The first day of Major League Baseball is almost upon us, woo hoo!As is my yearly tradition, I've provided this slightly updated list of baseball songs. (Read last year's list here.) Enjoy, and may all your teams have a great season. Except, as always, unless you're in the National League West, because the Diamondbacks rule. (In, er, 2012.) If any of you have more suggestions, leave me a comment.

Moving on in my look back at 2010's best in music for kids and families, it's time for individual songs. This is the third year (at least) that I've put together a list featuring my 20 favorite songs. It's really hard, maybe even harder than putting together a list of the best albums -- lots of really good songs get left off the list, and a number of really good albums find themselves unrepresented here. But all of them have withstood my own test of repeated spins with no diminishment in enjoyment. This alphabetical list might not necessarily make the best mix CD, but these are definitely great songs. So without further ado... Tommy Got In Trouble - The Bazillions (Rock-n-Roll Recess) [Watch here] Sing With Me - Haley Bonar (Sing With Me) I'm A Monkey - Candy Band (High Five) [Watch them perform it live here] The Princess Who Saved Herself - Jonathan Coulton (Many Hands: Family Songs for Haiti) [Listen here] Willy Won't - Debbie And Friends (More Story Songs & Sing Alongs) [Watch here] Blue Bear - Lucky Diaz (Luckiest Adventure) [Watch here] Clap Your Hands - Gwendolyn And The Good Time Gang (Clap Your Hands) [Listen (to at least a healthy portion) here] Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here! - Dean Jones featuring the Felice Brothers (Rock Paper Scissors) The Ballad of Johnny Box - Billy Kelly (Is This Some Kind of Joke?) Shoo Lie Loo - Elizabeth Mitchell (Sunny Day) F & G - The Pop Ups (Outside Voices) [Listen here] All About Bob - Ralph's World (All Around Ralph's World) [Download for free here] Moon Boots - Recess Monkey (The Final Funktier) [Watch here] Mama Papa Love - Renee & Jeremy (C'mon) [Listen here] Trick or Treat -Justin Roberts (Jungle Gym) [Listen here] Ride the Butterflies -Secret Agent 23 Skidoo (Underground Playground) Little Red Wagon - Sugar Free Allstars (Funky Fresh And Sugar Free) [Listen here] Rattling Can - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke (Rise And Shine) [Listen here] Hula Hoop To Da Loop - Keller Williams (Kids) [Watch here] I Won't Grow Up - Dan Zanes & Friends (76 Trombones)

I first posted a list of songs for adoption about four years ago. Without going into great detail (if you want more, read the original list), adoption has been a part of our how family has grown, and for that I'm grateful. This Saturday, November 20, 2010, families across the United States will celebrate National Adoption Day. Everyone's adoption journey is a little bit different, so trying to come up with a list of adoption songs is difficult work. Still, here's a short list, which I've generally tried to restrict to very adoption-specific songs. I'm sure there's more that's crossed my desk over the past four years, so if I've missed any, please let me know 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. "Not Alone', by John Carlin from his CD First Time For Everything "When Love Takes You In," by Steven Curtis Chapman off Declaration "Once Upon a Time," by Miss Lynn off her forthcoming album Something New (and download the song for free here) -- those of you with a Guatamalan adoption experience should check it out, especially...

I know that with Labor Day coming up and schools back in session, many areas of the country may see a decrease their use of playgrounds, but in the desert climates of Arizona, Labor Day means that the first month of school is in the books and it's possible to use playgrounds after 9:30 in the morning. So playground usage actually goes up 'round here. In honor of this fact, and celebrating playgrounds generally, here's a list of playground and play-inspired songs. Or songs from play-inspired albums. Or songs from albums with "playground" in the name (excluding Putumayo Kids). And while you're at it, why don't you visit my playground blog? Humungous Tree - Barenaked Ladies (Snack Time!) Multiplication Treehouse - Duplex (Ablum) Jungle Gym - Jack Johnson Feat. G. Love (Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies For The Film Curious George) Sign My Cast - Justin Roberts (Jungle Gym) Hopping And Sliding - Music Together (Bells) Water Balloon - The Okee Dokee Brothers (Take It Outside) My Trampoline - Peter Himmelman (My Trampoline) How Fast Can You Run? - The Quiet Two (Make Some Noise) Playground - Ralph Covert (The Amazing Adventures Of Kid Astro) Treehouse Orchestra - Ralph Covert (The Amazing Adventures Of Kid Astro) The Great Outdoors - Ralph's World (All Around Ralph's World) Swingset - Ralph's World (Green Gorilla, Monster & Me) Ice Pack - Recess Monkey (Field Trip) The Sandbox Song - Recess Monkey (Tabby Road) Playground - Rocknoceros (Pink!) Playground!!! - Roy Handy & the Moonshot ((I'm Gonna Be) Your Best Friend) Little Sally Walker - Suni Paz (Songs For The Playground) Playground - The Terrible Twos (Jerzy The Giant) Ooh La! Ooh La! - They Might Be Giants (Here Come the 123s!) The Bare Necessities - Tony Bennett (The Playground)

It's Mothers' Day Sunday? OK, so this is a bit late for burning a CD and mailing. Perhaps your mom can handle a zipped file (or iTunes gift card). For some reason I skipped this last year, so I've got 2 years of songs to add to my last list. 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 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 -- it is every year -- so feel free to add your suggestions in the comments section. List after the jump...