TV time

So, the television. Sometimes I really hate the damn thing. I will fully admit that Ally probably saw more tv as an infant than she should have. Considering she would wake up at 5:45, not nap but for a few minutes in my arms, and not go to sleep until 9 at night, the tv was necessary to keep me awake. As she got older, I made a conscious effort for her NOT to watch tv. She would watch Sesame Street and that would be it. As she turned 2 or a little older, she liked Dora the Explorer with a passion. Formulaic, but cute and educational. I could deal with that. We sometimes watched Clifford as well. But the limit was only 1 or 2 shows, and they were always educational.

Then I got pregnant with Kelly. I was soooo tired that by the afternoon, I would sometimes let her watch a movie just so I could catch a nap. Not my finest parenting, but it was survival.

Now, the minute she wakes up, it is all about "Can I watch a show or movie?" Oy. I still limit it to 3 shows, or about an hour to 90 minutes. I am so tired of having to argue with her about how much she can watch a day. I have even threatened to get rid of it, but that would never realistically happen. With two kids, tv time (which usually overlaps with Kelly's naptime) is my only time to get anything done. Even if we discuss, "okay, this is the last show for the day", she usually asks again by that afternoon. And that just infuriates me when we have to have the same discussion. Again. Ugh.

But to make it worse, I just abhor kids television for the most part. It hurts my head to watch some of this crap. Dora, Diego, Little Einsteins--that's all fine. But I can't stand Wonder Pets or Backyardigans, and Yo Gabba Gabba looks like you need to be stoned to watch it. She is totally fickle about her likes/dislikes. She hated Clifford for months and then wanted to watch it nonstop. Ally despises Sesame Street and absolutely refuses to watch it--its been that way for months.

However, Ally recently has started liking Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears, which is a total retro kick to me! Speaking of Strawberry Shortcake, there is a great giveaway of the new movie at PS Mom Reviews: Strawberry Shortcake Berry Big Journeys. Be sure to enter tonight! I am entering of course--I need to expand the variety available so I don't lose my mind!

Alone...at last?

Alone. What do you think of when you read the word "alone"? To me, it signifies peace and quiet. Unfortunately, more often that not, it is time to do housework while Mike corrals the kids. But other times, being alone allows me to touch base with friends, scrapbook, read, or just to think.

To my oldest, Allison, alone is a bad thing. If I am in the bedroom folding laundry, she will run in and say, "Mommy, you are alone! I'll keep you company." Cute, but certainly not necessary. I have tried to explain to her that being alone is okay sometimes. One important place to be alone is the bathroom! Then again, since she was 15 months old, she would walk in on me in the bathroom, since I don't feel comfortable closing/locking the door.

If Kelly is happily playing in her bouncer, and Allison is playing in her room, then I might wash a few dishes or check my email. But, more often that not, here comes Allison saying, "Oh no, Kelly is alone!". How many times can I say that she is okay for a few minutes in a contained area? Or that Mommy isn't going to cry if she is alone for a few minutes? In fact, I might cheer if I have a few minutes alone! :o) Anybody else feel this way?

It has proved most problematic at nighttime. Allison has always been in our bed for at least part of the night. That is a whole post in and of itself. As it currently stands, she comes in our bed anywhere from 12-3 in the morning. I asked her why she didn't want to stay in her room, and she told me that she didn't want to be alone. She also didn't want Mommy to be alone--ignoring the fact that I have Daddy with me until 5:30! I told her that she wasn't alone, since she has her dolls and bears and whatnot. And even being in our bed doesn't solve the problem. Since I wake up when Kelly wakes up, I let Allison sleep. But when she wakes up, she is mad because she is ALONE...

Zoo trip

I have lots of important posts to write, but am sick (again) and don't have the energy to write. So, instead, I will share our zoo trip! Our membership ends this month, so we decided to take both girls to the zoo. I wasn't feeling well, so I wasn't sure if Kelly and I would go. Ally was very disappointed, because she wanted all 4 of us to go. That was adorable that she wanted the whole family to go together! She was so sad that I sucked it up and went, and we had a great time.

Mommy and Ally

The flowers were beautiful, and Ally loved all of them. She especially loved the purple and pink ones, since she is definitely a "girly-girl"!

Ally had a good time roaming around and looking at all the animals. We went inside the insect world and I expected her to say "yuck" and want to leave. Nope. She liked looking at all the beetles, ants, snakes and grasshoppers

I would rather be sleeping too!

This bear kept pacing back and forth, putting on a great show for all the kids!

This lion woke up just as we were walking by, so we were able to get a good picture.

Our plan was to find the lions, zebras, giraffes and hippos. Do you know why? Because Ally is addicted to the "move it move it" movie, aka Madagascar. If you haven't seen this movie, you should check it out. I find it amusing, even after seeing it 5 times (so far). We didn't see all of the animals, but that was because Ally was tired and hungry and CRANKY!

This picture was a joke! I thought she would like to climb on it and take a picture. Oh no. For some reason, she freaked out! Mike and I told her it wasn't real--he even put his head in the mouth of the alligator/crocodile (I don't know which it is). She still wouldn't stay on it, and even cried. We said it was okay, and walked away. Then she cried again, because we DIDN'T take a picture. So we went back (luckily only a few steps), waited again for our turn, and as you can tell, she was so thrilled to take her picture. That was as close to it as she was going to get!

My cuties on the way out of the zoo

Everybody had a good time, even Kelly. She enjoyed watching all of the people! I think we will try to take Ally one more time...she wanted to go again the next weekend!