June 2008 - Posts

• NO!

  The “No’s” have begun.  I don’t mean the normal toddler refusing-to-do-whatever-is-asked “No’s.”  I mean the use of the word for no reason at all, other than to be contrary. “Dom, do you want a new toy?” “NO!” “Do you want a cookie?” “NO!” “Are your shoes red or are they blue?” “NO!” “Which book would you like to read?” “NO!” Those are actual examples, just from yesterday. “No” can be used in a tantrum, to state independence, or to tease us.  Lately, a lot of teasing has been going on in our house.  Dom likes to lay on top of me while I read to him.  The other day, I really needed a bathroom break, and he wouldn’t get up.  Instead, he giggled and said, “No.”  Periodically, I would ask, “Can I please go potty now?”  “No!” he’d laugh, bouncing on my bladder.  “No” can also be used to cause major embarrassment to Mommy and Daddy.  For instance, at church, when a really nice older lady moves down one seat and says, “Would you like to sit next to me, precious?”  Or when the owner of your favorite restaurant comes over to ask, “Did you like your dinner?” Whenever possible, if Dom answers “No,” I take him at his word.  You would think he would figure out that, sometimes, answering “No” gives him the exact opposite result of what he actually wants.  Sometimes, it’s counterproductive.  I know the boy’s not stupid, so I can only guess at his reasoning. It could be that he’s testing boundaries.  It could be that he hears “No” from me far too often.  Or it could be that his sense of humor is currently stuck on the it’s-so-not-funny-that-it’s-funny phase.  (Trust me, Dom – it’s not funny). Whatever his reasoning, “No” is really, really, really getting on my nerves.  Really. Posted Jun 30 2008, 06:40 PM by marylandmom with 1 comment(s) Filed under: maryland [Edit Tags]

• Catch the Reading Bug!

  The Montgomery County Public Library system is running a special summer reading program for children.  They do this every summer to maintain kids’ interest in reading while they’re not in school.  This year, the theme is “Catch the Reading Bug.”  Children read books, and younger kids perform small tasks (one of ours this week was to look for a book on ants).  After completing each of the first two rows of tasks, the kid has the page stamped and earns a small prize.  I peeked into the prize box yesterday, and the prizes range from small kites to foam carnival-style masks.  Dom’s first prize was a bouncy ball with a butterfly inside of it.  He got it yesterday and insisted on sleeping with it last night.  He is now bouncing it around the living room. After completion of the third row of tasks in the reading log, the kid gets a coupon for a free book at Barnes and Nobles.  He/she also can have his/her name published in the Gazette.   This program has really revved up Dom’s desire to read.  I write the title of each book we read on the back of the reading log.  After we complete each task, he colors the little bug drawing next to it in the reading log.  I used to have to coax him over to the sofa to read, but now he runs up to me with a book several times a day. As part of the program, individual libraries are holding book and film hours.  We discovered last week that Dom’s a little too young to really get into film hours, but we came away from the Noyes library with a craft project.  We made a flannel board of our own, and I cut out various animal shapes from flannel.  Dom now acts out stories on the board as we read them. There is also a program which allows kids to “read off” library fines.  For every X number of hours they spend in the library reading, they get $Y off of their library fines. In short, get your kids reading – there’s actually a tangible payoff this time! Posted Jun 28 2008, 08:57 AM by marylandmom with 2 comment(s) Filed under: maryland, education, books, fun stuff to do [Edit Tags]

• One shoe, a shirt, no pants, and a wrestling belt

  One shoe, a shirt, no pants, and a wrestling belt.  That’s what Dom is wearing right now.  Any attempt to add another article of clothing is met with its immediate removal.  Any attempt to remove something is met with immediate, earsplitting shrieks.  I’m letting it ride for now.    He’s also a one-little-man demolition crew.  My living room looks as though Toys-R-Us threw up in it.  Puzzle pieces are commingled with Megablocks inside of stacking cups.  Thomas the Train has derailed into the bathroom along with his track pieces.  Matchbox cars are parked in so many places that I’ll never find them all (until I step on one at 2 a.m. one night).  Many of my books have been pulled from our lower bookshelves and left in a huge pile on the floor (thank God Dom was distracted before true destruction could begin).  A toddler has waylaid my “clean it before you move on to something else” rule. I just found a beautiful blue marker drawing on the inside of my closet door.  I must remember to send Crayola a thank-you note for making washable art supplies. All Dom will eat today is eggs.  Scrambled the way Daddy makes them – not too hard the way Mommy does.  Which means that I have thrown away three perfectly good batches of eggs because they weren’t perfect.  Once upon a time, I remember saying that I’d never coddle my kid – he’d either eat what I made or starve.  Uh…yeah… Days like this beg the question:  Why don’t kids come with a free-nanny-for-a-day coupon?   Or an unlimited supply of Bath and Body Works bubble bath?  Or maybe even a case of wine?  Or at least chocolate?  Anything a parent can dream of sinking into at the end of a long, long, long (did I say long?) toddler-battle day. Four hours to go until bedtime! Posted Jun 26 2008, 12:00 PM by marylandmom with 1 comment(s) Filed under: maryland [Edit Tags]

