Photo Story Friday: Breaking A Parenting Rule

I read a study somewhere that if a family eats at least seven meals a week together, the likelihood of children finishing high school is astronomically higher. It makes sense, taking time as a family to talk about the day.




During the weekend, we do a really good job about eating together at lunch and dinner pretty much every weekend, since we're all home and budgeting requires us to plan our meals for the weekend ahead anyway.


We have a great prayer song that we have been singing since the boys were newborns and the boys get upset if we don't sing it before a meal.




The week is a different story:

Breakfast doesn't work. Steve is already gone, I am running around getting stuff ready (like backpacks, take home folders, and lunches) and the boys are sitting separate because morning is the time that they pick fights with each other, for some reason.

For supper, Steve is a single parent while I am teaching, but he does a pretty good job (most nights of eating at the table with boys. As far as I'm concerned, that counts.

Lunch is usually Aaron and me, and I too make an effort for the two of us to sit together and eat talking about how preschool went that morning. I think that counts too.

Now, I need to turn our attention somewhere else. But I'll get back to this in a minute, I promise.

We live in a pretty old and drafty house. We have had to make some adjustments to make it livable while our temps are hanging out in the single digits.

We have tried that plastic covering at times, but it doesn't seem to work too well and the kitten would probably rip it with 2.3 seconds of putting it up anyway.

We have a very large picture window in our living room. Since I hung curtains, the temperature in that room is comfortable, but we always have to have the curtains closed, which makes it always feel so dark and I muss the sunlight.









Our upstairs dormer room runs the length of the house with a window on either end. It is very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. We put blinds on the windows to try to make it a little warmer but it doesn't work that well.






( I just noticed this picture uploaded upside down and I already deleted the pics....it still gets the point across)








So if you open up the blinds, this is what you'll find

Yup, I have had to stuff a twin comforter in each window to attempt insulation. At least ice doesn't gather on the inside of the windows anymore. But once again, the bedroom is extremely dark, adding to the somber feel of our house.

But it is a little warmer.













Let's go back to the previous story now, shall we?

Remember how I was telling about how we have been somewhat good about family meals?

This is how my son has eaten his lunch every day this week




Never mind his clothes. It was pajama day at school









You want to know why?




That's ONE....TWO...
















THREE...FOUR...FIVE...









Five uncovered windows in our kitchen. In our little tiny house, we have a HUGE , bright, cheery kitchen. The happiest looking room in the house. (my pretty green paint job doesn't hurt either :) )

What else is it?

FREEZING!

This kitchen is easily at least 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house. I actually have blogged way less than usual just because my right hand seems to get frozen numb most of the time while I'm at the computer. My kids have not been allowed to do as many crafts as they want because I don't want them (or myself) to freeze.

I know the solution is to buy curtains for the kitchen, which would look nice and definitely warm it up, but with some outstanding debts that are seriously pressing, the last thing I can do is blow $50 on curtains.

So until it gets warm again, I am quite sure there will be many more "picnics" in the living room.

I console myself by saying, at least we're still all together.