tv tokens

Today I'm trying a new thing.

See, Ana is addicted to TV. All day long she asks to watch shows, play on the computer, and watch more shows. I have been very strict with making sure she watches less than 2 hours a day - but that seems like so much still AND she still asks to watch all day.

So to try and curb her appetite, I have started what I call TV Tokens. (Because everything has to be alliterate to be effective, right?)

Every Monday morning I'm giving her 10 marbles. Each marble is worth 30 minutes of TV/computer time. If she wants to watch a show, she pays me a marble (or 3, if its a movie). If she spends them all in 1 day, fine. But then she doesn't get any more for the rest of the week.

Since this allows for less than half of our current TV time, I will give her opportunities to "earn" more if she runs out early in the week. But they will be big things that hopefully will actually distract her and keep her away from the TV for a while longer. Either way, I'll be happy with the results.

I'm not saying this will work, but we're trying it. I will say that its Monday morning and so far she's cashed in 3, and then wanted to earn one back so she cleaned up her entire room by herself without me asking. Heck, that's worth a marble.

update: she has officially spent all her tokens for the week in one day.

on living 3000 miles away

(the fam, minus my brother who was on a mission, circa 1993)

I love our families. All of my sisters and sisters-in-law are so dear to me. I love spending time with them and going to family parties. We are usually the last to leave any family function because we love spending time with lots of people.

In my younger years my dad was in the Air Force. My parents (and most of my older siblings) spent the majority of the time living far away from family. We moved to Idaho when I was 9.

Throughout the years, I remember my parents talking about dear friends they had (and still have) all across the country, and world - from Hawaii to Virginia, Texas to Germany. My parents have very fond memories with them. They were the ones that babysat when my mom was in labor. They were the ones who called to just say "hi." When my mom had 3 small children, she used to "swap" kids with a friend every other week so they could have a few hours to clean house, run errands, or work on a project. They were (and are) as dear as family to my parents.

Now we are far away from family. We don't get to go home very much to visit. In fact, we really don't know when we will go home. So far, this has been a wonderful adventure. We already have dear friends that we can steal milk from and who will watch the kids for doctors appointments or dates. I know that they will be our friends forever.

I am so thankful that my parents taught me that time spent far away from family can be wonderful and rewarding. That eternal friendships develop, husband and wife grow together, and there are opportunities to grow found no where else. Though I miss our families, I don't feel homesick. This is my home and I am just happy!

cat and dog

Most days at some point Jack and Ana play "Cat and Dog." Jack is always a kitty and Ana is always a puppy and I get to go the store and buy them and bring them home.

It always makes me laugh. Mostly because my children are as different as cats and dogs.

Ana is social, a little loud, and wants to be in the middle of all the people. She loves to be right on top of me and she follows me around the house. She's always full-speed ahead. Very puppy-like. She even likes licking things...

Jack loves to be held and cuddled... on his terms. Mostly he likes to do his own thing and be left alone and he'll be quiet and happy. But if something bugs him, he'll let you know. He's always going at his own pace. Very cat-like. Just today he walked up to me and started rubbing his head up against my legs.

And right now Ana is chasing Jack around the room.

They are different. But not better or worse. I love them both and they make me very happy.

potty talk and bloggy thought

We're potty training this week. I'm just hitting the frustrating stage. We'll see how it goes for a few more days.

Doing this for a second time made me think about Ana's potty training, which took me into the archives of my blog.

That got me thinking about my blog. I love being able to write down my thoughts. I was always a very diligent journal-er until Ana came along and this blog has saved me from forgetting all those memories. I love that I can look back and see what was going on. I'm really glad I've written this all down.

I have noticed that there is a change in the blogging world since I started over 3 years ago. It seems most blogs these days are super-specialized., whether its photography or cooking or crafting or whatever else. Sometimes I wonder if my blog is just wasted space. That I should just go back to writing in my journal for all these memories and thoughts.

Then I remember that I'm not really super-specialized as a person. I am interested in lots of things. I like sewing, music, being a mother, cooking, photography, reading and every other subject. Though I'm not super-talented at any of them, I like them all. So I know my blog is a little scattered. But that's me. I hope the few readers I have will stick it out with me. And comment every so often.

So thanks for stopping by.

for her good

I've been thinking a lot about the Color-Pie incident.