• My Non-Mommy Me

  "The Weekend Novelist" "The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery" "The Art of Writing Nonfiction" "Writing to Change the World" These are just four of the writing books sitting on my shelf.  These days, they're topped with a variety of library books: "10 Little Rubber Ducks" "First Shape Book" “1-2-3 to the Zoo” "Elmo's Potty Time" (Actually, that's a video on top of the stack of books) It's taken me a while to figure this out, but I can't write when my focus is on reading to Dom (can’t get anything over on me!).  I'm a writer.  Even when working at each crappy job I've ever had, I've always held on to that knowledge.  Somewhere, though, I lost touch with that.  It got tossed out with the first diaper I changed.  As part of my quest to get back to the real me (as opposed to the puke/poop/pee-covered, sing-song-singing me), I’ve made time to write.  Every morning, I get up before dawn and sit down for an hour at my computer.  I stare at the screen and write… nothing.  Zip.  Nada.  My well has run dry.  I’ve come to the realization that all I have to write about is life with Dom.  Which isn’t a bad thing, but it kind of defeats the purpose of getting back to my non-Mommy me.  Each morning, I end up writing more blog entries.  Which is fun and gives me lots of practice for my GANFB (that’s Great American Non-Fiction Book for those who didn’t know).  But it doesn’t actually get that book written.  And I desperately need to start that book for the sake of my own sanity.  Before I get sucked down into the Mommy pool forever.  Nobody ever tells pregnant women, “Oh…all of your dreams will be put on hold for at least three years while you focus on your kid.”  Nobody said that every book I read for the next five years would consist of three-letter words.  I would have had my boy anyway, but at least I would have been warned.  I've finally decided that I should go with the flow and wait on the best-selling book.  So, after much thought, here are the first two lines of my new book: “There once was a dinosaur named Ed.  He was purple with big green spots.” Posted Jun 24 2008, 01:30 PM by marylandmom with 1 comment(s) Filed under: maryland [Edit Tags]

• Our downward spiral into literacy

  Okay, who did it?  A few days ago, my just-two-year-old boy asked for paper and crayons so he could “cowor.”  When he was done, he brought the page to me so I could give my standard, “Wow!  How beautiful!  You did a great job!”  The page was full of A’s.  I mean the letter A, smart-A’s.  Somehow, someone snuck into my home when I wasn’t looking and taught my baby how to write.  Yesterday, he wrote a B.  Tomorrow, it will be a C.  Before I can blink, he will have published a novel – way ahead of his Mommy, which will be kind of embarrassing. So my plea for whoever is doing this (that means you, PBS!) is that you stop.  Seriously.  He’s two, and I need him to stay my baby for a little longer.  Our downward spiral into literacy began last month, when we visited my mother.  She drives a Sable, and as we were leaving, Dom carefully traced the letters on her bumper, naming them out loud.  A-B-L-E (the S was on her car, but he dropped it for some reason.  My guess is that Big Bird hadn’t yet gotten that far into the alphabet).  I nearly collapsed from shock, but we moved on.  I figured it was an isolated incident.  After all, two is too young for preschool drills, right?  I wanted at least another year of unencumbered fun for both of us.  Dom can’t even color.  It’s just a series of scribbles.  It’s beautiful abstract-y art, but not a major kindergarten-level success.  Yet he can exercise enough muscle control to write?  Next he’ll want to read for himself.  And there will go our bedtime ritual.  He won’t want to cuddle with me anymore. So, Elmo, how about a truce?  I won’t be cute and furry (I promise I’ll shave my legs more often), and you’ll stop sneaking education into my home.  Deal? Posted Jun 22 2008, 01:26 PM by marylandmom with 1 comment(s) Filed under: maryland, education [Edit Tags]

• NOOOOOOO, ELMO!!!

