Drive-In TV

When I downloaded the pictures from the camera recently, I found these few pictures hidden in between sets of pictures that I'd taken!  When I asked Katie Anne about them, she said, "Oh, yeah.  We did that one day when we were here with just Daddy.  It was drive thru tv, I think.  It was fun!"  I think she meant drive-in tv... laundry baskets for cars with snacks and tv shows... what a silly daddy!  Sounds like fun!

The Many Faces of Diego Watching

Our Dora obsession is easing up a little bit here in the Jones household.  Don't worry... we still love Dora and everything about her, but we can now watch other things.  We've made the big leap to

... sigh ...

Diego.

Are you interested in learning the Diego theme song?  I'll bet you are.  Let me key you into it, because it runs through my head
All - Day - Long...

Go Diego Go
Deep inside the jungle where nature's running wild,
Coming to the rescue is a very special child.
Talking to the animals and swinging from a vine,
This rough and tough adventurer is working all the time.
Yo Viene Diego… Diego… Diego… Go, Diego, Go
Alicia’s on a mission- we’re all going for a ride.
Diego's on the road with Baby Jaguar by his side.
Discovering together- Yeah, we're always having fun,
Helping out each other is good for everyone!
And there goes Diego… Diego… Diego… Go, Diego, Go!

Yep, that's totally awesome.  What to hear it for yourself?  Sure, I can help with that.

Go Diego Go!

The Rescue Pack song is also really great, but I'll save that one for another time. We have now watched many Diego episodes, and because of the surprisingly similar format to Dora, we all find it strangely comforting. However, Diego is clearly for an older crowd, because it is jam-packed with harrowing moments, animals in peril, whirlwind adventures, and dangerous rescues.  Diego's antics can make even the most seasoned veteran of Dora watching a nervous wreck.  Hence, this photo montage...

Yeah, Diego's on! Let's watch!

Whoa, I sense an animal's in trouble. Click, take a pic.

Oh, no- Be careful, Diego!  The suspense is killing me!

I can help Diego by using my super-listening ears.  He relies greatly on audience participation.

That Diego - of course, he made it, safe and sound!  Mommy, I can't believe you ever doubted him!

I know they're supposed to be the Diego version of Swiper the Fox, but I can't deny it - those BoBo Brothers and their mischievous ways are hilarious!

Go, Diego, Go!

Our new morning routine

Since school started, Katie Anne has gotten into a new morning routine that I really enjoy. Because her new school is twenty minutes in the opposite direction of my school, and they moved my work start time from 7:45 to 7:30, Saunders takes her to school every morning and I pick her up every afternoon. If I were to take her as I did in years past, we'd have to leave every morning at 6:45 - yuck. Instead, she and Saunders leave about 7:15 ... but, with his more flexible hours, they could leave even later if something came up. So, that flexibility is great for Saunders. Also, it is nice for me to go straight to work for a change without having to do the day care drop off - I've even had time to stop by McDonald's for a coffee two days this school year!

This is nice for Katie Anne as well because it gives her some time with Daddy every morning and minimizes her time at school because she's dropped off as late as possible and picked up as early as possible. However, it minimizes the time that I get to see her in the morning, which I wasn't too happy about. And, Saunders was quite nervous about doing the whole enchilada- pottying, tooth brushing, dressing, hair fixing, and everything else that goes into the morning routine.

So, the good news is that Katie Anne has fixed that problem herself. After about two days of getting up and rushing right out the door, she started waking herself up earlier. She likes to get up every morning at about 6:30 or so and watch one episode of Dora while Saunders and I finish getting dressed. Then, as Dora is ending, I go ahead and get her dressed and fix her hair before I go to work. After I say my goodbyes and leave at about 7:00, Saunders takes care of the final potty break, tooth brushing, and takes her to school. This new routine is great because it gives us about thirty minutes as a family each morning, which doesn't make me feel so deprived as I head into work!

Now, when I go into her room to get her at 6:30, she's ready to go with babies and blankets in hand. She comes right into our room and climbs into our bed with all her animals and soft blankies while she watches Dora and chats with us. I thought I'd snap a few pictures of her this morning while we were getting ready for the day.

