Weaning Ourselves Off of Our Video Addiction

Blogger has made some changes to their interface, and I'm examining them. No time to write today.

Last night in Shepherding Group I mentioned that I had been feeling terribly disorganized, that I needed to impose some structure in my life, cut back on the amount of time my children spend watching videos, etc. I have a question. How do I implement the changes that will get my children to spend less time in front of a video screen?

This morning I succeeded in not having a video put on first thing. I took the children outside to play for a time and Isaac and I went on a little walk together. Next thing I know the boys are asking for the fifth or sixth time if they can watch Little Einsteins, and instead of putting them off again, I give in. They proceeded to watch two Charlie Brown episodes, and one or more Little Einsteins, which represented great restraint in comparison to what they are accustomed to seeing. After lunch we went to a park as a family. So far so good, but we can't go to a park every day. What is a sensible and reasonable procedure for weaning them off videos and computer games? And if I'm not letting them watch television, when exactly to I get to write? These are questions that must have answers.  What do you recommend?

Question: Maybe Later I'll Have a Chance to Look This Up Online

At about 6:15 this morning I woke up with a cramp in the calf muscle of my right leg. It was terrible. Now I know that when you get a cramp there are certain things you should do, and there are certain things you shouldn't. Neither Michale nor I could remember what they were.

Are you supposed to point your toe, or flex your ankle? I flexed, which led to an ankle that wouldn't stop flexing. Finally Michael suggested that I get up and walk on it a little bit, and that seemed to do the trick.

I haven't had a leg cramp in ages, although I used to occasionally get a small one while driving. There's a scary thought.

Question of the Day

It's about time to introduce Parker to the big bed. I don't expect him to start sleeping in it yet, but he needs to get used to having it in his room.

There used to be bunk beds in my parents house. Several months ago these were moved to our basement since we weren't quite sure what to do about future sleeping arrangements. I'd prefer to use my first bed, but that's stored away in my parent's attic, we don't know quite where.

At the moment we plan to use just one of the bunk beds, leaving the other where it is until needed. My question is, what do I need to do to the old mattress before moving it back into the house? Unfortunately now is not the right time for us to invest in a new one.

Question of the Day

Parker pulled his baby book out this morning and had me read part of it to him. About the time he was born I was supposed to take note of things such as the price of a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk. Since these prices will be totally inflated by the time Parker's brother or sister is born, I'd really like to have the answers to these questions.

Did anybody out there take notice of these things in 2006 or no someone else who did? For their own baby books, perhaps? Know where I could find such information on the internet?

Here are the entries that I need:

Gallon of Milk; Loaf of Bread; Diapers; Movie ticket; Cotton shirt; Postage stamp; Gallon of gas; Computer; Car; Family vacation.

Question of the Day

I suppose it is understandable that I've been napping a lot lately. I don't get to do it every day; sometimes I can't sleep, and sometimes sleep isn't a priority. When I do nap these days it's for an hour, or two, or more, so I guess it's no surprise that when I do wake up I'm fairly non-functional for a while.

Michael suggests that if I limit myself to 20 minute naps I won't have this problem. Have any of you tried it? Compared a short nap to a long one and noticed the difference? I'm not ready to experiment--I just want to sleep.

I've had uncharacteristically late nights the past two nights. Last night Anna and I went to the Bama Theater to see my friend Alyson play. Alyson just produced a CD. You can hear some of her music at www.alysongreenfield.com/music.

Why is Organization So Much More Difficult Than Imagination Suggests?

I decided to work on the linen closet in our bathroom while Parker slept this morning. It isn't a dedicated linen closet because it is the only closed storage in our bathroom. Therefore it functions as linen closet, supply closet and medicine cabinet. All the books and organizational experts tell you to take one shelf at a time. Unfortunately, taking one shelf at a time isn't very practical because virtually everything in the closet has to be shifted. My mom did a good job of setting up the closet initially, but over eleven months its organization has become ineffective. Besides which I currently have cleaning supplies sitting out where I can see them, out of Parker's reach, but still in the way. I'm about halfway through, but what I've done so far doesn't work as well as I had hoped. I'm left with a disassembled bathroom.

I don't know whether there is room between the closed door and the shelves, but I've seen illustrated some sort of door mounted contraption that holds hair supplies (hair dryer, curling iron, etc.) Does anyone know where I could find such a thing? My ideal shelf would have a convenient shelf or drawer for arranging makeup, and a couple of holes for round brushes.

Question(s) of the Day

1) Name for me your favorite child-friendly outdoor pesticide. We sprayed the back yard several weeks ago, but due to rain etc., the fleas and ticks may already have come back.

2) How about some easy recipes using ground beef? I'm getting tired of cooking chicken all the time, and nothing in my refrigerator has sounded good to me this week.

Another Question of the Day

Let's make this question #2 of the day. I found a small hole in the cotton-knit onesie Parker wore yesterday with his shorts. It's a small hole that threatens to get larger, although it survived a delicate cycle and dry on low heat this morning. What can I do to repair this item of clothing? Specifics, please. I am SO not good at asking where things are at the store.

I probably only paid a couple of dollars for it at Little Lambs, but it looks so good on him.

Question of the Day

Which would you say is more fattening (or perhaps I mean less healthy)? Frying chicken, or coating it in mayonnaise before baking? I noticed a recipe for Parmesan crusted chicken, and since I'm absolutely crazy about Parmesan cheese at the moment, I had to try it. It tasted great, and was incredibly tender. Cut it with a fork tender. Yum, yum. I'm also crazy about chicken coated in Italian Seasoned bread crumbs, so this recipe was a winner. But what about the saturated fat and sodium content?

