"Burn your TV in your yard"

I grew up in a home with many TVs.  No judging one way or another... just a fact.  Farmer J grew up in a house with TV as well.  So it's not like we live the way we live now because it is all we have ever known. 

And from our first place together (a TINY one bedroom apartment) until we moved out of our first purchased "starter" home, we had a television.  One of my last memories of having a TV was watching the winter Olympics of 2010 with Pickle.  He was months old and the Olympics kept me company (and awake) during lonely midnight feedings. 

Pickle is now 5 1/2 years old.  And I still miss having a TV during the Olympics. But that is really the only time I long for a television in our home.   Honestly.

We never made a conscious decision to get rid of our TV.  It just kind of happened.  For starters, the TV we had was nothing to write home about.  Remember the mini TV/VCR combo appropriate for a dorm room?  (OK, well you will only remember that technology if you were born pre- 90's.)  Well if you do remember it... you know it wasn't fancy.  Then came other technological advances that required us to get some box and/or some antenna to use with our out of date TV so we could receive the new TV signals.  And then there was no money (or real interest) in buying a new TV.  So we just got rid of it.

Now we are so used to not having a TV that when new guests to our home ask where we have our  TV, we are slightly surprised by the question.  And to be honest, we do watch internet TV and movies on our computer, tablet and smart phones but the biggest difference is that we make a conscious decision on what we watch, when we watch it and how long we watch it.  We, as   parents, have so much more control over the images that fill our children's eyes and minds, when we approach TV in this manner.

J always tells me I have a "tender heart."  Even many of my close friends will warn me of a movie or TV show that I should stay clear of, so as to not damage my sensitive soul.   I used to fight that notion that some images would be too much for me; I don't anymore.  Still to this day, there are movie images, sounds and ideas that I wish never made it into my brain. Because once they are there, you can't get them out. 

PROS to no TV:
-a much quieter home.  this is so critical and important to us.  with two little boys, and all the noise that comes with them, we need all the extra peace we can get.
-a much less (OVER) stimulating home.  with two little boys... (see above)
-less social media and marketing influence/bombardment on us adults.... and more importantly, the children (this is especially awesome around the holidays)
-markedly less violence witnessed by us... and more importantly, the children.  when we are at another person's home and are watching network TV, we are amazed at the violence in commercials, movie trailers and TV show previews that are aired between kid friendly shows. 
-markedly less sex and hyper-sexuality witnessed by us... and more importantly, the children.  sex sells and it is EVERYONE on TV. 
-time to be bored
-more time for reading, listening to music, painting, playing games, writing, listening, using your imagination, being outside...etc. etc.
-the ability to hear your own life's soundtrack (which is otherwise (and all too often) drowned out by the white noise of television).  
-learning to be ok with silence (and the self-talk that goes on in our head when we don't try and block it out)
-decreases risk of childhood obesity
-decreases risk of hyper activity in children
-provides a more realistic (and accurate) view on life versus a make believe life that is viewed on TV.  even "reality TV" is far from real.  "Life" on TV will always appear to be prettier, more colorful, more interesting, more loving, more fun, more romantic, more daring, more exciting and more fulfilling than our ACTUAL life. 

CONS to no TV:
-I really miss it during the Olympics; it's hard to watch the Olympics on the internet and your really can't listen to the Olympics on the radio! 
-It's hard to host a football party when the guests have to listen to "the big game" on the radio
-Watching movies on a small laptop is tricky

One day, we will get a television.  Years from now, we will have two teenage boys and I can't imagine all four of us sitting side by side watching Lord of the Rings on our small laptop.  And that will be OK, the timing will be right.  And quite frankly, when they are teenagers, I'll have bigger things to worry about then how much screen time their getting everyday.

But until then, while they are still young, and playful, and imaginative, and longing for my attention and love, we will hold off on getting that high definition, plasma, flat screen TV. 

Toad the Wet Sprocket, one of J's favorite bands, sums up what I've taken paragraphs to say in their song, "Throw It All Away."  Here are the lyrics and a link to the song! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1KFHu6Wzak

 Take your cautionary tales
And take your incremental gain
And all the sycophantic games
And throw 'em all away

 Burn your tv in your yard
And gather 'round it with your friends
And warm your hands upon the fire
And start again
Take the story you've been sold
The lies that justify the pain
The guilt that weighs upon your soul
And throw 'em all away

 Tear up the calendar you bought
And throw the pieces to the sky
Confetti falling down like rain
Like a parade to usher in your life
Take the dreams that should've died
The ones that kept you lying awake
When you should've been all right
And throw 'em all away

 With the time i waste on the life i never had
I could've turned myself into a better man
There is nothing you can buy
And there is nothing you can save
To fill the hole inside your heart
So throw it all away

 Help me to empty this house
The wool i've gathered all these days
And thought i couldn't do without
And throw it all away

According to our mail...

