why i love "NO SCREENS"...

If my kids had their way, they would LIVE in front of a screen. cartoons, movies, gameboys, computer, wii, nintendo... oh the SCREEN possibilities. i LOVE screens. they teach my kids good cooperation, and turn taking skills, they give the kids something to talk about with other kids their age, they can be educational, the kids learn how to trouble shoot and how to not be afraid of technology, and the kids are happy doing what they enjoy-- it's a great reward AND in front of a screen is a great, safe place for them to be when i need some time alone. BUT, i LOVE the times when we turn OFF the SCREENS!! When the screens are turned off my kids' imaginations come alive. They play fun, old-fashioned games, they read, they create, they gender and age mix... yup. i LOVE screen time. AND i LOVE no-screen time. this is my gang when i came out of my room this morning... cute huh?!

and, something else i LOVE...

during the school year, i'm better able to devote large amounts of time to house cleaning. Not So during the summers... Here are a few things I LOVE for the 5 minute bathroom cleaning that i get in when I'm bathing my baby (like this morning) or turning out the lights, at the end of the day.

1. My ALL-TIME FAVORITE bathroom cleaning necessity is CLOROX wipes. Although we use them often and have two bathrooms, i only buy ONE container. Because, i don't like them to dry out AND i can keep track of one container better (i keep it in MY bathroom) so little 2 year olds don't decide to "help" clean or use 50 clorox wipes to do a deep-bum cleaning... i use a lot of these daily, i am always wiping up toothpaste, cleaning splattered mirrors and wiping out toilets... yup. love em.

2. Those little, green, soapy, scrubby things. These things already have soap in them and they're great for a quick clean of the tub or shower. Last night ellie took a bath with soap crayons... they're a MESS! When i wanted to wash the baby this morning the tub was BAD. But, two minutes later it was white and shining... love those soapy things.

3. THE WORKS- works great for hard water stains in the shower... (that i clean twice a year.)