Friday, February 13, 2009

Wibbly Pig's state of mind

Wibbly Pig is lovely. After reading his exploits you always feel more happy than when you started. The pictures and the words are simple but captured in his face is contentedness even when stuff is going wrong for him.
There is something just right about books being written by Mick Inkpen. If there is anyone destined to be an author surely having such a surname helps. A brief surf through the internet does seem to confirm it is his real name, 'cause you do wonder.
I only discovered Wibbly Pig three years ago as before that I didn't really check out the children's section of the library.
So these days, on a fairly regular basis, we have Wibbly Pig visit our house in book form. The last one we had was entitled, "Wibbly Pig is Happy". In the story he mostly is happy - he suffers an unhappy incident but sees it through to happiness again.
However while it appears this is what is going on, it would seem a sadder story lurks underneath. The book maybe entitled "Wibbly Pig is Happy" but the scanner at the library printed it out on the receipt as, "Wibbly Pig is Upset."
This book has spent more time at the library than at our house so what has Wibbly Pig let slip to the librarians? Is he not as happy as he shows? Is he just wearing a happy face because that is what people expect? Is he internalising his issues of being anthropomorphized?
I guess we will just have to get the book out again in a few months and see what the library scanner lets slip.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Shopping pre and post kids

Shopping pre kids - pick up wallet and phone, walk out of house, lock door and get in car. Drive to shops, wander around looking for what I want, find it, buy it, go to next thing on list, if it is not there, drive to another shop, find what I want and buy it.

Shopping post kids - today for example. Make sure children are wearing acceptable clothes. See thru dress up skirt is not acceptable and request a skirt change. Find shoes and put them on Mr One. Tell Miss Three once she has found a new skirt to find some shoes. Remind Miss Three to go to the toilet. Convince Miss Three she should go to the toilet even if she doesn't feel like it. Praise Miss Three for going to the toilet even when she didn't feel like it and doesn't she feel better now. Correct Miss Three's shoes that are on the wrong feet.
Pick up wallet and phone. Get everyone out of the house. Put back in the house the rideon that came out being ridden by Mr One.
Untwist the straps on the aggravating carseat for Mr One. Mr One gets cross at being put in his carseat when he would like to climb around the car. Strap in Miss Three, fortunately in a better designed carseat.
Drive to shops.
Get out buggy for Mr One. Get out Mr One and Miss Three. Miss Three decides she wants to walk. Then Miss Three is disappointed there isn't a seat for her in the buggy. Unlock the car again and before you go to get out the second seat. Ask again, "Do you want to ride in the buggy or walk?" Miss Three decides she wants to walk. Miss Three has a better idea and decides she wants to push Mr One. Insist she cannot do this alone and continue to correct her poor steering as she doesn't bother to look where she is going because other more interesting stuff is going on.
Wander around shop and find what we want, pay and then go shop two. Just as we arrive at shop two, Mr One is getting restless and asks to be let out. You decide it looks safe enough. Miss Three decides she needs a toilet and she needs it now. Toilet is in shop one.
Go back to shop one, Mr One crying all the way because he had been promised freedom and it was taken away just as he was about to get it. Find toilet, complete ablutions. Mr One is still cross, feel sorry for him as this delay was not his fault. Decide for the benefit of everyone to stop at playground in shop one for a run around.
After a wee play, go back to shop two to see if they do actually have what you want. We wander around, it doesn't seem they do so leave, decide the kids won't handle driving to a different shop when it is nearly lunchtime so give up on shopping trip and visit the pet shop beside shop two to look at all the cute animals. Go home for lunch and a lie down.
Perhaps shopping with children should be made into a board game.

5 Favourite Sights Seen

  • 1996 Watching tropical lightning turn night to day, outside a little wooden church in a small village in Sabah.
  • 2004 Flying down the Rainbow Valley at 8000ft in a cessna on a clear blue day.
  • 2003 Seeing and hearing Michael Schmacher rolling out of the pit garage in his Ferrari in Hungary.
  • 2009 Chancing upon 100 or more dolphins just off the Kaikoura Coast swimming around, jumping out of the water, doing somersaults and generally having fun.
  • 2006 Finding a pool at the bottom of a waterfall in the bush at Kaikoura that was full of playing baby seals.