Category Archives: fairy tales

Ninja gnomes

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Over winter vacation, Gorilla Girl and Monkey man became obsessed with Gnomeo and Juliet — an animated, Elton-John infused version of Romeo and Juliet.  The family friendly film predictably alters the ending (double suicide not really being popular with the … Continue reading →

Posted in education, fairy tales, family, gender, motherhood | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Tooth fairy

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Gorilla Girl lost her first tooth.  This physical signal of her development took me a bit by surprise. Though I was a little worried that Gorilla Girl lost her tooth too soon, our dentist assured me that even though she … Continue reading →

Posted in experience, fairy tales, family, growth, lessons, motherhood | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Summer movies, adoption style

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

We took Monkey Man and Gorilla Girl to see Kung Fu Panda 2 over the Memorial Day weekend.  Monkey Man has been obsessed with Kung Fu Panda, and our whole family knows the story. The first time I watched the … Continue reading →

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How to feed a vampire

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

A fellow blogger and old friend posted a question about the recent fascination with Vampires in pop culture, and especially the glamorization of women as possessions of these Vampire characters.  She’s referring mostly to an HBO show called True Blood … Continue reading →

Posted in fairy tales, feminism | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Midsummer’s arrival

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

For teachers (and students), and anyone else who works in a job where summer is synonymous with a more relaxed schedule, and fewer obligations, summer often arrives just as we are frayed around our edges. In those few weeks before … Continue reading →

Posted in beer, expectations, fairy tales, summer | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Playing dress up

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Monkey Man has found a new love — playing dress up. Gorilla Girl has a box of “princess” dress up clothes that we bought for Christmas, and she has been recently wearing the various princess outfits over her own clothing. … Continue reading →

Posted in expectations, experience, fairy tales, family, feminism, gender, identity, lessons, spring | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The mad cap adventures of Princess Belle

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Gorilla Girl’s cousin and aunt sent her a new favorite book for Valentine’s Day — it is called Enchanted Stables and it incorporates three princesses, Belle, Cinderella and Snow White, each in her own mad cap “adventure” involving a horse.  … Continue reading →

Posted in consumerism, expectations, fairy tales, lessons | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Not so pretty in pink

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Peggy Orenstein’s Schoolgirls, when it was released in 1994, like other feminist works of the 1990s, questioned, probed, revealed, and prompted changes and shifts in education, the work place and social interactions.  Her book, like Myra and David Sadker’s Failing … Continue reading →

Posted in class, consumerism, education, expectations, fairy tales, fraud, gender, identity, language, motherhood | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Juiced!

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Gorilla Girl has a habit of hiding under furniture when she has committed an act that she knows is unacceptable or dangerous. Several weeks ago, she ran at top speed from my room, dashed under the couch and remained hidden … Continue reading →

Posted in fairy tales, food, lessons, motherhood, teaching | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Fashionista barbie, door bells and prince charlie

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

A few days ago, Monkey Man and Gorilla Girl were playing while I made dinner.  Gorilla Girl said to Monkey Man, “You will be Prince Charlie and I’ll visit you.” For a moment, I thought I should correct Gorilla Girl, … Continue reading →

Posted in consumerism, expectations, fairy tales, gender, holidays, language | 4 Comments