Rocks In My Dryer

Brrrr....

I doubt the real Tinkerbell's momma made her wear Keds and a long sleeve shirt with her costume, but then again, it probably wasn't 38 flippin' degrees in Neverland.

Group Photo

Courtesy of Antique Mommy, here's a group shot from our weekend gathering (don't you like Chilihead's sassy pose?  Don't try this at home, ladies.  Also, thank you to Jeana for e-mailing me to tell me that I look like a linebacker in this shot.  Gee, honest friends are such a blessing.  Ahem.)

If you haven't been over see Antique Mommy's, um, colorful take on the weekend, you're missing out.  Go.  Now.

Humility

Today Joseph innocently piped up from the backseat, "Mom, what would you look like if you were skinny?"

Nice.  I guess this means I'm laying off the Three Musketeers tonight.

I'm Back And, OH, I Have Stories To Tell

This weekend was so eventful that I'm not sure where to start.  So be warned, ahead lies a long and stream-of-consciousness post containing excruciatingly minute details that will probably only be interesting to those who where there.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Still reading?  Good!  Alright...first, here's a list of who all came to at least one of the weekend events (and I know I have left someone out--I apologize ahead of time.  If you were there and didn't make it onto this list, will you e-mail me, please?):

• Antique Mommy (Tina)
• Created For His Glory (Lauren)
• Days To Come (Jeana)
• Don't Try This At Home (Chilihead)
• Faithful Mommy (Faith)
• Holding the Mirror to My Soul (Kep)
• Holy Mama (Kelsey)
• Home Sanctuary (Rachel Anne)
• In the Midst Of It (Sarah)
• Kisses of Sunshine (GiBee)
• Life In a Nutshell (Megan)
• Minnie Moments (Minnie)
• My Mind...Lost...Strayed...or Stolen (Jan)
• Overhead Under Grace (Kelly)
• Raising Five (Katherine)
• Reflecting Him (AggieJenn)
• Rocks In My Dryer (Shannon)
• Shalee's Diner (Shalee)
• She Lives (Carol)
• Sing a Lullaby (CMommy)

After a five-hour drive from our fair city, Chilihead and I went straight to the restaurant in Ft. Worth.  We popped open the back of her mini-van and freshened up, hoping none of our new friends would see the two Oklahoma rednecks getting ready OUT OF THE BACK OF A CAR. 

We entered the restaurant, only to find we were the first ones there.  We walked up to the man at the front desk, and the following conversation ensued:

Him: Name, please?

Us:  Um, we're here to meet a big group of ladies.  The name is probably Jeana.

Him: Last name?

Us:  Um...we don't know.

Him:  How many people are in the party?

Us: Um...we don't know.  Maybe 20?

Him:  Would you recognize Jeana if you saw her?

Us: [Thinking back to the tiny little picture of Jeana from her blog]  Um, probably not.

It is at this point I realize we've driven across two states to meet people we don't recognize and whose names we don't know.  I have become The Kind Of Person I Make Fun Of. 

Thankfully Front Desk Man sorted it out, pointed us to our table, and we DID, in fact, recognize Jeana when she arrived.  Just as I expected, it was like greeting old friends, not total strangers.  The laughing and talking commenced immediately, with the help of some funky blue margaritas.  Everyone was just as I expected.  Jeana is a hoot, Kelsey is adorable, GiBee is pronounced JEE-bee (I was wrong!) and Faith wore pink.  I knew she'd wear pink!

After dinner, we hotel-stayers headed back to the hotel for a couple more hours of shrieking laughing and talking.  At 1:30, Chilihead collapsed into our (oh, yes!) Sleep Number Beds.  If you were wondering, I'm a 30. 

On Saturday, we slept in until (Oh Great Day In the Morning!) 10:45, a feat I haven't managed since college.  It was wonderful.  We headed to the lovely Botannical Gardens (or "Botanic", as they say in Texas, which is just wrong) for a luncheon, but a wedding taking place in the same area meant that service was slo-o-o-o-ow.  After waiting for our food for a bazillion years, I double-dog-dared Lauren to snag us some wedding cake for our trouble.  She gave it her best shot, until the mother of the bride caught her and chewed her out.  Lovely!  Shalee has an audio post from our lunch over at her site, and you can hear our cackling fellowship.  You can also hear my voice and confirm that I am, in fact, a hillbilly.

