Meet my babysitter...

"I feel so bad I have just had little Johnny in front of the TV so I can get XYZ done..."

Why is it that we feel bad about letting our children watch TV? If it appropriate for their age and is not all they do all day everyday then I don't see the harm. I say this as my two eldest are watching ABC for kids while JJ is sleeping. We are going out to carols tonight and we all need a little quiet time and JJ needs some uninterrupted sleep. Is someone looking for some justification?! In general they will watch up to two hours a day if we are home all day. That sounds a lot when I write it but the quiet it brings does not seem that long!!

I read a book that asked would you trust your children with a babysitter who dressed inappropriately, swore at them, told them not to listen to their parents, to desire many a material thing, who modelled bad relationships etc. When you think about it many TV programs and advertisements are doing just this. Somehow I don't think they were talking about ABC for kids TV! I think they were more referring to letting your children watch 'adult' TV shows but it did serve to make me think about what shows I put on for my children and what things my 'babysitter' might be teaching them.

I like what Playschool has to teach them and the other day they were watching a show where they were thinking about what to do when you feel angry in a way that I hadn't thought to express. Bindi the jungle girl has been popular the last few weeks and MiniMe has been telling me different wildlife facts. Bindi can came and babysit anytime!

What is your stance on children and TV? How much do you allow your children to watch a day? Any babysitters that are not invited back?

2011 here we come...

This week I purchased our 2011 calender. We have started getting some appointments/invites for the new year and I feared loosing all the bits of paper I was writing them on. So I am excited to have found this one at Kikki K.

Looking around Kikki K it is a shame we have become a paperless society in some ways, I have always loved new stationary and Kikki K had some beautiful stuff. Be warned though they don't return items. I bought the biggest calender and then when I got home it didnt fit the calender space so I changed it for the smaller one and they wouldn't refund me the $5. You could think returning it within 2 days would be ok. So now I have a credit voucher which is a bit annoying. Anyway...

My 2010 calender has been less than satisfactory. Besides having a very cute picture of a fairy in the garden drawn by MiniMe at the top it has been a bit annoying so I am very excited about my new calender.

It has a column for each member of the family, one for birthdays and space to write notes at the bottom.

With MiniMe starting school and Goofy at preschool I feel like my calender is going to become a crucial part of my daily routine.

I feel like I have one tool in my belt for 2011 now...what else do I need?

Tiny Tots Tuesday....JJ

I started this blog when JJ was only a few months old and so it was hard to come up with a suitable blog name for her. She hadn't really been around long enough to think of what would capture her.

JollyJumper largely came about because when I was writing her introduction she was outside contentedly in the Jolly Jumper. JollyJumper is a bit long to write so I have recently taken to shortening it to JJ here in blog world.

So a few months on would I change the name I gave her (as if choosing her real name wasn't hard enough!)?

I could have gone for

• EarlyRiser - she has a bond with the sun in that they like getting up at the same time
• Cheeky - there is a definite cheeky sparkle in her eyes
• BlueEyes - we have got the trifecta of eye colours in our girls.
• Dymples - goes with a gorges smile
• Smiley - she greets us with a smile you just cant help but reciprocate
• LuckyLast - no more babies (in our plans anyway!)
• Bugalugs - not sure why but she gets called this a bit
• Boombaladas - she has a great set of thighs that you cant wrap your fingers around, very sqeezable
• Heffalump - she is by far our biggest baby
• MiniU2 - some say she looks alot like U2
• Mummy's Girl - she likes to have me in her eye line at all times
• Blondie - all our girls have very different hair colours and she looks to be a bit of a strawberry blonde
• Bubbie - she will always be the baby in the family!

In the end I think jolly describes her very well. She is a lovely jolly baby. 

U2 and I both liked the idea of having a child with a middle name starting with J so that they could have a two letter nickname so JJ satisfies that desire. And she still loves to jump.

So JJ it remains.

Made it Monday...check out..

I have stumbled across a problem in my Made it Monday posts. All the things I have been making recently are Christmas presents for friends and family, most of whom do check out this blog occasionally! So in order to keep the surprise for Christmas I will have to defer posting until gifts are given!

However, I thought I would mention a great sewing blog that I have been following.

ikatbags has lots of great sewing tips. Recently she has done on series on how to make different types of pockets. Excellent stuff and has saved me a trip to the shops! One project I am working on needed a little something extra so I was going to buy some buttons to add to it but I got inspired by ikatbags to attempt a pocket instead. Will let you know how it goes!

So check out ikatbag...

Blue skies...

The rain has held out today and it has been a lovely sunny days with blue skies.

My brother and his family came round for a play this morning which was great. Always great spending time with them.

MiniMe wrote a surfboard book for my brother as he enjoys a paddle. Goofy planned to share her spray bottle with her cousin. I love is when they are thoughtful.

We then went to MiniMe's new school for a picnic only to find that this weeks wet weather had meant that they had cancelled it yesterday. Apparently we should have called to see if it was one. I saw the blue skies and didn't think twice. It was nice to meet a few other mums anyway as we have a picnic anyway!

Hopefully the blue skies continue for the weekend.

What have you been doing with the clearer skies?

Seeing the forest....

 

Some of you may have noticed that I have been trying to work on a theme for each day of the week for my blog. As I am partial to a bit of alliteration in my head we have...

 

• Made it Monday for crafty things that I have made or want to make!
• Tiny Tots Tuesday to reflect on my three lovely ladies - two were born on a Tuesday so that works quite well!
• Whatever Wednesday for random observations
• Think it through Thursday to encourage me to think a bit deeper
• Frivolous Fridays to have a bit of fun.

 

I might not stick to these rigidly but at least it gives me a framework and then if you don't like a reading about crafty things then I can save you the trouble of stopping by on a Monday, for example!

 

So today I am thoughtful. I had my last bible study of the year where we looked at the Bible (next week is a social brunch). We looked at Psalm 73 which starts with Aspah almost angry at God as those who are wicked are the ones that are prospering. Often it can seem that doing the right thing gets you no where. The people who lie, cheat and steel seem to get further in life and are even sometime praised for it. In the psalm Aspah takes a step back and looks at the bigger picture. These wicked may prosper now but in the light of eternity their time in the spotlight will be short and they will then be judged by God. Sometimes it is hard to see the forest for the trees.

This week I am going to try and see the forest.

 

 'All he believes are his eyes, And his eyes, they just tell him lies.' Bob Dylan

Woohoo Wednesday!

Finally our internet speed is back to normal . We had reached our data allowance a couple of weeks ago and I have been battling with a snails pace internet connection so it great that today is the 1st December and we are back to normal. Woohoo!

I think I may be finished my Christmas shopping. Woohoo!

I spent a lovely day with a very dear friend on Monday. Woohoo!

I have had very kind Dads (U2 and BIL) take the kids to school the last two mornings so I haven't had to take everyone in and out of the car in the rain. Woohoo!

JJ looks like she might attempt crawling soon which will save my aching arms. Woohoo!

The countdown to Christmas is on.  Woohoo!
(An aside - We started our Advent calender this morning. do you start at 1 or 24?)

Anything making you go woohoo?