The TV Challenge continues whether I like it or not. Click HERE to read about the start of the TV Challenge and HERE to find out what happened in week 1.
What was I thinking when I decided limiting TV for the entire month of July would be a fun idea? I work part-time, am raising kids full-time, and have a blogging schedule. Oh, yeah, I forgot one other activity. I have an intense divorce schedule. And of course there are the occasional emotional breakdowns related to the divorce as well. The first blog post title related to this challenge was a foreshadowing: Competitiveness breeds Stupidity. I realize that I am really stupid; I already had plenty of challenges this summer without adding a TV challenge.
The second week of the challenge was fairly successful until I had a divorce-process crisis and then, well, I lost any ability to limit TV viewing. The kids were willing to take full advantage of the fact that mom’s alter ego, TV Nazi, disappeared for a day.
We had one bad day that wrecked the challenge for the entire week, but I did try to recover. Yesterday was a great day. The kids had camp during the day and Princess Daisy had tennis lessons late afternoon. Last evening Princess Daisy helped me make dinner while Monkey built a fabulous Lego car. We played card games after dinner too. We slipped one day, which affected our TV time logged for the week, but we are recovering nicely.
This one day lapse has affected my score in this challenge. Alex at Late Enough has pulled slightly ahead as a result. However, the price of this momentary victory is costing Alex; she is slowly losing her mind. Dental hygiene has slipped. Alex is posting photos of herself tearing her hair out. She is blogging about therapy.
And the saddest update: Alex ran away from home last night. Just when I was ready to send my kids to Alex’s house, I see a tweet from her stating she ran away from home. Alex mentioned in a follow-up tweet that she might have to go home if her laptop battery died. Which is a tip-off that Alex is really losing her mind. She should have made a trip to an Apple store to buy what she needed to continue on her adventure away from home. She didn’t think of that. Which tells me something about her mental state.
Yes, Alex is winning midway through this challenge. But pray for her people. I am not sure she will survive the rest of the month. Which gives me a chance to pull ahead again.
When we finish this July challenge, my son told me he has the next challenge ready for the family: Mom has 30 minutes a day on her laptop. The Smart-ass adorable son was told that won’t be happening. EVER.
Next week is going to be incredibly difficult. Maybe impossible. We are going away with AC and her kids. Two kids participating (against their will, of course) in a TV challenge and two allowed to watch TV without a timer set. In the same house. With TV’s in the bedrooms. I am not sure what I will be reporting next week. If I do continue in my TV Nazi role, AC will benefit. Her kids will be so kind to AC and appreciative that she is their mother (instead of me). AC: You are welcome. In advance.
Comments
9 responses to “Television Challenge: Week 2”
Love this.
We didn’t’ have a TV for a long time after the separation from their dad so they had to be creative about how to spend their time. Now that we do have a TV, I try to limit it to about an hour a day. Or at MOST an hour and a half.
And yeah, I’ve heard the same comments about limiting computer time.
I’ll try that… some day.
LOL! I love you already… I think I clicked over from Twitter and I’m definitely going to be following you. Great writing and, most importantly, you sound just as crazed as me. Just finalized divorce in December, one kid in college and three smalls at home – ages 6, 5 and 3. Since TV restrictions had been the norm I wouldn’t have thought to enter the challenge although I have noticed the children taking it upon themselves to slip in the Disney VHS that used to be their sister’s. And I, chained to my laptop, let them.
Good luck with the challenge. I hope everyone makes it out intact and sane. :-)
T: Thanks! This has been difficult.
Petula: Welcome to my blog! I am so glad you found me. If my son makes me take the computer challenge, you have to join with me.
Here’s the good news: we survived. Limited TV (sort of) in the midst of illnesses and divorce and kitchen fires and disappearing mothers. Our kids made it through, we made it through and we try it again the next seven days.
Or you can help me come up with equally as torturous Challenges for L8enough for August. Y’know to get back at her and all. : )
Thanks for doing this, it makes it easier knowing I’m not the only crazy/determined mother out there.
Kellie: Alex LOVES her iPhone. I think we convince her to give up her iPhone for the month of August and then send her the iPhone 4. That would be EVIL!
I love my iPhone and I’m already turning it off from 5:30-7:30. Do you people HATE me? (Although I did find this post hilarious. And I TOTALLY get thinking: hmmm, why am I so keen on making my life so FREAKING DIFFICULT!)
Love this post. Although I hate when things that I plan to be good for the kids (like no TV) turn out to be really hard on me. Hate that. I need to think these things through more thoroughly before speaking.
At our house? And hour a day in front of the television.
The exception? Trips longer than 90 minutes in the car. My younger daughter is an intolerable car companion, and so we let her watch a movie on the minivan’s DVD player.
She loves road trips now. Although she has no awareness of the road.
At all.
Me and wife canceled cable and we all thought we were going to die. My 10 year old cried about not being able to watch cartoon network and my 5 year old was mad for a week. That is sad. We obviously made the right decision. I miss TRU TV though. My wife misses the Food Network. But my kids watch good cartoons now on PBS.
It all worked out,
Brian M. Connole
i-Blogger and The HCG Diet 411 Blog
[…] was that Monkey is right; we do need a challenge for mommy in the next month. I can’t agree to 30 minutes a day of laptop time as he suggested. Since I am working hard to build this blog, Twitter and Facebook are part of my […]