(Day 5 unplugged)

Just another day unplugged. The boys had a good day today. A Huge reason why it was so good is because we went to pet box and bought them a pet.  They have been wanting a pet for a long time. We can't get them a dog until we move back to the states. Soooo, we bought them a hamster. They are in heaven and want to hold it all the time, but the poor little guy is still so scared of his new surroundings.
It was another good day of no movies, cartoons, tv, video games, etc.

(Day 4 unplugged)

It was another great day. We did a lot of running around to get some things done. We played a little bit too.  The biggest difference I notice since starting is their behavior and attitude towards me. They aren't whining and complaining at me or giving me bad attitudes. They act more content.  And I am loving being unplugged a lot more than I thought I would.  I am really enjoying time with my boys and its bringing us closer together, I think. I am really glad we did this.
Months ago I "unplugged" myself from Facebook. I completely deleted it. i haven't regretted it for one second. It was such a distraction, and i didnt realize how it was the negative effects of it until i got rid of it. I can see this being a similar thing. Really, when I think what life is about, really about, then it makes it easy to get rid of distractions that take me away from the things that matter most.

{Day 3 Unplugged}

Today was another great success.

1. We played WAR again....about 10 times. The boys always win. They cheat a lot too. I never win.

2.The boys each had their own canvas , paintbrushes, and paints. They created their own drawing on each canvas. We ended up hanging them up in their rooms.

3. We made some flubber. It didn't quite turn out the way it was supposed to because there was an ingredient i didn't have. I tried to replace the ingredient with somehing else, but it didn't work. The boys had the idea to put some of this liquidy flubber in their own sandwich bag. They had fun squishing it all around in their baggies.

4. We cleaned the whole house. The boys didn't complain! Another shocker!

5. They spent the whole evening with Shane building and making forts. Shane bought some fort frames on amazon. The boys are always trying to make forts, but it can be kind of hard to make a good fort. So, shane surprised them last night with frames they could put together to make a legit fort. They played in it for a few hours last night and have been in it all this morning too.

The mood in our home was definitely a noticeable change today. The way they treated me was a very noticeable difference. I did try laying down to take a nap on the couch. The boys rarely let me sleep for long(Jaydon). While i was sleeping Jaydon came up and started rubbing his cheek on my cheek and then kissed my cheek. He kept doing that over and over. Finally, i woke with a smile and said to Jaydon, "You are so sweet. What are you doing?" He said, "I just felt like rubbing you and kissing you." hahaha! He cracks me up. Tanner and Jaydon kept kissing my cheek randomly throughout the day. 

I have a yucky cold right now. So,  yesterday they would randomly go get me some tissue for my nose, and i didn't even have to ask for it. One time Jaydon said, "Here's some tissue for your nose mom. If you need anymore i can go get you some."  They were sweet to me all day long. I loved it.

Mood changes:  Not whiney.  More loving. More happy. More giving. Obedient.

{Day Two Unplugged}

Day Two unplugged went good.  I think we spent most of our day playing games with each other. They are really into playing WAR right now(a card game i played a lot as a kid). 

They spent time covering our glass patio doors with drawings using window crayons. I think that was their favorite.

We went to the BX so they could buy a toy with some money they earned, and then we made cookies and ,of course, ate them.

They played outside with friends for about 30 minutes. Gavin spent a few hours over at his friend's Levi house. He is a good friend to Gavin and a good influence for him.

I made Jaydon lay down and take a nap this day because he was acting like he needed one.

We had to run to the grocery store. I needed some food for dinner because we were going to have some people over, but they ended up not being able to come.  I also was very in the mood for soup for lunch. Oh man, nothing has ever hit the spot like that soup did for me yesterday. Soooooo good.

It was another good day, with another day of great moods in our house. My kids have their moments, but these past two days ive seen great improvements in their attitudes and behaviors. BUT i must say, i have noticed that Tanner is getting more of an attitude lately. He usually isn't like that. I am wondering if its the middle child syndrome kicking in. He is acting like he is trying to fight for a voice. I usually hear him though. SO, i dont know. We will see.

Day two unplugged: Another success.

{Day One Unplugged}

Let me first start with some background information so you understand why we are doing what we are doing.

Anytime we let our boys watch cartoons, a movie, play their DS or play the Xbox it makes them, surprisingly, grumpy. If they play xbox or their DS they get grumpy at each other during the game.  After a movie is over or the cartoon is over they act really tired and grumpy. The behavior, as a result of those things, puzzled me. I didn't get it. I thought they should be happy since they were able to do something they really enjoy. Then I realized that maybe we should take those things away since they aren't bringing the right mood into our house.

Not only that, but i have often felt like we are getting further away from each other, in a sense, because of all these distractions.  We stop communicating and let the technology do the communicating. That's not right. Everyday i pray that i can improve and become a better mom and wife. I want nothing more than to be what my husband needs and what my children need. It's my number one priority, as it is for every mom and wife i'm sure. And sometimes i feel like i am not reaching my goal. And its frustrating. I have high expectations for myself. I don't beat myself up over failures, but i keep working until i finally figure it out. I feel like i should always be progressing, and if i am not a little better than the day or week before then i work on becoming better.  I had a voice whisper to me the other day telling me i can become the wife and mom i want to be. It's all up to me and the only person holding me back is ME. I know this, BUT it really hit me the other day. Sometimes trying to become who you want to be can be a hard and long journey, and sometimes you just don't feel ready for the journey and so you don't start. I think maybe that's where i was at, but not anymore. I feel ready for the journey. I am sure i will have some hills and bumps along the way. What is life without those hills and bumps? And storms, and mountains..... etc.

