A Sunday Well Spent Brings a Week of Content

Everyone views Monday as the start of their week. Why? Their 9-5 is Monday through Friday? School is held (at least when I went) Monday – Friday. Sunday seems to be considered the last day of the week. Game changer, I consider it the first day of the week.

On Sundays, I find, that if I spend it getting chores done, to-do list items accomplished, and in general preparing for the week ahead the week goes by so much smoother.

A Sunday well spent for me includes:

·         Waking up before 9

·         Reading/Watching a show in the DVR

·         Getting the kids up, fed and dressed for the day

·         Running small errands or just going out to walk around for some fresh air

o   2017 we hope to have a backyard installed instead of just a dirt lot, that will help Sundays be spent at home and not in a shopping mall! I don’t need any more excuses to spend money :)

·         Home again for kids naptime, reading, household chores taking a nap

·         Dinner with the kids and then playtime for a little bit and a bath before they are off to bed for the night

Sundays tend to be unscheduled, when I get to it I get to it mentality. With the New Year though I want to make my Sundays better well spent. Actually start knocking items off the to do list (like that latch hook rug that I started in middle school, should I really keep it to try to get it done or is it time to throw that bad boy away?!).

Tis the Season for Toy Giving…

With just one child you quickly start gathering tons of stuff in the house. Clothes busting out of the closets, storage bins and the spare room. Blankets piled on every available surface and tucked into toy chests. Then there are the stuffed animals, plastic animals, blocks, trucks, and musical instruments. We literally have buckets of toys in our living room on top of the toys tucked into the corner of every other room. Even the front room is filled with storage bins with even more toys. Solution, give it all away! But… we have another baby that will soon be old enough for these toys… With Christmas just around the corner, and more toys on the horizon, what is a family to do?! Buy a bigger house? Nope. Ask for non-toy gifts!

So for all those family members at a loss on what to get your cute little nieces and nephews this holiday season (or even for birthdays and just because gifts!) think about the below list as an alternative!

·         Season Passes

o   Zoo

o   Museum

o   Butterfly Wonderland

o   Aquariums

o   Amusement Parks

·         One-Time passes

o   Movies

o   Bowling

o   Swimming

o   Theater Shows

o   Sporting Events

o   Disney on Ice

o   Roller Skating

o   Mini Golf

o   Concerts

·         Trip out to (look into any age restrictions):

o   Local Farm

o   Train Ride

o   Ice Cream Shop

o   Special Dinner Out

o   Fire Station

o   Chuckie Cheese, Trampoline Jump Place

o   Hot Air Balloon Ride

o   Zip Lining

o   Helicopter Ride

o   Rock Climbing

·         Lessons:

o   Swimming

o   Sports

o   Gymnastics

o   Dance

o   Karate

o   Musical Instrument

o   Pottery Class

o   Craft Class

o   Horseback riding

·         Family Experiences (wrap up an item they will need for the experience such as a swimsuit or hiking boots)

o   Stay-cation at a local hotel (w/pool or great hiking nearby)

o   Hotel with indoor water parks

o   Camping

o   Road Trip

·         Outdoor Gifts

o   Bike

o   Scooter

o   Roller blades

o   Basketball hoop

o   Trampoline

o   Swing Set

·         Misc.

o   Furniture

o   Bedding

o   Décor

o   Jewelry Box

o   The clothing that is expensive that you normally wouldn’t purchase

·         And my all-time favorite, a gift that keeps on giving…

o   A pet! (present them with an adoption certificate saying you will pick one out together)

“All screens are not created equal”

Pediatricians are dialing back their recommendations on screen time limits for children. 
By Sumathi Reddy
http://www.wsj.com/article_email/pediatricians-rethink-screen-time-policy-for-children-1444671636-lMyQjAxMTE1NDEyNTkxOTU2Wj

A new article, released October 12, 2015, reevaluates screen time limits for kids. As a mom of two kids, one recently turning two, in this technological age I am more than happy to read that this is being reevaluated. “All screens are not created equal” is important to understand. Watching hours of mindless reality TV is not the same as a documentary on the lives of the great killer whales. Watching 30 minutes of kitten youtube videos is different than 30 minutes of facetime with a distant relative.

Personally when I review the TV shows or the phone application I present to my daughter I try to evaluate what it is promoting. I try to limit her to one fun movie (i.e. Tangled and Frozen are a hit because she likes to sing and dance along to the songs and the animals make her happy) and the phone apps are puzzles and encourage her motor skills (i.e. drawing and matching games).

A huge vice I know needs to be corrected is the “background” TV. Growing up the TV was only on when everyone was around to watch it. As I grew up though and lived on my own I liked having music or movies playing in the background for sound because when it was too quiet it meant that every creak was a stranger creeping around ready to bust in. Now, the second I get home the TV is flipped on and stays on till it times itself out long after we fall asleep.

I do get out of the house with my daughter though… as it cools off especially. Now we spend about an hour outside which means an hour away from the constant stream of TV.

Until You’re Mine – Samantha Hayes

Given to me by a coworker, 2 stars. This book had such promise. I do not think the character voices were strong enough to distinguish themselves so the changes in narrator got muddled to the point of confusion. It is almost like the Author was not fully convinced of the storyline she wanted to follow and it could have branched so many ways from page to page. There was a lot of unnecessary character development in the nanny that really had no added value to the story, seemed like the author was just desperately trying to make you see something in the nanny that wasn’t going to be there at the end. Also, you need to pay close attention to details revealed through the different characters perspectives in order to understand their significance and see what a small world the characters reside in. Otherwise these details just seem completely pointless.

I think a rewrite strengthening the character’s individual voices will make this book a million times better as well as rewriting the plot on the back. Maybe just a quick outline of Claudia seems to have a perfect life, Zoe is the much needed nanny to the rescue but is the picture perfect? How far would someone go to have their own child? Right now the summary, I feel, has nothing to do with the actual plotline and goes back to the Author pushing way too hard for what she thinks is the twist.

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

Passed along by my Mother-In-Law, 5 stars. I saw the movie first, and the book and movie were both great! The movie did its best to stay true to the story and the variances are easily forgiven and even hard to spot. The voice that tells the story easily carries the reader along on the wicked journey deep into the minds of a psychopath. Obviously the book has more ability to dive deeper into other latent characters and into back story more so you get a bigger and better picture but the movie is a huge compliment. Even if you already know the ending, the book is enthralling. Would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Against the Wall - Julie Prestsater (Against the Wall #1)

Top 100 Free Amazon, 2 stars. This was a super quick easy read. Not a bad book just not fantastic. Typical mousy girl has hot boyfriend and is shocked and devastated when hot boyfriend leaves her for the school tramp (they are all teachers) even though their relationship has been on again off again for the past 10 years…Really women of the world? Why can you not read the signs?!?! But, don’t worry reader, she of course has a hot best friend (also a teacher at the same school) that has been pining after her for years. So naturally she plays the “Oh! I just don’t know!” game deciding between the two which leads to a gigantic miscommunication that leads to heartbreak and then an epic proposal.

Submerged by Cheryl Kaye

Top 100 Free on Amazon, 3 stars. This book was a super quick read and worth the time. It kept you on

the edge of your seat. Though it had some supernatural parts that weren’t fully necessary or fully

explained and a couple blah chapters at the end overall it was a good read!