Banned!

With the completion of their scheduled summer activities, the kids have taken quite a shine to the various screens here in the house (i.e. computer, television, Wii, etc.) and they're slowly but surely putting down roots. This, combined with the generally wet and cool summer we've been having has lead to some drastic steps now that the weather has finally turned into summer.

At 10am I ban the kids from the house. They have to go outside and stay outside until lunchtime (Noon) and are free to spend their time observing nature, playing with their friends, playing with each other, or just running around like maniacs.

I provide them with snacks and drinks on a regular basis so I know they're not suffering from the exercise PLUS I get to control just what they're eating and drinking. As with nearly every household, we've got snacks around here and the kids are very good at figuring out how to get their hands on those snacks instead of eating balanced meals.

Yesterday was our first day of this new routine and it went well. They were out for two hours, came in for lunch, went back out and played with their friends, and then Laura had Mad Science camp from 1:30 to 4:00. When I came to get her from camp we ran home, changed into bathing suits, and headed for the pool. Then we swam and had some dinner and left around 8:00 last night and the kids were TIRED!

As a matter of fact, Jake and Sarah are still sleeping...

With all this recent talk about kids' shortage of Vitamin D, I thought I'd do my part to make sure my kids weren't part of those statistics. They're going to get regular doses of "Medicine In the Sky" at least until school starts again.

Thank for reading,


B