Day #2

It is Day #2 of Turn of the TV Week. So far so good. This is the first year we've managed to make a REAL effort. Last year I think the young boy (a kindergartner then) was home in pain with his newly broken elbow and since he was supposed to rest but unable to read yet, we let him watch PBS and/or videos at least some of the time.

So this year we literally locked up the armoire (in which we keep our TV)! Of course quickly thereafter the hubby had to unlock it and place the lock back on the bathroom cabinet so the girl wouldn't attempt to take more than her allotted number of daily vitamins (yes, she is our reckless climbing speed racer girl who gets into things her brother would never dream of - thanks for asking).

The kids and I have had several conversations about things we can do in lieu of watching television... baking bread (I think we might try bran muffins later in the week), riding bikes, game nights (we've already had one), and cooking dinner together.

While the kids didn't help much making dinner tonight, we did take a walk to deliver their play date mate back home (about 14 blocks roundtrip). And I'm even a bit proud of myself because my girl asked at least two times today (maybe more) for watching, and I managed to hold strong and say "No." And no huge tantrum either (can't quite remember how it worked, but I'm glad it did).

And now frankly I'm tired and so are the kids. We need to brush teeth, take vitamins, read books and head to bed (at least them and maybe me too). The funny thing about Turn off the TV week is that we really don't watch that much if we think about it. However, when you have to "think about it", and plan not to do it (watch TV that is), well it just seems hard -- even if it really isn't. Of course a really nice sunny day didn't hurt our efforts either! Maybe tomorrow we'll wash the cars!