The kids are back! Where did they go? Well nowhere physically. However I can feel their sweetness return again. I go in and out of cycles with my kids of joy and frustration. I just spent the last few days joining the cycle of joy again. I hope to stay there too it is way more fun! Though I know there will be days…

The TV bit the dust (figuratively). It was very nice to have simplicity on the forefront of my mind as I unplugged the TV. Two whole days. Well it was a start anyway. I spent two days detoxing my almost four year old from morning cartoons (while Mommy gets ready for the day) and mid-morning cartoon (while Mommy puts Molly down for a nap) and an afternoon movie (while Mommy gets quiet time during Molly’s second nap).

The hardest part was admitting I was getting sucked back into a TV = Babysitter mode that I used while Molly was a newborn (last summer). Back then I really was okay with that lifestyle because I needed to do what ever it took to function and I knew it would be short lived.

So to break in down. I sought TSP out to help gear my motives in child-rearing, life-learning and house-keeping into a healthy and happy direction.

3 Steps in Keeping it Real, Real Simple.

1. Good Food: I hopped on board with Meal Planning Mondays, grocery shopped with healthy snacks in mind and started giving a mid-morning snack and an afternoon snack with water or milk. I filled their bellies with yummy food that helped keep their energy even-keeled.
2. Good Company: No dishes, laundry, blogging, emailing alone or at all for that matter. I focused on kid time, fun activities and lots of books. It does make for a long night of catching up but putting off the daily grind for daily dialog is welcome in my home anytime.
3. Good Rest: Ryan took afternoon naps again. I am not sure how this happened. I am grateful for the peace in the house during the one hour in the afternoon that he overlapped rest time with Molly’s nap.