Yo Gabba Gabba is just plain creepy.  When I see a man in an orange jumpsuit, all I can think about is “inmate”.

The duck on Wonderpets needs intervention.  Bad.  A lisping role model is not really ideal.

I can’t put my finger on it, but something is wrong with Lazy Town.  It disturbs me.  On many levels.

The chick that does the voice on Wow Wow Wubbzy is the same one that does the Squirrel on Sponge Bob.  That voice makes me want to peel my skin off my face.  Please make it stop.

Someone please tell Ruby that she doesn’t need to begin and end every sentence with the word Max.  And interject it in the middle.  I’m fairly certain she says his name at least 3,629 times per episode.  If you’re the only two people in a room, I’m certain he knows you’re talking to him.

And where, exactly, are Max & Ruby’s parents, while they’re galavanting at the mall and all over town??

Change Sesame Street’s theme song back to the fun sing-song one it used to be.  Not the crap “rap” version it is now.

Let the Cookie Monster eat all the cookies he wants, for God’s sakes.  No kid gets obese from watching a muppet eat sweets.  It’s because the mom drives to the store and buys them, then lets her kid eat them 24 hours a day.

Bring back the Electric Company.  Like it used to be.

Shouldn’t Barney be dead by now?  What exactly is the lifespan of a dinosaur?  They didn’t live this long a billion years ago, for God’s sakes.

The Spider Dad on “Ms. Spider” is scary looking.  I’m all for scary – my kids love horror movies from as soon as they can sit and watch one – but this dude is eerie.

 

Now for some praise.

I can listen to Dora all day.  Really.  I don’t even mind that they’re teaching Spanish in my country, which should only speak English.  I just like the show.

The kids on the Backyardigans can SING.  They’re amazing!  I’m guessing it’s studio-enhanced, but I don’t care.

The best cartoon – no, the best SHOW – EVAH - is Family Guy.  It should be required viewing for all parents so they can work the bugs out of their uptight butts and have a few laughs.

 

Little Wet Feet

 

 

 

(And then I have to show off my cutie posing for the camera):

What happened to Geriatric Mama?

Well.  A lot.

This was an old screenname from an old time, and I always found it amusing and unique.  But it’s time to move on.  I can’t yet change the actual root name of my blog, but that will come someday.

Last night, I was laying in bed with my 1 year old and she slowly rolled over, put her arm around my neck as tight as she could, snuggled her head into my cheek, and fell asleep twirling my hair.  I was listening to the muffled sounds of the rest of the house -  Autumn and Justus playing in his room, Brett’s video games in his space, Daddy downstairs catching up on his NFL shows – and realized I’m really not the person I was a few years ago.

I cried as I said my nightly prayers, thanking God for this little person clutching to my neck and sharing my heartbeat, her breath warm on my face.  I thanked God for the three other little miracles going about their business in the rest of the house.  I know I’m blessed to have Gary in my life, to take care of us and love us all.  We’re healthy, we’re happy, we’re a family. 

I decided “Geriatric Mama” was no longer appropriate.  I feel younger than I did a decade ago.  Althought I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown tenfold.  I feel rejuvinated, fresh, full of life because of the life in my home.  Vintage, like a fine wine, is a much better term!

Those are words I just never thought I’d have to say today.  Or ever.

We had planned on heading up to Berlin, Ohio, and the surrounding Amish communities over the weekend, but it rained miserably on Saturday – so instead, we headed up on Sunday, in absolutely beautiful weather.  The downfall?  Everything – and I mean EVERYTHING – is closed in Amish country on Sundays!  I managed to get a couple of good images, but for the two hour drive up and the two hour drive back, it was not the amount I had planned.  That being said, we finished the day at a small park with water play, and the three children (and Daddy!) had a great time splashing and getting wet.  The day could be summed up as quite wonderful, even though we didn’t get to shop for Amish handcrafted items or eat at a wonderful restaurant…  We’re planning a trip back up when the season changes this fall – should make for gorgeous pics!

Just wanted to show a few…

We love BFD (Breakfast For Dinner) in our house, and one of our favs is Breakfast Pizza.

I gather and cook up meats like bacon and sausage, vegetables like onions and peppers, and cheeses like American and Cheddar. 

