Friday, January 4, 2008

Day 2

Day 2 without the "Nanny" (see previous post)
It is day two without the nanny. I've had moments of weakness when I wanted to give in to the pleas of my children, but I've held strong. For the record we weren't really watching T.V. and haven't for the past 3 years. It was only movies, and even then they were never a problem for us until this last year when Sweet Terror learned that movies are easy entertainment on demand. She also figured out that mommy wasn't the only one who could put one on for her which led to much screaming on her part to get Pablo to put movies in for her. Thinking my children were all downstairs playing quietly together, I would be blissfully ignorant of the fact that my children were actually watching hours on end of movies. Still it wasn't too big a deal because I have all the fun movies locked away and the kids only have access to educational or religious videos. Christmas came though, and out came the fun movies. Then, came the biggest back stabbing I've ever received, and from the man I most love and trust! DSSH knows my dislike for TV and has, for the most part, fully supported me in it. We own one Dora VHS and one Dora DVD for the sake of peace and quiet, but that is as much pre-recorded TV as I could accept. So, what does my awesome night in shining armor get for Sweet Terror??? THIS:
"Product Description: Get ready for over seven hours of non-stop educational adventures with Nick Jr. Favorites Box Set (Volumes 4-6)! This release features eighteen episodes of the best Nick Jr. episodes across all Nick Jr. properties over the past few years including episodes from Dora, Wonder Pets, Backyardigans and more!"

Is that not the most blatant form of treason you've ever seen? And who would I be if I were to deny my youngest child the use of her favorite Christmas gift in all her short 3 years of life?

That's right. And I'm already mean enough for making them eat their vegetables. So, we had those lovely 7 hours of Nick Jr playing round the clock. And if they weren't playing you can guess what was, the demonic screaming of the real devil around here. Therefore, the TV had to be shut down, completely. As a result Sweet Terror, after her morning cry over the dead TV, has been playing with her Christmas toys and actually taking naps again. Monster Man has been painting and drawing, which he normally dislikes doing. Pablo is pretty much unaffected because he never watched the TV, but he has been pestered a lot more by Sweet Terror. Cookie has been terribly bored but I think that in time her boredom will turn into productivity. And me, what has it done to me? I thought I would go crazy that first day, in fact I knew I would go crazy, so I renewed our zoo membership and took the kids out into the rain for some good ol' educational exercise. I have also been working on the boys' painting and am half done (I will share pics when I am done). I finally mailed in my return of a recalled PollyPocket playset (bought for $8 at a garage sale and will get $32 back, woohoo). And now I'm half done with totally cleaning/organizing/dejunking the holiday-stuff-and-shove-room, formerly known as my husband's office.

Oh yes and I... I will survive. Even without the TV on all day, I know I'll stay alive.

8 comments:

Family Adventure said...

Good for you, standing firm. I applaud you (but I am weak, weak, weak)...

Heidi

Jennifer @ Fruit of My Hands said...

ha ha ha! This is so funny to read, but I'm sorry for the "pain and personal anguish" you are having to endure.

Montserrat said...

I'm laughing hysterically at "the devil mom" picture. Kids can be so blunt sometimes. The first week will probably be the hardest but YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

LaughterThoughts said...

7 hours! oh my! getting the money's worth, i guess!!

still laughing over the picture. kids are a crack-up, aren't they?

Lindy said...

LOL at your 'self portrait' : D Good for you for setting the boundaries and holding that line!

Misty said...

I have SO been the recipient of those child-drawn portraits-of-mom. They just make your day, don't they?

Keep up your excellent work.

**squeeze**

Anonymous said...

Your are so funny! You should write a book entitled "The Mean Mommy." If this is what it means to be mean (no tv, veggies) then we should all aspire to be as "mean" as you! :)

cindy kay said...

Sounds like you're doing a great job. It's no fun when the kids hate us, even for a little while. Hang in there!