Has anyone noticed how busy everyone seems to be these days? Parents working (some at home), kids in school, activities, sports, practices, etc... Don't forget all the games, meets, tournaments, recitals, open houses, PTO/PTA meetings, fundraisers, business functions and the list is endless. Oh and let's not forget the Internet (social sites, email, shopping, uh pretty much everything you can imagine right at your fingertips) I am sure this all sounds very familiar to most of you. I know it has been a theme in my household over the past few years. When you were growing up did you remember your family being this busy? Not me, we actually had so much time on our hands that we became bored. We always found something to do though...riding bikes, rollerskating, hanging out at the mall or going to the movies. Those were much simpler times. Now society tells you that your kids need to be involved in extracurricular activities every single day. We did this last year with the girls. They went from a variety of summer camps then to school volleyball, club volleyball and piano on top of a FULL school workload. Once you added in all the travel time and expenses (yes, it was very expensive) the end result was a completely burned out family. Every last one of us.
I was chatting with a friend on the phone the other day and we discussed how hard it is to have your children involved in multiple activities and school at the same time. She mentioned that she even knew a couple that divorced over the same thing. Their marriage suffered because of neglect due to traveling all over with the kids. I can't imagine it coming to that extreme. I
decided a few weeks back that things will be very different around the Ismail household. We are going to say NO to some things. We can't attend every single game or event. We have to say no to some parties and gatherings. We have to put our family first. We must have more sit-down dinners around the table. We must connect on a daily basis. We can't let all the "stuff" we have going on take over our entire life. No way. Already I have been feeling so relaxed and not so cluttered with feeling like there is no time. I can't stand when people always complain that they have no time. Sometimes just moving things around a bit can give you some more breathing room. I think we will be a even happier household in the long run. I apologize for such a long post. Thanks for taking the time to read this and please share your thoughts on this subject.
Has anyone noticed how busy everyone seems to be these days? Parents working (some at home), kids in school, activities, sports, practices, etc... Don't forget all the games, meets, tournaments, recitals, open houses, PTO/PTA meetings, fundraisers, business functions and the list is endless. Oh and let's not forget the Internet (social sites, email, shopping, uh pretty much everything you can imagine right at your fingertips) I am sure this all sounds very familiar to most of you. I know it has been a theme in my household over the past few years. When you were growing up did you remember your family being this busy? Not me, we actually had so much time on our hands that we became bored. We always found something to do though...riding bikes, rollerskating, hanging out at the mall or going to the movies. Those were much simpler times. Now society tells you that your kids need to be involved in extracurricular activities every single day. We did this last year with the girls. They went from a variety of summer camps then to school volleyball, club volleyball and piano on top of a FULL school workload. Once you added in all the travel time and expenses (yes, it was very expensive) the end result was a completely burned out family. Every last one of us.
decided a few weeks back that things will be very different around the Ismail household. We are going to say NO to some things. We can't attend every single game or event. We have to say no to some parties and gatherings. We have to put our family first. We must have more sit-down dinners around the table. We must connect on a daily basis. We can't let all the "stuff" we have going on take over our entire life. No way. Already I have been feeling so relaxed and not so cluttered with feeling like there is no time. I can't stand when people always complain that they have no time. Sometimes just moving things around a bit can give you some more breathing room. I think we will be a even happier household in the long run. I apologize for such a long post. Thanks for taking the time to read this and please share your thoughts on this subject. 
ywhere...so many of us are on these networks. I am on so many I have lost count. Social Networking is a growing trend and even kids and teenagers are a part of it. Dwayne and I let our daughters each get a FaceBook account to keep in touch with friends and family. It's been really good especially for our older daughter since she started high school and most of her friends attend different schools. I wish we had these types of services in my school days! 
Now all of this comes with a list of rules. We approve all photos before they are uploaded. I have seen some photos that teens post and it is appalling! Friends can only tag photos we approve of. No IMing. You must ask permission to go on and you have a set time. They have ONE time to mess up and poof! It's deleted. Not on hold or you can't use it for 2 weeks. DE-LETED.
So far they have been following the rules and have had no problems. Some people may think we are a bit overboard and really we don't care. We want our children to be a part of all the technology we have but it comes with limits and we care about their safety.
I kinda love him too! This is his "I'm going to teach you how to love you" pose ;-)
