Eric's Letter to Twins

Here's a little letter Eric wrote the twins when they were first born. Eric was in 1st grade.

I came across it while cleaning out my files tonight. It is amazing what I can accomplish with no tv and my husband in Colombia!

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Eagle Project

Eric is wrapping up his Eagle Project. We came up with approximately $538 when we calculated the donations. We turned them over to the VA today. What a good feeling to finish this up before starting high school next week.

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Breakfast in Bed

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Twins Are So Cute

I read an article today about how a family hit the jackpot with 2 sets of twins. I am not sure that's how I would describe 2 sets, but definitely 1 set!

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No TV, Day 1

Mario has been begging for years to be a tv-free family. But I always fight him on it because I like the news and I like sitting down to watch some movies and shows with the kids. We use Clearplay for all of our movies, so I try to justify that it is ok because all our movies are edited. Well, a couple weeks ago, I woke up about 4 am and I came downstairs and found Erin up watching tv. Then last night, I woke up about 11:30 and was surprised to hear the tv on downstairs. Eric couldn't sleep. Both times, the kids were watching "Seventh Heaven." So it could have been worse, but when I am sleeping, I expect my kids to be asleep also and not watching tv (or reading) in the middle of the night.

Well, I did something to make Mario happy this morning. I put away all the antennas (we don't even have cable) and the DVD players. I left the wii because I do have a lot of appointments and other things to do this week that will require the kids to be home alone. But I put a one hour limit on the games and they have to play together. Meaning, they don't each have an hour on it a day. One hour total the wii can be on while I am not home. Of course, the computer is always password protected while I am gone.

So I expected my kids to go through some electronic withdrawals. I know it is only day 1, but so far so good. We swam, rode bikes, played lots of games and enjoyed an electronic-free house today. The big kids are up now making up lots of weird games with a punching balloon and the water from the refrigerator door. I have no idea what they are doing, but at least they are having fun and getting along.

I have friends who only bring out the DVD player for family movie night or date night with their husband. I am seriously thinking about doing this in my house. Fortunately, Mario is very supportive. I may be the one in the family with most severe withdrawals. The kids go back to school next week so they will be too busy for tv anyway. But I will be home alone all day and without tv, I may be forced to actually accomplish some work around the house!

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Glow Stick

This is what Erin was using as her light source for reading her Kindle after she was sent to bed...to go to sleep. She must be desperate to read if she is willing to use this. I purposely didn't buy her a light for the kindle and I don't lend her mine because I don't want her reading after bedtime.

I busted her when I went to kiss her goodnight. Her covers were slightly glowing. She tried to quickly cover the glow with a stuffed animal, but was too late. I look forward to reading my blog with my grandchildren one day and telling about all about their mom's shenanigans...I won't feel a bit sorry for Erin when she complains to me that her kids won't go to bed on time or when they wake up grumpy the next day.

But, Mario always reminds me that there are worse things that our kids could be doing besides reading after bedtime. I guess I agree.

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Colombia and Dominican Republic

I had to say say goodbye early this morning to Mario. He is going to Colombia for a week. He'll fly back one day to spend with the family and then he is flying out to Dominican for another week. Before his deployment, these small trips were not a big deal, but now it is hard to say goodbye because it reminds me of the morning he deployed.

I was surprised he was coming back for one day. I thought he should just fly to Miami and visit his family there. But he insists on coming home. It is a lot of traveling and I know he will be exhausted. But then I realized that he will be home on Sunday night to give the kids back to school blessings since they start school the next morning, July 18. He will be able to drop off Erin, Nathan, and Zachary for their first day before he heads to the airport. High school doesn't start until that Friday, so I have a few days to spend with just Eric. I always look forward to one-on-one time with each of my kids.

These small trips aren't so bad. Plus they are a great time for him to practice his Spanish.


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