what mommy watches on tv these days

our fave telly
i really like the abc channel's playschool. the theme song is gentle and there are always lots of interesting crafts and different songs introduced each day (it comes on 5 days a week for half an hour).

i think it's very creative and the pace is very suited for young children. during winter, the programme was put on a half hour later than it is now, so these days i try to ensure dd's naps end in time for the start of the show on its new time slot.

hence, tv time starts at 3pm with playschool if the bean wakes up in time. then there is a break for outdoor play / reading / other games, before the 5 o'clock run: playhouse disney's mickey mouse clubhouse and little einsteins, then a switch to nick jr's the wonder pets and 64 zoo lane.

today the bean actually said, "bye bye loo see" at the end of 64 zoo lane when the main character, lucy, goes off to sleep. i like this show as it has refreshingly british accents; the stories told by the zoo animals are aesop-ish; the animation aesthetic is sweetly crayon-like; and, the theme song is sung with real children's voices instead of adults pretending to be cutesy kids.

if the bean was older i think she would enjoy the upside down show (nick jr) more, which i think is very inventive and funny. i wonder what she makes of it most of the time. a good indication of whether any tv show bores her is if she wanders off after a while to do other things, which she does with this show and the wiggles.

of all the shows (that i permit her to watch, heh heh), she seems to prefer little einsteins and the wonder pets. i wonder if it's because the animation is quite representational of real life objects and animals, especially in the latter programme.

if we were out and i wanted to get the bean back home quickly, she would not respond to "do you want to watch mickey mouse?" but would to "want to go home to watch little einsteins?" when she watches the programme, she will imitate the actions they ask of viewers - to pat their knees, bellies, raise arms up etc.

and on the wonder pets, everytime the duck comes on screen, dd would point and say its name, "ming ming." often, she would give a small shy smile as she does so too. it's a testament to the attractiveness of the programme that even dh likes it.

apart from actual programmes, the bean seems to like the characters that people the kids channels' interstitials, especially the monkey puppets ooh and ahh from playhouse disney (i swear the bean now says "ooh ooh ahh ahh" for monkeys because of them).

shows mommy dislikes
top of my list is hi-5. after sitting through about 2-3 episodes i found i can't stand the pseudo-bubbly-giggly behaviour of the female cast members. their fakely saccarhine 'uh herh herh' laughter makes me want to pick up a heavy inanimate object and hurl it forcefully at them. i think charli is probably the worst offender. somebody slap her!

there is also something vaguely disturbing about their dressing (teenybopper hooker and wannabe boyband-ish) and all that indiscriminate pop music. once they even incorporated house music into a routine and had the cast bopping along like ecstasy addicts - appalling bad taste.

compared to hi-5, the wiggles is infinitely preferable, but the bean is bored by those 4 men too. not that i'm complaining. given a choice between 4 middle-aged troubadours and the wonder pets i would choose the small cuddly, furry superheroes too. (the wiggles are on at the same time as the wonder pets.)

besides hi-5, i really hate abc's tiny planets. i know there is an educational message in there but the animated aliens give me goosebumps. they are hideous and their planet is so abstract and weird that i don't think the bean would be able to find any relevance in it at all. everytime i hear the theme song i just have to switch off the tv - it gives me such chills.

ranking lower on my dislike list is dora the explorer. it has some educational value but dora (everyone on the show actually) SHOUTS INSTEAD OF TALKS ALL THE TIME. it's like listening to someone drilling the pavement - goes through my skull. do the producers think that children need to be enthused to in cheerleading fashion in every single sentence? a very dumbed down notion.

lazy town and the doodlebops are very similar looking programmes with creepily costumed characters. just yuck yuck yuck yuck.

humpty dumpty had a big splash

swim lessons
the humpty dumpty rhyme is one of the tactics used to inspire young children to leap off the sides of swimming pools into their parents' arms. and it seems to work with the bean.

we've just completed our 3rd swim lesson. and she likes to climb out of the pool (we are supposed to let them do this by themselves so that they gain strength and it becomes a good habit/technique) to sit by the side of the pool ('sitting on the wall') and then to throw herself ('has a great fall!') into my waiting arms, giggling as she does so. "more?!" is usually her immediate request.

