Rocks In My Dryer

Works For Me: Babysitter Instructions

I keep a typed (in bold colors), laminated list on my desk.  The paper is entitled Babysitter Information, and on it is every phone number imaginable for any sitters who come to our house.  It includes our home number, both our cell phone numbers and Hubs' office number.  It contains our home address (at the very top, to give to a 9-1-1 operator, *shudder*), and the phone numbers of all our neighbors and nearby friends, as well as grandparents (none of whom live in our city).   That way, when I'm leaving in a hurry (which I always am whenever I hire a sitter, for some reason), I don't have to write it all out each time.  I feel confident knowing our sitter has access to so many numbers, should she need them (which, incidentally, she never has). 

If you'd like to share an idea for Works-For-Me Wednesday, enter your link below.  Please give the link directly to your WFMW post, not to the front page of your blog. 

Complete WFMW guidelines, if you need them, are here.

While you're out and about, don't miss the Carnival of Kid Comedy over at Life in a Shoe!

Memory Tools

In keeping with my earlier post, today I ordered this, this and this to help with our summer memory goals.

Thanks for all the tips!

Memory

We're crankin' up the memory juice around the Dryer house this summer.  I figure my kids better make good use of their fresh, young brains before, like me, they forget what month it is.  We have a list of things I am determined the boys will memorize during these hot and hazy days.  Here it is:

• The books of the Bible (in order, of course).
• The names of Jesus' disciples.
• The names of the US presidents, again, in order.  I've actually promised $5 to the person who accomplishes this first.  Encouraging sibling rivalry?  Yes, we pretty much use whatever tools we have around here.
• Philippians 2:6-11.  The whole family is memorizing this together.
• The words to REM's "It's The End of the World As We Know It".  Just because we like head-banging to that song in the mini-van and we're all tired of singing "la-dee-da-dee-la..." during the fast parts.

Any interesting summertime goals in your house?

See you back here tomorrow for Works-For-Me Wednesday!

The Tree

My good friend Chilihead is starting a clever new series, "Monday Memories".  Go check it out and consider dusting of your own memories to share today.  Here's my contribution...

I was blessed to grow up in the same hometown as my paternal grandparents.  They lived on a large, wooded patch of land, and a stream meandered right through the middle of their property and under a little bridge halfway down their driveway.  I remember, as a child, thinking there could surely be nothing as magical as having your very own stream.  My brother, cousins and I spent so much time there, jumping across it (and occasionally landing in it), racing leaves and sticks down it, and the most daring of us (not me) actually crawled under the dark tunnel created by the bridge.

But my favorite memory of my grandparents' little stream is a remarkable tree that grew out of its banks.  The base of the tree actually grew sideways out of the bank for about two feet, then the trunk shot straight up, forming a perfect "L".  And forming a perfect ledge for a young girl to sit on while swinging her legs over the creek below.

On playful days, it was a perfect perch for watching "leaf races"--we sailed them right under the tree.  On quieter days, the tree grew at a perfect angle to allow an imaginative child to lean back, close her eyes, and think of things as equally magical as a sideways-growing tree.  I'm quite sure that some of my best thoughts were thought sitting right there.

My grandparents are no longer with us, and that tree is owned by someone else.  Owned by someone else, but I like to think it still belongs to me.  I still go there, in my mind, when I need a place to breathe and think quiet thoughts.  And in my mind, I dangle my seven-year-old legs over the side, or I rest my twelve-year-old head against the sturdy trunk--because in remembering that tree, I remember the girl I was there.

My bloggin' buddy Jules (and the creator of my wonderful header) has changed her URL ever-so-slightly. Just in case you were looking for her, you may find her now here (make note of the new address).  And if you haven't read Jules before, then you're missing a treat.  What are you waiting for?  Get thee over there, now!

B Is For...

So here's a fun little game, courtesy of Lauren.  It works like this:  She assigned me a letter (B), and I have to list ten things that start with B, and why I chose them.  If you want to play, e-mail me (link on left) and I'll assign you a letter, etc. etc.  Got it?  Good.

Ten Significant Words that Start With the Letter B:

1. Brooke. My middle name, before I was married (now I use my maiden name for my middle name). 
2. Boys.  I'm surrounded by them.  Three sons, one husband.  But I think Corrie and I can take 'em.
3. Babies.  Absolutely loved having them, absolutely thrilled to be done.
4. Bible.  Enough said.
5. Blogging.  Of course this had to be on the list--this funny hobby that started out on a whim and is so important to me now.
6. Brave.  What I'm not, and wish I were, and pray for my children to be.
7. Babe.  One of my favorite movies.  "That'll do, pig--that'll do."  It's also what my Hubs is (a babe, not a pig.)
8. Belly. The part of me that will never, ever be the same after #3 (above).
9. Bono.  I'm quite impressed with him.
10. Brother.  I have a younger one, my only sibling, and a very dear friend. 

