I can remember way back when I was a kid...going to the local library was one of my favorite things to do. I even remember the smell of the library. It was a sort of musty, papery smell and I loved it! I actually still have my very first library card! Granted, I grew up in a very small town and our library was nothing amazing, but it was special to me.
I have always been an avid reader. I devour books. However, since having children I have not spent nearly as much time reading as I would like to. Each child I have has meant less time reading. I have taken to ordering books online from Barnes & Noble or Amazon. Not only does that mean a lot of money but it also means a lot of guilt if I find (50 or so pages in) that I don't like the book. I have gone to the library as an adult but once having children my visits became few and far between. Mainly because it's so hard to go to the library with a bunch of whining kids in tow. However, my children are getting older and I am getting more nerve. Either that or I have just decided that my brood can run about like lunatics and I will ignore the dirty looks from the librarians and other patrons. :)
I have recently been visiting the library again! Even better, I have discovered the online catalog and the joy of ordering the books and they will be waiting for me to pick up when I can. So, now I breeze into the library and simply head up to the counter to pick up my books! The kids wander in the childrens' section and I don't have to force them to hush while I try to find books for myself. It's wonderful! Today I picked up my "on hold" books. The librarian was laughing because I picked up 24 books! Yep, you read that right! Of course, not all of those books are for me. A few are for my kiddos and some have to do with our homeschool American history lessons. I love it though! I have been reading a book a day this week and I feel great! No TV! It's been awesome!
So, that is my little ode to the library. I am off to read!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Change can be a good thing...
We are shifting things around in our familiy. Change can be a good thing, right? Time will tell, I suppose.
Our biggest change is that we are going TV free! Yep, we are not going to watch TV at all! We are getting rid of cable! No more DVR. No more commercials. No more nights chained to the TV. I am both scared and excited about it. I will miss my DVR, however, I can just watch all the shows I want to online when it's convienent for me. I won't miss the commercials and all the "gimmes" they bring. I won't miss listening to my kids fight over which show they are going to watch. I am looking forward to having more time to read, more time to read to my children and more time to explore other hobbies. We will still have our DVD players and our subscription to Netflix, so movies will still be abundant in our house. The nice thing is that we will be in control of what we watch and when we watch it! So, cross your fingers and say a prayer for us. I will keep you updated on how it goes.
We are also changing our eating habits. We recently watched the documentary, Food Inc. and it really made us think about how and what we eat. We are getting rid of processed snacks in our home. No more chips. No more Goldfish. No more sugary fruit snacks. No more soda. We are encouraging our children to eat fruits, veggies, yogurt or string cheese when they want to snack. I like to think that we were pretty good before but we can do even better. The kids are getting a veggie with every lunch and dinner. It was hard the first couple of days but last night my kids actually fought over a bag of carrots at dinner! We are trying to eat meat that has been raised in a way that we feel is best...grass fed beef, no hormones, no antibiotics, etc.... We are switching to organic milk. We are going to buy fruits and veggies locally. We are trying to eat more naturally. I am going with the rule that if I can't recognize and/or pronounce the ingredients of a food item then I am not going to buy it. We will make more things from scratch. It will be a lot of changes for us but I feel they are in the best interest of our family.
I am hoping all of this will work out for the best. I am hoping we will end up spending more quality time with our children. I am hoping we will all be healthier. I am hoping that we are instilling good eating habits in our children. I supppose, only time will tell.
Our biggest change is that we are going TV free! Yep, we are not going to watch TV at all! We are getting rid of cable! No more DVR. No more commercials. No more nights chained to the TV. I am both scared and excited about it. I will miss my DVR, however, I can just watch all the shows I want to online when it's convienent for me. I won't miss the commercials and all the "gimmes" they bring. I won't miss listening to my kids fight over which show they are going to watch. I am looking forward to having more time to read, more time to read to my children and more time to explore other hobbies. We will still have our DVD players and our subscription to Netflix, so movies will still be abundant in our house. The nice thing is that we will be in control of what we watch and when we watch it! So, cross your fingers and say a prayer for us. I will keep you updated on how it goes.
We are also changing our eating habits. We recently watched the documentary, Food Inc. and it really made us think about how and what we eat. We are getting rid of processed snacks in our home. No more chips. No more Goldfish. No more sugary fruit snacks. No more soda. We are encouraging our children to eat fruits, veggies, yogurt or string cheese when they want to snack. I like to think that we were pretty good before but we can do even better. The kids are getting a veggie with every lunch and dinner. It was hard the first couple of days but last night my kids actually fought over a bag of carrots at dinner! We are trying to eat meat that has been raised in a way that we feel is best...grass fed beef, no hormones, no antibiotics, etc.... We are switching to organic milk. We are going to buy fruits and veggies locally. We are trying to eat more naturally. I am going with the rule that if I can't recognize and/or pronounce the ingredients of a food item then I am not going to buy it. We will make more things from scratch. It will be a lot of changes for us but I feel they are in the best interest of our family.
I am hoping all of this will work out for the best. I am hoping we will end up spending more quality time with our children. I am hoping we will all be healthier. I am hoping that we are instilling good eating habits in our children. I supppose, only time will tell.
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