these weekly swim lessons are really just fun sessions that hopefully instil more water confidence. she is always happy to go to the swimming centre and gets very excited by the water features of the toddler pool (i.e. the little bubbling fountains) and the toys the instructor always has for the kiddies.

one of the games we play is to have the children take turns geting up onto a large rectangle float and walk/run across it and into the arms of the waiting parent at the other end.

today, it was great to see her toddling (almost running even) quickly over to me, whereas before she would rather crawl or move along on her bum (to my mortification) than get up to her feet on this floating contraption!

the bean loves "o-ju!"

the little terror has been more talkative the past few weeks and imitating sounds/words we say all the time now.

fer ince...last sunday whilst we were in the blue mountains doing the tourist thing, dh was getting dd into her stroller when her hat got knocked off into the muddy ground. without thinking he uttered, "oh shit", which was echoed by dd the next second, enunciating very clearly too. it is very funny but it just shows how we need to curb our swearing when she's within earshot!

she's also beginning to try more disyllabic words and attempting more than one word at a time too: "o-jus" (orange juice) for one, and "nigh nigh bear" (night night bear).

"noooo, red!"

last night she threw a small wobbly as she got ready for bed.

it's always a bit of a tussle getting her to put on her night nappy and pjs and last night was no different.

after i got the nappy on i slipped off her bathrobe and pulled over her head 2 long-sleeved t-shirts (it was nippy). but as it came over her head she wailed, "noooooooo!"

then she tugged at it trying to pull it off, crying, "bluuuuuuuuuue!"
that was when i realised she didn't want to wear it for its colour.

so i quickly pointed out that there was another t-shirt underneath which was red. she looked suspiciously at the red cuffs but then resumed her protests. i persisted and finally placated her by asking if she wanted me to read her a bedtime story. needless to say, she calmed down immediately.

the bean picks a near-winner

we went to the melbourne cup this year (6 november, tues) - our first time - and thankfully were ensconced in a very nice corporate marquee right in front of the winning post. naturally, the bean came with us. we wouldn't have left her with a babysitter either in sydney or melbourne.

we saw very few children at flemington that day. i spotted a young girl around 10-11 years old (maybe a bit older?) and there was a very young toddler (younger than the bean) in a pram. and that was about it, but i don't know if there were more in the public stands or other enclosures.

i was a little apprehensive about what sort of food would be suitable for the bean at flemington and if there would be a convenient and clean area to feed or change her.

in the end, the servers in the marquee arranged for french fries to be brought out to the bean and also some chicken pies. we avoided the fancy canapes as much as possible but i tried the bean on a fish roe, which she loved. for naps, we brought along our foldable stroller and that's where she spent about a half hour in during her midday sleep.

she was really a very good little toddler for most of the day; happy to play with the gravel and sand outside the marquee near the flowerbeds and to spin around on the grass lawns. she also liked to pick up the wood chips and earth inside the large flower pots. i don't know why small children are so attracted to dirt.

there was a fountain in the enclosure which captivated the bean. she would stand on the rim of the fountain's little pond and kept repeating, "bye!" at it - heaven knows why. the fountain had lion heads decorated around it spouting water and the bean would point and roar in recognition.

most importantly, the bean helped us where it counted most - the bets. daddy unfolded the newspaper, showing her the section featuring all the jockey colours (and patterns) and asked her which colour she liked. she gave a cursory glance and jabbed at a plain dark blue jersey right at the end of the row. then she impatiently poked a couple more jerseys in the middle.

we took a look at where her stubby fingers had been and decided on the following:

• mahler (her first choice) - 3rd in the race
• purple moon - 2nd in the race
• master o'reilly - the day's favourite but which fared disappointingly in the race

apart from the above, we hedged with bets on zipping (came in 4th) and dolphin jo (because it was a female jockey).

so the bean didn't let us down - she did pretty good in fact and we didn't lose much overall at the races.

i thought she would be more fascinated with the horses, but they flew by us so quick i don't think she could appreciate them much. she did "nay" (neigh) several times whenever she spotted the white ones the stewards were riding, but she was more interested in climbing up and down the stands during the races.