Sunday, April 23, 2006

The Children's Circuit

In the last five years, I've attended my share of children's performances. Daddio has attended his share, too, but still fewer than me. We've braved Blues Clues, Sesame Street Live, Dragon Tales, the Big Apple Circus, the Wiggles and Disney On Ice. I imagine that subconsciously I've forgotten various other performances, but that shows how meaningful those experiences actually were.

I don't recall attending or even the availability of so many children's productions when I was a youngster. Perhaps I was sheltered in this respect, but more likely, kids created their own performances outside on the neighbor's lawn, in my day. Kids programming was limited, at best.

Yesterday evening, we attended The Wiggles Concert.

Wiggles Live

To say the least, The Wiggles Concert, live and in-person, is an experience. It would be virtually impossible to find yourself nodding off as Jeff, Anthony and Murray scurry through the audience and Greg jokingly plucks out a few notes of Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven for the adults' benefit.

When I originally heard about these four Australian guys, prancing around onstage belting out children's tunes, I assumed they were gay. Who in their right mind would do this for a living? I assumed, they either must be out of their minds, or consumed large amounts of uppers, namely Prozac.

Then, two years ago, I heard a "cool" dad, dropping off his children at school, remark to the preschool teacher, "Hey, sorry the kids are late, today. We went to the Wiggles concert last night. Boy, they were amazing! They're like the Rolling Stones for kids."

Like the Rolling Stones, eh? I figured I better check it out. So, I set up our Tivo to record the show. My kids were immediately hooked. Within a few weeks, the kids demanded to dress in their ballet attire and dance to the Wiggles on television a few times a week. They could watch the same episode three times in a row, possibly more, if I'd allow it.

Last year, we attended our first Wiggles concert. I recall being stunned by the energy. The parents (particularly the mothers) seemed just as mesmerized by these four Aussie fellows as the kids. The mommies belted out every word of every tune as their children swayed their hips and clapped their hands. Not that I've been to a Rolling Stones concert, but it was like stuff I'd seen on MTV.

Now, over a year later, of Tivo-ing the show and listening to the Wiggles tunes, I, too, can belt out the words to nearly all the Wiggles tunes. I've become one of those mothers who is just as mesmerized by these Aussie fellows as are her children. Even Daddio, sang along to the songs he recognized.

However one feels about the four Aussie men, collectively known as the Wiggles, depriving a child of a Wiggles Concert is like depriving them of their childhood these days. If there is one thing that a parent could choose to do with a child, I strongly recommend attending a live Wiggles show. The energy present at both shows I've attended is as exuberant as Times Square in New York City.

I hope we attend the Wiggles concert again next year! At one point, Daddio asked if all the adults actually brought children to the concert. I wonder myself... maybe we will become the sort of parents that will continue to attend the annual concerts when our children are in high school and college.

Doubtful, but not beyond the realm of possibilities.... Why knows, by then, we may find the Cheetah Girls tolerable.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Turnaround

Today, being the last day of this set of swim lessons, Scooter had a 180 degree turnaround.

Here's the proof:

Turnaround

And some actions shots of Teacup:

Turnaround Turnaround

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Mommy Tips

Like mommies need to consume more crapola!

But, here's a place you can discover good deals and hear the latest celebrity mom gossip!

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Basis of Need

Teacup has begun to compare notes with her schoolmates.

When she returned home from school earlier this week, she announced that her buddy, Alisha, received more gifts from the Easter Bunny than she did.

Quick on the draw, I responded that the Easter Bunny brings kids things based on their individual needs. Aside from too many jelly beans and too much chocolate, this year, Teacup and Scooter received new swimsuits, beach towels, flip-flops and a small toy in their Easter baskets. I assured her that she received the items she needed to start the summer.

Letting that sink into her noodle, she paused. Then, she asked, "Why does Alisha need more than one kite? I need a kite, too!"

I'm having trouble keeping up with the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny antics. What am I going to do when Santa comes around again in eight months?

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Swim To Me

This week, the girls are taking swim lessons at a friend's pool. These pictures quite accurately sum up the current state of affairs.

Teacup takes on the persona of a mermaid in the water.

Swim To Me

Clearly, she is pleased with her abilities.

Scooter shows a totally different side!

