Imaginative Play and the Behavior of Kids

Call me old fashion but should babies have an iPad case? Hell! Should they have an iPad?

Fisher Price recently released an iPad case for toddlers. The case, which costs less than $40, protects the iPad against biting and drooling. They actually market it that way...crazy!

I'm pro entertainment and using educational resources to motivate, guide, distract, and teach kids, but what has happened to letting kids use their imagination to build, discover, create, learn, and self-monitor? What is wrong with imaginative play? What is wrong with letting kids be bored? What is wrong with Fisher Price?

I'm sorry, but the Fisher Price case has really gotten me fired up!

A few years ago, I heard a great report on NPR about imaginative play, which I'm sharing with you. It provides a hypothesis to why some believe kids are less mature today them they were in prior years. I found the report very informative and it helped shed light on the disruptive and immature behavior of some of my students. As a parent, the report reminded me that kids need time, space, and opportunities to be creative and free-thinkers.

Please read the article. You may be surprised to learn that it began with toys.

Here is another great article:

Imaginative play for Toddlers

Once a Week

Blogging Once a Week

I sure am tired. I don't know if it's a result of the pregnancy, or the demanding college courses, or the stack of essays that I must grade, or a culmination of all three. All I know is that I sure am tired.

My week plays out in the following way: Mondays and Tuesdays are fine. I am productive at work, school, and home. By Wednesday, I feel like a dementor is slowly sucking the energy out of me and only Harry Potter can save me. Thursdays are difficult; it's the white-flag-I-surrender day. Come Friday, energy slowly creeps back into my body. On Saturdays and Sundays, I recharge my batteries and am whole again--right now, I love the weekend and nap time :)

I 'm not in my pajamas. I really look this good when I'm studying.

With my not so active disposition, something has to give. Consequently, I have reduced my blogging time :( to once a week, and I hate it. I truly enjoy sitting with my laptop thinking of nothing better to do but write a blog entry about things I have no business writing about. I like adding photos, sharing my thoughts, looking at my followers, and reading my fav blogs. I really do! Oh well, I need to accept that I can't blog as often as I did, and that a once a week entry is better than nothing.

The show must go on!

A Musa do Caldeirao--the Muse of Carnaval 2012

Musa do Caldeirao 2012

Every year, Luciano Huck, a prominent Brazilian talk show host, holds a Musa do Caldeirao competition. For a month or so, samba dancers from top Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo samba schools complete for the title. The winner not only is labeled the muse of his show but also receives noted praises and opportunities for the remaining of the year. Needless to say, I can't let this major Brazilian samba event go unblogged.

Below are some of my favorite dancers or costumes!
I'm not crazy about Joice's performance but I do love her top and hat...wow!!


Decorated arms must be my next project. I love the look and the attention it calls to the arm movements of the dancer. Check out Neia's costume.

I'm a little bias but I love Camila's performance. She has grace, style, and amazing footwork. My pick for Musa do Caldeirao!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a video of Evelyn's performance, but I did include a photo of her. She is the official Musa do Carnaval 2012.

"Take It Easy:" 3rd Trimester

As I begin the 3rd and final trimester of my pregnancy, my midwife has asked me to take it easy. Take it easy! Is she nuts? It's like asking Snoop to stop smoking weed. Though feasible, it is not realistic.


With my first child, I did not slow down. I, in the early stages of my 3rd trimester, samba down Mission Street in celebration of the San Francisco Carnaval parade, went on long hikes with my hubby, and sorted loads of heavy textbooks on the last few days of school. Now, I often ask myself "What was I thinking?"
Yes, I need to remember that it is not about me; it's about the growing baby inside of me. Therefore, I vow to take it easy or at least not repeat the things I did during my first pregnancy.

Nap time, here I come!

Sexy Mama

I began today with the goal of making Valentine's Day special. Yes, I love my hubby but I also need to redeem myself. Last year, I barely gave Valentine's Day any attention and still feel the ramifications of my behavior.

Unfortunately, I have come to an unpleasant conclusion--pregnant women are off the sexy radar. Companies that glorify female sexuality simply dismiss us; we don't exist. Really, Victoria's Secret does make lingerie for pregnant women. They don't have a single secret for preg ladies! Even Frederick of Hollywood, the sleazy version of Vicky, past on the pregnancy bandwagon. Discrimination!!!

Enough is enough. I refuse to let others place me in the Virgin Mary category (after all, my pregnancy is not a result of immaculate conception). It's bad enough that students constantly tell me I can't wear heels because it's bad for the baby. Really, I become pregnant and automatically forfeited my sexuality? Come on, reinstate me!

Ok, I'm not unreasonable. I understand that accommodations need to be made. My butty shorts need a support fabric that goes over my tummy and the bra, in a few months, will need a detachable flap to accommodate breastfeeding. Yeeessss, I am aware that the accommodation don't increase the sexiness of it all, but it's still beautiful...right?

To console myself, I turn to some of my favorite sexy mama stuff:

I see a baby bump. Do you?

Alessandra was several weeks pregnant when she strutted down the catwalk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion show in November.

Rachael Green trying to induce labor.

New Year's Resolution Article