Spring is on its way!

Still no lambs yet!

The Soundtrack Of My Farmwife Life... (Season- Winter)

- The washing machine running
- Children sweetly humming to themselves as they quietly play
- Creaking floor boards

- The older brother reading out loud to the  younger brother
- Utensils on dishes
- Children screaming, and squealing, and yelling
- Crying... and fake crying
- Laughing
- Singing
- The woodburning stove blower running
- Fire crackling
- The sounds of the lady bugs crashing into things
- The furnace turning on and off, but mainly going
- Farmer J chopping wood
- The mudroom door slamming
- Wind whistling in the chimney
- The dryer going
- Crow's crowing
- Sheep baaaahh'ing
- Chicken's clucking
- Children running on old wooden floors
- Typing on my keyboard
- Birds chirping
- Goats chatting with each other
- The space heater cranking out quick heat to warm my frigid toes
- Children running up and down steps
- Me yelling at children to stop running... especially on the steps
- Water dripping from the kitchen sink into empty cereal bowls from breakfast
- Instruments being played well and badly
- Someone searching for the perfect Lego piece in their cloth Lego bag
- A variety of "Lord of the Ring's" movies playing in the back ground, with scene by scene questions and comments from Pickle and JJ
- Tea pot whistling
- Oven timer beeping (baking cookies warms the soul...and the kitchen)
- Water filling a cold tub with hot water

I hope you love the soundtrack of your life as much as I love mine.

No lambs yet...

Still "no babies" (as Pickle lovingly refers to the unborn lambs).  Pickle has probably gone from the house to the barn (in this single digit degree freezing weather) almost every hour or two to check on Aoife and see if there were any slimy, wet, new creatures in the barn.  He might have even taken more trips to the barn than his Dada! I think Pick Pick is more excited for the lambs' birth than he was for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve.

Farmer J has been on more poop clean-up this afternoon and evening, ensuring a cleaner pathway for the wee little wool ones. 

Sadly, all of us will be gone from the farm tomorrow due to busy work and school schedules.  We may arrive home to find more animals in our fur-family!

Stay tuned...

Aoife and Ciaran (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYoe8T0KUA8

Call the (sheep) Midwife- update

Farmer J is home today.  Thank goodness!  I'm off duty- and that feels awesome.  J is a much better mid-husband than me!

Last night, after a 12 + hour work day, Farmer J came home and checked on Aoife.  He cleaned up her backside, got the "birthing bucket" ready and observed his expecting mother.  Aoife had diarrhea...so he had to clean that up as well!  There is nothing glamorous about being a farmer, that is for sure.

This morning... still no babies.  But more diarrhea, and more cleaning up.  Did I mention I'm super excited that J is home today?!!!

Aoife's breathing is still labored and she is making an unusual noise, the same as yesterday.

I really hope the baby lambs are not born in this bitter, cold weather-- but we'll see.

I'll keep the updates coming!

Here is a picture of Aoife with her babies (FROM LAST YEAR)- Una and Little Boy

Aoife update

11:30- No babies yet! And she came out of the barn for chow! 

Call the Midwife

6:30 a.m. Farmer J wakes me while he is getting ready for work.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he is out of the house before we wake and home long after we are in bed; long days at his actual job (that he loves just as much as farming) that pays for this farm life we have chosen. 

He tells me that Aoife looks close to having her babies...that her breathing is more rapid and she is not moving as fast to come get her beloved goat/sheep treats.  I've been, lovingly, requested to keep an eye on Aoife today.  The wary farmwife has become the sheep midwife while Farmer J is far away from the farm, working in the big city.

8:00 a.m. While driving the boys to school, I tell them the exciting news that Aoife may be in labor and may soon give birth to baby lambs.  Pickle tells me that Aoife will have triplets "because her belly is so round." For Aoife's sake, I'm praying for twins. 

8:30 a.m. Back at home, I go check on my patient.  Typically, the sheep and goats are all waiting for me at the pasture gate by the time I get out of my car.  Today, none of them were there.  I found the goats and three ewes warming themselves from the morning sun, and out of the wicked winter wind, by the lower part of the barn.  But no Aoife.  I cautiously peek into the barn, preparing myself for any scene. 

I find Aoife laying on the soft, warm hay.  Her breathing is slightly more rapid and she is making a little noise that I'm not used to hearing.  She doesn't move when I get close; she lets me pet her, give her scratches and transfer her some love. 

I'll be back to check on my patient in a few hours.... stay tuned...

Snowy Sheep and Goats!