Looking Back
Every once in a while someone writes something I could have written.
This is one of those.
Go click on that link and read it. It’s great.
And I could write it if I weren’t pregnant and then spent a few hours doing some research about television & movies, and on top of that had a good night’s sleep under my belt. Yes, then I could andwould because this whole anti-television thing is something I’m getting more and more passionate about the longer we go without it.
But the truth remains: I am pregnant and it’s going to be a long, long time before I get a good night’s sleep, spend a few hours researching anything, and write a super-fabulous post like that one.
So you can just go read hers and think of me.
But lest you think too well of me, I shall show you how I’m still in the “looking back” stage when it comes to movies.
Last week
I almost caved in and let my media-starved kids indulge. The little two were sleeping and were going to be out for a while. I wanted a nap soooooooooooo bad. Rock and a hard place, you know? Hm, be a good mommy for the big kids vs. take care of myself and the little gummy bear growing in my belly.
Experience has taught us that you don’t leave a 4 and 6 year old unattended for an hour. One of these days they’ll burn the house down while sword fighting with steak knives and their mouths full of illegally pilfered candy.
But!
You *can* plug them into a movie and be fairly confident they won’t move or think at all for 90 minutes or more. Sweet! So what if they come back to reality less intelligent than they were before? Not to mentioned more tired, cranky, and ornery than you could possibly believe…
It’d be worth it, right? Naps are way more important, right?
Decisions, decisions.
“Alright guys, pick a movie!”
Cheering, laughing, kissing of feet, the whole nine yards. Boy, they miss their movies. Instant hero-status.
They don’t even care that I get to pick it. In case you’re curious, it was the British Peter Pan (the one with real people and the amazing soundtrack) – one of the last remaining movies we still have here. I really just need to buy the soundtrack and move on already, but for now, we still have it.
I stuck it in the computer.
And then I remembered that the blankety-blank desktop isn’t rigged to watch movies yet.
It was coming. I could see it. The weeping, the wailing, the gnashing of teeth…
What to do?
I went to the game closet. You know, the one I cleaned out? The one that still has about 10 too many games in there, but they technically fit and I love them so I keep them even though we hardly ever play them? That closet.
It would have to be something new to them. New is always exciting. Something challenging. They’ll be more engaged (read: less maintenance) if it’s challenging. And with the littlest sleeping, it could have lots of small parts, which they’d appreciate.
What’s the age recommendation on Carcassonne?
8+.
Bah, they don’t really mean that. It’s only 8+ if you want to score points. What would my kids do with points? Get all competetive and end the game prematurely in a fistfight, most likely. We’ll go without points.
So we took advantage of the cleaned-off floor in the front room (thank you Daddy), and I taught them how to play a slightly simplified, pointless Carcassonne. Doodle took the blue people, Creativity took the yellow. It was adorable, watching them get excited about putting their little dudes on roads, in castles or cloisters (pronounced “oysters” by the way – hahahaha!) — and then get equally excited about retrieving them when the feature got completed.
No, I didn’t get a nap.
Know what, though? I managed to live through it. I found I was even HAPPY about it. Whoa, weird.
Now that they know how Carcassonne works, though, maybe next time they’ll let me sleep… If I actually decide that a nap would be more fun than playing with my charming, darling children. I think it more likely that next time I’ll take the green people and play with them.
Maybe someday I’ll even teach them the proper pronounciation of “cloister.” Riiiiight. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing in the world cuter than Doodle yelling, “Look! Another oystoy!!!!”
Maybe someday I’ll have John fix that desktop.
Or maybe most definitely not. It’s better for folks like me who still look back to stay blindfolded.
Oh, I’m feeling for you. It’s all nice for me to act all brave and righteous about not having the TV/DVD player in my life right now. But reality is my baby is 8 and I’m not pregnant. I don’t know what I would do if I was! Good job and good luck. I wonder if I could have done it 8 or 10 years ago? Probably not. I’m proud of you! : )
I’m happy it worked out for the best. I remember napping with my second pregnancy and a one year old. I would lock us in his bedroom together and pass out on the bed while he “played”. Meaning he was climbing all over me and bonking me on the head with toys. But I was so tired I managed to sleep through some of it. Pregnancy likes to be hard like that.
Yes, I fell asleep while putting my little ones down for their nap yesterday. Oops. Not what i had intended for naptime, but since technically 4 of us were sleeping (5, counting the one i babysit), that too should be a success story!! 5 sleepers in the afternoon. Wahoo!! I’m awesome!!!
Our real success is that the kids don’t even ASK for tv anymore during the daytime. They know the answer will be no, so don’t even bother. And as long as dad is doing schoolwork in the evening, it’s off then too. Much happier home with no tv to distract us from being happy, that’s for sure!!
Ok, off to finishing laundry and dishes, and making banana pudding. This is the part of pregnancy i love, where i can eat and eat and eat and eat, it all tastes good and i don’t ever seem to get too full. Wahoo for the next 15 weeks or so!!!!
Wow, You are amazing! That is sooo hard to skip that nap. I napped almost everyday with little L for the first trimester. I didn’t let the boys watch TV, but I don’t call they a huge acomplishment because they were playing games on the computer instead
. I think I am going to reinstate the PBS only rule while I research and try to find another site that is as tame, yet educational, as that, or preferably much higher quality than that.
BTW you are welcome to come peak at the curriculum I bought any time. Just call.
I’ll be calling shortly…
You are amazing. And I am insanely proud of you! And I hope that when it’s my turn with the little ones and a gummy bear I, too, shall have the courage to leave the “electronic babysitter” off.
I have to ask about the scripture you have posted here. Is that on your wall??? If so, how did you do it? What did you use to attach it? Where did you get the letters? I want to do that to my house! Right over the TV!!!!!! Then maybe the TV won’t feel welcome and will leave.
Oh, you’re funny. That made me giggle. Great idea, though.
Actually, my mom took the picture (oops, forgot to give her credit!) and I believe it was on a plaque in at Nauvoo, Ill. Mom? Answers?
I am serious! I’m going to figure out how to get this on my wall. Vinyl lettering. Wood letters on a plaque. Sharpie on a posterboard. It will be done and I will send you pictures.
Sweet! I totally want to see it. Really. Do you need more ideas? Needlepoint, quilting, stencil… Ooh, I know – Exacto-knife carved into the wall. Yes!
My kids would NEVER watch tv if I played games with them. Hey, cool! I’m better than tv!
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