Cheap entertainment.

Being a stay-at-home Mom (I used to refer to myself as 'Stuck-at-home-Mom' because it was too much effort for me to strap 4 kids into carseats and then drag them anywhere in public by myself) means that I have had to be creative in life, besides through scrapbooking. I have gotten fairly good at 'games' and on-the-spot improvising...like doodling on the shower doors to keep my girls happy while I clean up.
I recently found out that iDog (the dancing, musical, light-up pet that Bella got from Santa) does its best lights and motion dance when I vacuum nearby. I guess it has to do with rhythm and vibrations...which is not surprising, I guess. I mean, don't you all want to get down like Nia Peeple's Dance Party when you get out your Dirt Devil?! =)
Besides iDog's new moves, I also have been enjoying the 'telephone game'. Actually, the kids are getting a kick out of it, and I am hoping to make a point. Probably not my nicest side to show you, but here is the truth. Despite trying to call the number to be taken off the telemarketer's phone list, we get a number of unsolicited calls each week. Seriously, I have had 4-6 calls a day several times the past few weeks. I know they are telemarketers because they call me "Mrs." and they always butcher the last name. Otherwise they are asking for Chip by his 'real' name...and nobody calls him that.
So, when one of these calls comes in, occasionally I am pleasant and tell them I am not interested and then I hang up. However, when my kids are around, or beat me to the phone, I hand the receiver over and let them chat awhile. Bella is especially good at this. She will tell you all sorts of interesting details of her life, such as her favorite color, what she ate for lunch, what letter she wrote on her pages at school that day, a favorite knock-knock joke, that her sister is an angel in Heaven, or what the weather is like at that moment in time.
Ava is trying to keep up. She will jabber, but most of the time you would need an interpreter to figure out what it is she is saying. Wyndham holds the phone and smiles the whole time.
The real fun of the game is for me to check the little timer on the handset when the telemarketer finally hangs up. That's the thrill of the 'game'...to see how much of their time we can actually waste for them. Bella has the longest running time, which currently stands at 4:38. Not bad.
I'm really just a Mom who doesn't care to hear about how low of an interest rate you can get me if I refinance my home, nor do I need an estimate on new siding, windows, or a roof. But, if you still insist on calling my home, I hope you know that you are adding to the fun and games in my kids' life.
I know. I know. You should have guessed that I could put a spin on something as annoying as telemarketer calls, huh? I'm telling you...if you haven't gotten the message of my life yet, it should be crystal clear for you today. Yep. There is a silver lining to everything in life. Even if you have to create it yourself.