Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Taming The Big Screen Monster
I wrote before about how we limited TV while we were in London for 5 1/2 weeks and how pleased we all were with the results. We didn't want to give up this freedom once we got home, but it's a lot harder to make a permanent decision than it was to make a temporary one. On the other hand, even with our previous limits in place (one hour of "screen" time a day (tv, computer, video games, etc) and an extra 30 minutes if it's educational) I could feel the big screen monsters taking over again. The kids would be having a wonderful time playing creatively outside, then run in to watch a rerun. It made no sense.
Since it was so difficult to make a permanent decision on this, we made another temporary one.
We talked to the kids about what it was like in London, and they agreed that they liked it better with very little screen time. We proposed that we do it again for a month, then at the end of the month we will evaluate. One of the kids, normally the most prone to getting sucked in by the electronics, commented: "I'm glad, because sometimes I'm having fun but I feel torn between what I'm doing and the show I know is about to come on."
"But what you've been watching are all reruns," I reminded him.
"I know," he said, "It doesn't make sense. I don't know why I do it."
"It just pulls you in, doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
I can relate. It pulls me in too. In fact, I'll be writing more on my personal love/hate relationship with TV.
The kids were game to our experiment, and so far we love it. The parameters we set up were no TV or video games for the most part, unless Scott and I initiate a concession (in other words, no asking!). We normally watch a movie as a family on Friday nights so we will continue that, but we all like the idea of sometimes playing a game instead. Computer time is limited to e-mail or other writing, no games. (If one any of the kids were prone to spending hours on e-mail we would put more boundaries on that; right now they're not.)
It has been wonderful to see my kids using their imagination so much. Before it was in spurts, in between scheduled TV shows. Now it has all day to grow, and the results are astonishing. Yesterday they performed one of their favorite childhood books
and recorded it on the video camera. I was very impressed with the detail they put into it. Most of their time is spent outside. They come in every once in a while and say, "It's hot!" which used to be their cue to ask for TV and spend the rest of the day inside. Now they get a drink, rest...and then back outside they go. Yesterday I went outside to check on them and my daughter said, "This is great! I don't have to worry about coming inside in time for my favorite show. I can just stay out here and play all day!"
WARNING: SHAMELESS BRAGGING AHEAD
Sometimes it's unreal how awesome my kids are.
BRAGGING OVER
Limiting screen time definitely works for me. Check out Rocks In My Dryer for more things that might work for you. Shannon's on-line allowance system is one idea I'm going to be thinking about.
Since it was so difficult to make a permanent decision on this, we made another temporary one.
We talked to the kids about what it was like in London, and they agreed that they liked it better with very little screen time. We proposed that we do it again for a month, then at the end of the month we will evaluate. One of the kids, normally the most prone to getting sucked in by the electronics, commented: "I'm glad, because sometimes I'm having fun but I feel torn between what I'm doing and the show I know is about to come on."
"But what you've been watching are all reruns," I reminded him.
"I know," he said, "It doesn't make sense. I don't know why I do it."
"It just pulls you in, doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
I can relate. It pulls me in too. In fact, I'll be writing more on my personal love/hate relationship with TV.
The kids were game to our experiment, and so far we love it. The parameters we set up were no TV or video games for the most part, unless Scott and I initiate a concession (in other words, no asking!). We normally watch a movie as a family on Friday nights so we will continue that, but we all like the idea of sometimes playing a game instead. Computer time is limited to e-mail or other writing, no games. (If one any of the kids were prone to spending hours on e-mail we would put more boundaries on that; right now they're not.)
It has been wonderful to see my kids using their imagination so much. Before it was in spurts, in between scheduled TV shows. Now it has all day to grow, and the results are astonishing. Yesterday they performed one of their favorite childhood books
and recorded it on the video camera. I was very impressed with the detail they put into it. Most of their time is spent outside. They come in every once in a while and say, "It's hot!" which used to be their cue to ask for TV and spend the rest of the day inside. Now they get a drink, rest...and then back outside they go. Yesterday I went outside to check on them and my daughter said, "This is great! I don't have to worry about coming inside in time for my favorite show. I can just stay out here and play all day!"WARNING: SHAMELESS BRAGGING AHEAD
Sometimes it's unreal how awesome my kids are.
BRAGGING OVER
Limiting screen time definitely works for me. Check out Rocks In My Dryer for more things that might work for you. Shannon's on-line allowance system is one idea I'm going to be thinking about.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Reveling
Even weeks into our trip to England--right up to the very end, in fact--I would have these moments where I would think, "Is this real? Are we really here? Did we really get to do this?" Even as I experienced it, it all seemed too good to be true. Now that I'm home, I find myself thinking, "Am I really home?" Everything here seems too good to be true too.
