How "De-Grating": Jon & Kate + 8 = Depressing

At first I felt sorry for Jon & Kate. Now, I think they're either sort of evil or just really, really clueless. It's hard to feel sorry for people who seem so intent on perpetuating (and profiting from) their own family's demise. I think TLC should pull the show (this will never happen) and stop the insanity. Here's an article from Slate that says things much more maliciously than I am capable of... I didn't see the show on Monday, but I don't really want to after reading this article.

Kinda sorta unplugged

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. The kids are out of school now and have been for a few weeks... I was expecting to be hating life right about now, but it's sort of weird how smoothly things have been going. I've been slowly cutting back on the screen time, and at this point we are pretty much not watching TV and not playing computer games-- except for the occasional Magic School Bus episode (see the Twitter update to the right) or just today we rented some really nerdy DVDs from the library (how about that crazy run-on sentence?). I kind of feel like anything with a call number doesn't really count as TV.

Speaking of the library, the kids just got their own library cards today!! What a milestone! I remember getting my own card about 5,000 years ago and it was quite a proud moment in my life. Emma is reading (!) and so I figured it was high time she have her own card. I wasn't really expecting that Charlie would be allowed to get a card, but he was able to "sign" his name, so they let him have one as well. It is so cute to see their names scrawled on the signature lines of their cards. I want to take the cards from them and mount them on the wall for posterity, but I think they would be a little ticked off if I did that. They are beyond proud of themselves.

So we've been not watching TV and doing stuff like going to the library and to the farm to pick strawberries and swimming a little. So far, so good, Summer. You can stick around for a while.

I have been amazed at how much turning off the TV *most* of the time has improved Charlie and Emma's behavior and general joi de vivre. I was expecting to have to literally put chains around the TV armoire and throw away the key in order to try this unplugging thing, but that has so not been the case. They don't even ask me to watch TV! I feel like I'm sounding so braggy in this post. I'm not meaning to. I'm not saying my kids are little angels all day long or anything, but I'm just amazed at how much better they play and how much more stimulated they are without the TV to get in their way and do all their work for them.

Well, I just wanted to do a quick post...sort of pop my head in and say hello. I think I need to head to bed soon.

Keep checking back...Mommytown is going to be a stop on a blog book tour (think a regular book tour, except in cyberspace)!! And there might even be a giveaway involved!!! And maybe even ice cream!!!! Okay, I got a little carried away....there won't be any ice cream, but the rest is true!

Nighty night.

Summer 2009 Unplugged?

I'm nervous to even write this out loud, but I'm thinking about giving the "unplugged" lifestyle a whirl this summer. By that I mean no (or very limited) TV or computer for one whole summer. Will that turn mommytown into crazytown? Stay tuned...

If you are already unplugged, I want to hear from you! How do you make it work? Plug in for a second and leave me a comment, will ya?

This idea is still in the thinking about it stages. I reserve the right to come to my senses at any moment. : )

Moms in Style (section)

I am a little addicted to the Style section of our newspaper. I'm embarrassed to admit that I merely glance over the bad news about plummeting stocks and flooding in North Dakota and head straight for some Style section. I may not know much about Geithner, but I could have a doctorate in Ask Amy columns. It's these little things that get me through the day sometimes...

So, here's some cool stuff culled from the Style section I thought y'all might like:

Was this lady the first mom blogger? Maybe so... check out this book about a woman's diary in England after World War II: Here's a bit about the book...

Nella Last may be the most prolific writer you've never heard of. For nearly 30 years, beginning in August 1939, this mother of two in Barrow-in-Furness, England, wrote a diary at a 60-page-per-month clip, leaving behind several million words. Her journal was part of a social research project called Mass Observation, which did exactly as it sounds: collected the observations of citizens who shared their thoughts on matters both personal and political. (It later morphed into a market-research company.) An edited portion of Last's musings was published in 2006 as "Nella Last's War," which also served as the basis for a BBC series, available on DVD, called "Housewife, 49" (a name that reflects Last's age when she began the diary).

"Nella Last's Peace," the second volume in the series, picks up in August 1945 and ends in December 1948, when life shifts slowly toward "a new era," as Last puts it. "When war first broke out, I used to feel wildly, 'Dear God, where has all the fun and laughter gone?' . . . Yet now we are all like an untied bundle of sticks, all tired and busy with household tasks." Her account records the personal adjustments -- returning to housework full time, dealing with a husband's moods, simply figuring out how to put a meal together in lean times -- that trickle into daily life amid sweeping international change. It's not necessary to read Last's first volume to become immediately absorbed by her honest and heartfelt story.

