Hey lookit that. I survived last week. Next week has no major events in it, just the normal accumulation of minor events, so hopefully life won’t feel so crazy.
When life gets really busy I don’t take time out to write journal entries. But this does not mean that I stop collecting things that I want to write about. Instead the ideas sit in my brain taking up space and adding to the general clutter which impedes clear thought. I’m going to try to work my way through some of this backlog. Some of the thoughts really need entries of their own, but some don’t and so I’m throwing them into a pile here. Feel free to pick through and see if anything interests you.
I saw an interview with Geena Davis where she was talking about the organization she’s founded called See Jane (www.seejane.org). This organization was founded because of a study. The study showed that in G rated programming 3/4 of all characters are male. It didn’t matter if they were counting speaking parts, appearances, or just people in crowds 3/4 of them were male. There were a few shows/movies that were gender balanced, but by far most were not. See Jane’s goal is not the have a crusade demanding rectification of this, instead their goal is to make people aware of this. They particularly want parents to be aware so they can discuss with their kids the unspoken messages that this imbalance may send. I’m all in favor of parents discussing values with their kids, so I’m impressed with See Jane and Geena Davis.
The other day a friend was picking up her daughter from my house and let me know that there was a fantastic sale on cold cereal, poptarts, and juice boxes at a local store. I thanked her and appreciated the thought, but I did not hop into the car to take advantage of the savings. For me those items are pure luxury. We don’t need them, they aren’t really good for us, so no matter how cheap they get, I won’t be buying them. I remember when I did buy convenience foods like those all the time. I also remember when my grocery budget was three times larger than it is now. Advertising works folks. The number of ‘essentials’ continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Honest, it is possible to feed kids without buying juiceboxes or snackpacks.
A conversation in the car:
Gleek: (trying to come to grips with possible futures) “When I turn into a mom, you’ll turn into a grandma.”
Me: “That’s right.”
G: “When I turen into a grandma, our grandma will be dead.”
M: “Probably”
Patches: (Trying to join what he percieved to be a game) “I turn into a puppy!”
G: “No! You’ll turn into a grandpa!”
P: “No! I be a puppy!”
G: “No!”
P: “Yes!”
G: “We don’t turn into puppies!”
P: (trying to make peace) “When I’m older I’ll turn into a puppy.”
I’m still not very impressed with the organization of our local soccer leage. After cancelling games 3 times in a row we finally had our first game today. Only they sent us to the wrong field and two people were under the impression it was their turn to bring treats. Link had fun, which is the important bit. Even better he actually got into the middle of the action rather than hanging around the edges. I saw him make a few really good kicks. Hopefully he’ll get a chance to score a goal at least once before the season is over.
When Howard is gone I have a hard time going to bed. I keep finding ways to distract myself from crawling into bed without him. This means I was sleep deprived today. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that I shorted myself on sleep all week long. And with the evening activities the kids were short on sleep as well. It was most obvious with Gleek who went ballistic with every small irritation. When Gleek is that cranky I need to be at my best to try to prevent conflict. That wasn’t happening today. Fortunately the kids spent the majority of today outside. This means that they were thoroughly worn out and dropped off to sleep without arguement. So now I just need to make myself go to sleep on time and tomorrow can be a much more peaceful day.
It’s such an uphill struggle with my 5 year old daughter, trying to tell her she doesn’t have to follow the stereo types she sees on tv and out in the world. Luckily, I spend most of the parent time with her (her school’s on the way to my work) and always try to emphasize she can do anything, it she works hard at it and doesn’t give up. It helps that both my wife and I are in Tech Support and my wife is the smarter of us and I don’t mind asking her questions about stuff. Am really hoping my daughter keeps the questing mind she now has and never stops trying to figure stuff out on her own.
It’s such an uphill struggle with my 5 year old daughter, trying to tell her she doesn’t have to follow the stereo types she sees on tv and out in the world. Luckily, I spend most of the parent time with her (her school’s on the way to my work) and always try to emphasize she can do anything, it she works hard at it and doesn’t give up. It helps that both my wife and I are in Tech Support and my wife is the smarter of us and I don’t mind asking her questions about stuff. Am really hoping my daughter keeps the questing mind she now has and never stops trying to figure stuff out on her own.
Man. That’s awesome.
I wanna be a puppy when I grow up.
