A Simpson Family Miracle

For about 3 years, I have fought with Parker for several hours each night about bedtime. We've tried everything. We stick to a schedule, we give stickers if he can stay in bed, we put him back in bed if he gets out without talking to him (thanks nanny Jo), I read books, I sing songs. We've tried begging, pleading, crying, screaming, everything I can think of, but tonight a miracle happened. While we were eating supper, Parker said to Jason and I, "I'm tired, I'm going to bed." I just looked at him as if he was joking and sure enough, he went up to his room, got in bed and was asleep by 7:00. What can I contribute this sudden change to? I wish I could say my brillant parenting, but alas it was something so simple, I can barely take credit for it. Yesterday, I unhooked the cable from the TV. No one in our house is allowed to watch TV. Parker spent all day playing instead of just sitting. Surprisingly, Parker isn't the only one experiencing changes because of the lack of TV. Today, I've unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, washed, dried and folded laundry, pulled weeds in the front yard, emptied all of the trash in the house, and spent 8.5 hours at work. I wish I'd shut the TV off years ago....

Starting my blog

Like I don't have enough that I already don't get done, I've decided to start a blog. I feel like everything is moving so fast. It seems like yesterday that Parker was saying his first word and now he is telling me the difference between questions and statements. It seems like Riley was just coming home from the hospital with us and now he runs faster than I can. I'm hoping that this will help me slow things down a little and enjoy my boys while they are boys and be able to look back on everything and smile.

This is a picture of the boys before going to daycare for school pictures. As my mom always said, ignore the background.