Should be putting away laundry...

I really should be putting away laundry. Or unloading the dishwasher. Or mopping my floors. Or at the very least watching Super Why with my kids. But this blog that hasn't been updated in a few days has been calling to me louder than all those things.

I've wanted to blog about our awesome day at Port Farms. I signed the girls up for a little day camp type thing at one of our favorite places in PA - Port Farms. They learned about seeds and compost, and weeding, and they played lots and lots. They picked a salad that they got to take home in a cute basket. They also brought home compost buckets full of fresh compost and worms. They seriously loved every minute of it. And later that day when they were out looking for more things to add to their compost, Olivia fell off her bike onto Abigail. And Abigail was laying on the ground, under Olivia's bike, and she cried out, "MY COMPOST!" Despite the scrape on her leg (which was minor) or the handlebars on her head, her only concern was that compost. Cracked me up.

Abigail was also quite hilarious on a wooden horse they have there at the Farm. She loved sitting on it. It doesn't move. At all. So she just sat there pretending. I tried to take a picture and she said, "Slow down horsey! My mom is trying to take a picture!" Again, cracked me up.

I have also wanted to write about the screen addiction that effects my family. Seriously, the kids, myself, my husband, we always have our faces in front of a phone, tv, computer, DS. I guess not always, but at least enough for my 6 month old to now want to hold electronic devices in front of his face. Seriously. This morning I was snuggling him (while looking at my phone, of course) and he was reaching for Aaron's DS that was in our bed. He got it and held up above him, looking at it, while I looked at facebook (or something equally unimportant) on my phone. For a moment it was like I able to see this scene from outside my body. I was imagining watching it on a tv show, or a documentary about how we have all turned into zombies, or something. And I saw the mother with her infant staring at her, trying to get her attention by pulling at her hands and hair. The mother absent-mindedly trying to distract  him by wiggling her fingers or something, all the while keeping her eyes on her phone. The infant losing interest in wiggling fingers, and reaches for electronic device of his own. Holds it up in front of his face. And he is learning that this is just what people do. And as I watched this scene play out in front of me - my heart broke. I do not want my babies to grow up thinking this is okay. When we are around real people we interact with them!! We don't ignore them for some virtual people. So I vowed - I am going to be on my phone, and computer less. Much less. I am thinking when we get new phones I'm not going to get another "smart phone" because I think it's making me dumb. I don't know that I have the self control to only use apps when my kids are napping or during designated "me" time.

But I go back and forth. I mean - is it really that bad? Yes I look at my phone in the morning, and then again at night, and probably a dozen times in between.... is that so bad? I still play plenty with my kids. Am I making too big of a deal about something?

But that scene ... Nathan holding the DS in front of his face... yeah that tells me that maybe I need to lay off a bit.