In the June 19th issue of The Week magazine, an article once again reported that “new” studies have found that there are detrimental effects for children under the age of 2 who watch a lot of TV. In not-so-shocking news, the article reported that when the TV is on, adults speak 500-1000 less words per hour to their children, which can impede their children’s intellectual and emotional development. It doesn’t matter whether the programming is adult or child-focused; either way, adults aren’t speaking as much to children and this is why having the TV on can be detrimental to a child’s development.

So there you have it: your bit of shocking and not-so-shocking news for Monday

After my last parenting post regarding the trials we’ve experienced while raising our little angels (one little angel, in particular), I received many wonderful suggestions for books to read and digest. Thank you to many of you who reached out with kindness and support. I have taken your thoughts and comments to heart and have since been greatly encouraged on the homefront.

“The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.”

We just returned from a wonderful vacation from Colorado, replete with exploring, digging, wading, swimming, collecting and just enjoying nature and family. We drove all day saturday, pulling in in time to tuck the boys into bed. Sunday was a strange day….a day of washing, folding, unpacking, grocery shopping, and organizing. We went to mass in the evening instead of at the crack of dawn, because my husband had to fly home from the opposite coast from a wedding the previous night.

Monday morning felt like it should be a saturday. Exhausted and out of our routine, coupled with the need to make doctors calls and talks with the insurance company, I felt that I had missed Sunday: a day for rest and refrehment, both physical and spiritual.

I have some vague idea to do less work on Sundays and to be more purposeful about spending time with family. But the reality is that the needs of little ones are so great and urgent that many things must still be done on Sunday. (“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.”) The CCC says, “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body.” How do you all go about setting aside the Lord’s day for your family?

I remember being confused as a child when my mother would say, usually towards the end of our family vacations, that she couldn’t wait to sleep in her own bed again. This was her way of saying that she was ready for our family “vacation” to be over, and I could never quite understand why she would think this! After all, I loved vacation and would have stayed forever if I could have! Now that I’m the parent, I understand my mother’s words much better than I did as a child, although I must say that our first “real” family vacation was a great one. We just returned from a week at the beach with extended family, and we had a wonderful time! While it was nice to sleep in my own bed again, I could have definitely spent a couple more days playing on the beach and spending the days with family.

Partly, this is because the coming home can be so tough Not only did my hubby return to work this morning, but there is a whole laundry list of things that need to get done around the house. On top of that, I’ve made some outside commitments (to vacation Bible school at our church, to be exact) that have me feeling a bit in over my head. So, while it’s always good to be home, I’m already feeling ready for the next vacation

This past week spent at the beach with our family made me feel truly blessed: to have the wonderful family that we do, to have the opportunity to have a new experience with my hubby and kids, to be able to spend time resting away from the responsibilities of everyday life. These are truly blessings that many people do not enjoy, and we have tried to help our kids understand this and to be grateful. As we prepared for this family vacation, my husband and I agreed that our main goal was to create memories for our children, and in the process I think that we also created great memories for ourselves. As I finish organizing for VBS (and to think that just a year ago, I had no idea what VBS stood for!), I can just close my eyes and remember our family jumping through the waves and playing in the sand together. All in all, I would say that this trip was a winner