What I would do if I had 5 hours to myself, ...and the house was already clean:

... oh yeah, and I had gotten a full night's sleep. (Is that too much to ask?)

(stipulations include things like, no use of technological devices except maybe  for "how to"s and recipes (--aka no social stuff or blog browsing), this is all stuff I could do without having to leave the house (except for the DI run) --we're just assuming that I already have all the ingredients/materials on hand, and finally that I am not allowed to feel any guilt about neglecting my family.

What I should do:

-Cook freezer meals for the next two weeks.
-File the important documents into a easy to carry folder to be put near our 72 hour kits.
-Assemble 72 hour kits.
-Sort the kid's 'too-small' clothes into boxes for storage (and actually put them in storage, not a heaping pile of boxes in my room).
-Make homemade laundry detergent and homemade baby wipes.
-Organize the closets/garage/drawers and make a DI run.
-Make a quiet-activity bag to keep my kids happy at church/on Sundays/during quiet time.
-Make more lists and plans.

What I would like to do:

-Play the piano, perhaps make another CD for my parents.
-Write in my journal.
-Read a book from beginning to end.
-Soak in a hot bath, give myself a facial, cucumbers and all, and top it off with a pedicure and perhaps a manicure as well.
-Try something new, like painting with watercolors, or making jewelry or something.
-Get crafty, and try a bunch of things I've seen on pinterest.

What I would do if I ever followed through with my good intentions:

-Write thank you notes to people.
-Email each of my siblings separately -not a form letter.
-Print out pictures of my family and frame them to hang on the wall (and to give copies to the grandparents).
-Make birthday cards for all my extended family for the rest of the year (and actually mail them)


Okay, so if I thought about it long enough, I could probably come up with more amazing things, but I can't, so there you have it.

Gosh I'm boring.

By the way, we lost our camera, so no picture today (we won't mention the fact that I could use an old photo from my computer... I'm feeling lazy).    Luckily our tax return will furnish us with a new one, and I am super excited. More about that later.

Roger That!

I just have to give a big shout out to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.  I grew up on that show, and I always wanted my kids to experience it too. When I had kids I looked for it and it wasn't available for the longest time.  To my knowledge, Fox hasn't released them all for sale, and I was devastated. Finally though, I found a link to some of the episodes online!  PBS Kids only has 26 episodes online at one time, but the good news is that they rotate and you get new shows every once in a while.  The bad news is that my kids have their favorites and are sad when they disappear.  


Here's the link to watch Mister Rogers' Neighborhood online.

These pics were taken by my kids one day.

So much for not getting into trouble while watching shows.

The thing I love about mister Rogers is that he's so sincere.  He's always talking right to the kids and telling them how special they are and building them up (Imagine my delight when my three year old comes up to me one day and tells me, "I like you just for being you!"). He addresses the emotions kids might feel, and teaches ways of dealing with them, encouraging children to talk with adults about how they feel and such.  He uses his imagination, and shows the kids how they can use ordinary household items for playing in new ways.  Every episode takes the viewer to a new place to see how something is made or how something works --even I am always interested in that part!  I could go on and on. 


There are so many stupid kid shows out there that seem to be there just to entertain, or to advertise.  Some are so patronizing or obnoxious, I can't stomach watching even a minute or two, and others I feel are teaching the kids to be hyperactive and/or downright mischievous and disrespectful.  I won't mention all the ones I've deemed unsuitable for my kids, but I'll mention a few I like, and maybe I could get some more ideas from anyone else out there. 


As you can see, I am extremely picky about what shows my kids watch and I admit, I don't even know what's out there nowadays since we choose not to have television.  I can't stand the commercials --I hate how manipulative and sneaky the advertising industry is!  I do have my collection of certain Disney shows and almost all of the pixar movies for them to watch, not to mention plenty of Kipper and some Scholastic videos. I also like getting Reading Rainbow from the library and Veggie Tales every now and again (I actually don't know why I don't own any of those) so they're not completely deprived (of what?  I don't know --zombiness?).  


I do think it's important to let kids watch shows, since it helps their imaginations, and they get to see and learn about things they wouldn't normally get to experience --I couldn't possibly teach them everything myself.  And yes, I have to admit, that sometimes I need them to just sit there and not get into trouble while I get something done.

They ate their lunch in a blanket fort today while watching Mr. Rogers'.

Thank goodness for wholesome, educational, kids shows.  I wish we had more people like Mister Rogers around.