We are going completely unplugged for a whole month in our house. My MAIN goal is focusing on keeping the boys away from it during the day. No cartoons, movies, video games, nothing.  Soooo, you know what this means for me. I have to actually be a MOM. :) haha...

When we first told the boys our plan they were really upset, but then when i sat down with them and asked them what they want to do during the day, instead of watching something, they perked up and started naming things off. They actually seemed excited. It made me excited.  So, i found a lot of fun activity ideas online, i wrote them down, and we all went to the store today to buy all the things we need for our activities.

So, our first day unplugged went like this....

1. We went to the BX and also to the crafty store and bought all our fun supplies.
2. We went home and ate lunch with daddy.
3. We did a science experiment with ivory soap.
4. They built some fun shapes and designs with clothes pins.
5. We returned a library book, dropped off a gift to two ladies i know, and then went to the park.
6. We returned home and cleaned the house.(with no complaining! shocker! )
7. The boys made their own t-shirts by ironing on their own design that they drew with crayons.(Tanner had a melt down when his didn't turn out the way he hoped)
8. We made two catapults , and made a bet on which one could launch a marshmallow the furthest.
9. I had the boys help me make dinner. (I usually NEVER have them help me because i am OCD in the kitchen. I had them help and it went fine. I didn't spaz.)
10. We ate dinner.
11. The boys did my workout with me.
12. Then we ate popcorn while we played candy land.
13. They got showered up and brushed their teeth.
14. Played a game of war.
15. Lights out.

I must say, it was exhausting. I was very ready for them to hit the sack when 8:00 hit. BUT it was a good day. The mood in our home was a GOOD mood(success), especially Gavin's. He is the one i struggle with the most. I think i have found that he REALLY needs lots of time spent with his parents(one or both). That's his love language. When he gets the time he needs every single day then he is happy and content. When he isn't getting it then he can be fairly grumpy. But overall, today was a good first day. I am happy with the way it went. I hope i can do this for a whole month. I have to.  PLUS, they start school in 6 days. That helps me a bit. :) haha!

{Some things you just don't divulge}

But this time i am. Ever heard of the name Ed Bassmaster? If not, he is this guy that makes tons of youtube videos playing pranks on people.  I think he is hilarious. Some might not. haha! For some of his pranks he goes around NYC farting(fake farting of course) really loudly while he is standing RIGHT NEXT to people. So, he is basically farting on people. What i find hilarious is the reaction and look on the face of a person who is getting farted on. I die laughing. I mean, i get tears in my eyes and nearly pee my pants. Why is it so funny?!?! And when Ed does this to people he can keep a straight face. That's makes it even more hilarious. He has tons of other funny pranks, too. But this is one that makes us laugh the most.  Well, It just so happens that our boys watched one of those videos with us. :/

Now onto the next part of the story.

Last night for Family Home Evening we decided to go for a ride. It felt really nice outside and to get out with the windows down  letting the nice breeze in sounded wonderful. The boys wanted to roll the windows down and as we drive by people walking on the sidewalks they wanted to sing to the music really loudly so they could be heard. They think that's funny. We did that a few times. Shane can hook up his ipod to the car speakers so we can listen to his musicplaylist in the car. So anyway, then shane was like "what should we do now?"  Here it comes..... Gavin says "Lets go drive through the BX parking lot and play farts from the farting machine(an app on his ipod), with our windows down."  "You have GOT to be kidding me?", i say.   No. They aren't kidding. Shane even says, "That's a good idea Gavin! Smart thinking!!!" as if Gavin just came up with the smartest idea ever.

We arrive to the BX parking lot and i am thinking of all the things that could go wrong with this. I could see shane blasting a fart over the speaker right as we are passing by one of his patients. His patient would notice him and then suddenly be afraid to sit in his chair ever again. I really feared this for him. He didn't think twice about it. We did see a family from church, the Tryon family. We could have easily strolled by them and blasted the farts over the speaker, but luckily shane was smart in that moment and decided that would not be a good idea. Afterall, she is pregnant with twins and due within the month. Probably wouldn't be funny to her.

Shane was driving as slow as a snail when we passed by people in the parking lot blasting these farts. As if the loud blasting farts wasn't good enough, he had to make sure these people could study our faces as we are doing it. That way when all these people see our faces again they will remember us as the people in the farting van. I kept saying "Why are you driving so slow?!"

I was horrified inside, BUT at the same time i couldn't stop laughing. I was laughing so hard that it hurt. And nearly peed my pants. Shane wasn't embarassed at all. Some of the things he gets embarassed about and does not get embarassed about completely boggles my mind. He slugged by these people pressing the fart machine button over and over and over again. The boys were dying laughing. Really. It WAS hilarious.  BUT at what cost?!

I am just thinking to myself "WHAT are we teaching our boys from this?!!?" It can't be anything good. I mean, we did get a few laughs out of people when they heard it, but that's it. Are we teaching them to be rude and obnoxious?

It all started over a year ago when Mandi, his sister, was here visiting us. We would drive around Okinawa, and shane would start singing opera-ish "Konnichiwa!!!" He got quite a few looks from the japanese. I mean, it really was hilarious......But ever since then our kids try sticking their heads out the window, when they see people on the sidewalk, and try "singing" to them....its more like screaming. And now they have taken this a HUGE step further with the farting thing. It makes me nervous for whats to come. Very nervous. I would like to put a stop to it, but if shane and all three boys are on board with it then my voice of disapproval is kind of like a distant sound that you hear but don't give any thought to.

So, some things you just shouldn't divulge. This seems to be something i shouldn't tell anyone. Afterall, WHO does that?!?! When have you ever gotten a response "We drove around the parking lot and blasted farting noises" when you asked a family what they did for their FHE activity?! NOBODY does that. Well, except for us.