At the same time, I have these flashes of memories from our trip, things I miss already. Sometimes it's the sites we saw, but more often it's pieces from our every day life there: The playground near our house, the park we walked through on our way to catch the bus or the tube, the bus and the tubes themselves, for that matter. The slant of the sun through the skylight in my attic bedroom, reading to the kids at night in the "reception room," cooking together in the kitchen there, even hanging the endless laundry on hangers all over the house and taking it down to fold after it was dry. The view of the sky through the front window from my place on the couch. These are the memories I take out and hold close, and will continue to until they're worn thin like an old quilt.
It's the same kind of things I am so glad to have back home: my bed, my kitchen, the view from my front porch. Entertainment is nice, but the memories I cling to the most are always the stuff of home--wherever that home happens to be.
At the same time, I have these flashes of memories from our trip, things I miss already. Sometimes it's the sites we saw, but more often it's pieces from our every day life there: The playground near our house, the park we walked through on our way to catch the bus or the tube, the bus and the tubes themselves, for that matter. The slant of the sun through the skylight in my attic bedroom, reading to the kids at night in the "reception room," cooking together in the kitchen there, even hanging the endless laundry on hangers all over the house and taking it down to fold after it was dry. The view of the sky through the front window from my place on the couch. These are the memories I take out and hold close, and will continue to until they're worn thin like an old quilt.
It's the same kind of things I am so glad to have back home: my bed, my kitchen, the view from my front porch. Entertainment is nice, but the memories I cling to the most are always the stuff of home--wherever that home happens to be.
Labels: London In The Spring 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
You Better Run, You Better Take Cover
On the advice of Planet Nomad*, I picked up a jar of Marmite to try while we were in England. A few days later I saw a commercial for it on TV: "Marmite: You either love it or you hate it." They're not kidding.
Scott: What's that?
Jeana: It's Marmite. Apparently it's an English thing. I wonder if it's the same thing as Vegemite?
Scott: What?
Jeana: You know, "I said do ya speaka my language...He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite...sandwich."
Scott: Get out! That's what they're saying?
Jeana: Yep.
I was smart enough tomake let Scott try it first, so he warned me that it wasn't sweet. That warning helped, but it was not enough to fully prepare me for the experience. I would say Scott loved it, the rest of us hated it. More specifically, the rest of us thought it tasted like dirty feet dipped in body odor with a twist of nasty. One of the kids threw up.
On a more cheerful note, we now have a new punishment to threaten the kids with.
*******************************************
*What do I call you. Planet Nomad? Do I call you by the name of your blog? By the letters you use when you comment, edj? Because that makes you sound like this guy.
Scott: What's that?
Jeana: It's Marmite. Apparently it's an English thing. I wonder if it's the same thing as Vegemite?
Scott: What?
Jeana: You know, "I said do ya speaka my language...He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite...sandwich."
Scott: Get out! That's what they're saying?
Jeana: Yep.
I was smart enough to
On a more cheerful note, we now have a new punishment to threaten the kids with.
*******************************************
*What do I call you. Planet Nomad? Do I call you by the name of your blog? By the letters you use when you comment, edj? Because that makes you sound like this guy.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Enough
I'm learning to accept and put into practice something I've known in theory all along: I have enough time to do what I need to do every day. I do not have enough time to do what I want to do every day. It seems like implementing this would result in a life of drudgery, but it doesn't. I may spend less time doing what I want, but in general I have more sense of accomplishment and peace because I don't constantly feel like I'm running behind. When I do take time to do something I like, I enjoy it more because I don't feel guilty for neglecting everything else.
Hence, the lack of regular posting lately.
Marian asked what I've eaten so far that I couldn't in England. Ironically, no biscuits from a can. It seems canned biscuits are not something I want to eat so much as something I want to know that I could eat, if I wanted to. Here are a few things I've enjoyed this week:
*Baked ham (I didn't have an appropriate baking dish there)
*Potato salad with pickles that taste "right" and sweet pickle relish
*Chicken salad (ditto on the pickles and relish)
*Salad (They had it there, but the weather called for soup, which was difficult to make with no soup pot.)
*Spaghetti ( We had that there, but the canned tomatoes tasted different. My mom suggested the cans might be made from a different metal.)
*Homemade pizza (Although I used the same recipe, the dough tasted "off" when I made it there. Most weeks I used chapati bread instead. I couldn't find canned tomato sauce there [not pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce, just plain tomato sauce], so the sauce tastes right again now.)
