Fred Pete, I am so glad Chloe had a good end-of-life with your husband and you.

If we are having a party, we never have the TV on. Occasionally, if we've forgotten to charge the ipod for a party, we will run a music channel, but it's not videos or anything. Unless we've invited people over to watch a movie or show (rare), we turn the TV off and play music low, because we want to talk to and interact with, the people we have invited into our home.

But I don't have a single friend who would be snotty enough to be all "turn the TV off, our child is TV-free." If someone came over, and M was watching a cartoon or D was watching a show, I would invite the friend to talk upstairs or outside, but I would expect the friend to adapt to whatever was going on in my home.

ION, we had a great time tonight at our anniversary date -- we ate at Extra Virgin, a Micheal Smith tapas restaurant. We got the pork belly, and then the chickpea frites (BLISS), duck gizzards, escargot with oyster mushrooms in a port-wine reduction and an apple-walnut pastry with cinnamon ice cream. And cocktails. And perfect weather.

It was a lovely evening. We wrapped up with geek talk on a friend's front porch with prosecco. I can only hope every anniversary will be so nice.

Yay Erin for such a lovely anniversary.

We went to dance party tonight for parents and kids, was a lot of fun. Kids were running around in little clutches, and I danced way more than either of my kids. Tired now.

Springing it on them at the front door is rude no matter how reasonable the request.

I would agree, except that people repeatedly forget to tell me that they have dogs. So I get to the front door, hear the barking and go 'crap', but it's too late to do much except offend people. But I'm nervous of dogs, so it's put them away or I leave, sadly.

But if people already know there are dogs around and don't bother to voice concerns till they get to the house, that's rude.

I would agree, except that people repeatedly forget to tell me that they have dogs.

Personally, I think that's rude. I have a cat, and if someone has never been over to my house before, I always make sure to ask if they have issues with cats (issues could be allergies, or simply a severe dislike). On more than one occasion, this has led to a change of venue, but that's cool.

As for Aimee's friends, the cynic in me is wondering if they're looking for an opportunity to show off what diligent parents they are.

I prefer not to have the TV on unless I'm specifically watching something. Even if the sound is off, the pictures will distract me.

Ryan update. His latest thing is getting stars on the backs of his hands after bathtime. He's very particular - blue only. Gold, green, silver, not good enough - has to be blue. So, I guess we know he's not colour-blind.

Tooth brushing is a little mixed. He likes it, but no enough to stay still for a thorough brush. That can lead to some tears. After he's done, though, he goes running off (giggling madly) to find his grandparents for hugs and kisses. It is so very adorable.

New vocabulary includes thank you, in Chinese ('xie xie'), and turtle (they're all over his bib). I've started reading Dr Seuss to him. Hop on Pop is a big hit. (As is jumping on my tummy, so I'm seeing a pattern here.) It doesn't compare to the thrill-ride that is Ten Apples on Top, though. 'Apple' is one of his favourite words, and ten of them, all up on top like that, well. That's almost more than he can cope with. (Seriously, I'm not actually sure if he enjoys it, but he gets very intense about it.)

Here endeth the Ryan update.

April 10th. Still snowing.

Dylan started watching TV on a regular basis around 18 months, which was when we realized it could hold his attention long enough for whoever was taking him to daycare to have a shower.

His first movie (on DVD) coincided with his first haircut. You can see the pattern...

With Aeryn, well, our apartment isn't big enough to have a separate TV room, so she's watching whatever Dylan watches. Currently she finds sucking on her hands WAY more interesting than Dinosaur Train, but unless we fall into a giant pile of money and buy a house with a separate TV room and playroom, keeping her TV-free until 2 is a already a lost cause.

Tooth brushing is a little mixed. He likes it, but no enough to stay still for a thorough brush. That can lead to some tears. After he's done, though, he goes running off (giggling madly) to find his grandparents for hugs and kisses. It is so very adorable.

See if you can work a breath inspection in there, because that's how Matilda does it. She runs back for goodnight hugs and blows her minty breath into our faces.

Also, I've had good luck singing Ten Apples On Top in a faux operatic voice. You need to make Pavarotti gestures.

See if you can work a breath inspection in there, because that's how Matilda does it. She runs back for goodnight hugs and blows her minty breath into our faces.

For Ryan, the payoff is the rinse 'n' spit. He enjoys that part. Not entirely willing to go through brushing all the teeth first.

I'm sure you know this, but don't worry too much about tooth-brushing technique at this age. It's not like they're keeping those teeth anyway.