Pulling the Plug

By Tuesday evening, I had had enough.  It wasn't a terrible day, but it certainly didn't feel like a happy, productive day.  Will begged to watch TV the moment he came downstairs, and I gave in, hoping to get something accomplished.  It seemed like that had become the norm: Will whining at the television until he was greeted by Woody & Buzz, Lightning McQueen, or Curious George.

And I just couldn't take it anymore.  So when Grant got home, he kindly complied with my wishes and removed the TV from the wall.  Hah.  After all the work of installing the floating stand and the Wall Blade, (which we love), I've gotta give Grant mad props for not complaining about taking it all down so soon.

Don't be too quick to pin us as television haters.  We love to watch movies, and a handful of good shows, and of course, HGTV, (Property Brothers is the current fave).  Not to mention, I'm a big fan of sitting Will down in front of a show so that I can make dinner, work out, or take a shower.   But it just seemed like Will was missing opportunities to play because the television was always right in front of him.  It was easier to watch TV than to play with cars or dinosaurs or read his books.  And it was easier for me to turn on the TV than to sit down and play with my sweet baby cakes.

So we've unplugged.  And it feels good.  Will was a little shocked when he first saw the wall yesterday morning.

He reached toward the TV like he normally does, as if I could magically make Wreck-It Ralph appear on the wall...  And when I told him it was broken he said, "No," as clear as crystal (a rarity at this stage of his development.)  Mr. Grumpy Gills...

And then, he realized that a show wouldn't be coming, and he moved on with his life.  Oh, and he gave me this cheesy grin.  Cutest.

Now, we're not going totally cold turkey on electronics.  He still gets to play with the iPad and watches a few videos on the computer, but hopefully we've eliminated the zombie-stare-at-the-TV-syndrome for a while.

And hopefully, we'll find a few more moments to reconnect with the importance of true play.

We Built This City on Wheat and Ore...

We've had a few chances to break in our new, awesome, ginormous farmhouse table.  The first occasion (of course) was a game of Settlers.  No better way to christen a table than with my new favorite song "We Built This City on Wheat & Ore," (sung to the tune of Jefferson Starship's classic 80's hit, "We Built This City.")

Since then, we've updated the table a bit.  I found the gold bowl in the Ikea As-Is section for $4.  It is supposed to be a sort of table, and came with a big metal stand that was broken.  I knew I just wanted the bowl, so the broken stand didn't phase me.  (If you haven't shopped in the as-is section at Ikea, you need to!  They sell floor models, extra random things, and broken/returned items there for cheap, cheap, cheap.)

We've also dropped the chandelier so that it hangs right over the table.  You can't tell in this picture, but it's not centered over the table... A little annoying, but not a big deal at this point.  We'll definitely be updating that chandelier eventually.  Whether we'll replace it or just paint it is still up in the air.

And then we've added these cherry-esque stained chairs.  They're loaners from one of our friends who doesn't have room for them at his place.  We have yet to finish the Ikea chairs we've halfway-stained... and we still plan to build a bench for one side.

Now would someone remind dear old Mother Nature that it is May 1st?!  It should not be snowing... especially because my car has been kicked out of the garage by the great cabinet takeover...