Because the Police's "Mother" probably wouldn't sound so good on your Mother's Day mix CD, I first posted a list of songs for mom last year. It's time to drag it out again (and update it a bit)... Here's a list of songs for mothers or songs about mothers, in no particular order. I've avoided lullabies (songs by moms, typically), as well as songs about general parentual units, or songs about moms and dads. (If you're looking for songs about moms and moms, might I recommend AudraRox's excellent "Moms & Dads," which, song title notwithstanding, is about all sorts of families.) If a song isn't on the list, it's because of one of the three "O"s: Oversight (I knew about the song and just forgot), Omission (I knew about the song and chose to exclude it), or Obtuseness (I didn't know about the song at all). I expect the third category to be fairly large, so feel free to add your suggestions in the comments section. ****************** "Mama Don't Allow" -- numerous versions; try Brady Rymer's version off of Every Day Is a Birthday "Mama Hug" -- Brady Rymer, Every Day Is a Birthday "Mama Is Sad" -- Justin Roberts, Yellow Bus (it's a song about divorce, so I'm guessing it's not gonna go on too many mix tapes) "Five Little Ducks" -- try version on the Old Town School of Folk Music's Songs For Wiggleworms "Thank You Mommy" -- The RTTs, Turn It Up Mommy! "The Coffee Song" -- Ralph's World, At the Bottom of the Sea (not really about moms specifically, but it was the first song that came to my wife's mind when I mentioned the topic of the post) "Hush Little Baby" -- try version on the Old Town School of Folk Music's Wiggleworms Love You, though it's just as often that Dad is the person buying baby that billy goat "Mother and I" -- Bill Thomas (and a Circle of Friends), Time Can Be So Magic "Hope My Mama Says YES!" -- AudraRox, I Can Do It By Myself (more about the kid than the mom, but that's what Mother's Day sometimes ends up being, no?) "Mommy She Loves Me" -- Ginger Hendrix, Macaroni Boy Eats at Chez Shooby Doo "Nerves" -- Terri Hendrix, Celebrate the Difference (not really celebratory, but the recipient mom will nod her head in understanding, then ask you to get her a beer) "A Dozen Roses" and "I Made It For You" -- Peter Himmelman, both off My Green Kite

It's Tuesday, and my baseball team is undefeated. So it's not too late for me to update my list of baseball songs. But first... My very first major league baseball game(s) were watching the Minnesota Twins in the Metrodome (for School Crossing Guard Day(s). Really). So I was excited to hear The Hold Steady have recorded "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (download at their Myspace page). It's exactly what you'd expect a Hold Steady version of the song to sound like -- half-spoken/half-sung, massive guitar solo. It's also got a shout-out to the Metrodome, which is fine, but maybe Craig and the boys aren't getting the Minnesota papers in Brooklyn -- the Twins are getting a new (open-air) stadium. (Watch MTV's video of Finn recording vocals here.) It's also a good time to mention Ben Rudnick and Friends' new sampler album The Challenger Baseball Song and Other Hits, proceeds of which will go to benefit the Challenger Division of Little League Baseball. The title track is a zippy Rudnick-ian jam, and the other tracks are a good selection of the band's music. Learn more and listen to sound clips here and here. ********* There are very few sports-related children's songs that come to mind. I can understand why, as sports like football and hockey require a lot of equipment and are typically for older kids (this is especially the case for football). Basketball and baseball are easier to play, perhaps -- less equipment, introduced at an earlier age. Since the major sports typically become mostly a spectator sport as we grow up, perhaps it's good that there isn't much children's music about sports since a song about watching other people do something is kinda depressing as a kids' song. (It does make me think that the genre of children's soccer songs is a niche waiting to be filled.) Here goes: -- "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (well, duh) -- try Wiggleworms Love You, from the Old Town School of Folk Music (nicely bipartisan, cheering for both the Cubs and White Sox) -- "Baseball Dreams" -- off At the Bottom of the Sea, by Ralph's World (Cubs all the way in this one) -- "I'm Gonna Catch You" -- off Under a Shady Tree, by Laurie Berkner (it has one relevant line -- "So I jumped into Saturday / And I had a baseball batter-day" -- yeah, I'm really reachin' here) -- "Centerfield" -- off Centerfield, by John Fogerty (not kids' music, but a great song anyway). See also Visqueen's rendition on the forthcoming Desoto Records kidscomp Play! -- "Talkin' Baseball -- off countless albums by Steve Cashman, who just re-records and updates his song -- baseball history lesson in 3 minutes -- "Big Train" -- off the RTT's Turn It Up Mommy!. About Walter "Big Train" Johnson. I'd probably disagree that he's the best pitcher ever, but that's another blog. Good song. -- "Right Field" -- Peter, Paul and Mary. -- "Cryin' in the Dugout" -- off Daddy-A-Go-Go's upcoming Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate album. A humorous song -- "Baseball Dreams" played for laughs instead of nostalgia. -- "The Greatest" -- Kenny Rogers. -- "Roll Around" -- Peter Himmelman, off of his My Lemonade Stand CD. A fun, rollicking song about a baseball who retires, then comes back to his calling. -- "Baseball" -- Milkshake, off Play!. Guest-starring Cal Ripkin, Jr. -- "The Challenger Baseball Song" -- Ben Rudnick and Friends. All about the Challenger Division of Little League, for kids with mental and physical disabilities. -- "Baseball, Baseball" -- Stephen Cohen, off Here Comes the Band. [Good call, Gwyneth!] And finally, an artist reviewed here on this very site wrote me to suggest four more songs, including at least one I'm miffed I forgot... the comments in quotes are the artist's, not mine. -- "Catfish" -- off Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series. I am unfamiliar with this one. But it's Dylan. -- "Joe DiMaggio’s Done it Again" -– Wilco and Billy Bragg, from their Mermaid Ave Vol. 2 -- "A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request" –- Steve Goodman – "Classic, and very funny." See "Talkin' Baseball," above. -- "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" -- Brave Combo - "two very cool versions... wacky and fun." It's Brave Combo, how could it not be fun? If any of you have more suggestions (or can point me to a family-friendly soccer song), leave me a comment.

