Beginner Blogging and Italy for Five

As a beginner blogger I find that I am thinking far too much about what to write about....

Before starting this blog I made a note to myself to experience first and blog later but that has been tough! We have been posting daily on our family blog and are enjoying sharing photos and writting short pieces about experiences.  I created the family blog as a way for us to share our trip with friends and family but also as a homework assignment for my two older daughters.  Well the girls are already tired of hearing me say "you should blog about this"! or "why don't you photograph all of the cats/tiny cars/flowers/meals and make a collage to post on the blog"!  Talk about forced blogging...! 

Thankfully I noticed that I was doing this and decided not to rush into posting anything here.  I wanted to digest it, experience and enjoy it and get back to you later :)  I promise!

We have been in Italy for five days now after a one-day stop in Frankfurt.  So far the experience of being here with my family has been priceless.  I can honestly tell you that seeing my kids in Frankfurt made me so happy I thought I could have turned around and gone home satisfied. Truly.  Our first stop in Italy has been beautiful.  Postcard perfect and the right amount of adventure combined with relaxation that works for our family.   

But today on day five we have just started thinking about the little details and the fact that this is actually happening.   We will be in Rome in 10 days and I haven't planned a thing.  I don't even know what I want to see there.  I spent many many months planning the accomodations and travel and locations of our stops, along with the logistics of packing up myself and the kids (hubby can pack his own suitcase thankfully!) for a six-week trip that I haven't yet out any thought into what *I* want to see and do in Italy   So I am cracking open my Fodor's tonight to start planning.  I am so excited! 

After each leg of our trip I will want to write out useful tips and details regarding family travel, travelling with three kids, travelling with an anxious child and  any other useful information.  When I was planning this trip I did not find much on the internet regarding family travel in Italy with three children so I hope it will prove useful.  

Is there anything you would like me to write about?

Ciao for now!

And we are off!

Headed to Naples via Frankfurt Germany. About to board our plane! 

Family Technology Agreement

Hmmmm....  I have kindly called this an "Agreement".   It's easy to get agreement when you are waving a shiny new toy in front of your child as the prize!

 We I created this as handy reference of the expectations and parameters for our set of iPads (remember: no zombies!).

What do you think?  Is there anything you would add?

Click here to see larger

ipads for kids

I used to be vehemently anti-technology.....

In our house we had one ipad for 5 of us to share.  I hated the way my girls would fight over time on it - and when they had their turn they would completely loose themselves in the screen.  I have read many articles on the downside of screen time / gaming / ipad overuse by children.  It scared me into thinking that there was really no value in technology for my kids.   But... a teacher at my kids school helped me see things differently.

She pointed out to me that technology is here to stay.  It isn't going away and it will be a part of my children's lives in a big way.   iPads are being used in elementary schools to teach material in a way that is more dynamic and hands-on than ever before.

Here is a convincing blog about iPads in education written by a teacher:

http://ipad4schools.org/

I started to see that if our family didn't embrace it then it might become a point of disconnect between myself and my children.  And also quite frankly I don't want to miss out on the new and amazing ways that my children communicate and learn.  I needed the skills to be able to keep up with them.

So my hubby and I invested in iPads for our three children...

One iPad mini for each of them (and one for mama too).   How fortunate are we to be able to make this costly purchase?  Incredibly. 

This was a big step for us - there was the monetary cost of the iPads themselves but also we knew that having 5 iPads  in our house would have a huge affect on the way our family functions, they way we communicate and our values.  

I tend to over-research... actually I like to research.   So I spent hours reading articles and thinking about how I wanted to use the iPads in our family and how I would set parameters for the kids so that they wouldn't become zombies!

This is what I decided:

• Each iPad is a tool that is a privilege.  It can be used for great things!

• I found and approved brain-enriching apps that I loaded on the iPads that suited each child's age and stage

• I wrote out a set of parameters for family iPad use.  We discussed the parameters together, made an agreement and posted the agreement to our "Photos" on each iPad

• I set a restrictions password on each iPad and created parent-controlled safety settings so that usage and content would be age-appropriate.

So how is this all working out?  Too soon to tell, friends.  But I promise to let you know (honestly!) how my intentions work in reality.

The Grand Experiment

 A few days ago I carved out some time to meet up with some other mom's from our elementary school over coffee.  We rarely get a chance to talk beyond the daily pleasantries of "hi! how are you?" So I jumped at the chance to get better acquainted.   In just an hour and a half the 7 of us shared stories of family history, pre-kid interests, previous careers, and hopes for our futures...  I can't express how grateful I am that these fabulous women are not only fellow moms at my kids school but also willing to delve into conversations beyond the pleasantries.

I noticed in our conversations over coffee that one of the things we all had in common was our desire to get out of our daily routine in the suburbs and explore the world in a more adventurous way.    Hey - I hear ya!  I feel the same way!  I've thinking about it for years too... watching 'International House Hunters' on TV.... desperately thinking of how we could afford to live an adventure in a foreign place.  

Who wouldn't dream of this?   

...flash back to two years ago.....

I had been increasingly aware of how my choices had made it next-to-impossible to have time with my husband and family where I felt well.  Where I felt present and joyful and playful with my amazing children.    Why was this?  I bet the answer is different for eveyone but for me I think it could be due to having too much going on - a lot of responsibility and a family routine that takes a significant amount of time and effort.   I wondered if families elsewhere do things differently?  I longed to see if families in other cultures have figured out a way to enjoy moments together in a different way?  I knew that for me I needed a major opportunity to *stop* and *pause* and make some big changes.  

So...  We did it

Nearly a year ago we sold our home.   A beautiful but too-large suburban home in a pretty neighbourhood two shorts blocks from our kids school.  Lovely in so many ways but it was truly eating up our time and resources.   We needed a change.

...fast forward to today....

We are in the midst of a grand experiment:

Living in a rental home while we build a lovely much smaller house that will better suit our lifestyle

Working towards changing our habits to live more simply and enjoy our family time

And

Spending some of our home equity on a special family trip to Italy

Part of this grand experiment is taking time to write (blog) about this process... I suppose I am hoping that it will help me stay on track with my intentions and also give me an opportunity to reflect on our experiences. Someone once told me that putting thoughts into word is the only way to make the thought real.  Or alternatively that putting the intention into words is the first step towards making it a reality.    It makes sense to me! 

Well here's to setting intentions, making dreams into reality and the grand experiment!

ciao for now.

well... why not?

Where do I start and how on earth do I draft my first post! What do I write about? Shall I research the right topic?  Draft and edit how many times?     ...
The process to start 'a blog'  has mirrored many of my recent pursuits... I have ferociously pinned about blogging, researched it ad-nauseam.... and run circles around *actually* doing it.  So here I am....  Fully equipped with my very-first and very-own iPad and I am doing it!  I am writing on my blog!

I do not have experience writing.  I feel vulnerable about exposing my views and thoughts and experiences.    I don't know who will read my posts - if anyone at all.   But, the bottom line for me is, well....why not?  Why not just go for it?    Expose myself to vulnerability, share my thoughts and ideas, ask for insight from others and share my journey.    Why not?

My goal here is to record my journey.  For myself.  I am hoping to write my thoughts and experiences in an effort to live more fully - to live more intentionally and create accountability for my life goals and dreams.  I really think the best way to head toward those goals is to put them into words and let go of my fear of sharing.  So here goes....