*Peter Pan peanut butter
*Smoked sausage (never saw it there)
*Sausage links (Sausage there tasted very different. After my initial run-in with the cheap imitation stuff, I got some "real" sausage. It was very lean and the flavor was different; not like the greasy, tasty stuff I'm used to. Even the "spicy" tasted bland to me.)
On another note, I seem to finally be over the jet lag. This morning I slept until seven o'clock.
Hence, the lack of regular posting lately.
Marian asked what I've eaten so far that I couldn't in England. Ironically, no biscuits from a can. It seems canned biscuits are not something I want to eat so much as something I want to know that I could eat, if I wanted to. Here are a few things I've enjoyed this week:
*Baked ham (I didn't have an appropriate baking dish there)
*Potato salad with pickles that taste "right" and sweet pickle relish
*Chicken salad (ditto on the pickles and relish)
*Salad (They had it there, but the weather called for soup, which was difficult to make with no soup pot.)
*Spaghetti ( We had that there, but the canned tomatoes tasted different. My mom suggested the cans might be made from a different metal.)
*Homemade pizza (Although I used the same recipe, the dough tasted "off" when I made it there. Most weeks I used chapati bread instead. I couldn't find canned tomato sauce there [not pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce, just plain tomato sauce], so the sauce tastes right again now.)
*Peter Pan peanut butter
*Smoked sausage (never saw it there)
*Sausage links (Sausage there tasted very different. After my initial run-in with the cheap imitation stuff, I got some "real" sausage. It was very lean and the flavor was different; not like the greasy, tasty stuff I'm used to. Even the "spicy" tasted bland to me.)
On another note, I seem to finally be over the jet lag. This morning I slept until seven o'clock.
Labels: Seriously
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Creepy And, As A Bonus, Annoying
Veronica Mitchell tagged me for this meme of things that creep me out. The trouble is, I could only think of one thing right off the bat, so of course I'm going to go on and post about it because that's the best way to ensure that I think of 23 more things.
That one thing, ladies and gentlemen, is bagged salad.
I can not explain why I find it so icky. There's no logic in it. I can tolerate a bag of mixed herbs, spinach or romaine hearts, but that iceberg mix with carrots and red cabbage? Blech. For some reason it doesn't bother me as much seeing it on a salad bar, but inside that big plastic bag, it grosses me out.
This aversion reminded me of a story, which reminds me of one of my biggest pet peeves, which is the bait and switch. It works like this:
I am at a friend's house for lunch, and she is serving salad and sandwiches. Having already noticed that her salad comes from a bag, I have opted for a sandwich and just as I finish assembling it, she asks, "Would you like some lettuce on your sandwich?"
"Sure!" I say, and she hands me the bag. This is not lettuce. This is a lettuce-like substance mixed with carrots and cabbage and encased in plastic, which I can not now graciously turn down without explaining that I think what she just offered me is revolting. And yes, I should have seen this coming, but I didn't because, salad-wise, I'm still an innocent. I can't remember how I handled it--I must have blocked it out. Bait and switch.
I am meeting my mother-in-law for the first time and she offers me a Diet Coke, which I decline because I only drink the sugary stuff. Later she says, "I've got Cokes in there, don't you want one?" Oh, are Cokes an option? Absolutely! Except she meant Diet Cokes, and now that she has opened one and handed it to me I have no option but to take an occasional sip and try not to grimace. Bait and switch.
A fellow mom calls me to ask how I'm doing, since she knows I am still recovering from a back injury and my husband is out of town on business. "It's been so long since we've seen each other! I would love to get together, let the kids play, and visit." I tell her that sounds great. "Do you have any plans for Monday night?" she asks.
"Um, I'll have to check my calender..."
"Okay," she says, "Because there's a consultant meeting that night and I don't usually go to those, but if you're free and could keep my kids..."
BAIT AND SWITCH! BAIT AND SWITCH! BAIT AND SWITCH!
Incidentally, I've found that consultants tend to be the worst with the bait and switch. "I'm calling to see how you're doing/Ask how ______ turned out/See if the kids can play, but while I've got you, let me tell you about this amazing opportunity!"
As a final example, I offer up to you this post, which started out as a meme and turned out to be a rant. Bait and switch, my friends. I'm not proud. But in a pitiful attempt to redeem myself, I will read and gasp appropriately if you will tell me your bait and switch stories.
That one thing, ladies and gentlemen, is bagged salad.
I can not explain why I find it so icky. There's no logic in it. I can tolerate a bag of mixed herbs, spinach or romaine hearts, but that iceberg mix with carrots and red cabbage? Blech. For some reason it doesn't bother me as much seeing it on a salad bar, but inside that big plastic bag, it grosses me out.