Spring is virtually here. (How do I know? My wife is sneezing All. The. Time. Poor woman.) As a result, it's time to update our list of spring songs. We did this initially about a year ago, but there's been a lot of music come down the pike since then. Because there aren't all that many songs that specifically take spring as their subject, what follows is a list of spring-ish songs. Flowers and bugs and a little rain. Songs with "Spring" in them. Rain isn't necessarily for spring alone, but we've gone without much rain this winter and spring and so it's a bit of wishful thinking. (Sadly, that sentence is copied directly from my post last year but is just as true.) I've added the new songs here. Raffi, "Robin in the Rain" (Singable Songs for the Very Young) Elizabeth Mitchell, "You Are My Flower" (You Are My Flower) Laurie Berkner, "In the Clouds" (Buzz Buzz) Elizabeth Mitchell, "Ladybug Picnic" (You Are My Sunshine) Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell, "Butterfly" (Catch the Moon) Ralph Covert, "The Ants Go Marching" (from Songs For Wiggleworms) Dan Zanes and Dar Williams, "Wild Mountain Thyme" (Night Time!) Dan Zanes, "On the Sunnyside of the Street" (Rocket Ship Beach) --- new --- The Sippy Cups, "Springtime Fantastic" (Electric Storyland) Enzo Garcia, "Spring is Here" (LMNO Music (Green)) Ryan Hipp, Kevin Kammeraad, and Friends, "Spring" (A Curious Glimpse of Michigan) Ralph's World, "Puddle of Mud" (Happy Lemons) Erin Lee & Marci, "Waiting For It To Grow" (Snowdance) Elizabeth Mitchell, "Pom Na Tu Ri (Springtime Outing)" (You Are My Little Bird) I'm sure I've missed some -- add your suggestions below

I don't share many details about my life here. I never envisioned this as a "dadblog" -- there are way too many acute observers of either gender of parenting and family life on and off the Internet for me to feel like I could add anything significant to the conversation. Having said that, at the risk of turning this into a Very Special Episode of Zooglobble, I think this post deserves a bit of an introduction. On November 18, 2006 families across the United States will celebrate National Adoption Day. For the first time, our family will be among those celebrating. Although the day is specifically designed to raise awareness about adopting children from foster care, the day and month -- November is National Adoption Month -- are used to celebrate adoptions of all types. Our family has two children -- one is a "bio" (short for "biological") child of ours, as the phrase goes in the adoption community, while the other came into our family via adoption. Both children are a blessing to us. Because we've experienced both ways of adding a child to our family, the notion of an "adoption" song is a little odd to me. I view it as a method, one with serious implications to be sure, but still a means to an end. But there are tons of songs about the birth of a child -- why shouldn't there be a few songs about the adoption journey? Which brings up the point that everybody's adoption journey is a little bit different. A song that may perfectly capture the feelings of one family's adoption journey may be completely alien to another family. And, hey, that goes for childbirth, too. Here, then, is a short list, which I've generally tried to restrict to very adoption-specific songs. I've cribbed from a few sources. If you're looking for more songs, try here or there. Many of the songs were certainly not written with adoption in mind and could just as easily be sung to a lover, but that's the beauty of music, isn't it? You never know what songs people will find strength in. I've also left off songs that are more about giving a child up for adoption. That's really for older kids, not the audience I'm aiming for here. If you've got more, leave 'em in the comments. "Happy Adoption Day," by John McCutheon (off his Family Garden CD or his Supper's on the Table... best-of) "From God's Arms to My Arms to Yours," by Michael McLean "The Red Thread," by Lucy Kaplansky, off the album of this same name "Cartwheels and Somersaults," by Justin Roberts, off Meltdown! -- OK, this isn't really about adoption, but it is all about the joy of adding another child to a family and it spoke to our family's situation wonderfully.