New Plan.

So I'm going to start sleeping at my mom's. At least then I can not sleep because of my own issues and not have 800 other Zac factors to seethe about. I'll still be angry, frustrated and bitter, but I'll have my "own" space to at least attempt sleep when my body allows it.. So yay..

Questionable Survey Questions.

"In what ways do you interact with children between the ages of 14-24?"
And one of the choices for an answer is .."Prefer not to say"

"Have you experienced any of the following in the past 3 months?"
"Dry Eyes"
"Back Pain"
"Chlamydia"
"Child Birth"

And those are the only ones so far I guess. On to bigger, but not necessarily better things..

I'm severely annoyed right now. That's nothing new though, so I'll skip that.

Brenna is a nerd. I'm just adding that to see if she reads this.

I hate turkey dinners. I'm only in it for the chex mix.

Zac announced that he plunged the tub drain, and that he "used a plunger".. As opposed to using what? Really, what other devices were options?

I'm excited for only 2 days of school this week. And chex mix!

I might need to hide from my family awhile.

Chris just said he was too hot, so I told him to get naked.

I wonder if Zac is making pie. I'd ask but he appears to be on the crabby side this evening.

Hmm and I've seemed to have lost all my patience. I'm throwing everything in the living room away that doesn't belong here.

Wish me luck.

Napping.

It was brought to my attention that I shouldn't be tired, because I had a nap yesterday. And that I do a lot of napping.

So, just so we're on the same page, I'd like to share the hilites of my 1hour 5 minute nap last evening.

I got comfortable.
Chris came through (He had been in my bathroom).
3 minutes of the dog trying to successfully jump onto the bed.
"Mom, does my head feel hot?" No.
"Are you going to buy bagels tonight?" I don't know.
"Can I have a Fanta?" Yes, if you drink it all.
Received a text from someone letting me know how tired she is.
"What time is it?" 4:50. "When are you getting up?" 20 minutes.
My alarm to take my meds goes off.
"It's snowing." .. *in the background* "I'm going to need boots and those puffy pants."
My alarm indicating it's time to get up and ready for karate goes off.

And that's just what I remember.

If you pair this with the fact that I only manage from 2-3.5 hours of sleep at night, I have every right to complain about being tired.

So.. Suck it, naysayers. :)

2 or 3 days a week I try to get some sleep after the kids leave for school. With Zac in there snoring I don't really fall back to sleep until he gets up for the day (sometime after 11am), and then catch hell when I'm "still" asleep at 1pm.

A lot of times I have appointments starting sometime between 11am-2pm.. So I have to be up for those. Monday it was 11am. Yesterday it was 1pm. Today it's 1pm.

And now I'm going to shut up because frankly my schedule is depressing me a little.

It doesn't include nearly enough "naps".

Me and my llama..

..going to the dentist today!

Yeah, that sounded a little more enthusiastic than I intended. But I am going. Later. Hopefully after a nap.

And quite possible a shower.

The weather is moody, so our internet isn't working 90% of the time this morning.

I realized the most annoying thing about having to wake up at 6am. It's rolling out of bed, and hearing my husband snoring. It's like he's rubbing it in my face that I have to be awake, and he does not.

...

It's afternoon now. I skipped the dentist.

My psychiatrist rearranged his office. I'm more upset about it than I care to admit.

I have to call the dentist, and my other doctor sometime today.

My jeans are somewhere in the laundry, so I'm wearing shorts today.

I just heard the best answer to a question EVER on the news.

"Did you smoke crack cocaine?"
"Exactly."

Thank you Toronto mayor. That's how I'm going to answer all awkward questions from now on.. with "exactly".

"Did you remember to wash my work pants?"
"Exactly."

No, I don't know why that would be an awkward question. It's just the first thing that came to mind. 

Update: I found my jeans. Now the mission is to find socks. I have an hour to nap though, so I'll probably do that before locating footwear.

Everyone is doing the Thankful November thing. I can't decide if I want to. I mean I haven't even finished October's endeavor yet. Okay, you talked me into it.

I didn't go in to nap. Oops. We have karate and scouts tonight.
I'm. Just. So. Tired.

Time for a lay down. BBL.

...

2nd grade boys crack me up. Tonight at scouts the question was "What things could happen that would keep you from being able to go outside and exercise?"

The first 2 answers, deadly serious, were.. "Avalanches" and "Tsunamis".

Small recap. We live in South Central Nebraska.

And that my friends, was my day.

Thankful November.

