'K, done. The computer has been moved upstairs. We went shopping last night for a desk and here's what we ended up buying:
I LOVE it, although it was a little more than what I was hoping to pay (we bought ours at Staples for $199 CDN). The reason I went with this particular one was because it is more decorative than "office functional", which is important because it's sitting in a corner of our living room.
As I type this, the kids are both in front of the computer and I can see their screen (plus hear the repetitive drone of "we need to catch up to the Sillysaurus!!" courtesy of Nick Jr... oh my aching head). If they need help I can simply walk across the room, rather than hollering "JUST A SECOND!!" down to the bowels of the basement, where they were up to goodness only knows what.
Ah yes, this is much better, Sillysaurus and all ;)
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Return to Fine Grind
2.21.2009
2.19.2009
Wow! A Blog Post ;)
(The "change Mii" music drones on in the background as I sit here. For the uninitiated, a "Mii" is your player on Wii, which you can customize. My four year old thinks this is as amusing as any of the games, and spends a lot of time changing his Mii. Hence the music. I hear it in my sleep these days.)
Tomorrow the cable guy is coming to move one of our outlets, so that we can move our computer from the basement office into the living room. This doesn't apply to my laptop, of course, which is connected to the internet via a wireless router, but rather our desktop PC, which is the one the kids are allowed to use. This is for two reasons:
a) it is in keeping with my policy that kids shouldn't have access to the internet behind closed doors (i.e. no internet in their bedroom. EVER.)
b) it will allow Lil' J to finally start to use the computer. Up until now he's only been allowed to watch his sister while she played in my office, on Webkinz, or whatever shortcut I had set up for her. Now he'll be able to have his own turns without watching her.
The only glitch in my plan so far is that we haven't had a chance to get a computer desk for the living room (the one that's in my office is too big, and uh, too ugly).
Hmmm. Either they come in the morning to move the outlet and we get a desk in the afternoon, or they come in the afternoon and we set the computer up on the floor (or I could get off this computer and find a spare end table somewhere just in case).
Maybe that's what I'll do. Blog ya later ;)
____________________
Return to Fine Grind
Tomorrow the cable guy is coming to move one of our outlets, so that we can move our computer from the basement office into the living room. This doesn't apply to my laptop, of course, which is connected to the internet via a wireless router, but rather our desktop PC, which is the one the kids are allowed to use. This is for two reasons:
a) it is in keeping with my policy that kids shouldn't have access to the internet behind closed doors (i.e. no internet in their bedroom. EVER.)
b) it will allow Lil' J to finally start to use the computer. Up until now he's only been allowed to watch his sister while she played in my office, on Webkinz, or whatever shortcut I had set up for her. Now he'll be able to have his own turns without watching her.
The only glitch in my plan so far is that we haven't had a chance to get a computer desk for the living room (the one that's in my office is too big, and uh, too ugly).
Hmmm. Either they come in the morning to move the outlet and we get a desk in the afternoon, or they come in the afternoon and we set the computer up on the floor (or I could get off this computer and find a spare end table somewhere just in case).
Maybe that's what I'll do. Blog ya later ;)
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Return to Fine Grind
2.08.2009
Maybe They Can Learn From Each Other
The occasion: a friend's birthday party. The competition: musical chairs. Let the child personality analysis begin!
Lil' J got knocked out about half way through, and obediently sat out for the rest of the game, along with the other early departees. His mellow response in the face of rejection was in keeping with his "whatever, it's just a game" temperament. Live and let live. Peace, man. Have a great day. Z z z z z.
Alyssa, on the other hand, was NOT happy with coming in second. Second!! HMMPH!! "I HATE that game! I'm GLAD it's over!" Seething words, that luckily were spoken under her breath and only loud enough for me to hear, or she would have been sent away for the longest time-out in the history of all things child related.
There's an upside to the Diva dramatics - she's very achievement oriented, and barely bats an eyelash at working her butt off to attain mastery or success at something. The downside is that she's, uh, a little tightly wound.
Lil' Bro, on the other hand, will try something for awhile, and if it's too hard will make peace with the idea of NOT doing it, and move on to something else. "Mama, I'm all done wid dat." Z z z z z. He's super fun at parties though, and will never embarrass his mother. TERrific.
I've tried helping them both with varying degrees of no success. I'm not going to say I've thrown in the towel completely, but let's just say I have embraced a new strategy: hoping they can learn from each other!
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Return to Blog Scene By Jeanne
Lil' J got knocked out about half way through, and obediently sat out for the rest of the game, along with the other early departees. His mellow response in the face of rejection was in keeping with his "whatever, it's just a game" temperament. Live and let live. Peace, man. Have a great day. Z z z z z.
