There comes a time...

In every parent's life when you have to put your foot down.

I might as well never take them off the floor, I have so many strong opinons on so many things--it's hard to get all my baggage up in the morning.

But this post is about TELEVISON (If TV is your best friend & you can't imagine life without it, turn away now) and the crazy crap it brings into our homes.
Serial killers? on at least 4 different channels. More if you have cable.
Mysogynistic music videos? Plenty of those.
General cruelties that only humans can inflict upon each other because animals aren't that imaginative? In SPADES.

So I have limited the "appropriate" TV channels to 2. PBS and Disney.
And do you know what I have learned?
I don't like Disney.

I liked the movies growing up, but viewed from this angle they seem to have some pretty heavy ideas regarding gender roles and occupations.
I don't know about you, but last time I scoured the want ads nobody was looking to hire a "Princess". (Actual EMPLOYMENT, not partners in kinky sex escapades)

From watching the line up of Disney shows, it is clear that the scripts aren't written by people with impressionable children in their homes. Many of the plotlines involve hiding things from Mom and Dad. Awesome. Let's implant THAT idea into the heads of America's youth. How about we focus on the virtues of resourcefulness & honesty & creativity?

Maybe this is why my parents house only had 1 TV and no cable.

Well done, Mom & Dad.

We have blocked a number of "kid" channels, and have set timers on how long the TV can be on. I know it's winter & it's cold outside, but eeesh. Adrian asks for new toys all the time & I am not inclined to get him any if he's not going to use the ones he's got. We have art supplies, a dress-up bin to kill for, toys, and books. He has more than enough to keep him occupied.

Spring Break is the last week of March. And it's going to be very nearly TV free.

A confession

I don't know if this makes me a closet hippie, or if it's just an outward manifestation of my own personal religious beliefs, but every time I hear Joel Salatin speak I find myself yelling "yeah!" and "that's right!". And then I take my hypocritical bottom to the store and buy whatever produce is on sale.
I don't know if you've noticed, but it's February. Which means that the produce is mostly from last season, has been sitting in a chill chest and is quite frankly disappointing beyond words.

To that end, I have decided to sign us up for a CSA. That's Community Supported Agriculture, friends.

I have researched my options (thanks, interwebs!) and I have narrowed it down to a CSA that delivers to a place about 10 minutes from my front door. This particular CSA allows you to buy SEASONAL shares, so I will be signing up for spring & fall, and still enjoying my local farmer's market in the summer. They also have eggs. From chickens raised like chickens and not like robots. I am really excited to be partaking in a system that supports local business people, heals the earth, and puts healthy food on my table.
(But I am still shaving my armpits, which should disqualify me from full hippie status)

It's 18 degrees.

While walking to school this morning, Adrian says: wow! It's so warm out, I can smell spring coming!

last week

Last week it snowed a bit. The official total was 20 inches, but with the drifts (and my aversion to the cold) I didn't venture out to measure.
Adrian was able to go out and tromp around a bit, thanks to his snowshoes. I made snowshoes for Fiona but she didn't grasp the marching-instead-of-walking aspect and wound up tangled & frustrated. She tried to navigate the snow, but it was nearly waist-deep and gave up.

We baked and made valentines. On Blizzard Night we lost power for 6 hours. The house was remarkable at staying warm. I suspect if the wind had not been blowing at 45 MPH it would have stayed warm for quite a while.

The dog was baffled, but has since overcome her distaste and is using Adrian's snowshoe trails to circumnavigate the yard.

And Fiona helped in the kitchen. I love the enthusiasm of little people when it comes to preparing foodstuffs.

To get around in the snowy blizzard, Fiona says we need a giant squirrel wearing snow shoes to ride on.