  Today, we met an international superstar.  It started out a morning like any other Mommy and Me morning, with a mad rush to get out of the door on time.  But, at 10:08 a.m., we touched greatness.  That is when Dom met… Elmo.  This was our first visit to the Rockville Town Square Mommy and Me event.  We often visit Congressional Plaza for their event, but I figured we might as well spread out and see other local offerings.  I liked this one more than the one at Congressional.  It might be that the space at Congressional is more cramped, so they’re less able to expand.  It might be that the Square’s area is more secluded, away from parking and traffic.  At any rate, because there is more room in Rockville, you’re less likely to get caught in a stroller jam.  I confess to being guilty of nudging other strollers out of the way at Congressional… I mean, there is stroller parking, people!  Use it! So, anyway, back to Elmo.  Our first stop was the registration table.  I gave the woman my name so she could check us in, and Dom pulled away from me, running faster than I’ve ever seen him run.  Well, he was running faster than I’ve ever seen him run without falling and skinning a knee, and I did not want a repeat of last week’s embarrassing panic attack scene.  So I chased him.  By the time I caught up, he was wrapped around a red furry leg, trying to climb up for a hug.  I pulled him down and told him he could talk to Elmo, but he couldn’t attack him.  So he did.  We followed the red Pied Piper all around the square for ten minutes, while Dom told him his favorite Sesame characters, asked where Elmo’s crayons were, and sang the Elmo’s World song (His version of the words went something like “la-la-la-la”).  When Elmo finally escaped, Dom’s wails followed him, “NOOOOOOO, ELMO!!!” I distracted him with the moon bounce for an hour and the balloon animal line for 45 minutes (seriously, that’s ridiculous!).  We had a wonderful time.  We stopped for lunch on the way home, and by the time he went down for his nap, he was still talking about how soft and red Elmo is.  Thanks, Mommy and Me! Posted Jun 19 2008, 01:23 PM by marylandmom with 1 comment(s) Filed under: maryland, mommy events, fun stuff to do [Edit Tags]

• Sometimes, the best things in life are free

  I don’t know how many of you are familiar with Freecycle.  It’s a nationwide group with local chapters that allow people to give away items to keep them from landfills.  There are a lot of building supplies (bricks, pavers, extra cement) offered on Freecycle.  Also listed are also appliances, clothes, and children’s items.  You can post things you no longer want and would like to give away, or you can post things you’re looking for.  I’ve done both.  I’ve cleared out a lot of no-longer-used stuff that was taking up valuable space (have I mentioned that we live in a teensy two-bedroom apartment?).  I’ve also received items, saving us a ton of money.  I’ve gotten toys and clothes for Dom.  I even got a 27” TV when ours died and Dom kept asking, “Where’s Elmo?” every two minutes.  That was a true emergency situation. By far, though, one item I got for Dom is my best find ever.  As I’ve mentioned before, we’re having trouble finding a playground, and Dom loves to slide.  I posted on Freecycle a few weeks ago asking for a toddler-sized slide that could be used indoors or out.  I was immediately inundated with offers, and I selected the offer that was closest to our home.  That slide now lives in our living room (or Dom’s bedroom, depending on where he’s playing).  Dom now spends every moment we’re home sliding, climbing, or just sitting at the top of it while reading or playing.  When someone comes over, the first thing he does is show off his slide.  We take it outside in the late afternoon so he can get fresh air while playing.  I swear that this single Freecycle freebie is his favorite toy ever. The fact that I get to watch my boy having the best time ever is an added benefit.  Sometimes, the best things in life are free. Posted Jun 16 2008, 02:33 AM by marylandmom with 1 comment(s) Filed under: maryland, playgrounds [Edit Tags]

