Judd Stuff: Our House

For those of you that haven't seen our house yet and have asked repeatedly to see a picture, here ya go.

I'll take pictures of the rooms as I get them done. So far, I've just painted Clara's room and the powder room. I've also painted her playroom, but I think it looks hideous, so I'll post a pic when it's up to par. I have all planned out what I want to do in there, just need the money to do it. That's the tricky part of course.

I may not be a very commited blogger here for the next week or so. Glenn and Becky loaned us their box set of 24 (season 4) like a year ago. We just hadn't gotten around to watching it. Well, we finally stuck it in a couple of nights ago and watched 4 episodes last night and the night before.

Remember, we don't have cable, satellite, or even rabbit ears, so we watch a total of 0 hours of tv every night. We'll occasionally stick a movie in or watch an episode of some of the tv box sets we have, but never do we sit for as long as we have the past two nights. For those of you who haven't seen 24, every episode is a cliffhanger, so it's hard to stop watching if you can just go on to the next episode. Oh my gosh, my head hurt so bad last night since I'm not used to watching tv. Television is evil! Evil I tell you!

I get really hooked on these box sets. We've borrowed all 4 seasons of 24. I remember with the first one, I think I sat and watched almost all of it one Saturday when Chris was gone. How sad is that? I for one, love not having the tv on all the time. And I really love that Clara doesn't watch it. Most days, it's quiet in our house. I'll sometimes play music or play a children's cd and dance with her, but I just don't want her to get used to having noise on constantly and not be able to function without something in the background. Also, I've heard of children her age that throw tantrums when they can't watch tv! I can't imagine.

As of right now, Clara doesn't know who Dora, Blue, Barney (thank goodness), Elmo, the Wiggles (gag me), or anyone else is and I'd like to keep it that way for awhile. Don't get me wrong, she does have a few videos, but she doesn't watch everyday. Her absolute favorite is the Laurie Berkner Band dvd. She stops everything to come in and watch it for a couple of minutes. As she gets older, I don't mind introducing her to some of these cartoons in small doses, just not right now.

I think a lot of the problems that children have now once they enter school is because of all of the technology that's bombarding them from the time they're born. It's almost impossible to find a toy that doesn't take batteries now. They make dvds for babies. Everything has to be stimulating or it's not a good toy. I was talking to a woman who teaches young children not too long ago. She's taught for 30 years and she said it's sad to see the kids now. She definitely sees a difference in kids today; they don't know how to learn anymore. Well, it's no wonder they can't sit still and pay attention when they get in a classroom setting and aren't being entertained for the first time in their life.

I've heard the argument that kids are growing up in a technological world, so they should be introduced as early as possible to the technology or they'll be left behind. Bologna. That's like saying you should give a kid a calculator to teach them how to do math. You teach them concepts and theories and how to use logic and commom sense to figure out problems, then you can show them how technology can aid them.

Anywhoo, didn't mean to get off on a rant there. Please don't think I'm judging anyone for what they do with their children. I watched my fair share of tv as a kid, and I'm perfect! Television watching is just one of those things that I think has gotten out of hand in the US. Which reminds me...... all of these shows don't just stop there. They're breeding lots of little consumers. You can buy bedding, and toys, and eating utensils, and playing cards, and dvd's, and video games, and anything else you can imagine with your little cartoon hero on it. I know that's not a completely new idea because Linsey and I had Strawberry Shortcake bedding and other stuff, but it's like a hundred times worse now. These cartoon faces are plastered everywhere and I am not looking forward to the day when I'm walking through Super Target, minding my own business, when Clara falls on the floor screaming that she can't have the Dora cup. For some reason, I don't mind the thought of a tantrum because she wants the green one or the purple one. But wanting the Dora one? That's just gonna tear me right up.

Ok, I'm done. Here are a couple more pictures of bedtime. This one is from last week. Not a good night. Because of her eczema, I grease her up with Eucerin most nights and sometimes I put it on her head too if it's looking dry. Not a happy camper.