Staying Home

My sweetness.

As excited as I was to start the Christmas break and take a much-needed mental siesta from thinking about school, knowing I was about to become a stay at home mom again, if only for two weeks, had me filled with just a wee bit of apprehension. Staying at home is hard, ya'll.

But the good news is, things have been awesome. Violet has been so sweet running errands with me, provided there are enough snacks in the car. She's napping like a champ, allowing me an afternoon cup of coffee with my feet up. She is playing independently, even if it means dragging toys into the bathroom so she can keep me company while I shower.

One of the big pitfalls I've been determined to avoid is the tv trap. Violet doesn't watch too much tv during week. There are none at daycare, and we're too busy with dinner and bath and bed in the evenings to turn it on. Weekends are another story. Usually she gets to eat lunch at her little table while Sesame Street is on. No biggie, it happens, it's just on weekends, I'm not too worried. But knowing we'd be home for two weeks over the break, I wanted to make sure I didn't start building any habits. And here's the real problem... I want to watch tv! Which means Violet watches what I watch. So turning it off for her also means depriving myself of all the shows I've been saving up on the DVR. Ah, the sacrifices we make. The good news is, the tv has stayed off for the most part. I've been squeezing in my holiday movies (it wouldn't be Christmas without Love Actually) in the evenings after Violet goes to sleep. And it hasn't really been too difficult.

It's amazing how media conscious today's children are. No screen time is recommended until children are two years old, but we blew that out of the water so fast it's not even funny. The girl knows my phone holds home movies and she demands to watch herself go down the slide whenever she catches sight of the device. She'll probably have her own cell phone by the time she's three. And did you know they make iPad-style tablets for kids that are just as expensive as the adult versions. Ridiculous! But there's no stopping progress, I guess. Still, Santa will be bringing Violet a nice, old-fashioned, non-electronic toy this year - perhaps the last year we can get away with it!