Our new "Experiment"

Since this winter has been so much more pleasant this year, I thought I'd try giving the following experiment a go.

Turning the Tv...

off.

Really.

We are summer girls. We love the sun, the warmth, the outsidey-ness that warm weather brings. So when cooler weather settles in, and we can no longer tolerate it out doors we turn to the tv for our main source of entertainment.

Now don't get it twisted. We have activities we do, we still do our schoolwork and our house work, but as soon as those things are over the old boob-tube clicks on.

This wasn't always the case. No. In fact back before I was a SAHM we didn't even have cable. We only used the tv to watch the occasional movie. We didn't suffer and we weren't weird. We did things like...play.

ahhh....Good times.

Sadly, when pregnancy #2 came along and Hubs told me I could leave my job and stay home with our little family, the tv came in. I was so sick. So sick. Tv was the only thing I could muster up the strength to do and it quickly became a habit. A bad habbit that we still have 6 years later.

Until now...(I hope.) I'm breaking the Tv habit. I've been feeling for quite a few months that we should return to our no tv days. I'd think about it while I was folding clothes or washing dishes. The thought kept creeping in for a month or more. Finally, last Saturday morning as my hands were deep in the sink full of sudsy water I broke down and talked to the kids about it.

We decided, the three of us, to take the tv out of our routine. The only time we will watch is when there is a favorite show on, and then we will only watch that show. The list was quite small. We all knew that the amount of time we spent watching the tv was taken up with watching stuff we didn't really enjoy.

So far this week we have done well. The tv has stayed off, except for an hour or so right before bedtime. This is something I'd like to eventually give up all together.

The house is running much more smoothly. The schoolwork is done without the rush of hurrying to get through. We have even been eating 3 hot meals a day. No cold cereal or cheese sandwiches for us. And we've spent so much more time out of the living room and in other rooms of the house.

It's crazy how much time a little light box can take up.

Week 1 is almost over, and it's been a success.

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-photo by James Good