We are "Unplugging" (sort of)

After reading this post on The Young and the Relentless and then watching this episode of Oprah on Wednesday, I decided that my family needed to cut back on our technology use. We watch WAY too much TV (especially since I have gotten pregnant), I am on the computer WAY too much and S loves his Blackberry. I think it is time for us to spend the next few days looking at how much we rely on technology and then develop a plan for the summer that allows us to cut back and enjoy the simple pleasures of life :)

Originally I had wanted to "unplug" all technology for a week (like the families on Oprah) but then S and the rest of my friends pointed out how we are not abnormally connected to technology, like those families were, and that cutting back a little bit was all we really needed. My friend M also pointed out that the end of my term as VP of our mother's group is coming up and I will need to participate in a bunch of emails :)

For those of you who missed that episode of Oprah, the two families had to give up all technology (cell phones, i-pods, game systems, TV's, computers etc.), go on one grocery store trip for the week (budget of $125.00), eat all meals from home (either at home or brown bagged), spend no money on stuff, participate in one family activity that gave back to the community and the couple had to plan a date night.

So to kick off our summer, the Raising Z household will be monitoring our technology usage over the next few days and then will start our new and improved technology plan on Thursday, May 28th. Z will cut back on his TV viewing (I want to get him down from two hours to one), monitoring my laptop use (maybe an hour for the entire day) and S and I will try to cut down on our TV time in the evening. We will also attempt to eat more from home (take out is so easy when you are pregnant), will attempt to visit the grocery store once a week with a budget (I have been going 4-5 times a week!) and will try not to spend money on anything that is not necessary. Hopefully this will give us more time, energy and money to enjoy our summer!

I hope that this challenge will free up some time for Z and I to focus on potty training. S and I can now spend the evenings playing board games, talking and finally get our fire pit up and running. And I will be able to accomplish some things that have been on my to-do list for awhile: start taking a daily morning walk with Z (I could use the exercise), get the nursery organized, quilt and maybe write a letter or two :)

So my blogging time will be limited this summer but I will be checking in a few times a week :) I will continue to update you on our progress!