No TV for a week...

When the TV is on our girls are like their father watching the rugby - they are in the zone, the rest of the world disappears, you can have whole conversations that are not remembered.

Last weekend, when telling MiniMe for the 100th time to put her Netta uniform on and nothing was happening I declared that the following week would be one without TV. JJ was allowed to watch when they were at school (for my sanity) but other than that it was gone.

I thought we would have screams, fights but they have accepted their lot for the week.

We have had a couple of friends for plays in the afternoon which has helped distract but last night at the in-laws for dinner the TV went on so we could have dinner in peace. I thought the girls would be hooked back in but they happily went downstairs and played with their cousins.

And today, Goofy is home and has only requested the TV once but now is very involved in a make believe game with JJ. They have a house in the toy room, they are going on picnics and other excursions around the house.

They are happy.

I am contemplating making TV a permanent exclusion from our weekdays. They (and I) have managed fine without it.

Is can only be good for them right?

Beyond Green Beyond Clean...

As noted yesterday JJ has left the unpleasant smell of vomit lingering at our friend's house.

Yesterday I was at a friends whose house smelt of Pine Tarsal - the chimney had been cleared but something went wrong and the good dining room got covered with ash instead!

This is when I was reminded about a product called Beyond Green Beyond Clean.

It eats mould and odours and is all environmentally friendly as it uses an enzyme to eat the yucky stuff!

Might need to take some round and try it out on the vomit infested dining room table!

How you know you have a good friend...

You know you have a good friend when over the years your children have urinated on their floors, pooed on their carpet and projectile vomited over their dining room table and they have helped clean it up.

And invited you back again.

Cheers to you MultipleMum!

Playgroup....

I thought the curse of morning tea would get me today. It would appear that whoever is on the roster to do morning tea at playgroup inevitable can not come themselves, just drop off their goodies, as themselves or a child is sick.

However, after a rocky late afternoon/evening with JJ yesterday she woke up bouncing around, happy as Larry! So we made it and broke the curse.

It is a new playgroup that I have started going to this year and it has been really lovely. I don't know if it is just having one child to keep an eye on or if it is that fact that is it my last playgroup jaunt, or the small area which means I can see her from every corner of the room, or the lovely morning sun that warms one particular corner, or the lovely people, or the good kids craft or the fun that JJ has that has me happily coming back each week. But whatever the reason, I look forward to our Monday mornings.

What do you do on a Monday morning?


ps - sorry still cant get photos working - had a great one of JJ and her cousin with their monkey mask craft on today!

I gave myself a small pat on the back this week.

We have not had rain for weeks. I have been washing almost every day to make use of the sunshine. The memory of the month of rain still lurking in the recesses of my mind so I keep up to date in case it returned.

It did. With a mighty downpour.

Well done me, I thought. I got my last load of washing off the line before the rain came.

I went past the washing line the day after the rain cleared. What did I discover under the line?

A full washing basket of 'dry' laundry.

Unlucky.

A little kick...

This term I am taking JJ for some swimming lessons. I went in the water and did lessons for MiniMe when she was quite young so I thought I would not deprive my youngest daughter (too late for Goofy she missed out!). It is some nice time for the two of us to hang out and have eye contact, focus just on having fun with her.

There is a long period of floating on her back at the beginning of each class. JJ does it for a bit and then has had enough. She wants to kick kick, she is a water baby.

This week the teacher had a quiet but stern word with the mothers in the class. From her pink bracered mouth she told us that we were in charge and they might not want to stay on their backs but we have to keep turning them over until they get the idea that it isnt worth fighting, they might as well just float.

It was the little kick I needed to remember that I am the parent and I make the decisions in our relationship. Just because she screams for nouk (milk), for example, does not mean that she gets it. If I persist and stay firm then she will come round, in time.

So it took our young swimming teacher to make me realise that there is going to be some screaming and unhappiness in our house but in the battle of the wills, I will win!

Blogger question...

Hi,
You may have noticed that I have not been putting photos up. Blogger closes down each time I try and put one in - any suggestions on how to remedy this?
Thanks,
DITR

This week...

It is my mothers birthday this week. We have had a family dinner to celebrate what would have been her 59th birthday. My brother said grace and thanked God for the life that she had. Normally that is something I can pray too. But not this week.

This week I want the life she could have had. I want her to be here with me, with my girls. I want to be thankful for her here in the present, not thankful for the short period we had in the past. This week I am angry and sad that another we have another birthday and mothers day without her. That we all miss out on the bounty of her gifts.

The past seven years have taught me that this is a phase that will pass, the grief will change its shape again.

But right now, I want my Mum.

Musical mind?

My Dad gives us money to buy the girls birthday presents. He isn't a shopper so he prefer we get something they will like. As MiniMe has got older we have put the money towards lessons. One year was dance, another drama and this year Dad requested the money be put towards music lessons.

As we have a piano at home (thanks to my dad passing on our old one when he downsized) and I use to learn piano it made sense that she started with piano. 

We have had one lesson. When I was telling this to Dad he asked how you go about fostering a love of music in your children. He feels like he failed with us. Practicing was always a battle and we did it out of obligation not enjoyment.

Do some children just have that passion or is it something you can create?

I noticed that if I sat with MiniMe to practice this week the - 'I cant do' attitude stoped. We have had numerous conversations about how it will take lots of practice to get good, you only get out of it what you put in etc...

So as we begin on this musical, what tips can you give me? Please?!