An Open Letter to the Disney Channel

Dear Disney Channel Executives:

I was never one of those moms who swore that she would keep her child away from the television. Let's face it - I am a television junkie. I do not have the discipline to stay away from my favorite shows and certainly cannot hide it from my daughter. I am thankful for the DV-R because it has changed my life. I still watch the shows that I love, but I am no longer a slave to network schedules.

However, I do limit what my daughter watches. Besides, there is very little that holds her attention. She is a huge fan of Elmo but doesn't ask to watch Sesame Street. She gets excited when she sees Dora in the store, but doesn't care much for her on TV. The only show that the child apparently needs to watch on a regular basis is Little Einsteins. She loves Rocket, wants to be June, and brushes her teeth twice a day with Annie. We have the DV-R set up to record every episode and replay it each day before lunch. Her routine typically follows the format: morning activities, Einsteins, lunch, book, nap. Sometimes we're out a little late or eat lunch out with friends so we save Einsteins for when I am getting ready for dinner. In fact, she sometimes gets a double dose of the little world travelers because it allows me the opportunity to get things done in the kitchen without being disturbed. I can also use an extra viewing as a reward, or a way to coax her into doing something that she doesn't want to do.

So you can understand why I am extremely upset with your recent line-up change. No longer does Leo lead the gang on a musical adventure each weekday. We are now limited to Saturday and Sunday episodes. It doesn't really matter that she's seen all of the episodes a couple dozen times, she adores the characters. In addition, she is actually learning about music terminology. She takes Kindermusik and I was so excited one day when Ms. Pam played the block and she looked up at me and said "staccato." She has also used the term pianissimo correctly. When she hears pieces by Mozart and Tchaikovsky on the radio, she identifies them with the show. She has shown a great interest in all types of instruments thanks to Quincy, makes up songs thanks to Annie and tries to follow June's ballet moves.

Did I mention that she is only two? I know that this doesn't make her some kind of savant, but it shows that she is actually learning something that I don't have the knowledge teach her.

Please rethink your schedule and bring Leo, Annie, June, Quincy and Rocket back on a more regular basis. I can't begin to imagine what we would do if you stop airing the show altogether. We enjoy Handy Manny from time to time and she will request My Friends Tigger and Pooh frequently, but when given a choice, she always picks Einsteins.

Kind Regards,

Beanie Mom

Goodbye

JillyBean and Aunt Evelyn playing checkers on Easter

Beanie Dad's Great Aunt Evelyn died last night. She had been fighting Lymphoma for quite some time. While we are going to miss her very much, we feel incredibly blessed that she is leaving us now. When we saw her at Christmas she looked horrible. She was losing her hair, she was so frail and used all of her energy to entertain company. She turned 90 in early January and we believed that we would get a call at any time that she had passed. Oddly enough, Evelyn got a clean bill of health from her doctor about the same time my dad died. It was amazing news. We saw her at Easter and she looked like her old self. Then last week she began to take a turn for the worse and slipped away last night with Daddy's grandmother and mom at her side. Although she was in horrible pain this past week, she had four wonderful months and I am happy that our last memory of her is of her strength and spunk.

Evelyn reminded me so much of my grandfather. Ever the perfectionist, she was a fighter. She loved life and loved her family and wanted nothing more than to spend just one more day on this Earth. My grandfather was the same and I so wish that they could have met. They would have become fast friends.

A group of my good friends have formed a Relay for Life team, which supports the American Cancer Society. The team name is Moms on a Mission. Check out their page and consider giving them a donation to help fight cancer. Or you can purchase a luminaria in honor of someone you love. We know that Evelyn's spirit will shine bright for eternity.

Silhouette

Amanda Soule has done it again. She has gone and posted an item that I don't think I can live without. Le Papier Studio has some beautiful prints that would look fabulous in any child's room.

We are moving next month and I am going to redo Jilly's room just a bit. I don't plan to do too much at this time since we're not ready to move her to a "big girl bed." But I will have a little more space to change things up a bit and make her feel at home in her "new room."

I am trying to get her excited about the move because I don't want her to feel like she is leaving something behind. This is the only room and home that she knows, since we moved when she was only 6 months old. I asked her the other day how she wants to decorate and she said that she wants a pink room. She was very insistent on that, too. I tried to get her to agree to a green room because I want to paint her new room the same way we had her room in Texas - Restoration Hardware's Silver Sage (I love that color). But she said no. PINK ROOM. I'm pretty sure that we'll stick with the silver sage, but I will be sure to add some pink accessories (her room now is lavender and green). And that is why I think that this silhouette from Le Papier Source would be perfect:

I think that it's absolutely adorable and the little girl in it sort of looks like JillyBean.