For Your Weekend Browsing...

...here's a fun site.  Very interesting concept!   

So Many Blogs, So Little Time...

Jeana at Days to Come wants to know about our blogging habits.  More specifically, she wants to know about our weird blogging habits.  Because she is Jeana, and she is able to make even the most mundane things seem hilarious, I won't venture to make a list as funny as hers.  But I will tell you how I manage my blog-reading, because  I'm actually quite obsessive about it.  Kathryn, the great and powerful Daring Young Mom, shared this little system with me months ago, and I've tweaked it for my own use.

First, Bloglines.  You must get Bloglines.  Resistance is futile.  Lauren had to twist my arm into it, but now I'm so glad she did.

Within Bloglines, you can create different folders in which you save your favorite reads.  I created three folders:  Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3.  Into Tier 1, I put the blogs I want to check daily.  Into Tier 2, I put the ones I want to check a few times a week.  Into Tier 3, I put the ones I'm "watching"--checking occasionally but not yet ready to "commit".   When I only have five minutes to read blogs (which is usually the case), I scan through my Tier 1 folder.  When I have longer chunks of time (mostly after the kids go to bed), I will browse through the other two.

After someone has been in my Tier 1 folder for an extended period of time, I'll add them to my blogroll on my own blog.

There are hundreds--maybe thousands--of blogs out there I'd love to be reading.  But since my Hubs likes a hot dinner every now and then, time restrictions require that I limit myself.  I've learned that I cannot keep up with more than 45-50 blogs in my Bloglines account.  When I reach that number, I have to force myself to remove one before I let myself add another. 

Does that sound brutal?  I hope not.  But it works for me.  Hey, someone should turn that into a series...  :)

Do you have any great ideas for managing your blog reading?  I'm all ears.  Or eyes, as the case may be.

Sum-Sum-Summertime

And so it begins.

Tuesday [insert dramatic swell of organ music] was the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.  I'm truly excited to have my kids home, and out of the rat race, for three whole months.  I have the best of intentions for some structured activities, and plenty of R & R, as well.  I'm praying for a peaceful summer, with miraculously little bickering, utter consistency on my part, and cheerful cooperation from my kids.  That's reasonable, isn't it?

In all seriousness, last summer was a struggle for me, physically, spiritually and mentally (and here is where I pause to acknowledge that you wonderful homeschool moms are probably shaking your head to think that one short summer overwhelms me.  My hat is off to you.).  Last summer I found myself impatient, irritable and generally un-focused as a mother.  This summer, I'm determined, will NOT be a repeat.  I'm going to trim back--just a bit--my time spent blogging.  My focus belongs on my kids, and on my own sometimes-crabby heart!  Don't worry--Works-For-Me Wednesday isn't going anywhere. 

So here's to summer fun, pillow fights, tents in the living room, skinned knees, hair full of chlorine, bags full of library books, and the grace for this mom's heart to handle it with patience and humor.  I'm ready! 

******

On a totally different note, to those of you out there who watch the show Lost--feel like dishing about the show last night?  I PROMISE, non-Losties, I won't turn this into a Lost blog, but it was the season finale.  Big stuff.  *SPOILER AHEAD, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT*  Here's what I'm left wondering (among a bazillion other things, of course):

• Is Desmond dead?  And oh-my-gosh WHAT is the deal with his old fiance...remember earlier in the show when she said, "If you have enough money and determination you can find anyone?"  Has she been looking for him all this time?  And I'm wondering now if her wealthy father is somehow deeply involved with this whole thing.  Could he be a Hanso guy?
• And LIBBY met Desmond in a flashback.  What the heck?  Maybe, just maybe, we're going to find out about the back-story of Libby in the mental institution, after all. 
• What was that "knowing look" that passed between Jack and Kate right before the Others slipped the hoods on?  Was it "I love you"?  Or maybe "Let's go kick some Other hiney"? 
• And was it just me, or was Charlie acting a little strange in his last scene with Claire?  Why was he being evasive about what happened in the hatch?
• Let me just go on record here as saying that you KNOW Sayid is going to swoop in and save the day, freeing Jack, Kate and Sawyer and wiping that annoying smirk off Henry's face.  Sayid always saves the day.  I love him.  He may be the most under-rated character on that show.

It will be a looooong summer waiting for answers, my friends.