TV Commercials - a follow-up

I've had a lot of emails about my concern over inappropriate TV commercials during otherwise child-appropriate programming. It seems obvious that I'm not the only one concerned. In a cursory google search, I found many, many posts about the problem, but no one working on a solution. I've sent out a few feelers to see if I can find the right avenues to pursue, and if anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them. One of my friends suggested that we contact Tipper Gore to talk to her about her battle with the music industry years ago. I think that's a great idea; I'm sure she'd have some great suggestions on what to do (and conversely what not to do, given the repercussions she faced).
If you'd like to help, you can start by keeping a journal when you're watching TV with your kids. What channel? What time? What program? What commercial? Ask your friends to do the same. Once I figure out where I'm going with this, I'll figure out how to compile all the data. But for now, just keep some notes if you can. Many thanks!

Red Mountain Theatre

Since the day we moved here, we've had so much fun exploring. Today we went to see a local production of Beauty and the Beast. I love the theatre, and I'm having fun introducing it to the girls. The Red Mountain Theatre is a small organization that uses local and national talent. It's not well-known or well-publicized (at least not that I knew of), and I had expected something along the lines of a local community theatre, but this was much much more. I don't know why I was so surprised by this, but I was. The theater (the Virginia Samford) was small, maybe 300 people tops, so there wasn't a bad seat in the house. The orchestra was awesome, the costumes were incredible, and the actors were top-notch. Most of them weren't even local. The guy who played Gaston stole the show. It was long; almost 3 hours including intermission. But the time flew by, even for the little ones (and there were tons of little ones). Fun!

Roger Day, Flying K-9s, Beauty and the Beast

It's been another full week. Tuesday we went to the Hoover Library and saw Roger Day. He's a kid musician along the lines of Laurie Berkner and Dan Zanes, and he's from Birmingham. I thought Abby would love him, but I expected Sarah, who loves Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, would be bored. I was wrong. Abby enjoyed the show, but Sarah? Well, Sarah was mesmerized. She loved every second of the show, and wanted to buy a CD. We bought 2, and got a free DVD, and it was non-stop Roger Day until bedtime. On Wednesday, I decided that this was a very good development for Sarah, because it was taking us a step or two away from the teeny bop influence that has been weighing so heavily on her. So, we went to see the show again. We got there early, sat in the front row, and sang along to every song. I must say that I really like "Dream Big" and "Roly Poly". Good thing, too, since I've heard them about 500 times this week! http://www.rogerday.com
Today we went to a birthday party at Veteran's Park, and they had the Flying K-9s for entertainment. Big fun! We took Bailey and he REALLY wanted to get out there and play with all the other doggies! He could be a frisbee dog, too, I think!
Tomorrow we're going to see Beauty and the Beast performed by the Red Mountain Theatre. I'm excited, except that it's a 3-hour show. I'll let you know how it goes.

Girls' Day Out

Today we went to Sweet n Sassy. The girls got manicures and haircuts. Such fun - they were totally pampered and loved it! They smelled like cupcakes and cotton candy when we left, and I just wanted to eat them up! Then we went to the mall for some back-to-school shopping. Abby bought 3 dresses, and Sarah got a few skirts and a shirt/leggings combo that she wants to wear on the first day of school. It was really the first time we've really gone shopping like that, where we looked at all the clothes, took a bunch of stuff to the dressing room, tried everything on, then made decisions. Usually I just bring things home to try. So I'd consider this our first real big girls' shopping trip, and it was a definite success. What fun! After a little lunch and a cookie, we came home to rest. Then they played with their friend Heather this afternoon and performed a fashion show / disco party show for me.

Just a sidenote, a little funny story about Abby. Yesterday in the car she said "Johnson's baby shampoo has no more tears. Is that true?" And then she said "Huggies comfort fit diapers". Perry and I busted out laughing - she's quoting commercials! Today at the mall, she saw the Skechers store and recognized it. She said she wants Skechers for her playground shoes because "they stretch and flex and fit your foot, and make you run faster." This is a child who only watches Noggin, except Saturday mornings when they watch one of the network cartoons (Kewlopolis, anyone?). So that one day of commercials is really having an impact on her. The next time you think TV isn't harmful or influential, remember this!

A Crafty Summer

We've been keeping busy this summer - very busy. But in our downtime, we've tried a bunch of new crafts. Here are just a few:

1. Caterpillars out of egg cartons. They added paper towel wings to make butterflies - beautiful!

2. Painting sticks. First we painted them white, then we added the color. We stood them up against the fence outside! Who needs flowers in the garden, when you can get your color from sticks?! This simple project was some of the most fun we've had - it was messy and it took a long time.

3. Tissue paper butterflies. I cut butterfly shapes out of cardstock, then the girls painted them with a glue/water mixture. Then they sprinkled small torn pieces of tissue paper all over the glue. When the whole thing was covered with tissue paper, they put another light layer of glue on top. We attached some string and hung them in the windows - so pretty!

4. Butcher paper - have you ever noticed that coloring is more fun when it's on really big paper? I traced their bodies and then left them alone to do the rest - these are so great I have them hanging in the stariwell.