Our group split up after lunch, and Chilihead and I joined Kelsey, Jeana, Shalee, and Minnie on a pilgrimage to Grapevine Mills outlet mall.  Children's Place windpants for only $5...SCORE!  The sassy Minnie (She Of the Funky Hair and Awesome Shoes and Much Too Adorable Figure) was a perfect shopping coach.  We even visited a formal-wear store to try on formals, and you can see the photographic evidence of that little adventure here.

After the shopping, we met up with the group at Tina's gorgeous home for a taco dinner.  I was able to do much cuddling with Sarah's precious baby daughter Addison, a very special blessing after praying for her so much.  There was still more laughing, lots of eating, a group photo  (which I will be posting as soon as Tina e-mails it to me; hint, hint, Tina...) and endless chattering.  Really, would we ever run out of things to say?  (By the way, if you're wondering why I blacked out Chilihead's face in this photo, it's because she forgot to put on her Groucho Marx glasses.  Her celebrity must be protected at all costs.)

Sunday morning Chilihead and I had a bittersweet good-bye breakfast with Jeana and Faith (see the picture of my breakfast on the left.  Yes, I actually ate a Texas-shaped waffle).  Before heading back to Oklahoma, Chilihead and I stopped at Ikea and spent entirely too much time and money on kitchen gadgets.  We had a stranger take our picture during checkout wearing our Ikea bags, looking all sophisticated and European.  ("Yes," Chilihead said, "nothing says sophisticated and European like a couple of middle-aged Oklahoma housewives wearing Ikea bags.") 

Despite a bit of getting lost on the way home, Chili and I had a ball, talking until I nearly lost my voice.  Is there anything better than time in the car with a girlfriend...and no kids?

I'm home now, a bit road-weary, still hoarse, and buried up to my eyeballs in the laundry and kitchen explosion that occurred in my absence.  But I'm richer, too--I've now mirled with some of the very best the blogosphere has to offer, and I happily count these women among my real-life friends.  I'm already looking forward to the next real-life blog gathering, whenever and wherever that may be!

This Is Taking Longer Than I Thought

Really, I'm going to tell you all about the blogging extravaganza.  I promise.  I am back at home, finally coming off the 48-hour adrenaline rush I've been on.  I have so many funny stories to tell, but I need to unpack, love on my kids and hubby, put this house of mine back together, and regain some semblance of brain control.  And get my camera out of Chilihead's car, so I can show you all the pictures.  So...I'll post about it, really, just not right this instant.  It was so great that I need to wait until I can do it justice!  Stay tuned...

"This Is Shannon Dryer, Live Blogging To You From Sunny Ft. Worth, Texas..."

I have laughed so much in the last 24 hours that my abs hurt.  This is either a good indication of how funny this blogging crowd is, or a sign that my abs need more work than I thought they did.

I have so much to tell you about this weekend, and I don't even know where to start.   Since it's late on a Saturday night, I think I'll just not start at all.  I just wanted to check in and reassure you that we had not, in fact, stumbled into den of serial killers.  Check back for a much better update tomorrow or Monday!

Weekend Wisdom

There are two ways to get enough:  one is to accumulate more and more.  The other is to desire less.  --G.K. Chesterton

The Big Day

I am in the midst of the Mad Scramble Which Must Occur In Order For Mom To Leave Town Alone For The Weekend.  In a few short hours, Chilihead and I will be on the road to Dallas for a gathering of about 25 bloggin' girls from all over the country.  I am so absolutely beside myself with excitement that I'm having a terrible time trying to get my work done today. 

And I'm nervous.  Just a teensy bit nervous.  I even got my nails done.  I never get my nails done.  I was hoping that it might make up for the fact that I'm not nearly as clever in person as I am in writing (and I'm not that clever in writing).  Here's hoping that pretty nails go a long way.

Many of these women I feel that I know very well, though I've only met a couple face-to-face and talked with a couple more on the phone.  My sweet yet cynical Hubs, who is neither a mommy nor a blogger (and can therefore not adequately understand this mommy-blogging phenomenon) reminds me that I don't KNOW these women, I simply read their blogs.  Big difference, he says.  And maybe he's right. 

But I've read the hearts of these women, poured out on page upon page (or screen upon screen, as the case may be), and I DO feel that I know them.  So I have this strange sense of going to meet old friends and complete strangers all rolled into one--such is this quirky world of blogging.  I'm expecting much laughing, much talking, a little crying, probably some praying, too much eating and almost no sleeping.  And I'll tell you all about it when I get back on Sunday (and possibly even while I'm there, if my rickety old laptop will cooperate).      

Signing off, for now, and happily hitting the road...

Amen, Sister!

