No Technology: Day Two

I have to be honest. Day two did not start out too well. I think the kids thought that if they were on their best behavior on the first day, that I might cave and let things get "back to normal."

I didn't. And right now I am paying for it. I woke up this morning to the kids screaming at each other. About balls. Yes! Balls! Kaileyne had 2 whiffle balls and would not share. Not sure what she was doing with them, but Jet wanted one. I told him that there were white whiffle balls in the toy bin. But noooooo! He didn't want the white ones. He wanted the blue or red one. And Quinn wanted the other. Good Grief!

And none of their chores were done. They forgot. Oh boy! How fast they fall.

I know this is their evil plan. I know they probably gathered in Kaileyne's room this morning and hatched out an agenda on how to "crack me."

Believe it or not, I am the "softie." Ask my husband. I cave. And most times I cave quickly. Especially, when the whining and moaning starts. I am weak. I have little patience. But revenge is sweet. They will not get me. Not today (but cannot promise anything about tomorrow lol)

I mentioned last night that we may take a trip to Costco. That brightened them right up. Out of the house. No imagination needed at Costco.

Well, I wanted to do some yard work outside before we went. That was a mistake. It felt like every 5 minutes, I was being asked "when are we going to Costco." Grrrrrrr!

So, now I start procrastinating. The more they whine, the slower I go. Yep! That went over well.

Kaileyne went in her room. She is my little "huff and puff."  She  loves to sigh loudly and roll her eyes when I am not doing things as quickly as she wants me to. Gotta love 11 year old girls! Do you want her?

We had a little hiccup in our direct run to Costco. The belt on the vacuum cleaner broke when Jet tried to vacuum the living room. He decided the ends of our rug were in his way, so he tried to suck them up with the vacuum cleaner. So, after dropping off the vacuum cleaner and picking up the kids' new glasses (another surprise detour), we finally made it to Costco.

Oh the kids were in heaven! All the TVs were on. Quinn was so mesmerized he almost ran into a few elderly people looking at camcorders. Kaileyne and Jet were talking about how nice it is to see the tvs with the same thing on it. I teased them a little bit by hovering there a few moments, slowly putting away my Costco card. Then, I pushed them forward. :)

They were good in Costco. How bad could they be? They love all the food demos. The only thing better than TV for them is free food. 

We checked out and then they watched me load the car (helpful little buggers aren't they?)

We get home around 3pm. Only FIVE MORE HOURS until bedtime (yes! I have been counting down since I woke up to them screaming at each other!)

Found kids laughing hysterically upstairs. Jet is apparently stuffing his shirt with all kinds of things. Whiffle Balls. Stuffed animals. Looked weird, but it was a crowd pleaser with Quinn and Kaileyne. Who am I to judge?

Dinner was uneventful. They finished eating (did not put their dirty dishes away though)and outside we went.  They will play out there and like it!

I came outside to dig out roots from a dead tree (I know my life is so exciting isn't it?). And the kids were a big help. We dug out roots until it got dark. We did have to stop for a little bit for a dog issue ( you do not want to know...) After we cleaned up, we  went back to root dismemberment.

Took showers. Now they are in bed. Day started off looking like a disaster, but it ended well.

Day 3 is tomorrow. Is it bad that I am looking forward to Friday?

No Technology : Day One

It is officially the end of "Day One." No TV. No Wii. No internet. When I woke up and saw that it was pouring rain outside, I did not want to get out of bed. Of all the days to start this. Not a sunny beautiful day. But a yucky wet day. Pouring rain. Murphy's Law just smacked me in the face. I got up anyway. It was quiet.

I came downstairs to see all three kids playing quietly. Together. They had the legos out and were laughing at all the funny things they were making.

Then, Jet saw me. Told me that when he woke up, the first thing that came into his mind was that he was going to play his new Wii game today. Then he remembered that he couldn't. So, he .. WAIT FOR IT ...cleaned up the play room instead!! {gasp!} Cleaning without me asking? This cannot be my son. I still must be sleeping.

Kaileyne then joined in the conversation and told me that they fed the dog and unloaded the dishwasher.