Swim To Me

While this last photo will garner some yucks, I hope to post more flattering photos of Scooter by Friday.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Paralyzed by Technology

Last week, my life came to a screeching halt when my computer crashed.

In the working world begot with paychecks, when technology failed me, I called the IT help-line. The 5 digit extension was etched into my cerebrum. Even though the IT department was outsourced by the time I turned in my resignation letter, those guys were always just a call-a-way. I never cared if they thought I was some ridiculously ill-informed user. Nor did I mind if they mocked my technological ineptitude. All I cared about was their ability to fix my machine while I took a ten-minute walk around the building to relieve my frustration. Documents and emails never get lost, unless the company is under investigation by Eliot Spitzer.

The IT help-line was another advantage of the working world. There was always someone there to fix my stuff. Even when my home computer faltered, some tech guy could always keep me surfing the net at work.

It took five days of daddio's dedication to fix my home computer problems last week. I offered zero help. It's not that I didn't want to, I just couldn't. Honestly, the only form of assistance I could have offered would have been brownies or chocolate chip cookies. However, I mucked that up, too, given that I didn't consider it until now. Go figure.

During those long five days, I tried not to think too hard about the potential damage to my life. I had a few minor inconveniences. I would have lost some contact information that would have taken time to recover. Most importantly, I would have lost nine months of precious pictures.

I've never lost a limb. Perhaps it's not fair to compare. But, I sure felt dismembered!

Fortunately, Daddio saved the day. I'm back up and running with none of my photos, contacts or documents noticeably missing.

Thank you Daddio!

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Anti-Antibiotics

Scooter awoke with a red puffy eye two days in a row, earlier this week. Her eye appeared crusty due to some sort of nasty discharge. By the afternoon of the second day, a pinkness encircled the puffiness of her eye. It deteriorated as her pupil peered at me through a diminishing slit.

Pinkeye was the first mom-diagnosis that entered my mind. I've never had pinkeye and I've never formally spotted pinkeye, but I assumed that's what she'd caught from some other germ-infested preschooler.

So, I dragged Scooter and Teacup to the doctor.

As the pediatrician examined Scooter, he seemed to struggle internally about what to do. Eventually, he confirmed that she had not caught pinkeye. Phew! However, she needed antibiotic eye-drops and an oral antibiotic for seven and ten days, respectively. In a rush to be dismissed, without question, I accepted the instructions and immediately filled the prescriptions.

The first day, Scooter liked the idea of the "treatment". With minor opposition, she drank the citrus-flavored oral antibiotic and allowed us to squirt a drop in her inflamed eye.

Her eye quickly returned to a nearly normal state. Then, she strongly refused the oral antibiotics. By her age, a few weeks shy of three years old, when she refuses to ingest something, I can no longer squeeze her cheeks and force it down the hatch. I knew any effort to force the issue would result in her spewing the medicine out of her mouth and me wearing it. I've been down that road with Teacup. No need to repeat that experience....

I focused on the eye-drops. By the time the next dose was to be dispensed, she started to put up a bit of a struggle. She fought to cover her eye. I eventually pinned her to the ground and forced a drop into her somewhat swollen eyeball. The next time, the minor struggle blossomed into a wrestling match with me holding her arms behind my knees and prying her eyelid open. Finally, Scooter added a head-thrashing motion to the full-fledged brawl. So, I gave up on the eye drops for fear that either my fingers or the eyedropper would do more harm than good.

Making excuses, I convinced myself that the pediatrician must have been overly cautious to prescribe both eye-drop antibiotics and oral antibiotics. I figured in the overly anitibotic-crazed society we live in, she doesn't need to OD on antibiotics.

When we returned to the pediatricians office for a follow-up visit, the doctor expressed pleasure regarding Scooter's recovery. However, he hesitated when he peered down her throat.

"How are those oral antibiotics going?" he asked.

"Well..... um..... Scooter doesn't seem to like them. So, I didn't force the issue." I ashamedly stammered.

"Oh. Well, just watch her pretty closely because Scarlet Fever is going around." And that was the end of the discussion.

Now you tell me!, I thought.

Since that visit, I've decided that we are an anti-antibiotic family despite being entirely ignorant of the real issues.

Does this make us pro-biotics?