Facebook Has No Place in the Bedroom

My name is Chrissie and I'm addicted to my phone.

I love all the things about not just my phone, but my Ipad as well.  Whether I'm popping in to Facebook to check my newsfeed, sharing a funny homeschool Meme, surfing Pinterest for vegan recipes, online dreaming over at Torrid, reading a sexy book on my Kindle app for my book club- I simply LOVE my electronic devices.

But then it became a problem.

I didn't realize it at first of course.  I was just thumbing through Facebook while driving in the car with the husband or reading a book while he was watching something on TV I didn't want to watch.  We were still together, sharing the same space so I thought we were good.

We were not.

Yes, I was there physically, but I had allowed outside distractions to take away from my time with my family.  So much so that they were beginning to not only notice but comment A LOT on my distractions.

I will tell you all that at first, well- shit.  At first I thought that it wasn't so bad.  I kinda still feel that way, like my boys were over exaggerating my involvement in my phone and Ipad.  They are glued to theirs as well, so I figured it all evened out.  I was not taking responsibility for my own actions but rather looking at other's actions in order to justify my own.

Wow.

The husband and I talked this out one night.  I mentioned to him that he was knee deep in his tablet in the evenings as well and we had a bit of a go around about this.  Neither one of us willing to just admit our faults.

Meh.  Not a good look for a marriage y'all.

We talked again after the New Year and made a pact.  One that we had sort of, kinda, maybe...attempted to do before but this time, with renewed understanding and desire to succeed.

No more phones or tablets in the bedroom.

No more you guys.

The details of this can be a bit tricky.  Especially if you've got sick family members you are responsible for who like to call at all hours and you use your phone as your alarm clock.  But here it is- once we hit the bedroom, this is SACRED SPACE.

Facebook has NO place in the bedroom.

Our cell phones are there, sitting on the nightstands.  For emergency purposes and so we aren't late for work and get fired purposes.  But this is it.  We do NOT browse around social media, we do NOT conduct our online shopping, we are NOT texting friends- none of it because our time as a married couple is WAY more important than anything anyone could post on Facebook.

My marriage matters more than your cat video.

Since putting away the electronics, our marriage has personally seen a great uplift.  We are cuddling more, have more intimate time, focusing on the words and messages- actually listening more to each other.  It has truly been a great blessing and we are only five days into the new year.

In addition, I have personally been putting away my devices more.  You may have noticed that in the last six months, I've been posting less over on the Facebook page.  Trust me- I have.  I have been blogging less and just taking more time to be PRESENT with my family.  I have renewed this personal goal and I am striving to maintain a balance between something I really enjoy versus something I love beyond measure.

While social media and electronics are most assuredly a great thing- they have a time and a place.  As a busy Wife and Mom, I should legit be able to have a few outside hobbies and interests.  Facebook is simply one of them and so I won't be giving it up completely.  I get to have nice things, things that I enjoy, things that bring me happiness.  I deserve that.  But I will be pushing for balance and putting the important things first.

So yes- my name is Chrissie and I'm addicted to my phone.

But I'm working on it and I encourage all of you to do the same.  I promise it will bring great things to your marriage.

No Facebook For You!

Whelp.  The kiddo officially has a cell phone.  And a whole 2 years ahead of where I thought we would be!  So what's changed?  How is this now allowed in our house?

Well let me tell you all.....we recently began giving the kiddo more freedom.  Gah.  That dreaded word that every Mama runs from....but it's true.  The kiddo is now allowed to stay home while I make a quick run to the grocery store or for the hour in between parental supervision while Mom has left for work but Dad isn't quite home yet.  See....freedom....kind of....

But y'all- I'm not about to leave my CHILD home alone with no way to call for help.  Because that would just be plain irresponsible!  And so, we went out and purchased the Walmart special- a TracFone.  Complete with very limited data and buttons that don't immediately respond when you touch them.

The kiddo is in HEAVEN.

Of course there are rules that come with having a cell phone.  The big one being that this phone STAYS in our kitchen.  It does not travel around the house, it doesn't go with the kiddo to his homeschool classes, he's not allowed to take it up to his bedroom or outside- it stays where it can be constantly monitored.  The other biggie is of course CONTENT.  I'm still figuring this business out and will be downloading an app that lets me track his content but for now, I just take a look at it on the regular to see what he's viewing and doing.  He also is required to ask my permission before downloading anything.

And that is how we came to the wonderful world of social media.  Specifically- the kiddo asked if he could have his own Facebook account.

Yeah no.

Child- you are just barely 11 years old.  You have NO business on Facebook.

In truth, I think he asked mainly because he felt he "should" ask.  So many of his friends and pretty much the entire adult population is on Facebook.  I'm confident he simply wanted to be a part of that and see what it's all about.  However, when I told him no- he wasn't one bit upset and went right on about his business.

But this raises a really excellent question.  At what age should we allow our children to become involved in social media?

In my house, I am going to put this off for as long as humanly possible.  Just as we've put off cell phones and Skyping.  I want my kid to have a childhood and would much rather he hang out in person with friends than "like" their ridiculous Facebook posts.

Sorry child.  No Facebook for you!

You Like Me, You Really Like Me!

Oh.  My.  Gawd.

The Homeschooled Housewife Facebook page has officially hit 1,000 likes.

I'm just gonna stop a moment and take it all in.  This is pretty big and I have to admit that I've been driving my family nuts all day as I watch the counter get closer and closer to the 1K mark.

Just a little over a year ago, I started The Homeschooled Housewife.  I've spent a lot of time working on the blog and posting away over on Facebook.  I'm even trying to figure out "the Twitter" but really- it's not  my fav.  My goal in the last year has been simple.  To encourage others.

So when I started my Facebook page to accompany this blog, it took me months to hit 50 fans.  Months!!!  And here we are, just a year later and I'm at 1,000 likes.  Can I just tell you all how awesome this is for me and what great encouragement for me to continue on!

Now listen, I know that some of you may feel I'm being a little silly.  And that's ok- I get it.  But as with any labor of love, you have to start small and work your way up.  I desire to be like many of my favorite bloggers- a beacon of encouragement.  But I want to do it my way.  So I will continue to plug along, to share my life, to talk about my family's journey and hopefully to inspire others to do the same.  There's nothing silly about that.

And we all know that I can't continue to do that without all of you, the fans.  All 1,000 of you!  I am ever present of the fact that The Homeschooled Housewife doesn't exist without you and so I offer my deepest thanks.  Seriously- THANK YOU.  You are helping me to build this great community and your words of encouragement keep me going.  You are awesome.

To the next 1,000 fans and growing.  To infinity and beyond.

The Homeschooled Housewife.