• He didn’t even call me a wimp

  I guess we’re lucky to have made it two years without a scraped knee.  In fact, I’ve only seen Dom’s blood once when he bit his tongue.  Even then, that was barely a scratch, and we were both over it in a matter of seconds. There was the “Did he swallow a battery?” incident (Answer:  No, he didn’t) and the “Getting checked out after a car accident” worry (He was fine).  And there was the time after a short fall when he did that “Holding my breath until I’m blue” screaming.  All in all, we’ve been very lucky.  Which is a good thing, because I saw his blood today and nearly passed out.  He wasn’t listening to me tell him to slow down, and he ran ahead of me down the sidewalk.  One croc went one way; the other went the other way, and down the boy tumbled.  I was fine.  I told him he’d be okay and I kneeled down to help him up. Dom stood up, hiccupping sobs with tears rolling down his cheeks.  I leaned over to give a quick once-over to his knee…and there was a river of blood pouring from it.  I’d like to say that I kept my cool and calmly cleaned and bandaged his knee.  I’d like to say that I kissed it, made it better, and gave him a Popsicle.  Nope.  I stopped breathing, fell onto my butt, and started screaming.  My husband raced out of the apartment, convinced that one of us was dying.  Once he’d assessed the situation, he raised an eyebrow and took Dom inside.  Where he cleaned and bandaged his knee, kissed it and made it better, and gave him a lollipop.  Bless him; he didn’t even call me a wimp.  If anyone has a large amount of bubble wrap they’d like to give away, I’d love to take it off of your hands.  The boy might look like the Michelin Man when I’m done, but I guarantee he will never bleed again. Posted Jun 13 2008, 12:59 PM by marylandmom with no comments Filed under: maryland [Edit Tags]

• The sky is night-night

  It started out as one of those sticky, hot days that make every movement seem like an ordeal.  You know – one of those days when you try to rush through your errands as quickly as possible so you can get home, shower, and relax for the rest of the day.  Except there was no end to our errands today, and there was no relaxation. We started off at a Mommy and Me event.  Then we went to the library and playground, ran by the drycleaner’s and post office, and visited a friend.  To sum it up, it was a very busy day. Our tight schedule meant Dom missed his nap.  It also meant that, at 8:10 p.m., we were just leaving the grocery store – our last errand.  8:00 is bedtime.  That plus the lack of a nap left both of us cranky.  There was much yelling and crying throughout the afternoon.  My brain started a countdown.  All I could think was, “Bedtime when we get home.  Thank God…bedtime as soon as we walk through the door.”  I had a grocery bag in each arm, and Dom was holding onto my shirt as we walked (our normal routine when I don’t have free hands).  I took another step before I noticed that he had frozen in place.  I was completely exasperated with him by this point, and I opened my mouth to tell him to march his butt to the car immediately.  But he spoke first. “Look, Mommy!  Moon!  The sky is night-night.”  There, in the sky opposite the sunset, was a ghost of a moon.  We stood in the middle of the parking lot for a few moments, talking about the moon, figuring out where the stars might be.  My baby grew up before my eyes.  Suddenly, I had all of the time in the world to drag my feet. Posted Jun 12 2008, 07:51 PM by marylandmom with no comments Filed under: maryland [Edit Tags]

• No tomatoes were injured during the production of this blog entry

  My kid just enjoyed his first buffet tonight.  It wasn’t at a fancy restaurant or even at a hole-in-the-wall, all-you-can-eat establishment.  No - it was on the kitchen counter.  It consisted of a wide selection of vegetables. Before you get excited and squeal, “Way to eat your veggies, Dom!” maybe I should finish the story.  The boy took one bite out of each of eight vegetables on the counter.  New vegetables that had been carefully washed but not yet put away.  Eight new vegetables that now must somehow all be incorporated into one or two big mish-mashed meals sometime over the next few days.  One of the vegetables is an eggplant.  I hate eggplant.  The only thing that can drown out its flavor is tomato…and of course, no tomatoes were injured during the production of this blog entry.  So I need to go buy a ninth vegetable tomorrow to go along with the eight that are now missing parts.  Did that make any sense? I think the whole thing might have been hilarious had I not just shelled out half of Dom’s college fund to Whole Foods for the privilege of bringing this carefully-grown, organic produce home.  After each bite, Dom spit out the contents of his mouth before moving on to the next vegetable.  I know this because there was a really gross, gooey pile of half-chewed vegetables in the middle of the kitchen floor.  Can’t put anything past me - I stepped in it when I went to find out why the boy had been a little too quiet for a little too long.  He did go back for a few more bites of one of the vegetables.  Guess which one?  That’s right – the eggplant.  And that begs the question, “What the heck is WRONG with my kid?” Posted Jun 10 2008, 08:48 PM by marylandmom with 2 comment(s) Filed under: maryland, food [Edit Tags]

