Built in babysitting

Yesterday morning the TV died.  We had sound, but a black screen with one thin line of light across the middle. We were very busy yesterday, running errands and going to lunch, then post nap doing grocery shopping, so we didn't really miss the TV.  Brandt and I played games and did puzzles while Blythe slept, and although I did find the TV on several times, obviously no one was sitting in front of it staring at blankness.

Today, however, was a slightly different story.  I realized I use the TV to babysit my children more than is probably good.  This morning we went to story time at the library and then to lunch at McDonald's with cousins, so again, the morning without TV was not an issue.  In fact, it was all quite nice.  Then, however, I had a presidency meeting while Blythe napped.  Brandt had to entertain himself which would normally be by watching Sesame Street.  But no TV.  He played with his train and pulled sheets and towels out of the bathroom linen cupboard looking for some sort of gun (I couldn't quite understand what sort of gun he wanted).  He called down for me to come change his diaper at one point, and then put on a CD to dance to.  When I finished my meeting I came upstairs so we could play or read and found Brandt asleep on the couch, wrapped up naked in a blanket.  I put a diaper on him and put him in bed.  I sat down to read in the quiet, but that lasted a whopping 12 minutes before Blythe woke up and began yelling at me from her room.

The children were wild the rest of the afternoon.  I tried to keep them occupied.  We sang songs together at the piano, I built a large and fairly spiffy cave for them to hang out in, and we read stories.  But the minute I left a room or answered the phone, or tried to get a little something done--like make dinner--chaos would erupt.  Towels got thrown in the tub and then soaked in water, the cave was caved in, a "project" Brandt was creating ("It have carrots and water and water and water and water") got dumped out on the blankets in the collapsed cave, two bananas were unpeeled and partially eaten, and book shelves were emptied of their contents.  I just wanted Brandt and Blythe to go sit in front of the TV and give me 20 minutes' peace.

When Kent returned home from work bearing a brand new TV, Brandt kissed the box in excitement and I kissed it in gratitude.  It has been nice to not have a TV on and creating noise and I am going to work harder at making sure it doesn't stay on as long as it has sometimes, but I certainly am glad the children will sit and watch PBS so I can get something--anything--done around the house.

The spiffy cave I constructed for the children.

I knew those big heavy art books would come in handy one day.

Blythe and Brandt poking out of the cave.

They look so harmless, but don't be fooled!