7: Month 4: Media

Month one was food, and it was HARD!
Month two was clothing, and that was easy, just boring.
Month three was stuff. Giving away stuff came easily to us, and with our homeless ministry, we gave away more than 7 items per day.

Month four, our goal is to "unplug". Technically, we can engage in one hour per day of internet usage or tv watching. But, in an effort to get rid of Halloween candy and see if we can eliminate electronic media altogether, we have offered the kids the choice of six pieces of candy rather than an hour of media. Our TV hasn't gone on until tonight.

Day One:
Mom and Dad are on the floor completely engaged in a game of UNO with all six kids. Awesome. Nothing else matters in this moment other than this game and this time. The question is raised by one of the kids, "Can we just sell our TV and get money for it?" I think they are enjoying this full attention of both parents and simple fun. Why on earth do we not make this choice more often? Why does it require us to challenge ourselves in order to choose better? God only knows. I pray that this month has lasting effects.

Day Four:
I have a head splitting sinus infection and Chloe really wants to watch The Amazing Race. So we had one hour of TV watching. The fast movement of the camera and the bright light of the TV made my eyes hurt so badly. It was the first time the TV had been on in four days though. My daycare kids aren't even watching it. Those moments of TV watching peace that I thought I relied so heavily on, aren't even missed. Who'd have thought that kids could so easily find other ways to entertain themselves. Duh!

Day Five:
I sat at the computer and was paying the bills. One of my daycare boys came up and said, "Uh-oh! Remember? We aren't using the computers this month." I tried to explain that I had to pay the bills, so this was different. I am pretty sure he walked away thinking that I was cheating.
Day Six:
The favorite game is Connect Four, by far. It would be followed closely by Candy Land and Trouble. The Game of Life has been out quite a bit, but only for Halie to throw all of the money up in the air and the other kids to race to catch the most. Hey, I guess it's creative at least.
The kids are interacting so much more with each other. In the beginning, this meant that they were arguing more because there was no screen to escape to in a effort to block out the annoying one, but even the arguing has stopped. They actually seem to like each other. :)
I have been reading a lot more, but with the headache from the sinus infection and the throbbing that ensues every time I move my eyeballs, even that has been difficult. This has led to boredom. Seriously, in the "oh-so-busy" life that I claim to have, I am bored.