Monthly Archives: March 2012

Five Question Friday

Posted on March 2, 2012 | 2 comments

Wow… that’s all I have to say about this week. Glad it’s the weekend (almost) and glad for a girl’s night out tonight with some of my most favorite people! Super glad to have had MOPS yesterday. And glad for a chance to get to love on some people today. Glad my dad had a birthday (leap year “baby”) this week. Glad that God is gracious and good, no matter the hardships we face and the snitty behavior we display. Glad for good friends who feel like family, and family that feels like friends. Glad to be back on the exercise bandwagon – 62 minutes last night. Glad my husband gets to hang out with some new friends tomorrow night. Glad for productive days at work. Glad for new shoes from Target. What are you glad for?

1. Where is your favorite vacation spot and why?
Place I would go over and over again because I love the people I see when I’m there: Texas or Australia
Place I would go because it’s beautiful but I don’t know anyone: Colorado
Place I would go for a weekend trip with my husband, without kids: Northern Michigan or Chicago
Place I would go for a weekend trip with my girlfriends: Chicago
Place I would go with friends, without kids: Las Vegas

2. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
Food: Baked goods and jelly beans
Beverage: Iced Americanos with Hazelnut syrup
TV show: Vampire Diaries
Time waster: Twitter and Pinterest

3. What is your favorite fashion trend right now? Or, in the past?
Current: Yellow with gray; bold pops of color; ballet flats [though I feel like any of those could no longer be current, but I’m going with them]
Past: All-Star tennis shoes, band t-shirts and flannel shirts (I was a wannabe alterna-teen back in the day, but I probably liked to wash my hair too much).

4. What are your spring break plans?
Growing up we went to Texas every spring break; before kids, we did nothing. Now that Liam’s in school it just occurred to me that he has spring break yesterday afternoon, hadn’t even given it a thought. Considering our vacation funds and time off were all used up by Jan. 19 of this year, I’d say that for this year we have no plans. And probably won’t do anything too exciting until Jack is in school as well. But I will plan some play dates and Liam will get to have a daddy morning with Simon for a movie and lunch while Jack is at daycare.

5. What baby names do you hate?
I’m not stupid enough to be too specific, because what if one of my friends LOVES that particular name? And there really isn’t one that I hate, per se, though if pushed, I’d say the stupid people who named their kid Espn (after the network). One that I would never pick for us is Benjamin (because our last name is Bennett); Simon suggested this name when we were pregnant with Liam and I at first didn’t put it together that our child would be Ben Bennett (evil) but was not sold on the name because I had known too many Bens. He still laughs about that.

Linking up with Mama M for Five Question Friday!

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Posted in Five Question Friday

Things I Love Thursday… Technology and Parenting

Posted on March 1, 2012 | 2 comments

Though Jill’s not doing it anymore, I have a Things I Love Thursday post in me so I’m just going to write it anyway.

I have to say I love technology and the role it plays in our parenting. Try as I may, I cannot get my kids to play with their toys all day, or to sit quietly the entire time we are in a restaurant or waiting to see a doctor and sometimes, once dinner is done and we’re approaching bedtime but not quite there yet, I just need a 30-minute break to get me through the witching hour. You can judge me all you want (though really, I know you all do it, too) but I do not at all mind saying we use the technology at our disposal to entertain our kids when our resources are tapped.

We are that family in the restaurant whose children are watching YouTube videos and playing Angry Birds on our smart phones and I’ll make no apologies for that because my kids eat a balanced diet (even if I have to sneak things in) so if they are more interested in our phones than the food, so be it. I do not expect a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old to sit perfectly behaved for an hour in a restaurant and the phones keep them quiet and from getting down to run around. We still go out to eat because it is a treat for us after a long week of not seeing each other, it’s nice to get out of the house together but not be paying a babysitter. The only requirement we have is that they have chicken nuggets/fingers/fries of some sort because then Jack will happily eat; but WiFi is also appreciated.

We are also that family, or I should say, I am that mother, who lets her kids zone out on technology in the evenings to give herself a break. Simon’s home with the kids three mornings a week and they are more than happy to play by themselves and be entertained without much adult interaction (not all the time, but it’s more likely to happen in the mornings) but by the time the afternoon and evening rolls around and I’m home with them, this is less likely to happen. They’ve had enough of each other and are more prone to fighting (well, this happens pretty much all the time because they are both stubborn and well, boys). And I’m all for playing with my kids but sometimes other things need to be done like laundry, dinner-prep, working out and emptying the dishwasher. And sometimes I just can’t read another book, build another Lego thing or listen to them shooting at each other, and we all need to retreat to our separate corners. Liam gets to get his aggressions out by shooting things up on the Wii, Jack turns his focus to an episode of Yo, Gabba Gabba (or Gava, Gava as he calls it) or Dora, headphones in place and I’m busy with whatever I’m doing. Everyone is happy for a little while.

My name is Michelle, and I use technology in my parenting arsenal and I love it. (I also use bungee cords with wild abandon.)

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Posted in Life in general, Parenting