree, your problem." If a tree branch encroaches into the airspace of an adjacent owner, the adjacent owner can remove it at their sole cost, but cannot perform that work in a manner that endangers the health of the tree or the safety of the neighbors (e.g., by killing it outright or cutting flush all of the branches on one side of the tree, making it susceptible to falling backwards onto the owner's property). Your state may allow trespass damages for the fallen limb; I'm not sure California does.

As an aside, in California and potentially other states, a property owner who takes title by a deed making reference to parcel map (as opposed to metes and bounds), obtains a fee that encompasses not only their parcel, but also the portion of the adjacent public right-of-way to the centerline. In many cases, this means they are the fee owner of all land to the yellow line. Refer to the above rule and you'll discover that this means that the landowner, and not the city, is the "owner" of any "city trees" in the sidewalk tree strip. The public, city or county may have a right of access to the right-of-way, but this does not mean the trees are public property. It also does not mean that you can cut this tree down. But it does mean that you are potentially liable in negligence for the condition of the tree, if your state uses this regime, in the same way that a trip-and-fall on the sidewalk in front of your property can result in your premises liability even though you didn't build the sidewalk and you can't control access to it.

People have a weird relationship to trees. They think they live forever, and that if one falls, that's res ipsa loquitur that somebody (first the landowner, and then usually the city/county) could have and therefore should have done something to prevent it. Our laws are designed to allocate liability based on human behaviors, not to allocate liability amongst humans for acts of God. Your state legislature may view things in this way, and if so you may need to prepare yourself for a "sucks to be you" approach already adopted by your neighbor for the limb that's already fallen. But his suggestion about your responsibility to pay to remove the trees on his property because you're the one who stands to be hurt by them is asinine, and if your state legislature somehow agreed with that, I'd move to another state in protest.

I suggest you look at your state's civil code on tree ownership and write a certified letter telling him every little thing that you observe that's wrong with the uphill trees. If one falls, you've got a good record for negligence.

And good for you for taking up the chainsaw. That's dead sexy.

Homeowner Stuff
 

I am an apt/condo girl, and my thoughts are limited to "wow, what total assholes." I hope that is helpful in at least some emotionally supportive kind of way, if not of practical help. ful. osity. Whatever, I realize that was ungrammatical; I haven't eaten today.

Homeowner Stuff
 

I would add that the tree has caused damage to your property and is a presents a dangerous condition to property and human life.

I must add that this homeowner shit is a way big PITA. Your weekends are spend shuttling back and forth to home depot 6 times a weekend. Give me a good rent controlled apartment any day.

Thanks!
 

Wow! I can't believe all the responses I got already! Including the hey girlfriend from LTB. (:

Atticus, yes it's funny about people and trees. Another thing that irks me is the choice of trees planted. I'm an avid gardener (more of a landscaper with this property, though) and always find out (more than one source) the ultimate tree height. Usually means buying a variation of a tree or shrub that's been hybridized so ultimate height is almost dwarf compared to the species. Our properties are all postage stamp sized. Yet the trees planted are so big, the hard roots run along the surface of our tiny lawns. Same for front house landscaping - the other day I caught a landscaper installing a Japanese Maple called "Bloodgood" about 12 inches from bay window. The branches will hit it next season!

Funny you think chicks with chain saws are sexy. You must be a fearless guy.

PS, the huge branch of tree that came down on my fence and Vietbabe's playhouse broke at the portion of the branch onto which the owner had affixed some piece of wood for some game. He knew it too. The huge chunk of tree was crashed down right onto the playhouse. I can't believe he watched me struggle to remove it without even lending a hand. To think I stained both sides of my new cedar fence at extra cost. I should give Vietbabe some (bright) paint and tell her to have some fun on the other side of the fence.:P

Thanks!
 

2. We're within the natural range of Sequoia sempervirens and here it's used as a landscape tree. There's a nearby house with a garden gate with two juvenile sempervirens flanking it. Looks very quaint now. Within 10 years he'll be cutting a hole in the lower branches to get in, and within 25 the gate will be unusable. I mean, it's a freakin' redwood tree.

And don't even get me started on eucalyptus. Morons.

Thanks!
 

I thought you could cut a tunnel through a redwood you could drive a friggin car through? is that just press to get people out to visit?

Thanks!
 

As the hillbilly said of infant baptism, "Believe in it? Hell, I seen it done." I have personally driven a 2004 Passat wagon through two redwood trees and lived to tell the tale.

