Mama's Musings

Turn Off TV Week

Whew. I did it. And I assure you it was completely by accident. For the week of April 23rd, my children were strictly forbidden to watch TV. Their pallid manners and bickering had reached Olympic levels. For the first time in their little lives, I grounded them for a week. Not your classic "you-are-coming-straight-home-from-school-young-man" variety. No no. I went farther. I forbade them both from even thinking of touching the remote with their pinky from Saturday to Saturday.

7 days of no LazyTown, Pink Pather or, gasp, Mickey Mouse Crazy House.

It just happened to be coincident with Turn Your TV Off Week. When I realized my luck, I briefly thought of keeping it off for myself, too.

"After all," I reasoned to a friend, "it isn't fair if I get to watch TV when they don't."

Not.

That very night the German version of American Idol aired. I had to watch it. I couldn't let my favorite candidate down. I had to see how the controversy between two of the judges panned out. I had to. I HAD TO!

At 8:15 p.m., I muted the TV and strained to hear the first few singers. Then, I backed down and turned it up. Thinking my kids were asleep, I stuffed my face with popcorn in front of the tube (which is typically punishable by snack-death in my household!). Then my older child came up to go to the bathroom.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" was all I heard above my munching. It was virtually comical.

During this past week, my children ran around outside, slurped popsicles until their tongues turned orange and only asked if they could watch TV a handful of times. No bedtime whining. Much less bickering. And a house full of their friends to stretch out the day until bedtime.

Sitting back in my office chair this very moment, I realize what a wonderful week we had. Perhaps next year we'll do it again. But I can't think of that now. American Idol a la Deutschland is about to come on...!

Hottest Mommy Blogger - vote for Mama's Musings

I've become obsessed. Someone I don't know (and I swear I did not bribe) nominated me as the Hottest Mommy Blogger. You may not read my blog often, but would you do me a tiny favor? Vote for me, and I promise to continue quipping about all things mommy til the blogosphere implodes. (Hit the "Hottest Mommy Blogger" button on the left-hand column you see here). Every vote counts so tell all your friends. Thank you!)

My goal is to supersede Heather at Dooce.com. God love her. She has a huge following and deservedly so. Here's my hope she'll share her crown. So tell everyone you know about http://diaryofamother.blogs.com so they can vote, too. Let's turn that dream into reality. Thank you!

Jackson lost a tooth

The velocity with which events have occurred in the Hohlbaum household is mind-blowing. So much so that I've been remiss to even mention some childhood milestones in my children's lives.

Jackson lost his first tooth, garnering a full 5€ from the Tooth Fairy. That prompted a discussion about receiving a regular allowance. Now both children receive 5€ per week. Jackson sweeps under the table every morning. Sophia puts away the folded clothes. It works. I'm 10€ lighter a week, but I've got two motivated helpers along the way.

Welcome to the latest photo gallery of the Thnobbits!

Jackson's lost tooth. He now whistles when he says the word "soccer". It sounds more like "pfff-occer".

Sophia and Jackson in Turkey.

The Feminine Mistake

I've had it. I really have. The moment you have breasts and a child, you are fair game.

Leslie Bennetts' catchy cutesy title, The Feminine Mistake, is leeching into our cultural soil for yet another diatribe on what's wrong with raising our children.

We've had the Mommy Wars and the finger-pointing in its wake. We've had that short-haired attorney who confessed to Jane Pauley that she does not have children, but she is fully capable of judging those who do because she's got, #cough#, a law degree.

And now we have another female counterpart to last year's media feeding frenzy on one of the most natural professions in the world -- motherhood. It's not really a job, but more a relationship, as savvy mom advocate Dr. Amy Tiemann so aptly stated.

So why does this relationship put us at risk? Now having kids is associated with not only hefty college loans and bloated food bills. It also now renders our personal socio-economic doom. Beware of those financially ignorant stay-at-home parents who do not contribute to the GDP (any mall-going mom who has a teenager will tell you they contribute quite nicely, thankyouverymuch).

I am flabberghasted at the amount of ink spilled on this topic. There is one thing that is missing entirely from this picture.

There are other ways of making money than your typical 9-to-5 grind with a neat dollop of 401(k) on the top. Ever heard of entrepreneurism? Women, who make over 80% of all consumer choices, are the savviest set of financial wizardresses I know. And more and more of them are working from home, creating a significant solution to what Leslie deems a huge mistake.

We could have a political take on it - who's swelled the national debt to finance bombs in Iraq? Certainly not women. I could go even lower below the belt and tell you who started the war in the first place was not a woman, much less a mother.

But I won't make that mistake. According to Leslie, I already committed the biggest one of all the moment my children were born.

Warm, not Cold Turkey

We just came back from a delightful 12-day trip to Side, Turkey. The bright sun warmed our backs, the great food filled our bellies, and the beach called our name. After almost two weeks, I have to admit I was itching to get back. I missed my house, my job, and my garden. The bus driver dropped us off at the wrong terminal and, after waiting in line to check in, we had to rush to the next terminal and wait in line again. In the end, we made it home on time. Our bags were the first off the conveyor belt.

The weather was warm and sunny, with the exception of one day where there were a few showers. Summer followed us to Munich where temps have been in the '80s. I quickly washed all our summer clothes so we could wear them here, too. Simply lovely!

Today we took a 10 KM bike ride with the kids. After running around a beer garden for 90 minutes, their legs felt like noodles.

"We've finally made the Thnobbits tired!" my husband and I yodeled. We envisioned a quiet afternoon with half-asleep kids drooling on the couch.

We'd barely made it home when the kids started jumping around again. I caught my husband's eye.

"Guess the car ride home rejuvenated them..." I moaned. We spent the entire afternoon dodging their antics and weeding the garden.

It is now 8:30 pm, and Sophia is still complaining she can't fall asleep!