Hallelujah! We Made It!

Well, we stuck with TV Free Week and we made it! With very little complaining from Ben. We did read a few books together, so some productivity came out of our experiment. I noticed this morning that Ben must be scanning the newspaper now, too, because he told me about that completely innappropriate headline from the cover of Saturday's El Dorado News-Times (Magnolia Jr. High Teacher - figure it out).

Just FYI, I did not feel any more motivated to clean my house without the distraction of the TV. I feel in my heart that I was meant to have a maid - just hasn't fit into my budget yet. :)

Congrats to Ben!

What's Your Homepage?

Just curious as to what everyone's homepage is.... mine is iGoogle. It used to be just Google until I personalized it.

You can click the picture for larger image...

It is exactly what I want to see all on one page when I first open the Internet...

What's Murphy's stock doing?

What are Murphy's peers' stocks doing?

What are oil prices at right now?

What's making news on Arkansas Business?

What's John Worthen of El Dorado News Times saying on his blog?

Has Cara updated her blog?

Has Susy updated her blog?

Any new e-mails?

Just to tickle my philosophical itch, what's the quote of the day?

And speaking of day, what day IS it?

If you could see more of my iGoogle homepage, you could see more news ticks on my page too.

What's YOUR homepage?

The Wildcats Have Unfinished Business

The Wildcats' 1st Pep Rally of the 2008 Football Season was held at Murphy Oil's headquarters this week. The EHS band, cheerleaders, majorettes, flag line, coaches, and of course, the football team filled the building with anticipation of the upcoming season. Hot dogs, popcorn, and drinks were served by the Booster Club. It was fun!

Looking forward to football weather.

Dance, Baby, Dance!

Stifling an urge to dance is bad for your health - it rusts your spirit and your hips. ~Adabella Radici

TV Free Week... Ugh

Every year, our church encourages us to try a week without the distraction of television (the first week of school). If we make it, Ben gets a coupon for free ice cream at church. Last year, I made an executive decision that we were going to take on the challenge. We started Sunday, and by Friday, my whole family hated me. Okay - they hated me starting Sunday, but they broke me down by Friday.

We're trying it again this year. Here's my normal routine: alarm goes off, turn on Channel 7 and watch Daybreak. While I'm getting ready, it's Good Morning America. No T.V. in the car or at work (duh). As soon as I walk in the door at night, I turn on the T.V. in the kitchen and watch news, or the Daily Ten on E while I'm cooking (a.k.a., spreading PB and J on the sandwiches). While we're eating, Ben watches one t.v., and we watch another (because we never agree on what to watch). The T.V. is usually on the rest of the night (whether we're watching it or not). Then, we go to sleep to the History Channel. Really pathetic, I know. My name is Magen and I'm addicted to t.v.

Did you know t.v. is actually addictive? Yup - check it out. We often associate watching television with relaxation.

http://www.trashyourtv.com/TV-and-Addiction-Articles

Anyway, Ben was at "After School" today and, of course, it's raining, so they can't go outside and play. So, the teacher turns on a movie. Ben is not actively engaged in t.v.-free week enough for it to register that he's watching t.v. during t.v. free week - he's just doing what every other kid at "After School" is doing. I only know because I asked what they did since they couldn't go on the playground. So does that count? Is he out? Cause, if so, I'm not suffering through this another day of this.

Second Grade Rocks

Ben says that he wants me to put the following note about 2nd grade on the blog: "it's really fun, he doesn't have to do "little kid" stuff anymore, and it's just great."

He was so excited about starting school this year! I'm glad he was glad! There are a few kids that he knows that are in his class: Evan, Shelby, and Sammy.

By the way, I have no sympathy for you moms who are having trouble getting back into the routine of getting up early. Jealousy, maybe, but no sympathy. As my mom would lovingly say to me, "suck it up!" And as she does, I mean that in the most loving way. Right, mom?

We Could All Use A Dose of This

A plug for Beth, September 12 is National Day of Encouragement. Really, name ONE person you know that couldn't use a good dose of encouragement? I really think this quote by Elizabeth Harrison puts it in perspective: "Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize."

What will you do to spread the encouragement bug? I was thinking it would be nice to send an encouraging e-mail or even better, write a note to someone that you know.

http://www.letsencourage.com/

I Went with the Watch

Thanks for everyone's vote on what I should pick for my 5-year anniversary gift from Murphy... I ended up going with the wrist watch.

Need Your Advice on Something...

Okay, so this week is all about Ben. He's super smart. Really catches onto things quickly which leaves him somewhat unchallenged in school at times. They have an Accelerated Reader program in which he can read books on his own time and get "points" for reading books. They get a certificate each nine weeks to reward them for whatever "point club" they're in at the time. I think the A.R. program is great - the more you read, the better.

Here's my dillema - Ben is a good reader, but really not motivated to want to pick up a book just for the fun of it. He couldn't care less about getting a piece of paper at the end of the nine weeks showing what point club he's in. Personally, I wouldn't care about that if I were 7 either. SO, how can I motivate him to want to really take on the challenge of reading as many books as he can? Another school district has an A.R. Club store (more points you have, the better the stuff you can "buy"). That's cool, but they don't do that at Ben's school.

What are your suggestions to motivate Ben to WANT to get as many points as possible without me having to BEG him to bring library books home? Each book is worth about 1/2 point.

THOUGHTS??? Thanks.

Ben Met His Teacher

We got to meet Ben's new teacher this week. Yes, it is likely that I was the only parent that brought a camera to meet the teacher, but I have a responsibility to my blog... er, I mean to document these precious moments in our lives! Ben wasn't particularly ready to start school until he met Mrs. Dunn. When we were leaving he told me, "I wish school was starting tomorrow!" I wish I was starting the second grade again, too, Ben!

We got Mrs. Dunn a little gift to start off on the right foot - a "teacher survival kit." Bear with me, I'm documenting this so that I can repeat it when Mary Claire starts school.
Here's all the stuff that was in the bag. It had wet wipes, cough drops, lint roller, lotion, manicure set, sewing kit, safety pins, Blistex, toothbrush travel set, star stickers, notepad, an egg timer shaped like an apple, Skittles, M&Ms, Snickers, and Tylenol. These CUTE Wildcat Jersey bags are available at Expressions on the square!