5. Recycled art. A castle out of a cardboard box and a wrapping paper tube; a house out of an orange juice container. These are the perfect size for Polly Pockets!

We've also painted seashells that we found at the beach. And then we put glue on some and sprinkled on glitter - they were gorgeous! Abby has been enjoying color by numbers. We've done a ton of painting - watercolors, tempura, acrylic, oils. We've made flowers out of coffee filters, vases out of McDonald's milk containers, and more flowers with beads and construction paper. We've made necklaces and bracelets and even tried braiding beads into our hair. If you had told me 10 years ago that I'd be doing crafts with my children soon, I definitely wouldn't have believed you, and I might have gotten sick to my stomach! But they've certainly brought out a creative side that I didn't know existed.

Technology scares me!

Perry got an iPhone. It's amazing - I really can't believe all it can do. But at the same time, it really scares me. I opened YouTube and just browsed through the top 30 or so videos. At least5 of them had titles that offended me - all I could think about was a preteen surfing through, and how things like this must be affecting our culture. I don't mean to be a prude, but I think this kind of thing is getting out of hand. The other night, we were watching America's Funniest Home Videos on the Family Channel at 7pm. One of the commercials was about meth - and it was horrible. I was sitting there with my 5-year-olds and I'm not ready to explain these things - can't they just be little kids? Do they really need to know about drugs already? I might block every channel on our TV except Noggin - it's the only one that hasn't concerned me.
I think I do a pretty good job of protecting them from outside influences, but they're about to start kindergarten, and I know that my bubble is about to pop. I just hope I've given them a firm enough foundation.

Daddy's Girls!

A Daddy post:

I'm so proud! This morning, I was backing the jeep out of the garage when Abby asked where I was going. When I responded that I was going to the golf course, she said wanted to come along. When we asked Sarah, she wanted to go too so we had an impromptu daddy and girls trip to the golf course. We enjoyed hitting range balls. Daddy offered some instruction but the girls politely declined, preferring to "just hit it by myself!" We didn't stay too long but, as you can see, they were hot and tired. The girls really enjoy hitting golf balls and I make an effort to keep it fun by limiting the time we're there and the amount of insruction I provide. If it worked for Earl Woods (Tiger's dad), it'll work for me.

Oak Mountain State Park - WE LOVE IT!

Friday we went back to Oak Mountain. It had rained the day before, and it was a little cool (highs in the high 70s), so the beach was out. But that's OK - there are tons of hiking trails and other things to explore. So off we went, on an adventure! We decided to walk the Treetop Nature Trail up to the animal rehabilitation center. What a great hike! There are huge cages built for injured birds - we saw an albino vulture and a couple of owls. Awesome. The trail was beautiful; it followed and crossed a babbling brook and the canopy was gorgeous. The girls complained at first but then really started to enjoy it. It was only .3 miles each way, which was perfect for them. We crossed the Yellow Trail which I'd like to go back and try sometime. I'd also like to get a GPS so we can try geocaching - I think the girls would really enjoy it, and it might help them enjoy the woods more.

After checking out the animals, we came back down the trail and then had a picnic down by the lake. Then we went to the farm and petted all the animals. It was great, because there were a ton of babies - a donkey, some lambs, lots of goats, some chicks. This is a special place; you're free to walk around and check out the farm, and the animals are so gentle. The girls had a great time. The only problem was that we didn't have any hand sanitizer...next time we'll definitely remember it!
Oak Mountain is probably my favorite thing about Birmingham. I love the feeling of being out in the woods, surrounded by trees and birds and animals...it's so peaceful. I hope I can help S&A discover the wonders of the great outdoors! Now, I wish I knew more about camping. I always love camping out, but whenever I've done it, I've been taken care of, you know, someone else cooks and sets up the potty and cleans and carries the gear. I'd like to learn how to do some of these things myself.

Children's Dance Foundation Recital

The girls' ballet recital was last weekend. They've taken dance at Children's Dance Foundation in Homewood this year, with Ms. Charla. It has been awesome. She's so sweet and gentle, and very creative. They've loved it. They did a great job in the recital; lots of the groups didn't know what they were doing, but their group listened well and remembered all of their dance. They were "Shooting Stars" and had beautiful, flowing costumes.

They had a very supportive group watching them, too. Perry and I went, of course, and so did Debbie and their great-great aunt and uncle, Sue & Bill. Mimi and Pop came up from Mobile to see them, and Carrie and Lauren came too. It was a great day.

The Zoo

I've been getting a bit nostalgic lately. The girls start kindergarten next year, and I'm so proud of them, so excited for them. But also sad, because I feel like I'm losing them in a way. I love our time together, and now it's going to be so limited. It seems like every day has become more important, and I want to remember it all...

We went to the Birmingham Zoo yesterday. It's a great little zoo, really. There are parts of it that I really don't like, mostly the older exhibits with the concrete enclosures, bars, windows, etc. But they're working hard to make it better. We loved the new kangaroo exhibit, the girls rode a camel (very cool), we saw the sea lion show, we thoroughly enjoyed the butterfly garden (one of them landed on Abby's back!), and then they cooled off with a romp in the fountain. An ideal morning - a memory.