This aversion reminded me of a story, which reminds me of one of my biggest pet peeves, which is the bait and switch. It works like this:
I am at a friend's house for lunch, and she is serving salad and sandwiches. Having already noticed that her salad comes from a bag, I have opted for a sandwich and just as I finish assembling it, she asks, "Would you like some lettuce on your sandwich?"
"Sure!" I say, and she hands me the bag. This is not lettuce. This is a lettuce-like substance mixed with carrots and cabbage and encased in plastic, which I can not now graciously turn down without explaining that I think what she just offered me is revolting. And yes, I should have seen this coming, but I didn't because, salad-wise, I'm still an innocent. I can't remember how I handled it--I must have blocked it out. Bait and switch.
I am meeting my mother-in-law for the first time and she offers me a Diet Coke, which I decline because I only drink the sugary stuff. Later she says, "I've got Cokes in there, don't you want one?" Oh, are Cokes an option? Absolutely! Except she meant Diet Cokes, and now that she has opened one and handed it to me I have no option but to take an occasional sip and try not to grimace. Bait and switch.
A fellow mom calls me to ask how I'm doing, since she knows I am still recovering from a back injury and my husband is out of town on business. "It's been so long since we've seen each other! I would love to get together, let the kids play, and visit." I tell her that sounds great. "Do you have any plans for Monday night?" she asks.
"Um, I'll have to check my calender..."
"Okay," she says, "Because there's a consultant meeting that night and I don't usually go to those, but if you're free and could keep my kids..."
BAIT AND SWITCH! BAIT AND SWITCH! BAIT AND SWITCH!
Incidentally, I've found that consultants tend to be the worst with the bait and switch. "I'm calling to see how you're doing/Ask how ______ turned out/See if the kids can play, but while I've got you, let me tell you about this amazing opportunity!"
As a final example, I offer up to you this post, which started out as a meme and turned out to be a rant. Bait and switch, my friends. I'm not proud. But in a pitiful attempt to redeem myself, I will read and gasp appropriately if you will tell me your bait and switch stories.
Labels: Fun with Other Bloggers, Riff Raff
Monday, May 12, 2008
There's No Place Like It
One thing our trip to England taught all of us is that home is wherever we are all together. It was amazing how quickly our little place in London started feeling like home, once we started cooking and eating and laughing together there.
Having said that, I don't think I can express how good it is to be back. The trip was amazing, and we enjoyed every bit, but oh, we're glad to be home! Have you ever noticed the smell of your neighborhood? I never had, until the first morning after we returned, when we took a walk with the kids. I notice how big our yard is, how many groceries I have in my pantry and freezer and how many trees are right on my street, that I can see without going to a public park. I notice when my kids can go outside and run, right here at home, and I notice every time someone smiles and speaks to me in public. I loved going to Wal-Mart on Saturday and being able to find all the groceries I was looking for, and being able to get everything I needed without computing whether or not we could carry it all home. I notice all the things I missed in London.
And saying all of that makes me feel like I'm complaining. I'm not. I carry all these snapshots in my head, of moments from our trip. Priceless memories that I'm so grateful to have. But the amazing thing about the trip was not only the experiences there, but the new eyes I have upon returning, to see and love every part of my life here; to realize every moment just how good I have it.
Seriously. I can eat biscuits from a can any time I want. How many people can say that?
Having said that, I don't think I can express how good it is to be back. The trip was amazing, and we enjoyed every bit, but oh, we're glad to be home! Have you ever noticed the smell of your neighborhood? I never had, until the first morning after we returned, when we took a walk with the kids. I notice how big our yard is, how many groceries I have in my pantry and freezer and how many trees are right on my street, that I can see without going to a public park. I notice when my kids can go outside and run, right here at home, and I notice every time someone smiles and speaks to me in public. I loved going to Wal-Mart on Saturday and being able to find all the groceries I was looking for, and being able to get everything I needed without computing whether or not we could carry it all home. I notice all the things I missed in London.
And saying all of that makes me feel like I'm complaining. I'm not. I carry all these snapshots in my head, of moments from our trip. Priceless memories that I'm so grateful to have. But the amazing thing about the trip was not only the experiences there, but the new eyes I have upon returning, to see and love every part of my life here; to realize every moment just how good I have it.
Seriously. I can eat biscuits from a can any time I want. How many people can say that?
Labels: London In The Spring 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Home
Well, that was interesting. A short in the cord of my laptop charger suddenly became a fried, buzzing split, the battery ran out quicker than I could post about it, and in the meantime Scott finished his class so the short story is WE'RE HOME! We arrived after 1 am last night and I have more stories to tell but right now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go kiss the walls.
It's SO good to be here.
It's SO good to be here.
Labels: London In The Spring 2008
