Can I play Wii? Can I watch TV? Can I play computer?

These three questions have plagued our household since school ended in May.  The boys were bombarding me everyday, almost constantly.  Tegan wasn't interested in technology when the summer started but his mouse skills on the computer have developed substantially.  Davian is a screen addict.  He LOVES the Wii, computer, Netflix and the like.  This was getting to be a constant battle.  And a tug of war with the boys and their differing interests.  Now that I am a Stay At Home Mom (for now) I knew that I needed to have a consistant way to deal with this issue for my sanity and peace in our house.  I was really thinking about this when I remembered a post by a friend in North Carolina who created a system which turned the accountability for "screen time" over to the kids.  I modified it to meet the needs for our family.

Each box on the kids' charts represents 30 minutes of screen time.  They have 3 boxes per day for a total of 90 minutes of screen time. It could be any of the big three: Wii, computer or TV.  I also had to put the stipulation that if one watched the other playing the Wii or computer, it counted as "screen time".  The boundaries are as follows:

1. You have to ask if the time is appropriate for screen time.
2. When the timer goes off, you have to turn off or log off immediately.
3. Using any portion of the time accounts for all the time used.
4. Extra time cannot be earned.
5. One box can be lost as a consequence.
6. Family movie/Wii time does not impact the chart. Or if I give them something to do during our learning time.

It has been interesting to watch the boys react to this over the progression of the week.  On Monday, both boys burned through their boxes quite quickly.  I had to remind them several times that once they used up their time they couldn't earn anymore.  By noon, both boys had used up all their time.  Honestly, it was as hard for me as it was for them because I couldn't pacify them by putting them on the computer or TV.  It was a habit I had easily fallen into.  That afternoon was painful, but the system had taken the emotion out it.  They couldn't argue with the fact that their boxes were used up.

Tuesday, Davian was much better about budgeting his time.  He divided it up into 2 time sections, the morning and after lunch.  Tegan used most of his time quickly.  Today was a different story.  Tegan didn't use any of his time until almost dinner time today and then even then he only spent about 1/2 of the time.  Davian spread his time over three sessions today. 

This system has brought much more sanity to our days and has eliminated the argument over "screen time". 

Gaining Graditude (week 2)

Things I am thankful for this week:

11.  Meeting new folks at the bike park.
12.  Saturday evening play time at the "Blue" Park.
13. Two baby boys that will be here in December (NOT MINE!!!!)
14.  A phone call to a dear friend on his birthday.  And the joy in Davian's voice afterwards!
15. Boys who respond well to boundaries and consequences.
16. Gift cards that arrive unexpectedly!  (Thanks, Mom)
17. Just enough quiet time to finish my Bible reading for the day!
18. Being able to deliver lunch to my husband.
19. The completion of cutting out 100 whales for VBS.
20. Family time.

Soccer Camp

The boys went to soccer camp last week.  This was Tegan's first experience with a camp where I left him.  He was excited at first, but spend about half the time there watching.  Soon enough, he had a personal coach and girls swooning over him.

Davian worked very hard to improve his skills in dribbling, juggling and shooting.  The coaches were impressed with both boys' left footed shots. 

The coaches spent a lot of time working on the kids' celebration technique.  Davian's team acted like the paparazzi when they scored. 

One of my favorite moments from the week happened on the 3rd day of camp.  The kids were playing a game called "Cookie Monster".  Tegan didn't want to play because he doesn't like to be in  crowd where he might get run over.  He was sitting on the sideline waiting for the game to end.  Davian noticed that his little brother wasn't playing and went to check on him.  I just love this shot!  Those two boys have such a love for each other.  It makes my heart melt!

It was a good week and the kids had fun.  They are very excited now for the season to start!



Gaining Gratitude

I have been reading The Bible lately.  A lot.  In fact, I am working my way through a 90 day plan to read The Bible from cover to cover.  Admittedly, I have never read the entire Bible before so this is quite the undertaking.  I find myself waking up every morning ready to continue learning about David's saga or Solomon's wisdom.  Most of all, it has made me thankful for God's word and promises.  I struggle with Thankfulness and Gratitude.  I have read other blogs in which the bloggers keep a running list of things for which they are thankful.  I hope they don't mind if I borrow a page from their books!

