I think there does need to be a balance between being the tyrant, so to say, and being a 'friend', which I don't think really describes what I'm looking for. I want to get along with my kids, I want to have a great relationship. Hell, if I could walk into a houseful of ten boys, have to restrain two of them and ground another one or two by the end of the night, and still walk out with us all on decent terms, it was a great night, and my goal was to always have the good terms. That's kind of the same thing I want at home. I know it's possible. I figure as long as they know that I'll crack the whip, and what the whip is like when cracked, things'll be okay. I really hope that I'll be able to establish healthy boundaries. I want my kids to have a relationship with me that I was unable to have with my parents.
As far as not having tv, abaya, I had a friend in high school who had never had a tv in his house. I asked him once what they did for fun. He said, "We play games and hang out with each other". He had a rather large family, from what I recall. It worked. They played games, went on outings, etc.
Daniel, it sounds awesome what you've got going with your daughter. I hope I can have that too. It's cute that she'll ask for specific music.
There's a spot in our backyard that would be perfect for a garden, but the dogs destroyed it. I don't trust them with plants, so I'm considering pulling the bushes in front of/against the house and planting things there. I really don't have a green thumb, so it would just be brown and ugly all the time.
Oh yeah, abaya... I also had blisters. Mostly from Tetris (I still kick ass at that game). My brother got them worse though from playing StreetFighter and other games like that, and my youngest brother wore out the Lion King tape when they came out on VHS. My mom had to replace it.