Divine Intervention

It came!

The best thing to happen to me in a long time (especially after yesterday) has finally arrived on my doorstep. Hand delivered by a chain-smoking man in a funny little white car and bad clothes emblazzoned with USPS all over them. The box that held my salvation inside its nondescript packaging from Amazon.com.

Ladies and Gentlemen (and Hubby - I know you're reading this) I give you...




Philadelphia Chickens













and Dog Train!


Dear dear Sandra Boynton and Friends, how I love thee.

The Child owns most of the Boynton library by now but we had not yet purchased these fabulous CDs and their companion books. Maybe you know about Sandra Boynton, but if you don't get yourself to her website and gaze upon the wonderfully imaginative creations she has bestowed upon the world. The books are great fun with lots of silly characters and even sillier writing. The Child seems to like them and, more importantly at this point, I like them. Our favorite book is "Snuggle Puppy" (natch) and its meant to be sung. After reading/singing that book for the umpteenth time and making up my own melody I decided it was time to find out what the song really sounds like. I can't tell you how happy I was that Eric Stolz was the celebrity singer. Yes, the man who was Rocky Dennis in "Mask"and Vahlere in "Say Anything" sings "Snuggle Puppy" on the Philadelphia Chickens CD. I'm so happy.

But it gets better. Dog Train is fantastic. Philadelphia Chickens had a lot of well-known stars (Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, Laura Linney, the Bacon Brothers) but Dog Train is chock full of artists that you'd want to listen to and your kids will think are kinda cool, too. How's this for a line-up... The Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, Mickey Hart, the Bacon Brothers (in a repeat performance), Kate Winslet, Alison Krauss, John Ondrasik, Hootie and the Blowfish, and Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian (the Hooters!!). Okay, some of them are a little past their prime, but at least its not Raffi.

Chicky Baby is a little young to get the subtle nuances of songs like "Tantrum" and "I Need a Nap" but I really enjoyed the humor and the music. These CDs/Books will be purchased for every child's birthday party that we have to attend for the next 6 years or so.

It will be a joy to learn all of these new songs to sing to Julia, because if I had to sing "Wheels on the Bus" one more time I was going to throw myself in front of one.