These are my blessings in the everyday messiness of life:

1.  A few quiet moments to dig into the Word before the pitterpatter of little feet.
2. Good Morning snuggles with a sweet six year old.
3. Soccer camp!
4. Mid-morning run with mountains in view.
5. Play time at the nearby park.
6. Two women who are willing to reach out to the new girl in town.
7. Fresh fruit from a home orchard.
8. Air conditioning.
9. A budget.  (I am mostly grateful for this one.  Sometimes, honestly, I'm not.)
10. Two boys who enjoy each other's company.  (This has made our transition here so much easier!)

Today on the radio they asked this question:  What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you gave thanks to God for today?

Seems like my list should be a little longer...

What we've been up to....

The boys and I have been in CA for exactly three weeks now.  In retrospect, it has been a short three weeks of exploring, learning, and some getting lost.

We have discovered that this town has A LOT of parks!  24 according to the website.  They all have official names, of course, but we prefer the much more sophiticated color system.  Typically, our days start with deciding whether we are going to the Red Park, Blue Park, or the very cool Bike Ramp.  All of these parks are within a 10 minute walk from our townhouse. 

The boys also took swim lessons for two weeks.  Davian made some big strides in his swimming.  He actually jumped off the diving board a few times.  Then he decided that he didn't need to do that any more.  Tegan started putting his whole head underwater and opening his eyes.  He even jumped off the side of the pool into the water on his own!  I was extremely impressed with the high school students who were the teachers of the lessons.  They were so patient and enthusiastic with the kids. 

This week, the boys have been at VBS each night.  The church had over 560 kids each night from 5:30-8:30.  The boys had a blast!  This VBS might have been one of the best I have seen.  They fed the kids each night.  The boys were hooked on the first night, when we walked in and saw three massive inflatable bounce slides and houses.  They had a splash night, too! On the final night, they had homemade cupcakes to go with their dinners.  That's right, one lady made over 700 cupcakes!  The VBS took up an offering that would allow the church to take the VBS to the homeless community here in our new town.  They raised over $3000 from the offerings given by the kids.  Best of all, over 100 kids gave their lives to Christ during the week!  I know it brings the Lord great joy to see these little ones praising Him!

I have also been posing as a "homeschooling mama".  We try to do learning things for about an hour a day.  We don't get to it everyday.  Tegan is soaking it up.  Davian takes a little more creativity and patience on my part.  He is so kinesethetic and musical that learning books are very boring to him.  So yesterday I turned on David Crowder on Pandora and gave him earbuds while he was working.  Seemed to go over well for him.  He is sorting word families and reading the words to me.  He requires hands on activites and a sweet reading specialist handed this to me right before I left. 

The count down to soccer camp is on!  They start on Monday for 4 days.  Tegan has not been to soccer camp, yet.  He is very excited about going! 

We are adjusting well, but we miss our friends in NC dearly!  We treasure the phone calls and cards we have gotten!

The Novice's Guide to Moving Across the Country

Here are some lessons I have learned in moving from NC to CA:

1. Traffic laws are different in every state. In CA, they are just strange. The first time I saw a motorcycle drive between the two lanes of traffic, I was irritated with the driver. Then I found out it was legal.

2. Make an appointment at the DMV. The line was out the door and around the corner of the building. And when you go to the DMV with your two energetic boys in tow, remember to take a bag full of things to do. And remind them that they are not allowed to talk to you during your written driving test! And it helps to tell them that the police are watching them from the back room on cameras. (I have asked forgiveness for that one!)

3. You don't need winter jackets in CA during the month of July! I really could have let the movers pack them on the truck.

4. GPS is a beautiful thing! I would probably still be lost in downtown Turlock somewhere if I didn't have it.

5. It's going to take a while to find a new hair girl. Enough said.

6. The laundromat isn't THAT bad. But, I still miss my washer and dryer.

7. I'm mostly stronger than I thought I was.

8. Job hunting stinks.

9. I can survive with 4 plates, 4 bowls, 6 cups, camping chairs, and air mattresses. However, I prefer not to.

10. God is God in California, too!