HUH? I have been screaming at them to do it for weeks. They never remember. But they did today.

All day long, the three of them played together. No fighting. No complaining.

None of them asked me once to turn on the tv.

No one complained that they were "bored."  And I did not yell at them once. Which is saying a lot.  I am not a "soft-spoken" or "patient" soul. :)

Jet, Kaileyne and Quinn have planned some artsy fartsy stuff for tomorrow just in case it rains. Sock Puppets. You can never go wrong with Sock Puppets!

Honestly, it was a real nice day. The kids had nothing to distract them from doing what they needed or wanted to do.

Now, do not get me wrong. I know it is only Day One of my experiment. I know that this thing can blow up in my face at any moment. The only thing that is in my favor right now is that...they  are SCARED of me!  And I am using that to my advantage. LOL

That is it for day one. They are all in bed right now. So,  you'll excuse me while I jump on the couch, turn on the tv, and watch the season finale of Games of Thrones. That's right! I am a hypocrite. But I earned it. I paid my dues already. My mom use to lock us out of our house and make us play outside. We were forced to play outside. And we were better for it.

See you tomorrow for Day Two's Update. Hopefully, it will not be raining all day long.

Mother of the Year...

So, I decided to work on my "Mother of the Year" Award {insert eye roll}. I have told the kids that I am banning tv and all electronic devices for 4 days. They will help me with things around the house and if they want to play, they will have to {gasp} use their imagination to play ...wait for it... "outside." I am just more than a little bit frustrated with their lack of focus and borderline laziness. That is the reason for this experiment. Yes, I know this may be punish me too, but I am willing to see what happens. Can't you just wait for my daily updates? Yep! There was another eye roll . LOL

For the Luv of Art May Digi Challenge

I love sketches, don't you? Well, if you do Check out For the Luv of Art May Digi Challenge!


Here is my take on the challenge!





I could not wait to use these photos and the "Hope For A Brighter Future" Digital Collab Kit #1 was perfect for this!!

And there is more to come! I am getting an early Mother's Day gift tonight! The kids and James are letting me lock myself in my scrapbook room to...gasp...scrap! With no interruptions!

I am planning on working on my first hybrid album. I will let you know how it goes! :)

Dream Big Fundraiser!

Grab
This!



I am a little late, but better late than ever.

I fundraiser to help adopt a little baby boy.

read here for more information.

http://farleykids.blogspot.com/2011/04/dreaming-big.html

today is the last day. and any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

For The Luv of Art

I am so very excited to be a part of For of the Luv of Art's Digital Design Team.

I have been busy creating. Working on my Mount Vernon and DC album.

Also, been playing with new digital software from Panstoria. If you are looking to start doing digital scrapbooking or would like to just get your feet wet, then Panstoria is what you are looking for. Not only is it easy and inexpensive, but they have a 30 day FREE TRIAL on their software. You cannot beat that!! Check it out. Trust me. You will not be disappointed.

Now, back to Mount Vernon and DC. Here is a taste. In the past 2 weeks, I have cranked out over 40 digital pages. I am almost done. It is so nice to be able to get a few albums completed, when your life can get so crazy at times.

Here are some of my favorite layouts.





This Layout I used Olivia's Friend by Little Feet Digital Designs. This beautiful kit is available at For the Luv of Art.

This last layout was inspired by For The Luv of Art's March Digital Sketch Challenge. I used Laura Burger's Retrofunk Elements and Amy Teets' Digital Spring Fling Minikit.

I cannot tell you how excited I will be when I get the pages printed out for my album.

And to my traditional scrapbookers, do not worry, I am still a traditional girl at heart. Actually, my next project is to work on my Hershey album. I just need to clean up my scrapbook room and find some time to hide in my scrapbook sanctuary.

Will post those as I do them.

Great NEWS!

I am thrilled to say that I am now a part of the For The Luv of Art Digital Design Team!

You should check out For the Luv of Art! They are an online store (both traditional AND Digital) and a wonderful online community! I hope to see you there.

I will be posting layouts on my blog soon. I have been working on my DC album with some really cool kits!

See you soon.