• The Mommy guilt trip

  Yesterday, I was enjoying a few moments of not having Dom climbing on me.  I was lying on the sofa reading a book, and he was doing his usual attention-span-of-a-gnat room destruction.  Because he was quiet, happy, and in the room with me, I wasn’t paying too much attention to him.  Then a little voice said, “Look, Mommy!”  So I did.  And my heart stopped.  Dom was standing on top of the dining room table, hopping from one foot to the other while holding a vase in each hand.  I love my Ikea vases, so this was not okay with me.  Oh, yeah…and I didn’t want him to fall, either. Somehow, I immediately channeled my mother (maybe that’s common in times of impending crisis).  “Young man, I did not suffer through 16 hours of contractions so you could act like an idiot.  Get off of that table NOW!”  So he did.  Although he stayed far away from me for an hour or so, he didn’t climb on any more furniture.  And he left my vases alone. That’s when it struck me that this is the beginning of a beautiful parenting era…the Mommy guilt trip.  I now understand why God made childbirth so painful.  It gives us something to hold over our children’s heads for all of eternity.  “No, you can’t play football.  Did I ever tell you how much it hurt to push you out?  How about you join the chess team instead?”  What kid can argue with that?  Especially since it immediately brings to mind visions of Mommy’s hoo-hah, which nobody wants in their head for long. I imagine that children won’t totally get the full scope of labor and all it entails until they experience it for themselves.  But they certainly do understand the tone that accompanies the words “contractions” or “labor” or “pregnancy.”  It’s a weapon I fully intend to use. Posted Jun 09 2008, 10:44 AM by marylandmom with 2 comment(s) Filed under: maryland [Edit Tags]

• Holy Manoli Canoli!

  It is easy to drive right past Chevy Chase Lake, on Connecticut Avenue a few blocks inside the Beltway, on your way to bigger places like D.C. or Bethesda.  Next time you pass through, though, slow down and look around.  If you're heading South on Connecticut Avenue, take a look to your right as you pass Starbucks and Einstein Bagels.  See that tiny little restaurant?  The one with the outdoor patio in good weather?  That is Manoli Canoli, and it is our favorite place to eat.  They make their own mozzarella and olive oil.  In fact, their olives come from a family orchard in Greece.  They serve wines, but I can't comment on them, as anything that's not served from a jug tastes fine to me.  The owners are friendly and make their customers feel like family. Manoli Canoli is a wonderful blend of Greek and Italian cuisines.  The menu is full of Italian specialties (think pasta, bruschetta and antipasto) and Greek treats (you must try the mousaka).  We usually go quick and cheap, though.  That means we order salads, pizza, or sandwiches.  Nobody makes a better sandwich than Manoli Canoli. Their steak and cheese sub is the best we've tasted outside of Philadelphia.  The steak is seasoned perfectly, and the toppings complement it wonderfully.  If you add a side of fries (fried in olive oil), you're in quick-food Heaven.  Dom loves their chicken pita souvlaki and gyros.  The tzatziki sauce and feta cheese add a precisely balanced tang to these pita sandwiches.  Again, add the fries.  Make sure you save room for dessert.  The dessert menu isn't very large, but it covers the basics - cannoli, baklava, sfogliatelle, and tiramisu.  The only thing that could improve Manoli Canoli's menu would be gelato.  I only say that because we pass the restaurant everyday when we take our long, hot walks.   And I’ll use any excuse to go inside. Posted Jun 06 2008, 11:24 PM by marylandmom with 2 comment(s) Filed under: maryland, food [Edit Tags]

• "Wet. Rain."

