The Antidote to TV

Well, it's officially been over a week without TV. Let me rephrase that, I am guilty of waking up one morning at 4am and watching Hell's Kitchen. And I'm paying for it...TV is like crack, once you quit cold turkey, you can't go back. It get better every day, though.

So what have we been doing with ourselves instead?

Library - I was shocked and amazed when we first went to the library last week. It's like Ali Baba's cave, full of knowledge and entertainment, but long forgotten. They have a summer reading club for both kids and adults. How about a whole wall full of books on CD? Free DVD's? Seminars? You can even log in from home and reserve books, or get put on the waiting list for one of the more popular books. We're making library time a weekly event. And it's something that Andrew looks forward to.

Exercise - Yesterday was a first for me. I hooked up the drag-along carrier, plunked Andrew in it, and rode to Meijer to shop. We got to take advantage of some great clothing clearances (thanks Beth!) on winter items for next year. Unfortunately the exercise front is going to be limited to that for a few days...Andrew is limping about and we see the doctor about it today.

Playing with Andrew - This is hands-down my favorite. I have this amazing kid, and regretfully I was too absorbed in TV to notice. We have so much fun now, with board games, books, and playing outside. He's a little sponge, always soaking up knowledge. We talk about everything now, and I marvel in his preschool wisdom.

You know, we were paying about $2.50 per day for the "privilege" of having the talking box steal our life. I can't tell you how liberating it is to be without it. Try it yourself, maybe with a TV-free day. Let me know how it works for you.