Alyssa, on the other hand, was NOT happy with coming in second. Second!! HMMPH!! "I HATE that game! I'm GLAD it's over!" Seething words, that luckily were spoken under her breath and only loud enough for me to hear, or she would have been sent away for the longest time-out in the history of all things child related.
There's an upside to the Diva dramatics - she's very achievement oriented, and barely bats an eyelash at working her butt off to attain mastery or success at something. The downside is that she's, uh, a little tightly wound.
Lil' Bro, on the other hand, will try something for awhile, and if it's too hard will make peace with the idea of NOT doing it, and move on to something else. "Mama, I'm all done wid dat." Z z z z z. He's super fun at parties though, and will never embarrass his mother. TERrific.
I've tried helping them both with varying degrees of no success. I'm not going to say I've thrown in the towel completely, but let's just say I have embraced a new strategy: hoping they can learn from each other!
____________________
Return to Blog Scene By Jeanne
2.06.2009
TV? What TV?
Ah, Spongebob!! How I love thee!!! Thanks to you, I can vacuum, do dishes, do laundry, take out garbage, clean bathrooms (wait, hang on. Maybe I don't like Spongebob after all ;)
Whaaaat??? I don't use the TV as a babysitter ALL the time. Just enough so that I can get through a day with my sanity intact. And I have been know to turn it off, under much protest, and drag my children against their will into the back yard. This usually ends well (as in, they end up happy), because kids and the outdoors go hand in hand.
Today I sat with my four year old and did some "pre-K" work book stuff, as well as some activities in his Thomas The Tank Engine magazines. He lasted almost :45 before getting restless, which was a tremendous relief to me (not that I have TV guilt), because apparently by Kindergarten, kids are only expected to be able to focus for about :20.
(PHEW)
When determining whether or not your child has an attention span issue, a handy rule of thumb is that they should be able to remain engaged for :03 - :05 per year of life. (Or so says a few pages that I read on the internet. I'll take it, 'cause it makes my lil' :45 dude seem like a genius ;) Wahoo, internet!!
As I type this, both kids are watching Spongebob, and although the maternal guilt reflex is trying to kick in, deep down I'm not too worried about it.
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Return to Blog Scene By Jeanne
Whaaaat??? I don't use the TV as a babysitter ALL the time. Just enough so that I can get through a day with my sanity intact. And I have been know to turn it off, under much protest, and drag my children against their will into the back yard. This usually ends well (as in, they end up happy), because kids and the outdoors go hand in hand.
Today I sat with my four year old and did some "pre-K" work book stuff, as well as some activities in his Thomas The Tank Engine magazines. He lasted almost :45 before getting restless, which was a tremendous relief to me (not that I have TV guilt), because apparently by Kindergarten, kids are only expected to be able to focus for about :20.
(PHEW)
When determining whether or not your child has an attention span issue, a handy rule of thumb is that they should be able to remain engaged for :03 - :05 per year of life. (Or so says a few pages that I read on the internet. I'll take it, 'cause it makes my lil' :45 dude seem like a genius ;) Wahoo, internet!!
As I type this, both kids are watching Spongebob, and although the maternal guilt reflex is trying to kick in, deep down I'm not too worried about it.
____________________
Return to Blog Scene By Jeanne
Why I Have No Photos Of My Kids On This Blog
It's certainly not because they're camera shy!! lol
I'm kind of protective of their privacy. I carefully ponder each topic before I post about it, and I leave out many things that I think might embarrass them if they were old enough to care that people they don't know are reading.
It's a personal choice. So many bloggers out there have lots of gorgeous pics of their kids on their blogs, and reveal many personal details about their lives. I respect every blogger's choice to publish what they're comfortable with, and in general try to never judge (about most things) until I've walked a mile in someone else's shoes.
I'm not even really sure why I'm writing this post, other than the fact that kid blogs with no kid pics on them are few and far between.
So there you are :) Happy reading!
____________________
Return to Blog Scene By Jeanne
I'm kind of protective of their privacy. I carefully ponder each topic before I post about it, and I leave out many things that I think might embarrass them if they were old enough to care that people they don't know are reading.
It's a personal choice. So many bloggers out there have lots of gorgeous pics of their kids on their blogs, and reveal many personal details about their lives. I respect every blogger's choice to publish what they're comfortable with, and in general try to never judge (about most things) until I've walked a mile in someone else's shoes.
I'm not even really sure why I'm writing this post, other than the fact that kid blogs with no kid pics on them are few and far between.
So there you are :) Happy reading!
____________________
Return to Blog Scene By Jeanne
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