Thomas The Tank Engine................

Mr 2 is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. I don't know if this is a good thing. He is currently watching his DVD of the Thomas TV series. Each episode if about 10 mins long - and the DVD goes for 133 minutes. Before and after each episode there is the Thomas The Tank Engine theme music. To say it gets a little tedious and annoying is an understatement........

Here are a few of my indicators that Mr 2 is crazy about Thomas:

• I just picked him up to change his poe-poe nappy (ahhh.... the joys of motherhood...) and Mr 2 screamed "Thomas........... Thomas............. Thomas" as I took him to his room (away from the TV). If anyone heard him screaming they would have thought he was being tortured!
• The other night he woke up calling out for Thomas. (It almost scared me half to death!)
  
• Pretty much every conversation he has with everybody has the mention of Thomas. And a 2 year old's conversation is like this: "blay di clo ma Thomas dee tam shoq ta mil Thomas".
• Every time we go to Kmart, he runs straight to the book section and picks up a little Thomas book and starts looking through it. He also has just figured out where the Thomas section of toys are at Kmart and can find his way there as though he is a homing pigeon.
• His favourite T-shirt has Thomas on it and he cries when I say he can't wear it.

The last time Mr D (the kids' Dad) was visiting, he bought Mr 2 some more Thomas the Tank Engine stuff. Now we have track, bridges, tunnel, station, plus a road for the bus (who's called Bulgy, in case you are interested). Mr D spent hours (I kid you not) trying to utilise all the track and stuff that we had to create loops and switches and ups and downs, etc. The end creation was fairly magnificent and Mr 2 and Miss 4 were almost beside themselves with joy and amazement.

The only problem is that while Mr 2 loves seeing the train go around the track by itself, he also likes to push it around himself, and occasionally crash things. Within a couple of hours of the kids seeing this amazing creation of engineering genius, it was demolished.

And who is the sucker that answers the plaintive cry: "Mummy, pre...e..a..se.... fix Thomas"? (And it takes ages to build...)

Handy Hint Number 50: Take a picture of the finished product that successfully incorporates all parts of your Thomas the Tank Engine stuff so that it is easier to put it together again....... or you can draw an outline of the track for future reference as a map.

Handy Hint Number 51: Don't accidentally throw out your map.

Miss 4 likes playing with Thomas the Tank Engine, but is not a huge fan of the show. Like mother, like daughter....... (it's the insanity-inducing theme music that's the problem!!)

Quick assignment update:
1 done
1 still due (overdue actually - don't tell my mother...)
1 exam next week......... arrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhh