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 ;)
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Return to Fine Grind

Kids And Computers

Yesterday:

Hubby (talking about Lil' J, who's 4): "He's on your computer. Whatever, he seems to know what he's doing." ...wanders off to the bathroom.

Um, 'scuse me? It's not the computer I'm worried about - it's everything else in my office.

I went downstairs and extracted him from potential complications, only to find him down there a few hours later with his sister, who is five.

Alyssa: "Mommy I like this one." I look at the screen to find her at Google, typing words into the search box.

Um, NO. Not without parental filters, or constant supervision, and I am not spending the next hour standing over your shoulder as you type at the speed of slug. I love you.

The rate at which kids become computer friendly is inspiring and alarming at the same time. I am a big believer in the policy of no Internet in bedrooms. One of these days I'll have the time and the energy to move my desk top upstairs so that both kids can "surf supervised".

Meanwhile J will just have to be content watching his sister on one of three sites: Starfall, Webkinz, or totlol (I keep meaning to look at and bookmark more, like Nick Jr., for example).

Now he (J) is trying to climb on my lap, so that's all for now!

Party Chaos

It's tomorrow... my son's 4th (wasn't he born just yesterday???!!!), and I'm madly blowing up balloons. I'm taking a quick "blog" break, but I guess I shouldn't linger here too long - next thing I know, a couple of hours will have gone by. It's amazing how the Internet does that to you.

Wish me luck tomorrow!