Netflix Streaming is the New Potholder

This summer I have given up on most of my forced fun activities that I'm famous for (in my home only). But not without holding on like a toddler with stolen snickers bar. The weaker ideas have fallen by the wayside. . . math workbooks, I'm looking at you. . . and the stronger ones have remained loyal. Here they are, for you, to use at your discretion during the last few, precious (you're almost there!) weeks left before schools starts and we are all in a schedule once again or, as I like to call it, we join the human race again:

1. Homemade journals (doesn't "homemade" give the illusion that their hand-crafted? I like that illusion). So what I did, see, in a flash of inspiration at Target, whilst drooling over the flashy, new school supplies, is spy a bunch of composition journals is neat colors and began hoarding them in my cart. Then, see, what I did next was to take out my new pack of 100 Sharpies I got for my birthday, and took out one at a time, for each kid and I wrote one question at the top of each page on every page of the journal. Each book has questions for each child in mind.

Questions like: Describe yourself. How would others describe you? What is the funniest thing you've ever seen? Why is your mom so awesome? What makes her tick? and so on. . . you get the idea. But I have questions about things I want to know and things I think they'll want to remember (Like meeting the prophet), so I ask about those in a guided-forced way of writing.

We'll see how it all ends, I mean, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make that horse write in a journal, but sometimes that horse will write in it if you're having quiet time and the alternative is taking a nap.

2. Netflix Streaming: One of the best things about having my kids get older is their ability to instinctively understand and manipulate technology. I'm still trying to figure out all the features on my remote and it's such a mom cliche (Where's the "menu" selection?!), but, there you have it. So, at the beginning of Summer Miles told me (repeatedly, in anxious tones) that we could set up Netflix to our tv, but I just laughed and said, "Yeah, right! That's for rich people! Don't touch anything--you'll break it!" But as the summer weeks lagged on and Miles, the very example of patience, came to me one day and said, "Mom. I know I can do this and set it up. I'm not trying to be condescending, but just trust me. Let me just do it and I won't break anything." He was so sweet, how could I refuse? So, less than 10 minutes later, we're watching Netflix movies and tv shows on our tv FROM OUR COMPUTER, PEOPLE! IT'S THE FUTURE! NOW!

Every once in a while I catch Miles laughing at me with the kids like, "Remember how mom didn't believe I could just do this simple thing?" and so I repeatedly remind him of when I was born and a computer would have taken up our entire house, and how I didn't even have email in college, so I'm doing the best I can to adjust even though I can't shake the feeling I'm living in an Isaac Asimov novel.