no gilmore girls for me this week

Garrett's school encourages us to participate in the annual "No TV Week". It is a great excuse for us to do some things we don't normally do. Last night we worked on a new paint by numbers (a cool rocketship picture). Garrett learned to blow a bubble with his gum! This is a huge feat for any kid - and he has been trying for awhile. He and I had a burping contest - he won but I came close. (Yes Mom, I told him that when you come to visit today that if we burp we have to just say 'excuse me'. No whooping & hollering, no victory dances). Another highlight was that he & I spent a ton of time taking turns reading poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends. That was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. In 2004 they published a 30th Anniversary edition (which I gave him for Christmas that year). It is really satisfying to sit with him & read these poems that meant so much to me when I was a kid. Most of the poems are pretty silly but a few are sad (remember the one with the kid who collects all sorts of things & people just call it junk). Then Garrett & I talked about how poems can be happy or sad, serious or silly or anything in between.


I am a realist & I know that completely giving up TV won't work (Garrett & I both like it too much) but not watching it this week is a good reminder to save time for the rest of things that go on in life. (And before you tisk tisk me, TV watching is limited on both how much & what shows Garrett can watch. We read together most every night. Do homework together & usually take a walk together each night besides bike riding, card playing, lego building, park exploring & the like). So there...
And even after Garrett goes to bed, I feel like I need to stick with the no TV plan as well. No Gilmore Girls or Dodger games for me this week. When Garrett goes to his Dad's this weekend all bets are off though. Bring on The Sopranos & Big Love. I do not have TiVo (I know, how do I survive?) so I am at the mercy of airdates.