Thursday, April 27, 2006

If she reads this then I'm changing my name and leaving town



In the Sister-In-law contest (the one that I've made up in my mind) I may have hit the jackpot. My Sister-In-Law is wonderful and fantastic (and she lives 1300 miles away) and is the very definition of perfect. Not in a Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp sort of way but in a doctor for underprivileged adolescents who bore brilliant and adorable children (my SIL, not the underprivileged adolescents) while finishing her degree and residency and is married to a college professor who brews his own award-winning beer kind of way. Its not like she has sunshine and rainbows shooting out of her ass, it just seems like everything she does or has done is something that a person would want to aspire to do. She's got perfection down to a science, its effortless. And you can't hate her because she's so unpretentious and down-to-earth and just so... gosh, so hunky-dory and neato. When I grow up I want to be just like her.

The other day we received the birthday present she sent to Chicky Baby and don't you know I just tore at that package to find what I knew would be the most splendid of all birthday gifts. Ever. And it was... what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah - Perfect. No bells or whistles or pseudo-intellectual electronic talking machines. Inside lay the most superb gift... 4 books straight from the Caldecott Honor list. And a CD of children's songs that she lovingly made from albums that her children own. So simple, so wonderful. Swoon.

She could have sent the Pokey Little Puppy Golden Book and a loop of Baa Baa Blacksheep on a cassette tape and I probably would have still held it up to the sky as a blessed gift, but the books are great and the songs are so much fun that I've been having more fun listening to them than CB has. Because I've been enjoying it so much I thought I would pass along the playlist in case you are like me and woefully inadequate when it comes to finding children's music that doesn't want to make you stick a wooden spoon into your ear canal and stir like you're making risotto. I will admit that I was a little bit skeptical when I saw that Raffi made the list, but the ones included are fun and damn infectious. I can't get that duck song out of my head.

And if, after reading the list, you feel the need to run to the nearest music store or free up more space on your iPod because you are still craving more go visit The Lovely Mrs. Davis. She's always reviewing new and interesting kids music and she's got great suggestions.

Enjoy!

I wanna be a dog - Charlotte Diamond
6 little ducks - Raffi
Not yet three - Jonathan Richman
The house at the top of the hill - They Might Be Giants
Not Naptime - Justin Roberts
4 hugs in a day - Charlotte Diamond
Shake my sillies out - Raffi
Crawfish Song - Buckwheat Zydeco
I like to move it - Sascha Baron Cohen
No! - They Might Be Giants
Nine planets - Justin Roberts
Roy G Biv - Mr. Ray
Blue Skies - Willie Nelson
Red clay halo - Gillian Welch
Where do the make Balloons? - The Might Be Giants
Sing when the spirit says sing - Raffi
Nightlight - Justin Roberts

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think we have the same sister-in-law! lol..

any list that has They Might Be Giants on it ROCKS!

The Domesticator said...

I have a sister-in-law that is nothing like that...but I love her anyway!

Great list, thanks for passing it along.

Sandra said...

What an amazing sister in law. I couldn't be more jealous.

I loved her gift for Chicky baby - awesome song list!

Carolyn S. said...

Can she be my adopted sister-in-law?

Amy said...

Yes, even her taste in music is remarkable. Thanks for the nod!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that sounds like a GREAT cd!

What a rockin SIL!

Kristin said...

can i just say, "score!"?

score for me, that is, cuz i have a baby shower to host and now i have the cutest party favors ever (as every woman coming has about a bazillion kids)... thanks chicky baby's dr. auntie!!

and you know, you're probably a pretty nice sil yourself.

MrsFortune said...

Um, I hate your SIL anyway. So there.

I really have to start paying attention to all this kids' music stuff.

Chicky said...

There's GREAT kids music out there...I made a cd for bmc's little foo from Connor's music stash (Laurie Berkner, et al). Send me your info & I'll do the same for Lil Chicky (there might be giants is on there too!)

josetteplank.com said...

The No! album by They Might Be Giants is a must have. Those guys are fabu. Anyone who can make a kids album with both Beatle-esque, Zappa-style and acid rock kids songs that everyone in the car actually loves gets an A+ in my book. (Well, they would if I had a book.)

Anyway, you'r SIL sounds like a great gal. And I sincerely bet she says the same about you. :-)

Perstephone said...

She sounds completely likeable and fun! Great qualities for a SIL. And how great of you to actually like her instead of despise her for her good.

And thanks for sharing the playlist. I'm always on the hunt for parent-friendly baby tunes.

Mom101 said...

I'm bookmarking this page - great list! We need a few new options since I keep telling Nate that she can't listen to Spoon all the time. You have an enviable SIL. I mean that in more ways than you know.

Anonymous said...

Those are really cool gifts, like she put a lot of thought into them

(I love "Where do the make Balloons?")

SUEB0B said...

I was skeptical until I saw the Jonathan Richman and They Might Be Giants on the list...yeesh, she IS cool.

Chaotic Mom said...

This is a GREAT list! I'm going to add this to my kids' playlist on Rhapsody. I don't know much about kids' music these days. I think when I was a kid we had The Chipmunks on vinyl (remember that?) and my parents listened to Crystal Gayle. YIKES! ;)

ms blue said...

You can never have too much music or books! Yay for Chicky Baby. Your SIL sounds very cool.

Julie Marsh said...

Thanks for the playlist! I'm trying to get Tacy interested in something besides Hollaback Girl. This might do the trick.

And I used to have a fabulous SIL. My ridiculous BIL got tired of being married. I miss her.

Kris said...

Great list! I like Raffi, so I think I need this list really, really bad.

kittenpie said...

That's great - books are alwasy a good gift, if you ask me, but then I am a children's librarian, so I'm a tad biased.

When my friend was wondering what to do for a shower for me, I gave her this suggestion, which was great. Have everyone bring their favourite book from when they were young and inscribe it with what they loved about it. Then when pumpkinpie gets older, she'll have this great set of recommendations from a community of reading adults that we know. And she can get to know a little something extra about them that she might never otherwise find out.