Vorn
Man. That’s awesome.
I wanna be a puppy when I grow up.
Vorn
It’s good that someone is pointing out the lack of girls in G rated programing. Thank you for the information!
I never bought poptarts or juice boxes, even when they are on sale. on the theory that poptarts are bad for you (way too much sugar) and even the 100% juice boxes don’t give you good value. It’s better to buy frozen and mix it up yourself. Plus the frozen keeps longer unless you have a power failure. It’s hard to believe there are people who don’t know how to feed kids without resorting to things like that.
It’s good that someone is pointing out the lack of girls in G rated programing. Thank you for the information!
I never bought poptarts or juice boxes, even when they are on sale. on the theory that poptarts are bad for you (way too much sugar) and even the 100% juice boxes don’t give you good value. It’s better to buy frozen and mix it up yourself. Plus the frozen keeps longer unless you have a power failure. It’s hard to believe there are people who don’t know how to feed kids without resorting to things like that.
“I be a puppy!” ahaha That’s brilliant!
I heart Geena Davis. She’s my hero. See Jane is a great thing.
Have you noticed that some juices that claim to be 100% juice really aren’t? They get away with it because they contain 100% juice. They’re mostly sugar!
“I be a puppy!” ahaha That’s brilliant!
I heart Geena Davis. She’s my hero. See Jane is a great thing.
Have you noticed that some juices that claim to be 100% juice really aren’t? They get away with it because they contain 100% juice. They’re mostly sugar!
…yeah, but poptarts *taste* good. They’re not a standard breakfast food, they’re a treat. And forget the semi-healthy ones, get the S’more, or blueberry fudge. Makes it more obvious that they are candy, not food. (And, yeah, that’s still an expensive treat, unless you find them on sale at your local discount market at 2/$1.50. I love Twice as Nice.
And as for the other, well, most of the people who live around here have more money then time. (Both parents work 50+ hour a week jobs, but still have two to three kids.) And so breakfast, lunch and dinner that they can pull out in discrete packages, put into a container and hand to the kid as they push them out the door to go to morning care is worth much more to them then the difference in cost of prepackaged foods.
…yeah, but poptarts *taste* good. They’re not a standard breakfast food, they’re a treat. And forget the semi-healthy ones, get the S’more, or blueberry fudge. Makes it more obvious that they are candy, not food. (And, yeah, that’s still an expensive treat, unless you find them on sale at your local discount market at 2/$1.50. I love Twice as Nice.
And as for the other, well, most of the people who live around here have more money then time. (Both parents work 50+ hour a week jobs, but still have two to three kids.) And so breakfast, lunch and dinner that they can pull out in discrete packages, put into a container and hand to the kid as they push them out the door to go to morning care is worth much more to them then the difference in cost of prepackaged foods.
Poptarts may “taste” good but around my house they create bad behaviour.
As for the too little time, work less and cook more. I’m a single parent but oatmeal only takes about 2 minutes in the microwave and if you swirl in jam, the kids love it. Fruit too makes it all special and fun.
Poptarts may “taste” good but around my house they create bad behaviour.
As for the too little time, work less and cook more. I’m a single parent but oatmeal only takes about 2 minutes in the microwave and if you swirl in jam, the kids love it. Fruit too makes it all special and fun.
Read the label… read the label… read the label.
I have said this so often that now Emily is an avid label reader!
Read the label… read the label… read the label.
I have said this so often that now Emily is an avid label reader!
Juice Boxes
I don’t buy Pop-Tarts but I do buy juice boxes or juice pouches. They are much better travel items than sippy cups if your trip is over an hour.
My typical bag of edible distraction is filled with string cheese, pretzel sticks or Goldfish in a ziploc, granola bars, and drink boxes/pouches. When the girls were under 2, I also had Cheerios.
Juice Boxes
I don’t buy Pop-Tarts but I do buy juice boxes or juice pouches. They are much better travel items than sippy cups if your trip is over an hour.
My typical bag of edible distraction is filled with string cheese, pretzel sticks or Goldfish in a ziploc, granola bars, and drink boxes/pouches. When the girls were under 2, I also had Cheerios.
awww … “No! I be a puppy!” LOL
Thanks for a chuckle, and glad to hear you survived last week.
awww … “No! I be a puppy!” LOL
Thanks for a chuckle, and glad to hear you survived last week.