Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Miscellaneous Tip

Because I can't remember who I was talking with.  (You'd be surprised how often that happens.)

So here's a freebie for anyone who wants it.

Our boys all share a room.  Always have.  Some of them wake earlier than others.  Not a problem, now that they can all tell time.  But when they were smaller I did not appreciate little people getting out of bed at oh-dark-thirty and possibly disturbing their sleeping brothers at oh-dark-thirty to come wake me up at oh-dark-thirty to ask if it was time to get up.  Because, as previously noted, I am not very godly at that hour.

Sound familiar?

It also doesn't help that we live at a latitude where it can be dark until 8AM in the winter, yet light by 4:30AM in the summer.  Light is not a reliable indicator.

Simple solution.

I took a cheap light timer, like this, and connected it to a dim nightlight, set for whatever time I deemed acceptable for getting up.  If the light is on, you may get up.

You're welcome.

12 comments:

melanie said...

You are such a savvy techie! =)

Do you possibly have an automatic bed-unloader that would get my teens moving through the shower a leetle earlier? oh-dark-thirtyish maybe?

leah said...

Oh, wow. Absolute GENIUS. I honestly love you for this post - what a great idea!

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Melanie,

Seen any Wallace and Gromit? ;D

Leah, glad to help. Easy squeazy.

Anonymous said...

BRILLIANT!!!!
Does this work for dogs? Lucy likes to get up in the wee hours sometimes :-) --Tricia

Trisha said...

Aha! Great idea! I won't tell you that I have the opposite problem...not wanting to get up since we're all night owls because of my husband's schedule. :) I have some friends who would love knowing about your clever solution, though.

Mrs. Squirrel said...

Good show!

Mr. Squirrel and I used timers a lot with our old jobs because we had a 1-hour drive to town every morning. One timer turned on the radio for about 10 minutes of slow-waking time. Then, another timer would turn on the lamp at the bedside. About 10 mintues later the rude alarms would start going off.

It really helped prevent those glued-to-the-ceiling-when-the-alarm-blasts-you-out-of-bed feelings. It made for much nicer mornings... and when your day had to start at 3:30 or 4:30 in the morning... nice was a priority!

-J

Crystal in Lynden said...

I totally second what leah said.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Oh my... glued to the ceiling. I can relate to that.

I used to have to put my alarm clock on the desk across the room, so I had to physically get up to shut it off.

*sigh*

The dB family said...

Brilliant! I just might have to use this when the Wee Three arrive. Thank you for sharing!!

Blessings!
Deborah

Jena Webber said...

Good idea. You are free to get up, IF the timer is lit. Good plan.

sara said...

I am so going to use this.

Tina Marie said...

I remember telling the boys, you can get up as long as you are quiet and don't wake us up...at 5:30 the next SATURDAY morning, I wake to hear clanging and such. The 9-year-old is in the kitchen arranging the toaster for his Pop-Tarts...I give him the not-so-Godly look, and he says,"What?! Did I wake you up?" The rule quickly changed after that...you get up when you hear us get up...