Happenings, Thankings

Several things happened yesterday.

Parker and I spent the morning at my parent's house where we:

Shattered a glass pitcher on the tiled kitchen floor, and

broke the wind chime hanging from a tree in the front yard.

It was a day of destruction for Parker and me.

Yesterday afternoon, however, our next door neighbor came by the house to introduce herself, and bringing with her two dozen bran muffins. Bran muffins are absolutely my favorite kind and I hadn't had them in years. Time was when I would have picked out the raisins, but not these. They are delicious.

What nice thing can one do for an elderly couple next door, not knowing what sort of dietary restrictions they may live under?

Speaking of thanking, Mary and Danny came by the house Friday afternoon, and Danny did a lot to help Michael work out our plumbing problems. Everything is fixed now. So we're wondering, what nice thing can we do for Mary and Danny to thank them for being such good neighbors?

Speculation Please, The More Creative The Better

On the drive home from Huntsville this afternoon, Michael and I saw a truck on which was hung this sign:

Husband and Wife Teams Needed.

Why would a transport company want to hire a husband and wife team particularly? Any ideas?

Do Me a Favor Please

I have got to get a new exterior door for my home, I can't spend a whole lot of money, but I can't stand any of the examples I've seen from the big hardware chains. It has to be 36" wide. Where do I look next?

Internet, no good.

The Most Interesting Thing I Ever Learned from Working Kakuro Puzzles

The number 69 is juvenielly considered a dirty number. What I find interesting, though, is how mathematically (in a very simplistic way) it seems to be an extremely complete number. The sum of 6 and 9 is a graphically symetrical and perfectly balanced 15

11111 11111 11111

in which there is a central mark, on either side of which the same number of digits and spaces appear. The numbers 6 and 9 complete one another. Is there a mathematical term for this type of sum?

Note: The only reason I ever noticed this was because of my extensive low level Kakuro playing, a puzzle with which I am occasionally obsessed to the obliteration of all other responsibilities. The first time I tried it I told Michael there was no way I would ever be able to figure it out. Then it started getting really, really interesting.

Also, consider this: The number 69 can be written so as to resemble the yen and yang, the eastern symbol for perfect balance in the universe. Surely this couldn't possibly be a coincidence. I am certainly no mathematician, but some of these concepts are fascinating.

Freedom and Care

For which am I more responsible:
Doing what I believe is right by exercising my own freedom in Christ, or
Being sensitive to other's weaknesses?
I think the answer will be different depending on the context. What's your guideline? When does one outweigh the other?

I notice that on my friend Jim's blog he often raises questions that he already has developed some sort of answer to. Must come from being a philosopher. I, on the other hand, do not have an answer, just vague ponderings.

Apathy, and My Question of the Day

I promised you the rest of the story today, but find that I'm not in the mood. Does lack of sleep always lead to apathy?

Several questions came to me in the night that I was going to pose, but I don't even remember what they were. Oh, yes, I just remembered one of them:

At what age did you let your children climb on the playground equipment and go down the slide entirely on their own? Did you let them start small and work their way up? How did they get the training they needed to do such an independent thing?

More Champagne

It seems that the only alcohol I can afford is Champagne. I thought I'd buy another bottle since I had some birthday money to spend, and I found that of all the vintages I can obtain at Wal-mart, Cook's Champagne is the cheapest. I think I've mentioned before that under normal circumstances I have a hard time justifying the expense. So now I wonder, what is the difference between Cook's Brut, and Cook's Extra Dry? Can anybody tell me what these distinctions mean?

Question of the Day

I was at a friend's house a couple of weeks ago, and she handed me a cup of coffee that was part decaf and part regular. I know that some people regularly mix the two, and I wondered what the reasons were.

Kelly's Question of the Day

I like olives, and so I had looked forward to adding green olives to the pasta that I cooked all last week for lunch. Unfortunately the olives tasted too much of the vinegar they were packed in, so my question is this: How do you get your olives to taste like olives instead of tasting of vinegar, which is so much less delicious?

My pasta tasted more like olives when I drizzled it with olive oil. It was very disappointing.

Smelly Fabrics in my Baby's Room

The other night we made a mistake. For some reason Parker's humidifier was adjusted to allow a full stream of steam. This filled his room with moisture, which I didn't discover until the next morning. My nursing chair got pretty damp, as did some of Parker's covers, and possibly his stuffed animals. The wood floor in his room was also damp to the touch.

So now Parker's room smells funny. I sprayed the chair down with Febreeze, and I would open the windows except those in his room are either painted shut, or too difficult for me to open on my own. I know that a few of Parker's stuffed animals are not supposed to be submerged in water, but I don't necessarily know which of them these are.

What should I do to make Parker's room smell better?

Lysol Three-in-One All Purpose Cleaner and Oxy-clean: Directions for Use

I need help. I have one bottle of Lysol Three-in-One All-Purpose Cleaner that the bottle says is dilutable. The directions talk about different ways to dilute the product, or they talk about using it at full strength but rinsing well with water. I'm using this product to clean my bathroom. I bought a spray bottle for it yesterday. Does anyone out there have experience with this product who can tell me how to use it?

I also have a small container of Oxy-clean. I don't have experience with this product either. I've tried following it's package directions, but didn't find that very effective. How do you use Oxy-clean?