Scramble some eggs…

Fry up some flour tortillas in just a touch of olive oil…

Then add whatever you like!  We make them one at a time so that each person can decide what they want to put on top… we add the toppings while the tortilla is still browning in the skillet so the cheese melts:

YUMMY and SO fast… Enjoy!

housecleaning ala June Cleaver is dead??? 

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/cnn-or-c-a-n-child-abduction-network/

CNN or C.A.N. — Child Abduction Network?

Posted on June 25, 2009 by lskenazy

One reason Americans are so extremely terrified about child abductions is that whenever we turn on the TV or computer, there’s another one. As if these horrific crimes are happening 24/7, when actually the media is only too happy to fly across the country — or world — to set up camp wherever a cute, white girl has disappeared. Tight news budgets get thrown out the window  for a story like this. But because that story then shows up on our screen at home,  it feels like it’s happening right around the corner. All the time.

What happens when there is NOT a new story like this for the media to feast upon? Instead of traveling to another state, or country, they’ll travel back in time. The show 20/20 just did an hour-long look at the Etan Patz kidnapping from 30 years ago. And here’s CNN’s Nancy Grace page , from a few days ago: “Third Grader Stepped Off School Bus, Disappeared.”

Start reading it: ” With the weekend arriving and a long day finally over, 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan stepped off her yellow school bus on a chilly Friday around 4 p.m….”

Oh, by the way, CNN finally adds at the end of paragraph three: This was in 1985.

I’m not saying that it doesn’t make sense to sometimes revisit a cold case in hopes of solving it. I do hope someone solves this one. But it begins to  look suspiciously self-serving when networks desperate for viewers keep coming up with the exact same kind of story, served up any which way they can. How about the cold case of an African-American teenager gone missing? Or a schitzophrenic adult? Or someone who isn’t winsome, white and under five feet tall?

A newly Free-Range mom dropped me a little note this morning trying to help all of us (herself included)  put our fears in perspective: The chance of a child being kidnapped and murdered? 1 in 1.5 million. The chance of a child ending up at some point with some form of depression? 1 in 4.

(emphasis mine! – Sandra)

It is extremely depressing, disheartening, lose-your-faith-in-humity-izing, to keep being presented with the most vile crimes on earth as if that’s what life  is all about. As if that’s just what you can expect if you’re bringing up a kid these days.

So what’s the alternative?

One of the chapters in my book is called, “Turn Off the News.” At the end it has some suggestions for how to get started  going Free-Range, including, “Get up and go out. Spend that hour you were going to watch ‘Law and Order’ on a walk with the kids instead. Look around at all the unspeakable crimes not being committed. This is called the Real World. (Not to be confused with MTV’s version, which is a crime all  its own.)”

When we depend on the media to shape our world view, we’re going to get a world view that looks a whole lot like the view from a harried, ratings-obsessed assignment desk: If it bleeds, it leads. If it’s sad, we’re glad! If it’s an abduction, ramp up production! 

Which they sure do.

But if a network thinks its job is to terrify us, maybe it’s time to turn the tables and terrify them: Let them watch their viewers mysteriously disappear, never to be seen again.

Someday, they may even do a cold case special on us. – Lenore

The helicopter parents, that is.  Do they wear earplugs or does the WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH of the blades not disturb them?

Do their children not have to wear sunscreen because of the shadow of their mothers?

My kids have no idea how lucky they are.  I think I will remind them tonight when they come home – oh, from wherever they are playing at, which is – um, dunno.  But they’re safe, and they’ll be home in one piece later.

Autumn got her “big girl bike” last week, and after only an hour on it, she was a pro.  And we can’t get her off of it!

She could’ve gotten it last summer, but she was so attached to her Dora Bike (okay, it’s a regular tricycle that she put Dora stickers allllllllll over) that she didn’t want a big bike… but we had an opportunity to get a great hand-me-down from a friend and convinced her that she’d love it.  And we were right.  We “girlied” it up with a Princess basket and tassles and a pink bell, and Autumn is going to hunt for Princess stickers to put on it.  She’s growing up too fast!

 

Showing her little sister how it works:

And really, what’s more fun than chasing your friends through the neighbor’s sprinkler??

And Ayla was enjoying the “rain” too… but she stopped to take a break:

 

Ah, isn’t summertime grand?

« Older Posts — Newer Posts »