I Hate Electronics

Does anyone else battle the love of electronics like we do around here?  I absolutely hate it and it pretty much makes me crazy.  We don't do electronics during the week sans maybe one TV show if homework is all done before dinner.  No Wii, no DS, no computer.  But....on the weekends, when the boys are allowed to play those things, it's all they want to do.  I hate it!  Have I said that yet, I hate it!!!!!  They literally sit around here doing nothing, waiting for us to give them the green light.  Even if they've just played and we've told them to turn it off, they sit around waiting for it.  We've taken it away for extended periods to try to cure the obsession, monitored their time closely, made them "earn" time.....pretty much everything we can think of to regulate time, and keep them from becoming obsessed.  It seems to work for a little while, and then we're right back, fighting this battle again.  (I'm pretty much screaming writing this.)  I honestly don't have anything against electronics if used in moderation, but we can't seem to achieve.  Any amount of time seems to turn into a craving for more, more, more.  It's frustrating to me because there are so many better ways to spend time and it's not like we don't have tons of books, games, Lego's, cars, critters, crayons, (you name it) around here.

Along with that, there seems to be an entitlement to always be entertained, either by the parents or the electronics.  Ronnie is working today (kind of feels like he's the lucky one), so I'm stuck fighting this on my own for the zillionth time.  After our conversation about it again this morning, I just gave up and went about my business.  I figured that they'd either find something to do or they could sit there bored all day.  Their choice.  Clay went to work on his Lego's.  T (the stubborn one) sat in the chair in the family room for a LONG time.  He finally went and played with Clay.  I get that we spend a good deal of time at home on the weekends because most of the day, one of the girls is napping (some of us spend a lot of time at home everyday.)  Not kidding, it's making me crazy.  

Does anyone else battle this?  Have you found a workable system?  I would love your help.

This, after we had a really fun evening last night, and pushed E way past her bedtime to accomplish this.  We had a sort of progressive dinner.  Left around 4:30 and stopped at Sonic for drinks.  Drove to the airport and watched planes for a bit.  Headed to a far away Smashburger (just to prolong our evening out.)  Then, headed toward home, but stopped at U-Swirl for frozen yogurt.  Everyone seemed to have a fun night, but I'll admit I feel like that was all for naught being right back here in this same "argument" again.  Makes me feel like my kids are ungrateful.  They're seeming feeling of entitlement bothers me a lot.

November

Ugh.  I just uploaded 35 photos.  Got all the way from mid November where these start to Christmas Eve....and then they all vanished sans one photo.  Ugh.  So, my repeat attempt is much shorter though likely more organized.  Here's November.  Just November.  Lots of my favorite little ladies.  It would appear from shear number of photos, I love them more.  Not true, just spend a whole lot more time with them.  

 A thankful family.

The many faces of Elena Grace.  This would make a pretty funny flip book.

Page 1....E's favorite pose.  Content, content, content with those fingers.

"Flash too bright, Mommy!" 

"You're funny!"

"Hil.ar.i.ous!"  

"What the heck?" 

"Nevermind!  You're funny again!" 

"Okay, this game's getting old. Let's be serious."  (Fingers will help me calm down after providing all this amusement.)

Love her!

9 Months and Sister Fun

My sweet baby girl turned nine months old yesterday.  I'm still in a little shock that she's that old.  It was so strange to hear the doctor say as we were leaving her well check appointment today, "Her next check-up is at   one."  Oh boy.  That will be a day.

She's kind of had this Michael Jordan thing going on for the past few days.  The tongue is always out! Somehow, she still makes this look pretty!

She's a peanut.  Only weighed in at 14 pounds, 4 ounces.  Um, that's actually an ounce less than she weighed at six months.  The doctor was only a little concerned.  I mean, she really is crazy healthy and engaging.  It's fairly obvious.  She's crawling all over the house already and has been for a month or so, so the doctor thinks she's just burning all that she eats.  She's certainly a good eater and she certainly lets us know when she's hungry. :)  It was funny to be plotting her on the growth chart that I keep at home and see that she's not even on the chart at all now!  I mean, when you have a kid the size of Clay who's been off the growth chart in the OPPOSITE direction since he was two weeks old, it is a bit strange to have a teeny tiny one.  She's still drowning in 6-9 months clothes.

E measured 26 1/4 inches in length.  Again, a peanut in this tall household!  I remarked to Ronnie after her appointment today that let's just say she ends up being like 5'6" or so as an adult, Clayton could be a full foot or more taller than her!  Yes, that big guy is forecast to be between 6'6" and 6'8"!  Think it's only about two years at most 'til we're looking eye-to-eye with him.

