About Me

My photo
Single autistic mother of three awesome autistic kids. These are my anonymous ramblings about life, love, parenting and the rest – emptying my head of the weird, the wonderful and the mundane. Hope you enjoy.

Wednesday 29 February 2012

Of Time and Thomas...

It’s been a while again hasn’t it? Sorry. I really want to know where parent bloggers find time to blog, and then chat on forums about blogs, and tweet and facebook and everything else that goes along with it. These men/women must have found some secret pocket of time that seems to elude me. How do you do it guys?

I can’t believe that it’s just because I’m a single mum, because I’ve never really believed that having a husband gives you that much more time to yourself. Presumably if you have one, you need to spend time with them, or I suppose ideally, you want to spend time with them. Then if you’re a stay-at-home mum while they go out to work, then you presumably have to do all their washing and cleaning and cooking too, so that’s an extra person on top of your kids to tend to, that I just don’t have to do. So I can’t really believe it’s that.

Maybe it’s the age of my kids – DS2 certainly takes up much more time now than he used to – there’s much less napping going on and much more demands for attention and to be read to/played with. Even when he does play alone, it’s hard to concentrate with the constant singing to himself of “They’re 2, they’re 4, they’re 6, they’re 8…” – or more precisely “Da da, da da, da six, da ay….” and you only know he’s got to the middle break when you hear ‘Emimy ealy know er su’ (‘Emily really knows her stuff’ for the non-Thomas initiated of you).


Yes, while I’ve been wondering where all the time goes Thomas the Tank Engine has overtaken our household once more – much as it did when DS1 was little. It's quite sweet to see him play with all DS1s old things, and see DS1 get all possessive about them! I really like the ethos of Thomas, because it's not all clean and sanitized like so much kids tv now - there aren't good guys who are always right and bad guys who are always wrong. All the engines are sometimes really helpful and they all sometimes misbehave. Sometimes they get cross, (or ‘boss’ as DS2 calls it), or frightened, or a bit up themselves. Usually in the end whoever needs to say sorry does, and whoever needs to do the forgiving does - but rarely without some sarky or tongue-in-cheek comment that goes along with it, and the grumpy ones often only begrudgingly agree to be a bit nicer - much like in the real world. That's essentially why I like it, it's a world of imperfect individuals that muddle along, trying to do their best and often having off days - which is pretty much the world I live in, so I'm quite happy for DS2 to have it as his role model.
I have no idea what the new CGI version is like, I have an awful feeling it might have been Americanised and cleaned up so there is less grey – I hope not, but I’m not going to watch it just in case as I don’t think I could handle the disappointment. Surely the point of Thomas is that you're looking at something real - a real model railway with real trains and real steam? And don't get me started on those voices - just hearing the trains have their own voices on the clips we've seen sends shivers down my spine – it’s just wrong!! They should all be done by Michael Angelis, the way they always have been and that's an end to it <adjusts rollers in hair and straightens pinny>.

DS2 has been banned from watching the new ones, so he only gets to hear the voices when he plays the App on my phone – and he’s not sure about them then. He is obsessed though, he wakes up with a start saying ‘Thoma’ (hasn’t grasped S’s yet.) Or I hear him turn over in his sleep saying ‘Emimy’ or  'Bordon' (no Gs or Ls either). DS1 and I have been trying for weeks to work out why he calls Cranky the Crane 'Batman', but to no avail, that one will have to remain a mystery.  

I have been guilty of using the Thomas episodes on Sky+ as a babysitter to buy myself some time – usually to make tea - but I find more and more DS2 wants me to sit with him and hold his hand. I guess it’s just a clingy phase that they all go through, but it doesn’t seem to stop him running off whenever we’re out. I’m not sure I can make sense of that – why would you be clingy when you’re surrounded by walls, but run as soon as you’re in the open air? Weird child.

So that's about all the rambling I have time for today - I’m off to prepare for a meeting with the Headmaster this afternoon, to ask the fairly basic question ‘Why has my son not learnt anything he didn’t already know in maths and science for the year and a half he’s been at school?’. Then if I enjoy that completely pointless task, I might go and try to find another brick wall to bang my head against. Wish me luck.

And if anyone has any top tips as to where and how they find the time to blog/tweet/FB, they would be greatly appreciated here!

7 comments:

  1. I usually write mine in teh wee small hours these days, or when the Chums are at school, one handed while feeding the Littlest Chum.

    But I;m not even managing one post a week at the moment, so don't take my advice ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, that sounds familiar! - although DS2 now always wants to grab my hand when he's feeding, so don't have a spare typing hand - I wonder if he'd go for a fake hand....!

      Delete
  2. I'm reading your blog while on the loo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that is something I'd not thought of - thanks Dilly!

      Delete
  3. I agree with Dillytante. I seem to spend a lot of time scrolling through Twitter whilst on the loo. I am pleased that it's not just me. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. sleep. just do without sleep.
    and refuse to talk to husband, that works too

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cumulus - although not sure I could manage on even less sleep - and you've confirmed my growing suspicion that I'd have less time if I had a husband not more!!

      Delete