the Big Box

Toni Morrison wrote this children's book entitled the Big Box. I found it when I was in college and bought it under the assumption that some day I would have kids and I would want to have a cool library of books that were multi-cultural and ethnic studies-ish. I found it in my parents garage a few weekends ago and re-read it. Soluna is definitely not ready for it. But it's pretty deep and a great parent read. It's about three kids who adults feel "can't handle their freedom" so they put them in a box and give them things to appease them. I would love to talk to other parents who have read it.

"'But I comb my hair and I don't do drugs
And every day I vacuum the rugs.
I feed the hamster and water the plants
And once a week I hang up my pants
If owls can scream
And rabbits hop
And beavers chew trees when they need' em
Why can't I be a kid like me
Who doesn't have to handle his freedom?
I know you are smart and I know that you think
You're doing what is best for me.
But if freedom is handled just your way
Then it's not my freedom or free.'"

Save Your Pennies!

While I haven't been posting lately, I have been discovering some interesting ways to get things for cheap or for free. We spent a lot of money nesting before Soluna's birth, not knowing that there are a lot of resources to get slightly used items for cheap or for free. So Bay Area parents save yourselves some money and check out these resources for free or cheap baby supplies (and you can get other things too):

* Craigslist.org -- Ok, duh. If you haven't checked craigslist for a new apartment, a new job or a sale at least once in the past 5 years, I don't know what planet you've been living on. We were able to find a carseat attachment thingy for our stroller and an extra carseat base for $5 each.

* Berkeley Parents Network -- For those in the San Francisco Bay Area you can sign-up to recieve emails from Berkeley Parents Network. They do a Marketplace email once a week with things people are giving away for free or trying to sell for a reduced price: maternity clothes, co-sleepers, baby slings, toys, cars (adult cars), etc. We were able to get an IKEA sofa bed for FREE, a nice clean one, for our extra bedroom. I see a bunch of things I bought new for full price on there and it annoys me every time. For our next kid, I'm definitely checkin' the emails for all our supplies.

* Freecycle -- I'm kind of new to freecycle, but basically you sign-up for a group in your area and get emails on things people are offering free or things people are looking for for free. I was able to give away some of our clutter through freecycle, but I've been seeing a bunch of kid and baby items posted for free. You can just reply to emails and folks usually leave the items on their porch for you to pick-up. It's FREE!! Why not check it out?!

* Yard Sales and Rummage Sales -- I haven't checked these out yet, but I need to. My mom found two cute little chairs for Soluna for 50 cents each. And she LOVES them! If you do sign-up for the Berkeley Parents Network emails, the Marketplace emails have listings in the area. And you can just keep an eye out for signs on the weekend.

* Clothing Swaps -- I went to a few parties of friends where folks bring clothes and accessories to swap. So just invite your friends over, have a little potluck and organize a little "store" where folks can exchange their old clothes or their baby's old clothes for something they need.

A Little Reader

About two months ago Soluna got really into books. It started with making Ben and I read her favorite book Pio Peep! over and over and over again. After memorizing ALL her books, I realized it was time to head to the nearest Oakland Library to get new books and to attend storytime. Click here for a calendar of Oakland Libary events.

Here are a few of her new favorite books. A lot of which have little brown kids!