Loving the Tivo in the bedroom... instantaneous Dora!
"Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer... Boots & super-cool Explorer Dora..."

Once someone realized pictures were being made, her giggle box got turned over!

Silly monkey!

What a morning person!

Out of the Darkness and Into the Light

Dear Readers,
Confession time is here. Almost three years ago, I made a decision that would've destroyed a weaker marriage... I bought a smaller television for the living room simply to fit in a media cabinet that I liked. Yes, I did it - I sacrificed screen size for furniture aesthetics. And, to top it all off, I passed off the smaller, 32" television as Saunders's birthday present. He took it like a man, moved the 36" television down into the basement, and we've enjoyed the 32" (and the pretty armoire) since we moved into the "new house" about three years ago.
Another confession... when Saunders asked if the armoire broke down into two pieces (which meant we could use only the base as a support for a bigger television), I simply shrugged and avoided the question. Did I know that the armoire came in two pieces? Not exactly. Did I have my suspicions? Maybe. Did I want to break apart this brand new media cabinet that I loved and had searched for weeks for? No way.
However, when we rearranged our furniture almost a year ago, Saunders realized that the armoire did come apart. He realized that the bottom could be a base for a big tv, and the top could be the base for the wet bar of his dreams in the basement. How could I argue with that two-for-one recycling deal? Then, the dream of a bigger television was reawoken in his heart, and I knew that he'd done his time with a 32" television. We've been talking about it since last fall, and this weekend, we went to Sam Franklin's and picked out the big boy tv.

Out with the old ... 32" Sony Wega (aka a fat butt tv... no HD, no bells, no whistles, but still quite servicable. I know - we were still in the Dark Ages over here.)

And in with the new! A 52" Sony LCD tv. HDTV and all those other fancy things that I don't know that much about.

Sam Franklin and Saunders working on the new set up.

I'll have to admit... I really like the new television, and I have been excited about it. I didn't have a problem with the smaller one, but it was kind of hard to see after we rearranged the living room. Our couch is 17 feet away from the tv, so it is kind of a long way away in terms of normal tv viewing. That 20 inch screen increase makes a big, big difference. However, right now, the new tv is making me a little motion sick. I'm used to a blurry screen! It will take me a little time to get used to it, but it is really awesome. Katie Anne likes it - she squealed out loud when she saw it. And, of course, Saunders loves it!

This purchase also comes with two fringe benefits for me and Katie Anne. Fringe benefit one... the old but still working fine 32" tv has now moved to the playroom/craft room, so we've got a tv in there.
And, I've wanted a Tivo in the bedroom for a while now, but Saunders thought that wasn't necessary. Now that we've had to order an HD Tivo for the living room, the old regular Tivo is at home in our bedroom! Sweet! Now, I can lay in the bed and watch my shows at night, and Katie Anne can watch Dora in the morning while we're getting ready for work instead of going into the living room by herself. She'll love that!

In the famous words of former Atlanta Brave Otis Nixon, "I just got three words to say. It don't get no better than this!"
Here's the real reason we got the big tv.
How can you top Dora in HD?
That's right, people ... you can't. :)

Could this be the day?

Katie Anne has never been a television watcher. Sure, she loves the Sesame Street characters and has a passion for Caillou, but she has never set down and watched a tv show. She'll watch maybe five minutes, and then she's up and (literally) running. I'm glad that she's not a regular television watcher and that she'd much prefer to run, play, dance, or read. However, it would be nice if - on occasion - she would sit down and watch a show for even fifteen minutes.

Well, on Monday afternoon, she wanted to "Watch Barney on big tv." So, we brought Barney in from the car and turned it on. As usual, she watched her favorite song and then was done. So, we went into the kitchen and started dinner. A few minutes later, I noticed that my little sous chef was MIA. I walked into the living room to find her, and this is what I saw...

This relaxing, Goldfish-snacking, tv viewing lasted almost ten minutes!

Could this large, annoying, purple dinosaur be the mesmerizing answer to getting ten or fifteen minutes of peace and quiet for Mommy?

Or is he just a gateway drug to hours and hours of mindless tv watching with only "Huh?" as an answer when Mommy calls? To be continued...