I decided to jump on the thankful wagon, but I'm going to be a little different. We are all thankful for the big things like family, and life etc.. I'm going to showcase the more petty and selfish side of my gratitude :)

1. Air Conditioning
2. Anti-psychotics
3. Day Planners
4. DVR
5. School Buses
6. Bras
7. Toilet Paper
8. Mattresses
9. Pony Tail Holders
10. Fingernails
11. Silly Putty
12. Vacuums
13. Escalators
14. Amazon
15. Pens
16. USPS
17. Cameras
18. Light Bulbs
19. The Weather App
20. Clocks
21. Razors
22. Toilets
23. Internet
24. Earplugs
25. Vyvanse
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.

Screen Time.

I know I've been slacking. The crazies seem to stifle my ideas. Well, the ones I'm willing to write about anyway.

So, here I am. Watching The First Wives Club. It's one of my favorites.

Hmm. Like I said, watching Garfield. Kids have been delivered, and the control of the remote has been relinquished.

..and now I finally have the topic of this post. TV.

I let my kids watch TV. I let them use the computer, play video games and their ipods.

And I don't feel one ounce of guilt over it.

I turn the living room TV on about 6:05am every week day, and it stays on (regardless if anyone is watching it or not) until at least midnight.

It doesn't mean my kids don't play, or know how to use their imaginations. It doesn't mean they're antisocial, or don't read.

Is there such a thing as "too much" screen time (I HATEhateHATE that phrase, by the way)? Well of course there is, but ya know what? Everything in excess has it's issues. If I had a choice of my 7 year old son playing a video game with a friend (or dad, or sister), or spending hours alone in his room reading.. I'd pick the gaming any day.

I also think that kids have to have a good grasp on manipulating technology in this day in age.

Plus.. Their days are already all scheduled out for them all day at school. Their free time shouldn't be limited as well. If my kids didn't have the option of watching TV, they'd just want it and think about it even more. But since they have the choice, it's no big deal. It's just a part of life. It's not some special treat. Screen time is a normal aspect of life these days. Kids will have to interact with this screen-ridden world when they're on their own, so it seems logical (to me) to teach them to make responsible choices about it while they're little instead of not giving them the option at all. I'm not sure I'm relaying my thoughts on this well, but yeah. Like if you grow up without getting candy. You may not even really LIKE candy, but since you've been kept from it your whole childhood, when you are in control of your own life and money, what are you going to want to consume lots of? Yep, candy. If you're brought up with the idea that candy isn't a big thing, then you're less likely to go overboard with it when it comes up.

I guess I'm saying I'd feel a lot prouder of my son's choice to play outside if his options were playing outside or video games, than I would feel if he made that choice when his options were simply to just play outside.

This week Chris is grounded from his Ipod and 3DS. And he was upset about it for probably 11 minutes last night when it happened. It hasn't even come up today. He knows it's not an option because of his actions. Not because it's some magical special privilege that only mommy has control of.

When people hear that I don't "restrict" screen time for my kids, they just automatically assume that's all they do. Sometimes, perhaps.. but it's not robbing them of their childhood or creativeness. Chris has been home 1.5 hours. He watched a 24 minute episode of Garfield while he ate supper, and the rest of the time he's been shooting me with an electric drill "gun", practicing being a ninja, dismantling the laundry sorter and talking my ear off.. all while sneaking peeks of Garfield that's running in the background. Could he be doing the same things without the TV on? Sure.. but why? It gives me something to listen to besides the clanking of various ninja props, and gives him an extra laugh or two in between forms.

Brenna just stole his pants, and is tickling him. That's right, bonding is happening in a household where electronics are freely enjoyed.

When I am in a good mood, I text all the time. I facebook. I don't enjoy talking outloud on the phone. I live in the country, and can't afford to run to town and hang out with my friends whenever. If I want human interaction, it has to be via technology. Granted, my kids have a chance to be with friends at school, but there's not a lot of time for just "hanging" there.. and once they get home, they're kind of in the same boat as me. I fully understand Brenna's attachment to her phone. I have the same attachment to mine. And I didn't develop it because my parents let me use the phone when I was growing up.

This doesn't mean that I'm not above using access to electronics as a means of punishment. Especially because since I've allowed it to be a part of their every day lives, when I take it away they miss it with a vengeance! Well Brenna does, Chris could have fun with a leaf and a turd if need be. But it gets my point across.

