i love tv. i LOVE tv! I.LOVE.TV!!!!!
there. i've said it...admitted what causes me no small amount of shame...hello, my name is amy and i'm addicted to tv. more specifically, i am addicted to the tv being on...i don't necessarily sit around all day watching tv...but the tv is on ALL. DAY. it is company...a constant noise that every once in a while will catch my attention, i'll watch for a few minutes, and then it's back to the task at hand. yes, i do DO things...my house is not a mess (in fact, quite the opposite...come on over and use my bathroom...i won't be embarrassed)...the dishes are done, the beds are made, the kids are fed, bathed, and most days clothed. tv doesn't keep me from being productive...it keeps me company.
i love to hear paula deen prattling on about butter in her southern drawl...i love to hear the neely's banter back and forth in their most flirtatious way as they make the most delicious looking ribs...i love to see which house the house hunters choose, how the wedding/birthday cake looks when it's finished, and what happens to the poor stupid teenage girl when her boyfriend realizes that HE can leave and she's left to raise her baby on her own.
last week i was feeling especially guilty about the tv being on so much...i decided one morning to NOT turn the tv on...i got jackson his milk and began to feed zoey...when jackson starts making the "please" sign and pointing to the tv. uh-oh. when i tell him "no, we're not going to watch tv this morning", there was an actual fit pitched...and that was it for me. no doubt about it, my addiction was now affecting my very impressionable one year old...crap.
i know exactly what must be done...DO NOT want to do it...but i must...break up...with the tv. it won't be a complete departure...we'll still be friends...it just has to be the end (or the limitation) of a very unhealthy addiction/obsession.
SO...
in an effort to watch LESS tv/keep the tv off, i've been trying to think of things to do and ways to replace the temptation that tv is to me...and now is to jackson...(oh, the sins of the mother!)...
cleaning...already do that
reading...could be tough to do with two little ones, but i LOVE to read. another embarrassing confession--i read with the tv on...i know--WHY?!!
crafting/decorating...not practical or necessary in my current situation
cooking...um, no thank you--i like to watch other people doing it--for me, it should remain a spectator activity
exercising...YES, definitely will be doing that when the weather warms up
blogging...yeah, i could probably keep things more current without having to post THREE months of pictures in one day
listening to music...YES!!!
jackson loves music...dances to EVERY commercial and theme song he hears...
***SO embarrassing***
(this is jackson listening to the ipad commercial...about twenty times...because we have a dvr and can rewind tv...his FAVORITE commercial--a one year old should not have a favorite commercial...if you watch long enough, you will see him begin to pitch a fit because we do not want to rewind it ONE MORE TIME)
why not listen to REAL music? why not listen to music that edifies? learn to count, learn the ABCs, learn "school-ish" stuff? OR what about all those sunday school songs...yeah, that would be good...cause they're about Jesus...and what's more important than learning about Jesus?!!
the songs that came to mind are the "hide em' in your heart" songs that steve green put out many, many years ago...the bible verse songs...would be good for jackson...and for his mommy who has such a difficult time prioritizing scripture memorization. found them this morning...on itunes...and...no offense, steve green, but if i have to listen to those songs all day, every day i'll go crazy. so itunes, being ever-so-helpful, suggested some other albums i might like and i found...
these are songs that i can actually listen to without wanting to pull my eardrums out. maybe you've already heard of them...they're super great...several different volumes...the website is linked below...
so, replacing some tv time with scripture memorization and worship is a good place to start...but by no means the end to my quest to occupy my time with something other than the boob tube...
these are songs that i can actually listen to without wanting to pull my eardrums out. maybe you've already heard of them...they're super great...several different volumes...the website is linked below...