  "Ooh...broken," Dom said gleefully. Broken?  Really?  I hadn't noticed the two gaping holes where my windshield used to stretch flawlessly.  Actually, I really hadn't noticed the damage until I'd chained Dom into his carseat, opened my door, and buckled myself in.  I actually hadn't noticed until the radio and AC were on (because comfort comes first, even when you don't have a windshield).  I hadn't noticed until the car was in reverse.  Yeah, I'm proud of my observation skills. "Wet.  Rain." Uh...yeah.  I stood in the near dark, water dripping from my drenched hair.  Rain blew all around us, and I still could only stare at where my windshield used to be.  "We need to go back inside, baby," I said to Dom.  As expected, the lip came out, the eyes hardened to steel, and the tiny body stiffened.  "No.  We go Nana's." "We can't drive the car because it's broken." "Rain broke?" he asked. "Yes, the rain broke the car," I said. "I don't like rain." Me, either.  I covered the two holes with Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes (come rain or snow or...the U.S. Postal Service to the rescue.  Or something like that).  Then we went inside to sit in the dark.  And eat in the dark.  And read in the dark.  And whine in the dark - that was Dom, not me.  I swear. For the record, I wrote this longhand by candlelight (I'll type it up later).  That's because Pepco takes a long time to restore power after a storm. I hoped inspiration would strike in the flickering light...I hoped that writers from ages past would suddenly give me a great blog entry.  The plan was that I would then keep going, writing my way into the Great American Novel.  Yeah...that didn't happen.  I just got writer's cramp.  And I know I gained weight.  Because there was no power, I had to save the ice cream.  Mint chocolate chip.  Rain sucks. Posted Jun 05 2008, 08:19 PM by marylandmom with 2 comment(s) Filed under: maryland [Edit Tags]

• My conflict

  I am Potawatomi and white.  My husband is black.  That makes Dom a crazy quilt of cultures.  The DC area is a melting pot.  People from all over the world surround us, but it is still difficult to have a truly cultural experience. I’ve nearly given up on exposing Dom to his Native heritage – at least as long as we live in this area.  There just isn’t any way to connect with other Native Americans.  It would be great if there were a club, but there isn’t.  Or at least nobody’s sent me my membership card yet.  There is the museum on the Mall, and we love to go there.  Sometimes, we attend music or dance exhibitions.  But there is nowhere to learn those dances, nowhere to taste the Native foods that my Grandmother fed me when I was Dom’s age.  I make frybread, but I can’t give him any other everyday ties to our culture.  Instead, we’re Potawatomi one week a year when we attend Powwow in Oklahoma.  We go to story hours and events largely populated by white people.  That isn’t planned – everyone is welcome, and we’ve never felt out of place.  It just works out that way.  I would love for Dom to have a multicultural palette of friends to play with.  But I feel odd wandering up to a stranger in the mall and saying, “Hey!  Your kid’s black.  Mine’s half.  Want to have a playdate?”  I want Dom to be exposed to a wide variety of cultures, but I don’t want any of it to matter to him.  I want him to realize that we’re all people and only have surface differences, but I want him to honor different cultures, too.  I want him to know and take pride in his family histories, but I don’t want him to feel superior or inferior because of them.  That is my conflict. Posted Jun 04 2008, 06:04 AM by marylandmom with no comments Filed under: maryland, native [Edit Tags]

• Sun + slides = burnt butts

  Today, I relearned a childhood lesson.  Sun + slides = burnt butts.  I am jealous of people with neighborhood playgrounds.  We’ve been on the hunt for a perfect playground since Dom could first sit up.  We live two miles from the nearest park.  That was a nice trek back in the days when Dom would sit in a stroller.  Now that he wants to walk, it’s way too far.  I guess we could just hop a neighbor’s fence when they’re not home, but dogs always seem to put up a fuss.  And steaks are an expensive bribe.  So, we’ve tried out park after park, waiting to find it – THE playground.  This quest has led us to a series of letdowns.  We have been to so many playgrounds that Dom doesn’t distinguish among them anymore.  If we pass any clearing at all that even looks as though there might be a playground hidden away, he starts screaming, “Slide!  Slide now!”  Montgomery County has no tot lots.  I don’t know why - my best friend is from Anne Arundel County, and tot lots abound there.  This lack of toddler-sized play equipment means that Dom can’t use the playground at all.  Or that older kids use him as a ladder to get to the slides.  Which immediately turns me into the crazy lady screaming at everyone else’s kids.  No wonder we haven’t made any friends.  Slides are another problem.  All of the playgrounds we’ve tried are in parks, surrounded by trees.  But for some reason, there are never any trees directly over or around the playgrounds to block the sun.  That is how I relearned that childhood lesson.  Exactly who still uses metal slides, anyway?  Plastic gets hot, but at least you don’t sauté on the way down.  You know those pants with the built-in butt padding?  My butt’s plenty big without them, but I’m considering placing an order.  I’d imagine the extra layer would protect me from slide burn. Posted Jun 02 2008, 08:22 PM by marylandmom with 2 comment(s) Filed under: maryland, playgrounds [Edit Tags]