They ask before turning on the games or computer. Most of the time I say yes. Sometimes I say no. And when I do say no, it's usually for purely selfish reasons like I don't want to give up the computer. I don't have a smart phone, so if I want to do anything on the internet, it has to be on the computer.  He asks every couple of weeks is all. He's not obsessed, though he will crack out on them every once in awhile.

There are people that think my kids' nonchalance about electronics is a bad thing. I don't agree. I happen to like that they don't have it all raised up on a pedestal. It's not ranked higher or lower than any other "fun" activity. It's just incorporated into their world and not made out to be some forbidden fruit.

My son is more apt to choose time with Grampa or family game time on weekends over technology because he knows he can watch tv any old time, and it's no big deal. They know they're not missing out on anything.

That's how I like my kids to view screen time.. as no big deal.

I did manage to find one person on the internet that agrees with me :)

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201201/the-many-benefits-kids-playing-video-games 

So .. take it or leave it.. It's just my opinion..

I'll try to be funny tomorrow?

Impossible.

Chris has a book that basically just includes a bunch of things that are "impossible" .. like folding a piece of paper in half 10 times or whatever. Something I've noticed about when he reads it is that he refuses to accept that each task is impossible. Even after trying things over and over (and failing) .. He announces "Well, *this* is how you *could* do it.." and comes up with some fairly good solutions. Even if they're not really plausible solutions. What I think is amazing is that he doesn't just blindly believe what he reads to be the absolute truth, and even when his experiences seem to point to the book being right, he chooses to come at it in another direction and find scenarios to challenge the "reality".

I LOVE this about him. I have a feeling he's going to .. I don't know, change something. Or discover something. A scientist. A researcher.

He's going to make impossibles possible.

I'm not explaining this like I'd like to. But my point is in there somewhere.

Yes people, *this* is our future.. Hopefully not the future of fashion..

Brenna is different. Not at all worse, just different. She is talented, at ease being in front of people, and genuinely a caring individual. Her ability to calm her little brother within seconds always astounds me. I see her as a leader. A teacher. Music, acting and her faith will always fit into her life somewhere. She is going to mold the minds of others, and improve individuals from the inside out. I often find myself wondering how she managed to develop so many of her LyndsayDad's qualities.

It's true. My kids are pretty neat.

Yay for rain!

It's no secret that I love sleep. Lately though, I've been not wanting to go to bed. When it's time to get up I'd gladly skip out on getting up.. but if I have any choice other than heading to bed to start the going to sleep process, I'll choose any other choice. Maybe because laying in bed so itchy is so frustrating. I don't know. Just mentioning.

It's raining this morning! The weather has officially cooled off, and that makes life bearable again.

I spent the last 4 days going through, and anally sorting every picture on my computer.

I'm so sweaty.

Zac freaks out because the cats get on top of stuff and knock things off. Well, they never seem to knock things over until he screams at them and/or flicks them in the head which scares the crap out of them so they jump off, kicking everything in their path of escape onto the floor?

But, once again I'm wrong.

And I get to pick everything up.

I wish we had light bulbs.

Breakfast Tacos.

Sometimes I just put Chris's socks and shoes on him in the morning because I'm unmotivated to fight him about it.

Me: "Give me your feet"
Chris: "I did"
Me: "No, they're still bundled up under your blanket"
Chris: "Oh." *sticks out his feet*
Me: *puts his socks and shoes on him* "Okay, where's your third foot?"
Chris: "I only have 2"
Me: "Really. When did that happen?"
Chris: "I was born with only 2"
Me: "Aww, that's sad!"
Chris: "You must have ordered me that way"

...

Me: "What do you want for breakfast?"
Chris: "Soft shelled tacos"
Me: "I don't have time to make tacos"
Chris: "You would if you would start waking me up at 5 like I wanted"
Me: "No thanks"
Chris: "I'll take ice cream then"
Me: "Only if you sing my praises"
Chris: *singing softly without even opening his eyes* o/~"My mommy is so cool. She is the best. I love her. Oh how I love my mom. Yay for mommies."o/~ Etc.
Me: "That was actually really sweet, thanks"
Chris: "I don't know why you're surprised. I've always been talented."

Zac just came out of the bedroom, announced "It's early.", grabbed his phone and went back to bed.

I gave in and cleaned up the living room floor. I didn't vacuum yet though.

...

I just asked Chris what his sticker on his shirt was for..
Chris: "I don't know"
Me: "Is it because you're the teacher's favorite?"
Chris: "Maybe, or might be because my smile lights up the room."

Cloudy with a chance of .. more clouds! yay!

Yep, I love clouds...