And now, the update you’ve all been waiting for - the Cribsheet Cafe report!

Java Train was perfect for our little gathering, which drew out several Cribsheeters and multiple kids. As with the first Cribsheet Cafe, it was soooo nice to put faces and voices to online monikers. We felt like we knew everyone already, even as we met for the first time.

For those of you who told us you who couldn’t make it because you were out of town or otherwise busy, we’re plotting another get-together in late September. We may even make it a happy hour (gasp!) for a change.

Katie and Josh (of Birthing in Brno fame)

Ann Z., who writes Little Four Eyes, with Zoe

Sheletta and Andrew

Chris (sometime guest-blogger) with his girls

Kay’s Ben checks out the water tower

Amelia Sprout and her little sprout! She’s heading to BlogHer ‘09 please report back Amelia!

Cribsheeters, we loved getting together with everyone. This really is an amazing group - an island of sanity and tranquility in the crazy blogosphere. 

Watch this space for the next gathering.

We went to the Raptor Release at the Hyland Lake Park Preserve in Bloomington last Saturday and met up with some friends. What a beautiful day and a great family event!

We saw Owls

a Turkey Vulture

(I had recently seen one fly by my office window at the Star Tribune. I told the raptor volunteer about my sighting. She thought it was odd for one to be in downtown Minneapolis, but assured me that “No, it wasn’t circling the building -it must have just been a bit off it’s migratory course.”)

We managed to have a nice picnic by the lake and avoid “the-fun-for-kids-yet-incredibly-stressful-for-parents-Chutes-and-Ladders-playground” (that park is another post in itself)

There were educational activities, music, and more people with enormous telephoto lenses then I’ve ever seen in one place. Then the big event. The raptor release. They were setting free three hawks that had been rehabilitated. I had no idea that it would be so moving. In fact I got a little choked up. But I guess that is why there was a crowd of people from all over the metro area there.

Because it is so dang cool to see these magnificent birds soar off. Freedom!

We don’t live far from there and I went back for a solo bike ride at dusk in there later that evening. It is my happy place. There are miles and miles of paved trails through prairieland and aspen groves. The sun was just starting to set, a chorus of frogs filled the air and deer were grazing on the hills. I looked up and saw a red-tail hawk catching a gust of wind just soaring above me. I’m not sure if it was one that was just released or not but it made me smile as I biked away. A lovely ending to a lovely day.

(I have had this song in my head nonstop since that day “I Saw A Bird Fly Away” - Dar Williams)

For more educational activities for the little ones check out upcoming events in the Three Rivers Park District programs - click on the Spring Calendar here.

Easter weekend is coming up and looks like the weather will be decent for a few egg hunts and being outside.

We did several rites of spring last weekend such as the requisite…

Petting zoo…

Homage to the Minnehaha Parkway (& Portland Ave) Bunny Sculpture

Made my annual “Bunny Cake” Ben helped and tried to put jellybeans on the cake instead of IN his mouth…

Here’s a list from Mpls Parks & Rec for Easter egg hunts and events going on around the city.

Of course there are the Farm Babies at the Minnesota Zoo.

Macy’s Flower Show is also an annual favorite.

What are your plans for the weekend and more activites or suggestions?

The pitches from PR people streaming in my inbox are particularly creative this year. Forget florists or purveyors of wine and chocolate.

Today, it was Allergies & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics. Rather than buying perfumes and flowers that provoke sneezing, or candy that bring on hives, try a moonlight walk instead, implore the Mothers of Asthmatics. Or a machine-washable teddy bear so you can regularly get rid of dust mites.

Even better was the one from last week from the folks at Silent Snooz, touting its one-size fits all, nasal dilator that “fits comfortably onto the base of your lover’s nose” to fight snoring.

And I’m sure many of you will be sorry you missed the Smitten Kitten’s “Getting Off: A Woman’s Guide to Masturbation” evening last week. “Just in time for Valentine’s Day,” says the Minneapolis sex toy shop.

Or for that matter, the store’s “Sexy Mama” mornings (second and fourth Sundays of each month) where you are invited to bring your little one(s) and peruse the wares. (Kay and I were going to make this a Cribsheet outing, but then she got sick. Or so she says…)

But the one that just has to take the cake for sheer (un) romance has to be The Tile Shop of Plymouth’s Valentine’s Day Bathroom Makeover Contest. Tell them why your loved one deserves a dream bathroom and you could win a $25,000 bathroom renovation.

Thanks, but it’s hard enough to engineer romance with two little ones running around, without bringing bathroom tiles into the picture… 

Cribsheeters, what are you doing on Valentine’s?

It’s more than a year since Jason DeRusha stole Cribsheet’s blogging Emmy from under our noses, but we still haven’t forgotten…

So we hesitated (for two seconds) when the folks at “Eat, Drink & Get Published” invited us to be on a bloggers’ panel to be moderated by none other than Mr. DeRusha. 

But then we heard there was free wine and cheese, so we said okay.

The audience that filled the room in the cellar at 44th and France was pretty diverse. About half had their own blogs already. And there were some who not only didn’t, but wanted to know why anyone should have one. Good question (wait, did Jason trademark that?).

For Kate Hopper, who teaches the Motherwords writing course at the Loft, it’s a meeting point for all the things she does - teaching, writing and mothering.

For Stephen Regenold, Mr. Gearjunkie (or as he prefers, it Gearhunky), it’s an integral part of his web site on outdoor gear reviews.

Justin Piehowski of Minnesota Blog Cabin on Minnpost.com thought there should be a blog to review blogs, so he created one.

And Jason, well, clearly Jason does it so he can win Emmys…. (more…)