Well....I'm 30....

So today I turn 30. I feel as if I should set some goals. You know that New Year feeling. What do I need to work on, what doesn't feel right, etc. I'm sure they will fall by the wayside but whatever. It feels right now.

Most of what feels wrong in my life is the amount of time I spend on the Internet, the amount of time I spend yelling, the amount of time my kids watch t.v., and the way I feel like the day was not well spent when it's time to go to sleep. The last feeling is clearly related to the presence of all the others.

Because all of my time spent on the Internet finding lovely quotes, I give you these...

How ironic, that I want to live by these (up), yet I'm on the Internet reading it.

Excuse the language on this next one, but it is exactly the person I do not want to be!

On unschooling...

As unschoolers I have to be careful that we do not sit around watching t.v. and browsing the Internet all day (the Internet is just as good at wasting our time as t.v.). Otherwise, we are putting our children in a similar situation as the public schools would.....isolating them from real life. This is my fear. I'm not saying give up the Internet as it is the only community of like minded individuals I have and I think sharing is very powerful. I just have to set rules and follow them. With the baby, I have to sit down and hold him a lot and at those times I get on our stupid little touchpad my husband bought. This means I am always online! Then when he falls asleep and I can put him down, I've found something to read online and I continue instead of getting up and doing something....I need to throw the touchpad in the trash.

I guess it boils down to....



My goals:

Internet first thing in the morning with my coffee and at night when the kids are allowed to watch t.v.

No t.v. during the day.

At night, make a list of possible activities to do the following day and then capitalize upon Mirek and Taven's naps. Do activities that would be impossible or near impossible with them awake at that time. Do not get on the Internet!

At night, make a list of what I have ingredients to cook the following day.

At night, clean the house so I have time for other things the next day.

Morning storytime as a group (despite the kids fighting during it) and individual storytime with each child at night (take turns).

Friday game night and Saturday movie night. 

Try and be a more peaceful parent. I yell like a damn crazy person! I try to stop and think about it, but I get so fed up sometimes (a lot of the time) and I can't help it. I'm trying to find out ways to help my kids do less of what drives me crazy (yelling and hitting each other, whining, throwing crap all over the floor and leaving it, not listening the first time I tell them something and having to repeat myself 100 times, etc.) and hoping that helps. I think getting off of the computer and spending more time physically playing with them will lessen my frustration.

Join the Homeschool co-op for my area. They don't start meeting again until September but I'm hoping that I can meet some like minded parents so that my whole social life is not internet based. Oh yeah, and maybe the kids could participate in some fun activities.

And the final goal...I want to purchase a place with land. I'm setting the goal at 5 years. You can check out my About Me page to find out more. I updated it a bit to include a "homesteading" section. I've thought about what we could do to save money and I came up with the idea that I would watch my niece Abigail starting in August while my sister works. I will put away all the money I make from that. Also, we receive a fairly large tax return every year and we could put away a large portion of that. Hopefully, that will be enough.

The homestead is the key to all of my worries here. It will provide real work for us to do, real land for us to walk out to every morning. We will not be cooped up in this house in the suburbs with our laughable yard yearning for something better (a lot of my pinterest quotes have to do with making the best of what we have, living happily with what we have, etc., but I can't help wanting a real working homestead). I know I can't waste away this time here and that is why I am trying so hard to provide my children and myself with a life beyond gadgetry and media. To unplug us just a bit more...and no I cannot get rid of the t.v. or my husband would have major soccer withdrawals.

Well that's it! Happy birthday to me! I will work on these aspects of our lives with all I've got. Wish me luck!