Jumble

Somehow, somewhere, I lost my shaky handle on the house. As always we've slowly acquired lots of stuff. Papers, toys, clothes, shoes, toys, stuff. We're bursting at the seems. And no matter what I try and do it doesn't seem to disappear. I think I've scared away the House Elves. 

I have tossed a large bag of old shoes, donated a bag of out grown clothes, and put up a small bag of toys (to be rotated out in a few months), but it still doesn't seem like enough. In our attempt to declutter, and rearrange to better suit our needs, things were moved around, and we're now realizing to the wrong places. Like the board game tub, moved under the bathroom cupboard, seemed like the perfect place- out of the way, it fit perfectly. Prefect place- for the littlest two to get into and remove the contents. Oh so much fun for them. But the up side, I now know which games are missing pieces and can go. We still have so much to downsize, I need to let go of the sentimental attachments I'm finding I have.

Another piece to my day, our space (I touched base on this last week?), in need of a revamp, help, general overhaul- Homeschool. We need inspiration and organization. What was working in now getting stale, and I'm realizing I need to set up premade activities for the youngest two for school time. Busy boxes, toddler trays, work boxes, whatever you call them. I need to make them. For all of us. I keep putting off Spring break, thinking we're doing so little "actual school work" each day (you know proper book work, Math and science we've got), that a "break" seems like we're cheating. haha. 

But a good and proper break, may just be what we need. I need. To find our needs, my path, to get a handle on our jumbled home. I can't break down and buy all the cool things I'd love to set up work boxes, toddler trays, and the like, but I can try and make do with what I have and repurpose, rehome, things I have. And maybe it'll give me a bit more time for this.

And the wonderful thing about homeschool Spring break, we're going at it a little later, and the weather is perfectly spring like!

Love-Hate TV (We Watch Too Much)

We lived for a long while, when we first moved here, without television. Over a year. Just dvds to entertain us, a bit each day. Then we got Internet, and a Vudu (like Roku) box. With it we were able to subscribe to Netflix and Hulu. Our viewing habits increased some, but I still felt like we had a handle on it. Then we got a deal on cable Internet, with free cable the first month. Immediately our screen time EXPLODED! When the month was up, we had a choice to keep the cable or get rid of it. I'd come to appreciate some of the children's television we had access to- Netflix no longer had Nick shows, and limited Disney jr. shows. I liked how I could choose which shows we watched (on demand). I liked the variety. But I still was hating how much we were watching. It seemed to always.be.on.  And I hate having to pay for it.

I'm not an opponent of television. I think it has it's benefits. I get a break. The right shows do help my children learn. And I do like unwinding with a good escape show. And think the same can happen with children. Fantasy is good for the mind, in moderation. We are visual people. But it makes me a lazy parent. Causes arguments. And the background noise can wear on me quickly.

I want to unplug.

I want us to all learn moderation.

I want us to appreciate a good show, not just junk tv.

Now I need to get tough.

And come up with a plan.

And a goal, and start date.

And honestly, I'm just not sure I'm ready yet. (The yelling and tears x4.)

Someday I hope tv will not be an everyday thing in our home. But that's not today.

Thank you television for bringing us this blog post.