I also read about this new TV show that actually got a very good review from the Post's hard-to-please TV critic. "In the Motherhood" starts tonight on ABC. It might just be worth firing up the old Tivo for. But can it top "Real Housewives of NYC"--my latest obsession? Does anyone else LOVE this so-bad-it's-great reality show as much as I do? Probably not. I think I've gotten Brandon hooked on it too. Best husband ever? Yep. I'm just answering all my own questions over here. Jump in anytime.

Limiting Scream Time

Guess what? Charlie is totally addicted to the computer. Where, I wonder, could he have picked up such a nasty habit?

So, in an effort to wean the boy off of this seemingly innocent piece of machinery, we are limiting screen time. This, has an inverse effect on scream time: the less screen time, the more scream time we experience. This has not been an easy habit for Charlie to kick.

Last week we were all sick and it seemed like Zee and Moose A. Moose (of Noggin fame) had unpacked their little suitcases and moved into our living room permanently. The first few bars of "Everywhere I Go" is enough to send me over the edge at this point. And now we are getting Noggin piped in through the computer as well, thanks to noggin.com and my addict son.

I told the kids that we needed to limit screen time in an effort to not have our brains turn to mush. We talked about things that have screens...Leapsters have screens, computers, TVs, portable DVD players, Daddy's Blackberry (talk about addiction...) , and Charlie pointed out that windows also have screens. Touche, Charlie, touche. So we're limiting screens that you have to plug in. (She said, while typing on the computer. ahem.)

One thing we've been doing to ease the noggin.com withdrawal symptoms, is to have family drawing time. I cannot take credit for this idea I got it from this book. So far family drawing time has been a smash hit. It is a great way to kick off the morning and a great way for us to do something quiet together that we all enjoy. When was the last time you drew a picture? It had been a while for me, but it is amazing how therapeutic it can be. I even sharpened a pencil today. I might as well have been churning my own butter, it felt like such a throwback to yesteryear to watch pencil shavings collect in the little pencil shaving collector thingy.

So, family drawing time is very simple. Really it's no different than any other drawing time; it's just marketed better. Giving it a name (Family Drawing Time) makes it seem official, as does having special paper and supplies reserved just for FDT. The other special thing about Family Drawing Time is that you're all doing it together (it's not mommy empties the dishwasher while the kids draw time), and really that is what kids want more than Leapsters or their own iPhones: our undivided attention. I don't mean to sound preachy here; really I'm talking to myself.

Now, I don't want you to think I'm some purist. I did say we're limiting screen time, not cutting it out altogether. I admire the moms who can make it through the day without a little Max and Ruby or Toot and Puddle. However, I have come to terms with the fact that as much as I'd like to be, I'm not one of those moms. I need a break sometimes and so do my kids. And I personally enjoy a little 30 Rock or tivoed Oprah in the evenings, so I'd feel pretty hypocritical denying my kids the same pleasure. And, hello? I'm a major computer junkie and would be on the thing all the time if not for trying to set a good example for Charlie. Checking facebook while Charlie's in the room is kind of like sipping a crisp chardonnay in front of a pregnant woman. I totally get his obsession with the computer, but it's my job as his mommy to not let the obsession get too out of control.

I will say one thing that I keep thinking of when I think of Charlie's computer addiction. You never know where an interest like that can lead. I heard an interview with Malcolm Gladwell recently where he was talking about his latest book Outliers. Maybe you've heard of this book, but the general gist is that he wrote a book about exceptional people and what common traits or backgrounds they all share. Basically, he was trying to get at what made these people so successful. I haven't read the book, but in several reviews and interviews about it, it is mentioned that one of the reasons Bill Gates became such a success is that he had rare access to a computer as a child in prep school. Not that Charlie is the next Bill Gates or anything (he totally is), but it does seem like if a child is naturally interested in something and shows some talent for it, then they should be encouraged in that area. So, basically, what I'm getting at is that computers and TV aren't all bad. They appeal to some of us more than others and they are tools for making our lives easier and more fun and could possibly lead to Charlie becoming a cajillionaire someday (you never know). Everything in moderation, I say.

First though, we need to work on Charlie writing all the letters in his name in the right order.

And now screen time is officially over. Next order of business: laundry time!