Less TV is a good thing

I've instituted another New Year's resolution over the last two days, and am super pleased with the results. Confession: My kid watches a lot of television. Well, let's backtrack: She doesn't really always watch it, as much as it's just that the television is constantly on, so is consistent background noise.
But yesterday and today, I acted on my decision that television will become a more limited resource ... at least at night. From now and every night, it's turned off at 6 p.m., and stays off until after baby's bedtime. This shouldn't be a big deal, and it's really not, because I put my iPod on shuffle, and that becomes our good background noise. Sometimes, like with Afternoon Dance Party, we'll hear a tune and dance along. But tonight, we ended up just hanging out in her room for more than an hour, playing with toys, reading books together ("Story time," she'll announce as she plops down on my lap with a book for us to read. It melts my heart), and having fun. It was, hands down, one of the best mother/daughter hours ever. What it really did, I noticed, was give me some time to decompress and just chill with Sydney, minus the noise, and do nothing but enjoy the interaction. I guess I never realized how much noise a television makes until it was just her and I hanging out without one.
This is an extremely positive result to this resolution, and I'm feeling super happy with myself. Will this roll into a lunch-time gig? No television before her nap, too? You know, maybe it will. It'll be good for both of us. Okay, decision made: No TV at lunch, either. I may become a better mother this year yet!