Lately, Frances has been watching TV. A lot of TV. It started with a few innocent minutes of distraction while she got her fingernails cut. But then, I had an apartment to clean for prospective renters and then an apartment to pack. Then a condo to arrange. Then a case of insomnia that left me disinclined to entertain a two-year old during the long cold Massachusetts winter afternoons. And so on, until Frances was watching a lot of TV.
For my spiritual challenge this Lent, I decided to cut back on the TV. Frances still watches a little while we're trying not to wake daddy in the morning and then there's usually some drivel playing at the gym's nursery, but that's it for the day. I was a touch petrified that this would mean long afternoons of elaborate projects to pass the time, but it really has not been so bad. Here's some of the things we've been up to over the past few weeks.
Stickers and crayons are very popular.
It may not count as "crafty," but it gets us through the afternoon with smiles.
We've been cooking together. With some help from daddy, we made a flour-less chocolate cake.
Frances even ate a bite or two.
I bought her the magnetized letters as a distraction and they've been quite a hit. Frances can even identify a few, surprise, surprise.
And the ever-popular "Picking Apples"! Frances spends a lot of time picking apples around the back door. We do not know where this fascination comes from. We've actually gone apple picking only once in the kid's life, but she pretends to go apple picking almost every day. On this particular day, apple picking required her sweat shirt and hat.
So far, the experiment has not been nearly as painful as I had feared. Frances is asking to watch TV less and doesn't seem to mind when I tell her we can't watch TV. The pile of clothes waiting to be folded is nearly as tall as I am, but I'm sure that "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" thing has been overstated.
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