Don't miss this hilarious (and true, true, TRUE) post over at Jules' place...

Product Review: Philips BabyCare Monitor

It was with the teensiest bit of guilt I agreed to review the new Philips BabyCare Digital Monitor.  It retails for $199 on Amazon.com--could I really, in good conscience, give a good review to a *gulp* $200 baby monitor?  I've had four babies and three monitors, and not a one of them cost more than $40 (the monitor, not the babies.  The babies have cost considerably more.)

But oh-my-word, then I received it in the mail.  I set it up (without having to read the instructions!).  I turned it on.  For the love of all that is good and cordless, y'all, NOW I understand the phrase "you get what you pay for".  This is the Cadillac of baby monitors.  I swear, it does everything except get up in the middle of the night and change the baby's diaper (wait, maybe I should go read those instructions...). 

Let me give you a line-by-line description of what makes this baby monitor so convenient:

• It's digital. That means no interference.  Where we live now, interference hasn't been a huge issue.  In previous neighborhood (full of babies, so a baby monitor in everyone's house) we would frequently pick up other people's nurseries.  The worst was when when, after our first baby was born, we lived in a Chicago highrise for 18 months.  We picked up every cordless phone conversation in the building, it seemed.  There's nothing like having a strange man's voice come wafting out of your baby monitor at 3 am to cause a momma to get airborne out of her bed, sprinting to the nursery...ONLY to find out it was a neighbor's phone. 
• It remotely monitors the temperature in baby's room.  This is so handy in our house, where my daughter's room is stuffy in the summer and icy in the winter.  Now I can make sure she's comfortable before she wakes up sweaty or cold...and grumpy.
• It has a talk-back feature.  This is fantastic.  It's just like a walkie-talkie; I can hit the talk button and try soothing Corrie with my voice before trekking upstairs.  (Though I would've liked to have seen the look on her face the first time she saw Momma's voice come out of the little white plastic dealie on her dresser.)  Another great thing about this feature is that it makes it last past the baby years.  I'm sure we'll keep this and use it as an intercom system when the baby days are gone.  Could the days of hollering up the stairs actually be a thing of the past?
• It plays music and lights up on baby's end. Just another handy way to soothe baby without going in the room and getting her all worked up.
• It gives you a warning signal if something happens to disrupt the connection. After I hooked it up, five-year-old Joseph was in Corrie's room and was playing with the new gadget on her dresser.  He accidentally turned it off.  A warning signal downstairs told me the connection was interrupted.  I don't know how many times in years past I have awakened, panicked, to find that some sort of interference meant I couldn't hear the baby's room.  Not anymore!
• It has a tether that lets Momma wear the monitor around her neck when cleaning, gardening, sewing, or, um, blogging, etc. It's a little detail, but quite helpful.
• Range is 900 feet.  That's impressive.  I had my oldest son sing in Corrie's room while I walked down the street, and I made it five houses away without an ounce of static. 

The drawbacks?  First, as best I can tell, this particular model offers only one receiver.  I live in a two-story house, which makes it very practical to have two receivers (one for each floor).  Of course, that would add to the cost.  This brings me to drawback number two: let's face it, $199 is a lot to pay for a baby monitor.  Generally speaking, I can't say I'd recommend shelling out that kind of dough for something when the $40 version is adequate.  But I have to confess that I am really enjoying this product.  So I suppose I'd say that I would recommend this product under certain conditions--

• ...if you live in an apartment building, or in a neighborhood where there are a lot of neighbors using baby monitors.
• ...if your home is wired to the hilt and all your electronics are causing a real problem with interference.
• ...if your house is huge (say, Buckingham Palace), or more realistically, if you spend a lot of time outside while your baby naps inside.
• ...if your baby has grandparents that are bound and determined to buy endless and expensive baby gear for you--you might as well have them buy something useful!
• ...if you're a terrible worry-wart who must hear every breath your child takes to be assured that he or she is still breathing.  A cheaper and more effective solution to this problem would be taking this to heart.

I'm having a hard time deciding how to "grade" this product.  I'll give it a 5-rocks rating on quality and a 3-rocks rating on price, which averages out to a 4-rocks rating:

If you want more info on this product, check out this link.  To purchase it at Amazon, head over here.

My product review policy can be found here.

Oh, wait, I have to show you one more funny thing...here's a picture of the box it came in.  You can see how the temperature is clearly displayed on the monitor.  I'm just hoping these are degrees Celsius.  If your baby is sleeping in a 19-degree room Farenheit, you've got way more problems than static.