Techno Techno Techno Techno

Let me start with a disclaimer in light of my comments on a post over at "All That Comes With It" about the purer-than-the-driven-snow nature of this blog and the fact that I would rather drink squirrell pee while being forced to watch re-runs of George and Mildred than advertise on my blog.

Disclaimer: The following post does not contain advertising, it's just that a lot of products have been placed in my house... by my wife.

In the good old days (last month) we only had an eight year-old TV, a four year old desktop computer and a compact camera. Not exactly gadget central.

But to this modest list Hayley has now added:

A laptop computer
A camcorder
A 140 watt PA system with microphone
A rotating mushroom light show thingymabob
A set of six (or is it eight) music-synchronised disco lights.

We haven't won the lottery or decided to try to match the national debt. Most of the money for the above has come from a grant that Hayley secured to support her childminding business.

Boosted by the same grant, we have also acquired:
Some pushalongs (ladybird, bumble bee, two motorbikes...)

Some writing tools (a bit hard to explain - not just pens!)
A children's games console.

I wasn't at all sure about that last one. I would like to keep computer games out of the house and away from the kids as long as possible, but it claims to be educational, helping with numbers and letters. So far I've only seen a game that involves Mickey Mouse popping balloons, so I am yet to be convinced.

The laptop and camcorder were chosen by the people offering the grant. The laptop is proving useful, including for Hayley to blog her chidminding for the parents. The camcorder is also useful on that score. It comes with a 60x (yes, sixty times) optical zoom. Why?! Do they imagine children need to be observed from a distance of half a mile? Nonetheless a nice bit of kit.

The PA system and disco lights are for childminding and might evolve into a little venture that Hayley has in mind for children's parties. We four have had the pleasure of trialling the equipment in our spare room which has become a disco for the last few evenings.



This afternoon a fellow childminder and her charges were allowed in for a boogie and loved it. The next trial will be at Hayley's playgroup's Christmas party and then at a private party she has organised for our friends just before Christmas. Watch this space to see how things develop. I'll let you know if she starts wearing bling and/or talking like Dizzy Rascal.