This requires a Passat of no particular vintage but a redwood tree of 200+ years. A homeowner with patience and foresight could turn their garden gate into a profitable roadside attraction. However, by that time California real estate will be upwards of $2,000/sq ft and there may be cashflow problems.

No. 2
 

No 2 son was born last week, so now we finally have butts to put in the seats of the 9-5. The boys are 19 months apart: before the birth we worked very hard to let No. 1 know that the baby who was coming was his baby and that he had to protect and love him.

So far, it's been fine, but I've heard horror stories about older sibs turning on their little brothers/sisters. Any tips or suggestions?

No. 2
 

First off, congratulations. Don't forget to send in the warranty card or register online or you're fucked if he breaks.

Make sure No. 1 is part of taking care of No. 2. He's too little to hold hom other than in his lap, of course, and he can't bathe or change the baby himself, but let him watch the baby get bathed and dressed, etc.

The big key is to treat it as natural that they will interact, while keeping enough vigilance to let No. 1 know when it's time to be a little more gentle.

No. 2
 

Thank's Wonk. That's been the approach that we've been taking pre-birth. Let' shope that our luck continues...

Thanks!
 

thank you everyone for listening to this lesson is careful family vacation planning. My midwest ignorance as to the remaining redwood species in North America was taken advantage of by Atticus' follow up, hooking yet another rube into a trip to the bay area to see "trees you can drive through".

Like my family ended up driving up to Muir woods, only to be disappointed by the vast groves of Sequoia sempervirens. No tunnels through them, and if there were they'd be limited to bicycle sized tunnels.

I of course, regret my one chance to have seen Sequoiadendron giganteum. Having wrapped some discovery in Fresno quite early, we realized we were an hour away from some Redwood park and we had 5 hours to kill. A quick decision was made to spend the hours in the bar rather than on the road to see God's handiwork, and maybe drive through a tree.

To this day I regret the decison, and try to make up for it by doing things like going to Muir woods, and being disappointed.

The irony is that my travelling companion and I were cut off by the flight attendant quite early in the flight due to our inebriated status. That is, by spending the 5 hours drinking on the front end we lost 4 hours of drinking on the back end, AND we missed the chance to see the trees.

Atticus and I planned this lesson to reenforce the need for research prior to your family trips.

No. 2
 

We also have the same issue/predicament. The middle is a 3 year old. He's taken to screaming "babybeeeee!!!!" and excitedly trying to pat her head. We've instilled gentle gentle gentle and now he chants that as he gently pats her head. he also squeals "gearshift!" about her leg and "she's squeaaaking" when she is. The hardest thing to prevent is when he is holding toys he has the impulse to try to "share" uh. she's too little!!!!!

I think the key is to make time for the older one and praise him or her when he or she is gentle and make a big fuss. similar to potty training which is also working. seismic shifting!

make time so they don't feel neglected. good luck!

Thanks!
 

Wrong species, asshole. All of the famous drive-thrus are sempervirens. The two I've done are in Leggett and Myers Flat. If you went to Muir Woods, you were off by about three and a half hours.

Thanks!
 

• "Why not cut a new tunnel tree?" many visitors suggest, when they discover that the Wawona Tree can no longer be driven through.
  
  Times change, however, and actions proper for one generation may not fit the needs and goals of a succeeding generation. Our expectations of national parks have changed immensely during the past half century. When our national parks were young, cutting tunnels through sequoia trees was a way to popularize the parks and gain support for their protection. In those early days, national parks usually were managed to protect individual features rather than to protect the integrity of the complete environment. Today, we realize that our national parks represent some of the last primeval landscapes in America, and our goal in the parks is to allow nature to run its course with as little interference from man as possible.

it sucks they let Californians be in charge of California. my current expectations of a National Park is that I can drive through a tree.

No. 2
 

Congratualtions! No real aadvice. kiddo #1, took one look at kiddo #2 and declared her to be his baby so no problems...of course now they are 4 and almost 6 and at arguing constantly but so long as no blood is flying, I let them work it out. They have a lifetime relationship to navigate - might as well learn how to do it now. Of course, when they aren't arguing, they are hugging so...

Oh, as soon as I say no advice - make sure You spend one on one time with #1, and well as your wife makes one-on - one time for #1 - even if its something simple like a trip to the park etc... #2 will, by necessacity, get lots of attention - just make sure some gets spread around.

No. 2
 

This has been out goal. I try to spend a ton of time with No. 1, which he and I both really enjoy.

So far, so good: No. 1 has taken to No. 1 much like your kids seem to have done...