The girls have been playing so well together.  They enjoy (especially Gaby) playing with their brothers' things while they're at school.  This was the game the other day.  Gaby driving Clay's remote control car and Elena crawling after it.  Kind of reminded me of a cat and mouse game. :)

And crawling through the end table is always fun too, of course!

Announcement

I'm flying solo this week, so still way behind.  Shocking, I know.  Anyway, just keep thinking about this and I'm/we're so excited.....Tim Tebow is coming to our church!!  He'll be speaking at all the services on the first weekend in March.  I can't wait and I'm so excited to bring the boys, but especially Clay, who LOVES football to hear an NFLer love his Jesus.  What an opportunity!  And so cool that the church just happened to announce this the evening and morning before his sweet victory last weekend.  Yay!

Getting Organized

I've finally downloaded over 100 photos from my camera.  I'm so behind!  Just haven't spent much time on the computer lately.  Now I'm realizing that I better get going if I want to document E's first Thanksgiving, Christmas of course, sitting up and crawling.....nevermind the many precious photos I've snapped of all the kids over the last couple months.  Here's a fav while I continue to sort through them.  Hope to get on this soon!

Happy New Year!

My Girls

I really have been terrible about blogging lately.  I just finally downloaded one of my cameras today.  The other, I still haven't.  There are photos on them from a couple months back.  Think this is one of them.  I love it, so thought I'd share.

We had one of those days today.  You know, where surviving is all you can do.  We haven't had a very good start to winter break so far.  Grandparents come in tomorrow.  That will either make things much better or much worse.  We'll see....

All You Need Is Love

I have been gone so long!  Of course, it's a busy time of year, but that's not why I've been away.  Don't want to get all dramatic, but several weeks back, I got a migraine.  I've been having these ocular migraines since September, but they're mostly annoying, usually not painful, and not debilitating.  This one was different.  It was the big one.  I had one like this about 18 months ago, and thankfully, not again since until that fateful Monday a few weeks ago.  Had the flashes (much bigger and brighter than the ocular migraines), and thought, I hope this isn't the start of a big one.  Yep.  Within a couple hours, I was stuck on the powder room floor, unable to even move my head side to side without vomiting.  (Sorry.)  I waited as long as I possibly could before calling Ronnie at work, almost out of a flight.  I knew I couldn't get the girls who had been napping, and obviously, there would be no driving to pick up the boys.  

Fast forward, that stinkin' migraine had a hold of me for five days.  It stayed put through three trips to the doctor, countless meds, oxygen, and didn't let go until I was pumped full of narcotics, pain killers, and anti-nausea medication.  And I don't do well with narcotics, so for the next 24 hours, practically still felt like I had a migraine because of the drug effects.  (I could never ever be a druggie!)  

Anyway, it was awful.  Think that may have been the sickest I have ever been in my life.  Brought in some doubts and fears.  Spiritual attack?  Probably, another back story that predates this migraine by about two weeks that I'll keep to myself, but being knocked out physically seemed a fitting follow-on attack.  But here's what I want to remember as I try desperately to focus on the positive and wait to see the neurologist.

*  So grateful that Ronnie was able to rescue me and be everything to this family for six long days.

*  When I was finally able to eat about 8:00 on Monday night, Clayton brought me not only a slice of pizza that Ronnie had ordered for dinner, but....a slice of pizza on a plate, on a tray, with a napkin, and a spoon.  A spoon?  For pizza?  No, he'd put a little applesauce cup up in the corner of the tray too.  So dang precious.

*  While I'm stuck on the bathroom floor downstairs waiting for Ronnie, praying desperately that neither of the girls will start screaming/crying for me when they wake, I hear Gaby singing over the monitor, "Oh, how I love my Lena Grace."  (I always end up making up some little lovey song for my babes and that is hers.) 

*  And this picture that Thomas drew at school and brought home.  It's a lizard (his current favorite thing).  The words, melt my heart.  Even as an adult, when you're sick, seems all you need is love. 

It's been a tough couple years for me in some ways.  A lot of physical and emotional pain.  But to quote "Facing the Giants" which we watched with Clayton this weekend, "When we win, we're gonna praise Him, and when we lose, we're gonna praise Him."  I know God does not waste our pain and though I don't know His reasons, I trust they are good and I pray He will be glorified.