Skype

Children make terrible skypers!  Children make terrible skypers because first they are easily distracted, second they don't manage their time to talk very well, and third they don't share the screen and siblings will fight over the computer.

The computer can be very distracting, there is so much to look at and play with.  When Skypeing I find that my children are easily distracted by the picture in picture.  They like to look at their faces and then to see their dad's reaction.  Most of the time this will occur and the conversation will go something like this,
kids:  "Dad can you see us?"
dad:  "Yes, I see you"
kids:  dead silence for at least 1 minute
           "Dad did you see my face?"
dad:  "Yes, I saw"
This will continue for 5-10 minutes.  The whole time Dustin will try to ask the boys questions that may or may not be answered.

As you can see from the conversation above the boys just can't focus on actually talking to their dad.  The kids will just play while "talking" to their dad.  Time that if they would actually talk to their dad I wouldn't mind sharing, but since they just play, it makes me sad that I'm not able to get a turn.

The boys will carry on with all of this for the entire time we have to skype.  The only thing missing is the constant bickering between the boys about who gets to have their face on the computer next or that the screen is not being shared equally.

At some point, usually the last couple minutes of our Skype time, I will kick the boys off the computer. I then get my turn to talk which will inevitably get cut short because our connection will drop.  Dustin and I will try to reconnect via Skype and we'll end up just talking on the phone.

In all of our Skypeing attempts Dustin has been able to see Benjamin, I have been able to see Dustin and where he is living.  I am grateful for the communication we do get to have with him and will be glad to have him home once again.  I think the boys will like having him home too.