I was writing about it in my journal the other day. Ana was crushed. And I was so sad for her. Then I started thinking about my reaction to the whole experience.

I could have prevented it from ever happening by putting it up high on a shelf or stopping her from playing with it. But I didn't.

I could have brushed it off and told her it wasn't a big deal and that she'd forget about it soon enough. But I didn't.

I could have gotten upset with her for playing with it after I warned her not to. But I didn't.

I could have said, "I told you so." But I didn't.

I hugged her. I let her cry. And I was sad for her.

I was also hopeful that this experience would teach her some things. Like how to be careful with her things. And that Mom has a good reason for telling her not to touch things. And that its okay to be sad and disappointed when sad things happen.

I love that I have a Heavenly Father who does the same for me. He doesn't always prevent bad or disappointing things from happening. He doesn't brush it off and tell us that in the great scheme of things it's no big deal. He doesn't get upset with us. He doesn't say, "I told you so."

He loves us. He comforts us. He understands. And He is hopeful that we will learn a few things in the process.

"My son, peace be unto they soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all they foes. ... Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."

Doctrine and Covenants 121: 7-8; 122: 7

I love what being a mother is teaching me about my Heavenly Father.

....

in memory

July of 2009 brought an addition to our family. It was birthday time for a special 3 year old. She declared to her Aunt Amy that she wanted "a pig... a piggy bank" for her birthday.

And this special piggy bank joined our family.

So many memories: adding coin after coin, putting band-aids on the slot, carrying it (and hiding it) around the house.

Then there was that one time when Ana took all the money out, took it to the bank, then picked out her very own game of Chutes and Ladders.

But alas, it was not to be. Today it slipped from those loving fingers and met its demise.

We have one broken-hearted little girl.

Ana, on the subject of her broken piggy bank:

"I'm so disappointed! ... I named it Color-Pie. ... I miss it already. ... I want to put the pieces in a bag and keep it so I can look at it and remember. ... I think listening to some music will help me feel better, Primary music. ... I need to go tell Sara (our neighbor.)"

Goodbye, Color-Pie. You will be missed.

preview

Today was Halloween story time for the kids at the library. They got to wear their costumes. So this morning I whipped up a spider costume for Jack. It was really cute.

He wanted nothing to do with it.

All he would wear was a doll-sized superman cape.


We did get some use of my hard work though. Ana wore it instead. And her $5 butterfly wings stayed at home for today.

is it just me...

or has this little boy not changed much in the last 2 years?




No wonder I still call him my baby.

house of order

My new year's resolution for this year was to "establish a house of order." As the weather is getting colder and the holidays approach, I've been analyzing my progress at this point. Some things I have done well and really focused on. Others I have not.

One thing that I have really focused on when we moved is finding a place for everything. I think I've done pretty well. I read a book on homemaking a couple years ago and the one thing I remember from it was that a homemaker deserves everything required for her trade just as any other profession. Now, I haven't taken this to excess and gone out buying everything to perfectly decorate my home. But when we moved in and didn't have a coat closet, I felt it was acceptable to buy an inexpensive coat rack and hooks.

(not an accurate representation of what this wall typically looks like. but isn't it cute?)

My dishes are usually undone, and there are usually toys on the floor and laundry on my bed. But everything has a place. (The fact that I'm too lazy to put everything away is an entirely different issue.)

I wish I would have known about THIS when I started 10 months ago. I met the mom of that family at storytime at the library and I think I want to live like that. Last night as I was doing the dishes and washing 3 pots of the same size and 8 hot chocolate mugs I realized that minimizing totally fosters all of the things I've been wanting to accomplish this year. I would have to do the dishes right away because if I didn't, we wouldn't have clean dishes for the next meal. I would have to wash the pot I cooked noodles in before I made popcorn later that night. My kitchen would be cleaner. If the kids had fewer "junk" toys I wouldn't be tripping over them. I would spend less time cleaning up and less time nagging the children to clean up. If we had fewer clothes, I would have to stay on top of the laundry. It all goes along with President Uchtdorf's talk about focusing on what matters most.

I'm definitely getting better. I want to continue to get better. I don't think this will be something that ends with the year because I am beginning to see things differently. I think these minimalists are onto something.

What do you think?